This and That

For me, attraction simply is not present when they meet. Sure, if someone had asked Luke "is she pretty?" he would have answered "yes", but he wasn't anywhere in that headspace at the time. He didn't think of her in that context. At first, he wonders why the woman (he has not yet seen) hates him so much. Then, when he does meet her, he notices hatred and pain. And his mind is on not getting killed and on escaping. Next few paragraphs are my perception of their relationship progression in the trilogy, if you'd care to skip it.

When he goes to check on her after the crash, that's what he'd do for anyone. Without the Force, I think him seeing her loyalty to Karrde kinda/sorta serves for him "seeing the good in her." He does come to care over their time together in the forest, but I don't see that in romantic terms. From her side, I think it is largely her loyalty for Karrde that keep her from killing Luke. That and having something to lose - her place that she's building there. Others have talked (sorry, I can't remember who posted it) about how Mara was all about personal loyalty rather than ideals in the era, I agree. That being case, I feel like she'd have rather quickly killed Luke if she didn't already have her place with Karrde. Anyway, they bond some then, and come to have more personal regard for each other, though that's not necessarily something they are cognizant of (her particularly) at the end of book one.

It's with the second book that Mara has the Emperor's compulsion driving her, rather than her own feelings. And, of course, there's the important aspects, here and in book three, of tearing down her loyalty to the Emperor (by revealing his lack thereof to her and his lies) and, of course, of using the threat to her new (actually deserving of loyalty) boss to prompt her to seek Luke's help (which is another opportunity to see how good he his, because he helps her without any need for her to beg or argue because of the kind of man he is). Along the way, hitting other emotional points with Leia and the babies. Luke, of course, starts with wanting to help her (and not reveal her role in the Empire, that's the personal bit). To help her save Karrde, to help her throw off the Emperor, to help her resist C'Baoth and to help her stop hurting.

And, of course, at the very end, Luke gives her lightsaber. He has some personal feelings. And, while I have not paid attention to every thought or reference throughout the books, it does seem like she's thinking of him as "Skywalker" even at the end (as she always addressed him) and then thinks of him as "Luke" after he gives it to her? Or am I misremembering? I think that, if that is correct, it's great time to transition to her calling him "Luke" but I would have to re-read to know if that actually happens.

END RECAP

First, Jaina and Jacen understand Lowie. They grew up with his uncle around. Maybe they couldn't understand a crowd all talking over each other, but one Wookie is fine. Other people need the translation.

Okay, after that, there's the Dark Jedi and the Second Imperium. Almost every book uses Dark Jedi and the Empire. I get it. It makes business sense - it's what the audience expects to see from Star Wars. But it does get really repetitive. And this is my own personal story beholden to no one's tastes but mine.

I want ROTJ to be a major victory. No, the Empire isn't dead then, but it is within 5 or 6 years. With no clone bodies for the Emperor, no one can really believe the story set up in the Second Imperium. So that's gone or changed to be more like a Neo-Nazi movement than those believing they are actually restoring the Third Reich.

Then there's the Dark Jedi and Luke's failed students. The thing is, I want Luke to go right where the old Order went wrong. One poster I read one talked about how most of the Jedi tried to avoid the Dark, but only Luke really embraced the Light. Now, I wouldn't speak in absolutes, but I would say Luke did that, and the old Jedi generally didn't (as we see Yoda and Obi-wan guide Luke to kill Vader plus general issues in the prequels). So I can't have him doing a worse job or losing more students than they do. Also, I don't want an isolated temple which is obviously going to change things a bit. Not the servants of the government (because there are all those places outside the New Republic, but also because just because the government wants something doesn't mean it's right), and also not isolated from people, even while they learn. So, I wouldn't have him focus so much on avoiding the Dark - that's too old school. Also, probably skip the "be scared of drugs" like aspect of bringing on those who fell before to give you warnings. As a 90s teen, this sort of tactic is so very familiar, I gotta tell you.

Brakkis and Zekk matter in this case. What happens with Zekk is, of course, highly important. It's his character arc. His resentment of his lot in life, his embarrassment, his overwhelming need to prove himself worthy. Then he didn't do things nearly as bad as a dark side Jedi should because it's a kids book. Then he comes back around but still has to prove himself. Then he finally joins them (a choice that would have be available on day one, but he wasn't ready to take yet). He's a weakly-aligned, conflicted Dark Jedi who has to deal with guilt and with learning to stop trying to prove himself worthy of something that all those around him already thought him worthy of. I really, really don't want gobs of Dark Jedi around, but I might make an allowance for him - and just make Brakiss and non-Empire-aligned Dark Jedi who never learned from Luke.

Unfortunately, this brings us to point 2 - repetition. So, Zekk's off bounty-hunting (Boba Fett died in ROTJ in my universe and everyone knows it, BTW, so there's another big difference) and we meet Raaba. Now, it's great that Lowie gets to be center-focus on a story. Unfortunately, the story is his friend who has fallen under an evil influence (just like Zekk). And Raaba gets the story end of the stick, I think. At least, it seems like we go almost nothing in her head, unlike with Zekk. I still want Lowie to have a story. I hate erasing non-human characters like Raaba, but she's doing kinda what Zekk did. It's a fall to dark side without the Force. Anyone got any ideas on how to play this out differently or rework the character or use a new character instead? I'm deadset on Jaina & Zekk and Jacen & Tenel Ka going to the distance as couples, but I wouldn't mind Lowie dating numerous girls/women and not meeting the love of his life until he's over 25 (in Wookie ages).

The Diversity Alliance itself is, unfortunately, something of sore spot for me - with knock-on impacts for Zekk's bounty-hunting, Raynar's plot with his dad, and Lusa's introduction. Of course, I was annoyed ever when I read that storyline the first time for the same two reasons I am now. The continuity- Hethrir was not human, and that mattered a lot and because with all the historical horrible abuses humans against the non-humans, the one time we have group specifically to advocate for the non-humans, they turn out to be evil and genocidal. Not just evil because they are genocidal, but evil against internal members who disagree and leave them. It's not a good look. If that is erased, I'll need new plots for Raynar and Lowie and possibly new routes for introducing Raaba and Lusa (who, again, I felt didn't really get to do much).

Anja is not the same, but she rhymes. She wasn't a friend who fell under evil's sway and was redeemed by the kids, but rather fell under sway of the drug dealer, then pretended to be a friend, then came on-side. I actually am okay with the drug storyline. It's just the woman in her mid-20s hanging out with the teenagers is a bit weird. I don't mind the young ones being the sort of help people see a better path (it's so Luke-like in some of the best ways), but I feel like it doesn't necessarily need to be there for every arc - sometimes it can just be good guys v. bad guys. But the age thing just bothers me. I don't recall if it did as a kid, but I'm not a kid anymore.

On the romance front, expect Jacen and Tenel Ka to move faster than Jaina and Zekk, who have complicated issues to work out (well, he does). I'm not going to have them kiss and then not follow through without at least talking about whether it means something for them/their relationship or not.

I can't help but think there would be a massive upswing of resistance (not necessarily allying with the existing Rebel alliance) after ANH. The Emperor has disbanded the Senate (which it took him a long time to do, given how long he's been Emperor), and he's both proven a willingness to destroy entire planets and lost the ability to do so. Well, at least by those means (there may be EU with him using other means - though I'm not sure if that's happend and that's really a consistent narrative with how the DS is treated - but then one shot doing the job is more terrifying than many, which shows in how we treat nuclear weapons v conventional bombing that caused more destruction and loss of lives).

If I'm ignoring canon/Legends, I would definitely have the Empire losing significant power and control in the era between ANH and ESB (though still very powerful). Then, of course, we have ROTJ. Now, killing the Emperor is a major accomplishment - he's not the sort to have a successor in the wings (I am studiously ignoring all his post-ROTJ appearances because the entire point in the movie is him being dead and gone forever). And there's no senate to make decisions. Governors have had control for the last few years - but we've no idea if they've any interaction with each other. There is still the bureaucracy of the Empire, presumably at Coruscant. To what degree does that keep them united? What centralized oversight is there to give the military their orders? Do you have regional governors each using the military forces under their own command to try to shore up their own power (and prevent rebellions) or are they working together? How many end up fighting each other in civil war, because they both want leadership of the Empire or want resources another has to solidify their own small kingdoms? What about the military forces that reported directly to the Emperor? Are there mass desertions? That would depend on whether the rank and file think they can win anymore, which depends on the overall state of the Rebellion v the Empire. And we have to evaluate whether their families are on planets under Imperial Authority and what reprisals they might expect for themselves and their family.

How long does it take to "finish off" the Empire that really only fully did the same a few years ago, when the first DS was created? Are the planets/former senators saying "hey, we need to reform the Imperial Senate now that the Emperor is dead", whether for reasons good or bad?

Of course, leaving the Empire does not mean joining whatever new galactic government is formed (which I'm just going to call the New Republic for ease). Goals and values may not align. Especially if it's still a centralized government on Coruscant, and the power tends to lie in the inner core. Sure, Palpatine stoked the Separatists, but there were real reasons for them to feel under-served and not well represented in the Old Republic and you have to figure out whether they think that remains the case in the post-Imperial world. And then there are those planet who may just be shy of ever being under laws of any greater authority after the abuses of the last one.

I remember being not particularly fond of Vision of the Future, but I have very little remembrance of why. I could re-read to refresh my memory, but I'm not going to do that when I remember not caring for it.

Now, I'm amenable to movie-compliant or AU fics set between AOTC and ROTS for this (indeed, I was originally thinking about fics I read back before ROTS came out). So it can be a shocking discovery for him or him finally unable to continuing engaging in willful blindness.

Of course, they were not discreet at the end of AOTC, but you think Obi-Wan told him "you have to end this" and Anakin said "yes, master" and then just...didn't.

So, he has a force vision - just fragmented bits of GFFA history up until Return of the Jedi. Not a coherent whole. He sees the soldiers (if all his visions are helmeted, he will not know them as clones) massacring the Jedi. He sees Anakin turning the dark side (but does not know what caused it), and becoming Vader and hunting down Jedi. He sees Anakin with Padme and Padme's death/birth of the twins. He sees a few images of Luke and Leia's childhoods through the years so he can recognize them as adults. Sees a handful of Empire's cruelties (including Alderaan and that Leia had Death Star plans). The attack on the Death Star. His future self's lies to Luke, the "forever will it dominate your destiny" talk, the idea that Luke must kill Vader, and then Luke turning Vader back to the light. He sees the Emperor is the Sith, but does not recognize that shriveled figure as Chancellor Palpatine.

Obviously, he's really shook up, but tries to release negative emotions. He reminds himself that visions of the future are highly suspect (which is one reason not to go the Council - I need him not to for the plot to work). If you change your actions to avoid them, you might even bring them about, etc. But it does affect his actions. Besides being absolutely horrified for so many reasons, he's also kinda shook up by Anakin turning away from the Dark Side - that this is possible is completely contrary to anything he has been taught and does affect his worldview.

Because he does think about the possibilities. He would want to save the Jedi, save the Republic, and save Anakin - in that order of precedence.

Obviously, Anakin's kids are very important to saving the galaxy from the Empire in the long-run (if vision is accurate), which would give incentive to let them exist. But if Obi-Wan can stop the Sith quickly enough, that won't matter. Of course, that can only happen once he has more buy-in on the vision. Will probably need some near-term event in the first or second vision to put Obi-Wan more in that headspace.

He would start off alone and gain allies along the way - we've got a mystery element to the story here, where they try to figure out what we know - and try to fight it as they discover more. I don't know which allies. Only movies as canon, but can pull from EU for characters. I discard Jedi Apprenctice books because Qui-Gon is completely out of character, and Jedi Quest because Anakin is (both in my opinion, of course). And I haven't looked at other EU material from the prequel era.

It does seem like Quinlan Vos's powerset would be absolutely fantastic for him to end up involved (and useful in an investigation if they ever find anything tangible he can touch).

Bail Organa was not a senator yet in TPM, and I don't think Obi-wan liked politicians in AOTC and so had the impression they only became friends/allies in the clone wars (haven't rewatched prequels in a while, so may misremember). Not sure when Bail becomes a senator. So his visions showed Bail raising Leia, which puts him on ally side. But when? And what all does Obi-Wan tell him? Because, of course, he would expect Bail to place averting the Empire (and saving Alderaan) above saving the Jedi.

I need at least a couple more members of the team, but don't know the Jedi bench very well, due to aforementioned lack of exposure to EU. OCs could be created. We'll need someone he can talk to about visions. And we need someone unconventional, not abiding by the same dogma as the Council/Jedi-as-a-whole. Obi-Wan is a great Jedi, but he's extremely by-the-numbers in terms of the Code and his beliefs (moreso in TPM era than later), and we need someone who looks at unusual things to provide insight and unconventional courses of action. Who would be wiling to keep secrets from the Council, intrigued when we talk about people coming back from the dark side, but who won't decide to let someone fall just to test the theory. :)

Meanwhile, expect Obi-Wan's relationship with Anakin to get rockier. Young Obi-Wan absolutely saw him as a threat, and that's come rearing back full force. But Anakin hasn't done anything yet. Obi-Wan's got conflicting ideas of what he should do, and is second-guess himself a lot. Anakin fell in his vision. But then maybe changing his behavior makes Anakin fall. I'm not having Anakin live in a apartment with Obi-Wan. But he will be with him enough to at least eventually realize that Obi-Wan is meeting with other Jedi about stuff he's being let in on and might even realize he's part of what's being discussed. Meanwhile, Anakin still has talks with the Chancellor, and those divisions are being stoked.

Occasionally, more visions may be had (but not more than every few months, at most). They will be different (contradicting original) as the future changes. And sometimes they will be wrong (whether someone interfered or not) - especially early on, so Obi-Wan can still have a lot of uncertainty on what he should do, or if he should do anything.

Ultimately, Anakin must be the Chosen One and bring balance to the Force. But Obi-Wan and his folk can still be the ones to avert Order 66 and save the galaxy from the Empire.