This is truly a continuation of James Luciano's work. You should be honoured.

Chillingly delightful, or the other way around, this is a savory piece. I'm reccing it on dreamwidth's fancake community today, and wherever you are, dear author, the best of all things to you. Sincerely, pronker

Blackly excellent.

It's truly cruel that, even given a chance to make things right, Vader failed the test once more. But that's appropriate, I think. His entire character arc throughout the prequels is one of corruption and growing failure; for him to recover, he would have to be a different man.

Well done.

This was sooo sad. I really hate Palpatine even more now!

I must admit that I never previously read this story of yours, for I feared it would be too much torment for me to absorb. I am, however, gratified to find that you have perfectly balanced the sorrow and the attraction of this unique idea. That Palpatine would dare interrupt the sacred ritual of burial was a nicely shocking detail, and as buddingly in character for the new emperor as his unveiled use of the Force. Vader was wonderful-still so very unbalanced, torn by greed and terror, and of course the ending was an inevitable choice between murder of suicide for Padme. I did initially think that she had killed herself, but that Vader did it solidifies his loyalties so much more, and I think that this idea of a quite logical explanation as to why Vader did remain loyal for all of those years.

Wonderful details with Padme seeing Shmi, thinking that she was dead, and the idea of the deathly figure coming to weigh her soul. I also found that you managed to make Padme quite unearthly, still very much bound by the underworld in which she spent too much time to ever truly come back to life. In more ways than just the obvious, she was living on borrowed time. Absolutely amazing.

Great story! A few mechanical problems, but I've never seen this idea anywhere and it's extremely in character and overall nicely done.

I enjoyed it.

It's both creepy and humanizing to think of Palpatine having "cause to seem something other than a deformed Sith Master." This is very well-written and an interesting concept.

You've got awesome quotations here too-'I know myself only as I appear to myself', and the 'Against Nature' one, which I thought immediately could apply to Darth Maul as well as to anyone else...

Your Palpatine is interestingly flawed- "he saw people less and less." I think writers tend to make him, not too brilliant, but too simple, and you really show insight into him here. Props.

"Perhaps I cannot afford to scoff at those who spend years crafting dragons? " Win. Harkens back to the 'Against Nature' quote and the discussion of alchemy perfectly.

Altogether haunting.

great story

This was a great tragdey to read. I enjoyed this and yes your right about finding stories hidden away.