AquaSpeculum

thranto bunnyverse au. the only hare in the imperial navy and his wild rabbit aide.

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Guiding Light Vol. 3 | 1-1 | 1-2 | 1-3 | 2-1 | 2-2 | 2-3 | 3-1 | 3-2 | 3-3 | 4-1 | 4-2 | 4-3 | 5-1 | 5-2 | 5-3 | 6-1 | 6-2 | 6-3 | 7-1

Master Post (Vol. 1-2) ✦ read on AO3 ✦ buy PDFs

thinks about them

I’m a Palpatine fan. Not because I think he’s "misunderstood" or because the Jedi deserved what happened, but because he is unapologetically, deliberately evil—and he is terrifyingly good at it. I’m tired of people attributing his wins to everyone except him. It’s time we stop nerfing Darth Sidious just to vilify the Jedi.

The "Anakin Fell Because of the Jedi" Let’s be clear: The Jedi didn’t push Anakin away. Palpatine pulled him. He didn't just wait for the Jedi to mess up; he identified a traumatized kid and spent fourteen years grooming him. He inserted himself as the only "affirming" authority figure in Anakin’s life, slowly warping his worldview until he reached a breaking point. Then, Palpatine stepped in and offered him exactly what he wanted to hear. If the Jedi had somehow magically done everything perfectly to counteract a Sith Master's influence, would Anakin have stayed in the Light? Yeah, probably. But that doesn’t change the fact that Palpatine did it. Just because the Jedi didn't manage to counter everything perfectly—when they didn't even know they had an opponent until the final hour—doesn't mean they deserve the credit for Palpatine's hard work. Stop crediting the Jedi for Anakin’s fall; that’s Palpatine’s masterpiece.

The Propaganda Machine People act like the Jedi just stumbled into being hated through "arrogance." No. Palpatine made them hated. He orchestrated a galactic war where he controlled both sides, then maneuvered the Jedi into military roles that fundamentally broke their image as neutral peacekeepers. He allowed the public to get used to seeing them as armed generals rather than spiritual guardians. That wasn't an accidental optics shift; it was a masterpiece PR assassination.

The "If They Just Didn't Fight" Fallacy I hear this all the time: "If the Jedi hadn't fought in the Clone Wars, they wouldn't have died! Clearly, the Jedi fell because they had lost their way as peacekeepers." …do you seriously think Palpatine wouldn't have found a way to turn that situation to his advantage? If the Jedi had refused to fight, Palpatine wouldn't have just packed up and gone home. He would have weaponized their neutrality. Imagine the Holonet headlines: "Jedi Elitists Refuse to Defend Republic Against Former Member Count Dooku." He would have branded them as cowards, conspirators, or traitors who abandoned the galaxy in its darkest hour. The Clone Wars would have still happened, except the Jedi would be hunted by both the Separists and the Republic. The Purge would still have happened anyway; only the "why"(and "how") would have changed.

'He won because everyone played exactly like his script-' Things didn't go 100% to palpatine's plans in the prequels, he just was really good at adapting Naboo: The Trade Federation fumbled the occupation. Palpatine didn't panic; he still used it to seize the Chancellorship. Maul: His apprentice got cut in half. Palpatine just traded up for Dooku to fuel the Separatist movement. Mustafar: Anakin was supposed to be the perfect specimen, not a mutilated man in a life-support suit. Palpatine simply recalibrated and turned the "broken" remains into Vader.