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shakingthestars · 5 years ago

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The problematic conclusion of the Rise of Skywalker – a “whitewashing” of the Skywalker legacy ?

Art by kasiopea-star-wars

Nearly two months after The Rise of Skywalker came to theaters, I have finally found a way to express my throughts about the conclusion of this galactic journey. As a new Skywalker trilogy was announced years ago, I remember not feeling thrilled by the idea of a sequel, asking myself what would be the added-value to the story for an arc that started and ended with Anakin Skywalker. Yet I remember feeling pleasantly surprised by how promising The Force Awakens (TFA) was in introducing the characters, playing on their dynamics and setting up the family dramas : a stormtrooper taken away from his family ; a scavenger waiting for the return of her parents ; an heir rejecting his birth name ; a family desintegrated by a repeating tragedy. The Last Jedi (TLJ) felt refreshing by bringing the family drama to a higher level, deepening the heroine/antagonist dynamic and paving the way for a refined sight of the Jedi philosophy. As much The Rise of Skywalker (TROS) has its entertaining moments as a standalone, I couldn’t help feeling growingly unconfortable about this movie as a conclusion of the Skywalker story.

Why Return of the Jedi (ROTJ) originally felt like a satisfying conclusion of the Skywalker story…

Among the several reasons why TROS fails to deliver a satisfying conclusion to this 42 years old arc, the very last act of the franchise stands out as strangely dissonant with the rest of the entire story. Let’s have a look back at the original ending set up by Return of the Jedi (ROTJ). Far from being my favorite Star Wars movie because of the Jabba the Hutt sequence, ROTJ never failed to get me emotional by the way it beautifully concluded the Skywalker arc. Beyond the joyful atmosphere around the galaxy and the celebration of the victory on Endor, the last sequence sets up a powerfully emotional ending because it’s all about healing the wounds through reconciliation : reconciliation of a man with himself, reconciliation of a father with his son but also reconciliation of a fallen Jedi with the old friends he once betrayed. Thus, as sad as Anakin Skywalker’s death may be, the outcome of his tragic life is counterbalanced by what we get to experience on screen with the characters, from his funeral scene to the appearance of the Force Ghosts. Everything is synchronized in a way that enables the viewer to feel that the hero of the OT, Luke Skywalker, has now completed his journey to find himself, can let the past behind him and move on to build a brighter future surrounded by his « family ». At that point, this conclusion left me as the viewer with the satisfying feeling that the Skywalker arc is complete, bringing me back to my initial question : what was their story worth to continue for ?

…that left the Skywalkers with an unresolved family business

Yet, when we meet the Skywalkers again 30 years later, it appears that the family has completely imploded : a fallen son enrolled in the ennemy camp, the parents separated, the uncle exiled on a planet far far away. TFA introduces the viewer to a family tragedy that repeated itself with a kid targeted by a master puppet for his “mighty blood” in order to follow his grandfather’s footsteps. We learn from the canon novel Bloodline as well as TFA make it clear that neither Leia nor Han ever forgave Vader and very much feared that their only son would take after him: “We’ve done everything we could have done. There’s too much Vader in him”. As impressive as his sacrifice might have been for a 1983 viewer, Vader’s redemption was the result of a sudden turn for the sake of one person, an action that neither Leia nor the Galaxy got to witness, making Anakin only an unsung hero of the victory against the Empire. His sacrifice didn’t enable any reconciliation of his daughter with the dark side of his legacy, paving the way for the tragedy to repeat with his own grandson. As unsettling as Luke’s characterization may have been in TLJ, the attempt to kill his own nephew in his sleep suggest that he probably wasn’t as reconciled with his father’s legacy as he thought. In other words, the wound healing through reconciliation set up in ROTJ was uncomplete and left door open for the tragedy to repeat, which leads to consider the importance of Ben in the sequel trilogy of a family arc that has been told over 42 years in 9 episodes :

- A son who witnessed his slave mother dying in his arms

- A mother who died in childbirth from a broken heart

- Husbands and wives who losed their respective partners

- Parents who lose their daughter

- Kids who got separated from their parents

- A nephew who witnessed his adoptive parents getting killed

- Fathers who died sacrifying for their sons

- An uncle who died apologizing to his nephew

- A son who lose his mother after she sacrificed for him

"As I once fell, so falls the last Skywalker”

Named after Ben – “You’re my only hope” – Kenobi, Ben Solo represented the hope that at least a Skywalker could finally make it through darkness. He was not just the only descendant of the Skywalker family. He was also the bearer of all the abuse, pain and tragedies that this family has been through since his grandfather himself was targeted by their sworn ennemy: Palpatine. Thus, he is the recipient of all the wounds that didn’t heal properly within the family, making his manipulation by Palpatine, his feeling of rejection by his parents and the murder attempt by his uncle all the more tragic. The fact that Ben – and the Galaxy – was kept ignorant of the family connection with Vader certainly didn’t help, making him from early age an ideal target for the revenge of Palpatine: “I have been every voice you have ever heard inside your head”. People may argue that the outcome is okay since there will be no Skywalker descendant for the tragedy to repeat one day and that Rey will ensure that their legacy lives on by carry on the name. That Rey deserves to be part of the Skywalker legacy through her personal achievements is unquestionable. However, she is not the bearer of the tragedy that has plagued the Skywalker family for the viewers to witness over 9 episodes. Although her backstory is heartbreaking to say the least, TROS doesn’t let the viewers time to feel the depth of her own tragedy adding to the fact that we didn’t get to relate to the tragedy of the Palpatine family over long-run. Even if Rey shoudn’t be reduced to her bloodline (which was the risk of making her a Palpatine through), didn’t Palpatine achieve what he wanted in the end ? People may argue he lose since his own granddaughter will carry on the Skywalker name as a Jedi. However, if his personal revenge against the Skywalkers was to end their bloodline, then he definitely got what he wanted after being the cause of most of their tragedies:

- He predicted Padme’s death, which he brought Anakin to provoke

- He wanted Anakin’s death, which happened through his sacrifice for Luke

- He wanted Han’s death, which he brough Kylo to provoke

- He wanted Luke’s death, which indirectly happened through his sacrifice

- He wanted Leia’s death, which happened through her sacrifice for Ben

- He wanted Ben’s death, which happened through his sacrifice for Rey

The problematic execution of Ben Solo’s redemption

From the moment TFA had Ben Solo aka Kylo Ren commit a parricide, the question of his redemption was at the heart of his character arc. Beyond the passionate discussion about whether or not he should have lived given his dark actions, it’s the way he was treated in the last act that doesn’t feel right put in the bigger context of the story. It is legitimate that Rey was the one person to ultimately take down Palpatine, all the more so that she is revealed to be a Palpatine descendant. Yet, the role in which Ben Solo was relegated during the final battle on Exegol doesn’t feel right within the framework of the entire arc. The Skywalker descendant – as bearer of the family tragedy – got to stand barely 5 seconds against the abuser of his family, only for his body to be used as a mean to resurrect Palpatines, grandfather and granddaughter. Worse : the entire set up for the Force dyad in the ST was made useful for that sole purpose : draining the Force energy of the Skywalker to death so that the Palpatines could live on. Even if the last Skywalker was meant to die anyway, why giving him the same redemption as his grandfather, knowing that this redemption path only reconciled one person – Luke – with the dark side of the Skywalker legacy? Why having him sacrifice for the sake of only one person instead of putting him in front of a dilemma that would have required to overcome the evil voices once and for all for the greater good of the Galaxy? Why having no witness of his ultimate inner struggle instead of letting the Galaxy finally know what was behind the darkness of both Skywalkers grandfather and grandson ? I am aware that this is easy to critisize directing choices once the movie is out but based on all what was demonstrated above I believe that the Skywalker family would have deserved that their only descendant had a more active part in overcoming their abuser once and for all by overcoming the darkness he planted in them. In my ideal scenario, Rey would have taken down Palpatine all alone in her badass way all alone but there would have been an ultimate twist. The remaining fleet would have been programmed by Palpatine to execute the last order, from a signal sent from a dark artifact on Exegol for all the Galaxy to witness in horror. The only way for someone to desactivate it would have required to overcome his/her darkest struggles within, which would have been a meaningful way to confront Ben with his family tragedy, the dark legacy of his grandfather and his own dark actions. I would have loved the idea that the evil voices put him in front of a dilemma and that his grandfather finally helped him to take the right decision based on his own fateful experience: choosing between saving a loved one from her death state or saving planets from destruction for the greater good. There were several meaningful scenes that could have foreshadowed this kind of scenario. Instead, TROS gave us the same redemption as ROTJ :

- A short-term redemption path

- A sacrifice for the sake of one person

- No witness of the good action other than said person

Yet, disappearing to never be seen, mourned or mentioned ever again...

A whitewashing of the Skywalker legacy

The ending scene of the Skywalker franchise takes place on Tatooine with Rey burrying the Skywalker lightsabers in the sand as a funeral, which is meant to enable her – and the viewer – to move on peacefully. According to Lucasfilm VFX supervisor Roger Guyett and screenwriter Chris Terrio, no Force ghost of Ben was created because “when you see Luke and Leia there, it’s about the Skywalker legacy”. For a movie that was supposed to tie all 9 movies together, the Prequel Trilogy (PT) doesn’t seem to exist as if the Skywalker story began with the Original Trilogy (OT). We get to see Cloud City and Endor after the final victory but no shot of Coruscant & Naboo. The family tragedy begun with the separation of the twin but the grooming of their father and the death of their mother doesn’t seem to be part of the traged. The Skywalker lightsaber is primarily presented as Luke’s lightsaber as if he was its original owner. What is canonly established through is that the Skywalker story began with a slave boy named Anakin Skywalker who was believed by the Jedi to be the Chosen One, which made him the target of a Sith named Palpatine, which led to a long-run family drama in the middle of a never-ending battle between the dark side and the light side. Given the importance of his fall to the story and how it fed the family drama beyond his death, his absence in the sequel trilogy is surprising, aside from a very discreet line to Rey : “Bring Balance as I did”. Shouldn’t Anakin have guided his fallen grandson too instead of helping only the granddaughter of his sworn ennemy ? More problematic is the way the family drama is resolved with the ending of TROS. While the family was split at the beginning of the ST, TROS doesn’t care to show the healing of the family wounds, except for the memory scene between Solo father and son. The reason why this scene is the most powerfully emotional moment of the movie in my mind is precisely for its ability to symbolize the reconciliation of a man with himself and a son with his father. Yet, the ending scene is only about reuniting the all in the white Holy Skywalkers who have never “sinned”, giving the unconfortable impression that the Skywalker descendant was disposable because he wasn’t worthy to have any place in the Skywalker legacy contrary to the heroine. After all, the original script of Duel of the Fates by Colin Trevorrow had Luke telling his nephew “You are no Skywalker”, as if the Skywalker legacy wasn’t made of both darkness and light and Luke himself didn’t contribute to this with his own mistakes. Although TROS is more subtle in its approach, the difference in the handling between Anakin Skywalker and Ben Solo’s redemption after their death is telling: kept a guarded secret by the person he saved; not even mourned by the only person he bonded with; not even shown alongside his family. Dead or alive, his treatment on screen left me as a viewer with the unconfortable feeling that the Skywalker family as a whole wasn’t reconciled with the dark side of their legacy. Which brings me once again to the same question: what was their story worth to continue for?

Excerpt of the canon novel Bloodline

The purification of the heroine

Let’s talk now about how Rey ends her heroine’s journey compared to where she began. That journey was announced by Maz Kanata already in TFA: “The belonging (family) you seek is not behind you (birth family), it is ahead (found future)”. She was introduced as desperate to find a place to belong because of her feeling of loneliness, which never incapacitated her ability to be a strong independant woman who knows how to handle herself. Yet, her heroine journey alone on Tatooine where she takes the Skywalker name looking at the Binary Sunset under the watchful eye of the Skywalker Twins as Force Ghosts. Some may argue that she will be okay since she found a family in them and her Resistance friends, which is true to some degree but uncomplete through. However, the ending looks out of place with a key character missing in this scene, whether he was supposed to be dead or alive: Ben. Although it was important to show in TROS that Rey was well surrounded by a supportive entourage (as a constrast to Ben before his fall), the ST established that the deepest emotional connection she had was with Kylo Ren/Rey. I wouldn’t allow myself to judge those who find Reylo abusive and/or questionable because of his actions but I personally don’t think that the outcome of TROS is a feminist as it was meant to appear by having the heroine as a strong independant woman free from any romantic involvement . The ST makes it clear all along that although Rey obviously suffers from abandonment issue, she is more than capable of handling herself, know by herself what is right or not and decide conciously what (who) she wants for herself. Some people may disaprove the very idea of “Reylo” for valid reason but claiming that the kiss came out of nowhere doesn’t make sense when one look closely at their interactions all along the ST. TLJ shows that the hand touch she initiated is the decisive moment where she gets to see what the viewer finally get to see only at the end of TROS : the true face of Ben Solo, without the mask named Kylo Ren behind which he hid himself. From this moment on, my understanding is that Rey perfectly knew how to dissociate the person from his persona, thus her disenchantment in the Throne Room while confronted to his unwillingness to let go of his dark persona. With Rey shutting the door of the Millenium Falcon to his face, TROS could have made their dynamic an unrequited villainous crush afterwards. Although this is what it looks on the surface, the visual subtext tells a different story, which is a huge reason that makes their interactions so compelling to analyze. On Pasaana, Rey is shown staring longingly at little kids, sadly confessing that she has no family (despite living with the Resistance and her friends for a while) and being in deep thought at that moment. Barely 2 seconds after enter her dyad to renew his hand proposal. Of course, different interpretations can be made about this scene. I would argue that the chain of events in a matter ofminutes is meant to convey a specific message if one accept the idea that the hand proposal is metaphorically a marriage proposal. The ST sets the record straight through that despite her attraction to him Rey always rejected Kylo Ren and his entitled behavior while making heart eyes to Ben Solo and the selfless person she knew he was deep inside through their bond. The core of their unresolved business in TROS is all about him being desperate to know why she wanted to take his hand while being frustrated by her refusal to acknowledge it and her being desperate to hide the reason why she didn’t take it while being frustrated by his refusal to acknowledge who he really is. Both lied to themselves and each other out of fear of being rejected and disentchanted again. Thus, the tension rising until a confession that changed everything : “I wanted to take your hand, Ben’s hand”. Rey chose consciously to kiss Ben only once she was sure that the mask had definitely dropped and he had renounced to be someone else than who he really is. Although Kylo Ren was chasing Rey, she was always the one who set the rules and initiated willingly any further step in their relationship and only when she felt he was his true self with her. This teaches an important lesson – especially to teenage boys – that you don’t earn the feelings of someone (no matter what feelings he/she has for you) by hiding yourself behind a virile persona and/or showing off toxic behaviors in order to impress said person. In other words, the love triangle was always between Rey, Kylo Ren and Ben Solo from a female gaze perspective: it’s Ben who was presented as “object” of desire all along. Yet, the choice that Rey willingly makes – and the desire that goes along with it – is taken away from her as if it was decided at her place that Ben Solo was never the right partner for her anyway. After three movie setting up that the heart of her emotional journey was with him, the fact that he is totally erased from screen after – and despite – their love scene looks like a puritan attempt to purify the heroine from the sin she has committed. Worse, she ends her journey where she began: on a desolated sand planet, sliding innocently the dunes, wearing the same all white costume and an adopted child under parental watch. In a nutshell: pretty much like Luke at the beginning of his hero’s journey.

Rian Johnson: “ The hand touch is the closest thing we’ll get to a sex scene in Star Wars”

Luke Skywalker (deleted line): “You’ve opened yourself to the dark side for a pair of pretty eyes”

Tatooine: an iconic place...of desolation

Although Tatooine may appear as a logical choice for the ending scene, the intention to recreate the atmosphere of the iconic scene from ANH falls flat in the context of TROS but also in the context of the whole franchise. According to Chris Terrio, the point was to fix the original sin of the franchise, which was the separation of the Twins by tying the lightsabers together like newborns. Did it make sense through to burry them on Tatooine ? Based on the Prequels, the Skywalker/ Palpatine arc has its roots on Naboo, when a Queen was forced to flee in order to meet the Senate representative of her home planet on Coruscant but met a slave boy from Tatooine on her way. Naboo may have been a less iconic choice for fanservice but in regard to the heartbeat of the Skywalker story, this is where Anakin and Padme’s love story blossomed, where Padme planned to give birth to their babies, where she is now resting forever: “Ani I wanna have our baby back home on Naboo”. Wasn’t the original sin that these kids were separated from their parents and all of them never got reunited ? Yet, Padme’s babies - and her husband by extension - were metaphorically burried on the very planet where Luke was never supposed to end up had the family tragedy not happened, where his father grew up as a slave, where his grandmother had a painful death, where his adoptive parents were murdered, where his sister was enslaved, where his brother in law was imprisoned, where he himself never wanted to return. Yet this is also this place that was chosen to end Rey’s heroine journey. She ends up being the spiritual heir of the Twins, especially the Jedi that Leia would have become by her brother’s side had she not chosen romantic attachment over that path. In general, the ending sends the message that romantic love and children only cause destruction while preventing parents from achieving their ambitions. Padme and Anakin’s love created destruction through the immiment birth of the Twins ; Han and Leia’s love created destruction through Ben’s upbringing, only to have their sacrifice rewarded with his death and his sidelining of the legacy. Terrible message for teenagers that no matter the selfless acts you do, you still deserve to be forgotten or even replaced with someone more worthy if you lose yourself following the wrong way because you were a problem from the start. On a sidenote, DLF probably failed to get people invested in the new characters, precisely because most of the characters and their interactions turned out to feel superficial, interchangeable and disposable on the long run. Jahnnah was introduced to Lando in the very end for no particular reason, except maybe baiting the fans with future added-materials about a potential father/daughter dynamic. Finn and Rose kissed in TLJ? Let’s have her sidelined, Finn friendly tapping her shoulder, telling her to stay away and choosing the company of someone else in the next film. Zorii asked Poe to come with her? Let’s have her refusing to be with him, barely hours after their conversation. Rey and Ben kissed before he died? Let’s have her flying out of Exegol with fanfare, happily reuniting with her friends and paying tribute to the Twins without showing an once of interest in the fate of her dyad. In general, the movie leaves the feeling that there is no deep sense of belonging for anybody and that they all are pretty alone despite forming a big "family" of friends on the surface. The ending feels even more out of place knowing that Rey’s journey was never meant to parallel Luke’s, who only wanted to become a Jedi like his father and ultimately became one. It was never the motivator of Rey’s journey to fight for a higher cause by becoming a Rebel or a Jedi in to follow the footsteps of a loved one and/or a mentor. Yes, she accomplished great things and it is absolutely right to enable her to fulfill any ambition she wishes to accomplish in the future. However, it is not because she had simple human needs too that they were unimportant and meant to diminish her character. Let’s go back again to this Pasaana scene where we are reminded of the core of her heroine’s journey: “The belonging you seek is not behind you, it is ahead”. Of course, that could be interpreted in retrospect as a foreshadowing that she will take a new generation of Jedi as Rey Skywalker continuing the legacy of Luke. But again, the directing choices suggest otherwise: why showing her staring at 1-2 years old babies instead of 9-10 years old kids? Why suggesting that she may not have a family at that point but that she will have this possibility at the end of her journey? More important: why suggesting through the hand proposal that Ben Solo is the one through with she is meant to have a family ? Although her thoughts ain’t explicit, the chain of events suggests an underlying desire: marriage proposal, forming a family, having babies. Yet, Ben and Rey finally coming together resulted in a kiss of death and her ending like a virginal nun metaphorically burrying the kids she’ll never have with him. Terrible message for girls from a female gaze perspective that no matter how heroic she was and all the harships she went through, she is not allowed to get the belonging she chose willingly (contrary to most male heroes). Terrible message in general that the wants openly expressed by women never really come true in Star Wars: Padme never got her babies back home on Naboo; Leia never got her son back home alive; Rey never got the home she really wished for with Ben. Even if Ben was meant to die like Jack Dawson from Titanic (given the few parallels used by TROS), his total absence after his death feels incredibly wrong, especially given how the only person whom with he bonded emotionally appears indifferent on screen to his fate. This closure on Tatooine without him rubs the viewer from witnessing the definitive healing of the family wounds but also from the feeling that the heroine can move on peacefully with her life: fulfilling her goals, being surrounded with her friends and why not raising a family until she’ll be ultimately reunited with Skywalkers in death. Thus, a tragic ending like Titanic where you are aware as a viewer that Jack and Rose technically can’t be reunited in the afterlife feels strangely more uplifting than the ending of TROS where it’s technically possible that Ben and Rey get reunited someday. What is shown on screen is what remains enshrined in the mind of the viewer. An ending scene on Naboo with Ben (alive or dead) would have given a different vibe, reuniting metaphorically all Skywalkers (except Shmi Skywalker-Lars) in the same tombstone and symbolizing the family reconciliation: a husband with his wife; parents with their twins; a nephew with his uncle; a son with his mother ; a father living in his son’s heart since his death. Beyond that, what more meaningful message for Rey Palpatine than choosing the Skywalkers on the very planet where her own grandfather came from like Padme and began tormenting the Galaxy and her family ? Alas, the conclusion of the franchise shows the heroine ending her journey alone on a desert planet, her birth family dead, her found family decimated, without her lover and her friends to be seen, surrounded by robots and ghosts��but with a cool name as consolation prize!

#the rise of skywalker #star wars #rey #kyloren #ben solo #reylo #adamdriver #daisyridley

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ariainstars · 4 years ago

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Star Wars, the Last 20 Years or Can We Please Try to Stop the Blame Train?

I would like to touch a subject that’s starting to grate on my nerves a little.

Anyone here knows that I disliked The Rise of Skywalker heartily. And I’m not the only person here or elsewhere who tore it to shreds. But I am reading (again) over and over why and how JJ Abrams, Chris Terrio, Kathleen Kennedy and Co. made this mess. Instead of searching for culprits, this time I would like to point out a few things.

I. Star Wars Prequels

Jake Lloyd, Ahmed Best and Hayden Christensen had to endure awful harassment in their time: the audience largely vented their frustration on them because when the prequels hit theatres, they did not get the Star Wars they had wanted. Politics are a dry subject, and young Anakin and the Jedi Council were all too human to be liked by fans who expect coolness in a hero more than everything else; which is probably why Darth Maul is a huge favorite although we hardly learn anything about him and he says almost nothing. Ditto Obi-Wan although he is clearly not suited to train Anakin and it’s him who maims him and leaves him to burn in the lava. (Until I saw the film, I had always assumed Palpatine had tortured Anakin to push him to the Dark Side.)

The prequels’ messages in general were not liked: the Jedi were not perfectly wise and cool wizards, the Old Republic was stagnant, Anakin was a hot-headed, frustrated young man desperate to save his wife and unborn children. The films do not want to excuse what he did; however they portray him not as a monster but as a human being who was under an almost unendurable pressure for years and years until he finally snapped.

These messages may not be “cool”, but they were realistic and most of all, humane. Portraying the Jedi as well as Anakin as powerful, flawless heroes and the old Republic as a just, prosperous and balanced place would have meant undermining a central theme of the original trilogy: the former generation could not have been all that powerful and wise, else the collapse of their world and the failure of their convictions would not have happened in the first place. It is a sore point, but still twenty years later Obi-Wan and Yoda denied that Vader was human and expected Luke to commit patricide.

All of this goes to show that the Jedi’s moral standard was flawed and their attitude not rooted in compassion and pacifism the way they claimed. In the end, what they cared about was winning, no matter the cost. In this, they were no better than the Sith.

~~~more under the cut~~~

II. Star Wars Sequels

J.J. Abrams, Kathleen Kennedy, Bob Iger and company were the ones who introduced the Star Wars sequel trilogy and with it its themes, characters, setting etc. to us in the first place: I think we should give them credit where it’s due. Rian Johnson made a very beautiful second chapter with The Last Jedi, but he did pick up where the others had left.

Kelly Marie Tran made experiences similar to Jake Lloyds or Hayden Christensen’s when The Last Jedi was hit theatres. She was disliked for not being “Star-Wars-y” enough, chubby and lively instead of wiry and spitfire, and also taking a lot of screen time while many fans were impatiently waiting for some grand scenes from Luke and / or Leia.

That Episode VIII, the central and most important one, was called “The Last Jedi” cannot be overstated. Luke was literally alone with the heavy task of rebuilding a religious order that was gone and destroyed long before he even learned about it, and at the same time he had to patch together his own family and atone for his father’s sins. This is a crushing burden for anyone to carry. It was important both for Rey and for the audience to meet Luke to see that he was a good man, but still just a man.

When Luke spoke openly to Rey about the failure of the Jedi Order, it was the first time he ever spoke about it that we know of; this wisdom he obviously acquired only after his nephew’s fall to the Dark Side. Luke has understood that the ways of the Jedi were wrong; but he does not know a better alternative. Force users are still born all over the galaxy, and they have to learn to use their powers - only how? Again, Luke is not to blame. How is he to know, when the Jedi of the Old Republic had lost sight of Balance in the Force for so long that they didn’t know what it actually meant anymore?

Same goes for Leia, the princess without a realm, who tried to rebuild the Republic after the galaxy had been terrorized by the Empire and devastated by war for many years. She assuredly did her best, but she was only human. That she failed her son is of course shocking, but after the horror she had to endure at the hands of her own father it is not surprising that she would be terrified of her son possibly going the same way. Ben, like Anakin, was crushed under a legacy and responsibility that was by far too heavy for him. The tragedy of his life and the disruption - and in the end, obliteration - of his family was another proof for the failure of the ways of the Jedi.

All of these lessons until now were not learned from. But let’s be honest: how many of us come from dysfunctional families? If we do, was getting away from them enough to heal the wounds of the past? Did we find out what to give our children on their way in life, or did we fail them because we had not elaborated the past enough to make way for a better future? Such problems are very common, and to heal them is complicated and takes time. A “happy ending” e.g. in form of finding a new family is not enough, on the contrary, it can lead to wanting to leave the past behind, leaving wounds unhealed that will fester their way through our lives again, sooner or later. Star Wars always was an allegory of the human mind, even if deeply cloaked in symbolism. The saga also abundantly takes inspiration from the Bible, and I think it’s not coincidentally said there that the sins of the fathers are visited upon the children.

As fans, we would have wanted to see films that cemented the Jedi as guardians of the galaxy, with the Skywalker family right at the center. Which in itself is impossible because Jedi are supposed to remain unattached, making the mere idea of a Jedi having a family absurd. If the prequels told us that the Jedi were flawed, the sequels tore down the myth of the Skywalker family. And both trilogies showed that you can’t be a Skywalker and / or a Jedi / Force user and have attachments and a happy family of your own at the same time. At least, not until now.

III. Film production

Many fans of old complained because the sequel trilogy implied that the “happy ending” of the original trilogy’s heroes had not been so happy after all and that after having made peace for the galaxy, they had failed to keep it that way. Other viewers however liked the new trilogy and new characters right away and began to root for them. But they, too, jumped on the blame train when the trilogy had ended: expectations were not met, and now director, producers, script writers, cutters etc. are faulted all over again.

The first person coming up with the idea of Han’s and Leia’s only child turning to the Dark Side was Lucas himself. It always was a main theme of the saga that war separates people who actually belong together, like family, couples or close friends; that is not played for mere drama, but because it emphasizes the absurdity of war.

We as the audience do not know how production went - it is very possible that Lucas approved the general storyline, and there is always a whole team on board. It is not easy to purchase such a large and immensely popular franchise; it was to be expected that if things went not the way the audience expected, the Disney studios would be blamed harshly for having “ruined Star Wars”. With the prequels, at least Lucas was still at the helm; it was conceded that maybe he had lost his magic touch with storytelling, but certainly not that he was trying deliberately to ruin his own creation. And the fans who could not praise the Disney studios enough after The Last Jedi came out, now blame them over and over.

The Disney studios have long-term politics to consider and contracts to observe, and we don’t know their contents. We have every right to be disappointed, but I think it’s not fair to blame one or a particular group of persons who are trying their best to satisfy as many viewers as possible. If they simply wanted to satisfy the average dudebro who sees nothing but clichés, two-dimensional characters and Good against Evil - then why did they allow The Last Jedi to be produced in the first place? The studios obviously are aware that there are fans out there who are ready to look deeper in the saga’s themes, who wish to see the Force coming to Balance, who value family, friendship and love over “victory at any cost”, and who do not place the Jedi on some kind of pedestal.

In a sense, The Rise of Skywalker seems like a bow before The Last Jedi: the weakest chapter of the saga followed one of its strongest. Maybe the authors were aware that equaling or even topping what Rian Johnson had created would be next to impossible, so they patched up the open threads of The Force Awakens together with some fan service hoping to be out of the business as quickly as possible.

In retrospect, the infamous podcast with Charles Soule might also be tell-tale: Soule obviously is not elbows-deep in the saga and largely ignores its subtext. Since his The Rise of Kylo Ren comics are quite well-made, I assume that the general storyline did not stem from his own creativity and that he only carried out what he had been advised to do. The production of the whole sequel trilogy may have happened in a similar way. I am not excusing the poor choices of The Rise of Skywalker; merely considering that one or a few persons cannot be blamed in a studio that has thousands of creative minds on board.

I am still hoping for the next trilogy to finally bring Balance to the galaxy, and also into the fandom. Rian Johnson had negotiated the rights for the next trilogy along with The Last Jedi; I assume it is very possible that there was a clause about intellectual property saying that only he would continue Episode VIII’s topics, nobody else. This would at least be an explanation, given the embarrassing, jumbled mess that Episode IX was.

The overall title of the saga assuredly never wanted to inspire the audience to start online wars attacking the studios or the actors or other fans out of the conviction of being entitled to blame someone else’s worldview. The saga’s message is compassion. Both George Lucas and the Disney studios are telling us their story; the idea and the rights do not belong to us. Harping on “whose fault” it allegedly is won’t bring us anywhere; what we can do is make the studios understand that we’re not too stupid not to understand the subtext, the symbolism and metaphysics of the saga beyond the action story. If they listened to the Last Jedi haters, in all fairness they are bound to listen to us, too. 😊

IV. Will Ben’s story continue?

My husband already warned me years ago that Ben most probably wouldn’t survive, or at least not get a happy ending. As Kylo Ren he had already been the head of a criminal organization for six years at the start of The Force Awakens, but all of that perhaps could still have been condoned within the scope of war. It was the very personal and intentional act of patricide, the killing of an unarmed, forgiving man, who turned him into a damned person. And after the deed, Ben was aware of it. He knew there was no way out for him, he had gone too far.

Many members of the audience did not understand that Kylo / Ben is not an out-and-out villain and that this narrative ultimately was about his redemption. Bringing him back to the Resistance after the Exegol battle alive and by Rey’s side would not have been accepted; how was Rey to explain everything when she hardly understood it herself? How would the audience have reacted to the former head of a criminal organization, a patricide, suddenly standing out as a hero? Remember how in Return of the Jedi Luke asked Vader to come away with him. Now suppose Vader had complied? It would have seemed (and been) sheer madness. Nobody would have believed neither father nor son that the terror of the galaxy had had a sudden turn of heart. Nobody knew that he was Luke’s father; Luke himself did not know Anakin’s backstory; nobody knew what had transpired between Luke and Vader so far. Yes, Ben was young and healthy, but he still had terrorized the galaxy for years and killed his own father. He knew himself that he was damned and could not go back to normality, as Vader did.

Rey was coded as the heroine: narratively, the sequel trilogy was her story. Ben couldn’t become the hero, with or without her, at the very last moment. She usurped power like her grandfather in his time, the Skywalker family was obliterated the way the Jedi were, she takes over another mantle (Skywalker) the way Palpatine did (becoming the Emperor). Balance in the Force never was truly in the cards, it was only vaguely hinted at in The Last Jedi by the Force mosaic in the Ahch-To temple. Balance is a complex and difficult subject; it would have been extremely difficult to develop it in the sequel trilogy together with introducing the new characters and giving the old ones closure.

However: if Ben is brought back in the next trilogy, his sacrifice for Rey will have been his atonement. If his role this time is not that of the villain but of the hero, it would reverse Anakin’s path and make clear that he no longer is the same man. Vader was redeemed, not rehabilitated. His grandson might still have the chance to go that way.

- Luke had promised Rey a third lesson, and it happened. He also had promised Ben to “see him around”, which has not taken place yet.

- On Tatooine, Rey watches the twin suns setting, same as Luke before he met the other half of his soul (his twin sister) again.

- The studios had said that the sequels would be “very much like the prequels”; the prequels were a tragedy where the Dark Side (Palpatine) won that was followed by a fairy tale where the Light Side won.

- The Skywalker saga is closed, so if Ben comes back it would be justified by his being a Solo, i.e. the story of his own family and not his grandfather’s.

- Given the parallels with Beauty and the Beast, the Beast died before the broken spell brought him back, making him a wholly new person - his past identity, purged and redeemed.

- George Lucas repeatedly said that the prequels and the classics belong together as one narrative, with Anakin Skywalker at its center. First news of the next trilogy came up with The Last Jedi. Since there are strong parallels between Ben and his grandfather, we may assume that this six-chapter instalment will be his; Anakin also was left for dead but came back with a wholly different role and name.

- When Anakin was reborn as Darth Vader, he “rose” slowly from the ground, clad in his black armor. Ben fell to the ground abruptly and shed his black clothes, disappearing. This could be another clue. (It was also already speculated that Leia’s body dissolved exactly in this moment because she gave her life-force to her son for him to have another chance to live. Both Han and Luke had done what they could to atone for their remorse towards Ben; this might be her turn.)

- Much as I love Luke Skywalker, I can understand that Lucas did not see him as the saga’s protagonist. The overall arch is not so much about Luke’s heroism than about Anakin’s redemption and atonement. It is unusual because we expect the story’s “hero” to be the one who kills the Bad Guy; and indeed Anakin is, because he kills Palpatine in the end, the twist being that technically he is also a villain though not the archvillain.

- Ben had promised Anakin he would finish what he started. Anakin had been meant to bring Balance to the Force, and he had started a family. Until now, Ben did neither.

- If Ben and Rey are a dyad, i.e. one soul in two bodies, then Rey is in urgent need of her soulmate for her future tasks. She has her friends of course, but none of them gets her the way he did.

So, I still see reason to hope for a continuation, and, hopefully, satisfying conclusion of The Last Jedi’s themes.

Film production: on a side note…

In the Nineties, Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale were the directors both of Beauty and the Beast and Atlantis: two more different stories are hardly imaginable with regard to everything - drawing style, setting, characters, development, music etc. This outcome can’t have been only due to the director’s choices, there must have been a wholly different idea behind both films right from the beginning. Just saying.

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avengersassemble-fics · 4 years ago

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Ashes

part 04/?? “a secret he can carry”

masterlist

previous part // next part

word count 3.3k

an: sorry this one is shorter but it contains some important information!!

There was one thing that Ben seemed to have lost after the Purge, and that was his patience. In the years since he had been on this desert covered planet, he had never been as impatient as he was at this very moment. No amount of meditating was helping to clear his mind, inevitably he would find himself back by the side of the unconscious woman who had taken over his own bed.

It had been four days now since the former Jedi, and the two runaways, had delved into your mind and healed your wounds. Ben didn’t know how he did it, but when you didn’t wake up soon after he spent more and more time trying to reconnect with you when he was allowed time away from the others who now hid out in their ship outside. That was where he was now, seated on a stool next to your side, gently rubbing his thumb over the top of your hand.

Ben had never been one to show such… Admiration. Not since Satine, at least. And even then when he grew older and more involved in the Jedi ways, he never openly embraced her in the way he has with you. Deep down something was saying he shouldn’t be clinging onto you like this, but another part of him didn’t care. And that was the feeling that was stronger in this instance.

Ben inhaled deeply, eyes fluttering shut as he could feel your pulse against your wrist he held onto so dearly. His breaths soon matched yours as he dived into your mind again, seeking an answer he hadn’t yet gotten. The familiar darkness swallowed him again, but it wasn’t the raging darkness he had once seen in his Padawan, no this one was calm. This was just you resting. But from what he knew, what you had shared with him over the years, there was another here. More maybe, but he knew someone (or something) was helping you regain your strength. They may have healed you physically, but something was keeping you here to heal you mentally. Maybe even be helping you heal your connection. That was all Ben wanted to know. Were you going to be okay?

“She’ll be fine,” a voice said behind him. Ben’s eyes opened, met with an overwhelming amount of sunshine he wasn’t prepared for. Grass covered the ground he stood on, and a figure moved around him to stand before him. Their hood was lowered and Ben was met with an unfamiliar face. They offered him a smile, and latched their fingers together. “It is good to see you, Obi-Wan.”

“I’m afraid we haven’t met,” Ben said. The figure nodded, taking a small step forward.

“Not formally, no. But we know you fairly well.”

“We?” Ben asked. The figure nodded and Ben glanced behind them, as if looking for another person.

“We, though it’s just me in this form,” they explained. Ben nodded a bit and took another glance around.

“I’ve been here before, haven’t I?”

“You and your Padawan, yes. In one way or another,” they said. “You have questions. We wanted to help ease your mind.”

“Who exactly is this we?” Ben first asked. The figure came to his side, and together, began to walk beside one another.

“We are, how you would say, guardians of the Force. Here we do not believe in the good or evil, we believe in the natural balance.”

Ben nodded along when they finished their explanation, but he couldn’t help but raise a brow. “If you believe in the natural balance, then why were the Jedi allowed to fall?”

“We didn’t want it to happen, Obi-Wan,” they said. They paused for a moment, and Ben looked back to meet their eyes, which had looked almost remorseful. “We are sorry you and the other Jedi had to experience such loss. We are bound to this existence, we tried to intervene, but-”

“Intervene how?” Ben asked almost abruptly. “Pardon my expression, but hundreds of souls were lost. Good and kind souls. Good men were created and used as pawns for a Sith Lord.”

The figure did not reply back right away. They seemed to glance over their shoulder as if to seek permission from another who wasn’t there. They looked back to him and offered a nod. “Did you ever learn how Skywalker was brought into existence?”

That was an odd question. Ben couldn’t help but glance over the figure before they started to walk again, and Ben sighed and followed. “My Master believed him to be born from the Force.”

“Your Master was both right and wrong. Are you familiar with Darth Plagueis?”

Ben wanted to scoff. He had heard of the Sith Lord from his Master before he himself became a Master. The Jedi had felt his fall during the early months of training his Padawan. They thought the Sith were done for good. How blind they were back then. “He was the Sith Lord before Palpatine.”

“He was his Master,” the figure corrected. “Plagueis had a unique gift, one that we knew would lead to his demise. He could manipulate midi-chlorians to create and manipulate life. He further learned how to transfer his own consciousness to another. He had found a way to life for eternity.. Something he passed along to his Padawan.”

“They learned how to create life?”

“Indeed,” they answered. Ben looked down to his feet, as if already knowing what was going to be said to him next. “Sidious tried this tactic once. Unknowingly, he created a life. He had impregnated a slave on Tatooine unknowingly, and thus led to the virgin birth of Anakin Skywalker. Once he learned of the boy's existence, he killed his Master.”

“And thus he began to groom him,” Ben spoke out loud. The figure nodded by his side. “He planned from the beginning to have Anakin as his Padawan.”

“To complete the Rule of Two, yes,” the figure acknowledged.

“So if you knew of this occurrence, how did you intervene?” Ben asked. The figure came to another stop just before him, and turned to face him fully.

“When we learned of what Sidious had done, learned of the life he created.. We looked to the future, we saw what would unfold if we did not intervene-“

“You saw the future and yet so many were slaughtered,” Ben interrupted. The figure pursed their mouth, but let him continue. “What was your intervention anyway?”

“Impatience does not suit you, Obi-Wan,” they told him. Ben wanted to roll his eyes, but he instead crossed his arms. “Skywalker was destined to fall. His love and his lack of faith was the root of his problems. He believed he’d lose everything, and in his actions he did so. We saw nearly two decades of the Empire’s reign, of the Sith rule.. We could not allow it to happen. Sidious created a life.. So we did as well.”

He didn’t answer right away. Ben watched as the scenery around him changed, ash now crunched under his boots and there was a farm in the distance. He could hear the shrill scream of a child in the distance, and he took a couple steps forward almost automatically. He stopped in his tracks when he watched a young girl run around the corner, wind whipping through her hair and not far behind came a racing father. The child was whisked into the air and the shrill cries turned into bouts of laughter. Ben swallowed the lump that had formed at the back of his throat, and the figure joined his side once more.

“They struggled for years to conceive,” the figure explained. “We wanted the child to have a good upbringing.. To feel loved. The parents were destined to die during the Clone Wars, we believed that this ending.. At least they knew the love from having a child they always hoped for.”

Ben watched as the father, your father, carried you back around the corner, the laughter dying down the further they got away from the two intruders. Ben couldn’t help but wiggle his fingers by his side, trying to wrap his mind around everything he was learning. “So you created a life naturally. She acts as your connection to the physical world.”

“Yes,” they answered simply. “Plagueis and Sidious detecting her presence in the Force was.. Not expected. But her being brought to Tatooine alongside Skywalker was.. An unexpected advantage. The Sith Lords didn’t know about him at the time, so their bond was naturally built. We did not intervene in that matter.”

“Did you always intend for them to..”

“No,” they answered again simply. “When it began to happen we worried that it would be the same outcome as the future we originally saw.. But we put our trust and hope into her decisions.”

Ben nodded to himself. The scene changed again before him, and they were back to where they started. Grass and sunshine enveloped him, and he inhaled deeply. “What are you expecting out of her.”

It was a demand more than a question. The figure looked him over but he stood his ground. They gave him a short nod, and a small answer before departing him. “To help Skywalker fulfill his destiny.”

The all too familiar white walls of this Star Destroyer was all Vader tried to focus on. His heavy steps and equally heavy breathing filled the hallways he walked through on his way to his personal chambers. Stormtroopers and officers paused and offered their respect as he passed, but Vader ignored them. He had more important things to attend to.

His personal quarters were his destination. He knew as he walked in and came to a kneel in the middle of the room that his Master would be waiting. Nearly on cue, a hologram appeared before him and towered Vader in size, and the hunched image of his superior filled the room. Vader knew he had his eyes on the back of his helmet, but he kept his head down until he was granted permission to stand.

“Lord Vader,” the sickly, cold voice rang around the walls. Vader’s hiss-and-purr was all but an answer, but he couldn’t help but clench his fist that rested on his bent leg. “Rise, my Padawan.”

Vader rose, coming to a stand still towered over by the Emperor. Under his hood his dark eyes looked over Vader, but offered no hint of any of the thoughts running through his evil mind. “Did you receive word about these pesky Jedi?”

“My Inquisitors are scouring Tatooine as we speak, Master,” Vader answered. The Emperor nodded and said a small ‘good’ in response. Vader looked over his Master, and for a moment wondered if he should tell his Master what he learned.

“Is something troubling you,Padawan?” The Emperor asked. Vader closed his eyes for a moment behind his mask, and with only a second or two to think, he gave a short answer.

“No, Master.”

This was a secret he could carry with him for a little while longer. At least while he did his own investigation.

The Emperor hesitated to end their call, but when he did Vader was on the move again. His Star Destroyer had travelled to the outer rim of the Core Planets, looming in the darkness and stars, none of the planets knew what Lord Vader’s presence meant, but he was sure it put them on edge. It wasn’t often he came near these planets. But he had a mission of his own, and not one that his Master needed to know about. Vader made his way back through the halls and to his personal hangar, where his TIE fighter sat. When he climbed inside and flicked several switches on and heard the familiar roar of the engines, Vader had to control his thoughts.

Vader always enjoyed flying. Even as the weak Jedi he was, it was one of his favorite pastimes. There weren’t too many chances Vader got to be free of the eyes of those around him, so as his ship pulled out of the hangar and the hiss of the engines shot him off towards his destination, he was calm. He ignored the ever growing persistence in the back of mind.

He hadn’t been back to Coruscant since he left the then pregnant Senator with promises of returning. He had intended to rendezvous on Korriban after his duties on Mustafar were complete, and with his beloved by his side they would all travel to Naboo. Vader couldn’t believe how foolish he had been before his true rise to power. But for some reason that didn’t seem to settle his mind as he descended his ship into the familiar flow of traffic on Coruscant.

It was a busy planet, even all these years ago. The hustle and bustle of the upper city was a sight for sore eyes, even behind the helmet Vader always had to wear. But his eyes were trained on one familiar building, one where he had tucked away after the death of his always and forever, one that even when his ship settled on the landing pad just outside the main room, Vader hesitated to get out. But he knew what needed to be done. He pushed himself out of the ship, and with each step he took into the open apartment, the hiss and purr of his breathing was the only sound he could hear.

A tall tower of black, billows of a cape down to the ground and shifting with each step, Vader looked around his surroundings. Images played out before him like he was living in a memory.. One he never wanted to leave.

The room got brighter. Sunshine flittered into the rooms and Vader came to a stop to watch his former self pace before him. He could see the fiddle of his flesh fingers and the mechanical ones that used to adorn his arms, the dark Jedi robes crossed the floors and Vader heard it first. He could see it out of the corner of his helmet, the movement of a body in the other room. Vader watched as the beautiful silhouette that often clogged his mind was just mere feet in front of him again. He didn’t even listen to the conversation that happened in this memory, Vader remembered he had offered his apologies for seeing you in such a vulnerable way. He instead took careful steps forward, looking over your frame, the smile that crossed your face, and when he reached forward to brush some wet hair from your shoulder, when you faded away.

Vader never could live these moments very long. The sunshine was gone, and he was back in the same apartment, but it lacked the life that once was there. Now standing in the bedroom he shared with the woman he imagined forever with, Vader focused his attention on the only out of place item in the room. It was a small chest, one he had tucked away of his own creation to gift to you when his children were born, and it was placed here by Vader himself after the Clone Wars had ended. He had made a trip, unknowing to his Master, back here whenever he retrieved your weaponry from Korriban.

Vader had felt the need to keep this safe. Safe from the elements, safe from his Master, and safe from himself. But with his knowledge, Vader needed to see it again. With his gloved hands he opened the box and was met with the slight gleam off the lightsaber that rested inside.

The only other thing that stared up at him was the japor ivory pendant tied onto the hilt.

It had felt like a lifetime between when you had closed your eyes to being able to finally reopen them and squint against the dimly lit and slightly dusted room. Your head fell to the side as you peered around your environment, a light throw blanket covered you and instinctively your hand reached under and lifted the hem of your shirt to glide across your skin. It was smooth and showed no sign that anything had even happened. You pushed yourself up, the ache you remembered was long gone now as well, and carefully moved to set your feet down on the ground.

Ben didn’t have much of himself here, even in his own room. No knickknacks, no personal items, just.. Well, just junk. Gadgets were strewn here and there, old pieces of metal he would eventually recycle into something else, but nothing symbolizing him. You shook your head as you pushed your feet into the boots they must have taken off you who knows how long ago, and stood. Your eyes looked around for any sign of the jacket you had been wearing, but it was nowhere in sight. With a shake of your head and a blood stained tank top, you hesitantly made your way up the rounded stairs, not hearing any voices coming from the main room.

After making it to the top, and no one being there to greet you from your trance, you huffed a bit. Though you had no pain, your body and mind felt weak. Probably just from lack of water and food, but you also had an overwhelming sense of.. Everything. The stale air inside the little house, the smell of burning sand outside, and even the echo of voices just beyond the door. As you pulled yourself over to it, pressing the panel firmly to open the door, you were met with the sweet sound of one voice.

Ben.

Taking steps out into the glaring Tatooine environment was hard enough in and of itself, but you seeked out his voice. Kicking sand up along the way you had gotten maybe five to six steps out before the pounding in your head sharpened. You weren’t close enough to fully capture the exchange, but it was as if you could feel the young Jedi hit the sand like he was right in front of you.

Ben twirled his practice staff over his palms, circling the young Cal Kestis so his back (unironically) faced where you came out of the house. “You have to be aware of your surroundings, Cal. Those Inquisitors won’t hold back, they’ll look for any opening you give them-”

Cal had picked himself up from the sandy ground and given his practice staff a tight squeeze, but he looked past the man before him when a shape caught his eyes. He had loosened his grip seeing you wander out into the sun, and raised a brow. “Uh.. Ben-”

“- And if you ever were to come face to face to the Emperor’s apprentice again, you want to make sure-”

“Sir,” Cal tried again. Ben finally stopped speaking after the red haired Jedi interrupted him again, and Cal motioned behind him. Ben turned around to face the glaring sun but his squint softened at the sight of you. You had come to a stop a few feet away from him but Ben wasted no time in dropping his practice staff and rushing over, and pulling you firmly against him. Instinctively one of his hands nestled the back of your head and the other arm held you to him. He wouldn’t dare to admit it to anyone but he was relieved you had finally woken up.

You two only stayed like this for a moment, before Ben separated from you. He looked you over and noted the dirty clothing you wore, and gave a sheepish smile. “I tried to tell you this wouldn’t end well.”

You let out a chuckle, and only shook your head. “Maybe you’re right.. Please tell me you have food back in there.”

Ben nodded, and with his help, he led you back to the small hut. Cal followed in tow with Ben’s dropped staff, and after a short while, the rest of the young Jedi’s crew had joined them inside.

How were you going to break this news to him?

- - - - - - - - - -

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violetnotez · 5 years ago

Text

Disneyland and Lightsabers- Kaminari x Reader

Because there is never enough Kami fanfic and Im missing Disneyland ;(

Also, Kaminari and Izuku are definitely Star Wars nerds. Fight me not really pls i have noodle arms

Kaminari x reader

Genre: Fluff

Word Count: 1250+

Warnings: some cussing

Summary: Kaminari and you visit Disneyland with Class UA and your boyfriend becomes a mega nerd in the middle of TomorrowLand

One Shot

Everyone had been so excited for the trip to Disneyland-especially you and Kaminari. You being the mildly obsessed Disney freak that could sing every song without fail and Kaminari never have gone, you both were psyched to experience the magic of Disney. You spent weeks planning, researching, and discussing what rides to ride on, what group pics to take, and what yummy foods to gorge yourself with.

Now you were here, and you couldn’t be more ecstatic.

All morning you were having the best time of your life. Your group, which consisted of Shouto, Midoriya, Uraraka, Sero, and Mina, were having the best time running into rides and taking dumb pictures around the park. But as the midday rush came and the sun was beating down on your group, you all felt like you were living in a sauna.

“No gonna lie,” Mina huffed out under the sheen of sweat trickling down her face, “I don’t think I can do this-how are wearing black Todoroki?”

Todoroki shrugged, not a drop of sweat evident on his face even with an adorablely clingy Izuku latched on to him as your group walked down the packed lanes of Tomorrowland.

“I’m cold blooded.”

“Wish we were back in Space Mountain,” Uraraka added tiredly, her bangs starting to stick to her forehead, “it was so cold.”

You looked at the tired faces of your friends and sighed. You were trying so hard to be the optimistic, happy one of the group that kept everyone on their feet and moving. But you had to admit that you were extremely hot too. You looked around as you dodged strollers full of children, hoping a nice quiet spot to rest in the shade was open-to no avail. It seemed like every family had taken a spot that was out of the hot California sun.

You sighed.

“Why don’t we just go into a store? There’ll be some air conditioning in there.”

“Can we please?” Mina begged, Sero nodding frantically as his bangs, too, began to stick to his skin.

You laughed exhaustedly from their childish desperation.

“Hey look,” Kaminari pointed, “that store sells lightsabers!”

Kaminari and Izuku looked at each other, a common love arising on their faces. Izuku finally clung off of Shouto and Kaminari let go of your hand, leaving you and Shouto to watch the two nerds run in like 5 year olds.

Shouto looked at you and shook his head.

“Nerds.”

The store was a noticeable few degrees lower than outside, even with the hoards of families walking inside. The whole group sighed in relief, allowing the rush of cold air to sweep over your bodies.

After that relief, you began to look for your fanboy of a boyfriend.You walked past bundles of children and Star Wars merchandise, puzzled on how you couldn’t find either boy.

You turned to Uraraka (who was obviously in awe by the store), confusion plastered on your face.

“Where do you think they-“

“OH MY GOD DUDE THEY HAVE COUNT DOOKU’S LIGHTSABER?!?”

You heard Kamianri yell a few octaves too high as he pointed frantically at a wall of lightsabers.

You smirked.

“Never mind.”

You walked over, a sly grin plastered on your face as you snuck up on Kami as he was gushing over the toys with Izuku, tapping your finger against his shoulder lightly.

“Having fun over here?” You asked, a smile playing on your lips.

Kaminari slightly jumped, surprised his quirk didnt go off and shock you from the scare. He felt his heartbeat go up, chuckling at your obviously smug face.

“Yeah,” Kaianri sighed, breathless with excitement, “it’s just-these are so cool! I’ve always wanted one of these since I was a kid.”

“Really, Kami? I thought you had a bunch of those things,” you said, remembering the bucket of old toy lightsabers you found at the back of Kaminari’s closet.

“Yeah I know,” he agreed,” I just-always wanted a real one-one I could build myself, ya know? Be a real Jedi and do what they did.”

“Oh,” you nodded as you agreed, giggling at his adorableness.“Should I sign you up for the Jedi Training here too?”

Kami’s face light up, grabbing your shoulders and shaking them slightly.

“Oh my god could you please?!”

You laughed, brushing your finger on the bridge of Kaminari’s nose, something you loved to do because it made him a blushing mess.

To no surprise, his checks turn a soft shade of red.

“Believe me Kami, I would if I could.”

You both look at the lightsaber station and the group of crazy kids becoming their own Jedi as they meticulously built their weapons.You turned back to Kami, the softness in your eyes making his heart thump. He loved when you looked at him straight on-he could look and appreciate every facial feature that made you you- the color of your eyes, the shape of your nose, the outline of your lips: everything about you he found cute, beautiful, and attractive, and he loved to absorb it all in.

“What color do you think you’ll pick?” You asked.

Kami blinked his eyes a couple time, his daze being broken. “Huh?”

You giggled, making his checks warm. He always felt sheepish when he realized he had been staring at you.

“I said, what color are going to get?”

You bopped his nose again, making his checks go redder, making his bright yellow eyes stand out.He fumbled with his hair, giving you a cheecky grin.

“The blue one, obviously!”

“That’s so basic Denki!” You laughed.

“It’s the best color though!” He argued happily.

“Obi-Wan used it-well, until Darth Vader killed him-oh and Qui Gon-until Darth Maul killed him too…Anakin- he turned into Darth Vader and got a red one-and Luke…except when Vader cut his hand off he got a green one…”

You looked at him, you eyebrows raised in concern and amusement, a comment on your lips that you were holding back to spill.

“What?” Denki asked, Noticing the look you were giving him

You smiled wide. “Nothing….”

“What?” he chuckled, trying to get your thoughts out of you.

He grabbed your hand as you turned away to hide your smile, making you look at him as a laugh escaped out of you.

“No, I’m not gonna tell you!” You shouted, crinkling your eyes closed. Kami’s face was right next to yours, your hands on his chest. Being so close to Kaminari was nerve racking, and the feeling made you feel like being dropped from a 4 story building, the smell of his cologne making you feel warm.

“Come on-please tell me,” He asked as his fingers sat dangerously near your ribs-your tickle spot. His fingers brushed against your skin, sending rivulets of energy up your spine, making your head shoot up.

You looked at him, eyes wide.

“Denki I swear to god-“

“Hey love birds!” Sero yelled as Mina raised her chin as a greeting to you two, “come On! Our Fastpasses to Star Tours are almost up!”

You looked at Kaminari, an evil grin on your face as you poked his stomach on the side.

Kami grabbed his stomach instinctively, even though it didn’t hurt at all.

“You’re mean.” He said with a fake pout.“

“And you’re a nerd.”

“But you already knew that about me,” he replied, making you shake your head.“

”I guess,” you replied smiling,

“Wait-,” you asked, “didn’t you want to buy a lightsaber?”

“Yeah… Maybe I can-“ Denki began, but the sight of Sero frantically waving him down and pointing at the time on his phone made him think otherwise.He sighed.

“I guess I can get it later.”

“You sure?” You asked, knowing how much Kami wanted that toy.“

“Yeah, Yeah,” He reassured you, “I can get it later. Besides- we have all day.”

You looked back at the table, trying to make a plan that would satisfy everyone.

“Well what if I stayed back and got you the lightsaber?”

“Wait no y/n I can’t let you do that!” Kamianri protested. “We said we were going to do Star Tours and try to get one of us to be the spy, remember! I dont want to ruin our plans because of this.”

“But-” you protested.

“Please, I don’t need it-lets just go-I’m fine, seriously!”The more he talked, the more desperation played in his voice.

You gave him an unconvinced look. “Are you sure??”

“Yeah, Yeah,” He said in a fake airy manner, “I’ll be fine-I’ll just-get it later.”

He shrugged his shoulders and grabbed your hand, leading you to the group, Izuku back to being latched on to Shouto and everyone looking way more energetic than before.

“Lets go fight some space baddies!” Mina yelled, Uraraka and Sero cheering as they jogged out of the store, you four following behind.

————-

Later never really came. Ride after ride after ride, and it seemed Kami was never going back to that shop.

Night had now fallen, and you felt Kami’s hand fidget in yours.

“Do you think we’ll be able to go back?” He asked, his big puppy dog eyes boating into yours.You wanted to go back, but your call back time for the adults to drive all the students to the hotel was in 10 minutes, and you were a whole 2 lands away from the designated meet up spot. There was no way you could convince the group to walk more, and no way to expect to buy that lightsaber in that time.“I don’t know…” you said, not wanting to bring his hopes down.

You know Kami would try his best to not look disappointed, but he never was very good at covering his emotions up.

As expected, you watched his face fall a little.“Awwww...I guess I’ll just have to do it next time…”

Even though you thought it was slightly childish to want a toy so badly, you thought it was cute and adorable, and it broke your heart a little to see the one thing he wanted to go unfulfilled. It was like watching a kid on Christmas not receive the one gift their heart desired so desperately-it was heartbreaking and little guilty to watch.You grasped his hand, rubbing your finger against his skin, wondering how you could fix the situation. That’s when a light bulb went off.You turned to Denki, false distress on your face. You let go of his hand, turning to the group as you yelled, “I gotta go to the bathroom-I’ll met with you guys later!” And instantly running off, completely startling Kami and everyone in the group.

Everyone was focused on their bloated bellies, tired feet, and sleepiness, so the sound of your voice breaking their quiet self muddling completely startled them shit less. Kami shook his head as he tried to comprehend what happened in his worn out state,watching your back as you ran off.

Uraraka walked up between Kaminari and Sero who had took your place next to Kami, pointing at a crowded corner a few feet away from the trio.

Uraraka cocked her eyes, asking, “She knows the bathrooms there, right?”You were nowhere to be seen, and Kamianri looked around confused. “Where did she go?” He asked, completely bewildered by your actions.

After Izuku reassured Kami that you would come back after a few minutes of him yelling frantically for you like you were a lost child, they rushed back to the assigned meet up spot. The night air drifted coolily through Kamianri’s hair and clothing, cooling his warm body. The sound of crickets chirping on the ground and the soft blinking of lights in the trees made him feel like he was in a dream like state-until he thought of you. When he finally realized you hadnt made it back, his heart rate shot up, his senses going into overdrive. Instinctively, he began to think of every possible bad scenario-you somehow getting so lost you wouldn’t make it time and get in trouble, you getting hurt, someone Kidnaping you… the scenarios went on and on, becoming more ridiculous and more scary nevertheless. He stood there, deciding to call you and ask if you are okay, until he finally saw you running up, a Disneyland bag in your hand as you desperately tried to shove it in your backpack with little success.

He jogged up towards you, smiling slightly as he breathed a breath of relief. His face took in a serious note as he asked, “Where did you go?”

You cocked your eyebrow mischievously, giving him a slight grin.

“Nowhere-Just the bathroom.” You stated matter of factly, disguising your smile by tying up your hair.

Kami could tell you were lying just by the pitch of your voice-it always went up slightly because you were excited or nervous to tell him something.

He chuckled as he shook his head.

“You are a-terrible liar,” he laughed.

“Oh don’t act like you’re any better Denki,” you smiled as patted his cheek.“Now come on,” you grabbed his hand tenderly, “we got a bus to catch.”

————-

He didn’t see you the rest of the night after roll call. Kami sat next to Sero the whole ride back due to the stupid “gender-with-gender” rule they have on school trips, and checked into his hotel room with him. He sat on the bed, sending you a good night text as Sero changed out of his clothes and fell asleep in seconds.

Denki stayed up, waiting for your reply. He wasn’t worried that you were taking awhile because he expected you were taking a little more time going to bed. His eyes began to become more droopy, and before he knew it he was fast asleep.

Morning came, Kaminari stretching up with a loud yawn. The warm California sun flitted through the curtains, blinding him. He rolled over, checking the time on his clock: 6:15 am.

He groaned, rubbing his eyes: damn this bright light waking him up so early. He debated whether on not to just suck it up and close the curtains, but he knew if he did he would wake up and be screwed the rest of the day.

He laid on his back, thinking quietly as Sero snored in the bed next to him. A smile dawned on his face- if he could sneak into your room, he could go and snuggle with you and go back to sleep. He knew that you were bunking with Uraraka- but- she wouldnt mind right? Nah.

He got up, stretching, and grabbing his pillow as he opened the door. To his surprise, though, right in front of the door was a blue Disneyland bag, the castle adorning the front as Tinkerbell happily tapped the tallest tower with her wand.

He looked down, confused- the hell left this here? He looked at his sleeping friend, racking his brain to remember if maybe Sero bought something yesterday that he left on the floor when he feel asleep. Kaminari couldnt remember, confusion plastered on his tired face.

He bent down, feeling his sore feet as he checked the bag. There was a single note on it, the stationary having the name of the hotel at the bottom. He noticed it was your handwriting, immediately recognizing the loops and angle of the words that made it yours.

The note didn’t have much to read. The only words written on it were-“Sorry not sorry ;)”

He smiled, shaking his head, setting the note down as he pulled out a blue lightsaber out of the bag.

Kamianri gasped in shock and excitement. He already had a feeling what was in the bag you had earlier, but he was so tired he didnt even think twice to prod you anymore about it He bite his lower lip, his heart swelling with love. He didn’t know why you went through all that trouble for him. His smile widen, his body giddy with excitement.

If he could, he would go and propose to you right then and there.

————-

Should I write more Disneyland stories for the boys? Cause this was fun!

(RULES | MASTERLIST| REQUESTS OPEN!!! :))

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mxliv-oftheendless · 4 years ago

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Trick or Treat!

SURPRISE BITCH, I BET YOU THOUGHT YOU’D SEEN THE LAST OF THE BLACK DAHLIA SERIES!! Well SIKE because you haven’t! I typed this out in the span of Halloween night, but it took a while because *jazz hands* that ADHD life amirite? Lol but I got it done, and still on Halloween!

So since our last Halloween special featured the event that would change the course of Heather’s life forever, this year’s Halloween special features a much nicer event in Heather’s life. Mainly because I haven’t written any Heather-Fred bonding yet. Also the beginning scene is indeed the dialogue I wrote in my “Eight” story for Writer’s Month, just because it’s a good place to start. Hope you guys like it! Read on and enjoy!

Today on the Black Dahlia series, it’s Halloween, and while Heather hasn’t set foot outside on Halloween in years, that tradition may be broken tonight.

“I need to ask you something,”

Wariness traveled through Heather at Judy’s statement. “What?”

“Well, you know today’s Halloween,”

“Yeah…” How could Heather not know today was Halloween? She could never forget.

“Both Brad and I can’t take Fred trick or treating this year… Do you think you could take him?”

Heather paused, and her hand tightened slightly around the phone. On the one hand, she knew how much Fred loved Halloween. On the other hand… she never went out of her house on Halloween night if she could help it. She just couldn’t face the night unless she was in her home, surrounded by her flowers and assured by her wind chimes and the cross made of rowan she kept on her door. She couldn’t risk it.

Judy seemed to sense her reluctance, because she quickly said, “I know you don’t like going out on Halloween night, so if you don’t want to do it I can call Uncle Bobby—”

“Your Uncle Bobby?” Heather’s nose wrinkled. Judy’s Uncle Bobby taking Fred? The one who called her a Satan worshipper and went into passionate rants about how the Democratic Party would ruin this nation and would definitely make sure Fred didn’t get the chance to enjoy his trick or treating experience? Absolutely not. “No, I’ll do it.”

“You will? But I thought—”

“I know. But your Uncle Bobby taking Fred instead of me is the worse alternative. I’ll do it.”

Judy laughed. “Okay. Thanks, Heather.”

Heather smiled a bit. “Sure, Judy.” She hung up the phone and sighed. “Well… I guess I’m leaving my house on Halloween.”

-BLACKDAHLIA-

“Auntie Heather!”

Heather smiled as she closed the door and turned to watch her ten-year-old nephew run up to her excitedly, clad head to toe in a Darth Vader costume. “Excuse me, Lord Vader, I’m looking for my nephew. Have you seen him?”

Fred giggled, then stood to his full height and pretended to breathe like Darth Vader. “No, Miss Heather,” he said in a deeper voice. “I have not.”

“Are you sure?”

“I find your lack of faith disturbing!”

Heather grinned and pretended to choke. “Ah—Ugh—Help! I’m being choked to death!”

“Hey now,” Judy said with a laugh as she came into the foyer. Heather had to grin at her witch costume, pointy hat and all. “Don’t choke your auntie to death, Freddy. Not when she’s taking you out trick or treating.”

“Oh yeah!” Fred exclaimed, lifting his mask. “Sorry, Aunt Heather.”

“It’s okay, Freddy,” Heather chuckled. “It’ll take a lot more than that to hurt me.”

“Fred, why don’t you go get your pillowcase?” Judy said to her son.

Fred perked up. “We’re going now?”

“Of course we are,” Heather smiled at him. “We gotta hit all the houses before it gets too late. Just think of all the candy you’ll get.”

“Alright!” Fred ran off, presumably to his bedroom to get his pillowcase.

Judy watched him go with a smile, then turned back to Heather. “Thank you for doing this,” she said sincerely. “He’s been talking about Halloween ever since the beginning of the month.”

“It’s okay, Judy,” Heather replied. “Really.”

“Are you sure? I know you hate going outside your house on Halloween…” Judy glanced up at her witch hat. “Oh jeez, this isn’t helping, is it?”

“No, you’re fine,” Heather assured, placing her hands on her arms to stop her from reaching up to take it off. “Really, Judy. You’re fine. It’s only going to be three hours at most.”

“Are you really sure? I can always call someone else…”

“It’s a little too late for that, Judy. Plus, do you really want your Uncle Bobby taking Fred?”

Judy thought for a moment, then shook her head. “You’re right, I don’t,”

“Remind me how you two are related again?” Heather chuckled.

“There’s always a bad one in every family,” Judy laughed.

The sound of footsteps made them look up to see Fred running back down the hallway. Clutched in his hand was a large black pillowcase with orange pumpkins embroidered on it. “I’m all set!” Fred exclaimed. “C’mon, Aunt Heather! Let’s go!”

He grabbed her hand and started dragging her to the door. Heather laughed at him. “Say goodbye to your mother first, Freddy,”

“Fiiiine,” Fred sighed. “Bye, Mom!”

“Bye, Fred. You two be careful, okay? Don’t want to run into a ghoul or a goblin.”

Fred scoffed at her. “Those aren’t real, Mom! But I’ll be careful. Come on, Aunt Heather, come on! We’ll miss out on all the candy!”

Heather laughed and followed him out the door. But she couldn’t help wondering if she had made the right choice as the front door of the Jones residence shut behind them.

-BLACKDAHLIA-

They had been out for about an hour, and as was common for a night in late October, night had fallen quickly. A chilly breeze blew through the neighborhood. Luckily, Heather was kept warm by her leather jacket, and Fred was protected from the wind with his mask and cape.

As for being protected from anything else…

The wind blew a little harder as Heather waited on the sidewalk while Fred ran up to the next house. She gave an involuntary shiver, then froze.

Did she just hear something? No, she couldn’t have. But did she? It sounded like… a laugh. A faint, evil laugh. She knew that laugh.

Her hand reached up and closed around, not the black dahlia pendant around her neck, but the pentacle pendant necklace, that was a brown cord with a silver pentacle pendant. She blew out a breath. “It’s not real,” she mumbled. “It’s not real. She’s gone. She’s not here.”

… Then why were those shadows moving?

Heather’s eyes fixed on shadows on the side of the house. Maybe it was the light from the Halloween lights, but the shadows on the side of the house seemed darker. Were they moving? No. They weren’t moving. And yet…

A pair of glowing eyes appeared before her vision. Heather’s eyes widened.

“Aunt Heather!”

Heather gasped and snapped her head away. When she looked down, she saw Fred standing there. His mask was pushed to the top of his head and in the streetlights she could see a devastated look on his face. “F-Fred,” she managed. “What’s wrong?”

“I didn’t get my candy,” Fred said mournfully.

Heather squatted down. “Why not? I thought you got to the front porch.”

“I did. But then a kid in a skeleton costume snatched my candy!”

Heather frowned. “Why don’t you go back and get more candy?”

“But he’s right over there!” Fred pointed over to where a boy in a skeleton costume stood. He had no mask, so Heather saw the mess of red hair atop his head. He was with a group of boys and laughing.

“That’s Red Herring,” Fred said to Heather. “He’s a bully. I can’t go back up; he’ll see me and take my candy again!”

Heather looked over at Red and his friends, slowly frowning. Then she stood up. “Come on, Freddy.”

She strode across the sidewalk towards the group of boys, her boots thumping on the concrete, with Fred in tow. “Hey!” she snapped. Fred quickly pulled his mask down over his face.

The group of boys looked up at her. “Which one of you is Red Herring?” she demanded, crossing her arms.

“Who wants to know?” Red Herring scoffed defiantly.

“I do. Give my nephew back his candy.”

Red snorted. “Listen, lady, I dunno what you’re talkin’ about. I didn’t steal this weenie’s candy.”

“Oh, I think you did. Now give him back his candy.” Heather glared down at him. “I suggest you do it fast, because I’m not in a bargaining mood tonight.”

“What if I don’t wanna?” Red challenged. “What’re you gonna do about it?”

Heather’s frown deepened. “I’ll tell you what I’m gonna do.” She grabbed Red by his costume and pulled him closer, then took out her pentacle pendant. “You see this? You know what this is?”

Satisfyingly, fear flashed across Red’s face. Heather smirked and went on. “It’s a pentagram. You know what this symbol is for, right?”

“Th-Th-The…”

“I do,” one of the boys said fearfully. “My mom said it’s the sign of the Devil…”

Heather’s smirk widened. “That’s right. And if you don’t give my nephew back his candy… and more… I’m going to make terrible, terrible things happen to you and your friends. And believe me,” she leaned closer to Red’s face, “I know all the worst curses.”

From an outsider’s perspective, Heather, with her black leather jacket, Motley Crue t-shirt, jeans, Doc Marten boots, and dark smirk, looked incredibly intimidating. Red had gone pale, shaking in fear. “O-Okay, okay! I’ll give him his candy back!”

Heather let him go. “Good. Now do it.”

Red went up to Fred and reached into his pillowcase. He took out a handful of candy and dumped it into Fred’s open pillowcase. Heather looked at the other boys. “The rest of you give him some candy too.” She waited until the other boys had given Fred more handfuls before nodding. “Good. Now scram.”

“C’mon, Red, let’s get outta here,” one of the boys pulled on his arm.

As soon as the boys were running off down the sidewalk, Fred turned to Heather. “Wow, Aunt Heather! That was amazing! You’re not… really gonna curse them, are you?”

Heather chuckled. “No. This isn’t even a symbol of the Devil. It’s called a pentacle; it’s a symbol of protection.”

“Then why’d he say it was a symbol of the Devil?” Fred asked as they set back off down the sidewalk.

“Because Catholics think it’s a symbol of the Devil, since it’s a pagan symbol and not a Catholic one. Anything that isn’t Catholic, people automatically assume is the work of the Devil.”

“Oh… People like Uncle Bobby?”

Heather chuckled. “Yeah, Freddy, like Uncle Bobby.”

Fred thought for a moment. “That’s kinda stupid,” he stated.

Heather threw back her head and laughed at that. “Yeah,” she chuckled, smiling. “It is pretty stupid. Do you want to keep trick or treating?”

“Yeah!”

Heather grinned. “Okay, let’s go,”

-BLACKDAHLIA-

When Judy opened the door, Fred sang out, “Trick or treat!”

Judy laughed. “Hey there, you two! Did you have fun?”

“Yeah! I got a whole ton of candy!” Fred held open his pillowcase for his mother to see. “See?”

“Wow! You guys must’ve hit every house!”

“Yeah, we did!”

“Well, why don’t you say goodbye to Auntie Heather and you can go sort through your stash?”

Fred put down his pillowcase and took off his mask, then hugged Heather tightly. “Bye, Aunt Heather!”

Heather chuckled and ruffled his hair. “Bye, Freddy. Have fun eating all your candy.”

When Fred had run off to his room, Judy turned to Heather with a smile. “So it all went okay?”

Heather thought back to the moment she almost had a flashback. She blew out a breath, then smiled. “Yeah. It went okay. By the way, if Fred tells your Uncle Bobby the difference between pentagrams and pentacles at Thanksgiving this year, you can blame me for it.”

Judy frowned. “Why? Did you explain it to him?”

“Yeah… In a way your Uncle Bobby will find offensive.” Though then again, Judy’s Uncle Bobby found everything offensive.

Judy sighed. “You’re a bad influence on him sometimes, Heather,”

Heather chuckled. “Hey, I’m just helping him think for himself,”

“Whatever lets you sleep at night,” Judy laughed. “Do you need any help getting home?”

“Nah, I drove. Say hi to Brad for me, would you?”

“Of course.” Judy hugged her. “It was great of you to do this. I owe you one.”

“No, you don’t,” Heather replied, hugging her back. “Just don’t let Fred eat too much candy tonight.”

Judy laughed. “I plan to do that already. I’ll see you soon, Heather.”

“Bye, Judy,”

When Judy had closed the door behind her, Heather stood on the porch for a moment and let the chilly breeze of late October hit her face. She breathed in slowly, then breathed out. A smile formed across her face. Tonight hadn’t been as bad as she thought.

#black dahlia series #yep heather's taking fred trick or treating!#also if you guys will recall from a year ago: fred mentioned this event in chapter one of Black Dahlia #also i looked it up and yes a pentacle is a celtic symbol of protection #christianity is just full of a bunch of narrow-minded assholes #also spontaneous conclusion of a character from an adaption of scooby doo!#this was fun to write heather needs more lighthearted stories #scooby doo #kiss au writing #my writing #hope you enjoyed!

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redspiderling · 5 years ago

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MCU Breakdown: That b-roll called Endgame, part 2

This mess has been swirling around my mind all day and I can safely say that once I managed to block individual offences and look at the greater picture, I was able to reach a conclusion that might bring some peace to my mind and, hopefully, yours too.

We’re not here to once again simply exhibit how this movie failed to express itself in a visual way, we’ll go a step further because I’m an asshole like that.

We’re here to explain why the failure of visual expression cheapens the story-telling process and leads to an unfulfilling cinematic experience.

I’m adding a “read more” this time because I actually remembered to do it.

Let’s ease ourselves into this.

Exhibit 1: Not using any visual storytelling elements.

This is the moment Pepper realises Tony has figured out time travel. That they can -potentially- travel back in time and save trillions of lives. And it’s shot, like this

Like a picture from a furniture catalogue. I’m saying furniture catalogue not only because the shot is 80% furniture and 20% character. Not just because it is quite dark, and the pieces that are drawing the attention of our eyes are the various lamps and candles, bright and shiny in an otherwise brownish, muddy frame.

This moment hasn’t earned its existence in our minds as an emotionally charged one.

It’s not just that Tony was never the character who envisioned himself as someone capable of “settling down”. It’s that our brains have been trained for centuries to look for visual clues. The wringing of hands, the beads of sweat on a forehead, nervous gestures, restlessness. The symbolism of a storm in the horizon that trouble is coming. They’re all simple things but they’re layers upon layers of meaning.

The trouble isn’t just that the Tony we know is not the Tony we’re looking at. It’s that the way the story unfolds, visually, doesn’t fill us with dread. Instead we are left looking at an image of a somewhat peaceful existence void of any emotional charge.

How this scene represents the “enormous scientific revelation will restore balance to the universe but will potentially ruin our family” sentiment, is an enquiry for me to make and for the Endgame show runners to never explain.

Exhibit 2: Using visual storytelling elements wrongly

To move forward from that significant for all its insignificance moment, it’s old news in the fandom that Endgame took the concept of found family and kicked it to an alternate dimension.

What we are looking at here, is the New “But Actually Really Damn Old” Dream of the MCU: Typical affluent white heteronormative Heaven.

And yet that’s not the problem. It is a problem, in the general “this is the 21st century and it takes a bit more to impress us” sense, but it’s not a problem from the perspective of a story. You can tell good stories for us all to enjoy that begin and end with this narrative, as long as you do it well.

It is quite obvious that the basic concepts of visual storytelling are known to these people. And they do attempt to use them on occasion. We’re talking about visual clues that will help nudge the viewer in the right direction, so that when the moment comes, the viewer will have seen it coming and won’t get annoyed.

Thus one could easily assume any form of foreshadowing is better than no foreshadowing, right?

Perhaps. But from my experience, certainly not in this instance. This is one of the big problems with this film, it is not certain where to draw the line on just how much does the viewer know? Is this their first MCU film? Second? Did they see Cap 1 and skip the rest?

Our story tellers don’t use all the information they have provided us with, and that creates traps for them. Even when they do attempt to warn us for what is coming they create more trouble for themselves. Because foreshadowing needs to be consistent. And dead ex girlfriends who got married more than 50 years ago, are not a likely candidate for a love story in the mind of the viewers.

Visual story telling is crucial and it needs to be consistent. You can show me hints that I will pick up on.

Here's Steve in the Avengers. He's certainly a man out of time, with his old man clothes.

Thankfully, by the time the Winter Soldier appeared, he was fitting in quite well in the world. A modern man now, with a modern attire.

So I'm left to watch in bewilderment and wonder, why is Steve back in his old man clothes in Endgame?

When did this regression occur? Viewers are not idiots. Like I said, we are trained to pick up on visual clues, it's crucial to our survival in the world. If I see a monkey eat seeds from a tree and then die, I'll remember not to eat from that tree.

I see the attempt here. The lack of colour and hope in the frame where Steve gazes longingly at the old compass, the soft, dream-like orange of his perfect life with his little wife. I can take a hint. Do I want it though? Have you prepared me for it? Does it make sense in terms of the other visual clues you've provided me with over the years?

Exhibit 3: Shifting the responsibility

Did I mention how much Marvel lucked out with the casting?

There’s 0 visual language employed. There’s no symbolism, no light, colour or perspective of happiness, or hope, or hopelessness. The only thing between those two pictures that says Tony and Natasha are not having some really strange conversation with each other right now, is the expression on their faces.

The fulfilment Tony found in parenthood and Natasha’s heartbreak over Clint’s crimes is visible only through the talent of the performers, not through any visual clues the show runners left behind for us.

Natasha stressing

Professor Hulk and Dr Strange paying their respects

Clint’s guilt

Wanda remembering her dead loved ones

Complex emotional moments laid entirely on the shoulders of the actors. Which isn’t entirely a condemnable thing, talented actors can pull strong emotions from their audiences, but they can only do so much.

Lets reference a pop culture legend most of you will understand

We don’t remember Luke finding out the truth about his father just because Mark Hamill is a really good actor. We remember it because in that moment, Luke had been brought to his lowest point. He was worn from battle, his life was hanging from a thread. Darth Vader was looming over him, the personification of everything he hated and in that moment he found out that a part of him came from that evil.

That build up was the result of a well written script, of a masterful piece of music, a visual tone that brought us to the brink of a revelation. The performance was part of the tale that will be retold for generations.

In conclusion

While there have been literally dozens upon dozens of articles about fans and viewers and critics having “issues” with this or that in Endgame, the truth is that our real problem, is this mixed bag of hardly ever used, or wrongly used storytelling elements. One that has been building up to a disastrous result for years.

And while all that is the least of Endgame’s crimes in the eyes of a Natasha fan (I have a personal vendetta against the film at this point) I still can’t help but bemoan the loss of a singular opportunity for creating a milestone in cinematic history.

Because if we can’t revisit Endgame for its story due to a complete lack in originality, and we can’t revisit it for its visuals, we won’t revisit it at all. And with it most of the MCU will go down as a piece of popular media that took the world by storm, but won’t have much to recommend it 10, 20 years from now. And isn’t that a shame. Edit: If you’re wondering why they messed up this badly, there’s a long list of reasons:

This wasn’t actually planned ahead. They didn’t write all the films from the beginning, they were making things up as they went along, so they created pitfalls for themselves.

They ignored the visual language.

They went along with weak scripts.

For Endgame specifically, they did ridiculously extensive re-shoots, which resulted in messy set ups (misplaced items on set, badly lit scenes, bad special effects) and bad editing.

They bit off more than they could chew with the amount of characters presented on screen, and never managed to create complete and fulfilling storylines for them.

Finally, they allowed bigotry and sexism to affect their judgement, thus placing the viewer against their narrative.

#I think this is the kindest post I've made for this tag #endless endgame bashing #MCU Breakdown #I did not spend money on Disney products i.e. paying to watch this film when writing this post #the theatre ticket is shameful enough

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ivy-miranda-2390 · 4 years ago

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In Defense of Anakin Skywalker (and Hayden Christensen)

I grew up with Star Wars, my whole family loves Star Wars. I was 8 when I saw Episode I and afterwards, I was completely immersed in the Star Wars universe. Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan Kenobi was probably my first fictional boyfriend and I'm unashamedly still in love with him too.

Episode II: The Attack of the Clones came out when I was 11 and so naturally I was excited to see the continuation of the Star Wars prequel universe. However, nothing could have prepared me for the absolute utter gorgeousness of Canadian actor, Hayden Christensen who was cast to play the adolescent Anakin Skywalker.

My memories of first seeing Episode II are fond because I got to see the movies with my older siblings while on vacation in Myrtle Beach. It was probably my first experience of being accepted among my older adult brothers and sisters or the feeling of 'grownupness' as I like to call it.

So Attack of the Clones has always been an special film to me because I saw it at a time when I was no longer being viewed as a child, but as a growing teenager.

It's also why I've always been rather defensive of the film too. While the film was titled Attack of the Clones, it may as well have been re-titled, "Attack of Anakin Skywalker (and subsequently, Hayden Christensen)". For over 20 years, there has been an absolute and indescribable hatred of Anakin Skywalker and many people blamed both Jake Lloyd and Hayden Christensen's supposed poor acting as the result of a badly done Anakin.

And to be honest even though I had a massive crush on Hayden Christensen and was hardly a movie critic at the time, I felt that at times that Anakin could have been better acted. However, I was young and didn't care about the script or the acting. Yet, for years I constantly defended, Attack of the Clones, Anakin Skywalker and Hayden Christensen. Partly due to nostalgia, partly to being a teenage girl and most of all partly to do with understanding the character of Anakin as being misunderstood, misinterpreted and not being treated as an adult by the elders in his life.

Did Anakin have problems? Yes.

Were most of these problems his fault? No.

Did Anakin ever try to fix these problems and better himself? Everyday of his life.

He had nothing, but he gave everything

The prequels were written as a timeline of a boy's journey from goodness into darkness. Anakin's life is a story arch of sacrifice and redemption. Life has not always been good to Anakin. He was born a slave with no father. He was raised in the strong love of wonderful mother Shmi Skywalker. While Shmi may have been scared and confused as to how she conceived a child without a man, she raised her son in love and simple contentment.

Chances are Anakin and his mother probably faced terrible abuse in their time as slaves and more than once, Anakin may have been separated from Shmi as leverage for greedy slave owners. Although a slave, Anakin was never a victim. He may have been physically owned, but his heart and mind were free. He was his own person, always thinking outside of the box, building, creating, questioning everything and everyone. Not to mention a little wild and rather reckless.

Even as a child Anakin was a little strange to people. For a slave to have such a hopeful and positive attitude may have seemed bizarre to outsiders, but that was just the norm for him. Shmi once remarked that her son knew nothing of greed. For a boy raised with nothing, all he had were his talents as an inventor and growing pilot. And he used his talents for other people. He built C-3PO to help his mom, he entered the podrace to help Qui-Gon Jinn, he always gave without any expectation of being thanked.

A spirit that refused to surrender

After Anakin is freed and sent to train as a Jedi, that wild spirit was still intact. Much to his by-the-book master's dismay. Anakin didn't have the opportunity to grow up in the strict Jedi Temple that was built on order, rules and tradition. As a child, Anakin was use to being himself and not fitting into anyone's mold. His original dream was to be a pilot, not a Jedi. No one asked him if he wanted to be a Jedi, no one asked him if he wanted to be trained by Obi-Wan Kenobi.

While Anakin may have been grateful for both opportunities presented to him, overtime he may have seen this new life as not to different from the one he left. A life run by others. Telling him what to do, where to go, how to dress, how to behave. He survived as a slave because he dared to dream and imagine and refused to be defined by others.

Now he's thrown into a culture where individuality is looked down upon. He lived through the stifling Jedi order because he still held onto those qualities. He was going to be himself on his terms. He would nod his head and say yes when he needed to, but off the clock he would live by his own rules. Something that Obi-Wan and the Jedi order could not understand. And Anakin is getting frustrated by this.

So now we get to Attack of the Clones (and the Attack of Hayden Christensen). Critics came down hard on both Anakin and Hayden. Constantly complaining about Anakin's constant complaining, his tantrums, broodiness and being a crybaby about everything. Critics blamed the disaster of Anakin Skywalker on the terrible miscasting of Hayden Christensen. The only redeeming quality Hayden Christensen had that saved him was the fact he was so easy to look at.

For years, fans were desperate to know who Anakin Skywalker was. And so the pressure to deliver a good character that could measure up to the icon of Darth Vader may have seemed insurmountable. And so when people got this confused, overemotional 19 year old, who has no experience in love or sex, but is madly in love with a beautiful young women; and who wants to be respected in a highly established culture, without losing himself or conforming, well people were just disappointed. The disappointment can be explained in one of Anakin's most famous lines.

"HE'S HOLDING ME BACK!"

He, being George Lucas who was holding back Hayden's actual talent to create a good three dimensional character. Plus his bad script writing. Poor Hayden was just made to read lines on a page and somehow make this sad character somebody that people can root for. Unfortunately fans and critics ate him alive. It's only in recent years that people have begun to realize that they were blaming the wrong person. And by blaming Hayden, they were completely misunderstanding Anakin as a character.

His most beautiful gift, his most fatal flaw

Of all of Anakin's gifts, his ability to love deeply was probably his most profound and his most dangerous. The Jedi Temple forbade romantic attachments to others and for good reason. When you become attached to or love someone beyond the boundaries of platonic friendship you become afraid of losing them. The end of my review for the Star Wars prequels sums it up the best:

In The Phantom Menace, Yoda warns Anakin about the dangers of being afraid. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering. Anakin's most beautiful attribute is also his most fatal flaw. His ability to love deeply. Yet, if you love someone you will always live in fear of losing them. Anakin was created by darkness, but raised in the light of his mother's love. His own love was made manifest by Padme and then by their unborn child/children. However, Love no matter how strong can be weakened and even be destroyed by the evil of fear. If the prequels taught anything about life, it taught how fear (even in its smallest form) can be be our most detrimental enemy. Living alone in fear and not seeking help is a signing of our own death warrants. What might have happened if Anakin had gone to Obi-Wan and seek his help? Would things have been different? The prequels were not meant to tell a happy story. They were written as a timeline of a boy's journey from goodness into darkness. No, they don't have the silliness or humor of the Originals, because there is nothing humorous about someone's self-destruction. Yet, the story of Anakin Skywalker's transformation had to be told in a way that was real and heartbreaking. To take Darth Vader and make him a human who could feel and understand and love could be an insurmountable task. Yet, you only need to watch his death scene at the end of Return of The Jedi to see that the humane part of Anakin Skywalker had always been there. The prequels were made to be built on that final scene of redemption and human love. A husband's love to save his wife became a father's love that could overcome darkness and hate. An extreme love that defied fear and held on to hope. That was the love of Anakin Skywalker.

Anakin could be a bratty and immature young adult. However, to only base a character by his few annoying flaws is overlooking the bigger and better picture. Anakin was an outsider his whole life and yet that never seemed to bother him. He never cared about fitting in. He was content being himself and he refused to let Obi-Wan or the Jedi Order or even Padme change him. He held onto who he was for as long as he was able to. Then the tragedy of losing his wife changed that. The indomitable spirit wasn't broken, it was destroyed. Anakin re-entered a life of slavery for over 20 years.

And he was ultimately freed by one person. An orphan who once had nothing but a talent as an inventor and dreams of being a pilot. A young Jedi with an unbreakable spirit that refused to surrender to evil or fear or pain or loss. A son who loved his father so deeply that he would fight to the death to free Anakin Skywalker forever.

#star wars #anakin skywalker #hayden christensen

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silver-and-stars · 5 years ago

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Ben's fate and how it matters in the saga.

Story wise, behind all those breathtaking effects, the awesome music and the fast pace, this movie has many flaws. Like the out of nowhere Palpatine thing or screen time given to new and quite unimportant characters (not matter how cool or nice they are), instead of developing the ending/epilogue of characters we know and care about (what become of Chewie, R2, Finn, Poe once the war has ended ? As the war ended ? Have all the worlds freed themselves so easily ? Why did Rey decided to go on Tatooine, what is she doing now ?).

But I'm really surprised by how badly I take Ben's death. Not Kylo's, Ben's. I didn't cared much about Kylo but he was never just Kylo, he was Ben underneath, the child of Leia and Han, the last Skywalker, the last chance for this family to change their fate. And I grew to care about Ben Solo.

I'm also surprised by how much I dislike the whole Rey Palpatine thing. I'd rather she had stay a nobody or was a Kenobi somehow (like maybe Obi-Wan had siblings and nieces and nephew) rather than a Palpatine. It gives a foul taste to everything.

I'm not not-okay with Palpatine still being alive, I knew for a long time he could to that in the novels. But this what not this story. It wasn't about the return of Palpatine and the fight of his granddaughter against him. If it has been they should have shown it sooner.

This was about the final fate of the Skywalker. And what we get is that they all died. They failed their child or nephew and they died. And he died too.

This movie has shown me see more of the man in a fighter who couldn't shot at his mother's spaceship. A mother he never got to see again btw. Not even as a force ghost for what we know.

It made me care more about Ben, made me see who he was behind years of manipulation, misguiding and emotional and even physical abuse. I came to pity him and to like him.

And they kill him off, snatched him away from us and from life (and tbh from us).

I didn't think I'd say or even think this but yeah, I'd rather Rey had died. I'd rather Rey have waking up and giving him back his energy as a second chance to life, a final act of trust and hope in him, in his good side, an act that would steady him on the path of the light, pushing him to right his wrongs for the rest of his life in honor of her and his mother's memory and to redeem himself. She'd have died in an act final selfless act of optimism.

All his life Ben's family feared and distrusted him, not knowing he was influenced by Snoke/Emperor Palpatine.

I'm not for women dying just to give men angst but it's not that. Like I didn't felt like Leia died to give Ben angst. She died in a final act of hope there was still good in her son. She died to save him.

I'd rather have the hopeful jedi giving up her life to save someone who is breaking out of the dark side and trying to walk in the path of the Light Side. An act of trust in his capacity to be and to do good.

And, since we end up with a Palpatine/Skywalker dynamic, I'd rather have a Palpatine die for/because of a Skywalker than the reverse.

But now, knowing this is the final fate of Anakin and Padme's descendants, the fate of the disciple of Luke and of Leia and Han's child… it makes the whole saga taste bitter and feel sad, borderline depressing.

It makes me feel like Palpatine won and in a sense that Obi-Wan failed, since the Skywalkers never got to restore balance and they all die.

Hey I've just noticed we've lost two Ben is this saga : "Ben" Kenobi and the child named after him ! How merry.

It makes this new trilogy pointless because what was shown was that Ben wasn't a bad man and when he finally managed to escape the dark side he died for it, way too young.

Is this actually the story of Anakin's descendants being punished through loneliness, pain and misery for his crime of betraying the Jedi Order and murdering the children ? Cause it feels like it.

Where is the hope in that ?

Also you're telling me now that Rey who was and still is force-bounded to now-dead Ben, who was in love with him and saw his true self, the Ben underneath the Kylo, and wanted to save him, you tell me she has to go to sleep every night and wake up every morning knowing Ben died to save her life ?

You're saying there was nothing Ben could do after turning back to the light side and doing the right thing but die ?!

And don't give me the whole "it's more realistic this way" speech ! This is not a random sci-fi, this is Star Wars. The story of the Skywalker have been there for 40 years ! It has theme parks, novels, series, kid shows, games ! It is a cultural thing, it has an impact on people's life ! There are many many fans who care about it. And at the core and source of it, is the story of the Skywalkers. After all that talking about hope in the movies, you could have made its end hopeful !

Also, regardless of the fact she is good, you're telling me the person who now inhabits the house where Shmi Skywalker is buried and where Luke Skywalker grew up is a Palpatine. And not because the Palpatine and Skywalker bloodline united or not because she was adopted into the family but because the last Skywalker died, seconds after experimenting the first moments of true happiness and peace in his life, because of Emperor Palpatine. Or if we look at the facts because of two Palpatine since he died giving Rey his life.

Also I know he saved Rey, a good person, out of love but in a way, on principles, it feels wrong that this man who was manipulated since the cradle by Palpatine, and whose grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, uncle suffered because of Palpatine, dies because of Emperor Palpatine and to save Palpatine's heir.

I never liked Kylo much but neither did I hated him or Ben and I quickly saw he wasn't the villain of the story so I didn't disliked him for being a "bad" new villain. Cause he wasn't.

And I did thought it would be okay if Kylo redeemed himself by dying. Like in a impulsive, moment like Vader. At the last minute he betrays the dark side and dies saving Rey or the Resistance.

But that's not what we got.

What we got was Ben who finally broke free of the dark side's grasp, after he FELT HIS MOM, our Princess Leia, DIE. This Ben who comes to help Rey. A Ben those outfit and gestures reminded me of Han Solo, a Ben free at last (look how he moves, how he fights), a Ben looking as if he was meant to hold a blue lightsaber like his uncle Luke. This Ben breaking down before the dead body of the last person he cared about and sacrificing his life to save her.

You should have let him live, let him meet good people, makes healthy connexion, work to earn their forgiveness, let him heal. Don't just get rid of him !

… Damn, they've killed both mother and son in this movie !

This is not hopeful. Hopeful is him and Rey living and happy, or at least happier, together or not. I'm a reylo shipper but damn I'd rather it never happened that having Ben Solo, the last Skywalker, son to the deceased Princess Leia and deceased Han Solo, last descendant of Anakin and Padme Skywalker (and i do mean Anakin, not Vader), dies at a young age after years of grooming and abuse.

I cared about Anakin, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan who had believed in him, I cared about Padme, Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie. So I care about Ben when we finally got to see more of him.

With his history and the history of his family, it's not enough that he manages to turn back to the light side, an act that isn't just like turning off and on a switch when you've been groomed since childhood by an evil man (Snoke/Palpatine).

It's not a good and hopeful enough ending for this family. He should be good yes but living and happy too. In my heart I can't believe Han or Leia ever thought it would be okay if he died, as long as he went back to the light side.

I've talked about the novel before. In it Han and Leia do have a son who turns to the dark side and dies, turning good again in the last moment to protect the woman he loves. But they also had a daughter. Luke had a son. I think their son even had a kid.

The Skywalker bloodline and family didn't end with their son's death.

In this movie this is the final fate of the Skywalkers. This is how their story ends. With sacrifice, loneliness and death.

Ben character was more important than I first thought. But now I see what his death as Ben -not his life as Kylo- ruins.

Now I think I understand why it affects me like it does.

The more I think about it, the more the truth and reality of Ben being dead sinks in, the sicker I feel.

This is a downer ending for the Skywalker family.

#ben solo #sw9 #sw9 spoilers #tros spoilers #the rise of skywalker #the rise of skywalker spoilers #star wars #sw #my posts #the skywalkers #skywalker family #long posts

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steve-needs-a-hug · 5 years ago

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“Home is where you really belong.”

Hey guys. So I’m seeing TRoS this Friday night, and I figured it’d be a good idea to share a little piece I wrote a couple months ago which is basically a possible TRoS ending.

Brief summary: It starts off at the climax, with Rey having just defeated Kylo Ren in an epic battle. Things are about to take a dark turn but Rey has a change of heart. Poe lets off some steam he’d been keeping bottled up for a long time, and it ends happily with the trio and Chewie flying off safely in the Falcon.

(It sounds benign, but I cried a lot after writing it because it got SO intense and emphasized a lot of the major themes that a lot of people seem to gloss over. It was a meaningful experience writing it, and I hope it’ll be a meaningful experience for you reading it.) *there is NO ship content except the Millennium Falcon lol*

“Can you see them?” Poe called to Finn.

“Not yet!” Finn shouted. He squinted through the window of the ship, searching through the thick cloud cover and heavy rain. Suddenly he saw flashes of blue light, followed by a flash of fiery red.

“Uh, I think I found them,” Finn called back to Poe. Poe and Chewie quickly descended the Falcon, now looking for a safe place to land on the wet, stormy planet. Finn was on edge, anxious about Rey’s safety; he wished he’d never let her go alone. As soon as the Falcon was on solid ground, he opened the door and rushed out, but what he saw stopped him short.

Kylo Ren was on his knees, slashes and burns on his face and all over his body. Rey fought him relentlessly with all the anger and rage in her heart, and now she stood tall over him, her lightsaber drawn to his throat. There was something different about her. Her eyes seemed to glow with an unnatural light, and Finn could have sworn he heard a sinister whisper in the air.

Rey glowered down at her defeated enemy. He’d hurt so many people. She could avenge them, right then and there. Rey started to become aware of a blackness creeping over her heart…it felt like she was being swallowed up with wrath. She closed her eyes, and suddenly there was only one thought in her mind – “Do it.”

She opened her eyes again, but they were clouded by a red haze. “Do it. Do it. Do it.” She heard a voice in the distance calling her name, but it sounded so muffled and far away. She looked down at Kylo Ren and all she could see were painful, bitter memories of torture, violence, destruction, and lies. She could end it now and deliver Kylo Ren the justice he deserved. She was the punisher. She was the avenger. He thought he could teach her, turn her, but now he was completely at her mercy. She felt as if raw power was coursing through her veins. Rey now distinctly heard an old, gnarled voice. “Do what must be done, Rey. Do not hesitate, show no mercy.” Her grip on the lightsaber tightened. She began to lift up her arm to strike, to land the finishing blow and end the evil deeds of Kylo Ren once and for all. Suddenly a face began to take shape in her mind…an old face…careworn, but kind…a familiar woman.

Rey saw Leia’s sad eyes, Leia’s warm smile. She remembered Leia’s arms around her as she cried on the Princess’s shoulder. She remembered Leia sitting alone, her mind far away, dwelling on people and places long gone. Rey glanced downward at Kylo Ren, red blood dripping down his face and matting in his thick dark hair. Her stomach lurched when she looked at his eyes, big and brown just like his mother’s. It was hard for Rey to even believe that Kylo Ren was related to the people Rey looked up to most. As soon as Rey saw the eyes, she couldn’t unsee them. She couldn’t unsee Leia Organa’s only child in this broken monster of a man. Rey’s head started swimming as it raced to a future mere minutes from coming to pass…Kylo Ren’s blood spilt all over the ground. Would she leave his body there? Would they have to take it with them and bury it somewhere? Rey saw herself facing Leia once she returned. Her son’s blood on Rey’s clothes. She knew she would never be able to look Leia in the eye again. Just one more soul-shattering trauma to add to the Princess’s already burdened heart.

Rey detracted her lightsaber, the fury and heat of moments earlier abruptly replaced with bone-chilling cold. She blinked several times as the haze dissipated and she turned around to see Finn and Poe standing a small distance away, staring at her, frozen. Rey suddenly turned around and took off running straight towards them; Finn jumped, nervous that some darkness possessed Rey and turned her against them, but as she approached he saw her eyes back to their normal hazel colour, her face full of emotion. She nearly smashed into him, her arms tightly wrapped around and hands gripping Finn’s body for dear life. Finn had no clue what just happened but he knew she needed him right now, so he held her close and didn’t move or speak until she finally pulled away with teary eyes.

Kylo Ren felt the darkness envelope Rey in that moment. It was so thick in the air that he felt as if it was choking him. He saw her eyes glow with an uncanny orange light. He felt not only her fury, but an ancient spirit of hate and revenge overtaking her. Kylo knew what was coming next and he had nothing left in him to fight. He began to long for the blade to hit. At least the pain would be over.

But then she looked at him like he was a human being, retracted her lightsaber, and…ran away. He struggled to focus on who was waiting for her in the distance…the traitor, of course. And that pilot. Rey was hugging Finn so tightly that Kylo wondered if Finn would break a rib (even on the brink of death, Kylo’s dry humour is never absent). Poe Dameron watched his friends embrace for a while, but his attention shifted to Kylo’s distant, slumped over figure. Kylo pulled in a shaky breath, knowing what was coming as Poe strode over to him. Poe stopped only a few feet away from Kylo and stared hard at him for a solid minute.

Poe badly wanted to slap Kylo Ren across the face, but as he neared him and saw Kylo’s wounds, he decided to express his feelings in a way that didn’t involve getting Kylo’s dark red blood on his hand.

“Interesting,” Poe finally said. “Last time we met, I was the one bleeding with you looming over me. You ripped my mind apart like it was a game to you, and my friend told me you did the same thing to her. You nearly killed Finn. You work for people who obliterated an entire system of populated planets. But you know what? You know what, Kylo?” Poe spat. “That’s not the worst thing you’ve done. None of it is.” Poe paused, eyes boring into Kylo, who faced the ground.

“She put up a brave face for the others, but I saw her. I saw her sitting quiet, alone, and I know she was thinking about you.”

Poe suddenly lunged forward. “Where’s her husband?! Huh?!” Poe shouted at Kylo.

“Where is he?!”

Kylo’s jaw clenched as hot tears streamed down his face, causing the wounds to sting even more. Finn, hearing Poe’s raised voice, walked over to see the scene unfold. Finn watched Kylo’s eyes, witnessing the resentment, shame, defiance, and regret he was experiencing all at once. He had never been so vulnerable.

“It’s only because of her that we didn’t kill you,” Poe bitterly whispered. Kylo finally looked up from the ground to meet Poe’s eyes through a curtain of dark messy hair over his bloodied face, opening his mouth slowly.

“I wish you had,” he croaked, pain breaking his voice. Poe didn’t flinch. Kylo Ren shut his eyes tightly, starting to wobble from the effort of keeping himself up on his knees. His head started to swim as he felt a familiar figure approaching him slowly.

Chewbacca stood over Kylo Ren and emitted a low, quiet groan. He remembered when this broken man was a happy young boy, with loving parents at his side. As Kylo slipped into unconsciousness, Chewie stooped down and picked him up with his strong, furry arms. Poe turned and headed back towards Rey and Finn as they watched Chewbacca carry Kylo into the Falcon, themselves standing outside a little longer. They remained silent for a moment. Rey noticed Poe’s reddened face and glassy eyes.

“He’ll pay for what he’s done,” Rey said quietly. “It’s over now.”

Poe turned to her, eyes now glowing fiercely. “Is it? Is it really?” Finn blinked rapidly; he’d never seen his usually easy-going friend this intense until today.

“The Galaxy was peaceful until Darth Vader and the Empire showed up,” Poe continued. “Just when we thought things were going to be okay again, then here came this guy. How do we know there’s not going to be another maniac trying to take over the Galaxy?”

Finn placed his hands on his hips confidently. “If there is, they’ll have us to deal with.”

Rey smiled, and Poe shook his head and chuckled sadly. Finn’s expression then turned more serious.

“I’m done running,” he said. “I’m ready to stand and fight, as long as I have you two by my side.”

Rey put her arm around his shoulder. “Let’s go home.”

“Where? Back to Jakku?” Finn joked, eliciting a laugh from Rey.

“Anywhere but there! No, my home…” Rey trailed off for a moment, pondering. Where’s home? Home is where you really belong. Then she finally knew the answer to the question she’d been asking all along. “Wherever you guys are, that’s where home will be.”

Finn beamed, a huge grin on his face. Poe put his worries aside for the moment and smiled with his friends. Together they turned and walked back inside the Falcon. Kylo lay crumpled on a couch in the corner, his tattered black cape draped over him like a blanket. Chewie sat in the co-pilot’s chair, the sorrowful expression in his eyes lifting when he saw the young trio’s optimistic faces. Rey took a deep breath and plunked down beside him, gave him a loving pat on the back, and started preparing for takeoff. None of the people in that ship knew where life was going to take them or what the Force had in store for their future, but Rey, Finn, Poe, and Chewbacca knew that as long as they had each other, they were going to be all right.

THE END

#star wars #the rise of skywalker #rey #kylo ren #finn #poe dameron #chewbacca #finnreypoe #leia organa #han solo #finnrey #tros #sw tros

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peterpumpkinparker · 5 years ago

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Disneyland and Lightsabers~ Peter Parker x Reader

Anonymous: Can I have 15 from the prompt list for Peter Parker? But in this one, s/o is trying to hide a surprise present from him?

Of course! I’m in a Disney mood right now so this is gonna be Disney themed-hopefully that’s fine!

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: None

AU: Disneyland

Word Count: 2000+

15) “You are a terrible liar.”

Even though Peter told you he doesn’t want you to buy him anything at a Disneyland trip, you can’t help get him something he really wants

————————————————————

Everyone had been so excited for the Senior trip to Disneyland-especially you and Peter. You being the mildly obsessed Disney freak that could sing every song without fail and Peter never have gone, you both were psyched to experience the magic of Disney. You spent weeks planning, researching, and discussing what rides to ride on, what group pics to take, and what yummy foods to gorge yourself with. Now you were here, and you couldn’t be more ecstatic.

All morning you were having the best time of your life. Your group, which consisted of Ned, MJ, Peter, and yourself, were having the best time running into rides and taking dumb pictures around the park. But as the midday rush came and the sun was beating down on your group, you all felt like you were living in a sauna.

“No gonna lie,” Ned huffed out under the sheen of sweat trickling down his face, “I don’t think I can do this-how are wearing black MJ?”

MJ shrugged, not a drop of sweat evident on her face as your group walked down the packed lanes of Tomorrowland.

“I’m cold blooded.”

“Wish we were back in Space Mountain,” Peter added tiredly, his hair starting to stick to his forehead, “it was so cold.”

You looked at the tired face of your friends and sighed. You were trying so hard to be the optimistic, happy one of the group that kept everyone on their feet and moving. But you had to admit that you were extremely hot too. You looked around as you dodged strollers full of children, hoping a nice quiet spot to rest in the shade was open-to no avail. It seemed like every family had taken a spot that was out of the hot California sun.

You sighed. “Why don’t we just go into a store? There’ll be some air conditioning in there.”

“Can we please?” Ned begged frantically, his shirt beginning to turn dark around the collar from sweat.

You laughed exhaustedly from Ned’s childish desperation.

“Hey look,” Peter pointed, “that store sells lightsabers!”

Peter and Ned looked at each other, a common love arising on their faces. They both started to fast walk over to the store, leaving you and MJ to watch the two nerds run in like 5 year olds.

MJ looked at you and shook her head as she commented:

“Nerds.”

The store was a noticeable few degrees lower than outside, even with the hoard of families walking inside. You and MJ sighed in relief, allowing the rush of cold air to sweep over your bodies. After that relief, you began to look for your fanboy of a boyfriend.

You walked past bundles of children and Star Wars merchandise, puzzled on how you couldn’t find either boy.

You turned to MJ, confusion plastered on their face.

“Where do you think they-“

“OH MY GOD NED THEY HAVE COUNT DOOKU'S LIGHTSABER?!?” You heard Peter yell a few octaves too high as he pointed frantically at a wall of lightsabers.

You smirked. “Never mind.”

You snuck up on Peter, tapping your finger against his shoulder lightly.

“Having fun over here?” You asked, a smile playing on your lips.

Peter slightly jumped, surprised his Spidey senses didn’t warn him of your movement-he blamed it on the lightsabers.

“Yeah,” Peter sighed, breathless with excitement, “it’s just-these are so cool! I’ve always wanted one of these since I was a kid.”

“Really, Pete? I thought you had a bunch of those things,” you said, remembering the bucket of old toy lightsabers you found at the back of Peter’s closet.

“Yeah I know,” he agreed,” I just-always wanted a real one-one I could build myself, ya know? Be a real Jedi and do what they did.”

“Oh,” you nodded as you agreed, giggling at his adorableness.

“Should I sign you up for the Jedi Training here too?”

Peter’s face light up, grabbing both of your hands and clutching them close to his chest.

“Oh my god could you please?!”

You laughed, brushing your finger on the bridge of Peter’s nose, something you loved to do because it made Peter a blushing mess.

To no surprise, his checks turn a soft shade of red. “Believe me Parker, I could if I would.”

You both look at the lightsaber station and the group of crazy kids becoming their own Jedi as they meticulously built their weapons.

You turned back to Peter, the softness in your eyes making his heart thump. He loved when you looked at him straight on-he could look and appreciate every facial feature that made you you- the color of your eyes, the shape of your nose, the outline of your lips: everything about you he found cute, beautiful, and attractive, and he loved to absorb it all in.

“What color do you think you’ll pick?” You asked.

Peter blinked his eyes a couple time, his daze being broken. “Huh?”

You giggled, making his checks warm. He always felt sheepish when he realized he had been staring at you.

“I said, what color are going to get?” You bopped his nose again, making his checks go redder, making his few freckles stand out.

He fumbled with his hair, staring flustered, “um-uh-probably the blue one.”

“That’s so basic Parker!” You laughed.

“It’s the best color though!” He argued happily. “Obi-Wan used it-well, until Darth Vader killed him-oh and Qui Gon-until Darth Maul killed him too...Anakin- he turned into Darth Vader and got a red one-and Luke...except when Vader cut his hand off he got a green one…”

You looked at him, you eyebrows raised in concern and amusement, a comment on your lips that you were holding back to spill.

“What?” Peter asked, Noticing the look you were giving him

You smiled wide. “Nothing….”

“What?” Peter chuckled, trying to get your thoughts out of you.

He grabbed your hand as you turned away, making you look at him as a laugh escaped out of you.

“No, I’m not gonna tell you!” You shouted, closing your eyes. Peter’s face was right next to yours, your hands on his chest. Being so close to Peter was nerve racking, and the feeling made you feel like being dropped from a 4 story building.

You looked at him, eyes wide. “Peter I swear to god-“

“Hey love birds!” Ned yelled as MJ raised her chin as a greeting to you two, “come

On! Our Fastpasses to Star Tours are almost up!”

You looked at Peter, an evil grin on your face as you poked his stomach on the side. Peter grabbed his stomach instinctively, even though it didn’t hurt at all.

“You’re mean.” He said with a fake pout.

“And you’re a nerd.”

“But you already knew that about me,” he replied, making you shake your head.

“I guess,” you replied smiling, “Wait-didn’t you want to get a lightsaber?”

“Yeah... Maybe I can-“ Peter began, but the sight of Ned frantically waving him down and pointing to his watch made him think otherwise.”

He sighed. “I guess I can get it later.”

“You sure?” You asked, knowing Peter really wanted to get his toy.

“Yeah, Yeah,” He reassured you, “I can get it later. Besides- we have all day.”

You looked back at the table, trying to make a plan that would satisfy everyone.

“Well what if I stayed back and got you the lightsaber?”

“Wait no y/n I can’t let you do that!” Peter protested. “Please, I don’t need it-lets just go-I’m fine, seriously!”

The more Peter talked, the more desperation played in his voice.

You gave him an unconvinced look. “Are you sure??”

“Yeah, Yeah,” He said ina fake airy manner, “I’ll be fine-I’ll just-get it later.”

He shrugged his shoulders and grabbed your hand, leading you to Ned.

Later never really came. Ride after ride after ride came, and it seemed Peter was never going back to that shop.

Night had fallen, and you felt Peter’s hand fidget in yours.

“Do you think we’ll be able to go back?” He asked, his big puppy dog eyes boating into yours.

You wanted to go back, but your call back time for the adults to drive all the students to the hotel was in 10 minutes, and you were a whole 2 lands away from the designated meet up spot. There was no way you could convince the group to walk more, and now way to expect to buy that lightsaber in time.

“I don’t know…” you said, not wanting to bring his hopes down. You know Peter would try his best to not look disappointed, but he never was very good at covering his emotions up.

As expected, you watched his face fall a little, only to perk up as quickly.

“It’s alright!” He replies in a fake, cheerful voice. “I guess I’ll just have to do it next time…”

You grasped his hand, rubbing your finger against his skin, wondering how you could fix the situation. That’s when a light bulb went off.

You turned to Peter, false distress on your face. You let go of his hand, turning to the group as you yelled, “I gotta go to the bathroom-I’ll met with you guys later!” And instantly running off, completely startling Peter and everyone in the group. Everyone was focused on their bloated bellies, tired feet, and sleepiness, so the sound of your voice breaking their quiet self muddling completely startled them shit less. Peter shook his head as he tried to comprehend what happened in his

worn out state,watching your back as you ran off.

MJ walked up between Peter and Ned who had took your place to Peter, pointing at a crowded corner a few feet away from the trio.

MJ cocked her eyes, asking, “She knows the bathrooms there, right?”

You were nowhere to be seen, and Peter looked around confused. “Where did she go?” He asked, completely bewildered by your actions.

After Ned reassured Peter that you would come back after a few minutes of him yelling frantically for you, they rushed back to the assigned meet up spot. The night air drifted coolily through Peter’s hair and clothing, cooling his warm body. The sound of crickets chirping on the ground and the soft blinking of lights in the trees made him feel like he was in a dream like state-until he thought of you. When he finally realized you hadnt made it, his heart rate shot up, his senses going into overdrive. Instinctively, he began to think of every possible bad scenario-you somehow getting so lost you wouldn’t make it time and get in trouble, you getting hurt, someone Kidnaping you… the scenarios went on and on, becoming more ridiculous and more scary nevertheless. He stood there, deciding to call you and ask if you are okay, until he finally saw you running up, a Disneyland bag in your hand as you desperately tries to shove it in your bag with little success.

He jogged up towards you, smiling slightly as he breathed a breath of relief. His face took in a serious note as he asked, “Where did you go?”

You cocked your eyebrow mischievously, giving him a slight grin. “Nowhere-Just the bathroom.” You stated matter of factly, disguising your smile by tying up your hair.

Peter could tell you were lying just by the pitch if your voice-it always went up slightly because you were excited or nervous to tell him something.

He chuckled as he shook his head.

“You are a-terrible liar,” he laughed, emphasizing the word “terrible”.

“Oh don’t act like you're any better Parker,” you smiled as patted his cheek.

“Now come on,” you grabbed his hand tenderly, “we got a bus to catch.”

He didn’t see you the rest of the night after roll call. Peter sat next to Ned the whole ride back due to the gender-with-gender rule they have on school trips, and checked into his hotel room with him. He sat on the bed, sending you a good night text as Ned changed into pajamas and fell asleep in seconds.

Peter stayed up, waiting for your reply. He wasn’t worried that you were taking awhile because he expected you were taking a little more time going to bed. His eyes began to become more droopy, and before he knew it he was fast asleep.

The sound of soft footsteps was picked up by his Spider senses, making him shoot out of a deep sleep. He fumbled loudly in the dark, searching for the alarm clock on his bedside table. He finally turned it, seeing it was 3 o’clock in the morning. He propped his body up, listening to the footsteps. They slowly got louder, stopping at his room for a split second, then slowly going away. Peter stepped out of bed slowly, slightly scared to open the door. He debated to wake up Ned, but he didn’t want to disturb his friend until absolutely necessary. He unlatched the two locks on his door, and looked out at a empty hallway. He then looked down, noticing a Disneyland bag at his feet. He picked it up suspiciously, noticing a white sticky note on the front of the bag. He gingerly pulled it off, reading the words written on it.

He noticed it was your handwriting, immediately recognizing the loops and angle of the words that made it yours.

The note didn’t have much to read. The only words written on it were-“Sorry not sorry ;)”

He smiled, shaking his head, setting the note down as he pulled out a blue lightsaber out of the bag.

Peter already had a feeling what was in the bag you had earlier, and really, he didn’t know why you went through all that trouble for him. His heart swelled with happiness, and he realized then a there he never wanted anyone but you as his girlfriend in his life.

————-

Taggings:

@acciopeter @petersshirts @th3n3rdyon3 @just4muggles @anxieteandbiscuits @fratboievans @grandmascottlang @gayuwuenergy @galaxy-parker @hollandroos @honeymoonparker @hazsterfield @itsholyholland @jupiterparker @naturallytom @revengingbarnes @starksparker @underoosstark @uglypastels @underoos-shield

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I love you all and I hope your day is amazing! I’ll see you in the next fic ❤️

#mcu #marvel #peter parker x reader #spiderman x reader #spiderman #peter parker #tom holland x reader #peter parker x y/n #peter parker x you #marvel spiderman #peter parker series #peter parker tom holland #peter parker x s/o

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onwardintolight · 5 years ago

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Monster Version 2.0 is up!

Read it here on FFN

Summary: After the war, Leia wrestles with who she is and what she's meant for, while exploring her Force abilities and struggling with Luke's revelation about their father. In doing so, she makes the choice that Anakin couldn't.

Written thanks to a prompt by @graciecatfamilyband

The new version isn’t completely revamped; it just has a few extra bits I added to fit with what we learned in TROS. :) For those of you who still want access to it (I’m no George Lucas), I’ve posted the original version as the second chapter.

Here’s the new version in full:

~~~

Monster

After the war, I had a lot of things on my mind—I was heavily involved in the work to assemble the new government, for one, and I was also beginning to shift my focus back to the surviving Alderaanians and what I could do for my people. Not to mention, I was newly married, and a child came soon after.

I should have been happy. All the things I’d once dreamed of (and things I’d not even dared to dream, feeling myself unworthy) had finally come to pass. Yet I found myself stuck in a darkness and a turmoil that surprised me… though in retrospect, perhaps it shouldn’t have. All I had been through during the war—Alderaan, torture, Han’s temporary loss to carbonite, Jabba’s palace, watching too many people die (often directly or indirectly because of me), and so much more—it all began to catch up with me. And always, the mask of that monster loomed in my mind: him, the source of this evil, the cause of all this horror, and Luke had said… Luke had said he was our father.

I couldn’t process it. I didn’t want to think about it.

Luke had said that this father had turned back, in the end; that he’d saved his son and killed the Emperor. But all I could think of was Vader’s harsh breath as I writhed on the floor from the torture meds, the splitting pain as he tried to break down my mind’s barriers, his iron grip on my shoulder as everything I loved exploded into a billion tiny particles of dust, the proud, skeletal stare of his mask across the room in Cloud City as he came close to taking everything from me once again. A litany of my worst memories. The nightmares that still creep up on me, breaking into the quiet hours.

I despised Vader, with everything in me. And I was afraid. If I was the biological progeny of this twisted being, then who was I, really? Did the same potential for catastrophic evil lurk in my veins?

~~~

I had felt it, hadn’t I, all my life, this strange connection, this bridge to the ebb and flow of life around me. It emerged in my empathy, my intuition, even my leadership skills—I see it so clearly now. While I will never underemphasize my parents’ nurturing of those qualities, I’ve realized that the extent of my abilities can’t be chalked up to my upbringing alone. There’s always been something more, some inside force that whispers to me and guides me, that helps me persuade and fight and protect and persevere. Something that’s led me back, over and over again, to hope.

The Force. Somehow, I had always known.

At first, I let Luke teach me. Things like how to meditate, how to further hone my perceptions, how to reach out and feel him and others in a fuller way, how to speak without words. I’ve done some crazy stunts, both physically and mentally. I’ve flipped over chasms and moved my fair share of rocks. I can kick his ass with a lightsaber.

I know Luke hoped I would become a Jedi, too. But the more he told me about the Jedi way, the more uncomfortable I felt, especially as the weight of all that had happened began to settle more deeply upon me.

(Our father.)

Luke says fear and anger are the path to the Dark Side.

Easy for him to say, I think. Or maybe not. I know he’s struggled greatly with those things, and I would never trivialize his massive personal victories over them. Now, though, he is the picture of perfect peace, of tranquility. He trusts in the Force that all will be made right, and that in some sense, it already has.

Maybe he’s right. I don’t know.

But our relationships with those emotions are not the same. Anger and fear have been my constant companions for so long, I don’t know if it’s possible to let them go. And in truth, I’m not sure I’d really want to, at least not fully. After all, it’s my anger at injustice and evil and my fear of a galaxy enchained and destroyed that has so often fueled the fire in me, giving me strength to fight, to persuade, to seek change.

But I feel the dark potential, too, of those emotions—the seething hatred, the pull towards despair that sometimes sucks me under. There are days when I no longer know how to speak, how to be; days when all the pain rises up inside me, threatening to explode.

Honestly, the storms I experience are more of a threat to myself than others, unless you count the occasional angry diatribe. (My fault, the whispers still accuse, the ashes of Alderaan smoldering in my mind still.) I will carry forever the memory of the Dark Side’s evil, packed like a ball of durasteel in my core, a warning against too much power. (So much death, so many sacrifices. My fault.) I could never see myself perpetuating everything I fought so hard against, becoming the very thing I hate. (I’m a monster.) I will never.

And yet.

(He was my father.)

Other things, too, I might have to forfeit to become a Jedi; other threads making up the very fabric of who I am. Jedi aren’t supposed to have attachments (Luke is undecided on whether to continue this practice, but it’s been a tenant of the order for millennia). I have Han, and for that alone I’d forsake the Force in its entirety. Jedi are supposed to favor serenity over passion: my passion is my drive, part of my very nature, even. Why would I let that go? Studying the Jedi way takes full commitment: I’m already committed fully to serving the New Republic and the Alderaanian diaspora.

(He was my father.)

~~~

It was in those early days of pregnancy, while I was still training, that the visions started. Waking nightmares.

I saw myself, boiling with rage, a mask descending upon my head, the world around me red as blood.

I saw my family, people I loved, their eyes full of grief and fear.

I saw the Dark devour the galaxy once more, undoing everything.

I saw my child, once blazing in the Force with so much Light, fallen into that darkness.

I saw myself taking up my saber. Killing my son.

The last vision was the clearest. It left me with a horrible certainty; the kind of Force-fueled certainty that centers itself right in the gut and refuses to budge. Visions are not directly mapped onto the future; what one sees may never come to pass, or it may in reality have come to pass long ago. But somehow, I knew: my path forward as a Jedi would lead to my son’s death, at my hand.

Whether the monster inside our blood claimed me or my son first, I still don’t know.

~~~

I have so much now. Even on my darkest days, I still have so much to live for. I see the steadfast love written in my husband’s eyes as he weathers these storms with me, encouraging me onward, daring me to pursue my goals, soothing me through the nightmares (as I do for him), daily sweeping me off my feet. Our love is an exquisite beauty I never thought I’d have, but here we are. I look at Luke, and Chewie, and other friends new and old, and the joy that wells up in me at the challenges we’ve faced together and the victory and the freedom we’ve won nearly takes my breath away. I gaze into the face of my precious little son, and I know that I would die, I’d do whatever it takes to continue making the galaxy a better place for him.

Whatever it takes, as long as it’s right.

And that… that is why I cannot travel this path. The power that Jedi training may give me is tempting, of course. Maybe if I learned more of the ways of the Force, I’d be able to make the galaxy right. Maybe I’d be able to better protect those I love. Bring swift justice. Champion the vulnerable without the neverending tangles of bureaucracy.

But then again, maybe the galaxy has had enough of that kind of power already.

I trust Luke not to grasp for it. As he’s told me, it’s surrender and sacrifice, not aggression and forcefulness, that mark a Jedi’s true calling. He will continue the Jedi tradition humbly and faithfully; I believe it.

And I will continue to honor my true father’s legacy, as well as my mother’s: serving my people in the government, and in the Senate, however I can. I’ll also continue to embrace this curious Force inside me; letting it speak through me to reach hearts and minds and strike up flames of hope, the same hope that it kindled in me, against all odds, throughout the years.

But I do not want more of that power.

(He’s my father.)

I reject the Dark.

No monster will ever take control of the galaxy again.

#Leia Organa #SW fic #Star Wars fic #TROS #Star Wars fanfic #SW fanfic #canon compliant #Luke Skywalker #Ben Solo #Kylo Ren #post-ROTJ #Star Wars #my fic #my fanfic #my writing #thoughts

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ariainstars · 5 years ago

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Rey Palpatine, Kylo Ren or Ben Solo: Who’s Got the Button?

Warning: longer post.

Who Is Rey?

Sigh. I can’t believe I was this naïve. Really, I can’t.

There are narrative parallels between The Force Awakens and A New Hope, of course. But apart from desert planet and droid, the parallels between Rey and Luke, which many fans took for a sign that she might be a secret daughter of his, are few.

Rey is a slave on a desert planet who collects and repairs spare parts. Her parents were nobodies. She doesn’t want to leave because it would make her lose the tenuous link she has with her family.

She saves someone she just met in a brave, crazy stunt where she proves that she is a very good pilot even with hardly any training.

She meets a kind elderly man who tells her about the Force. He is a father figure for her because she doesn’t have one, but he gets killed about a day after she met him.

She had barely known about the Jedi but finds out she has talent in the Force, so instead of going home she is sent to train with someone whom she doesn’t know and who is not very willing to do so, and not capable of being a father figure for her either.

This is Anakin to a T! And Anakin ended up being the bad guy in the end. I’m sure that watching the PT, no one who was unfamiliar with the saga would have believed he would be.

It is not a coincidence that Ben’s light sabre looked like a cross and Rey’s like a fork: that was another dead giveaway announcing that he would be the victim in this story, and she the perpetrator.

„Show me again the power of the darkness, and I will let nothing stand in our way. Show me, grandfather, and I will finish what you started.” Kylo Ren in The Force Awakens

Ben and Rey are a dyad, meaning that in one way or another, their destinies parallel one another. It was he who wanted to “finish what his grandfather started”: but it was she who actually finished what her grandfather had started. Jedi and Skywalker family are extinct; Finn may or may not be Force-sensitive, but he’s not trained. All of this leaves Rey solely in charge. And everybody cheers her, the way Palpatine was cheered when he ended the clone wars. But the dirty work had been done by Anakin; same goes for his grandson.

It all fits together too well: Rey was always meant to turn out evil, while the “bad guy” in truth was the hero all along. If you watch the Sequel Trilogy again and feel annoyed by their development, try to look at it from this perspective.

“Now, fulfill your destiny and take your father’s place at my side!” Palpatine in Return of the Jedi

Palpatine always needed someone young and fresh by his side to give him strength; which could be explained by the fact, finally addressed in The Rise of Skywalker, that he is some kind of clone. Not being capable of living on his own, he wanted Rey to kill him so that all of the darkness inside him would possess her, and he managed. Now he is reborn, and the young woman stepping into his shoes believes that the worst is behind her. The truth is that the Enemy is now an inherent part of her.

The good news is that by this time, Rey has also made the experience of unconditional love: Kylo / Ben saw her at her worst, but he still cared about her. Some viewers thought that Rey would be the key to Ben’s redemption, but honestly: that story had already been told with Luke and his father. The alleged bad guy saving the alleged heroine from herself is a new message in Star Wars; a message so powerful that I still didn’t get over it.

The Heir of Sheev Palpatine

Palpatine’s role in the saga tends to be downplayed although he is the mastermind behind it all: in the PT he is literally one of the first characters we see. It is easy to say that he was the devil incarnate who wanted absolute power - he also was a sly and influential politician, and after the clone wars he did bring peace to the galaxy reuniting the Republic and the separatists under the roof of the Empire. Anakin and his heirs could not make up for his sins because they were busy with their own and the Jedi’s.

As the audience, we want to see our heroes happy; yet their failures and unhappiness are often necessary.

Anakin and Padmé had to die so their children could grow up the way they did, two idealistic souls untainted by the Jedi’s sins.

Leia had to lose Alderaan, else the princess would hardly have had a chance to marry the scoundrel.

Luke had to lose his home with his uncle and aunt, else he wouldn’t have agreed to come with Obi-Wan in the first place; and he had to go through the trauma with his father’s revelation to become the wise and strong hero of Return of the Jedi.

And sad as it is, Ben had to spend almost all of his life in a dark place. The few moments of understanding he had with Rey in TLJ were probably the few rays of lights in his whole adult life; no wonder he fell so deeply for her that he would literally have done anything for her; he had to become a besotted idiot who saved the girl he loved although she had literally killed him and usurped his whole heritage.

Meaning: Rey was always meant to take over.

This is not only the story of the Skywalker family, it’s also the story of a galaxy in desperate want of balance and peace. And if you want to tell how that is accomplished, you can’t erase Palpatine from the equation. Palpatine is a “clone”, i.e. he is not wholly human; which makes him a parallel to Anakin who ostensibly had been generated without a father. Rey, flawed as she is, is a young woman of flesh and blood.

The Prequel Trilogy humanized Darth Vader; the Sequel Trilogy did the same with Palpatine. Few viewers expected this because one hardly gets interested in the villain’s bloodline. Vader’s portrayal as Anakin Skywalker in the prequels was also largely disliked because the young man was everything but cold and sardonic like the villain he became later. And as many viewers did not like to see “their” Darth Vader humanized (portrayed as a good little boy and then an ardent, stormy young man), now we don’t like Palpatine coming back in form of a young woman, who for sure is deeply flawed but not by far the monster he was. Palpatine always wanted to use Anakin’s, the Chosen One’s, power for himself; and with his final plan he managed to blend his heritage with the soul of the last Skywalker scion.

The Heir of Anakin Skywalker

Vader had to become Palpatine’s ally and to serve him loyally to make the old devil let his guard down enough for him to kill him at last, just like Kylo had to fool Snoke that he was still on his side while in the Throne Room he was silently plotting his demise. Anakin always was the hero of the Skywalker saga, a fact that is largely overlooked. His son pushed him to do the right thing, but the decision was his own, and he paid with his life.

Many fans of the Original Trilogy and also of the prequels dislike the sequels heartily because to them it “retconned” or “cancelled” what had happened before. Which is not quite true; the original heroes did find their happy ending. We witnessed what came after that, which irritates us because it’s something we usually never face once the credits roll or the book covers are closed. That does not mean that the heroes’ accomplishments are obliterated.

My guess: these fans might be right and the Skywalker saga is indeed at its end with Return of the Jedi. The saga was Anakin Skywalker’s story, and he died.

What did not die was his heritage - his sins, his excruciating pain, but also his heroism, and his prophecy as the one who would “bring Balance to the Force.” The mistake of his heirs was having wanted to go back to what once had been. Their links to the past were tenuous, e.g. we never learn how Luke came to know what had made the Jedi fail (the content of his second lesson to Rey); in any case, he must have learned it only after the fall of his own temple, in order to explain why he wanted to give up on the Jedi. Obi-Wan never told about his own faults, the clone wars, the Republic, the creation of Darth Vader; most importantly, he never mentioned to Luke that his father actually was the Chosen One, and that the Force wants Balance. It is not surprising that Luke and his friends could not build lasting peace, not knowing what had caused the conflicts. They had to fail; “failure is the greatest teacher” means that only from understanding and moving away from those failures the galaxy will (hopefully) finally learn to avoid repeating the Empire, the First Order, the Final Order etc. over and over again.

I also did not like very much what the sequels did to the heroes of the original trilogy, honestly. But had they survived, found together again, and or proven more heroic and less flawed than they were this time around, the general audience would never have stopped pestering the studios with wanting more of Han, Luke and Leia. And that’s not how it’s supposed to be. They’ve done their time; they had their happy ending. They had their hero’s journey. They ended the Empire the way they wanted, their achievements were completed. It is up to the next generation to learn from the past and build something new and better. We, in our everyday life, also have to bring the people we once looked up to (parents, teachers, mentors etc.) down from their pedestal and to acknowledge the good they did but also see their failures and limitations, if we ever want to get on with our own lives.

In this light, the Sequel Trilogy is indeed not part of Anakin Skywalker’ story. If Ben is brought back and stands good on his promise of finishing the Chosen One’s work, then it will be a new saga - his. Not his grandfather’s any more.

Though a Palpatine, I believe Rey does have the potential for finding balance and unite the galaxy. If Ben, her dyad, comes back to do his part, the galaxy will be again under the rule of two powerful Force users the way it was when the OT begin; but this time they need a chance on something united and positive.

Balance At Last?

The authors repeatedly stated that the sequels would be “very much like the prequels”: not incidentally. The prequels also were the story of a usurpation, where at the end everything that was good seemed forgotten or turned into the hand of the wrong person.

This sheds an interesting light on the next trilogy: by this logic, it ought to mirror the original trilogy.

Whatever you can say about the Star Wars saga, it never repeated itself. It has recurring themes, which do not run in circles but in spirals; like in any family, or political system, the lessons not learned always demand their price.

All of this is not to say that I like this ending. The Rise of Skywalker mostly is so dissatisfying because being Episode IX it ought to have been a definite ending, but it does not feel like an end. It feels more like a new beginning, or an interruption of a story that was largely not yet explored. The new heroes have wrapped up the past, but what about the galaxy’s future? A future that has maybe already begun with the Mandalorian’s mysterious adopted Child, who symbolizes faith where Yoda was all about (avoiding) fear?

Rey and Baby Yoda both are two younger and more innocent versions of someone we are very familiar with; and they are both paired off with someone who becomes a redeemed version of a familiar villain - Rey with Kylo Ren / Ben Solo, who is reminiscent of Darth Vader, and the Child with the Mandalorian, reminiscent of Boba Fett. Also, the Child knows Force healing, the way Rey does.

It seems to me that this must be announcing a continuation that fits to it all and brings the loose strands together. If the Force is at work, then it knows what it’s doing.

Luke was always one to give people a second chance: in A New Hope, we see him befriend literally anyone who is willing to go along. Star Wars is all about getting another chance. Are we really supposed to believe that Ben Solo is gone forever, and worse, that he deserved no better than dying after sacrificing himself for the girl he loved? Did Luke Skywalker in person come to Crait, sacrificing his life in the process, to give his nephew a second chance only for him to disappear never to be seen again?

Ben and Rey being a dyad means that they mirror one another, in every way: what happened to one will happen to the other too, eventually. The iconic “You’re not alone” is so powerful because it comes from a person who knows damn well what loneliness means. If Rey finished what her grandfather started, then so must he. When the Republic fell everybody also believed Anakin to be dead; he wasn’t. and when Han left Luke and Leia towards the end of A New Hope, they did not count on him coming back; but he did.

The next trilogy is not yet announced but it has been known for years that it’s in the cards; thankfully it’s in the hands of Rian Johnson, who already proved that he can tell a masterful Star Wars story; and who reintroduced the subject of Balance again. I still hope that this image was a foreshadowing, not an empty promise.

The ST doesn’t really make sense - not yet. That doesn’t mean it won’t make sense when the rest of Rian’s story is told.

“Hope is like the sun… If you only believe in it when you see it, you will never make it through the night”. Let’s keep our hopes up, fellow Reylos and ST fans. 😉

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