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Materialists 2025 | Celine Song

More Than a Candle: Anakin and Padmé

His eye found her silent, still shadow, and he straightened, and a new light broke over his golden face…a moment later, he came to her in the shadows, and they were in each other’s arms.

Their lips met, and the universe became, one last time, perfect.

♫ L I S T E N ♫ :

YouTube* ♥ Spotify ♥ 8tracks: i, ii, iii, iv ♥ DL

(*The YT link is the best version overall and is the one I recommend most! If simply because it has all the songs in complete order, and no time limit in regards to listening. The others I only fell back on in case people prefer them, but Spotify is frustrating because a few of the songs weren’t available there, and them being missing lessens certain emotional impacts, but I’ll link those few directly on the tracklist, and every song has an individual YT link under the cut. On 8tracks, I had to split it into its four distinct chapters due to the limit on repeating artists. tbh the DL is there because the streaming sites were hindering me, and if anyone wants to read along without having to be on my blog, this whole post is included in the folder and here as a pdf as well…some remnant of my meticulous self was functioning on overdrive.)

Tracks:

All of the sections and titles are under the cut with their lyrics and quotes, but in case you want to see them quickly, I’m putting them right here, too (and the links for the Spotify absentees). ♥

*** Please indulge me a moment of exposition to accompany this tome masquerading as a fanmix, because I worked for a couple of weeks on it, and it took me a ridiculous amount of time to finish, and if it only gets two notes, I’ll still be delighted because it ultimately became something resonant for me. I absolutely love it with all my heart? It turned into less of a playlist and more of an entire arc interpreted through music. It’s three+ hours long. I am a mess. The inspiration was such a small spark - “The Other Side,” which opens this musical dissertation, struck me as so exquisite and bittersweet for Anakin and Padme (“is it fair or is it fate? no one knows; stars choose their lovers; save my soul”), and I thought, “I want to make something revolving around this,” and at the same time, I was captivated by @padawanlost‘s ongoing Anakin Skywalker playlist. I took several of the songs she has made gifsets for, along with a few that have been suggested to her, as further inspiration, and it kept spinning beyond me until it reached its conclusion.

Full disclosure, the novella-length amount of text behind the cut in this post is almost entirely passages I took out of physical books in front of me and typed out myself, so by the time I got to certain sections of both ROTS and ROTJ, I was a sobbing disaster of a girl - not to mention sifting through the screencaps to make the edits. MY HEART.

I considered splitting this into four separate posts, because it is, in essence, four chapters, but I really wanted people to be able to take it in as a whole, so it’s all here as one, to peruse at your leisure. It is Excessively Extra (extra in romance, extra in loving sweetness and lyrical star imagery, extra in angst, conclusively extra in hope, because who even am I if I don’t revel in the depths of each of those facets? those are elemental to my brand). The more I worked on it and got caught up in my emotions, the more it became a concept of the journey of their story, and it ended up requiring explanation, so here goes:

I envisioned this almost as their story being told as a legend, a reminiscence of this luminescent, beautiful love, and the inexorable pull of it, and how the galaxy fell apart around those radiant symbols at its center: the Chosen, gallant knight and the beloved, kind-hearted queen (“They love the story of you; you’re like something out of a bedtime tale”), a complementary sun and moon laced together in the heavens of their universe, and how they broke along the fault-lines of their own world as it crumbled under them, as if it’s being told in flashback, and so Ruelle’s voice became my narrator (hence why she opens and closes the whole thing, and she echoes throughout - her music aesthetically ended up helping to tell the story so well), transitioning from the wistful melancholy of “The Other Side,” into “Hero” (“everyone’s watching it all unfold”), and the illusion of Anakin’s place as “the hero with no fear” in “Champion,” (“if I can live through this, I can do anything”), and then fading back into he and Padme reuniting for the first time on Coruscant, and the unfolding of their romance from there. (I tried to keep it as chronological as possible, but I may have taken a liberty with scenes here or there for the sake of the sonic flow of the music, which was super important for me to get right.) In all honesty, Anakin’s emotions bled into this quite potently, not even by my initial intention (there’s a lot of my girl here too, I had initially planned to frame it from Padme’s perspective), he was just…powerfully there, and the intent of the whole thing shifted. Some of the songs which are more bold on the surface, but fundamentally earnest and bright underneath, in Part I particularly reflect him, along with the undercutting longing and grief and desperate tenderness, the draw to Padme’s gentleness and sincerity despite any hesitation; and then Part II delicately softens and blossoms, and I really just wanted to lend it a current of vulnerability and joy (because they deserve it) as an expression of that breathless, youthful adoration becoming something more grounded and poignant as they find an honest home in one another; followed all too soon by Part III descending into reckless, pulsing uneasiness, ripples of foreboding fear and fractured darkness; until Part IV claws persistently from loss and corruption back to the flickering light. It’s a narrative exploration, and it totally makes sense in my head, so my wish it that comes across to people who listen to it, too.

Beneath the cut are not only very purposeful extractions of lyrics, but also quotes compiled either from the scripts of the films, or from many bits and pieces of passages from novels, because I felt like this had such deeper meaning with the context, to be able to follow along with them, and then I edited and added a bunch of pretty screenshots (because I didn’t want this to be nothing but blocks of text, and what is a fairytale without illustration? also, you know…it was an excuse to stare at their faces). In doing this, it also became part Luke’s story, too, as the catharsis necessary for the salvation at the end, and the spiritual reunion of these two bound hearts.

In essence, it’s their love story in four acts, and its fulfillment in that living embodiment of their son and his shining compassion, and the light and connection he and his sister provide to a healing universe.

This post is already so extensive that I don’t want to burden it more with my personal feelings about Anakin and Padme, but suffice to say they’ve been cherished and dear and important to me (separately and together) for so long, even though there have been times when I’ve kept that close and quiet. I feel like this was the culmination of all of that thought and emotion sitting in my heart since I was young, pouring out into this, and I sincerely hope that anyone who comes across this post and is generous enough to read it all/listen feels a bit of that love and joy and heartbreak, and ultimately, through the promise of that light and the answer to that compassion, transcendence.

This story happened a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…

padawanlost

Even if Obi-Wan wasn't there and Anakin "explained himself" to Padmé she would never be okay with him massacring the Jedi, especially when it comes to the children, nor would she support him either consolidating Palpatine's Sith Empire or him becoming Emperor himself. She would eventually turn against what Anakin has become on her own and start the Rebellion together with Mon Mothma and Bail Organa. In the novel of RotS, Sheev actually orders the killings also partly to alienate her from Anakin.

Padmé was never “okay”with Anakin killing innocents but she was willing to forgive him. There wasprecedent, after all. Only a few years earlier Padmé was told by Anakin himselfhe had slaughtered and entire community – women and children included – and herreaction was to marry him. If Padmé was okay marrying a child killer, she wouldbe okay forgiving one.

You’re a good person. Don’t do this. […] Come away with me. Help me raise our child.Leave everything else behind while we still can.

Padmé knew what Anakinhad done at the Temple and she was still willing to let it go and go raise herbaby with him. If Obi-wan hadn’t intervened, yeah, their relationship wouldchange forever but that doesn’t mean Padmé – the woman who died believing inAnakin’s goodness – would ever turn on him. She would never help Anakin withthe Empire but she would not harm him or abandon him either. Padmé would keepon trying to save Anakin and turn him back until one of them died.

Not for the first time Sidious wondered whatmight have happened had Anakin not killed Padmé on Mustafar. For all she loved him, she never would haveunderstood or forgiven Anakin’s action at the Jedi Temple. In fact, thatwas one of the reasons Sidious had sent him there. Clone troopers could havedealt with the instructors and younglings, but Anakin’s presence was essential in order to cement his allegiance tothe Sith, and, more important, to seal Padmé’s fate. Even if she had survivedMustafar, their love would have died—Padmé might even have lost the will tolive—and their child would have become Sidious’s and Vader’s to raise.[James Luceno’s Dark Lord: The Riseof Darth Vader]

Thing is,Palpatine is wrong. Yes, he did send Anakin to the Temple to seal his fate as aSith but he was wrong about Padmé turning on Anakin and he was wrong abouttheir love dying. In fact, their love was what saved the galaxy. Anakin’s lovefor Padmé was so strong it was the reason he couldn’t kill Luke.

The most powerful, the most repressed thoughtof all could have emerged from the darkness: Padmé … and her undying love forsomeone he once knew well. And despite all the terrible, unspeakable thingshe’d done in his life, he suddenly realized he could not stand by and allow theEmperor to kill their son. And in that moment, he was no longer Darth Vader. Hewas Anakin Skywalker. [Ryder Windham’s Episode VI: Return of the Jedi]

Palpatinecompletely underestimated the power of love. That was his downfall. Padmé andLuke were right. Yoda and Palpatine were wrong.

Maybe Anakinand Padmé’s relationship would change but not their love for each other and nottheir personalities. Anakin would never side with Palpatine in a galaxy wherePadmé was alive and well and Padmé had too much faith in Anakin to ever turn onhim.

padawanlost

This is Padmé Amidala:

“She is an astonishingly accomplished young woman, who in her short life has been already the youngest-ever elected Queen of her planet, a daring partisan guerrilla, and a measured, articulate, and persuasive voice of reason in the Republic Senate. But she is, at this moment, none of these things.

She can still play at them—she pretends to be a Senator, she still wields the moral authority of a former Queen, and she is not shy about using her reputation for fierce physical courage to her advantage in political debate—but her inmost reality, the most fundamental, unbreakable core of her being, is something entirely different. She is Anakin Skywalker’s wife.

Yet wife is a word too weak to carry the truth of her; wife is such a small word, such a common word, a word that can come from a downturned mouth with so many petty, unpleasant echoes. For Padmé Amidala, saying I am Anakin Skywalker’s wife is saying neither more nor less than I am alive.

Her life before Anakin belonged to someone else, some lesser being to be pitied, some poor impoverished spirit who could never suspect how profoundly life should be lived. Her real life began the first time she looked into Anakin Skywalker’s eyes and found in there not the uncritical worship of little Annie from Tatooine, but the direct, unashamed, smoldering passion of a powerful Jedi: a young man, to be sure, but every centimeter a man—a man whose legend was already growing within the Jedi Order and beyond. A man who knew exactly what he wanted and was honest enough to simply ask for it; a man strong enough to unroll his deepest feelings before her without fear and without shame.

A man who had loved her for a decade, with faithful and patient heart, while he waited for the act of destiny he was sure would someday open her own heart to the fire in his. But though she loves her husband without reservation, love does not blind her to his faults.

She is older than he, and wise enough to understand him better than he does himself. He is not a perfect man: he is prideful, and moody, and quick to anger—but these faults only make her love him the more, for his every flaw is more than balanced by the greatness within him, his capacity for joy and cleansing laughter, his extraordinary generosity of spirit, his passionate devotion not only to her but also in the service of every living being.

He is a wild creature who has come gently to her hand, a vine tiger purring against her cheek. Every softness of his touch, every kind glance or loving word is a small miracle in itself. How can she not be grateful for such gifts?

This is why she will not allow their marriage to become public knowledge. Her husband needs to be a Jedi. Saving people is what he was born for; to take that away from him would cripple every good thing in his troubled heart.

Now she holds him in their infinite kiss with both arms tight around his neck, because there is a cold dread in the center of her heart that whispers this kiss is not infinite at all, that it’s only a pause in the headlong rush of the universe, and when it ends, she will have to face the future. And she is terrified.

Because while he has been away, everything has changed. Today, here in the hallway of the Senate Office Building, she brings him news of a gift they have given each other—a gift of joy, and of terror. This gift is the edge of a knife that has already cut their past from their future.

For these long years they have held each other only in secret, only in moments stolen from the business of the Republic and the war; their love has been the perfect refuge, a long quiet afternoon, warm and sunny, sealed away from fear and doubt, from duty and from danger. But now she carries within her a planetary terminator that will end their warm afternoon forever and leave them blind in the oncoming night.

She is more, now, than Anakin Skywalker’s wife.

She is the mother of Anakin Skywalker’s unborn child.

Anidala Week 2019 | Humor or Favorite Quote: Matthew Stover’s Revenge of the Sith .

midnightisquiet

"You made this a game first."

Skins 3.10

everythingimaginereal-deactivat

overdresstoimpress

This is the cutest picture I’ve ever seen in my life.

vangoghcore

by euphemia.stokefield

getosatoru

JEAN and MIKASA in SnK S4P2 Ep. 6

#jeankasa

toukatan

i will never stop talking about mikasasha’s friendship— these two are and will always be best friends. mikasa was always the quiet and reserved type but sasha was that one person that opened her up— sasha bought out her playful teasing side and i’ll never not think about it. straight up their first interactions were everything

please this will never not be iconic

mikasa giving sasha cause she knows sasha loves food— instant forgiveness at its finest

and then that one time sasha asking mikasa for bread and sis just

sasha getting stuck in a life or death situation but then mikasa saves her and sasha thanks the absolute heck out of her but the first thing mikasa asks is if she’s hurt

sasha saving and protecting mikasa right back

this lives rent free in my head, look at them

they’re so close that sasha can literally just punch the heck out of mikasa and she wouldn’t even blink an eye

these two were even said to be roomates and mikasa didn’t mind sasha’s snoring. that is the most wholesome thing i’ve ever read to date.

so when you see how much sasha’s death effected mikasa, you know these two had a bond like no other. these two were each other’s ride or dies, they had each other’s backs no matter what the situation was— they’re literally everything to one another.

and it just hurts like hell seeing mikasa sit by sasha’s grave alone in the rain like this because you know sasha meant the world to her.

alicentsaegon

Isayama: Makes it clear that Jean Kirstein has been in love with Mikasa Ackerman since the beggining of the manga.

Isayama : Draws panels of Jean fantasizing being with Mikasa and having a family with her

Isayama: Makes Mikasa's parents resemble herself and Jean when they are older

Isayama : "Mikasa wants a family"

Isayama : Makes it clear that Mikasa needs to move on from her lost love

ALSO Isayama : Yeah that is not actually going to amount in anything hahah

spectralsuggestions

i like the concept of soulmates—not a “you’re destined to meet me, and love me” kind of soulmate, but a “i’d pick you, every time.” kind of soulmate. a “no matter what happens, and what has happened, i want to go through it with you.” kind of soulmate. a “i love you by choice, and you’re a blessing, and i’m going to continue thinking about you this way not because i have to but because i want to.” kind of soulmate. a “you help me rest easy when everything is difficult” kind of soulmate. a “in every possible outcome, i want you there, to share it with me.” kind of soulmate.

#eremika

koizillaa

i died: bronze tree is literally how i imagine jean and mikasa’s life to be like post canon

koizillaa

“i died and i’d loved having a son with you. i had loved making both of you the same sandwich, i had loved saying to you through hidden laughs, ‘go in there and tell him that he really needs to practice that cello, not just noodle around on it,’ and you’d pawed at me and i’d loved it and you’d said, ‘you go in,’ and then i’d really lost my patience with both of you, which i also secretly liked, being cross about a cello, and by the time our son was bathed that night and you’d read to him and i’d listened to the story from our own room across the hall, i couldn’t wait for you to come lie next to me in our soft clean bed.”

koizillaa

“we got married in our own fields. near our own house.”

koizillaa

“i died after living with you and never not living with you once i started (…), i lived through it all and i dug deep, i didn’t give up, and because i held on, i lived through countless pleasures and beauties with you and your brilliant mind, and we did as much as we could and then you died and then soon after that, i died too.”

toxzen

Jean hadn’t met Mikasa when he drew that picture. He drew it before he left for the Training Corps. You know what that means?

Mikasa is Jean’s dream girl.

loseourmindstogether

OMG I LITERALLY CANNOT HANDLE THIS INFORMATION

yusenki

Character Relationship Flow Chart - Mikasa Ackerman

From Gekkan Shingeki no Kyojin, Volume 3

[Translation: @yusenki; Editing: @fuku-shuu ; Image: @clevergirlraven]

Whichever military branch Eren chooses, she’ll go with him - that is Mikasa’s resolution. As the top graduate among the trainees, Mikasa chose to be in the SC instead of the privileged MP, because she wanted to be with Eren. Eren is the only family member she has and also her most important person, so the option to leave Eren has never crossed her mind at all.

Mikasa → Levi - Holds grudge towards him for hurting Eren.

Levi → Mikasa - Highly values her skills.

Mikasa → Sasha - Blames her as the source of noise.

Jean → Mikasa - Is interested in her.

Mikasa → Jean - Does not notice him.

Jean ↔ Eren - Cats & dogs-type relationship.

Hannes → Shiganshina trio are like his own children.

Mikasa → Armin - Friend.

Eren → Mikasa - Noisy, like his mother.

Mikasa → Eren - Important family.

Grisha & Carla → Eren - Son.

Carla → Mikasa - Entrusts Eren to her.

Mikasa → Yeager family - Was placed in custody of.

Mikasa’s parents - Mikasa - Parents & child.

Crooks → Mikasa’s parents - Killed.

Crooks → Mikasa - Kidnapped her to sell her off.

Mikasa → Crooks - Retaliated against them along with Eren; later understanding the notion that the world is cruel.

Disclaimer: Please do not re-post the translation elsewhere without permission.

yusenki

Isayama Hajime’s Interview on Mikasa Ackerman

From Gekkan Shingeki no Kyojin, Volume 3

[Translation: @yusenki; Editing: @fuku-shuu ; Image: @clevergirlraven]

After I first moved to Tokyo, there was a period when I worked part-time at an internet cafe in a shopping district, on the late-night shift. Because it was so late, there were lots of times when huge crowds of drunkards surged in. That fear I possessed from the unpleasant feeling of not being familiar with them ended up becoming a big influence in the SNK story. Also at that time, one of the clients I met [by chance] became the model of Mikasa. She covered her face with a muffler late at night, and I thought this look of hers was endearing [cute]. When she came to the store, I felt something and quickly started to sketch on the memo pad I had in my hand. The sketch from that time was the original drawing of Mikasa.

I am sure that the customer who became Mikasa’s model was Asian - or perhaps should I say she must be Japanese. However, as you may know, in SNK, Eren and the other characters’ races have yet to be revealed. Only Mikasa’s race as someone of Asian descent has been noted. Of course, there is further meaning involving the story’s plot, but that is to be revealed in future. But when you get to the core of it, her conception is because the lady who served as model for her was Japanese, and that’s why Mikasa is an Asian [laugh].

I got Mikasa’s name from the old Japanese navy’s battleship “Mikasa.“ I followed the legend that if you name the female character with one of the battleship names, your work will become famous. For example, Neon Genesis Evangelion’s Ayanami Rei & The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya’s Yuki Nagato. There are some parts of Mikasa that are unrefined, yet on the other hand, she has a brave personality. I think these are influenced from the heroine of Berserk, Casca. At that time while drawing, I didn’t realize it - but after a while, I realized that Mikasa resembles Casca.

It is quite generic that a heroine is usually a woman who motivates a man. However, I don’t really like that way of thinking. There was a time when my head actually filled up with the idea of Mikasa turning that kind of character development around. That is the reason that she became a strong woman who excels in combat. In reality, there are differences between the skeletal structure and muscle count of men & women which cause the difference in their potential strengths. However, if that fact is just reflected in the manga normally, it wouldn’t be interesting anymore.

For Eren, rather than a lover, Mikasa’s presence is more like a mother to him. The love towards a mother is considered valuable [precious], however at the same time, there are annoying parts as well [laugh]. Just like towards one’s actual mother, Eren will start to grow up when he becomes independent [move away/not dependent on] from Mikasa, I might draw this scene one day.

mia-miai

Baby (Netflix) - Andrea De Sica & Anna Negri

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