dxsertsuns

[dxsertsuns]

The celebration was in full swing but Luke felt little cause to join it. The Force hummed around him, as contented as a well-fed Tooka cat. Everything was right with the universe, or would be put to rights shortly and yet...

His father was dead. Luke knew he shouldn't feel that loss as keenly as he did. He'd barely known the man, and the parts he had known were monstrous. He'd hunted his friends like animals, he'd cut off Luke's hand, he'd killed Ben Kenobi. And yet Luke mourned.

He stared out of the viewport, counting the stars as they drifted by, when he felt the Force tugging at the corners of his awareness. It wanted him to notice something. He turned away from the space port, putting on a mask of serenity, just what everyone expected to see in a Jedi, and nearly collided with a Togruta woman.

"Do I know you?"

Somewhere deep in his heart he knew the answer; yes...and no all at once.

@dxsertsuns

It was odd to feel adrift, in such a time of joy. The Emperor-- the Chancellor-- was gone. Finally. After so many years of fighting. There was still work to be done: the cleanup, the rebuilding. But after decades of hiding and surviving... finally, there was time to breathe.

Time to mourn. It had been so long, though. Her sadness had been caught up with her fear, and now both were old and she was tired. Her celebration was bittersweet, sitting in the unsettling peace after war. What was she supposed to do now? What was left for a child soldier with an embittered past? Every home she'd ever had was long gone.

And already, she was losing her place in the rebellion. She could sense it in the air. At this meeting of rebel leadership, a conference a generals and politicians, she could see a gap already forming. The military voices were quieter. It was the age of diplomats again. As it should be. But they could talk a lot, it seemed, and get very little done in the meantime.

The primary assemblage was broken into so many groups, now. There were enough problems to solve, alliances to reform, policies to discuss. Ahsoka had already reported where remaining empire forces were to the people who most needed to hear it. And now...

She'd had a question in the back of her mind since news of the first battle station's destruction had reached her. A talented pilot from Tatooine. A Skywalker.

Ahsoka drifted further from the center of discussion, following a pull from the Force that she had been ignoring until now. She suspected she knew where it was taking her. She had a lot of suspicions. There was only one way to see them confirmed.

And when she saw him, she had to pause, heart in her throat. She could see them in him. Both of them.

"... Luke Skywalker?" It was phrased as a question, Ahsoka moving to join the young man in gazing out a viewport. She already knew the answer.

[dxsertsuns]

ben & luke

[dxsertsuns]

Everything Luke knew about fighting with a lightsaber he'd learned from Darth Vader and sheer, blind, stupid luck. Oh, he figured out the basics by himself; laser end goes in the bad guy, if you swung it the right way you could deflect blaster bolts, you could get an Imp to surrender just by igniting the blade.

Everything else? He'd learned on Bespin, trying desperately to copy Vader's movements. He'd lost a hand in the process and if he'd been anyone else; anyone other than Vader's son, he would've lost his life.

So when they'd met again, on some rebel extraction mission gone horribly wrong, and Vader'd offered to 'teach him the power of the dark' - Luke had...well...

"Alright father, teach me what you know."

He didn't plan to fall to the dark side. He didn't think he had it in him to be honest, but he needed training if he was to defeat the Emperor. Besides, some uninterrupted quality time could be just what Luke needed to drag his father back into the light.

"Though, I have it on good authority that I'm a terrible student."

@frcebalanced

[dxsertsuns]

Luke laughed, taking a sip of the liquor the bartender had slid his way. Smoother than the stuff he could get on Tatooine, and just as likely to get him drunk. Perfect.

"Nah, I'm-" he paused, what was he doing? Running definitely. Hiding, maybe. "Taking a vacation from the rebellion." He saluted with his new hand, leather-gloved, pretty obviously a prosthetic.

My dad cut off my arm Al, he didn't say. Also my dad's alive.

Kriff, he wanted to though. He'd only told Leia out of a fever-fueled bout of conversation, and he'd promised not to tell anyone else. The secret was burning a hole in his chest though. My father is Darth Vader, you know, the monster.

"I need everyone to stop asking me if I'm okay until I figure out the answer."

Well, well. Look at what the loth-cat dragged in.

“This is the only place to get decent Corellian whiskey,” he shrugged, biting back a grin. “At least when you’re not on Corellia. Didn’t expect to see a guy like you in a place like this, though.” 

Gorse was hardly a vacationer’s spot: dark all year ‘round with only its sister moon for light, it was definitely one of the surlier places in the Inner Rim to squat, especially for… the rebellious crowd.

“My girl’s doing business,” he added, hoping Luke understood. Jasmine and Leia, as princesses, knew each other distantly through the Senate, and now that both were in exile it seemed to Aladdin that they spoke somewhat frequently — but really, what did he know? 

“What about you? Crew finally get sick of you or what?”

[dxsertsuns]

pspsps kylo rpers. I have so many ideas for a divergant sequel era luke & ben dynamic. Double agent Ben? Doting uncle Luke? Luke taking Ben as a padawan? Luke just generally being a good uncle and not trying to kill his family? Luke helping Kylo come back to the light side because by god he's fucking done it before.

[dxsertsuns]

"I do know how to swim," Luke laughed. Everyone on Alderaan had to learn, or at least everyone in the palace. There were too many places to drown if you didn't know how to swim. Rapid moving rivers and lakes that were deeper than they looked.

He took the offered hand, his own was much softer, the work he did was hard but it required words not labor. "Luke Organa, I'm in the junior senate, and I can get anyone to believe anything." He smiled his sunniest smile, the kind that got even the staunchist Imperial supporters to bend a little.

"Have you ever been podracing? I heard they used to do that here. I've always wanted to see one."

Large brown eyes flickered wider for a moment at his response, leaning closer towards him as if she could somehow manifest herself to what he described just by proximity. “Really?” It wasn’t like she didn’t know that beaches existed, she knew there were whole worlds out there that were nothing but water, but she’d rarely ever seen enough to fill a few water tanks in person. “Do you know how to swim?” And then she promptly stuck out a tanned, calloused hand, a lopsided grin offered. “Leia. Skywalker. I can’t swim, but I can fix and fly just about anything ever so that’s gotta count for something right?”

[dxsertsuns]

I am of the belief that the dark side isn't inherantly evil. And so is Luke.

[dxsertsuns]

You know what's hilarious to me? Darth Vader canonically wanted to spend time with his son and canonically is so bad at feelings that he expressed this by hiring bounty hunters to KIDNAP Luke AND DRAG HIM TO THE IMPERIALS.

[dxsertsuns]

You want to fuck that old man so bad it makes you look stupid

[dxsertsuns]

Luke laughed despite himself, the calm Jedi facade crumbling completely as he failed to conceal his amusement. "I grew up here, honestly I just wanted to show Grogu the Skywalker farm."

He adjusted Grogu on his hip, deflecting the last of the blaster bolts. He didn't like this faction war. He knew that Jabba's death would cause a power vaccumn but he hadn't expected it to go on so long. He'd been expecting a local water baron to grab control quickly.

(And then promptly lose it once Luke came back to free the slaves.)

The fact that it hadn't...Luke didn't know what that meant. But it made him uneasy. Someone was in control enough to make the other water barons and slave lords uncomfortable. That could be good, but it meant a lot of lives lost and that twisted Luke's stomach.

"What are you doing here?"

"Haven’t spent much time on Tatooine, have you?”

As far as Din knew, there was always something happening on the planet - someone being shot in a cantina or having their arm ripped off in the street. Maybe the place would clean up some with Boba handling things, but as far as Outer Rim planets went, Tatooine was rough with something criminal always going on.

Then again, maybe Skywalker just didn’t have any idea of what danger was since he had a planet side bolt hole that he was offering up, so he had to have spent some time there.

“I have a duty to a friend to finish, but after the dust settles.” Boba would likely be willing to give him a day or two to lay low in his ‘palace’, but depending on the farm, that may be better. But first he needed to find Boba again, make sure he was still alive and that the spice runners were gone.

“What are you doing here?”

[dxsertsuns]

Imagine if the sequels had let Luke Skywalker avoid the mistakes of his predessors.

Then Ben wouldn't have fallen (as far) and we could've had a double agent Kylo thing where he's honestly struggling with the dark side and his love for his family instead of Luke having tried to kill him.

[dxsertsuns]

"Oh buddy no!" Luke cried, dropping his books on the coffee table and rushing over to Grogu's side. "I bet that tasted real icky huh," He swept the kid off the counter, twirling him around until he laughed.

"You know I think I still have a recipe from my aunt for homemade play-doh," he offered Din. "It's really just regular bread dough without a couple of things and with food dye. If the little man here really wants to eat it, it'd be safe and probably taste far better."

Aunt Beru had been into making homemade alternatives to the toys and games Luke begged for. Now he knew it was due to money, play-doh had been too expensive, but making a little extra bread dough and setting it aside? Easy. Plus then Luke got to be involved.

Luke transferred Grogu to his hip and sidled up next to Din. "So what are we cooking?"

"Oh buddy no!" Luke cried, dropping his books on the coffee table and rushing over to Grogu's side. "I bet that tasted real icky huh," He swept the kid off the counter, twirling him around until he laughed.

"You know I think I still have a recipe from my aunt for homemade play-doh," he offered Din. "It's really just regular bread dough without a couple of things and with food dye. If the little man here really wants to eat it, it'd be safe and probably taste far better."

Aunt Beru had been into making homemade alternatives to the toys and games Luke begged for. Now he knew it was due to money, play-doh had been too expensive, but making a little extra bread dough and setting it aside? Easy. Plus then Luke got to be involved.

Luke transferred Grogu to his hip and sidled up next to Din. "So what are we cooking?"

[dxsertsuns]

"Hadn't planned on it being a turf war," Luke answered easily, spinning his saber so it deflected the oncoming fire and angling himself to shield Grogu and the Mandolorian.

Honestly, he'd just wanted to show Grogu his home. The child's mind was a mess of fear and adventure and the blazing fire of whatever trauma had happened to him in his past, he'd thought the sands of Tatooine might be able to calm that as it had for Luke so many times.

Besides, he'd owed his Aunt and Uncle a visit, he hadn't been back to clean their graves in too long.

"That was just bad luck." Though maybe it wasn't. Grogu's father was here and Luke could just make out the threads of the Force weaving them together, though in what shape he didn't know. The blaster fire ceased and Luke shut off his saber, kneeling down to check Grogu for injuries.

"I know a farm outside of town if you need a place to hole up for a bit."

@dxsertsuns​  // The  suns  of  Tatooine  were  blinding  as  they  illuminated  the  streets,  as  if  making  certain  that  they  couldn't  hide  from  Boba's  enemies.  Things  were  deadlier  than  Boba  originally  described  them,  but  Din  wasn't  going  to  leave  and  wouldn't  have  attempted  it  even  if  he  wanted  to.

A  blaster  bolt  hit  stone  a  centimeter  from  his  arm  and  Din  had  to  give  the  gang  of  spice  runners  this  much  -  they  had  better  aim  than  the  Imps.  Not  as  good  as  Fennec  (and  wasn't  that  a  relief),  but  still  good  enough  to  be  a  problem.  At  least  the  citizens  of  Tatooine  seemed  familiar  enough  with  fights  breaking  out  in  the  streets  that  they  all  had  the  good  sense  to  get  out  of  the  way,  innocent  casualties  and  human  shields  not  an  issue  as  Din  fired  back.

Beskar  could  deflect  a  hit,  but  there  were  still  exposed  places  on  his  body  that  would  be  easy  to  wound  if  the  aim  was  right  and  with  as  many  of  them  as  there  were,  it  wouldn't  be  long  before  someone  scored  a  hit.

A  blaster  bolt  shot  wide,  at  least  one  bad  marksman  in  the  lot,  and  Din  didn't  think  anything  of  it  until  he  saw  a  blaster  bolt  come  flying  from  behind  him.

Instantly  alert  and  on  edge  at  the  idea  of  more  shooters  having  crept  up  behind  him,  Din  spun  around  with  his  blaster  raised  only  to  be  confronted  with  the  sight  of  the  Jedi,  green  laser  sword  lit,  and  -

“Grogu?”

A  series  of  rapidly  shifting  emotions  hit  Din  as  he  recognized  the  child,  his  child,  and  there  were  many  things  he  could  have  said,  but  what  actually  came  out  was,  “You  brought  a  child  to  a  turf  war?"  

[dxsertsuns]

OVER THE GARDEN WALL SENTENCE STARTERS.

❝ Where…are we? ❞

❝ I-I think we’re lost! ❞

❝ Did you hear that? ❞

❝ Maybe I can help, I mean, you are lost, right? ❞

❝ What, in the world, is going on? ❞

❝ What are you doing here? Explain yourself! ❞

❝ You’re more lost than you realize. ❞

❝ Is there a beast out there? ❞

❝ Did you know that if you soak a raisin in grape juice, it turns into a grape? ❞

❝ You have beautiful eyes! ❞

❝ I want to steal. ❞

❝ Ain’t that just the way. ❞

❝ I’ll never give up. ❞

❝ I’m trying to help you! ❞

❝ I’ve got my own problems to take care of. ❞

❝ Well then…perhaps we better make a deal.❞

❝ Oh you wonderful mistake of nature! ❞

❝ You find this place as creepy as I do, right? ❞

❝ You’ll die some day, and I’ll laugh! ❞

❝ What if it’s not a ghost and I’m just…on the brink of madness? ❞

❝ What’s the matter? You seem tense. ❞

❝ You better be wise and don’t believe his lies. ❞

❝ It won’t open! Well…guess we gotta spend some quality time together. ❞

❝ It’s my fault we ended up here. Everything’s been my fault. ❞

❝ You can do anything if you set your mind to it! ❞

❝ Are you ready to see true darkness? ❞

❝ Hold your tongue or I’ll remove it from your mouth! ❞

❝ I really, really wanna see a ghost, really bad. ❞

❝ I’m not just gonna wander around the woods for the rest of my life. ❞

❝ If dreams can’t come true, then why not pretend? ❞

❝ We are just wayward leaves, scattered to the air by an indifferent wind. ❞

❝ Further and further, drifting away from where I want to be, who I want to be. ❞

[dxsertsuns]

Luke blinks at the overwhelming sensation of alarm he can feel coming from this woman. He slams up his mental shields, trying to radiate peace and serenity. Trying to slow her heartrate at the very least, it’s too fast to be healthy. 

“Know me?” For all he laughs at being recognized, he’s never sure how to deal with it. Part of him wants to bask in it like he’d bask in the suns of Tatooine, another part wants to hide, and yet another part lists all the ways Jedi are supposed to react to all of this. 

“I’m Luke Skywalker,” he offers sheepishly. “I fought for the rebellion?” 

“What’s your name?”

𝐀 𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐋 𝐈𝐒 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐃 𝐓𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐋𝐘 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐓 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄. it contains everything from her most recent haul that she’s hoping to pawn off, from various robotic parts to intricate jewelry to handwoven garments, all from her travels. something to provide enough compensation for food and shelter for the traveler. she’s having difficulty finding her usual dealer amongst the bustle of the space hub, wide eyes scanning over the crowd, not paying much attention to what’s in front of her until - bam, someone bumps right into her.

pink fingers only hold her belongings tighter as she briefly stumbles back, the hood from her cloak falling down over her shoulders and no longer keeping her covered. despite his smile, she’s tense.

there’s something about him… it’s familiar, but she can’t place it quite yet. it’s no wonder she doesn’t shy away as quickly as that big lug. “me? you did not hurt me. i am not fragile.” the words leave her lips with poise, and she holds her ground firm despite the way her heartrate picks up. “where do i know you from?”

[dxsertsuns]

The first thing he noticed upon tumbling gracelessly to the ground was the Force. It sang here, bright and well....light. He wasn’t used to that. He was used to  cupping dying embers of light and holding them close in a roiling sea of darkness. 

The second thing he noticed was the architecture. It was grand and airy and most importantly; not crumbling. Luke didn’t know of any building as grand as this that was still in one piece. Unless;

Well. Unless it was in the Core. Coruscant had looked like this when they’d liberated it. Luke hadn’t known another planet like it.

Luke was so busy staring at the walls that it took him an embarrassingly long time to notice the person in the hall, staring at him. 

“Oh, sorry.” He grasped at an excuse to pretend like he belonged here but he didn’t know where HERE was. So instead he flashed a smile, sun-bright and gleaming. “I appear to be a bit turned around. I’m Luke Skywalker, who are you?”

@desireandduty​

[dxsertsuns]

oh god watching the last jedi is physically painful.