The Far, Bright Center

for @jedifest‘16 Top 5 Picks

Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader is one of my favourite fictional characters of all time, and thus it's no surprise that attempting to choose only five pieces for this list proved a rather...difficult challenge. In the end, I decided to try a more liminal approach. While both of his dual identities are fascinating in their own right (Vader, his tormented prison; Anakin, his True Self, and the identity that we all long for him to reclaim), when it comes to artistic depictions, I find that this character is often at his most visually compelling when the two intertwine.

The following are five pieces that I feel capture the intermingling of and/or inner conflict between Anakin and Vader. (These are but a taste of the many beautiful works of art I’ve encountered this year; for more, see the tag on my blog here.)

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I could keep you safe by bubug

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The illustrious bubug (Magdalena) has done it again! Already I am honoured to have this exquisite piece by her as the cover art for my Bethyl fanfiction, Between the Fire and the Sky. But now, at long last, I present this stunning illustration of one of my most beloved pairings, Sansa Stark and Sandor Clegane from George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. Faithful representations of these characters as described in the book series (as opposed to the tv show) are becoming more and more rare these days, and so I tasked bubug with capturing my headcanon for them as closely as possible. This is intended to be a depiction of them together in a possible future reunion scenario. For a more thorough explanation of the symbolism and meaning behind this piece, see my post here.

They didn’t look back by bubug

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Beyond ecstatic to present this stunning illustration of Beth Greene and Daryl Dixon, commissioned for the cover of my Bethyl fanfiction, Between the Fire and the Sky. I wrote this entire story with the bubug's illustration style in mind, so this is my wildest dream come true.

Someone pinch me. Bethyl LIVES! :')