this is a disclaimer.
keeper of chaos
With every report that comes in, every victory celebrated, Palpatine permits himself to feel every more triumphant. The boy is brilliant; there is no other word for it. His eye for the weakness of others is sharp and shrewd, his instincts flawless. He does not fight like a Jedi, waiting for the will of the Force to show him his path, but like a Sith, seeing the opportunities presented to him by the incompetence of his enemies and acting on them as swiftly as a striking snake. Give him control of a battle, and he will find a way to win it, no matter how.
They call him the Hero With No Fear, and Palpatine thinks it doubly ironic, for Anakin Skywalker is full of fear – just not for himself, and he recognises the fears of everyone around him – except his own.
Perfect, yes: perfectly flawed, in all the right ways.
Palpatine picks up another report, smiling to himself as he reads the boy's detached, terse sentences, and finds himself wondering, suddenly, if this emotion he feels is the same pride that Kenobi holds for Anakin Skywalker.