#organa

he lost everything and everyone, the family he never knew, qui gon-jinn, anakin skywalker, padmé amidala, and others!! not to mention order 66, having to live in the deserts of tatooine, having nothing and having lost everything, and remaining good in nature despite everything, he was never once tempted by the dark side despite enduring so much.

...

Leia had been horrified to hear the Resistance called a cult of personality — that had been her New Republic's critics' choice of words when they sought to dismiss her as a warmonger and a relic. They'd been wrong about most everything, but the criticism had a grain of truth: Leia and her fellow leaders had struggled to find the time or resources to make the Resistance anything else.

— The Last Jedi Novelization (Chapter 1)

I admittedly don't know all that much about the Resistance, how it came about and how it operates, but these little excerpts from the TLJ novel really fascinate me, especially Leia's self-awareness. I imagine the ideal for Leia would be that the Resistance is built up on a solid foundation of principle and virtues, that could stand strong on its feet with or without her, rather than being a 'cult of personality' built on fragile, idealized notions of myth and legend. But that's not the reality, and as she says, in the face of overwhelming and increasing adversity, they simply don't have the time or resources to shift course and try to fix these root-deep problems – they have to work with what they have, or they'll fall apart and fail.

I’m obsessed with the idea of Vader running into one of his kids and being mercilessly bullied by her. 

Meme context: The original “Wouldn’t you like to know Weather Boy?” was actually staged by a father and son. With that background, I thought it would be fun to remake with the Skywalkers.

missing the princess a lot today.

At first Vader found himself unable to answer the question. The child's big, brown eyes peered up at him with such intensity - a mixture of fear, determination and fascination. She tilted her head to the side, her frail form shifting slightly closer to him. He could snap her like a twig without even touching her, he could simply think the thought and the deed would be carried out.

He should kill her.

But he hesitated.

In her expression, he saw his mother's wisdom. He saw Padmé's courage. He saw his own stubborness. He took entirely too long to form the reply to what should have been a simple inquiry.

Yes or no.

"Are you?" the child spoke again, her voice tougher this time, as if she was actively demanding his honesty.

Vader found himself compelled to speak, as if the entirety of the universe was fighting to drag the truth out of his cold, withered heart. As if the Force itself was urging him.

"Yes," he admitted with a nod, and the surrender came far too easy.

"What is your name?"

The child approached slowly, her fear ebbing away into an incredulous curiosity. Her tiny hand came up, seemingly reaching for him but it ended up suspended mid air. Reluctant to cross the final bridge, even as the girl tilted her head backwards to fix Vader's stare. She seemed too wise for her meager age, too perceptive for a mere ten year old.

"Darth Vader."

The child shook her head.

"No, your real name."

Vader wanted to deflect, wanted to tell the girl that there was no other name.

But it would be a lie, one she had already seen through. Finally, her tender fingertips grazed a rough black glove, her tiny hand cautiously coming to rest over synthetic knuckles. Vader wished he could have felt more than the simple whispered suggestion of a touch. More than a ghost would have been heaven, freeing him from this agony.

'Tell me,' the child's eyes pleaded, as she caressed the back of Vader's hand as if to encourage him.

There was a short moment of silence, then the words spilled forth.