#also very sorry for my followers who don't wanna read my paragraphs upon paragraphs discussing why i hate tros

[kylorengarbagedump]

After the events of TROS, if he had lived do you reckon he would have preferred to have been called Ben or Kylo? This is where I get a bit stuck - also I appreciate being challenged on my view of this I have given what you said some thought and have to say the "I wanted to hold Ben's hand" part irritating too especially and thanks for pointing out that he specifically hated the name Ben and the blatant disrespect he received.

My opinion came from my own biased feelings and I'm paralleling this with my own growth about the acceptance of my own name. I enjoy the idea that he could identify with this if he actually had the chance to receive real love and experience growth. Which he did not obviously, and as you said there is no evidence of this happening but I do like it as a potential alternative possibility.

But of course from the perspective of someone who is transgender I can completely understand why it would be important for them to see him keep and be respected for the name he has chosen. I absolutely respect anyone who feels this way.

I do like to think about what he might have done had he been able to live, for all I know he could have hated the fact that everyone (Rey and company) thought he had magically changed back into "Ben" and insist that he is still called Kylo. He could have taken several directions after his "redemption" (I believe he is the same person before and after but I'm curious about the name detail and who HE thinks he is) I'm curious to know what you think he might have done with his identity after the events of TROS. I suspect, you may think he shouldn't have been "redeemed" at all but canonically he was so I am wondering what you think was going through his mind identity wise at that time.

Unfortunately we won't ever know what he would have done, I was just offering up what I thought as one of those possible outcomes. I have to say though I'm a bit more hesitant to use the name Ben but he also appears to discard the Kylo persona during his "redemption" which is where I feel some ambiguity and would love to know what you think.

Thanks again - don't reply to this ask if the subject is doing your head in at this point it won't offend, I was going to leave you be after my last ask but your response was so interesting I couldn't resist sorry.

I appreciate the discussion. I definitely don’t believe he should not have been “redeemed,” I hear this often about me, and I don’t know where people get this idea. 

I love Kylo Ren. I want him to have a chance to heal. Ultimately, I feel that would appear to the audience as a redemption arc, and it is what I feel makes the most sense for his character. But I don’t think it would be as TROS portrayed it.

I wrote what I feel is a redemption arc for him in one of my chapter fics (Little Bird), but that redemption is Kylo Ren’s acceptance of love and himself because he has been shown he is loved for ALL parts of himself. And it is Kylo Ren that acts selflessly--not a Kylo Ren aligned with Goodness because he believes in Goodness, but a Kylo Ren who is no longer conflicted about what he wants and who he is. He pursues those things with the same dogged determination he has always done, just without the doubt and self-hate this time.

So, we’re left with this idea that Kylo should accept himself, but I don’t think that means accepting the name of Ben Solo, specifically. 

Kylo’s pain, his conflict arises from his inability to decide who he is and what he wants. Because his identity is both darkness AND light, he cannot comprehend them existing simultaneously. He is directionless, hopeless, empty. 

It’s my opinion he’s not wrong to choose an identity away from Ben Solo--the issue is how he goes about it. 

Kylo Ren is his very first grasp at autonomy, his first real grasp at control over his own identity--and he chooses something he’s always identified with since childhood. But he still cannot accept all parts of who he is. This can be achieved within the identity of Kylo, and to do so does not mean he has to reject this identity.

This means also that could’ve easily achieved this self-acceptance within the identity of Ben Solo! The name Kylo is not intrinsically linked with the dark side, just as I don’t feel the name Ben Solo is intrinsically linked with the light. They are both both. But Ben Solo is linked with that weight of legacy and tradition, a history Kylo does not want, regardless.

Kylo feels he has no choice but to eliminate his past (those who hurt him, those whose approval he still craves) in order to become himself. We know, in reality, it’s simply his inability to accept himself as he is. He doesn’t need his family’s blessing to be himself. It’s Snoke’s influence that made him feel that he had no other option, that he had to choose. 

For me, his redemption is realizing his family and Snoke are wrong, and that his identity is whole and valid and deserving of love, regardless of his name.

All of this to say, I can’t really speak on how I’d feel about what’s going on for his character during and after TROS. You write, “he also appears to discard the Kylo persona during his "redemption””--but in comparison to what I’ve said above, this entire approach to me is completely wrong and not how I feel his redemption should’ve happened.

The way his character was approached in TROS was so insulting and poorly-written to me that I don’t particularly like to consider an “if he would’ve lived” scenario under these parameters to begin with. I think the entire foundation is faulty. So it’s really hard for me to give my opinion working within those guidelines, because I hate them and I think they’re stupid. LMAO

[kassaunjra]

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• Hi and hello, I'm Rosaiel but you can call me Rosa for short! My main blog is Rosaiel; it's mostly for posting my art and reblogging stuff in general.

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