#Grieving is Normal

[nageill]

Grieving is Normal

Fandom: Star Wars, pre-The Phantom Menace.

Character(s): Obi-Wan Kenobi; Korre Ver (OC).

Pairing(s): None.

Word Count: 910.

Genre: Angst.

Summary: There is more than one way to lose a friend. Two Jedis, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Korre Ver, learn the hard way.

Author’s Notes: Just a little something I wrote up for @koiwrites, based on a random idea I had from our timeline with our Star Wars roleplays.

Cross-Posted: AO3.

Emotions were a natural part of life, and despite the popular opinion of Jedi throughout the galaxy, they were natural to the Jedi as well. They were not immune to emotions; they experienced them as well. They are not living statutes, cold and emotionless like a simple rock. No, they feel. If anything, Korre believes, they feel too much. With the Force, it is impossible to be connected to it and not experience every emotion that exists.

The Jedi simply do not dwell on it. They do not wallow, allow themselves to drown in them, or be consumed by them. They experience them and let go. That is the teaching of the Jedi. It is healthier to do so rather than to bottle them up inside, to try and deny them completely, less to fall into temptation from the Dark Side, either from lack of compassion or being controlled by them.

Therefore, the heartache the young Twi’lek is currently feeling is only natural. She has suffered a loss. Grieving is normal. She can experience this emotion and let go. Still, it is painful in the present moment.

Ris could not have left more than ten minutes ago, and yet, it felt like an hour to her breaking heart. The news of the young Jedi Knight leaving the Order caught Korre by surprise. Of all the news she expected to hear, this was certainly not it. She knows such a decision has not come lightly to her friend, however, and she must hold fast to the belief that the Force is guiding her elsewhere. That is where Korre finds her comfort, even among her tears. The Force is still with Ris, it will protect Ris and guide her even outside the Temple walls.

Still, she cannot say that she will not miss her friend all the same.

It is only when another approaches that interrupt her thoughts and tears.

“Korre, what is the matter?” Obi-Wan asked with a slight, worried frown, concerned.

“Oh, Kenobi,” Korre greeted him, wiping her eyes and taking a calming breath before lowering her hands to see him. She bowed her head slightly in greeting, weakly smiling at him. “I will be alright. I’m just missing Ris. It was so sad to see her leave.”

However, her friend’s laughter only confused Korre. She would have expected out of everyone here at the Temple, Obi-Wan would miss their comrade the most. “Don’t fret,” he began, “The diplomatic missions Ris and Master Coul go on never take too long.” He grinned, thinking that would reassure her. “She’ll be back and making sweet-sand cookies for your younglings before you know it.”

“Diplo—No. She’s not…” Her voice trailed off as realization hit her. “Obi-Wan, Ris hasn’t left for a mission. She’s leaving the Order,” she gently explained. “You…didn’t know?”

His blue eyes widened in shock. “What? What do you mean she’s leaving the Order??” Obi-Wan demanded, his voice growing much louder so quickly, a twinge of panic to his tone. 

What could have happened? Ris was the most rule-abiding Padawan and Knight the Temple probably ever had! What could she have done to be forced to leave the Jedi Order? The very thought that she would have voluntarily resigned from the Order, so soon after being promoted to a Jedi Knight, did not even cross his mind.

“I do not know. She did not tell me what prompted her to leave, only that she felt it was what she must do. Master Coul is returning her back to her family’s home back on Naboo today,” Korre explained calmly. She felt guilty breaking the news to Obi-Wan this way. Ever since they were crechemates, Obi-Wan and Ris shared a close bond. Why hadn’t Ris told him? Perhaps she could not find him, but still, it seemed so unlike her friend not to personally tell Obi-Wan she resigned.

“What prompted–she’s choosing to leave?” Obi-Wan sputtered, almost stammering.

The green Twi’lek nodded, a slight frown tugging at her lips. “That is my understanding, yes,” she confirmed. She did not need to sense through the Force to know her friend was hurt, upset. No, the intense emotion radiated from Obi-Wan like steam.

“Where is she?”

“She told me goodbye just before you came. I believe she might–”

However, Korre did not get a chance to finish answering his question before Obi-Wan was running out towards the landing pad. She hoped he wasn’t too late…

A hope which was dashed when Obi-Wan sulkily returned not even ten minutes later.

Disappointment, sadness, confusion, and anger burned brightly off his aura as he walked past her. Korre’s heart now ached for him as well. As much as she cherished her own friendship with Ris, she knew Obi-Wan hurt even worse.

“Kenobi!” she called after him, and he stopped, turning to look back as she crossed over to him and hugged him. “I’m sorry,” she murmured quietly, not able vocally expressed the depth of her concern but communicating it through the Force.

Obi-Wan at first tensed from the sudden embrace, too wrapped up inside his own head to fully appreciate or welcome the gesture, but he quickly relaxed. There was a comfort in his friend’s arms, a deep sense of understanding and empathy that, while it did not extinguish the flurry of emotions he felt right now, it did help to temper the pain. He hugged her back, perhaps a little too tightly. “Me, too,” he mumbled. “Me, too.”

[scramratz]

[trust-over-love]

It’s normal to grieve an ending marriage. Don’t let no one make you feel dumb for being human & having feelings!

[a-most-beloved-fool]

there are many neat reptilian characteristics that one can give Cardassians. I've seen shedding scales, tails and claws, scent marking, and people making them ectothermic.

but consider:

Color changing ridges. Just for funsies. We already tend to headcanon that the ridges and spoons (chula, if you prefer) turn blue when aroused, mimicking the make up they wear in canon, but it would be a bit interesting if the ridges were Fully color changing, a la chameleons. Especially if they changed color based on emotions.

Because their culture is very focused on the Good of the State, it would probably be taboo to have your emotions plainly visible (too much risk of your colors giving away the fact that you aren't 100% content blindly serving the state). I think it would be typical to wear make up to cover up the color changing scales, or to wear paint in 'positive' colors.

Soldiers and the Obsidian Order might even find a way to chemically neutralize the color changing, either temporarily or permanently - it could be far too much of a liability, if someone got captured and interrogated.

Most non-Cardassians would be entirely unaware that this was a normal part of Cardassian physiology. Novels might have oblique references to the colors when describing emotions, but any book that spoke too clearly of them would be almost sure to get banned. Bashir would be slowly taking notes about which colors in novels seemed to correspond to which emotions, but he'd have no idea that it was because Cardassians could Literally Turn Those Colors. He'd just assume their color theory was different, and that they were Really into color metaphors for some reason.

Could be interesting to explore the cultural implications and see what kinds of new mischief happens on the station due to it.

[buff-muffin]

Thinkem bout a modern AU where Ace and Sabo obviously being two or three years older in school, were experiencing things years before Luffy would. Things like prom, grad and all that. But because he could COME to these events they did their best to get him envolved as much as possible so he wouldn’t feel left out. And when years rolled around, Ace and Sabo are well into collage each on different sides of the country. They still come down to help pick out an outfit for him and be there for his graduation. After all he was there for them.

Jus…

Luffy manages to graduate by the skin of his teeth and a LOT of work from all of the east blue gang. No teacher thought he would make it and it really was a moment of celebration. And as Luffy takes that paper thingy, and looks over the crowd. He thinks if only for a moment, no one is there. Gramps is Busy, Makino is running the bar, Dadan and the others of the Share house all have jobs they gotta go to.

Then all of a sudden he hears the loudest cheers in an almost quiet room. And there are his brothers, Dadan trying to wrestle them down and Makino laughing with Woop Slap. His brothers from schools hours away. His brothers who are in collage and following there dreams. His brothers are here just like they promised three years ago when they graduated. Completely forgetting to thank the teacher, he runs down the steps and Usopp has to stop him from going to them right away since there were still other students. So the rest of the ceremony he’s sitting on his chair like he’s going to explode quietly whispering to all them “ My brothers are here!! They made it!!” And all of them can’t even be mad cause Luffy deserves it for all the effort he puts in

[shuuen-no-cimory]

Although, such behaviors were deranged, Yoshihide still hold endearment much like any other human.

(Hell Screen, Ryunosuke Akutagawa)

[pippenpaddlopsicopolisthethird]

Y'ALL IM ACTUALLY CRYING OVER RE:DRACULA

ive been listening to the audiobook on road trips and i just got back from a con this weekend so i hoped to finish it on the drive back

When i tell you. That the finale battle where Quincey died just at the moment of sunset. Where Giancarlo Hererra wrung my heart out like a wet rag with his acting in those few lines he got.

That that scene not only finished at the exact moment that i got home. But that it was also exactly at sunset.

I wasn't just listening to the audiobook yall I was there

[templegate]

A moment of vulnerability

[bugboybuck]

My least favourite part of trying to voice my concerns on the Instagram posts is the Buddie Goblins come out and start harassing me and trying to tell me how things are. Excuse me? I’m a gay man who has been out and proud for longer than you’ve been alive and have been happily in my relationship with a bisexual man for 7 and a half years. Keep your BS to yourself child. I have no problems using the block on disrespectful little snots online.

god, this truly is the mess of it all. i've been in fandoms where shitty plots have ruined things before and it's always painful, but never where there was such a vocal other side trying to minimise people's legitimate feelings about it. my insta comments have had several replies w ppl 'calling me out' for all manner of stupid things while i'm just being respectfully but legitimately upset, and i just have to block them but i'm also just there foaming at the mouth like BITCH !! i'm a full lesbian adult who has lived with my bi partner for nearly 6 years i am actually talking about my lived experience when i talk about this plot !!! eat glass! taking comfort that they're boosting our comments to the top of the post by replying to them at least, i guess?

[spacedustmantis]

charlie slimecicle is like barbie in the sense that he too can be anything

[tragedy-for-sale]

Lingering Pain

Whoever decided to have Obi-Wan's hair fall out of place to symbolize when he himself is falling apart is genius.

When he's fighting Maul, he doesn't want to defeat him, he wants to kill him. He's so angry, flashes of Qui-Gon lying lifeless on the floor go through his head and suddenly he's 25 again losing the only father he'd ever known. Suddenly, he's channeling all the rage of his youth and it consumes him because this isn't Maul versus Obi-Wan now, this is Maul versus a young man who'd never known loss like this.

Now notice all the lightsaber marks, and notice how they all come from Obi-Wan. Maul doesn't slash the wall. Maul has the advantage, he's calm, collected and he knew exactly what to say that would rile Obi-Wan, and it worked. All that trauma Obi-Wan went through with Qui-Gon's death, there wasn't a Jedi that could help him in the way he needed. So he buried all of it, but then Maul came back from the dead, and so did all that pain.

Maul still being alive isn't fair. It isn't fair that he got cut in half and was able to live when Qui-Gon didn't survive. Obi-Wan finds himself so angry because how does a creature so evil get to live and his master didn't? You see can it in his rage, it isn't fair, you can see the mournful root of his anger, it isn't fair, you can see it with each careless, striken blow, It isn't fair.

[soath]

Not having the gods be responsible for the Aeor bubbles (Aeubbles) actually felt like a very nice choice to me; I was kind of dreading them turning out to be Erathis’ work or something. Because if the gods did pick and choose who to save, plucking their special followers out above all others, I don’t know if it would feel like a kindness to me! Why does this six year old in a city of horrors get to live while his neighbor dies? For the circumstance of faith? It would be cruel in a way that they haven’t been cruel—at least natural disasters don’t pick favorites. Mount Vesuvius didn’t pretend to be judging the content of anyone’s hearts.

It also gives one last bit of autonomy (and one last final brutal parallel with the gods they hate) to Aeor’s mages. They made something so beautiful and terrible, an awe that brought the god of magic to tears, and even as the gods pulled it down in their ears they had one last paranoid failsafe! One last screw you measure preserving a terrible truth. But just as Asmodeus accuses, Aeor clearly drew distinctions between the people who matter and the people who don’t. That blue bubble we’ve seen in the amphitheater—it’s not any of the panicked masses who were saved in perfect glacial magic, it was the archmage.

At the end of the day, it was Aeor that built a hierarchy to save some people and leave others. They might not have sunk the Titanic but they made sure only the first-class passengers would have access to their last, most desperate life boat. I’m glad the narrative allowed them to have that triumph. In trying to be a godkiller how close must you mold yourself to the shape of a killing kind of god?

[sanji-screenshots]

double patting.png

[gayspock]

i admit, ive seen this scene so many times before; i braced myself, knowing it was coming, accordingly... and yet i was caught positively dumbfounded.

[utilitycaster]

I think people see Orym as being very good at dealing with the party's emotions in general, but struggling to deal with his own grief, and the truth is that it's the exact opposite.

[ffroppydisk]

I wonder how Kevin grieved Riko.

Because he did. He must have. They had grown up together and yes, he might hate him for all he's done to him (and Jean, and then Andrew, and Neil, and...) but he was his brother.

Don't you think that at least in the first years, things were at least slightly better?

Do you think Kevin has happy or happier memories from his childhood or is it all bad?

Do you think Kevin and Riko have had inside jokes at some point? Do you think that not too long after Riko's death, Kevin realised that the other half of those inside jokes is gone and there's no one else left to laugh at it but him? Because he can't explain the joke to anyone, they wouldn't understand. Perhaps Jean would or could, but Kevin is not selfish and he will not share inside jokes he and Riko had and that Jean had been left out from. It's unfair. So even those bits of nice memories get stained. Tainted forever.

Do you think Kevin ever subconsciously seems out Riko for something they used to do together and was theirs, only to realise again that he's not there? And not in a way that can be changed, you know. And not always in a negative way, for Kevin's fear for the king had infiltrated so deeply into his heart and head it sometimes felt like nothing but reassurance that Riko was not there anymore. But still. He had been his partner, for better and for worse, for a decade. A child born the same year they were partnered up would be in middle school, would be having thoughts, would be the same age they were when they partnered up.

Do you think Kevin ever cries about it? With Bee, or in his room, or Wymack, or in the lockers after night practice when Neil can't see him.

Do you think Kevin ever let himself feel the grief without feeling guilty about being relieved?

Do you think Kevin ever grieved Riko even before he was dead, grieving the Riko he had been when they were kids?

I don't know, I just think Kevin's grief is so, so, so deeply intricate.