#automatonophobia

Two things I've been thinking about that could exist in the Star Wars galaxy:

You know those life-sized dancing dolls that are featured at the beginning of The Nutcracker? Well, I wouldn't be surprised if, with the whole droid industry, those sort of dolls were common in wealthy families throughout the galaxy.

I also wouldn't be surprised if the Kaminoans weren't the only ones using mind control tech. In fact, in the GFFA, this sounds like the kind of thing that would be frequently found in the galactic slave trade for those who could afford it. Some of the victims of this practice could have even been sold as "living dolls" for entertainment or child play.

Put those two factors together, and that could make for a nasty case of pediophobia (fear of dolls) or automatonophobia (fear of artificial humanoid figures) for slave children like Anakin, particularly for more realistic-looking dolls or such figures, especially if they're life-sized and/or designed to move. Less organic-looking droids or figures like C-3PO may be okay for him, but not the ones who could look a lot like actual flesh and blood. The combination of life-like realism and robotic lifelessness could come across as creepy to him, and they may even remind him of the slave dancer girls seen in the Hutts' palace under Gardulla the Hutt's ownership. And though he probably wouldn't have encountered those mind-controlled slaves or "living dolls", he no doubt would have heard of them, and the thought of himself or any of his loved ones turning into one wouldn't have helped in this regard. Even after he entered the Jedi's custody, he might have come across those life-sized moving dolls on his Jedi missions with Obi-Wan, and that would have been a nightmare for him.

I imagine that the only people he would have told about this issue would have been Obi-Wan and Padmé, and with the whole Jedi problem with fear, only the latter would have given him any real sympathy. She might have even found the phobia to be a bit contagious after he explained it fully to her. This also may explain why he never got any synthskin for his prosthetic arm even before Mustafar (apart from the lack of time and resources). The thought of making a droid part on his body look more realistic may have triggered his fear of becoming a "living doll".

to understand the full scope of this freak i have to explain his origins a little the puppet is . as its name implies! a life-sized marionette modeled after both the late god of chaos and "its followers," the enderian people that exodus laid claim to. he was made from porcelain and filled with old string which he manipulates to form his ears, horns and tail through the cracks of his casing. his mask is made of pale oak and was carved and painted after his love for the circus it would follow as a young...thing. art project. it made it to come off as more approachable. the tears were added later on its eyes kinda just roll loose in his head. it makes an attempt at looking where it wants to (except for when he's hunting) as dream descends further into chaos in the duration of the valley's story, his casing chips away both from physical attacks (e.g. from tommy in the vault) and from the sheer intake of exodus's energy until the void starts to goop him up. as more of his shell falls off the less it's able to hold itself together

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Prompt 3 of @gaystims stimboard event: based off of a headmate!

Already did rosaile, so i thought about doing kan-kan! The picrew sadly didn’t have enough decora stuff :(

Specific phobia moodboard!