Saga - PT The Boy In The Mask [Vader Vignettes] Slumber - Dec 20 - ROGUE ONE SPOILERS!

The Boy In The Mask
Vader Vignette series
Briannakin




Title: Smother
Author: Briannakin
Timeframe: Inter-PT-OT
Characters: Darth Vader
Categorization: Canon
Genre: Introspection (/Bri tries this odd mix of poetry and prose)

Notes: My muse is a butt and this randomness is what it came up with. Sorry for the shortness, but it was this or nothing. I don’t think I’ve ever actually written Vader.


Occasionally, at night, or when Darth Vader otherwise retired to his meditation sphere, Anakin Skywalker breathed again.

Vader’s meditation spheres were the only place he was freed from the crude cybernetics, life-support systems, claustrophobic helmet and that damed incessant breathing. That damned rasp; a constant reminder of his choices, of what he had become.

Vader refused to acknowledge it, but he had become who he was. Vader had not been born out of the black vacuum of space. If he had been born, it would mean that Anakin Skywalker’s death had been on Coruscant, at the Twilight of the Clone Wars.

But Anakin had not died. Not entirely. Anakin lived in Vader, suppressed, for most of the time, under layers of hatred, machinery, and blackness.

Darth Vader’s meditation spheres, the white light, warm air on his skin, and the silence, allowed Anakin to float, just below the surface, taunting Vader.

Anakin taunted Vader because neither could get rid of the other. Vader saw Anakin’s existence as his greatest weakness; what would ultimately be his downfall. Vader had a feeling Anakin would be the death of them both.

Anakin counted on it.

In his fleeting moments just below the surface, and when he was occasionally allowed a gasp of air, he thought of Padmé, of Ahsoka, of his mother, and of Obi-Wan. It did not hurt Anakin to think of them, for he knew it tortured Vader.

But in Anakin’s weakness, Vader grew stronger and shattered all memories of that life. Vader would then place his helmet back onto his head. The rasp returned.

And Anakin would be smothered once again.

 

I really like the duality here; the bright light from inside the meditation sphere and the dark exterior of Vader's armor that echoes the bright light of what is left of Anakin within the darkness of Vader himself. The silence that allows the voice that won't ever quite go away to come back to haunt and taunt him. Memories vs present reality.

I like the way you use his breath as the connection between what he was and what he has become. He has these occasional chances to breathe normally but then that brings back the memories of those days before he was Vader, when he was Padme's husband, when he was admired and strong - when he had it all and didn't realize it.

There's a lot of interesting levels here. Nice work!

 

Superb stark writing to mirror the sharply etched contrast. There is such a dichotomy between the two levels of existence and the past and present.

Thanks for sharing.

 

Cool piece. It's interesting because in most pieces about Vader we see this duality to his mind but never from the perspective of Anakin. Vader is so keen to assert that everything about Anakin is dead yet he is always with him lurking just below the surface. I also like how you personify Vader through the suit, allowing it to smother Anakin.

 

Wow, duality. One of the main themes of pretty much any good piece of literature and one of my favourite things ever. The idea of meditation opening up Vader to whom he used to be is challenging, in a cool way. At first glance, it contradicts most things that meditation is *supposed* to provide, the idea of complete union with what is inside and the thoughts being pure...but then, when one looks at it again, what is inside of Vader is still Anakin Skywalker. The idea of both existing at the same time and being in a dissonance at the moment where Vader wonders what a Sith should never wonder is great! I truly enjoyed this piece.

 

WOW I liked this piece, showing the good that's still there

 

You wrote about a Doctor Jekyll & Mister Hyde in the SW universe. And you did it brilliantly. Both personalities are lost in the darkness together. Depending on one another!

 

This reminded me of Luceno's book. Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader

The constant conflict within Anakin/Vader is a theme that never gets old. Well Done.

 

Fascinating, evil twin! As others have said, your personification is beautiful and very well-constructed. I like the idea of Anakin being there, wanting to come out, but Vader keeping him in. I particularly loved this bit:

Eerie and prophetic. Just lovely!!!! You're so talented

 

Thanks. Yup, duality and deepness, that is totally what I was going for (this is me pretending that my writing is deeper than it actually is ). But thank you so much. Some of the symbolism in ESB and even in III with darkness and light is truly amazing and I'm glad my echoes of that came through in my writing.

Thank you. If you enjoyed this moment of Vader being tired of being Vader, I highly suggest picking up Dark Lord: Rise of Darth Vader. It's no longer canon, but it has Vader complaining about his suit, Bail Organa, and WOOKIEES!

But yeah, the experience is Vader's punishment courtesy of Anakin.

I was always fascinated by the meditation sphere ever since watching ESB [this was, like pretty much everyone, pre-2005, but post-2002 (it was March 2003), so I knew he was a man, just a boy at one point. But the journey had yet to be completed]. I found it odd that a villain so associated with darkness, retreated somewhere with blinding lights.

Thanks for your comments!

Thanks. I think that Vader became Vader when he was sealed in the suit. He was redeemable, right up until that point. He was still Anakin, just doing bad things until that scene in III. That is the point Palps truly took control of him (oh look, a plot bunny!).

Thanks. I personally think the meditation sphere itself is contradictory. Outside it is a black ball with harsh lines, but inside it seems like it is pure light, kinda like a metaphor itself for Anakin/Vader. I was really hoping to catch the duality of Vader and I'm really glad it worked!

Thank you.

Thanks. I had a lot of fun with the multi-personality aspect.

Thanks. DL:TRODV was my first EU book and frankly remains one of my favourites (probably only second to Starfighters of Adumar). I was really inspired by my memories of it for this fic (man, now I gotta find it and re-read it).

Thank you so much. I really enjoy writing shorter, introspection pieces like this and I'm glad it came across as eerie! I was trying to come across as cryptic and I'm glad it turned out that way.

 

Its great.
It really shows that Anakin isn't completly lost and gives hope he can be redeemed.

 

Title: Harsh Silhouettes
Author: Briannakin
Timeframe: Between ROTS and AHO
Characters: Darth Vader, mentions of many others
Categorization: Canon (not that it really matters)
Notes: I was having a frustrating day, but then I listened to Silhouette by Aquilo and this fic (thing, IDK if it can be called a story) just made me escape it all. I was going to post this in a new thread, but it wasn’t really long enough for me to justify making one, plus another Vader vignette is forming in my brain, so I made this into a series.



Who did he have to blame? Who had painted the harsh silhouette he saw in every reflective viewport panel? Who had created the monster more menacing than the shadows? Who created Darth Vader?

Had it been Ahsoka? Abandoning him, shoving his failures into his face. She had shown how corrupt the Order had become and had made him question his skills as a leader, a teacher, a Master, and a Jedi.

Had it been the Jedi? Too blind with power and so hypocritically scared to lose it, to see the true prophecy of the Chosen one. They could have had peace, if they had only allowed Anakin to give it to them.

Had it been Shmi Skywalker? Too weak to live for her son. She had given him life, but she had never been a mother. What mother would allow her child to leave her loving arms? What mother would die in her son’s arms?

Had it been Padmé Amidala? As blind as the Jedi and as weak as Shmi. If she had simply followed him she could have lived, had their baby and ruled the galaxy as she had seen fit.

Had it been Obi-Wan Kenobi? Jedi Master and the man that Anakin Skywalker had considered a father? Kenobi had tried to stop Vader, and nearly succeeded. But Kenobi had been too weak to complete the deed. Instead he had left his son to the lava and the wills a vile new master.

Had it been Palpatine? Twisting his words and intentions to create a servant. Trapping Vader in this crude machine and banishing all joy from his life. Anakin had been redeemable, a man still! Up until his body had been sealed in a black tomb. That moment his soul had been irreversibly dammed and life had just become a waiting game. A known hell to starve off the unknown one where ghosts were waiting.

Darth Vader turned away from the viewport, knowing full well the silhouette would follow him wordlessly. Endlessly.

He blamed all these people, but he knew exactly who had truly created Darth Vader. It had been Anakin Skywalker. The man was now a stranger; his echoes in the galaxy were long dead. Anakin had been young, fearless, and ignorant of the fact that he turned his back to the sun long before Darth Vader had been born. Skywalker had dived into the flames for glory and love. Those flames had forged Vader; cold, unfeeling,

A harsh silhouette.

 

Insightful and very much how things have turned out: blaming everyone while at the same time knowing who is truly responsible-- True that Anakin's intentions and impetus was love and protectiveness to start with and these were manipulated and changed until it was too late - and now, so believes the Emperor, Vader is just a tool or a weapon without feelings.

 

I like your word choices here! the idea of being forged in cold flames, of waiting in the known hell simply as a measure to put off the inevitable moment where he enters the unknown one where the ghosts of his past will confront him for his actions.

Like Findswoman said, this is a Vader who is still blaming others for his actions: If only Padme had followed him, if only the Jedi had done what he wanted to do and had accepted his version of peace... It's still someone else's fault. And yet there is the incontrovertible voice within him that admits that he himself is the agent of his own misery.

It takes light to make a silhouette, a black negative space created by the bright light. He became the darkness when he turned his back to the light.

These are really exquisite glimpses into Vader's thoughts.

 

Thanks. Yeah, I always thought Vader would blame everyone else, but knew who was really responsible.

Thank you. And yeah, I think that the self-knowledge of who he was would have been the first steps to redemption.

Thanks. I really thought hard for the word choices for these. And I really liked the idea of Vader as the silhouette.

 

ROGUE ONE SPOILERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Title: Slumber
Author: Briannakin
Timeframe: Rogue One
Characters: Darth Vader, Vaneé
Categorization: Canon
Notes: I should be writing other things, but this popped into my head after watching Rogue One, so I had to write it (Krennic interrupts Vader’s nap-time). I was inspired by this concept art.


Of course Darth Sidious had chosen Mustafar as the location of Darth Vader’s personal sanctuary. The uninhabited planet was unforgiving in its loneliness. The obsidian castle towered over oceans of lava as a fortress of strength and solitude. The ashy skies were dark with distant stars, and the ground glowed red. The rest of the planet was simply black rock, mining facilities long since abandoned. Sidious knew Vader hated this place, therefore there was no better place to send him to rest.

But little did Sidious know, Vader considered this his homeworld. It was where he drew his power and sought peace.

Vader had not been born when Anakin Skywalker had decided to bow before Sidious on Coruscant at the finale of the Clone Wars. Anakin had still been a man, with a redeemable heart and human intentions, even after he had been betrayed on this volcanic world by the one who he had considered a brother. Even then, though the lava flows had led to Vader’s creation, Skywalker had not died.

Anakin Skywalker’s will had died when his body had been sealed within a monster’s mask and been told the awful truth: that he had killed his beloved wife. Rest was rare since that moment. The physical pain Vader was constantly in was only a minor reason. His mind rarely ceased its inner battle, particularly in quite moments, which were few, given the rasp he heard every time he took a breath.

Vader glanced down at the flowing rivers of scorching liquid and felt nothing but hatred. And in that hatred, Vader detached from the idea of ever being Anakin Skywalker. He guided his TIE Advanced into his hanger where he was greeted by Vaneé, his personal and most trusted aide.

Vaneé, clothed in a black cloak, bowed as Vader exited his ship. “Your tank is ready, my Lord.” The respectful aide followed Vader into one of the inner chambers of the sanctuary. Vaneé was an older gentleman with a gaunt face and of Nabooian origins. He was cold, yet calm and civilized. If death was a human, he would be Vaneé. Vaneé knew all Vader’s personal wants and needs.

They reached a large chamber in the heart of the castle with a state of the art banta tank, complete with kloto breathing vapour to heal his lungs. Imperial guards stood in service in Vader’s most intimate and vulnerable moments. But he was never quite sure who they served.

Vader sat on the single chair and allowed Vaneé to undress him from the suit. It was the only human interaction Vader allowed. Vaneé was gentle, yet unfeeling, as he lifted Vader’s helmet and peeled away the mask to reveal the face of a man long dead. Vaneé’s gaze never lingered, nor did he advert his eyes. Most importantly, he rarely spoke and never asked questions.

The tank’s respirator was hanging out of the tank. Rasping, Vader pulled it onto his face using the Force while Vaneé peeled away the black padding and disconnected Vader from his cybernetic limbs. Vaneé attached Vader to a sling which lifted his mangled body and submerged him into the thick liquid. Pale and scarred flesh broke the placid and comfortably warm substance.

Floating in the silent whiteness of bacta ebbed away all of Vader’s pain and thoughts. In his most inner sanctum, without constant physical or mental annoyances, Vader did not exist. Neither did Anakin. Memories of hatred associated Mustafar ensured this. It was a prick of a balancing point above the entirety of the galaxy.

Moments seemed like an eternity in this state of nothingness. It would only be a short time until incompetence meant he would be needed in the galaxy again, but until then, he drew power from this state so close to peace and the chaos of death. It was only here that he could reach the rare moments of true rest: sleep.

May the Emperor seek favour with any moron who interrupted Vader’s slumber.

 

Smother-
I loved how Anakin and Vader battle with each other! That Anakin tries to hang on and remembers things that hold him there, but Vader tries to get rid of him.

I especially loved:

They are such simple statements, but are very powerful.


Harsh Silhouettes-
I loved how there were all these people/groups he blames, but that he sees it was also himself that failed and was the most responsible for turning him into what he became. I think that shows that even as Vader, he’s grown and that is what allows him to eventually help his son and turn back to the light. If it weren’t for this bit of self-reflection, if he had continued blaming others, he would have never been able to do that.


Slumber-
I love how you can tell here that Vader doesn’t completely trust the Emperor, how Vader revels in being on Mustafar even though he thinks he was put there to control him.

This was awesome, it really shows that Vader doesn’t really know who to trust and is always on alert, that everything he does and everyone he encounters could be reporting back.

Your descriptions of the tank and how he gets into it were fantastic! I could really see it happening in my mind.



These all have been amazing!!

 

Harsh Silhouettes

This is yet another of those that could be some sort of a poem. In fact, I think that it would look awesome if read out loud by somebody who's good at that kind of stuff. A great analogy and a great series of comparisons, with a pretty much inevitable conclusion.

Slumber

That piece of concept art is...frightening, to say the least. Body horror trope, anybody? Mustafar is fire and fear and therefore should be power. But to Vader, this is a place of birth as much as it is the place of his death. This ironic kind of balance, nothingness, keeps him perpetually tied to that tank more than he can realise, as he is still being nothing more than a puppet on a string to the Emperor. And, conveniently, he does hang from some sort of strings. Still, in his thoughts, for example the one about the Imperial guards, he is starting to realise that something is not quite as hit should be.

Hermetic, claustophobic, hypoxic and creepy. In a good way.


And I love the way the colour of black is the central motif to both of these.