#and because it was about han and leia's SIX children and the tragedy of seeing your baby brother stray from the path

[ukyokuonji]

[ID: A Tumblr post by user @/triviallytrue reading: every day star wars fans come on this site and say some version of "star wars would be so good if it was good." End ID]

man. the star wars sequel trilogy could have been so good if they hadn't fucked it up

[oldadastra]

Letter to Lucasfilm

So, I’ve written a letter to Lucasfilm. It could be better, but this is what came out this afternoon. I hope others who are writing will share what they are putting into the mail. I was trying to be concise, but it still ran to several pages. Find it in its entirety below the cut:

***

Lucasfilm, Ltd. Attn: Fan Mail PO Box 29901 San Francisco, CA 94129-0901

December 30, 2019

Lucasfilm/Disney:

I am writing to express my anger, shock, disappointment and deep sadness with the final installment of the Star Wars saga, Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker.

I was ten in 1977 when the original film was released and have loved Star Wars ever since. I was thrilled by the reopening of the saga in The Force Awakens, and delighted by the excellent script, rich visual storytelling, nuanced character development, and thematic direction of Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi.

Disney took on a sacred trust when it acquired Lucasfilm. Star Wars is deeply important to many people, and if you couldn’t do justice to the characters and themes of the saga, I’d argue that you had no business being involved in these stories. There is so much Disney/Lucasfilm got wrong in Rise of Skywalker, I’m struggling to gather my thoughts or express them coherently, but here goes:

Ben Solo. You created the most compelling character in the new trilogy by destroying the happy ending of the original trilogy. I was willing to go along on the ride Abrams and Kasdan began in The Force Awakens, because the fate of Ben Solo felt like it mattered. The questions raised in the new films: the nature of good and evil, the degree to which one’s family legacy defines a person, whether a one can atone for past sins; all of it felt alive and urgent in the person of Ben, a character I loved like one of my own children from the moment we so traumatically met him in The Force Awakens. His story was the beating heart of the new trilogy. His story is the one that mattered. His life was the one to be saved.

Ben solo was never an exposition device, cool villain, or disposable baddie to me. He was Han and Leia’s only child; loved, targeted, broken, lost.

The Rise of Skywalker redeems Ben Solo in the final act of the film, only to destroy him. Was it always your plan to kill the last Skywalker in the final installment of this story, to render the overarching message of all nine films as tragedy? If so, I wish I’d known this was your intent; I would never have engaged with these stories and made an emotional investment in them. If tragedy was your goal, that was certainly your choice to make, but I’d argue that you owed it to the audience and the cast to do a better job of it.

For example: You give us evidence that Han and Leia’s child was targeted by evil old men from before his birth. It’s a disturbingly explicit allegory of grooming and child abuse.

You give Ben Solo a backstory which implies he is guilty of vile, Anakin-style crimes against other young people, coding him as a school shooter, and then chose to exonerate him of this crime in a comic book, where the general audience will never know he was innocent. It’s a form of character assassination.

You consigned Ben Solo to the darkness for almost the entirety of three films, then denied him his voice in the final acts of his own story. “Ow?” The only words the redeemed Ben Solo will ever speak. Apalling.

You brought back Palpatine for this film (arguably rendering the message of the first six films meaningless), identified the Emperor as Ben’s tormentor all along, then denied Ben the opportunity to fight his enemy in the final act of the film.  Rise of Skywalker literally throws Ben Solo into a pit, and forces him to climb out alone and unaided while Rey is whispered to by “all the jedi,” offering her words of encouragement. It’s grotesque.

I’m getting lost in rage and sadness again here, so let me just say that even if you inexplicably didn’t care about the last Skywalker in the Skywalker saga, you have done a grave disservice to Adam Driver in your treatment of his character in this these films.  Perhaps you’ve heard of Driver’s non-profit organization, Arts in the Armed Forces? He’s deeply committed to the importance of stories as a way to make meaning out of the inexpressible. Did he really sign on to this project thinking that the final message of his character would be to say that even if you are able to come back from the darkness, your final act must be to die? That imperfect children don’t deserve compassion, forgiveness, life? You owe Mr. Driver an apology, but you can never really atone for what you’ve done to him.  

You ended a nine-film, forty-two year saga with all the Skywalkers dead, and a Palpatine the last one standing. You spent three films tormenting Han and Leia’s child, only to kill him in the final act.  What you did to Ben Solo (and frankly to us, who loved him) feels more like a horror story than anything else. In my dreams, I walk right into your offices and flip over tables.

There’s a lot more I could accuse Rise of Skywalker of bungling, but I assume you are hearing this feedback from others besides me, so I will summarize:

Rey Palpatine. Was is all about the midiclorians after all? By making her Palpatine’s granddaughter, you deny Rey everything that made her special; you deny her agency, and you negate the beautiful message I thought you were trying to communicate in the first two films with Rey Nobody: that the force belongs to us all, and that anyone can be a hero

The erasure of Rose Tico. It’s difficult to interpret this as anything but a capitulation to a loud, racist, and misogynist element of the fandom. It’s a very bad look, Disney. Please pay attention to the message you are sending.

Character development in general and a truly horrible ending: Rey goes back into her child-like costume, Ben Solo spent much of the film forced back into his stupid mask. Ben disappears at the end with no one to mourn him. Rey ends the film alone in a desert wasteland.

Rise of Skywalker is the most bleak, hopeless, and depressing Star Wars film ever made. As days go by, it’s becoming clear that it was also poorly written and edited. These stories matter to us, and we pay close attention to them. Disrespect us at your peril.

I don’t expect anyone will ever read this missive, or care at all about what an old shepherd on a mountainside thought about the execution of your multi-billion dollar movies. This is a personal exercise in catharsis as much as anything.

But here are a few notes in a language you might understand. I made some quick calculations about how much money I’ve spent on Star Wars over the past four years, and I’m sharing that with you now.

Movie tickets:  I’m one of those people who sees movies I love more than once (I saw Empire Strikes Back eighty-one times in the theater!). I saw The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi at least ten times each. I’m not counting the cost of tickets for my extended family, whom I brought along to a number of screenings, or tickets for birthday party guests we treated to these movies. My teenaged daughter came along for all the screenings I am including, so I calculate I spent about $360 on tickets. We also bought tickets to Rogue One and Solo, so it was actually more, but you get the idea.

Books, tie-ins, DVDs, merchandise: I invested in The Art of the Force Awakens and The Art of the Last Jedi books, as well as at least one SW Visual Dictionary. I bought DVDs of the films of course, and CDs of John Williams’ beautiful scores. I bought and read a number of books; Boodline and the Leia novel, The Force Awakens novelization and Junior novelization, Aftermath, and a couple others whose titles escape me. At least seven action figures. Toy light sabers for me and my daughter. Posters. T Shirts. I know I’m not remembering everything, but it adds up to an expenditure of at least $347 in books and other Star Wars merchandise.

Star Wars Celebration: I splurged on passes for my daughter and I to attend Star Wars Celebration in Chicago this past spring. It cost me about $400, and a last-minute family emergency meant we were unable to attend, but the tickets were non-refundable, so it was money I spent on Star Wars nonetheless.

Total: $1,107

A laughably small amount to you guys, I’m sure. Perhaps a contrast is useful:

Total amount I have spent (tickets for my daughter and I on opening night) on Rise of Skywalker: $22.

Total amount I plan to spend on Disney Lucasfilm merchandise in the future: $0

I invested quite a lot of my time in Star Wars over the past four years. I’ve written thousands of words in essays, appreciations and analyses (mostly on Tumblr), where I amassed a modest following of just over a thousand people. I’m sure I occasionally bored my friends and family by going on and on about Star Wars. This kind of ‘work’ has no dollar value of course. I will say that it was great fun while it lasted, though I feel foolish in retrospect, remembering all the times I came to your defense, arguing that the saga was in good hands, that you had a plan; that you were going to tell a good story.

Sadly, I don’t think you can fix the damage you’ve done to the Galaxy Far Far Away with The Rise of Skywalker. You made this film, made your choices, and put it out into the world. I have no control over where you go from here, but as a person who has loved Star Wars since I was a child, I beg you to take some time to reflect before making another Star Wars film.

You’ve broken so many hearts. Mine was one.

Andrea ____

...my full name and address, blah blah, I live in Vermont

[azwriting]

A Tragedy (Forget Me Not, Kylo Ren x Reader) - Chapter Seven

Hi guys, here’s chapter seven! Sorry it took so long, I kept rewriting a lot of the parts because I couldn't settle on the best way to write it. Also we are going to pretend that purple kyber crystals exist...Anyways I hope you all like it! Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist!

Summary: (Y/N)’s relives all of her most important memories and realizes Kylo and her were more than friends.

Warning(s): Suggestive Material (not really), Mentions of death and pain,

Word Count: 6997

(Y/N)’s eyes fluttered open to the sound of the man whispering her name. Her eyes wide open, untrained, and filled with tears. A tidal wave had crashed over her, returning her past as if it had never left.

She was in a brightly lit meadow, the sun casting a warm halo around a man and woman, who sat contently behind their house in the Nayli countryside. Their attention was captivated by the toddler, their daughter, who sat in front of them on the soft yellow blanket. Her (Y/E/C) eyes were wide as her chubby hands lifted a shiny rattle up into midair.

A fire filled her vision next, smoke infiltrating the lungs of the four year old girl being rushed through the burning house by her frantic father. Once outside, her father placed her down on the grass, a safe distance away from the fire. “Stay here, I have to go find your mother!” 

The man instructed moving to leave, but the young girl’s tiny hand caught his. “No Papa please don’t leave me, I’m scared!” She sobbed. Another part of the house crumbled down in the background as her father stood frozen for a moment. He quickly retrieved a purple crystal from around his neck and placed the oversized necklace around his daughter’s neck.

 “Wear this it’s a Kyber Crystal, one like the Jedi’s used to use in the stories your mother and I told you. It will keep you safe until we return.” The child’s hand clamped around the crystal watching as her father ran back into the burning house, only to never return.

The girl sat in a small white hospital room, any evidence of the fire being cleaned away as she now wore a white medical gown, the purple Kyber crystal still hanging from her neck. Tears streamed down her face, she knew her parents were gone, and she was all alone. A woman with fair skin, warm gentle eyes, and her dark hair braided up entered the room sometime later. Her eyes traveled from the focused little girl to the floating syringe beside her, a knowing smirk forming on the woman’s face. 

“Hello dear, what’s your name?” The woman offered her a sincere smile, stepping closer. 

“(Y/N) (Y/L/N)” The girl whispered, the syringe dropping in the background. 

The woman frowned, “My name is Leia Organa, can you say that?” 

The child smiled softly, “Lele.” Leia laughed, she supposed that was close enough.

 “(Y/N) love, would you like to come home with me?” The girl nodded eagerly, perhaps this woman could provide her a new home, a new family.

The woman with a long braid trailing down her back, Leia, carried the girl into a spacious looking condo overlooking the capital of Chandrila, Hanna City. 

“Leia you cannot seriously be thinking of taking her in?” A deep voice spoke causing the little girl to whimper, snuggling deeper into Leia’s shoulder. 

“I knew her parents, (Y/M/N) and (Y/F/N), it’s the least I can do. She’d be an orphan if I didn’t!” Two men sighed audibly and a large wookie mumbled incoherently as well. “There’s another reason though…” Leia moved to put the girl down on a soft white carpet where a black haired boy with brown eyes, looking to be a year older than her, played with levitating toy blocks. As soon as the girl sat next to the boy, her hand lifted and flew a blue block over to her. The boy’s head lifted, shooting her a glare to which she only giggled at. 

“She’s strong with the Force, Luke.” Leia said to the sandy blonde haired man. 

“You said (Y/L/N)?” Luke questioned. Leia only nodded and Luke let out a small laugh. 

“What’s funny kid?” the dark haired man asked. 

“She must be the ancestor of Qui-Gon Jinn, Old Ben’s master. His great niece or something! You have to keep her then…” 

The brunette man sighed once again, “Great another Force User, as if I wasn’t already outnumbered!”

The girl, age six, woke in a dark room, a nightmare about her parents demise causing tears to fall thickly down her face. She quickly climbed out of her bed, her tiny legs carrying her to her sense of comfort. She looked out at the living room seeing the bustling nightlife of Hanna from the large open balcony, before entering the room next to hers. The boy was in his bed, tossing in his sleep, as the young girl approached his bed still crying. He suddenly woke from a sniffle, sensing her distraughtness in the Force. 

“Nightmare again?” He questioned rubbing his eyes, black hair messily splayed across the pillow. The girl only nodded and climbed into bed, into his open arms. 

“I’m sorry for waking you all the time Benny.” She whimpered in his embrace. 

“It’s okay that’s what I’m here for (Y/N/N), always.”

The girl and Ben were three years older, running through the meadow of Naboo, visiting for a political meeting Leia had to attend. The family had escaped to the quiet fields one afternoon though. The little (Y/H/C) girl was chasing the bouncing black curls of the boy. 

“Ben!” She called out, laughing, her smaller legs unable to keep up with the Ben’s long strides. His legs already growing longer than hers, it was not fair. 

Ben only chuckled teasing her, “Keep up (Y/N)!” The girl huffed pushing her legs to go faster, leading her to take a misstep and go tumbling into the plush green grass. “(Y/N)?” Ben halted before doubling back and diving into the grass beside the unmoving girl, lying face down in the grass. 

“Ben is she okay?” A woman’s voice called from up the hill. He rolled the girl over to see a sheepish smile on her face and the boy let out a sigh of relief. 

“I fell.” She giggled and Ben with his warm eyes laughed in return. 

“So clumsy!” He pulled her back up to her feet before the same woman, Leia, shouted for them. 

“Kids come here, Han take a photo of us!” The children groaned to themselves, not another picture. 

“Coming Lele!” 

“Coming Mom!”

“Can you hurry up?” Ben groaned watching as the girl fiddled with the wire paneling of the office door. 

“Can you give me a minute?” The girl rolled her eyes, keeping her attention on the multicolored wires. The two had been locked up in a stuffy office all day while Ben’s parents dealt with political problems, and it was time for a jail break. Rewiring a blue and red wire, the girl watched as the door flew open. “Ha take that Spaceboy!” Her teasing was cut short by C-3PO entering the room, clearly the reason why the door had truly opened. 

Ben gave her sly look and she pushed him out the door past the gold droid.  “Go Ben go!” The girl shouted as the two ran through the hanger and out onto the landing strip, heading for the fastest piece of junk in the galaxy. 

“Young Solo, Miss (Y/N) where do you two think you are going?” C-3PO called out to the mischievous children. Ben only smirked to the girl as they raced up the ramp and into the cockpit. He slid into the pilot seat and she into the co-pilot. Oh Han would regret teaching these two partners in crime how to fly. Barely being able to see over the dash the two took off in the Falcon for a joyride. 

When they returned later, the Falcon covered in branches, Leia and Han with their arms crossed and faces red with anger awaited them. 

“Oh we’re so screwed” Both children uttered.

Months later the children would find themselves back on the Falcon, with nervous expressions and intertwined hands trying to find comfort in one another.

 “They’re only sending us away because of me.” Ben mumbled, his inky black curls moving to hide his face. 

“No they want us to become Jedi’s, to master the Force!” The girl corrected, an excited expression taking over her face. She would become a Jedi, like the ones her parents told stories about. 

He only shook his head, “N-No… my p-parents are scared, scared of m-me, of this part hidden in me.” The girl’s smile dropped, eyes widening at his words. Squeezing her best friend’s hand, she urged him to look at her. His warm brown eyes held a look of sadness and fear, bottom lip trembling slightly. 

 “Well I’m not Ben.”

The girl and Ben were two years older dressed in variating shades of brown robes. Ben, with short black hair and a small braid trailing down his shoulder, was now officially a teenager as they sat cross legged on opposite sides of the room. Master Luke had to split them up, the two were always causing distractions during lessons. They were supposed to be meditating, searching the Force, but the two friends only continued to steal glances at each other, something strange and unfamiliar twisting its way into their stomachs.

Ben was meditating in his hut when the girl bursted through the entrance obviously excited.

 “C’mon Spaceboy its time!” Ben popped open one eye, glancing over at her. He was mildly annoyed with her for disturbing his meditation, but her grinning face seemed to diminish his irritation. 

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” He stood and the two walked out to the overgrown field just beyond the temple and huts, their place. Sitting down beside each other, the young padawans watched as the sun set beyond the ridge, their hands merely touching in the grass.

The girl clad in nothing more than a white nightgown and tears exited her tiny hut and walked to the one a tad further from the temple. Inside the other hut, lanky teen Ben awaited her on his cot, eyes turning sincere as she entered. 

“Are you okay?” He whispered already shifting over in his small cot. 

“N-No” She choked out, lying down beside him, her body trembling.

“Do you want to talk about it?” 

She shook her head, “No, just hold me.” Ben awkwardly wrapped his arms around her, her head resting against his bony chest. Feelings inside them both beginning to awaken as they fell back to sleep.

Another year had passed and the girl now 14, with a thick braid trailing down her back wielding her purple lightsaber. Master Luke had thought the color odd, the color symbolizing a connection to both sides of the Force, and the girl purely exhibited the Light side. But she had been drawn to it because of her father’s necklace which she could not part with. Or perhaps it was a possible indication of what her future held. Ben, 15, stood confidently across from the girl wielding his blue lightsaber. His hair was becoming longer, padawan braid becoming lost in the sea of curls, and he had grown beginning to tower even more over the girl. They grinned cockily at each other as they lined themselves up for a training session. 

They were the strongest amongst the group of padawans, in combat and in mastering the ways of the Force; Therefore the perfect partners, the perfect challenge as they continued to grow stronger. Ben striked first obviously impatient, but the girl easily deflected the advance with her saber. She went to strike back but he was too quick, moving swiftly to the side. The girl groaned repositioning herself for the next move. Ben swiped at her once again but she ducked and rolled off to the side. 

She quickly stood back up with a slight smirk plastered across her face. With black hair covering most of his eyes, Ben sent a playful smile her direction which she rapidly dismissed leaping forward to steal a strike. He didn’t seem to catch onto her plan, seemingly too distracted by something else, causing her to tackle him to the ground. Ben groaned looking up at the girl smiling down at him, her saber merely inches from his neck.

 “Gotcha Spaceboy.” His face turned a bright shade of red, his words seeming to be stuck in his throat. 

“I hate you.” He finally choked out, a flustered expression still on his features. 

“I know.”

The two, another year older, climbed into an old Tandem X-Wing. They had successfully convinced Master Luke to allow them to go to Chandrila for a grand ball Leia was hosting. They just had to be back within two day cycles and were not allowed to tell any of their fellow peers, which was not a concern. Ben did not talk to anyone really and although the girl was friendly with her peers, she stuck with her partner in crime. They’re had been some sort of tension rising within the New Republic though, something Leia nor Master Luke would tell them about, but the ball was being thrown in an attempt to regain back the New Republic’s favor. 

The girl leaned forward in her seat, placing her chin on the handsome boy’s shoulder, his eyes locked tightly on the vast darkness of space ahead. He was a terrific pilot at such a young age, taking after his Father, Uncle, and apparently his Grandfather. His Grandfather, Anakin Skywalker, was once a powerful Jedi Knight before being murdered by Darth Vader. Master Luke always told them stories about him, stories he had been told by the man Ben was named after. He always seemed to be saddened by the stories of his murdered Grandfather and his Grandmother who died after childbirth. Ben missed them, even if he had never met them. 

“We’re almost there.” He mumbled and the girl smiled, they were almost home.

Landing in Hanna, the two were greeted by Leia, her eyes watering as they fell on the two children before her. In fact, they were not children anymore, instead transitioning into beautiful young adults. She had not seen them in five years, only ever seeing the occasional hologram.

 “Ben!” She grinned excitedly pulling her towering son into a tight embrace.

 Ben laughed hugging his mother back, “Hi Mom!” Leia pulled back and held her son’s face in her hands, examining all the new little details and changes occurring on his face. The girl knew Leia saw it too, he looked like his Father… 

“Hi Lele.” The girl spoke up from the side, her large smile never fading. Leia released Ben and turned to her, pulling her into a tight hug. 

“(Y/N) dear, my goodness how beautiful you are becoming as well!” The girl giggled into the embrace as Ben questioned, “Is Dad here?” Leia pulled back from the hug and frowned. 

“No he had business he had to attend to, he’s sorry he couldn’t be here Ben.” Ben stiffened and nodded slowly, his eyes glazing over.

 “Well,” The girl cleared her throat, “We should go get ready for the ball, I don’t believe Jedi robes are considered appropriate for tonight’s festivities.” Leia nodded and ushered them off, watching as the girl silently comforted her son, something odd transpiring in the Force around them.

The ball had officially commenced and the event center overlooking the city was filled to the brim with people dressed in elegant wear. The girl nervously walked around the dancing couples, picking at the seam line of her mauve colored dress. Leia’s handmaids had transformed the young padawan into a princess: with purple vines painted up her cheeks, white gardenias and lavender woven into her tightly curled hair, and flowers and vines embroidered into the mauve colored dress. She looked like a child of spring. 

 Eyes followed her as she moved throughout the ballroom, hers only searching for one. And there he was across the room, in dark blue robes, brown eyes wide and already locked on her. His wild hair was tamed and sleek, his red tipped ears poking out slightly as he stalked across the floor to her. He stopped in front of her and the girl’s heart rate picked up, he was becoming outrageously handsome, it was not fair for her best friend to be so… distracting. 

“Dance with me.” Ben blurted out, hand restlessly tugging at the high neck of his blue tunic. 

“Of course.” She smiled and the two awkwardly stuttered into the flow of the dancing couples. 

“You look stunning, if it wasn’t obvious.” The girl blushed fiercely head dropping in an attempt to hide from his prying eyes. 

“Thank you Benny, you look handsome as well!” His cheeks flushed a bright red and he dropped his head as they continued to waltz. 

“What are these white flowers? They smell beautiful.” He mumbled into the crown of her head. 

“Gardenias, my parents used to grow them by the house in Nayli. They are supposed to represent pure love.” Ben pulled back slightly, smirking down at her, making her heart rate pick up once more. He was close, too close for them to be just friends. 

“Is that so?”

The pair were back at the Jedi Temple, age 17 and 16, smirking confidently at each other as they positioned themselves for another fight. Their power only continued to grow, and they had an ongoing wager on who would win, both of them the strongest padawans especially together. With quick strategic movements the two danced around the training room as other padawan’s watched curiously, despite their apprehension of Ben. He moved with such agility, it left the girl a little breathless as they kept deflecting each other’s strikes. Suddenly as the girl stepped forward her ankle rolled, causing her to lose her footing. 

Not being quick enough to deflect the impending attack from Ben, a scream pierced through the previously focused and tranquil atmosphere. The girl crumbled to the ground in agony, her hands flying up to her neck only to instantly cry out again. Ben dove to the floor, their lightsaber’s long forgotten. 

“(Y-Y/N), I-I’m so s-sorry!” Master Luke rushed over alongside other students, quickly examining the singed skin on her neck. 

“Bring her to the infirmary now!” Ben with tears streaming down his pale face, pushed away the other students and lifted the girl himself. “Nephew.” Master Luke warned sensing the fear and self-hatred rising in him. He simply ignored his uncle watching the girl’s eyes flutter shut, lightheaded due to the movement and the white hot pain radiating from her neck.

 “It’s going to be okay, you’re going to be okay.” Ben reassured more to himself than her as he carried his best friend to the infirmary.

The next memory, (Y/N) had seen it before, but there was more to it than she had previously seen. The girl was lying in the infirmary bed once again, and Ben’s head was still pressed against their intertwined hands, sobbing. “Ben,” She whispered to the clearly distraught boy, “Look at me.” His head slowly raised to latch onto her own watery (Y/E/C) eyes. “I-I’m in love with you.” She whispered, cheeks burning. 

Ben inhaled sharply, pushing himself out of his chair to hover over her. A large smile broke across his tear streaked face, “I’m in love with you too.” He quickly pressed his lips to hers, both forgetting the sacred code of the Jedi. A Jedi will not know love, will not be involved in romantic relationships, as it will only prove to be a distraction. Their sweet innocent kisses grew heated, the girl sitting up to remove his tunic, hers soon following. 

They broke their kiss at the removal of their shirts and the boy whispered, “I love you.” His sweet eyes were hooded in love, lust, and amazement as he stared down at the girl.

 “I love you more.” She gleamed pulling him back into a feverish kiss, a silent vow being passed between their shared breaths and confessions. Their love was worth living in secrecy over…

Pressed against the side of the temple, the girl and Ben stole quick kisses in between lessons. “Ben we have to go before someone notices we’re gone.” She giggled as he pressed his lips all over her neck and face. 

“No, we can spare another minute.” He mumbled against her skin before pressing another chaste kiss to her lips. 

“Ben Solo! Where are you? Don’t make me hologram your mother!” Master Luke shouted from somewhere, causing Ben to groan dropping his onto her white clothed shoulder, a string of incoherent words tumbling from his lips.

 “I forgot I have my private lesson today…” He lifted his head displaying his bottom lip jutted out in a pout. 

“Go” The girl giggled, “before we get caught, or worse he calls Leia and she chews both of our ears out.” 

Ben laughed, “The latter sounds worse.” She giggled agreeing as he pressed his lips to hers one last time. “I’ll come find you after.” Ben whispered, his hot breath fanning across her face, before parting.

Months later the two sat stiffly in an empty classroom, guilt and nerves etched onto their faces as a furious Master Luke stood before them. They had been caught, caught in a compromising position that clearly stated they were romantically involved, the biggest no in the Jedi Code. “How could you two be so careless? You both know the Jedi are not allowed to have partners, let alone be involved in such activities as you two were!” The girl and Ben both ducked their heads, blushing at the fact they had been caught during one of their nightly secret hut rendezvouses.  

“Children can you please excuse the two of us for a moment?” Leia’s voice rose from her hologram placed directly in front of them. Not needing to be told twice, Ben and the girl rushed out of the room, stopping outside the door threshold to eavesdrop. “Leia why are you not furiously chewing them both out? They are jeopardizing their ability to become Jedi!” 

His sister sighed, “I’m not mad Luke, that’s why. I think you should allow them to continue being together.” Ben and the girl’s head whipped to look at each other, surprised by Leia’s words. Apparently they weren’t the only ones. 

“What? Why?” Luke demanded confused.

 “Luke they will continue regardless of your advisory and remember our parents. Who married in secret, who’s secrets were their demise. Please I beg you don’t let that happen to my boy. Don’t let that happen to (Y/N).” Luke let out a frustrated sigh, fisting his graying hair into his hand. 

“Fine, Fine! But no one else is to know of their relationship.” Luke reluctantly agreed. Ben and the girl outside the door let out a loud cheer as they embraced each other tightly. Leia laughed hearing them and Luke groaned, already regretting his decision. 

“You two also need to be taking precautions, I don’t want to be a grandmother yet!” Leia called and Ben’s face burned bright red. 

“MOM!”

Kisses were being peppered across Ben’s exposed skin as he carried the girl on his back, heading to the quiet fields ahead. The sun was touching the horizon as the day came to an end, soft pastels painting the sky and clouds. Ben squatted down once he arrived at their spot, letting down the girl. The two sat, the girl placing herself between Ben’s legs, her (Y/E/C) eyes watching the sunset with immense happiness. “So beautiful.” She traced the swirls of lilac woven into the pink sky with her index finger. 

“You are.” Ben whispered pressing a kiss to her hair, eliciting a small snort from the girl. The two watched the setting sun for awhile, enjoying the tranquility of the evening when Ben spoke up once again. “Will you marry me?” 

The girl jumped in his arms spinning to look at him, wide eyed. “What?”

 Ben’s face flushed immediately, “I mean I don’t have a ring, but marry me?” The girl gawked for a moment, her mind unable to process fully. 

“We’re so young though…”

 “So, you’re the one. My grandfather was nineteen when he married my grandmother. I’m 18 what’s the big difference?” The girl’s face broke into a large smile as she turned fully, straddling his lap. 

“I’m the one?” She whispered hands lifting to cradle Ben’s cheeks. 

“You always have been. You and I were written in the stars, brought together by the Force.” 

The girl giggled, “Such a poet Mr. Solo.” He snickered lightly, still waiting for her response. “Yes, of course.” She answered finally. Ben’s grinned so widely, pulling her down into a messy kiss. 

“Shit,” Ben breathed when they parted for air, “I’m going to need to find a ring.”

“(Y/N) wake up.” Ben whispered one night, weeks later.

 “Hmm what?” The girl shifted in her small cot, seeing Ben fully dressed in his darkest robes, kneeling down beside her. 

“If we leave now, we’ll be back before dawn. No one will know, not even Luke.” The girl blinked heavily, pushing away the sleep still clinging to her. 

“Leave to where?” She questioned, puzzled.

 “To get married.” Ben smiled, as if it was obvious. 

“Oh you were serious about that?” The girl joked, pushing her blanket off. Ben scoffed helping her stand as he did. “What about the rings? And a dress? Witnesses? Ben what about all of that?” She questioned looking into her love’s eyes. 

“You’re lack of faith in me is disturbing. I have it all figured out don’t worry about it.” The girl narrowed her eyes, observing him.

 “Okay let’s go!” Ben grinned and pulled her out of the hut and towards the old Tandem X-Wing.

The sound of wind brushing through trees and water slowly lapping against the shore filled the girl’s ears as she walked towards the balcony overlooking the endless blue of the Naboo lake. The place she had loved so much as a child and now she would be wedded here. At the place where Ben’s grandparents had secretly sworn their endless love to each other and now she would do the same. The ivory dress, with white flowers blooming throughout the body and sleeves, blew gently in the warm breeze as she walked towards her fate. She grinned to herself in excitement with nerves filling her to the brim as she thought of their secret wedding about to take place. 

It was simply beautiful in Naboo: she could feel the warm setting sun on her skin, the smell of cherry blossoms floating through the air, and the gentle warm breeze flowing through her. A crown of white gardenias and lavender was placed on top of her ivory lace veil and her purple kyber crystal still hung from it’s usual spot. She could feel it in the Force, in a way, her parents were with her.

The girl looked up to Ben, who grinned whole heartedly down at her. Their hands intertwined as the Minister asked them to recite the vows of unity. 

Ben and the girl in synchronization recited, “My soul honors your soul. I honor the place in you where the entire universe resides. I honor the light, love, truth, beauty and peace within you, because it is also within me. In sharing these things we are united, we are the same, we are one.” The girl’s (Y/E/C) eyes filled with tears as they placed the delicate silver bands onto their ring fingers. 

“I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss the bride.” Ben eagerly swept the girl into his arms and bent down placing a sweet passionate kiss to her lips. The Minister excused himself as the two broke away. 

“My wife, (Y/N).” Ben breathed out testing the word for the first time. 

“My husband.” The girl whispered back, grinning. C-3PO congratulated them but the two ignored their one witness, only focusing on each other. “How did you find this lovely gown?” She questioned her husband. 

“I had some help.” Ben smiled looking over to the woman standing next to C-3PO, his mother. 

Leia approached them, tears in her eyes, “As much as I would love for you two to stay longer so we could celebrate, you have to go before Luke finds out you left, and find a way to hide those.” She pointed to their left hands adorned with a silver wedding band. The couple nodded saying their goodbyes before running back to the X-Wing, hand in hand.

“Would you stay still?” The girl groaned trying to remain still, but her back was starting to kill her. 

“How much more do you have to do?” She questioned Ben, who sat to her side, illustrating her portrait into a large piece of parchment. 

“Not much, now stay still.” He responded eyes flickering up to study another area of her face. 

“You’re lucky I love you.” The girl mumbled observing the black leather necklace that hung from Ben’s neck, holding and concealing his wedding ring underneath his brown tunic. A similar necklace hidden under her tunic as well. They had been married for 3 months and Leia had kept their secret, vowing that she only wanted them happy. Ben snickered, the ink from his pen gliding perfectly against the piece of paper as he continued to commit her image. 

“I know.”

“Ben talk to me.” The girl pleaded as her husband’s screaming woke them both up in her tiny hut one night. He had been distant lately and the girl was unsure why. She could feel this other side of him edging it’s way closer and closer to the surface, but she was unsure what it even was. His nightmares seemed to consume him every night, dark circles starting to form around his eyes. 

“It was you, you died.” The girl nodded slowly not showing any sign of being bothered by his words.

 “How?” 

Ben only shook his head, “I’m not sure it was blurry, but you were crying and there was smoke… but that’s not the worst part.” The girl’s hand rubbed up and down Ben’s back soothingly, silently asking him to continue. “You were being carted through the streets of Hanna. Your skin was pale, flowers placed in your hair, your whole body l-lifeless.” Ben shuddered at the thought, tears slipping down his cheeks. 

“Love, I’m not going anywhere.” She comforted wrapping her arms around his shaking frame. 

“I know, I will protect you. I promise.” Ben stated coldly into the quiet night.

The girl and Ben, now 19 and 18, walked across the vast fields of the planet. “Ben where are we going?” The girl groaned, not being able to see behind Ben’s large hands, that covered her eyes and most of her face. 

“We’re almost there, patience my wife.” He laughed at her impatience. She sighed annoyed but allowed him to continue to lead her to the unknown destination. “Okay stop, but no peeking!” Ben instructed after another 10 minutes. The girl felt his hands leave her eyes but she kept her eyes closed as told. She could smell the sweet smell of multiple flowers and the faint sound of lapping water. “Keep your eyes closed.” He reminded her sounding farther away. The girl heard the sound of a swoosh, like a door opening, before warm calloused hands grabbed hers, guiding her forward. After a moment Ben stopped, “Open.” 

He was close enough that the girl could hear his racing heartbeat pounding inside his chest. Slowly opening her eyes, a wide open living space greeted her. There was a kitchen on the side, a hallway behind them and another long hallway in front of her. 

“Ben where are we? Who’s house is this?”

 Ben let out an uneasy laugh, “Um, it's ours.” The girl whipped around with wide eyes, looking to the smiling boy. 

“What?” She questioned, a smile erupting across his face.

 “It’s our house, the original owners have long abandoned it. Master Luke said after we are done training we can live here. Think of it, we will be Jedi Masters, training padawans, going on missions around the galaxy.” the girl grinned, letting out a small squeak of excitement, before rushing around the house to examine it. It needed some work but nothing too bad, surprisingly, but she had a suspicion that Ben had been fixing the place up. The girl stopped by a large window beside the kitchen, observing the quiet terrain surrounding the house. 

“No neighbors? You can’t even see the temple from here.” She felt Ben quietly step up behind her, moving her hair to the side. 

He planted soft open mouth kisses down her neck, “No one to hear us.” His voice came out huskily and the girl turned to face him with a smirk on her lips. 

“Ben Solo you are positively evil.” 

Ben laughed, “That’s why you love me.” 

She scrunched her nose up, “An argument could be made.” Ben went to argue but she quieted his words by placing a feverish kiss to his waiting plump lips. He kissed her back immediately, their kisses soon becoming sloppy and needy. 

“I love you (Y/N), more than anything.”

The next images were familiar, the setting of a nightmare. Ben had not come over to the girl’s hut that night, instead falling asleep in his own hut. She was worried about him, more nightmares and dark thoughts were plaguing Ben. He had even begun to express his doubt over what his place was in all of this. The girl just hoped that her love would be okay… The girl jolted awake to the sound of screams and the smell of smoke. 

Grabbing her lightsaber, the girl rushed out of her hut, seeing the main Jedi Temple on fire in the background. Her eyes were automatically drawn to the bodies lying in the field, slaughtered in cold blood. She stood frozen, what was happening? She could hear screams within the temple and immediately began to run to help, but she was yanked back by a shadowy figure causing her to drop her lightsaber. “Ben! We need to help them!” She twisted around his arms to see blood smeared on his one cheek and how disheveled looking he was. There were tears wind whipped and dried on his cheeks, leaving behind a streaky mess. “Benny?” 

The girl questioned fearful of the dark glimmer in his eyes.  “(Y/N) we don’t belong here.” The girl went to cut him off but he shouted at her, “Let me finish!” She was frightened, this was not her Ben. “Luke tried to kill me, he sensed my power, my strength, our strength! We were a threat to him!” Ben exclaimed, looking back to his destroyed hut. Were? 

“Are you hearing yourself? This is your Uncle, Ben.” The girl tried to reason with him, but he would not hear it.

 “They’ve been lying to me about everything. You know my grandfather, the great Anakin Skywalker who was murdered by Darth Vader? He wasn’t!” The girl’s eyebrows furrowed, what did he mean? “Anakin Skywalker was Darth Vader! One of the most powerful Sith Lords to live, and I have that blood in me.” The girl shook her head in disbelief, was Ben really related to Darth Vader? How had he even come to find out about this? Why had everyone lied to them?

“Join me, my love.” Ben pleaded still having a firm grip on her upper arms. 

“You know I can’t follow, I can’t, we can’t!” The girl pulled against his grip but it only tightened making her grit her teeth. 

“I have and you can too. I can protect you.” The girl shook her head violently, tears pouring down her crimson cheeks.

 “I can’t follow you, you know that.” Ben huffed out frustrated, releasing his hurtful grip on her arms to push his hair out of his face. She backed away slowly until she heard the loud pleas coming from the temple once again. She turned to run but a hand grasped her once again. 

“No (Y/N), I can’t lose you too!” Ben pleaded sorrow plaguing his eyes. 

“I’m sorry Ben, but you already have.” The girl trembled as the words fumbled out of her mouth. Her hand reaching up to yank off the second black necklace she wore. 

“N-NO!” Ben choked out, but it was too late. The girl handed him the necklace holding her wedding ring, before she pulled herself free of his grip. She was angry, upset, and regretted her actions but she could not focus on that as she ran inside the burning building. Inside the burning temple, smoke filled her lungs and vision. 

She was not inside long before an awful loud rupture blared over the sound of crackling fire. She looked up to the ceiling, panic filled her bones, knowing what was to come. “(Y/N)!” A pain filled voice cried outside, just in time as the roof collapsed, caving in on top of her.

The girl stirred against the hard platform, her eyelids and lungs feeling heavy. “I don’t know R2, she just shut herself out of the Force, I can’t sense her anymore. That’s why she must forget, it's the only way to keep her safe from him. Set course for the Hosnian system, she will be safe amongst the Republic.” 

The girl coughed, eyes fluttering open for a moment blinded by the bright light, “Master Luke?” She heard shuffling and then a shadow appeared in her eyes, blocking out some of the light. “Master Luke, where’s Ben? Is he okay?” 

The shadow let out a deep pained sigh, “Shush dear everything’s okay, close your eyes and rest. Everything will be okay.”

The last two memories were not hers, (Y/N) knew that, yet despite that they entered her mind. Ben was covered in smoke and tears in the bedroom of the house, the house he had gotten for him and the girl. “She’s gone, She’s gone, She’s gone!” He repeated over and over again, losing control at the end. He had tried to run after her, but the roof caved in before he could enter. Now she was gone, he could not feel her in the Force anymore. Her pure light energy was gone, replaced by a hollow feeling inside him. 

The tears poured down his face as he let out a gutted scream filled with anger and devastation. Ben retrieved his lightsaber from his side, igniting it. The blue light illuminated his sorrow filled face as he let the rage take a hold of him. He began slashing the corner of the wall in the bedroom, before eventually collapsing to the floor in exhaustion. His trembling hands reached out to collect her grey and black lightsaber from the floor and the black necklace with her small silver band tied to the end of it. Ben held the items in his hands as his sobs continued to shake him to his core, his mind racing around one single thought, his love was gone.

The next one, Ben was clad in all black robes on his knees in tears, staring out at the blackness of space. The setting around him began to fade and shift into what he was weeping over. Two coffins being carted through the dark streets of Hanna. Hundreds surrounded the coffins and horses, carrying flickering candles, mourning the loss of the two Chandrila children. In one coffin a hologram of Ben Solo laid lifeless dressed in dark blue robes and covered in white flowers. In the next coffin was the girl in a dark purple dress. Her hair was adorned in lilacs, lavender, and white gardenias, just like Ben’s nightmare. She looked beautiful just as he remembered her, but the color to her skin was gone. She was just as lifeless as he felt. 

Ben hiccuped feeling a shaky hand being placed on his shoulder. He looked up and through his veil of tears he saw his mother standing beside him. She was crying watching the coffins moving slowly through the quiet streets, silently comforting her son, despite all that had happened. Leia knew her son was not dead, she knew he had turned and caused the destruction of the new Jedi. 

Her hand swiftly was removed and the image began to fade, Ben back on the Star Destroyer. He quivered, clenching his gloved fists as he felt the darkness inside rise. His love was gone and he blamed Luke Skywalker. Ben swore he would find him and destroy him, as another realization dawned upon him. Just as Hanna was being led to believe, Ben Solo truly was dead.

(Y/N) looked ahead, her face soaked and her body trembling. “(Y/N)?” The man asked once again crouching down to her level. Her (Y/E/C) eyes fell onto him, inhaling sharply. 

“B-Ben?” 

His warm eyes filled with tears and hope, “Yes, it’s me! It’s Ben, your Ben… your Ben.” He trailed off pushing her hair back behind her ears and settling them on her cheeks. (Y/N)’s heart was pounding in her chest as her mind tried to process everything, it was all too much to handle, to bear. The girl was her, Kylo was Ben, her Ben. The fire flashed in her mind, then the massacred students, his dark rage burning inside. 

“N-No, no, you’re not!” She sobbed out pushing his hands off of her face. “You’re not him! Ben Solo is dead!” (Y/N) screamed standing up abruptly. He stood with her trying to grab ahold of her, trying to calm her down. (Y/N)’s eyes fluttered shut remembering the shared kisses, shared embraces, their unclothed bodies moving together in such synchronization. It was all too much she could not keep it in. She was a volcano about to erupt. 

“D-Don’t touch me!” (Y/N)’s hands stretched out to push him off, but instead a power, a force, inside of her sent him flying backwards. Kylo was ten feet away on the ground, looking up at her bewildered, a part of her now unlocked like her past. 

Without so much as a second thought, (Y/N) took off running back into the house and into her room. Her name was (Y/N) (Y/L/N), she remembered who she was, she remembered the love, happiness, and pain. 

She wished she could forget again.

Taglist:

@benpeggycartersolo​

@2heures​

@thephantomwriter​

@thefandomzoneisdangerous​

@carol-chann​

@gambitsqueen​

[kopykunoichi]

The Legacy of Star Wars: An Open Letter to the Writers and Creators of A Galaxy Far, Far Away

“Suddenly the Rebellion is real for you. Some of us live it. I’ve been in this fight since I was six years old!” ~ Cassian Andor

I saw a great meme once that played off that quote, meant to depict an older fan describing to a newer fan how they had been invested in the story of Star Wars from childhood. I could relate. Though I am not old enough to have seen the original Star Wars movies in theater, they were a significant part of my childhood. I remember renting the original theatrical VHS from our local video store all the time when I was little. Then we bought the digitally remastered Special Edition VHS Box Set and I spent the next decade wearing them out! We would have popcorn and Star Wars marathons all the time. My friends and I would always pretend we were in the story. My swingset was the Millennium Falcon. I was that 11-year-old girl who would argue with my friends over who was hotter - Luke or Han. (The correct answer is Han, of course!) My mother would read the Expanded Universe novels to me in the afternoons and we would talk about the characters. All my spending money went to Jedi Apprentice books and 6 inch action figures. In short, I loved Star Wars. 

I was 13 when The Phantom Menace hit theaters, and I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to get to see new stories from my favorite fictional universe play out on the big screen. Though I struggled a bit with some of the acting, the story was absolutely amazing to me. Star Wars felt all the more real to me with the amazing graphics and intense action sequences - not to mention the layers of politics and the complexity of the story. I watched Revenge of the Sith several times in theaters, and though it broke my heart to see Anakin’s fall, I never considered it to be a sad ending overall, when taken as a whole with the original trilogy. 

When the Clone Wars aired in 2008, I was ecstatic. Here was an Anakin I could actually get into (sorry, Hayden). I loved him. I adored Ahsoka. I wanted to marry Rex. The character development and the plot deepened my attachment to that era, and made me question everything I had previously taken for granted as good and bad. The whole system was flawed - the Republic and the Jedi. It wasn’t just a matter of mistakes being made and the wool being pulled over their eyes, there was deep rooted corruption in the side that I once felt was “good”. The light side and the dark side were not as black and white as I thought. I found myself strongly disliking some of the “good guys” and deeply sympathizing with some downright detestable people (I don’t know how you got me to care for Maul, Filoni - but well done). While the series had not yet ended, we knew where it was going. But still, we had already lived through the pain of Order 66, and we knew that the story would eventually culminate in a victory at the end of Return of the Jedi.

I couldn’t believe our luck when the first installment of the sequel trilogy hit the theaters in 2015. It had some of the feelings of a reboot, but I was beyond thrilled to have a series of Star Wars movies that I could now share with my children, as my parents had shared them with me. Though it was hard to say goodbye to the first love of my life, Han Solo - I just knew that Ben would be redeemed and Han’s sacrifice would be worth it...

2016 brought us Rogue One. We knew how that one was going to end too, but we still ate it up. I fell in love with a whole new set of characters, only to see each and every one of them die in the end. Talk about tragedy. But Leia’s line about hope reminded us that five minutes later, a whiny little farm boy was about to have his whole life upended in the best sort of way...so it was okay. Sort of.

Four years of Rebels ended in 2018, and it was so, so lovely - but it hurt so, so much. My perfect, beautiful space family had been torn apart with Kanan’s death. Ezra was missing. Rex was a 29-year-old man who should have been in his prime, but was instead struggling with the wear and tear of a 60-year-old body. Ahsoka was separated from him - AGAIN - and then she left with Sabine to look for Ezra. The ending still held the promise of the fight to come with the Empire, but the majority of our characters were left in a place of grief and brokenness.

2019 brought an end to the sequel trilogy. Once again, we had characters who pulled at our heartstrings, and an interesting struggle between “light” and “dark” that reminded me of the complexities introduced in The Clone Wars. It became more apparent than ever that balance in the Force did not mean the light triumphing over the dark, but instead a harmony between the two. At least, that’s what I thought. Until I watched every person I loved from the original trilogy die, Palpatine come back (and die) again, and the same exact ending of Return of the Jedi played out before me - except not as happy. Why? Because Anakin’s legacy had been reduced to ashes - his rise, fall, redemption, and sacrifice rendered null and void. The last Skywalker was redeemed and promptly killed, just like his grandfather. But because Rey Palpatine decided that she identified as Rey Skywalker, it was supposed to be okay. She then went to go hang out (or live?) alone on Tatooine because that’s where it all started. I was dumbfounded. This was the satisfying, hopeful, ending we were promised? How? 

Believe it or not, I’m not here to trash the sequels - I enjoyed them very much - right up until the last 20 minutes. But in that space of time, the entire legacy of the Skywalker family went up in smoke, and the legacy of Star Wars along with it. Since Return of the Jedi, there have been no happy endings to a Star Wars movie trilogy or TV show. And with the ending of The Rise of Skywalker, that one happy ending we did have was ripped from us as well. Star Wars is now a never ending series of tragic endings. The lessons we are left with: Don’t fall in love in Star Wars, it will end badly. Your actions ultimately result in failure. As soon as you turn good, you die. There is no balance in the Force, just a pendulum swinging back and forth for all time. 

Then The Clone Wars finally got her last season. I didn’t think Order 66 could have hurt worse, but Filoni set out to prove us all wrong...and succeeded. I’m still not over it. And once more, the bitterness I felt over the ending to the sequels (which had begun to subside) flared up all over again. What was it all for? All that pain. All that sacrifice. No happy endings. 

I still love Star Wars. Nothing can take that away from me. No amount of bad writing can change that. And there are still plenty of good writers and creators working on Star Wars content. But good writers spinning tales of tragedy and endless pain negates the power of good writing. The Star Wars of my childhood is not the Star Wars of today. We wore out those VHS tapes because we loved the stories and the people. But my kids are not going to wear out DVDs where everyone they love dies or ends up alone. They aren’t going to queue up those digital movies and series over and over - because who wants to subject themselves to that kind of torture?

Just about the only safe space for Star Wars fans right now is fanfiction archives where the people who love the characters are busy writing fix-it fics to squeeze some sort of satisfying ending out of the canon content. The Mandalorian is literally our last hope for a Star Wars story that has the potential to end well. I swear, if Din Djarin ends up dead or alone at the end of this series, I’m going to lose it. The overwhelming sentiment of the Star Wars fanbase - from original trilogy fanboys to Tumblr blogging Reylos, and everyone in between - is that of dissatisfaction with canon content (with the exception of The Mandalorian). So much so, that many fans are just saying “screw it” and churning out a myriad of fanfiction AUs because there is no way to salvage what has been written. Half of Tumblr is in therapy after The Rise of Skywalker ending and the last episode of Clone Wars - but they weren’t exactly stable to begin with. The other forums and social media platforms are not much better, though.

It’s not just about the quality of writing - because Filoni and co. have done exceptional work with The Clone Wars, Rebels, and The Mandalorian. It’s the tragedy, guys. We can’t take it anymore. Is this really what we want the Star Wars legacy to be? Sadness? Despair? It’s a story about war - people are going to die. I get that. Victory comes at a price, but the cost can’t be worse than the victory. I want to sit down with my kids and watch Star Wars over and over again. The Mandalorian has given us a taste of that - but I’m almost afraid of where it will go. We’ve been burned so many times, I’m beginning to know what Anakin felt like on Mustafar - writhing in agony and screaming “I hate you” to someone he once loved. 

I remember happier days when Luke and Leia and Han were laughing and smiling with their friends while Yoda, Obi-Wan, and Anakin looked on. I want that back. Filoni. Favreau. Creators. Writers. Producers. Directors. You are our only hope for canon content. Use The Mandalorian wisely. Use Din’s story to bless other characters. Here’s some ideas:

Let Din have a happy ending! Preferably with someone he loves and respects at his side (like Cara). 

Let Cara become a Mandalorian - and put Paz Vizsla in charge of her training (we need to see them spar).

Let what’s left of the Tribe establish a new Mandalorian colony - and let Sabine Wren lead it. And give her that Darksaber back - she earned it. 

Let Ezra come back from regions unknown with a deeper understanding of the Force, and have him train the child in the new colony. 

Forget the Jedi and Sith, let’s start a medical training center/hospital run by Force users who can help heal people when modern medicine fails! 

Ahsoka can use her talents for that too. 

Find the rest of the child’s race and bring any of their Force sensitives onboard. 

Let Boba Fett and Din have their epic showdown, but then use a sample of Boba’s unaltered DNA and some mystical Force healing to restore Rex’s body to what a 43-year-old should be (and then he can marry Ahsoka so we can have the Clone/Jedi couple we always wanted...thanks to you, Filoni).

Let the Mandalorians partner with the New Republic in the Outer Rim as law enforcement instead of bounty hunters, so they can get their reputation back. 

They can train new recruits and pilots, just like Fenn Rau trained clones. 

Let them keep their autonomy and traditions, while helping keep the New Republic honest.

Let them be a force for good in the galaxy, for once. 

The Mandalorian could serve as the vessel to give a lot of characters with unresolved or tragic storylines some closure and better endings. If not The Mandalorian, then other new shows. My 6-year-old daughter wants nothing more than to be Ahsoka Tano. My 3-year-old son asks me to watch The Mandalorian every day. My 18-month-old daughter walks around in her brother’s Mandalorian helmet babbling “Way”. Please let me share the Star Wars legacy that I grew up loving with them. Let me show them the happy endings I enjoyed. Let me show them that even in the midst of conflict, not every life has to be ruined. Let me show them a Star Wars story with a satisfying ending. Hope. Redemption. Love. That’s what Star Wars means to me. 

May the Force be With You (and your pens),

Rebekah, A Star Wars Fan

[lj-writes]

Rey’s abandonment and the destruction of Luke’s new Jedi: A deconstruction

Warning: I have no idea if I’ve stumbled on to something here or am just pounding sand, but IF I’m right you’d be depriving yourself of a hell of a twist by reading this. Also, I put this in the general TLJ tag because it’s speculation for that movie, but if you’re for or against particular parentage theories and/or ships read the tags before proceeding. There  is also a lot of death, violence, trauma and disturbing imagery in this post and a mention of pedophilia (not in support of it, obvs) so exercise caution.

I keep reading theories and headcanons about how Rey was abandoned on Jakku after the destruction of Luke’s school for Jedi, and I find it compelling except for the big glaring timeline problems outlined below. I still feel drawn to the idea, though, and I’ll try to show that this may, in fact, be what happened. I will also discuss some other problems this theory may solve (why Jakku? who left her there?) and how this might put an entirely new spin on Kylo’s and Rey’s stories. Buckle in.

The timeline problem with Rey being left on Jakku after the school’s destruction is that the destruction took place years after Rey’s abandonment. We know that Ben had not yet fallen as of Claudia Gray’s Bloodline, six years prior to the events of The Force Awakens, and the destruction of the school happened after the events of Bloodline when Ben learned of his heritage–that he was the grandson of Darth Vader. By then Rey would have been thirteen years old, far too old to be the child shouting “Come back!”

Right?

Let’s stop right here and unpack the assumptions we’ve made. Here are the facts we know, or think we know, about the destruction of Luke’s school:

Assumption #1: The destruction took place after Ben switched his allegiance and became Kylo Ren.

Assumption #2: Kylo Ren’s fall took place in or after 28 ABY, after the events of Bloodline.

Assumption #3: Kylo Ren killed the Jedi students and destroyed the school.

What if none of these assumptions is true, at least without heavy qualification? It would change quite a lot of what we think we know about the characters and their backgrounds, that’s for certain.

I want to make this very clear, what would not change is the fact that Kylo Ren is a fascist enforcer and mass murderer. This entire post can be summarized as “Cool motive, still murder.” I’m simply wondering if the motive might be so cool that it changes the entire game.

All right, let’s dive in below the cut.

Assumption #1: The destruction took place after Ben switched his allegiance and became Kylo Ren.

Let’s start with the first assumption, that the destruction of the school happened after Kylo Ren’s fall, that is after the events of Bloodline in 28 ABY.

Well, what if I told you it may have happened a lot sooner than that? Impossible, right? I mean, it’s laughable! Anyone who read Bloodline or has a passing familiarity with the new canon materials knows that Ben was traveling across the galaxy with his master Uncle Luke, frequently out of communication with Leia and Han. I mean, if he’d already destroyed the school by this point how could he… be traveling… all the time…

Wait a minute. Is there proof that the school existed at the time of Bloodline? Luke certainly wasn’t acting like most schoolmasters if he was incommunicado much of the time. Why was he traveling so much if he had a school to run?

I combed through my e-book copy of Bloodline for different search terms–”Luke,” “school,” “Jedi,” “Temple,” “Ben” and so on. And while the book said Luke was a Jedi, duh, there was no reference to other Jedi, or to a Jedi school or Jedi Temple in current existence. This itself seems odd, since this was nearly thirty years after the Battle of Yavin, twenty-three years since the war with the Empire ended. Shouldn’t there be a new generation of Jedi already?

The closest reference I could find to the existence of other Jedi and the possibility of a school was this passage:

[Luke] Skywalker had been so long away on his strange quest for the lore of the Jedi that he no longer had much influence outside his own acolytes. He was a figure of myth more than one of flesh and blood.

So Luke has “acolytes,” which seems to hint at followers and possible graduates of his academy. Still, does it strike anyone as odd that he has so little influence? If he left these acolytes in charge of the school in his absence, presumably he would have more influence through these teachers and their own pupils. Yet that doesn’t seem to be the case, as though there had been some disruption that broke that chain.

I also talked to @absolxguardian, who unlike me has actually finished the book (and for the record is against my madcap theory so don’t blame her), and she confirmed that she does not recall a direct reference to a school. If you’ve found any, please inform me and we can all have a good laugh at how I was obsessing over nothing.

For now, if you want to come deeper down the rabbit hole with me, you’ll have to accept that there is at least some basis to think that Luke’s school was destroyed before 28 ABY, say, a little less than a decade earlier? Maybe prompting Luke to go away on his strange quest and fade into legend? Without that premise none of what comes below works.

Assumption #2: Kylo Ren’s fall took place in or after 28 ABY, after the events of Bloodline.

Let’s move on to Assumption #2, that Kylo Ren’s fall took place on or after 28 ABY, presumably after he learned that Vader was his granddad. You can see how grabbing and shaking Assumption #1 weakens Assumption #2 as well. If the school was destroyed long before 28 ABY and Ben had something to do with it, then clearly it wasn’t just the extra branch in the family tree that sent him over the edge. He had already gone over, or was at least hovering around the edge, for some time now.

But wait, it was Ben who was accompanying Luke on his travels to esoteric holy places. If the timeline went as I proposed above, how could he have fooled his uncle, a Jedi, so completely?

Jedi have been fooled before, though. That was pretty much the plot of the prequel trilogy. Maybe Ben was a manipulator on par with Palpatine or he wasn’t (he wasn’t), but he may have had a master manipulator on his side. That’s right. Snoke, the guy Leia says was watching Ben from the shadows and manipulating him.

One excellent way for Ben to be in his uncle’s good graces and not fall under suspicion was to bond over their shared tragedy, the destruction of the Jedi school–remember, acceptance is the price of entry to this rabbit hole!–and their status as traumatized survivors. What an act! Why, he must be as good an actor as Adam Driver to pull that off!

But what if it wasn’t all an act? Which brings me to the third assumption…

Assumption #3: Kylo Ren killed the Jedi students and destroyed the school.

This is the part that is going to get me anons, and possibly a defamation suit if I’m wrong and fictional characters can sue. Here’s where the cool motive part comes in, and may unravel all the pesky details of Rey’s abandonment that have been troubling me. Step deeper down the hole with me.

What if it wasn’t Ben who killed the students.

What if it was Rey.

Yes, tiny, maybe five-year-old Rey, with skinny arms and her piping child’s voice. That Rey. I told you this would get me anons.

I mean, why would she? Not out of malice, obviously. I don’t believe for a second Rey is a murderer, but rather a weapon. I haven’t worked out the exact mechanics, but much like my earlier Rey Solo theory, I think Snoke may have turned her raw power against the students, killing them. Maybe she was a student, maybe she was a visitor, but whatever she was there for that day, things turned deadly and it became a day of indelible tragedy.

Now that we’re far enough down the rabbit hole and know what we’re working with here, let’s take a freefall down Headcanon Shaft. It’s quickest, and hopefully entertaining, to tell it in fic form without all the qualifications and hedging, so bear with me. Just remember that I’m not telling a definitive version of this theory, simply presenting one way it could work.

A note on the relationship between Ben/Kylo and Rey: This theory works best with Rey Solo as Ben’s sister, but could also work for Rey Skywalker. It might even work with Rey Kenobi, Rey Random etc., though with a big dose of “why?” (One particular part of the headcanon only works if Rey is Vader’s granddaughter, but the theory could work without that part.) I will use the name “Rey” for the purpose of this headcanon, though as a theorist I prefer “Breha.”

I hope it will become clear, though, that even with Kylo and Rey being unrelated this version of events pretty much closes out the possibility of romance between them.

“One boy, an apprentice turned against him, destroyed it all.”

Rey is unconscious, having spent even her incredible powers. She looks so small among the wreckage and the other children and the adults who tried to defend them, with one difference–her chest rises and falls, where the others’ never will again.

Ben knows. He has gone from body to body, checking, searching, hoping. Now he kneels by Rey’s side, among the fragments of the world they used to inhabit.

But one thing is clear through the fog of shock and sorrow. This wasn’t Rey’s fault, and he has to protect her by any means necessary.

It’s at this point that his trusty advisor, this wondrous man who’s been teaching him so many secrets of the Force, whispers through their link that she can never live a normal life now, that the vengeful surviving Jedi will come for her and lock her away forever. She has to be hidden in a place where she can’t hurt others or attract attention.

But where? Ben asks, sobbing, cradling Rey’s tiny body in his arms. Her clothes, her skin, her hair are stained with the blood of other children, which he tries to wipe away only to smear it around.

Jakku, comes the answer, and Ben’s heart tries to both sink and lift at once. It is a place powerful in concentrated Force energies that will tamp down on Rey’s powers, keeping her and others safe. But it is so remote and far away, it’ll be just like losing her.

There is also no other choice if he wants to keep her free and others safe at the same time. He swears to her that he will clear her name, make the galaxy a safe place for her so that he can bring her back and she can once again live in her own name.

He must act quickly before the adults return. He burns the ruined school down so that Rey’s body will not be missed among the others, apologizing to the dead students and their families. The fire glints red off his tears.

Then he takes the Millennium Falcon, his father’s ship that his parents were using to visit, lays Rey in the back, and launches off. This time he apologizes to his father. He has a feeling he will be making a great many silent apologies in the years to come.

He uses a Force trick his friend teaches him to silence the memories from Rey’s mind. His heart aches again, but again he has no choice. If she remembers who she is she will try to make her way back, and all will be ruined. She could spend her life locked up, might hurt other people again.

Most of all, though, he doesn’t want her to have the memories he will carry for the rest of his days. Just sparing her that may be worth all of this.

She wakes up during the hyperspace jump and is confused but happy enough to chat perched in the copilot’s seat, though he can see she has no clear memory of him. He keeps her entertained by talking to her and distracting her with the old knick-knacks on the ship. He tells her they are taking a trip and will be home soon.

Once he lands on Jakku his will nearly gives out, but he has come too far and this is the only way. “Wait here,” he tells her, seized with the terror that she will wander away and he will never find her again. “I’ll come back for you! It will be all right.”

He exchanges the Millennium Falcon for a freighter with instructions to get rid of the ship, his heart bleeding at the thought of his father. He does not look back as he boards his new ship and leaves Jakku behind.

“Come back!” she screams, though he cannot possibly hear her at this distance through the hull of his ship. He makes the jump to hyperspace too soon, almost hoping to disintegrate. Her voice echoes through the Force for a long time.

He sends out a distress signal when he is safely away from Jakku. When found, he tells a story about how the school’s attackers kidnapped him and he managed to escape. He’s not sure how good it was. The adults, already ashen and dazed, likely do not have the heart to prod and have their world collapse on them once again. He knows what that feels like.

Over the years the secret expands inside him until it threatens to spew out every time he opens his mouth, so he stops talking. About anything that matters, anyway. Every time his mother goes expressionless and numb, every time his father travels away without word when he’ll be back, Ben grits his teeth and clamps down until his ears ring.

“I just never should have sent him away. That’s when I lost him.”

When Luke decides to seek the lore of the Jedi instead of rebuilding the school and asks whether Ben wants to come, he jumps at the chance. Home was becoming unbearable, and he has his own reasons to seek knowledge of the Force. Leia is hesitant but Ben persuades her to let him go. He needs to continue his training, he tells her, and Luke could use the backup. His father is all right with the idea. Ben doubts he even cares. He watches his mother spend her evenings alone and despises the man.

Ben has another reason to stay close to Luke’s side: He knows Luke wants answers about the night his school was massacred. That’s all right, though, with his friend to advise him Ben can find out ten times as much as Luke and stay ahead. And if Luke gets too close to the truth, Ben can kill him.

The first time the thought occurs to him it frightens Ben. Then it comes again, and again, and he grows used to it.

He often wonders during his travels whether Luke suspects anything. At night, when his uncle sometimes turns and cries out, he wonders if it wouldn’t be more merciful to end his misery. He certainly wishes someone would do him the same kindness.

He sleeps with a cloth stuffed in his mouth so he would not cry out something fatal in his sleep. He tries to picture Rey but cannot imagine what she might look like now.

“There was nothing we could’ve done. There was too much Vader in him.”

Almost a decade into their travels Ben is a man, and has learned a great deal but is no closer to solving Rey’s puzzle. Then Luke sits him down and tells him the truth about who he and his sister’s father was, throwing aside the lie they had been telling Ben, the galaxy, all these years.

Ben realizes at that moment that there will be no peace or freedom for Rey or for him. If the universe is to be made safe for Rey to reveal herself, there must be no Force users left to threaten her.

There is a way, his trusty friend tells him. Gentle and noxious as dust on the wind comes a name: The Knights of Ren.

It’s just as well. Once the killings begin they will think he was the Jedi Killer from the school, and it is no lie. That is what he will become, there was just a small time difference. It will make things better for Rey, and that is all that matters.

That night Ben leaves the camp. He looks back one more time at Luke’s sleeping face, troubled in the firelight. He toys with the idea of ending things here, but turns and leaves instead.

He might come to regret it, but regret has become an old, old friend. He is twenty-four years old.

In which I deal with a torrent of objections

If you’re still with me, you probably hate me. Let me answer a few of the possible objections and go into how this theory helps fit some of the puzzle pieces together.

But Ducain stole the Millennium Falcon from Han!

That’s what Han said. Who’s to say his information was accurate? In my version of this theory he and Unkar Plutt were told that story by the same person, Ben Solo.

But since there is evidently text in the incredible cross-sections book about Ducain refurbishing the gun turret while he had the Falcon, let me propose an alternate timeline: Ducain stole the Falcon from Plutt’s parking lot and kept it for a time, during which time he invested in the aforementioned enhancement. The Irving Boys stole it from him, and then Plutt stole it back. Han tracked the train of custody down as far as Ducain, so he assumed old Duc had stolen it directly from him.

Much as in my earlier Rey Solo theory, this version of events adds a layer of emotion and urgency to Han’s search for the Falcon. Since its disappearance is tied to the events at the school, Han would be looking for answers as well as the ship itself. It also explains why he seemed resigned but cool with (evidently) not having the Falcon in Bloodline but was super keen to find it in The Force Awakens: With the revelation of his son’s duplicity it became a much more urgent question for him.

So why didn’t Unkar Plutt get rid of the Falcon?

Does Unkar strike you as a good-faith kinda guy? Ben probably didn’t instruct him to keep Rey in a half-starved state of indentured servitude, either. Plutt also probably knew the ship and smelled a bigger payday down the road. (Anyone else getting a Cossette and the Thénardiers vibes?)

This theory is incredibly white-prioritizing, to have the entire plot and twists wrapped around these two characters and to creat this incredibly convoluted back story just to make Kylo seem sympathetic.

Yes, it is. Unfortunately, given the way Rian is talking I think that makes this theory or something like it all the likelier to happen.

It’s also sexist as fuck, to reduce Rey to an object to be used by Snoke and “saved” by Kylo Ren, and to inflict this undeserved trauma on her.

I completely agree. I hate it, actually, but it does seem to tie a lot of things together and… did I mention I hate it?

This is Reylo and I hate/love you for it!!

This is actually the most anti Reylo theory right up there with Rey Solo (which is likely to be true if something like this happens, because come on). Even if Ben did all this for a girl totally unrelated to him, which is unlikely, if this backstory results in a romance it would be the creepiest grooming bullshit of all time. It would be even worse than if Rey and Kylo had never met before TFA. It’s arguably abusive even without the romance aspect.

Speaking of which, JJ said Kylo and Rey never met!

So we’re into believing JJ now? Not only does he have a track record on this point, why the heck are you believing the cast and crew whose job (well, part of it) is to mislead you? He can always walk that comment back with “never met in this movie” and such.

There are a whole lot of other objections, but you’re too tired and on edge to think of them at the moment.

Correct. Have at ‘em in the asks, reblogs, comments etc. Keep your capslock on. We have to fill the time somehow until TLJ opens, right?

So is this theory actually good for anything?

I should hope so, since I’m staying awake until an ungodly hour to type it up. Here are some of its advantages, as I see it.

1. It gives Kylo Ren the sympathetic back story we were promised, but doesn’t make him a puppet or a secret good guy. It also shows the depth of Snoke’s manipulation while also giving Kylo Ren agency.

2. It explains the Millennium Falcon’s presence within sight of Rey all these years, for as long as she can remember according to Rey’s Survival Guide.

3. It gives emotional depth to Rey’s fascination with pilot imagery, which was also a big part of my previous Rey Solo theory but which never quite fit because I couldn’t think of how to make it emotionally satisfying on a visceral level.

Rey knew that she was waiting for a pilot, hence her sense of comfort from wearing a pilot helmet, keeping a pilot doll, doing flight sims and so on. While it’s unlikely Ben was in a Rebel flight suit there was plenty of Rebel and Empire paraphernalia to be found from the ruins of battle, and she may have made the association. Something probably told her it wasn’t an Empire pilot she was waiting for because oh, the irony…

4. It explains why Rey had to be left on Jakku, which just happens to be a pivotal place in the new canon. absolxguardian’s excellent Rey Palpatine theory also addresses this.

5. “WHAT GIRL?” Kylo Ren heard “Corellian YT model freighter” and “girl” and immediately made the connection. Under this theory, he was probably thinking the whole time about where Rey was in relation to his location and later the location of the search parties.

And remember how pissy he got with Hux about the droid being recovered, not destroyed? I mean I bet he’d love to have a chat with Uncle Luke and all, but was he also trying to set limits on how destructive the mission could be (as in, no bombing from orbit)? Of course it turned out to be plenty dangerous for Rey anyway, but I think we’ve established by this point that Kylo Ren is a master of intellectual and moral laziness, seeing only what he wants to see.

6. It explains Lor San Tekka and the Church of the Force’s presence on Jakku so near Rey in a “correlation is not causation” kind of way. They were there for the same reasons, Jakku’s being some kind of important Force spot. Rey’s presence did not cause San Tekka to be there, but it was also not a coincidence that they were there at the same time.

7. Speaking of which, “There’s been an awakening. Have you felt it?” This line was spoken after Rey left Jakku.

8. Then there’s this part of a deleted scene of Kylo searching the Falcon:

[Image description: Kylo Ren stands in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon, hunched over and clutching the backs of the pilot’s and copilot’s seats]

See how he’s gripping the copilot’s seat closer with his right arm bent more than the left, almost like he has an arm around someone’s shoulders? Is he remembering the last time he saw little Rey in this chair? I always thought he looked like he was in some sort of pain here, and with my theory goggles on I the pain might have been even sharper and more immediate than I thought at first.

At the end of this cut he says to himself, “Han Solo.” But why? Did he really need to grab the seats to feel his father’s presence? Dude, I don’t have the Force and I could have told you it was Han just by looking at the damned ship. It’s the Millennium Falcon! That crashed through an impregnable shield! How much surer can you get, sniff the seats for Essence du Ford?

No, I don’t think the “Han Solo” line was him feeling his father’s presence. I think he was steeling himself for what he had to do. Yes, I’m going there. Yes, I do believe…

9. This theory explains why Kylo Ren “had” to kill Han. Again, this works best with Rey Solo, but could fit Rey Skywalker, Rey Random etc.

Think about it. He knew from early on from Snoke, in the “There’s been an awakening” scene, that Han was with Rey. Han had talked to her. He could have recognized her, especially if she was his daughter. Rey’s entire cover, the whole reason for Kylo’s existence for the past 15 years, was about to be blown.

Doesn’t that put Snoke’s comment in the earlier scene, that this was going to be a test such as Kylo had never faced, in a whole new context? Kylo knew it then, and he’s realizing it anew: It’s too soon for Rey to be known. Han has to go.

“I know what I have to do, but I don’t know if I have the strength to do it.” Kylo’s words to his father. If killing Han is for Rey’s protection, the idea that he “has” to do it takes on a whole new gutwrenching meaning.

The “Thank you” at the end might well have been genuine–thank you for dying to protect her. I won’t forget this.

And when Han touched his son’s face before he fell? He may well have realized the truth he may have suspected, what his son had been carrying all these years. It was monstrous, it was unthinkable, and yet he understood.

Because Han might have done the same.

10. From the novelization, when Rey catches the lightsaber: “It is you.”

11. “I’ve seen this raw strength only once before.”

What if it wasn’t Ben that Luke was talking about here, but Rey?

012. “Something inside me has always been there. But now it’s awake, and I need help.”

She sounds thrilled about what’s awakening in her, doesn’t she? Why is Rey so terrified of the Force, anyway?

13. “Let the past die. Kill it, if you have to. That’s the only way to become what you’re meant to be.”

Hmmmm

14. “Fulfill… your… destiny!”

HMMMMMMM

"This isn't going to go the way you think!"

I really don’t think Rey’s parentage is going to be the SHOCKING REVEAL we’ve been promised, not like Luke’s parentage in The Empire Strikes Back. The “I am your father!” line was shocking because we weren’t thinking about it and nobody saw it coming. If his parentage had been left as an open loop that fans had been given three years to obsess over, someone would have come up with Vader as the father because that’s dramatically appropriate. Or, you know, because everyone would have been Luke’s father by the time ESB rolled around.

With Rey, the parentage was teased from the first and fans have already come up with every theory under the sun and from where the sun don’t shine. That’s not a shocking reveal, it has to be handled for maximum emotional satisfaction and not for shocks.

The twist has to be something we’re not looking at, and we should be looking at Kylo Ren. The amount he has been talked up, the gushing about what a relatable villain he is, cannot be a coincidence even if it’s distasteful to me. 

In this post I’ve presented several assumptions that fans have been holding without question, much like Luke’s father being a) dead and b) killed by Darth Vader. I showed how they can be twisted within the bounds of known canon. Whether I’m right or wrong about this theory, the actual twist is going to do something similar by tackling our unexamined assumptions and totally blindsiding us.

I hope you’ve found this exercise entertaining, whatever the twist turns out to be. Hopefully we’ll all find something to enjoy in The Last Jedi.

[smonksthemuse]

Doggoverse -> Why did the Force make Anakin skip the puppy years? Why cut the wanted time? How old is he now? Would he be the equivalent of his human age when he became Vader? Is your fic going to follow a plot, or is it going to be a collection of anecdotes? How long is Anakin going to live this time? Can a Skywalker simply die of old age or is he bound to tragedy and sacrifice? Is he going to meet Ben? ...And Kylo?

Wow, what a flurry of questions! *cracks knuckles*

1. It would have been sort of… counterintuitive, to have Anakin be born as a puppy and have to spend time maturing; eventually, Anakin would’ve had to find Luke on his own, because there weren’t exactly any expectant mother dogs on Endor that he could have been born to on the exact night of the Death Star II’s destruction. Also, having an adult human’s brain and a newborn puppy’s body would’ve been incredibly frustrating; no one wants to have to spend two weeks being blind and deaf and then having to wait for your muscles to develop so you can walk. The Force just let Anakin bypass all that tedious work so he could be adopted by Luke literally the morning after he died.

2 & 6. I assume you’re asking why the Force would give Anakin an even shorter life than dogs usually have by letting Anakin skip being a puppy. Tibetan Mastiffs (the breed of dog Anakin became, though I call it ‘Taibentan’ in the fic because there’s no 'Tibet’ in Star Wars) have an average lifespan of about 12-15 years; I’ve decided that 'Taibentans’ live about 15-18 years, which is quite a long time for a dog, and Anakin ends up living even longer (probably until he’s 20, which gives him 17 years (see below)) because ~ the Force ~ and also because that’s what I want :) so even though he’s missing out on a few years, he’ll still get a good amount of time to spend with his children.

3 & 4. When Anakin wakes up on Endor as a dog, he (meaning his dog body) is about three years old, which for Tibetan Mastiffs means the human equivalent is twenty-four years old (according to this dog age calculator). I believe Anakin was about twenty-two or twenty-three when he became Darth Vader, so yeah, about the same age.

5. I actually talked about this with @flaminganakin​ (the one who requested a fic with this premise in the first place, unaware that it would spiral into an actual au) a while back. We decided that the Doggoverse (which at the time did not have a name) would be a series of fics of varying length that would mainly be snapshots of Anakin’s life as Luke’s dog. Each fic will have its own little story, and while there will (most likely) not be an overarching plot, I will attempt to arrange them in chronological order and some of them may reference others (or even be a direct sequel).

7. Skywalkers could very well be bound to tragedy and sacrifice (this might be a question for an actual Star Wars writer, or at least someone better at meta than me), but as I said here, this second life is a gift to Anakin from the Force. It is both a thank-you and an apology; 'thank you for fulfilling the prophecy and restoring balance’ and 'I’m sorry you had to fulfill the prophecy and restore balance’. The Force knows Anakin has suffered greatly, and while it can’t turn back time and make that suffering never happen, it can allow him to be with his children again after death. So what I’m saying is, Anakin’s tragedy is over, and he won’t have a second one. He will die at an old age with Luke and Leia at his side, comfortable and content.

(NOTE: Please do not request a fic about Ta'yar’s death; that will be the end of the au, and it won’t be for a long time yet)

8 & 9. I still haven’t decided if I want to make this a fix-it au along with whatever it already is, where Ben never turns because Anakin is there to bury all his Vader merch and hot topic t-shirts in the backyard and somehow communicate to Luke, Han, and Leia that HELLO THIS CHILD IS FALLING TO THE DARK SIDE WOULD YOU LIKE TO MAYBE STOP THAT FROM HAPPENING??? Also, I’m not sure Ta'yar would still be alive when Ben becomes Kylo if things play out the same; I think so far everything is just speculation as to when/how old he was when he turned, so I’ll wait until episode VIII comes out to deicide if I’ll write Kylo in this au, if I don’t decide to make it a fix-it. I’ll probably write baby Ben Solo, though! And maybe small child Ben too; like, five or six at the most (at least until episode VIII).

I hope this answered all your questions, anon! Feel free to request clarification on anything you still don’t understand or don’t think I explained well enough! Thanks for asking!

[ahkmenrahdaley]

you should write like a law au. Where Poe is chasing Kylo who is killer or psychopath and maybe they only way of catching him is to seduce him? Спасибо моя сестра ;)

отвали…

(okay serious warnings cause this is fucked up like lots of ppl die and there’s mentions of blood and death and it’s really awful. But if you’re okay with that, have fun kids :) Also, Kylo is an asshole so be warned)

There was something about the case that had him drawn.

There were only so many genuine villains in the world, Poebelieved, and this was the small city of Yavin, thankfully murderers didn’tcome around too often. In fact, the last time he had been called to investigatea brutal assault was a few months after his last exams. A fatal shooting, butonly a single death and an obvious suspect. That had to be at least seven yearsago now … he wondered if Mr. Hutt was still imprisoned or had his termalready ended? He couldn’t recall much about that case, but it seemed like hewouldn’t forget this one as easily.

There had been eight murders over a three year period - thefirst victim was a close friend of Poe’s parents and he knew him quite well,Han Solo, they called him, or he called himself, no one was too sure about thatback-story and no one bothered to ask. Him and his wife and their two childrenlived the perfect life despite their estranged relationship with one another. Theiroldest son, Ben, was a student who worked part time at the local museum andtheir daughter, Rey, was young but gifted with so many talents that gave herthousands of possible careers to pursue.  Everything was fine. Was being the main attribute, because on the fatal night ofFeburary 13th many things went wrong.

They found Solo stabbed to death in his kitchen, there were severalwounds but the cut through his heart had been the lethal strike. Beside himthey found his son, only seventeen at the time, drenched in blood and waveringin and out of consciousness. He had been stabbed as well, only once, a cleancut to  his thigh that looked like it wasput there after he tried to intervene. He also cried, louder and louder,claiming that he had been attacked prior to the death and told them in parts ofhow he had been sexually assaulted by ‘a mad, old man’.  

Had it been his father who raped him? That was the mainreasoning behind Solo’s death, but no one considered Ben as a suspect.

Eventually that accusation was dropped and Han was hailed ahero. The reasoning behind that being that he had protected his son from the attacker rather than actually being the ‘mad,old man’ Ben was talking about.

But Poe wasn’t convinced of his innocence.

After Han had been grievously murdered, there was an attemptmade on his brother-in-law, Luke Skywalker, who was a renowned professor ofastrology at the local university. He had been walking home from an evening classafter midnight when he was attacked, his hand was severed and in hope of akill, his body was thrown off the pier. But he survived after he was found by ajogger early in the morning. Poe believed the Gods were at work with that one. Besidesthe missing hand and touches of frostbite, Luke had seriously wounded his headand thus forgot most of what happened, but that didn’t stop him fromremembering ‘the crazy woman dressed in black’ who supposedly tried to killhim.

While police stuttered over lack of evidence, Poe connectedthe two murders but he hadn’t yet circle Ben as the main suspect. At that stageit just didn’t seem likely, Ben hadn’t even left his room at the time of theattack so it had him placed elsewhere. Poe was close to crossing off his name altogether.

And then, something stopped his pen from scribbling out B EN, leaving only a blob of ink staining the page from it lingering too long.

Snoke. Andrew Snoke. The third victim of The Starkiller.

Andrew Snoke was Ben’s lecturer, but as well as that he wasalso the manager of the museums that Ben worked at. They knew each other welland Ben expressed his dislike for him more than once.

Crazy,old man …. the rapist. Poe had it circled and linked it with theattack on Han.

The rather shrewd man had gotten his throat slit while heslept, at some point he was castrated and then his body was hung from thechandelier in his bedroom with the rope from his curtains to make it look likea suicide. But Poe wondered what man would castrate himself before taking hisown life….perhaps it was because he felt guilt for defiling Ben Solo, ormaybe it was Ben’s payback for the same reason. Either way, Ben was linked inagain and Poe was beginning the think that they were coming closer to the truthbehind the rather brutal attacks.

March 12th and 13th, the Trev sisterswere murdered and became the first female victims of The Starkiller. Again theylinked back to Solo having been friends with him when they were children. Therewas no real reasoning behind their deaths dealing with Ben, however. They hadnever infuriated him in anyway, maybeannoying him once or twice with snide comments but that was all. Their deathswere ruled as separate from the others but Poe still believed that they wereconnected to Star Killer in some way….he just didn’t know how.

April 13th, a Friday. Poe had decided that TheStarkiller like the 13th day of each month, which immediately becamehis top reasoning for Starkiller being behind the death of Han and not Snokelike previously thought. He still believed that Snoke had raped Ben, which gavehim an even stronger motive to believing that Ben was the one behind theattacks.

The new victim was a man of some power -  a friend of Leia’s when she had first joined thearmy as a young woman.  Lor was an oldman, very old in fact, if he hadn’t been murdered when he was his years would’vebeen endless.  They found his body, orhalf of his body, dumped on the beach near his home. He had been decapitated,his head was carefully slashed off by one swift swing of a blade. A painlessdeath, Poe hoped, instead of the attacker hacking at his neck.

Being a friend of Leia, Poe assumed he had been acquaintedwith Ben. He was starting to wonder if Starkiller was really being sodisorganised with his targets. If it was Ben, he wasn’t keeping it verydiscreet. Poe furrowed his brow as he joined the six murders together withseveral red lines on his whiteboard. It was probably stereotypical of him,using the ways he’d seen in movies as a child to find a very real murderer. Buthe had no other options, and he wasn’t going to stop his ways for the sake ofbeing different to the rest.

The last two victims were random, an attempt to throw thepolice off the obvious trail. But no one was bothering to follow Poe’s leadsbut the man himself. Aside the bodies of the man and woman there were encryptednotes, written only to confuse. He ignored them until he realised that theyweren’t just gibberish.

Do you enjoy reading? I didn’t want to make it obvious. Haveyou even considered who I am yet? Ormaybe you have. Need some help? Me, well, I like a bit of mystery. When I was young, mystery was myfavourite. I enjoy it, do you? Isthis fun? I needed a way to vent andthis is it. Plague me as Obedient andmaybe the answer will become Evident.Happy Hunting.

Howmany murders has there been? I’m confused. Are you trying to look for me? Or areyou done helping the people? I won’t stop. Was that clear enough? Not until the city is covered in blood. I’mglad you are enjoying this. So am I.Well was, am. Who knows. Maybe I’m alreadystripped of my misery. But, ignore mymodesty, so you can hold your head up with pride.I’m aware of it. Your day is coming soon. Look forward to it. You will,won’t you?

It wasn’t fear that he felt, either, even if the attackerknew his name. Rather a sense of pity for the man who went through so mucheffort to write such long letters in his victims blood. It wasn’t the firsttime he had seen it done, Starkiller hadn’t proved himself to be the mostcreative of killers …. yet.

Poe sighed as he watched out his window, focusing on themovement beyond the trees. If Starkiller had come for him than he wasn’t afraidof a gruesome death, in fact, he was anticipating the chance of meeting the manhe had been chasing. There was a quick known on his door and Poe called for it tobe opened.

“There’s someone at the door for you,” his intern said. “Sayshe’s a friend.”

“Bring him in,” Poe said.

His little fat corgi had ran in and nuzzled himself at hisfeet. Poe reached down at rubbed between his ears, hopping it wouldn’t have tobe the last time.

The intern went away and minutes later he brought in a verydamp and depressed looking Ben Solo. Poe’s words were caught in his throat, hefelt almost embarrassed to have Ben in his office, seeing his face plasteredeverywhere. Work related, of course, but the humiliation was no better off.

“Ben,” Poe said and sat up in his chair. “What brings youhere?”

He took down his hood carefully and looked around, his eyesfalling upon the whiteboard that was crammed with information about the case.

“Star…killer?” Ben asked, walking inside. “Where did youcome up with that?”

Poe couldn’t say ‘it was the name your friend used for their stupid treehouse when you were a kid,’so instead he shrugged and replied with, “Just had a ring to it.”

“Oh,” Ben replied contently. “It’s a pretty hard case then.”

“Yeah, it’s been hard to find any new leads,” he paused. “Youwouldn’t happen to know anything about it, would you?”

Ben looked away, “Not the recent killings, and I’ve told youall I know about what happened with dad. Sorry that I couldn’t be more help.”

Poe shook his head, “No, no, Ben you’ve been all the help weneeded to fund the basis of this investigation. I’m sorry that this is happenedto you, though, it could’ve been easy having the police at you all the timeafter the tragedy you suffered.”

Ben lingered for a moment before he stepped closer to thedesk and unwittingly, Poe hit against his chair as he tried to get away fromwhat he thought would be an attack. He only calmed himself when he saw what Benwas holding wasn’t a weapon but a tray with tinfoil covering the top.

“Here,” he handed them to the detective. “Mom made them foryou for all your help. And don’t worry, they aren’t poison.”

“Why would I think - ” for some reason Ben caught his eyeand he looked up, seeing how they glinted almost devilishly.

“Starkiller,” hemuttered under his breath.

Ben pretended that he didn’t hear.

“Well, I should get going, mom will be worried otherwise.”

“Yeah….uh, see ya around, okay?” Ben nodded.

This ends here, Poe thought silently.

Unbeknownst to him, Ben saw it as only starting.