#sith equals embracing your darkness

[notyourmoon4528]

I think people started watching the Acolyte with a bunch of assumptions because it's Star Wars and because it's Star Wars the bad guy has to die and the good guys live and win, but since that isn't what technically happened everyone is butt hurt. Also this was promoted as being a sith story and y'all butthurt that Osha ended up giving into her darkness.

😎 y'all need to stop watching trailers and promotional materials until the series is over, go in without knowing what to expect and with no assumptions and y'all will see that the Acolyte was top tier.

Also the whole fact that Qimir is trying to seduce Osha but Osha is like not now stfu in doing something idfk. It is called LOVE INTEREST FALLS IN LOVE FIRST. Google it. Y'all so used to the girl falling first and working for it that as soon as the dude does the same y'all like OMG this is so forceful, stop forcing them together.

[gffa]

Ive been thinking about the anakin world between worlds sequence and I really hope and think that it was really anakin. Since I first got into star wars i thought at the end of jedi he became anakin again and completely shed vader but I realised him coming to be both vader and anakin like that is really cool and narratively really nice. Because the force is all about balance that there are equal amounts of good and evil. And this being represented in anakin the forces special little guy. Who brought balance to the force twice just makes sence.

Here's the thing for me: The Force isn't just an unspecified magic field, that whatever mysticism remains about it (and I love that aspect!! it is fundamentally impossible to completely wholly perceive it!!!) it still operates on some foundational thematic rules. And people are fully free to disagree or whatever, my speaking in a confident voice is only about me being confident in my views, not a condemnation of anyone else. But I do think those foundational thematic rules are central to understanding Star Wars. The Force is about your mindset, your emotions, that what you bring to the Force is what you get back out of it, that the dark side isn't just randomly evil, it's about embracing fear, anger, and hate. You don't just go to the dark side because you're born a bad person, it's about the choices you make along the way, it's about the mindset you have, it's about how you think of things. Lucas' themes for Star Wars are centered on how letting go of the bad shit in your head, on how not clinging to others out of fear of living without them, of how you need to think of others selflessly rather than what's more comfortable for you personally, those are central to what the Force is, because the Force is the unifying aspect of all of his Star Wars. So, what does that mean for becoming a Force Ghost? If Anakin holds onto Darth Vader, if he doesn't let go of the anger and hate and fear that make up Darth Vader, I think that goes against everything the Force is, everything about what Star Wars is trying to tell us. To become a Force Ghost, you have to let go. To become a Force Ghost, you have to be completely in tune with the Force, which means letting go of the hate and fear and anger. Lucas says that a Sith/dark sider cannot become a Force Ghost, they cannot achieve immortality. Only through the light side can this be achieved. Which means I don't think Anakin can hold onto Vader and have become a Force Ghost, I think worldbuilding necessitates that he's shed that part of himself.

So how does that square with what we see in Ahsoka? Letting go of the fear, the anger, the hate doesn't mean that you don't acknowledge that you held those things in your heart, that you didn't do those things, that you weren't responsible for them. Anakin is acknowledging that, yes, he was lost in the dark, those things dug claws into his heart. But his appearance there wasn't for his own sake, we're not seeing Anakin there to learn a lesson--he's there for Ahsoka's sake. And what does Ahsoka need from him? Ahsoka needs him to say that he's more than just Vader so that she can still care about him without feeling guilty, she needs him to point out that, if he can rise above Vader, she can rise above being the student of the man who became Vader. He shrouds himself in Vader's appearance for her sake, to force her to confront her feelings about how she has to keep fighting to live, to let go of her fear about him. I think all of that was a play designed specifically for Ahsoka's sake, because he doesn't really go full Vader until he says she's not listening to what he's saying, she's not getting it, so he has to change tactics. It isn't because Vader is still part of him, but because she is still holding onto Vader and he needs to show her how to let go. Balance isn't equal light and equal dark, Star Wars is pretty against that message. That's neutrality and neutrality in the face of evil is letting evil flourish. Look at Bendu--he's the one in the middle and, ultimately, he's a coward who refuses to help save anyone's life because he's equally light and dark. Balance is stability, balance is moving with the currents and changes of life, moving with the Force that resides in all life forms--balance is exactly what the Jedi teach and practice. Balance is the light side.

And I think to become a Force Ghost, one of the ultimate expressions of the Force, one of the most important thematic examples of What Star Wars Is About, has to be aligned with Letting Go and finding selfless peace. That's why Anakin wears white Jedi robes at the end, rather than his usual dark tabards--because during Attack of the Clones and the Clone Wars, he was equal parts light and dark and that wasn't stable at all. But once he let go, he became stabilized, he became a Force Ghost, he became a Jedi of the Jedi Order, he became balanced.

[turtlemagnum]

i think part of why i like kreia so much and why she speaks to me so deeply as a character is that in so many ways, we're a lot alike. genuinely, i think that if i were in the exile's situation, i'd get along with her a lot better than you tend to ingame. a major facet of that is that we both have fairly similar, though deeply contradictory views on morality, including how it pertains to the force. personally speaking, i don't think morality is a valid concept when held up to any serious amount of scrutiny, and i know when i say that, a lot of people are gonna think "oh, this guy's a randian asshole who thinks people are fundamentally selfish or some bullshit like that", and to put it succinctly: no. i don't believe people are fundamentally anything, i believe that any definition that can be posited won't preclude some manner of being that i'd consider to be equally a person. now, when i say i don't believe in morality, i don't mean it in an edgy "uhm actually we shouldn't have civilization and we should all be based epic raiders", what i mean is that most of what morality fundamentally is, is just people trying to mental gymnastics their pre-existing beliefs and biases into something remotely coherent as an ethical framework. meanwhile, personally, i reject that, and act based off of what feels like the best option, being a man of an intensely instinctual and intuitive nature it's rarely led me astray. to put it in non pretentious terms, i'm running based off of vibes, yo. regardless of this, i still tend towards choosing what most would consider the "moral" option, for two primary reasons. one, is that despite my talk of rejecting the dogma of moralism, it's hard to fully remove the system of beliefs you've had beaten into you for as long as you've been capable of thought. but, there's also the more egoistic justification, of the simple fact that helping people tends to make them want to help you, being nice to people tends to make them want to be nice to you, since kindness in all good relationships goes both ways. and i think that's where i fundamentally contradict with kreia's teachings. her basic viewpoint is similar, of morality being a construct, but for her, it's one to be manipulated for your advantage. to her, helping people weakens them, kindness makes you soft, and altruism is a myth. to me, even if altruism in its purest form isn't truly attainable, you can achieve the same results via mutual aid. in regards to the force, for as long as i've been a star wars fan, i've been dubious of the fundamental overt simplicity of "light side" and "dark side", but i think that the KOTOR games (particularly KOTOR2) handled this really well for the most part, insofar as Their Main Guy (revan) fully embracing the whole of the force, rather than pledging blind loyalty to either side. the problem with both the jedi and the sith is that fundamentally, they pursue a wholeness that they'll never achieve due to a cultish shunning of half the universe, half of all emotions, half of life itself, and i think it's genuinely better to be a whole person, who lives with both the light and the dark, to be an actual human being rather than shunning any type of emotion for not being "correct". so yeah, when someone says kreia was right/had a point, they're correct. however, when someone says kreia is a deeply flawed character, they're also correct. that's why she's so well written, she's right about so much, but wrong about so much too, and it all blends together so well

[dearviper]

Hi!! Could you do a sith!reader with anakin skywalker? Maybe reader is trying to make him come to the dark side. Also reader and anakin are in love?!

YES OMG! I love this idea so much. I based this fic off of the scene between Padme and Anakin on Mustafar. I present to you...

A Path I Can Follow

Anakin Skywalker x Sith!Reader One-Shot

WARNINGS: None

AO3 Link

You watched Anakin’s starfighter settle on the landing platform on Mustafar. As the ramp lowered and he emerged, you rushed over to greet him.

He returned your embrace with equal fervor, cradling your face as he kissed you.

“Anakin,” you started breathlessly. “What are you doing here? I thought you were on a mission with Obi-Wan on Utapau.”

“I was. Something terrible has happened.” There was a troubled look in his eyes.

You nodded for him to go on, though you could guess what he was about to say.

“The clone troopers attacked us. It's a miracle we made it back to Coruscant alive. And when we did…” he trailed off, breathing heavily.

“When you did…?”

Anakin hesitated for a moment before answering. “Someone had killed the younglings.”

He paused to observe your reaction, but you kept your expression neutral.

“Obi-Wan checked the security recordings,” he continued, eyeing you warily. “He said… he said you killed the younglings. That you have turned to the dark side.”

You grasped his hands and set your jaw firmly. “Ani, Obi-Wan is trying to turn you against me.”

“He cares about us,” he protested, shaking his head. You snorted.

“Us? No, Ani. We both know how your Master feels about me.”

You made sure to emphasize the word “Master,” knowing it was a sore spot for Anakin.

“And he doesn’t respect you, either. Did he advocate for you when the others refused to make you a Master? No. You are the only Jedi Knight to be placed upon the Council without receiving the title. It’s a slap in the face, Anakin.”

Though you knew he wanted to defend his friend, you could see his jaw clench as he remembered the insult.

You pressed on. “I've become more powerful than any Jedi has ever dreamed of, and I've done it for you. To keep you safe.”

“At what cost?” he asked, desperation clear in his voice.

“There will always be a price to pay,” you acknowledged. “But, Anakin, think of what we could have together! Safety. Security. We will never fear losing each other like we lost our families.”

A twinge of pain shot across his face when you referenced his mother. Your heart clenched at the sight, but you knew it was the only way to convince him.

“I am more powerful than the Chancellor. We can overthrow him, and together you and I can rule the galaxy. Make things the way we want them to be.”

Your voice had softened to a murmur by the end of your appeal. Stepping forward, you gently cradled his face, softly tracing the scar there. His eyes fluttered shut at the touch.

“Ani, I love you,” you whispered, closing the gap between you. You pressed your forehead against his. “Please, come with me. Rule with me. Love me.”

There was only a moment’s pause before he let out a shuddering breath and nodded.

“Wherever you go, I will follow,” he replied unwaveringly. “Always.”

A quiet huff of relief escaped your lips before his own crashed down upon them. You put every ounce of need for him in that kiss, all feelings spoken and unspoken.

Even when you pulled apart to catch your breath, your arms were still wrapped around each other.

“Always,” you agreed, victory gleaming in your eyes.

Star Wars Masterlist | Main Masterlist

[wild-karrde]

This one is for @razorcrestpitdroid:

Tech + "The grief comes in waves.”

"Guarded" and "Reunion" spoilers below the cut.

Tech sat back on his palms as the sun crested the Yavin base. He'd made a habit of coming out to feel it every morning. It was when he felt closest to Kestia, the sunlight the closest thing he'd experienced to her presence in the Force when she'd reached out to him.

Like sunlight hitting your skin after being inside a cool, dark place.

He closed his eyes and tipped his head back, allowing the sunlight to kiss his cheeks.

Maker, I miss her.

Footsteps behind him snapped his eyes opened and he turned to see Fives standing behind him, sheepishly.

"I-I.. I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't realize it was you."

"It's quite alright, Fives," Tech replied evenly.

Fives was clearly unconvinced, rubbing the back of his neck. "I didn't mean to intrude."

"What gives you the idea that you did?"

Fives's sheepishness deepened. "The kid told me you come out here. Because it feels like her. I just... I didn't know you were out here..."

Tech surveyed the former ARC trooper for a moment before patting the ground next to him. "Why don't you come and sit? I find the peace refreshing before we jump back into the chaos."

Fives hesitated for a moment before coming to sit next to him, crossing his legs and resting his elbows on his knees. He inhaled deeply, closing his eyes. Tech allowed his eyes drift back out to where the sun was beginning to climb above the horizon. He hadn't interacted much with Echo's twin, but he felt as though he already knew enough about him with as much as Echo had regaled them all with tales of his lost brother. And now, here he sat, having survived unspeakable tragedy and cheated death.

"When does it stop?"

The question slipped out before Tech realized it was his own voice that had articulated it. Fives seemed equally surprised.

"When does what stop?"

Tech wet his lips. "The sadness. The grief. I find... " He paused, searching for the correct words. "I find that the smallest, most insignificant things completely derail my day. A faint smell. The color green. Even this sunlight. It all reminds me of her, and I suddenly feel as though I cannot breathe. And no matter how much I try to forget how much I miss her, I can't make it stop."

Fives sighed, extending one leg and tucking the other knee to his chest. "It doesn't. Not really. The grief comes in waves." He flicked at a rock next to him. "I've lost plenty of brothers, Echo included, and I never really got over it. Still gets me at times. I see his body lying on the ground sometimes when I close my eyes, almost as if the image is tattooed there. I see Tup, another brother, lying on the medical table on Kamino as the life faded from his eyes. Hardcase. Cutup. Hevy. Droidbait. All of them." He sighed, rubbing at the goatee that he'd finally grown out to his satisfaction. "But I know that they'd hate me doing nothing but grieving, so after a while, I decided to think of the waves as them reaching back out to remind me to keep living. It's just their spirits reminding me of the impact they had on my life, even if it was brief."

Tech smiled. "I like that."

Fives nodded. "I understand she had quite the impact on you."

"She did."

"Then don't forget. Hold her memory close. And then she's a little less gone." He pushed himself back to his feet. "I'll see you inside when you get done being with her."

Tech nodded, a lump rising in his throat. Fives turned and walked away.

"Thank you," Tech said softly.

The sunlight almost seemed to embrace him as the warmth brushed across his face. He sighed, smiling as the tears finally fell from his eyes.

Tag List: @seriowan @partoftheeternalsoul @rosmariner @misogirl828 @ellichonkasaurusrex @the-sith-in-the-sky-with-diamond @gjrain20-starwars @dsburnerblog

[mylifeisactuallyamess]

A/N: So. I wrote Anakin. Honestly the man has been living rent free in my mind for so long and we all know what I’m like for an angry angsty Star Wars boy. I am suffering with Imposter Syndrome massively with this because I don’t think I got his character down 100%. And well, I am a perfectionist. Anyway, here have this dumpster fire of a one shot.

Anakin Skywalker x Sith!Reader

Warnings: Canon violence, character death, lots of a Jedi hate talk. Damn fucking Jedi. Oh and a shit ton of angst.

Word Count: 1909

Your black robes fluttered around your legs as you peered over the ledge, a Jedi ship had come into land and you let a sly smile creep across your face. It was the Jedi you wanted, you could feel the ripples of his power through the force, the anger and darkness always with him even if he didn’t use them. You moved away and headed deeper into the compound, he was coming to stop you, take you back to the Jedi Council. You felt the presence of the 501st as they spread out looking for you but their force signatures were dulled by the brightness of him. Already the anticipation of battle thrummed through your body, the hilts of your sabers melded perfectly to the curve of your palms. Pulling down the visor on your mask you paced feeling him coming closer and closer until finally the door opened and there he stood in his black Jedi robes.

“I assumed you’d got lost,” you shot at him.

“I could sense your loathsome presence as soon as I landed,” he replied haughtily. You carried on pacing, seeing his saber still attached to his belt, the sure arrogance he had in his abilities made you proud. He was always such a cocky bastard but he had every right to be.

“What happens now, Skywalker? You think I will go quietly so you can hand me over to the traitors of the Galaxy?”

“The Jedi are not the traitors here!” He roared.

“Yes they are! And you know it!” His eyes followed you, across the floor, his expression darkening. “How can you not see their narrow minded ideas are strangling the Galaxy? They sit in their temple, allowing this war to continue all the while saying they don’t advocate it. They are apparently keepers of the peace and yet shattering it time and time again!”

“No! I will not listen to your lies!” You lifted your chin in defiance.

“Then come and shut me up,” your voice sneered through the vocoder. He moved quickly and your sabers came alive in your hands, the loud clash of the beams sent sparks over your heads. “The Jedi are a lie, their only legacy is failure…” you continued.

“No!” The force push hit you in the chest and a laugh burst from your chest as you slammed into the wall.

“Yes! Use that rage on me, Anakin.”

“You don’t want me to fight you,” he threatened, making you grin behind the mask.

“Oh baby, I’m counting on it.” You ducked as his blue lightsaber pierced the wall, you took the opening, punching him in the stomach making him grunt in surprise and retreat, before coming at you again. The sabers danced in a pattern that was all too familiar. You met each other move for move, nothing survived the brightness of your blades as you both cleaved a path of destruction. You spun out of his reach, putting some debris between you knowing it wasn’t much of a barrier, not when it came to you and Anakin. “They are oppressing you Anakin! They will never set you free to accomplish your true potential! They do not see the power you possess.”

“And you do?” He asked aggressively, pointing his saber at your chest as he roamed across the floor.

“I have always seen you.” He frowned and you sensed his confusion at your words. Retracting your blades you removed your mask letting it fall to the floor with a thud. “They told you I was dead didn't they?” You asked softly. The brightness of his own blade diminished followed by the ripples of surprise and crushing sadness but he stayed where he was. “More lies,” you pointed out.

“I don’t understand, Obi-Wan…”

“Obi-Wan misled you. He didn’t want to tell you the truth in case you came looking for me,” you spread your arms. “But the force guided you back to me anyway.” He whispered your name like it physically pained him, taking a step back as you stepped forward. “Change is coming, the end of an era giving way to the dawn of the Empire.”

“No, stop!” He cried.

“Join me Anakin….we can make the Galaxy a better place.” You backed him against the wall, his blue eyes closing as though he could stop himself from seeing you. “I know the pain you bear,” you whispered leaning into him. “I can help you face it, use it.”

“It is not the Jedi way, I will not fall for this!” You turned away from him growling with frustration.

“Stop being so blind! How do you refuse to see through the veil of deceit they have draped over us?” You screamed.

“How do you refuse to see the good! Has the touch of the light left you that much in the dark?” It hurt you, seeing him like this, sensing his pain and torment but it was necessary. If you could get Anakin onside the war would be won and you would be Darth Sidious’ prize apprentice. Turning the Chosen one was a task only you could accomplish, because out of all the people in the Galaxy, you were the one Anakin would not bring himself to destroy.

“Where do we go from here?” You asked him, watching as his chest heaved in distress.

“You will come with me, maybe the Jedi can help you…” you tutted in annoyance at his words.

“What a ridiculous notion! The Jedi can’t even help themselves let alone anyone else. Look at Ahsoka…” his blade roared to life in his hands as he flew at you, clashing against your red blades.

“You will leave Ahsoka out of this!” He snarled.

“But she is a part of this, we are all a part of this story that the Jedi have written,” you shouted over the crackling of your blades as he forced you back. The blades scissored out and his face grew close enough so you could feel his breath on your face. “You know I speak the truth Anakin, it’s why it upsets you so much.”

“No!” The air was pushed from your body and you fell backwards, your sabers falling from your grasp and skitting across the floor. You looked up into the light of the blue blade, seeing him standing over you with that twisted look on his face. The light of it shone in his tear filled eyes and you waited with bated breath. “I trusted you! Why didn’t you come and find me?” He shouted.

“What good would it have done? Would you have helped me like you helped her?” His saber lowered, but it didn’t go out and you chose a different tactic. “They asked you to spy on the Chancellor didn’t they?” He frowned, not hiding the shock he felt at your words. “I have my sources,” you spoke before he could question where you got the information. “Did that feel right to you? Is that a Just course of action for the Jedi to take?”

“I don’t…” you stood up slowly keeping eye contact.

“Use your brain Anakin!”

“I am!” He yelled turning away, his hand held out to you as though he wanted to stop you advancing.

“Anakin,” you whispered. “Just embrace the darkness.” His body slumped and you felt the streams rushing past you as he accepted the pain and anger inside him. You laughed, opening your arms at the vortex created by the force, it swirled around him, welcoming him. “You will not regret this Anakin! He will reward you beyond your wildest dreams!” You retrieved your sabers off the floor, snapping them to your belt before picking up your mask. When you turned Anakin was right behind you, his piercing eyes staring straight through you.

“What do we do now?” He asked and you hesitated slightly, sensing something still had to be unlocked within him but you didn’t know what. It wasn’t your place, you weren’t his master. You were his equal.

“I will take you to my master. He will know what to do.” You began to walk off but his hand snatched at your arm.

“What did he tell you about the rules of the Sith?”

“Enough,” you responded. “We could overthrow him,” you suggested with a smirk. Anakin released your arm and you relaxed slightly. “We were always such a team, unbeatable even on the side of the light, imagine what we could accomplish with an entire Galaxy at our fingertips?”

“I missed you,” he whispered and you took a step towards him. You leaned your forehead against his temple finally allowing your feelings to come to the forefront. Anakin had been everything to you, it had killed you to leave him behind but Sidious had promised you happiness in the end and now here you are achieving that. Your hand sought his own out, his fingers clammy as he gripped you tightly.

“And I missed you,” you breathed against his skin. His face shifted, his nose pressing against your cheek and your heart pounded at finally being reunited with the one person you wanted in the entire Galaxy. “The Clones are coming,” you murmured.

“I can sense them,” he replied, still not moving away from you. His expression was one of torture and you swept a strand of hair gently off his brow.

“What’s wrong?” You asked softly.

“There is….something I need to do.”

“Can I help?” You whispered, brushing your lips against his cheek.

“Yes.” He shifted, your chests pressing together as he finally kissed you. His lips were soft and lingering making you melt into him so you were unprepared for the burning sensation in your side. Your mouth opened against his in a loud gasp of surprise, his tears glinted in the glowing blue light of his saber as it protruded from your body. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. You couldn’t speak, your body refused to take a breath and you could see the darkside emitting from his irises as he gazed mournfully at you. “My master sent me to find you.” He sobbed when you slumped against him, not able to hold your weight anymore, the smell of your own burning flesh making you feel sick. His blade retracted but still the pain remained, the sting of betrayal coupled with the hurt of your life ending by the hand you trusted the most.

He followed you to the ground, your legs folding like they had no bones left in them as numbness spread through your body. “I will see peace and justice reign in the new Empire.” Your eyes widened, the only response you were able to give as the life slowly ebbed away from you. “I will never forget you.” You wanted to ask why, he had been genuinely surprised to see you under the mask and then you realised you’d both been played. Only the strongest would come out of this room alive, but you had been blinded. Tricked by your own feelings that maybe, just maybe he would have joined you rather than burying you in his quest for power. His hand cradled your head, his tears pattering onto your skin, mingling with the lone tear that ran from the corner of your own eye. We could have done this together, Anakin….

“It never would have worked. I’m saving you.” He replied as your world grew darker. “You were the one war I could never win….until now.”

[itsagrimm]

Darth Maul one shot.

This picture was an inspiration for it so pls leave some love there.

bury me 6 feet deep for the cheesy ending. I deserve it.

Darth Maul x Y/N gender neutral reader without description of appearance during his reign on Mandalore

Later: Savage Opress x Y/N

Summary: You and the snappy crime boss have been friends for a while. You enjoy each other’s company and spend your free time being good ol' meanies together. Savage joins you in a surprising twist.

CN: talk of bad dates and murder, talk of sex and relationship, alcohol consumption

1700 words

The office was empty except for a table in the middle, a few chairs, and a giant window across the large doors. It was a minimal arrangement, and the inattentive visitor would have considered it bare or tasteless. But the inattentive visitor would see the man behind the table as a threat, a monster, a murderer and not the most beautiful and powerful centre of the room.

"Maul!"

He looked up from his work. Intelligent eyes met Y/N. Instead of an answer he raised an eyebrow and waited.

"Lord Maul."

He nodded. His power always had to be recognized first. Even by you.

"Y/N. What a surprise. I thought you were busy. Sit down."

You bowed to your lord before taking one of the chairs in front of the desk.

"Yeah... the date didn't go so well."

Maul leant back and casually put one leg on one of the armchairs.

"Oh really? Do tellwhat the man, who will likely have an unfortunate accident now, did?"

You smiled.

"Oh yeah, accidents can be so surprising. It's always so sad when someone dies. Especially when the concerning man had the audacity to only talk about himself during the date. He did not even ask my name. I don't even know why I went outside for that."

Maul grimaced.

"I don't think one accident to this"- he gesticulated into the air before spitting out-" boy will be enough."

"Yeah. But maybe he is not worth it. It takes a lot of work and effort before someone dies. And I actually have other things to do."

The dark sith lord, criminal master mind and successful general rolled his eyes.

"Your reluctance to make your enemies pay always surprises me. You need to put in the work sometimes. It can feel so satisfying to see your enemies bloody and begging before you."

"I know. You are so right. But right now, I just needed to vent. Do you wanna get out of here?"

He looked at the desk. It was full of holopads, data carts and actual paper.

"Yeah. I am done for now. Let's go."

XXXXXXXX

“Why are you always so extra?”, you tried to compliment Maul who was striding through the palace gardens before you.

He did not even flinch before answering.

“You call this extra? I call this a casual. I have not even tried to impress yet.”

You chuckled.

Maul was wearing dark pants made from silken fabric, an equally dark thin coat with leather armoury shoulder pieces and no shirt therefore showing off his muscular chest and his dathomirian tattoos. He looked good and he walked like a man who knew he looked good.

“Alright. Next to you I feel like an ugly Bantha after my horrible date and little time to change.”

He turned around and checked your outfit.

“Yeah, I can see why you feel that way.”

You gasped.

“Maul! Don’t be mean!”

He smiled.

“Come on, that one was just low hanging fruit. And you know, no one can tease my beautiful and extraordinary friends except me. So this little bad date boy’s life is still hanging on a thin thread.”

“Ok. let’s plan his untimely death tomorrow. I need a drink today.”

“Works for me.”

XXXXXXXXX

The bar was busy. But the Lord of Mandalore and his company got a table at the more private back of the bar, giving you and Maul the chance to observe and gossip.

“Do you see that man over there?”, he pointed at an armoured warrior at a faraway table, “He looks cute. He would definitely be a better date than your last, at least in the looks department.”

You checked the man. He was chatting with a few other Mandalorians. His armour was of a clean blue colour and it was well kept.

“Meh, that armour is a bit too shiny for someone actually using it. And who goes into a bar while wearing a whole set of an antic armour anyway? No, this gives me show off vibes and I don’t like it.”

Maul shrugged before sipping at his martini.

“You will stay single forever, dear Y/N.”

“What is so bad about that? You are single and appear to be doing perfectly fine.”

“I am the Lord of this dominion. I can do what I want anyway and the words >single< or >in a relationship< cannot not really describe my love life.”

“That’s an awfully complicated way to say you get laid.”

He smirked.

“You can say that.”, he rolled the words of his tongue with particular enjoyment, “But unlike you I am not coming into other people’s offices to lament about bad dates.”

“Just drop the date already and pass me the bottle. I don’t want to talk about the mess that is my love life. How is your life going?”

“Embracing the mess can give you strength. Don’t try to detach yourself from the bad but learn to enjoy it.”

“Is that a Sith thing?”

“Partly. I would consider it a sentient thing. We all are constantly confused, emotional and graving for something. Instead of denying that try to give in and enjoy the chaos. Cheers.”

You clinked your glass filled with fine Mandalorian wine against Mauls martini.

“My life…” he continued, “is alright. I think I can enjoy this. It has been a long time since I felt like I belonged somewhere. And it feels nice to have purpose outside of my own calling. It is nice to know that someone might miss me should I choose to leave Mandalore. My brother likes it here, you are a good friend and reigning Mandalore … and others… is a welcome challenge.”

You smiled.

“I’m glad you feel that way.”

For a few moments both of you stayed silent. You did not know what else to say and Maul was lost in some memories he was not willing to share right now. You two had always worked like that, close and chatty yet respectful and discreet.

“My brother…”, Maul started to talk, “My brother would enjoy this. But I can never convince him to come along.”

“Maybe he does not like loud and busy places. He strikes me as the type who gets stressed out by bars instead of enjoying this.”

“No”, Maul looked into his glass searching for words, “I think Savage would enjoy spending time here with us, with you.”

You starred at Maul.

“What do you mean?”

“I think he likes you. And I think he is shy about it.”

You felt your skin getting hotter.

“You like him too!”, Maul called out his eyes nearly sparkling with excitement.

“No!”

“No? I will tell him that!”

“No!”

“You have manoeuvred yourself into a trap.“

“Why are you torturing me? I don’t even know your brother well. He seems nice and-”

“Oh darling, no night brother is niceunless we want or have to.”

Maul, lord of the sith, slayer of jedi, regent of mandalore and matchmaker of his brother’s fate looked at you with an evil delight. Seeing you here, squirming about your feelings and insecurities in regards of his tall and handsome brothers was most likely the after work entertainment he enjoyed the most.

You took a deep breath.

“Ok, my love life is in your hands. I give up. What now, Maul?”

“Your love life was always in my hands.”, He replied patronizingly while starting to type a his personal com.

“Are you sending a com to your brother?”

“No, just sharing a thought with the chancellor. YES of course I am contacting Savage.”

“He will hate it here. I told you. It is loud and busy.”

“Well then then you two better get out of here fast.”

You glared at him.

“You are unsufferable, Maul.”

“And you love me for that.”

You forced a smile.

He basically beamed with delight at your reaction.

“Well, give savage my regards. I got to go.”

“What? Where are you going?”

“I have ruler of mandalore things to do. Much less entertaining things than you and my brother might do tonight.”

“You can’t leave me here. I will die of embarrassment in front of your brother.”

“Then it was nice meeting you. Any wishes for your burial?”

“Maker, you really are-“

“trying to help you embrace the chaos? Yes, I do indeed.”

You were speechless.

The thought of staying and having a kind of forces surprise date with Savage was a good thought but at the same time you felt unprepared and intrusive towards Savage.

“Ah yes, there he is already. Faster than expected.”

Maul waved towards the entrance at the bar.

Savage was standing there.

He was tall and broad as ever. His ocker skin and horns sticking out of the Mandalorian crowd. And his face had the expression of a painfully reserved man.

When he saw Maul, he started moving through the bar.

When he noticed Y/N his expression hardened.

“Good to see you, dear brother. I was a bit careless with my time tonight, so I must leave early. But my dear friend here had a bad day, could use some company and maybe someone to escort them home later, only for safety of course. Would you mind?”

Mauls voice was nonchalant, as if he had no other motives.

But Savage knew his brother too well.

“Is that it, brother?”

“Ah yes, savage! What else do think there is?”

Savage studied Mauls face for a moment before gazing at you like a commander checking a serving soldier for injuries.

“Alright. I will stay.”, he finally said.

[jasontoddiefor]

Angstpril Day Nine: “I wish we had more time. [ Other Parts. ]

“I wish we had more time, Qui-Gon, but—”

“Did you know?” Qui-Gon asked, interrupting the shadow that had once been his Master. His relationship with Dooku had never been the best. He had been an excellent teacher and had managed to teach Qui-Gon the control so many doubted he’d ever gain. No longer did Qui-Gon struggle to maintain his shields and keep his distance from others, even if it was still painfully easy to slip into someone’s mind and leave his own thoughts. He was thankful for the lessons, all the things Dooku had done to shape Qui-Gon into the person he was now.

But he wasn’t sure he had ever truly liked his Master. He had loved him, desperately, as all Padawans were devoted to their Masters, and he had admired him too, but only ever in the way you look at a sculpture, never wanting to become it.

Staring down at his Master now, perhaps Qui-Gon had always sensed that there was something wrong with Dooku. That there were shadows lingering in the corners of Dooku’s mind that would lead him down a path he could not return from.

The darkness clung to him now, embraced him. Poisoned rot hung from his frame and Dooku didn’t even notice when it made Qui-Gon gag.

Dooku’s eyes narrowed, his patience close to snapping. There were probably only a handful of people who could read his body language effortlessly, and one of them was dead. They had all suspected that Sifo-Dyas had died on his mission but with the revelation of the Clones, the Sith or perhaps Dooku himself, had murdered his oldest friend and none of them had been the wiser.

“Did I know what, Qui-Gon?” Dooku asked sharply.

“Of your Master’s other apprentices. Maul, Obi-Wan.”

Was his former Master aware just how replaceable he was? How far this other Sith would go to cover his tracks and achieve his goals?

“Obi-Wan,” Dooku repeated. “Your pet project. He is still a Padawan, is he not?”

Dooku was evading the question. And Qui-Gon did not have to answer the one Dooku asked him in turn. Obi-Wan’s status within the Order was messy, but to call him a Padawan as if it were shameful it took him over a decade to unlearn what he’d been taught for two was an insult. Initially, the Council hadn’t even thought that Obi-Wan could be brought back to the light fully, and on some days doubt still ran deep, but Obi-Wan worked harder than anyone else in the temple.

Qui-Gon believed he’d be great Jedi Master some day and it didn’t matter how long it would take Obi-Wan.

“You frequently put me on crèche duty when I was being a brat,” Qui-Gon said instead, suddenly feeling incredibly old. “You told me that it was our duty to look after our young. Has the darkness corrupted you so that you’ve changed this far within your heart? That you know of children molded into weapons with torture and you can still stand at the side of such a monster—”

“Enough,” Dooku ordered. “I am merely the result of centuries of the Republic failing. I have offered you to join me and if you have nothing of importance to add and will not accept a position at my side then I can’t help you.”

“I’m not asking for help,” Qui-Gon snarled, wishing he could break free of his restraints and meet Dooku on equal grounds. “I want to know if you would make a child hardly old enough to be a Padawan bleed red kyber.”

Dooku’s silence was deafening.

[reylofanfictionanthology]

TO FIND YOUR KISS IS NOW LIVE!  

Authors will be revealed next week!  For now all fics are anonymous.  Treats can be posted through author reveals on 2/21.  We will post an updated masterpost at that time.

To Find Your Kiss collection on AO3 | Treats Masterpost

GIFT FIC MASTERPOST

- Reap the Stars for abbytheatre08

The prompt: After Ben's death, Rey goes mad and turns to the dark side. Only Ben's not dead anymore. ----------------------- She is consuming fire, magnificent in her rage. She will burn the galaxy to its foundations, until the ashes rain down and pile high as mountains. She will gather them into bouquets and scatter them like petals upon his grave.

He will be remembered, and they will not.

Call him The Light Bearer and Joy Giver. Call him He Who Loved and Laid Down His Life. Call him Ben.

- we are question marks that hang above the endless unexplained for AlwaysEverlark

The first time she walked into his club, she was looking for a job. Kylo took one look at her—the stubborn pout of her lip, the determined glint in her eyes, the ruddy glow of her face where the sun had kissed it—and swallowed a lump in his throat that was shaped like the words you’re too good for this place.

They needed a singer. Kira Johnson could hold a tune, knew the old standards, and had a knockout pair of tits to boot. A few slinky ballgowns and a touch of lipstick, and she’d more than do the trick of distracting suckers long enough to part them from their money.

The club solely needed to break even; anything they made on top of the Syndicate’s cut was gravy, and Kylo Ren had been lining his pockets with his own take for long enough that he could see Kira for the lump of clay that she was: rough-hewn, misshapen, but soft and supple and sure to curve under his touch.

- Eighty Bucks Says Sweetheart for Amoreusou

Ben likes puzzles. Rey needs help with a bunch of them. Good thing it's a slow day at the office.

- Seldom Visions for Andrina_Nightshade

After visiting an old Sith temple, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren has fallen into a deep sleep when he pricks his finger on the point of a red crystal. Rey become is the first to find him, but his rescuer isn't just any general or pilot, it's the woman he shares a soul with, who haunts his waking hours, who still sees him even in his sleep.

- The Dyad for aneighthdomain

Based of the Prompt: Groundhog Day scenario. Ben and Rey keep getting sent back to the first time they met and no matter what they do, Ben always dies so they stop trying to change events and just live a life time in the year between and couple of weeks and run away together.

- Saudade: The Love That Remains for AnneAnna

- The Delegation for aNerdObsessed

A humanitarian delegation from Naboo arrives at Niima Outpost. Rey is skeptical, to say the least.

- i don't want you like a best friend for anopendoor

It’s not like she hadn’t seen this coming—Rose told her weeks ago that he was invited. It was an inevitability Rey was always going to have to face, she just didn’t think that Rose would be so merciful as to also give every guest a plus one.

But Rey can’t really be upset—and she is totally, unequivocally not upset—that Ben's bringing someone because, well.

She is, too.

- Love is Weakness for bittersnake

“He’s someone I found on my recent trip to Corellia,” Rey replies placidly, her face practiced in its boredom. “It doesn’t mean anything.”

“Love is weakness,” her grandfather reminds her, the way he has for years. It’s why he doesn’t love her. He will not be weak. It’s why she doesn’t love him, either.

- in sickness and in health (with health being less likely) for BlueButterflyKisses

Deciding to spend the rest of their lives together is the easy part for both Rey and Ben; the trouble is in how to propose.

- Snowed In for Blueyedgurl

Never in her wildest dreams did Rey Johnson think she would ever get to meet her favorite other Kylo Ren. She also would have never entertained the idea of the scenario she found herself in. How did a hike in the woods lead to a snowstorm and taking shelter in a remote cabin in the woods? The idea was so ridiculous but had become reality. Stuck inside with a handsome stranger surrounded by a winter storm, Rey wonders what will happen with no power and only one bed. Will they be polite co-habitants stuck in a strange set of circumstances or is there room for something more?

- Curses, Comforts and Capybaras for Bombastique

Arrogant CEO bites off more than he can chew when he angers a witch... And suddenly finds himself transformed into a capybara. Can kindhearted wildlife rehabber Rey Niima help him break the curse?

- To Heal a Broken Soul for Cat2000

Ben survives the fallout of Exegol, but his connection to the physical world is in danger. Rey tends to him as she searched for a way to heal him.

- holding me like water in your hands for Ceallaigh

After Hux finds out Ben killed Snoke, Hux encases Ben in Carbonite. Rey refuses to let Ben stay frozen forever so she mounts a rescue.

- Like a Thief in the Night for chagrins

Their bond won't let them be alone. At least this time it's the middle of the night and they can't get into a shouting match.

- The Chance for Crysania

When Rey and Ben, long time co-workers who have never been able to admit their feelings to each other, go on a weekend retreat to work on a movie adaptation script together, a Nor’easter leaves them snowed in. On Valentine’s Day.

- Awake for cuddlesome

Something inside him is awake, and something inside her is about to wake up.

An alternate interrogation scene.

- darkness rises, and light to meet it for czechia

After the throne room, Jedi Ben Solo and Kira Ren meet again a year later.

- Not Quite a Fairytale for DarkMage13

Rey lets a stranger use the phone of the café she works at late one night. It changes the whole course of her life.

- You Won't Escape Me ('Cause I Set You Free) for DoorKeeper9

- The Canvas of Your Skin for darlingreadsalot

She was incapable of touching him without drawing blood, it seemed. Lines like vermillion paint streaked where her fingers sketched down the contours of his face, his back, and now his chest.

In which a Force bond is splintered, a resurrection goes wrong, a kiss is forgotten, and two almost-lovers avoid speaking for the better half of a year.

- Fleeing the Storm for driverfever

As the granddaughter of an merciless aristocrat, Rey’s life hangs on a thread at the hands of the French Revolutionaries. When her childhood friend, Ben, offers to platonically marry her in order to take her to his home in England to safety, she has no choice but to accept.

But her suitor and revolutionary Hux won’t give her up so easily. Hounded by revolutionaries and falling in love, Rey and Ben must use all their wits to flee Paris and make it to England.

- Equal Measure for dustoftheancients

When Princess Rey of Coruscant calls upon the cursed Sir Kylo Ren to help her escape her grandfather the emperor’s political machinations, she discovers freedom in the ancient familial magic that binds them together.

- Benimina Solo's Late On-Set Force Ability for Evangel10n

Benimina Solo has never, not even once, had an ounce of Force Sensitivity. She's done a great deal to move on with her life after failing out of her uncle's Jedi training school. So when Rey Palpatine comes into her life and suddenly everything changes, she's not a happy camper.

- Splatter for expendable

“You’re Palpatine’s girl,” he says coldly.

“His chief of staff, yes.” Rey’s eyes narrow. “And you have your hand on my ass, Kylo. Kindly take it off.”

“Or what?”

AKA powerful corporate rivals Kylo and Rey put the hate in love/hate.

- The Haunted Mirror for FangirlintheForest

When Rey travels to UK to attend the reading of his grandfather will, a grandfather she didn't know existed until that very moment, she finds a house, and a old story that will haunt her...

- i'm your secretary for firelord65

Kaydel pressed her lips together in a thin line, passing a pile of datapads over the desk. “I don’t know what that pretentious nerf herder has put into your brain, but these are tales of the key roles women have played in past rebellions.” She stood, tapping the pile. “They’re great reads,” she added, with a pointed raise of her eyebrow.

- and they danced across the sky for flipflop_diva

When he was still a child, he constantly watched the blue butterflies as they danced in the sky.

They seemed to be calling him, aiding him each instance that icy-cold darkness flowed through his very veins. The magnificent creatures saved him from the voices. They drowned out the incessant chatter in his head. Temporarily cleared away all the anger. During those brief respites, watching those blue wings flutter in the sky, Ben felt free.

But that’s another life. Another world. Another time. Another, another, another.

And Kylo's no longer a child.

No. He welcomes the darkness now. Embraces it.

- Finding The Answer for FrenchMartiniPlease

Rey pines for Ben Solo…so why does her soulmate mark always drain of colour whenever she gets close to him?

- Almost Unforgettable for HopeRebel

The woman in the mirror has blood on her clothes, cash in her bag, and a letter from her husband telling her it's better to forget. Well, he got his wish. She forgot everything-- including her name. And she wasn't the only one afflicted.

It'll take the combined efforts of gumshoes, a flatfoot, a washed-up Hollywood starlet, and more to get to the bottom of this bad business. In the end, these things always come back to the beginning.

- The Curl of a Sigh for irridesca

During the last song in Maxine’s set, a song she announces is called “Soul Companion,” Ben heads back out to the lobby to look for Rey. He finds her not with his eyes but with one broad shoulder, when he bumps into her and knocks her gig bag out of her hands and onto the plush carpet.

- and they were roommates for Lady_of_Haven

When Ben loses a bet to his roommate, Rey, he has to eat her out for 30 days.

- torn away from you (my heart is broken) for lakerose

The Force binds more than minds.

- If You Take Me for literallynoonecares

She sighed wistfully as she watched her two friends lean in toward each other as they danced, their lips meeting and melding together as they seemed to become one person instead of two separate beings. She had seen them kiss so many times, but this kiss … it was special.“I just want someone to kiss me like that,” she mused softly to herself, her eyes not leaving her friends.“I could make that happen if you wanted.”

- 3 Days in Vienna for Like_A_Dove

Kylo Ren, trained mercenary Alpha assassin, is on a mission—assassinate Chancellor Palpatine and bring his underground authoritarian regime to an end. It’s what the First Order demands, for the better of society.

It should be an easy task. He’s been getting close to the Chancellor and his cronies for years. So how is it that the unexpected appearance of an Omega, with a seemingly similar mission—and a wholly inconveniencing scent—become a distraction he hadn’t accounted for?

- Confidence and Desire for LittleLostStar

“Stay afraid, but do it anyway. What’s important is the action. You don’t have to wait to be confident. Just do it and eventually, the confidence will follow.” - Carrie Fisher

- Love brightens even the most monstrous parts of ourselves for LRRH17

No one knows since when the giant, black bear has lived in the forest near Theed. Many stories about the origin of Kylo Ren circulate in the small village. After Rey has run away from Jakku, and arrived in Theed she has heard them all of, but has never actually meet the creature. This changes when her and her friends get attacked by bandits on their way back from Otoh Gunga.

- Your Sweetness Comes With Sugar on the Side for Lutrosis

Rey's daughter loses her mother as she wanders around the Supermarket. Ben finds her and the two connect over both being Type 1 diabetics. They find Rey, and Ben and Rey are instantly smitten. As they date and fall in love they discover that Jade and Ben are connected more than they thought and healing is brought to the Solo/Skywalker clan.

- Allegories, or Allusions to Real Life for maq_moon

“Boys, please stop arguing.” Rose rubbed her temples. “Poe, we get it, you’re childhood best buddies, you’ve got a better grasp on his character than some rando of a rando you met at a party. Finn, for fuck’s sake, we’ve been working with Ben for months. I’m pretty sure if he’s a serial killer or whatever, it would have come out by now.” Finn sat back in his seat, grumbling. “Not how serial killers work.” Rey was going to have a headache if this continued any longer, so she lied through her teeth at the reality of a new player joining their D&D party. "He seems nice." She didn’t trust a single inch of skin on that man. "I'm sure it'll be fine."

- A Mad Man, with a Box for MBlair

Rey and Ben meet, move in together, get engaged, and marry.

- Invite the Wild In for midwinterspring

Kylo Ren, the mysterious senator who appeared from out of the deserts of Jakku and somehow brought them back to life, has spent a long and unproductive session on Hosnian Prime. Now, it's time to go home. After all, there's someone waiting for him and so much for them to do together.

(The ancient Sith had some interesting rituals.)

- Purim Party for MissCoppelia

Rey goes back to visit her foster mother for a Purim celebration. She meets Ben Solo who's visiting his parents, who are friends with her foster mother. They have an attraction to each other right away, but try to play it cool.

- The Banished Heart for misszeldasayre

On Rey of Niima’s nineteenth name day, Jakku gains a new wizard.

Jakku is a withering outpost of the kingdom, and its people hope the new wizard - the mysterious Kylo Ren - will bring them the rains the land needs to heal. Rey is a lonely, clanless girl living in Niima, and she has a secret. One she hopes the wizard will be able to help her with too.

- The Smuggler's Bride for MyJediLife

Miss Rey Nemo is the new mistress of Manor Takodana, left to her by the late Lord Skywalker. When a strange man named Kylo Ren appears on her doorstep, she decides to hire him as her new groundskeeper. As Rey faces sinister threats and secrets are revealed, Kylo Ren may be the only person who can save her.

- Annabel Lee for myownlittleinfinity

Rey keeps finding these ... notes in her locker. She doesn't quite get them. They seem like love notes, but she doesn't know who they could be from. Meanwhile she's paired up with Ben Solo (who hates her despite her gigantic crush on him) for this English assignment. Who knows how THIS will go.

- with my body i thee worship for niennathegrey

Miss Rey Nemo is the new mistress of Manor Takodana, left to her by the late Lord Skywalker. When a strange man named Kylo Ren appears on her doorstep, she decides to hire him as her new groundskeeper. As Rey faces sinister threats and secrets are revealed, Kylo Ren may be the only person who can save her.

- the losing game for no_big_deal

Sith Princess Rey Palpatine is given a peculiar gift for her Life Day: a Jedi. Not only that, one who is boorish, spirited, and stubborn. But, he presents an opportunity: one that could liberate her from a life under the thumb of her grandfather. She has seven weeks to change his heart before all her freedom is taken from her - forever.

- standing right in front of you for notkellymarie

When Senator Solo's engagement is pushed forward, he and his Jedi bodyguard, Rey, travel to Naboo alone for the announcement ball. The pair despise each other, constantly bickering and disagreeing with each other, which makes spending extensive amounts of time alone together all that more difficult. Until of course, one of them breaks...

- the good, the bad, and the smuggling for OccasionallyCreative

Ben Solo is a seasoned smuggler. And he’s not bad at it, either. But when bounty hunter Rey offers him a temporary partnership he can’t refuse, Ben will find himself pushed to the limits of his skill, patience, and resourcefulness on a job that’s dangerous enough to be his last.

It’s like his dad used to say: bounty hunters are nothing but trouble, kid.

- Whatever our souls are made of...his and mine are the same for Padawan_Writer

Ben and Rey meet only after Kylo has defected from the First Order and returned to the Resistance and his mother. Will the dyad still find a way to be?

- They say that only the dead have seen the end of war for politicalpadmé

“He traded his life for mine,” Rey choked, stomping back and forth in front of him so fast he could barely keep track of her. “He died. He died so I didn’t have to—and it’s not—it’s—after everything he’s gone through—it’s not fair.” Tears were running down her cheeks now, and Poe wanted to do nothing more than hug her, but there was nothing he could say—nothing she would want to hear. Poe remembered all the people he’d lost, all the times he had raged and screamed and cried about the unfairness of it all. “Leia sacrificed herself to bring him back,” Rey declared suddenly, ceasing her constant pacing around the fire as she looked straight at him. “And he sacrificed himself for me—and now no one’s going to know. All he’ll be remembered as is Kylo Ren, but he was—he was so much more.” She exhaled with a shudder and whispered, “He was a part of me, and I—I don’t feel whole without him.” ~

A Force Ghost Ben/Rey love story, with a side of rebuilding the galaxy.

- Cicatrix for Priestly

Getting cut up by Rey on Starkiller awakens something in Kylo.

- I Will Always Be With You for Prix

But she wouldn’t be able to hide her pregnancy for much longer. She was starting to show, and her friends would start asking questions. She would have to give them answers, some of them would not understand, and none of them would accept.

She carried his child. The tiny spark of light woven with darkness, just like her. Just like his father.

—————

The world has gone dark More times than you Or your mother Or your grandmother Can remember. And every hurricane That was meant to be The end of it all Had instead ended In sunshine again.

So believe me When I say; You will survive this And the next one too.

World’s End—Nikita Gill

- all my daydreams are disasters for QueenOfCarrotFlowers

During her search for the infamous Luke Skywalker — the man who predicted a devastating earthquake in New Madrid, Missouri — Rey finds herself entangled in Luke’s family history and with his brooding nephew, Ben Solo.

- on what ground I was founded (when I first saw you) for redbelles

Kylo dreams of Rey after the Battle of Crait. And the yearning is mutual...

Some Force Bond dream smut inspired by "Shrike" and "NFWMB" by Hozier.

- Last Summer for Reykenobi68

Rey had started to get used to Ben not living next door anymore by the time the holidays came around. Then he's back for the holidays. Rey is really expecting things to go wrong after the way he left at the end of the summer. ut is it really going to be that bad.

- The Long Way Home for reylotrash711

In the aftermath of Exegol, Ben and Rey are divided by misunderstandings.  It will take time and danger for them to work things out.

- Under the moonlight for shariling

I don't know why I followed you here. She wanted to reply. Maybe because you're so tall I couldn't help but notice you. Maybe it's because of your hair or the way you move, or maybe it's because of that kind of melancholic look in your eyes. There is something about you that I find terribly attractive and I don’t know what it is: maybe the moon or the alcohol or the wolf I have met before infected me with some strange parasite and now I am hopelessly attracted to dogs, I do not know. She could have said one of these things, any of them, instead she said: “I've never bitten anyone before, and I want you to be my first.”

- Fallen for shipperofdarkness

Prompt: Devil!Ben and Angel!Rey or Angel!Ben and Devil!Rey. How do these two on completely opposite sides fall in love and defy worlds to be together?

- come away with me for silentfleur

Rey owns a tinker shop, but her life changes when she meets Ben Solo and is cursed by a witch. Not necessarily in that order.

- A Picture of Me Without You for SpaceWaffleHouseTM

"I suppose I'd somehow struggle through / But I'd hate to picture myself without you."

It's impossible not to have a soulmark. It's not a big deal, not in the lax and gin-soaked speakeasies of 1920s Manhattan, but it's still a heavy weight to bear, as Ben Solo and Rey find out side by side.

- Lips Raw With Love for stellardarlings

Their kiss on Exegol wasn't their first kiss...

Nor would it be their last.

- Everyone Makes Divine Mistakes for Takekurabehime

Jedi Knight Ben Solo is sent to Naboo on an errand of mercy (and to visit his grandparents). He arrives in springtime; but will he be able to complete his mission without finding himself distracted and bewildered when love and intrigue waft through the fragrant air?

- Glitter & Gold for TearoomSaloon

Rey is lead singer in an up-and-coming glam metal band. They've finally got steady performances, but that means playing at the same club as the Knights of Ren, whose lead singer definitely isn't interested in any competition.

- To kiss like lovers do for the-reylo-void (Anysia)

Ben and Rey spend their formative years growing up together in Medieval Scotland and it looks like they will end up together. Circumstances intervene and Rey loses her chance to be with him. Devastated, she carries on until the day clan Ren attacks Castle Jakku lead by the notorious killer Kylo Ren.

- Snow Turns To Rain for thehobbem

For a moment, he wanted to ask what she meant, but if he was being completely honest, he already knew.  He asked himself that same question over the years, and none more often than tonight, since seeing her again.  Was leaving worth it?  Was going their separate ways worth leaving each other?

 “I’m not sure,” he said finally, shaking his head.  “I’m happy...” he said, and she tensed a little, so he continued, “with my work.  I’m glad I’m doing what I love, but....”

 “But?”

 “But it wasn’t the only thing I loved.”

- Change the Dance for theresonatinglight

- Meet Me in the Woods for thewayofthetrashcompactor (BriarLily)

“What do you mean no one goes in there?” A chuckle. “It’s haunted. People see all sorts of weird things in there and some don’t ever come out. You’re better off living with your curiosity.” Rey wakes in a shadowy forest with no memory of where she came from, only her name. With the help of the resident guardian she takes a journey to figure out her past, and maybe even discover her future.

- permanent calligraphy (your name on me forever) for Thursdaygirl

As they continue to work together, two things become clear. One: Ben Solo is an enigma. He’s preppy yet humble, privileged yet introspective. He’s the opposite of lazy; she kicks herself every day for assuming otherwise. And two: Ben Solo will never love her.

- show me the stars. for tmwillson3

“I don’t hate Christmas, I just don’t love it the way you do.” Lifting his head, he pulls a face, loosening up a tangled ornament of a poodle with pink, curly fluff. Rey snatches it from him possessively, tossing it back to the cart. “No one loves it the way you do, to be fair.”

“Now that’s the truth,” says Poe, who Finn invited about half an hour ago to keep him company.

“People have bad taste, I don’t know what to say.” Huffing, Rey scrolls through her phone with more intent. “Neither of you are helping me, anyway.”

“What’s the problem?” says Poe.

“Rey thinks her hot neighbor hates her —”

“He does hate me.”

“ — When really he’s been flirting with her for the past, oh I don’t know, how long have you lived there?”

- I realized that I need you, I wondered if I could come home for VR_Trakowski

Rey is doing exploration work for the Resistance, searching for force sensitive planets so any force sensitives that they find have a place to train.

One day, midflight she finds a slip of paper with the elegant scrawling words of the ones that came before. The ones that she found when Ben still roamed the galaxy.

When she lands on a dark and barren planet she is forced to face the feelings she thought she buried.

- Shadows of the Moon for walkingsaladshooter

The hallways got darker, the corridors grew longer. Shadows stretched across the walls. The ghosts of Breha Manor grew each night.

Rey clutched her necklace. Ben met her gaze.

And every night, there was weeping.

- show the way (the world could be) for writergenie

In the aftermath of the Battle of Crait, Rey struggles to find her place among the Resistance. However, her lingering Force bond with Kylo— Ben— whatever name he calls himself— complicates things, blurring the line between friend and foe.

When the tension threatens to boil over and a desperate plan goes awry, Rey begins to wonder whether there really is a line between light and dark after all.

(Stars do burn brightest in the blackness of space.)

- why don't we go (somewhere only we know) for XarisEirene

The bond snaps back into place, even stronger than before. He is here. With Rey, yes, but with Luke - Luke, who is looking at them now with that same dangerous glint in his eye that haunts Ben’s dreams.

- renewed, transfigured, in another pattern for yodalorian

Rey mourns on Tatooine while Ben is stuck in the World Between Worlds. But neither of them are alone, and blue butterflies light a path back to each other.

[zabrak-show]

In the novel Clone Wars: Stories of the Light and Dark Obi-Wan's chapter retells the episode "The Lawless". While overall I found the book, while certainly not bad, missing a certain something and although some chapters really add to the corresponding episodes such as Rex' retelling of the Umbara arc, many are just very close retellings of the episodes. Now Kenobi's chapter was a mixed bag to me because some of it is really just an exact recount of the events of the episode, however, I found some additions made in regards to Maul interesting.

To no one's surprise there's a bit about Obi-Wan's almost hatred: "Hate was not the Jedi way. But for this man, Obi-Wan had grown weary of keeping it at bay."

Then we get confirmation that Maul is either just very perceptive, simply has Kenobi all figured out or is actually able to mindprobe even such thoroughly trained - albeit here clearly distraught - Jedi as Obi-Wan: "Maul seemed to sense his thoughts."

And of course we have Obi-Wan's reaction to Satine's death - which tbh made me all the more convinced that even though Obi-Wan might have crushed on her as a padawan, he is more fond of than in love sith her at this point -: "When Maul killed Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan was stricken with sorrow. Sorrow gripped him again. But there was something else, as well. Something dangerous. Something that scorched. Satine wasn't Maul's enemy. She was just a tool Maul had used to get something he wanted, the throne of Mandalore. And a tool to hurt Obi-Wan. Using a person that way was the worst form of cruelty. Satine had been a person, and her death wasn't just a loss for Obi-Wan. It was a loss for so many more. She'd been a child on this world. Like other children, she'd taken her first step, uttered her first word, laughed and chased flitters in the tall grass of the Mandalorian plains. She'd learned to read, made friends, suffered hurts, recovered and laughed again. And she'd become a leader. She should have lived to see her world thrive, to see her people find peace, to prosper, to make music and art. She should have grown old and been able to look back on all she'd achieved.

"But in a split second, Maul had ended all that. He'd extinguished a light in the universe and replaced it with shadow. Such an act was truly the definition of the dark side. And Obi-Wan burned with rage.

"With the rage came a vision: Eyes smoldering with hatred. Screams in the red glare of a lightsaber.

"Obi-Wan would cleave Maul in two. He would do much worse. There would be nothing left of him. Or the Dathomirian. Or the commandos, those Mandalorian traitors. He would kill them Almec. He would kill anyone who'd had a hand in overthrowing Satine, anyone who'd contributed to her death.

"And he would kill anyone who tried to stop him. Anyone who stood in his way, by word or by deed.

"Anyone.

"Maul laughed. "And now we see the true Obi-Wan Kenobi. The one he hides behind a mask of wit and charm. The one who yearns to be set free."

"And if Obi-Wan gave in to his desires, he'd be giving Maul exactly what he wanted."

So overall this just aligns with the episode. Although I do think Maul's additional taunt in this is so in character for him (and it'd be hilarious if it weren't for the entirety of the situation that Maul describes Obi-Wan as witty and charming). Although it's interesting just how close Obi-Wan came to falling. And ofc this passage really just hammers home the point that Maul wanted for Obi-Wan to fall to the dark side rather than wanting to kill him.

Anyways. The passage I've been dying to point out as an avid Obimaul shipper is the following:

"You can kill me, but you will never destroy me," Obi-Wan said, trying to keep his anger under control. "It takes strength to resist the dark side. Only the weak embrace it."

"It is more powerful than you know."

"And those who oppose it are more powerful than you'll ever be."

There was still a chance to turn this right. He could not overpower Maul, but maybe he could reach him. Maybe he could match Maul's fury, not with equal fury but with understanding. With sympathy. Maul had not always been this way. He'd had his future stolen from him. He'd been warped by the Force-wielders of Dathomir. He'd been groomed to become a creature of anger and vengeance who stood before Obi-Wan.

"I know where you're from," said Obi-Wan. "I've been to your village. I know the decision to join the dark side wasn't yours. I know the Nightsisters made it for you."

Obi-Wan cringed. The words had not come out as he'd intended. He'd wanted to extend a kindness that Maul perhaps never experienced. But he let his own anger and his own fear infect his words with venom."

And then the scene moves along as seen in the episode.

But phew. I feel like there is so much to unpack here. Obi-Wan trying to reach out for Maul is soooo good. I love that meeting anger with understanding and kindness is the Obimaul trope and this is pretty much that. It's interesting that Obi-Wan aknowledges that he couldn't strike the right tone.

Honestly all of this makes me yearn for the AU where he does reach Maul and maybe I'll even write it myself. Just Maul giving in and opening himself up to said kindness (although the staging might have to be different for that e.g. Maul visiting Obi-Wan in prison as an additional scene before he kills Satine).

This also made me reconsider the Siege of Mandalore. We all know, that Maul at that point of the story is not out to kill Kenobi. And honestly, considering that Maul is hyperaware of Kenobi's emotions in these scene and could possibly also have felt Obi-Wan's "kill 'em sith kindness" impulse, isn't it even more likely, that Maul wanted Kenobi to join him in robbing Sheev of his priced pupil Anakin but also killing Palpatine? I always thought Maul wanted to reveal Sidious to Kenobi and he only adapts his plan because it isn't Obi-Wan that arrives. But with this scene in mind, couldn't it possibly be, that Maul remembered that Obi-Wan once tried to reach out for him and wanted to extend the same gesture with the goal of overthrowing Palpatine? Whilst there is this short moment in "The Son of Dathomir" comic in which Maul and Dooku unite in fighting Kenobi, I feel like after Talzin was also killed by Palpatine Maul was kind of aimless - because in the comic he (unfortunately) has essentially moved from seeing himself as Sidious' tool to being Mother Talzin's tool (he even states the latter directly) - and nothing matters to him as much as overthrowing Sidious in that final arc, because he knows if not now then never. He has foreseen what Sidious and Vader will become and knows this is his last shot to truly hurt Palpatine in any way. And lastly Maul is certainly not that delusional that he'd think he can kill Kenobi and Skywalker alone (which is an interpretation I've seen and honestly just feels wrong at that point)

Essentially I am convinced that Maul wanted to form a sort of alliance with Obi-Wan to overthrow Sidious (The enemy of my enemy is my friend and all that). Maul knows that Obi-Wan knows him better than anyone and I think at the very least he hoped he could convince Obi-Wan of the truth. Additionally Obi-Wan is the only being left in his life Maul has a connection to, who hasn't been killed by Sidious.

All I am saying is that I join the ranks of other anons and blogs as a huge Obimaul enabler.

Wow!! This was so informative and awesome. I don't have that book so I appreciate the run down A LOT! And will probably save this as reference point tbh.

I don't really have anything to add other than thank you for sharing with me, and that I think you absolutely should write an AU where Obi-Wan is able to reach Maul. How that would play out and what happens when they do is a delicious thought.

[colehasapen]

As a prompt: "It has long been impressed into Anakin Skywalker's mind that if something goes wrong, he should call Obi-Wan. As a result, after Palpatine reveals that he was the secret Sith lord all along, Anakin comms Obi-Wan while incoherently screaming. Obi-Wan goes 'Anakin calm down, tell me what's wrong, and we'll think about this for more than five seconds.' the result of this is the saving of the galaxy."

For as long as Anakin had been a Jedi, Obi-Wan had been watching his student’s back, has been doing his best to be what the younger man needs. He had made sure Anakin had known since he was nine years old - too small but too old, too quiet but too loud, a Freed slave who didn’t know what being Free meant - that he would drop everything to help him if he needed him, that he’d be there to support him no matter how unimportant the matter seemed to be. Obi-Wan knows too well the pain of being brushed off by the person he was supposed to be able to lean on, remembers the words that had never been meant to be uncaring but never seemed to care enough.

Obi-Wan had never wanted Anakin to feel the same, but he can’t help but feel like he failed.

He used to call for the smallest of things, the most minor of things, things that made his classmates give him weird looks for needing his master for something like not knowing what to pick for lunch, but as he’d gotten older, Anakin had pulled away from him, almost aggressively at times. Obi-Wan had promised him that he was there if he wanted to talk, but Anakin never reached out, never took the hand that was being offered to him.

Sometimes, Obi-Wan had worried that he never would again, that their relationship was too damaged by misunderstandings and miscommunications to be fixed. The Clone Wars had brought them back together, had led to them becoming closer than they had ever been before, but it had also made their differences painfully possible. He hopes that, with the impending end to the War, that maybe they’d be able to bridge those differences, as equals instead of Master and Padawan, or High General and General. Stepping down from the Council will make him more approachable, hopefully, and maybe they’ll be able to be honest with each other.

After the War. He casts his mind to his troopers, who will be able to be free once the War is no longer dragging down any bill brought to the Senate. To Cody, who will no longer be his subordinate, who will be free to live and laugh and love however he pleases, like he and all his siblings deserve. They’ll be able to see a Galaxy without constant battle, to discover things about themselves they never could with the threat of the Senate and Kamino breathing down their necks.

Maybe Ahsoka will return, like she had expressed an interest in during their last conversation. Maybe Anakin will finally come clean about the nature of his relationship with Padme, and will no longer feel the need to hide a part of himself.

Maybe they’ll all be able to just be free.

It’s a sweet thought that powers him through the bad days.

They’re already so close to the end, Dooku is dead, and the Seperatist Senate is collapsing, most of its members defecting to return to the Republic. With ARC Trooper Echo’s rescue from the Techno Union, they had lost a valuable resource, and the droids couldn’t keep up with the Trooper’s knowledge of their movements and tactics. It’s almost over, all Obi-Wan has to do is defeat General Grievous, and they’ll be able to bring the remaining leaders in for negotiations - not even the strongest voices for war in the Senate will be able to continue the fighting if there was no one left to fight.

They just have to defeat Grievous here, then they can turn their attention to finding the Sith Lord, and if Ahsoka can capture Maul, then they have a perfect way to learn their identity.

He’s just running Cody and lieutenants through the final branch of their plan of attack, when his comm chimes, and, absently, Obi-Wan answers it, wondering if its command with more intel. “This is Kenobi.”

“Obi-Wan?” Anakin’s voice wobbles over the comm, like it had back when he was a child, and didn’t know what to do when confronted with a choice between milk and juice at breakfast. He sounds young - young and scared in the way that he hadn’t allowed himself to sound since he had turned sixteen and started pulling away from Obi-Wan.

“Anakin?” Obi-Wan straightens, turning away from the holotable, feeling Cody’s worried eyes drilling into the back of his head. “What’s wrong, dear one?”

“I-” Anakin stutters slightly, sounding close to tears, and Obi-Wan wishes desperately that he was on Coruscant so that he could comfort the young man, “- Obi-Wan, the Chancellor - he’s -” Anakin is quiet for a long moment, and when he speaks again, his voice is pitched lower, like he’s desperately trying to control his breathing or like he was sharing a dark secret, “- he’s the Sith Lord.”

Behind him, Cody and his men go deathly still.

Obi-Wan’s heart drops. “He’s the what?” He breathes in shock, mind rolling in his head as he tries to connect Anakin’s dear friend, the leader of the Republic, with the shadowy Sith Lord. He hadn’t listened - Dooku had warned him. He had been told that the Sith Lord was in the Senate, but he hadn’t been able to bring himself to believe him, had thought it was just another mind game so soon after he had taunted him with Qui-Gon. “Anakin - are you alright?”

He had let him be around his Padawan. Around his Grandpadawan.

“He told me.” Anakin says shakily, “He - he said that there were ways to keep people from dying - skills that only Sith knew. He told me a story about Darth Plegueis - there’s no records of a Sith by that name ever existing in history.”

“Anakin.” Obi-Wan says pointedly, and he glances over his shoulder to see Cody rapidly typing into his own comm. “Where are you?”

“At the Temple.” His former Padawan murmurs, “Master Windu’s taken a team to arrest the - the Sith Lord.”

“Okay.” Obi-Wan forces himself to breathe past his own nervousness, releasing his fear into the Force and embracing the calmness it brought him, the clarity. “Okay, breathe, Ani. Who did Master Windu take?”

“Masters Fisto, Kolar, and Tiin.” Four of the best swordsmen in the Order, all on one team to confront the Sith Lord. Obi-Wan prays to the Force that they’ll be enough. “Master. He - he said that he could help me save Padme.”

Obi-Wan’s brows furrow, confusion bubbling up past his alarm, “What’s happened to Padme?” She had been fine the last time he had seen her, glowing with pregnancy and excited to travel back to the Naberrie home on Naboo to give birth to her children. Her Force signature had been strong and bright, as had the life forces of her babies. He had even asked Sabe to pass on his wishes of good health the last they spoke.

“She’s - I’ve been having dreams again Master -” Obi-Wan’s stomach drops again, he remembers too well that painful week of Anakin’s nightmares about his mother’s death. He had urged his Padawan to meditate on them, the last time, as his Padawan had never before shown much of a connection to the cosmic Force, or any predisposition for visions, hoping that he’d be able to help him learn to differentiate nightmares from true visions. But then their mission to protect Senator Amidala had happened, which had led him to Kamino and Anakin to Naboo, and they’d never gotten the chance to really study the root of Anakin’s dreams.

Anakin had screamed himself hoarse afterwards, blaming Obi-Wan for his mother’s death, telling him that if he had just listened to him, than she would still be alive. It had driven them even further apart.

“Anakin-”

“She’s pregnant, Master.” Anakin interrupts in a rush, “And I’ve been dreaming of it - her dying.”

“Ani-”

“And you can’t say that they’re just dreams! They’re real! And Chancellor Palpatine says that he can save her.”

“Anakin, I need you to take a deep breath, to center yourself.” Obi-Wan keeps his voice soft and soothing, and he can hear Anakin’s breathing slowing the longer they speak. “Please, think through this rationally. People don’t die of childbirth on Core Worlds, nor do they on Naboo. The last time I spoke to her, Padme was strong, as were her children, the Force is strong with them, healthy. Save foul play, nothing should happen to her.” Anakin’s breath shivers, “Ani, listen to me. Nothing Palpatine can offer you would be worth what you’d lose. You’re strong, Padme is strong, your children are strong. Trust me. Trust Padme. Trust yourself.”

“I -” His former Padawan stutters for a second, “- children?”

“Yes.” Obi-Wan says slowly, patiently - anything to pull the younger Jedi from the spiral he had fallen into. “You didn’t know?”

“How did you?” Anakin asks incredulously, and Obi-Wan huffs out a slight laugh.

“They’re strong in the Force.” Behind him, Cody waves to catch his attention, gesturing to the holotable, and Obi-Wan lets out a breath. “Anakin, listen to me. Master Ti should still be in the Healing Halls, go to her, tell her what Palpatine told you. She’ll send Shadows to help defeat the Sith Lord. Soon I’ll have Grievous, and the War will be over. I have to go now, but I swear to you, I’ll comm you as soon as the battle is over.”

“Okay.” Anakin breathes, “Alright. Be safe, Master.”

“The Force is with you Anakin.” Obi-Wan promises, “Trust in it, and trust in yourself. I’ll see you soon.”

Taglist: @a-mediocre-succulent @yellowisharo @spoofymcgee @roseofalderaan @everything-or-anything

[likeholymary]

— one with the force

the phantom menace ii: 4.6k words

AU: What if the Clone Wars never happened, but instead Darth Sidious cast aside the Rule of Two, forging a new way for the Sith and began amassing an army of Sith warriors to overthrow the Jedi and the Republic?

A/N: (not my gif) (excerpt below is from The Clone Wars: Wild Space by Karen Miller, slightly altered to fit the story). hello beautiful friends! the beautiful gif credit goes to @pixelahsoka. this chapter has a LOT of content so just keep that in mind! also, kind of cheesy ending but whatever, hehe. also, yes, to confirm, obi-wan and rhea are a force dyad. however, it will (hopefully) be better than the sequels, bc i felt like it just came out of nowhere. their romance will be a slow-burn to them actually accepting it, with them still being at least semi-romantical along the way, so look forward to that! this chapter is filled with a lot of fluff, and a very angsty ending. this is the last chapter set during the phantom menace, so the next chapter will be set during attack of the clones, where most of the AU aspect will begin to pick up! comment below or send me an ask if you would like to join the taglist and be notified about the upcoming chapters! again, i am so grateful that you are even reading this, and if you feel compelled to do so, please reblog this post so your mutuals can read it as well! i love you all:) masterlist

mentions: death, blood, fighting, MAJOR angst, force connection, sadness.

The Master and Apprentice began their departure from the Jedi Temple on their Naboo, and Obi-Wan did not think it wise. 

Not after the Dathomirian man had appeared on that Maker-forsaken dustball with a red lightsaber, which only meant one thing – the Sith had returned.

He breathed in the pale glow of the planet’s moon, not taking time to look up and watch the stars glitter above, instead making short strides behind Qui-Gon, the shadow of the Naboo ship creeping its way across to cover them in more darkness, further darkening Obi-Wan’s mood and attitude towards the continuation of this ill-fated mission. 

Having just left the council’s chambers, he felt immense frustration, not only at the council, but at his Master as well. Not only was he ready to face the Jedi Trials which the council seemed to be denying him the right to, now his Master was all too eager to take on the latest lifeform they had picked up on their Naboo adventures, a boy believed to be the Chosen One by his Master.  

Not only was the boy too old, but Obi-Wan could sense it just as the council had – a great fear was buried deep within this Anakin Skywalker. A fear that was all consuming, and was growing slowly within him since they had left Tatooine and the boy’s mother behind.

Why could his master not sense it as he and the council did? Did he just assume ignorance for the possibilities to witness the forthcoming of a prophecy? He never understood his Master’s obsession with the old Jedi prophecies. It was an area of interest he sorely lacked, something that he felt put a strain on his relationship with Qui-Gon, something he realized that Qui-Gon probably wished Obi-Wan was intrigued by, but both of them knew that their Master-Apprentice relationship would never be like that of Dooku and Qui-Gon. 

Rhea, however, had been Dooku’s apprentice and shared a similar, if not less, affinity for the supernatural and old ways of the Jedi. Perhaps he could pay her a visit once his mission was completed, or even send her a message over their datapads like they used to before they got increasingly more busy as padawans. 

Surprise began to grow in him when he saw Rhea standing on the platform beside the ship. She had been waiting on him. As Qui-Gon began to speak to Anakin privately, Obi-Wan ran over to her with a small grin on his face. He should have known she would be here, for every time he simply thought of her, it seemed she was always nearby, as if she were watching over him.

“What are you doing here?” He beamed.

Obi-Wan couldn’t help but notice the blush dusting her cheeks, even in the shadow of the ship. 

“I couldn’t just let you leave without saying goodbye, now could I?”

“You said goodbye to me before the council meeting.”

Rhea rolled her eyes, groaning in annoyance before she began to simper quietly, punching him in the shoulder. “Well, yes, but I couldn’t give you this in front of the council, now could I?”  She held out her arms, opening them in anticipation for one of their rare hugs. When they were younglings, it was of course more sociably acceptable for them to embrace, however as the years began to pass and after many scoldings from each of their masters, they hid it away for special occasions or the few moments they would ever share alone, which were few and far between.

Obi-Wan buried his face in her shoulder, breathing in the sort of meadowy scent she always seemed to carry, as if she were the greatest meadow within the galaxy, filled with thousands of flowers constantly doused by the warm air and golden sunshine, only to be damped by a cool spring rain. She was a wonder, in his eyes.

Rhea’s arms wrapped around his neck as he lifted his head so he could carefully place his chin on top of her head, ever so sweetly. She equally breathed him in, sighing as she inhaled the overwhelming musk of rain, leather and perhaps even some old oak and a few of his dusty books. He always did become overly invested in his new findings, nose deep in his studies, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.

The two stood there for but a moment, taking every part of each other in as if it were the last time they would see each other, and to Rhea, she felt like it was.

“Promise.. promise you’ll come back?” Obi-Wan pulled away, simpering down at her with a twinkle in his eyes.

“When have I ever not?”

Rhea scowled for a second, her face quickly softening once more. “Just promise me, you idiot.”

“Fine, I promise you, dearest.”

She rolled her eyes at the nickname, breathing out a short laugh, before launching herself further into his arms, her fingers lacing through his shortly buzzed hair. Now for this, well, she wasn’t sure what Master Windu would have to say if he saw her like this, but she knew that it would be a deep scolding. It seemed so stupidly forbidden for her to just be lacing her fingers through his hair, but she paid no mind to the Jedi Code in the moment. 

Rhea was his dearest, and he her Ben, and yet, the pain of the loss of her Master still fresh on her mind, reminded her why she could not become attached to this overly-complex relationship the two padawans shared. 

It’s time to let go. 

And yet, she couldn’t. And neither could he.

╔═━────━▒ ۞ ▒━────━═╗

Obi-Wan Kenobi sat on the Queen’s ship while they flew through hyperspace back to Naboo. It seemed such a foolish idea to be returning to the invaded planet, but he did as he was told just as he always did, and followed the willful lead of his master. They were but a small force, two Jedi, a Queen and a handful of her people. What could they really do? If the Sith really had returned, could they really defeat them as well as an entire army?

The Queen had suggested they call upon the aid of the Gungans, but Obi-Wan questioned if that would work as well. The Gungans seemed to have a deeply seeded hatred for the people of Naboo, as it was obvious that in the past the former had treated the other like insolent fools. He wasn’t sure that he could disagree after spending so much time around Jar Jar Binks.

A light bit of laughter echoed in his mind, and it sounded like Rhea. He must have just imagined talking to her, Rhea giggling at his comments and avidly agreeing while coming up with her own quippy comment.

Obi-Wan could not help but miss the girl.

Alone in his small room aboard the ship, he tried closing his eyes so as to meditate, folding his hands together as he crossed his legs, breathe in, breathe out.

But she was still there.

Get out of my head.

He thought almost mockingly, knowing that she surely couldn’t be listening to his thoughts from such far a distance.

Why don’t you get out of mine, Ben?

Obi-Wan was shaken. There was absolutely no way-

I’m still here. Could you help me get out? You’re thinking about me too much, and I’m a little offended that you’re annoyed of my presence.

Obi-Wan then snapped his eyes open, and there sitting in front of him was none other than his dearest, greatest life companion, Rhea Illyria, with a smile of a thousand stars.

╔═━────━▒ ۞ ▒━────━═╗

Rhea Illyria sat on her bed in her quarters inside the Jedi Temple, breathing in, breathing out, as she performed her daily morning meditation. She knew many other padawans and younglings who hated the act of meditation, but she found it rather peaceful, a time to focus on the energy of the Force, to feel it moving around her and all other life forms.

She, however, became momentarily distracted by the thought of Obi-Wan Kenobi and his departure back to Naboo. She sighed, wishing she could have gone with him. There was something in the Force, something that felt like a warning about the planet of Naboo, and those who invaded. No, not the invaders... The ones controlling the invaders, pulling the strings. Who were they? The Sith? Or was it something... something much greater and evil in all forms and aspects?

Rhea worried for Obi-Wan and his mission, and she couldn’t help the thoughts consuming her not only of the danger of his mission, but of the padawan and their untold and unseen embrace. 

However, there was a nagging feeling in her gut. The Force pulling her towards something... No, someone.

She could just reach out, and suddenly her eyes were meet with the galaxy, planets dancing by as the stars glimmered all around her. She was walking among them, slowly, as if moving through the tides of the deepest oceans.

Breathe in, breathe out. What is the Force pushing you towards?

Rhea could see something ahead, a silver shape slowly getting closer as she continued to wade her way through stars and the black dusts of the galaxy.

Someone was thinking intensely. Someone was annoyed.

She couldn’t help but giggle at the notion of the Gungans being quite unintelligent creatures, or at least Jar Jar Binks, the creature someone was thinking about.

The closer Rhea got to the shape, she noticed it took the form of the ship from Naboo, the ship that carried its queen, the ship that carried him.

Someone was Obi-Wan.

This had to be some dream, she thought. She must have drifted into some sleep while she was meditating. But at the same moment she drifted through space, she breathed in, and could feel the sheets of her bed curl around her fingers, sense the starflower in the corner of her window, could smell the caf she so desperately needed each day after her meditations.

Despite trying to refocus on her true surroundings, Rhea became lost in the stars once more when something pushed back against her.

Get out of my head.

Rhea huffed, and began to more faster, willing the stars around her to move, to allow her closer access to the ship. She continued to wade and move through slowly, yet determined.

Why don’t you get out of mine, Ben?

She could feel his confusion, and despite her own, she couldn’t help but find some joy in this strange place. How she was able to drift through the stars to the other padawan was certainly not a normal occurrence among the Jedi, nor within the Force.

He couldn’t believe she was there either. He was thinking about her, thinking about how he missed her, which tugged at something within her she had never noticed before.

Her fingers finally grace the cool metal of the ship, however, they moved through its surface, and she was able to pass through, allowing the Force to guide her to her dear friend.

At the same time, he became frustrated by her presence distracting him from his own meditation.

I’m still here. Could you help me get out? You’re thinking about me too much, and I’m a little offended that you’re annoyed of my presence.

She was no longer floating within the ship, and instead now found herself grounded, sitting cross legged across Obi-Wan.

╔═━────━▒ ۞ ▒━────━═╗

“Ho-how are you even here? I must be dreaming, there is no way that this could possibly be real. I mean, have you ever read about Jedi being able to communicate with each other over vast distances such as this? This is simply impossible!”  Obi-Wan rambled, tugging at his chin, brow furrowed as his mouth gaped slightly at the sight of Rhea.

She however, rolled her eyes, unamused this time by his consistent desire for the knowledge of just about everything. This had to be under the category he loved the least, and she treasured the most – the supernatural ongoings of the Force.

“Ben!” She finally shouted, smacking him on his forehead to get his attention.

This brought Obi-Wan to attention, but also caused both padawans to touch their forehead and hand respectively.

“How did you do that!” “How did I do that?”

Rhea and Obi-Wan were, to say the least, perplexed and befuddled by the situation before them. Obi-Wan, deciding the best course of action was to hypothesize how this anomaly could have occurred in the Force, decided they should each ask one another questions regarding just how this had happened.

“What were you doing when this,” he motioned between them, “happened?” Rhea bit her bottom lip, furrowing her brow just as he had. “I was meditating. It’s morning back at the Temple, so I was doing my morning meditations...” Obi-Wan’s hand remained on his chin, his forefinger rubbing incessantly across his upper lip. 

“As was I. Continue, please,” he spoke so softly, she almost wondered if he was trying to be quiet so no one would hear them and come looking.

“Well, my meditations were interrupted by thoughts of you.” Obi-Wan paused his menstruations, his eyes darting to meet hers.

“You were thinking about me?” 

“Well, yes–” “Why?” She grew flustered, a growing pain pounding in her chest, sharp and yet harsh. Her hands began to sweat as she started to wring them out like some old tunic on washing day, her eyes swooping to avoid his ever piercing-blue gaze.

“I don’t know, why were you thinking about me!” She retorted.

It was one of the few times Obi-Wan got speechless and she could not help but gleam with pride at catching his tongue. She knew this trait would probably die with age, the older her got the further he became closer to the title of a silver tongued master, however she knew she would look back on this moment and know she had trumped him at his own game.

“I–” However, he never got a singular thought out, as Qui-Gon began to shout Obi-Wan’s name like he were some incessant father trying to find his son after a long game of hide-and-go-seek.

Obi-Wan cursed under his breath, a moment of panic coursing through him, but when he looked back from the door to Rhea, she was gone, and he once again was alone, feeling a strange and overwhelming sense of sadness.

╔═━────━▒ ۞ ▒━────━═╗

Rhea tried to continue her day as usual, but her gut instinct inside of her told her that there was something more to her apparent Force projection than it just being that. No... she knew there was something more to this event that had just occurred in not only her life, but Obi-Wan’s. Everything felt like it was going to change.

Unfocused in her training with Mace Windu, he scolded her throughout the day, noting her lack of focus and charging her with consistent complaints about her lack of balance. 

How could she feel balanced? How was she supposed to feel balance after she lacked control over her own capabilities through the Force? How could she feel balance when it had alluded her since the day her Master abandoned her for a life without her as his apprentice? 

How could she feel balance without anyone there to guide her? “The Force, guide you, it will.” 

Rhea nearly ran over Master Yoda who now stood in the Temple’s halls in front of her, smiling just as knowingly as he had every day she could remember. 

“Master Yoda, I didn’t see you there.” “Loud your thoughts are. Many things on your mind, are there not?” 

Rhea could not help but feel guilty and caught. Surely though, Master Yoda could be the one to help her. She had so many questions weighing her down, aching to be asked, and yet she felt ashamed to even think them to herself. Now, it seemed that there were those who were listening. 

“Master, I just feel so lost.”

Yoda hummed, chuckling to himself as if he held all the secrets of the world to himself and would just become amused by the ongoings of the beings around him.

“Come with me, you will.” Yoda motioned for her to follow him, as he guided her toward the meditation room. He sat down on a small chair meant for younglings, and she sat adjacent from him, not really knowing if a meditation session was going to help. After all, it’s what got her into this conundrum.

“Close you eyes. Focus not on your surroundings, but the Force.”

Rhea breathed in, breathed out, closing her eyes as she began to let go of her surroundings, allowing them to fade away. 

“See what is in the Force that troubles you, and tell me what it is.” 

She wasn’t sure if she should reach out again. What if she connected with another Jedi like she had with Obi-Wan? But surely, that would not happen. She had been thinking of him, just as she was now.

Images then began to flow through her mind. A beautiful green planet under siege by the droid armies of the Separatists, a cloaked man with a red lightsaber watching over her as she slept, Dooku the day he left her without even looking behind, her connection with Obi-Wan earlier that morning, him falling...

“I see the droid armies invading Naboo.. A Sith watching over me. Dooku leaving the Jedi Order.... and..”

“More there is?”

“Yes..” Rhea whispered, but she couldn’t focus on the grainy voice of Yoda. She kept reaching out, as if pulling the Force towards her like a rope, trying to yank it so it would release all of its secrets it was holding from her.

And into the Force she fell.

Everything around her was blurry, she couldn’t focus on anything except the strength of the Dark Side coursing before her. It was Obi-Wan. And he had given into all of his anger and hatred, an overwhelming tsunami of darkness coating every inch of him and not it began to creep upon her, splashing her with the emotions flowing out of him.

No, he cannot give into this. She thought, watching as he fell into the pool of darkness waiting to swallow him whole.

╔═━────━▒ ۞ ▒━────━═╗

His master was dead. 

Obi-Wan watched as Qui-Gon crumpled to the floor, and he screamed in agony as he was trapped behind the laser shield, hopelessly witnessing the death of his Master.  And he could not help the growing rage and hatred that began to engulf his entire being, becoming greater with each second as he practically jumped, ready for the laser shield to move so he could slaughter this hunter before him, this Sith, this darkness.

His face twitched, his mouth curling downward into a snarl, complete loathe shining in his eyes which now darkened as he turned his gaze upon the Dathomirian. 

The Sith trailed before him like some wild beast waiting for its prey, stalking like some dark creature.

A moment before the laser shields even began to move once again, Obi-Wan ignited his lightsaber, seconds before a red bladed lightsaber was ignited as well. The shields moved, and Obi-Wan raised his saber, going to strike the beast of red and darkness down, going to strike for the kill out of the rage and hatred in his heart.

The darkness was consuming him, but Obi-Wan did not care. How could he care now? His master was dead, and this creature seemed a powerful foe within the Force, something that should be put down for the sake of the Republic and the safety of its citizens.... something that should pay for its crimes against the Jedi, it’s crimes against him.

He blocked every twist and twirl it made with its lightsaber, blocking its attacks by pushing back against it with more fervent and less coordinated attacks. If he could only strike it down... 

Obi-Wan lifted his lightsaber, slashing through the center of its double-bladed saber, cutting the pieces in half as one went out. He flipped over the creature, slashing at his center and sorrowfully missing him by an inch. 

This creature was quick, but he had to be quicker, he had to be. What would his Master say if he failed him? What would Rhea say if he were to fall, just as Qui-Gon had moments ago? He would not dare break a promise to her.

The creature kicked him in the face, but he did not let it affect him, instead holding out his lightsaber in front of him, looking for the best place to strike him down.  As their blades locked, Obi-Wan gritted his teeth as he pushed against the creature, his eyes glaring deeply into those sickly-yellow ones, now pushing down against his blade. Anger filled him, and rage too, however, the Sith lifted its hand, using the Force and propelling him across the room, and into the shaft. Obi-Wan grabbed ahold of a light as he began to fall, holding on for dear life as the Sith once again began to trail above him, stalking like a creature in the night. He watched helplessly as it kicked his lightsaber down into the shaft, the weapon, his life, now falling down just as hopelessly as he felt. 

Obi-Wan had to keep on holding on. He had to get back up there, he had to avenge his Master’s death. 

No.

As the Sith caused sparks to rain down from above onto him, attempting to get him to lose grip and fall, Obi-Wan could hear her speaking to him.

Do not give into the darkness. Do not give into the anger or hate. Rise above.

A second voice this time came.

Trust only in the Force.

Qui-Gon.

Rise above. 

And for a moment, Obi-Wan closed his eyes. Rhea was there, almost floating before him, but he couldn’t see anything around her, only she was in his mind. 

I will stand together with you. Rise above. 

“It occurred to Obi-Wan then, with a clarity that was startling, given the dark side hurricane howling through him, that Yoda was wrong about the dangers of attachment. Or at least that he wasn’t altogether right. It was true that attachment could weaken a Jedi’s resolve. But it could also strengthen it … as he was strengthened now by his love for Qui-Gon, and Rhea. Without them he would have failed long before this moment. And so, leaning on them, he continued to fight.”

And so, Obi-Wan opened his eyes, using the Force to propel him upwards as he jumped, landing behind the Sith and now focusing his energy, not through the Dark Side, but now back through the Force, allowing it to guide him now. Qui-Gon’s fallen lightsaber now flew into his hand as he landed, and with a swift movement of his wrist, Obi-Wan cut through the Dathomirian man, ending the terrors he had caused, as he fell down the shaft, thus causing yet another fall in the rise of the Sith.

For a moment he stood and just breathed, thanking the Force for his strength found in his love for his Master and friend.

Obi-Wan, sensing his Master’s lifeforce still flickering within him, ran to his side, cradling his head as gently as he could, holding onto some form of hope that his Master could still live. 

“It’s... it’s too late.”

“No, no!” 

“Obi-Wan..” Qui-Gon croaked, as best he could, the color draining from his face slowly, marking him with death as his lifeforce continued to flicker, dimming with each passing second. “Promise... promise me you will train the boy.”

“Yes, master..” Obi-Wan wept in response. Qui-Gon raise his hand to wipe his tears, and Obi-Wan rested his cheek lightly against his finger, wishing that this wasn’t the end.

“He is... the Chosen One. He will bring balance. Train him. Help him. You and Rhea must help him....”

Obi-Wan now momentarily forgot his grief, filled with confusion at the mention of his friend. 

“Rhea and I? Master, what do you–”

“There is more to the prophecy than what you know..”

“What, Master, I–”

Qui-Gon hushed him, before uttering his final words. “Train him.” He uttered his final breath, and Obi-Wan, cradling him, felt as if he were destined for some infinite sadness.

╔═━────━▒ ۞ ▒━────━═╗

Rhea supposed Naboo was a truly beautiful planet, one to behold amongst the galaxy, but it seemed so bleak and somber now with the death of Master Qui-Gon Jinn. 

She watched the pyre his body laid upon gather with flames that rose to meet the stars in the sky, the smoke dancing among the small lights glittering above.

Standing beside the young boy from Tatooine who introduced himself as Anakin Skywalker, she listened silently to the loss of sound in the Force that was Qui-Gon’s lifeforce. They all felt it, the small darkness that passed over them at the loss of such a wise Jedi.

Obi-Wan stood on the other side of Anakin, who looking up to him, asked, “What will happen to me now?”

“The council has granted me permission to train you. You will be a Jedi, I promise.”

Rhea still could not believe that Obi-Wan had not only become a Jedi Knight, but had also defeated and killed a Sith lord. How they had come to rise again, was still a mystery, but it caused a shroud of confusion and chaos to flow through the Force.

It was hard for Rhea to muddle through, her mind now more clouded and confused than ever, the events having transpired seeming to all be connected — Dooku leaving the Order, the Chosen One supposedly being found, the Sith returning, her bond with Obi-Wan...

It all seemed too obvious in her mind to not be connected, but Mace Windu continued to tell her to be mindful of her thoughts, even if he didn’t know of her bond with Obi-Wan, he still saw her point of view as a quick jump to conclusions.

As the procession ended and people began to filter out from the area of the funeral pyre, she stayed even as little Anakin left along with the other Jedi, staying by Obi-Wan’s side, just as she had promised.

“You’re still here.”

He said, nonchalantly, not even bothering to turn to face her.

Rhea looked up, turning her gaze to fixate on his face. He looked... tired, almost old, held down not only by exhaustion but by the overwhelming sense of loss and sadness which was now being carried by the duty he felt to honor his masters final wish.

“Just as I said I would always be. Right by your side.”

He sighed, turning to look down upon her, his blue eyes meeting with her darker ones.

“So, you really were there, speaking to me.”

“I suppose I was.”

The two were silent for a moment, simply staring into each other’s eyes as if understanding everything they wished to say. Rhea reached up, cupping his cheek softly as tears began to fall down his face.

She then got up on her tippy toes, being much shorter than him, and placed a slow kiss on his forehead, soft and lovingly and holding every hope she had within her.

Obi-Wan sighed softly, “We can’t tell anyone about this bond. Not until I have figured out what exactly it is.”

“We.”

“What?”

“Not until we have figured out what exactly it is. We’re in this together. I told you this already, but you don’t seem to be getting it through your thick skull. I stand by you. Always.”

[gffa]

Something has been making me very confuse. I see a lot of people saying that the Force isn't divided in two (light and dark), that the Dark side is a tumor, a corruption, and that's why the Sith needs to be taken out of picture. However, whenever I search about the Force, I see a lot(and I mean A LOT) of sites saying that the Force IS divided in two, that the Dark and the Light side must be equilibrated(this is where they defend the Jedi purge). Why is that?

Hi!  Honestly, the answer comes down to a handful of things, in my experience the primary problems are: - Star Wars fandom has a terrible habit of passing around “I once heard that” statements that are treated as fact, when there’s often times no evidence to back them up - Legends often took the concepts of the Force and ran in interesting new directions with them that didn’t always match what George Lucas intended - People like their ideas of how the Force should work better than what’s actually there in the canon and in George’s commentary (which is fair enough! that’s no shade on those people who like their version better!) Take, for example, the “tumor” thing, which you’ll see passed around as “George Lucas once said the dark side is a tumor” and yet I have never seen a source on that, so I’m guessing what it comes from is this: "So the idea of temptation is one of the things we struggle against, and the temptation obviously is the temptation to go to the dark side. One of the themes throughout the films is that the Sith lords, when they started out thousands of years ago, embraced the dark side. They were greedy and self-centered and they all wanted to take over, so they killed each other. Eventually, there was only one left, and that one took on an apprentice. And for thousands of years, the master would teach the apprentice, the master would die, the apprentice would then teach another apprentice, become the master, and so on. But there could never be any more than two of them, because if there were, they would try to get rid of the leader, which is exactly what Vader was trying to do, and that's exactly what the Emperor was trying to do. The Emperor was trying to get rid of Vader, and Vader was trying to get rid of the Emperor. And that is the antithesis of a symbiotic relationship, in which if you do that, you become cancer, and you eventually kill the host, and everything dies."  --George Lucas (I’ve seen this attributed to a TIME Magazine interview, but also a Bill Moyers interview) Which is where he says the Sith become cancerous, not the dark side.  But there’s often a lot of people conflating the two, that the Sith and the dark side are the same thing, which the canon never does, the Jedi never do that, and I’ve never seen George Lucas say that, etc. Anyway, we’re digressing from your main question--as far as I’ve seen, the Force is sort of a nebulous concept, because there absolutely are two sides of it, the light side and the dark side and it’s not that there’s no middle ground, but that the way the Force works is that there’s a gravitational effect, I would say.  The Force is all about intention and mindset in the way mortals use it, that George Lucas talks about it in terms of light/dark, selfless/selfish, loving/fearful, compassionate/greedy, etc.  That the dark side is present within all of us, it has to be there because it is there, but the point is to discipline yourself against those things, to keep pulling yourself back towards the good. Because balance cannot be achieved in the middle for mortals.  The dark side corrupts--the Story Group has said:   “As George Lucas says, the dark side corrupts.  So one couldn’t remain in the middle for long.  Dark characteristics are inherent in human nature.  It’s about keeping that stuff in check.  And specifically in Star Wars, it’s not tapping into those negative emotions to utilize the dark side of the Force.”  Further, as shown in Master & Apprentice, this is exactly what the Jedi teach their children in the creche, that the dark side is part of them and you must learn to guard yourself against it, that this is what Yoda means in his speech to Anakin, that he has to train himself against the dark side, they’re specifically echoing George Lucas’ words on how the Force works. That’s the thing about the dark and the light both being necessary--nowhere does it say that they weigh the same.  George Lucas specifically talks about how you have a choice between the good side and the bad side in life, but the world works better if you’re on the side of good, that was one of the main points of his movies.  They’re both within you and balance is achieved by disciplining yourself against the dark side, by acknowledging that the dark is there and letting go of it.  (And again.) So the idea that balance means equal number of Jedi and equal number of Sith isn’t presented anywhere in the canon or by anything George Lucas has ever said.  In fact, once the Jedi Order is murdered, the Force is left in darkness.  In theory, it should be balanced if that were true--Obi-Wan and Yoda vs Anakin and Palpatine, right?  Yet that’s too much dark.  It’s “left in darkness”.

Hell, even as far back as Attack of the Clones, Mace says that the Force is becoming too dark for them to move as they used to, that their abilities have been diminished, which says that it has nothing to do with the amount of Jedi or Sith present, but that it’s about something else.  (I feel it’s about the state of the galaxy, the corruption that has been worming its way into the heart of the Senate and the galactic public.) But a lot of people like the imagery of equal number of lightsiders and darksiders and go with that.  Which, if that works for them, that’s perfectly fine!  But canon presents that as a really bad state of affairs, that the light side works better for the galaxy, and that with the Jedi gone, the galaxy plunges into darkness.

[tessadoesstuff]

Fueled By Spite, Chapter 1

Trying Something New! Posting the fic itself here instead of just the link.

Before you click read more - this is a VERY Pro-jedi anti Kylo Ren & Admiral Hux fic. Read at your own peril.

Chapter 1 of 3

"Let me go! I'll beat his karking Shebs in!" Ponds strains against Mace's force grip to lunge at the two intruders. He's clearly determined, as even as Mace tries to keep them apart, Ponds still is almost gaining ground. Mace can feel the hatred radiating off his commander.

"See! Even now, they control your actions and take away your free will! The Jedi see you only as puppets to be controlled, flesh droids. They care about nothing an no one, their emotions as false as any of their lies-" The redheaded admiral continues again, and Ponds stops in his fight to instead just stare in shock.

"What in the sith hells?" Is what Ponds spits out in response to that, and Mace knows that he's not the only one in the room who can't believe what these intruders are sprouting. "Where do you think you have the right?" Ponds yells again, and his rage crashes again like a wave over the room. Mace rides it out - it's nothing he hadn't heard before, but it's... refreshing to have someone come to his defense like this.

“Yes! Channel that rage, use it to slaughter the ones who would hold you back! Embrace your anger!” The whiny darksider calls out to Ponds. It is perhaps the most obvious darkersider comment Mace has heard in a long time. He wishes the Sith Lord would be this obvious about being a Sith. Mace does not appreciate these attempts to do… whatever these attempts are trying to do to Ponds.

“Would you kriffing shut your karking mouth?” Ponds screeches in response, Force fluctuating with his sheer rage, and then he flawlessly executes the three sharp movements that Mace has been teaching his men to break free of a darksider’s force hold. Mace feels the impressed surprise from his fellow council members, but he is a little busy attempting to grab Ponds again as the man crosses the room towards the redheaded fascist admiral.

Help? Mace sends at Depa, who’s seated closer to Ponds now, and she manages to hook him into her own force hold, pulling him closer to her, even as Ponds takes a swing at the admiral. He isn’t close enough to land the hit, but it has the benefit of sending a look of surprise across the redhead’s face, and he steps back away from Ponds, fear spiking in the force. His darksider partner sends the admiral a look in response to his fear. The look is punctuated by equal parts distaste and pure sexual hunger, and Mace can’t stop his gut reaction of disgust to that particular situation from bleeding into the force. Given the way the force twists with discomfort from the whole council, he’s not the only one.

“That’s right, I am far more powerful than you ever will be because I allow myself to love, unlike you twisted, unfeeling, repressed Jedi!” The darksider hisses at him, and at this point, Mace is impressed that the dark-haired man can even string those words together, although Mace isn’t sure he knows what they mean. They kind of all contradict each other. Mace doesn’t respond, he just folds his hands into a platform in front of his chest and leans forward to rest his chin on his hands. He never takes his eyes off the darksider.

Never let it be said though, that Obi-Wan and his commander were not every bit the trolls that the rest of their lineage is, Mace, thinks, as Commander Cody’s response to that is to whip his helmet off, lean over, and plant a kiss straight onto Obi-Wan. Mace works very hard to keep a straight face in response to that. Obi-Wan snakes a hand around his commander’s head, pulling them closer together in a move that Mace is sure is not comfortable, but certainly looks like it’s very… involved. In total contrast to the revolting hunger of the previous interaction between the admiral and the darksider, there is a gentle underscore of respect and care in the kiss between Obi-Wan and Commander Cody, despite the obvious joke the two are making. Clearly, the darksider has different feelings, as he makes a noise of disgust and protests.

“You know that he can’t really love you. The Jedi are so blinded by their light that they can’t love. It’s become just as poisonous as the dark.” What the kark? Mace has questions. That’s just… not how the force works. The light is selfless acts, and the dark is selfishness. One is a constant battle to do the right thing and the other a blinding spiral of mistakes. Unfortunately, before Mace can do more than clear his throat to interrupt, the darksider continues. “They don’t know how to love. They hate love. They believe that love is corrosive, evil, and they will never allow themselves to feel it properly. They will never love you.”

There is a spike of pure rage, and then a crack of metal and flesh, and the whole council realizes their mistake. With Depa holding Ponds back, no one has a grip on her commander anymore. To be fair, Mace had naively assumed he could be trusted to be the responsible one. The darksider falls to the ground with one hit, and there’s a scramble by the Jedi present to grab Grey, many of them even getting out of their seats to do it by hand.

“Ren!” The admiral cries but doesn’t actually make any more to help the darksider – Ren, apparently. There’s just a burst of muffled petty satisfaction. “We’re here to help you and the galaxy be free from the Jedi’s tyranny!” He continues, and Mace will admit that at this point, it feels a little like he’s being trolled.

“Do you know what this is?” Grey responds, holding up a datapad displaying what was familiar to Mace even at this distance as a senate certified from. It was too far for Mace to make out details, but he's pretty sure he recognizes the blood-red seal that was on all of the orders that sent his men, Vode and Jedi alike, back out to another deployment. The admiral makes a decisive noise. The spike of violent intent from Grey has Shaak Ti physically lunging to catch him, but she isn’t fast enough. Grey slams the datapad across the admiral’s face, and the redhead crumples to the floor with an angry groan. “These, are the approved adoption papers that my son and I signed. My son, the Jedi Padawan.” Grey grinds out, and Mace feels a swell of love for his grandpadawan. It’s strong enough that it probably came from at least him, Depa and Grey. Mace also knows the papers are a joke. There is no legal adoption that has taken place. But the point is non the less effective.

Shaak Ti collides with Grey at what is clearly a well-calculated angle, sending them both toppling on top of the two intruders while still looking almost accidental.

“Well then. Now that we have this settled, I propose we find our guests somewhere to sleep of their… education and move onto the next item on the agenda.” Obi-Wan proposes from where he is lounging in his chair in the only way a member of his lineage could. Dramatically. Mace feels a headache building.

Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26507122

[that-sw-writer]

Devotion

Paring: Post RoS!Ben Solo x reader

Summary: When you lost Kylo Ren to the light, he lost you to the dark.  With the war now over, you have to decide if you can make it work, or if you’re too far gone to go back to him.

Word count: 1826

Warnings: None really, it’s fluffy angst... there are some slightly cliché lines though I will admit

You ran through the undergrowth of Ajan Kloss, wondering how far you would get this time.  It was just a game of cat and mouse, you knew that - you had no viable route off this planet, but even without a war there was nothing wrong with keeping the Resistance on their toes.

Behind you, you could sense multiple presences approaching, and the hum of speeders.  The first few times you had run they had pursued you on foot, but they had quickly learnt that speeders were the best approach.  Although they still hadn't learnt that they should keep you in a cell if they wanted you to stay put, they were definitely too righteous for their own good.

Two speeders overtook you and blocked you in, and you didn't try and fight it.  If you really wanted to escape you would.

Only minutes later you was being dragged back to the base and into the control centre, likely to be delivered to Generals Finn and Poe.  Usually they would just scold you and send you on your merry way.  But today you were met by the one person you had really been dreading seeing.

Ben Solo; fresh out of medical.

It had been two rotations since the fall of the Final Order, and of Palpatine.  You were the only remaining legacy of the Sith.

Now the man you had once known and loved as Kylo Ren was someone else, someone you didn't recognise.  As he had turned to the light, you had turned to the dark - and amongst the Sith there was no room for emotions such as love.

You ignored the way your heart skipped a beat when you laid eyes on him.  He wasn't your Kylo anymore.

"I think we should talk."  He said, and you hated that his voice sounded the same.  That may have sounded crazy, because of course his voice wouldn't change, but the soft tone he now spoke in used to be a tone that was only reserved for you when he was the hardened persona of Kylo Ren.  Now everyone heard that gentle voice.

"I have nothing to say to you."  You turned away and left the control centre.  The whole place was so abuzz that nobody had known what to do with you.  You currently weren't their priority, they were busy trying to create a whole new governing structure, they would deal with their Sith problem later.

"Wait-"  he followed you, but you didn't stop for him.  There wasn't anywhere for you to go and hide from him, but you had so much anger that he once shared with you, but now you felt as though you didn't want to drag him back down.  You were just a mere blight on his life, and he was just a reminder of the man you had lost.

Part of you resented that he had turned back to the light, but equally you thought he of all people deserved happiness.  If that was what made him happy, then you weren't in a position to argue with him, or hate him for it.

Eventually he reached out and grabbed your arm, turning you to face him.  He gaze met yours, but whereas you had once been two lovers gazing at one another, now you were like two strangers.  You saw a foreign softness in his brown eyes, whilst he was clinging onto memories of what your eyes had looked like before they had been dusted with a sharp yellow hue.

"Why are you still here?"  He asked, and that wasn't the question you expected to hear.

"Because I'm a prisoner."  You replied.

"You expect me to believe that?  If you didn't want to be here, you would have found a way to escape by now.  I know you."  He said, his tone softening at the end.

"You don't know me, not anymore.  The same way I don't know you, so why don't we just let the past die?"  There was a hint of bitterness in your tone, partially because you didn't want to let the past die.  On the contrary, you wished you could go back to how things had been long ago, when you and Kylo Ren had been conquering the galaxy side by side.

"Because I know how I felt about you... how I feel about you, and I'm not ready to let that go."  Ben spoke with emotion and conviction that you had rarely heard when he was Kylo Ren.  He had always buried his emotions, and scarcely told you aloud how he truly felt about you, both of you had always expressed your love through your actions.

"No Ky- Ben... that's not how you feel about me, that's how you used to feel about me."  You insisted, not wanting to open yourself up to the feelings that you knew you still had for him.  You were truly afraid of letting yourself feel.

"If that's what you think then I'll ask you again: why are you still here?"  He pressed, bringing you back round to the inevitable question.

"I don't know."  Your voice went quiet, this confusion and fear you felt translating as rage, which you were trying your hardest to suppress for Ben's sake.

"Yes, you do."  Despite there being plenty of people around, he tested the waters and reached out for your hand.  It flinched on instinct, but you remained still and allowed him to gently take ahold.

"I can't give you what you want, I'm not the same person you fell in love with."  Your voice was still hoarse, desperately trying not to snap at him, but every Sith instinct you now had wanted to react with anger.

"You don't know what I want."  Even the kinder, more gentle attitude of Ben Solo was now shifting more towards the frustration.  "You haven't asked me what I want."

"I'll tell you what you want Ben Solo."  You withdrew your hand from his and walked out of the control room, him following.  Only when you were outside, in a more private environment did you speak again.  "You want to be happy, and good."  Your hand now reached up to cup his cheek, "and that's what you deserve.  I can't be apart of that.  You're the hero, and I'm the villain, this isn't how it's supposed to be."

That was it, that was your closure.  At least, it was in your eyes.  You could leave him here, and escape this base... perhaps go and live the rest of your life as a bounty hunter, or find another faction in which you could make use of your skill set.  You had no interest in continuing the legacy of the Sith - they had died with Palpatine.

When you turned away, Ben moved to stand in front of you, blocking your path.

"I nearly died on Exegol, and the only thing I thought about was you.  Not Palpatine, not the Jedi, not the Sith, not even the Resistance or First Order - just you.  Hero or villain, it doesn't matter to me... I'll still love you."  It was clear in his tone, he wasn't asking you to stay, he was just baring his soul to you before you left, a final ditch effort to have you choose to stay with him.  "I do want to be happy, I'm less sure about good, but I can't be any of that without you."

This threw you entirely, you had been so certain that he deserved better, but you had never once asked yourself if he wanted better?

"I still can't stay here."  You now spoke under the assumption that perhaps you would even want to stay to some degree.  For the first time since fully embracing the dark side and rising as a Sith Lord, you felt something other than anger, hate, or fear.  It was warm, and coursed through your veins like ice, quenching the fire that had been burning through them before - it was devotion.

You had once devoted yourself to the First Order, but your true loyalty had been to Kylo Ren.  In his wake, you had devoted yourself to the Sith, who were able to prey on your vulnerability and raw power, but that had been a simple reaction to losing the man you had loved.

Now he stood before you, different, but still the same man beneath it all.  He was confessing his love for you, and you didn't know how to react anymore.  You thought all of your emotions had been numbed by the dark side, but there was still that spark of devotion in you, that spark that not even Palpatine could extinguish.

"I'm probably just as unwelcome here as you are.  Neither of us have to stay."  He then suggested.  In his eyes, turning back to the light didn't even begin to redeem him for any of the atrocities he had committed under the name of Kylo Ren.  He knew he would spend the rest of his life living with that guilt, but that didn't mean he had to live in an environment which constantly reminded him of said guilt.

"And what?  We just leave here and... live?"  You raised a sceptical eyebrow, "you can't think it would ever be that easy."  Your cynicism came from the dark side, it was still pulling you back, away from this poisonous dream that you could ever live happily and be in love with the man who should be your enemy.

"No, it won't be easy-" he paused to boldly move in and press his lips against yours in a gentle kiss.  You didn't pull away, initially you didn't know what to do other than stand there.  But it wasn't long before you felt that spark of devotion growing, crushing every single Sith instinct of hate and anger in its wake.  As you began to react and return his kiss, you realised that this was what you wanted: to be with him, Kylo or Ben, they were one in the same.

When he pulled away, you felt like a weight had been lifted off your shoulders, and that shroud of anger had dissipated.  When he looked at you, you saw a flash of surprise in his eyes before he spoke again, "-it never was easy for us."

"But we always made it work."  You added, your tone now softening as you remembered your days in the First Order together.

A few moments ago, Ben had been sceptical that he would ever see your true eye colour again, but he looked at you now, the yellow hue gone, and he knew he finally had you back.  He didn't need you to in the light, he just needed you by his side.

The Resistance were too preoccupied to deal with either of you, so it was the perfect time to steal a ship and go and find a new life - one you could live on your own terms for once.

[a-flickering-soul]

Listen, I’m still on about the fucking Trevorrow script!! I cannot emphasize that it would have wrapped up genuinely every single character’s arc in a perfect, satisfying, and meaningful way, not to mention wrapping up the entire Skywalker Saga in the way it was always meant to!

You have Rey, the desert scavenger, told over and over again that she is no one, from nowhere, becoming not just the Last Jedi but the fulcrum between Light and Dark, a folkloric hero. You have Rey saying “I will not deny my anger. And I will not reject my love. I am the darkness and the light.” You have her building a family around her, finding a cause she loves with people she loves, and striking with loving rage to defend them because it is she who writes her story and no one else.

You have Finn, the stormtrooper who broke free of his conditioning because he knew to kill innocent people was wrong, leading a revolution. The man who as a child had been torn away from his family to be thrown into the First Order, convincing fellow stormtroopers to join him, convincing them to name themselves and fight for a cause that sees them as people. When the Resistance flips the tides of the war, it is he who waves their flag. It is he who the prisoners and downtrodden rally around, because no one else knows the pain of being stripped of everything that makes them human than someone who spent their life behind a white plastishell helmet.

You have Poe, the pilot who would not hesitate to martyr himself for a cause, learning to care for himself through the others who care about him. He is cocky and sure of himself, because he knows that his experience and skill are hard-earned. The people he loves are around him and they carry him just as much as he carries them. He delights in caring for his loved ones, and they love him in return.

You have Rose, the mechanic engineer who saw her sister die for the Resistance, taking down the First Order from the inside out. Always underestimated, she topples the war machine with a single slipped cog, and it is she who creates a sanctuary for children like her, with nowhere to go and no one to care for them, at the end of the movie.

You have Leia, and Luke, and Obi-Wan, and Yoda--the last bulwarks of a dying age, slowly understanding that Leia and Rey were right. You cannot expect a person to let go of anger entirely, to let go of attachments and love and fear and rage--because that is what makes you human. To lend your allegiance to the Sith and embrace hate is equally as damaging as becoming a Jedi and eschewing all forms of love in fear of developing hatred. Because love and pain go hand in hand with life. They understand that the way of the Jedi and the Sith must die, because it is only in the balance of both light and dark that a person, and the galaxy, can find peace.

And finally you have Kylo Ren, Ben Solo, Ben Organa, Ben Skywalker, son of Leia, son of Anakin, son of Shmi. How mad he becomes, stalking like Hamlet around the place where his grandfather fell, driven wild by the ghosts of those he killed. His uncle tells him, “It was love that saved Anakin, and I wish it would save you”--and it does. He strikes down his allegiance to both the dark and the light and with his last dying breath, tips his forehead against Rey’s and heals her. He tells her her family name. And he dies as Ben Solo, allowing her to rise knowing her family and how it shaped her but did not define her.

I read the script and yes, it is rough, and messy, and the tone is way too dark for a Disney PG-13 franchise film. But the bones are there. This is the Star Wars I fell in love with! This is the Star Wars where Luke knew his father as the man who had murdered thousands, and yet said “there is good in him still.” This is the Star Wars where Padme said “I cannot look away when people suffer because harm to one is harm to all.” This is the Star Wars where Din Djarin said “If I must leave my way of life to save one child, then it will be done.” This is the Star Wars where the crew of Rogue One died to get information that would turn the tide of the war, where every single person was ready and willing to put down their lives for hope. This ending would have concluded the Skywalker Saga the way every single movie had pushed it to end--with the death of the Jedi, and the renewal of balance in the galaxy. It would have hammered in the theme that was there from the start--that your family does not define you, but your actions. It would have been so incredibly less racist and fascist-redeeming. I’m stunned. This is how it should have ended. This feels like a conclusion.