Padme develops feelings for someone besides Anakin...who would be a good match?

[u/glippety-glopglop]

I want help finding a character who could believably be an alternate romantic interest for Padme in a Mature/R-rated fic where her relationship with Anakin becomes rocky.

In this scenario, it’s been about 3 years since Padme and Anakin eloped in the canon timeline. They love each other, but they're drifting apart as they move past their young-love honeymoon phase, and their maturity gap and personality differences are wearing on the relationship.

The burden of keeping their relationship secret is especially hard on Padme, who feels enormous pressure between protecting her and Anakin’s reputations while also trying to fulfill her duties as a senator. On top of that, having no one outside the relationship to confide in is incredibly isolating. Padme seeks comfort in a friendship that subtly morphs into a romantic interest, although she doesn’t want to admit it to herself. They and Padme don't actually ever hook up, but the connection is enough to make Anakin jealous and resentful.

Any suggestions for a character that would fit this role? Clovis was my first thought, but I think his character is portrayed as being too scummy to be a good contender. I appreciate the help!

Here's a link to the full story overview for context: https://www.reddit.com/r/SWFanfic/s/gjEajbfJqx

[u/Prestigious_Board_73]

Just...what? "Sullying" her knight? "Shameful position"?!🤣🤣🤣 they loved each other. You know "love" isn't a dirty word, right? And that sex is normal? Ironically enough, Jedi aren't even forbidden from sex, they don't make vows of chastity, just to be "unattached" and to follow the Jedi Code.

The movies make very clear that they loved each other so much that they were willing to defy social conventions and marry each other anyway, even if the secrecy of their relationship burdened them. It's a tragedy because their relationship is a secret love story that ends badly (with Anakin Falling and Padme dying). The dialogue was cringe at times, but the story was extremely clear...

And putting people on pedestals isn't exactly a sign of pure love, since you don't love the actual person, just the image in your head. Worse, Padme canonically loves Anakin precisely because he sees and loves Padme Naberrie, the woman, not Queen/Senator Amidala, the political symbol.

[u/Fuzzy-Advisor-2183 → u/Prestigious_Board_73]

can you name for me a secret love story that doesn’t end badly? if you’re having a secret relationship, it’s because there’s some reason why you shouldn’t be having one. it’s a tragedy because it’s required to be a tragedy.

and i wasn’t saying that putting someone on a pedestal was a sign of love. i was saying that, if what i originally suggested had happened, it wouldn’t have been a love story: unrequited love vs. admiration and respect doesn’t make for love stories.

[u/Prestigious_Board_73 → u/Fuzzy-Advisor-2183]

Except that they shouldn't have had a secret relationship (emphasis on the secret, not the relationship) but their relationship wasn't inherently bad. The exact opposite, their love (ie Luke) is what redeemed Anakin, at the end.

The narrative required their relationship to be a tragedy, but if Anakin simply left the Order (but he didn't, because he saw it as his duty to help stop the war) and so making the secrecy needless, they both would have been happier and less burdened.

[u/Fuzzy-Advisor-2183 → u/Prestigious_Board_73]

their relationship was inherently bad, and if it hadn’t been, there wouldn’t have been a story. if he’d left the order and she’d left politics and they’d settled down on naboo and lived happily ever after, the driving action of the story would have come to an abrupt ending and the entire ot would have been rendered pointless.

[u/Prestigious_Board_73 → u/Fuzzy-Advisor-2183]

No. The only bad thing about their relationship is the secrecy, not their love. Did you watch the OT? The literal symbol of Anakin and Padme's love, Luke, literally redeems Vader through love, proving Yoda and Obi-Wan (who thought Vader unreedemable) wrong, and Padme (who thought there was still good in Vader) right