#soon I will have a lovely slim saber that I can spin with

[sheliesshattered]

We had a fabulous time visiting Batuu yesterday! Our outfits were comfortable and functional and well suited to what turned out to be a relatively cold and cloudy day in southern California. Disney cast members definitely seemed to interact with us more because we made the effort to dress up, and we got some lovely compliments from other guests, too. We were even gifted some BSO credit coins by random strangers who liked our outfits!

It was Jack's first visit to Batuu, and while I did get to spend a little bit of time there with my mom in October, this was my first opportunity to really explore the entire area, browse through the shops, and sample all the food and drinks available. It was at least as cool as my first impression of it back in October, and Jack was impressed and delighted by all of it. We spent a good portion of the day just admiring all the details and world-building and excellent sets.

Jack has requested no photos, but I did manage to snag this pic of him blocking the camera like a victim of the paparazzi, lol.

But look at those pleats! Both Jack and I are so pleased with how they turned out. Several of the Resistance jackets on display in the Rise of the Resistance queue had similar pleat details, and it was fun to look at them up close.

Over this last weekend and all the way up to late Monday night, I was able to add a few last details to our outfits. I finally adjusted the chain length of my dangley earrings and glued the leather cording wraps to the back of my kyber crystal necklace so that it wouldn't slip out. While I had the glue out, I figured I'd take a stab at making some spat-type things to cover the lacings of my tall Doc Marten boots. I was completely winging it from start to finish, but I'm really happy with how they turned out!

The spats are made from some left over suede I've had in my stash for literally more than 20 years now -- it's been used for an Aragorn vest for Jack, a couple of bags for me, and the inner layers of the big wedge shaped piece on my Oswin belt. And I still have some left over! Maybe I'll make myself a belt pouch to match these spats at some point in the future.

The narrow end of each spat tucks under the laces closest to the toe of my boot, and theoretically secures to itself with a hook and eye, though I found the hook didn't really hold from that angle, and really wasn't necessary anyway. The straps then velcro around the back of my leg, at the lowest point of the bend of my ankle, and right at the top of the boot, so that the strap sits just above the top edge of the boot in the back, which helps keep it from slipping down.

To make these I really just draped scrap suede on my boot while wearing it, started cutting it to the shape I thought might make sense, then copied that over for a second spat. I measured how much I would need for the straps and how much of an overlap I wanted for the velcro, then cut out all those pieces and glued them together using E6000 -- which works wonderful for adhering velcro to suede and suede to suede, but is a bit more iffy with the metal hooks and eyes (one eye popped off when I was taking off the spat at the end of the night, but since it wasn't staying hooked anyway, I'm not fussed).

Despite being such a quick off-the-cuff project, the spats worked out great, and added that last little bit to my outfit by covering the laces of my boots. They're visible in the third photo, the full-length shot in front of the door (and in the video below), and I think they add an understated bit of texture difference in all the black-on-black there, in addition to obscuring the modern look of the boots a bit.

Besides those detail bits for me, I also made a pair of little pockets for Jack's jacket, to hold 'code cylinders'. It's a tiny detail that really makes the jacket look that much more Star Wars-y, and the cylinders themselves are empty and their tops unscrew, so the space can actually be functional, too. (Currently they're filled with gum!)

And at Jack's request, I threw together a quick insert for the zipper section on his collar that used to hold the hood before we removed it. The hood was making the collar too puffy, but without it the collar didn't have enough body to stand up on its own.

I took some measurements, then cut a piece of cotton duck canvas (that I had originally bought to cover the zippers on my Moment vest, before I changed gears and made the Batuu vest instead) to the right length and about three times the height of the interior of the hood section. I did a simple zigzag tri-fold on the height, ironed it flat, and marked some guide lines perpendicular to the length. Then it was just a simple process of quilting the three layers together by machine sewing in short vertical rows ~1cm apart.

The quilting gave the canvas even more stiffness, and after that point it absolutely did not want to fold or droop along the short vertical axis. I slipped it into the former hood pocket (after snipping one corner to fit around the snap I hadn't accounted for), zipped it closed, and gave the whole collar area a quick pressing. It's removable if we ever need to, completely washable, and keeps the collar standing upright without looking too stiff. Jack was very happy with the result.

With our outfits finally done, we headed into the park around mid-morning, with a plan to stay late. I wasn't quite sure what to expect with Batuu Bounding at Disneyland (which is notoriously a bit more hit-and-miss than Batuu East, in Florida), but we got through security without incident and through the rest of the park without anyone commenting on our outfits. We saw someone else wearing the same leather-look leggings as me, and a guy wearing similar jacket and pants to Jack (but without the pleating), which made us feel like we didn't look too weird, by general Disneyland standards.

Once we were in Batuu, though, our bounding definitely got noticed more. A couple of fellow guests complemented our outfits (including the kind strangers who gave us the coins!), and cast members seemed way more interested in interacting with us in-character. I got to bring up a bit about the history I'd made up for Samæni Ray -- which led to one cast member later referring to me and Jack as "my friends from Denon!" All of the prep and character design made it a lot easier to think on my feet in those little improv interactions.

One cast member in particular kept finding us throughout the day, just suddenly appearing out of nowhere it felt like, and kept trying to sell us a speederbike that totally wasn't a broken down lemon.

Later in the day, he kind of sold us out to Kylo Ren and a pair of stormtroopers (but like, in a fun way, lol) which led to an intense interaction with Kylo Ren right up in both my face and Jack's. Kylo Ren is tall, and the voice and the mask and the body language was all perfect up close. There was a bit of nervous laughter on our part, but we kept our cool and convinced Ren that that since we'd only just arrived on Batuu from Denon, we couldn't possibly know anything about any Resistance activity in Black Spire Outpost.

We were way too in the moment to get any photos, but because we were dressed up and Kylo Ren was so much up in our faces, we did draw a bit of a crowd, so for all I know other people may have taken pictures or videos of the event, lol. My family has a saying about 'look hard' rather than take photos, and it was definitely that for us.

Overall the whole day was wonderful, and we ended up spending nearly 12 hours in Batuu without leaving once. I got to pilot the Falcon multiple times (though I can't really say I've gotten any better at it, lol), and got to try out gunner and engineer, too. We managed to ride Rise of the Resistance both during the day and again after dark, explore every part of Black Spire Outpost in detail, learn to play Sabacc with a cast member, have drinks at Oga's, and eat a bunch of really tasty, really well-presented food.

All together it was an excellent, excellent birthday. And we're already talking about when we might want to go back again.

#Batuu Bounding #Batuu West #Disneyland #Disneybound #Disneybounding #Star Wars bounding #2024 mood #this is my real life #my sewing #Batuu vest #scrappy sweatshirt project #Jyn Erso sweatshirt #hooded wrap #Jack's jacket project #Samæni Ray #Samaeni Ray #long post #safe to unmute #there was a snaffu with my lightsaber so I didn't get to take it -- but I don't regret not doing Savi's #soon I will have a lovely slim saber that I can spin with #I didn't really miss having a saber on this trip (and it would have made the interaction with Kylo a bit more pointed I think) #but if we go back for another round of bounding for Star Wars night then I'll certainly take it for the lightsaber meetup #last night and this morning I was SO TIRED -- spoonies are not meant to go for 14 hour days like that #but I am already back in the mode of wanting to be Samæni all the time lol #and hey the Season of the Force Star Wars nights haven't sold out yet so just maybe we can do this again soon

[mandochlorian]

CHAPTER NINE

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…

For over a decade, Y/N Y/L/N has been in a relentless battle with the sinister FIRST ORDER, never getting close enough to destroy one another. After a messy history with the boy who was once known as Ben Solo, he and Y/N had parted ways. Neither sides will rest until Skywalker, the last Jedi, has been destroyed.

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Starkiller Base is falling to pieces. The trees surrounding the First Order Base are falling, plummeting to the freezing ground, lifting up flakes of snow as you and Ben trudge through. Hand in hand, you both run, eyes set on the tie-silencer on the bases landing pad. A red blast flies past your head and you narrowly dodge it, looking back to see the stormtroopers chasing you and Ben down.

You break apart, both sprinting as fast as you can to the ship as the shots continue. By the rate and speed of them, you’d judge that there are at least two assault troopers behind you. But when they open rapid fire upon the door of the ship, you realise they have heavy troopers on your tail too.

“Y/N!” Ben shouts, his arms pulling you to the side and into his chest.

You both plummet to the ground and you’re about to pull away until he shoves his body on top of you, just as a loud explosion emits from the ship. Ben's hand is out toward the explosion as his body shields you from it, with the help of his manipulation of the force to stop the grenade from hurting you two.

“You okay? Are you okay?” He asks, breathless. And all you can do is nod, dumbfounded at his power and protection, “Okay, let’s go.”

He pulls you up and you only give the flaming ship a single glance before you and Ben face the team of troopers. “Traitor!” One shouts, stepping from the group and aiming his blaster at Ben. Both igniting your lightsabers, you give one another a look before you sprint towards the troopers.

You jump, high, grabbing a trooper by his shoulder before piercing your lightsaber through his chest. You rip it from his body, swinging it around and striking another one down. You spin, gripping your weapon and twirling it rapidly as the heavy trooper attempts to shoot you down. With slow, tentative steps, you head towards him.

You watch every shot he takes ricochet off your lightsaber, flying in opposite directions. Reaching your hand out to him, you use your strength to pull him towards you. His eyes fill with fear as your lightsaber enters his chest. You push him back and he falls to the ground, the wound in his chest warm. A pain emanates in your left shoulder, and you use the force to pull yet another trooper to you. His back dragging against the snow on the ground, and with your ignited saber, you plunge it into his chest when he’s beside you. You stand, ignoring the pain in your shoulder.

You look to Ben, who breathes heavily. “There are more.” He notes, looking toward the base as another rumble comes from the centre of the planet.

You take a deep breath in, holding your lightsaber high as you stare the approaching men down. A whizzing sound shoots through the air and you snap your head up, eyes following the old ship. Holding back a gasp, you see it hover over a patch of snow, unable to land due to the instability of the collapsing planet.

Forgetting yourself, you take a step towards it as the hatch opens up. But then you turn to Ben. You see his expressionless face as he stares at the ship, seeing a certain Wookie emerge from the hatch and gesture for you both to board. You reach your hand out to him, swallowing the lump in your throat.

“I…” Ben stumbles over his words, instinctively holding his hand out and stopping a blaster shot from hitting you, he sends it shooting back against the trooper who shot it, “I can’t. I can’t board that ship.”

“You can do anything,” you tell him, your hand still reaching for him, “I’m with you. And I’m not sure we have the luxury of being picky right now.” You tease, lightening the situation. Ben huffs a breath of air through his nose, but he looks down at his feet. “Hey,” you get his attention, taking a step towards him, “I’m on your side, remember? I put my trust in you. Now it’s time for you to do the same with me. Together. Okay?”

Ben’s brown eyes meet yours. He feels sure. He nods, taking your hand and running towards the roaring Wookie. Ben’s eyes meet Chewie’s, they share a long look before the Wookie stretches his arm out for Ben to take. He does so, still sharing a look with Chewie as he helps him up. The Wookie roars, patting Ben on the back and making the man stumble forward up the ramp a little. Chewie lets out what sounds like a giggle and turns to you, pulling you up the same way.

You grimace, grunting at the pain in your shoulder as Chewie lifts you up quickly. But you take solace in knowing it’ll heal soon, thanks be to the Force. You follow Ben up the ramp, seeing his tense shoulders and rigid posture as he slowly walks to the main hold of the Falcon. Both you and Ben nearly lose your footing as the ship rushes into hyperspace, away from the desolating planet that was once Starkiller Base.

You stand beside Ben, your eyes connecting with Rey and Finn, both watching Ben. Their eyes are speaking everything they’re afraid to say. Untrusting. Afraid. Sceptical. It’s all valid. Though you wish someone would say something. The silence is startling.

“Hey, kid.” Han speaks up, exiting the cockpit, Leia by his side. Ben’s brown eyes are set on the faces of his parents, the way their eyes take him in, noting his appearance, his posture, his tallness, everything a parent would notice. You can hear Ben’s heart beating against the frame of his broad chest and you watch him, seeing the conflict clear on his face.

Leia doesn’t say anything. But she’s crying as she looks at her son. Ben’s eyebrows furrow, the crinkles by his eye become prominent as the tears appear once he sees his mothers face. Leia opens her arms, watching Ben as he makes a decision. He sinks into her arms, cowering into her small frame. And you cry. You look away from this moment; a moment shared between a mother and her child. A moment that took too long to happen. A moment that should have happened a million time in Ben and Leia’s life. 

You wonder if you ever got to share a moment like this with your own parents. You like to think you did and you just can’t remember. Surely, you parents loved you this much too. You can hear Ben crying. When he pulls back, he looks at his father, who stands before his son. Han places a hand on Ben’s face, wiping a tear from his pale cheek - though it's pointless. More tears take its place. Like two magnets colliding, Ben and Han embrace each other. Tightly. The hug lasts a while and Chewie roars sadly, making Ben let out a laugh.

Ben pulls away from his father, looking at Chewie with red, wet eyes as he extends an arm to him. “Of course, I missed you too.” Ben admits, his voice deep and gentle. Chewie’s the only person that Ben doesn’t have to lean down to hug. The Wookie’s so tall that Ben can just walk into his furry arms, closing his eyes when he’s engulfed in the arms of his friend.

Han places a hand on your shoulder, giving you a warm smile. You look up at the man, giving him a small smile back before returning your gaze to Ben. His eyes meet yours and he doesn’t care that he’s crying. He’s back. Ben’s back. He feels a weight lifted off of him.

Ben takes your hand in his, giving you a teary eyed smile before pressing his lips to the back of your hand. He looks into your eye for the entirety of the slow, gentle kiss. You smile kindly at him, blinking the tears away from your eyes. Part of him can’t believe he spent all this time alone, isolated, hating everyone and everything, so full of hatred, and darkness. 

And he knows nothing will change the past. Nothing will bring back his young years, the moments where he felt abandoned and betrayed. Nothing will take back the years he gave up to the dark. But it won’t take any more of his future. He won’t let it. Ben’s autonomous. He decides things for himself now. Maybe he’ll become a pilot, like he always wanted to be. He could build a new lightsaber. He could live on Jakku if he wanted to, though the chances are extremely slim. Though the possibilities are limitless. It gives a spark in his chest, thinking of all the things he’s yet to do.

Though there’s pain leftover from remnants of the past, there’s a sense of calm. All the anger is gone. You feel like you could cry forever, hearing the hopeful thoughts in his head. Ben Solo is someone who has hope for the future, and that makes you beyond happy.

You know this won’t be easy for Ben, no one expects it to be. But there’s conversations to be had. There’s apologies to be made. And time will bring everyone there, eventually. Now, everyone is alive, everyone is here. You sniff as he brings your hand down, still encased in his warm ones. You smile, leaning your head against his chest. Ben admires you, looking down at you closely as his hand rubs gentle patterns on your back. 

“Now what?” Rey asks aloud, looking to her new-found group of friends.

On his way to the cockpit to enter coordinates, Han Solo’s voice rings out into the Millennium Falcon, “Now, we find ourselves an old Jedi.”

The end.

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