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the-obiwan-for-me · 3 years

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Clan of Two

I had every intention of participating in Bo-Katan Week 2021 for the whole week. But real life is tough, and so is my main fic right now, and it just didn’t happen. But I got struck by inspiration when I realized last night what the prompt for today is. So, here’s my single contribution for Bo-Katan Week!

She found the boy in the tiny galley of the stolen gunship, nursing a mug of weak looking tea. The poor kid's face was swollen and angry looking. She wouldn't be surprised if his orbital bone was fractured. She knew from experience that that brute of a traitor, Gar Saxon, packed a punch.

Physically, he looked rough. But he was a Kryze, and he wore his emotions loudly, just like she did. Just like Satine. And he looked shell shocked and angry and drowning in grief, just like she felt.

She slid into the bench across from him and took a long pull off a bottle of tihaar she'd found stashed away. She passed it to him. He looked at it incredulously for a moment, then took his own swig, surprising her when he didn't wince like she expected. Perhaps the kid was tougher than she thought.

"How's your head?" she asked.

He picked at the label on the bottle for several heartbeats. "She was my mother, you know."

Bo-Katan swallowed the stone that seemed lodged in her throat, then nodded. "I know that."

He looked at her, dumbstruck, his unswollen eye blazing the same fierce crystalline blue as his mother's. He took another swig from the bottle, handed it back. "How did you know?"

Bo-Katan snorted a humorless laugh. "First of all, bleaching your hair only makes you look more like your mother." He glanced away, sheepish. "But mostly, it doesn't take much to spot a Kryze. And Satine is-" a sob she had not anticipated caught in her chest- "was my only sibling. You're no foundling."

He studied her for a while, working something through in his head. She sat quietly, giving him the room he needed to process. Then he finally sighed, squaring his broad shoulders. "Why didn't you try to kill me when you were with Death Watch, if it's that easy to tell?"

Bo-Katan sighed herself. "I wouldn't allow it."

He gave her another astonished look. It was becoming a habit. "You had that much power?" he scoffed.

She shrugged. "I was second in command. But, no, it wasn't like that." She picked at the label herself, recalling memories, some still too fresh to even feel like memories. She drowned them with a heavy drink of tihaar, then handed it to him. "Vizsla was tenacious, but he also could have the attention span of a Corellian grass squirrel. You would come up, and I would distract him."

He drank from the bottle and stared at her, his gaze hard. "Couldn't you have done that for my mother? Your sister?"

"Listen, kid, I never intended for that to happen!" she shouted, jumping to her feet to pace, gesturing wildly back in the imagined direction of Mandalore. "None of this was supposed to happen! I didn't even want to deal with those monsters! I tried to talk Pre out of it, especially once I knew that one had such a thing for Kenobi." The sob worked itself loose from her chest and she fought back the hot tears that wanted to follow it. The heat of her anger sparked the fire of her grief. "None of this was supposed to happen. I tried, Korkie. I tried." She stopped, staring down at her boots, wondering absently whose blood splattered them. "At least I got you out."

"I know." It was said softly, almost a whisper. She raised her gaze to meet his. "I….I just know."

"How do you know? Why should you trust me?"

"I mean, you did get me, and my friends, out. And I saw what you tried to do for others in the aftermath. You do care about Mandalore." He stood and moved toward her, resting a hand on her shoulder. He was tall, and broad chested, and in many ways reminded her of her father. But in so many ways, he was so completely, uniquely different. "And Mum trusted you immediately. She forgave you, instantly. I don't know much. She didn't talk about you except about when you two were small. I don't know what happened, but whatever it was, it wasn't so bad that she couldn't forgive you." He squeezed her shoulder, let his arm drop. "So, I should probably try to do the same. I'm going to try, ok, Auntie?"

She reached up and tenderly brushed a hand along his cheek. She was so rarely tender. She had so rarely been shown tenderness. But she could be gentle for him. He was all she had left, now, and he was too much like his mother to be treated like every other ruthless brute that had shaped her. "This is how I know you're her child, ad'ika. You could dye your hair purple and grow a beard and cover your face with tattoos. But that, right there, is how I know."

He smiled sadly, his eyes shiny with the threat of tears. He took her hand from his face and squeezed it. "Vor entye, ba'vodu."

She squeezed back before letting his hand go. "No debts here, Korkie. I am in your debt."

He turned, rubbing his chin as he made his way back to the table, deep in thought. "What do we do now?" He drank from the bottle and handed it to her as she passed him, moving around the small space until she found a medkit.

"First, you let me patch up that face of yours," she said, sitting next to him before taking her own drink. "Then, if you're willing, we fight for our home. We fight for your mother's legacy."

He nodded once as she gently began to clean the cuts and scrapes along his face. "I am willing." He hissed in pain as she prodded along his orbital bone. It was definitely fractured. "But I don't know if I want to fight like you."

She picked up the bacta spray and gave it a shake. "Fair enough."

"And after that?"

"Well, we're family. We'll take care of each other."

He huffed out a breath. "You had a chance to be my family for eighteen years." He said it with a sharpness and bitterness she hadn't expected, sounding more like a petulant, angry teenager. He was an angry teenager, she reminded herself. Beyond that, even. The world as he knew it has been destroyed. Burned to the ground, in large part due to actions she had taken, or, at the very least, been able to prevent.

She had once been a teenager whose world had been burned to the ground, too.

So, she decided to try and take a page from her sister’s book. She forgave his sharp words.

She sighed, cupping his cheek softly, turning his face to hers. “I am beginning to regret that I didn’t take my chance more and more each day,” she said quietly. “We’re a clan of two, now, and we have to take care of each other. I won’t lose you, too. I plan on keeping you safe.” She rummaged through the medkit, pulling out the skin adhesive. “Now sit still while I glue this shut.”

He looked apologetic, took a sip of tihaar, and sat quietly, letting her work.

They sat like that for a while, Bo-Katan, working gently to glue shut a cut across Korkie’s temple. Korkie hummed a tune that Bo-Katan recognized as a lullaby her father sang to her and Satine when they were small. She mused to herself that she and Korkie would have nearly matching scars as she worked.

He suddenly jolted, looking up to meet her eyes. “If you knew she was my mum, can you tell me who my father is?”

Bo-Katan fought the urge to grimace, then gave herself a moment to compose herself, plan out the right thing to say. “Your mother and I weren’t really speaking when she would have been pregnant with you.”

It wasn’t a lie. Not at all.

But it also wasn’t the absolute whole truth, either.

She knew who the father was. Or, at least, she had strong suspicion. She didn’t need to be a mathematician to realize Satine had to have become pregnant during her year with the two Jedi. One of which had the same nose, the same strong jaw, the same auburn hair that was just beginning to show in the roots of Korkie’s bleached hair. It was an easy enough guess. She was surprised he hadn’t guessed it already, really.

But, for now, she’d keep it herself. This boy didn’t need to know that the man who had come to save his mother, but, instead, caused her death, was his father. One day, maybe. Maybe when he wasn’t so fragile. When the world didn’t feel so utterly destroyed for the both of them.

He seemed to accept her answer. He nodded once, closed his eyes, and settled back into letting her repair the gash on his temple, humming softly to himself.

There was very little she could do to make amends for all the horror she had allowed to be wrought on their home. But she could do two things: she could fight to get it back, and she absolutely would protect her sister's son until her very last breath.

#bo katan week #bo katan week day 6 #bkw 2021 #bo katan and korkie #bo katan kryze #korkie kryze #satine kryze #post the lawless #fudging the timeline a tiny bit #korkie is a kenobi #if you're reading something I wrote you KNOW he's going to be a kenobi

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silvermoongirl10swfics · 3 years

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A ‘small’ gathering for dinner (the 501st are NOT invited)

My last entry for @codywanweek 2021 Day 7: Domestic/Every day life.

I did not think I was going to be able to write all seven prompts for the week, but here we are!

Big thank you to @meantforinfinitesadness for running this brilliant event!

You can also read this fic here on A03.

No warnings.

It was a sunny day on Coruscant, six months after the end of the war and finally Cody and his brothers could live their lives in peace. Cody was currently lying on the sofa in the Temple quarter he shared with Obi-Wan. His Jedi was stretched out on top of him, allowing Cody the opportunity to run his fingers through the copper hair of his cyare, as Obi-Wan rested his cheek against Cody’s shoulder. Just as Cody was thinking about the peaceful dinner they could have together in their quarters, his plan was derailed by Obi-Wan.

“I’ve invited some of the men from the 212th to dinner tonight,” murmured Obi-Wan, his eyes half closed as he basked in the sunlight shining through the window.

Cody rolled his eyes and sighed. “How many of them are coming?” he asked, he loved his brothers, he really did. But when he had been planning on a quiet evening, he hadn’t really wanted to have to deal with his brothers. Obi-Wan paused and shifted, Cody sighed. “Come on, how many of them said they would come?”

Obi-Wan tilted his head, so his chin was resting on Cody’s chest and looked at him with an apologetic expression. “I had only invited five, but then word spread…”

Suddenly having a bad feeling, Cody leaned his head up and stared at Obi-Wan’s commlink that his cyare had tossed onto the low table. “How many?” he asked again, his tone resigned.

“All of them,” mumbled Obi-Wan quietly.

Cody let his head fall back to land on the pillow, groaning to himself. Just great. There was definitely no chance of him having a quiet evening of just him and Obi-Wan. Heaving a sigh, Cody dug out his own commlink. “I had better call Dex to book his diner for this evening, there is no way the entire 212th is going to fit in our quarters.” He looked back at his Jedi and couldn’t help but smile seeing the happy look on his cyare’s face. He knew Obi-Wan would not have invited the whole battalion at once, but he wouldn’t have liked telling the men that not all of them could come over for dinner. Thankfully, the shop next-door to Dex had closed, so Dex had bought the shop to extend his diner so he could add more seating. “I am putting my foot down, however. The 501stare not invited, I wanted a quiet evening. Anything involving that chaotic lot would be the opposite of quiet.”

“I whole heartedly agree,” commented Obi-Wan seriously. “I picked tonight because I know Anakin is planning on having a movie night with the 501st, using the main training salle to hook up a projector. So, I figured this would be the best night to do something with the 212th.”

His Jedi was so smart. Cody told his cyare as much and leaned forward to press his lips against Obi-Wan’s. “I knew there was a reason I loved you.”

Obi-Wan raised one of his eyebrows, “oh, you only love me for my brain.”

“Of course,” grinned Cody, lifting one hand up to cup Obi-Wan’s jaw. “It’s good to surround yourself with smart people.” Obi-Wan snorted in amusement and pressed Cody back down onto the sofa so he could have a nap. Cody didn’t mind, he called Dex and then using one hand, sent a message to Waxer to spread the word about dinner. But making sure he knew no one in the 501st was to find out about dinner. Then Cody lowered his arm, to fully wrap Obi-Wan in a hug, taking comfort from the soft snuffling noises Obi-Wan made as he slept.

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While dinner wasn’t what Cody had planned for the evening, he couldn’t help but smile and realise that perhaps what had ended up happening was better than what he had planned. He had the time to catch up with his brothers and hear about what they had been doing. Meteor and Trapper had just got back from exploring the Mid-Rim systems, and had thoroughly enjoyed their travels, getting to visit planets in peacetime was all they had hoped for in the war and Cody was glad to see them achieving their dreams.

After mingling with his brothers, Cody spotted Obi-Wan leaning against the wall picking at some fruity dessert. So, Cody walked over to him and leaned on the wall beside him, gently knocking their shoulders together. Obi-Wan smiled brightly at him, clearly enjoying the time he was spending with the men. Cody made a note to himself that he should try and get his brothers from the 212th to spend more time with Obi-Wan, he knew his brothers would jump at the opportunity, but with Obi-Wan on the Council, his brothers never wanted to bother him. Cody and Obi-Wan finished their desserts silently, both watching the men of the 212th laugh and joke with each other, seeing how relaxed and happy Obi-Wan was, made Cody think that perhaps Obi-Wan had needed this dinner more than his brothers, just as he was thinking of someway making this a regular thing, even if not everyone could attend. The door to the diner opening made him groan, “oh no.”

Obi-Wan frowned at him in confusion and then followed his gaze. Cody frowned when he heard Obi-Wan start laughing. “It’s not funny,” he growled. But he didn’t turn to look at Obi-Wan, he was too busy watching as Rex, Fives, Echo, Jesse, Kix and Hardcase sneaked into the dinner, took a load of food and sneaked back out of the diner, not before Rex turned to grin at him as he threw him a sloppy salute. “That’s it, I’m going to kill him,” muttered Cody. He knew where those six were, the rest of the 501st couldn’t be too far behind. “I’ll go and ask Dex to lock the door,” he stated, but as he went to walk away, he was pulled to a stop when Obi-Wan held onto his arm.

Cody turned to look at Obi-Wan with a raised eyebrow, shocked that his cyare was going to let the 501st gate-crash the dinner they had planned for 212th only. Obi-Wan shrugged slightly and smiled, “let them be, let them have their fun.” Cody stared at his cyare incredulously, in disbelief that Obi-Wan wouldn’t try and put a stop to the 501st’s schemes. Obi-Wan just started laughing at the look on his face, but then Obi-Wan suddenly choked on his laughter, his eyes going wide.

Turning back to look at the door and where the tables of food had been laid out. Cody found Anakin sneaking into the diner, taking some food and waving at Obi-Wan before he turned and left. Through the diner’s windows, Cody watched as Rex and the others cheered at Anakin’s success. Smiling devilishly, Cody turned back to face Obi-Wan and smirked. “Let him be, let him have his fun.” At the unamused look on Obi-Wan’s face, Cody just started laughing. “Like Legion, like General,” he chuckled.

The annoyed look faded from Obi-Wan’s face as he shook his head and stared laughing. Cody put their empty plates on a table and wrapped one arm around Obi-Wan’s shoulders, tugging his cyare in for a side hug. He rested his cheek on the top of Obi-Wan’s head and smiled. “You can’t say our lives are not interesting,” he commented lightly.

“No, I cannot,” snorted Obi-Wan.

They remained leaning against one another, just basking in the laughter and chatter of the 212th, not for the first time thanking the Force for the end of the war and Palpatine’s death. This was the life Cody had always dreamed of, but never thought he’d get. Despite the 501st’s antics, this was still the life he wanted to spend with Obi-Wan. And with peace achieved, this was their life and Cody couldn’t be happier.

#codywanweek2021 #star wars fic #commander cody #obi wan kenobi #codywan #212th attack battalion #501st legion #day 7: domestic/everyday life

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tact-and-impulse · 3 years

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Star Wars AU for the sci-fi prompt, @shepherds-of-haven!

fugitives

Out of all the planets she’s visited, she’s grown rather fond of this one. Nights on Zarros are long, yet bustling with activity as the inhabitants emerge to barter and sell their wares. The shops emit warm light, reflecting upon one of the many rivers cutting through the town. A flock of long-tailed birds passes overhead, flying for the distant mountains breaking the horizon. One indigo feather falls into her palm, and she smiles. This world is alive, and it’s beautiful.

“Remember to keep your hood up.” The low voice at her side warns.

She glances at Blade, who has that slight crease between his eyebrows again. He definitely isn't comfortable in this open market, but they need supplies before continuing their travels. She adjusts the cloth over her hair, murmuring. “I will. Thank you.”

“The Empire doesn’t have a heavy influence here, but we still need to be careful.” His dark eyes survey the surroundings, taking in every detail. As expected of the former general, famous for his battle prowess and command of his troops. She remembers watching his communications, in what seems like another life altogether.

“See anything yet?”

“No, but let’s be quick.”

“Alright, understood.” Before entering the main street, she tucks the feather into the little satchel at her waist. It’s been mended and patched over the years, but it’s enough for money and a little extra. Sea glass from her home planet. A ceramic bead, gifted by a respected Lore Keeper. The short loop of her Padawan braid.

She had to cut it off, but she never underwent the trials, since her master insisted there would be time after the war. And then, they were betrayed, in transit to Saleucami. The clones who had been their comrades were trying to kill them. Knowing they were outnumbered and ignoring her pleas to stay together, Master Rho had shoved her into an escape pod. Before the jump into hyperspace, her window was filled with the red glow of blasters, then the split-second image of his slumped body. She felt their connection break, the psychic shattering causing her to black out. In the haze of grief and shock, she hadn’t realized her lightsaber was damaged. It was functional in the initial weeks, then flickering erratically, and now, she didn’t dare to draw until another kyber crystal could stabilize it.

In the meantime, she uses the Force in other ways, and it led her to Blade. They sensed each other’s presence on one of Naboo’s moons, the first time she’d encountered another Jedi in over a year. He had always been composed in his hologram appearances, but he was about to crumple with relief when he saw her face. Since then, she hasn’t given up hope that others had survived the purge.

“You said Zarros had crystals?” Blade prompts, pulling her out of her thoughts.

“Yes, from the records I copied. There’s a good success rate, it’s just that not many were willing to make the trip out here.” She speaks in oblique terms, carefully choosing her phrasing.

He nods. “It’s close to the Outer Rim, and the closest temple was abandoned over a century ago, when our kind had to defend Coruscant. There’s some irony in returning now.”

“Yes, but I have a good feeling about it.” She smiles, and after a month of traveling together, she can tell that his expression softens.

A trio of children rush past, and they sidestep out of instinct. His hand lands on her shoulder, pressing firmly. “I trust your intuition. There were many I fought with, who didn’t have your strength of connection.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that.” She laughs nervously. It must be the lingering Padawan in her, that is buoyed by the praise. They continue on, and she changes the subject. “Where did you build your weapon?”

“On a mission, with my partner years ago.”

“A partner?”

“My brother.” He clarifies, in the monotone he adopts when he’s closing off.

That’s unusual, not only for siblings to be inducted, but to work with each other as well. She turns to ask further and nearly bumps into a droid that must have floated over. It’s spherical, except for a dome that could be considered its head.

“Hello. How may I assist you?” It’s a service droid, somehow locked onto their presences.

Blade smoothly steps in front of her. “No assistance required.”

It beeps. “I provide directions to all visitors. I am at your service.”

She can’t see his face, but Blade’s posture is incredibly rigid. His fingers drop to his belt, in a familiar gesture. He’s ready to summon his lightsaber at a moment’s notice.

She peers around his side, focusing on the droid. With a little wave, casual to any onlooker, she says with intention. “We don’t need directions. You can leave us alone.”

“You don’t need directions. I will leave you alone.” The droid repeats, then slowly drifts away.

Blade looks down at her, with a frown of admonishment. “You used the Force.”

“It’s easy on droids; people are a little more stubborn. Haven’t you used mind tricks?”

He folds his arms, his knuckles whitening as he stiffly answers. “My training has sufficed so far without it.”

The implication is clear, and she wonders how many he’s killed to survive, for it to become second nature. “...I see. We should keep going then.”

Water and rations are simple purchases, but Blade doesn’t speak again until they’ve left town. “Thank you.”

“Hm?”

“For preventing a situation. I was...overthinking.” He grimaces.

“It’s not like I blame you. You’re more seasoned than I am, and considering what happened, it’d be stranger if you weren’t vigilant.” She pauses. “But I’d be happy if you trusted me a little, even though I’m only a Padawan.”

“I already do.” By now, they’ve reached their small ship, camouflaged and docked on a rocky shelf. It’s cozy within, and he finally relaxes when the airlock clicks into place. “Once we find a crystal for you, we’ll practice combat forms.”

“I’m rusty, but I’m looking forward to it. Also, you can try mind tricks.”

“On you? That would be difficult.” He gives a short laugh, and his gaze is surprisingly fond. “Get some rest. We’ll start searching the mountains when day breaks.”

“Sounds good.” She settles into her cushioned cockpit seat and closes her eyes. She’s sure that the Force has led them to this planet for a reason, and when she dreams, it’s of silver light, glowing deep underground.

#shepherds of haven #shepherds of summer 2021 #the planet's name is the surname of my lego star wars character i made a long time ago #(in a galaxy far far away)

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skyvaikers · 4 years

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look at me [ captain rex ]

summary: he doubts his abilities, but, she is always there to help him realize he’s stronger than he thinks.

warnings: none! just fluff!

requested by: @000ayfh

prompt: “i’m proud of you.”

whether or not any of the clones wanted to admit it, the war took a toll on them. they were children, well, mentally. any normal child wouldn’t be fighting a war, especially one like this. the jedi — for the most part — were good to the clones. they cared for them, showing them that they were more than just objects to be used in a war. they even started to give each other names, making them more personable.

each clone had a personality, which wasn’t what the kaminoans originally had planned. they didn’t want these clones to have emotions, some would say. but, clearly the further they stretched jango’s DNA, the more personality they’d get out of these men.

arguably one of the best men of the GAR was captain rex of the 501st under general anakin skywalker. he was fearless and impeccably smart. he was also kind, harboring a soft heart for his brothers and another, one with the name of y/n.

y/n was a jedi; he would have never thought he and a jedi would be together. but she was one of the kindest people he had met. she wore her heart on her sleeve, as the saying goes. she cared for people more than herself. she’d get up in the middle of the night to get someone some food or change someone’s dressing on a wound. she was dedicated, and that same trait showed through in their relationship.

it was late, and rex couldn’t sleep. he laid awake in the barracks, his eyes staring up at the ceiling. now and then he would get emotional. his chest would get heavy, his eyes would water and burn. he felt the weight of the war on his shoulders like he was the one who needed to end it. he blinked several times and sat up, his knees cracking as he slid his legs over the side of his cot. he sat there a moment, his hands gripping the cot, his eyes at his feet. he stood up; he needed a walk.

y/n, for some reason, was walking around the temple. she was still dressed in her robes with a datapad in her hand. she’d claim she was doing work, but all of the other jedi were either asleep, or they were also working. she wasn’t, working was just an excuse. it was dark though, the light coming from the moon cast a glow on the carpet of the temple, making the place look haunted. arguably, it was. haunted by the nightmares the jedi and soldiers had alike.

y/n stopped by the mess hall, thinking grabbing some water would help her relax. she knew she needed sleep, she just didn’t feel tired. she walked in, failing to see the man who was sitting at the table, a cup of water in front of him and a tired look in his eye. when she did notice him, she stopped in her tracks.

“rex?” she whispered, though her voice sounded loud enough to wake up the whole planet. the man picked up his head to see y/n, the woman he loved.

“y/n,” he sighed with a tired smile. he relaxed his posture, picking up his head and straightening himself out. he was still a soldier, even though y/n had told him that to her, he was more than that.

“what’re you doing up?” she asked as she walked over to him, crossing her arms over her chest.

“the same could be asked of you,” he countered. he wasn’t wrong; she needed sleep too. she chuckled and lowered her head.

“i guess you’re right,” she shrugged as she picked up her eyes to look at him again. there was something else in his eyes. there was a tiredness to them, but a different kind of tiredness. his soul was tired, not just his body. she sat down and held a small frown, one that caught the captain off guard.

“y/n?”

“rex, what’s wrong?” she asked him, leaning her arms on the table.

“nothing,” he lied. he was horrible at lying and everyone knew that. he wished that general skywalker would teach him how to lie, but then again, what good would that do since he’s a soldier?

“you’re lying,” she chuckled. the soft expression on her face was enough to make any man’s face light up. to rex, it was comfort. he trusted y/n with his life and with his emotions; he wasn’t afraid to be vulnerable.

there was a silence between them. rex looked down at his hands, which were folded in his lap. he wasn’t going to cry, no, absolutely not.

“am i...am i a good soldier?” he asked without looking up. the question caught her off guard, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to answer his question.

“what’s your definition of ‘a good soldier?’” she inquired, her voice a cold press to a sore. he sniffled, taking in a shaky breath.

“never lies, always does what they’re told,” he started, “isn’t vulnerable,” he added quietly as if he was ashamed of it.

“rex, look at me,” she told him, and he did so. what he saw was the face of a woman who knew what he was going through. he saw that she understood, that she wasn’t going to let him be alone.

“you, then, are not a good soldier.” she started, which, wasn’t a good starter at all. “you need to be human, and the kaminoans bred you to be emotionless machines that did whatever they were told. yes, you follow orders. yes, you don’t lie to your superiors, other than a few minutes ago. but being vulnerable doesn’t make you weak. it makes you stronger. it tells the world that you’re human.” she explained, reaching her hands across the table, asking for his. he placed his hands in hers and she closed her hands around them.

“i can’t be in this war anymore,” he broke. he felt like he was a child crying to his mother. he felt the walls he had built up for so long start to crumble. he felt truly vulnerable. she moved to sit beside him and hug him, bringing him closer to her. she didn’t say anything, just held him there. he felt the hot tears stream down his cheeks and his bottom lip quiver. he thought about it fives saw him like this. the soldier would never let it go.

after a moment, he picked his head up and wiped his eyes, exhaling. y/n cupped his cheek and smiled at him.

“i’m proud of you, love. i’m here with you all the time.” she hummed as she gave him a quick kiss on the lips. pulling away, rex smiled. a genuine, relieved smile.

“i love you,” he told her, making her laugh.

“i love you more,”

______

wow wow wow. i haven’t written in AGES. so, here’s some fluff for the main man i whipped up right quick. i’m so so sorry this took me two centuries. the other requests will be up soon, well, hopefully. college is rough y’all, but i’m making it haha. thank you guys so so much for requesting stuff! remember you all are loved so very much and i’m always open to talk!

#star wars #star wars the clone wars #star wars imagines #star wars imagine #the clone wars #clone wars imagine #clone wars imagines #captain rex imagines #captain rex imagine #captain rex #captain rex x reader

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capricornus-rex · 4 years

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I was wondering if you could do a prompt with Cal and the reader where they’re both inquisitors, or the reader (as a Jedi/force-sensitive) having been supposedly “killed” during a fight with an inquisitor, only for Cal to find out later down the road that they’ve been turned into one, and it becomes his mission to save them and convince that he would never abandon them? I hope that’s okay and not asking for too much! ;~;

Nonsense! This is definitely okay and you’re not asking too much 😊😉 It was a little tricky to make the fic not look like a reverse twin of my 2 similar-sounding fics “Come Back To You” and “A Path I Can’t Follow,” but I saw it as a chance and a happy challenge to mix up the plot and add up what I wished I could’ve done on either fics. So, here you go, Anon! ☺ I hope you’ll enjoy the fic and I’m really sorry that it took a while in making it—as I was caught up in other requests and my own fic as well.

“Someone Left to Save” | Cal Kestis x Reader

Summary: The Mantis crew arrives to the capital of Ulfin, in the planet of Pevera, under siege. They meet the local rebel cell spearheaded by the former Republic admiral, Jax Beneb, who seeks to destroy the Empire’s occupation that was aggressively imposed upon while exploiting the planet of its natural resources. A plan is devised to destroy the Imperial’s main base of operations—as well as their influence—in the planet; however, it was a do-or-die mission that you and Cal had gotten yourselves caught in.

A/N: Also, Happy 40th Fic for me! ;;w;; I never saw myself expanding my masterlist with requests from other people, I just thought it would slowly grow with my own ideas and prompts but here I am now! 😭😭❤❤ I’m so glad you guys stuck around and liked my content, I’m forever grateful and really appreciate the support! You guys are the greatest!!! 🥰💖✨💜🌼

Tags: Force-Sensitive! Reader, Inquisitor! Reader, Jedi! Reader, Fake Death, Jedi turned Inquisitor, Seduction to the Dark Side, Turn to the Dark Side, The Dark Side of the Force, Aftermath of Torture, Torture, Psychological Torture, Redemption Arc! Reader, Possible Redemption, Premonitions

Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, physical and psychological torture

Also in AO3

Next: Part 2 | Masterlist

1 of ?

TWO DAYS BEFORE THE COUNTERATTACK

Many travelers would call Pevera as Felucia’s near twin—due to the vibrant, unusual, and colorful flora, the formidable yet fascinating fauna, and the great lakes that stretched and blotched across the continent. However, it colors begin to fade as the Empire devours it with its shroud.

All of you have gathered in one of the temple ruins that make up for the rebel cell’s meeting halls. Beneb and the fighters settled in the jungle that’s miles away from the capital Ulfin’s boundary. You and Cal listen in on the exchange of the soldiers and Beneb regarding their plan of their counterattack.

The main target? The Imperial outpost that’s been erected at the city.

The operation was quite elaborate for a rebel cell, nevertheless, Beeneb was confident that it was manageable—since he had put his faith on his soldiers to be the good ones, albeit being an interesting medley of misfits.

“We will strike at night—when they are most vulnerable, they’ll be under the impression that nobody will be outside due to the curfew,” Beneb interjects, he raises a finger at you. “[Y/N] will be part of the small division who’s in charge of planting the explosions at the very foundation of the building. The explosion will divert the Imps’ attention to their outpost while we free the captives and our men in their holding camps.”

And the former admiral moves his finger to Cal, “You, on the other hand, will go with the assault division. You’re one of the best fighters I’ve seen, my boy, and we’re gonna need all the brawn we can get until the captives have been freed.”

He never liked this idea not one bit—since its conception, he wasn’t really keen on the thought of having you take on one of the most dangerous tasks of this mission: explosives. You had to talk it out of him just so he’s convinced and reassured that this plan will come through.

At the end of the briefing, Cal pulled you to a secluded spot in the camp: at the side of a tent, which is still slightly in sight of other people around the camp.

“You’ve been uneasy since the start of the briefing,” you point out.

He reasons out his exact sentiments on the plan—he doesn’t like how Jax Beneb planned this whole counterattack.

“It seems risky,”

“Cal, in these times, everything is risky,” you argue. “I was hoping you’d have some trust in me—given that they put me in the explosives team.”

“I do trust you. It’s… It’s the plan I don’t trust,” Cal muttered, strictly within your earshot.

“They’re gonna have to do better if they wanted to kill me off,”

“Don’t joke like that,” he clicked his tongue, apparently ticked.

“I’m not joking,” you shrug your shoulders. “I meant it—I’m not that easy to get rid of, and neither are you.”

Cal fell silent. You had him back to a corner on that one. His eyes were wary of the partisans that passed you by, those pair of green irises shifted from one person to another, avoiding eye contact or greeting them with curt nods and mumbled hey’s and hi’s.

You bring your hand to his cheek, gingerly turning him to face you.

“I know it’s scary, but it’s gonna be okay,” you caress his cheek with the knuckle of your forefinger, he nuzzled his lip to the cushion of your thumb.

That same night, you were restless.

You’re haunted by the vision of red and orange burning blindingly behind your eyes, the rumble felt so surreal you feel the vibration at the soles of your feet, and whatever tension it brought you it was suffocating. Later on, in your nightmare, you’re greeted with the sight of Cal lying flat on the floor, facing up, his face is covered in ash and soot, red marks signify fresh yet minor burns, a streak of blood paints along the side of his face. Meanwhile, you can feel yourself lying right beside Cal’s unconscious—and seemingly dead—body. You want to scream, but you’re mute, with only the sound of a hundred, faceless screams, explosions, and the flaring inferno wrapping around the two of you.

“Cal, please get up…!” you hear your subconscious self beg, your voice cracking as you choke on your own words. You couldn’t even hoist your hand to nudge him, let alone touch.

He doesn’t budge. Embers continue to flutter over a plume of black smoke wafting in your direction.

You jolt up, awake in a cold sweat. Your eyes adjust to the dimness of your tent, lit by a single power lamp, your ears prick up and listen to the cacophony of insects chirping in the sparse vegetation of the outskirts. The bioluminescent sap of the trees flowing underneath the bark glowed around the camp in place of the bonfire that’s been put out for tonight.

Cal shuffled in his bed, he was woken up by your exclamation and shallow, rapid breathing.

“[Y/N], is something wrong?”

“I… Yeah…” you stammered, massaging both sides of your head as you hunched your back. “Bad dream is all… Sorry I woke you. Go back to sleep, Cal.”

He hesitated, but did so shortly afterwards. He didn’t close his eyes yet when he laid his back flat on his bed, he tossed to his side facing you, but you returned to your own bed with your back turned to him. Cal watched the steady by labored rise and fall of your shoulders as you coax yourself back to sleep, although you struggled in doing so.

It was a restless night. You literally fought it off by having a quick sparring session with one of the partisans.

Cal approached and leaned against the banister of the pen where you and spar buddy fought. He noticed the sleight of your hand is still intact—the grip around the hilt is firm and secure—but your ankles when buckling seemed flimsy; it’s not that he wanted you to fail, rather he anticipated the likeliness of you fumbling once the opponent lands a blow against your practice rod—which is nothing short of a typical electrostaff with a dead circuit.

“Did you get enough sleep last night?” asked Cal as soon as your sparring was over.

“I’ve caught enough winks. Why?”

“Your form looked off, that’s what,”

“Did I now?”

“Looks like you’re not as confident as you were yesterday,”

“Cal, my nightmare had nothing to do with the counterattack,”

He dismisses it by mouthing the word “Sure” and then the two of continued to talk with the banister between you. Seeing that he is the only person you can confide to with these kinds of dreams, you eventually caved in and narrated everything to him—even the macabre part where you find him lying lifeless next to you and he doesn’t budge.

“Okay, I won’t lie: that is scary.”

“It’s only a dream, Cal, don’t take it so seriously,”

“For a while there, you sounded like you did,”

“Well, it felt real—but that doesn’t mean I believe it,”

The bickering ended before the tension would even rise. Even if neither of you are talking about it, there’s always something that reminds you of it—anything was a potential stimulus: the campfire evoked the images of the burning light that seared your eyes, the collective voices of the fighters gradually melding together into one indistinct voice reminded you of the faceless screams.

This went on for the rest of the day, even during a recap meeting with Jax and the partisans. After that short meeting, you were led by one of the partisans who will handle the explosives with you on the day of the operation.

“Come on, we’ll teach you how the detonators work,”

“O-Okay…”

The partisan sensed the warble in your tone, she chuckled, although not to offend. The adult woman clapped your shoulder and slung her arm around it, hauling you to her side.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of, little spark! You’ve got enough time to run away from it before the Imps could even realize it exists!”

While you were being stowed away by the detonations experts, Cal joined in with the fighters who were constantly warming up and sparring at one another—with the one collective reason that they want to be in tiptop shape when it’s time for the operation to be executed. Even without touching you, Cal had sensed your anxiety, he’s noticed your episodic wincing and migraine attacks, and though you insist that you’re fine—both of you perfectly know that nothing seems fine anymore as the day for the counterattack approaches ever so briskly.

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anundine · 4 years

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Greater Unified Wheel of Stars Theory

I've been working my way through the Wheel of Time, and I can't help but notice some....overlap. This has prompted the creation of my Greater Unified Wheel of Stars Theory, wherein the world of Wheel of Time is in fact Tython and the White Tower is the precursor to the Temple. Evidence is as follows:

Aes Sedai are the precursors of the Jedi.

In legends, the very oldest version of the Jedi are called Je'daii. Aes Sedai -> Sedai -> Je'daii -> Jedi.

The Je'daii originated on the planet Tython. Thus, if Je'daii were previously Sedai, then it follows that the world they were from is the same world that the events of the books took place on, separated by many thousands of years.

The structure and functions of the White Tower and the Coruscant Temple are startlingly similar.

Both take in applicants when young, and there is a cut-off date for being considered "too old."

Note: in Legends, this cut-off for the Temple is at 13; as of the Clone Wars and other new material, it is unclear if that is still canon. Within the confines of this particular theory, I am operating under the assumption that there is a cut-off point, but it is much later that 13, and that with the advent of the Clone Wars specifically, the cut-off was pushed back even further.

Both focus on emotional control-- Sedai are expected to maintain a blank expression at all times, no matter what is going on; by the time of the Temple, this has evolved into maintaining internal equilibrium at all times as well.

The flame and the void is the precursor mantra to releasing one's emotions into the Force.

It is generally accepted that the loyalty of members of both groups is to be solely to the Tower or the Temple, respectively, regardless of where or to whom they were born. You are a Sedai or Jedi first and a member of your birth government a distant second, if you maintain that tie at all.

Both orders create and maintain mental bonds with people-- Sedai with their Warders, and Jedi with their Padawans, for many of the same reasons. The former evolving into the latter is not an unreasonable stretch.

Sedai and Jedi serve similar functions within their respective societies. Both orders are heavily trained as diplomats and political advisors, and the primary purpose of many of their members is to act as peace keepers and councilors. However, this is not the sole focus of either order, and both orders are equally notable for their historians and wandering do-gooders.

Both orders are also viewed with similar levels of suspicion by wider society, much of that stemming from their general inscrutability and from the fact that the most visible of them participate in politics.

The One Power=The Force

Both are universal magic that exists in all things and causes things to happen. "It is as the Force wills it" and "The wheel winds as the wheel wills" are both commonly used phrases in their respective times.

Functionally, there is little difference between being ta'veren and being strong with or beloved of the Force.

Both of these are in-universe acknowledgements of Main Character Syndrome.

The Force is split into the Dark Side and the Light Side. Use of the Dark Side drives the user mad and turns them into power-hungry, destructive forces of evil. However, in the distant past, in Legends, there are Force users who use the Dark Side without loosing their shit, as evidenced by the Je'daii Order, who valued balance, before there was a civil war and it all went to hell. The One Power is split into Saidar and Saidin. Use of Saidin drives the user mad and turns them into power-hungry, destructive forces of evil. However, in the distant past, there were Saidin users who didn't go nuts, before the Dark One cursed Saidin with the taint and it all went to hell.

Basically every single male Jedi has made terrible, terrible life choices, a fair number of which could be explained by being driven mad by the Force. Obi-wan's and Luke's respective mental shutdowns and time as depressed hermits? A manifestation of the taint. Mace deciding to attack the Chancellor in the Senate, before figuring out how to deal with the inevitable political fallout of killing the head of the government? Taint clouding his mind. Anakin's...everything? Taint.

Since the Force is tainted, using it is corrosive-- the more you use it, the more fucked up you get, and faster. That's why the Jedi have that rule about no excessive use of the Force. It's not because they're boring monks with weird ideas about laziness, it's because if you use the power to float pears across the room it eats away at your mind and it's just not worth it.

At least one Sedai uses a mind trick on screen, to make a woman more susceptible to obeying her wishes.

Sedai have been shown to have "swords of light", including Moiraine Sedai manifesting two blades from her staff. These swords are like fire, but not affected by wind or movement, instead remaining perfectly straight, and are created through the use of the One Power.

This dovetails neatly into the idea that only a Jedi can wield a lightsaber; it's not that only Force users have the requisite reflexes, it's that there's no power source in lightsabers-- the beam is pure Force, and if you don't have the Force, you can't turn it on.

Kyber focuses and amplifies 'saber beams, but does not create them, much like a sangreal focuses and amplifies channeling, but does not produce power on its own.

The Wheel of Time is literally about history rhyming with itself, endlessly, particularly with regards to great big showdowns of good vs. evil with deeply powerful chosen ones in the center of it all.

Anakin is the Dragon (very powerful magic user, hero of a great war at the end of an age, driven mad by the exact same power, deeply involved in facilitating the fall of said age, strongly affected by Main Character Syndrome).

Luke is the Dragon Reborn (very powerful magic user, deeply affected by the shadow of the last guy, much of his story is fixing the things the last guy broke, just as much if not more of a Main Character, farm boy origins.)

In conclusion, both of these universes are actually the same universe, many turns of the wheel later. All the similarities between the two story cycles is actually because of big mythic universal truth reasons, and not because both authors probably drank too much Joseph Campbell juice. Thank you for coming to this lecture, and don't forget we have a quiz on Monday.

#my post #star wars meta #wheel of time meta

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vivacia-18 · 4 years

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May the 4th be with you recs!

Because fanfic is the reason I’m finally getting into Star Wars after all these years XDD

I’m gonna include the fic summaries and my takes, so plopping these under a cut for length. If you haven’t already read these, please go give them some love. And if you have, go give them some more! XD

I’m a fix-it, (at least mostly) everybody lives and (hopefully) nobody dies kinda gal, so while I certainly like something that hits in the feels, I don’t care for angst with no payoff at the end. Many of these are ongoing, but I’m confident enough in the overall feel of them to rec with that in mind. I also like long fics, so most of my recs will reflect that.

Hunting Towards Heartstill by blackkat

Pairing: Mace Windu/ CC-2224 Cody

Status: Complete, 45 chapters

Summary: Plo has an idea. Mace agrees, and everything snowballs right into hell from there.

(Or: Mace and Cody get married in order to give the clones citizen status. Before they can focus on that, though, they're going to have to deal with ancient Sith artifacts, evil prophets, plots to overthrow the Supreme Chancellor, lost planets, monsters warped by Sith alchemy, inconvenient feelings, and Darth Sidious turning his eye on a potential new apprentice. Just...not in that order.)

Notes: Kat’s going to have her whole section recc’d in a minute, but this one is near and dear to my heart, so it get’s a special spot. This is the one that got me into the Star Wars fandom at all. And by “into the fandom” I mean I have never seen/read a single piece of Star Wars media outside of gifsets and funky graphic t-shirts in my entire life. And now here we are XDD

In short, as with anything kat writes, the characterization is top-notch, the wit even more so, and the feels will leave you broken to pieces only to bring you back together better than when you started at the end of it all. Enjoy <3

All of blackkat’s Star Wars fics, by she who never expected to be a part of this fandom so everyone thank sol for being a bastard and cher for having terrible, amazing, tempting, too-good prompts XD

Notes: As promised, I did indeed just link all of blackkats Star Wars fics XD Most are one shots, with several longer ongoing, and one very special one complete. Pairings and settings will vary, but I can promise you one thing: you can absolutely trust kat with your heart, no matter how angsty it seems (tho take those cliffie warnings seriously!). Enjoy, and may the Force be with you! <3

The Hero With a Thousand Faces by beamirang

Pairing: Jango/Obi-Wan

Status: Part 1 is a one-shot prologue, part 2 ongoing

Summary: “We’re going to kidnap a Jedi?” Boba sounds far more excited by the prospect than most twelve-year-olds probably should. And, because he’s Jango’s boy, because he’s too kriffing smart for his own good, he catches on way too quickly. “Wait. Are we kidnapping your Jedi?”

Notes: Fantastic characterization and writing - very witty (as one would expect with Obi and Fett XD) but also excellent on the heavier emotional aspects as well.

The Desert Storm by Blue_Sunshine

Pairing: None

Status: 17 parts complete, part 18 ongoing

Summary: In Tatooine legend, the sandstorm is Lukka, the Fury, both cleansing and damning. Lukka, the slaves believed, was Justice, was he who remade the world, and remade the soul.The storm screams at him, and Obi-Wan Kenobi screams back.

Notes: It’s a time travel fic! It’s one of my favourite tropes when done correctly, and this one certainly does :) Love the characters, they have so much depth and growth over the series. And while this far it is 100% a “everybody lives nobody dies” kinda story, there is no sacrifice in plot or narrative tension. Wonderful proof that there can be other narrative stakes in a story than just character death.

Under One Flag by NeurotropicAgentX

Pairing: Padme Amidala/Obi-Wan Kenobi/Darth Maul

Status: Two single chapter parts. Marked as incomplete with no further updates since 2017, but the chapters stand alone, no cliffhangers.

Summary: The story of how Padmé Amidala becomes the reluctant Empress of the galaxy and acquires a pair of Force-sensitive bodyguards. Deals with the light and dark side conflict, the politics of an Empire, and Dathomirian Culture.

Notes: A fun little read! The dynamics between the three were interesting, and who doesn’t love the idea of Empress Padme? :D

By A Barista by Tomatosoupful

Pairing: Obi-Wan/Anakin

Status: Complete, 7 chapters

Summary: Obi-Wan/Anakin, Modern Coffee Shop AU unapologetically set in Australia. Some Star Wars story lines and character arcs adapted into modern coffee versions.Anakin doesn't really know why Qui-Gon hired him despite having no experience in coffee making or table service, and he knows this bothers the barista, Obi-Wan, but hey, at least he gets to look at the handsome guy while he complains.

Notes: Another fun little read! I love social disaster Ani in modern settings, ngl XD

The Snowball Effect by Ghost_Owl

Pairing: Obi-Wan/Anakin

Status: Complete, 2 chapters

Summary: Anakin had not meant to nail the cute guy from his building in the face with a snowball.Obi Wan had absolutely meant to hit him back.

Notes: Another cute read! Once again Ani is a disaster, and Obi-Wan only less so by direct comparison XD I particularly remember this story for the author coining the phrase I now recognize as my favourite paring trope - two halves of a whole idiot XDD

Reprise by Elfpen

Pairing: None

Status: 7 parts, current part ongoing

Summary: Ben Kenobi dies aboard the Death Star in the year 0 BBY. He wakes up shortly thereafter in the Jedi temple in the year 41 BBY. Haunted by memories and regret, Ben must forge a new path for himself in the Jedi Order of his youth while navigating the murky waters of time travel. Crafting a better future from bitter experience is hard, but learning to heal is even harder. Major AU.

Notes: This one I found on the heels of Desert Storm, and while they are initially cut from the same cloth, you’ll find they immediately develop their own unique flavours. If you like time-travel fix-its (which I do ;D) then this is a great read, and has some lovely art to go with it!

Life and What Comes After by Ibelin

Pairing: None

Status: First part one-shot complete, second part ongoing

Summary: Obi-Wan dies on Jabiim. Anakin blames himself, doesn't know how to go on and yet - he does. Maybe the Force rewards that kind of thing, or maybe he just gets lucky, but when a mission lands Anakin on a vaguely familiar planet, he gets a second chance to do what he knows he should have done in the first place: save his master.(And maybe a chance to save the galaxy, too.)

Notes: *Don’t worry, Obi-Wan does not in fact die!*

Ngl, what attracted me to this fic in the first place was the tag “Unrealistically Well-Adjusted Anakin Skywalker” X’D For all they say that though, his growth as a person is actually written very believably - he’s still Ani, but you see the work he put in. And damn do I love me some real communication between Obi and Ani, and damn do we ever get that here. Obi kinda backtracks that a bit with his own self-esteem issues in part two, but I have no doubt the boys will get through it!

Definitely recommend, it’s got some really wonderful family feels <3

Witness Me by SLWalker

Pairing: Obi-Wan/Maul

Status: 7 parts, final story part(s) ongoing (part 5 is the main series that’s ongoing, part 6 scattered one-shots, part 7 art for the series)

Summary: Instead of escaping to Lotho Minor, Maul's captured by the Order. Obviously, that changes everything.

Notes: I’m currently reading this one! The first several parts focus on building the relationship between Obi and Maul. Then in part 5 we start to focus more on Maul growing as his own person, though he is absolutely still Obi-Wans other half. Get ready for some clone feels, because I guarantee you will fall hard and fast for the Blackbirds once you meet them <3 <3 <3 I also appreciate that while there is definite censure for the Jedi council as a whole for certain decisions, and Anakin is his canon disaster self, there is no character bashing or throwing under buses, and conversely no hero worship either. Thus far everyone is treated fairly - I really enjoy that we tend to see not only several outside views of characters and situations, but also a lot of introspection as well.

If you’re in it for the people, this story is very much for you <3

#star wars #fanfiction #recs #may the fourth be with you #never thought I'd spend several hours of my life reccing star wars fanfic #but here we are XD #hope someone gets a good read outta this!#<3 <3 <3 #also really hope that readmore works #this thing is hecking looong ^^;

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atamascolily · 6 years

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A Natural History of Tatooine, part 23/?

Luke and Callista discuss marriage and children in a scene that is a direct response to a particularly infuriating section of Darksaber. Also, daily life at the Jedi Academy.

(People who have read my other fics will know that making the characters happy right before everything goes to hell is one of my favorite literary tropes.)

(Previous installments)

"Did you ever want to have children?" Luke asked Callista one day. They stood on the balcony of Luke's quarters on the upper level of the main temple, watching the sunset and waiting for the bell to ring for evening meditation.

"I mean, yes. Someday. It just never seemed like the right time. And then the Clone Wars came and everything was in disarray, it definitely wasn't the right time. And then, just as things startled to settle down--"

"The Empire," Luke finished.

"Yes. And after that--having children was the last thing on my mind." She played with a tendril of passionvine intent on tangling its way across the railing.

"So now...?" Luke prompted after a long pause.

"I don't know," Callista said at last. "I don't know--if they'd be mine or Cray's."

"Genetically speaking, probably Cray's. But who knows? Your hair is coming back in the old color, and your voice is different from her--and so are your eyes. Given how your spirit shines through her body, I suppose there's only one way to find out."

"Try it and see what happens?" she said, with a gleam in her eye. She turned away to look out at the view. "Well, I have to admit that scares me."

"Why?"

A very long pause. "I'm afraid any children I have would inherit my Force blindness?"

"So what?" Luke repeated. "It doesn't matter to me."

"Shouldn't the first Jedi Master of the new order have Jedi children?"

"I don't think I have to personally spawn the new order myself," he said carefully. "In fact, Yoda and Ben would probably hate it if I did. They didn't think that Jedi should marry and have children. My father Anakin defied the Order to marry my mother in secret. He probably would have been happier with Djinn Altis's group," he added as an afterthought.

"Perhaps," she agreed, though she still wouldn't meet his gaze. "But I just--"

"Anyway, Leia's children are Force-sensitive, and Han is not, so who's to say they would be Force blind? And Cray was Force-sensitive, so if you are genetically Cray, then there's no reason to assume--"

"I guess you're right," she said, turning to face him at last. "Put that way, it sounds so cold. So clinical. So... Imperial. As if we were building a dynasty."

"I mean, I'm not averse to the idea, but I'm also not wedded to it--" Luke started, as he leaned over to embrace her. He stopped abruptly as an idea occurred to him. "Should we get married?" he asked after a moment.

"I don't know," she said. "I want to--Luke, truly, I do, I just--too much has happened. Too fast. I'm still getting used to it all. Let's take it slow."

"All right," he agreed, though he couldn't deny his disappointment. Still, there was no point in rushing her. "I can do slow. After all, a Jedi is very.... very... patient."

They both dissolved into giggles and the tension passed.

***

The days quickly settled into a routine. Luke and Callista rose at dawn, slipping on their robes and sandals in silence, threading their way through ancient stone corridors and the early morning haze to the meditation hall with the rest of the community. They sat cross-legged next to each other on dark cushions for an hour, stepping aside from the endless river of their thoughts to listen to the sound of their breathing and the squawking clamor of the pikka birds as they announced the return of the sun.

After breakfast, the community gathered in the central courtyard for morning announcements before splitting off for training. Since his return to Yavin, Luke had spent most of his time with Kirana Ti, coaching her as she strengthened her considerable Force powers, and answering her questions as best he could. A frequent debate was how best to adapt the Academy model to Dathomiri society when it was time for her to return to her home planet, and how to nip potential problems in the bud.

Callista's mornings were far more varied. In the beginning, she rotated between Luke, Kam, Tionne, and Mara, working one on one with them as they tried everything they could think of to restore her connection to the Force. Luke was nervous the first time Callista and Mara worked together, but it seemed to go well; Callista reported that Mara was polite enough, if a bit standoffish. He realized later that he was disappointed that two of the most important people in his life were never going to be friends.

Callista only tried to work with Corran once; it didn't go well. Of all the students who had trained at the Academy thus far, only Dorsk 81 and Nichos had ever had the temperament to mesh well with Corran. He was far more powerful than Tionne, but much worse at teaching--Corran admitted as much--but until they had more instructors, they were stuck with him.

After a few weeks, at Tionne's suggestion and with Luke's blessing, Callista began to offer her own classes for the students and teachers alike. She drawing on her considerable memories of Jedi history and lore, much of which she had personally experienced. She couldn't personally assist the students in carrying out the exercises she described, but under her guidance, Luke saw the quality of instruction at the academy blossom and expand beyond his wildest dreams. It didn't bring back her connection with the Force, but it made her feel appreciated and valued, and Luke was grateful for it.

After lunch, the community would meet again for the work assignments and chores necessary to keep everything running, from cleaning the bathhouse and guest rooms to tending the grounds to assisting the Head Cook and the kitchen droids with meal preparations. Callista threw herself eagerly into every assignment she was given. Since Force powers were rarely helpful in these sorts of work, she was more or less on even footing with the rest of the community and was rarely reminded of her loss.

Luke spent the work periods in his office, answering his messages and checking the accounts, though Mara was responsible for most of the day-to-day operations of the resort portion of the business. Corran, down the hall, managed vetting the guests and overall security, but Luke made a point to look over his shoulder now and again to know who and what to expect wandering the grounds and soaking in the baths. With several kidnapping attempts against Leia's children, it was best to be cautious.

After the work period ended, it was time for recreation. Luke spent most of those late afternoons wandering on foot with Callista or taking his airspeeder out for a spin over the treetops. She was particularly fascinated by the complex architecture of the temple complex, and they spent many hours exploring above and below ground, marveling at the sophisticated art of a vanished civilization.

Having spent her childhood on a raft-community on one of the vast oceans of Chad, Callista never failed to marvel at the vast forest stretching out in every direction, just as Luke had done since his first visit to Yavin when it served as headquarters for the Rebellion. Her unfailing zest for life, her laughter, her sense of humor and the absurd and the ridiculous had survived her resurrection more or less intact, and meshed neatly with his own.

"If you don't have a sense of humor, you're dead," she told him one afternoon as they made their way back to the temple, exhausted and covered in mud, but happy.

"You had a sense of humor when you were dead," he teased.

"Not quite dead," she corrected, laughing even as she said it.

Some days, they sparred in the dojo under Traitakh's watchful eye and the blank-eyed stares of the ysalamiri on their nutrient frames. Luke was nervous about sparring with her with open lightsabers, but he shouldn't have been. Callista had been training in sword-forms since she was twelve; she could easily best him if he was careless, especially when he couldn't draw on the Force for help. She knew many things he didn't, and under her careful tutelage, Luke found himself improving by leaps and bounds.

"Your style is so... rough," Callista said, after the first session. "If I didn't know better, I'd say it was 'unpolished'. Like a jewel pulled directly from the earth."

"That's because I didn't really have a teacher," Luke explained. "Yoda and I never studied combat. I just... did what I had to do."

"You fought Darth Vader and lived. How many people can claim that?"

"I'm still not sure how I survived, to be honest. It helped that he probably wasn't trying to kill me, even at the very end."

"I suppose so. But that doesn't make your form any less impressive under the circumstances," Callista said, stopping to stroke the rough pebbled back of a ysalamir. "Tionne doesn't like these big lizards, but I think they're cute. I've been helping Traitakh take care of them during work period sometimes, since no one else wants to do it."

Aside from Luke, Traitakh was the only member of the community whom Callista was close to. It pained Luke that her only friend was the one non-Force sensitive person at the academy, but he held his tongue. All of the students or instructors were polite to her, but none of them--even Tionne--had tried to get close. He didn't know how to bridge the gap.

After the exercise period, it was time to bathe. Callista loved the hot springs and the bathhouse, and they went every day in the late afternoon when the sun was level in the sky next to the fiery orb of the Yavin gas giant, but the shadows in the bathhouse were cool. They split up to enter the bathhouse, each washing on the side of their respective gender, only to meet up a short while later in the private teacher's pool, which they usually had to themselves. Then it was time for dinner, after which those who had foregone the afternoon work period assisted with the guests' dinner and with the meal clean-up, and then it was back to the meditation hall for another hour of silence and stillness before bed.

In theory, Callista had inherited Cray and Nichos's quarters, but in practice, she spent her nights with Luke. It was good not to be alone again, good to have someone to share his days with, a friend and ally he could count on. And no matter how restless his sleep, it was good not to be alone at night.

#star wars #my fanfiction #fanfic excerpt #a natural history of tatooine #jedi academy shenanigans

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amillionsmiles · 6 years

Text

end of year fic meme

tagged by @hailkuvira ; thanks so much, this was fun! (and inspired me to bust out the excel spreadsheets, LOL)

tagging @spacetravels , @sp4c3-0ddity , @anakkin , @leejinkih + anyone else who would like to have fun w. this

STATS:

Fics posted:

Tumblr exclusives: just going to direct to my masterlists tag, tbh

FF.Net: like we’re made of starlight (TATBILB, 2148 words) are you having fun yet? (i’ll send you the sunset) (Big Hero 6, 9302 words)

Archive of Our Own: just the lonely talking (The Last Jedi, 1521 words) dj got us falling in love again (Voltron, 5342 words) want your bad romance (Voltron, 2010 words) your hair was long when we first met (Voltron, 7339 words) quantum mechanics, smirks, and other complications of the universe (Voltron, 2501 words) is that a hermit crab in your pocket or are you just happy to see me? (Voltron, 1840 words) you’re deriving me crazy (Voltron, 6928 words) in the nook of a cousin universe (Voltron, 13441 words) head in the game (Voltron, 7804 words) The Future’s Open Wide (Voltron, 14500 words) you only live forever in the lights you make (Voltron, 1485 words) come out your way (Scarlet Heart Ryeo, 3446 words)

Total number: 14, plus tumblr Total word count: 89,174

Ship/Character breakdown: Ship breakdown: for Voltron, 14 Plance, 6 Sheith, 1 Hance. Big Hero 6 was my usual Tomadashi, TATBILB was Covinsky, The Last Jedi was just Tico sisters feelings, so Gen. Character breakdown: Lots of Pidge, Keith, Lance, and Shiro POVs

Characters that had the main focus: My fave Pidge got a lot of spotlight this year, and I wrote more Lance POV than I thought I would, which was fun! Besides that, Keith gets the narrator role for most of my Sheith fics, per usual.

Specifics:

Best/worst title? Best title: I’m not even ashamed to admit it because I have the humor of a teenage boy, but is that a hermit crab in your pocket or are you just happy to see me? was definitely my favorite, though it loses some points for being a mouthful, I guess. 2nd place would go to you’re deriving me crazy for the three-way pun. Worst title: come out your way is kind of nebulous I guess

Best/worst first line? Best: i am become blade “A knife is a close-range weapon. This is the first thing Keith learns, before the Garrison, before Voltron, before the Blade.”

Worst: welp, this is making me realize that almost all my fics start with just a single line of dialogue. I guess are you having fun yet? (i’ll send you the sunset) which just begins with: “I’m here! I’m here!” Best/worst last line? Best: you only live forever in the lights you make

“Sorry,” murmurs Shiro, but there’s little remorse in it, just a smile pressed against Keith’s temple, a buzzer going off in Keith’s head. A knee between his legs, their bodies aligning, and Keith thinks of that moment of grace when he releases the ball from his hands, watching it arc away from him with a held breath—and when Shiro finally, finally kisses him, it’s bleachers full of people rising to their feet, the thunderous roar of a crowd, the sweetest of sighs as the ball tumbles, headlong, through the net.

In case anyone hasn’t picked up on it yet, my heart will always beat for basketball and I think this paragraph really captures the feeling it gives, plus the Sheith kiss doesn’t hurt :’)

Worst: come out your way “And she smiles back.” I mean, it works for the two characters and where they are at this specific moment, but it’s not particularly insightful or creative, so I do wish I could have done a little more.

General questions:

Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted? I think more! I thought it would be much more slow-going because of college, but going through this reflection has made me realize that I still managed to squeeze stuff in when I got bitten by the writing bug.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year? God, this was the year of the Plance Plance Revolution. I remember @flusteredkeith texting me about Plance in like May or something of this year and at the time I was still like “oh that sounds cute” but probs wouldn’t actively ship it myself but now.... here we are.... oh worm What’s your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest. My entire ball’s in your court verse, tbh, particularly the Pidge and Lance segments. More to come! :)

Okay, NOW your most popular story. On tumblr, hold it against me got the most notes. On Ao3, in the nook of a cousin universe has the most hits and bookmarks, while hermit crab has the most kudos.

Story most underappreciated by the universe? My Hunk/Lance Sky High AU, tbh. I had so much fun writing it and was a little sad to see it sent off into the void, but Hance is a rarepair to begin with so I guess that was to be expected.

Story that could have been better? just the lonely talking; I really want to do more with the Tico sisters and their backstories but tbh I’m still not as informed about the Star Wars-verse as I’d like to be so a lot of the fic was just *waves hands* Maybe another time I’ll take a different stab at it.

Sexiest story? I’m vanilla af but I guess things get semi-steamy at the end of hermit crab, if you ignore the fact that the entire fic reads like a shitpost Saddest story? in the nook of a cousin universe. I mean, it’s a Kimi no na Wa AU, so that was kind of a given ;) Most fun? want your bad romance far and away. spin classes are something else, y’all Story with single sweetest moment? you’re deriving me crazy wins hands-down for best snuggles and cuddles all around.

Raising an eyebrow, Lance smirks, moving to the edge of her bed. Feet planted on the carpet, he pats his knee.

“C’mere.”

“What are you trying to do?” Pidge asks suspiciously, but she goes anyways.

“Nothing.” Feigning innocence, Lance hooks her by the belt loops, pulling her closer into the cradle of his hips. His legs bracket her on either side, and she laces her fingers behind his neck, waiting. It’s an old game between them, this process of making him come to her; Lance tilts his head back, smiling, and Pidge rolls her eyes, bending a little to meet him—

—only for him to snake an arm around her waist and tip her sideways onto the bed.

“Lance!” yelps Pidge, her bedsprings squeaking under their weight as they fall onto the mattress. She means to say more—something about how he’s a dirty sneak, but that gets swallowed by laughter when he starts tickling her, going straight for her neck.

“I—hate—you,” she gasps, squirming as she tries to bat his hands away. Eventually, she manages to get a leg around his middle and rolls them over, though Pidge suspects it only happens so easily because Lance is happy to yield. She ends up sitting on his waist, his chest rising and falling gently under her hands.

Hardest story to write? in the nook of a cousin universe, bc plotting was hell, and then also by virtue of it being a commission I felt doubly self-conscious about everything. But it was worth it in the end :)

Easiest/most fun story to write? want your bad romance because half of it happened to me in real life

Did any stories shift your perceptions of the characters? My Hunk/Lance Sky High AU actually got me to see how the Hunk/Keith dynamic could play out, surprisingly, which was a fun revelation to have. And then writing Pidge/Lance has made me fall back in love with Lance as a character, just realizing how genuinely good and fun and sweet he is.

Most overdue story? are you having fun yet? (i’ll send you the sunset) This fic had literally been languishing in my drafts for over a year and a half, and that’s not counting the first seeds of inspiration for it, which had been around way before that. It felt really good to finally get it done. :)

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them? This summer was the first time I opened myself up to commissions, and I was pleasantly surprised and honored by the response, so maybe I’ll make it an every summer thing. I think taking commissions definitely taught me to approach writing with more discipline, which was nice. I also branched more into “crack” fic and found it extremely enjoyable, so here’s to more of those.

What are your fic writing goals for next year?

Take more writing prompts, and train myself to treat them as prompts instead of feeling the need to develop a whole full-length fic around it.

Finish your hair was long when we first met

Write more rarepairs for Voltron (heith and kidge are next on my list)

Start my Hogwarts series

Basketball-verse Plance Part 3 B)

#fic memes #smiles speaks

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rinskiroo · 7 years

Note

Uncanny SWTOR prompts: Person A has a job/assignment in the creepy Dark Temple on Dromund Kaas for Jasati and/or Theron :3

This got a bit wordy. Thanks for the prompt, and Happy Hallowe’en!

“I think being a disavowed rogueagent has actually made him lose the rest of his marbles,” Kira hissed at her fellow Jedi as theyskulked through the Temple grounds in the dead of night. “They won’t kill us if they find us, youknow. Just decades of the most horrifictorture you can imagine. Like beingforced to watch overly cute children’s holovids.”

Jasquickly motioned for Kira to hide behind one of the large stones that litteredthe large area in front of Dromund Kaas’Sith Temple as a guard passed by. Theycrouched and pressed themselves behind the stone and waited for the footstepscrunching on dried leaves and grass to fade away. There were few guards wandering the area—andthat was the best descriptor either of them could think of. They seemed to move without purpose, slow andunfocused. It was rather unnerving howonce they were sure they had been spotted, but a dead-eyed guard paid them nomind.

“He says it’s a big Revanite meetand greet,” Jas whispered. “If we take down some of these major players,we could stop this whole mess right now.”

“Dromund Kaas. Sith Temple.” Kira reiterated the great peril they were in, as if Jas couldforget. “Can’t save the galaxy if we’redead, Master.”

TheTwi’lek’s shoulders shruggedslightly. It was a true enoughstatement, but they had to take the chance. She trusted Theron’s intel, and knew the risks he would take if hethought they could be successful. Theymoved again, quickly towards the opening carved into the front of theTemple. There was a strange green glowemanating from inside, though once they were across the threshold, it was hardto tell where it was coming from. Theair seemed to hum with a haunting whine—the Force itself was charged withterror and sorrow and pure rage.

“I have a—”

“Bad feeling. Really bad feeling,” Jas agreed, but it was too late to turn backnow.

Therewere slaves inside, still working at whatever they were doing. Like the guards outside, they seemed to justmeander around the Temple, not really accomplishing anything. They were hunched over to the side as theylumbered about and took no notice of the two Jedi that had walked into theplace they certainly shouldn’t havebeen. They did, of course, take care tonot announce themselves as Jedi—taking a public transport under falseidentities, wearing clothing more suitable to tomb raiders, and putting all oftheir Force-masking skills to the test.

“Do you think there’s a significancewith the statues’ bowed heads?” Jasasked as she looked on at the wide open Temple interior. There were several large statues ofman-shape, all standing tall, but with their faces towards the ground. A singular statue stood at the back, perhapsthe source of the ominous green glow: a Sith Pureblood flexing its arms widewith its face turned towards the sky.

“Uh, yeah. But we’rehere for the evil cult, not art history.” Kira prodded Jas forward until they made it to the steps in the backleading up to the second level. “Lovechild said they’re meeting upstairs, second alcove on the right side.”

Theypressed up against the wall at the sound of footfalls above them, slowly makingtheir way downward, one step at a time. Both had the hilts of their sabers gripped in their hands. A confrontation now would be too soon—theenemy would be alerted to their presence and they’dhave to fight their way back to the extraction point. Chances of surviving the mission went downsignificantly if they had to engage anything other than their intended targets.

Itwas a Zabrak woman, girl really. Barelyeven a teenager, but with broken, rusted shackles still around her ankles andwrists. She walked as the other slaveshad—slouched with seemingly no purpose. Jas’ pulse fluttered as she felt Kirawrap her hand around her wrist. Theycouldn’t afford to try and save anyone here. They didn’t have the time, or the resources, and making the attempt wasanother thing that would greatly reduce their chance of survival.

Herheart ached for every poor being stuck in this Temple, on this world, in thisEmpire. She was keenly aware that hadthe circumstances of her birth been even slightly different, she could haveeasily ended up in a similar situation, or worse. Jas glanced at Kira, someone who did know worse circumstances. She let out a sigh as she accepted that todaywasn’t the day she could liberate thesepeople.

TheZabrak girl had made it past them and was nearly out of view when the longexhale left the Jedi. The girl stopped,and turned. It wasn’t her body that turned, just her head, craning at anunnatural angle to look behind her and stare at the two women trying to hide inthe shadows. Her eyes glowed with thesame ghastly bloom as the Sith statue.

Kira’s fingers squeezed tighter around her wrist. Both swallowed their breath and held it. A wall crept up in front of them—a barrier inthe Force that they could hide behind, where their brilliance could be hiddenfrom the Darkness around them.

Itas an agonizingly long minute, but the young slave’s head realigned with her body and she continued her waydown the steps. When Kira opened hermouth to let out another obvious and sarcastic comment, Jas twisted her wristout of her grip and shook her head. Theyneeded to get back on task.

Asthey got closer to the room where the meeting was supposed to take place, theycould hear hushed voices.

“Can you understand what they’resaying?” Jas whispered.

“No, but…” Kira trailed off like she was thinking, butnot liking where her thoughts ended up. “I’mnot hearing them with my ears…”

Therewas a cold chill that ran up Jas’spine at Kira’s words. She had felt it,too. The whispers weren’t in the roomthey were seeking, but off in the corner of her mind. It was in a language she almost understood,but just couldn’t quite—

Kiranudged her and moved from where she had been trying to peer into the room. Wordlessly, they exchanged places and Jasglanced inside. What she expected to seewas a group of possibly cloaked figures planning out their little clandestineaffair to overthrow both the Empire and Republic and resurrect a ghost.

Thewhispers definitely were not coming from in that room.

Savefor the intricately carved pillars encircling the room, the creepy glowing urnon a stone altar, and the numerous bones scattered around, the area was empty.

“Do you think wrong Temple or wrongdate?”

Jasdidn’t respond, just stared at the emptychamber. But it wasn’t empty… There wasno Death, just the Force. The spirits ofthe dead swirled around the Temple. Allthe souls that had passed through here and had never left still churned throughthe air. They had died in agony andterror, unfulfilled. There were slaveswithout choice or hope and acolytes without enough fear or good sense.

“They came for something…” Jas murmured, mostly to herself. Slowly, her feet took tentative steps intothe room. “A boon from their gods? Knowledge?”

Thewhispers were getting louder. Sheunderstood a few words now. Power. Freedom. Victory. Not just words, but emotions. Pure, strong, intoxicating emotions. Things bottled up and pushed away so as notto overwhelm, but now here, raw and untapped.

“This doesn’t look like the cultistshindig you promised me.”

Herfingers had been mere centimeters away from the urn—she hadn’t even realized she’d been reaching for it when the voicepierced her ears. Jas turned towards thehooded figure coming through the side door they hadn’t noticed before. The cloaked figure was an oddity in theTemple. Its own little pocket ofabsence—a void in the Force, if such a thing were possible. It wasn’t until he pushed the hood backrevealing a familiar plume of stiff, dark hair and the telltale cyberneticscurved around his left eye.

“Hey, you’re the one who invited usto the creepy compound of death.” Kiracarefully stepped around the bone piles towards Jas. “You okay there, Master?”

“No…” Theron said as he also moved closer into thecenter of the room, towards the two women. “You sent me a message about the Revanites meeting here. I told you not to come, that I’d take care ofit.”

Jasglanced down at her hand. It wasstrange; she didn’t remember walking this far intothe room, or reaching for the urn, but here she was with her handoutstretched. Self-consciously, shepulled it back and wiped it on her jacket. “That’s troubling. And yes, I’mfine, Kira. Since it seems we were allmisled, perhaps we should leave.”

“Don’t you think we should find outwhy? And by who?” Theron asked. To him, it was now an interesting puzzle to solve that may offer moreclues about those they were after, but there was a jagged spike of fearsettling in her stomach and warnings bouncing around in her skull.

“A little mystery keeps thingsinteresting,” Jas said, hoping theimpudent comment masked her fear.

Aroundthem, the ground rattled. Aground-quake, maybe—

“I’m with you, Master. I’m much happier not knowing what brought ushere.”

Oneof the skulls on the ground rotated. That damned green glow leaking out of the cracks and holes. It faced the three of them and began skitteringto the side to find a reassembling spinal column. A femur rolled across the floor along with acouple radiuses and a full set of phalanges.

“Quick vote then,” Theron said as he started reaching for hisblaster. “I say run.”

“Aye.”

“Aye!”

“Ayes have it.”

Theronlet the cloak fall to the ground and pulled out both his blasters. The sound of two sabers igniting filled theroom as the hum of energy around them grew stronger. Kira twisted her saber around and slicedthrough the forming skeleton, scattering its bones once more. Several more sets of bones started rattlingaround them and rolling across the ground to reconstitute. From the door leading out to the main part ofthe Temple, the lurching slaves started to pour in. One and two at a time, sometimes gettingwedged together when more than two would try to squeeze through the opening.

“This way!” Theron shouted and lead them towards the sideentrance he had come from.

Itwas a cramped stairwell winding downward to the back of the temple. Jas took the lead with Kira covering theirretreat. Once they were out of thebone-room, Kira collapsed the doorway behind them in the hopes that would stopany of the skeletons or possessed slaves from chasing after.

“Do you two have a way out of Impspace?” Theron asked as he trailedbehind Jas, blaster trained over her shoulder to catch anything that might popout in front of them.

“You told us you had an extractionplan,” Jas told him, saber raiseddefensively in front of her as they took the steps two and three at a timedown.

“I didn’t send the message,” he reiterated.

“I know that now!”

“Good thing I didn’t follow the planin the message you sent. I’vegot a shuttle hidden out in the forest.”

“Our hero,” Kira said dryly. “Hopefully we make it out of this temple ofhorrors to get to that shuttle.”

“Inc—!” Theron barely got the word out of his mouthbefore Jas leapt forward and landed with her saber slicing through a fleshymonstrosity that used to be a person—twisted and corrupted by the Dark Side.

Theyhad made it to the bottom of the steps and the small alcove just before theback entrance where several more of the creatures were waiting for them. Theron fired several blasts from both of hisweapons while Kira used the Force to throw them backwards, away from theirparty. Jas leapt from creature tocreature like bouncing ball of vengeance, cutting down the ghoulish monsters.

“Go go go!” Theron shouted, propelling them out into thedarkness and away from the Temple.

[Uncanny SWTOR Prompts] [Masterlist]

#swtor #fanfiction #kira carsen #theron shan #jedi knight #spooky fic #jasati #theron x jas #not really but that's how i sort my tags #uncanny swtor prompts #gerdavonrinnlingen

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hexxalite-hecate · 6 years

Text

I HAVE FEELINGS ABOUT TLJ AND I’M GOING TO TALK ABOUT THEM OK THANKS

Spoiler: the more I think about TLJ, the more I like it. This is a closer look at the big criticisms I’ve seen about the film. The most popular ones seem to be:

1. Reylo sucks and Rey’s storyline with Kylo romanticises abuse

2. Rey not being a Skywalker or a Kenobi is bullshit and meaningless

3. You ruined Luke!

4.The movie is too long and convoluted, what even is going on in the space casino

WELL OK THEN HERE WE GO

Argument 1: Rey and Kylo's interactions romanticise abuse.

Some people love the idea of a Kylo/Rey romance; others feel his treatment of her bears unmistakable hallmarks of gaslighting and abuse, and the idea of a strong woman like Rey falling into a clichéd bad-boy romance arc would ruin her character and send a really terrible message about relationships that the media is already guilty of widely perpetrating. And to much of an extent, I agree with that, especially the second part of the argument. But I’m not weighing in on shipping wars; that’s not what this is about. I want to talk purely about canon interaction, and I don’t think any romanticising of abuse is borne out by how Rey actually responds to Kylo onscreen. A lot of people point to the scene where he reveals her parentage and asks her to join him, in particular that his statement about her being “nothing” is manipulative and insidious.

While I definitely don’t think Kylo is above being manipulative, let’s try and analyse a little more of what’s going on in that scene. I admit it’s kind of funny to think of Kylo negging like a redpiller, but I think there’s more going on when he says “you’re nothing; but not to me” than a pickup line. I believe Kylo’s projecting like a 60w bulb here. It just so happens that he hit the nail on the head when he touched on Rey’s fears of loneliness and abandonment, but I think he’s also talking about his own feelings. In fact, Kylo’s dialogue is so Freudian that it’s an interesting exercise to take all the statements he makes to others throughout the film (particularly Rey) and assume he’s talking to himself. The results are weirdly plausible. Snoke has clearly been destroying his self-esteem for years, and he (not without reason) believes that the bridges back to his family are forever burned. I think the “you’re nothing; but not to me” comment is a statement he would long for someone to say TO him. He’s honestly trying to communicate to Rey that she has worth, despite it coming across almost the exact opposite. And the thing he most wants in the world is for someone to feel that way about him.

By this point in the film, the battle with Snoke and the Praetorian Guards has galvanised a new direction in Kylo. “Let the past die. Kill it if you have to.” Now he fully embraces that statement. To him, Rey represents a whole new path that had hitherto been non-existent; something outside both the First Order AND the Jedi/Resistance. When he asks her to join him, I don’t believe he means as part of the First Order. Listen to his words: "We can rule together and bring a new order to the galaxy." I think he meant for them to forge a completely different path, just the two of them. This is why he doesn’t lend much thought to stopping the attack on the Resistance ships, callous as is it. He’s killed the past. None of it matters to him. He doesn’t care if the Supremacy burns too; in fact he’d be glad. He and Rey can leave all this pain and heartache behind and become their own Order. When he makes this offer, Kylo is at his most sincere and vulnerable. And when Rey rejects it, his fleeting vision of a glorious future beyond his pain, guilt and subjugation is dashed in an instant. Predictably, he reacts with a psychotic break.

Of course it would be a ludicrous betrayal of Rey’s character for her to accept this proposal, throwing her friends’ lives to the wind and enabling Kylo in his selfish power fantasy. I’m so glad the writers didn’t go that route, for a number of reasons. For a start, Rey is not aware of the true complexity of what Kylo is experiencing in this moment. She simply sees him retreating to the Dark Side, dashing her own hopes of his redemption that had surely risen during the triumph over Snoke and the Praetorian Guards. Rey would never have said yes to Kylo Ren; it was Ben Solo she went to the Supremacy to save. But even had she seen what was really going on in his head, I’m still glad she refused because it underscores a subtle but strong feminist narrative that has permeated the new trilogy so far. Kylo is damaged, but it is NOT Rey’s job to fix him. Her compassion prompted her to reach out a supportive hand and she undoubtedly feels the chemistry of their bond, but she won’t throw her principles, her integrity and her friends under the bus for what is essentially a psychotic killer, no matter how much she sympathises with his pain. This is why I find it misleading when people label Kylo and Rey’s canon interaction as “romanticising abuse”. Having compassion for someone is not the same as enabling or excusing their actions. If Rey had fallen into his arms believing she could fix the bad boy and everything would be ok, THAT would be romanticising an unhealthy relationship. But she doesn’t. Her integrity speaks sense over her bond with Kylo, and she refuses to take on the responsibility of making him better. That responsibility is his alone.

Now, if he takes it upon himself to improve and atone, truly and unselfishly? Then I would be up for an actual relationship between them. I don’t think that’s an implausible prediction for the series, either.

Argument 2: Rey having no significant parentage was pointless and a wasted opportunity.

The feminist nature of how Rey’s character is written touches on another of the major complaints I’ve seen about TLJ; the reveal of her parentage. I think even Daisy Ridley commented with annoyance that the only conversation people seemed to be having about Rey was which famous man is her progenitor. But guess what! She’s not special because she’s Luke’s daughter or Ben’s sister or Obi-Wan’s granddaughter; she’s special because she’s Rey. If one of TLJ’s main themes is failure, the other is undoubtedly “we are the spark”, and “we” is everyone and anyone. Anyone can be special and rise to greatness, no matter if they’re a long-lost relative of a powerful Force-wielder or not. The Skywalker dynasty is not as special or unique as you thought they were.

This leads into another thing that I really love about how TLJ is written, and something that its detractors seem most furious about: it’s not afraid to kill sacred cows. The Skywalkers are not the be all and end all of the Force. Not even the Jedi and the Sith are; Luke makes that crystal clear when he encourages Rey to feel the true extent of the Force during her meditation. All these ancient traditions and bloodlines are insignificant specks in the cosmic Force. What I love about this concept is that it so perfectly and cleverly chastises fans for clinging onto a limiting and misplaced sense of tradition about Star Wars. Ending on the scene with the nobody stableboy on Canto Bight casually Force-calling his broom encapsulated this theme; the spark is everywhere. Anyone can rise and be a hero. Even the Skywalkers came from nothing; they were slaves from a backwater nowhere. The institutions of the Jedi and the Sith were both corrupt and ineffectual by the end because they clung to tradition instead of focusing on living individuals. The Jedi were as much to blame as the Sith for the creation of Darth Vader; their rigid adherence to their codes lead to Anakin’s alienation and eventual fall. Ironically, the one character we see who seems to understand this turns up in the hated Phantom Menace; Qui-Gon Jinn. His focus on the living Force rather than traditions and codes is implied to be the reason he was never accepted by the Jedi Council, but he was the only one who truly connected to the young Anakin on a compassionate and human level. If Qui-Gon hadn’t died, Darth Vader might never have existed.

Nowhere is the theme of killing sacred cows more blatantly paraded than in the scene where Luke and Yoda destroy the ancient Jedi temple tree with its sacred texts. Having conceived of the idea in a moment of manic despair (much like the moment that lead to him contemplating killing Ben Solo), Luke is then horrified when the ghost of Master Yoda finishes the job with what seems like capricious glee. But Yoda has finally learned the lesson that Luke taught him on Dagobah when he abandoned his training in favour of saving his friends; when the old ways do not work, it’s ok to let them go. Kill your sacred cows. Let the past die. “We are what they grow beyond", Yoda tells Luke. What use are Masters if their apprentices never surpass them? And that’s true of Yoda as well. Even an old dog can learn new tricks, and on Dagobah, Yoda was still clinging to the codes and traditions of the creaky outmoded Jedi Order. He was reluctant to train Luke and believed his impulse and emotion to be dangerous. But Luke taught him that emotion, passion, love and putting your friends first was not something to be feared as a path to the Dark Side; it is to be embraced and cherished as an essential human experience. Ironically, since his failure with Ben, Luke himself has become afraid that that lesson was the wrong one. But when the tree burns, Yoda re-kindles in Luke the very thing that Luke taught Yoda all those years ago on Dagobah. The cyclical nature of their journeys mirror the cyclical nature of the Force; it will go round and round, encompassing everything and everyone. We are the spark.

Argument 3: Luke's personality was butchered and his exile was out of character.

“Killing a sacred cow” is what I think a lot of people’s feelings about Luke’s characterisation boil down to in TLJ, and where a lot of the upset stems from. I’ve seen many arguments that Luke would never have contemplated killing Ben; that he would never avoid his responsibilities with the Resistance for 20 years; he would never be so “cowardly” as to not attend the final battle on Crait in person. His hope and light was the focal point of the original trilogy; his character was butchered! But I think all of these arguments overlook fundamental aspects of Luke’s character. Implying he has realistic human flaws seems to be sacrilege. But when you think about it, the things we learn about Luke’s story in TLJ make perfect sense based on his personality, past and experiences.

Let’s look at Luke’s timeline after the OT. The biggest thing that goes wrong for Luke (that we know of) is his moment of madness when he turns a lightsaber on his own nephew. And on the face of it, it does seem extreme. Never-give-up-on-friends-and-family Luke, who went to the ends of the galaxy even for his corrupted fallen father, attempting to kill an innocent boy – his nephew at that!? It does seem outrageous. But when you really look at Luke’s character from Episodes IV to VI, you’ll see that he has these impulsive and passionate reactions a lot more than fans tend to remember. Luke is an extraordinarily emotionally driven person, and his gut instinct informs pretty much all his major decisions in the OT. He joined the Rebel Alliance because he saw a pretty girl on a hologram begging for help. He diverted the escape from the Death Star to rescue Leia as soon as R2D2 said she was a prisoner there. He turned off his targeting computer in the trench. He went to Dagobah on the orders of a hallucinatory ghost. He took weapons into the Dark Side cave against Yoda’s advice because he felt spooked. He went to rescue Han and Leia on Bespin despite Yoda begging him to remain impartial. We constantly see him making split-second emotional decisions or even succumbing entirely to instinctual feeling. Remember when Vader threatened Leia at the climax of RotJ, and Luke completely and utterly lost control? His hysterical, panic-filled beating on Vader is EXACTLY the kind of instinctive emotional reaction that we can assume happened in the hut with Ben. He had a shocking vision of Ben’s darkness, fell totally prey to his emotional instincts, and before he knew it the lightsaber was alight in his hand. Like during his fight with Vader, reason overcame madness pretty quickly, and I very much doubt Luke would actually have actually hurt Ben if the scene had been allowed to play out. He actually says this directly in the film: “it passed like a fleeting shadow, and I was left with shame and consequence”. But unlike with Vader, by that point it was already too late. The damage had already been done, the trust broken, and Ben reacted in his own uniquely impulsive catastrophic Skywalker way. (These Skywalker boys are all so extra.)

But Luke should have gained control over his feelings long ago, you cry! He was building a new Jedi Order, and one of the main hallmarks of the Jedi is that they control their emotions!

Well, yes, it was. But the entire point of the ending of RotJ is that Luke shatters that traditional Jedi Order. This is the lesson that he teaches Yoda at 11th hour on Dagobah; that you can be a strong in the light side of the Force and also be true to your personal attachments and commitments. They are not sins to be eradicated (this pressure is what drove Anakin to the Dark). This truth was undoubtedly part of the basis of Luke’s new Order. But when he wakes up and sees what his moment of uncontrolled instinctual reaction has wrought – his temple destroyed, Kylo gone, the apprentices slaughtered – he would naturally have had a crisis of self-doubt. Was he right about his new Order teachings? Should he have followed the old Jedi way instead? He must have been wrong, and now he’s failed everyone, including his own nephew, and by extension his beloved sister and best friend.

That brings us to the “out-of-character” exile on Ach To. As far as I can see, this isn’t out of character at all. Remember what everyone who doesn’t like Luke trots out? He’s whiny. He sulks as much as Anakin did in AotC. He had plenty of moments of inspiring optimism in the original trilogy, but he had plenty of moods too. And yeah, he was a teenager back then. But this is a part of Luke’s essential character, and the Luke of TLJ is not an 18-year-old any more; with age comes the natural loss of youth’s idealism even without a traumatic event to compound it. Luke’s always had his friends to pull him out of his melancholia before, but this time it was those very same friends whom he had let down. How could he seek solace with them when he had singlehandedly caused their son’s downfall? We don’t know yet whether he saw Han and Leia after the disaster with Ben, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he simply couldn’t bring himself to face them. And as time goes on, it gets harder and harder. Luke isn’t just ashamed of what happened with Ben; he’s afraid of himself. Is he dangerous? How many other lives could he ruin? They’re better off without him. Anyone who has ever struggled with depression, or seen a friend or family member do the same, will recognise this litany. By the time TFA rolls around, Luke is seriously depressed and probably suffering from PTSD as well. He is jaded, afraid, ashamed, cynical and bitter. When Rey turns up looking for all the world like another young idealistic Jedi puppy, asking for the very training that Luke believes doomed his first apprentices, is it any wonder Luke throws the lightsaber over his shoulder and refuses to speak to her? He genuinely thinks he has nothing to offer; or worse, that he and his teachings are an active danger to her.

Of course as moody as Luke can be, he has always been easily pulled back to the light, even in his jaded and traumatised state in TLJ. It does not take Rey long to rekindle the spark of hope and optimism that has always been within him. The scars from his ordeal will never disappear, though. Did you notice how he FREAKS OUT when Rey shows even the slightest curiosity about the Dark cave below the island? He sees Ben all over again – or possibly even himself, entering the cave on Dagobah. He’s back to the rigid Jedi code of DENY REPRESS DENY, and predictably, it drives Rey away just as it did Anakin in AotC. It’s only after his heart-to-heart with Yoda that Luke begins to see the worth in his teaching methods again, and return to some semblance of the Luke we saw at the end of RotJ.

The projection he sends to Crait is not only a very clever move from Luke, it’s also a uniquely unselfish one, despite the cries of “coward” from the naysayers. What purpose would physically showing up on Crait serve? Only indulging his own ego. He’d have been killed in the first onslaught of firepower, and achieved nothing but despair for the Resistance and triumph for Kylo. He knows that the true value of his presence is to buy time for the Resistance to escape, and in the process inspire them with the sight of their long-lost ally. It also serves to show Kylo how powerful Luke truly is, even after all this time. Kylo drops a line earlier in the film about his Force bond with Rey not being the same as a physical projection; even with Rey’s level of raw power, he claims it would kill her. Of course it kills Luke too, although it’s unclear whether anyone has actually realised this by the end of the film. But Luke dies making the same sacrifice Vader did. He messed up, but his dying act is to protect his loved ones in whatever way he can. I personally thought the scene of his death on Ach To was incredibly beautiful. Luke has found peace and redemption. He is more at one with the Force than he has ever been. How can you begrudge an ending like that?

Argument 4: The film was over-long and the Canto Bight codebreaker plotline sucked.

Well yeah, I'll give you that one. Justice for Finn and Rose!

Anyway that’s all; thank you for coming to my TLJ TED Talk.

#star wars #the last jedi #tlj spoilers #tlj #reylo #kylo ren #ben solo #rey #luke skywalker #extra skywalker boys #tlj meta #star wars meta #meta

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badsithnocookie · 6 years

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Unification (4/?)

Of all the people Eirn hadn't expected to see when they returned, it was Lana who was waiting for them impatiently at the Republic's base camp - pacing irritably behind the checkpoint, shooting challenging looks to any Pubs who looked as though they might be about to question her presence and, on spotting Eirn, homing in on her almost immediately.

'Lord Illte. I'm glad to see you made it back in one piece.' This time, there was nothing snide or sour about her use of Eirn's title - it was genuine, or as genuine as she got, which was enough to unsettle Eirn on the best of days. It was a slightly unfair reaction; Lana did not plot to steal power and status, despite orthodox views on Sith philosophy. Still, it was an ingrained one - Eirn had not lasted as long as she had among Sith by being a Jedi's version of fair, and everything about Lana Beniko set those well-tested instincts on edge.

'Lana,' Eirn replied, half in greeting - and then, frowning, 'Something's wrong.'

An understatement; Lana Beniko did not make a habit of abandoning her posts, and would have harangued Eirn over the holo, were this anything but a matter of- well, life or death, a thought that didn't make Eirn feel any better.

'Not here,' Lana replied, sharply - shooting a dark, wary glance at the Republic guards before returning her attention to Eirn. 'In my shuttle. There's something you need to see.'

Which meant, of course, something that Lana didn't want to share with the Republic; which meant that she was tipping her hand that there was something that she didn't want to share with them, and that Lana had decided that whatever had unsettled her enough to abandon her post was worth potentially upsetting the Republic's shaky almost-trust in the Alliance. None of this filled Eirn with anything but a mild, gnawing dread that Lana's own tension was doing nothing to abate.

'I've been taking a look at the information that led us to Iokath in the first place, and comparing it to what Theron pulled from the data node that you found. It looks like we were fed nearly the same information,' Lana added, calling up a holographic display - showing two sets of data, highlighting the differences between the two. 'But pieces of it were missing. Like they'd been deliberately redacted.'

The data on the display meant nothing to Eirn - numbers and figures, scrolling past too fast to read, not that she'd ever had a head for numbers to begin with. She did recognise the map, though - the path they'd taken to the supposed weapons cache, and the visual record of what looked, at first glance, like the Throne they'd found.

'So whoever brought us here sent us bad intel,' Eirn replied, slowly - not quite getting what Lana was getting at.

'Nearly. It was missing various key chunks of information. But that's not the worst part,' Lana added, calling up a third set of data. 'Take a look at this.'

Eirn had no idea what she was looking at, other than lists and figures and numbers - and the points at which those sets differed. 'I'm looking at...?' she prompted, eventually - not getting it.

'This is the data that was sent to the Alliance,' Lana replied, sighing testily as she indicated the middle set, 'And this is what I was able to pull from the Republic datasets. The information we were leaked is identical.'

Well, that definitely wasn't odd.

'Are you sure about this?' Eirn replied - shooting Lana a dark, slightly wary look, and getting an identical one in return.

'I'm certain,' Lana said, nodding sharply. 'I've checked and rechecked it three times. Whoever sent us - and the Republic - this information wanted us in the same place, at the same time.'

'...This is a set-up,' Eirn added, the urgency of Lana's problem finally clicking into place. 'Someone manipulated us and the Republic to be here by feeding us just enough to get us interested, then...'

'Likely the Empire, too,' Lana replied, tersely. 'Of course, I'd need to examine their leads to be sure, but given the timing, it seems a fair assumption.'

'What do we know about the source? Where did you get the information to begin with?' Eirn started, eventually - studying Lana for a long moment.

'I've already told you,' Lana replied, irritably. 'It was anonymous. I've tried to track down the source, but whoever it was is good at hiding their tracks.'

Which was the very opposite of reassuring, and Eirn felt her headache twinge at all the unpleasant possibilities.

Someone wants you dead, Illte. Someone wants a war. Someone wants to put the blame for war on you. (They'd be right, too - fighting is all you've ever been good at, Illte. Death follows you, like a bad smell-)

'Alright,' Eirn sighed, after a moment. 'Well.' Thank you, Lana, for adding to the reasons we should have stayed away from here. 'Thank you for letting me know. Maybe... have Theron see if he can get any information about the Republic's source,' she added - an incredibly long shot in the dark, but at this point, she'd almost have valued input from her former Emperor. Almost.

'Just as long as you're not expecting miracles. Things between Theron and his father seem to be...' Lana trailed off - apparently she wanted to finish that sentence about as much as she needed to.

The estrangement was obvious - Eirn was quite certain she'd have picked that much up even without the Force. A part of her kept wanting to take Theron by the shoulders and march him to wherever Malcom called his command HQ and make them talk - or, at the very least, give him a meaningful and pointed order - but she knew, equally, that was probably her own regret, attempting to live vicariously through someone else's reconciliation. Not that she and her father had fallen out, exactly, but- well, there enough things that had been left unsaid to fill a lifetime of awkward small talk.

'I know,' she just sighed, though - before adding, 'But I suspect he'd have more luck than you or I.' They weren't just the enemy, after all, but Sith - even if Lana seemed more attached to her Alliance than the Empire.

Lana just chuckled at that, though - a rare but genuine kind of amusement showing in her expression. 'True enough. Alright,' she added, though - 'I should get back to work. I'll contact you when I've got an update.'

Lana wasn't the only one who was surrounded by an aura of dread, either; the atmosphere in Malcom's command station was downright grim, when Eirn finally made it there, and she wasn't certain that anything that was coming was going to be an improvement on Lana's grim assessments.

'We have a problem.'

Four of Eirn's least favourite words, spoken in one of her least favourite orders and by one of her least favourite accents. She had no idea where in the Republic it was that Malcom hailed from, and didn't care; a part of her even now instinctively wanted to reach for her lightsaber whenever she heard Republic soldiers speaking, and we have a problem wasn't doing anything to reassure her.

'Of course we do,' she replied - sighing, and wondering if this was going to be the moment that she ended up in Force-suppressing restraints, on a ship bound for Coruscant. 'What is it now?'

'While you were out,' Malcom replied, calling up a holographic display - showing what seemed to be the main Imperial position, as seen from one of the Republic's scouting positions, 'One of our forward scouts sent us this, shortly before your team returned to base. The Imps have been landing more of their people, but... it's not the numbers that concern me.'

The display finally paused, at that - focused on one of the Imperial shuttles, the same model that Eirn recognised as having occupied Acina's private docking bays on Kaas. She had no idea how common or otherwise they were in the Empire - its fleets and their makeup were of vanishingly low interest to her, though no doubt Theron or Lana could have told her more. It wasn't the shuttle that got her attention, though, but its passenger - a haughty, tightly-wound Sith who looked almost as thrilled to be there as Eirn was.

Acina.

Her, or an uncanny body double. Still, it was harder to fool Sith than to fool Republic holos, and Eirn knew that there would inevitably be those among the Imperial forces who had prior experience working with the Empress. Sith were creatures of habit, after all; had allies and enemies, routines and patterns, habits and foibles - facts she'd used against others, and had used against her, in turn.

'Do we know what she's doing here?' Eirn replied, glancing to Malcom - and to his analyst, another pale-skinned human who'd smirked to himself when Eirn had entered the room, but who thus far had said nothing.

'Not yet,' Malcom replied, 'Though I can hazard a few guesses.'

'Sir,' Dorne started, 'I may be able to provide some insight. While we were unable to locate anything of immediate use against the Imperial forces, we were able to confirm the hypothesis that the weapon can be remotely controlled. It would seem that an attempt to do just that is what lead to the deaths of the people who built this facility. Agent Shan believes, and I concur, that with the right information, it would theoretically be possible for one of us to attempt the same thing. It is also probable, however, that the results would be... similar.'

Eirn couldn't help but raise her brow at that. 'You knew about that?' she replied - not appreciating having been left so completely out of the loop. She half-expected it from the Republic, but-

(Theron used to be Republic, her paranoia murmured, and Malcom is his father. Do not underestimate blood ties, Illte-)

'We suspected it might,' Malcom replied, cutting in before Dorne could go any further, 'But had no hard proof.'

Eirn could feel her temple starting to throb; her head hurt, and her fatigue was catching up with her. She knew she'd never sleep, but all she wanted was to lie down, somewhere dark - away from this stupid battle, away from machines of mass murder and all these lunatics who seemed desperate to use them. She closed her eyes, though - massaging the bridge of her nose, trying to focus on her more immediate problems, like power-hungry Sith and empty Thrones.

'The Empress wouldn't be here unless there'd been a breakthrough,' Theron started - and the Imperial lines were holding fast, or so it seemed.

'Or she's here to force one,' Eirn added, slightly absent-mindedly - thinking, at that, of the way Acina had spoken to her on Kaas. Acina had possessed an agenda, there, that had nothing to do with the Alliance - Eirn had been able to tell that much without even trying, even if she'd run into brick walls trying to figure out what that was.

'Acina's not stupid,' Malcom replied, apparently objecting. 'If she pushes her people too hard, and this- failsafe goes off, she'll just end up killing her own people, too.'

'Sith don't care about Imperial lives,' Eirn replied, frowning to herself. 'Just ending Republic ones.'

All Eirn could think of, as she spoke, was the Dread Seeds; the ruin they had wrought even on Imperial interests, and the blasé way Acina had regarded them.

How do you walk away from such power, Wrath?

Acina hadn't wanted them out of the field - not personally, not in the places where they might pose a problem for the Republic, even if it meant running the risk of Imperials or even Sith falling victim to their power. (Any Sith, a part of Eirn had snarled, even then, who falls victim to such things was hardly Sith to begin with-)

Acina, though, had thought nothing of the harm they did, nothing of the damage to their environs. Eirn had no idea if the places that those things had been buried had ever recovered, or not, though she knew enough about the corruption inherent in the darkest places of the Force to know that it was deeply unlikely. It was more likely that their rot had spread, seeping deep into the cores of those worlds and twisting them beyond anything that Tagriss or Fulminiss might dared of dream of.

Iokath, of course, was not a Sith world, and whatever weapon these Thrones controlled was not of Sith design, but- the Force flowed through them, all the same, shaped and directed by ancient technology into something crafted for war and destruction, and had already laid waste to numerous worlds. Acina, of course, would want to test it - on Odessen, perhaps, full of defiant traitors and heretics - or some other nominally neutral world, before turning it on the Republic. Not to mention any Imperial worlds who objected to such needless slaughter...

'Hey. You alright?' Theron spoke quietly, at least - did her the favour of not drawing attention to the fact she'd drifted into that train of unpleasant thought, while Malcom and Dorne were distracted by their own

Eirn just managed a noncommittal Hm that probably answered him far more honestly than she might have liked, before attempting to focus up on the discussion at hand.

'-agree entirely sir,' Dorne was saying, 'But without knowing where to start-'

'I'll offer to speak to her,' Eirn volunteered - grabbing everyone's attention, and derailing whatever Dorne was objecting entirely. 'Empress Acina has reached out to me personally before. Perhaps it's time I returned the gesture.'

'You think she'll speak to you? After allying with us?' Malcom sounded sceptical, and Eirn couldn't blame him. She was sceptical, and she was the one who'd just proposed the idea.

'She'll assume it's a trap, obviously,' Eirn replied, 'But... we have a history.'

Simultaneously more personal than simply Wrath and Councillor, and far less personal than Acina's flowers might have suggested she'd have liked. Even the flowers Acina had sent on Eirn and Quinn's engagement had been a pointed message - Rakami orchids, a neutered, Force-blunted variant of the so-called death orchid, and Eirn hadn't been able to make up her mind if it was a threat or an insult or both.

('Both, darling,' her mother had insisted, 'the answer is both.')

'If nothing else,' Eirn mused, 'I stand a better chance of talking her down than any of your people. No offence,' she added.

Or push her into doing something stupid, though Lana's interminable briefings on the state of the galaxy had Eirn half-convinced that, among other things, the Empire had worked its way through the stupid list some years previously, and was currently reaching the bottom of desperate. What happened when they ran out of desperate moves was something she didn't want to contemplate; nobody would like the answer to that, not least if they wanted to live in the galaxy afterwards.

'It's your call, Commander,' Malcom just replied - apparently pretending not to see Eirn's reflexive twitch at the title. 'But the Republic will be sitting this one out. I came here to end a war, not start one.'

Of course he would say that; Malcom wouldn't want to waste his people on a Sith that he thought was probably going to betray them in the end anyway. Eirn managed to quash the urge to snort in response, though - just nodded, sharply, deciding to let him think that she was none the wiser.

'I understand,' she replied - a nugget of an idea forming, as she said it. Lana probably wouldn't like it, but it stood a chance of getting them some answers. 'I'll see you on the other side,' she added - standing, then, to leave - to prepare. To fight.

#swtor #war for iokath #sith warrior #ficlet: unification #my writing #long post #lana beniko #elara dorne #theron shan #jace malcom

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xadoheandterra · 6 years

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So I need to share this before I forget, because ever since I saw the Last Jedi for a second time with my brother (while drinking a Revenge of the Sip...god, AMC, why did you stick a bar in the theater?!) I was hit with some pretty big realizations. This is, of course, after devouring TLJ and TFA meta on tumblr as it’s come across my dash in droves. My main focus here is Luke. Placing under a cut for spoilers, and also spoiler tagging because I know some people have yet to see it that I’m friends with.

There was a lot implied in TLJ that I’ve not seen people touch upon. I’ve seen the comments about Snoke, Ben’s abuse and childhood grooming, and how Luke led everyone to believe Ben just went nuts and killed everyone--not that Luke almost killed Ben. Then there’s Rey and her connection and the themes of adolescence and just--it’s great meta. It’s wonderful.

I didn’t see a lot of people actually touching upon Luke in all this mess, aside from being an additional abuser of Ben. Unfortunately I never quite read Luke as one of Ben’s abusers--while yes I feel that Luke deciding to train Ben because of his strength in the Force and being a Skywalker Legacy was a bit rude, you have to admit: Ben needed training. Leia, Han, and Luke were all highly political figures--is it therefore any wonder why Snoke was able to slowly and subtly groom one of the Skywalker line? If Luke hadn’t taken Ben on, and several other force sensitives, to at least give them some grounding considering what the force is and how powerful Ben himself is? It could’ve been a disaster.

More than it was, at least.

I think also the implications of what happened have been hinted at in other meta, but I’ve not seen anyone outright address it. Luke talks about how he could see the evil growing in Ben--there’s a lovely little incorrect-starwars-quote going around about how it was 2AM and Ben was sleeping--but the thought niggled in my mind, especially after Snoke admitted to creating the Force Bond between Ben and Rey.

What if Ben wasn’t turning at all, in any respects? Because Luke got to Ben early enough, started to train Ben early enough, Snoke couldn’t actually get his claws into Ben without a catalyst. He could try to manipulate Ben’s thoughts, but Ben had someone in his corner at this time. Luke. Luke who saw promise in him, Luke who paid attention to him when his parents weren’t or couldn’t. Luke who actually was there for him--and sure it was because Ben had powers or whatever, but Luke was Ben’s primary influence where Snoke tried to be.

Luke’s betrayal of Ben was the catalyst Snoke needed to hook the Skywalker he wanted. There is a lot about the scene(s) we see where Luke betrays Ben that got me thinking. First of all, why was he actually there peeking in on a teenager’s dreams? That’s not something I could ever see Luke logically doing. We were never given any hints as to what supposed darkness Luke saw either that led him to this action. We know Snoke was horribly, terribly powerful in the Force given that he could Force Bond two young force sensitives galaxies apart. Something that should have, theoretically, been impossible.

Whose to say that Snoke didn’t manipulate Ben into turning, but more manipulated Luke into believing Ben was turning? We all have to admit, Luke tries to be wise but he’s really not. TLJ showcases that wonderfully. He’s a goof who got placed with responsibility that he didn’t know how to handle at all--he handled it fairly well all things considered, probably with Leia nagging him and feeding him things while they had their twin bond going strong, but in training other force sensitives all Luke had to go on was Obi-Wan, and Yoda. One old guy that he was told to stay away from, but was supposedly a family friend, who lied to him about his father and kept a lot of secrets.

The other a massive troll of epic proportions going slightly senile from everything he ever created/controlled being ruined by his own hubris.

I don’t count Aniken and I don’t count Sidious because while they definitely showed him the other side of the force in force they didn’t actively had a hand in teaching him things aside from being adversaries.

So I propose that in this Luke is as much a victim as Ben, specifically of Snoke. Ben is noted as being a lot like his father--having his father’s heart--and we actually do see a lot of Solo in Kylo Ren. That’s probably why everyone refers to him as Ben Solo instead of Ben Organa like I presume he would’ve been called, given that Han Solo even referenced that he no longer bore the name ‘Solo.’

This is where I want to step it up a notch. So Snoke royally fucked around with the Skywalker line because he wanted a Vader to his Sidious--great, wonderful. I still have no idea what hole you crawled out of and I don’t care. You’re dead now and good on Ben getting out of your shadow. What I find interesting is that there is reference to Rey turning--that even Luke is horrified that Rey would willingly follow the dark hole in the ground to get what it offers her, that she doesn’t resist--and that both Ben and Rey seem to think the other will turn. Yoda says they can’t lose Rey like they’ve lost Ben--which prompts Luke to pull an Obi-Wan.

Strangely, Luke’s stand off with Ben and subsequent apology about how he royally fucked shit up--I mean freaking out about your uncle standing over you in the dead of night with a Lightsaber very obviously contemplating shoving the laser sword in your chest would terrify anyone. Rightfully so. I’m proud of Luke owning up to his biggest fuck up to date, because that showed Luke finally accepting his hand in this whole mess instead of running and hiding like a coward.

Again understandable. This is Leia and Han’s kid. They would’ve torn him a new one if they knew what shit he’d pulled there. Leia is so terrifyingly like their father I could understand Luke’s desire to run and hide and just fade off into obscurity because fuck this. Plus I found it very interesting at this point after the monumental ‘but he’s evil!’ ‘shit that’s wrong!’ mistake Luke actually shuts himself off from the force.

None of us knew Luke blocked the Force out until Rey mentioned it! That Luke shut himself out doesn’t scream to me like he’s trying to hide even further from Leia or from Snoke--honestly if he doesn’t want to be found he could just mask his presence, not cut himself off completely. Especially not when the Force has been such an intrinsic part of his life for so long--long enough that he uses it subconsciously when he opens himself back up again! I see here more that Luke saw something with the Force-or he thought he saw something that was true, but because it ended in such tragedy he couldn’t come to terms with it. Luke closed himself off as another way to hide--this time from the Force that he felt betrayed him.

From himself, and his own strength in this mystical binding power between everything. If he could make such a huge mistake--what if that meant Luke was turning? I see Luke’s self imposed exile to a planet that houses ancient Jedi texts as him trying to figure out what the fuck happened. Why he responded that way? Why did he even think it was right? Was the Force turning him? Was he turning the Force? Was there something else?

And I think Luke finally put together that it was Snoke only after Yoda destroyed the tree, after Yoda talks about how they can’t lose Rey. Here Luke stood, having betrayed another potential student out of sudden fear. Here Luke stood, having opened himself back up to the Force and having to reveal his mistakes before an enraged child--a hurt child, one who was bound neatly to Ben Solo in a manner that shouldn’t be possible. Here Luke finally realized--it was Snoke.

And then Snoke was dead. He was no longer in the Force, no longer sending out feelers for Luke, to twist Luke, to twist Ben, to twist Rey--so Luke did what he thought was best. Save the child he could, and show the other child that he fucked up and there wasn’t anything more he could do aside from admit it--that he failed Ben Solo.

That’s what I think is most interesting. That Luke stands before Ben not as the Luke of today--he’s very obviously the Luke of Ben’s nightmares. His hair has color and is neatly trimmed, he’s dressed in a manner befitting a Jedi Master of a Training Temple. He wields a lightsaber that is destroyed. It’s glaringly obvious in retrospect that Luke is projecting from his little island--because Luke is projecting the Luke Ben remembers. The Luke that betrayed Ben, that hurt Ben, that started Ben Solo’s descent into Snoke’s arms. It is not from current day Luke that Ben get’s an apology, it’s from the Luke of Ben’s nightmares.

It is that same Luke that promises to haunt his steps if struck down in anger.

I think Luke knows--Rey doesn’t need saving. Ben already saved her. He got rid of the poison, he got rid of Snoke. Ben doesn’t need saving either, because at his heart he was left with a gaping wound and no real closure for what happened. Luke disappeared before Ben could truly get it, but now Luke gave Ben closure, and gave himself closure too. Luke gave himself the tools needed to make sure no other abuser could touch his nephew like that again.

Luke isn’t Rey’s guardian angel. Rey’s guardian angel comes in the form of Leia. Let the girls handle the girls. No, he’s Ben’s, because ultimately Luke was the catalyst for Kylo Ren--and ultimately, Luke will be the one in the Force stopping another Snoke from taking control of Kylo Ren while he finds his footsteps.

Or so I hope.

(seriously the Skywalker family needs to stop being extra okay)

#useless text post #tlj spoilers #tlj meta #luke skywalker #ben solo #seriously the skywalker fam guys #just #these assholes

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sanerontheinside · 7 years

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In which the Sith Ask Anon reads the Sith ficlet! (It was amazing)

I’m sorry my observations are rather shallow. There’s depth and intensity to your writing that makes it strong, and I’m sorry I couldn’t reciprocate. That being said, here we go! Who is it? Who found the Temple?

Saner, this is fantastic! I love the comment about how the visions are painful and helpful but the greatest amount of learning comes from experiencing reality and facing fears and Darkness there. Is the Temple letting him go half-trained? Fully trained but still learning about life? It kind of sounds like its encouraging him to take a student too early. Obi-Wan! Is this Qui-Gon? Is this ficlet about them both? Yes! Smokey honey-amber sweetness Qui-Gon is being so careful with him. How did Obi-Wan end up in the slave mine? The interaction between Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon is very real. Oh, no. Is Qui-Gon going to be able to stay if Obi-Wan’s Force presence nearly burns him? Oh, Qui-Gon. You need your friends. You left them to wonder if you’re alive or dead? Mmm, cold wet wind. !! He’s a hidden Jedi? Or was? Oh! He’s trying to help Xan by taking him to the Sith Temple? Wait, chains? Yes, that’s what I thought too. Both of them struggling with anger. “Strangely enough.” I see that theme, of unthinking obedience being an unhelpful trait that doesn’t translate well outside of specific circumstances. (i.e., when dealing with a Jedi Master who knows what they’re doing and wants the best for you.) Dar’jeti means not Jedi? I did not know that. Mandalorian culture and the culture of this specific Sith Temple are similar, then? I like how the Temple and its inhabitants have claimed him as family. Oh no, Obi-Wan! What happened? Why does he need the lights dimmed? There was a surveillance droid and they didn’t even check it? What the heck! !! It’s a Mandalorian Temple! Saner, how are you managing to include so many of the things I like? While I’m thinking about it, the whole whisper-chorus of the Temple’s Sith is one of those things. He’s very prone to visions, then? Pretty bond. EEEeeee, thank you! Might there be more of this? If not, that’s fine! I’ll bookmark it and love it all on its lonesome. Thank you saner! That was above and beyond!

GAAAAH! No, nope - this is not shallow my friend this is good. I love to see the bits that catch your attention as you read and how, and what questions pop up. Thing is, I write most things out of order for various reasons, and I may know how something ends before I get there, or something new will inevitably just appear, thanks very much, new plotpoint to wrangle and make sure I connect it back to the beginning. (pssst: I had no idea I was gonna end up with basically Mandalorian!Qui-Gon until - 2 nights ago? Temple Concept came first.)

So: thank you very much for the observations, really. This is good, it shows me if I got what I wanted into words! I’m glad you enjoyed it, too :)

Will there be more? Hmm....... Okay, yes - there’s a lot of story to explore in this. There’s Xanatos, for one thing, and why he Fell or attacked his Master. There’s Obi-Wan’s time at the Temple, which certainly did some damage. (More questions and ideas below.)

If you prompt me (and prompts are not limited to the stuff listed below), I will get around to writing it. This is a fun AU full of Things I Did Not Expect. But it may take time, because there’s also the frankenAU which, honestly, is trying to eat me alive. (it’s near 30k already and if I could point out a single completed scene that hasn’t been left half-chewn over like a dog’s favourite slipper I’d call that luck). At the moment, I think, send in a request if you want to see more, and I’ll definitely try to work on it.

Some ideas:

What sort of company did Qui-Gon agree to work for?

All of the main corporations we see in SW are effectively almost always traced back to Sith or Fallen. Xanatos owns Offworld. Palpatine owns pretty much the rest (probably includes Dooku’s holdings). There was Hego Damask before Palpatine. So, um... I could make this really really messy.

Qui-Gon did at one point think that he could take Xanatos to the Mandalorian Temple and try to teach him to control his anger there, the way the Sith Temple had taught him after his apprenticeship with Dooku.

For various reasons, that probably won’t work. Like I said, plenty to explore in this AU.

The surveillance droid issue is sorta JA canon.

Masters Windu and Yoda do check the vidstream, but by then Obi-Wan has already been refused by Master Qui-Gon and doesn’t stand up for himself when confronted with the accusation that he attacked Bruck. Master Yoda expects him to, but when Obi-Wan just lets them carry out their judgement and send him to Bandomeer, Yoda seems a little disappointed.

I think the lesson was meant to be ‘don’t let anyone tell your story or push you into accepting punishment you don’t deserve’, but I have to say, I don’t like the delivery. They gave Obi-Wan no indication that they would ever actually believe him.

Anyway this version of the Jedi Temple is not very nice, and is probably closer to JA canon.

You bring up an interesting point, that Qui-Gon is surprised by Obi-Wan’s unthinking obedience. I actually really like this idea.

I was going for ‘Obi-Wan’s paying attention to the Force and their bond’ rather than that, but that could very well be how Qui-Gon perceives the situation.

Qui-Gon was already concerned about Obi-Wan accepting failure where the fault was not his own.

He’s really trying to convince himself ‘no I can’t be the one to teach him’ but they already have a bond, and he’s already adopted him. It’s like canon, but nicer.

Among other things, I’m also on academic leave this semester, doing self-study. (I’m ok). It’s a slower pace, and I’ve been encouraged to keep writing, which is why I’ve been filling some backlogged requests lately. Like I said, feel free to send in a prompt or a question, and I will write something for it.

#Sith Ask Anon #Sith!Qui-Gon #Mandalorian!Qui-Gon #squeeee! a review! :D #It has become another of my #wild ficcage and au spawn #oh dear #probably tagging with Mandalorian!Qui-Gon from now on #may have to explore the Sith Temple history #hmmmmmm #thoughts thoughts thoughts #submission

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capricornus-rex · 4 years

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Someone Left to Save (2)

Cal Kestis x Reader

Requested by Anon | Prompt in Chapter 1 link

A/N: Sorry it took so long! I kinda enjoyed my weekend a bit too much that I must have overstayed by break 😅 it’s always a busy work week for me so I allowed myself to relax. I’ll try to pick up the pace from here on out though! ☺ And I can see this fic has gotten a few of y’all’s attention >;3

TW: Graphic depictions of violence, physical & psychological torture

Also in AO3

Previous: Part 1 | Next: Part 3 | Masterlist

2 of ?

THE DAY OF THE COUNTERATTACK

The operation proceeded as planned.

All of you have been preparing for this since the fall of dusk that night.

You had help in hitching a ride from the temple ruins in the jungle to Ulfin. Some rebels drove landspeeders, but only until you got to the city walls that shielded it from the wilderness. Cal caught you by the arm before you regrouped with the detonations team.

“Hey, see you later?”

You smirked, “Yeah, like always.”

Despite your recurring nightmares and anxiety, Cal aided in keeping those inhibitions at bay and encouraged you enough that everything will go as planned. It was worth pondering why his worries were transferred to you ever since you had those nightmares—but you swore to yourself that it wouldn’t happen, you will not allow it.

You and your group were equipped with live trackers—your signatures will appear as blips to the assault division’s, including Cal’s, radars. The redhead constantly stared at your signature marked with your name’s initial, it moved at a natural pace on the radar but something troubled him as they crept through the fortress like scrap rats.

“They’re close to the reactor chamber,” Cal reported to his team.

“Good, they should be going down there and sticking those claymores in a matter of minutes,”

“Come on, [Y/N]…” Cal mumbled through the grit of his teeth.

The destination was the base—the location of the main reactor chamber—and you were carrying your share of the explosives. The leader made it transparently clear of who goes where and which goes to whom. You had to navigate your way through a metal maze—and while doing so, you’re memorizing your path in which will also be your way out—until you found the enormous pillar brimming with electricity and energy.

Your eyes were filled with the light of the energy at the very base of the reactor. You could only imagine just how catastrophic the explosion will be and how far the blast radius can reach. You could’ve sworn you felt your heart drop to your stomach upon the sight of the reactor pillar.

“Don’t be intimidated, little spark! Once you paste those bad boys up, this reactor will pale in comparison to their punch!”

“It’s not that…” you mutter, supposedly to the boisterous female partisan, but you kept it to yourself as she would not comprehend what you’re sensing.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this…” You thought to yourself, and it’s got something to do with the plan.

The rest of the fighters approached their designated pillars, producing the explosives from their packs and then adhering them to the metal surface. Meanwhile, the adult rebel noticed you hesitating.

“Well, come on, kid, we don’t have all day!” the older lady coaxed.

Eventually, you took your own claymore and attached it on the pillar’s base. You set off the timer for 30 minutes, enough for everyone to get out of the chamber safely and regroup with the ones in the surface. In the middle of your configuration, the weird feeling you detected became stronger—only you had their senses spiked. Your abrupt turn caught the woman’s attention, she shot you a quizzical look, your eyes surveyed the entire reactor chamber… until you spotted a shadow perched on the beam above her head.

“Kid, are you okay?”

“LOOK OUT!!” you screeched but it was too late.

The shadow had made its presence known—the watcher descended from the high beam with ease and drove his crimson saber straight into your companion’s spine, killing her instantly.

“NO!!!”

All of your other companions were on high alert as soon as they heard your first cry. They set their blasters to kill, all barrels pointing at the enemy fully clad in jet black armor. Without a doubt, this was an Inquisitor—everything about him was a dead giveaway from the helmet down to the saber. You brandished your own while the rebels surrounded the Inquisitor, inept to comprehend the sheer power of one individual.

“Well, hello,” the Inquisitor cooed in a singsong manner, tilting his head as he spoke. It appeared that he had his eye on you, for you were the only one standing out amongst these rebels.

“You’ll pay for what you did!” you growled.

“Oh, this?” he nudged the body with his boot. “Sorry, but we all have our accidents once in a while, eh?”

You found his remark revolting. Not once, not even in a single inch, did you remove your eyes from him. From what you can tell, you sensed that he is elusive—he’s made a good example of that before he made your fellow rebel a landing cushion for himself and the other end of his lightsaber.

“You’re quite young for a Jedi, a youngling during the Purge no doubt,”

“What do you know about me?”

A throaty chuckle was your reply; he positioned himself in a stance, as well as his saber, in the offensive.

“Perhaps, you could show me,” invited the Inquisitor.

It was he who made the first move. He cut through the wind like a dart, swift and sure, until you broke his lunge with a block. You prepared yourself for impact, but you didn’t expect it to be this heavy! You’ve found yourself caught in a frenzied dance of blades, waving and swinging your saber at the Inquisitor who’s keenly refusing you a chance of a jab at all.

This new enemy in the lines, the shadowy Second Brother, was a blade in the dark.

You’ve got to hand it to him—he is very stealthy and acrobatic, he almost makes it impossible to catch up to him. Not even the sharpshooter of your team can land a mark, let alone graze his armor, as the Second Brother leaps from one parapet to a platform and so on.

Spinning in place as you followed his movements was an old tactic to tire you down, that much you’re certain, and he was impressed that you read through his plan. He didn’t linger from his high ground too long; for someone of a heavy stock, he appeared and moved as light as a feather while he’s perched on the safety banister of the platform. Holding out his dual-edged saber in one hand, he tucked his knees and sprang off from his perch, darting through the wind again towards you.

You prepared yourself again for another heavy landing. Little by little, you determine his attack pattern: he prefers confusing his enemies visually by leaping from one surface to another—like a Kowakian monkey-lizard—and when he’s in an optimum position, he’ll buckle for a heavy, dart-like attack as he bolts through the air, propelled by the take-off caused by the balls of his feet.

“You’re a smart one, aren’t you?” his voice rung muffled through his helmet as he strains his weight against yours, making you some sort of anchor.

Compared to him, you’re half his size and strength, but you didn’t let that intimidate you. You destroyed his stance by kicking him in the knee, straightening his leg from its tucked position, and follow it up with another foot to the stomach. The pain was tolerable, nonetheless, he wordlessly commended your courage and boldness.

“A thorny one, too!” he cackled.

You turned to the rebels.

This fight was obviously a trap for you and the rebels to lose time. Despite the compromise, you urged everyone that the plan must pull through.

“Switch on the timers now!” you ordered for everyone as you held fast against the Inquisitor.

As soon as you gave the order, one of the rebels sprinted towards his reactor, stretched out a hand as he ran so his fingers could at least touch the button…

Until the Inquisitor extended his arm, aimed at the scampering rebel, and essentially seized the man’s capability to move—leaving his fingertip just a mere inch away from the button to start the countdown.

“Ah-ah-ah!” the Inquisitor chirped in a mocking, singsong tune. “You wouldn’t wanna ruin the fun, now would you?”

Using the Force, you break off his connection with the man and drew his attention to you. Apparently so, ruining his own sick definition of fun is something one must not do—not even a Jedi.

You fixated your eyes on him, you watch him slowly crane his head from the rebel to you—obviously vexed by your interruption—and so he lowered his arm, subsequently releasing the rebel. His throaty growl prevailed the low-pitched machine hum of the reactors.

Bemused at you, he snarls, “Thorny one, indeed.”

“Careful not to prick yourself then!”

The Second Brother liked your snark. The two of you resumed the whirlwind of blades as the rebels took advantage of the preoccupied Inquisitor and made a run for the explosives already glued to the pillars.

“[Y/N], COME ON!” another rebel vigorously swung his arm in the air, repeating a beckoning gesture at you as he let the rest of the partisans scale the ladders and make their escape.

“JUST GO, I’LL FOLLOW!!” you cry while struggling in the block against the Second Brother.

“Are you sure about that!?” he shifts more of his weight against you, in an attempt to make you fumble and finally give him a window to attack.

The rebels make their way out of the reactor chamber with less than thirty minutes ticking behind them. Engaging the Second Brother has cost you ten minutes already. A shortcut was made, courtesy of the bombardment caused by the skirmish on the ground. They pass through the obliterated hallway with a hole in the wall, a few Stormtroopers’ bodies strewn across the floor, and a row of busted turrets.

Back on the ground, Cal is the singular crutch that gave the rebels the advantage they so desperately want and need. This is a large playing field, and so he had the equal amount of room to practice, experiment, enhance, or improve. Cal was confident as he deals more hits in the vanguard along with the rest of the rebels in the front; eventually, he had to fall back from the bulk of the action as he felt something wrong.

“Bee-boop?”

“I’m not hurt, BD… I sensed something… quite bad,” Cal panted, clutching his chest as he struggled to calm his breathing.

He shook it off and fished out his compact radar from his pocket. His eyes followed a cluster of red blips moving in the same direction—which is south in his perspective—though, he spotted your blip which remained in the reactor chamber. He stared at the red dot, your red dot, pondering why it has remained in the same location or only moving in what ought to be just paces in real life. He clenched his teeth hard enough for this molars to grind against each other. He puts away the radar and returns to battle.

Where are you, [Y/N]? What are you still doing there?! He thought to himself as he cuts down the trio of Stormtroopers aiming at him.

Meanwhile, you’re still busy with the Second Brother; there seems to be no end to his energy—still acrobatic and swift as the first time he made himself known. Another clash and long intertwine of your blades, he finally saw through you—in your eyes, lit by the contradicting colors of your weapons—and discovered the determination slowly transmogrifying into desperation.

“Ahh,” he purred, and then chuckled. “Now I see what’s going on in that pretty head of yours.”

“You know nothing, you treacherous oaf! Nor will you ever!”

“There it is!” he voluntarily withdrew from the clash of blades, evading your overhead strike, and gestures with his arms thrown open to the sides as if he had an epiphany.

He pointed the end of his saber to you.

“There’s that darkness, you’ve buried it so deep within you… but now it has emerged,” he tauned.

“Keep quiet!”

Out of frustration, you charged and lunged at him. A reckless move in the heat of the moment.

The Inquisitor had no problem whatsoever in deflecting you; he’s confident that he has attained the upper hand of this duel—now that he’s spotted a weakness in you that you’ve unintentionally let out.

This collision of blades was the most intense than the ones that came before it. You could almost see his sinister grin through the plate of his mask as your sabers—a dramatic contrast of color and of virtue—illuminate your faces.

“Let me…” he hissed and slowly brought his one hand from his hilt to your forehead. “Shine a light in that darkness.”

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