Wip

‘Soldier of the Sky’ 💚

(Completely forgot to post this here, but better late than never!)

been watching the prequels this month in discord, and got really really emotional over her last night after RotS

luke hull, the production designer of andor, says it is a very visually light show, and he’s not wrong, but it is deeply interesting to me how the brightest and lightest part of andor is the empire.  in most other star warses, the empire is depicted as, well, dark; it’s vader’s looming shadow, the grimly lit death star. the empire is a creature of malice and hatred, a Bad force led by the shadowy darkness of palpatine - the empire reflects its morals and character. this is an effective way of queuing in to an audience primed by a lifetime of light versus dark good versus bad metaphors the situation at hand; in anh the tantive is visually very white, vader brings a darkness (literally) in with him. the light in star wars is the rebellion - leia’s pure white dress, mon’s r1 and rotj garb, luke’s white outfit. they are the hope, and so they are the lightest points of the movie. the rebel hq is white, blindingly so - look, you get my point.  in andor, however, this is flipped. luthen’s fondor is often shadowy and greyish, mon gives her speech disavowing the empire a primarily grey colourscape, the radio tower to luthen on ferrix is dark, the backroom of the gallery is dark, but the empire is a blindingly sterile white again and again and again. narkina-5, the isb building, dedra’s flat. it’s a very deliberate brightness, one that contrasts with the more naturalistic lighting at play in rebel-led scenes and places; the imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. the empire has to continually signal its presence, has to continually signal what it claims to offer; Light, Order, Reason. it’s an inescapable brightness, a pervasive presence. you can retreat into the shadows but not the light.  and at the same time, that pretence is so deeply hollow! there’s a clinical aspect to the light of the empire, a constant oppressive artifice to it; it smothers mon in the embassy, isb uniforms and stormtrooper armour has to be perfectly smooth and pressed, in contrast to the aforementioned rebels. dedra’s torture of bix strips the bright and clinical facade away, revealing the empire not as a medical organisation, treating the illnesses of the galaxy, but as a cruel creature, fed by and greedy for the desire for power and control and harm that those that make it up embody. dedra and the false light of the empire are symbionts; in the light she must be composed (as the empire demands of its subjects), it is only in the dark that she can be vulnerable. the light is more intuitive than the dark, but that is the exact framing that andor’s empire relies upon. it is easier to comply than to resist, but that light is false and cold and will burn you in time.

I think one of the best and unintentionally funniest worldbuilding aspects in Star Wars is the reasoning of why did Bail and Breha adopt Leia instead of having their own children. Leia is first established as the princess of Alderaan before she is written to be Luke's sister. So now we need to figure out how she got to Alderaan. She was adopted because she needed to be hidden and separated from her brother. Bail was placed there to be one of the only people who knew so there would be a reason why it was them who got her. They specifically wanted a daughter. Why? Because Alderaan is a matriarchal society, so they needed a princess. Why didn't the Queen and her husband have biological children? Because they can't. Why? Because the Queen can't have kids. Why? Because she got injured as a teenager and got her internal organs replaced and her body can't handle a pregnancy. How did she get injured so badly? She fell off of a mountain. How did that happen? She was climbing it. Why was the future Queen climbing a mountain in the first place? Because she needed to go through three challenges in order to inherit the throne and one of them required her to go through something physically impressive. Why? Because before that they just held a Battle Royale for all the heirs and the one left alive got the throne and they at some point figured out that maybe they shouldn't be doing that, actually. Oh, okay.

one of my buddies is occupying a fortified position on high ground. i'm going to kick his ass with ease

could this mean that I'm coming home

summary: Luke Skywalker’s relationships with other Jedi as he builds his new order and academy.

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It takes some time for the festivities on Endor and in the wider galaxy to fizzle down, and even longer still for anything to even slightly settle long enough for both of them to rest. There’s always some new problem arising, some new political drama or skirmish with remnants who don’t take the Emperor’s death well or don’t believe in it at all. But Luke and Leia have always been good at adapting and they always manage to squeeze time to talk to each other, whether it’s in the corner of a peace gala or in a dropship headed to the frontlines. 

For those first few weeks, their conversations always seem to circle back around to the fact that they’re twins, and what this means for them both.  In some ways, there’s not a lot to discuss; their bond goes deeper than blood or friendship, it runs through the songs of the Force, stronger than anything Luke has ever felt.  One night, they spend hours comparing and trying to work out what was coincidence and what were actually latent Force abilities. They talk about childhood dreams of each other’s planets and how — despite both losing all they had once called home only hours before and the imminent threat — everything just felt right when they reunited on the Death Star. Like a small part of them had been missing until then, tied by invisible string to something very far away. 

Outside of it connecting her to new twin, Leia does not seem interested in the Force. She listens intently when he tells her what he knows of the Force, but Leia has never wanted to be a Jedi. She is a politician, like the mother and father who raised her were. She spends her busy days on Coruscant and Chandrila and wherever else she’s required to go to build the fractured Republic her parents tried to save. She finds as much time as she can for him , but she finds time inside of that only to learn the basics of Jedi training, nothing more.  

Luke understands. It’s alright. He’s sure more Jedi will resurface soon, now the Empire has been defeated. It’s just a matter of time...

>> READ THE REST ON AO3

Andor Jedha, Kyber, Erso | 2.12

STAR WARS: EPISODE IV - A NEW HOPE (1977) - dir. George Lucas

sooooo fucked up but padme and shmi are inextricably linked in anakin’s mind as both his family, his attachments and the people he will do anything to keep in his life, the secret-most part of him he gets to have all to himself, ANDDD palpatine is in that secret chamber too. he didn’t grow up with a father so he’s got palpatine and obi-wan to choose from, and obi-wan loves him obviously but can only say it when he thinks anakin is dying, like it or not there is a level of emotional repression in the prime jedi order that anakin simply never gets from palpatine who he kneels before and trusts without question. palpatine and padme the politicians he is told not to trust, shmi the mother he was never meant to see again. mother & father & mother to his children. each an attempt at a family unit he never really got. it’s the evilest dynamic of all time and of course it ends in a bloodbath

If you could write a new Tales series what would it be and who would it be about?

padmé's handmaidens or her family

the shatterpoint lineage

someone fans really care about (like padme, instead of morgan whoever from last year)

darth revan who is real and canon and canon and real.

eli vanto as long as they don't whitewash him... ok i changed my mind i don't want one for him anymore

hear me out one half of the season is about padmé in the republic and the other half is about leia in the new republic. tales of uhh politics or some crap

idk some of our fave future survivors as padawans and younglings in the temple (cal and caleb besties!!!!!!!!!!!)

something on naboo

sabé and padme's handmaidens please just CAN THEY STOP PRETENDING PADME DOESNT HAVE NARRATIVE WEIGHT