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faetreides · 3 months

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MARLBORO REDS - ANAKIN SKYWALKER

cause good men die too, so i’d rather be with you

summary: mechanic dilf!anakin x gender neutral kindergarten teacher!reader

wc: 8.4k

cw: “soft” dark content, made padme’s death vague on purpose, anakin has the vibes of a married father of 4 hitting on you while you’re waiting on their table at olive garden, daddy kink, anakin imagines killing someone, MALE MASTURBATION (the most graphic fantasies are skull fucking and anakin kinda hoping you’ll tear when he puts it in), bra mention (reader does have a fem style but i’m nb so that’s how i see it and men can also have a fem style), it’s not mentioned but anakin is going through cigarette withdrawals, anakin’s canon typical inability to be in a healthy relationship, possibly predictable plot twist (?), i wanted to be a lot grosser, anakin is 42 and he’s depicted as such, age gap (reader is in their early 20’s), this takes place in the U.S.

requests are open (read the rules first)

block & move on if uncomfortable

do not repost or translate!!

The exhaust fumes transported him for a moment, somewhere tropical with a cigar in one hand and a tit in the other as a wet body slid adjacent to his. His hard-earned vacation went up in flames as a shrill car horn hunted down his eardrums. Anakin snapped out of it and stared through his brittle bangs with dead eyes. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, how to act like a normal human being one of them.

"Alright, that should be everything. Since we just needed to rotate your tires and do an oil change, we're looking at about 142 dollars."

"Thank you so much, I'll just go pay at the front desk. Have a good one!"

Anakin sighed and gave a half assed wave that she didn't even see. He has nowhere near as much spunk as he did back in the day, but his energy is always shot to hell long before he sees his last customer of the day. Luckily it was just a routine maintenance type of thing, he would've just bashed his head in with a wrench if it was anything more.

Puddles of blood trot after said customer, he’s amazed that they can drive so well considering they have a bullet in their head.

There’s no bullet or rivers of blood in actuality, but a man can dream.

His knee joints creaked as he got out of his squatting position. He groaned from the effort while smearing his fingers in more grease trying to wipe them off on the pants of his overalls. The whole workshop smelled like garbage and he probably smelled even worse. His trusty grease rag was subsequently discarded on top of his portable tool tower. He noticed that a tub of lighter fluid was on its side so he prevented that big mess waiting to happen and screwed the cap shut, picked it up, and set it back on the shelves in the storage room. He had to remember to leave one of his employees a post-it notifying them that they were almost out.

His sleeves were shucked up his soft muscular forearm to check his watch. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets like moles in a whack-a-mole machine when he saw the time.

SHIT!

It was 4:30, the time he's expected to be at Alderaan Apples Elementary to pick up his twins. He didn't have the time it would normally take him to drive 20 minutes back to his place for a 10 minute shower, and then drive 30 more minutes to be at his kids' school. He normally didn't work that late, since he owns the shop he can choose his own hours. But Anakin lost track of time obsessing over work and now he'd have to embarrass his kids by showing up covered in it. Their teacher would probably be there to chew him out, but in his defense this really didn't happen all that often.

That teacher being arguably the biggest reason why he hated that they’d see him looking how he did right then. They're awfully pretty, with a chest that he's pictured slapping and sucking while their thick ass recoils from bouncing on his uncut cock. They had just moved to their average sized town at the start of the year, they told him at the parent teacher conferences at the beginning of the school year. Something about yearning to get away from their lackluster small town but also being too afraid to venture out into any kind of big city on their own.

They were making the cutest little gestures when they were shyly talking his ear off too, shifting their thighs together as they swayed and never letting their eye contact stray too far away from their freshly polished mary janes. Anakin was very careful about remembering everything he could about Luke and Leia's first real school year. Hell, he was more scared than they were. But there was just something in the way this new teacher did their best to soothe any worries the kids might have.

"It's okay, we'll be going on this new adventure together. And I'll do my very best to be there for you every step of the way. I hope you can be brave and look after me too!"

Luke nodded timidly but with a newfound sense of determination. Leia shouted an affirmative, being more extroverted in comparison to her brother.

Their teacher was young, somewhere in their early 20's. Most likely having flown into town right after getting their degree. It made something in his gut swirl and simmer, imagining their delicate finger tracing his crow's feet and tugging on the gray in his hair. Their head nestled gently in between his squishy pecs, some of his muscle definition was lost with age but he had a feeling you'd like how much the slight softness of his belly highlighted the muscle underneath.

The cliche apples in the blouse their teacher was wearing seemed to have Anakin in a trance as he zoned out. He grunted in acknowledgement when he needed to and slipped every form and newsletter he was given into his satchel. When it was time to head home, Luke and Leia clung to their teacher's legs. Anakin rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and bent over to pry them off. He explained how sorry he was, being a single dad meant that whether or not he meant to, the kids still looked for a mother figure.

He'll never forget the way your eyes widened by a fraction, flicking up to make eye contact with his feigned nonchalant stare. You seemed.... happy to hear that he was single. But that could've just been an old man getting wrapped up in the delusions that he still has it.

"I'm so sorry to hear that, Mr. Skywalker. I'm sure you don't need me to tell you how hard it is to do what you do everyday, but let me just say that I think you're doing an excellent job."

He thinks you'd do even better.

By the time he had finished reliving that fond little memory, he could spot the street sign for the street the school was on. Ruffling his hair, he made a sharp right turn and slowly pulled into the parking lot. His black chevy truck performed beautifully like always so he gave her a solid pat on the hood. He turned on his heel, immediately seeing his children hugging either one of your legs. He was only 10 minutes late, it wasn't any better but he would never make his kids feel like he abandoned them. He never wanted them to go through what he had gone through when he was their age.

He adjusted his collar and made a last ditch effort to wipe his fingers off on his clothes. He heard a quiet cough. He shot his head up to catch your unamused eyes. A wry smile appeared on his face as he jogged over to you. When he reached the three of you, he immediately crouched and placed a hand on Luke and Leia's shoulders.

"Dad's really sorry, okay? He just lost track of time but he rushed over here as fast as he could as soon as he realized what time it was."

Luke peeked out from behind your leg, "Like the Flash?"

"Yes, Luke, like the Flash." Anakin chuckled, slowly opening his arms wide in the hopes that his kids weren’t too mad at him.

Thankfully he was instantly overwhelmed by two bodies slamming into him, almost knocking him onto the ground and tumbling down the concrete steps. Luke was clutching onto him so tightly and Leia was giggling up a storm. He stood up and gently ushered his kids into holding one of his hands so they could stand beside him.

He cleared his throat a few times before finally addressing you.

"I'm so sorry, I don't know if you overheard but work was really hectic today and I didn't want to waste more time cleaning up. Please just think of me how you did before, I won't look like this tomorrow."

You sighed, shaking your head with a small smile. Your blouse had a floral pattern today, blue covered in peonies and apple blossoms. Your pants were some kind of plaid thing but you make them work so well. Anakin had to actively keep his eyes from eye fucking your wide hips and oggling the expanse of your butt in the tight pants. Just thinking about how little must be left to the imagination made his cock ache in his overalls. But he restrained himself, he was going to ask you out when he was in a much better and.... cleaner state. He pushed the thoughts down and settled himself down with daydreams of the near future.

"It's alright, Mr. Skywalker. I understand your situation, so long as it doesn't happen frequently and the children don't have to wait too long, we won't have a problem." You gently admonished the older man, not hiding the protective tone in your voice but still looking up at him with bashful warmth in your eyes.

Stars, the way you were already so protective over his kids made him even harder. He briefly wondered how you'd be with their younger siblings. The image made his heart flutter and a wide smile stretched his lips. He shuffled from one foot to the other, praying to whatever God is out there that he's able to hide his boner in his baggy overalls. He still had quite a few years before he even wanted to think about having the birds and bees talk with the kids. He adjusted his overalls quickly and reached out a greasy rough palm to you.

"I swear this won't happen everyday, thank you for being so kind. I definitely won't forget it." He murmured with a wink that was open to interpretation.

You bit your lip as you leaned forward to slip your smooth palm into his. A sharp shiver traveled up Anakin's body and butterflies erupted in your stomach at the contact. You clicked your heels together and shook his hand, the weight of it made certain kinds of thoughts pop into your head that you'd rather not deal with at the moment.

Reluctantly Anakin pulled his hand away, making sure it lingered more than was necessary or appropriate. He put his back to you and double checked that Luke and Leia had one hand in each of his and their other hands on the strap of their backpacks. Luke had one with planets on it while Leia had one with dinosaurs. He looked down at their feet to make sure that they were going slow and steady on the steps. They reached the bottom of the steps and walked across the parking lot to Anakin's truck. He opened the back seat, lifting Leia first and waiting for her to settle in before nearly throwing out his back bending down again to help Luke in. He buckled them up and made sure their seatbelts were fastened properly. He took a few steps back and gingerly closed the backseat door on Luke's side. His back was screaming at him on the trip around the back of the truck, it especially burned when he haphazardly threw his door open and climbed up into the driver's seat.

The drive home was the same as it was everyday. Leia excitedly told her father all about every single detail of her day and Luke needing less coaxing to talk about his as the school year progressed. Luke was upset when they ran out of apple juice at lunch because that meant he had to have grape. Leia bragged about the rock she painted during craft time. Anakin listened intently, no matter what kind of depraved shit he felt for their teacher, he wanted to take extra care that both of his kids felt heard and appreciated at the end of the day. He responded with jokes and questions to keep them talking, it distracted them from realizing how long the drive was to the house.

They pulled into the house's garage half an hour later. Anakin was about ready to collapse into a pile of bones in his recliner. Luke and Leia ran like bats out of hell through the door and up the stairs to their bedrooms. He could hear the sounds of them putting their backpacks on their hooks and unzipping them to go through the jungle of papers they stash in them.

The fridge was fresh out of Dr. Pepper so Anakin grumbled and got a can of bud lite from his locked minifridge on the counter. He managed to make it to the couch before he let himself fall face first onto the cushions.

The pitter patter of tiny feet bounding down the stairs yanked him from sleep so he sat up and leaned his cheek against the arm of the couch.

"Dad! Dad! Dad! Look!" Luke blurted out, shoving some kind of paper in his dad's smushed face.

Anakin grimaced but made himself sit upright. He reached out and took the paper from Luke, holding it at a good distance away from his face and at a downwards angle so he could read it properly.

"What's this, buddy?"

"It's a paper for the party, Dad! The Valentine's day one that's um.... this Friday, i think.” Luke nervously wrung his hands in his striped shirt as he spoke. “I want to get something for my teacher too…”

Anakin rubbed his shaved chin as he read the paper. Luke was right. It was a newsletter informing parents about the Valentine's Day party each class would be holding on Friday. There would be no working or classes and instead every class would have an all day party for both the children and their parents. Students were allowed to bring any snacks of choice, but they had to bring a box of valentine cards for their class and give one to every student in their class.

"That must be nice, having no school for a day. Well, i'll be there on Friday and tomorrow we can go to the store and get the supplies for you and your sister."

“And we can get something for my teacher?”

“Of course Luke, that’d be a very nice thing to do for them.”

"Okay! Thanks, dad, love you!" Luke cheered, bouncing on his feet and kissing Anakin on the cheek while giving him a second long side hug before running back upstairs.

The next day the Skywalker family was back in the truck on the way to the biggest local supermarket in the area. It wasn't too far, just in the next town over. They could've gone to the smaller store back home, but the kids liked having options and liked car rides that were like little road trips. (Why they hated the longer drives when they were to school but liked them in situations like this, Anakin could sympathize.

Anakin shut the radio off when they pulled into the large parking lot of the supermarket. He put his car in park and turned the engine off. The wind chill smacked him right in the face as soon as he stepped out of his seat. He rubbed his hands up and down his arms to warm himself up and walked over to get Leia and Luke out of the car as quickly as possible without freezing his ass off. They did the standard routine of holding their dad's hands while they crossed the parking lot. Anakin was telling them to look both ways to watch out for any cars that were coming as they walked along the crosswalks. Mercifully they weren't in the cold long before they entered the store.

The bright white LED overhead lights made Anakin want to pass out but he followed closely behind the kids that were already running themselves ragged all over the place. He reminded them what they were here for and his arms were pulled to their breaking point all the way to the card aisle. There were so many options of valentine card packs. There were Bluey ones, Spiderman, ones that looked like the cootie catchers you fold and pull apart, et cetera.

Luke ended up choosing Spiderman ones that came with pencils. Leia chose a kitten design for her cards.

Anakin almost fell asleep on the ride home. He let the kids pick out drinks from the little displays in front of the registers so they were miles away in sugar rush land. He made a note to pop a couple ibuprofens before he went to bed. Some days are easier than others but since his wife passed away when his kids were newborns, he’s never known what it was like to be able to depend on someone else to always be there to help. His childhood friend Obi-wan stops by every so often to stay over, his mom and step-dad babysit when he stops being stubborn, but that’s once in a blue moon. The sunset casts light onto the sunspots and hair on his arms. He rolled both of his sleeves up because his body typically runs hot and global warming making the temperature 65 degrees in the middle of February does him no favors.

The McDonald’s they drove through got the kids happy meals wrong three times, something that was clearly a sign of the apocalypse.

He had to remind Luke and Leia not to run too fast as they clammored out of the truck with his assistance and bolted to the front door. Anakin sighed his millionth sigh of the day and clamped a hand on Leia’s head to steady her as he searched his rusty old keyring for their house key. His steady hand inserted the key into the lock, ushering his kids inside with his free hand while he pushed the door open. His long legs moved at a sloth like pace, Leia and Luke ignored him and shot up the stairs like two little rockets.

“Guys, slow down. Marshmallow feet, remember?” He reminded them and leaned around the corner so they could hear him, shaking his head in exasperation when all he gets in response is a couple “Okay, dad!”s.

The white and orange ibuprofen bottle stored in one of the many dark wood cabinets over the fridge beckoned him with a come hither motion. He’s little more than a slave to his baser instincts so he dutifully heeded the call. The cabinet creaked when he cracked it open but he couldn’t give less of a fuck as he dove for the pill bottle and shook out a few orange pills. He exhaled in relief in a way that would suggest he was smoking weed when his adams apple bobbed as the pills hit his stomach.

With that mindless task out of the way, Anakin slowly journeyed up the stairs to get Leia and Luke ready for bed. He kept a stern eye on them to ensure they brushed their teeth, used their mouthwash properly, and washed their faces. After the kids completed their bedtime routines, he tucked them into bed while humming a lullaby Obi-Wan had taught them when he held them as infants. He gave them their time to say goodnight to their mom, Luke looked at the glow in the dark stars on his ceiling when he said it and Leia clutched her stegosaurus plushie when she whispered her goodnight.

Anakin didn’t contribute but he warmly kissed his twins on their foreheads and tucked the corners of their comforters around their shoulders.

His heavy work boots thundered against the hardwood floor of the hallway as he walked out of their room and down the carpeted stairs to the den. He unhooked the buttons holding up his overalls on his shoulders and shimmied his ruined overalls down to his ankles. His hairy thighs expanded as he stepped out of them so he could kick them to the other side of the room. He was left in only his boxers and a white tank top that would never be white again. So he flexed his arms as he took that tank top off too. Grease stains were all over his body but he could at least take a shower now.

His boxers joined the towels from yesterday’s shower on the floor as his soft cock flopped out. He gave it an absentminded stroke that injected something molten into his bone marrow. He bent over to reach the faucet and turned the water on. The shower didn't start until the water babbling over his thick calloused fingers was hot enough to cook a lobster in.

He rolled his shoulders back as he stepped into the shower. His mouth dropped open in a silent exclamation and his neck popped as his head lolled back. The onslaught of boiling hot water pin pricked his skin in a pleasure-pain sort of way that made his thoughts temporarily quiet down.

His cock gave a couple twitches but Anakin elected to wait until he had at least washed his hair before he rubbed a much needed orgasm out.

3-in-1 shampoo that smelled like some dior cologne was all up in his hair, his hands unhurriedly glided through his short-ish soapy strands. He angled his head back and let the lather he had worked up be drowned out by the shower head. He grabbed his vanilla & shea butter body wash and let the spout rest against his glistening pecs as his fingers curled around the stocky bottle and squeezed. The smooth liquid spurted out over his pecs and dripped down his body. He reached his hands right up under the steady stream and soaped up his pecs, ghosting his thumbs over his puffy nipples before spreading his hands out and spreading the soapsuds all over the rest of his body.

Squelching sounds echoed off the shower floor as Anakin widened his stance. His right hand was subconsciously traveling closer and closer to his half-hard cock. He had worked so hard, finally being able to relax and luxuriate in the silence made the blood in his body migrate further south.

A certain teacher flashed through his mind, his head whipped down in shock to discern how greatly his flushed cock swelled up faster just at the single image of his kids’ kindergarten teacher.

An aurora borealis of fantasies swirled in the air.

You’re kneeling on a pillow (he would be at serious risk of getting more brow wrinkles if you had to touch the harsh dirty floor with your bare skin.) and bobbing your head up and down the fat cock making a bulge in your cheek. Your sparkling eyes have this glazed over look to them as he anchors his hands on the back of your head. He widens his stance and bullies your throat with his heavy cock. You squeak and sputter but you take it like such a good pet. Your plump lips slide off of his meat a couple inches but before he can do anything, you’re groping his taut ass as you wiggle your head down to the base of his cock. Your eyes flutter shut as your brain shuts off; your nose is buried right in his musky bush. His face scrunches up in the best kind of pain, but he locks his gaze on the way your eyes roll back when he begins to skull fuck you.

Thank god for oral fixations.

“Gonna let Daddy soak this warm throat pussy?” Don’t worry, he knows you can’t exactly use your vocal chords properly at the moment. So he nods your head for you, deepening his thrusts into slow sharp jabs.

He’d baptize you in cum if you let him, your skin would look so pretty and glossy covered in it. He’d help you wipe it off after he cements the image of your eyelashes sticking together in his mind.

Now he’s grabbing your love handles while his cock builds his dream home in your guts. Your ass shakes back against his hips as you try to steady the phone in your hands and face it towards the overhead. He grabs your hair in one fist and gently tugs your head up so you can pay attention properly. He didn’t go through all this just to let you hide away from him. In a perfect world, the kids would be staying with his mom so you’d be more than welcome to lose your voice.

The vision in his mind shifts to you being on your back, hands trembling trying to hold your legs as close to your chest as possible. You’re looking up at him like he was born in the center of the sun. He’s looking back at you like you’re the moon made flesh, eternally encapsulated in his sea of stars. Anakin smiles triumphantly but with a heady passion in his gait that threatens to burn his lungs to ash, coughing them up over your open heart.

“You’re doing so well puppy, that’s my brave baby.” He coos and pries your hands off your thighs finger by finger.

Once your hands are free, his larger ones ardently seek out yours like a dog going after a bone. The rough texture of his digits feels like an uncomfortably pleasant caress as they lace together with your own. He doesn’t look at anything else; can’t think of anything else when you make the cutest little watery gasp as his cock humps along the crack of your hole. The red tip of it gets caught against your outer sweet spot as if trying to give your crotch small pecks. His eye wrinkles crinkle when his smile widens and he offers a breathy laugh.

He squeezes your hands tightly as he wraps a hand around his cock and directs it to its northern star. Your nails digging into his knuckles don’t distract from your hole stretching itself wide to suckle at his encroaching length.

And if in the shower he spilled into his feverishly fucked fists at the concept of crimson liquid mixing with cum to make a pink swirl where your bodies meet, you’d never know. He thumbed at the glans under his cock tip as he came down from his high, skirting a fingernail up a vein on the side and wishing he was mouthing the space between your shoulder blades; preening your white feathers with his scratchy tongue.

The next couple days were gone with a couple of blinks. He never deviated from his routine; wake up, wipe off the drool on his face, get kids ready and take them to school, go to work, clean up, go pick kids up from school, help with whatever work 6 year olds would have, put them to bed, jerk off in the shower till his legs ache, fall asleep on his stomach with his the right side of his face smushed into a pillow.

He did find some time to put together a teacher’s appreciation basket for you. You more than anyone else deserved a few something somethings on a day meant to represent love. The gifts were packed nicely and neatly in a vintage wicker basket wrapped in a red gingham bow and covered in see through red plastic wrap. Your reaction would regrettably have to be viewed from afar, but he’d know how to move forward depending on what adorable expression you had all over your face.

The night before the party, Anakin allowed Luke and Leia to stay up a smidge later than normal so that they could get all of their things ready for the party. Anakin’s special present slept soundly in the seat next to his in front of his truck. An additional gift from Luke was tucked inside along with an item from Leia who had insisted on it when she found out Luke was getting you something.. The basket being hidden away for the time being allowed him to focus completely on helping his children with their gifts at the coffee table.

Luke’s eyes were droopy as he wrote down the names of his classmates in the hearts made to look like Spiderman’s mask in his cards. He inserted most of the pencils in the intended slot on the left of the cards by himself before he slumped against Anakin’s arm and weakly pushed the pile of cards towards his dad. Anakin chuckled as he ruffled Luke’s fluffy blonde hair and teasingly whispered that he didn’t know a boy could be so sleepy. His son blinked at him as if to say how unfunny his dad was before yawning and snuggling further into his father.

Anakin pushed the rest of the pencils into the card slots and sealed all of the cards with red heart stickers. He lifted his head to look across the glass coffee table to check in on how Leia was doing. For how fiery his daughter was already at such a young age, she wasn’t immune to getting tired before 8:30. The signature buns on her head that she loved begging him to do for her had loose hairs poking out of them because of how Leia had buried her head in her arms.

Anakin blew a breath out in fond chagrin as he easily reached over the table and delicately removed the pins holding the buns in place. He fluffed out the hair that fell down so her scalp wouldn’t feel weird when she woke up.

He hoisted Luke up in one arm and Leia in the other (something they were getting a bit too big to continue doing) and slowly but surely deposited them on the couch. He snatched a white plush blanket from the linen closet and settled it over them before turning back to the massive amount of paper cards on the table. He finished the last of Leia’s cards a short while later. He sorted the cards into orderly piles and put them in sandwich bags that he took to the kids room so he could put the bags in their backpacks.

Anakin came back to the living room as he tried to shoo the sleep away by digging his knuckles into his eye sockets in a lazy rub. He opened the cabinet and took out a package of pink frosted sugar cookies with red heart shaped sprinkles, a pack of capri suns, and a tupperware bowl full of mini brownies. With a long drawn out yawn he set the snacks out on the counter so that he would remember them tomorrow morning. He got a set of paper plates and a sectioned set of cutlery in case you needed any extra. Maybe you’d give him one of those corny gold star stickers as a thank you.

Friday morning was ushered in by two children risking their dad’s life by flopping on his stomach with all the strength they had while he was sleeping.

“OH FU-“ He shouted before he remembered who was in the room and gently rolled them off of his stomach. “What exactly do you two think you’re doing?”

"It's time to wake up dad, we're gonna be late for school!" Leia said with a dismayed look on her somewhat chubby face.

Anakin looked away and meekly mouthed a 'sorry' as he looked at the led clock that he had forgotten to set an alarm on.

Fuck, not again.

He sat up in bed and hunched over; his head buried in his hands. Luke and Leia crowded around him as they tried their best to comfort their father, giving his back light pats. He let them pull his hair so that he'd look up at them. He smiled in gratitude and crawled out of bed as quickly as he could to get the day started.

He made a comical sight; hobbling around the floor with his ripped jeans pooled around his feet as he raced to get his kids ready for school in time. His belt was a fairly new black leather piece that he'd been keeping for a special occasion, but the anxiety of the morning made him grapple with getting the buckle in place. Once that was done a shameful amount of time later, he shoved his clothes to the side in his closet as he searched for a nicer, more "classy" dress shirt. Anakin gnawed at his bottom lip and eventually decided on a black silk button up that matched his belt. He crouched, chanting in his head that he hoped he wouldn't tear a muscle, and chose a pair of italian leather slides that his mom had gotten him for Father's Day a couple of years ago. The bathroom mirror held back no punches when it showed Anakin the state of his head. He crossed his fingers and smoothed back his hair with the tiniest glob of gel; the water he splashed on his face would have to do some serious charity work. He could only hope that you liked the naturally unkempt but not too unkempt kind of look, a striking sort of ruggedness.

"Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad..." Luke droned, understandably fed up with waiting on his dad to deal with another one of his mini mid life crisis episodes.

"I'll be right there Luke, hold on a second, please."

Anakin gave into his son’s begging and let him brush his teeth with the birthday cake flavored toothpaste today. Even though the dentist moaned about how hard it was to clean out when they introduced it to Luke at his last appointment. His Spiderman toothbrush played a jingle meant to sound like the theme song when Luke did his 2 minutes of brushing. Anakin stood protectively behind him as he spit in the sink, his hand hovered over his head so he wouldn't hit it. He took Luke's toothbrush and ran it under the water before he put it back in the clear organizer next to the faucet. He poured the recommended amount of mouthwash from the bottle and passed the lid that acted as the cup to Luke. Luke grimaced but he tipped the cup up so the blue liquid would pour in his mouth, he swished it around and then spat it out too. He sipped from the glass of water that was handed to him and proudly beamed at his father.

"Good job, Luke. I'm so proud of you." Anakin congratulated him, Luke was still finicky about floss so today would not be the day that he attempted to get him to use it.

Being a parent means knowing how to pick your battles and what time to schedule them.

Anakin brushed Luke's hair and fluffed it out a bit like a surfer (how Luke likes it). He grabbed his son by his underarms and lifted him off of the step stool. The mirrors in their house were still a bit too high for his kids to see properly so for now the stools had a purpose. He would be sad when they no longer needed them.

Anakin quickly dipped into the twins room to grab their backpacks. He had already gotten them dressed after he got out of bed earlier. He helped Luke put his on and then repeated the same process with Leia. Her toothbrush made a loud roar when she finished brushing, and she had a fit of giggles in response. His daughter preferred straightforward mint toothpaste so morning routines really weren't that much of a struggle with her. Once she put the glass of water down on the sink, she eagerly turned her back to her dad and pointed at her loose hair. Anakin saluted as he began shaping her hair into the buns she loves so much. He reminded her not to mess with them too much or they'd fall apart, and she always responded that she knew that already.

They got in a single file line on their mission out the door. Anakin nabbed the containers of snacks and briefly freaked out wondering if he lost the cards before he remembered that they were in the kids' backpacks. He double checked if his keys and wallet were in his pockets, and to his relief everything was where it was supposed to be.

Well, mostly everything. He'd never forget about you, don't worry.

He put his phone on do not disturb before tossing in the front seat next to his along with the basket already sitting there.

Anakin told Luke and Leia to buckle their seatbelts as he inserted his key into the keyhole and started the car. He heard them buckle up and waited for the tell tale clicks before putting his car into drive. They had to leave than some of the other kids in their school would have to since they lived farther away, but because it was so early the twins could only yawn and hold onto the other twins' booster seat. Anakin thanked the cosmos and turned the radio on but kept it a low volume; Frank Sinatra's rich voice was the best company on a drive like this.

The school entrance was abundantly decorated. A large white banner along the front entry archway announced the festivities. A flurry of red, pink, and white ribbons hung across the ceiling of the lobby. Every door had hearts representing the students in their class covering them, the kids's names scrawled in their own messy handwriting with cheap crayons.

The door of your classroom was the last one on the left. You kept a bottle of hand sanitizer in front of it because you were very particular about hygiene, a trait that served you extremely well in your job. Luke and Leia pointed out where on the door their hearts were as they waited for you to open the door. The Skywalker family were the first ones there so Anakin wasn't sure if it was okay to just drop in on you unannounced. He wished that you would drop on him unannounced. He cradled his gift basket in his arms as if it were a fragile baby.

A few minutes later, your heels were heard clacking against the tile floor. The silver door knob jiggled before it stopped moving and the door took its sweet sweet time opening. Your head poked out and your face brightened when you saw who was at the other end. You sunk down into a squat, putting your hands on your knees as you addressed the children.

"Why, hello Leia; hello to you too Luke. You're a tad early, but you can go ahead and hang your backpacks on the hooks in your cubbies. I haven't finished setting everything up, so you can sit down on any of those chairs at the front of the class." You greeted them and shook their hands before pointing out where they could sit.

The twins obviously sat together. You didn't have assigned seating in your class, and you felt that Leia and Luke would be more comfortable sitting together during their first year at school. It wasn't guaranteed that they'd be in the same class next year. You were too sensitive to try to separate them. You cried a lot because of how scary school was when you were in their place, so you couldn't imagine being the cause for any tears your students shed.

Anakin was once again too caught up in studying your outfit. You had on a fitted shirt with a cardigan on top, it had thin strings that could unwind with no effort from him if he reached out and just pulled.

But that could wait.

The kids scattered off to choose their seats. Your classroom had three circular tables with five small red chairs. Each chair had a small blanket on the back with a valentine's pattern. The table at the front where Luke and Leia were sitting had heart shaped placemats with a lace trim that looked like it should've been a doily, but in a… good way. You had red and pink plates on the smaller table next to your desk, as well as clear forks and spoons that looked like they had confetti inside of them. You figured that the parents would bring all of the refreshments and you didn't know what your students would want; you thought that the safest bet would be to hang back.

Anakin did the most he could to soften his gaze when you straightened up and automatically locked eyes with the older man. He clocked how you instantly glanced down at the floor for a split second. You adjusted your collar, for some reason, and gave him the world’s smallest smile. Anakin was so certain that if he leaned in close enough, he would be able to hear your heart racing at the same accelerated pace as his.

Some say that means it’s love.

You fluttered your eyelashes, “Hi, Mr. Skywalker, thank you for coming. It’s always a pleasure to see Luke and Leia, but i’m glad that you could be here for them”

“Believe me, no one’s more happy about me being here than I am.” He blurted out without thinking, ‘Uh, I brought some snacks and drinks for everybody.”

You took in the capri suns and the desserts as your smile grew. Your hand curled around his bicep subconsciously, “Oh my gosh, that’s so nice of you! I’ll just put those over the-“

You couldn’t even finish your sentence before Anakin sauntered past you to put the food down on the table next to your desk. He placed the frosted sugar cookies down first, followed by the capri suns and brownies.

He turned to face you and his shirt seemed to tighten over his chest as he rested his hands on his hips. His fingers flexed absentmindedly, like they wished they were gripping something else.

“I can handle it, sweetheart. I’m 42, not 72.” He chided you, strolling back over and chucking you under the chin; you were cute if you thought you’d be lifting a single finger the entire day.

The way you nearly fell head over heels trying to fix your assumed faux paus was even cuter, “No, no- I- I didn’t mean anything- I just- Y-you look very capable to me, sir.”

If your brain would let you, you would rip your face off to hide from your big mouth. Why the hell would you tell the much older father of two of your students that you think he looks “very capable”? WHAT POSSESSED YOU TO CALL HIM “SIR”?

Anakin scratched his chin and decided that he’d let you off the hook with no more teasing from him. That’s a lie though, he was confident that you could take whatever he gave you.

“Careful, don’t stroke my ego too much or I'll have to stroke yours. And please, I'd hate to have to remind you again, my name’s Anakin.” He was flirting a little too shamelessly for where you were, but he was still thinking with his upstairs head and guided you to a back corner.

“I actually got you something myself, but uh, if it’s all the same to you, I'd wait to open it until you’re nice and snug at home.”

He gladly took a short walk to your car with you and helped you set the basket down safely in the trunk. He told you to stand back as he slammed the trunk door shut; slapping it for good measure to make sure it was properly closed.

The two of you returned to your classroom and like the good little helper Anakin wanted you to know he could be, he helped you greet the incoming parents and students. He even took any concessions they brought and put them with the others

By 8:15 everyone you expected was in your classroom. A few kids were without their parents so you asked some of the other students to invite them to enjoy the party; a party’s no fun alone.

At some point around 9:00 you had the stray daydream of Anakin pinning you against the wall outside of your door as he savagely plundered your mouth with his teeth and tongue. Finger shaped bruises and a promise to ‘see you at home, baby’ would keep your usually freezing cold body warm. You glance at the man out of the corner of your eye to see that he was already staring. He looked like he wanted to teach you a lot of things.

Whatever that meant.

The morning half of the day consisted of the cafeteria delivering breakfast and watching a couple of movies that the class voted on. The Lego Batman Movie was first (a unanimous decision), and Wreck-it-Ralph was picked after that (some kids wanted to watch the minion movie like always but you were secretly happy that they weren’t the majority.)

Lunchtime was when you decided to let the students have the snacks, they were welcome to go down to the cafeteria with a guardian if they wanted actual food but they didn’t have to. You weren’t surprised when none of the seats became empty.

Anakin had to wrench the small plastic chair away from his ass before he winked charmingly and speed walked to the snack table to help you. The air between the both of you had inexplicably become charged with insurmountable tension. The chaos didn’t give you much chatting time so you could only glances and brush your arms together; how accidental those touches were was up for debate.

Especially when he needed to get through to the plates and forks behind you.

“Sorry, let me just squeeze past you.” He whispered in your ear, his big hands using your waist to steady you as he pressed his back flush against your chest.

In the blink of an eye he was gone. The invisible hands chained to your skin remained. You fanned your face with one of the cheap paper plates as you floated back to your body and got a hold of yourself.

You looked over at the Skywalker trio to see Luke and Leia point at you as they tirelessly tug on their dads sleeves until he caved. You saved him the trouble and went to them, bending down so you could hear the twins properly.

“Do you two need something? I could see you making a fuss over here.” You teased.

“Dad forgot to give you our presents….” Leia mumbled and Luke nodded sharply.

Your eyes widened, “Oh! You didn’t have to get me anything, but the day’s not over yet. You can give them to me now.”

“I did not forget, Leia.” Anakin shook his head, fidgeting in the uncomfortable chair. “They’re in the basket Dad brought, and your teacher has it in her car outside, okay?”

You nodded and confirmed their fathers words, “He’s right. I didn’t know that there were things from you and your brother in it too but it’s safe and sound. I pinky swear.”

Two much smaller pinkies met you halfway and wrapped around yours. The Skywalker twins giggled as they turned it into an impromptu arm wrestle competition and beat you easily. (You felt they were going to snap your finger off if they kept tightening their hold so you bowed out.)

Anakin watched with hearts in his eyes and his head propped up in his hand, his eyes crinkled at the inherent domesticity of the act.

Luke and Leia agreed to call their exhibition match a draw.

The sun had already set by the time you got home. You were so tired that you nearly dropped your keys down the stairwell; you didn’t want to spend your night fishing them out of the grass.The wicker basket in your arms was at risk of falling too but you got your door opened and you crumpled on the loveseat.

“Oof, I should probably get this sorted out now or I'll just forget about it.” You said as your body protested you moving a single inch from your sunken spot.

You grabbed your emerald green pair of scissors and cut the top of the plastic wrap off.The wrapping squealed as you tore it off the rest of the basket. You peered into it and thankfully it looked like a run of the mill teacher’s appreciation gift; for a valentine’s day it was a little strange but since it was from Anakin… you’d slip on your rose colored glasses.

There was a medium sized teddy bear, a couple three wick candles; your favorite was the one that smelled like the conversation hearts candy. There was also a custom made box of chocolates from the bakery you frequented, and three burgundy roses that you trimmed properly before dropping them in the vase on your kitchen island.

The ‘world’s best teacher’ stood out like a sore thumb but it made you smile anyway.

The teddy bear was incredibly fluffy and bubblegum pink; it’s holding a sparkly red heart with the word ‘princess’ sewed in hot pink thread in the center. You swept the fur away from its black eyes so it could see. The bear was pretty cute, and you had a problem handling your stuffed animal addiction, so you headed to your bedroom and laid it down with the rest of your plushies.

You yawned and your mouth stretched like a goldfish when it does the same thing. The strings of your red cardigan came undone by your hands and you let it slide off of you and hit the floor. Your pink ribbed top joined it when you gathered enough energy to give a damn and move your arms.

Your white bra was so plain but like hell if it didn’t make the man palming himself over his jeans rock hard. The kids were sound asleep in bed and the walls were thick so he could be as loud as he wanted. But this particular session wasn’t about achieving some grand climax. No. He just wanted to take things slow tonight. If he happened to gradually tumble over the edge along the way, he wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Anakin loved you, every inch of your body would soon be blissfully aware of that.

The miniscule camera in the dot above the i in Princess loved you just as much.

The fire that would wait to invite itself in for a surprise visit until you had left for work loved you more.

a/n: i had this in the drafts for a bit but i was having a moment so i didn’t post it until now. happy valentine's day 💞

#dividers by cafekitsune and roseschoices #anakin skywalker #anakin x reader #star wars anakin #anakin smut #star wars x reader #mdni #tw dark content #yandere x reader #male yandere x reader #male yandere #yandere smut #anakin skywalker smut #anakin skywalker x reader #⚰️.deaddove

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into-daylight-hope · 3 years

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Qui-Gon Jinn: Certified Hypocrite, Fascinating Failure, Mass of Contradictions

For starters, I am just going to let direct quotes from the man speak for itself.

Some excerpts from Master & Apprentice

Wise words.

Wait a minute...

😯😯 What the hell is happening here? All quotes are from the same man in one book.

Qui-Gon Jinn doesn't have an ounce of self-awareness and it is so hilariously terrible.

What is even better (or worse), this is perfectly in line with The Phantom Menace characterization .

I mean,

Remember when he said all this than spent the rest of the movie obsessing over prophecies, the chosen one and literally the future?

"He still has so much to learn of the living force." Qui-Gon Jinn about Obi-Wan in the council scene

After that scene

"The boy is dangerous. They all sense it why can't you?" Obi-Wan Kenobi about Anakin Skywalker to Qui-Gon Jinn

You see Obi-Wan, Master Jinn here has completely lost any sense of "here and now" between his crusade against darkness and divine mission to save the Galaxy.

This in turn, unsurprisingly blinds him to the fact Anakin is not suitable to become a Jedi. Or at least not ready to directly move on to becoming a padawan.

Anakin himself would suffer in a road that is not meant for him. But he is not planning for Anakin the child. He is thinking about The Glorious Chose One.

He is the chosen one. You all must, see it.

And yet from Qui-Gon's perspective it is Obi-Wan who doesn't understand the Living Force.

I have to say if he is truly a student of the living force as many fans claim he has been failing the class for at least 8 years.

Let's move on to another set of entertaining and horrifyingly oblivious quotes from M&A.

If you look upward you can observe Mr. Here and Now in his natural habitat.

He really acts like future is set in stone than thinks he is the right person to talk about about concentrating in the moment. Unbelievable.

Let's look at this dialogue again. In contrast with the excerpt from above.

He is all about the future when it suits him. But when Obi-Wan makes a remark on it he obviously should just focus on the moment. This is actually the third time in this post where he contradicts himself while specifically chastising or criticizing Obi-Wan for something Qui-Gon actually does.

Now I don't think Qui-Gon acts with malice. But it is important to point out his obliviousness has become a way of ensuring he is never in the wrong.

He suffers from an immense hubris. And a man obsessed with prophecies and chosen ones definitely has some kind of savior complex.

But notably Jinn doesn't actually want to put any effort into enacting real change with his limited yet existent capabilities.

He turns down a council seat in M&A because he thinks it would hold him down. From what? Dear God, the reason they offered him a seat was for different opinions. Qui-Gon can complain all he wants but one time he actually had a chance to make his opinions a reality he freaking bailed.

Why? He doesn't want to face his own limits. He can't bare to try and fail. It is much easier to sustain a superiority complex when you are complaining from the sidewalk.

So he fixates all this belief onto prophecies, visions that will magically cure the Galaxy. And of course his place to help fulfill them. To the point where it is the one thing that keeps him standing.

He has binded meaning of his life and belief for goodness dangerously close to his supposed importance in the Galaxy. (You can feel the influences of his former master)

His absolute refusal to engage with reality turns him into mass of contradictions. Cause he doesn't know what he will find or become if he is mistaken in his belief of himself.

He can't face reinvention on the event of defeat.

But this situation was different. It had to be, because the only thing Qui-Gon knew to be absolutely true was that his vision was real.

Oh by the way, it turned out he misunderstood the vision. But when does being wrong ever stopped Qui-Gon Jinn?

No words.

Only Qui-Gon could have come near declaring himself a prophet after making a mistake. Maybe stop and reflect man? Just stop and think about your actions.

Obi-Wan Kenobi: I have a bad feeling about this.

Qui-Gon Jinn: I don't sense anything.

Of course you don't.

Honestly he doesn't have much to speak for in the cosmic force department either.

(There is the whole force ghost thing I guess. But I have no idea if that is more connected with living or cosmic force. It seems to be more about spiritual enlightenment. Which is ridiculous when you consider Yoda had go through so many trials, face his darkside, learn to truly let go just for Force priestesses to deem him worthy enough to study immortality. Yes Qui-Gon never became a force ghost but he had started his training before he died. And much of Yoda's tests on TCW was about self-awareness. It is not just about being a good person. How did Force Priestesses approve Qui-Gon "I was meant to misinterpret this vision." Jinn? I would understand if he became wiser after death and faced his flaws and all but he never was on that level before he died. You might say even Anakin became a force ghost. But I would remind you, Anakin in the end broke out of denial, acknowledged the wrong of his ways and took that leap to the light side. Self-awareness seems such an important key to becoming a force ghost. Right there with selflessness. Personally it doesn't quite feel right for a character whose biggest flaws are their lack of introspection and hubris which we never see him rise above to be the one that discovers immortality again. It feels more like a rushed plot point to explain how we get from A to B.)

This post got out of control 😂. I honestly just wanted to point out lack of communication might be one of the reasons Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon have trouble understanding each other but it is sometimes even harder to understand Qui-Gon when he actually says something. Cause ration is not what drives him.

Qui-Gon is such a complex character. He is undeniably good especially compared to other SW characters. Yet for all fandom's deifying he might be the most flawed Jedi we see on the franchise. (The ones that fell to the dark side not included.)

It is a shame wider fandom completely write off his flaws to the degree I can't even recognize the character when they talk about Jinn. Cause that Qui-Gon is so hard to feel empathy for.

When people constantly make statements like "He is The Wisest sw character." his hypocrisy stops being amusing. It doesn't end on screen or page instead often used to bash other characters.

An unbelievable analysis from Wookiepedia:

When Jinn saved the Gungan exile Jar Jar Binks, who in turn swore a life-debt to him, his compassionate nature was such that Jinn took the hapless Gungan under his wing, much to Kenobi's dismay. His empathy toward all life forms, including the most pitiful and unfortunate, was Jinn's greatest strength. Additionally, he remained understanding and patient with Queen Padmé Amidala. During the short time they knew each other, he never asked for her to do more than she was willing to.

You know out of the two, Qui-Gon was the one who insulted Jar Jar to his face. And he didn't took Jar Jar under his wing. They forced him to take them to a city where Jar Jar could have been punished for entering. Now it was the pragmatic thing to do. For all three's survival not for their own gain. Understandable. But compassion is just pushing it.

Also he never asked Padme to do more than she was willing to do?

Padmé : Are you sure about this? Trusting our fate to a boy we hardly know? The Queen will not approve.

Qui-Gon Jinn : The Queen does not need to know.

Padmé : Well, I don't approve.

And he is aware she is the queen, herself. Padme was nearly tearing out her because of this man in TPM.

What is weird, Jinn in his bewildering hypocrisy probably thinks he is being admirably compassionate with Jar Jar, highly understanding and patient with Padme. We clearly see he is not.

Out of universe he has been a force ghost for decades now but fandom is nowhere near acknowledging his flaws than he is.

And honestly SW doesn't have that many major morally complex characters. People like Maul, Palpatine, Anakin,Ventress don't think they are serving a higher purpose or oblivious to the evils they commit.

Emotionally complicated, yes. Going through moral dilemmas, no.

Three major characters come to mind who make huge mistakes, condone or commit atrocities while thinking they are in the right/with good intentions/for a greater cause. With varying degrees of culpability.

Qui-Gon. Padme. Dooku.

In that order.

Let these characters be interesting instead of demonizing nearly inhumanly selfless Jedi characters. (They make mistakes too but funnily enough they are still way better beings than most people on our planet.)

By the way I found the epitaph "Fascinating Failure" from the article here. Especially the last paragraphs make some interesting points. ⬇️

👀

This post might seem harsh but that is expected since it focuses on Qui-Gon's flaws.

"People are more than their worst act,” Quote from Qui-Gon Jinn in Master & Apprentice

#qui gon jinn #Qui-Gon Jinn #obi wan kenobi #Obi-Wan Kenobi #meta #character analysis #pro jedi #in defense of the jedi #long post

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ariainstars · 4 years

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Thank You, Disney Lucasfilm… For Destroying My Dreams

Warning: longer post.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So… I watched The Rise of Skywalker on Disney+ a few weeks ago. Again.

Sigh.

I guess it has its good sides. But professional critics tend to dislike it and even the general audience doesn’t go crazy for it. I wonder why?

The Fantasy

When his saga became a groundbreaking pop phenomenon in the 1970es, George Lucas reportedly said that he wanted to tell fairy tales again in world that no longer seemed to offer young people a chance to grow up with them. The fact that his saga was met with such unabashed, international enthusiasm proves that he was right: people long for fairy tales no matter how old they are and what culture they belong to.

“Young people today don’t have a fantasy life anymore, not the way we did… All they’ve got is Kojak and Dirty Harry. All the films they see are movies of disasters and insecurity and realistic violence.” (George Lucas)

I’ve been a Star Wars fan for more than thirty years. I love the Original Trilogy but honestly it did not make me dream much, perhaps because when I saw it the trilogy was already complete. The Prequel Trilogy also did not inspire my fantasy.

The Last Jedi accomplished something that no TV show, book or film had managed in years: it made me dream. The richness of colorful characters, multifaceted themes, unexpected developments, intriguing relationships was something I had not come across in a long time: it fascinated me. I felt like a giddy teenager reading up meta’s, writing my own and imagining all sorts of beautiful endings for the saga for almost two years.

So if there’s something The Rise of Skywalker can pride itself on for me, it’s that it crushed almost every dream I had about it. The few things I had figured out – Rey’s fall to the Dark, Ben Solo’s redemption, the connection between them - did not even make me happy because they were tainted by the flatness of the storytelling reducing the Force to a superpower again (like the general audience seems to believe it is), and its deliberate ignoring of almost all messages of The Last Jedi.

Many fans of the Original Trilogy also were disillusioned by the saga over the decades and ranted at the studios for “destroying their childhood”. Now we, the fans of the sequels and in particular of The Last Jedi, are in the same situation… but the thought doesn’t make the pill much easier to swallow. What grates on my nerves is the feeling that someone trampled on my just newly found dreams like a naughty child kicking a doll’s house apart. Why give us something to dream of in the first place, then? To a certain extent I can understand that many fans would angrily assume that Disney Lucasfilm made the Sequel Trilogy for the purpose of destroying their idea of the saga. The point is that they had their happy ending, while every dream the fans of the Sequel Trilogy may have had was shattered with this unexpectedly flat and hollow final note.

I know many fans who dislike the Prequel Trilogy heartily. I also prefer the Original Trilogy, but I find the prequels all right in their own way, also since I gave them some thought. However, it can’t be denied that they lack the magic spark which made the Original Trilogy so special. Which makes sense since they are not a fairy tale but ultimately a tragedy, but in my opinion it’s the one of the main reasons why the Prequel Trilogy never was quite so successful, or so beloved.

Same goes for Rogue One, Solo, or Clone Wars. They’re ok in their way, but not magical.

The sequel trilogy started quite satisfyingly with The Force Awakens, but for me, the actual bomb dropped with The Last Jedi. Reason? It was a magical story. It had the spark again that I had missed in the new Star Wars stories for decades! And it was packed full of beautiful messages and promises.

The Force is not a superpower belonging solely to the Jedi Anyone can be a hero. Even the greatest heroes can fail, but they will still be heroes. Hope is like the sun: if you only believe in it when you see it you’ll never make it through the night. Failure is the greatest teacher. It’s more important to save the light than to seem a hero. No one is never truly gone. War is only a machine. Dark Side and Light Side can be unbeatable if they are allies. Save what you love instead of destroying what you hate.

Naively, I assumed the trilogy would continue and end in that same magical way. And then came The Rise of Skywalker… which looks and feels like a Marvel superhero story at best and an over-long videogame at worst.

Chekov’s Gun

“Remove everything that has no relevance to the story. If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it’s not going to be fired, it shouldn’t be hanging there.”

(Anton Chekov, 1860 - 1904)

If you show an important looking prop and don’t put it to use, it leaves the audience feeling baffled. There is a huge difference between a story’s setup, and the audience’s feeling of entitlement. E.g. many viewers expected Luke to jump right back into the fray in Episode VIII, because that’s what a hero does, isn’t it? The cavalry comes and saves the day. And instead, we met a disillusioned elderly hermit who is tired of the ways of the Jedi. But there was no actual reason for disappointment: in Episode VII it was very clearly said (through Han, his best friend) that Luke had gone into exile on purpose, feeling responsible for his failure in teaching a new generation of Jedi. It would have been more than stupid to show him as an all-powerful and all-knowing man who kills the bad guys. Sorry but who expected that was a victim to his own prejudice.

A promise left unfulfilled is a different story. The Last Jedi set up a lot of promises that didn’t come true in The Rise of Skywalker: Balance as announced by the Jedi temple mosaic, a new Jedi Order hinted at by Luke on Crait, a good ending for Ben and Rey set up by the hand-touching scene which was opposite to Anakin’s and Padmés wedding scene. Many fans were annoyed about the Canto Bight sequence. I liked it because it felt like the set-up for a lot of important stuff: partnership between Finn and Rose whom we see working together excellently, freedom for the enslaved children (one of whom is Force-sensitive), DJ and Rose expressing what makes wars in general foolish and beside the point. So if we, the fans of Episode VIII, now feel angry and let down, I daresay it’s not due to entitlement. We were announced magical outcomes and not just pew-pew.

The Star Wars saga never repeated itself but always developed and enlarged its themes, so it was to be expected that delving deeper, uncomfortable truths would come out: wars don’t start out of nowhere, and they don’t flare up and continue for decades for the same reason. In order to find Balance, the Jedi’s and the Skywalker family’s myths needed to be dismantled. Which is not necessarily bad as long it is explained how things came to this, and a better alternative is offered. The prequels explained the old political order and the beginnings of the Skywalker family, and announced that the next generation would do better. The sequels hardly explained anything about the 30 years that passed since our heroes won the battle against the Empire, and while The Last Jedi hinted at the future a lot, The Rise of Skywalker seemed to make a point of ignoring all of it.

The Skywalker Family Is Obliterated. Why?

Luke was proven right that his nephew would mean the end of everything he loved. The lineage of the Chosen One is gone. His grandson had begun where Vader had ended - tormented, pale and with sad eyes - and he met the same fate. Luke, Han, Leia, all sacrificed themselves to bring Ben Solo back for nothing. Him being the reincarnation of the Chosen One and getting a new chance should have been meaningful for all of them; instead, he literally left the scepter to Rey who did nothing to deserve it: merely because she killed the Bad Guy does not mean she will do a better job than the family whose name and legacy she proudly takes over.

I do hope there was a good reason if the sequels did not tell “The New Adventures of Luke, Leia and Han” and instead showed us a broken family on the eve of its wipeout. It would have been much easier, and more fun for the audience, to bring the trio back again after a few years and pick up where they had left. Instead we had to watch their son, nephew and heir go his grandfather’s way - born with huge power, branded as Meant to Be Dangerous from the start, tried his best to be a Jedi although he wanted to be a pilot, never felt accepted, abandoned in the moment of his greatest need, went to his abuser because he was the only one to turn to, became a criminal, his own family (in Anakin’s case: Obi-Wan and Yoda) trained the person who was closest to him to kill him, sacrificed himself for this person and died. And in his case, it’s particularly frustrating because Kylo Ren wasn’t half as impressive a villain as Vader, and Ben Solo had a very limited time of heroism and personal fulfilment, contrarily to Anakin when he was young.

The impact of The Rise of Skywalker was traumatic for some viewers. I know of adolescents and adults, victims of family abandonment and abuse, who identified with Ben: they were told that you can never be more than the sum of your abuse and abandonment, and that they’re replaceable if they’re not “good”. Children identifying with Rey were told that their parents might sell them away for “protection”. Rey was not conflicted, she had a few doubts but overall, she was cool about everything she did, so she got everything on a silver platter; that’s why as a viewer, after a while you stopped caring for her. Her antagonist was doomed from birth because he dared to question the choices other people made for him. It seems that in the Star Wars universe, you can only “rise” if you’re either a criminal but cool because you’ve always got a bucket over your head (Vader / the Mandalorian) or are a saint-like figure (Luke / Rey).

One of Obi-Wan’s first actions in A New Hope is cutting off someone’s arm who was only annoying him; Han Solo, ditto. These were no acts of self-defense. The Mandalorian is an outlaw. Yet they are highly popular. Why? Because they always keep their cool, so anything they do seems justified. Young Anakin was hated, Jake Lloyd and Hayden Christensen attacked for his portrayal. For the same reason many fans feel that Luke is the least important of the original trio although basically the Original Trilogy is his story: it seems the general audience hates nothing more than emotionality in a guy. They want James Bond, Batman or Indiana Jones as the lead. Padmé loved Anakin because she always saw the good little boy he once was in him; his attempts at impressing her with his flirting or his masculinity failed. Kylo tried to impress Rey with his knowledge and power, but she fled from him - she wanted the gentle, emphatic young man who had listened to her when she felt alone. Good message. But both died miserably, and Ben didn’t even get anything but a kiss. Realizing that his “not being as strong as Darth Vader” might actually be a strength of its own would have meant much more.

The heroes of the Original Trilogy had their adventures together and their happy ending; the heroes of the Prequel Trilogy also had good times and accomplishments in their youth, before everything went awry. Rey, Finn and Poe feel like their friendship hardly got started; Rose was almost obliterated from the narrative; and Ben Solo seems to have had only one happy moment in his entire life. Of course it’s terrible that he committed patricide (even if it was under coercion), but Anakin / Vader himself had two happy endings in the Prequel Trilogy before he became the monster we know so well. Not to mention Clone Wars, where he has heroic moments unnumbered.

The Skywalker family is obliterated without Balance in the Force, and the young woman who inherited all doesn’t seem to have learned any lesson from all this. The Original Trilogy became a part of pop culture among other things because its ending was satisfying. We can hardly be expected to be satisfied with an ending where our heroes are all dead and the heir of their worst enemy takes over. What good was the happy ending of the Original Trilogy for if they didn’t learn enough from their misadventures to learn how to protect one single person - their son and nephew, their future?

For a long time, I also thought that the saga was about Good vs. Evil. Watching the prequels again, I came to the conclusion that it is rather about Love vs. War. And now, considering as a whole, I believe it to be essentially Jedi against Skywalker. The ending, as it is now, says that both fractions lost: they annihilated one another, leaving a third party in charge, who believes to be both but actually knows very little about them.

Star Wars and Morality

After 9 films and 42 years, it still is not possible to make the general audience accept that it is wrong to divide people between Good and Evil in the first place. The massive rejection of both prequels and sequels, which have moral grey zones galore, shows it.

It is also not possible without being accused of actual blasphemy in the same fandom, to say the plain truth that no Skywalker ever was a Jedi at heart. As their name says, they’re pilots. Luke was the last and strongest of all Jedi because he always was first and foremost himself. Anakin was crushed by the Jedi’s attempts to stifle his feelings. His grandson, too. A Force-sensitive person ought to have the choice whether they want to be a Jedi or not; they ought not to be taught to suppress their emotions and live only on duty, without really caring for other people; and they ought to grow up feeling in a safe and loving environment, not torn away from their families in infancy, indoctrinated and provided with a light sabre (a deadly weapon) while they’re still small. A Jedi order composed of child soldiers or know-it-all’s does not really help anybody.

The original Star Wars saga was about love and friendship; although many viewers did not want to understand that message. The prequels portrayed the Jedi as detached and arrogant and Anakin Skywalker sympathetically, a huge disappointment for who only accepts stories of the “lonesome cowboy” kind. The Last Jedi was so hated that The Rise of Skywalker backpedaled: sorry, of course you’re right, here you have your “hero who knows everything better and fixes everything for you on a silver platter”. The embarrassing antihero, who saves the girl who was the only person showing him some human compassion, can die miserably in the process and is not even mourned.

Honestly: I was doubtful whether it would be adequate to give Ben Solo a happy ending after the patricide. I guess letting him die was the easiest way out for the authors to escape censorship. (I even wrote this in a review on amazon about The Last Jedi, before I delved deeper into the saga’s themes.) The messages we got now are even worse.

Kylo Ren / Ben Solo

A parent can replace a child if they’re not the way they expect them to be. A victim of lifelong psychical and physical abuse can only find escape in death, whether he damns or redeems himself. An introspective, sensitive young man is a loser no matter how hard he tries either way. A whole family can sacrifice itself to save their heir, he dies anyway.

Rey

Self-righteousness is acceptable as long as you find a scapegoat for your own failings. Overconfidence justifies anything you do. You can’t carve your way as a female child of “nobodies”, you have to descend from someone male and powerful even if that someone is the devil incarnate. You are a “strong female” if you choose to be lonely; you need neither a partner nor friends.

In General

Star Wars is not about individual choices, loyalty, friendship and love, it is a classic Western story with a lonesome cowboy (in this case: cowgirl) at its centre. Satisfied?

The father-son-relationship between Vader and Luke mirrors the Biblical story of Cain and Abel, saying that whoever we may want to kill is, in truth, our kin, which makes a clear separation in Good and Evil impossible. The “I am your father” scene is so infamous by now that even non-fans are aware of it; but this relationship between evil guy and good guy, as well as the plot turns where the villain saves the hero and that the hero discards his weapon are looked upon rather as weird narrative quirks instead of a moral.

In an action movie fan, things are simple: good guy vs. bad guy, the good guy (e.g. James Bond may be a murderer and a misogynist, but that’s ok because he’s cool about it) kills the bad guy, ka-boom, end of story. But Star Wars is a parable, an ambitious project told over decades of cinema, and a multilayered story with recurring themes.

A fairy tale ought to have a moral. The moral of both Original Trilogy and Prequel Trilogy was compassionate love - choose it and you can end a raging conflict, reject it and you will cause it. What was the moral of the Sequel Trilogy? You can be the offspring of the galaxy’s worst terror and display a similar attitude, but pose as a Jedi and kill unnecessarily, and it’s all right; descend from Darth Vader (who himself was a victim long before he became a culprit) and whether you try to become a Jedi trained by Luke Skywalker or a Sith trained by his worst enemy, you will end badly?

Both original and prequel trilogy often showed “good” people making bad choices and the “bad ones” making the right choices. To ensure lasting peace, no Force user ought to be believe that he must choose one side and then stick to it for the rest of his life: both sides need one another. The prequels took 3 films to convey this message, though not saying so openly. The Last Jedi said it out clearly - and the authors almost had their heads ripped off by affronted fans, resulting in The Rise of Skywalker’s fan service. It’s not like Luke, Han and Leia were less heroic in the Sequel Trilogy, on the contrary, they gave everything they had to their respective cause. They were not united, and they were more human than they had once been. Apparently, that’s an affront.

The Jedi are no perfect heroes and know-it-all’s and they never were, the facts are there for everyone to see. Padmé went alone and pregnant to get her husband out of Mustafar - and she almost succeeded - although she knew what he had done and that he was perfectly capable of it (he had told her of the Tusken village massacre himself) because she still saw the good little boy he had been in him; Obi-Wan left him amputated and burning in the lava, although he had raised Anakin like a small brother and the latter had repeatedly saved his life. But Padmé was not a Jedi, so I guess she still had some human decency. Neither Obi-Wan nor Yoda lifted a finger for the oppressed populations of the galaxy during the Empire, waiting instead for Anakin’s son to grow up so they could trick him into committing patricide. Neither Luke nor Leia did anything for their own son and nephew while he became the scourge of the galaxy, damning his soul by committing crime after crime. On Exegol, Rey heard the voices of all Jedi encouraging her to fight Palpatine to death. After that, they left her to die alone, and the alleged “bad guy”, who had already saved her soul from giving in to Palpatine’s lures, had to save her life by giving her his own. The Jedi merely know that “their side” has to win, no matter the cost for anyone’s life, sanity, integrity or happiness.

Excuse me, these are simple facts. How anyone can still believe that the Jedi were super-powerful heroes who always win or all-knowing wizards who are always right is beyond me. Luke, the last and strongest of them, like a bright flickering of light before the ultimate end, showed us that the best of men can fail. There is nothing wrong with that in itself. But it is wrong and utterly frustrating when all of the failure never leads to anything better. If Rey means to rebuild the Jedi order to something better than it was, there was no hint at that whatsoever.

And What Now?

The Last Jedi hit theatres only 2 years before The Rise of Skywalker, and I can’t imagine that the responsible authors all have forgotten how to make competent work in the meantime; more so considering that Solo or The Mandalorian are solid work. Episode IX is thematically so painfully flat it seems like they wanted us to give up on the saga on purpose. The last instalment of a 42-year-old saga ought to have been the best and most meaningful. I had heard already decades ago that the saga was supposed to have 9 chapters, so I was not among who protested against the sequels thinking that they had been thought up to make what had come before invalid. I naively assumed a larger purpose. But Episode IX only seems to prove these critics perfectly right.

The last of the flesh and blood of the Chosen One is dead without having “finished what his grandfather started”?

Still no Balance in the Force?

And worst of all, Palpatine’s granddaughter taking over, having proven repeatedly that she is not suited for the task?

Sorry, this “ending” is absurd. I have read fanfiction that was better written and more interesting. And, most of all, less depressing. I was counting on a conclusion that showed that the Force has all colours and nuances, and that it’s not limited to the black-and-white view “we against them”. That’s the ending all of us fans would have deserved, instead of catering the daddy issues of the part of the audience who doesn’t want stories other than those of the “lonesome cowboy” kind. I myself grew up on Japanese anime, maybe that’s one of the reasons why I can’t stand guys like James Bond or Batman and why I think you don’t need “a great hero who fixes the situation” but that group spirit and communication are way more important.

It was absolutely unexpected that Disney, the production company whose trademark are happy endings and family stories, would end this beloved and successful saga after almost half a century on such a hollow note. Why tell first a beautiful fairy tale and then leave the audience on a hook for 35 years to continue first with a tragedy (which at least was expected) and then with another (unexpected one)? And this story is supposed to be for children? Like children would understand all of the subtext, and love sad, cautionary tales. Children, as well as the general audience, first of all want to be entertained! No one wants to watch the legendary Skywalker family be obliterated and a Palpatine take over. The sequels were no fun anymore; we’ve been left with another open ending and hardly an explanation about what happened in the 30 years in between. If you want to tell a cautionary tale, you should better warn the general audience beforehand.

The Original Trilogy is so good because it’s entertaining and offers room for thought for who wants to think about its deeper themes, and also leaves enough space for dreams. Same goes for the first two films of the Sequel Trilogy; but precisely the last, which should have wrapped up the saga, leaves us with a bitter aftertaste and dozens of questions marks.

We as the audience believe that a story, despite the tragic things that happen, must go somewhere; we get invested into the characters, we root for them, we want to see them happy in the end. (The authors of series like Girls, How I Met Your Mother or Game of Thrones ought to be reminded of that, too.) I was in contact with children and teenagers saying that the Sequel Trilogy are “boring”; and many, children or adults, who were devastated by its concluson. There is a difference between wanting to tell a cautionary tale and playing the audience for fools. This trilogy could have become legendary like the Original Trilogy, had it fulfilled its promises instead of “keeping it low” with its last chapter. Who watches a family or fantasy story or a romantic / comedic sitcom wants to escape into another world, not to be hit over his head with a mirror to his own failings, and the ones of the society he’s living in. Messages are all right, but they ought not to go at the cost of the audience’s satisfaction about the about the people and narrative threads they have invested in for years.

This isn’t a family story: but children probably didn’t pester the studios with angry e-mails and twitter messages etc. They simply counted on a redemption arc and happy ending, and they were right, because they’re not as stupid as adults are. I have read and watched many a comment from fans who hate The Last Jedi. Many of these fans couldn’t even pinpoint what their rage was all about, they only proved to be stuck with the original trilogy and unwilling to widen their horizon. But at least their heroes had had their happy ending: The Rise of Skywalker obliterated the successes of all three generations of Skywalkers.

If the film studios wanted to tease us, they’ve excelled. If they expect the general audience to break their heads over the sequels’ metaphysics, they have not learned from the reactions to the prequels that most viewers take these films at face value. Not everybody is elbows-deep in the saga, or willing to research about it for months, and / or insightful enough to see the story’s connections. Which is why many viewers frown at the narrative and believe the Sequel Trilogy was just badly written. This trilogy could have become legendary like the Original Trilogy, had it fulfilled its promises instead of “keeping it low” with its last chapter. As it is now, the whole trilogy is hanging somewhere in the air, with neither a past nor a future to be tied in with.

The prequels already had the flaw of remaining too obscure: most fans are not aware that Anakin had unwillingly killed his wife during the terrible operation that turned him into Darth Vader, sucking her life out of her through the Force: most go by “she died of a broken heart”. So although one scene mirrors the other, it is not likely that most viewers will understand what Rey’s resurrection meant. And: Why did Darth Maul kill Qui-Gon Jinn? What did the Sith want revenge for? Who was behind Shmi’s abduction and torture? Who had placed the order for the production of the clones, and to what purpose? We can imagine or try to reconstruct the answers, but nothing is confirmed by the story itself.

The sequels remained even more in the dark, obfuscating what little explanation we got in The Rise of Skywalker with quick pacing and mind-numbing effects.

Kylo Ren had promised his grandfather that “he would finish what he started”: he did not. Whatever one can say of this last film, it did not bring Balance in the Force. What’s worse, the subject was not even breached. It was hinted at by the mosaic on the floor of the Prime Jedi Temple on Ahch-To, but although Luke and Rey were sitting on its border, they never seemed to see what was right under their noses. It remains inexplicable why it was there for everyone to see in the first place.

We might argue that Ben finished what his grandfather started by killing (or better, causing the death of) the last Jedi, who this one couldn’t kill because he was his own son; but leaving Rey in charge, he helped her finish what her grandfather had started. The irony could hardly be worse.

Episode IX looks like J.J. Abrams simply completed what they started with Episode VII, largely ignoring the next film as if it was always planned to do so. We, the angry and disappointed fans of The Last Jedi, may believe it was due to some of the general audience’s angry backlash, but honestly: the studios aren’t that dumb. They had to know that Episode VIII would be controversial and that many fans would hate it. The furious reactions were largely a disgrace, but no one can make me believe that they were totally unexpected. Nor can anyone convince me that The Rise of Skywalker was merely an answer to the small but very loud part of the audience who hated The Last Jedi: a company with the power and the returns of Disney Lucasfilm does not need to buckle down before some fan’s entitlement and narrowmindedness out of fear of losing money. And if they do, it was foolish to make Rey so perfect that she becomes almost odious, and to let the last of the Skywalker blood die a meaningless death. (Had he saved the Canto Bight children and left them with Rey, at least he would have died with honor; and she, the child left behind by her parents, would have had a task to dedicate herself to.)

The only reason I can find for this odd ending is that it’s meant to prepare the way for Rian Johnson’s new trilogy, which - hopefully - will finally be about Balance. We as the audience don’t know what’s going on behind the doors. Filmmaking is a business like any other, i.e. based on contracts; and I first heard that Rian Johnson had negotiated a trilogy of his own since before Episode VIII hit theatres. Maybe he kept all the rights of intellectual property to his own film, including that he would finish the threads he picked up and close the narrative circles he opened, and only he; and that his alleged working on “something completely different” is deliberately misleading.

Some viewers love the original trilogy, some love the prequels, some like both; but I hardly expect anyone to love the sequel trilogy as a whole. What with the first instalment “letting the past die, killing it if they had to”, the second hinting at a promising future and the third patched on at the very last like some sort of band-aid, it was not coherent. I heard the responsible team for Game of Thrones even dropped their work, producing a dissatisfying, quickly sewn together last season, for this new Star Wars project and thereby disappointing millions of GoT fans; I hope they are aware of the expectations they have loaded upon them. George Lucas’ original trilogy had its faults, but but though there was no social media yet in his time, at least he was still close enough to the audience to give them what they needed, if not necessarily wanted. (Some fans can’t accept that Luke and Leia are siblings to this day, even if honestly, it was the very best plot twist to finish their story in a satisfying way.)

I’m hoping for now that The Last Jedi was not some love bombing directed at the more sentimental viewers but a promise that will be fulfilled. “Wrapping up” a saga by keeping the flattest, least convincing chapter for last is bad form. Star Wars did not become a pop phenomenon by accident, but because the original story was convincing and satisfying. Endings like these will hardly make anyone remember a story fondly, on the contrary, the audience will move to another fandom to forget their disappointment.

On a side note, I like The Mandalorian, exactly for the reason that that is a magical story; not as much as the original trilogy, but at least a little. Of course, I’m glad it was produced. But it’s a small consolation prize after the mess that supposedly wrapped up the original saga after 9 films.

We’re Not Blind, You Know…

- Though Kylo Ren (Ben Solo) has Darth Vader’s stature, his facial features are practically opposite to Vader’s creepy mask. This should have foreshadowed that his life should have gone the other way, instead of more or less repeating itself. - As a villain Kylo was often unconvincing; by all logic he should have been a good father figure. (Besides, Star Wars films or series never work unless there is a strong father or father figure at their center.)

- Like Vader, Kylo Ren was redeemed, but not rehabilitated. Who knows who may find his broken mask somewhere now and, not knowing the truth, promise “I will finish what you started”. - The hand-touching scene on Ahch-To which was visually opposite to Anakin’s and Padmé’s should not have predicted another tragedy but a happy ending for them. - The Canto Bight sequence was announcing reckoning for the weapon industry and freedom for the enslaved children. It also showed how well Finn and Rose fit together. - Rey was a good girl before she started on her adventures. Like Anakin or Luke, she did not need to become a Jedi to be strong or generous or heroic. - Rey summons Palpatine after one year of training. Kylo practically begged for his grandfather’s assistance for years, to no avail. Her potential for darkness is obviously much stronger. - Dark Rey’s light sabre looked like a fork, Kylo’s like a cross. - The last time all Jedi and Sith were obliterated leaving only Luke in charge, things went awry. Now we have a Palpatine masquerading as a Skywalker and believing she’s a Jedi. Rey is a usurper and universally cheered after years of war, like her grandfather. - The broom boy of Canto Bight looked like he was sweeping a stage and announcing “Free the stage, it’s time for us, the children.”

Rey failed in all instances where Luke had proved himself (so much for feminism and her being a Mary Sue): - Luke had forgiven his father despite all the pain he had inflicted on him. She stabbed the „bad guy”, who had repeatedly protected and comforted her, to death. - Luke never asked Vader to help the Rebellion or to turn to the Light Side, he only wanted him back as his father. She assumed that you could make Ben Solo turn, give up the First Order and join the Resistance for her. She thought of her friends and of her own validation, not of him. - Luke had made peace by choosing peace. Rey fought until the bitter end. - Luke had thrown his weapon away before Palpatine. Rey picked up a second weapon. (And both of them weren’t even her own.) - Luke had mourned his dead father. Rey didn’t shed a tear for the man she is bonded to by the Force. - Luke went back to his friends to celebrate the new peace with them. Rey went back letting everyone celebrate her like the one who saved the galaxy on her own, she who were tempted to become the new evil ruler of the galaxy and had to rely on the alleged Bad Guy to save both her soul and her body. - Luke had embodied compassion when Palpatine was all about hatred. Where he chose love and faith in his father, she chose violence and fear. - Luke had briefly fallen prey to the Dark Side but it made him realize that he had no right to judge his father. Rey’s fall to the Dark Side did not make her wiser. - Rey has no change of mind on finding out that she’s Palpatine’s flesh and blood, nor after she has stabbed Kylo. Luke had to face himself on learning that he had almost become a patricide. Rey does not have to face herself: the revelation of her ancestry is cushioned by Luke’s and Leia’s support. Rey is and remains an uncompromising person who hardly learns from her faults.

This is cheating on the audience. And it's not due to feminism or Rey being some sort of “Mary Sue” the way many affronted fans claim. Kylo never was truly a villain, Rey is not a heroine, and this is not a happy ending. The Jedi, with their stuck-up conviction “only we must win”, have failed all over again. The Skywalker family was obliterated leaving their worst enemy in charge. Rey is supposed to be a “modern” heroine which young girls can take as an example? No, thank you. Not after this last film has made of her. Padmé was a much better role model, combining intelligence with strength and goodness and also female grace. The world does not need entitled female brats.

Bonus: What Made The Rise of Skywalker a Farce

- The Force Awakens was an ok film and The Last Jedi (almost) a masterpiece. The Rise of Skywalker was a cartoon. No wonder a lot of the acting felt and looked wooden. - “I will earn your brother’s light sabre.” She’s holding his father’s sabre. - Kylo in The Last Jedi: “Let the past die. Kill it if, you have to.” Beginning with me? - Rey ends up on Tatooine. - The planet both Anakin and Luke ardently wanted to leave. - Luke had promised his nephew that he would be around for him. - Nope. - Rey had told Ben that she had seen his future. What future was that - “you will be a hero for ten minutes, get a kiss and then die? (And they didn’t even get a love theme.) - “The belonging you seek is not behind you, it is ahead.” On a desert planet with a few ghosts. What of the ocean she used to dream about? - Ben and Rey were both introduced as two intensely lonely people searching for belonging. We learn they are a Force dyad, and then they are torn apart again. - Why was Ben named for Obi-Wan Kenobi in the first place, if they have absolutely nothing in common? - The Throne Room battle scene in The Last Jedi was clearly showing that when they are in balance, Light Side and Dark Side are unbeatable. Why did the so-called “Light Side” have to win again, in The Rise of Skywalker, instead of finding balance? - Luke’s scene on Ahch-To was so ridiculously opposite to his attitude in The Last Jedi that by now I believe he was a fantasy conjectured by her. (Like Ben’s vision of his father.) - Anakin’s voice among the other Jedi’s. - He was a renegade, for Force’s sake. - The kiss between two females. - More fan service, to appease those who pretended that not making Poe and Finn a couple was a sign of homophobia. - We see the Knights of Ren, but we learn absolutely nothing about them or Kylo’s connection with them. - Rose Tico’s invalidation. - A shame after what the actress had gone through because for the fans she was “not Star-Wars-y” (chubby and lively instead of wiry and spitfire). - Finn’s and Rose’s relationship. - Ignored without any explanation. - Finn may or may not be Force-sensitive. - If he is: did he abandon the First Order not due to his own free will but because of some higher willpower? Great. - General Hux was simply obliterated. - In The Force Awakens he was an excellent foil to Kylo Ren; no background story, no humanization for him. - Chewie’s and 3PO’s faked deaths. - Useless additional drama. - The Force Awakens was a bow before the classic trilogy. The Rise of Skywalker kicked its remainders to pieces. - The Prequel Trilogy ended with hope, the Original Trilogy with love. The Sequel Trilogy ends on a blank slate. - “We are what they grow beyond.” The characters of the Sequel Trilogy did not grow beyond the heroes of the Original Trilogy. - The Jedi did not learn from their mistakes and were obliterated. The Skywalker family understood the mistakes they had made too late. Now they’re gone, too.

P.S. While I was watching The Rise of Skywalker my husband came in asked me since when I like Marvel movies. I said “That’s not a Marvel movie, it’s Star Wars.” I guess that says enough.

P.P.S. For the next trilogy, please at least let the movies hit theatres in May again instead of December. a) It’s tradition for Star Wars films, b) Whatever happens, at least you won’t ruin anyone’s Christmases. Thank you.

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justalitlecreacher · 3 years

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Ok as much as I hate the events of the Rako Hardeen arc in Clone Wars and deeply wish that the council/Obi-Wan had at the very least told Anakin and Ahsoka what they were planning, I feel like the arc represents a very important turning point in Anakin’s fall and actually shows an important bit of character growth from Attack of the Clones.

Tl;Dr: The Rako Hardeen arc is my favorite and least favorite arc in all of Clone Wars because while it puts Anakin through unnecessary pain it also gives a lot of insight into why he may have fallen in Revenge of the Sith and shows some important character growth

Ok; the most important part of this post/analysis (I think) is to remember how close Anakin and Obi-Wan are. Anakin was placed in Obi-Wan’s care at the age of 9 and from then on Obi-Wan practically raised him. In Attack of the Clones we see Anakin refer to Obi-Wan as the closest thing he has to a father not once, but twice, and one of those two times was directly to Obi-Wan.”OBI-WAN: Why do I think you are going to be the death of me?! ANAKIN: Don't say that Master... You're the closest thing I have to a father... I love you. I don't want to cause you pain.”(Attack of the Clones) and later to Padmé “...He's [Obi-Wan] like my father,...”. This is especially important because when Anakin leaves his mother to become a Jedi in The Phantom Menace, Obi-Wan is literally the only friendly/familiar face in the Temple. Plus in the comics (disclaimer: I have not read all the comics just bits and pieces) we get a glimpse of Anakin training with the other padawans and it’s made clear that at least some of them don’t like Anakin at all. One padawan even refers to him as “just a slave” when shit talking him during training.(which like super fucked up; they def should’ve gotten in trouble cause that don’t seem very Jedi of them ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)

Anyway; we’ve established Anakin and Obi-Wan’s bond. So let’s turn our attention towards someone who deserved so much better; Shmi Skywalker. Her death in Attack of the Clones was the first major turning point in Anakin’s fall to the Dark Side. There is really no excuse for Anakin’s actions after Shmi’s death; he goes to a very dark place, and likely taps into the dark side of the force during the massacre of the Tusken Raiders. But that’s not what we’re talking about rn so back on track.

I bring Shmi’s death up to say that while Anakin was tracking down Obi-Wan’s “murderer” I didn’t fully realize that Obi-Wan had disguised himself as Hardeen and I was genuinely worried that Anakin was about to unalive an innocent man. I really believe that the only thing that stopped Anakin from trying (and maybe succeeding) to kill Obi/Rako was like he said: he knew that Obi-Wan wouldn’t have wanted him to. This is important because the last time Anakin lost a family member he brutally murdered an entire village of Tusken Raiders, children included, and I think it’s safe to say that Shmi “the biggest problem in the universe is nobody helps each other” Skywalker would not have wanted that. I’ve finally arrived at one of my main points; this arc shows a crucial bit of character growth by showing an Anakin that is capable of thinking his actions through and not just reacting out of anger even after the loss of one of the most important people in his life; something he was previously shown incapable of when his anger and grief blind him. This turns this arc into an sort of midway point on Anakin’s fall; he’s clearly tempted to give into his anger and pain again, but he is able to resist this time. A younger Anakin may have killed “Hardeen” then and there.

This scene really contrasts with Anakin’s actions in Revenge of the Sith in a way im not sure how i feel about yet. On one hand it has potential to make Anakin’s actions in Revenge of the Sith feel too out of character. We just saw Anakin able to see past his own emotions in the wake of the death of a loved one so what makes this different? On the other hand this arc can be used to show just how desperate Anakin is to not have to feel that way ever again. It’s also good for showing how much influence Palpatine has had on Anakin in the space between this arc and Revenge of the Sith. As for why Anakin may be unable to think past his own feelings in Revenge of the Sith when he appeared perfectly capable in the arc, a likely reason is that there really wasn't anything Anakin thought he could do for Obi-Wan anymore because he believed him to be dead, but with Padmé, Anakin knew she could be saved if he could just get her the proper care. But his fear of being exiled from the Jedi Order, and his increasing lack of faith in the council led him to believe that he had no choice other than to trust in Palpatine. And no hate to Yoda but im sure when Anakin did try to reach out (even as vaguely as he did) Yoda’s response of “Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose.” didn't appear to be very helpful (especially considering that he is well aware that listening to Ahsoka’s visions and responding appropriately saved Padmé’s life (not sure if Anakin knows about that though)). These three episodes show pretty well how/why Anakin may have felt that he had nowhere to turn but Palpatine.

These groups of episodes actually show negative character growth (is that the right term?) in Anakin. He goes from commiting mass murder rated E for everyone to understanding that his loved ones would not want him to seek revenge in this way, but then he backslides into this lightsaber is rated E for everyone by Revenge of the Sith. Logically he should know that Padmé would never have wanted him to do what he did; he has to know what he’s doing is wrong, but he’s incapable of seeing another way out because he cannot handle even the thought of losing Padmé. He’s too desperate to not lose her, and so sure that there’s no other option that he manages to convince himself that he needs to do this for her. I find this entire arc really interesting but unless i want to be here all day the most i can do here is point out that it exists and that it peaks in the Rako Hardeen arc. Surprisingly i do have a life outside of writing long posts, and i lack the time and energy to analyze all of Clone Wars and write about every event that led to Darth Vader (there are so many). On top of that i actually haven’t seen all of Clone Wars; just the episodes most important to understanding Anakin’s fall.

Onto my next point, we just talked about the growth Anakin showed in this episode; now onto why i believe that this arc was instrumental in Anakin’s fall. (Disclaimer: I do not think that removing this arc alone could have saved Anakin, but i do believe it would have helped a good bit). I’ve already touched on Anakin and Obi-Wan’s bond so im not gonna do that again.

Ive said it before and i will say it again; it was super fucked up of Obi-Wan and everyone else on the Council to use Anakin’s (and Ahsoka’s) reactions Obi-Wan’s “death” for their own gain. It was super manipulative and they absolutely knew what they were doing. Obi-Wan even explicitly says, “Keeping Anakin on the outside was critical. Everyone knows how close we are. It was his reaction that sold the sniper. I'm sure of it.”(Deception season 2 episode 15). He knows just how devastated Anakin would be by his death, and he uses like Anakin and his mental and emotional well-being mean nothing to him (I know this isn’t true but its probably not hard to believe that someone doesn't care about your feelings when they’ve just tricked you into thinking they’ve died for their own gain). The Council really proves time and time again that they do not care about Anakin’s (or maybe anyone’s; Anakin was far from the only one close to Obi-Wan left unaware of his deception) mental or emotional wellbeing, but tbh i think this is the worst example of how callous the Council can be. And on top of all of that it was Obi-Wan who decided to keep Anakin in the dark Obi-Wan who should have known better; if we assume that Anakin is at least 20 in Clone Wars; Obi-Wan has known Anakin for at least 10 years, and has practically raised him from the age of 9, and yet somehow, somehow he had this idea and didn't see a single thing wrong with it. (And they really picked the worst possible person for this; like yea let’s trick the most unstable Jedi we have into thinking his closest friend/ father figure was murdered)

This arc’s main purpose (IMO) is to really show the beginnings of Anakin losing faith in the Jedi and putting more and more faith in Palpatine. Anakin trusted Obi-Wan, and Obi-Wan betrayed that trust. Beyond that Palpatine is able to make Anakin begin to doubt how much the Council is telling him if they didnt tell him something as crucial as this. We even see Anakin parroting Palpatine’s “concerns” of the council not telling Anakin the full truth the Obi-Wan and the end of the arc. This arc is instrumental is establishing Anakin’s loss of faith in the council and shows how much he trusts Palpatine and sees him as a real friend.

Anyway I’m sure I had more I wanted to touch onand if I remember I will definitely edit this post but for the now I just wanna say. A) I love Obi-Wan a lot; this arc just really was not it. I do not understand how he thought this was in any way acceptable but I do still really like him. B) i fully understand that Anakin’s actions are his own and he does take a share of the blame for his own fall.

#what am i doing?#anakin skywalker #obi wan kenobi #rako hardeen #star wars #clone wars #deception arc #clone wars deception #long post #ramble #im so sorry except im not #i hesitate to use the word hyperfixation but not a day has gone by that i havent thougt of Anakin Skywalker at least once #in so long #i have a problem

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marybeatriceofmodena · 4 years

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TFW when you try to do Anastasia but you also suck at your job: A Master Class by The Rise of Skywalker

Okay. So, I promised you guys a TROS review, and it’s coming, I promise… except I’ll be making two “spin-off posts” about specific issues just in order to clear up some stuff, mainly because in my mind, those issues are important.

First post is going to be, of course, about Rey’s parentage.

So. After TFA, it would have been possible for Rey to have been the kid of “someone”. However, TLJ made it impossible to do so, unless you’d have some serious, bullshit retconning going on – which is exactly what happened.

I know this is a VERY controversial thing to say at this point, but post-TFA, Rey Palpatine “could�� have been possible. Okay, maybe not have her be Palpatine’s granddaughter, but more of a descendant of his.

This said, I “tried” making an origin story for Rey Palpatine that “works” for the purposes of this meta, on a hypothetical basis, while making it consistent with canon (something JJ Abrams and Chris Terrio clearly couldn’t be bothered to do, LMAO). I had plotholes no matter what. I do think I could have eventually found something with a little bit of brainstorming, but truth is, IT’S HARD, and a lot of exposition would have been for novels/comics only.

From a thematic perspective, though? It wouldn’t have been a bad idea. For this to work, though, you would have needed to go on full-blown Romeo and Juliet mode with sprinkles of Anastasia, though. I mean, The Lion King 2 did something similar, so why the fuck not. Because, yeah, Ben Solo, the grandson of Darth Vader, son of Han Solo and Leia Organa, the last prince of Alderaan, who falls in love with the last Imperial princess Rey Palpatine while they’re on opposite sides of the war but not the ones you’d think of is the stuff of fairy tales and star-crossed romances, except this one would have a happy ending and brought peace to the galaxy.

Truth be told, I still really enjoy fanfics who go for that story and find a way to make it work in canonverse or in AUs – because it’s genuinely fun. But in canon itself, as I point out earlier… it’s not easy.

So, we have Rian Johnson who said he made a list of potential origins for Rey while he was working on TLJ’s script. You bet Rey Palpatine was on that list. However, he came to the conclusion that Rey Nobody was the best way to go, and whatdyaknow, he made the right call.

Why? Rey Nobody requires minimal exposition. Storytelling-wise, you don’t have a lot of brainstorming to do, and it’s easy to have Ben revealing it, and easy to present it as a repressed memory of Rey’s. On a thematic level, that puts Rey on the same level as Jane Eyre or the main character from Rebecca: she’s a nobody from nowhere who is thrown into a family drama, and since she’s the glitch in the matrix, she must stop the story from becoming a tragedy.

See? Simple. You got your easy exposition, you got your thematic coherence, and you got the literary call-backs.

So, JJ and Terrio decided to retcon this shit because, as they said, they thought it was boring. I think Colin Trevorrow probably thought it was boring too, because I have my reasons to think a lot of TROS is from him (but more on that in my main review). But thing is, it’s not it’s “boring”, it’s literally that they didn’t know what the fuck to do with Rey. No, more than that, they don’t understand her, and frankly, they can’t be bothered to do so. She’s an empty vessel they can toy with at their ease, and in the process, turn her in a Mary-Sue. Because yes, TROS!Rey was a Mary-Sue, whereas TFA/TLJ!Rey was not. So, what I say above regarding Rey might be a bomb for some, considering how people are (understandably) defensive when it comes to that statement. I promise I will elaborate more about it in the main review, once again.

So, with the lineage aspect addressed, it’s time to talk about Rey’s parents themselves.

It’s hilarious how HARD JJ and Terrio tried to make Kylo’s explanation work – because as much as they butchered the shit out of him, they said: “Well he’s a bad liar, right? Gotta keep that in mind.”

Although, I don’t think it was a case of them being concerned with Kylo’s characterization – they’re not that graceful. They had to figure out QUICK why the hell Kylo wouldn’t have known Rey was a Palpatine from the get-go, because the Force is a great DNA test and shit, and I guess that’s how Palps located Ben’s Mighty Skywalker Blood™. Except that still doesn’t work because Palps couldn’t even locate his own goddamn granddaughter, but I digress.

Seriously, why would Kylo lie to Rey about her being a nobody instead of her being a Palpatine? It makes no sense, because if you’re going to roll with the theory Kylo just wants UNLIMITED POWAH, the Palpatine princess is not only a great asset (since marrying her legitimizes your claim to the throne in the eyes of the Imperial Remnants, I mean, that’s literally why Henry VII married Elizabeth of York), it’s also the one argument she needs to hear in order to sway her to your side. So I guess JJ and Terrio’s one shared brain cell kinda flicked a bit at that moment.

This said, getting the Palpatine princess on his side is clearly Kylo’s intention in TROS (which, again, makes no sense with what was set up in TLJ but that’s something I’m keeping for another post), except they trip all over themselves by having Kylo say he didn’t lie to Rey in TLJ. Except…

So, what Ben said in TLJ was the following:

Her parents sold her for drinking money.

They’re dead and buried in a pauper’s grave somewhere on Jakku.

Rey is related to no one.

Here’s what Ben reveals to Rey in TROS:

Her parents sold her for her protection.

They died on another planet, while being hunted down by a guy working for Palpatine and instructed to bring Rey back to them.

Rey’s dad is a Palpatine and Rey’s mom is Villanelle (nah, for real: the actress who plays Rey’s mom is Jodie Comer).

So, um, yeah, it’s the EXACT opposite of what Ben said in TLJ. Just say Palps was fucking with Ben’s mind-reading or Rey’s memories instead, JJ. Not that “Oh Ben was telling the truth, but he didn’t have the whole story”, because that’s not it.

For the latter, once again, it would have been feasible: the one thing, for me, that was possible to be added was that Rey had killed her parents accidentally, by having their ship to leave Jakku crash down with the Force: that’s what made her Force powers go dormant for all those years and provoked her trauma. It would also make sense that Ben would willfully not bring that back to her memories, because she’d understandably not be able to cope with the truth, which is often what happens to a lot of trauma victims. THAT was the theory I had pre-TROS, because that’s the only answer I could come up with when it came to JJ saying that there was more to Rey’s past. I guess I expected JJ to be, like, actually able to write, lmao.

I even wonder if that was actually in the cards, considering we see Rey in TROS bringing down a transport that supposedly has Chewie in it… but I guess they deemed that to be “too dark” for their heroine. Except the bullshit that comes instead is actually… much worse.

To make things simple, I’ll just take the above points and develop them.

Rey’s parents sold her for her protection.

Okay, so, Rey’s parents need to hide her to make sure Palps doesn’t get his hands on her. Fair enough. This said, why did it have to be Jakku and not, like, ANYWHERE ELSE? Especially that Palpatine had interest in Jakku at some point and that maybe having Rey anywhere close to that place would not be a good idea?

But let’s play the game and say that Jakku is the only place they can hide her because… I don’t know, it’s hard to find someone there with the Force. Whatever. Even then, why the fuck would they think Unkar Plutt is a proper guardian for a tiny little girl? You know they could have walked a few miles more and found a nice old man who likes the Light Side of the Force and the Jedi and all that shit called Lor San Tekka? Hey, why not even try to find a guy like Luke Skywalker who’s like, a Jedi and shit, and have him take care of their little girl and protect her?

Even then, why the hell doesn’t Rey’s mom stay with her daughter? Her husband is the Palpatine, not her. All Rey’s mom has to do is find a nicer hiding place for her and Rey somewhere on Jakku, like, not Niima Outpost (again, Tuanul is just a few miles away), and just let Dad hide somewhere else. He’s a grownass man, he can take care of himself and he just has to hide on Nar Shaadaa or some shit. Fuck, why don’t all three of them hide on Nar Shaadaa? Or in the Coruscant undercity? ANYWHERE ELSE?

Also, wouldn’t Plutt clearly see two desperate parents as a business opportunity? Like, if you want to do a Les Misérables comparison here, he wouldn’t “buy” Rey from them, he’d try to get money for them à la Thénardier with Fantine. Except Rey’s parents make Fantine look like frigging Einstein because at least she had the excuse of thinking Madame Thénardier would take good care of Cosette since Éponine and Azelma seemed well-cared for.

Again, a creepy-looking alien who exploits the outpost’s inhabitants for portions in exchange for junk, who asks you to pay him to take care of your kid should be a big fucking red flag – unless you want to involve blackmail, but that’s a whole other can of worms.

Seriously, why the hell would Rey’s parents even ACCEPT money that comes from selling their own child? Were they really that desperate? Fuck, even if I had no other way of getting off Jakku, I wouldn’t even THINK of using money that comes from selling my own child. Any parent who’d even CONSIDER doing that is automatically a godawful parent in my book. Shame on you. And shame on JJ for trying to make me buy them as saints, because THEY’RE NOT, JUST BY THAT SINGLE ACTION.

They died on another planet, while being hunted down by a guy working for Palpatine and instructed to bring Rey back to them.

I didn’t notice it until Jenny Nicholson pointed it out in her TROS review, because it SOMEHOW completely escaped my notice, but… Rey’s mom saying Rey is DEFINITELY NOT on Jakku is like the worst fucking lie I’ve ever seen in a film because it’s so hilariously bad. Congratulations, Space Villanelle, may you be forever remembered for this line.

Also, it’s stupid af that Oshi (that’s his name, right? Can’t be bothered to Google it, might just call him Barney the Bounty Hunter from now on) just kills Rey’s parents, because HE’S EVUL MUAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA, because he literally creates a dead end for himself. He still has no fucking clue where Rey is, and he just killed off his only leads. CONGRATULATIONS BARNEY THE BOUNTY HUNTER, YOU SUCK AT YOUR JOB.

Rey’s dad is a Palpatine and Rey’s mom is Villanelle.

So, Rey’s dad looks like he’s in his early thirties at most, right? Maybe a little younger than Luke and Leia, then. So, unless he got frozen in carbonite at some point, that means Palpatine fucked at some point while looking like this:

Anyway, I sure hope Sly Moore was Grandma Palpatine because she’s pretty much the only person who’d be game to smash raisin ass. Which leaves me with extremely disturbing pictures of Palps and Sly having sex, so I’ll spare you the more graphic details of my twisted mind that’s screaming for an end to this misery.

I sure hope having Rey’s mom as Jodie Comer isn’t a clue that we’ll get spin-offs with those two (GOD PLEASE NO), but while I crack jokes about how Rey’s mom is Villanelle and Palpadad kinda looks like Ramsay Bolton… I find it fucking hilarious they dressed Rey’s mom in BLUE. LIKE, SEE? SEE? SHE’S IN BLUE, LIKE THE VIRGIN MARY, BECAUSE REY IS SPACE JESUS!!!! GET IT??? GETIT???? PLEASE TELL ME YA GET IT, OKAY???? *gross sobbing* I knew we should have had Rey born in a manger, that would have made the artistic intentions clear *wipes tear*

All right. There’s a lot more that could be said about Rey’s lineage, but I’m keeping that for my main review because what’s left to say ties up to the bigger picture. What I tried to point out with this preliminary post is that while Rey Palpatine *could* have worked, in different circumstances, it couldn’t have had post-TLJ… and we’re left to see a mutilated horse who was dead on arrival. And that’s tragic.

#star wars #tros spoilers #the rise of skywalker spoilers #rants and reviews #anti tros #rey #reylo #my meta #reylo meta #rey meta

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the-desolated-quill · 4 years

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The Mandalorian Represents Everything I Hate About Disney - Quill’s Scribbles

This post contains spoilers for the first two episodes, if you care about that sort of thing.

Yes, after four months of wallowing in a depressive funk, your lord and saviour the Desolated Quill has returned to (hopefully) start posting semi-regularly again. And what better way to mark my return than by kicking my favourite dead horse Disney.

So what have you been doing since this coronavirus epidemic started? I for one have been spending most of the time trying and failing to persuade my mother not to get a Disney+ subscription. The rise of streaming TV services represent the very height of greed and stupidity within the film and television industry. See it’s not enough for these studios to share their profits with the likes of Netflix and Amazon. Rampant capitalism dictates that they must have every conceivable penny imaginable, hence why we’re seeing the slow gating off of content and the emergence of new streaming platforms like Disney+, Starzplay, DC Universe, HBO Max, Apple TV and YouTube. Yes, even Youtube has a subscription service now. It’s like that episode of Oprah Winfrey. You get a streaming service, you get a streaming service, you get a streaming service, EVERYBODY gets a streaming service! Except the problem is that the reason why Netflix and Amazon took off was because it was convenient to get all of our entertainment from one location. Now with content spread out across multiple platforms, customers are having to pick and choose who to subscribe to as only the very rich can afford to subscribe to everyone. It’s ostensibly a televisual arms race coupled with classism. Make no mistake, the motivation behind the rise of streaming services is not motivated by customer satisfaction nor artistic merit, but rather corporate greed. And Disney is by far the worst offender. There is literally not a single reason why they couldn’t have kept their stuff on Netflix. The only reason Disney+ exists is so that they can get their grubby mitts on even more money than they already have (which is quite a lot).

So my mum got a Disney+ subscription because she never fucking listens to a single word I say and we ended up sitting down to watch the first two episodes of The Mandalorian. The new Star Wars TV spinoff created by Iron Man director Jon Favreau set in-between Return of The Jedi and The Force Awakens.

As much as I have complaints about the way Disney have handled the Star Wars license, I confess I was curious and dare I say even excited about The Mandalorian when it was first announced. I’ve gone on record to say that I didn’t want nor care about a sequel trilogy because, as far as I was concerned, Return Of The Jedi was a perfect ending to the Skywalker saga and we didn’t need to see what happened next. That’s like wondering what happens after Cinderella married Prince Charming. We don’t need to see it. They lived happily ever after. The end. The spinoffs, on the other hand, including the Anthology films and The Mandalorian, I was much more excited for because it was an opportunity to tell different kinds of stories and explore areas of the Star Wars universe we wouldn’t normally get to see in the main films. If the Star Wars franchise has to be expanded upon, I’d rather it was like this. Lets move away from the Skywalkers and the Jedi and concentrate on other stuff. So a space western set after the original trilogy depicting a lone bounty hunter trying to make ends meet after the fall of the Empire was very appealing to me.

Sadly that’s not what I got.

I’ll just be blunt. I saw the first two episodes of The Mandalorian and I didn’t like it very much. It’s not bad as such. It’s competently made. I’ve seen some behind the scenes videos and there’s clearly a lot of talented people working hard on this show. That being said, the story of The Mandalorian is... well... kind of rubbish.

So lets talk about it, shall we?

As far as I’m concerned there are three reasons why The Mandalorian doesn’t work. The first is the complete lack of tension. It’s a problem that’s plagued Star Wars since The Phantom Menace. Despite all the challenges and obstacles that are thrown at the characters, it never seems to affect them or even pose much of a threat. We saw that with Anakin Skywalker in the prequels and Rey in the sequels, and it’s the same here. The Mandalorian is this amazing dude who’s skilled and awesome and the bestest fighter ever. He can take out all these bad guys single-handedly and can do all these cool things. Except none of that is interesting. It’s boring. People like to defend Rey saying she’s no worse than Luke Skywalker, but that’s not true because, unlike Rey, Luke isn’t perfect. He struggles, he makes mistakes, and he grows and evolves over time. Rey is just this perfect woman who can do no wrong and who can pull any random superpower out of her arse for the sake of plot convenience. It’s just bad writing. While The Mandalorian never gets quite as bad as that, there does seem to be this obsession with making this awesome, cool dude, but that ends up coming at the cost of any tension or threat the story could have.

In the first episode, we see his bounty explore his ship. This could have been an opportunity to create some tension. Maybe he could try and sabotage the ship. Or try to escape. Complicate matters for the Mandalorian. But no. The Mandalorian knew what the guy was doing and instantly recaptures him. Same goes for a scene later on when the Mandalorian and some killer robot has to fight a whole army of mercenaries. How are they going to get out of this? Very easily it turns out. Not only do they beat them within a couple of minutes, the mercenaries are also clearly the worst shots ever. The robot is like seven foot tall and moving at the speed of frozen treacle, and yet they don’t manage to land a single hit on the guy. Where’s the suspense? Where’s the danger? By the end of the first episode, I was just bored senseless.

Which leads me to my second biggest problem. The total lack of originality. Is it really too much to ask for someone to actually come up with their own fucking ideas? Literally everything in The Mandalorian is basically nicked wholesale from other, better Star Wars films. The first two planets we visit in episode one are basically variations on Tatooine with the same architecture and everything. There’s even that eye thing that pops out of the door like in Jabba’s Palalce in Return Of The Jedi. Then, to add insult to injury, we then end up on the actual Tatooine (or at least what I assume is the actual Tatooine. I mean there are Jawas). The Mandalorian is like this Frankenstein assembly of Star Wars memorabilia. Everything has been taken from other films when it makes no sense to do so. The Mandalorian freezes his bounties in carbonite, except that was a process specific to Cloud City. Darth Vader improvised a trap using what was at hand to try and catch Luke. He wasn’t even sure if Luke would survive the freezing process, hence why they tested it on Han Solo first. The only reason it’s here in The Mandalorian is for fanwank purposes. Same goes for the stormtroopers. Why the fuck are there stormtroopers?! Remember where we are in the Star Wars story. The Empire has fallen and the New Republic is taking over. Imperialists are going to be pretty unpopular, wouldn’t you say? So why the fuck would you have stormtroopers wandering around in full armour out in the open? It makes zero sense. Even the killer robot is copied whole sale from IG-88 from Empire Strikes Back. Why don’t you come up with your own killer robot design?

Then there’s this little shit:

Yeah, I kind of knew this was coming because I’ve seen the GIFs circulating on Tumblr beforehand, which kind of ruined the ending of the first episode somewhat. But even if I didn’t know this was coming, the ‘twist’ still wouldn’t work because it’s not really a twist if you think about it. What actually happens? The Mandalorian finds the Child and it’s an eighty year old gremlin. Okay. So what? The only reason it’s ‘shocking’ is because it vaguely looks like Yoda. Other than that, who gives a shit? It doesn’t really mean anything.

Which leads me to my third biggest problem. Why should I give a shit about anything that’s going on? What are the stakes? There aren’t any. We don’t know anything about the Mandalorian and we have no reason to care about him or his job. We don’t know anything about the Child or why he’s so important. The only reason people are interested is because it reminds them of the other films. As a story in and of itself, there’s simply nothing there. I don’t know who any of these people are, what they want, why they want it and what will happen if they fail. So why should I give a shit? And nowhere is this more apparent than in the second episode. The Jawas agree to give the Mandalorian’s ship parts back if he retrieves an egg from some monster. Why do they want the egg? I don’t know. I literally have no idea. They never say. And yet that’s what the entire episode revolves around. This isn’t a story. It’s just random stuff happening. And what’s more it has nothing to do with the overall plot. You can literally cut out the entirety of episode two and it wouldn’t make the slightest bit of difference. Same is true of that annoying fuckface that keeps insisting ‘he has spoken’ (I swear by the end I wanted to kick that old git in the face, he irritated me so much). We waste the second half of the first episode watching the Mandalorian piss about with some toad/horse thing only to then make his way back to the ship on foot in episode two. So what was the fucking point of that then? Why is anything fucking happening?

And this is what perfectly sums up the problems with Star Wars under Disney’s regime. If anything The Mandalorian acts as a microcosm for everything that’s wrong with the current movies and indeed Disney as a company. These movies aren’t movies. They’re products designed to pander to a gullible fanbase’s nostalgia. The entire sequel trilogy was basically the original trilogy repackaged and resold with nothing unique or original to offer. And the reason The Rise Of Skywalker felt so unsatisfying to everyone watching was because the story was never planned. They pivoted it to whatever the focus groups enjoyed about the previous film. That’s why the whole trilogy felt so uneven and directionless. And it’s not just Star Wars. Obviously there’s the live action remakes of the Renaissance movies, now with added nods and winks to meta commentary without actually addressing actual complaints people may have had. This also extends to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. How many of these fucking movies have we had where the bad guy tries to take over the world with an Infinity Stone? Thor: The Dark World and Guardians Of The Galaxy are pretty much the exact same movie. Spider-Man: Far From Home, a film co-produced with Sony, is ostensibly a rehash of Iron Man 3, which in turn had recycled a lot of its story from Pixar’s The Incredibles, another Disney product. Even Black Panther, a movie I absolutely adore, borrows its basic plot structure from Thor: Ragnarok. Disney are so unoriginal and so lazy that they have effectively started cannibalising themselves. The Mandalorian is just the latest example of this. At least with Black Panther you had a talented filmmaker like Ryan Coogler who was able to take these borrowed elements and spin it into something more meaningful and with more emotional impact. At least there was some actual passion put into that film.

People are no doubt going to have a go at me saying I’m being too harsh and that I haven’t given The Mandalorian a fair chance. Well I’m sorry, but I’ve given it two episodes and I’m bored out of my mind. It’s a cynically produced, uninspired load of waffle. I’m not going to waste my time sitting through more episodes in the hopes that it might get good later on. That’s not how good storytelling is supposed to work and it sickens me to think that this has pretty much become the new normal for this industry.

#the mandalorian #star wars #disney+#anti disney #quill's scribbles

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idaisa · 4 years

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Major spoilers for everything, but I have a point...

What is with everything having to have a bitter sweet ending all of a sudden. From Game of Thrones turning Dany into a maniac, because, why the fuck not even though there was like 0.5 of a lead up to it, to End Game literally killing off the guy who, if he had survived would’ve had the greatest story arc in the history of cinema (Ironman) and now, The Rise of Skywalker. I know not a lot of people have not seen it, and I’m sorry, MOVE ON from this post cause now I’m gonna get super spoilery. To have these three new movies come out, like I get it the technology is there, why not make new Star Wars movies. And the first one was great, it had nostalgia, it had tragedy, it set things off really well because it brought people in and created a foundation on what we were comfortable with. The second one had so much potential because it had so many places to go, but instead we go this fanboy esk movie, made by someone who clearly doesn’t understand the fans, but whatever that’s for a different rant, and now we have the Rise of Skywalker. A movie that was supposed to fix the problems of the last and also finish off a 9 movie saga. What I got felt like it was doing damage control for the last, and thus didn’t have time/space to do what it was originally meant to do. It shoved a out of fucking nowhere villain (they could’ve made JarJar the bad guy and I’d feel like it came from about the same place) but there was a ray of hope, there was one character who if they did him justice, I would’ve been fine with every other mishap. And that is Kylo Ren/Ben Solo. A character who again could’ve had a very impressive story arc. Starting of a sith, murdering his own father, haunting a young woman who slowly motivates him to question his path in life. This third movie could’ve been his redemption and reward for being good, but you know what happens? He dies. After a brilliant scene between him and his father he goes to save Rey, YES redemption moment offered. Then he fights off his Knights of Ren and faces Palpatine by her side, YES redemption asked for. But then when Rey dies, and he is left with a future without her he uses what is left of his power to bring her back to life, they kiss (yay for those Reylo fans because this movie gets flirty between them REAL quick) and then he dies. She is left alone in the world and he doesn’t even get a force ghost moment with his mother and Uncle. He gets nothing. He saves the girl, he rejects the darkness within himself and he gets nothing.

And yes it could be argued that he saved the person he loved the most, and got a kiss, but even his very soul doesn’t find afterlife happiness because we see NOTHING.

Side point, the relationship between Padme and Anakin was more satisfying to watch end. OMG FUCKING SHOCKER, but seriously, they fell in love it was forbidden, she gets pregnant and with is decent into the darkness, you watch the purest of things, love, withstand that. Who does Padme ask for? Anakin, who does Vader ask about? Padme. And yes she dies, but it served a purpose, to set the twins off, and to add to Vaders mixed emotions about everything. Sure she died stupidly, but still I felt it gave more to the plot than Ben’s death. Ben’s death felt like, a hero of this series (and yes by the end of this he is a goddamn hero) didn’t win. How amazing would it have been to see the contrast, Anakin turns dark, looses the person he loves the most, Ben turns light and gets to be with the person he loves the most, I AM JUST SAYING THERE WAS AN OPPORTUNITY HERE! And they missed it. Keep in mind I’m not a reylo fan-girl, but if you’re going to give us that relationship, then actually do it.

So my problem with this is, what are we trying to say here? that you can do terrible things but still redeem yourself, sure, but will you see any kind of happy ending here? no, you don’t even get to go to the equivalent of Jedi heaven. And when you’ve invested years of your life watching and following a potentially great moral story here, it’s unsatisfying. Now I am not one of those people who will trash a movie, set fire to all my merch and call it a day. But like how I felt with Endgame, what was the point of all that? why do I feel so deflated and unfulfilled by this story? Because I grew up with films that gave you trials and tragedy but they (for the most part) let the good guy win, and live happily ever after. Rey doesn’t even seem that well off, she finishes the movie, again in a fucking desert. I’m just being hit with these movies and tv series that I invest large chunks of my life into and I’m feeling like in the end I get punched in the gut for my loyalty and it kind of sucks. My favourite trilogy is still the original three. And in some ways I guess this new one beats out the prequels as well. But I just feel like fans, who invest their money, time and emotions into your stories, deserve better. It doesn’t have to be roses, sure he could die and it would say that sacrificing yourself for the one you love is important. BUT HE DIDN’T EVEN GET A FORCE GHOST, he didn’t get that in soul redemption and WHY, what would it have done to the plot to show him as redeemed as Vadar. I just... I feel like there are happy endings and there are endings that make a point, there are endings that teach us lessons and there are endings that satisfy us. Not everyone is going to be happy, you can’t impress millions, but don’t leave me feeling like I could do better. Don’t leave me feeling like some of the good guys don’t win. The thing I loved about the origional trilogy is that it gave you a villain, a real villain who kills potentially billions through out his life (planets and all) turn around and say no to that darkness. And you know what he got? fucking peace, he got to move on to the afterlife redeemed and at peace. And I just think if you are going to kill off Ben fucking solo, an actual skywalker, call the movie the RISE OF SKYWALKER (hinting at some kind of ascendance for him), then maybe you want to give the last SKYWALKER who sacrifices himself for the greater good of lets face it EVERYONE, afterlife peace.

Maybe they’ll do an extended version, change the ending, who the fuck knows, but for now, like with those other franchises, I feel like my persistent loyalty was not rewarded and that kinda stings.

#tros spoilers #got spoilers #enggame spoilers #reylo #star wars #star wars the rise of skywalker #rant #Disney

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violent-optimism · 4 years

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Why I believe Rey’s ending is perfect (LONG ESSAY)

It sure has been a crazy month for Star Wars fans. As I’m starting to write this I’m realizing that it has been exactly a month since The Rise of Skywalker hit theaters. My experience with this film has been very interesting to say the least. I feel like I’ve gone back and forth several times regarding my opinion. It’s been a bumpy ride, but by this point I’ve realized that there are a few choices in the film that I disagree with. I still enjoy the film; I just wish certain things had been done differently. However, there is one decision that I feel is absolutely perfect for the main protagonist of the trilogy.

I’ve heard a lot of mixed opinions on the final scene of the movie. I’m not here to say that my interpretation of this scene is “right” or the most “correct” one. Not in the slightest. If you feel that Rey was robbed of the ending you believe she deserved, that is how you feel and no one can take that away from you. We all have our own opinions. If anyone feels offended by this essay I want you to know that is not my intention. To be honest, I’m a little scared to post this because I know a lot of people have strong feelings about Star Wars. My hope is that if anyone disagrees with what I am about to say that you can simply move on and find a piece of writing that you do agree with. Please be kind.

With all that being said, allow me to share with you why I believe Rey’s final scene is absolutely perfect for her arc, her character and the story.

So, in my mind, this final scene is all about bringing everything back to where it started. Obviously, Tattooine was not only the home to Luke, but to Anakin as well, tying all three stories together. When Rey finds Luke’s home, she finds a piece of metal and slides down the hill, much like how she did in The Force Awakens. Except this time, she does it with a smile on her face, symbolizing her growth and acceptance of her scavenger background.

You can also tell how fascinated Rey is upon seeing the first home of this legendary figure. As we know, Rey grew up with stories of the Rebellion and Luke Skywalker. She’s probably dreamt about this moment for years, and so finally getting the chance to see it means a lot to her.

However, it’s not just seeing what could be considered a historical site; Rey has a job to do. She never had the chance to say goodbye to Luke or Leia before they joined with the force, and so Rey wants to honour their legacy and teachings by burying both of their lightsabers in the sand. I like to think this serves two purposes:

One, the sabers will never be used by anyone who is not worthy to have them or would try to use them for malevolent purposes.

Two, this act symbolizes letting go of the past but honoring those who came before, which I think has been one of the main themes of the whole trilogy.

And yes, from a meme point of view, Anakin’s lightsaber being buried in the sand is pretty hilarious and ironic, but I digress…

I view this scene as Rey thanking both Luke and Leia for the use of their lightsabers in her journey, but now she has a new saber that she has built, as is tradition once a Jedi has completed their training.

That’s the other part too; Rey has ‘passed all of the trials’ as it were. Not only has she helped to defeat the Emperor and the First Order, but she has also brought back the balance. This girl from nowhere, having never imagined where her life would lead, is now the sole heir to the Jedi legacy and a protector of the peace.

The colour of her lightsaber is also very telling. I think it’s supposed to symbolize a couple different things. It’s a lightsaber colour that we have never seen in any of the Star Wars saga films. This represents a new direction in the Jedi Order, branching off from tradition and forging a new path. Rey doesn’t want to simply imitate the Jedi of old; she wants to be her own version of who she thinks a Jedi should be. The golden colour is neutral, sitting somewhere between Red and Blue, once again symbolizing balance.

This next part is one that a lot of people seem to take issue with. At first glance, I can totally see why. Rey shouldn’t need a powerful last name to prove that she’s a powerful character. Her worth should come from within, not from a bloodline.

In my eyes, however, I don’t see this part actively taking away from Rey’s character or her inner strength. I believe it fulfills a wish that she has always had.

An old wanderer asks her for her name. Rey replies. The wanderer then asks: “Rey who?”

In case it wasn’t abundantly clear by now, family names are SUPER important in the Star Wars universe; to the point where random strangers will ask for your last name, like this scene and the part on Pasanaa with Rey and the local.

The ending is supposed to directly correlate with the scene on Pasanaa. When 3PO translates that the local is asking for Rey’s family name, you can clearly see the heartbreak on her face as she (yet again) has to confront this part of her past; the fact that she is a “no one” from nowhere with no family name to speak of. In this story, a family name is like wearing a badge of honour, something to be proud of. Who could blame Rey for wanting that?

Later on of course, Rey discovers that the answer she has been seeking for so long contains the most horrible truth that she could ever imagine. Being the granddaughter of Emperor Palpatine, Rey faces immense struggle with accepting that she is a part of that family and what this could mean for her future. By the end of the story, Rey has come to realize that it doesn’t matter that she’s related to the most horrible man in the galaxy, what matters is the choices she makes and who she chooses to be.

If we think back to the previous two films, what is the one thing that Rey has always wanted? Belonging…Family…Meaning…

These are the words that guide Rey’s journey until the very end. Finding out that her parents were “no one” shocked her to the core. Even it was foolish and naïve, she wanted to believe so badly that she was connected to someone greater, someone who made a difference.

In a way, she was partially correct…but not at all how she expected. Of course she chooses to reject the Palpatine name and everything it stands for, as she rightfully should. Despite what she feared as a child, Rey comes to learn that her parents did in fact love her very much and protected her the only way they could. Unfortunately, they have passed on and can no longer serve a role as her family, so where does that leave her?

Having a family name, and more specifically, a family, is what Rey has always wanted since the very beginning. I’m not saying that Rey doesn’t have a purpose beyond that, but if you look at what she’s wanted since The Force Awakens, it is definitely in line with her character and this ending fulfills that wish in all the right ways.

“Rey who?”

The familiar question stumps Rey for a moment. She looks off in thought as she thinks of an answer. If she has rejected the name of Palpatine, what name can she give to this woman?

Feeling a familiar presence, Rey looks off into the distance, seeing the shapes of her Masters smiling at her with proud expressions. Luke and Leia wordlessly give her the answer, the one that not only makes her the happiest, but represents who she is and the path she has chosen.

Rey smiles contently, finally knowing what to say as she looks back towards the wanderer.

“Rey Skywalker.”

And then we come to the final shot of the movie, with Rey and BB-8 standing in front of the twin suns as the “force theme” swells in the background. This is an obvious homage to two other Star Wars endings, but also to the one shot in The Force Awakens with Rey and BB-8 walking into the desert. BB-8 was the first friend that Rey ever made, and so it only makes sense that they would be there with her as her story comes to a close.

Rey is anything but alone in this moment. While it is a bit odd that we never see closure with Finn and Poe’s stories, it can absolutely be assumed that Rey will always take the time to visit them and keep the friendship strong. In the final scene, she has two ‘adoptive parents’ watching over her, along with the droid that started her adventure.

I never thought this scene was trying to suggest that Rey would stay on Tattooine. Her journey there was a pilgrimage, the ‘last stage of her training’ if you will. All she came there to do was to bury the lightsabers and pay respect to her Masters and adoptive parents. I don’t believe Rey is intending to stay, not at all.

It’s so exciting to think about what other adventures Rey could have, and that’s what I love about this ending. It leaves it up to the imagination of the viewer. What will Rey do next? Will she train a new generation of Jedi? Will she explore the galaxy? The possibilities are infinite. One thing is for certain, Rey knows who she is and has found a family she can belong to.

That is all she ever wanted.

#TROS #Star Wars #Rey #my thoughts

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weirdconnections · 4 years

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On Finn, Poe and Rey(lo) - TROS aftermath

I’m writing this post because I’m a Reylo shipper and I’m tired of receiving hate from the Stormpilot/Finnrey shippers who say Reylos don’t care about Poe and Finn.

I’m gonna be 100% honest and tell you that I didn’t even ship reylo until after TLJ. My first ship for this new trilogy was Stormpilot and I was completely sold on it from The Force Awakens. And I also believed prior to watching TFA that Finn would be the new generation Jedi of this trilogy and the protagonist of this story.

I was not disappointed to learn that Rey was the new Jedi because I loved the idea of finally exploring a female Jedi, but I was kinda disappointed to learn that Finn had no apparent connections to the force.

This being said, the one thing I love about TROS is that they made Finn force sensitive canon, which is something TFA clearly set up and in The Last Jedi we didn’t get a chance to explore it much.

With that in mind, TLJ surprised me a lot, and even though Reylo was the surprise I loved the most, I hated how they made Rose Finn’s love interest as a way o putting Stormpilot on a grave once and for all. In spite of this, TLJ helped establish some great character arcs for Finn and Poe which defined their objectives and goals for the next movie.

Going into TROS I was totally sold on Reylo but I was still longing for Stormpilot. Even though I knew that Disney would not make it canon or even hint at a romantic relationship between the two, I still had hopes that this would be a satisfying movie in terms of exploring the trio’s relationship, and that it would be interesting to see their dynamic now that Finn had a concrete purpose on the narrative which diverged totally from what we thought he had before. He was no longer in the game to either help Poe or Rey, he was in it for himself and he truly believed the rebellion’s cause.

I was excited to see the trio’s relationship grow and to see how profound their bond was now that over a year had passed after the events of TLJ. This was something that disappointed me a lot in TROS. The first scene between the three of them is very good example on how this movie failed completely at making us invested in their friendship. Rey cannot stand Poe’s imperative and impulsive decisions and Finn is simply stuck in the middle because he had nowhere else to be.

Finn doesn’t have any agency in this movie, his sole purpose is to go along with everything Poe and Rey say. The scene where Poe makes him general is great but also makes me angry that Finn is only promoted when Poe has no one else to turn to. And here’s where I think JJ failed the most with these characters:

The Last Jedi established that Poe could be a great leader If he only put his mind into strategy instead of impulsiveness and if he allowed others to share their ideas for a better solution instead of following his own gut and blowing stuff up just because.

Finn on the other hand learned that war is a double edged sword and you can’t fight something without the purpose of saving what you love because then you are not better than the bad guys and you are simply participating in a system designed to exploit and inflict suffering on others, justified by whatever side you’re on.

Both of these characters had massive potential in becoming great heroes, alongside Rey, who finally becomes a powerful Jedi and who is now ready to fight for the Resistance. Finn should have been Poe’s voice of reason, advising him on battles and thinking of ways to enlist rebel Stormtroopers such as him to improve the Resistance’s numbers in the process.

Honestly, I loved Jannah but I felt that she should have appeared much earlier in the story and that Finn should have been the one to introduce her and the other Stormtrooper defectors. A whole year passed and what had Finn been up to? Oh yeah, he was stuck in the middle of Poe and Rey’s childish spats.

As for Poe I believe this character was simply badly written and he could have filled the same purpose on TROS without treating Rey like rebellious child who wants to play with magic instead of picking up a gun. Not to mention and they could have had a great friendship, since Poe was basically Leia’s second in command and I do not believe for a second she wouldn’t have explained to him how important was Rey’s training and how they could have strategized the Resistance moves way better with that in mind.

The scene where Rey tells them she knows how to find Exegol could have been 10x better if Poe had given us an indication of having had previous conversations with Rey about the Jedi and how they always helped in saving the f*cking Galaxy from evil. So he would throw in a “May the force be with us” line and you would know that these characters not only grew closer during the year that passed but that they also understand and respect each other. And the scene where Poe wants to leave Rey behind would not have existed at all because both Poe and Finn would have been shouting her name, worried for their friend’s safety going up against Kylo Ren, and the only reason he’d wanna leave would be because Finn (as the voice of reason) would have told him reluctantly that they had no other choice but to trust she would be able to handle herself, so they could go back to base. It would have given the scene a lot more emotional weight. And it would have prevented Finn from seeming like a lost puppy by shouting Rey’s name whenever he had the chance to.

So yeah I ship both Reylo and Stormpilot. I respect Finnrey.

I think TROS was very dissatisfying in terms of how they handled Finn and Poe’s characters.

Finn deserved so much better as a character that was set up to be one of the main protagonists. He simply was not written this way at all. It feels like they simply didn’t care enough to give him a relevant plot within the movie which is infuriating because it would have been goddamn easy to link him with Jannah. And if they were going to rub in our faces that Stormpilot could never ever happen might as well have given him a love subplot with her, and I would have been fine with it because at least it would have given his character more depth. Not to mention the great stormtrooper desertor’s cause that he could have been the leader of.

As for Poe, I would have loved to see him care more about Rey and to have more understanding of how the Jedi always influenced the previous and current wars. Leia was sister to Luke Skywalker, the myth, the legend. You cannot tell me Poe would not have been interested in knowing more about the force with blatant evidence to confirm that the Dark Side always represented the oppressive regime the Resistance/Light Side fought against. It would have been great to see this as a part of their strategy not only because Rey was the one with the secret Jedi texts that led them to Exegol but because he also had faith in the force and learned to trust in it and much as in his X-wing canons. This would have made Leia so proud because it was exactly was she was trying to teach him in the previous movie.

That’s my take on the trio and TROS, guys.

Let me know your own thoughts!

#TROS review #tros spoilers #tros #stormpilot #reylo #finnrey #finn #poe dameron

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sunsabered · 4 years

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𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐒 && 𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 && 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒;;;

As with a lot of people, I also have taken the liberty to make some changes to the canon shown in The Rise of Skywalker. I have been thinking about various of these changes for quite a while now and I genuinely hope they make sense at the end of the day as I am far more comfortable with this than what’s been given to us in canon. I respect anyone and their choice and this shall be mine. Under the cut all those changes, alterations and added details as well as thoiughts can be found. Please take a moment to read them.

➤ First and foremost because this needs to be said: My Rey is 𝐍𝐎𝐓 a Palpatine!! There is no relation between her and Palpatine; not by blood or in any other way!! For plot details view further below but in terms of family, this is 𝐍𝐎𝐓 a thing and never will be. ➤ Furthermore, I have come to the decision that my Rey is going to be a 𝐊𝐄𝐍𝐎𝐁𝐈. There will be a post further detailing why and how in the future because there are some details I’d like to work out about it. In the case that a Kenobi (be it Obi-Wan or someone else) is not okay with this, Rey will just be Rey from Nowhere/Rey of Jakku!! ➤ Since the movie has failed to highlight this: While Rey was training over the year in between TLJ and TROS, she has in fact come to see many of the Resistance as her friends. This includes Connix as well as Rose, while having also found to hold highest regards for some of the commanding staff such as Commander D’Acy. ➤ While speaking of time: I felt the time frame the movie worked in was rather short. I believe it was mentioned at some point that from the time they decode the message until the actual attacks it is about sixteen hours? That, to me personally, seems like a very, very short time frame to do all the things that were done in the movie and while I still think that they had to act and react in a limited time frame, I personally will see the time a bit more stretched than mere sixteen hours. ➤ Rey did 𝐍𝐎𝐓 let Beaumont Kin translate the Jedi texts. That was, in my eyes, a huge waste on C3PO and while I do not doubt that she’d have accepted outside help, her primary advisor on the Jedi texts was C3PO. I am more than willing to write out potential things in case someone makes a Beaumont but my primary idea will base on C3PO!! ➤ The Force bond is very much still a thing and has popped up every now and then over the year with Rey trying her best to avoid the whole thing but not quite capable of doing so all the time. There is a sliver of hope inside her that this can still turn toward the good but her focus lies with the resistance as she has come to see them as family. Part of her is disappointed to a degree; but she is very much unsure if her disappointment lies with Ben for choosing Kylo Ren and power or with herself for having gotten her hopes up so high with him. ➤ On the topic of calling Ben ‘Ren’ or ‘Kylo Ren’: Rey sees him and always will see him as Ben so when she talks with Leia or thinks about him, he is Ben to her. When talking to him, he is Ben. But with the fact that not everyone knows that Kylo Ren is Ben Solo, she has opted to call him Ren from time to time while talking with people from the resistance simply because she respects that in her eyes it is not her story to tell; Rey respects Leia’s choice of not going about sharing the origin story of Kylo Ren. I don’t know if this makes sense; I genuinely hope it does. In the end, Ben is Ben in her eyes. ➤ Because I don’t want to neglect the fact that at the end of TLJ Kylo Ren claimed that Rey had killed Snoke, I will have this be part of the reason as to why Rey was spending so much time at the restance base and with her training. The training was needed but being someone accused of the murder of the former Supreme leader sure has put a target on her back. Rey does go on smaller missions every now and then though. She 𝐃𝐎𝐄𝐒𝐍'𝐓 just sit around the base without ever helping!! This is important; Rey is someone who refuses to sit by idly and while training her is very much important, she would insist on coming along every now and then. ➤ The decoded message from the spy claims that it is Snoke that returned or rather, was never dead to begin with and has a whole fleet of star destroyers ready to set out and take the galaxy by force. Please read below for further information about this as I am not going with the Palpatine route at all unless discussed and even then, very unlikely to happen. ➤ 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐒 𝐀𝐍 𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄: The villain in this story is 𝐍𝐎𝐓 Palpatine. While I absolutely adore the villain of Palpatine, he is dead and should have remained as such. The movie absolutely didn’t do any favors to that character and since I feel that it does an injustice to various things and I feel that Snoke was entirely underused, the villain in this case -- (UNLESS DISCUSSED) is Snoke who has been on Exegol all along. In this case Snoke was an apprentice of Palpatine (potentially). As a former apprentice as well as someone who spent the last decades studying the dark side, he is very much capable of creating a second shape for himself. Perhaps via projection or cloning and that is what Ben killed during the throne room fight. In this case Snoke reveals himself in a twist of things. (Note: If you do insist on Palpatine, I will respect that but note that Rey will under no circumstances be his granddaughter). ➤ The fact that Poe, Finn and the others are coming along with her on the mission of finding the sith wayfinder means the world to her. While she hates the idea of risking anyone’s life but her own, she also has come to cherish these people and respects that they have to make their own choices. ➤ The events leading up to Pasaana are very much the same. They arrived, shortly after Rey has a force bond moment in which their location is revealed through a necklace. They try to escape and end up finding the hints they’d been looking for. Rey does heal the creature, already giving a bit of her life force. Chewie gets captured and when she sees a transporter leaving for the star destroyer, she panics and tries to fight for it, desperately trying to bring it back down. There will 𝐍𝐎𝐓 be any force lightning. Rey may carry around darkness but she is not a proper dark side user!! In the end it is the mix of power and emotion as well as desperation to free Chewie from the First Order that brings Rey to the point where the transporter explodes. She truly believes that she is to blame for it and the assumed death of Chewie. ➤ After that incident, her emotions are heightened. There is fear and anger and sadness over what she’s done, or rather believes to have done to, Chewie. This only makes her partially pull back. She does confide in Poe and Finn that she is terrified and feels as though something inside of her is changing. She admits to the visions she’s had about the dark side and the throne and sitting upon it. ➤ On this note: Rey very much does have visions and dreams except they’ve been getting stronger and more vivid over the year that had passed. I consider this both her manifestation of fear as well as meddling from Snoke. ➤ They still make their way to Kijimi and meet up with people of Poe’s (I personally find the spice runner story absolutely horrible but this is up to Poe muns) past. They decode the contents, the events still happen and eventually Rey senses that Chewie is still alive. This much follows canon. On the ship itself, be it via Ben or via data she finds, Rey is lead to believe that she is a child from a bloodline of dark force users and that her parents ran to protect her, sold her to protect her. While the initial abondment still stings, partially fuelling her emotions, there is also a new found feeling of knowing that they did in fact care for her to the point where they chose to sacrifice themselves so that she may live. ➤ Rey runs to reunite with the others but is cornered. The offer to join the dark side is made once more but she turns it down and leaves to find the wayfinder with the others. ➤ Upon arrival on the planet, there is tension within Rey as she fears that time is running out. Being the impulsive, emotional kind but also not wanting to put her friends at risk within the ruins of the Death Star, she makes her way across the ocean but immensely struggles with the waves before finally making her way there. ➤ Upon the Death Star, after finding the second wayfinder, Rey’s emotions have come to hit a critical amount. The vision she sees of herself on the dark side, mixed in with more visions of what could be, are so intense that she is shaken to the core with anger, frustration and fear. It only makes her desire to find her way to Exegol that much stronger. When Ben crushes the wayfinder, her emotions bubble over and in a moment of anger she trikes at him. Rey is a very emotion based person and so the fight with Ben is a mess of her emotions coming to the surface in such a strong manner that it isn’t until she stabs him and feels Leia ( I am purposely leaving this vague) that she snaps out of it. Rey has a dark side as much as she has a light side and all though she identifies more with her light side, I will very much acknowledge that there is also darkness. I hope this makes some sense. If not, feel free to let me know. ➤ After stabbing him and healing him, Rey admits to having wanted to take that hand but points out that for her it was always about Ben and not Kylo Ren. While I see potential for them to talk more, with her remarking that she feels as though she doesn’t even know herself anymore - the potential for the ‘But I do’ line, she ends up leaving him there and making her way off the planet because in that moment her mind is filled with too many emotions for her to handle. ➤ As to how the healing happens; I personally had to think of a moment in Clone Wars in which The Daughter gave her life force to Ahsoka to bring her back from the dead. Somehow along with that and the fact that Ben and Rey are a dyad in the force, I could see either of them capable of such an act; a pure thing of giving and taking - balance combined with a very light force ability. I do truly hope that my thinking makes sense. However; I will never see this ability to just be used on everything all the time. I also definitely think that it takes a greater toll out of whoever uses it, when untrained, hence the energy drain shown. ➤ After leaving she goes to Ahch-To, searching for a moment to rest and figure out what to do. Ahch-To is a place that she considers calming to the mind. The same time it seems like the perfect place to hide away in exile. The idea crosses her mind and just as she is about to set fire to her way off the island, Luke turns up. It is through Luke that she finds out that the information about her heritage was false and that truly is a Kenobi and despite her wavering in the force between light and dark, her heart is in the right place. (In a thread with a Luke this of course up to the mun!!) She still receives Leia’s saber (or perhaps even Obi-Wan’s ? I would love to have a thread like that tbh ) and leaves for Exegol, intend on stopping Snoke with new found strength and knowledge. ➤ Rey arrives of Exegol and immediately storms in, knowing the resistance is on their way. Her movements are hurried as she is both nervous and driven by emotion but intend on killing Snoke and doing what she’d been accused of having done a year ago. There is a lot that goes into this and Snoke does still tempt her with belonging and of course the safety of all those she holds dear, showing her the resistance that has arrived and is struggling in the sky above them. It is then that she feels Ben’s presence (or perhaps they arrived together - at the same time, up to the mun) and eventually, through the force bond, hands him the second saber. ➤ They eventually join up together, ready to fight Snoke who is revealed to be far more powerful than previously assumed just based on the fact that his scheming is revealed. Their bond is a bond in the force itself, a dyad and not something created by him or any other living being. It is revealed that he knew and was just aiming to use them for his purposes. He begins zapping the life force they hold between them and begins to drain them to the point where they collapse. They lie defeated for a moment but call out to the Jedi of the past, both connecting with them. ‘Be with Us’ instead of ‘Be with me’. ➤ The voice of past Jedi come flooding to them, chanting them on, telling them they can do it as a thousand generations of Jedi live on in them now, granting them the strength to lift up and face Snoke once more, stopping his lightning. Ben eventually is thrown into the abyss, with Rey worried for a second before having to face Snoke again, this time eventually summoning Ben’s saber to aid her, claiming that while he may be all the Sith, they are all the Jedi (referring to herself and Ben) and ends up frying him with his own, reflected lightning. The temple begins to break down around them. ➤ There is a moment of peace after the fight in which the dust settles and Rey looks up to the sky, now no longer filled with lightning but the resistance that is getting ready to crush the First Order/Last Order. There is relief before she turns toward the pit that Ben got thrown into. The idea crosses her mind to move toward it and see if he is okay but before that she collapses from her injuries and exhaustion from overextended force usage; her last thoughts being of Ben, Finn, Poe and the resistance - hoping they will all be happy and fine from here on out. ➤ Rey 𝐃𝐎𝐄𝐒 die after the fight! That is very much still a thing. I feel that if you combine everything she’s gone through -- from healing Ben and the creature in the desert, to the fact that her life force had been zapped and the fact that the temple around them is collapsing -- she is simply exhausted and hurt. With the knowledge that the resistance is safe, Rey considers this a sacrifice worth making. Exhaustion and having your life force zapped can take one hell of toll on you; in my eyes, anyway. Not to mention the fact that she did have a head wound at the end which I think is rather realistic considering the fact that the temple was quite literally falling down around them. ➤ Ben Solo does 𝐍𝐎𝐓 die or rather does 𝐍𝐎𝐓 remain dead!! I will of course leave it up to the Ben muns out there whether he gets help from his family’s force ghosts or if he never dies to begin with. There may be exception threads in which, after discussion, I will write Ben as having died 𝐁𝐔𝐓 those will be far and few in between. A very, very rare occurrence as I personally think Ben shouldn’t have died but gotten a chance to work on things. ➤ While I personally consider the kiss between them a canon thing, I will not assume that it happened unless the Ben mun is alright with it. It was a moment of relief and happiness so I very much think it is realistic to have happened. ➤ They leave Exegol together, both alive but weakened. There is a lot to rebuild and Rey intends to do her best to let the galaxy know that they are safe once more. Whether Ben comes along to the resistance or not is up to the Ben mun of course. Either way there is a lot to talk about between the two of them and all the others. ➤ Rey does indeed end up making her own lightsaber in the warmest orange; as happy and radiant as the sun itself because it reflects her inner values and ideas (I will make a proper post on that eventually; I just have a lot of thoughts on the matter). It ➤ Months pass in which Rey trains harder, with Ben (up to the mun) but eventually decides that it is time to lay the sabers (depending on what route to go with, this means either Leia’s, the legacy saber and Obi-Wan’s or just Luke and Leia’s) to rest. They travel to Tatooine, retrieving a flask of sand outside the Lars homestead before making their way to Naboo. Based on what they both know and learned, they bury the sabers along with the vial of sand (representing the beginning) and something representing Alderaan in a small grave with a memorial stone near the lake of Varykino. Rey does not take the name Skywalker but instead acknowledges that she is a Kenobi, intending to tell the tales of the legend of Skywalker, intending to let the name itself rise as something good across the galaxy once more. If any living soul is someone to rise as Skywalker it is Ben, as in Ben Solo rising as the heir to a Skywalker legacy. Thank you, to heartsabered!! For letting me read through hers for guidance.

#tros spoilers #a broadcast for the galaxy ✖ { psa }#the rise of skywalker spoilers #this got wordy #i apologize for that #i tried to keep this as rey focused as i can as this is not me trying to write for someone else's character #know that i love all the characters out there tho so #feel free to let me know your thoughts

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rpdwong · 5 years

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[LET’S TALK RE2MAKE] Ada and Leon

There is so much I want to talk about regarding this game, that I’ve decided to just divide it in different posts because, wow, there is A LOT to unpack here. It’s no surprise that I started playing Leon’s scenario, mainly because I wanted to see Ada in this new rendition (and also Leon and Ada/Leon, of course!). A heads-up: this is probably going to be very convoluted and not-at-all-organized, but I need to get it out and talk about these two.

I’ll admit my main fear was that Capcom could’ve butchered Ada’s characterization, but in the end I had nothing to worry about because we could argue this Ada is even better than in any previous appearances. Mainly because RE2make has probably the best writing/acting in the series (it’s still campy at times and that’s good as well! but you know what I mean). This also applies to her relationship with Leon, which also has been improved and now feels more grounded.

First things first, I love the original RE2 to pieces. It was my favourite game in the series, it was the first I played, Leon and Ada are literally the first ship that I ever shipped without knowing what that was. But when you look at it now, even if the writing is good in certain scenes, it’s… well, it’s not RE forte. I mean, Ada goes from running away from Leon to sticking with him and then saying she cared about him all of a sudden. It’s not that you can’t believe it, but because the game is too short, she gets very intense very quickly. Again, we have to suspend our disbelief here a bit because this game was made back in 1998, and narrative in games was limited. For its time, it was kinda good—but some of those scenes would have looked a bit out of place under the tone RE2make has set. Like the “I’m just a woman who fell in love with you”. I mean, I love it in its original context, but it was cheesy af at its time and I don’t think they could have pulled it off here in a believable way.

(I also think Capcom wants to keep the romance tone very subtle, as they have always said they don’t “include” them in their RE games <s>except they kinda do but anyway</s> and that love confession was by far the most blatant romantic scene in a RE game).

But I digress, since this is about what RE2make does well in regards to Leon and Ada, and I’d say pretty much everything.

The first thing I noticed I quite liked about this Ada was the contrast between her demeanor and what she was doing: she acted cold and distant, but still kept saving Leon’s ass (and she does save him here a lot, more than in the original). This really resonates with their later interactions in other games, even though here she is colder than usual because, well, this is their first meeting so they still don’t have that history and shared background.

[And they keep pointing guns at each other (another great detail, since this is pretty much their dynamic when they meet).]

Now, in the original we know Ada tried to leave Leon behind multiple times— she had a job to do, and having a rookie cop with her wouldn’t help. But she just kept running away without saying anything and since we don’t know her true intentions until the end, it may come across as a bit strange, given her supposed circumstances. In RE2make this is more nuanced, I think. You can see she’s trying to push him off constantly, telling him to leave as soon as he can and escape the city. Some people always bring up that Ada manipulates Leon into doing things so she can accomplish her mission— and that is true to an extent (let’s remember, again, that she also keeps saving him just as much before even accepting his help). But you can also see that wasn’t her first intention, she just wanted to get rid of him and continue her mission. However, Leon is very adamant about not leaving her behind and helping her, because he wants do something for the city and bring those responsible down (I love that he repeats it like two o three times, the “you’re stuck with me” line basically).

Even in her attempts at getting rid of him, there’s a difference between their first interactions and the ones they share later, from the sewers on. When he finds her in the dumpster wounded, she stills tells him something like “get out of here”, even if she knows she needs his help now to survive.

When finishing Ada’s segment, you can even see she’s scared at the end after the fall (and, indeed, where’s Leon when she needs him xD). But what Leon says here is one of my favourite things:

Now this is not only about uncovering Umbrella’s plot and bringin them to justice for him: they are a team and they protect each other to survive the hell they have been thrown into (which is very reminiscent of their interactions in the original game aka “We’re a team. I can’t just leave you behind”, even Leon points at this with his “Y’know we make a good team”, which only makes it all sadder because yes, they do, but now the truth has come out and they are “enemies”).

So, yeah, what was Ada supposed to say here? She goes along with it, and yes, she tricks him into retrieving the G virus for her, but that’s to be expected because she’s just not going to drop her whole mission and leave everything she’s ever known “for a pair of pretty eyes”, as Luke Skywalker would say, when we can see she’s very reserved and hides her true feelings/intentions constantly.

Yet she doesn’t want to hurt him (as she admits during their confrontation and this is genuine, no lies here), so that’s the best scenario in play: Leon gets the G virus, he gives it to her under the pretense of taking it back to the FBI, they escape, go their separate ways, she succeeds in her mission. End of story. Thankfully, Leon is not such a naïve ass in this game. Seriously, I replayed the original RE2 just before the remake’s launch and Leon is incredibly gullible to the point of no reason— though it’s endearing in its own way too. But I definitely appreciate more that this Leon still has a hopeful, positive vibe and he really wants to trust Ada, without coming off as an utter fool.

Then the confrontation comes (in a walkway with no railing, guys, haven’t you seen Star Wars??? THAT DOESN’T BODE WELL, NEVER) and it’s beautifully made. They could have gone the Leon B route with Ada dying in his arms, but the Leon A version was incredibly poignant— and it remains the same here, even more so because the acting was top notch for me here. (It’s true Ada “died” in Leon B to save him and that’s powerful as well, but… she has saved him so many times in the remake, it wouldn’t have felt that “special” I guess?). Even though Ada has been actively more deceitful in the remake (she takes advantage of the FBI lie much more than she did with the “worried girlfriend” thing), in the end she is not able to shoot Leon— and he knows she won’t.

The moment he says “but I don’t think you can” and lowers his weapon is SO GREAT and is a perfect summary of their whole dynamic: they are usually on opposing sides, yet he still trusts she will never harm him; because she can’t. They always walk a very thin line between friend and foe. We as the audience know Ada won’t shoot him, but it’s a such leap of faith for Leon here, at this moment— especially because now he is certain of what Ada is and what she is doing with the G virus. Rationally, there’d no reason for her not to shoot him and get the virus— but despite Ada’s lie, the connection they have developed is real. And Leon knows this, trusts his instincts and it pays off. It’s so much more fulfilling than the original scenes or even later ones.

Then we have Ada’s “death” and it’s heart-breaking. That “Shut up I’ve got you” from Leon KILLS me every time, and Ada’s “it’s not worth it” says so much about her, as I understand the implication is that she thinks saving her is not worth it.

Again, this is something that was also present in the original, so I think they’ve managed to blend all versions of Ada quite well (she can be standoffish, independent and sassy, but also show warmth, sadness and compassion). Not only that, I found it quite endearing that she also comes off as very proud and hates feeling weak, rejecting Leon’s gestures of kindness when he finds her wounded in the sewers. There’s the “don’t push it, rookie” and she claims she would feel even worse if Leon carried her. I don’t think this was a trait we had witnessed before in Ada, even though you could assume she doesn’t like being thought of as weak. But it was really nice to see that on screen and it’s just another detail that helps to make her feel more human.

What about the kiss? I’ve seen some people having mixed feelings about it, but I actually liked what they did— again, because this time it all feels more grounded and less “melodramatic” (which isn’t bad per se, but the tone is different, as I’ve mentioned). We weren’t getting a love confession out of nowhere because it didn’t fit the character, so… how can we get a kiss in this situation? Well, now it’s part of Ada’s manipulation in a way— but that doesn’t invalidate that she’s starting to care about him in some way and viceverse.

But they are still walking on thin ice: Leon wants to trust her, but he doesn’t know if he should, and she knows she’s lying to him. So she just shuts him up when he starts blabbering about keeping her safe. I don’t mind that it’s part of the manipulation because, once more, this is their first meeting and I also think part of her was also being genuine about it, like she thinks he’s very sweet for worrying so much about her. This is my interpretation, of course, but I think it fits the scene when she says “don’t worry about me” and claiming she’d like to see him again, that she has plenty to live for. This is of course all up to debate, because it’s made ambiguous on purpose, to make us feel as confused as Leon is. But, in the end, we know what happens in later games (even in this one, when she is unable to shoot him), and whether you like Ada or not, we can’t argue that she cares about him enough to put him before any mission.

Leon’s line in the train is also very telling and so much better than the original “Goodbye, Ada” or “I’ll always remember you”, in my opinion. He says “I can’t believe I actually miss her” and that rings so true, because, despite the deception, the connection they had was true, they worked well together, they teased each other, they bantered. They made a good team, and Leon made it out alive thanks to her as well. It reflects much better that duality they have, whether they can trust each other or not (as he says in RE6: it’s complicated).

Just to end this, because I’ve been blabbering long enough, the other thing I’m forever grateful this remake has given us is Leon and Ada bantering and even their own sort of recurring catch phrase, with the whole “keeping scores” that comes full circle: first in a negative way, then it shows up again in a moment of tenderness between the two.

It’s also such a nice way to tie all their history together, because that’s what they always do: they might be on opposing sides, but they always end up saving each other.

#ada wong #leon scott kenendy #aeon #resident evil 2 remake #resident evil 2 #meta #mine: meta #my reylo might have shown here a bit with the sw references

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trevardes · 4 years

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Only a gentler kind of sleep (Kylux, post-TRoS)

A fic about Kylux as Force ghosts, because after The Rise of Skywalker we all need a happier kind of ending.

Also on AO3: https://archiveofourown.net/works/21876055 Summary: Ben huffs out a laugh. "I have to admire you then; being so stubborn you became strong in the Force at the last possible moment by sheer will.

"Hux shakes his head. "You're an idiot, Ren. I didn't do it on purpose. Figures I'd get stuck with you by accident." Ben laughs, almost carefree. "I don't know why, but I'm actually happy about it." Hux is sort of fun, now that there's no power to fight over, and no possible way to kill each other. Seeing his angry little face day in and day out makes Ben feel like there still is a constant in his life - or in his death. Something he can count on, even if it's just someone endlessly miffed about his mere existence. "I did betray you, you know that right?" says Hux, perplexed.

Ben floats up and takes a seat on a thick tree branch. He's taking care to stay almost invisible, and he's far enough away from the firelight that the three people around it can't see him.

They've built a bonfire and Dameron is roasting some kind of meat on it, the other two looking on with hunger in their eyes, telling him to hurry up. Ben can't quite smell the meat cooking, but at the same time he can see and feel every molecule of it, every last particle making up the fat and the gentle smoke rising from it.

FN-2187 - no, Finn - has an arm around Dameron's waist and seems to be close enough to restrict movement and be more of a bother than of use. He's telling some joke Ben can't quite hear, and they're all laughing, encased in their little bubble of careful happiness against the dark of the night.

Ben's eyes stray to Rey, and there's the customary roil of sadness somewhere around where his stomach once was. He can see her in half-profile, her eyes crinkling with her laughter and her hair in unruly wisps, soft brown turning to red in the fireglow and black where the light doesn't touch her.

He could go join them, Ben thinks. If he tried very hard, they might even see him, she might even take him by the arm and pull him to sit on the ground beside her.

Her hand might pass through him, though, and he knows the fierce light and the devouring darkness would make him a pale imitation of what he once was, fleeting and feeble. He doesn't want to go to her like that.

It's not that Ben regrets what he did. Fighting Palpatine and saving Rey were some of the best things he ever did, the best things he ever would do. He keeps his eyes on her, seeing how happy she looks. No longer burdened by any unreasonably heavy fate or purpose, she can focus on helping the galaxy along on its way to healing in little ways that she can. She's happy and mostly safe… and he can't quite be sorry.

He does regret not being able to sit there beside her, not being able to gradually learn to know her better. He regrets not knowing if one day they might have been something precious like real friends, or even something more, like he'd wanted to. Sometimes he still thinks he can feel her lips on his, cool and chapped and rough, and it makes him miss life.

Still, he doesn't regret his death. He'd been so tired for so long, and now he finally gets to rest.

It feels good to be a part of the Force, wholly now, and without the pull to either side, dark or light. He still belongs to both in equal measures, but somehow the two sides have an easier time existing as one when he's no longer made of flesh and bones. Only spirit, now, and it… it feels like peace. Like forgiveness.

The fire's almost died and Finn has fallen asleep with his head on Rey's shoulder, when Ben catches a glimmer to his left. He turns, an expectant frown already on his face, waiting.

It takes Hux longer to materialize than it's ever taken Ben, even in the beginning.

"Hello, Ren", Hux says evenly, settling to sit beside him. Ben can see the rough bark of the branch through Hux, and it still feels disconcerting. Ben suspects it will for a long time.

"Hux."

"I still can't fathom why you choose to spend so much of your time watching over them." Hux is in a huff like he always is, red hair turned pale by his ghostly state, looking even thinner than he looked in life, deep shadows under his eyes.

"I still can't fathom why you choose to spend yours bothering me", Ben says, though he doesn't really mind, not any more.

"I'll have you know I do plenty of things without you", Hux scoffs. "I like how easy it is to go to distant places and just… listen."

Ben knows Hux does that. Walks into deep forests and barren wastelands and puts his hands to the ground, feeling the Force move in everything around him. Floats around in the cold expanse between stars and listens to the hum of the universe. He could never hear it when he lived, so it must be shocking, to discover he really is only a tiny speck in the great flow of the Force.

"I went to Arkanis", Hux continues quietly.

"You did?" Ben looks at him more closely. Hux is squeezing his hands tightly together on his lap, biting his lip. The skin seems to lose colour, though it didn't have any to begin with. He's still wearing his uniform, even now, though it isn't pristine like it always was, Before. His hat is nowhere to be seen, his collar unbuttoned, and there's a scorched hole on the left leg of his trousers, and another on the chest of his jacket.

"I went into the sea to see the monsters."

That means something to Hux, but Ben doesn't know why. He's only been able to find out that Hux's father had a school on Arkanis, and that Hux has bad memories from the place.

"What were they like?" he asks, in the same quiet tone Hux is using.

"Just big fish", Hux laughs, bitter for some reason. "I suppose we're all ultimately less than."

Less than what, Ben doesn't ask. He knows.

Below them, Rey is falling asleep too, leaning her cheek on Finn's hair.

Ben could try to visit her dreams, it might even be easier than going to her in the waking world and trying to hold onto a form she could see and hear.

He doesn't. He'd be a pale copy. Less than, just like Hux said.

"Guess we are", he whispers. Shoots Hux a lopsided smirk.

"Though you're more than I thought, General. I tried so hard to sense the faintest echo of the Force in you, when we were Snoke's, and I never found anything. How did you hide it, all these years?"

Hux laughs. "Do you think I would have hidden it, if there was even the slightest chance I could have gotten back at you somehow? Wouldn't I have weaponized it if I'd known I had it?"

Ben huffs out a laugh. "You definitely would have. I have to admire you then; being so stubborn you became strong in the Force at the last possible moment by sheer will."

Hux shakes his head. "You're an idiot, Ren. I didn't do it on purpose. Figures I'd get stuck with you by accident."

Ben laughs, almost carefree. "I don't know why, but I'm actually happy about it."

Hux is sort of fun, now that there's no power to fight over, and no possible way to kill each other. Seeing his angry little face day in and day out makes Ben feel like there still is a constant in his life, or in his death. Something he can count on, even if it's just someone endlessly miffed about his mere existence.

"I did betray you, you know that right?" says Hux, perplexed.

"Yes, it was pretty noble of you, wasn't it?"

"No. I just wanted you to lose."

Ben smiles, a little melancholy. "And I did. Are you happy?"

"Honestly?" Hux asks, smiling as well, though he's more rueful. "Yes. If I couldn't be Supreme Leader, I'm happy as hell you couldn't either, nor Palpatine."

"You'd rather take the 'lawless chaos?'" Ben still remembers how passionate Hux always was about controlling the whole galaxy, and how ardently he wanted to give it his own kind of order in return, even if it was a peace kept only by fear of him and his Starkiller base.

"Better lawless chaos with no leader than lawful chaos under you or stars know what kind of utter madness under Palpatine." Hux has gone all huffy, though there's a smile tugging at a corner of his mouth.

Ben chuckles and looks back at the three sleepy friends around the fire. Dameron's eyes are half closed and he seems in danger of tipping forward and frying his nose in the embers.

Ben waves a hand, and across the clearing, a twig snaps on the ground. It's not a loud noise, but Dameron sits up, alert. He sits quietly for a moment, looking around, hand on a blaster at his hip. When nothing happens, he turns to prod Finn and Rey awake, and despite their grumbling, he herds them away towards the command centre and their beds.

Ben and Hux watch them go in silence, until their voices can no longer be heard.

"Don't you think it's bad for you to lurk like this?" Hux asks quietly.

"What do you mean?"

"Being alone and dreaming about things you can't have. About living people and living things."

Ben sighs, pulling a leg up onto the branch and hugging the knee to his chest. "I guess", he concedes, "But I like it, too. Knowing she's okay."

Hux hums, not saying anything for a long time. He mirrors Ben's position, seemingly unconsciously, but pulls his other leg up too.

"You're not with them anymore, though." Hux seems to still enjoy stating the obvious, hurtful things as much as he always did.

"No", Ben admits. "I'll cling for a little while more, If you don't mind." His tone becomes sardonic, but he doesn't exactly mean to show he's affected.

"At least I'm not all alone", he continues, jostling Hux none too gently with his shoulder. "There's always you."

"There's always me", Hux concedes, chuckling and shaking his head. "It's still not good for you", he repeats, clearly just to be annoying.

"Don't you think it's bad for you to always go looking at your forests and seas and asteroid fields all alone?" Ben asks him.

Hux huffs out a breath, surprised. "I do listen to people too, sometimes. I just… I want to learn to know the Force. It's unsettling, not knowing what I'm made of now."

"You were always made of it, we all are", Ben says, almost gently. Hux makes a face.

"Smartass. Easy for you to say, since you know everything about it."

"Not everything", Ben laughs. Not nearly.

"You laugh a lot nowadays", Hux muses, looking like the thought annoys him.

"I guess I have fewer reasons not to. Less to worry about."

Hux tilts his head. "Must be nice."

"What are you worrying about, then?"

Hux looks down, his fingers absentmindedly picking at the scorched hole in his trousers. The translucent skin underneath the fabric seems flawless, no blaster wounds in sight.

"Why are you still wearing those, by the way? It's been months."

It's hard to say how many; Ben and Hux aren't tied to existence and time the same way living beings are, and sometimes it's easier to lose shape for a time, just floating in the current, asleep almost.

Hux makes an embarrassed sound. "Because I don't know how not to. I've been angry about how you're in a different fancy robe everytime I see you."

Ben snorts, and then laughs harder at Hux's offended expression. He reaches out a hand and lays it on Hux's chest over the hole. The fabric knits back together as he tells it to, and Hux's chest rises and falls quickly in a breath he doesn't need. He feels warm to the touch, like nothing has for a long time, his useless ghost heart beating a staccato rhythm near Ben's hand.

"I could teach you", Ben offers, surprising himself as much as Hux.

"I have no intention of becoming your… padawan", Hux spits the word like it tastes revolting.

"Your choice", Ben smiles, enjoying Hux's sneer.

"Kylo Ren", Hux hisses. "How can you still be the most irritating thing in my life after I've fucking died?"

The name is unfamiliar now, but at the same time hearing it from Hux feels like coming home. He won't tell Hux to call him Ben; Hux probably wouldn't obey him in the first place, and besides, a part of him likes keeping that tie to his past.

"It's a gift", he hums. "How about it?"

"Fine", Hux growls and grabs Ben's hand from his chest, putting it on the hole in his trousers. "Show me."

Ben can feel his warmth under his palm, through the fabric and on the patch if bare skin. He can feel the way this strange half-life of theirs pulses through Hux, and the way he trembles just the tiniest bit under the touch. Icy blue eyes meet his, fiercely, and Ben smiles.

"I will."

#kylux #the rise of skywalker #the rise of skywalker spoilers #tros spoilers #star wars #ben solo #general hux #kylo ren #hux #my fic #star wars spoilers #star wars ep ix #kylux fic #gahh i'm nervous bc this is my first kylux fic in ages

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kylosupremeimagines · 6 years

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Kylo Ren X Reader: Only Everyone Can Judge Me {Chapter Six}

Summary: After falling into a dream, you wake up in a med bay to find a Devaronian watching you. To your surprise, it turns out that you were tracked by the Knights of Ren by the order of Supreme Leader Snoke.

Word Count: 2015

https://kylosupremeimagines.tumblr.com/post/175992731934/knights-of-ren

Tag List: @rentopia @scheherazades-horcrux @babybluelukex @attorneyl @glitzescape @alladeline @dancewaterdance02 @celiholland @crkylo @celestiaelisia @lyraeluna @peacefulwizardfox @twdlover2000 @cs-please @xultraviolet @xfeathered-serpent @fizzywoohoo @topsykretts92 @ayatimascd

The force was still stirring within you as it tried to wake you up. Your eyes shot open and you jolted up, feeling a cold metal around your wrists. You glanced down to see that you had been restrained, just now realizing that you weren’t back in the quarters of your ship, but rather in what appeared to be a medical bay. It was far more advanced than the one back on the other ship, but it did not appear to be that of a ship such as a flag ship of sorts. It could probably only comfortable house three people for treatment.

You jumped a bit in your bed as your eyes fell onto a red skinned Devaronian. “Ah, I see that you’re finally awake. It’s about time, we found you on your ship unconscious,” he brought up. The man had been sitting across from you on the opposite metal bed - you didn’t understand why it was the standard not to have any proper bedding in a medical setting such as this. “what a sight, things were everywhere! You have to tell me, what did you even do to that room?”

You pursed your lips together as to who this man was and why he was rather enthusiastic about talking with you. He was even leaning forward with his elbows resting upon his knees, a small glimmer of curiosity in his dark orbs. “Umm… you expect me to tell you when I’m being held prisoner?” you demanded to know, trying not to come off as annoyed as you were.

He couldn’t help but scoff a tad bit in amusement. “Oh, you aren’t our prisoner, but we had to restrain you for safety measures. You should understand,” he brought up, leaning back again and stretching his arms over his head. “if you want, I can take them off for you as long as you promise not to hurt me.”

You glared at him to try to contemplate the situation you were in. “Who even are you?”

A small smirk formed across his features. “Now there’s a real story. I may or may not be a friend of a certain man whom you possibly could know,” it was evident that he had to be teasing you, but you immediately knew what he was talking about.

“A Knight of Ren?”

“Precisely!” He expressed, pointing his finger at you. “Volgoth Ren, at your service. As I told you, having you restrained is for safety measures. As long as you won’t try anything, I’m more than willing to take your restraints off, seeing as how the Supreme Leader doesn’t even want us to consider you a prisoner. He actually wants to see to it that you are brought before him.”

Your eyes went wide a little as he had mentioned the Supreme Leader, Snoke himself. Of course, he had grown an interest in you, considering the shift in the force that he must have felt and the report he had received form Kylo. For sure, it would play to your favor. “I won’t attack you, I promise you that.”

“Alright, then let me just come over there,” he stood up to make his way over to you, using the force to unlock the restraints around your wrists. You gave him a look, getting a small laugh from the man. “oh, you could have taken it off on your own. I just didn’t think you would realize that.”

“Are you really a Knight of Ren?” you had to know, there was no way in the galaxy that he could be so carefree. “or do you really just think that I am that stupid?”

“I mean, considering that we found you with things everywhere and injured with a poor patch job, one could argue that you are.”

“Volgoth, stop screwing with the force sensitive,” The force shifted around you once more as Volgoth shifted his head towards the door, for a man to reveal himself. He was rather tall, probably closer to Kylo’s height. “I must apologize for him, he gets like this with a lot of our prisoners.”

“Didn’t you tell me I wasn’t a prisoner?” You gave the Devaronian yet another look.

“But you aren’t one! Geez, I thought that I made that clear!”

The stranger pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance, shaking his head before looking back over to the both of you. “Don’t worry, you are not a prisoner. It was never intended for you to be unless you defied our generosity or efforts to help you. We did everything we could with our resources to heal up your blaster wound, you should be fine. I can not guarantee that there will be minimum scarring, but it should heal up in the end.

You glanced down your waist to now realize you had been in a change of shirt, it hadn’t been bloodied or burned from the blaster bold. “I… don’t know what to say. Thank you,” your mind still seemed to be processing it all, and the fact that they had been treating you more like a guest than a prisoner, which is what led you to believe their claims. You lifted up your shirt to get a better look at the wound, it seemed to have been properly dressed with some bandages and bacta patches. Plus, it didn’t hurt much, more of an uncomfortable sensation rather than a painful one.

If they were lying about you not being a prisoner, then there really would have been no justified reason for them to tend to your wound - but you could now sense that they were nothing but truthful towards you. It had come to your full realization that you had been sought out specifically for the purpose of bringing you before Snoke. It was rather convenient all for the fact that it meant you wouldn’t have to seek the First Order out yourself; and even risk getting hurt trying to present yourself to them, a known Resistance member.

Ex Resistance member now.

As you let out a soft sigh, your eyes shifted to the man.”Um, I never got your name…” you mentioned. If you were going to be their guest, you might as well learn of their names.

“Ah, yes. Dralin, Dralin Ren,” he had told you, giving you the impression now that the Knights had actually used the name Ren as a title. It was both in their organization’s name as well as used by three of them thus far. As you thought for a moment, you couldn’t help but contemplate if you had heard that name before. “is something wrong?” You pursed your lips together as you tried to piece it together, studying his features. But then it hit you

“You were at the temple, you were a Jedi before,” you recognized him from your days at the Jedi Temple when you were still learning under Master Luke. He had been one of the more advanced students, but you never really interacted with him much; you didn't actually with many that weren’t Ben or your Master. “a fellow padawan.”

He let out a small chuckle. “I am indeed, and Volgoth is as well. All of us Knights derived from the Temple with Kylo. We stood by his side with the same ideology that Skywalker was in the wrong,” he began to explain. “we always knew that there was something wrong with him, and it was just confirmed when he tried to end his own nephew. We stood beside him and Master Snoke opened his door to us, seeing as how we had nowhere to go and a sudden loss of real purpose. Hence, we could not refuse the knowledge of power.”

It had never actually occurred to you that there had been others that had followed behind Kylo when he left the Temple in ruins. You could remember the night as if it hadn’t happened long ago, approximately ten years at this point. He had held his hand out to you and begged you to follow behind him, but as you were still questioning your own morals, you refused.

As he couldn't come to kill you as Snoke would have commanded, he told you to leave. No matter how much you pleaded him to come with you and forget about everything - to just travel the galaxy with you - he couldn’t. You made your escape as he had left for the First Order, and that had been the last you had seen of him up close until today with your encounter with him on D’Qar.

“And about how many of you are there?”

“Including Kylo, eight of us in total,” Volgoth added to the conversation. “a real mixed bunch we have. But that’s what I love about our group. Never a dull moment,” he smirked at the idea.

“Mixed?”

“Yeah, we all have such different personalities, but we somehow manage to work so well together. It’s a kriffing miracle but we happen to make it work. You better hope that you don’t run into Orus anytime soon, she’s the one that can send a chill down your spine,” he jokingly shivered at the thought. “she has a glare so powerful that it could probably kill you if she holds it for too long.”

“Well… that’s pleasant.”

“Now, come on Volgoth. You make her out to be some Nexu. She’s only cold if she has to be,” Dralin tried.

“Oh, no. I have to beg to differ. Have you ever heard how sarcastically bitchy she can be? It’s so dark, it’s like the corners of space without any stars!” Volgoth expressed.

Dralin smacked the Devaronian across the back of his head to shut him up. “Why don’t we talk about something else?” he insisted, turning his full attention back to you. “I don’t think that I even need to guess that you have a lot of questions for us about this all. So go ahead and ask us, I will try to answer anything that I possibly can.”

“Why?” you didn’t even need to take a second to think about what you wanted to know, the question was already programmed in your mind. “I want to know why you were ordered to capture me and why you’re bringing me before Snoke.”

They weren’t surprised that you had asked such things. “As far as we were briefed, a report given by Kylo had given him reason to request you be tracked down. Our Star Destroyers had already put a tracker on your shuttle, so it was not very hard to find your location.”

“My guess is that he wants you as an ally, knowing that you now hate Skywalker as much as he does,” Volgoth told you. “what did he even do to piss you off so much?”

You clenched your fist as you were brought back to the memory back from Ahch-to, how he had pushed you away once again. “I still can’t understand why he would refuse to take me back. He abandoned me in self shame and even after ten years, he can’t face me again. He lied to me all this time, apparently, I come from the Blood of the Sith just like Kylo does.”

“Then, he was foolish to become so frightened of you. The Jedi were always so blinded against power, and look at where that landed him,” Dralin admitted. He wasn’t wrong, Luke made a mistake both when he tried to off his own nephew and when he turned his back on you once more. The Knight before you had no idea the true extent of the pain and stirring emotions that your old Master had caused you.

And it was your driving force.

“All I want is for him to pay for all of it, to know the pain that he caused me and Kylo. I won’t let him live for it.”

“We can most certainly make that happen for you,” Volgoth practically interrupted Dralin.

“I know where he is, I want to give that information to Snoke. He has to die.”

#Star Wars #Kylo Ren #Kylo Ren X Reader #Kylo Ren Imagines #Kylo Ren Headcanons #Adam Driver #Star Wars X Reader #Star Wars Imagines #Kylo REn Reader inserts #star wars reader insert #Knights of Ren

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carasstarwarsmusings · 6 years

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My Fanfics - Master Post

Completed Fics

Chained (part 1 of the Bound Trilogy) - Rated M

Kylo Ren/Rey, Kylo Ren & Rey, Kylo Ren, Rey (Star Wars), Luke Skywalker, Armitage Hux, Snoke (Star Wars), Ezra Bridger, Sabine Wren, Leia Organa, Poe Dameron, Force Bond (Star Wars), creepy kylo, Tough Rey, Luke is a complex character, Everybody is damaged it just is a matter of how much, Slow Burn, First of a Trilogy

Canon compliant through TFA, my exploration of the idea of a force bond between Rey and Kylo. Funny thing, I really didn’t think they’d do it in canon, so this is one of my few fics that actually have a force bond between them.

Trigger warning for an attempted dream rape sequence and child abuse in a Rey flashback dream. Canon typical violence.

Summary

Kylo Ren has found himself fixated on the girl he captured on Takadona. The girl who had somehow managed to best him on Starkiller. The girl who he now realizes is the one from his dreams, the girl in the veil who he has endlessly chased and never catches. The girl that he now appears to be strangely linked to, able to feel over light years of space.

If there is one certainty in his life, it's that this girl will be his, that he will capture her and she will submit to him

Rey survived Kylo Ren and escaped Starkiller, only to find him haunting her. Whispering in her head and finding her in her dreams. Sent to find Luke Skywalker, Rey finds herself training, learning to use her powers, soon realizing that she was being hunted by the monster she defeated but left alive. The monster who's mind now seems linked directly to hers.

Chained together by a force bond, the two adversaries begin to understand the potential and dangers of this link between them.

Snare - Rated M

Kylo Ren/Rey, Kylo Ren & Rey, Rey (Star Wars), Kylo Ren, Leia Organa, Original Characters, unnamed-background-Resistance-members™️, Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca (Star Wars), Han Solo, Finn (Star Wars), TFA flip script, And less in a toss the pages in the air kind of way and more of a I put the script in a blender, Dark!Creepy!Luke, Neither side is black or white, everyone is morally grey, characters that are just slightly out of character, On Purpose, It's hard to explain, you'll understand once you read it, Slow Burn

A flip script of TFA that has a Resistance ambush set up in Tuanal and let’s the story deviate from there. Lots of turning themes and arcs and scenes from TFA on their head, so the story feels familiar, but you still just never know for sure what to expect.

Summary

Kylo walked into a trap set up by the Resistance when the First Order raided San Tekka's village. He's now found himself alone in the desert, on a planet crawling with Resistance and Resistance allies and a bounty on his head that is going to have the locals all interested in capturing him.

Pro Forma (Part 1 of Pro Forma Universe) - Rated M

Kylo Ren/Rey, Kylo Ren, Rey (Star Wars), Armitage Hux, Leia Organa, space ball

Written using this work of @elithien as my prompt. A space ball in neutral territory where Rey and Kylo once again cross paths.

Preview

Did it even matter? He had been a boy still, the last time he’d been in the same room with his mother. The last time he heard her voice, they hadn’t talked over a com either since then. They had written, there was that, though he had written far more than she wrote back. Dutiful son and Jedi padawan that he had been, he wrote faithfully. She wrote back when she found the time, which, as it always had been with finding time for her family, had been rarely.

Hux swept his way towards the group surrounding the Vice-Chancellor, puffing himself out. He had seen Organa, that was certain. His motives for joining whatever conversations were taking place was certainly to kriff with her. It was what the little prick did best.

Why was he even still standing here? He needed to move, needed to get out of sight. If she looked over at Hux as he approached them, she would see him. Surely, there was nothing good that could come from her knowing he was here. Taking a step back, he began to turn when another figure stepped next to his mother.

Her. The girl. The scavenger.

Six of Swords (part 1 of Arcana)

A little post TLJ angsty force bond ficlet I wrote for ceallaigheirinn for the underated Reylo secret santa. Became the first in what will hopefully be a Tarot inspired ficlet collection.

Six of Swords - A regretful but necessary transition. Being forced to let go of something to which you were attached. A journey that is necessary to leave turmoil behind and find calmer waters. Reversed, limbo, being unable to move on, let go of baggage.

Works In Progress

Something to Love - Rated M - Ch 14/?

Kylo Ren/Rey, Finn/Rose Tico, Kylo Ren, Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey (Star Wars), Leia Organa, Finn (Star Wars), Poe Dameron, Jessika Pava, Rey and Kylo ran away together, Sadly they're not going to be able to live happily ever after, Just when they think they were free they get pulled back in, Reylo babies, These two love each other, War's a bitch, six years or so later, General Finn, Admiral Poe Dameron, Commander Jessika Pava, Snoke is still a creep, The Resistance are kind of assholes too, General Finn Tico, Angst, So much angst

A runaway AU and a Reylo Baby AU, where Kylo and Rey ended up both abandoning the fight and running away together. Be prepared for angst and to hate characters you didn’t realize you could hate. Seriously, this fic is kinda non-stop emotional abuse of my readers.

Summary

Six years ago they ran. For four years they've been living in peace, away from the chaos and the war that continues to rage.

Rey and Kylo have built a family and a home on an isolated moon in wild space. For four years with no conflict or run ins with either the First Order or the Resistance, they've allowed themselves to relax and breath, thinking that maybe both sides of the conflict have decided to leave them behind. But the war isn't done with them yet, and when they find themselves forcibly dragged back into the fray, Rey must choose to fight again to protect her children and the man she loves.

Apathetic Synergy - Rated M - Ch 15/?

Kylo Ren/Rey, Kylo Ren & Rey, Rey (Star Wars), Kylo Ren

I really need to up my tag game on this fic, lol. This is an AU where Rey is captured at the end of TFA by the First Order and is put under Kylo’s care.

Preview

She twisted on the bed, bending as much as the restraints would let her, ignoring the pain of her still healing side and tuning out the steady, irritating beep of the medbay equipment. Her focus was on the clear line running down to the connection to her vein. The medics had come again, added the drugs to IV bag without any acknowledgement of her before leaving. It’s effects were already starting to be felt. Soon it would sweep her away into an unfocused daze.

If she let it.

Catching the line on the guardrail of the bed, she twisted her arm against the restraint, pulling the line taut, biting her lip against the pain of the catheter twisting in her vein. With a slow, steady pull, she felt the needle of the line slip out of the catheter, just enough that the drip would run off and not into her body. The line was close enough that she could use the force to push it back in when they came to check on her, or when the bag was empty and the worry about the drugs were no longer a threat.

Bloodstock - Rated T (for now anyway), Ch 6/?

Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey (Star Wars), Han Solo, Chewbacca (Star Wars), Kylo Ren, Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Phasma (Star Wars), Armitage Hux, Snoke (Star Wars), Amilyn Holdo, Poe Dameron, Rose Tico, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, equestrian AU, Hunter/Jumper AU, Equestrain book and movie tropes abound, Dark side of the horse industry, Some inspiration from real events and crimes, Millenium Falcon is a horse, As is Kylo's TIE Silencer, Rating subject to change

The equestrian AU no one asked for, where I can combine my horse obsession and my star wars obsession all in one place!

Featuring washed up former champion trainer Han Solo, spunky girl from nowhere Rey, champion jumper rider Kylo Ren who works for Snoke's First Order Stables. Trigger warnings for some violence and animal deaths.

Summary

Whatever Rey had been expecting when she began hitchhiking her way westward across the United States with an expired visa, no money, and next to nothing to her name, ending up working and riding for former champion horse trainer and rider Han Solo had not been one of them. Yet that's where she's found herself, living and working on Han's farm in rural Minnesota with Han, Han's friend and stablehand Chewie Bacca, and the gruff trainer's six horses.

When Han gets himself into more than a little bit of trouble, Rey presses him to bring his old jumper—Millennium Falcon—out of retirement and to let her try to help win the money the man needs. The three travel to Illinois, where the hunter/jumper show world is dominated by First Order Farms, owned by the shady Silas Snoke, and home of champion jumper rider Kylo Ren. Rey soon finds the horse industry is a far darker and more dangerous place than she ever could have expected.

Bonded (Part 2 of the Bound Trilogy) - Rated M - ch 13/?

Kylo Ren/Rey, Reylo, Kylo Ren, Rey (Star Wars), More characters to be added as we go along ;), Slow Burn, Grey Jedi, Force Bond

Another I have to up my tag game on. Sequel to Chained.

Summary

Kylo Ren finally has his scavenger, an agreement for her to travel with him for the next year in trade for information he provided the Resistance on the First Order, yet she remains resistant both to him and to being taught by him. With the First Order and Supreme Leader Snoke hunting for them to punish him for his betrayal, he struggles to win Rey's trust, trust he needs if the two of them are going to survive.

In a journey that leads them through the edges of the outer rim to the unmapped reaches of the wild space, the two find themselves following old legends as they attempt to find a better understanding of the Force. In taking on this journey, they will find more about themselves, their feelings towards one another, and the connection that binds them.

Low Places (part 2 of Pro Forma Universe) - Rated M - ch 8/?

Kylo Ren/Rey, Kylo Ren & Rey, Dopheld Mitaka/Phasma, Kylo Ren, Sometime after the events in Pro Forma

This takes place after the events in Pro Forma, on a sketchy bar in a neutral world, where Kylo and Rey once again cross paths. The Pro Forma Rey/Kylo are possibly my favorite variations of those characters. It’s a far more, I don’t know, lighthearted than my other stuff? I mean there’s stress and angst and pining, but there’s just something adorable about these two. And this fic can be borderline cracky but not in an unbelievable way.

Preview

Slowly, deliberately, he folded his arms across his chest, cocking his head before speaking in with a tone of dry humor, “Come now, that’s no way to talk about General Organa.”

The mob of Resistance muttered among themselves, not getting the joke. Likely because no one realized who was in the room with them.

Even though the audience that got it was limited, he still thought the joke was a good one. And judging from the flash of annoyance in Rey's eyes, she got it. She’d laugh about it later when the tension in the air wasn't so smothering, he was sure if it.

But right now, Rey was looking around with a panicked desperation in her eyes and he sighed inwardly, taking pity on her as she tried to figure out how to keep the peace and not let things continue to spiral out of control. It tugged at his heart in a way that only she seemed able to inspire, and he forgave her for her concern for the traitor. Forgave her for any and every trespass she’d committed and was still to commit.

Force, she had him. He was completely and irrevocably hers. He would forgive her for anything.

Remnants - Rated M - Ch 7/?

Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Kylo Ren, Ben Solo, Rey (Star Wars), Poe Dameron, Canon Divergence - Alternate Timeline, Flip script, Takes place over the same time as the events in TFA, But Ben never turned against Luke, But the First Order still destroyed the academy, And Luke still ran off and vanished, Ben and Luke are the only survivors of the new Jedi, These tags are complicated

Another flip script of TFA. This one with the idea of Ben never turning against Luke, but still with the new Jedi order being destroyed and Luke vanishing.

Summary

Six years ago the First Order attacked and destroyed Luke Skywalker's new Jedi order, leaving only Ben Organa and Luke as the survivors of the massacre. His uncle having vanished, Ben now serves as the last remnant of the fallen order as the threat of the First Order continues to grow. Doing his best to aid the Resistance and help stop the rise of the First Order, the weight of legacy heavy on his shoulders, he finds himself torn between light and darkness as he searches for his uncle along with darker answer to the events of the past.

Word comes that there's a map that could finally help lead him to his missing uncle, after six years of fruitless searching for clues. For the first time in a long time, he finds hope that he might finally be able to find Luke and bring him home, and finally shed some of the burden that had been left on him in his uncle's absence. Hoping for the best, he heads to meet up with Poe Dameron on the desert planet of Jakku to find this map and keep it from falling into enemy hands.

Arcana - Rated M - Ch 2/77

A little project of mine to create one ficlet for each card in the tarot deck. Each chapter is one card and ficlets are not linear or necessarily within the same timeline.

#master post #reylo #reylo fics #reylo fanfics #cara's reylo fanfics

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swfanficbyjz · 6 years

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SW AU - Ahsoka Stays in the Order - Ch. 1

To be honest, this was one of the AU’s that I never wanted to write even though I was convinced that things would have happened a lot differently if she’d stayed rather than leave at the end of Season 5, but I also knew if she stayed, it wouldn’t have been happy. But then I read a long post about how someone was completely convinced that Anakin still would have fallen if she’d stayed and I wanted to prove them wrong... Well... From everything I’ve seen and read about Ahsoka, I don’t truly believe she would have stayed with the Jedi very long even if she didn’t walk away at that particular moment, but at least this way, maybe actually trying to communicate what was going on to Anakin might have changed enough? We’ll see...

Chapter 1:

"They're asking you back, Ahsoka." He tried to hide his excitement because the council was watching. "I'm asking you back."

She looked up at him as he reached out his hand. She didn't understand how he couldn't see it. How the person she trusted most of all, didn't seem to have a clue how broken she was right now. She looked down at the padawan beads in his outstretched palm and then back at his face. He gave a reassuring smile, and a look that told her he didn't understand why she was hesitating.

If the council wasn't standing behind him, she might have taken him by the arms and shaken him. Wake up, wake up! How can you be so blind? But she didn't dare. It probably wouldn't get the result she wanted anyways. She swallowed and reached out for the beads. She didn't want to stay. Not after what happened. She wanted to stay with him of course, he was her best friend. She didn’t know where else would she go. She had nothing. Only a couple friends outside the order. She had no money. No career other than as a Jedi. The only thing she knew how to do was fight and follow orders, the latter being what concerned her the most.

Feeling as though she didn't really have a choice, she finally took the beads from his hand and clipped them back to her headpiece. Maybe not today, but soon, she was going to need to have a talk with him. Hopefully... he'd listen then.

"Welcome back, Snips!" Anakin put his hand on her shoulder. "Come on, let's go get your lightsabers." He started heading to the door. Her eyes followed him, but she didn't move immediately.

"Good to have you back, Little 'Soka," Master Plo said. She curled her lips and gave a small nod.

"You've been through quite the ordeal," Obi wan said, stepping forward to set his hand briefly on her shoulder. She tried to hide the flinch at the words that told her he couldn't at all see what they'd done to her. Try as she might she still tensed at his touch. He released her immediately. "You should get some rest."

Yeah, rest. Like that would fix it. She couldn't stand it anymore and she fled the room. Even if Anakin was blind to what she was feeling right now, at least he was the only one that had stood up for her. So, she'd rather be with him than anyone else at the moment. Most especially the council.

"You must be exhausted," he said as she took stride next to him. She stared at her feet and dropped her shoulders a fraction further than they'd already been. What was she doing? Why did she stay? It felt like the weight of the world had settled there and nobody felt it but her. Hadn't anybody heard what Bariss said? She didn't agree with all of it, but it did give her pause. Instead, everywhere she looked, they were all just going about their business as though nothing was wrong. It seemed to her that it had never been more glaringly obvious that something was wrong.

Whether it was what Bariss had said, that all the Jedi cared about anymore was violence, or something else. Whatever it was, it was definitely wrong. "Yeah, I guess so," she whispered. She was tired, but she doubted sleep would come. She wanted to be alone, but then again, not really.

"What's wrong, Snips?" he asked, stopping near the door to his room. She squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't know what was wrong. That was the problem. It was there, buried deep inside her, eating her from the inside out. But she had no idea how to articulate it. She felt betrayed. She felt lost. She felt like she was sinking. That waves of something were crashing over her, trying to drown her. She felt... empty and confused. Like every ounce of confidence, she'd ever possessed had been completely and utterly shattered beyond repair. She felt sick.

"I have to go to the restroom!" She raced away before he could stop her as she fell to her knees inside the stall. She heaved several times, but nothing came up. She dropped her face on her arms, crying as though a dam had burst behind her eyes. She stared at the slightly off smelling water, the rippling reflection of who she was. It was nothing like what she wanted to be. She looked as hollow as she felt.

Everything should be alright. She'd been proven innocent. She'd been freed from prison. She'd been returned to the order. She still had a home. A purpose. Everything. And yet at the same time, it felt like she had nothing.

"Ahsoka?" He knocked on the door. She had him, of course. That was something, she supposed. But she doubted even in his infinite wisdom and skill that he could fix what was the matter now. "Are you okay?" She didn't respond. No, she wasn't okay! Couldn't he see that? Or at least sense it? "If you don't answer, I'm coming in." Great, just what she needed.

"I'm fine," she squeaked. Yeah, that totally sounded convincing.

She heard the door open. "Hey!"

"You said if I didn't answer!" She tried to work some sass back into her tone. "Get out, this is the ladies restroom!" She tried to push him back out the door, but he dug in his heels.

"Are you crying?" He put his hands up, so she couldn't get him through the door way. No shit.

"Just go away, please!" she begged.

"Why are you crying?"

"Why are you so stubborn? Get out! Go!" She peeled his fingers off the door frame and shoved him out in the hall, locking the door behind him.

"Snips!" he pounded on the door. She sunk to the floor and cried until her eyes hurt. He didn't go away. She could still feel him out there. "I will cut through this door if I have to," he said.

"Skywalker!" Came Shaak Ti's familiar voice. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing, master," he said quickly and she almost laughed picturing him fumbling in front of her. Almost, but she didn't.

"Pounding on the restroom door counts as nothing?"

"Ahsoka is in there..." he trailed off and she could only assume master Ti had given him a stern look.

"Well it is a restroom, so I imagine she has business to attend to. Wait for her to come out rather than making a scene in the hallway."

"Yes, master," Anakin replied. He didn't say anything for awhile so she assumed there were other people still within earshot. She knew he was still there though. She secretly wished this restroom had another way out.

She looked around and noticed that there was a grate near the top of the far wall. She got up to go look at it closer. It was pretty tight, but she might still fit. If only her head would stop growing. When she'd left the council room, she'd wanted to be with him, but now... now she wanted to be alone. He was going to pester her until she told him what the problem was and until she knew what the problem was, it was going to hurt even more having to dodge all his questions.

She closed her eyes and used the force to pull the grate off the wall. Then she carefully climbed up onto the sink and tried to awkwardly shimmy her way into the narrow shaft. There were a few times that she was sure she was stuck but she somehow managed to get herself free. She had no idea how long it took to get to the bigger ducts, having to wiggle her way along barely an inch at a time. She was getting way too big for this. At least focusing on getting through the ventilation shaft kept her mind occupied on something other than everything else.

Finally, in an area she could crawl, she found the nearest exit and dropped down into the hallway, thankfully nowhere near the entrance to the restroom. She ran the rest of the way to her room and threw herself down on her bed.

She tossed and turned well into the night, but sleep refused to comfort her. She checked the time, it was well past midnight. She still didn't know how to answer Anakin, but she decided she didn't want to be alone anymore tonight or her fear and doubts were going to destroy her.

She got up and crept her way to his room, hoping nobody noticed her. The halls were mostly empty at this hour, and the few wanderers like herself were spread thin throughout the temple. There were no rules as to when you were allowed to wander the hallways, but it always felt like she'd get in trouble if she were caught. Especially if she was caught going to his room.

She knocked but there was no answer, and fearing someone would notice her if she made too much noise, she let herself in. His bed was empty, made as though he hadn't slept in it at all. Where was he? Well, she didn't have the energy to look all over for him tonight, so she curled up on the floor near the bed and tried to draw on his residual energy in the room for some peace. It helped a little and eventually she drifted off.

Chapter 2 ->

#star wars #Ahsoka Tano #Anakin Skywalker #snips #skyguy #au #star wars au #ahsoka stays in the order #shaak ti #master plo #obi wan kenobi #jedi #jedi council #tcw #otp #brotp

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