Author's Note: For those who are interested, here are the inspirations and random tidbits about the story I've written. Enjoy!
Trivia
• The Ossus Jalok trees were inspired by the massive 200 foot tall Kapok trees, which can reach 10 feet in diameter and are native to Central/South America, the Amazon, and West Africa. This was done to show the age of the planet and the forests, and how they'd been untouched and uncorrupted for many millennia.
• The parade scene on Naboo was inspired by the opening to the James Bond film Spectre, where Bond tracks a member of Spectre through a colorful Day of the Dead parade in Mexico City, and later involves a helicopter fight over a large open square.
• The idea of bacta smuggling came to me while researching bacta cartels on Thyferra, we always hear about spice runners, why not those who smuggle healing fluids? Especially to those in need. It was written to be very Robin Hood-esque in terms of the Sapphire Angel's actions.
• Thyferra was never described in the new canon, so I took inspiration from the quartz-sandstone pillar mountains in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in China, the partial inspiration for the "Hallelujah Mountains" from Avatar.
• Some of the imagery from Ossus also invoked southeast China's pillar-like mountains.
• For Theed, I wanted to show how the city is beautiful and grand on the exterior, but in the time of the Empire, parts of the city had fallen into neglect, outside the eye of the rest of the Galaxy. Never judge a book by its cover.
• Yes, I am a huge fan of Knights of the Old Republic and have fond memories playing it as a kid, so references to things from that game (now part of Legends sadly) can be found: swoop gangs, Ahto City on Manaan, Taris' Lower City, etc.
• The Legends version of Ossus draws heavily from SWTOR, a world covered in snow-capped mountain ranges and elevated prairies, the Canon version was never really described, and I always pictured ancient Jedi worshipping in this ancient jungle-like setting.
• The Jedi Temple on Ossus was inspired by Mayan ruins in Central America for the most part, especially with its pyramidal construction and almost sacrificial nature of the Anomaly's holding cell in the subterranean section.
• The windows and leftover mosaics in the Temple ruins, however, took inspiration from cathedrals and temples built across Medieval Europe, like a holy image you'd see from the Dark Ages or something.
• Admiral/Moff Vantu was heavily inspired by Meredith Vickers from Prometheus in terms of looks. Charlize Theron really sells that badass character and if I ever need a character reference, I'd use her role in that film.
• The clones were taken from their Dee Bradley Baker interpretation in The Clone Wars, just add in a mixture of Temuera's voice and grizzled acting methods.
• Orren's true appearance and character reference is left up for debate. If you want a really basic reference and don't want to make anything up, try a young guy like Logan Lerman. But I wrote him to be more ambiguous than the others. He can be whatever you want, really. Any species, any skin color, it doesn't matter. He's left up to the mind's imagination for his looks.
• When I wrote Laeda's character in the early chapters, I had Lily Collins in mind for some scenes, but never really settled on a true reference.
• Lyro Tunetta, Senator from Taris, was inspired partially by Jim Broadbent, who plays Horace Slughorn in the Harry Potter franchise.
• Ahsoka's appearance takes more from The Clone Wars Season 7 rather than her Rosario Dawson appearance. So try to picture the animated Ashley Eckstein Ahsoka more in this role, given it's only five years post-Mandalore.
• Kya was referenced with Jessica Chastain, Jol with Idris Elba, and Al with Elizabeth Gillies.
• Dyz Exum was absolutely Ken Watanabe in my mind, all day baby. He was one of my absolute favorite characters, and I'd love to do something with him in the future.
• Dyz's name was inspired by DiZ from Kingdom Hearts II, who's actually Ansem the Wise in disguise (spoilers sorry).
• Mahfe's reference would be Freddie Highmore honestly.
• Sala, Karma's wife, who is actually fairly older than him, was Zoe Saldana for me.
• Juuna, Fix's squeeze, was referenced without a real-life person. Because she's Twi'lek, feel free to put anyone you want there.
• The shootout on Thyferra was partially inspired by the ending to the film The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly starring Clint Eastwood. The end of that film featured a three-way shootout over something valuable as well.
• The epilogue scene switching between locations and characters was inspired by the endings of The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, as well as Revenge of the Sith, cutting from scene to scene showing each character's ending.
• Some of my writing style is influenced by Matthew Stover's work in Revenge of the Sith's novelization, which, in my opinion, is one of the best written Star Wars stories ever, he uses incredible descriptive writing and amazing character development along with some self-aware techniques, excellent third-person commentary and world-building, and it's a shame it's no longer canon.
• The mention of Sicemon by Rex at the first scene in Karma's house, and the location of the Deliverance before it's picked up by Bail's rebels, pays tribute to an old planet first drawn up in Return of the Jedi drafts in the 1980s, which was the original location of Jabba's Palace before it was relocated to Tatooine, and the concept art is a beautiful grasslands world with notable mound features rising from the earth.
• The first chapter has Fix and Karma discussing opening a workshop for one, and family life for another. By the epilogue, both have families and both co-own a shop together.
• The idea of Luko taking Ahsoka's hand as the last line draws a direct link to the idea I wanted to run through Luko and Orren's story. Luko is a living parallel of Orren essentially. Plo Koon offered his hand to Orren on Taris when Orren was a boy, and again to Ahsoka on Shili. Ahsoka, now grown, offers her hand to Luko in the same manner, to begin a new chapter. Where that takes them, and why Luko doesn't appear in later canon, would be something I'd probably address in a sequel.
• The Anomaly was very painstaking to create. I had to formulate something that seemed threatening and powerful for a character like Ahsoka, while creating enigma, while staying somewhat rooted in the ancient lore of both Jedi and Sith. I wanted to expand on its origins more in a sequel, with some flashback scenes and exposition.
• I will say this though, the Anomaly's line "I hunger" is taken from Darth Nihilus of Legends, who literally devours planets to sate his hunger. This new character though, needed experimental bacta and kolto just to rejuvenate, and is not at 100% when he fights Ahsoka, so he hungered for more life to feed his dying cells.
• Alright I'll add some more lmao. The hints I dropped about the Anomaly essentially paint a picture where, in ancient times, a battle happened at Ossus, and the leader of the Sith army fused himself with one of the greatest Jedi warriors, to taunt the Jedi and blow their morale out of the water. It was a powerful and rare Dark Side ability, to fuse with another soul, and required almost perfect execution. This didn't happen however, and he became an aberration, locked away by the Jedi beneath the Temple for eons. The Anomaly has a name. Well, two names. But his true name is whichever personality is currently dominating. Ahsoka felt pain and suffering, as well as sorrow, from within him, a desire to be freed. Those are the traits from the Jedi trapped within. The other traits? All Sith, who was dominating the situation.
• Karma's story on Dantooine was originally going to be Cut Lawquane on Saleucami, an expansion on what he's doing and how he's coping with the fall of the Republic, but I merged that Karma and Fix's stories, respectively. I hope we see him in Bad Batch.
• With Rex and Wolffe, I wanted to get them to Seelos, where they're found by Ezra in Rebels, but I wasn't sure how. What would provoke them to get there? How would they meet? This large-scale event brings them together, but how would I get them to Seelos? The trauma from losing Cody would probably be an impetus for them to hide themselves away on a harsh desert planet, far away from civilization. That's the main reason Cody died. Having Rex do it was like icing on the cake. A chipped clone, brainwashed to kill Jedi, has to be killed by his best friend, who is not chipped, and is literally saving a Jedi's life in the process. It's like poetry.
• How Gregor gets to Seelos by the time you see him in Rebels, though, would also have been addressed in a sequel, since he doesn't appear here. I almost referenced him, and I thought about including him too, but never got around to it. There were enough characters in this story as is.
• Lots of sequel talk here, but I'm not sure it'll ever happen. Got a lot going on in my life, gotta get back out in the workforce and am dealing with a big move, amongst other hobbies I've kinda dropped to write this. I need plenty of space before I ever consider that. However, if I do write another, it'll definitely be the Anakin fic I have planned. That shit will make this story look like playtime.
• The pagoda-like setting of Dyz Exum's fortress was directly inspired by the Japanese castle from the opening scene of Inception where Cobb goes to rescue Saito.
• Some of the chapter names pay homage to the 2003 reboot of Battlestar Galactica (while still making sense in the context of the story), which in my opinion is some of the greatest science-fiction ever put on screen. I will die on that hill.
• The first idea I had for this story was a drunk and depressed clone living on Coruscant in the aftermath of Order 66, hopping from dive bar to dive bar, and living life in excess. Basically it would've depicted a fall from grace for the clone army, and how the Republic basically tossed them aside. It would've been even darker than the final draft. This was incorporated into Chuckles' arc.
• There is a lot of religious allegory in this. Divine references to the Force, angels falling from heaven, bowels of hell, fingers of God, "godspeed," the imagery in the ancient Jedi temple, etc. I'm not religious, but this is intentional.
• The final scene was always going to be Ahsoka under the Uneti, which had finally grown its golden leaves. Orren's death was still up in the air, I wasn't sure to make it ambiguous or set it in stone. I decided on the latter, and added Luko to the scene in some of the final brainstorming so they could get their goodbyes.
• Vantu's descent into madness from a cold yet honorable Admiral who happens to dislike Jedi, into this Force-hating, conquering Moff was also intentional. I had more Eera scenes that got cut that really expanded on her motives post-Quermia, but I moved those into the climax, when she elaborates on her story to Orren. Quermia broke her, essentially, and she changed into this deranged tactician who only wanted to destroy the Force, Jedi/Sith, etc. She believed that was her higher purpose, as established by her father in his dream for her.
• The opening scene is on the bridge of the Prosecutor, and the climactic scenes are also on the bridge of the Prosecutor. I absolutely love mirroring and callbacks in fiction and tried to make good use of it here.
• Some of the imagery while Ahsoka is in the depths of the ancient Jedi Temple is taken from the 2006 film Apocalypto, which involves Central American cultural sacrifices. The Anomaly fucked up some stormtrooper brains in that temple, and the blood on the walls were meant to establish a sacrificial offering by Vantu to free the Anomaly.
• R2-D2 appearing, while not out of the ordinary given the characters, was mostly fan service
• "I've got a bad feeling about this," was said by Wolffe during the descent to Baradas, and I added it because it's literally said in every Star Wars film.
• Darth Vader's inclusion in the epilogue was originally fan service, but then I realized it serves a purpose. He learns of a surviving Jedi at the end of the Ahsoka novel, though he isn't told who, just that they were on Raada. Now, he's given a species. So eventually he goes digging up Ahsoka's old lightsaber from The Clone Wars finale, and by Rebels, he pieces it all together. Plus I'm just a huge Vader stan, oh well.
• One of the major factors of this story is the development of the clones from.. clones, literally born and bred in machines, to men. They develop deeper friendships, relationships, have families, own businesses, experience loss, and eventually settle down with something other than the soldier life. They've become more than replicated soldiers at this point, and are now truly human.
• The Twi'lek bobblehead on Fix's LAAT dashboard is a subtle foreshadowing to his later relationship. It was also an attempt to humanize the clones a bit, as The Clone Wars tried to do as well, and succeeded.
• The Anomaly's second weapon, the crossguard saber, while being a direct reference to Kylo Ren, is also a reference to the ancient lightsabers shown at the Sith Temple on Malachor in Rebels, showcasing the ancient weapons of Jedi and Sith, and visible evidence as to how really fucking old the Anomaly actually is.
• The lightwhip the Anomaly uses is also referencing its age, with the weapon appearing in the new High Republic media and being referenced in others. It hasn't been used a lot in canon yet.
• Having a mothballed Separatist ship dug up to come help the clones at Baradas was a big moment for me, even if it was fleeting. It goes to show that both the Confederacy and the Republic were played by the same hand, and droids and clones were essentially built, put into war, manipulated, deceived and cast aside by the same powers. So they unite at the very end against the Imperial war machine.
• Orren's Uneti tree having no leaves at first, and eventually growing its first leaf as he leaves for Baradas was one of my favorite symbolisms to include. The tree flourishing in the months after he achieves his ultimate destiny was just the dessert after the main meal, honestly. I loved the idea of a Force tree in lore anyways, and was one of the only facets of the sequel trilogy I opted to use.
• The flashbacks with Orren and Plo Koon I adored writing, and the last one they have together, where Plo talks about the future while they're on the Temple balcony at night, was just pure joy to write. It takes direct inspiration from Doctor Strange where Stephen and the Ancient One have a final conversation overlooking a rainy New York at night, and also from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse where Miles is hearing the voices of Peter, his uncle Aaron, etc. right as he suits up for battle. It falls into that trope where the mentor gives you one last pep talk and then you're ready to fuck shit up. It's one of my favorite tropes and I'm guilty of it lmao.
• Aruk the Hutt is mentioned in the 31st chapter, when Vantu is talking about her father. He's a Legends only character, but lured people to Ylesia (Vantu's home planet) claiming it was a pilgrimage, when in reality it was a slaving and spice-producing operation. So his treachery and vile nature is well-documented. In Legends, Jabba and his uncle Jiliac devise a plan to kill Aruk because he became too successful via this operation on Ylesia, and they grew tired of him. So they enlist the Ylesian high priest Teroenza to kill him with a poison slipped into his favorite dish, Ylesian tree frogs. This was all taken from the Han Solo trilogy of novels from the 90s, which was meant to be his backstory. Great stuff.
• The Tantive III is the larger of the two vessels that Bail Organa owns (that we know of), and is seen in Revenge of the Sith, with enough cargo space to hold General Grievous' starfighter, piloted by Obi-Wan, and also Fix's LAAT gunship. The smaller corvette, Tantive IV, is used by Leia in Rogue One and A New Hope.
• The Jabiim flashback in Dynamo's dream was inspired by Apocalypse Now and elements of the Vietnam War, also used in the Umbara scenes during The Clone Wars.
• Orren ascending to meet Vantu atop the Prosecutor was reminiscent - for me - of Luke and Vader ascending to meet Palpatine atop the Death Star II in Return of the Jedi.
Don't worry, I didn't expect anyone to read into it this much, I'm just ranting about my thought process to anyone who cares to read, lmao. I love behind the scenes stuff for movies, so I thought I'd share some of my inspirations here. Anyways. Thanks so much for reading.