#anyways back to my first point. like it’s endlessly fascinating to me that they’re initially drawn to each other at their best and brightest

[meteortrails]

law and luffy are just like. what if I saw you at the peak of your miracle working competence, and then the literal next time I saw you it was at your most isolated and broken. and what if that moment of seeing you alone and grieving and terrified was the moment where I decided you were someone worth keeping, someone who I personally cared about and wanted around. how does that not make you wanna lose your fucking mind.

and then the other thing on top of that which always gets me is the way that you can just so clearly see that neither of them has any idea how to fit this relationship into any preexisting context - Luffy calls him part of his crew, but law is the captain of his own crew and would clearly die before giving that up; law calls them allies but it is glaringly obvious that they care about each other in a way that goes beyond that. of course Luffy is generally a lot less bothered about this than law, who routinely wants to put his own head through a wall about it, but it’s just such a fun layer to their dynamic I think.

[makeste]

what we could have been

this is a post about the similarities between these old farts

and these lil bubbas

but more importantly, it’s a post about the differences.

so! the manga has recently entered the Internships 2 arc, also known as the Child Soldiers/Todoroki Drama 2.5 arc! so far it is very exciting, and I can’t wait to see how Deku and co. will somehow level up by a factor of 11 just in time to defeat Tomura and his new new upgrade. I assume that this will happen though, since the alternative is... [checks] everyone dies a horrible death. well shit.

anyway, we’ve already had like 12 arcs of All Might being a mentor, but this arc features the first time Endeavor has tried his hand at it! this is of course a universally beloved decision by Horikoshi which everyone in the fandom is very happy about! but I actually do like it, because the Endeavor redemption arc is complicated as fuck and endlessly fascinating to me, and because, truth be told, there is something that even a Certified Son Of A Bitch can still teach these young whippersnappers. even if Endeavor is 99.9% a dick, that 0.01% can still impart something of value. but anyways that’s not what I came here to talk about so let’s move on.

what I want to discuss is the fact that Izuku and Katsuki share very obvious similarities with All Might and Endeavor, and there are very obvious parallels between their respective arcs. Izuku is basically All Might 2.0, whereas Endeavor is presented as a version of what Katsuki could have been. but they are not the same people, either of them, and their paths have started to diverge in ways that are very much for the better. and the reasons for that can all be traced to one simple action, which in turn stemmed from one simple, honest impulse. and I have approximately 10,000 thoughts about it, so here goes.

first let’s briefly touch on those similarities. as far as Izuku and All Might go, their backstories very closely resemble one another. they both started out as quirkless kids who nonetheless held a stubborn idealism and were driven to help others. they’re both incredibly determined and remarkably self-sacrificing. both of them spent the first part of their lives overlooked, undervalued, and underestimated, and they both understand the combination of validation and gut-churning pressure that comes with being chosen as the successor to a great power and a heavy burden. the similarities between them are a large part of why All Might chose Izuku as his successor, despite there being other options on the table. All Might sees himself in Izuku, and that’s part of the reason why they share such a strong bond.

now let’s talk about Endeavor and Katsuki, who share absolutely no bond at all (for now, anyway), but nonetheless hold just as much common ground as their counterparts. they are both fiercely determined and have made it their goal to reach the top. they’re also both foul-tempered with notoriously unfriendly attitudes. and last but not least, they’re both loners who have a tendency to push others away.

one thing that’s interesting is that both Katsuki and Endeavor formerly held strong beliefs about quirks being inextricably tied to strength. Katsuki shunned and scorned Izuku for years because he lacked a quirk. meanwhile Endeavor wrote off 3/4 of his own children because their quirks didn’t develop the way he wanted them to. and it’s only recently that each of them has come to see the error of their ways, which in Endeavor’s case is quite unfortunate, because he’s already well into his forties and has only just now started to con on to the fact that he’s an asshole. whereas Katsuki started this process a whole lot earlier, and as a result is a lot better poised to bounce back from his mistakes and make redemption his bitch.

so segueing now into the “differences” part of this comparative essay, that is Key Difference # 1 for you: Katsuki managed to not waste the next 30 years of his life focusing only on Achieving Strength at the cost of destroying every other positive thing in his life. and while I think there is one reason in particular for this, which I’ll get to shortly, I’ll also go ahead and give Katsuki some of the credit here, because what he did is hard. it’s hard to realize that you have had the wrong way of thinking for your entire life, and to take the steps to get it straightened out. many people are not that open to change. rather than admitting their mistakes, they double down on them and stubbornly defend them. but Katsuki was willing to question everything he’d ever known, and look at it with an open mind, and realize that he was heading down a wrong path. and then he was able to course-correct.

and that takes strength. not the kind of strength he’s so preoccupied with, but an inner strength that he might not have even realized that he has. in this respect he is much stronger than Endeavor, who’s had much more difficulty doing his own course-correcting, although he too is finally starting to figure his shit out (too late to salvage some things, but “better late than never” is a term that still applies here regardless). in my opinion, Katsuki’s willingness to accept his own faults, and to try to change them, is one of the most unexpected and remarkable things about his character, because you wouldn’t necessarily see that coming based on his attitude at the start of the series. anyways, I really like it.

but I did say some of the credit, as opposed to all of it. and the reason for that is because in my opinion, it’s actually Izuku who deserves most of it. but before I explain, let me first backtrack and talk about another aspect of All Might’s character, one he does not share with Izuku.

All Might, like Katsuki and Endeavor, is actually a loner as well. we tend to not notice as much, because he doesn’t really seem to fit the stereotypical profile of a loner-type character; he has a very close bond with Izuku, and he speaks with an earnest and straightforward candor about emotions and subjects that most people wouldn’t be able to discuss with the same sincerity. but it’s true nonetheless. even putting aside this moment in chapter 166 where he outright admits it, there are numerous other little details in the series that show this. he has no family that we know of. only one close friend (and a non-hero at that). at the start of the manga, he was estranged from both his mentor (referring here to Gran, not Nana) and his sidekick. he’s close-lipped about a lot of things, including things he honestly should have been upfront with Izuku about much sooner. and he hides his true self from the world in an effort to preserve that unwaveringly steady image that people have put their trust in.

in the very first chapter of BnHA, All Might makes a speech to Izuku about the reason why he smiles: “to stave off the overwhelming pressure and fear I feel.” All Might was the Symbol of Peace, the pillar that society relied on -- but he was a lone pillar. he kept to himself, and made the choice to bear that weight alone. and this had consequences. I’m speaking not only of the chaos after his fall, but of other, subtler impacts as well.

so now, let’s talk about Izuku.

let’s start with Key Difference # 2: Izuku is not a loner. yes, at one point he was alone -- not by choice -- but that isn’t a defining trait of his character. Izuku reaches out. he reaches out to everyone. he makes friends easily. he’s open with his feelings in a way that All Might is not (and which All Might in fact often scolds him for).

boy just puts it out there. he’s not ashamed. but anyways, it’s actually the part about him reaching out to others that I want to talk about. I’ve said in past essays that Izuku has an instinct to save others which surpasses even All Might’s. when he sees someone in pain, his instinct is to reach out. he will do this every time. regardless of whether it’s asked for, and regardless of how often his attempts may be shunned.

and this, right here, is the most important difference between Izuku (and Katsuki), and All Might (and Endeavor). because you see, All Might, for all his strength and sacrifice, always stood alone.

he kept his burden to himself, and never looked back.

but Izuku did.

“I got my quirk from someone else.”

this was in spite of All Might, his hero, telling him in no uncertain terms to not share his secret with anyone else. and in spite of the fact that Katsuki hadn’t been anything close to a friend to him for many years. like, it’s actually wild to think about all of the reasons that Izuku had not to do this. but the fact of the matter is this: that where All Might never turned, never wavered, and never attempted to help anyone else cross that gap, when Izuku saw Katsuki in pain, he acted on the same instinct that has guided him his entire life: he reached.

and that...

...has made all the difference.

Izuku pulled Katsuki across the gap with him. he let him in. he did this with no expectation of reward, or even gratitude. quite the opposite; Katsuki had always rebuffed his attempts to help before, and even in this case, it initially appeared that he had misjudged again, and that he was just lucky that Katsuki didn’t press the matter. it was a move that defied not just common sense, but all of Izuku’s past experience; nothing about their past relationship ever hinted at a hope for common ground in the future. nothing, that is, except a shared dream.

but he reached out anyway. and because of that, Katsuki was eventually able to put two and two together. and when he did, he did something very unexpected: he reached back.

he asked Izuku for help. he did something that Endeavor never managed to do until after All Might had retired and he found himself, at long last, in the number one position, but adrift and without a driver’s manual.

it took a lifetime of failure and the loss of everything he’d been working toward for Endeavor to finally realize he was doing something wrong, and to ask for help. but this isn’t the case with Katsuki. partly because he was able to put his ego aside in this one crucial moment, but even more than that, it was simply because Izuku had never left a gap between them. Katsuki never had to work to build a bridge. Izuku was laying planks behind him every single step of the way. never expecting that Katsuki would actually follow them, but leaving them there for him regardless. leaving this path back open for them to reconcile, should Katsuki ever choose to finally meet him halfway.

and because of that faith, because of his open and giving nature, the end result is that he now has something that All Might never had: a partner. someone to help shoulder that weight. someone else who understands that burden. and someone who is now working together with Izuku with unexpected earnestness.

and so this is Key Difference # 3: whereas All Might and Endeavor were only ever at odds, two opposites on a polarized scale, Izuku and Katsuki are learning to work together. to learn from one another. to share what the other lacks, and to make each other stronger.

incidentally, just in case any part of this essay has come off as me being overly critical of All Might, or pinning the blame on him for the failures of the previous generation, let me assure you that I don’t fault him at all. All Might did what he thought was right, and managed to turn an impossible dream into a shining reality against all odds. the Symbol he became brought about peace for many years and inspired the next generation of heroes. he was not wrong in what he was trying to do; his only flaw was in being so determined to shield others that he ended up taking on too much by himself.

and I’ll say this for All Might too: in the end, he himself realized where he had gone wrong. there’s a reason why, particularly since his retirement, he’s started mentoring Katsuki in addition to Izuku. All Might knows better than anyone else the burden that sits on Izuku’s shoulders, and he knows just how hard it is to go that course alone. I already gave credit to the boys, but let’s go ahead and give All Might some credit as well, because he, too, is now course-correcting. he’s learning from his mistakes, and helping build a new generation that can succeed in building an even brighter future than the one he once sought.

as a certain melty-face scenery-chewing villain once said, “when people know that there will be an end, they entrust.” this series began with the passing of a legacy from one generation to the next. and now in this latest arc, we’re again seeing that theme of entrusting, of the old guard passing down the torch to the young guns. and shockingly, not just with All Might, but Endeavor as well. reluctant though he was at first, he, too, is now doing his best to help guide these kids down the right path. placing his faith in their strength.

I started off this essay by saying that All Might and Endeavor are who Izuku and Katsuki could have been. but now, to conclude things, I think it’s only fitting that I turn that on its head. All Might and Endeavor are not who Katsuki and Izuku could have been. Izuku and Katsuki are who All Might and Endeavor could have been. they are the ideal vision that never came to pass. the brand reimagined. the song remastered. Izuku and Katsuki will be able to reach heights that All Might and Endeavor never achieved, because they were able to shed loneliness and pride in favor of trust and a sincere willingness to learn.

so yeah.

 all hail the new kids.

[vecna]

For fandom meme-swtor?

Send me a fandom!

This one isn’t as spicy as the Dragon Age one, but I still got Wordy.

Also there’s lots of KOTFE/KOTET/etc spoilers in here, so don’t read if you don’t want to see em. (Looking at you, Chignon.)

The character(s) I first fell in love with:

My own OCs haha.

But more seriously: It was actually Darth Malgus! I was always going to play a Star Wars MMO, let’s be real. But when they started posting promo videos and cinematics for the game, my Sith-loving ass immediately gravitated to that guy haha. And then, it turned out he had the same VA as The Architect from Dragon Age, and that was it for me.

If we’re talking about companions, then it was probably Malavai Quinn. Sith Warrior was the first class I got to 50, and Quinn was the first companion that I really got overly attached to haha.

The character(s) I never expected to love as much as I do now:

Most (not all, but most) of the “new” companions that came in with KOTFE and beyond. I was initially really sour when I realized we were losing all our class storyline companions, and they were being replaced with a new crew of Lana, Theron, Koth, my mother-in-law Senya, etc. Especially when they – at the time – said we’d eventually get our class companions back, but it would be a while. So I started KOTFE sure that I would hate the new crew because I would rather have the old one…. and ended up liking them quite a lot! Mostly, lol.

The character(s) everyone else loves that I don’t:

Doc is the main one, jesus christ. If you didn’t read my last post, I just really really really do not mesh well with overly sexual and Adult Humor-y characters who scold you with a “You’re no fun.” if your OC isn’t into it. Doc is the worst example of it that I’ve ever encountered. I always play a male JK, and the fact nearly all of his convos amount to, “Boy, you and me are going to be up to our eyeballs in vagina when this war ends, amirite?” “You don’t want that? Come on, the Jedi Code doesn’t say you can’t FUCK, live a little.” “You’re no fun. Well, more for me.” drives me NUTS. This combined with how he interacts with Kira just does me in. Shoves him out an airlock.

Dark Side Jaesa is another big one, albeit mainly for OOC reasons. I just hate the fact that she even exists, really. I get the appeal of a story where a Sith corrupts a Jedi to the Dark Side, but the way she does a total 180 into gross hedonism while Serving You always just makes me cringe. Plus there’s the fact that straight dudebro gamers are really nasty with her, and she’s the main companion I always see men put into the slave bikini outfit, and just yikes.

Also just a lot of one-off NPCs that everyone goes crazy for and ships their OCs with, but I  constantly forget who they even are lol. Attros Finn comes to mind. I don’t hate them! Just don’t get the appeal I guess.

The character(s) I love that everyone else hates:

Lord Scourge, although I’m not sure he’s really hated as much anymore. I just remember at launch, when all of the overly invested Revan stans absolutely HATED him because of what he did in the Revan novel, and then flooded the tags with vitriol over being “stuck” with him as a Knight, and having to hear about Revan in his companion convos. It was really, really tiresome! Maybe it’s because I never really cared that deeply about Revan as my personal character, but I could not understand the backlash.

Anyway, Lord Scourge is my favorite companion in the game by a long shot. I love the conversations you can have with him about the Jedi vs Sith, and I love the mutually respectful tone those conversations take. (Where other Bioware companions who disagree with you have a tendency to just go, “You’re wrong.” and shut you down.) The fact that he’s so tied in with the plot just makes me love him more, really.

The character(s) I used to love but don’t any longer:

Cytharat, Koth and Theron mostly. Although this takes a bit of explaining, and is a bit Discourse-y – because I really appreciate them as characters, but their role and Bioware’s decisions with them is what made me no longer love them.Here’s the thing: Bioware has a bad habit of introducing male characters that are bisexual, and then having them betray you, leading to situations where they either get murdered or vanish from the narrative entirely. Meanwhile, bisexual women like Lana are untouched and around forever.

I was overjoyed when I first saw Cytharat. Y'all know I’m a ho for purebloods, and the fact that he was Malgus’ apprentice was fascinating to me – and then he turned out to be a bi romance. I got very hyped for him, only to find out he dies like 5 minutes later – or if you save him, he’s never seen again. Huge letdown.

Koth was the first character I fell in love with of the new KOTFE crew – I even initiated a romance with him! – but it quickly became obvious there’s no way to play the expansion without him turning on you judgementally at some point or another. And then, hey big surprise, you can kill him or else he’s never seen again.

Theron I’ve loved since we first got to know him in the Forged Alliances content, but that whole storyline where he seemingly betrays you out of nowhere, only to later reveal he didn’t actually, idk. And then, once again, you either kill him or he disappears from the story. It felt like a weirdly shoehorned in plot for shock value, and robbed us of a second bi MOC character.

You see the trend here? I want to love these characters, but Bioware continually electing to do this shit with bi dudes is tiresome and makes me unwilling to invest any interest in the characters anymore.

The character(s) I would totally smooch:

None.

The character(s) I’d want to be like:

None really come to mind? I just want to be a Jedi, come on.

The character(s) I’d slap:

Hunter all day every day.

The pairing(s) that I love:

Haha, this question is hard, because most of the SWTOR ships I’m invested in are between my OCs and my friends’ OCs.

However.

SCOURGE / KNIGHT IS THE BIG ONE, THE ULTIMATE, THE ALL-TIME FAVORITE. It’s really hard to describe just how much I love this ship, and just how much time and energy I’ve invested into it over the past… 8 years wow……….. To the point of being almost territorial. And it’s also near impossible for me to talk about why I love it, because the version I ship is so personalized with my specific Jedi Knight, especially since it had to live exclusively in headcanon land for so long. Scourge is, more or less, my Knight’s support pillar and the thing that grounds him and keeps him humble, in a world where my Knight is surrounded by people who expect him to be a pure flawless messiah. But, I mean. How can you have a man look at your character and say, “I’ve waited 300 years to see your face.” and not immediately ship it. And then I finally got vindicated after all these years when it was made canon!

I really love Arcann / Knight for a lot of the same reasons as the above, but I just really adore his one (1) romance convo haha. Granted, yes he did a lot of fucked up things, but I was so grateful when he had like… a Zuko-esque redemption. Where he comes to your character and firmly believes he doesn’t deserve forgiveness, and especially doesn’t deserve affection, and is instead met with acceptance and a chance to grow and heal. That’s the good shit.

Others:

Lana / Warrior and Lana / Inquisitor are my particular jam. I endlessly enjoy the mutual respect between Lana and those particular PCs.

Malavai Quinn / Sith Warrior is a longtime fave, and although I DO love him with a female Warrior, I really do with he’d been an option for dudes as well. And I feel the same in reverse about Vette / Warrior – I do like her with a male Warrior, and it’s so sweet and wholesome and endearing, but man I wish she’d been an option for female Warriors.

I ship Risha with every woman – especially Vette and Sumalee – and will be salty until my grave that Risha / f!Smuggler isn’t possible, because I love Risha with the Smuggler but she gives me powerful WLW vibes.

Agent / Watcher Two is also a lowkey favorite, but I ALSO wish it could be done with a female Agent instead. Same with Agent / Raina Temple.

Agent / Vector is very sweet, but again, I will be salty until my grave that it couldn’t be done with a male Agent.

Can you guys sense a running theme here?

Finally: NGL I love Valkorion / Senya, even though that ended in pure disaster.

And people around here used to ship Keeper / Lokin, and tbh, I still kinda love it lol.

The pairing(s) that I despise:

In general terms, I fucking hate every single romance that involves the male PC romancing his padawan or underling, especially since most of them seem like very young girls. I don’t know why this is so pervasive in the game, but yikes Bioware. Consular/Nadia is the worst offender, but they’re all just cringe central for me.

But the big one is Agent / Hunter. This would have gotten me run off Tumblr back in the day, but god I hate this pairing. I mentioned in the last post that I just will never enjoy ships where the two characters actively want to murder each other, but. This just gets magnified for me with Agent/Hunter, where all the mind control and blatant abuse comes into play – and people have a tendency to write noncon rape fic of the two and present it as ~sexy rivalmance~, which is awful. Add to this the “no homo” reveal where Hunter turns out to be a woman, after getting everyone hyped about a dude flirting with their male character the whole game, and it’s just a huge No Thanks from me all around.

And for largely personal reasons I just don’t like seeing female Knights with Scourge. Listen, for YEARS  I was treated like a pariah for shipping Scourge with my male Knight, while being unable to find Scourge content that didn’t have a female Knight plastered all over him. Even though he wasn’t even a romance option one way or another, the way the fandom treated m!Knight/Scourge with disdain while ardently shipping f!Knight/Scourge was offputting as shit. And then, after years, he was made a romance option for women AND men, and all these awful people acted like they were robbed, the way people reacted when Kaidan and Jaal were made bi in Mass Effect. I’m so tired. I never want to see Scourge with a female Knight again.

[18tpaz]

HEY!!! It’s my @thedamereynetwork secret santa gift for @ya-lady-tauriel who asked for some parallels and piloting (err, did I do it right? please tell me)

Sad thing is, I feel like I haven’t reviewed this clanky fic too well, so I apologize for the mistakes and weird style. I can’t think of a title for this story either lol. Dearest giftee, would you like to do the honors? :)

*peers at my Word processor* it says 3,863 words... 

I sorta addressed some TLJ issues and whipped up an adventurous mess for them to bond over while piloting?  I placed a couple of easter eggs in there too, I guess.

You know what, I dare everyone in our tiny damerey community to point out all the easter eggs and cues/symbols/whatevers I planted nyahahahaha.

The thing about Jakku was that it was Rey's own grasp of normal. The heat, the sand, the grease, and hunger were all familiar things  ̶  things she could deal with, things she could answer.

 Unlike Ahch-To or Crait, where her questions never really found peace.

 She began wondering what Finn would think about coming back here, where it all started. Of course he'd hate it, she told herself. But he'd go anyway, because that's how he is  ̶  selfless and always on the move, like how he always made ways (read: bending around the rules) to rescue someone in need (as Rey hates to admit it, it was sometimes her). And because Rose Tico took a hard hit trying to save him, Finn considered that he should be by her beside while the brave mechanic was recovering safely in Yavin 4.

 Rey thought so too. She wouldn't want to burden anyone with coming back to a horrible place like hers.

 But someone insisted on tagging along. Little round BB-8, who also dragged his master into this sandy mess, wanted to come because the droid thought that some salvageable parts from home could help rebuild their small force.

 Rey wanted to laugh and cry. She, like the Resistance, never felt so hopeless and alone.

 Win or lose, they had to eat. So, she picked up the newly cooked rations and served them on her meager, dusty plate. Poe Dameron, BB-8's master, began helping himself without complaint.

 "It's not my first time in Jakku, but I feel like I haven't seen everything," Poe began, his eyes roaming around the fallen AT-AT refurbished into a small housing unit, "Your home is lovely by the way."

 What an awkward thing to say. Poe wanted to punch himself.

 "Glad you like it. How's the food, also lovely?" Rey deadpanned. Clearly, the young Jedi had a quick catch for snark.

 "I'm sorry, that wasn't right," Poe shook his head, "I think I've done a lot of things that weren't right these past few weeks."

 "Me too," Rey said quietly.

 Poe wanted to contest the idea, that she screwed up as much as he had, but decided that would be another addition to his growing list of mistakes.

 Surprisingly, she continued talking, "I thought I could convince Kylo Ren to turn back, like Luke did for Vader. But if Ren's father couldn't even reach him..." Rey sighed and rested a palm on her face, "That was so stupid of me. I'm not even family."

 "You're wrong," Poe replied, "You’re not stupid and Kylo Ren is not family. But we are," Poe put down his last morsel of bread and took the homing beacon bracelet lent to them while they were scouting the Western Reaches, "I'm not the first recruit of the Resistance but I know deep within my gut that Leia considers us all her children. Kaydel, Finn, Rose, You, Me. Everyone in the Resistance."

 "I should have listened more carefully to Luke," Rey said.

 "Just as I should have been more collected about my mess with Holdo and Leia," Poe said, "I'm a terrible fanboy."

 That earned a little laugh from Rey.

 And Poe felt a weird mix of light and full. He passed the last piece of bread to her, "I know Jedi work is tiring. You'll need more carbs than me," he shyly offers.

 Rey, not wanting to lie, simply took it with a grin.

 BB-8 chirpped about sharing what she has read from the ancient Jedi texts so far.

 "I realized that we've barely scratched the surface. That all Luke taught me was as much as a chapter summary from a textbook," Rey began, "But I'm also slowly understanding some things that have happened to me..."

 "Such as?" Poe, who was all ears at this point, added.

 "Psychometry. Or a form of it, I think," Rey said, "It's why I saw these visions when I first touched Luke's old lightsaber."

 Poe nodded, clearly fascinated with the topic.

"Rose and I talked a bit while we were still on the Falcon. She allowed me to feel her medallion," Rey continued, "It's true what they say, that sisters and brothers have the strongest attachments throughout anyone's lifetime."

 Normally, Poe would have jabbed a joke in there, mentioning how sad it was that he didn't have any siblings aside from BB-8. But he remembered Rose's sister Paige, the last StarFortress Bomber, and how he had pressured everyone into destroying the First Order dreadnaught at all costs ̶ including giving up their own lives.

 "Rose deserves more than an apology from me," Poe slowly said. He was sort of in a daze now, haunted by his episodic, crazed lust for glory and thrill back then.

 Rey took his hand, "She forgives you."

 "How would you know?" Poe countered bitterly.

 Rey closed her eyes and took a deep breath, as though she were reaching somewhere far beyond the edges of the galaxy, "When I felt the medallion, I saw that they both forgive you because they truly believed in the cause," Rey explained, "Forgiveness is a mark of the light."

Fancy words but probably true.

 ***

 After lunch they'd headed outside, about to ride into the ship graveyard until they encountered their first problem.

 "My speeder only seats one," Rey winced.

 "It's okay, I'll walk," Poe replied.

 "No, you'll never get there in time. Or, you'd run into some old friends," Rey said, "You could use the speeder. I'm used to walking this terrain."

 "No no no, I insist."

 And before Rey could retort, BB-8, sitting nicely on the speeder's netted compartment, suggested something silly. 

 "Sit on his lap? That's a little awkward," Rey replied.

 "Wait," Poe said, picking up the sled she often used to drag materials, "We could sort of set up a seat extension?" he timidly offered.

 After the hasty but secure set-up, Rey set herself on the front end and began switching on the speeder. Meanwhile Poe hopped onto the other end, not used to being relegated as a passenger.

 "Before you ask, my baby has locking systems designed to shock anyone else trying to take her," Rey explained, "Maybe later I can encode your access to it but for now, let me enjoy this reunion."

 It only took one mischievous grin and the rusty vehicle suddenly lurched to top speed. Last time Poe felt this shocked was when he and Finn stole a TIE/sf fighter.

 "This thing's damn fast!" he exclaimed, unconsciously holding Rey’s waist tightly as she laughed endlessly.

 "I thought you were one of the best pilots out there, why do you look so scared!" she teased back, still laughing.

 And kriff, her mood was so infectious.

 Poe wasn't terrified, but this talented lady continued to surprise him and shake him more than one of those adrenaline junkie missions he initially took for General Leia Organa. He whooped along with her, relishing old sensations from his childhood when his mother and her A-wing were still around.

 The speeder, without extra cargo, almost floated like a ship. And he could guess that Rey deliberately designed it that way because it was the closest thing she could get to the actual experience of flight.

 Now the girl was not only the last Jedi, but also the new captain of the Millennium Falcon. Unbelievable. And amazing. They arrived at the graveyard too soon.

Rey immediately became immersed in the agenda, not bothering to check on Poe who was tailing cautiously behind her.

 With her new Force powers, the job became much easier. She could pick up energy boosters within a sniff, lift heavy-duty panels without a sweat, and jump towards impossible heights to reach usable trinkets.

 While she kept on hunting several meters ahead, Poe and BB-8 were dragging their ever-growing collection of spare parts. They were falling into a routine until they heard a click of a blaster.

 "I never thought I'd see you again, Rey," said Devi, another scavenger who once worked with her, until Devi and her brainless partner Strunk stole Rey's hard-earned project and left Jakku without a word.

 "Maybe you back off and I'll forget your swindling moof," Rey growled, pointing her blaster at Devi.

 "Thought so. But I couldn't believe it when word got out that Unkar Plutt's best scavenger stole a Corellian freighter and joined the Resistance. Had to see it for myself."

 "Good things come to those who do good," Rey snapped.

 "Maybe, maybe not. Otherwise, you'd never come back here," Devi challenged, "I have a proposition though. Since I know you're a talented one..."

"I'm done dealing with you," Rey interrupted.

 "Heard of the new Cava Races hosted by the Guavian Death Gang?" Devi responded, knowing it would at least pique Rey's interest. Finding that she quieted, Devi continued, "They're holding a race in this area in two days. Catch is, the race is for paired teams, with or without astromech. The grand prize is a good lump of money and the Eravana."

  Rey's eyes widened. The Eravana was Han Solo's bulk freighter, which he used to haul rathtars until they all had to escape in the Falcon and land in Takodana.

 "Word is the Resistance is in dire need of new trash, which I guess is why you're here," Devi said, "We could team up and split the prize."

 "No way," Rey glared at her, "It only takes one mistake for me to never repeat it."

 "So I guess it's plan B then. Take the Blobfish's bounty on you," Devi said, suddenly raising her blaster.

 But of course, Rey was quicker. She aimed at the swindler's shoulder and shot first. She knew enough to simply disarm the woman and use her staff to jab her unconscious. Beastly survival instincts were slowly getting to Rey as she took Devi's datapad and other valuables. To show that she wasn't completely heartless, she dropped one worn-out medpac on Devi's side.

 Shaken from Rey's actions, Poe carefully approached her.

 "That was Devi. Stole a ship I was rebuilding and used it to escape the planet," Rey said, quickly wiping the tears in her eyes, "But after these past weeks, I know better than to just trust anyone."

 Poe rested a hand on her shoulder, "War's a messy time in the galaxy. And we're forced to make hard choices that don't always sit well with us."

 Rey steeled herself and handed him the datapad, "I can't help but wonder if what she said about the race was true. We could race the Falcon and when we win, the Eravana could be useful for the Resistance."

 Poe replied, "I agree but I heard that the Cava Races were restricted to starfighter-sized ships."

 BB-8 kept quiet; thinking about starfighters might remind Poe of losing Black One, his own customized X-wing. Rey also caught onto the emotion.

 "Hey, let's move on. You drive the speeder this time," she tried smiling at him.

 Luckily they weren't far from the exit. Once they reached their ride, Rey began rewiring the speeder's controls. After flicking a bolt, she took Poe's hand and placed it on the bio-sensor. The computer clicked affirmatively and the engines started. The two exchanged smiles before Poe hopped on the front and Rey rode at the back. BB-8 helped himself up, not wanting to disturb his two favorite people.

 The second ride was just as exciting as their first.

 The sun was about to set and they were a klick away from Rey's home when she bid Poe to slow down and stop.

 "I have this funny feeling..." her voice drifted as she stood in front of a lump of sand. She stretched out her two hands and closed her eyes, her breathing slowing down into a meditative trance.

 Poe didn't know what they were doing, but after a few moments he could hear the rickety sounds of metal. It was getting louder and closer, until it climaxed into a booming crash ascending above the sand. Startled, he fell from the speeder and couldn't believe his eyes. On the other side, Rey was also sitting helplessly on the ground, sweating and panting, and shocked with herself.

 She just pulled a TIE Bomber out of nowhere.

 ***

 As soon as they recovered, the two pilots rushed to inspect the ship. Aside from being excessively sprinkled with sand, it only needed minor repairs before it could be ready for launch. It also took them long hours to drag the damn thing back home, but the excitement kept them persistent in the task that they didn't even feel hungry for supper. First thing in the morning, they told themselves, they'd start reassembling the starfighter.

 But these two were too giddy to get some sleep. Side by side they sat on the hammock, barely containing their excitement.

 Poe noticed a Tierfon Yellow Aces helmet on the side and picked it up, "This yours?'

 Rey took the relic and brushed off its dust, "Found it on an X-wing," she answered and wore the oversized headgear, a cheesy grin stuck on her face.

 "I guess you always wanted to be a pilot," Poe inferred.

 "Always," she affirmed breathlessly.

 BB-8 beeped and pointed his head on a rag doll beside Rey. She took it and gave it to Poe, "I always wondered if my parents were heroes like Dosmit Raeh and the other rebels."

 Poe gently brushed his fingers on the doll, "Rebel parents don't tell you much, actually. But you knew it impacted their lives and that they believed in something bigger than themselves."

 Rey nodded, not knowing what to say.

 "Don't be disappointed. Even Leia doesn't like talking about those days," Poe added and rubbed the top of Rey's helmet, "I think if I'll have kids kids I wouldn't want to tell them much either."

 "If I have children, I'd know enough not to leave them behind," Rey frowned, anger and pain simmering beneath the surface, "And if I were Han and Leia's child I wouldn't allow myself to turn into a monster. And I'd make Master Skywalker proud of me."

 Poe could sense the tension within her and found it rather familiar, "I know. I hated how he ripped me in the Finalizer just shortly after I was here. Leia wanted him back so badly. For kriff's sake she spent all her days working just to make the galaxy a better place for her son!"

 Rey shook her head, "I don't want to talk about Kylo Ren anymore. I will never completely understand him."

"Consider that punk boy done," Poe nods in agreement, "We have to put our personal feelings aside if we want to sell this ship."

 "Sell it? Aren't we supposed to race it?" Rey asked, surprised.

 "I still think it's too risky. I don't wanna gamble now," Poe says calmly.

 "But we can! Poe, you're the best pilot in the galaxy...well, next to me," Rey defends, dropping her own sneaky confidence in the process.

 Poe raise an eyebrow.

 "We could win this together," Rey said, grasping both of his hands, "Think of how much this can help the Resistance."

 "No. Besides we might get identified by any First Order sympathizers."

 "Who said we were going to fly as Rey and Poe Dameron?"

 ***

 "Jaina and Jag Fel, huh?" the registration officer peered at the two scrappy humans in oversized TIE pilot helmets in front of her, "Where from?"

 "Corellia, originally," Poe added a bit too hastily, unconsciously scratching the Resistance logo hidden behind their black jumpsuits. Thank the Maker they both knew to sew the ripped clothing meticulously.

 "Settled down on Tatooine," Rey added, "But life got boring so we decided to travel around, seeking the thrills of the galaxy."

 "You want fancy thrills, you go to Canto Bight," the nonchalant officer said and simply transferred the relevant information about the race into their datapad, "Good luck and hope you make it out alive," came her dull farewell.

 Worried looks were exchanged between Rey and Poe.

 ***

 "Worse than Shantipole itself," Poe muttered as he read through the planned race track. It wasn't even a race as much as it was truly a survival contest. The violent gasses and lightning-charged atmosphere of Rycraig were enough of a problem, but then it had to have a field of moving asteroids and unpredictable planetary gravity.

 People whispered that Han Solo and Darth Vader were the only beings to have escaped the terrors of Rycraig. For others, it meant an expensive suicide.

 "I don't buy it. I believe the Force can help us do the impossible," Rey said.Poe didn't want to ruin her optimism; he needed it as much as she did.

 And because they were a late entry, they didn't have much of a preparation time to begin with.

 "All systems go, BB-8?" Rey turned to the round astromech who nodded.

 "May the Force be with us," Poe shakily whispered as they punched the TIE bomber controls into hyperspace.

 ***

 "For hutt's sake!" Poe exclaimed as the given coordinates put them right within the planetary stratosphere. He immediately nudged the controls westward before one of those pesky asteroid-like debris could hit their ship.

 Rey was too shocked to talk, but she knew to activate their skimpy deflector shields.

 The race announcer was babbling about their pseudonyms and the names of other five entries. And because Poe and Rey mindlessly named their ship Stardust, they became the joke of the show.

 The two pilots were too busy to care. They approached the race course and formed up just two seconds before the competition started.

 More asteroids came their way and had instantly taken out two contenders. All other surviving ships were paces ahead of them and they were still adjusting to the unstable environment.

 Another set of debris bombarded them; Rey and Poe tightly maneuvered their vehicle out of the mess.

 "It's a matter of quick reflexes, this race!" Poe commented before moving the ship a bit higher, as the gravity was heavily pulling them down.

 However, Rey levered the opposite way and the machine whined from the strain.

 "What?!" Poe exclaimed. A rock swiftly hurled itself towards their previous high trajectory and he realized that hadn't Rey lowered them, they would've been toast.

 "It's not just about reacting to change, but anticipating it," Rey advised Poe before guiding the ship through another unexpected hurdle.

 Poe thought it through. There had to be a little pattern in the maze. Or, he had to trust his gut feelings like some clairvoyant.

 No, he could hear the damn cackling rocks and their expected paths!

 It took more concentration, but listening helped. Poe whisked Stardust lower before twirling it slowly into a diagonal ascent, avoiding a large, similarly-shaped metal scrap.

 The pair grinned and fell into sync.

 Minutes later, a barrage of lightning was followed by deafening thunder and they could soon see one starfighter falling into the abyss below. A storm was brewing up and things were just about to get far, far worse. Their perception of the obstacles had not only blurred but also deafened.

 "Oh no," Rey gasped. The fear overtook them and soon, consecutive waves of rocks hit their ride. Alarms warned that shields were at four percent.

 "Any new ideas are most welcome!" Poe shouted. BB-8 was whirring a string of panicky beeps too.

 "I should have set up more sophisticated scanning systems," Rey groaned.

 That made Poe pause for a moment and Rey continued the abrupt evasive motions of their TIE bomber as they saw remains of the another contestant ship being flung away from the track.

 "You have the Force. That's pretty sophisticated," Poe blurted.

 They shared another quick look at each other.

 No time for arguments. It's now or never.

 "Time to test your accuracy skills, Poe Dameron," Rey said. She closed her eyes, steadied her breathing, and rested a hand on Poe's shoulder.

 Luke Skywalker said that the Force was about balance, and now she had to find it between their dying ship and the barbaric planet.

 "Boy, we Damerons must have trusted Jedi too much," Poe panicked.

 "Turn to point nine...now!" Rey commanded. Poe swerved the ship accordingly. No asteroid hits; they were still alive. BB-8 squealed.

 "Do a quick left then bring it up...now!" Rey said and Poe followed.

 "Level our baby up," Rey cautioned.  

 The TIE Bomber shifted position and they can feel the overpowering presence of gravity.

 "BB-8, activate thrusters on full reverse," Rey instructed.

 "We have reverse thrusters on this thing?!"

 "Trust me..." she squeezed Poe’s shoulder. They could hear their last rival ship zooming past them, its starboard wing missing the Stardust by mere centimeters.

 And then came a loud, resounding explosion.

 Poe wanted to exhale but Rey interrupted, "Tilt six point five degrees to the right and keep her steady."

 Unbeknownst to them, their starfighter suavely ran through a needle gap between two gigantic boulders  ̶  without a scratch. After those chilly seconds, they could hear thunderous applause from the audio commentary.

 Jag and Jaina (read: Poe and Rey) just won the seasonal Cava Race.

 ***

By sheer luck (and the Force), they encountered no issues in getting their prize. Turns out that the new Guavian heads just wanted to get rid of the unnecessary Han Solo souvenir they held and were looking to kill some cocky pilot rivals along the way. Long before the bosses could visit and offer Rey and Poe a criminal job, the trio had jumped back to Jakku using untraceable algorithms designed by Rose. They picked up Rey's remaining valuables and met up with Chewbacca, everyone's ever-trustworthy friend, on the Falcon.

 They sure love their smooth endings.

 "So you regret trusting your life to a Jedi?" Rey asked, sitting comfortably on an empty crate next to her speeder.

 Poe chuckled and sat beside her, "Best decision of my life," he took out the ring necklace he always wore beneath his shirts, contemplating, "No wonder my mom kept reminding little me to trust the Force."

 "Was that her wedding ring?" Rey tilted her head, being naturally curious.

 Poe glanced at Rey and took the necklace off, placing it on her palm, "I want to know what you can see about my mother."

 Understanding the immeasurable value of the item, she used her free hand to firmly keep Poe's hand on top of her open palm. Closing her eyes, Rey concentrated, allowing the Force to flow, to provide timeless tales and insights of Poe's mom, Shara Bey.

 She slowly opened her hazel eyes and looked into Poe's orbs, just as brown as his mother's. Rey didn't let go of his hand either; she could also sense Poe's deepest wish  ̶  to spend even just one more second with his first hero and tell her all about his recent adventures, and to ask if she was proud of him as much as he was proud of her.

 "She loved you very much. And she was a wonderful woman. Brave and charming like her own son," Rey smiled, "And like all who have joined the Force, she's never really gone."

 Finally, Rey let go of one of her hands to wipe Poe's tears.