i wrote a joking post mentioning this but now i'm thinking seriously about an au where padmé is actually the one who dies during the ship explosion in aotc. in the heat of the moment, the handmaidens decide that they should pretend to be her because they know she would want the military creation act to be opposed. after all, the vote is coming up quickly, and there's no guarantee that the queen of naboo would be able to choose another senator to replace padmé in time for the vote, much less that the replacement would hold the same views. the charade is just supposed to be for a little bit, until the military creation act is dealt with. and then the clone wars start.
the queen of naboo holds different views on war than padmé did. the handmaidens decide to continue the act a little bit longer, to make sure padmé is still able to have the opinions she would want voiced voiced in the senate. there hasn't been war in the republic for so long. surely it will not last long. whenever sabé and the others bring up that perhaps they should give it up, there's always another important vote that of course they should continue acting as padmé just until it's passed.
it's sabé that spends the majority of her time as padmé, because of course it's sabé. it was always sabé. she's the best of all of them at acting as padmé. and how does she mourn someone that no one else thinks is dead. how does she mourn someone she has to be.
who is padmé amidala when you are her? who is padmé amidala when, three years deep into the clone wars, you aren't sure if you remember how she acted correctly. were those mannerisms hers? or are they yours?