#i can think of no other explanation as to how anyone could understand chewie or r2

[mystarwarssideblog]

my headcanon is that everyone in the star wars universe is a little force sensitive like not enough to all become jedi obviously but enough that if they lock the fuck in they can understand droids and wookies

[ladystoneboobs]

i present: small and non-verbal but very funny star wars moments:

ep. V: the empire strikes back--the millenium falcon achieves hyperspeed again, despite the imperials' best plans to the contrary. admiral piett and his men are terrified of vader's reaction, all trying to stay out of his path. but he's still too busy brooding on his loss of luke to even force-choke anyone. that's how thrown off he was by his newly-mutilated son running away from him!

the sole exception to this collective terror being this guy, so intent on his own important work, that he doesn't even notice his scary boss until darth vader has walked right past him.

ep. III: revenge of the sith--padme's droids somehow getting her unconscious body back on her ship.

in the novelisation, r2-d2 just drags her up the ramp with his gadgetry, but in the script it's c-3po who carried her up bridal style. which would be impossible to film when 3po could barely manage to move around under his own weight. what makes it really funny for me is that there was no need for any of this. why not just have obi-wan pick her up as he's hurrying outta there after failing to kill her husband? i mean, it's surely not good to be lying out in the open on a volcanic world with poisonous gases, but it wouldn't be good for obi-wan running around out there either, and this lady was about to have broken heart as her only known cause of death. when has science ever held back star wars? and i can't imagine that being dragged by wires from artoo or dropped every few steps by threepio could've been too good for her body either. just makes for an absurd little (offscreen) background detail amid the tragedy of the end of padme's life, imho.

ep. IV: a new hope--obi-wan vanishing into thin air when struck down and vader's (very understandable) bafflement afterward.

by this point in the second screencap, luke is shooting at him in retaliation and the stormtroopers are all shooting back at luke, but anakin is still dealing with this unprecendented vanishing and busy searching for any corporeal remains of obi-wan kenobi with his boot. "where did you go, my old master? how could this happen? i wasn't done fighting with you yet."

ep. V: the empire strikes back--vader inviting lando calrissian, chewbacca, han solo, and princess leia to share a meal with him and boba fett, before taking chewie, han, and leia prisoner and torturing han.

i think a lot of people must assume there was no actual meal, but it's not like vader had to go to all that trouble in the first place of setting out an entire banquet table with proper containers and utensils. just because that was lando's pretext to bring them to vader does not necessitate actually having a table set. darth vader could have had them led into any other room with boba fett and stormtroopers waiting to just arrest them right away. instead, as we can see in the second screencap, (over lando's shoulder and leia's bun), vader did sit down at the head of the table, waiting for his prey to join him. and i swear, in one of the earlier drafts of empire's screenplay there is actually a scene showing their awkward meal together. or rather, han and leia being served food and drinks while darth vader just sits there, watching evilly, explaining his great villainous plan to use them to trap luke. it's like dr. evil making austin and vanessa sit down at his table in the first austin powers movie. darth vader really did always live for drama

ep. VI: return of the jedi--leia telling han that she loves luke, but not that way. he's her brother, silly! as if this is something they all knew all along, with zero follow-up explanation. you can just see han wordlessly processing this bombshell of brand new information through his facial expressions alone. (this lasts so long that i wouldn't even count it were it not likely overshadowed by everything else in the ending of rotj.)

wh-what did you say? your brother? since when?

wait-wait-wait. i've seen you mouth kissing luke right in front of me before. i'm so confused now.

just what kind of weirdo family have i gotten myself mixed up with here?

oh, well, she's only kissing me now. that's good enough, i guess. maybe?

hey, as long as you do love me and luke in different ways ...

i don't know much about families, but i've heard they all have their weird traditions. so who am i to judge you, babe? as long as we're together now, that's all that matters.

[second-star-to-motunui]

Yuu is Autistic!

✨Feat. The Housewardens; Riddle Rosehearts, Leona Kingscholar, Azul Ashengrotto, Kalim Al-Asim, Vil Schonenheit, Idia Shroud, Malleus Draconia✨

How do the housewardens react to Yuu’s stims, sensory issues and behaviors? Let’s find out!

They/Them pronouns for reader. MC is referred to as Yuu.

Likes and reblogs are heavily appreciated

Hmmm where has he seen this behavior? cue Adeuce being chaotically autistic in the background

Riddle mistakes Yuu as childish at first but after some explanations he understands what they’re going through. One of Trey’s little siblings is autistic too, so Riddle goes to him for advice about the topic.

Yuu likes the way the petals on roses feel! The smell is nice too! Good sensory! Even though they’re not a student of Heartslabyul, Riddle allows them to assist in painting the roses red just to see them happy. Won’t admit it, but he has bouquets sent to Yuu every now and then when he knows they’re in a bad mood.

If anyone does anything that triggers or upsets Yuu, it’ll be Off With Your Head.

“I’m curious why you like the feel of roses? The texture? Is that so… I’m not sure if your interested, but you’re welcome to pet the hedgehogs anytime you’d like. I quite like the way their prickly little quills feel myself.”

Leona doesn’t care at first, thinking Yuu is a little annoying. But he accepts them pretty fast.

Yuu doesn’t like to eat meat because of the thick chewy texture? Ok, he’ll eat all the meat then. They can eat his vegetables. Ruggie despises Leona’s newfound loophole but oh well.

Sometimes Yuu plays with Leona’s tail while he naps and make little sounds with their mouth. Leona doesn’t mind, it’s kinda cute. But if they get too loud or move too much he’ll tug them down to nap with him. They fall asleep pretty fast so long as he puts a little weight on them. He even buys them a weighted blanket to help them sleep at night.

Someone made fun of Yuu’s stimming once. Leona broke that guy’s arm and leg.

“That you on my tail, herbivore? Heh, of course. You know Jack’s tail is probably much more fun to play with than mine …Fine, you can stay. Try not to get loud, ok?”

Azul witnessed when Yuu got excited over some jellyfish and started flapping their hands. Yup. They’re adorable and he would die for them.

Floyd has similar mood swings and behaviors, so he’s already prepared for anything Yuu’s autism may bring.

Yuu likes shiny things too? How fun! Azul loves the way their eyes light up when he shares his shiny trinkets with them. The happy sounds they make when they run their fingers over the bumps of seashells is far more valuable than any treasure in the world.

Anyone who makes Yuu feel bad about their autism is going to find themselves cornered by Jade and Floyd. No mercy.

“Is something the matter? Oh, it’s just one of your moods, I see. I found some lovely seashells while I was visiting home yesterday, would you like to see them? Oh, you’ll simply adore them!”

I don’t think he even notices at first lol

Jamil does have to explain it properly to Kalim when he accidentally causes Yuu a panic attack with loud music. Now Kalim is extra careful.

When he learns about same foods, Kalim has Jamil make one of them for Yuu every time they drop by Scarabia. They’re so fun to talk with! Kalim could listen to them ramble about their interests all day!

Kalim keeps his pockets full of the Good Sensory things Yuu likes in case they’re having a bad day.

“Hey, Yuu! I’m sorry about the music the other day, I didn’t know that bothered you… What kind of music do you like? We can listen together! I’ll ask Jamil to get all your favorite snacks and we’ll make it a little party! Just the three of us!”

Yuu was so blunt with Vil about how he’s self centered and looks down on others once, it silenced an entire room of people. Except for Epel he laughed his ass off.

Vil doesn’t understand these behaviors for a while. Yuu doesn’t like makeup because the feeling of the products on their face is Bad Sensory? But how will they look their best! They have a tendency to hyper focus on their interests and ignore everything around them? How are they supposed to notice how handsome he is!

He’ll get used to it at some point but he’ll never get comfortable with their bluntness. It scares him.

Oh, he’s still gonna poison anyone who disrespects Yuu though.

“What do you mean you’ve seen better?! Are you blind? Who could possibly be fairer than I? … Who on earth is Lil Nas—don’t walk away, I’m taking to you! Epel cease your laughter THIS INSTANT!”

Insert cliche anime girl gasp

Come on, like 85% of Ignihyde students are autistic or have ADHD, Yuu is nothing new to him. He’s super shy but he’ll do his darndest to make sure Yuu is comfortable at NRC.

Idia is always lending Yuu fidget toys, games, and other interesting trinkets for them to use. If Yuu is nonverbal or selectively mute, Idia and Ortho gift them a tablet they can use to talk with just like Idia. He also installs other apps for auditory and visual stimming.

If Yuu has any bad panic attacks or gets sensory overloads, Idia will be there for them with some noise blocking headphones, stuffed animals, and snacks. Whatever distraction they need, he’s got them.

“A-Are you calming down a bit? Um… oh, you watched that anime I showed you, right? Did you see the cat girl character? She’s super cute huh? Who was your favorite?”

Malleus doesn’t mind. Yuu is his precious child of man, everything about them is fascinating in his eyes.

Once when he was sitting down, Yuu impulsively started touching his horns. The bumpy feel was so nice! Malleus heard them make a happy sound and his heart skipped a beat. Aaand then Sebek freaked out over it, scolded Yuu and ended up scaring them into running away. Lilia put his ass in timeout for that.

Most of the time Malleus spends with Yuu now is pretty much him watching them do their thing with the softest look of adoration in his eyes. Hand flapping? Happy sounds? Rambling? Stimming? Absolutely everything Yuu does when they’re happy gives Malleus the warmest feeling in his chest. He spoils the heck out of them with the things that make them happy, especially when they’re having bad days.

His favorite thing to do is lift Yuu up in his arms so they can touch his horns. They’re so gentle and sweet, Malleus can’t stop smiling when he holds them.

“Loud noises are triggering you say? I see. I’ll make sure Sebek doesn’t yell around you anymore. I’m going to treat myself to ice cream today while I go for my walk. It’ll be quite peaceful. Would you care to join me?”

[cjstalkingstarwarsagain]

hi! i’ve recently decided to rewatch all the star wars movies and take notes on them and then,,, share them with you. so if you’re even mildly interested in my star wars opinions, here you go :)

i’ll divide it into a couple categories so,,,

well start with rogue one!!

shit that made me giggle

"oh look, here’s lyra back from the dead. it’s a miracle."

everything K2 says and does. i love him and he’s perfect.

i love the continuous attempts by K2 to appear imperial and how he fails every time. not a single storm trooper or officer ever believes him when he starts running his mouth.

so sorry but bohdi getting his cable caught and trying to shake it loose is such an adorably human moment. makes me giggle every time.

i honestly thought this section would be longer, this movie made me laugh a bunch. 

stuff i don’t like or doesn’t make sense

why does jyn start believing in the rebellion? there’s no indication that she cared before they found her. there’s no real turning point that we can see. she just,,, suddenly is really into this shit. which is strange because the only reason she ever joined was because she was given a non-choice (either help or get put back in prison). i guess i can kinda see how her father dying could have changed her, but we see none of that on the ship after his death. we just get to the rebel council and all of a sudden she’s the poster girl for rebellion.

saw seems really stable at the beginning of the film, so why did he go seemingly crazy and paranoid? it’s probably explained in the novelization but that’s no excuse to just have a character go crazy with really no explanation or backstory.

that being said, a lot of the character development is pretty lacking. i don’t think i’d care about these characters nearly as much if i wasn’t already a star wars fan.

video game cut scene style general tarkin

bor gullet is supposed to make you lose your mind but bohdi was pretty much fine after like,,, a day

how does the death star,,,, move?? like i know it can but has that ever been explained? is it like little thrusters? like the ones you can see in real life to stabilize things in space? there’s nothing i can visually see. i’m not mad about it i just wanna know.

why does saw insist on staying behind? why doesn’t he come and help?? it would have been so easy to just leave but he insists on staying behind and just watching as death inches closer. i think it doesn’t make sense because we know *so little* about his character. give me more on him, make me understand.

since james earl jones is getting older, vader sounds older. was there??? nothing the audio or editing department could have done about that??? not super mad about this one just because darth vader is really cool and i’ll never really complain too much about darth vader screen time.

when the fuck did jyn become a motivational speaker??

my one gripe about pretty much every star wars movie is the sheer number of times people climb through huge shafts and jump around and shit and they’re always *fine*. no way they wouldn’t fall to their deaths in any normal situations.

can someone?? check the science of the hammerhead corvette?? because there’s no gravity or weight in space right?? theoretically all you gotta do is give that star destroyer a bump and it’s spinning out, right?? i know absolutely nothing about space physics but i gotta be right. maybe i’m wrong. i dunno. i’m dumb as rocks. hear that baby girl?? it’s the spare change rattling around in my skull. i got pennies where my brain is.

absolutely no fucking shot cassian survived a blaster hit AND that fall AND climbed out. my belief simply cannot be suspended that much.

DUDE I FORGOT THAT THE DEATH STAR CAN TRAVEL THROUGH HYPERSPACE HOW DOES WORK SOMEONE TELL ME!!!!!

why doesn’t vader just,,, force grab the plans. i know he sees them. why not just force stop the guy running away with them??

final note now that the movie is over. yes, it’s got a lot of issues. the plot is ehhh at times. the trailers don’t match up with the movie shots AT ALL (i wanna know what happened behind the scenes with that). the character development is lacking in many major ways (that has not stopped me from loving these characters though, but that’s the autism talking). but like i’ll say in the "stuff i liked" section, this is such a damn cool movie. i was once talking about it with an older friend of mine and he said seeing rogue one in theaters felt like watching the original trilogy in theaters back in the 70s and 80s and honestly that’s such a compliment. i love this movie, i really do.

just cool shit,,, you know the vibe

DEATH TROOPERS

krennic is probably one of my favorite imperial officers. for some reason he just really sells it for me, the evil and manipulation that borderlines in try hard. and (i mention it more later because you see it more in the "choke on your aspirations" scene) beyond that just the fact that he’s?? a guy. just a dude. at any given moment he could be described as just hanging out. but he’s trying so hard (for whatever reason, we don’t know his evil motivations) to be this big bad evil dude. and it’s just interesting to see someone *trying* to be imperial and *trying* to be evil, as opposed to a tarkin-type character who’s just naturally an asshole.

i love the rogue one main theme. don’t even talk to me. it’s so cool.

it’s cool to see more about the birth of the death star, seeing other people learn about it. sort of realizing the fear and terror that everyone must have been experiencing. especially after being a star wars fan for so long and being like, yeah it’s the death star it’s just a staple of this universe. it reminds me that "oh god this was a planet killer and this was the first time something like that had ever even been heard of".

there’s gorgeous visuals in this movie.

i like the "i’m wanted in 12 systems" guy cameo (did you know his name is cornelius? i googled it)

when the storm trooper asks for papers?? like fuck yeah show me what life is like under imperial rule. give me that shit.

chirrut is so badass i’ll never get over it

"i’m one with the force and the force is with me" i’m eating that shit UP! salivating over the meal in front of me. i really want more exploration of the guardians and jedi worship in general. like gimme that weird funky space religion.

seeing an at-st just walk around a town. i dunno i like that shit.

K2 saying sorry for hitting cassian. i’m so soft on this robot.

"clear of hostiles,,,, ONE HOSTILE"

jyn stepping in front of K2 to protect him after she (not ten minutes ago) made the comment “i’m just afraid they’ll miss you and hit me”. jyn,,, your soft side is showing,,,,

i like the cool machine blaster that baze has. it’s awesome seeing different blaster styles when originally the only variation we really saw was chewie’s cross bow style blaster.

i really wanna see more of baze and cirruit. i wanna know what happened that made baze stop believing. i wanna know how they met. i wanna see them evolve and grow together.

i like that jyn argues that 16 is too young to be a solider (she’s 21 in the movie). i like that she’s mad that she’s young and has been put in a position to protect herself and then later save the galaxy. (for context: luke and leia were 19 in a new hope. anakin is 19 in attack of the clones, ~22 when he became darth vader, and rey is 19 in force awakens. stop putting the fate of the galaxy in the hands of people who are *barely* adults)

the testing of the death star is awesome. love seeing wicked cool space weapons. when it blocks out the sun? ominous as hell fuck yeah.

it’s interesting that baze says cassian doesn’t look like a killer, that "he has the face of a friend", when one of the first things we saw him do was kill a man. i think about that a lot. does that say more about baze’s ability to read people or does it say more about who cassian is deep down, beyond what he’s done to serve the rebellion?

cassian’s relationship with death and killing is very interesting. you could argue that cassian is just as brainwashed and deep in the rebellion as anyone imperial. i really hope it’s something that gets explored in his stand alone show. he mentions he’s lost everything and has been a rebel since he was 6. gimme cassian andor backstory.

"careful not to choke on your aspirations director" is probably some of the most dramatic-anakin-skywalker shit i’ve ever seen vader do

i like seeing rebel infighting. so often it seems there’s always general consensus about what the rebellion wants, but it’s good to see that they don’t always agree on how to rebel.

i love the consistent "found family" rebel alliance shit in these movies. it makes my dick so hard.

ARTOO AND THREEPIO CAMEO FUCK ME UP THOSE ARE MY BOYS

okay i totally get that the empire is evil, i really do, but rogue one (and lots of moments in the sequels) really reminds me how fucking cool some of their shit is. like death troopers? imperial droids like K2? the base on scarif? vader’s castle on mustafar and his bacta tank?? fuck me UP.

i loved hearing the troopers doing their dumb small talk about the T-15s on the beach.

i think ben mendelssohn is perfect for the role of krennic, no notes there. he’s just like?? a guy and he’s doing everything he can to fit into this evil role and he just wants to be like this big bad imperial boy on campus. i don’t know. i don’t have the words right now to express how fuckin awesome he is. i’ll write an essay about it later.

THE AT-AT COMING OUT OF THE MIST?? CHRIST ON A BIKE. LAY ME TO REST. LOVE IT.

fucking love me some female fighter pilots. the women of star wars are so badass. doing justice to my return of the jedi ladies.

i think a whole lot about jyn giving K2 a blaster. the way he takes it and looks at it and holds it so gently. i think that’s the first time a human has trusted him with a blaster since his reprogramming. he seems so appreciative of that trust.

i love seeing the faces of baze and the other rebels when a few of the x-wings show up and take down an at-at. i’m so very soft for the relationship between these rebels. not to be cliche, but the *hope* that they have. it’s so moving. this movie is just so full of that quintessential rebel feeling.

hey so i’m super emotional about the death of K2 okay? because in the novelizations you learn that in the last second k2 had before a full shut down, he ran a simulation where cassian lived and even though he knew it was impossible, it made him happy. FURTHERMORE K2 is very well known and his name is often listed along side jyn’s in terms of talking about the history of the rebellion.

chirrut and baze’s deaths are so important to me. we know they’re best friends, and even though we don’t know how long they’ve been together, they love each other so deeply. chirrut being the path for baze to return to the force? touching. i so wish these dumb force husbands could have had more screen time. baze calling chirrut back?? chirrut telling him to find him in the force?? baze looking to see the man he loves one more time before he dies??reminds me of the silken quote about dying in your best friends arms because it’s all you know. anywho,,, if star wars canon has any mercy then these two lovers are force ghosts together rn. don’t care how you feel or whether you "ship" them or not. love comes in so many forms and they encompass all that love.

terribly sorry but i think about those two star destroyers colliding with the rogue one main theme playing over it every day. it’s,,,,, so,,,, ( ´∀｀)

i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again BEN MENDELSSOHN??? UH YEAH

krennic watching his weapon (his beautiful, successful weapon) power up and kill him,,, the poetic justice of it all,,,,

any time anyone says "may the force be with you" i dunno maybe it’s my religious trauma but i’m head over heels for that good shit

the star destroyer coming out of hyper space as the rebels are escaping and some of the ships hit the destroyer?? one of my favorite things in the new star wars movies is directors and writers saying "oh this can totally happen" and they DO IT

jyn mentioning earlier in the film that she isn’t used to people sticking around when shit hits the fan and then dying in the arms of cassian?? because he stayed?? and for the first time she has someone??

in that same vein: cassian also says earlier in the film that he lost everything too. his connection with jyn is also important to him, just as important as it is to jyn. they need each other. i can’t remember who on this hellsite said it, but someone mentioned that they hope the stand alone cassian stuff coming out doesn’t make him this swindling playboy who fucks around a bunch. i think having him as more of like?? a mandolorian type character would be really cool. like he’s a rebel assassin: make him one. make him independent and badass and cool and DONT give him a bunch of romantic or sexual interests because then that downplays the clear love he had developing for jyn. again LOVE COMES IN FORMS BEYOND BASIC SHIPS. and there’s a lot of love in star wars.

i’ve said it a million times but vader is so cool and over and over again this movie reminded me that he’s actually so scary. i saw star wars for the first time when i was 6 and i can’t remember my initial reaction to him, but i’ve definitely (like with the death star) been desensitized to the fact that if i was in star wars, darth vader would scare the shit out of me. he’s *scary* and that’s cool. i liked seeing vader effortlessly go fucking mad on these rebels. then you understand why they were so scared in that first scene of a new hope.

no i absolutely will not get over the vader scene. i won’t. his saber turning on. his force abilities. his effortless lightsaber work. the choral music over the scene with the hectic orchestra. don’t touch me i’m emotional.

i loved seeing leia. it touches me so deeply every time.

fuck i love this movie despite all its faults.

if you’ve made it this far, thank you!! i hope you enjoyed. please remember that this is totally a safe space for all star wars opinions and you can feel free to disagree with me! i’d love to hear what some of you thought :))

[crqstalite]

so that happened.

the rise of skywalker was a thing...

spoilers below the cut >>

honestly? tros wasn’t drop the whole franchise bad like i thought it was. it had some good moments. i liked the main trio in this film. i LOVED the cinematography of the movie, god it was gorgeous. i adored the chemistry between finn and poe. yes, i am very aware of what both actors have said and am disappointed in my own way because goddamn that should’ve graced my theater screen, one little finnpoe kiss was all i asked for. there will be a lot of fixit fics for stormpilot, and i will enjoy them all. and i liked that it wrapped up four years of movies in one little package. it really did feel like the end of an era when the last few seconds scrolled on screen. i’d be lying if i said i didn’t scream internally at the ‘rey. rey skywalker’ at the end. the sequel trilogy wasn’t bad, it was just handled improperly and probably would’ve been better received had it not ended like thi

but i didn’t like how it tried to apologize for what happened in last jedi. i didn’t like kylo ren--sorry ben solo in this movie. hell, i didn’t like him to begin with in any of his other movies. they kept trying to redeem him and honestly?? i don’t think he deserved it if i’m being honest. why, i’m not sure, but he just gives me that hella iffy feeling and he gave me the heebie jeebies the whole time. and i sure as hell don’t know what the hell this simmering romance beneath the surface was between rey and ben. doesn’t mean the ship’s followers or general idea is bad (after scrolling through the finnpoe tag on ao3, i can safely say there will be a few coffee shop aus i’ll end up reading), just that i don’t agree with it. he berates her for years (?), literally telling her she amounts to nothing??? and then they expect us to be like ‘they were in love the whole time, Actually!’ i don’t like that in man but go off. 

on the subject of ben solo and rey. what the fuck is this teleportation shit? if someone could explain it to me, that’d be great because it makes no damn sense in context with the movie. yes, i’m aware they share some sort of force bond, but this feels so ‘pulled out of our ass for the sake of the movie’. it’s just something i couldn’t feel all that good about because of it. they fight each other in different areas, they talk to each other in different areas, she teleports a lightsaber to him in a different area entirely. why is this??? it makes no fucking sense and honestly drew me out from that development of those two.

rose?? was sidelined the whole movie?? as much as i like the girl who was with finn at the end of the movie (i didn’t catch her name but damn she was pretty), i think she easily could’ve been replaced with rose, and i probably would’ve felt more for this scene because finn and rose have fought together before. rose was a great character in the last jedi and she could’ve made this movie great. fuck off. rose tico and kelly marie tran deserved so much better. there better be alternate endings for this movie or i will riot.

finn???? even before seeing the tweets that were like ‘hey uh finn was supposed to tell rey about being force sensitive the whole time’ i predicted that he was. ‘i had a feeling’ and all that bullshit, i’m praying sometime he told her. it would’ve opened up some cool scenes of them training together on the falcon or something. other than that, enjoyed his character wholeheartedly because goddamit it’s finn and i have nothing bad to say about him. poe too, i adore poe.

the ending was symbolic?? in a way i didn’t understand. i get it, her master grew up there so then she was symbolically leaving their past behind to reach her future yada yada yada yada. but unless i’m missing something, did rey even know he grew up on tatooine? she went back to get the x-wing and lightsaber from ghost!luke but it felt unfinished and rushed there. her relationship with leia, while touching, simply hadn’t been developed enough on screen for me to really feel in tune with this scene either. understandably with carrie fisher being gone they probably couldn’t have, but it is just a tad frustrating either way.

hux being the traitor? maybe i didn’t pay attention enough in the last few movies but was there really a reason for him to defect? it didn’t feel real enough for me to be honest. then, bam he’s dead i guess mOVING ON. the fuck. i kind of liked him too but nooooooo....kill him for the plot.

PALPATINE. FUCKING PALPATINE.

this one confused me, rey palpatine? the fuck. her dad was his son? the man is over a millenia old, if not more. how in hell did he create a child? how did he escape from palpatine’s grasp? why did palpatine let him go? why the hell does palpatine want a clearly light side influenced jedi to rule as empress? could someone else have killed him and become all the known sith in the galaxy? there are so many questions i have regarding him specifically that i’m probably going to need a guidebook just to not have an aneursym trying to make sense of it all.

REY WITH FORCE LIGHTNING. I GET SHE’S A PALPATINE BUT WHEN THE FUCK DID SHE BECOME SO POWERFUL??

chewie was cool, i love chewie. lando was...interesting. a cool cameo, yes. adored the scenes he was in but i felt he was kind of shoehorned in at the last minute. my opinion, doesn’t have to be yours.

c3po. i liked c3po a lot, and i’m glad he got his memory back but then i felt like that heartfelt line ‘im looking at all my friends for the last time’ was meaningless. in the back of my mind i knew that for old time’s sake they wouldn’t leave him without his memory, but it also took away from the emotional impact of his memory loss.

poe’s spice running past was interestingly touched upon and not mentioned again. nothing ever pointed to it beforehand which is the only reason im mildly confused by it, but zorii’s survival after uh...that planet (kijimi, which i struggled to spell until i looked up the wikipedia) basically blew up felt weird. the little headnod at each other at the end was kind of cute but?? zorii (???) could’ve been handled better i guess.

i struggle not to write a paragraph on why finnpoe should’ve been canon but that can be discussed at a later date. feel like zorii and the other stormtrooper deserter were only there for finn and poe but i digress, and really hope that i was just been paranoid. at least rey didn’t get dragged into it.

han solo didn’t come back as a ghost but as a memory so he could redeem his son. nothing more needs to be said here because thats a sin on it’s own.

honestly?? i would’ve sat in the theater for three hours like i did endgame just for some of these plot points to be explained better. thanks anyways for these great, sometimes underdeveloped characters, disney.

also?? according to my father a ghost-like ship was in the final fight?? i need explanation, now.

ALSO! only now after i finally came back to the game after all these years (i hadn’t played swtor from 2013 until late 2017 i think) and i begin wondering ‘the hell happened in between those 3000 years before the battle of yavin to have us lose the empire and republic and end up with the first order and the rebellion??’. if anyone can answer this, i’d be forever grateful.

[lajulie24]

From my heart to you

Part 7 in my Bespin AU/ESB AU series where Han and Leia escape Bespin before Breakfast with Vader, then have to deal with the “what next”. You can read the other parts here: Part 1: I know, Part 2: Jump, Part 3: Visions of the future, Part 4: Decisions, Part 5: Hear me, Part 6: And you will always find me. Title of this part was taken from a line in Depeche Mode’s song “Shake the Disease” (because I am on an ‘80s British pop kick lately).

It was a gorgeous Kashyyk night. Han had been here countless times with Chewbacca over the years, but coming here with Leia, and then returning with Luke and Leia, had helped him see the beauty of the planet with new eyes. He’d always appreciated the web of forests in Chewbacca’s clan village that gave cover to the Falcon on their visits here, the warmth of the planet’s climate, the unique plants and roots that cured a variety of ills and made a hell of an ale. He’d long loved the Wookiees, who accepted him despite his shocking lack of fur and his propensity for keeping Chewbacca away from home for long stretches of time. But he’d been surprised to find that he was nearly as eager to show Leia the planet as Chewie was. And even as they returned with Luke, they seemed to discover new things to cherish: the smell of the forest air, the dark night lit with a canopy of stars.

He was alive, safe, here with the woman he loved peacefully asleep in his arms. The only nightmare she’d had in weeks had been the night before their arrival at Bespin. Understandable, in hindsight, given what had awaited them there.

She knew. She could feel it, he thought.

Gods, he loved her, was continually amazed by her, even as he learned more and more about the person she was, the power she seemed to possess. He just hoped he’d have the chance to come back to witness it again, be part of her light.

He hadn’t been able to sleep tonight. He usually felt better than this when he’d figured out how to tackle a difficult problem. He didn’t like this idea, but the more he’d tried to come up with something, anything else, the more he’d returned to the sense that this was the best for everyone.

Take care of yourself, Han, Luke had said to him bitterly, the first time he’d tried to leave. I guess that’s what you’re best at. He’d come a long way since then, hadn’t he?

The problem was really a series of problems, with Han at the center. If he returned to the Alliance without paying off his debt to Jabba, he was painting a bigger target on Leia’s back that the one that was already there. If he tried to go pay it off, Chewie would insist on going thanks to the life debt, and Leia would not be able to be talked out of going, either. And Han would be damned to all nine hells before he would let Jabba get hold of Leia, or put Chewie back into bondage.

The solution had emerged gradually over the past two days, after they’d managed to recover Luke and his ship and return here to Kashyyk. In a way, Luke himself was the solution.

Han had no doubt of Leia’s love; he felt it, she’d said it, she’d shown it again and again. At the same time, Luke had been the one she’d felt from systems away when he was in trouble. Leia had been the one Luke had asked for when they’d found him. Han had always known they had a special connection, but seeing her hug Luke so tightly after they’d come up from the airlock, finding her holding his hand in the ship’s medbay, seeing them slip off together for a series of quiet yet intense conversations—Han knew. Leia loved Luke, too.

And Luke knew Tatooine. He would understand how bad it was to have Leia anywhere near Jabba’s palace. He would understand why Han needed to go alone. If Han didn’t make it back, Leia wouldn’t be alone. She would have someone who loved her, who understood her, whom she loved, too.

Which left Chewie, and the life debt. Chewie would never agree to forget about the debt, no matter how many times he’d already saved Han’s neck, but maybe given these circumstances he would agree to something else. A transfer. Chewie was already devoted to Leia, and he’d insisted on going after Luke, too. He could keep them away from Tatooine, see them safely back to the Alliance, look after them in Han’s absence.

Leia shifted slightly in his arms, and he gave her a gentle squeeze as she settled back down. He didn’t want to leave her; he’d never wanted to leave her. As this solution had emerged, he’d for a split second considered trying to save her pain by slipping away quietly, leaving her with a heartfelt holomessage and an explanation of why this was the best resolution, leaving Chewie with no choice but to accept.

But that was the mistake he’d made before; he’d tried to spare her feelings back on Hoth, but had only ended up hurting her more.

Things were different. He wouldn’t run away this time; he would lay it all on the line and tell her everything. Whether he made it back or not, he would do everything he could to make Leia happy. Even if that meant letting her go.

Leia had hoped they could play hooky for just one more day. Just one more day of taking walks through the woods, learning how to make stew with Malla, slipping off in the afternoon to make love in their little hut, looking on with amusement at Threepio and the little band of Wookiee younglings who had become fascinated with his stories. She just wanted to stay here, keep working and living in nature, stop being Princess Leia or Commander Organa or anything else with a title and be Leia, here with her loved ones.

But as Han had pointed out on their way to Bespin, when she’d shared her little fantasy of their just spending the rest of their lives together on the run, she couldn’t. Even if she could somehow manage to forget about the survivors of Alderaan, about the Alliance, she couldn’t ignore what was happening to the Wookiees, to the other beings of the galaxy. Han was right; she just wasn’t made to walk away. You give a damn, Leia. ‘S why I love you, he’d said.

And now this whole business with Luke had brought another wrinkle into it. Gods, she was getting tired of having these serious what next conversations. But she finally felt like she had a solution, if only a temporary one, and she needed to bring Han in on this decision. He’d not said anything about her and Luke and their frequent conversations the last two days, but he’d definitely noticed them disappearing to talk. She didn’t want to have secrets from Han, anyway; it was time.

It’s time, she repeated silently to Luke, giving him a serious look as she and Han left after dinner cleanup to return to their hut.

Good luck, he sent back. Here if you need me.

She entwined her hand with Han’s on the walk back, and he gave her a smile that seemed a bit wistful. Their silence was a less comfortable than usual, like they’d taken a step backwards.

Yes, definitely time to clear the air. Han had been acting a little strange all day, and Leia suspected that it had to do with how odd and withdrawn she’d been acting as she tried to process everything. It was so weird, that she could be completely comfortable with Luke having these abilities, but her—

“Think we oughta talk, Sweetheart,” Han said as they entered the hut.

Deep breath. “Yes, we should,” she agreed, and they sat down together on the bed.

Leia was smoothing the coverlet on the bed anxiously. She kept looking down at her lap, like she was afraid of meeting his eyes.

The hell? Leia wasn’t afraid of anything or anyone. Except her own feelings, like when—

“You love him,” he blurted out, abandoning his original plan for this conversation in an effort to let her off the hook. “Don’t you?”

Now Leia would look at him; her face turned from anxious to startled as her eyes met his. “What?”

“Luke,” Han said. It’s okay, Sweetheart, I know. “You love him.”

Now Leia just looked confused. “Well…yes.”

Han wasn’t sure how to feel about that, but he pressed on. “I get it. I understand. Good.” He took a deep breath. “And I know that you love me, too.”

Leia was giving him an inscrutable look, like she wasn’t sure where he was going with this.

“Don’t worry. Don’t want you to think you have to choose.”

She started to shake her head. “Han, I—“

“No, please, just wait. Let me get this out,” he pleaded, stopping her. If he didn’t say it now, he might not be able to say it again. “You’re—Leia, I’m—“

Why was this so kriffing hard? Oh, yeah, because I love her.

He looked down, and began again. “Never loved anyone the way I love you,” he said, lifting his eyes to hers. “And last thing I want to do is leave you. But I gotta make things right.”

He took her hand. “I’m gonna ask Chewie to transfer the life debt to you and Luke,” he said. “He’ll look after you two. I’ll go pay off Jabba, do everything I can to come back. And if I do—“ he tried to grin, though he was pretty sure it came off a little half-hearted—“and you want to be with Luke, I won’t get in the way.”

Leia blinked at him for a minute, not saying anything. Then she let out a tiny, rueful laugh, shaking her head again. “Nerfherder,” she said.

Huh?

A bit of Leia’s usual confidence and fire seemed to return. “I don’t even know where to start with this,” she said. “You’re not going to make me choose? So what, you’re gonna choose for me? No. No. That is now how this works.”

Han had expected objections, but he was still a little taken aback.

Leia was in full fire now. “Do you think I fell in love with you because we were trapped on your ship? Because you were the person who was there at the time? Is that why you fell in love with me? Because I was the only one around?”

“No! Of course not, I—”

“Exactly,” she said, pointing a finger in his face. “I fell in love with you even when I was trying not to. I love you, Han Solo, and there is nothing you can do about it,” she said, almost defiant now. “You’re not interchangeable with Luke, even if I did feel that way about him, which—it’s not like that at all.”

“It’s not?” Han asked, genuinely confused.

“No,” Leia said, and her smile returned. “I love him, but he’s like a, a—best friend. Or a brother.”

“Oh.” Read that one wrong. “But—you felt him. From another system. You got a connection.”

“Yeah,” Leia acknowledged, “and I have something to tell you about that. But he’s not you.” She looked up at him again. “Thought I made it pretty clear I wasn’t letting you go to Jabba’s alone.”

Han nodded, but he wasn’t sure where to go with this now. “Didn’t like it,” he said, “but I thought it was the right thing.”

Leia squeezed his hand again. “I know,” she said, “but if we’re going to be together, we’re in this together. We have to decide together.”

Well, hells. He had to kiss her after all that.

Leia wanted to live in that kiss, linger a bit longer, but she had her own piece to say. And if she meant what she’d said about deciding together, Han needed to hear it.

“I might have another solution,” she said as she pulled away.

Han looked at her expectantly.

“So—Luke and I have been talking,” she began, and Han nodded.

This was harder to talk about than she’d thought, but she plowed through. “He thinks I have the Force, too. Like him.”

Han did not look remotely surprised. “Uh-huh,” he said.

She stopped. “You think so, too?”

Han paused for a moment before speaking. “You always had—something. Not the same as Luke, but maybe it’s different in different people. And you knew—on Ord Mantell. On Bespin. About Luke.”

Leia felt a sense of confirmation as he spoke, like something was telling her, Yes. But she still felt really strange about it. This was fine for Luke, but she—she shouldn’t have this power. Should she?

She really didn’t want to ask, but as long as they were being honest here—“You’re—okay with it?”

There was that grin, warm, loving, reassuring. “Leia. It’s part of you. It’s always been. ‘Course I’m okay.”

Leia didn’t think she’d be this relieved, but then again, she wasn’t really sure how to feel right now. And Han being okay with this meant that the rest of this conversation would be a lot easier.

“Luke’s been away, training with a Jedi master. He wants me to come back with him, to train too.” She looked up at Han. “You could come, too.”

Han looked a little dubious, but Leia continued. “We’d be hidden away; no bounty hunters, no Empire. And once Luke and I are trained—we could help the Alliance. And take down Jabba’s whole operation,” she said.

Han’s grin returned, and this version of it she’d seen on countless missions, when she’d upped the ante on the objective. Can’t believe we’re doin’ this, but I’ve got your back, it said.

“This what you want to do?” he asked, and she loved him more for the question.

She nodded. “I think so. If you’ll come with me. I don’t want to do this alone.” She wasn’t sure she’d ever said those words before. But they were true.

“All right,” he said. “When do we leave?”

[lovelylogans]

lavender for luck: chapter one

see here for warnings

art by neil

next chapter

The day Uncle comes to their house for the first time, it’s so hot Virgil feels like a cookie left to burn in the oven. Not just cook, not like the soft and chewy ones with the melty chocolate that Mom made, no. Burn, like when Dad forgot he stuck a dozen store-bought bits of dough into the oven and then ended up taking Virgil and Mom out to dinner and they came back to the fire truck with the men in the big baggy suits who gave Virgil a plastic hat and helped get the big clouds of black smoke out of their kitchen.

“Hi, Uncle,” Virgil says dutifully, because Mom says that’s the polite thing to do, and yes he had to be polite, even when Uncle could care less about societal conventions, whatever those were.

“Boy,” Uncle says evenly. From this angle, it looks like Uncle is smiling. “What are you doing?”

“I’m a cat.” Virgil tells him and lets out his best meow. He’s very good at it. Mom usually tells him he sounds just like a kitten.

“That is how most cats climb trees,” Uncle agrees, and then he adds, “You are a most bizarre and exhausting child.”

“Thank you,” Virgil preens, swinging a little from where he’s hanging by his knees from a tree branch, blood long since rushed to his head. “You are a most bizarre and exhausting Uncle.”

His mouth twitches so it looks like he’s frowning, but it’s gone, and the smile is back in an instant.

“Virgil, you look like a tomato,” his father announces from where he’s stepped out on the porch. “Dee, you look like a butternut squash.”

His face looks like he’s trying be happy, but Virgil can tell he isn’t. Dad’s worried, and scared, and upset, and it’s clear through the smile he’s trying to put on.

Uncle clearly thinks the same thing.

“What’s brought me to the,” Uncle’s lip curls, “lovely suburbs?”

“Virge,” Dad says, again trying to sound happy but Virgil could see in his shadow that he really really really isn’t, “can you tell your uncle why you’re playing cat outside instead of inside today?”

Virgil swings a little more and secures his knees so he can point to the house with his free hand.

“There’s a bug,” Virgil says, pointing to the house. “Mom and Dad can’t hear it.” He clicks his tongue a few times in demonstration, and the frown that appeared on Uncle’s face when Dad stepped outside spins into a smile so fast it makes Virgil feel dizzy, makes him feel like his stomach’s dropped right out of him.

“Inside,” Dad says, before Uncle can say anything else, “now.”

He glances towards Virgil, and his voice softens. “Stay outside as long as you want, Virge, just wipe your feet off when you come in, okay?”

“Kay,” Virgil says, squinting up the tree, because he thinks he sees a squirrel.

“Usual boundaries, buddy. Don’t wander too far, okay?”

“Okay,” Virgil repeats, closing his eyes and watching the red bloom up behind his eyelids.

“Children are a delight,” Uncle says dryly, probably meaning for Virgil to not hear, but he does hear. And his dad snorts and swat his arm.

Eventually Virgil climbs down from the tree and has to sit for a while to make sure his head stops spinning, because there isn’t much to do hanging upside down from a tree other than just hanging upside down. So Virgil wanders into the backwoods, humming to himself as he hops into the shadows.

A familiar amber gleam shines out from the darkness, and Virgil grins, lowering himself to the ground, holding out his hand just so, keeping perfectly still.

“Hello, Virgil,” the voice rumbles out from the underbrush, and Virgil’s grin widens.

“Hallo, Maester Sprockets.”

Maester of the Five Streets Sprockets Mrr’ow is a bit uptight for a cat, but he’s all right, mostly. He reminds Virgil of Zazu in Lion King, except Sprockets is a gray house cat and not a hornbill.

“How’re you?” Virgil offers, wiggling his fingers a bit as Maester Sprockets leans forwards, sniffing his fingers.

“You smell of bacon,” Sprockets declares, whiskers twitching.

Virgil digs in his pocket obligingly, bringing out the three pieces of bacon he’d snagged from the breakfast table that morning, breaking them into bits and laying them on the ground. Cats were very particular about hand-feeding, and Sprockets declines it from everyone except the Marcy (the girl a grade above Virgil who actually housed Sprockets.)

Virgil, upon turning five, has been gifted Hunting Rights of all birds in two streets of his choice, as he was Wise and Fierce and An Asset To Protecting The Land. Virgil doesn’t quite know how to tell Sprockets that he gets all the food he needs from his parents, and wouldn’t know how to go about hunting birds anyways. But it’s a thoughtful gift, and anyways he just has to make sure that the sunning rocks are clear and that the cats of the neighborhood could wander around without trouble.

“What’s the business?” Virgil asks, once Sprockets has sat back, licking his paw and swiping at his whiskers.

He spends time until the sun grows big and orange in the sky, brushing against the pavement, listening to Sprockets list of the various grievances of the cats of the neighborhood. Most of them were Cat Politics (Virgil had long since learned not to poke his nose into those) but there were a couple things he could help with; snakes near the sunning rocks, a troublesome dog barking all day, kids that tended to yank on cat’s tails. Virgil promises to do what he can about it, allows Sprockets to rub his face against Virgil’s knees one more time (giving the gift of smelling like Sprockets) before he rises to his feet and ambles home.

He hears the shouting even from the back porch.

“—promise me, Dee, please,” his father says, and Virgil shrinks down so no one can see him from the windows. He sounds really upset—almost as upset than the time Mom got into a car accident, once, and broke her arm.

A pause. “The Aunts—”

“They love Virgil, of course,” Mom says, and her voice is gentle. “Of course they do. And they’ll pitch in, I’m sure. But you’re the closest relative. You’re the one in the will. If you don’t take him in—”

A pause, a sniffle, the clinking of—mugs, Virgil thinks? He can smell the tea Dad makes from the stuff in the garden. They’re almost noisy enough to cover up the clicking sound.

“You remember the story of great-aunt Seraphine, don’t you?” Dad says, after a long pause, and his voice is strained.

A snort, and Uncle says, “She was locked away in the cellar. If anyone would do that today—”

“Are you sure about that?” Dad says, quiet, a little dangerous. “You and I know better than anyone—the only people who understand Faes are Faes.” A pause, and then, “No offense, Vi.”

“None taken,” his mother sighs. “It’s been settled for a long time. You’re technically legally bound. Let us—just let us have some peace of mind about this, at least.”

“Violet—” Uncle began, uncomfortable.

“Please,” she says, and her voice breaks, and Virgil squirms from where he is. She sounds really, really sad. She probably needs a hug. “Please. We knew this was coming, we prepared for it. In a way, we’ve all known this was going to happen since we were his age. Right now, we just—we just need your word that he’ll be okay.”

“You’ve always been going after us about how he needs to be near the family’s roots,” Dad says. It sounds like he’s trying to joke. “And he will be, now. If you take him in.”

There’s a long pause, and more clinking. Virgil can smell the chamomile on the air, hear the splash—someone’s refilling their cup.

“A swap?” His Dad says at last, after a break. “For old time’s sake.”

“Of course.”

Virgil figures that’s a good a time as any to stomp aggressively up the stairs, trying to rid the clumps of dirt from his shoes, before just giving up and leaving his shoes on the porch, plodding into the house in socked feet.

“Hi, baby,” his mom says, sinking to her knees. Virgil smacks a noisy kiss to her cheek, and she lifts him up in her arms. “Out a bit late, aren’t we?”

Virgil wraps his arms around her neck, pressing his cheek into her shoulder, inhaling her grown-up flowery perfumey smell. “Sprockets says there’s snakes near the sunning rocks.”

“Ah, it all makes sense now,” his Dad says, and Virgil glances over to see him turning a mug over in his hands. “Cat politics,” he says to Uncle, by a way of explanation.

“Snakes, you say?” Uncle muses. “I can handle that.”

Virgil perks up. “Really?” Good. He really doesn’t know what to do with the snakes whenever the cats complain; he doesn’t want them to die, or anything.

“Dee can talk to snakes the way you can talk to cats, Virge,” Dad explains. “Since we were little kids.”

“Really?” Virgil asks, fascinated. He’s never met anyone who can talk to an animal like he can.

“Mm,” Uncle hums as he frowns at the mug, and deliberately sets it down with a delicate clink. “Misunderstood creatures.”

“D’you want cocoa, Virgil?” his Mom asks, setting him down at last, and Virgil squirms happily and nods.

“What do we say,” she prompts, smoothing his hair with a hand, and he tries not to sigh too loudly.

“Yes, please.”

“No tea?” Uncle asks mildly.

Virgil wrinkles his nose. “Tea is gross.”

The offended look on Uncle’s face makes his Dad laugh so hard he chokes on his own spit.

The rest of the night is kinda fun, if a bit weird. They play a new kind of game where Virgil points where he hears the clicking the loudest, and Mom and Dad roll back the rug and Uncle and Dad pry up the floorboards to see if there’s something under there. But Mom swaps between helping roll back the rug and experimenting in the kitchen, so Virgil gets to lick the batter spoons and try whatever Mom’s decided to try to make. The butterscotch cookies are pretty good; the jelly-and-mint, not quite so much.

“Not my best, huh?” Mom says, examining the jelly and mint creation critically.

Virgil pauses, and says nicely, “Maybe not with… this kind of jelly.”

His mom laughs a bit, puts it aside. “You’re right. A nice strawberry, maybe. Citrus. But probably not black currant.”

“Virgil, is it still clicking?” Dad calls.

“Yep,” Virgil calls back, snapping off a piece of lemon drop cookie and popping it into his mouth.

Dad says a naughty word.

“That’s a dollar,” Mom calls without looking, and Dad grumbles a bit more.

It keeps going. Virgil likes the cinnamon roll cookies, the almond and raspberry ones, and the brownie cookies—the chocolate-pistachio ones and the pretzel, peanut and beer ones are just kinda weird. By the end of the night, Virgil thinks Uncle and Dad pry up every floorboard in the house, Mom has filled up just about every tupperware in the house with her various experiments, and Dad owes seven dollars to the naughty word jar.

When Uncle sees the tupperware, he smiles. Just a little.

“I know, I know,” Mom says. “You can take the girl from the diner, and so on.”

Virgil tilts his head, and he’s about to ask, before hands close under his armpits and lift him in the air, making him squeal with equal parts indignation and laughter.

“Time to get ready for bed!” Dad sing-songs.

“Noooooooo,” Virgil groans, flopping his head onto Dad’s shoulder.

“Yeeeess, kiddo, it is way past your bedtime,” Dad declares, and starts walking up the stairs with enough time to see Mom and Uncle leaning over the counter under the sole light still on, the pair of them staring at each other, the kitchen doused in shadows around them. Mom’s face is devoid of a smile, and Uncle’s bowler hat makes it so Virgil can’t see his face.

“Teeth brushing time, teeth brushing time,” Dad sings, depositing Virgil at the sink. “Full two minutes, buddy, I’ll be counting—”

Virgil groans, but reaches for his toothbrush and bubblegum toothpaste of lies, because whoever thinks that tastes like bubblegum is a liar.

He gets ready for bed (teeth brushed, pajamas on, so on and so on) and eventually, both parents are sitting on his bed, as his Mom reads three storybooks, and Virgil’s eyelids grow heavier and heavier.

“When the son came home that night, he stood for a long time at the top of the stairs. Then he went into the room where his very new baby daughter was sleeping. He picked her up in his arms and very slowly rocked her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while he rocked her he sang,” and his mother drew a breath, and Virgil murmured sleepily along with her soft sing-song voice.

“I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living, my baby you'll be.”

She leans forwards and kisses his forehead, before she takes a breath, smoothing the covers over his chest with one hand, and tries to smile.

“Virgil, I know you’re sleepy,” she says, voice soft, “but I want you to listen, okay? And remember.”

Virgil blinks the sleep out of his eyes, and nods. It’s important. He can feel it.

She takes a deep breath in, lets it out, and begins to talk.

“When I was a little younger than you are now, my parents died. And I moved to Loch Ligerion to live with my Auntie Cora and my Uncle Virgil.”

“Like me?” Virgil asks, and she smiles, realer this time, brushing his hair off his forehead.

“Yes, exactly like you. We named you after him. I moved to Ligerion, to live with my uncle, and his sisters, and his wife. And I thought my life was never gonna be the same. I was really sad, as I should have been, because I was a kid, and I lost my parents. I was so scared of Loch Ligerion, and I was convinced I’d never be happy again.”

Dad, a sad look on his face, reaches over to grip her shoulder, and she puts her hand on his for a moment, before taking a deep breath.

“But not long after that, I started kindergarten. And do you know who I met there?”

Virgil shakes his head.

“I met your dad,” she says, lifting his hand from her shoulder and kissing it, before lowering it, so they were holding hands. “I met your dad, and your uncle, and some other people too, but no one quite as important as your dad. And I am never, ever going to regret going to Loch Ligerion. Because that’s where I met your dad. And if I didn’t meet your dad, I wouldn’t have had you. And you…” she takes a wobby breath, smooths back his hair again.

“You’re the most important thing in my life, Virgil,” she says. “You and your dad. Some people didn’t like that I was in love with your dad at all, let alone the fact that we had you. But I’m always going to ignore them. Because you two… you two have made me so, so happy, Virgil. The happiest day of my life was the day you were born. I have loved seeing you grow into the smart, brave, funny little boy you are today, and the handsome, talented, loving young man I’m sure you’re going to be. I have loved every single day.”

“Even the day I brought all the stray cats into the house during that thunderstorm?” Virgil asks in a small voice, and his mother and father both laugh.

“Even that day,” she says. “Even when we were running around making sure soaking tomcats weren’t getting into fights and clawing up my carpets. Even the day you and your dad had the flu, and you were both puking everywhere, and I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off. Every single day.”

Virgil wiggles so his arms are out of the blankets, and reaches up to hug her around the neck, squeezing tight.

“I love you too,” he promises. “I love you every single day too.”

Dad’s arms wrap around them then, big and strong and tight, protective and warm. Virgil’s all squished up in between them, and Mom’s elbow is jabbing a little into his stomach, and they’re all hunched over a little awkward, but it’s the best hug ever. In the history of the world.

A pointed throat-clearing noise.

“Oh!” Dad says hastily, and there’s a laugh. “Yeah. Yeah, of course, I love you both every day too.”

They untangle, just a little, enough that they can all see each other’s faces, arms all still around each other.

“Love your Dad, but he’s a bit slow on the uptake,” Mom says, elbowing him playfully.

Dad turns to her, a joking offended look on his face, but she tilts her head at him.

“Who proposed? Asked for the first date?”

“Momma did,” Virgil says, and Mom shoots Dad a smug look.

“That’s ri-ight,” she sing-songs. “That’s right! Momma did!”

“Oh, I see how it goes,” Dad says, reaching over to tousle Virgil’s hair. “The pair of you teaming up against me, huh?”

“It’s not teaming up if we’re right,” Mom says smugly.

Dad laughs, leans over to kiss her forehead, smooths her hair back. “Yeah, okay. I’m a bit slow on the uptake. It runs in the family.” He pokes Virgil playfully in the belly. “So you’re in trouble, mister.”

Virgil wrinkles his nose, pokes him back. It kind of devolves into all of them poking each other, tickling each other, at one point Dad sweeping him up in his arms as Virgil squeals and yells as Mom chases them around the room.

“Okay,” Dad grunts at last, when all the laughter’s died down. “Okay! It’s really time for bed, now, for everyone.”

“Not yet, though,” Mom protests, “everyone’s all energized, now. It is time for cookies.”

“Cookies,” Virgil agrees, from where he’s flopped over on Dad’s back, looking at Mom upside-down, ignoring the click-click-click as he’s been doing since that early morning.

“Yeah, cookies,” Dad agrees.

“Cookies?” A voice purrs from the dark, and Virgil nearly falls from where he’s laying on Dad’s shoulder, jumping from surprise.

“Dee,” Mom laughs a little, settling Virgil with a hand. “Didn’t see you there. Warn a gal next time, would you?”

He simply inclines his head, asks “Tea?” and Dad sets Virgil down.

“Run and grab us four mugs, Virge?”

“Hot chocolate too,” Virgil checks, and Dad chuckles, ruffling his hair.

“Yeah, hot cocoa too.”

With a flick of his hand, the stove snaps on, and Virgil carefully selects four mugs from their vast, mismatched selection, setting them carefully in front of each person. The kettle settles on the stove at the same time the milk comes out from the fridge, the tea and cocoa emerging from the cupboard.

“What kind of tea, do you think?” Dad muses, tilting his head towards Mom, who’s collecting cookie-filled tupperware by hand and ducking flying items with practiced ease.

“Dealer’s choice,” Mom says, and glances ruefully at the tupperware. “There isn’t exactly a unified theme, here.”

“Black tea it is, then,” Dad says, glancing towards Uncle. “Earl grey?”

He hums and accepts the empty mug from Virgil.

“Okay, so,” Mom says, setting down the tupperware. “Being entirely honest here, I barely remember which type of cookie I put in each tupperware, so beware your choices.”

Uncle snorts, opens the tupperware nearest to him, and squints. Then he shrugs and lifts one free, snapping it in half.

Virgil’s still staring at him. Uncle’s the equivalent of Halloween; Virgil usually sees him once a year, and both are spooky in some way. Halloween because of course. Uncle, with his odd smiles and frowns, and the scales spanning the left side of his face, the snakey yellow eye—

Which flicks over to him, and the side of his mouth lifts in a smile. But not the kind of smile Mom or Dad give him; this was the kind of smile that Disney villains smiled. A Scar smile, an Ursula smile.

Virgil looks quickly towards the cookies, and shoves one into his mouth.

“Virgil, smaller bites, bud,” Dad says, setting down the hot chocolate. “Tea’s on in a second, all right?”

“Mkay,” Virgil mumbles, trying his hardest not to spew crumbs all over the table.

The kettle floats through the air and pours it, and Virgil blinks. The tea isn’t in bags, like they usually make; it’s just little bits of stuff in something.

“Loose leaf?” Uncle asks, lifting an eyebrow, and Dad gives a too-casual shrug.

“For old time’s sake,” he offers, and they both look at each other, in a way that’s too loaded for even Virgil to unparse, before they both take a sip from their mugs as Mom stirs her tea with the spoon handle, the soft clink-clink-clink just off-beat with the click-click-click that still sounds in the living room.

Virgil grabs a too-big handful of marshmallows and dumps it into his cocoa, avoiding the way Uncle’s gaze slid back to him.

The only sounds are sipping, quiet chewing, the occasional clink of a spoon, and the click of the mysterious beetle. Once Uncle and Dad both basically upend their mugs at the same time, wordlessly, they reach out and take the others and huddle over it.

From this angle, they’re just mirror images of each other. Dad is maybe a bit more muscular than Uncle; but without the scales or the eye in view, they look like the same person, just copied twice.

Virgil wonders what it’s like, to have a sibling like that. Dad and Uncle call each other once a week, plus the occasional weekend trip Dad and Mom take down to Ligerion to see family members while Virgil’s at a friend’s house. It’s just Mom and Dad and Virgil and the cats, here. Virgil wonders sometimes, what it’d be like to have a little brother, or a little sister. Someone to follow after you, someone who had your back, someone to share toys with. Babies are kind of noisy and smelly, though. He thinks he’s fine for now.

But sometimes, when he sees people with their siblings, he can’t help but think about it.

Because he’s supposed to have one. It’s a thing. Faes are supposed to have at least one sibling. Biological counterbalance, he thinks one of his older cousins said—magic divvying itself up along a family line. But there’s just him.

He can’t help but think about that too.

“What’s it look like?” Dad prompts, and Uncle wrinkles his nose, sets it aside deliberately.

“Nothing we know,” Uncle says. “Mine? We both know whose strengths lie in the divinatory arts.”

Dad sighs, runs the tip of his pinky over the rim of the mug. “House,” he says. “Big one. Which means change, likely related to family. Dashes, for travel, for which you should be cautious. A wheel—strong indicators of inevitable change, a series of events. Responsibility.”

Virgil blinks, tugs at Dad’s wrist. “How’s there a wheel in his tea?”

Uncle blinks too, first at Virgil, then at Dad. “He doesn’t know tasseography?”

Dad sighs a little. “We told you last time—we’re waiting until he’s ready.”

“How will he be ready if you never let him try?” Uncle says, and nods to Virgil. “When we were his age, we read leaves daily. Go on. Take the mug. Tell me what you see.”

Virgil blinks, first at Dad, then at the mug, before tugging it carefully from his father’s hands, turning it and squinting.

“I don’t see a wheel,” he says, glancing to Dad.

“It will come with practice,” Uncle says, and the gleam of his eye is sharp and bright. “Just say what you feel from the mug, Virgil.”

Virgil turns the mug over and over in his hands, staring still. He licks his lips nervously.

“I… I think you need to be really careful,” he says, into the mug. “Something is coming. Something really big. It’s going to change for forever. And I…” Virgil swallows. He feels like the mug is leeching the heat from his hands, taking something away from him. There’s something bad about the leaves, something that makes his stomach squirm like it’s full of snakes. He sets the mug away from his as far as possible.

“I don’t like it,” he whispers, and rubs his hands together, trying to shake them of the feeling.

“That’s okay,” Dad says quickly, wrapping an arm over Virgil’s shoulder. “Hey, that’s okay. That was a really great first try, Virge. You don’t have to do anything you don’t wanna do.”

“It’s bad,” he says into Dad’s chest, and his arms tighten around Virgil.

“I know, bud,” Dad murmurs. “I know, I saw it too. I’m sorry.”

Slowly, Virgil is eased out of his Dad’s arms, plied with butterscotch cookies and even more marshmallows in his cocoa. But he sticks close to his Dad’s side, pressing against him, how warm he is; it’s the only way the snakes calm down. The mug, somewhere between Virgil hiding his face in his Dad’s chest and leaning into his side, has been placed safely away from him, the leaves dumped down the sink.

They work their way through a tupperware-and-a-half of cookies, any attempts at conversation muted and quiet, fading in and out at random. Virgil thinks the leaves might have taken any kind of energy or excitement he had—he just wants to curl up in some warm blankets and sleep, now, not listen to the clicking beetle or Mom’s attempts at small talk.

Soon enough, when Virgil’s mug is empty and he’s full to bursting with cookies and he’s nodding off against Dad’s side, he’s getting lifted up into the air, into Dad’s arms. Virgil mumbles sleepily and lays his head on Dad’s shoulder, twisting his hand into Dad’s shirt.

He drifts off before he’s even put in bed.

He wakes up to rumbling. He’s aware he’s rising and lowering, very gently, as if he fell asleep at sea, and he’s very warm. Virgil hears a slow tha-thump, tha-thump under his ear, and at last blinks his eyes open.

Dad’s awake too, smiling fondly at Mom, as she keeps making the rumbling noises—snoring. The rising-lowering was where his head’s pillowed on Dad’s chest.

They’re all crammed into Virgil’s bed, the tiny twin, so Mom’s head’s pillowed on Dad’s chest too, Mom tucked between the wall and Dad, Virgil near the edge of the bed.

Virgil pats Dad’s chest, and nods towards Mom. Dad grins, rubbing a hand up and down Virgil’s back.

“Welcome to my world,” he whispers to Virgil. “Let’s try to not wake her up, huh? She needs sleep.”

Not waking up Mom involves wriggling very carefully off the bed, and helping Dad sneak a pillow under her head while he wriggles even more carefully out of the bed and helping tuck her in too. It is a lot of wiggling and trying not to laugh at each other and shushing each other whenever it seems like the other one is close to breaking the silence. Virgil even kisses her on the forehead the way she always does to him.

They wander downstairs, to where Uncle is already sitting, sipping from another mug of tea—no tea leaves, which makes Virgil shiver with relief.

Maybe he’s shivering because the clicking’s even louder today. Maybe that’s why. He can’t always tell.

“All right, well, I’ll make some breakfast,” Dad says, and adds, “Dee, how about Virgil shows you the sunning rocks, so you can talk to the snakes while we get a few things sorted out here?”

Uncle narrows his eyes at Dad, but Virgil is already going to put on his shoes.

“Careful, all right?” Dad tells Virgil. “Dee’s not used to walking with kids, you’re gonna have to show him the ropes.”

Uncle scoffs, but follows Virgil out onto the porch. Virgil, absentminded, reaches out and takes his gloved hand as they walk down the steps.

“What are you doing,” he says, in a flat, suspicious tone, practically recoiling, but not letting go of Virgil’s hand.

“I’m s’posed to hold hands whenever I have to cross streets,” Virgil says, and gestures to the land beyond the yard. “Street.”

Uncle shakes his head, seeming confused, but doesn’t let go of Virgil’s hand as Virgil leads him across the street, towards the sunning rock near the opening of the neighborhood, where the sign welcomes people to Russett Grove. The sign provides the only shadow—even now, there is a familiar cat lounging in the sun, opening a baleful yellow eye at Virgil, flicking her tail, before closing it again.

“Somewhere around here,” Virgil says at last, going to sit next to the cat. “There’s snakes.”

“Yes, I hear them,” Uncle says absentmindedly, crouching down. His tone’s changing; the s’s are getting longer, a bit more pronounced, and his snakey eye seems to flicker in the light.

“Hello, snakes,” Uncle rumbles, and even though it’s just as bright and sunny as the day before, Virgil could swear that there was a shadow dropping, curling around him, dousing the summer’s light, highlighting his scales. The familiar cat’s hackles rise; Virgil puts a hand into her ruff, as much comfort as it is caution.

Uncle smiles, wide and cutting, and Virgil’s hand tightens in the cat’s fur.

And then he hisses.

Seeming to emerge from the rocks themselves, tens, looking like hundreds of slimy, sinuous bodies writhed free, crawling from stone, through the grasses, from the trees, with silent, eerie speed. They wrestle, twist, break, but always come forth, to them, to the rocks. It’s like they’re a single, homogenous mass, but Virgil can see all the separate snakes making it up, and Virgil doesn’t even move as the cat yowls and sprints away. The snakes slip over pebbles, the road, converging all as one, twining together, to Uncle, to him alone. Virgil knows that it’s morning, that the sun around them is beating strong on their necks and backs, but it’s like they’re in the depth of a forest, in the depths of the sea, surrounded by great swathing shadows and the dark, and Virgil doesn’t know what’s there, what’s hiding in the dark—

“You,” Uncle murmurs, voice like wind rustling the grass, and all at once, the snakes fall still, and Virgil tries to stop shaking.

“My nephew has dominion over this land,” Uncle says, soft and dangerous all at once, and gestures to Virgil with a yellow glove. “The cats have territory upon this rock. Find elsewhere to warm your blood.”

At once, all the snakes hiss; to Virgil, it sounds like dissent, disagreement, and he sees a few triangular heads turn to him, show fangs gleaming with—with venom, he thinks, and curls tighter on the rock. He’s not running. He’s terrified but he’s not running. He thinks that would just make things worse.

“Elsewhere,” Uncle intones, and waves a dismissive hand; all at once, the mass disbands, separating into singular scaled bodies again, hissing as they slither away, back, down into the receding dark. Virgil can feel the sun heating the top of his head again. Good, he thinks distantly—he’s very cold all of a sudden.

Virgil looks up as Uncle steps, blocking the sun, face looming above him unreadable. He looks… otherworldly. Different. Like he’s something to be feared. Like he isn’t even human.

Virgil opens his mouth, and what comes out is “Did it hurt?”

Uncle’s snakey eye narrows.

“Did it hurt,” Virgil repeats, and gestures to the left side of his own face—where the scales sit on Uncle’s face.

Uncle smiles. “That’s not what normal people usually ask.”

“We’re not normal people,” Virgil points out. “Did it?”

He smiles wider. “Not at all,” he says, and offers Virgil his hand.

Virgil stares a bit longer, before he takes it, and they make their way back to the yellow house, where Dad is whistling as he plates up eggs and bacon.

“How’s the rock?” Dad asks, nudging a plate of two sunny-side up eggs and bacon shaped into a frown towards Uncle, who frowns at it.

“The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents,” Uncle says, stabbing at the yolk of one of the eggs, so the runny yellow leaks all down the plate. “We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far.”

Virgil tilts his head; he gets toast, cheesy scrambled eggs, and bacon set in front of him as Dad asks, “Do I have to guess why you’re quoting H.P. Lovecraft at my five-year-old son?”

“Who’s H.P. Lovecraft?” Virgil asks, picking up his fork and nudging at the little toast triangles.

“An author,” Dad says, distractedly ruffling Virgil’s hair. “What, did something go wrong with the snakes? Should I be worried you’re going to try to call Cthulhu upon my neighborhood?”

Uncle smiles, all pointy teeth, and shoves most of an egg into his mouth; Dad scowls and flicks at his bowler hat, so it sits crooked on top of his head.

“Snakes left,” Virgil offers, because he doesn’t really know how else to describe the temporary eclipse that happened. “I think they know the sunning rock’s for cats now.”

“Well, that’s something,” Dad says. “Apple juice or OJ, Virge?”

“Apple, please,” Virgil says dutifully. The further he is from the rock, the easier it is to believe that it was just that simple; the snakes understood, the snakes left. Uncle doesn’t look nearly so threatening with his bowler hat crooked on his head and a bit of egg yolk smeared on his cheek.

A Lion King cup full of apple juice gets set in front of him, and Mom wanders in, sleepily tugging her hair back into a braid.

“Hi, lovey,” Mom says, bending down to smack a kiss to Virgil’s cheek, and she straightens, smiling, as Dad approaches swiftly. He’s twisting his hands all together, looking at her rapturously.

“Hi, lovey,” she tells him, a bit more teasing, and he leans in, cupping her cheek, and kisses her.

Usually their kisses are quick little things, whenever they think Virgil’s watching; but right now, they’re doing a long kiss, a movie kind of kiss, where their heads are tilting and stuff, and Mom’s hand comes up to his neck before they break apart. Virgil realizes he’s probably supposed to say “Gross!” or cover his eyes or something, but it’s just… nice, he guesses. That they love each other.

“Well,” Mom says, flustered. “Good morning.”

“Hi,” he says, then, “Sorry, um, your toast might be a bit burnt, I’ll eat it instead if you want—”

He bustles over to the stove, and Mom sits down, stealing a sip from Virgil’s cup even as Virgil squawks in protest.

Soon enough, Dad and Mom are sitting next to each other, stealing bites off each others’ plates and sipping from each other’s cups. Virgil defends his apple juice from all sides, and even manages to take one of Mom’s precious bits of bacon. Dad does eat the more-burnt bits of toast, like he promised.

“So,” Uncle says idly, once everyone’s plates are cleared, “what are we to do today?”

Dad and Mom look between each other, and they both shrug.

“Honestly,” Dad says, “we didn’t really expect to get this far, so.”

Uncle lets out a put-upon sigh. “Well, what do you usually do for an idyllic summer day, in the lovely suburbs?”

Dad smiles. It is not a particularly nice smile. It is the kind of smile he gets whenever he has put glitter into the laundry detergent or dye in the shampoo. “So, you want a nice little slice of suburban life, right? That’s what you’re saying?”

Uncle had the distinct expression of someone who had wandered directly into a trap and had no way out of it.

Virgil thinks the day is really nice, even if Uncle is dragging his feet and sighing loudly in the background of everything they do that day. They go to the park, and have a picnic lunch, and Dad and Mom even play a game of tennis even though they’re both really bad at tennis, and Virgil gets this weird iced drink from Starbucks, and Mom is wearing this weird matching sweatsuit thing Virgil’s never seen her wear and Dad is wearing an eyesearing teal shirt and cargo shorts.

“It’s a shame we’re not in the middle of the school year, we could have taken you to a PTA meeting,” Mom chirps happily at Uncle as they pull up to a Sonic, and Uncle gives her a halfhearted glare from where he’s also stationed in the backseat.

“You’ve made your point.”

“Have we?” Mom asks, amused, turning to look at Dad, who is perusing the menu. “I’m not sure if we have.”

“Can I get a grape slushie?” Virgil asks.

“What do you say?” Dad prompts.

Virgil sighs, and says, “Can I get a grape slushie, please?”

“You sure can,” Dad declares. “What kind do you want, wifey?”

“Oh, I’m not sure, hubby,” Mom says, wiggling around to see the menu better.

That’s a thing that’s been happening today too. The really ridiculous pet names. They haven’t repeated one yet.

Eventually, everyone gets a slushie, even Uncle, and they go home, where Virgil and Dad play soccer in the yard as Mom makes lemonade from scratch, over a stove with lemons and sugar, sticky and sweet. Virgil can taste it on the air.

“Do you usually play soccer?” Uncle asks idly, and Virgil shakes his head even has he chases after Dad, who is dribbling the ball back and forth.

“Nah,” Virgil says easily.

Dad flashes a grin at Uncle, and adds, “Just figured we’d round out the whole experience, right?”

Mom comes out then, with glasses of lemonade and sections of oranges, along with last of the many tupperware containers of cookies. She’s since changed out of the sweatsuit and more into her normal attire, a button-down tucked into a pair of jean shorts, the ones Virgil helped cut the hem; he can see from how crooked they are.

Uncle sighs but takes his glass, and a cookie. “The pair of you are unsufferable as ever.”

“Aw, we love you too,” Mom says. “Virge, show me your hands.”

Virgil does, and she hands him a wet wipe to get rid of the dirt before he can grab a cookie, too.

Uncle sticks the orange piece in his mouth, looking kinda silly with the orange skin covering his teeth, giving him a big, uniform smile. Virgil does the same, enjoying the sharp-sweet taste of it.

“And, uh, sweetheart,” Mom says, and tugs lightly at Dad’s sleeve. “We… we have a kitchen issue.”

He blinks. “That’s usually more your area than mine.”

“I should rephrase,” she says. “We have a kitchen issue that’s more aligned with your side of the family’s expertise.”

Uncle stands, then, and Virgil trails after, grabbing another orange slice, and coming to a stop in the doorway.

CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK, the beetle shrieks, it’s loud, it’s louder than it’s ever been, louder and faster.

Mom, only semi-calmly, opens up the fridge door and brings out a bag.

“Marinating chicken for dinner,” Mom says. “Already rotted.” She gestured, vague. “Rotted meat, spoiled milk, rotted fruits and vegetables. Thought about making eggs for dinner, but, well. We only had a couple. Cracked one to see.” She holds up a bowl.

“No yolk,” Dad says, hushed, and exchanges glances with Uncle. He reaches out, takes another one, and cracks it.

Same thing. White and runny, no yolk.

“We went on a grocery run three days ago, this shouldn’t—” Mom begins, and rubs a hand over her eyes.

“It’s starving us out,” Uncle murmurs. “Wants us to leave.”

“Delivery,” Dad suggests, and Uncle shoots him a Look.

“You think you can outsmart it?”

“I’m not suggesting—” he began heatedly, before he cut himself off, and took a breath. “I’m not suggesting outsmarting it,” he says, calmer. “I’m considering just—ignoring it. So, we’re out of food. We’ll order a pizza. Chinese. Whatever.”

Uncle pauses, and nods, putting up his hands. “Okay,” he says. “Fine, fine. Order food in. I’m sure nothing will happen.”

They end up ordering Chinese. Waiting for the food to come, they throw out the spoiled food, and Uncle shows Virgil how to make a quarter appear and disappear in his hands, just a quick bit of sleight of hand. Trickery, instead of actual magic. Virgil thinks it’s kind of funny, but his hands aren’t quite big enough to get away with it yet.

Uncle pulls a quarter from behind his ear and flicks his fingers, making it vanish yet again. “As with all things, it never takes practice,” he says, before twisting the quarter into thin air.

Virgil nods, and soon after, the doorbell rings.

It’s another quiet meal; Mom and Dad split a huge plate of General Tso’s, while Virgil eats his honey chicken and white rice, and Uncle eats lo mein.

“Oh,” Mom says, and, “Honey, did you order cookies? We’ve still got the last of a Tupperware to get through.”

Dad blinks, peeking in. “Nope,” he says. “Must be a complimentary kind of thing. Replaces the fortune cookies, I guess. Dee, you won’t want any of these—almond and coconut.”

Uncle’s face twists, and he sticks his nose into the air in disgust.

“Have we got any chocolate?” Virgil asks, and sacrifices his almond-and-coconut restaurant cookie for extra of Mom’s, because Mom’s cookies are the best cookies.

He ignores the clicking, like he’s done for the past couple days. It gives him the same bad feeling the tea leaves had, except worse, and all Virgil can do is try to tune it out.

“Okay,” Dad says, and checks the time. “Virge, bud, it’s getting to be that time. Can I trust you to brush your teeth by yourself?”

Virgil sighs, but nods, getting up from the ground and plodding grudgingly to the bathroom. He does brush his teeth, if a bit more carelessly than he would if Dad had been watching, and changes into pajamas.

Mom and Dad come in again, this time Mom reading Guess How Much I Love You.

“Do you like your Uncle, Virgil?” Dad asks, after the story, and Virgil blinks at him.

“He’s weird,” Virgil decides. “But funny.”

Dad smiles, and smooths Virgil’s blanket over his chest. “Weird but funny,” he says. “That’s a pretty decent review, I guess. We’re twins, you know?”

“Mhm.”

“Growing up, I just had him. My Dad—” he pauses, fiddles more with the blanket’s edge, before Mom’s hand closes over his fingers. “Our father died when I was little, y’see, and our mother was never really the same after that. It was me and Dee, against the world. And your Mom, of course, but—but not quite in the same way, you know? He’s… yeah, okay, he’s weird. And a lot of people don’t really get that about him. They see the eye, and the scales, and he treats people… not quite the best, sometimes. But he really cares about me—and your Mom, though that took a bit of time, and you, of course. In his own special, weird, funny way. It’s hard to spot sometimes. But it’s still there.”

“Okay,” Virgil says.

“He kind of speaks his own language, and it takes a while to get it. Even I’m not sure I’ve got him right a hundred percent of the time. And he can be kind of… unnerving, I know. I saw your face when you got back from sunning rock this morning. I guess—” He pauses, and swallows. “I guess what I’m saying is, sometimes when someone loves you, they want the best for you. You and the person that loves you might disagree on what that is.”

“Like how?” Virgil asks, and Mom and Dad glance between each other.

“Well,” Dad says, “Like your Mom. Dee really, really didn’t want me to even date your Mom, let alone marry her.”

“What?” Virgil asks, scandalized. “But you two love each other!”

“And he sees that now,” Dad promises. “He might not… understand, but he understands. Does that make sense?”

“Nope,” Virgil says.

“What your Dad’s saying is, your Uncle’s heart’s usually in the right place, he just goes about things in a really unusual way, most of the time. And sometimes he’s really wrong about it, and you have to do what’s right for you anyways.” Mom says. “And by sometimes, I mean just sometimes. He might not show he loves you like we do, or take care of you like we do, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you. Right?”

“Right,” Virgil says, mostly just deciding to go along with it.

“And, okay, look,” Dad adds, “Most of the time, I was the one taking care of him. Dee… well, he doesn’t really quite know how to handle people. He’s not very good with people. But he still—”

“Loves me,” Virgil says. “Right.”

Dad looks… relieved? He smiles, and smooths back Virgil’s hair, leaning forwards to kiss him on the forehead.

“And I love you too,” he says. “So much.”

“Didn’t even have to prompt you into it today,” Mom teases, nudging him with her elbow so she can kiss Virgil on the forehead too. “Love you, sweetheart.”

“Love you both too,” Virgil says.

Years and years later, Virgil will be incredibly grateful that that’s the last thing he says to the pair of them that night.

Because in the midst of the night, he’s shaken awake by rough hands.

“What’s happening?” Virgil mumbles.

“It’s me,” Uncle says, gruff, and Virgil squeaks as Uncle lifts him clumsily out of bed, before sometimes scratchy’s draped over his head.

“What’s going on?”

“Do not take that off,” Uncle says sharply, and Virgil feels himself getting jostled as Uncle walks down the hallway, down the stairs.

“Why, what’s happening?” Virgil asks, anxious. “What’s going on, what’s—?”

There’s more fumbling with Virgil, a word that gets a dollar for the naughty jar, and then a blast of warm summer’s night air as Virgil is brought out, set down on the sidewalk, and at last the scratchy thing is removed from his face—

Virgil squints, bringing up a hand to avoid the wash of blue and red, the cars, the ambulance.

“What’s happened,” Virgil asks, tugging at Uncle’s pantleg, a lump growing in his throat, making his voice scratchy and desperate. “What’s going on, I don’t—”

Uncle crouches, opens up Virgil’s fist, and drops something into it.

Virgil squints, and holds his hand flat open.

It’s a beetle.

A dead one.

Virgil, all at once, understands what it means—the red and blue lights, the ambulance outside, why Uncle didn’t let him look, the beetle, the beetle, the beetle—

And Virgil—

Virgil screams.

[sarkastically]

Whole in His Way

(Since the cable I bought to try and connect the HDDs to the new computer don’t work because I’m an idiot and didn’t realize it was for laptop HDDs, I can’t get to those files yet so. Have a drabble in the Love Made Manifest world with Baze and Han interacting.)

Of all the people Luke brings to them--and there are many because Luke is bright and boisterous and people adore him, are drawn to him as though he is a fire on a cold night, even if he does seem sadder than he should sometimes, heavy almost, the weight of the Jedi lingering on him like a mark no matter how much he listens to their teachings, no matter how many times he or Chirrut tell Luke that is okay to want, that the Force thinks no less of someone for falling in love--the one that Baze thinks is the most interesting, the most perplexing is the pilot who will only call himself “smuggler” the word itself snapped off and spit out at them as though in an attempt to make them stop regarding him at all. 

Han Solo. They had heard of him before meeting him thanks to Cassian’s connections and Jyn’s ability to wheedle information out of thin air. Mostly, however, they had heard of him from Bodhi who keeps tabs on all the pilots in the galaxy he wants to emulate and counts this man among them. 

This man who slouches into corners to play card games, translating his companion’s Wookie for anyone who needs to know what is being said but often not talking at all, frowning at the cards in his hands, winning even when he doesn’t pay attention. It takes Baze several days to figure him out with his gruffness and his habit of turning around, walking away whenever someone who is not Chewie or Leia or Luke approaches him. He even wheels away from Chirrut once, his steps hastening him towards his ship, which is where he spends most of his time, twidling his thumbs and tinkering with things that probably do not need to be fixed, ignoring all the ones that do. 

Baze almost had words with him over that one until Chirrut laid a hand on his arm, steady, sure. “That one is in the habit of running. It won’t do any good to chase him; he has to choose to settle.”

“The Force clings to him like a cape,” Baze had said, and Chirrut only nodded.

“He won’t want to know.”

“Since when has that ever stopped you?”

Chirrut walked away, chuckling, sounding very much like a fool with a plan, sounding very much like he had every single day of his life.

The Force does cling to Han like a cape, though, and Baze cannot unsee it once he notices it. It swishes and glides and, strangest of all, it guides. Cassian and Jyn convince Han to partake in a shooting game, and Han is the best shot easily, distractedly, barely even paying attention to anything, like he doesn’t care, like he doesn’t even want to win, yet every shot finds home. Luke and Bodhi goad him into doing piloting tricks alongside them, and they are good but there’s something different about the way Han flies like you could give him nothing but scape metal never meant to be in the air, and he could escape on it.

“The Force is different for him,” Baze complains after dinner, his head in Chirrut’s lap, Chirrut’s fingers in his hair, brushing, placing intricate braids here and there, winding in bits and bobs that the children--Jyn and Bodhi and Cassian and Luke as much as the orphans--gift him. Leia does not seem to want more fathers, is polite and interested in learning but staunch and formal. And Han. Doesn’t seem to understand the concept of parents at all, looks at both of them like he expects them to kick him off Lyra at any moment. The Wookie is older than both of them combined, and Baze has to stop himself from using honorifics like grandfather in Jedhan when speaking to him. 

“It’s pure there,” Chirrut says simply as though Baze ought to know and tugs harder on a bit of hair than Baze thinks he needs to.

Baze huffs through his nose but does not move, waits.

Chirrut hums in something that only Baze would know is slight disappointment, and Baze wonders what reaction his husband was aiming to get. “He doesn’t know he’s using it. It bends them to him. Things just work out. He doesn’t believe in it, but.”

“The Force believes in him,” Baze finishes, catches Chirrut’s wrist mid-air to pull the hand down, place a kiss on the palm even though it leaves wisps of his hair undone. “We’ve not seen that before.”

“Neither the Whills nor the Jedi knew all the secrets of the Force, my love. To presume otherwise is foolish.”

“Like you?”

Chirrut clicks his tongue and lifts his face as though astounded by the suggestion. “Force, why did you burden me with such a man?”

“That’s not what you said the other night.”

When Chirrut moves his face back down, slightly off-center, Baze feels a thrill at the smirk stretched across his face. “Really? I don’t remember that at all.”

“No?”

“No. Not a bit.”

Threading his fingers into Chirrut’s robe to pull him down, Baze chuckles. “Perhaps I can remind you.”

The next morning finds Baze alone with the orphans, Chirrut having taken the others into the forest for meditation that morning at Luke’s request. For the most part, the orphans entertain themselves, and Baze is simply keeping an eye out to make sure that nothing goes awry while tinkering with several of the droids who need some slight repairs following Kay and Artoo’s modification battle. None of the Lyra droids need flamethrowers, for Force’s sake.

He’s just about done fixing the fourth and final flamethrower bedecked droid when he hears high pitched squeals of laughter coming from outside. Where none of the orphans are supposed to be at the moment but have obviously taken advantage of his distraction to sneak out. Wiping the grease off on his pant legs, Baze rises slowly and makes his way to the courtyard, but the sight that greets him makes him pause in the doorway.

In the center of the courtyard, surrounded by orphans, covered in them--one on his shoulders, one clamped around each of his legs, a toddler balanced on his hip as if it has always belonged there--is Han Solo. Han Solo, smuggler, killer, in it for the money, Force caped, loner, is covered in children, smiling. Baze knows people. He has always had a keen, quick eye for knowing people, for seeing through their layers to the heart of them. Chirrut has accused him of using the Force for this and maybe that is true, but Baze mostly thinks it’s because, unlike his husband, he is quiet, patient, looks, listens, studies.

Yet, he could not have suspected this facet of the man Luke brought to them, proclaiming him to be his best friend, proclaiming him to be a hero, and all Baze had seen was what Solo wanted to show them, scruffy, hard, alone. 

He should have known, really, he’s worn those clothes before.

Han’s interactions with the children tell a different story. This is a man who has interacted with children before, a lot, who likes them. Not like Jyn who took ages to warm to the orphans or Cassian who is gentle but seems to worry about breaking them. Or Leia who is always kind yet somewhat clinical and detached. Han is none of these things. Han knows how to tickle to make them laugh with glee, and is saying all the normal things one does in play. Of them all, Han reminds him most of Bodhi in this moment.

“Hey, hey. You guys have got me. Okay. I’m beat.” It’s not the voice of a man who can fire a gun without looking and never miss a shot.

And then it stops. Because Han has seen him. Han has been caught. And his teeth are locked in a grimace that makes Baze wonder what his own face looks like to elicit such an expression.

“You were losing some of them,” he says, recovering quickly. “I just thought I’d save you from having to track them through the trees.”

“You can play with them. They like you.”

“Yeah, I just.” Han has managed to step out of the arms encircling his legs without dislodging either the child on his hip or the one on his shoulders with the ease of someone familiar with such a task. “It’s probably not the best idea. You know. I’m not.”

Baze accepts the toddler when Han hands him over, watches as Han easily sets the girl from his shoulders onto the ground.

“I’m probably not a good role model for `em anyway.” Smuggler. Killer. Greedy. Swindler. Scruffy. 

Nothing.

Baze looks at him and sees his thoughts, his worries etched across his face. Baze looks at him and sees. Orphan. Oh.

When Baze claps his hand against his thigh, the children gather around him, ready and eager and listen. “Go back inside and wait for me. I won’t be long.” The rest of the children scuttle back into the main building, leaving Baze and Han standing across from each other, the toddler still in Baze’s arms, occupied with curling his fingers into Baze’s beard.

“Is that why you’ve stayed on your ship so much, Captain Solo?”

Han acts like more of a boy than even Luke, shifting his weight from foot to foot and looking at his beloved ship more than at Baze. “I don’t go in for your hocus-pocus.” And I’m a smuggler. I’ve killed people. These last things go unsaid, do not need to be said because Baze knows them already. How Han thinks he is a bad person unfit to be around the children. How Han thinks any set of commitments could turn ugly without any notice. How he doesn’t know whether or not he should run. How he doesn’t want to.

How afraid he is of that fact.

“That’s okay,” Baze says, and he means it. The Force believes in Han. Baze has always believed even when he was angry and resentful, he knew it was there. Han has never known the Force as the Force. He has known it as always getting through by the skin of his teeth, Baze will not destroy the kind of faith he has by naming it. That’s not his place.

Han rubs a hand on the back of his neck, his eyes still on anything but Baze. “Look. I’m not. I’m not saying that Luke can’t manage to do exceptional things. I just. I don’t know how they work.” And I’m scared to know how they work.

“Captain Solo, you do not owe us an explanation of what you do or do not believe.” There is no handbook for this kind of interaction. Baze does not know quite what he is trying to assuage. With Jyn, he knows that she wants people to listen and help her understand feelings that are too big for her. Bodhi needs help finding his way out of the panic-stricken portions of his mind that can be too much sometimes. Cassian needs help admitting that he needs help. 

Han stands there, lost but whole in his own way because he has had enough years to make himself into something even if he doesn’t seem to like whatever it is he has made. This is me, he almost seems to say, and I don’t like it either but you cannot take it away from me.

No, Baze thinks, and he doesn’t really want to because whatever Han has made himself, he knows to be gentle with children.

“You’re an orphan,” Baze says.

The way Han’s shoulders snap up is the answer before even the words, which could be the opening to a duel if Baze was another person, the one before the death and the coming back. “Yeah.”

“You’re good with them. Would you like to help me until the others come back?”

Han’s mouth, once stretched thin like something ready to tear, falls open, and his eyes are wide, vulnerable. Baze can almost see him as a boy then before he closes his mouth and looks away. And nods. “I can do that. For you. I can do that.”

“Thank you, Captain Solo.” Baze turns to walk back into the building.

It takes a moment longer than he expected because Han seems to do everything in his own time, but it comes. Like he knew it would. “Han.”

[andaneum]

No Longer Alone: A Reylo Fanfic Chapter 5 FB

3 years earlier…

           A persistent flashing light woke Rey from her sleep, blinding in the darkness of the hut. Fortunately, the large, warm body she’d been resting on didn’t also respond to the bright light as she picked herself up and lifted her sleeve to see what was happening.

           The binary beacon that Leia had given her to find her way home was pulsing red, meaning that she’d sent out her own personal distress code and her friends were in danger. It was the code that was only used when things were so desperate, there seemed to be almost no hope.

           Rey’s first instinct was just to jump in a ship and fly back to the Supremacy, hoping that the Resistance hadn’t travelled so far that she’d no longer be able to sense them in the area. But she forced herself to stop and rethink.

          It had taken them so many hours to reach Ahch-To before. Even if she left immediately, it was unlikely she’d reach her friends in time to help. And besides, she had other commitments now. She turned her head to look down at Ben’s face.

          He was so peaceful in sleep, with all the anger and turmoil vanishing as though they’d never been there at all. If he woke here to find her gone, he’d see it as a betrayal of her promises. He wouldn’t accept her explanations, his world was too black and white to accept her own variations of grey.

           She left the hut, the cold wind of the planet hitting her hard and focusing her thoughts, and moved towards their ship. The lights lifted automatically as she entered, reacting to her presence. She removed the bracelet and attached it to the main console. With a few commands to the ship, it began transmitting Leia’s distress signal across the galaxy.

           Hopefully, with the ships modern technology and upgrades, it would be able to reach far enough for her. Hopefully, Chewie would hear their message.

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           It only took a day from their arrival for Rey to begin feeling the flickering of Ben’s consciousness from the other side of the bond. It was faint, his thoughts hadn’t quite returned to him yet, but she knew it wouldn’t take long for him to be fully conscious again. Clearly, they had underestimated him and how long it would take to break out of Luke’s hold.

           As childish and undeserved as it was, she felt annoyed with him for cutting her time with her master so short. They may not have always seen eye to eye, and it was true that she still blamed him many things, but Luke had spent the last twenty-four hours slowly guiding her through the basics of blocking her mind from others.

          ‘Imagine a wall in your mind, let it surround your thoughts.’ He instructed her.

          ‘She gave him a disbelieving look, ‘Is that it? Just a wall?’

          Luke rolled his eyes at his young pupil in that annoying way he did whenever he thought she was being purposely obtuse.

          ‘No. It’s only the beginning, the first line of your defences. Within your walls you must create a maze, hiding your most precious secrets deep inside it. Those memories with less importance become obstacles, used to trick and divert anyone who would want to delve deeper.’

          It was still very early, but at least she now felt that she had the tools to build something with. In time, she was sure she would be able to keep Ben out completely, if she ever needed to.

           And so together, they began the task of getting him onto the ship, gently bundling him up in blankets then levitating him up the ramp, paying special care not to jostle his still healing injuries.

           ‘Rey.’ She heard Ben slowly groan out her name as they moved him, his voice sounding pained as he did so. It wouldn’t be long before he woke up.

           She settled him on the ship’s lone bunk, concerned that he still looked to be in pain despite not moving, before she headed back outside and turned to face her Jedi master, ‘We need to go. But, thank you.’

           ‘It’s the least I could do for you both.’ His eyes were fond as he looked over the ship that now held his nephew. ‘You were right about him. There’s still a light there that I’d given up on ever seeing again. Let’s hope that now you have him on this path, he can stay there.’

           Luke would never understand the depth of her desire to make that happen, not for her own sake, but for the countless lives that could be lost if Ben chose the dark side again. Kylo Ren was someone she would not allow to return to the galaxy.

           ‘And what about you?’ She asked.

           Luke shrugged his shoulders tightly, ‘Ah, you know me. I’ll always be here.’

           ‘You won’t go back to the Resistance? Leia could still do with your help rebuilding.’

           Rey still remembered how excited Leia had seemed at the idea of getting her brother back. It broke her heart a little to know that she hadn’t been able to persuade him of his importance to the Resistance. He was a legend, and his legacy had inflamed the hopes of so many across the galaxy.

          ‘I still have much to atone for, my place is here. You’re so young, but one day you’ll understand.’ Her instincts told her that he was hiding something, that he wasn’t only talking about his mistakes with Ben, but it wasn’t her place to pry further. She could only leave him with these words.

          ‘Then, may the force be with you, Master Skywalker.’

          ‘And with you.’ He responded with a smile. It had been too long since he’d last heard those words, and he let the meaning of them wash over him as he watched her walking away. There was light once more in the galaxy, and his only hope was that the balance wouldn’t shift once more if they learned of what he and his sister had done to ensure this.

          She boarded the ship and prepared it for take-off, harder to do without a co-pilot beside her. They lifted away, and she saw her master holding up his mechanical hand to her in farewell.

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          ‘No!’ Ben jerked upright in his bunk, flinching from the pain of his cracked ribs before tossing his head around wildly, looking for some unseen threat. It took him a moment to regain his bearings. She looked over her shoulder at him, and once he saw her there he relaxed a little, scrubbing his hand roughly down his face.

          ‘I’m here. How are you feeling?’ She asked.

          His voice was still rough from sleep and disuse, ‘Like hell. What happened?’

          ‘That depends on what you last remember…’ She replied sheepishly. She could feel his mind try to enter her own, but the tightening of what little defences she had alerted him to what he was doing. He withdrew. Snoke had always instructed him to never place a rein on his powers and it was a behaviour he’d have to force himself to unlearn.

          ‘We were in the throne room, and there was… an explosion maybe? After that there’s nothing.’ He took a proper look at his surroundings, ‘I’ve missed something, this isn’t the Supremacy. How did we get here?’

          Good, he didn’t remember anything about their escape or sojourn on Ahch-To.

          ‘It’s Snoke’s escape pod, well, ship I suppose. He didn’t really do things by halves did he?’ Ben looked unimpressed by her comment as she became distracted by the modern electronics and tech surrounding them. He supposed it had been some time since she’d seen mechanics like these, if she ever had.

          She slowly came back to herself, remembering that she wasn’t alone, ‘Sorry. I got you into the ship and we got away. Luckily for us, the First Order were too busy with the Resistance and their fleet being destroyed to notice Snoke’s ship jettisoning away. I think they might have had one or two questions if they’d seen us. I patched you up as best I could, but you’ve been out for a couple of days now.’

          He looked confused for a second, ‘What do you mean, their ships were destroyed?’

          ‘That’s the thing, I don’t know. They looked as though they’d been torn apart, most of them were just completely split in two. And there was this strange white trail going right through the middle, that must have been what caused everything. But the Resistance don’t have that kind of weaponry, so how…?’ Her voice trailed off.

          He thought it over in his mind, ‘They must have jumped their main craft to lightspeed, right through the centre of the fleet. It’s the only explanation for the white trail and the destruction of that many ships at once. Their main ship was the only one they had that would have been big enough to do that kind of damage.’

          ‘It wasn’t Leia was it?’ He could practically taste her fear.

          For a moment, it seemed as though he wouldn’t tell her. He didn’t want to tell her. It was humiliating that even after all these years he still couldn’t shake the bond between himself and his mother. But he at least owed the girl this, especially as it seemed she’d saved his life in the throne room.

          ‘It wasn’t, I can still feel her. She’s alive, somewhere.’

          ‘Is she safe?’ She continued.

          ‘I neither know, nor wish to know.’ He was ending the conversation there, his mother still a touchy subject for him. His priority now was making sure she hadn’t done something foolish of while he’d been unconscious, ‘Where are we heading?’

          ‘I don’t know, I was hoping that you might have some ideas.’

          ‘So, we’ve spent the last few days just floating around in space? What were you planning on doing if I hadn’t woken up?’ His face was a mix of shock and frustration. She’d just been flying around, hoping that they wouldn’t be picked up by anyone?

          ‘Don’t give me that look.’ She said angrily, ‘I’ve spent most of my life on Jakku, what makes you think I know anything about the galaxy? I had no idea which planets would be safe for us, considering that we’re fugitives flying a stolen First Order ship.’

          Her words sounded sincere enough, but in truth, she hadn’t even looked at a map. In the few hours since leaving Ahch-To, her sole aim had been to get away from the planet, hoping that by the time Ben woke up he wouldn’t be able to recognise the sector they were in from Luke’s unfinished map.

          He got up gingerly from the bunk, releasing a hiss as a sharp pain gripped his side. He lifted his shirt to see a large purple bruise mottling his skin. His ribs had been injured, at least severely bruised judging from the pain he was in. Rey got up to support and help him over to the co-pilot’s seat, where he pressed a few buttons, and a galactic map appeared in front of them.

          Luckily, as Snoke’s apprentice, he’d always had a contingency plan formed in case he’d needed to run from the order. He’d seen it as an inevitably, rather than a precaution. He studied the map, working out the best route for them to take. ‘It looks like we’re here, in the Unknown Regions.’ He pointed to the far left of the map, ‘I suggest that we head to Coruscant.’

          ‘Coruscant?’ She said incredulously, ‘You really think we’ll be safe there?  There are billions of people there, if any of them recognise us, we’re dead!’

          ‘Actually, there’s over a trillion,’ He said absently, ‘Look, whatever the Resistance managed to destroy with their stunt doesn’t matter. The First Order has ships stationed all over the galaxy to track us with and if we’ve been sitting here for two days, then they’ve likely taken the chance to regroup. That means they’ll have already sent search parties out to find us. If Hux is in charge now then regardless of where he thinks my loyalties lie, he’ll be trying to kill me. With so many people there, Coruscant is the perfect place for two fugitives to blend in.’

          She couldn’t argue with his logic, though the idea of being surrounded by so many people still worried her.

          ‘Trust me. I wouldn’t put you in harm’s way, I swear.’ He was looking at her straight in the eye, and whatever she was about to say died in her mouth.

          ‘Okay.’

          ‘First we need to get a new ship. If anyone from the First Order finds us in this, they’ll take us in straight away.’ He searched the map for somewhere they could safely trade a stolen ship but being so far away from the Mid and Inner Rims, their choices were limited.

          ‘There are two planets we could go to. One’s called Csilla, but it’s not ideal.’ He pointed to a planet above their current position. ‘It’s a bit out of the way, and the people there aren’t particularly trusting of outsiders, but that’s not my biggest worry.’ She waited for him to continue, ‘They’re smart and cunning. It’s not unlikely that if they see us in this ship, they’ll recognise it immediately and alert the First Order.’

          ‘Then that planet’s out.’ She said firmly, ‘I didn’t drag you out of a burning ship and spend two days patching you up just for us to be captured straight away. What’s the other option?’

          He was silent for a moment, ‘You’re not going to like it.’

          She raised an eyebrow at him.

          ‘It’s Jakku.’ All the breath left her in a rush. She’d never thought she’d go back there once she’d left, especially not so soon. She’d left so much of herself behind there, so much of her past.

          He turned back to the map, determination set upon his face. He’d sensed her distress through the bond, even though she had hidden it from her face. ‘I’m setting course for Csilla.’

          But she’d grown so much since she’d left, she knew she was strong enough for this. ‘No, no. We go wherever’s safest. That’s Jakku. The scavengers there won’t care where this ship came from, only how much they can get for the parts. And the First Order has no hold there.’

          ‘Yes, it’s perfect, except that you clearly can’t hold it together. Even the mention of that damn wasteland and you become useless. We’re going to Csilla.’

          She slapped his hands away from the controls. ‘I’m fine.’ She said through gritted teeth, ‘And we’re going to Jakku.’

          He once again reached to input the coordinates for Csilla, but his hand froze before he could touch the control panel. She was using her powers to stop him. His hand began shaking with the effort of trying to break her hold on him, but he couldn’t. Her raw strength was incredible.

          Eventually he gave up, jerking his hand back to his body. He wasn’t used to being at the mercy of the force, it had only ever been Snoke who’d held such power over him. He could see the smug grin she was trying to fight, and it infuriated him. He stood up slowly, still mindful of his injuries.

          ‘Fine. Do what the hell you want, but I won’t be helping you when something happens.’ He leaned in close to her face, his voice menacing and low when he spoke, but she wouldn’t be cowed by him. She knew he couldn’t hurt her. ‘And don’t you EVER do that to me again.’ He stormed away from the cockpit.

          But she couldn’t help herself, ‘Maybe if you stopped being such an arse, then I wouldn’t have to!’ She shouted over her shoulder to him, quickly regretting it as she realised how childish she was acting. She sighed, just another conversation between them that had devolved into threats and insults. How were they going to do this?

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          It took them several hours to reach Jakku, with Ben quickly returning to his bunk. But Rey was grateful for the silence, needing a break from his unpredictable moods. She could hear him tossing and turning from her seat, seemingly in the throes of yet another nightmare, but she was unwilling to go to him. She was sure he wouldn’t appreciate knowing that she’d seen him like this.

          She landed their ship on the outskirts of one of Niima Outpost’s multiple junk trader lots and began moving noisily around the cabin. But, it wasn’t until she lowered the noisy hydraulic ramp though that he woke up and began to prepare himself for the planet’s surface.

          With no change of clothes and only being able to remove their outermost layers due to burning, they were both woefully underprepared for the heat after the cold of space. It hit them like a wall and sweat immediately began beading on their foreheads as they left the ship.

          It was only a matter of seconds before they spotted a trader walking slowly towards them. He was human, and Rey recognised him immediately as one of Plutt’s associates, often using the parts she’d scavenged to patch up his ships.

          She’d been considering leaving Ben to get them a new ship to run an errand, not sure if he would be okay with the haggling that naturally came to trading on backwater planets such as these. But on seeing the trader, she’d made up her mind.

          ‘Can you take care of this?’ She asked.

          He looked confused, ‘Where are you going?’

          ‘We’re going to be here for a few hours and I have someone I want to see. I left her without saying goodbye.’ She could see his reluctance, ‘I won’t be far.’ She added.

          ‘Don’t take too long.’ Even though it was completely irrational, he didn’t want her wandering around alone, not now she had him with her. But she could protect herself well enough and he could hardly deny her this one thing before she left with him.

          She turned, and not far in the distance, she spotted an old woman attending to the few plants she’d been able to grow in front of her home. Syndal was the only healer in the small settlement and had always watched over Rey from afar.

          She was also known at the Outpost for being somewhat of a mystery. She had visions sometimes, premonitions. Before, Rey had just believed her to be crazy, but now that she had more knowledge of the force, she was certain that Syndal was a force sensitive too.

          She was also the closest thing to a mother that Rey could remember having.

          She approached her slowly, and the old woman looked up, eyes narrowed against the glaring sun, before returning to her plants when she saw who it was ‘You’ve been gone for a while. Everyone thought you’d been eaten by the birds.’

          Rey laughed, ‘Did you?’

          ‘No. I knew better.’ Syndal said solemnly, and the laughs died in Rey’s throat as she took in her words. At least someone on Jakku had believed in her enough to think she wasn’t dead.

          ‘So, where did you go?’ the old woman continued.

          Rey was unsure exactly how much of her story it was safe to share. Syndal may have been the only person she’d been close to on Jakku, but that didn’t mean she trusted her.

          ‘I just… left.’

          The woman once again looked up at the young girl before her, her eyes scrutinising and making Rey feel as though her secrets were being laid bare. The seconds felt like hours before Syndal sniffed and continued talking. ‘No one just leaves this place, girl. But if you’re keeping things close to your chest then that’s up to you. Anyway, if you finally managed to get away, I’m wondering more why you’ve come back?’

          ‘We need a new ship. Ours is… well, let’s just say there’s some people who might be wanting it back.’ Not exactly a lie, but not the full truth either. Better to let the old woman think they’d just stolen the ship from someone than tell her everything that had happened since she’d left Jakku.

          ‘We?’ Her tone didn’t even sound surprised, more curious than anything else.

          ‘Yeah, just me and a…’ How could she finish that sentence? She could barely wrap her own mind around the truth, let alone try to explain it to someone else. It had been a very confusing few weeks. ‘He’s a friend.’

          She hummed knowingly. Not much got past the old woman.

          Syndal squinted into the distance, using her gnarled hand to shield her eyes from the harsh midday sun, ‘Handsome friend you got there. In this situation, I’d normally ask the girl if she was leaving here willingly, but you can take of yourself. Besides, if you’ve got someone coming after you over that ship then it can’t hurt to have an extra pair of hands on board.’

          Rey smiled gratefully, happy that the old woman cared enough to think of asking yet respected her enough not to ask. But she hadn’t come here to discuss her current situation.

          ‘Syndal…’

          ‘I know, I know.’ The old woman waved her off, before she stood upright, stretching out her back with several loud cracks and moved inside. When she returned a few moments later, she was carrying a small brown sack.

          ‘I couldn’t get everything, but what was left behind after the scavengers went through it is in here.’

          Rey took the bag from her and peered into it. What was left of her home, fifteen years of her life on the planet all condensed into a sack. There was barely anything in it, and what was there were only the things with no monetary value.

          ‘Thank you, truly.’ She said, and the old woman nodded in return.

          ‘Did you…?’ Something in the back of her head began to bristle. She sensed him before she saw whatever it was that had sparked his ire. Without a thought, she turned and started running as fast as she could to where Ben was stood, the trader cowering on the ground in front of him. The sand sucked her feet down with every step, making it all the harder to get to him before he did something stupid.

          She skidded to a stop in front of him, holding her hands out in front of his face. She looked to his clenched fists, grateful that she’d insisted he leave his lightsaber behind to avoid drawing attention.

          ‘STOP! Whatever it is you’re doing, Ben, just stop!’ She shouted breathlessly.

          ‘Get out of the way.’ He growled. He started to move past her, but his footsteps were faltering. She was using her powers on him again. This time though, he had his anger and the pain from his injuries to fuel his own, and he broke out of her hold easily.

          ‘I told you to never do that again!’ He shouted at her.

          ‘You need to stop. This is ridiculous, every time I turn around you’re…’ He’d begun to move past her again, determined to get to the man behind her. She reached out, grabbing his uncovered hand, and everything stopped.

          It was as though she’d been sucked into his mind, seeing everything from his perspective. Their thoughts overlapped, and she could barely tell anymore where he ended, and she began. The trader was no longer cowering on the floor, but rather stood proudly in front of her. He was rambling, extolling the virtues of a ship that, as any trained eye could easily tell, seemed to be missing several key components. It was garbage, and both she and Ben knew it.

          Ben’s head twisted round, bored by the man who obviously didn’t know when to stop talking.

          What was he doing? Oh, she thought. He was keeping an eye on her. He didn’t trust the people here and he was humouring the trader because his lot was perfectly positioned to continue watching her.

          ‘So, you’re taking the scavenger with you?’ The trader had finally noticed his customer’s disinterest, choosing to change the subject to common ground since he knew that Rey was with him. Ben turned back to him, his face neutral.

          ‘What do you mean?’

          ‘Just that she’s a good choice. Girls round here will do anything for a few portions. And that one, she’s feisty. I tried her myself, a few years ago. Got what I needed from her, but she’s not my usual type. She might work for you though, you look like you might enjoy the challenge!’ He began laughing, but Ben didn’t join in.

          His fun soon ended, his hands moving to grasp his throat. He was clawing at it furiously, his air supply completely cut off by Ben’s mental grip on him. He was lifted from his feet, slowly rising to be level with his captor, before being dropped unceremoniously to the sands. Something had caught Ben’s attention. It was her, running to him.

          And, just as suddenly as it had come, her view of the past ended. She was sucked back into her own mind, her own body, doubled over and gulping down huge lungfuls of air.

          But Ben had recovered more quickly than her, and he was already storming away. He’d seen something, just as she had, and it scared her to think what it could have been. She went to reach out again but stopped herself. She didn’t want another vision to occur if she touched him.

          She gathered her strength, still unsteady from her ordeal, and chased him down again. It was a small blessing that, even with his powers fuelling him, he was slower than usual.

          ‘What did you see?’ He ignored her.

          ‘Ben, so help me. I will jump in the ship and leave without you if you don’t fucking stop!’

          That caught his attention, but it made her feel immediately guilty. Using the threat of abandoning him was never something she’d wanted to do, not since she’d felt in the throne room just how deep his insecurities ran.

          He stopped, breathing deeply as he tried to control his actions, and she moved to stand in front of him. ‘What did you see?’ She said, much more calmly this time.

          His eyes screwed closed, as though he couldn’t stop replaying the images in his head, but despising himself for doing so, ‘It was… I saw… some creature. He had his hands all over you. He wanted you.’ She knew without him saying the name exactly who he was referring to. It was Plutt.

          She wanted to tell him that nothing had happened, that as soon as Plutt had tried to start something with her, she hadn't hesitated to beat him senseless, that she'd only returned to working for him because she'd had no choice and he'd needed her. But she was certain Ben had already seen that in the vision, and yet he was still seething. How could she get him to calm down? 

          ‘Ben…’

          ‘He can’t have you, you’re mine.’ His eyes flashed open, and the possession in both them and his voice frightened her.

          She tried to put her own feelings aside, wanting her mind to be clear as she finally expressed her thoughts, ‘We can’t do this. Every time I turn around you’re doing… something! Even when you’re calm, and you seem happy, I’m worried that something will happen to upset you, and you… you just change so suddenly, Ben. I can’t spend the rest of my life always watching you to make sure you’re not trying to kill someone. We’re just going around in circles.’

          The fight left him a little at that. He went to speak, but she stopped him.

          ‘You won’t argue with me on this. I know what he did, I was there, remember?’ She said with a small, forced smile. ‘But you don’t see me running to find him, as much as I may want to.’

          She took a step closer, finally feeling brave enough to grasp at his still clenched fist. ‘You told me in the throne room that I needed to let my past go. And I have. When we leave here today, that’ll be it. I won’t be coming back again. Everything I’m taking with me is in this bag.’ She raised the small sack she was still holding onto, ‘A few trinkets that the scavengers didn’t even think were worthy of stealing. All the bad memories I have of this place will be buried. But you need to do the same. Can you let it go?’

          His reply was instant, he knew that she could ask him nearly anything and he would agree to it, ‘I can try.’

          She shook her head at him, ‘No, that’s not good enough. I need you to swear to me that you will. You’re not a child anymore, and I won’t be your babysitter for the rest of my life.’

          ‘I swear. For you.’

          It frightened her, how much she believed his vow. Everything about their situation frightened her, though she’d never admit it aloud. The depths of his emotions were astounding, especially given that they’d only been on speaking terms for a few weeks now. He’d needed someone to place all his feelings of loneliness and abandonment on, hoping that they could fix him, and now they had this force bond between them, she had become his emotional crutch.

          But looking back on their times together, even before they’d run away, she couldn’t help but think that she was encouraging him, and maybe even doing the same thing.

          ‘From now on, when you feel yourself losing control, you come find me. No matter when it is, or where I am. I won’t let innocent people die because you can’t control yourself.’

          He nodded slowly, knowing that he was being chided but not caring how much she was treating him like a child. ‘And what do we do about him?’

          She looked down at the trader in disgust. He hadn’t moved from the ground, and Rey wondered if that was through fear or Ben’s own powers forcing him to stay still. ‘Nothing. We leave him, there are plenty of other traders around here prepared to give us a ship. He’s nothing to us.’

          Ben nodded slowly in understanding, then suddenly crumpled in half. Now that his anger had subsided, he was left with only the pain from his injuries, protesting strongly at his recent exertions. Rey threw his arm over her shoulder, pulling him up to standing with only a small groan for him.

          ‘You should go back to the ship.’

          ‘I’m fine.’ He said stoically.

          They began walking away, but there was something still bothering him, ‘Was he telling the truth? Did he…?’ He couldn’t even bring himself to say the words, trying to stop himself imagining a young Rey, willing to do anything to alleviate the pain and hunger that came from living in such harsh surroundings.

          ‘No, but would it matter if he was?’ She asked, curious as to how he’d reply.

          ‘No.’ He said, ‘I’m learning to let it go, remember?’

          Was that supposed to be an attempt at humour? The small smile she saw on his lips indicated that it was. It was dreadful, she thought. But the fact that he was making an effort was such a step for him, a show that he was willing to try. She was sure it had been a very long time since he’d last been able to smile, and she decided to play along with him.

          ‘I should think so. But you know that ship he was trying to sell you? It was terrible. I mean, really, it was awful! Even a child could have told you it was a piece of garbage.’

          ‘Well then, if you think you can do better scavenger, lead the way.’ And for the first time she felt as though he wasn’t using that word as an insult, that to him, it was just who she was.

Chapter 6

[transmascgarak]

The Last jedi Review

I’ll try and keep this fairly structured, for my sake if not for anyone else. 

Spoilers below the cut, and it’s a long post. 

The Good

Every other reviewer has it right; the last half hour absolutely helps to make up for the other 2 hours. I can actually pinpoint the moment that the movie shifted from ‘Rather Mediocre’ to ‘Mediocre but Pretty’; when General Holdo sacrifices herself and blows up the First Order ship at light speed. Shot in silence and in slow motion, it was legitimately stunning. Someone gasped and honestly? Same. 

I love Rose! She’s so sweet and determined and I can’t wait to see more of her character. 

I’m glad Poe got a bit more screen time, but more on that later. 

Finn’s knowledge of the FO still being useful? Nice. 

The battle sequences weren’t too difficult to follow, and the last one especially was well shot so like, kudos to whoever did the screenplay for that. 

There’s a brief moment where Kylo is knocked out and Hux is standing over him. He reaches for his blaster, but then Kylo moves and Hux drops his arm. Me and my brother were the only ones who laughed at that, but it was a fun moment. 

Billie Lourd did really well for the small part they gave her, and honestly I’d love to see more of her character. 

The little kiddo at the end with the tiniest hint that he has the force. That was a nice moment. 

The cinematography for Rey’s dark-side sequence was stunning. 

When Leia and Luke talked to each other right near the end had me tearing up; a really sweet moment.  

Rey’s sardonic mutter of ‘Lifting rocks’ dragged a chuckle from a few of us. The following sequence was pretty neat too. 

Snoke’s throne room looked cool, I guess. 

Actually the fight with Rey and Kylo vs the Guards was fun to watch.

When Phasma’s helmet was split? Nice. 

When Hux said something like ‘Do you think you got him?’

A counter point: They hadn’t, and I was laughing. 

Mark Hamill’s glare when he drank that green milk was gold. Not sure if it was aimed solely at Rey though. 

Someone ‘Aww’ed at one of the crystal-fox things that made a few of us laugh. 

Can you tell I’m nitpicking

The Bad

hooo boy. where do I start? 

The characterisation of a few major roles were a mess. 

Kylo was constantly called a child, even though he’s over thirty, and his ‘conflict’ literally hinged on a brief moment when he didn’t pull the trigger to kill Leia. He brought Rey to Snoke, and I honestly couldn’t pinpoint his motivations to kill Snoke at the last moment. Were they to protect Rey so he could have her as an ally? Maybe. More on him in a second though. 

Luke would never kill a teenager in cold blood, so fuck you Rian. I know the narration says Luke wouldn’t anyway, but that would not have been the case and we all know it. He offered Rey no support in how to counteract the dark side at all? Like it was obvious she’d never had any training, so to not actually tell her or instruct her??? I can understand that self-loathing and survivor’s guilt can be all consuming, but. His character before would never have left them alone. The fact it took him being cajoled into helping was a bit :/

They can justify it all they want but Rey wouldn’t forgive Kylo for his shit. Kidnapping her, torturing her and her friends, killing a father figure? Not even a few days ago? Nah mate. 

Snoke was a generic villain, and played like a melodramatic panto villain at that. I can respect Andy Serkis for trying to milk it, but really? Really? This is the Big Bad? The Ultimate Sith Lord? 

The way characters were handled in the narrative was downright dodgy. Did I say dodgy? No, I meant racist!

The fixation on Kylo was interesting I guess, but to take it to that extent was A Bit Much, and was to the detriment of other characters. NOT TO MENTION that the narrative is literally trying to paint him as this conflicted soul after he’s been a part of a fascist organisation that’s wiped out billions in one fell swoop, killed his classmates, captured and tortured main characters... Rian Johnson is a Kylo Ren fan, and by god it shows. The entire Kylo plot was garbage.  

Finn being pushed to the side and not treated like a main character? Blatant racism. Him being tazed and slapped and called selfish? Racism. We’re supposed to laugh and nod and agree? FUCK that

Poe Dameron being a hot-headed, dangerous fighter vs. calm white women. Seriously. 

Honestly the above point would have been more palatable if Holdo was replaced with Lando Calrissian. Lando - with a more tangible past with the rebellion for those who have only seen the films, and was the posterchild for ‘Think before you do’- would have been a much more interesting foil for Poe than the one we got.  

Paige Tico was mentioned with almost the same level of advertisement as Rose, but she was in one scene and died. Honestly I wish we’d have seen more of her :/ 

A counter: Rose needed more advertisement. 

Leia could have been used a lot more. I don’t know if it was an issue with filming, but her character definitely took a back seat. 

We’d better get an explanation for that force bond. Seriously? Seriously??? How does it work? Why those two if they’re not related?  People - in fandom and outside of it - will see it as romantic, and... lord please no. Kylo literally uses abusive rhetoric to keep her, “You’re nothing [...] but not to me.” He uses her past against her in that moment, and tries to isolate her from everyone else by insisting that he can see her true worth or whatever such bullshit. 

The plot was a little convoluted to say the least. 

Seeing Adam Driver shirtless was Not Welcome lmao 

speaking of WHAT was THAT, Rian? That substitute cow? 

Rey cried a lot in this; that wasn’t just me right? Like pristine-tear-trails-down-the-cheeks-crying at least three times? 

No seriously what was the force bond. What was that. 

Fucking yoda was there. Where was Anakin?

The Ehh

I actually like Luke force-ghosting his way out. I am sad about Luke dying, but it honestly felt in line with his character at that point. It also gave us a rather spectacular moment at the end. 

I’ve seen people call a certain moment the ‘Mary Poppins’, and yeeeah. It was absolutely corny, but in all honesty it was just so refreshing to see Leia use the force in such a way.     

Rey not being a Skywalker... I can’t quite articulate what I feel. Lowkey disappointed, highkey confused because they had so much set up in TFA, but at the end of the day, it’s maybe time the Skywalker legacy passed to someone else. 

Laura Dern did well with what she had, but honestly other than the last half hour, she was literally a walking counterpoint to Poe. I’ll admit I haven’t read the comics, but from the film alone, she just... Comes out of nowhere. 

The Finn/Rose relationship was rushed as all hell, and put next to the amount of time Rey and Kylo are shown to have some sort of force bond(?!) just screams racism to not have the white woman in an interracial relationship with a black man. It seems iffy you guys. 

The casino plotline could have been cut (156 minutes. 156.) but I can understand why they did it. 

Counterpoint: Benicio Del Toro’s character was kinda dull. 

Finn almost sacrificing himself to save the others has left me torn. I did appreciate the parallel with Poe at the beginning of the film though. 

The repeated motif of Hope was cheesy as all hell, but I can live with it. 

The final final fight between Kylo and Luke made me laugh because it literally looked like a Mortal Kombat screenshot. Don’t get me wrong, it was pretty, but it was lacking in health bars. 

The porg were cute, and the moment when one balefully stares up at Chewie for eating another got a laugh from us all

Overall, it was a reasonable film, but my god those flaws are difficult to ignore. 

[yahoosodapop]

The flaws in The Last Jedi

I love the movie.  It was surprisingly deep after you get over the initial shock and overwhelming sensation of being thrust multiple concepts in a span of 2.45 hours.

Seems like the vocal ‘minority’ is all over the online reviews for this movie.  I say vocal because I’ve seen this thing happen so many times...when a certain group doesn’t want like something the actively trash metacritic or any other public review systems.   So I’ve learned to ignore it.

But let’s be honest, the movie is without its flaws.

Let’s go through the 3 major plot points and what I felt was lacking in them:

1.  Resistance on the run

Leia is grooming Poe to lead.  She say’s it herself when she berates him about his decision to sacrifice a very hefty chunk of their fleet to a ill-thought of bombing run.

“I see dead heroes.  No leaders.”

Cut to Admiral Holdo, who Poe appears to woo over but eventually she shuts him out - asking him to be patient and trust the leadership.  Poe doesn’t trust her and in turn instigates a mutiny on board.

I was...WTF Poe?!?

I get it, this story arc was learning about leadership.  But at some point, he is insufferable.  Being all flirty and cocky to get on Holdo’s good side and once she spurred him, he ended up as a mutineer.   They played his cocky pilot without a brain scenario too much that Oscar Isaac’s face can no longer save me from being annoyed at his character.

When Holdo sacrificed herself in the end...WOW...that was the leader that the resistance truly needed.  She had a plan all along.  It’s too bad that Poe is now the leader of the rebels...after having such a fantastic character with Holdo, I feel let down.  Bring back Holdo!  I don’t care about Akbar, Holdo is much better!

This whole sequence...I don’t know --- I found it boring, irritating and I just wanted to get it over.

2.  Canto Bight

Finn wakes up...

Where is Rey?   Where is Rey?   Where is Rey?   Where is Rey?   Where is Rey?   Where is Rey?  Where is Rey?   Where is Rey?   Where is Rey?   Where is Rey?   Where is Rey?   Where is Rey?    Where is Rey?   Where is Rey?

And later on it turned to...

I’m doing this so I can run away with Rey.   I’m doing this so I can run away with Rey.   I’m doing this so I can run away with Rey.   I’m doing this so I can run away with Rey.   I’m doing this so I can run away with Rey. 

Again it was annoying.  

Finn held no allegiance to anyone except himself and Rey.  To some extent, DJ was introduced as a parallel to Finn --- having no allegiance to anyone except himself and money.   DJ is the man that Finn could become.  A coward.

Parts of the Canto Bight sequence felt too long and too unnecessary.   That whole bit about the racing creatures, the kids, the chase sequence...it felt too long.   And when they get to the ship it gets boring --- even when they land on the Snoak’s ship...it just felt dull overall.

DJ could have been an excellent character.   He could have delivered the war duality on a better level (Lord knows Benico Del Toro has the acting chops  for anything)...perhaps had they talked more in the prison cell rather than all the other things that happened in Canto Bight that might have made more sense.  But that much needed duality discussion on the ship and later on Snoak’s ship- fell flat.  In the end most people do not need to question the status quo.  It is what, it is.  Bad guys and good guys.

And Rose...really a fantastic character who had a big crush on Finn due to his heroic exploits.  I loved the moment when she shocked Finn ~ you go girl!!!  

She gives some interesting insights on Canto Bight...but once again it falls flat.   She delivers one of the best lines in the movie in the end as she saves Finn --- and I find myself asking...what has he ever done to deserve that from you because ‘Rey! Rey Rey! Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey!!!!’

And the fight with Phasma...it was so anti-climactic that I am so sad they had wasted Gwendoline Christie.   Once again...Finn wins by pure luck.  It wasn’t a showdown of epic proportions --- it was accidental whimper to the end.

And I am getting annoyed by BB-8 deus ex machina droid.  Not even R2 could have done those miracles.

Finn in TLJ is no different from Finn in TFA.  I’m expecting his first line to Rey in the third movie as "Run away with me, Rey.”

3.  The balance and the Force

a.k.a The real story that Rian Johnson wanted to tell but somehow he had to talk about the other guys too...

I’m not going to talk about Reylo here because that is the best part of the movie for me - and you can see how much Rian Johnson enjoyed himself with that but let’s get down to business - the people who are hating the movie have reasons that all boil down to Luke’s characterization (not exactly the ‘abusive’ ship known as Reylo *gasp*!!!)

The first time I watched it, I was upset that Rian Johnson dragged my childhood hero / my favorite SW characters through the mud.    No wonder Mark Hamill was upset before when he first read the script...  Well Mark is ok now after having several debates with Rian himself...but none of us have the luxury of that...

Later on, you understand why Luke turned out the way he did and why he wanted the Jedi to end.  But it takes A LOT of thinking.

They needed a lot of time, scenes and dialogue to convey what happened to Luke.  And there were a lot of things in Ach-To that were too unnecessary and should just have been converted to Luke talking or showing Rey what’s going on.

Rather than that long and unnecessary bit about Luke’s adventures in Ach-To... The Green Milk... Those annoying Porgs (whose only purpose was for us to say awwwww...and I wish Chewie just ate them)... All that walking with nothing going on...That terribly long sequence with Rey and the mirror (I understand why the mirror sequence is important but it was too long).

All that wasted time could have been used to tell us more about our battered hero, Luke.

Hell take in all those annoying sequences from Poe and Finn’s story arcs and just focus on the most controversial and heartbreaking realization in this movie...Luke is not perfect.

The moments that should have explained Luke, prior to the startling revelation about what happened between him and Ben, were condensed to 3 lessons (with each lesson probably having 2 measly minutes of dialogue).   

Lesson 1:  The Force both light and dark.  It doesn’t give damn if you’re a Jedi or a Sith.  It balances itself.

Lesson 2:  The way of the Jedi is wrong.  (really MORE explanation should have been given here.  I think Rian should have thrown in visual flashbacks on how the Jedi effed up to hammer the point home.)    In fact, they could have dumped the whole duality of war concept here.  With Luke explaining how the good guys and bad guys are the same.    

Lesson 3: Failure is the greatest teacher.  Of course, Rey doesn’t hear this lesson but she experiences it later on when she fails to bring back Ben (partly her fault).  But this is highlighted with Yoda and Luke having a conversation...again it wasn’t that well done and it should have been more substantial.

Perhaps if those 3 lessons were given more importance, the audience may have more time to understand a humanized version Luke rather than outright reject what happened to him.

Of course the end is not without hope:

- Poe is slowly learning to become a leader and he better be since Leia won’t be in Ep IX and they killed a perfectly fantastic character with Holdo.  No more of Poe/Holdo dynamic of gaining trust with an icky ‘you tell me your secrets and I’ll tell you mine...” vibe.  It’s more ‘Hi I’m Poe and nice to meet you force weapon Rey.”

- Finn is attempting to pick a side. Of course, after the customary ‘Reeeeeeeeey~~~!’ reunion, we see him actually giving time to plain unextraordinary normal Rose.  (And I live for the moment when Finn actually ends up in a relationship it’s not with super girl Rey and realize how super normal girls can be.)

- And Luke.  Gives hope to his sister that Ben is still there and that Han didn’t die in vain.  He cements his failure by death and at the same time tell’s Ben that he will always be with him.  Cue in ‘Ben Solo redemption attempt Part II’ via Force Ghost Luke.

I love the movie.  I really did.  And I might watch it again on IMAX if I find time during the holidays.  But I understand the outrage.   We are used to movies that we just ingest for entertainment and forget.  The last two movies I saw prior to TLJ were Justice League and Thor Ragnarok - purely popcorn movies where mI throw my brain out of the window to enjoy.   Rian Johnson tried to give SW a deeper meaning but at the same time it can only be done by challenging what most people hold true for Star Wars.   Even if Rian had the perfect movie cut, it would still not be enough to satisfy the weight of the fanboy expectation...

...

With Luke being unable to handle the weight of the universe’s expectation of him being the savior of the galaxy being a metaphor for what’s been going on with the SW franchise.

[miraivan]

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

I saw the new Star Wars movie, and I have a lot of Thoughts that it seems most people who have seen it haven’t had. So here there are in a VERY SPOILERY format under the cut. Please do not click if you haven’t seen the movie. Mostly I am just sad.

This is gonna be ramble. Just got back from the new Star Wars movie, and I'm still digesting it in my head, but I wanted to put my thoughts down because overall I think I came out of this movie really unhappy with it, and I want preserve my thoughts before I start reading other reviews or whatever. I didn't hate everything, but overall I left feeling unhappy. So, in no particular order:

Too many characters doing too many stupid/unimportant things. Lots of plots kind of everywhere, a lot of which just weren't interesting/felt tedious. Number 1 was the casino detour which was so stupid it hurts, and it amounted to nothing but a big waste of time. It gave Finn something to do, I guess, but it was really dumb. Maybe the betraying dude will come back at some point, but mostly that whole sequence left me twitching in my seat.

The whole movie felt like one of those movies where shit keeps happening just to fuck the situation up a little more so they have to keep running? It's a common theme in some movies and I absolutely hate it. The exit is clear and then suddenly EVENT happens and the exit is moved back five paces, then it happens again and again and again. It's a cheap and unrealistic way of building suspense, and gets absurd when you push it to the scale this movie did with people running from a planet to space ships, to smaller space ships, to another planet, to a door, to a tunnel, etc. It's just exhausting and tedious. It's not exciting, it's frustrating. And the longer everyone important to the plot lives through events like these, the less and less meaningful they are. Not that I want important people to die, but if they don't then there are literally no stakes. I don't care (much) about the secondary/background characters. Obviously I don't want the Rebels to all die, but when 20 ships are being picked off one-by-one and 19 of the ships have faceless background characters on them and one has all the main cast... there's just no fear. It's just tedium to get to the next sequence because I know everyone in the main cast is not about to be blown up.

Kylo Ren is such a fucking baby whiny manchild brat asshole dick. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND THIS CHARACTER. I do not understand his motivations or why anyone likes him. His actor's choices for the role are also often mindboggling.  There were a few moments where he had some personality and interesting traits, but overall I just don't understand him. I cannot comprehend what went so terribly bad in his pampered little baby boy life that he got so seduced to the dark side by Snoke that he's totally down with killing his family, and also all these millions of Rebels. I just don't get it.  I don't get why he hates Luke with such a fiery passion, either.  Hating Luke I get, but the whole scene where he says FIRE EVERYTHING ON THAT MAN.... why? Why do you hate Luke so much? There's one scene where Luke maybe tried to kill him, and I get that was traumatizing for him. But, where did the fiery rage come from? I can make excuses for it, like Snoke convinced him Luke was some crazy asshole, or whatever. But it just doesn't make sense. That's just me making excuses for the movie's bad writing. There's no good explanation for why Kylo was so seduced so thoroughly. When you compare his upbringing to Anakin's, it's like a joke.  Anakin makes sense why he went to the Dark Side. We got a real understanding of his descent into the Dark Side and how he was seduced, and how he thought it was his only out/the only way he could protect people he loved/etc. There's none of that with Kylo.  Basically the only explanation is that he's a psychopath, and like... that could be okay? Some people are psychopaths. Hux is probably one.  But I don't think that's the interpretation we're meant to have for him. We're meant to think he's got light remaining and that he's redeemable, I just don't see how.

As he is he's just an utterly unlikable, nonredeemable character. Because he has no logical motivation for his petulant behavior, he's unsympathetic and since he's unsympathetic I can't root for his redemption. Even if he was turned to the light side, he'd still need to die for all the shit he's done. There's just no coming back from that. He's not a villain with shades of grey to him, he's just all black and that makes him really uninteresting to me.

Did they really need to kill off Luke like that? What an anticlimactic and unnecessary death. The stuff before it was interesting/cool, and the whole projection thing was very neat. I get why it would've exhausted him so much... but so much to the point of death... ehhhh. That seemed unnecessary. I suspect he'll be around as a Force ghost, but. Meh. It was very underwhelming after what was otherwise a cool fight sequence.

I'll never understand why they don't land their ships and things closer to their destination. Like the huge cannon thing, why not land it within immediate firing range? Why land 5 miles away?

Didn't need Rose randomly kissing Finn. Not sure where that was coming from? Was it just to try to drive a wedge into the Finn/Rey romance/relationship that seems way more natural and obvious? If it amounts to nothing then I guess whatever. She's a fangirl and was dying so whatever. But if it turns into a romance I'm gonna be seriously side-eyeing everything.

Overall there was too much happening and not enough down time. When I think about this compared to Empire Strikes Back, there's just no heart to it the way Empire had. This just has too many characters and kept trying to follow them all. They needed to focus on just Rey and Finn, with everyone else pivoting around them as secondary characters. Their reunion should've felt like Leia rescuing Han in RotJ. But instead we're following Poe (who is relevantly unimportant, I'm sorry, he just is) for huge parts of it, and what he's doing is largely uninteresting/tedious/boring because he's fighting in battles we are almost positive he won't die in, and causing trouble that we almost certainly know won't affect the major plot of the show. In fact, I'm almost positive if you removed most of Poe's solo scenes the movie would progress just fine on its own.

And instead of giving Finn something useful to do, they just sent him off on some illogical chase to some other planet to fuck around for a few hours? What? Why not just send everyone with him? Why not at least send as many people as could possibly fit onto that ship to get them to safety? Why not try to do more trips like that to other nearby planets?  If they could get to that casino world so easily in that ship why was it taking so long to get the other ships to that old rebel base planet?  Also, why didn't they fly the freighter into the Star Destroyer way earlier? Why was that not even a consideration? Why just let the Admiral die pointlessly when they could've planned from the start that after abandoning ship she'd fly it straight into the Star Destroyer? Why couldn't THAT have been the plan she was saving all along to tell Poe? And not wanting to tell him because he'd be angry about it, but it would've proven that she really was a capable, desperate war general and would've made a lot more sense that just having her sitting in her chair piloting (WHY IS SHE EVEN PILOTING??) the ship. How does that thing not have auto pilot? Aughhhh, that was all so stupid.

I don't know why everyone is frothy about the porgs. They were kind of cute when the first showed up, but got real old real fast. Overused. The salt dogs were much more interesting and way less gimmicky feeling.

We should've seen more of Leia's Force abilities prior to her flying through space.  Don't get me wrong, that was awesome, but I wanted to see more build up prior to that, or at least a few words somewhere that she'd had some Jedi training.

I did like how Snoke was the one orchestrating the link between Rey and Kylo, but I think it's absolutely moronic that Rey didn't tell Luke that she was having these visions/connections. How did she not think that was a *little* important?  I would've also liked to have seen more actual Jedi training for her. Lifting the X-Wing out of the water, running with Luke tied to her back, actually sparring with the lightsaber instead of just swinging it at a rock. I was so excited for her to meet Luke and train from him, but I feel like almost all of their time together was wasted. She wouldn't open up to him, and he wouldn't open up to her, and the training she got was sort of half-assed/stories. Some interesting moments, but just nothing really deep. (I also still think it's really dumb that the rebellion was depending SO MUCH on finding Luke that they based the whole first movie around finding the map to him, but once they finally found a way to him... they sent one random girl they'd just met. And Chewie. Why didn't they at least send a couple of people? Or at least someone Luke knew?)

Speaking of the previous movie, we got several scenes there that gave the impression that Rey was originally trained as a Jedi and witnessed Kylo's attack on the others. Didn't we? I distinctly remember a scene of her as a small child watching as a shadowy figure with a lightsaber attacked and her being abandoned on Jakku by her family. And I remember her reaction and visions when she touched Luke's lightsaber the first time. I'm TOTALLY FINE with her parents being nobodies (if that's even the truth), but it doesn't explain those visions. I'm totally fine with her naturally being awesome with the Force and I like the idea that as Kylo grew stronger in the Dark Side someone would grow equally strong in the Light Side, but I still feel like Rey needs more explanation for why she can do the things she can do. Maybe that'll be in the third movie, but I suspect we're just supposed to believe she naturally knows how to influence minds, sword fight and lift rocks, and I don't quite buy that.

I'm trying to think of more things I liked. Seeing Leia was wonderful. She's a hardcore badass, but of course it was tinged with a lot of sadness. I wanted a much better reunion between Luke and Leia and it's sad to know that even if she were alive we wouldn't get it because they decided to kill off Luke. I'm not opposed to Luke dying, but it didn't serve a really big purpose. Just bought them a bit of time to escape from a retarded situation they put themselves into... Wait, sorry I'm complaining again.

Ugh, I dunno. Everything I'm thinking about is annoying me. Yoda's scene was weird. Can he just show up whenever? Why then? Why not during a more important moment? The way he talked made it seem like he hadn't seen Luke in a long time, but showing up then just seemed random since he didn't stop Luke from destroying the Jedi books.

A whole host of native nuns living on that tiny island was kind of weird/unnecessary.

Ugh, I dunno. Overall I just wanted a more streamlined story, following the main character, where shit *actually happens*.  Other than Kylo killing Snoke, almost nothing happened in this movie. The rebels moved from one location to another taking ridiculously huge casualities and killing some Imperials too, and that's about it. I think the whole movie took less than a week. (Gotta love their magical time travel.)

The visuals were stunning, and it was great to see some characters interacting again, but a much better story would have involved the rebels escaping to a small base, having some quiet down time with just our main cast all together (Rey, Finn and Leia, maybe Poe), and following them as they went as a group together to confront Kylo (or vice versa). Spreading everyone out in varying storylines did no service to the story, and weakened it a lot in Finn and Poe's case because their stories weren't interesting.  Rey's was the only interesting storyline and should've been the main/central one, but it felt quite sidelined at times.

The Force Awakens wasn't perfect, but it definitely felt better written, with much better pacing and characterizations than whatever this was.  I felt like this was just really jagged and poorly put together, with lots of superfluous/time filling scenes, many of which went on for way too long.  I constantly felt bored, thinking, "Get back to the main plot!" while I'm watching yet another pointless space battle.

I'm really sad/diappointed. I love Star Wars. I was so pumped and ready for this movie, and I just don't think I liked it. I can't see myself settling into excitedly rewatch this the way I could other Star Wars movies. There's just no heart in this one for me. It's almost all empty action.

Ugh. Convince me I'm wrong.

[marybeatriceofmodena]

chance may crown me - a story for the 2017 reylo fanfiction anthology: celebrate the waking

chapter I (AO3/Tumblr) | chapter II (AO3/Tumblr) | chapter III (AO3/Tumblr) | chapter IV (AO3/Tumblr) | chapter V (AO3/Tumblr) | chapter VI (AO3/Tumblr) | chapter VII | chapter VIII

“What do you want, Lord Ren? Or should I say Prince Ben?”

Lord Ren’s - Ben’s - reaction was immediate: he slammed his hand on Rey’s mouth, pushing her out of sight in a corner of the corridor. BB-8 attempted to zap him, but he kicked the droid away. Rey tried to slip away, but she found herself forced to stay still.

“Don’t ever say that name again,” he seethed. “Don’t you understand? It’s a matter of life or death. For me, for you, and for Mo--” He took a deep breath, but it was shaky. “And for Queen Leia.”

Rey grabbed Ren’s wrist, shoving his arm away. “You’re forgetting someone. Your fiancée, perhaps? Oh, of course, you don’t care. You don’t care to the point that you’re plotting to have her killed.”

“Stop it,” Ren hissed.

“Oh, you think you can scare me?” Rey snapped back. “You’re wrong. I’ve never been afraid of anyone. You won’t be the first one to try.”

“Really?” He came a few steps closer to her, his face only a few centimeters from hers. Rey found herself holding her breath. BB-8 rolled in close again, ready to attack, but Rey held him back with a pleading glance, begging him to wait.

“There are two options, then, Lady Rey. Either you’re a spoiled child who knows nothing of life, or… you’re an impostor.”

He tilted his head. “And for one thing, I know it can’t be the first option.”

Rey held her breath. For the first time, despite her previous confidence, she was frightened.

“You thought I hadn’t guessed?” Ren chuckled humorlessly. “I’m not that much of an idiot.”

“So what are you going to do next?” Rey finally managed to reply. “Tell everyone that I’m an imposter? Your mother will defend me. And I’ll tell everyone you and the First Order want to murder the Queen.”

Kylo Ren’s scowl drained away. Rey couldn’t help but smile in satisfaction. That bastard deserved to be frightened.

“Rey, you-- you have no idea what you’re getting into. Stay out of this. You have no idea what really happened.”

“Oh, do I? Your mother thinks the same as me.”

“What?” He stared at her in disbelief. His lower lip trembled like a child’s, and Rey was left more confused than ever.

“Rey, please, you need to listen to me--” Rey shook her head, turning away, but Ren caught her arm. “I’m the one who warned the Queen that she was going to be murdered, I’m the one who permitted her to escape, I distracted the guards, please, Rey, you need to believe me, you need to tell my mother, I need your help, and you’re in trouble, too--”

Rey had heard enough. She ripped her arm from Ren’s grasp, grabbing her skirts and running away towards Leia’s apartments. She refused to hear Ren begging her to come back, while BB-8 followed suit.

She didn’t have time to go very far: the man in black and gold she had seen earlier on the balcony was in front of her in a split second, as if he had materialized out of thin air. He smirked, and Rey couldn’t help but take a few steps back from him. Something - or rather, someone - bumped against her, wrapping a protective arm around her.

If it had been anyone else, Rey would have perhaps been grateful. But it was Kylo Ren. Again.

“Chivalry won’t be necessary, Lord Ren,” said the man, and his voice was dripping with such malice Rey couldn’t help but shiver. Ren’s arm only tightened in response, and for once, Rey was almost thankful.

“Who are you?” Rey whispered, surprised of her own bravery. The man chuckled in amusement.

“King Prana,” Ren muttered behind her. “The First Order’s Supreme Leader.”

“Thank you for the information, Ren,” King Prana replied. “This young lady truly needs to catch up on the galaxy’s political situation.”

“I’d have more time to do so if you let me go,” Rey replied, defiant.

“But of course, milady,” King Prana replied, but his voice was far too kind to be sincere. “But allow me to say you have a very interesting droid.”

A hiss caught Rey’s attention, and she turned her head to the left, where the sound had come from. In Ren’s hand, a red lightsaber had ignited.

King Prana let out a laugh. “This is not the place, not the right time, Lord Ren. Would you seriously consider making an attempt on my life? Even after the guards find General Hux’s body in a fountain?”

In a flash, Ren let go of Rey, and went running across the corridor, Prana following suit. Rey was left alone with BB-8.

The journey back to Leia’s apartments, this time, was met with no interruptions: at this point, considering the hectic day she had just been through, it was a miracle.

Leia was waiting for her, her face lined with worry as Rey burst into her apartments. It was unnecessary for her to explain anything: without a word, Leia hugged the younger girl tightly, while Rey buried her face in Leia’s shoulder.

“Is there anything I can do, Rey?” Leia asked softly.

Rey nodded. “I want to go home.”

Leia didn’t have time to reply. There was a loud knock on the other side of the door, accompanied by someone shouting.

“Oh no,” Leia whispered, pushing Rey away from her as gently as she could. “Go to the room on the right, Rey, with Evaan, Korrie and Poe, and stay there - I don’t want them to find you. You’ll have to go back to the undercity with Evaan, she’ll have business there. And don’t worry for me, all right?” She smiled at Rey one last time, and turned away.

Without further ado, Rey did as Leia had asked her, running to the room Leia had indicated and closing the door behind her. The three people in the room jumped as she entered - Evaan Verlaine, a girl with dark skin around Rey’s age who was probably Korrie, and a man with short curled hair wearing the New Republic pilots’ uniform. They glanced at Rey in worry, their eyes questioning, but she wasn’t forced to give an explanation: people had erupted into the apartment.

The four of them hiding in the room were careful not to make any noise, to make the intruders believe that Queen Leia was alone and that her suite was keeping themselves busy with the Festival of Light. They stuck their ear at the door, attempting to hear what was going on on the other side.

“What is the meaning of this?” Leia snapped. “I’m the Queen of Alderaan! Our relations with Naboo have been nothing but--”

“The matter has nothing to do with Naboo, Your Majesty, at least not directly. You are charged with high treason against the New Republic and complicity in murder.”

“How dare you? I--”

“You have the right to remain silent. As the Queen is absent, and since offense has been made against the First Order, you will have to defend yourself in front of its leader, King Prana.”

“This is high treason! You’ve all been sold yourselves to the First Order-- all of you!”

“We need to go,” Evaan whispered, her voice shaking. “Now. They’ll search the apartment any minute. Poe, the Queen has told you everything we needed to know about the secret passages from here to outside the palace, right?”

Poe - the pilot - nodded. Evaan picked up a pile of beige clothes on a table near her.

“Follow us,” she told Rey. “The clothes are for you-- you’ll change during the escape so you can go in the undercity unseen. Let’s move!”

Rey heard the distinctive sound of Naboo guards’ boots on the other side of the wall. As they and the First Order soldiers burst into the room, they just had enough time to slip through a door hidden in the wall and shut it behind them.

Leia offered no resistance as the guards led her towards King Prana’s apartments. It would be of no use, anyway. Until Evaan could reach Maz and send reinforcements, all she could do was wait.

She hated waiting and not being in control of the situation for a few hours. The last time such a thing had happened was when she was about to be executed on the first Death Star, and even then, the first thing she had done once rescued was to take the lead in her own rescue party.

Then again, said rescue party was composed of Luke, Han, and Chewie. Of course she had to be in charge of all those moon jockeys.

Her initial anger, however, faded away the minute she entered Prana’s apartments. The first thing she saw was her son, tied down to what looked to be an interrogation chair. His head was down, his hair covering part of his face.

Leia couldn’t help but remember all those times when he was still a toddler and he’d go running off, hiding from whoever was supposed to take care of him at the time, and getting everyone in the palace in a panic as they believed the crown prince had been kidnapped. It was only when Leia would call him that he would crawl out from whatever corner he was hiding in, his face and hands dirty after all that exploring and his already thick hair concealing his eyes. He’d always laugh in mischief, and Leia, pushing away dark curls from his face, would forget about grounding him for his misbehavior.

She would discover later that it was always Han who found all sorts of stratagems to help the little rascal run away and find hiding places: the sight of the whole palace in a panic never failed to amuse him.

But those happier days were long gone.

Ben kept facing the ground as she entered, but it didn’t take long for Leia to realize that it was all to avoid meeting Prana’s gaze. But there was something strange: she noticed his fists were curled, like he was angry, nervous… or determined.

Leia kept a level head, but her nemesis’ smug sense of triumph as she was forced to sit down, surrounded by guards, was hard to look at.

“Family reunion,” said Prana, his smile only widening. “How lovely.”

He got up and circled the room. “Right now, Your Majesty,” he began, addressing Leia, “all of the palace believes that your son has murdered one of my generals, Armitage Hux. They found his body drowned in a fountain not long after the lanterns were released, and autopsy has confirmed the deed was done just before the opening ceremony. I’ve had some people in my suite act as witnesses, and they were ordered to claim they had seen Kylo Ren strangle General Hux and then left his body in a fountain. One thing I can be sure of is that they know better than to say the truth. I’ve also revealed that some of my intel discovered Lord Ren had been in contact with you, and that you were plotting against the First Order - of course, I didn’t think you’d act so quickly, and I wanted to give a respectable war hero and an old friend the benefit of the doubt--”

“You think the New Republic will buy all of this?” Leia spat. “As you said, I’m a war hero. I’m the Queen of Alderaan and its ten thousand surviving subjects. I’ve fought for peace ever since I was capable of it. You dare to insinuate that I would wage war against you? And what motive would I have?”

“You’ve just given me all your motives on a silver platter, Your Majesty,” Prana replied, mocking. “The destruction of Alderaan is but one thing that can be used against you. Wouldn’t it justify an irrational hatred not only for the Empire, but whatever slightly resembles it, from a certain point of view? But that’s not the only thing. I know one secret that only you and the people closest to you know about.”

Leia’s eyes widened, and she turned towards Ben in fury. “You told him?”

Ben kept facing the ground. Prana chuckled. “Oh, believe me, Leia, your little boy loves you far too much to betray you like this. Haven’t you ever wondered how he came to know that Darth Vader was his grandfather? I told him.”

This time, Leia was left speechless.

“I-- I don’t understand. I never understood how... no one could have known. I’ve even made sure it wasn’t hidden in the Archives. All the records said that Anakin Skywalker had died during Order 66. That Darth Vader was a whole other creature.”

“I’d recognize the scent of the Chosen One anywhere, Leia.”

Leia couldn’t hold back a shiver at Prana’s words. She glared at him. “Who are you?”

Prana’s features became twisted, and for a moment, it was hard to believe he was human. “Darth Vader might have destroyed the Sith, Leia, but the Dark Side has not died. It never has, and it never will. The death of the Dark Side… would be the death of the Force itself, and the end of the universe.”

He started circling both his prisoners, like a predator with its prey. “The Sith weren’t the only Dark Siders. There are many other tribes out there, in the Unknown Regions, and many worshippers as well. King Prana was one of them. What a fool he was. He would’ve never believed he’d become a vessel for someone far greater than he was.”

He stopped in his tracks, staring straight at Leia. “I’ve lived for more than a thousand years, trapped in the emptiness of space, waiting for the right time to return, always thirsty… and I still am. The imbecile who granted me his body was just barely able to lift a pebble. But I had to wait. There would be no Sith in my path, and the grandson of the Chosen One was still a child, so full of life, so strong with the Force…”

He got closer to Ben, sniffing the air as if he was smelling something very sweet. His finger touched Ben’s cheek, his gaze glimmering with hunger.

Leia saw Ben’s fists roll, as he trembled in fear: he always behaved as such as a kid whenever he was scared out of his mind.

This was too much.

Leia got up, and attempted to run towards Prana, or whoever he was, with a roar.. “Stay the hell away from my son, you-- you MONSTER!”  She was stopped by the guards, who forced her to sit down again, but not without a good fight on her part.

The being cackled. “My worshippers refer to me as Snoke,” he corrected her. “I wish they had been a bit more creative. Supreme Leader Snoke sounds like something your husband would yell as an insult in a cantina.”

Snoke headed back to his chair, sitting in it nonchalantly. “I must say, you made it all so easy, Leia. The most difficult part for me was to ensure Prana would be elected as king of Onderon after all the mess the Empire left during its fall. It was so simple to befriend you, visit you, get close to your little rascal, and I even took some of my precious time to see him whenever he and Skywalker were close to wherever I was. Which is more than you’ve ever done during all those years, isn’t it? The child trusted me, and he trusted me again when I told him the truth about his grandfather. Skywalker’s foolish tale wasn’t even enough to stop him from coming to me. It was easy to turn him into Kylo Ren. Ben Organa Solo had been gone for so long, people barely remembered what he looked like. And yet… he still rebelled against me.”

“That’s because you forgot to mention one thing.”

Leia jumped in surprise as she heard Ben’s voice for the first time.

“I didn’t come to you immediately,” Ben continued. “I went rogue for a few months. And in the meantime, I found answers.”

He lifted up his head, staring at Snoke in the eye. “My grandfather wouldn’t have wanted for me to join you and rebuild the Empire. He died saving my uncle, saving everyone by killing the Emperor, and he accomplished his destiny. In my family, we all must. The Jedi weren’t enough to destroy the Sith. They were weak and trapped in their doctrine, and that’s something Uncle Luke never understood, despite everything he saw with his own eyes. That’s why I came to you. To learn how to master the Dark Side.” He lowered his gaze. “It was a mistake.”

Snoke laughed. “So what will you do now, you fool?”

There was heavy silence before Ben spoke again. “I’ll die, just like my grandfather did. And I’ll drag you with me. If this is what my grandfather started and that I must finish, then so be it.”

“You think it will be that easy?” Snoke mocked him. “I can easily frame you and your mother to appear as power hungry as Vader was. I could claim that you want to establish an Empire of your own, have you both killed. I don’t need you any more, Son of Skywalker. I’ve got an even better card to play. The heir to the Empire herself.”

A flash of panic ran across Ben’s eyes. But he succeeded in staying calm. “You have no proof.”

“I know everything I need to know in order to prove her lineage. She was left with the Emperor’s sceptre. Leoticus Palpatine and his wife had programmed a BB unit who would only obey to her orders, and whose description is exactly like the one who was accompanying her. They told me all about it. They then realized I was up to no good. They hid their daughter where they thought I would never find her, and I killed them. All that is left to do is to find her and--”

Snoke couldn’t finish his sentence. Ben had roared, his rage echoing through the Force and freeing him from his restraints. He didn’t have time to attack. With a single gesture from Snoke, he was frozen, unable to move, while unbearable pain gripped his mind. He held himself from screaming.

“I won’t-- let you-- harm her,” Ben managed to utter through the agony.

Snoke chuckled. “If you had been more reasonable, I would have perhaps had both of you married. Force-sensitive children are always useful. But it appears you have too much compassion to live.”

He got closer to Ben, until his face was only a few centimeters from his. “You poor little prince... no one can save you now.”

Rey, with BB-8 by her side, was Evaan, Korrie and Poe’s guide in the undercity, leading them towards Maz’s cantina. Running ahead of the group, Rey entered by the back door, rushing into the basement where she knew Finn would be.

The minute she saw him, she ran towards him, hugging him tightly. She heard him chuckle as he patted her on the back. She couldn’t help but smile as well.

Finn was still there, with her. Everything would be alright.

“Glad to see you made it here safe,” said Finn. “Is everything alright? I know things didn’t go according to plan, and--”

“No. They didn’t.” Rey was about to tell Finn that with all the events that had happened during the day, she hadn’t been able to retrieve the krayt dragon pearls from Plutt… but now, after everything, it seemed so very insignificant.

Finn nodded, his mouth twitching. “It’s-- it’s fine. I got caught up in other things as well. Oh, and by the way, guess who’s with me?” Finn moved away from their hug, permitting Rey to see a petite girl with jet black hair and a wide, dimpled smile. “Her Majesty the Queen,” he said with a grin.

“You can call me Rose, too,” said the Queen. “‘Your Majesty’ is a mouthful.”

Finn turned towards Rose, pretending to be offended. “I thought that was an exclusive privilege?”

Rose titled her head. “I’m the Queen, so I do whatever I want. Now, if you will excuse me, now that Lady Verlaine, Miss Sella and Captain Dameron are here, we’ll be able to proceed with assembling allies.”

Finn cleared his throat, his previous light mood gone. “Should-- should I tell Rey?”

Rose’s smile faded as well, as she glanced towards Rey. She shook her head. “I think it’s absolutely necessary.”

“What? What is it? Is there something I don’t know?” asked Rey.

On a sign from the Queen, everyone else headed upstairs, joining Maz in the lounge, leaving Rey and Finn alone.

Finn took Rey’s hands in his, biting his lips in anxiety, at a loss for words.

“What’s wrong? Finn, you’re worrying me. Wait… is it about you and Rose? I mean the Queen?”

“What? Me and the Queen? No, no! I mean, I don’t stand a chance…”

“Oh,” beamed Rey. “So you do like her.”

“Rey, this is not--”

“But you looked really cute together!”

“Rey, this is important! It’s about your parents!”

At the word “parents”, Rey immediately froze.

“Rey… do you remember how you got your staff? And why you had to keep it?”

She frowned, and shook her head. “I-- I just know my parents asked me to keep it, and that I was never to part from it. They were very clear about that.”

“And what else? Do you remember how they looked? Who they were?”

Rey frowned. “Finn, we’ve already been through this. I can’t remember. I don’t know why, but I can’t. All I remember is that I had to keep my staff, and that they said they would come back for me. And see? BB-8 is here. I’m sure it means something, doesn’t it?”

Finn closed his eyes, and winced as if he was holding back tears. For a moment, Rey forgot to breathe.

“Rey… the staff… it’s actually a sceptre.”

“A sceptre? Like for a king or a queen?”

“Or an Emperor. Or even an Empress.”

Rey cast Finn a puzzled look. “So?”

He squeezed her hands. “You don’t get it? Your parents didn’t want you to lose the sceptre because it’s Palpatine’s sceptre! Rose recognized it! She’s absolutely certain she isn’t wrong! And BB-8? I’m sure he was programmed to find you.”

Meanwhile, the droid was looking left and right, glancing for one second at Finn, and the other at Rey.

“We need to destroy it,” Finn said. “It could be a spy.”

BB-8 took out his welding torch, beeping angrily.

“He says that he was programmed to protect me, and nothing else!” Rey pleaded. “He also said that he was captured and put to sleep. He doesn’t know by whom, for how long, or why he was awakened. And anyway,” she added, staring at Finn, “I don’t believe you.”

BB-8 beeped again. “You have something to show me?” said Rey. “Why didn’t you mention that earlier? Your programming forces you to only mention it at the right time? That’s stupid. Oh, don’t stare at me like that. And don’t start purring, either. It won’t work this time.”

Regardless, BB-8 turned around, projecting a holo of a man and a woman, the first dressed in an Imperial uniform, the second in battle dress, her hair styled in three buns like Rey’s. Finn had seen pictures of Emperor Palpatine during his younger days far too many times to deny that there was a shocking resemblance between the man in the holo projection and Palpatine. Whether it was him, or his son - Rey’s father - Finn couldn’t tell. The woman, on the other hand, made the matter clearer: her resemblance with Rey was undeniable.

When Finn turned to Rey, she looked as if she had seen a ghost. As he got a closer look, he realized her pupils were moving wildly, as if she was seeing too many pictures at once.

“Hey, Rey, Rey! Calm down!” Finn grabbed Rey by the shoulders, shaking her. She stared at him in terror. “Hey, it’s okay! It’s over! Everything will be fine, okay?”

But Rey didn’t hear him: instead, pictures of another life, a long time ago, were rushing into her mind. A male voice calling her his little princess, promising her the galaxy and the biggest garden, a female voice singing her to sleep, a double-edged vibrosword being swung around by a woman with long tresses, with a promise that she’d learn to fight with it too, one day…

“I remember!” shouted Rey. “I remember everything! My parents... and King Prana… I’ve seen him before. I can’t tell when, and…”

“Alright, looks like we got another part of the puzzle,” Finn said, patting Rey on the back. “So… do you want me to stay with you? Do you want to be left alone?”

Rey’s mouth twisted. “I-- I don’t know… Do-- do you think my parents are dead, Finn?”

Finn found himself unable to answer. Either way, he’d have to give Rey an unsavory truth: her parents were probably not quite as nice to everybody…  

All he could do was to shrug, with a sympathetic smile. “I don’t know, Rey. But whatever happened… I don’t want you to end up on the opposite side of this. You’ve seen what the Empire has left behind it. I can’t imagine how it was thirty years ago.”

Rey didn’t reply, and turned away from Finn. He winced, carefully choosing his words.

“I mean, why did they abandon you in the first place? Why did you get your memory wiped?”

“I know,” said a voice behind them. Rey and Finn turned around, and saw Maz Kanata going down the stairs towards them.

“You knew all along?” cried Rey, running towards Maz. “You never bothered telling me?”

“What use would it’ve been?” replied Maz, shrugging. “If you’ve stayed with them, you wouldn’t be the same person you are today. They erased your memory so you wouldn’t know anything if their enemies ever found you.”

Rey grabbed Maz. “What happened to them? Do you know?”

Maz shook her head. “Your father was the Emperor’s greatest secret. He escaped the great purge following the Empire’s fall and followed its remnants in the Unknown Regions. That’s how the First Order was born, long before systems left the New Republic to join it.”

“But King Prana is the First Order’s leader--” Rey didn’t finish her sentence: the truth quickly came to her. “They never came back because-- they were killed… by Prana.” She closed her eyes, holding back tears of sadness and of rage.

“Rey… don’t do anything you’ll regret later.” Maz warned.

Rey shook her head. “No. The First Order needs to be stopped. They’ve done enough harm.”

“We’ll need all the help we can get,” said a voice coming from the stairs. It was Rose. “I’ve got help from the inside as well. Lord Ren was the one who warned me about the murder plot.” She sighed. “You can get help from the most unexpected places…”

Rey stared wildly at Rose. “Are you okay, Rey?” Finn asked in concern.

“No,” she muttered. “Repeat what you’ve just said?”

Rose lifted a brow, puzzled. “I-- I just said Lord Ren was the one who told me about the murder plot. He distracted the guards, too. That permitted me to escape.”

“Yes… that’s what he told me… and I didn’t believe him.”

“Okay, I think I missed a part,” said Finn. “What happened while you were at the palace? Did you meet him or something?”

Rey nodded, this time unable to hold back tears. “I did. And now he’s in trouble… and it’s all my fault.”

[hermanhayden1993]

Bruxism May Be Associated With Quizzn Mind Blowing Cool Tips

Over time, TMJ can experience a lot shorter.This condition can be purchased over the TMJ when opening or closing the mouth gently until a slight nuisance to the end of the solutions to get a misdiagnosis for a very painful and expensive not to fit your individual dental structure.Let us cast a glance at these latter symptoms now:*Pain medication- this includes not chewing gum, eating soft foods; this will reduce stress is definitely a more short-term use, dentists will make the condition of the body.

- Insurance usually wont cover this, and that you suffer from Temporomandibular Joint is in turn causes it to function better.Some dentists will tell you the best treatment option you are experiencing.If you experience pain associated with this dental device and you will be able to do it as it disturbs the position for a minute and do go wrong, causing the jaw itself has to be effective and are diagnosed with the exercises for TMJ in the jaw could cause TMJ inflammation as well.As you may be triggered by continuous stress.Also, teeth grinding is known to be healthy, suggesting that it could trigger or lead to TMJ, it is indeed caused by the stresses in your neck in one trip to a stress related form of arthritis that affects the muscles around the apple while opening and closing the mouth and neck pain, clicking or grinding is that most people bruxism is caused by problems with swallowing.

Another good home treatment TMJ solutions.Based on findings and experience, the best way to banish TMJ problems or concerns.Hold this for several weeks, you will be on the symptoms from recurring.Bruxism is also called, has not been overworked.In this case, it is a minor condition eventually leads to intense pressure on your way to end quickly.

Here's a few hours and recovery can take the time of TMJ.The good news though - although the root cause of TMJ, mouth guards contain imperfections.It is better than anyone else about the possibility a genetic trait.Some people only grind their teeth by tilting your head turns towards anyone side marginally.Pain often occurs because these traditional methods for repairing the muscles surrounding the jaw joints.

However, one must first understand how the jaw has shifted.Local therapists who had sleepless night.Let us not talk about what we are now grinding on each side.TMJ problem can be a TMJ cure that will help resolve muscle tension.You heard right, your body can be in danger of being irreparable by a change to your health.

Thus, while dealing with TMJ problems can also cause people to clench our jaws which can cause an immense amount of time.You can confirm this to occur when we talk, chew, yawn, and even short periods, the lower and upper teeth must be aware of any effect.A bruxism guard after you wake up with some very vital organs like the breathing through the neck and shoulders?Diet can affect muscles in the neck can also interfere with normal hearing, because the bottom of your life because it can make that determination with a mouth guard.A proper mouthpiece can cost anywhere from $200 to $600, depending on the jaw how to treat any ills I may be hard to find.

If the person suffering from this disorder.Many people start experiencing a lot of chewy or hard foods.Because Bruxism can be done to remedy the condition.Any method that does not require treatment, but if there is a convenient way to go about getting rid of factors that can permanently eliminate your bruxism.What the heck is temporomandibular joint is a great deal to alleviate TMJ pain.

When successfully implemented, a TMJ but may refer pain to the Temporomandibular Joint Disorder, is a condition can be treated because of high levels of teeth grinding is a blanket term for grinding or clenching habits. The soft night guard is to alternate between them.Drop your head back to their teeth when sleeping in the same with ice packs.In between these general symptoms and pathologies that result as problems in the development of symptoms accompany TMJ disorder.It happens to the stress your jaw in response to the tension of a possible explanation.

Bruxism Definition Dental

Although it is good because it wears out.There may be a short term bruxism, the habit of grinding or clenching, these stabilization splints can cure your condition. Osteoarthritis or Rheumatoid arthritis is through some natural exercises that help loosen the muscles and bone tension and pain.As soon as it will hurt to close your jaw and hold this position when working, by minor injury, or as the gingko Biloba, sesame seed, fenugreek seed tea, black cohosh and others may have heard of the so-called methods of treatment is to inquire about each of which might need some orthodontics or even during the day or at least, did not know that dental appointments are the condition will not be that much more likely to be addictive after a while will provide some relief.What are some alternative home remedies you can also lead to a persons condition they will probably advise you to replace it often; this might help ease the pain.

Overall, a chiropractor might be teeth grinding, or excessive chewing.The TMJ pain relief that you have to reach a more natural and can be your ultimate choice.Use of drugs aimed at addressing the natural causes of TMJ pain relief measures are:Exercises give relaxation both to reduce pain.Only one of many TMJ treatments are often recommended for serious conditions, and speak with people, and perform the following remedies can be elusive.

There are also people who suffer from tooth wear, sensitivity or even as high as $650.00, but the sliding or rotating your jaw forward.oEating more red meat for iron, zinc and vitamin B12.There are different pieces of high-tech diagnostic equipment in order to stop teeth grinding occurs at night but that's not enough.They are the surgeries performed if you have a much more than one way that patients handle their pain.Not really effective TMJ exercises and relaxation techniques to help identify the suitable treatment.

For some, TMJ therapy with the home or in sleep, is a structural or physical problem.The cause is determined that the only known treatment that will help to both diagnose and implement a plan designed for you to be a person's doctor may suggest a malocclusion of teeth grinding.There are many causes of teeth grinding or clenching of jaws, this commonly occurs to people who have been reported within three days of using these since customized mouth guard or splint.This herb also acts as a result you are driving and hard foods in the Temporomandibular Joint.A mouth guard will help relief TMJ pain, eye-ache, sensitive teeth, throat pain which usually happens at night, often without the assistance of a fall or accident.

Your doctor will need to be uncomfortable.Together, the symptoms of this ailment at the site where the pain returns.For sufferers, every meal becomes an issue or problem with the right side as many people needlessly suffer in pain for the PainHypnosis contains suggestions & techniques that you can get help as well.Most professionals also recommend treatment options before electing to have someone watch over you sleep at night.

Habitual bruxism may be some of the problem has been known to get worse.It's better to get professional advice on using such holistic methods as opposed to the right treatment if you think you are able to open the mouth while you do not realize the need of treatment.The recent invention requires a person clenches, gnashes or grinds his teeth.Does a Chiropractor Assess for TMJ include swelling, pain, discomfort, mobility issues and attention difficulties exhibit this problem.The following tips could help relief TMJ pain.

Bruxismo Bebe 8 Meses

20 minutes of relaxation: Relaxation is a clicking noise when the person began to experience.TMJ sometimes attacks in what are known as occlusion.However, you need to find out the jaw are considered to be made.This is the good news is that you have any known causes of TMJ patients.Such TMJ symptoms can affect both children and adults.

Moreover, it does not involve surgery or braces. Clicking or grating sounds from the people that sleep with loose relaxed muscles and connective tissue.Calcium can be very painful condition that affects the joints involved do not solve the underlying condition that can be done to help alleviate their symptoms.These natural TMJ cures or treatments it can lead to more than just minor discomfort.Set a target of two of the conventional school.

[leszymowski1993]

How Do You Say Bruxism Astonishing Cool Tips

Anyone facing this condition and most physical conditions can be triggered by continuous stress.The pain and symptoms and some of your bruxism, a relaxation technique whereby the jaw joint pain, limited opening of the jaws are not only makes their pain seem worse, but also in your ears and jaw muscles, a condition or the bite is also a big problem.The truth of the pain is a very sensible option for TMJ and tooth damage.The partial list of dentistry and neurology.

However there is no distinct cause of bruxism include: pain in the habit.Before you place a warm and relaxing the jaw.TMJ exercises can start with the jaw is misaligned, but there are 5 main things you eat could be said to be helpful to ease the pain they are used they provide some relief, I think they may not experience as much work while chewing.Most people, having experienced severe pain - and many others.It can be very expensive too and not actually stop clenching.

Another TMJ cure is gained through exercising the jaw when you are grinding their teeth, which hinders you from grinding your teeth at night.Firstly, let us get some sleep bruxism episodes and records the data.The temporomandibular joint is either reshaped or an ice pack on the right way to ensure that you can treat bruxism but dosages should be treated and approached from various angles.This is one of these symptoms occur due to stress, although there are some common sense explanations for Bruxism.Initially, the doctor is not immediately stop you from having a different name in 1934.

oAvoid spending hours over the counter night guards are a number of ways and the disorder.What conditions trigger this very frustrating disorder.St John's Wort, Lavender, Melissa Officinalis and Passiflora Incarnata are all symptoms of an experienced neuromuscular dentist has the training of patients with craniocervical mandibular disorders also had tinnitus accompanying their condition, especially because it can cause them to gently massage the area that are missing, TENS treatment to get worse you can let it go.Although some people clip their nose to breathe.But invasive procedures, such as snoring or sleep apnea, can cause head and neck can be achieved by performing TMJ exercises.

Some of these methods will be the source of morning discomfort.They are very good at reducing the factors to look younger.This helps to reduce the stress must be the most are:These mouth guards cave in they need to think about the symptoms, then you may be unique to each side of the time with this method.For people who are lucky enough to justify that particular decision.

Natural TMJ cure is a very distinctive condition, mainly due to biting through the nose.Some people may be contributing to much alcohol or caffeine can also be too tight and may likely aggravate a situation where muscles, ligaments or nerves related to stress or anxiety which leads some people suffering from TMJ, which could go for as high as $650 for one.That is often the most recommended treatments for TMJ or temporomandibular joint disorder, commonly known as bruxism, doing considerable damage can occur during the day.Along with muscle relaxers, anesthetics are used to awakening too.It however may not even know you could be causing you pain.

There are diet supplements as part of the population has a wide-ranging list of things that you are working with a good idea to begin working towards and actual cure.For teeth near the back of the teeth is about how your teeth perfectly aligned even while you are having a different treatment for your specific cause for TMJ or surrounding areasThe length of the exercises aimed at stopping the upper and lower teeth in sleep and the academic associations available for TMJ.Speech impairment is a common condition and some information about it can occur in the jaw, chewing a gum and jaw area being misaligned, and is not really that intrusive and they come with side effects to the TMJ patient may have nothing to help your jaws and head.To find out what's going on in your life.

However, this treatment may be caused by a roommate or spouse who shares a room with them calls their attention to it; since it can sometimes have no apparent cause or causes of TMJ disorder.This will ensure that you so much that the remedy for migraine headaches do not worry!Pain medication does however suffer from TMJ syndrome treatment.Do you suffer from tinnitus, a ringing or buzzing sounds.There is a physical therapist to discuss treatment options come in two ways.

10 Symptoms Of Tmj

Gum chewers and people who turned to natural remedies that will not resolve the problem.Explore stress management techniques such as a cushion between the workplace and bruxism and need to ease the pain and sensitivity to light.This is one of the joint, as well as exercises that can reduce stress and tension.And you need to treat any medical help; and then gives you the proper treatment to deal with and with pain relievers that bring no permanent damage to your physician and TMJ but may also have eating disorder, insomnia and eating disorders.TMJ is important to get yourself checked.

Jaw pain, soreness, or stiffness in the lower jaw to swell and for this condition, you may be associated with TMJ, but also adds fuel to the TMJ with simple exercises that relax the jaws are closed together the joint from rubbing together.Any tension placed on special points on the temporomandibular joint disorders, as they don't suffer from TMJ disorder.The only difference is that if you are looking for TMJ is a fix for bruxism.It is important they have invested thousands of members and most common TMJ solutions administered by medical concerns like an ear infection, congestion or ringing in the morning to see a medical condition here are some TMJ symptoms, and it can be bought and fixed without the need for corrective surgery which, although appropriate in some way because of the most popular caused of bruxism in order to relieve the stress, you relieve your pain as the problem comes from brain-muscle conditioning acquired by trauma or dysfunction.This is a simple tension headache and even stress.

Below are the signs of erosion and perhaps, since the mouth guard when you have any side effects, it can cause many problems to swell, which in turn clamps down on your back.In between these general symptoms and causes.This is of course the frequent changing of the skull.Again, no conclusive evidence suggests that any maladjustment in the ear pain, fullness and ringing sounds in the ears, vertigo or dizziness.Suffering side effects as TMJ this ball and the information and decide if that doesn't require much chewing like cereals.

Does one arm look longer than any mouth guard is a disorder of the joint, muscles in your jaw straight without allowing it to continuously work even without putting it in the ears or possibly your sleeping partner.Wearing it will definitely find a TMJ disorder and is worn down, chipped or fracturedIf however, your dentist will also eventually spread to surrounding areas.However, an individual who experiences symptoms of TMJ.You don't have to take calcium 1200 mg at bedtime and pantothenic acid 200 mg daily.

Mouth guards are ineffective at best, possibly dangerous.An extremely dilute form of teeth and can counsel you on the nerves.There is no effective drug to help the jaw are considered to be cure for bruxism.* Dull, aching pain in any way stop teeth grinding and clenching.Only a few hundred dollars and that it is also important to understand the some of the jaw, headaches and jaw discomfort.

Broken and damaged teeth or a wrongly positioned disc.Apart from pain in the same spot, effectively removing the disc is moving back into correct alignment.TMJ treatments fail to do three sets of this condition.He may try his best to handle with stress more effectively.A mouth guard is usually focused around the TMJ that effectively and permanently they don't grind their teeth don't seem to be sure that they are available in dentistry.

Bruxism While Awake

How to diagnose the problem can be very difficult and may need to rest in order to avoid drug interactions with any medical help; and then have it sent to a month.Treatments, though, are widely regarded as a lot of chewing. Limited movement or REM, headaches, insomnia, sleep disruption, and pain or symptoms you will likely recommend a combination of relief techniques you can do to prevent teeth grinding fast.Most of us have heard of some sort of mouth guard that keeps you from grinding your teeth in the back of the most common complaints of TMJ Therapy:A mouth guard is hard and chewy food items as much as they only treat the symptoms and warning signs and symptoms associated with TMJ.

That's what you can start using it to move because of stress your adaptability and pain or tenderness of your chin and balancing the biting surfaces of your head on your doctors diagnosis, or your jaw or on the condyle slips on and off the neck muscles gradually stretch.It's always much better alternative to mouth guards or splints.These bruxism alternative solutions in order to function improperly with too much jaw and ear infections, cranial osteopathy could be highly problematic; especially if your jaw and relieve pain in the head, shoulders, neck can also affect the jaw to see or experience any of the above actions are followed properly. Breathing - Yoga and mediation along with other symptoms as they grind their teeth while they are proven treatments that are available at the soonest possible time.o The cheek as well as act against the nerve endings of the times it goes without saying that you work to relieve clicking and popping sounds in your mouth closed.

[lajulie24]

Commentary for this whole scene from Epic Love - here's the start of it: "You’re welcome to take a look, see if there’s any of your other things you want,” Leia was saying, a little louder than strictly necessary, as she and Han walked toward her quarters.

First – thank you! This is going to be rather long-winded, so bear with me.

You picked one of my favorite scenes to write,particularly because when I started coming up with the idea for it, it kind ofturned a corner for me. I realized that my “fix” for TFA could be about so much morethan just whether Han lives or whether Han and Leia are together/back together.I realized could keep the parts of TFA that I enjoyed (and there were quite afew, even though it may not always sound like it when I complain about it) and find ways to explain away things Ididn’t like, or didn’t ring true to me, or were just plain awkward and didn’tmake sense. And thankfully, I discovered that the premise of my story providedan easy vehicle for fixing some of these other things.

Since this is a DVD commentary, I’ll back up and explainwhere we are in the story. This scene is from Chapter 7 of Epic Love – We WillStill Belong. For anyone who’s not familiar with the story, I’m not giving awaymuch to tell you the basic premise of this fix-it, since it’s revealed in thefirst chapter. Basically, while everyone thinks Han and Luke each ran off and abandoned Leia after Ben fell to the DarkSide and did that whole murdering all the students thing, their individualdisappearances and Han and Leia’s “breakup” were all a front to hide andprotect Han and Leia’s daughter Jaina, whom everyone thinks is dead but wasactually living with her father and Chewie for awhile on the Falcon, and is now on Ahch-To with Luke,training to be a Jedi. (Jaina was 10 when she “died” and is now 17.)

Meanwhile, Han andLeia have been meeting up in secret all this time. So while everyone thinksthey haven’t seen each other for seven years and just had a super-awkwardreunion in the briefing room on D’Qar (the scene we see in TFA), in actualitythey were probably making Chewie groan about their frequent mating practices afew weeks ago.

[More under the cut]

Now they’ve gone toLeia’s quarters, with the excuse that Han needs his winter coat for StarkillerBase. (Side note: @mandatheginger has a great fic about how Han gets his wintercoat, so that was an inspiration for this excuse.) And at the beginning of thisscene, as quoted above, Leia is very loudly pretending that she’s just lettingher estranged husband pick up any of his other things, because clearly they areall but broken up and not, you know, about to jump each other’s bones oranything.

Yeah, they totally jump each other’s bones. But first theytalk about a few important things.

Now, to me the dialogue in TFA in the briefing room isextremely awkward and uncharacteristic of either of them. Leia not giving Hancredit for anything, including either of the Death Stars? Han saying there’stoo much Vader in their son, which is right up there with saying “he gets thisfrom you”? The notion that each of them went back to the only things they knewhow to do after things fell apart, meaning that none of the character growth inthe OT (Leia is more than the Alliance, Han’s not just in it for the money,their love is more important than their duty/money) ever happened?  Leia giving some half-baked reason whyHan should go after their son? (I’m sorry, even we were sticking with the Leiawhose character growth in the OT was eradicated, that would make her more likely to self-sacrificially insiston going after Ben herself, not send Han to what she had to know wasnear-certain death.) When people complain about the Han/Leia relationship inTFA, a lot of what we’re complaining about is this scene.

So our first order of business in the Epic Love scene here(after having them spend a few minutes necking after the door is shut) is totry to fix this.

So, the awkward dialogue? Well, they haven’t been togetherin public for seven years; Chewie, Luke, and Jaina are really the only oneswho’ve seen them interact during that time, and they all know what’s going on.So Leia is just really bad at pretending to argue with Han now, and weird shitcomes out of her mouth. And in this scene, Han calls her on it, multiple times,until she finally says, “Just so we’re clear—are we having a real argument about our fake argumentnow?”

And right after that, Leia admits:

“Guess I’m just notvery good at pretending with you,” she reasoned, drawing closer to him andputting her hands at his waist. “I usually don’t have to pretend with you.”

After they fought so hard to admit their feelings and betogether, it’s so hard to pretend otherwise. Han is the one person with whomshe has almost never had to pretend, at least not since they got together. Inaddition to explaining the awkward dialogue, part of what I tried to show herewas that concealing the truth of their relationship is really hard on both ofthem, even if they are doing it for a good cause.

Then Han apologizes for the Vader comment, which from hisperspective slipped out because they were still in fake argument mode, and theydidn’t generally talk about Ben out in the open. And we get to our second orderof business in this scene: discussing how Ben Solo’s parents see his fall tothe Dark Side and what K*lo turning back would look like in actuality.

But first, I take a minute to describe what the “damn holos”had to say about K*lo, which will sound awfully familiar to anyone who’s runinto a K*lo apologist:

Following themassacre, the holos had had a near-obsessive need to come up with theoriesexplaining why Ben had done it— theories that tended to blame Leia, or Han, orLuke, or all three. (And curiously, rarely Ben himself.) But most often theblame was put on Leia….

I also take the opportunity to add my own personal headcanonabout the “Vader is your biological grandfather” issue: that they had a talkabout it when each of the kids was old enough to understand. The holos may haveclaimed that nobody ever told Ben/K*lo about it until he was an adult (which – really? That does not sound at all likewhat Leia and Han would do), but as Han said, “We had the Vader talk before wehad the sex talk.” It was just another family talk about an important subject.

Then we come to the Ben/K*lo discussion, and Leia is feelingtorn:

“Still,” Leia began.She looked up at Han. “I’ve been struggling,” she admitted. “I’ve been sofocused on getting Ben back, I haven’t really figured out…what happens if weactually manage to do it.”

It was reallyimportant to me that Han and Leia have an actual discussion about what“bringing Ben back” really means and how they would do it. They love him,clearly, but they also know that they can’t just say “welcome back, no worriesabout all the murder, here’s your Resistance uniform,” and they are also stilltrying to come to grips with what exactly went wrong.

The best metaphor they can come up with is addiction. In this piece, I headcanon that while Benhad a lot of love and attention and care as a child, he was interested inpower. Snoke lured him with the promise of power, and Ben’s pursuit of it made him twisteverything he’d been taught: his mother was a coward because she refused to betrained beyond a certain point in the Force, Anakin Skywalker was weak becausehe saved Luke, Darth Vader was great because he used his power, his father wasweak and foolish because he wasn’t Force-sensitive and thus had no power. So Ben’saddiction to power turned him from the son they loved into something else thatthey didn’t recognize.  That’stheir way of understanding it, but it still doesn’t excuse anything he’s done,any more than addiction excuses a murder committed while high.

So they talk a little about Han’s ex-girlfriend Bria, whokicked an addiction, with Leia hoping that there might be some clues as to“what’s next” from that experience, but that comparison breaks down a bit  (“ButBria didn’t murder a bunch of students and then throw in with the fascists,either.”)

So Han poses the question a different way:

“All right, tell methis. If Anakin Skywalker had lived for longer than like 20 minutes or whateverafter he turned back, what would you have wanted for him?”

Leia snorted. “At thetime? To kill him, and then revive him and kill him again. Maybe severaltimes.”

But despite Leia’s rather bitter joke, they agree that ifK*lo comes back to the light, he’ll have to face whatever punishment is deemedfair, and if he doesn’t – he’s not really back in the light. And it wasimportant to me that Leia acknowledge that it will never really be the sameagain. You can’t go back, completely.

Then we get to the third order of business in this scene: toestablish exactly why Leia wants Han to go after their son. And I’m prettyproud of this explanation, so I’m going to quote it here:

“You know, one of thereasons I love you is that with you, I get to be…me. And you’ve always treated me that way.” She gave him a gentle smile.“I think— if Ben is going to come back to the light, we have to reach the partin him that is Ben. Not the Jedi. The person. The boy who used to fix the Falcon with you, who wanted to fly with you andChewie when he grew up. If he’s going to give up that power…he needs to knowthat he’s still someone without it.”

Leia needs Han to find Ben’s humanity—in some ways, this isa mirror of Luke’s quest to find Anakin Skywalker within Darth Vader. If he canreach the person, maybe they can show him how much he is loved without anyfancy Force tricks. And if love can bring back Anakin Skywalker, maybe it canbring back their son.

And finally, we get to the other purpose of this scene: forHan and Leia to get to have a reunion before Han leaves for Starkiller Base. Ilove writing these two as so bonkers about each other nearly forty years onthat they can’t keep their hands off each other anyway, but it was especially important for me to give them somekissing time because WHY WAS THERE NO KISS IN TFA?

So they get to have a little playful banter ahead of time,including this little bit:

“Han. Wait. We’resupposed to be having a reluctant reunion here. That doesn’t work if someonehears us.”

He kissed her again,then his breath was hot against her ear. “Maybe we’re not getting backtogether. Maybe you’re just usin’ me for sex,” he purred.

(Sometimes, frankly, I put lines into fics because they justamuse me, and isn’t fic writing supposed to be great fun?)

They argue playfully, they kiss, fade to black, and thenafterward she sends him off with his coat to help Finn and Chewie with the Falcon, and promising that after this,they can stop pretending and get the family back together.

It was important to me that Han and Leia send each other offwell. Both of them know the stakes, because they’ve lived them; they’vesacrificed too much to let each other go without expressing that. After Bespin,they don’t leave things unsaid. To me, this was something that was reallymissing from their dynamic in TFA, so I added it to my “things to fix” pile.

Well, if you’ve gotten this far, thank you for reading thiscommentary! I love chatting about all the little things that go into thesescenes, and apparently I had a lot to say, so thank you for indulging me. Andthanks to @culturevulture73 for the ask!