#leia is not used to being told what to do and having to do it or else like her brother is

[happyhauntt]

fight or flight — poe dameron.

writing masterlist | askbox

─── summary: you and poe have never seen eye-to-eye. most days, you wonder if you ever will.

─── pairing: poe dameron x solo!reader.

─── warnings: reader is gender neutral, reader is han & leia's child, no use of y/n. lots of snarky banter. this was supposed to be flirty fluff but it turned into an angstfest so, yeah, sorry for that. finn eavesdrops and chewie is sassy bastard.

─── word count: 1.6k.

     “YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME.”

     Poe ducks his head and quickly manages to conceal the wince creeping onto his features just in time, but crouched in the cockpit beside him, Rey still feels his shoulders go stiff. She presses a hand to her mouth in a weak attempt to stifle her laugh, but she’s not quite successful as Poe shoots her a glare.

     She doesn’t blame him, really. You are… Well, sort of scary when you’re angry.

     There’s more than just a spark of your mother’s fire in you, that’s for sure.

     Glancing over her shoulder, she finds you standing in the doorway, regarding the pair of them with a ruthless glare so sharp it might leave a mark.

     Rey is suddenly pretty sure that Poe didn’t talk to you like he said he would.

     “I go for a nap because I haven’t slept properly in two days after you—” The finger you jab in Poe’s direction might as well be a knife, the way he flinches, “— get us stranded in First Order territory after leading us on a wild goose chase, knock out the comms and the navigation with your, frankly batshit, behaviour which I have spent hours trying to fix, and then I left you with one simple instruction.”

     Which… Alright, not all of that is strictly fair, Rey thinks, because at least half of the chaos of the past few days can be attributed to sheer bad luck, and another third can be blamed on decisions made under pressure whose outcomes boiled down to bad or worse.

     It’s not really Poe’s fault. Not anymore than the rest of them, at least.

     But Rey knows how you feel about this ship. The Falcon is your inheritance, the only real home you have left in the world. It’s all that is left of your father.

     You were protective of it even before he died, and since—

     Rey clears her throat. “I’m just gonna… go check on Finn.”

     Poe’s expression reeks of betrayal as Rey scoots past you to go and find Finn, who’s loitering in the main hold with Chewbacca, but she’s not about to hang around and get caught in the crossfire between the two of you.

     She doesn’t have a death wish.

     Finn looks just suspicious enough, when she locates him, that she doesn’t even bother scolding him for eavesdropping. She’s about to do the same, after all.

     “He told me he checked it was alright before we started reconfiguring the navicomputer.” Rey folds her arms across her chest, frowning in the direction of the cockpit. Your voice is still rattling down the corridor towards them.

     Finn clicks his tongue. “Evidently not.”

     In the cockpit, Poe pushes himself to stand, resting a hand on the back of the captain’s chair. Your voice is hard as duracrete as you take a step towards him, crowding the small space with so much of your frustration that it feels difficult to breathe.

     Poe wonders if the sensors are on the blink, and someone popped an airlock somewhere, because the air feels a little thin. You jab in the chest with your finger, and all he does is blink, suddenly lightheaded.

     “I gave you one instruction. I said, the nav systems are rebooting, I’m going grab some shuteye, don’t touch anything. And what do you do?”

     “The console was beeping!”

     “I don’t care if a damn mynock got in here and started eating it, I said don’t touch it.”

     “But it’s alright for Rey to touch it?” He’s being petty, he knows that, but an angry flush has started creeping up your neck, and he wants to know what you look like with your cheeks coloured that delightful shade of pink.

     “Rey didn’t break it!” A ragged breath tears from your throat, and you rake a hand roughly through your hair. “She knows what she’s doing. I trust her.”

     “And you don’t trust me, is that it?” Something like sadness swirls low in his gut as he waits for your response. It hurts him to ask, even though he’s wearing his bravado like a mask, even though he likes pushing all your buttons because when your eyes flash like that, it’s like standing in the eye of a hurricane or falling in zero gravity.

     You’re not friends, he knows that. Not since the day you met, and you pressed a blaster up against his neck in the cargo hold of your old ship and he’d grinned down at you as if getting his life threatened was his favourite pastime.

     He’d been trying to steal it. You’re still not sure what happened, exactly, except that there were Stormtroopers firing at your ship — which, honestly, was held together by little more than string and sheer stubbornness at that point — and your mother’s favourite flyboy watching you with a bizarre hope in his eyes, and you’d just… hated him, in that moment.

     Hated him for crashing into your life and dragging you, kicking and screaming, back to the life you’d fled. Hated your mother for her good heart and your father for running away. Hated the whole damn galaxy for not killing you when it had the chance.

     Poe had wanted you to take him to D’Qar, but you’d spent too long leaving things behind to go back now, so you’d dropped him at the nearest safe outpost and prayed you’d never see him again.

     Clearly, the universe had other plans.

     It’s been years since that first encounter, but neither of you have warmed to one another since then. There’s very little point, you think. He’s unbearable, always needling at you, picking at all of your defences as if he has a right to know you.

     It doesn’t matter. In the end, everyone leaves, one way or another.

     You just wish he’d hurry up and do it, already.

     You’re not friends, but you’re something more and something less, and the way your lower lip twitches at his question feels like a punch to the gut.

     “Why should I?” You blink at him, and a moment later you realise how close you’ve grown, almost chest-to-chest with this man who drives you mad. With a rough swallow, you force yourself to take a step back.

     He doesn’t move. Hardly dares to breathe, with his mouth curled into that little half-smirk he knows you hate, because it hurts that you don’t trust him, but it would hurt more if you knew it.

     “Why shouldn’t you?”

     A scoff. “Well, for starters, I don’t think you’ve ever had a plan that didn’t blow up in your face.”

     The familiar howl of Finn’s laughter rolls down the corridor, quickly cut off by a quiet thump and a low, pained groan.

     Poe blinks at you. “Excuse me?”

     “And you don’t take proper care of the Falcon!” The controls and all their exposed wires serve to prove your point.

     Turning on your heel, you march out into the corridor, abandoning him in the cockpit. He stares at your retreating form, unable to kick his brain back into gear for a few seconds, but a moment later he’s striding after you.

     “I take care of the Falcon!”

     A huff of laughter bubbles out of you, entirely lacking in humour. “Lightspeed skipping.”

     “That was one time!” His voice squeaks out of him much higher than he’d like, and as they emerge into the main hold, he clears his throat. “And the Falcon was fine.”

     You come to a stop so suddenly that he can almost hear your shoes screeching on the floor. “It was twice, and just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should. That seems like a lesson you should’ve learned by now, but no, you keep pushing it!”

     Reckless and stubborn, headstrong and utterly selfless. Not for the first time, you regret being dragged back into this mess. Your life hadn’t exactly been peaceful before — you are your father’s child, after all — but it wasn’t this.

     How many more heroes will you watch die before all of this is over?

     How much of it can you take?

     You watch one of those heroes stare at you, now, and it feels like you’ve swallowed a handful of broken glass.

     Behind you, sitting at the dejarik table and making absolutely no attempt to disguise his eavesdropping, Finn leans close to Rey. “You’d never guess they were married, huh?”

     He’s whispering, but it’s not exactly quiet.

     As if you’re suddenly possessed by the same entity, you and Poe whirl around, mouths agape. “We are not married.”

     An uncomfortable heat curls around your spine at the thought of it. Married to Poe Dameron? You cannot imagine anything worse.

     Chewie, seated opposite Finn and Rey, makes an exasperated sound. Rey can’t help but snort.

     You narrow your eyes at your father’s oldest friend, resting your hands on your hips. “‘Could’ve fooled me?’ Chewie, what are you talking about?”

     As your wrath settles upon a new victim, Poe takes the opportunity to slip out of sight, with every intention of hiding in the Engineering Bay on the opposite end of the ship until the danger has passed.

     Marching quickly down the corridor, Poe drags a hand over his unbearably warm face and feels like something beneath his ribcage is itching to crawl out. He thinks it might be his heart.

Married to you. Yeah. He can’t think of anything worse, either.

[david-talks-sw]

I got a good feeling about "The Acolyte"

Not even kidding. Like, I've spoken before about why I'm wary of it.

George Lucas' Star Wars is something that intentionally has black and white morality, rather than shades of gray. Those movies are meant for kids and projecting a "gray" morality onto them then proclaiming it was George's vision all along is doing so in bad faith.

The narrative of the Prequels doesn't frame the Prequel Jedi in as negative a light as Leslye Headland, Dave Filoni, etc etc do.

See here for more details, but bottom line: yeah, a show that has a darksider as the underdog is bound to demonize the Jedi (who are the actual underdogs in the Prequels), and obviously that rubs me the wrong way.

BUT.

The trailer looks fucking cool. It really really does.

And more importantly? I've done some research... and Leslye Headland is ticking a lot of good boxes, in my book.

1. The Acolyte won't be a 10-hour movie.

I've criticized Disney Plus shows before, explaining that a big source for most of their issues is that these series are being structured as "long movies" rather than, y'know, actual shows.

But in this interview with Collider, Headland addresses that: it'll be a series. Not a long movie that you need to watch across four weeks.

Thank God. You have no idea how much that comforts me. Finally a showrunner who's, y'know, actually running a show.

And this goes hand in hand with what she told IGN, here, about how she's going about building suspense.

Yes! Exactly! That's how it's supposed to be!

Like, compare this to Baylan Skoll's storyline in Ahsoka.

In no possible way was that emotionally-fulfilling. For 8 episodes we had no idea what he was after, and the season ended where we still don't know. What does he want? What is he after? Your guess is as good as mine, it's something Mortis-related.

So yeah. Maybe getting the Emmy-nominated trained screenwriter on board to run this was a good idea.

2. Maybe the Jedi will not be as demonized as I originally thought.

Don't get me wrong. 80% of what she says about the Jedi makes me cringe. It's the typical fan's interpretation and y'all know I disagree with that interpretation.

It's painful to see her refer to the Jedi as an institution (not how the Prequels' narrative frames them) and to see her frame "Balance" in the "oh there's so many of them and just two Sith, that means the Force is out of balance" meaning... but at least she acknowledges the Jedi are a benevolent institution.

They're not an "elitist force hiding in their ivory tower" as others have described the Jedi.

Moreover, there'll be a variety of Jedi POVs, many personalities.

Yord Fandar, is described as a strictly by-the-book Jedi Knight and guardian from the Jedi Temple, is an overachiever and a rule follower.

The question now becomes: will the narrative frame him as "your typical Jedi" or is it just this one guy? I'm hoping it's the latter.

I also like how her reasoning goes re: Jedi drawing their lightsabers.

Which explains the hand-to-hand combat seen in the trailer.

This teenager is coming at Carrie-Ann Moss with a dagger, of course the Jedi won't draw her saber.

3. She's a fan of Star Wars... but a screenwriter first.

You can tell in the interviews she's a fan. She's using words like "BBY" and "EU" casually. In the above-linked interviews she's bringing up the Nightsisters, Timothy Zahn, The Clone Wars, she mentions she has a tattoo of Ralph McQuarrie's concept art of Leia, the High Republic books, etc.

She's done her homework. She's a fan.

But the vibe I'm getting from these interviews is that she's weaving in these various lore-elements in a more organic way, rather than in the "fan-servicey" way Dave Filoni has been doing in his shows.

The references and Easter Eggs will be there, but the narrative won't bend over itself just so you can get it. Crafting a good story comes first, and Andor is a beautiful illustration of why this is true.

Which is why I was never bothered about one of the writers never having watched Star Wars before getting the job. You need those fresh eyes when you're tackling something of this scale.

That makes sense to me. Maybe it's because of my own screenwriting experience, but yeah. That out-of-the box perspective is precious.

And like, obviously, that writer watched the films eventually, but for some reason everyone who bitched about Headland omitted that detail and opted for a more bad faith interpretation.

Hm. Wonder why.

Maybe it's the same reason that months ago this clipped audio circulated socials without context, in which she debates whether Star Wars only came from George Lucas and only Lucas is the key.

The FULL context of that interview reveals that she's actually:

debating the "autheur director" myth and positing that it was achieved by a collective of excellent filmmakers and craftspeople that George was skilled and smart enough to recruit...

the studios now think it's a simple as hiring one guy and throwing money at him, because they have no idea what the fuck they're talking about. See Napoleon (2023) for example.

Yes, she also does a jab to the Prequels, which speaks to the generation of fans she's a part of... but overall she's giving Lucas props whilst also stating an ideological difference, that's it!

George is a proponent of the "autheur" theory, Leslye isn't.

However, guess what, in like half the talks George gave post-selling Star Wars? He's giving shoutouts to everyone who helped make the first film, even remembering their names.

So I'm not even sure he'd vehemently disagree with Leslye, in fact they'd prolly have a conversation about it and immediately bitch about how stupid studio executives are :D

But that's not as incendiary, is it? Again, the more I do the research, the more it feels like the reason most of these influencers are hating on her is purely sexist.

I mean, on IGN she's even acknowledging that she does plan on taking stock of fan reactions for Season 2.

It's not a guarantee that she'll incorporate the feedback, but at least that's more consideration than, say, JJ Abrams or Rian Johnson gave the fandom.

She's even bringing the moral ambiguity that the Gray Jedi-loving edge-lords love so much.

"No, she's a woke feminist! Anything she does is evil! Eww, girls!"

🙄

Needless to say... I'm gonna give it a shot.

I think it's gonna be a good show, I think it's gonna be a solid story.

I'm crossing my fingers that they won't as biased against the Jedi as it seems they'll be. Even if they are... if it's still an enjoyable experience, I'll gloss over it.

As @gffa states in this post:

Worst case? It's not a story from George. I can dismiss it from my headcanon without a moment's hesitation :D

[maidenvault]

RotJ makes a point of letting us know that Leia is Luke's sister, they've known this on some level for a long time, and he probably cares more about her than anyone in the world because this gives so much more weight to his conflict at the end of the movie, and I think this is a huge thing people overlook when they argue that him redeeming his father represents a rejection of the old Jedi ways of non-attachment. Because in the moment he has to let go of Leia and his friends to be able to actually save Anakin.

When Obi-Wan tries to convince Luke that he has to kill Vader and there's no other way, he doesn’t really discuss it as an issue of Luke having an attachment to him. I think he knows this isn't really the Jedi way but just like in the previous war, they don't seem to be faced with any good choices. Obi-Wan believes what Luke wants is truly impossible and, having failed to stop Vader when he could have before, of course he's trying to stop Luke from making the same mistake.

But it's significant that in the same conversation, Obi-Wan does warn him that his love for his sister could be made a liability if he's not careful. When Luke learns he has a twin and reveals how strong a connection he feels with Leia because he doesn't even have to be told who it is, Obi-Wan's response sets up how this will play into the climax of the film:

"Your insight serves you well. Bury your feelings deep down, Luke. They do you credit, but they could be made to serve the Emperor."

Then when Luke is brought to Sidious, he reveals to Luke that the Rebellion is walking right into a trap as a way to torment and provoke him. Luke gets angrier and angrier while helplessly watching the fleet get ambushed and finally does just what Sidious wants and tries to attack him. But it's Vader specifically threatening Leia that makes Luke totally lose control of his feelings and fight him in a rage.

Luke is basically facing the same kind of test he failed so badly in ESB by running off to help his friends. When Yoda is trying to make him see he's not ready to face Vader and keep him from going to Bespin, he says something that I think is such an underrated quote in its importance to Luke's whole journey:

"Decide you must how to serve them best. If you leave now, help them you could, but you would destroy all for which they have fought and suffered."

Luke is really lucky he doesn't get killed in Cloud City (or captured, which I think at this point could have resulted in him being turned). Yoda knows Luke is the one person with a chance of defeating the Emperor and Luke just about throws that away.

But at the end of RotJ when Luke cuts off Vader's hand, he surely is reminded of his failure at Bespin and sees the path he's starting down by succumbing to his fears like that again. He stops because he sees he's betraying his loved ones and everything he is. He can only throw away his weapon and confidently tell the Emperor to eat shit then because he's no longer afraid of dying or of those he loves dying. He's done what his father couldn't do and kept his soul intact, which is what Leia would want. Because real love isn't selfishly trying to save someone by betraying what they believe in like Anakin did with Padme. And it obviously has to be an incredibly powerful thing for Vader to see his own son able to do this, even comparing himself to the man he once was ("I am a Jedi, like my father before me").

We remember everything working out okay so it's easy sometimes to forget that Luke gives this triumphant speech when the rebel fleet is getting pulverized outside and things overall still look pretty hopeless. He probably expects he could die at this point. But like Obi-Wan in his own death scene, he knows nothing can destroy him now. And it's the love he feels for his family that gives him the strength to let go.

[gffa]

If Kenobi season 2 happens and they bring back Commander Cody, how do you think they should handle Obi-Wan and Cody storywise?

I'm so very on the fence about whether I would even want a second season of the show--the first season was never meant to be anything beyond a mini-series and I think having it be self-contained that way made it so much more satisfying. It wasn't meant to be an ongoing story like The Mandalorian is, and Ewan was just leaving the door open for any potential future stories. On the other hand, I WILL NEVER HAVE ENOUGH OF EWAN'S OBI-WAN. For me, I think any potential second season needs to really feel like it has a point and feel sufficiently tied to Obi-Wan's core story if they're going to the effort of bringing all the actors back again. Which means: Anakin needs to be a central figure in it, even if I'm not sure how well that would work after that unnamed moon wrapped things up pretty well between them and Obi-Wan was where he needed to be for ANH. An Obi-Wan show needs to be centered on Obi-Wan's story. Versus that I think whatever Cody's storyline is, it needs to be about him, and not about someone else story. Which means I'm not sure how good I would feel about him being part of an Obi-Wan show, which would make his issues about Obi-Wan, meanwhile Obi-Wan's been more about Anakin and Luke and the Jedi. (Leia worked because she was about Anakin and Padme and Obi-Wan's connections to the Republic/Bail.) I would prefer Cody's story about what he does after leaving the Empire to be told elsewhere because I think Cody deserves to get that to himself. What I really want is a story that can fully focus on Rex and Cody meeting up again and maybe joining the Rebellion or working together to help other clones. There's some really potentially good, crunchy conflict to be had between Obi-Wan and Cody because of Utapau, and theoretically what I would love is if it could be tied into a story about rescuing Luke and some clones somehow, that they intersect for an episode or two, that it has this undercurrent of how well they worked together--and still do, they fall right back into seamlessly understanding each other and complementing each other's fighting styles--but that they're on different paths now. Obi-Wan has his sacred duty to watch over Anakin's son on Tatooine. Cody has his need to help his clone brothers or fight in the bigger Rebellion. Both important paths, but they part ways as friends again, maybe Obi-Wan can put him in touch with Bail to join the Rebellion proper. I would love to see Cody and Obi-Wan crossing paths again, conflict about what happened on Utapau, maybe that's how Obi-Wan finds out about the chips, Cody gets closure and can go on to fight against the Empire that oppressed him and his brothers, Obi-Wan is watching over Luke to ensure the galaxy has a future, and both of their core stories are respected, but there's resolution here. I'm not against cameos in Star Wars, I just want them to be used for emotional resolution, not because of Rule of Cool. This is why I thought the 501st trooper was perfect for the show, because it was part of the theme of Obi-Wan seeing Anakin's ghosts everywhere, that's why Leia worked so well for me in the show, because it was about Anakin's ghosts again, about the missing part of Obi-Wan as a Jedi who was a teacher, about the loss of Padme in the galaxy, about his duty to help the people of the Republic where he could versus his own crushing depression and trauma. Whatever role Cody would play on the show, I would want it to support the core of those same themes, while also respecting that Cody has his own story to be told. What I picture so clearly in my head is, post-fight scene where they've wiped the floor with whoever was coming after them, is just the two of them nodding at each other in understanding, that there are scars between them but they both can let it go now, Obi-Wan knows it wasn't a betrayal, Cody knows that Obi-Wan doesn't hold it against him, they both know the other has purpose in their life, and they each have regained a friend. The galaxy looks a little brighter after that.

[castiwls]

"stay close to the people who feel like sunlight"

being a skywalker and best friends with poe...

Your Luke’s kid and the youngest in your family. 

Growing up you were close with your dad as it was mainly just the two of you (your mum was never in the picture)

Like most of your family, you were powerful in the force and in turn, your dad made the decision to train you with your cousin.

You and Poe met when you were kids through a small gathering of such. Old rebellion members would try and meet every few months and it was the Dameron's time to host.

You and Poe were adjoined at the hip after.

You both seemed to fit together like two pieces of a puzzle. You both had a love for flying and both wanted to one day help the galaxy if needed (It would be)

You were kinda opposites in terms of Poe being more impulsive while you were a bit better at thinking things out.

But that was just part of the reason why you both worked so well together.

You’d both stayed in contact mainly through comm calls while you were still with your dad.

Poe thought it was incredibly cool that his best friend was a Jedi.

When Ben fell to the dark side and destroyed the temple it was Poe who you ran to.

You told him everything about what had happened. You were shocked but not surprised that Ben had fallen.

“I Should have seen it coming, the signs were all there…now they're all dead.” Poe shook his head at your words. “No. His actions aren’t your fault. Their deaths are on him, not you.”

After losing Ben and your Dad you stayed with Poe and his dad for a while. Leia would visit from time to time while she was building the Resistance.

You helped gather support.

Eventually, you and Poe made the decision to go and fight in the war. You both took on a squadron.

You were pretty much an unstoppable force together (When you weren't arguing)

Fighting helped you to take your mind off your father's disappearance. 

Poe insisted on helping you in the search for your father.

He also stole your lightsaber a few times. 

“What are you doing?” You grinned slightly coming up behind him. Poe jumped swearing under his breath before quickly pushing the saber behind his back. “Nothing just looking for my jacket.”

You taught him a few simple tricks after that. He never shut up about it to your friends and how you had let him use your saber.

At times when the war was quieter, you would both go find somewhere quiet in the woods around the base and just sit and talk for hours.

You’d tell him about stories your dad told you. You’d also sometimes talk about stories you’d found out about your grandfather from the Clone Wars. (You spent a lot of time looking at old articles as a child)

Poe would tell you about his mom slowly.

You were each other's biggest supporters and would do anything for the other.

[chloe-skywalker]

Expecting Twins - Poe Dameron (Part #1)

Poe x Fem!reader Solo

Warnings: none

Word count: 856

Summary: Y/n has been feeling sick lately so Poe and her mother Leia suggest she go to the medbay. Poe has to go on a mission so Leia goes with her. Turns out their expecting. With twins.

Authors Note: Part 2 will include telling Poe

Masterlist

STARWARS Masterlist

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

“Sick again?” Poe asked coming into the bathroom in their shared room, kneeling down next to Y/n. He held her hair back out of her way.

“Yeah.” Y/n groaned, she was sick of being sick.

“I’m sorry.” He grimaced, wishing he could do something to help.

Y/n shook her head, he wasn’t to blame for her being sick. But it was nice that he sympathizes for her. “Not your fault.”

Poe sighed watching her get up and wash her mouth and face. Poe had been worried for awhile now, watching Y/n throw up for weeks. “Y/n/n I really think you should go to the medbay.” 

“It’s just a stomach bug.” Y/n waved him off.

Poe sighed, he’d been trying to get her to go for a while now and she just keeps refusing. “We got a meeting with your mom.”

“Ugh.” Y/n groaned at having to leave the comfort of their room.

^     ^     ^

“Poe. Y/n.” Leia greeted the young couple as they entered the command bay. Leia instantly noticed how her daughter didn’t look very well.

Y/n lifted her hand at her mom the best she could do to acknowledge at that moment since she had a sudden dizziness come over her for a second. Poe stopped beside her, resting a hand on her back just in case.

“Hey General.” Poe smiled and greeted his mother in law once they made it up onto the platform.

“Mom.” Y/n nodded trying to smile but she still feels a bit sick.

“Still not feeling well?” Leia raised a brow. Even though she was asking she already knew the answer, she is Y/n’s mother after all.

“No she’s not.” Poe answered before Y/n could speak. Which made the woman in question roll her eyes at their behavior.

“You need to go to the medbay.” Leia stated in her stern mom voice she used to use when Y/n was a child.

“Told you.” Poe smirked in a ‘I told you so way.’

“Well I’m making it an order.” Leia smirked as well. Y/n couldn’t refuse a direct order from her general or mother.

“Fine.” Y/n grumbled, annoyed that her mom and husband were ganging up on her.

“I’ll go with you.” Poe smiled happy that she would finally have to go and get checked out now.

“You can’t. I have a mission for you.” Leia spoke up, it was easy for her to notice the conflict on Poe’s face. “You won’t be gone long, it's a quick mission but you leave before lunch.”

Poe nodded, he hated that he wouldn’t be there but he’d be back as soon as possible. Poe tilted his head down to kiss her forehead. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Okay, love you.” Y/n smiled at him in understanding. She hates when he has to go but she knows it’s necessary.

“Love you too.” He smiled back before he left to go prepare his X-Wing.

That afternoon Poe took off and Y/n stood there watching him leave. He sent one last wave which Y/n returned before he left.

“Let’s get you to the medbay.” Leia offered her arm to her daughter as they turned to leave the hanger.

Once they got there the mother and daughter were put into a room, and there they sat and waited for the doctor to come in. Which didn’t take long.

“So, what are your symptoms?” The doctor asked.

“Achey, tired, puking all day.” Y/n listed, even though she hadn’t wanted to go she did kinda wanna know if something was wrong.

The doctor nodded with a smile. “I think I know what’s going on but let’s double check, okay. So how long has this been going on?”

Y/n glared at her mom, then her shoes before back at the doctor and she stated biting her lip. “If you ask Poe a month, if I tell you the truth about 2 an half.”

Y/n could feel her mother’s eyes on her but she choose to ignore it.

“Okay. Lean back for me. This is gonna be cold.” The doctor said as she squeezed some gel onto Y/n’s stomach, before moving a handle kind of thing around on top of her tummy.

“Well this is the reason your feeling sick.” The doctor started as she moved the wand thing away and wiped clean Y/n’s stomach. She smiled at Y/n before saying. “Your pregnant.”

“What?” Y/n raised her brows, jaw dropping in shock. Sure her and Poe had sex and sex create’s a baby but they’ve been very careful. The two wanted kids but not during such a dangerous time.

“Your pregnant Mrs.Dameron. And it looks like twins.” The doctor shared the news with the mother and daughter with a smile. The doctor left the room after to give them some time to digest the news.

As Y/n sat there with the news of being pregnant she couldn’t help but joke with herself that Poe was at fault for her being sick.

Taglist: @gruffle1 @padawancat97

[fanfic-obsessed]

Mediation...?

This one I came up with as I walked to work, and so we will all explore it. It is a Post Empire AU. I know, I do not usually go for post-empire, but the horror and humor of this idea spoke to me.  

Let’s take a look, yeah?

The AU part is that both Obi Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker survived through the end of the Empire. So we don’t have to deal with too many changes too early, Obi Wan was severely injured and in Bacta for the entire time of the OT (or he got injured again just before the events of each movie, whichever works better). 

After Vader comes back to the light, he is fitted with prosthetics that actually fit (including being the correct height). He is still required to wear a mask ,but it is more like Plo Koons than Vader (covering his mouth and nose but not his entire face). The burns he got from Mufastar meant that he had no hair, and the suit he wore for those years meant that he was unnaturally pale. As a consequence he no longer looks like Vader (not just because he lost 5 inches in height with the correct legs).  

Most of the galaxy does not know that Vader and Anakin Skywalker are the same person. Anakin was also largely forgotten, and the few who did remember him (without knowing the Vader connection) would quietly muse about how much Vader seemed to hate Anakin Skywalker, the Hero without Fear (there is no doubt in my head that the person Vader hated the most was Anakin). 

The Rebels do know that Anakin and Vader are the same person. Even as they are working to build the New Republic, no one is quite sure what, if anything, Anakin Skywalker should be charged with (War crimes. So many war crimes, they would need to invent new war crimes specifically for Vader-Though to be fair he is not the only living member of the Empire’s ruling body for this to be true). If he does need to be charged, and they could figure out what with, does his fall to the dark side constitute a mitigating factor (some kind of diminished capacity) or an enhancement (like a hate crime)? Where does killing the Emperor fit into any sentence he would have to serve? Is there even a way to enforce any sentence that a court could impose?

All of these questions and more would have to be answered before any trials could commence (including: how far does “following orders” mitigate actions, and how far up the chain of command can that excuse be used?). In the meanwhile Anakin hangs awkwardly around with his son when he is able. 

Luke wants, deeply, to help his father become comfortable around people again. He also does not quite…understand is probably the best term…understand the depth of the horrors that Vader/Anakin created in his 20 years in the suit.  In his mind he knows, and has been told, most of what Vader has done, but to a certain extent he separated Anakin and Vader in his mind so there is a bit of disconnect (Some understandable cognitive dissonance). 

He is at least aware enough that he is not looking to find Anakin friends among the rebels, who would naturally think of Vader first (and thus it would be uncomfortable for all involved). He understands that asking someone like Leia to try and befriend the being that tortured her then blew up her planet is not a good idea. 

But there is one person he knows thinks of Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader as two different people. Obi Wan Kenobi.  Who is decidedly avoiding Anakin (in this Anakin can not blame him, the return to the light means that he does actually need to face everything he has done), but is also low key avoiding most people. Mostly Obi Wan is staying around the clones that still live (both to help those clones with their own guilt over their actions while chipped, the fact that their aging has finally been brought to human normal,  and frankly because he likes them more than most people these days-I imagine at least Cody-CodyWan for the win-, Rex, Gregor, Appo, and Wolffe but there are a good crowd), and the few Force users that survived the Purge. Also spending time with Leia.

Now a few things need to be made abundantly clear at this point. Luke does not know of the horrors Anakin perpetrated, as opposed to Vader (For all that Palpatine labeled him Vader before the march on the temple, I always headcanon that his last act as purely Anakin was the slaughter of the children in the council chamber but even then he did not truly become Vader until after he finds out that Padme died), not really. Few enough who live remember the march on the temple, what it meant that the temple (the home of the Jedi) was pillaged and burned. Fewer still ever knew that it was Anakin that led the march and slaughtered the children.  

Oddly enough, Anakin Skywalker is the only person in the galaxy who knows the true horrific extent of his own crimes. 

So Luke, with all the best of intentions, notices that Obi Wan is avoiding Anakin, and decides he will help his father and his teacher/mentor/uncle/that weird dude that lived in the desert makeup. Luke is attributing the awkwardness to Anakin’s 20 years as Vader (which, if we are being completely honest, is the least of the issues between Anakin and Obi Wan).

Luke decides he is going to hold something like a mediation to bridge those 20 years. Anakin is, at this point, incapable of denying Luke anything and agrees (in spite of the fact that even he can tell this will go poorly). Obi Wan does not actually agree as Luke does not tell him what they are meeting for, but once he arrives is semi blackmailed by Luke (leveraging the whole ‘you told me my father was dead thing/you lied to me my whole life’) which really only works because Obi Wan is also fairly vulnerable to young Skywalker children who remind him of the people who Obi Wan has lost (Satine would have done something similar, Obi Wan think nostalgically). Thinking that an audience would help create a more neutral location, Luke makes sure that Obi Wan is accompanied by a few of the clones (Appo in particular), and that Leia, Han, and Mon Mothma (as one of the few people who remember Padme and Anakin) are in the room. There are others. 

Now Luke has all the best intentions with this, but he is, at best, missing some very critical information. At worst he is taking after one of his father’s worst traits (so sure he can fix a relationship that is not his, and is probably better left broken). 

Both Anakin and Obi Wan silently agree to humor the sunshine boy.  At first they try to keep it to lighter disagreements and misunderstandings  (who saved who and who made the situation worse kind of thing). Anakin brings up at one point being unhappy that Obi Wan hid his children from him for almost 20 years, Obi Wan corrects that he hid them for almost 10 years from Vader, since he believed Anakin actually dead for the first 10, during which Vader maintained that Anakin was dead. Anakin withdraws his objection.

Then Anakin brings up the limb removal on Mustafar (which causes most of the room to go still, no one but the clones-whom Obi Wan had told- knew about the Mustafar fight). Obi Wan shoots back with an slightly irate rejoinder that it was a really measured response considering that Anakin had just: led a group of brainwashed soldiers into their home and slaughtered as many men, women, and children that he could; choked his very pregnant wife; ignored repeated attempts Obi Wan made to end the fight without further violence. 

It was at this point that Appo started to have a panic attack (being one of the few surviving Clones who was actually there in the temple).  Obi Wan looked over at Luke, apologized and said this was not a good idea.  Then left with the clones, all trying to calm Appo back down. 

The entire room is just…dead silence. Like Luke everyone, barring Anakin who did know this was going to go so badly, had sort of forgotten that Obi Wan was more than the weird desert guy who hung around with the clones, and sometimes Leia.  Luke is sitting there, really pale (He did have good intentions).

Like the people who realized the Jedi suffered a genocide when the Empire came into power had mostly died, the few that had survived all these years had buried that knowledge under the subsequent horrors of the Empire (They also largely forgot, or didn’t understand the horror of the chips both in the context of Order 66 and following orders in the Empire). It was not done out of maliciousness, or even ignorance, because the Jedi and the Clones (in that they lost everything of themselves and their culture in a moment) may have been the first genocide of the Empire but it was not the last. 

I’m not sure where it would go from there, other than Anakin is charged with so many war crimes and accepts whatever punishment is determined.

[lavendermunson]

ribbon - steve harrington

day 4 of leia's christmas tree farm

cw max has a tiny accident. er/hospital setting. one use of y/n. grey!reader (she is mer’s sister, it can be half sister too). steve calls max his sister. they all moved to seattle for some reason

a/n i had a very different idea for this but it didn’t work out, i hope you like this i came up with at the very last minute

“What do we have here?” Doctor Torres approaches Max, she whines as the pain in her arm only gets worse. “A broken wrist, how did this happen?”

“An accident on the sleigh ride,” Steve says, “Although I’m sure she was just being rebellious”

“I told you I had to beat Mike” Max groans, feeling the doctor’s hands on her as a resident comes back with an X-ray sheet. 

The resident is all glammed up. Red lips, red shoes. The lab coat covered her black dress and most of her figure. She looks absolutely beautiful and Steve can feel himself drooling over her. 

The thing that makes his knees buckle, is the big red ribbon on her head.

“Looks half fine, just broken. I’ll get someone to put a cast on you and you are free to go” She smiles at Max, who is only focused on her pain going away soon or she’ll start complaining again.

“I can do it!” you say, your sweet voice piercing Steve’s ears. 

“But we have to go to our party!” 

“I’ll tell Mer to take me, she’s still in surgery,” you say, approaching the patient’s chart to check some things before calling an intern to help. “I will do this quickly, Max. Don’t worry”

As you leave to get all prepared, one of your interns comes to Max’s room. Waiting for you to help the little girl as soon as possible. 

“Hey,” Steve calls the intern. “What’s the pretty doctor’s name? The one with the red ribbon?” 

“Can you not? I'm working!” he says, slightly annoyed.

"Yeah, Steve. Keep it in your pants" Max says, making fun of Steve's flushed face.

You come back to the room, while a nurse helps you with everything you need to get Max a cast. 

“Are you close relatives with the patient?” you ask Steve, looking at him. His eyes get lost in yours, on how they shine under these big and creepy hospital lights. 

“Yeah, I’m her brother” 

“Alright, then you can stay and fill this form for me please” Steve takes the chart out of your hands and you help Max to sit down. You start teaching your intern and guiding him through the process. 

Steve can only get lost on you. The way every one of your words comes out so soft as your cherry-colored lips move. He glanced at your chest, his cheeks go red when his eyes make contact with your cleavage. He looks away, this is not the place for that, he says to himself. 

The blue disposable gloves cover your manicured hands but he sees your gold, delicate bracelet fall from your wrist. He makes a mental note not to mention it until you’re done, Max comes first rather than some casual flirt. 

“We are done! How are you feeling?”

“I feel better, thank you,” Max says, a smile finally showing on her face. You mirror her excitement and relief, with a big smile on your face too. 

And Steve, he wants to fall on his knees and ask you to marry him right now. He notices how you talk to your intern, to the nurses, and to other people walking by. Your bubbly personality has him captive, he just stares and stares until you are gone.

As the intern takes the chart from Steve's hands and disappears he gets lost in his thoughts.

“Steve! Look, her bracelet” Max screams, calling for the older boy as she gets up. And finds your gold bracelet on the floor “Go get her, something good has to come out of this” she encourages him. Steve runs away from the ER as fast as he can. Looking for the big red ribbon on your head.

“Hey, you okay? Do you need something?” A doctor, much taller and older than him stops him on his way. 

“I’m okay i just-“ he tries to ease his breath “Do you know the doctor with the red ribbon? I think she is a resident here”

“Oh, little Grey?” The man makes fun of him, looking how desperate he looks. Steve only wants to know your name, maybe get introduced to you, damn. Why is this so difficult? 

“Grey! Yeah, I think” he murmurs, looking around for you. “So you know her”

“I do, I'm pretty close with her sister. Do you need anything from her?“ He looks at Steve and laughs again. He doesn’t look worried or sick, he looks like he just got up on a cloud.

“I just want to get her this” he holds the piece of gold in his hand “It fell when she was taking care of my sister”

“Oh! The ladies are in a rush today, they have Christmas ladies’ night” Steve’s face is pale, from being in love to running for the pretty girl in a space of minutes. He was having a normal day and then all turned upside down “But I'm sure you can catch them in the parking lot, I don't know. I hope you do”

He nods, getting ready to run again. “Thank you…”

“Derek, Derek Shepherd”

“I’m Steve Harrington. I owe you one!” his voice echoes in the empty hallway, He runs towards the stairs because the elevator would take so much time.

You got this, all those years of basketball should work now. But they don’t, Steve is slightly older and slower. As much as he hates to admit. But he makes his way to the parking lot, searching for your ribbon again, and when he finds it, he finds you. His heart skips a beat. 

“Hey! You were with my sister earlier I just wanted to give you this” Steve says as you turn to face him, blushing as your eyes meet his.

“Oh! you are so kind, thank you so much” You smile. “My sister gave it to me, if I were to lose it I swear she’d kill me!”

“Looks like I saved your life today, you were so kind to Max- my sister. I’m the one who should thank you” he glances at your hand while carefully holding your bracelet between his fingers, a dash of anticipation in his eyes. 

“Don’t thank me. It’s part of my job and I love to help” 

"Can I?"

"Please"

You get closer to him, and he can feel his hands shake. Your scent invades his nose, soft remnants of your vanilla perfume and a dash of your lavender body wash. He clasps the bracelet around your wrist, the touch of his fingers against your skin is velvety. He pauses for a moment, savoring the quick seconds close to you.

“And what you just did was so kind, i hope this pays up” You leave a peck on his cheek, it’s soft just like he imagined. But it only makes him yearn for more.

“I’m Steve, by the way,” he says, offering you a hand for you to shake it. 

“I’m y/n, nice to meet you”

“Can I, uhm. Can I see you again? Some time?” he looks at the way your cheeks are also flushed, just like his. “If you want, of course” 

“Yes. Yes, I would like that” 

“Tomorrow around eight sounds good?” he asks, smiling proudly as his charm seems to work.

“I actually can’t, I have surgery at six and I'm not sure if I’ll make it”

“I can just come by at eight and wait for you, I can get you every oversized candy bar you want from the vending machine” 

You giggle, covering your face with your hand and trying to hide your rosy cheek. Everything you do is so adorable. 

“Sure, only if you let me get you a coffee after” 

He nods, looking at you. He can’t keep his eyes away from you. “I’m new in the city so I’ll accept the coffee and maybe a tour?”

“A night tour, of course!” 

Lucky, lucky Steve. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow then, and you look pretty by the way”

“Thank you, I’ll see you tomorrow Steve”

You leave another peck on his cheek, this time the opposite one. He waves his hand as you meet your friends to leave for dinner.

When Steve gets to his apartment with Max by his side, he forgets everyone was waiting for him. But he returns home proud, looking like a winner while everyone asks and comments about the lipstick stains on his cheeks.  He looks at himself in the mirror, the way the tint of your red lipstick left a mark on either side of his face. He smiles, knowing that he can get them off and tomorrow he will get home with new ones. He is sure of it.

reblog to support your creators! comments are appreciated !! ♡ thank you for following my christmas event, remember you can still request a gift!

[antianakin]

@theneutralmime

I think my personal view on Padme is that she was introduced as a really interesting character who then sort-of got swallowed by the romance and Anakin's story taking more and more precedence over her own development. Lucas said a few times that TPM is, in many ways, Padme's story more than anybody else's. Which is cool, but it means that when she sort-of disappears into being nothing more than a catalyst for Anakin's fall and Luke/Leia's incubator, it feels a little strange and jarring. The Padme of ROTS no longer feels like the interesting character we had in TPM. Even in AOTC, most of her interesting character development scenes (like meeting her family, her speech about the war, even just the extended arrival on Naboo where she talks about how she set aside her dreams of a family to continue a career of service) got cut in favor of (presumably) focusing more on the romance and how that affects Anakin.

Padme is someone who got introduced in TPM as a person who wanted to avoid violence as much as possible, she tends to play things safe because she believes it's the better political choice to make, but by the end of the movie she's learned that sometimes she just has to trust her instincts and do what she believes is right (this is the whole point of her being on Tatooine with Qui-Gon and seeing him insist on continuing with the podrace idea and the way this works out for him leading to Padme then choosing to approach the Gungans for aid in taking her planet back by force, a plan NOBODY ELSE believes in but her). So they take Padme on this journey where she becomes someone who trust herself and her instincts above anyone else, but who also deeply cares about doing the right thing to help the most people which is why she's in politics at all.

When we get to AOTC, she's continued that into her senator years and apparently only gotten even more reckless with age. But when her feelings for Anakin come into conflict with what she knows to be her duty, she has to make a choice. Does she "follow her instincts" and do what she wants, or does she continue to make that sacrifice because it's the right thing to do? And in the end, she makes the selfish choice.

My problem with what happens in AOTC is two fold. For one, I don't think it does NEARLY enough to convince me about why Padme likes Anakin enough to throw away her morals for him. The overall journey Padme is taking in this film I think is fine, but I don't think the chemistry between them works and I think the romance has aged like milk, which leaves me just kind-of wondering why Padme would risk SO MUCH for... a dude who can't even be considerate enough to respect her boundaries and who she believes makes jokes about fascism and dictatorships (or more accurately, who she has to CONVINCE HERSELF would make jokes about fascism and dictatorship so that she doesn't have to come up against the much more uncomfortable truth that it's not a joke to him at all). Anakin is creepy, insensitive, and sometimes almost unkind to Padme all throughout AOTC, when I THINK he's intended to come off as awkward but charming, enough to make Padme feel sort-of "young again" (I know she's only 24 in this movie, but she hasn't allowed herself to really ACT young for probably about 10 years) in a way that sweeps her off her feet a little. The romance doesn't work, it just doesn't, and I think a LOT of people would agree with me that it doesn't work even if we might not all agree on why that is. The editing isn't good, the dialogue is clunky, the chemistry is practically nonexistent. So when Padme makes her big declaration about how she loves him so much and then marries him, I find it hard to believe, and that is a problem for the rest of the narrative of the Prequel Trilogy.

The other problem I have with AOTC is that Padme is told to us to be a very MORAL person, someone who believes very deeply in doing the right thing and gets righteously upset at people being mistreated. She's someone who ends up seeing Jar Jar more kindly than almost anyone else and is capable of extending that experience with him to the rest of his people enough that she goes to make a deal with them that allows the Gungans better representation and treatment. She gets upset when she realizes slavery still exists on Tatooine and always treats Anakin and Shmi very kindly. She is incredibly upset by the possibility that her people on Naboo could be suffering and dying at the hands of the Trade Federation, enough that she ultimately decides to leave the Senate behind and find her own solution. She barely is willing to leave Coruscant in AOTC for her own protection because she doesn't want to leave before the big vote about whether they're going to go to war against the Separatists or not. And so I have a hard time reconciling that person with the person in AOTC who hears Anakin advocate for a dictatorship and chooses to laugh it off, or the person who hears Anakin say he murdered an entire village of Tuskens and not only chooses to COMFORT HIM about it, but basically CONDONES what he's done by saying it's only human, and then MARRIES HIM. The moral Padme who cares deeply about people seems incongruous with the one who falls in love with and marries Anakin. Fewer people might agree with me on this one since it requires being critical of Anakin, but I think there'd still be a solid group of people who'd agree that this just doesn't seem to match up.

So by the time those two things come together, that interesting journey of this person who wanted to avoid violence as much as possible but had to learn to follow her instincts if she wanted to get anything done starting to give in to selfish desires because she's sacrificed most of her life to serving her people kind-of... disappears. Because I don't understand why she even HAS desires for Anakin, selfish or otherwise, and loving Anakin by the end of AOTC requires her to be so immoral that it feels out of character for her. I don't think the romance INHERENTLY ruined Padme's character at all, but I do think it was mishandled and ended up causing some unfortunate implications about her with the contradictions that exist due to it being a badly written romance.

I like that Padme is, in some ways, almost equally as selfish as Anakin is. She's giving up her morals to marry him just like she is, her job makes this relationship just as forbidden as his does (more so almost, since the Jedi clearly KNOW about the relationship to some degree and don't do anything to actually break them up until Clovis happens and Obi-Wan feels the need to step in a little more and even with THAT they clearly are still aware of the relationship having continued and don't do anything about it, while Padme believes that if the Queen found out about her pregnancy in ROTS that she wouldn't be allowed to serve on the Senate). I like the idea of Padme paralleling Anakin in this, that she starts off such a moral person and that it isn't Anakin himself who causes her to start veering towards selfishness, but the invasion of Naboo and the corruption of the Senate leaving her feeling like she has no choice but to do what SHE believes to be right. And she IS right in that instance, but the implication we get in AOTC is that she's kind-of gotten... worse since then. She follows her instincts no matter what and it leads her to reckless places, up to and including a marriage to a Jedi that is forbidden to her. I even like that Padme is SO selfishly invested in this relationship that she's willing to lie to Obi-Wan to protect Anakin from committing a genocide and then begging him to run away with her so he can escape justice rather than facing the possibility that this is WHO HE IS and she's just been able to ignore it up until now.

I actually like that and think that that's interesting as a character, this... devolution that she has throughout the trilogy in parallel to Anakin and the Senate themselves. She's an immensely flawed person and her connections to the other narratives about how good things go bad can't be a coincidence.

But what sucks is that, over time, Padme has kind-of ended up getting interpreted as this person who was above those kinds of flaws, who wasn't selfish, who WOULD put her duty over her desires. People see Padme as this person who did everything RIGHT and just ended up an unfortunate tragic victim of it like the Jedi when that just... isn't true. And I think it's a reaction to how contradictory Padme's actions (especially in AOTC) seem to be to her character from TPM to just defend her as being RIGHT to be in a relationship with the person she loved despite the reasons for it being forbidden, as being RIGHT to defend Anakin against Obi-Wan's accusations in ROTS, as being RIGHT to prioritize Anakin's comfort instead of condemning what he did to the Tuskens in AOTC. But it misses that Padme isn't just the catalyst for Anakin's choices, she's not just this perfect thing he couldn't live without, she's someone who ENABLED those choices by being selfish herself. She's ALSO someone who started off with such good intentions, such lofty ideals, and was brought low by greed and selfishness and an unwillingness to be mindful about herself and her own desires. Padme might not have ultimately caused a genocide as a result of her selfishness, but it doesn't mean she WASN'T selfish in her choices and that her selfishness helped lead Anakin down a bad path just as much as Palpatine's machinations did. Anakin's choices are obviously still his own and not Padme's FAULT, but I find it frustrating when people try to exonerate Padme of all responsibility for what ultimately happened and pretend like she never did anything wrong in this story, that her love was pure and selfless and free of any attachment.

So on paper, I LIKE Padme's arc and I find it fascinating and the romance is necessary for that arc, but I do think the romance part of it was mishandled badly to the point that it makes Padme feel contradictory and incomplete and underdeveloped. Like if I'm supposed to believe Padme is willing to set aside jokes about dictatorship and the massacre of an entire village of Tuskens when I've been repeatedly told that she's a moral person who cares about humanitarian issues above anything else, I need more than just "this pretty boy is kinda dorky and sweet sometimes." I need know what would DRIVE her to pursue a relationship she knows is forbidden for a reason with a man who is pretty clearly unstable and almost dangerously obsessed with her. What insecurity is making a relationship with Anakin seem so immensely compelling to her, let alone a MARRIAGE.

So either I think the romance needed to be a little more... romantic and eliminate the things like the jokes about dictatorships and the Tusken massacre so Padme doesn't seem like a complete idiot who believes it's okay to murder people so long as those people are Tuskens, or Padme needed to be more explicitly someone who was a little corrupt herself so that Padme being okay with murdering Tuskens and jokes about dictatorship doesn't feel so out of character for her. Or both, maybe a little of both. She's corrupt enough to enter into a relationship with someone she knows she shouldn't without giving up her position as a senator because it's what gives her power, but she's not SO corrupt that murder of an entire village down to the last child is okay so perhaps leave that bit out.

Padme is a character I REALLY loved as a kid when I first watched the Prequels (which were the first Star Wars films I EVER saw) and so I still really like her generally due to pure nostalgia, but my feelings on her have gotten far more complex as I think about her and her narrative more critically.

Ahsoka I think works fine right up until you get to the Ahsoka show where she's just blatantly and wildly out of character and completely flat at the same time. There's things I wish were done a little differently in TCW for my own personal taste, but I think that generally the idea of Ahsoka as someone who only really knew Anakin through the context of war and as a child actually does work. Some of his more violent outbursts can be more easily explained away through the context of the situation as well as a child's sort-of more naive outlook on the adults around them. Ahsoka also never sees him do anything as heinous as the Tusken massacre or make jokes about dictatorships (at least none that I can remember), so unlike Padme, she's not ever blatantly ignoring anything that should be a massive fucking red flag. Well, there's the abusive training from TOTJ, if we choose to consider that canon, which I think Filoni was technically on the fence about. But even that is something that seems to not cause any long-term damage and that Anakin tells her is for her own protection, so it's easier to set aside perhaps than the massacre of an entire village down to the last child.

What makes the Ahsoka show frustrating is that it doesn't ALLOW HER to have an adult perspective on it where she looks back and sees all of the things her child self wouldn't have been able to notice. She never looks back and sees the outbursts of violence or some of his more unorthodox comments about the Jedi as the warning signals that they were. She elects instead to IGNORE everything that he's done in order to double down on the opinion she'd held as a child (and that she'd been able to KEEP up until Malachor) that Anakin was a genuinely good person overall rather than acknowledging that while Anakin had good MOMENTS, he was in fact a bad person and a bad teacher, and she can only move forward if she LETS HIM GO. Ahsoka deserved that and now she'll never get it and it sucks.

Obi-Wan I sort-of disagree with you on in that I don't think Obi-Wan's ever BLIND to his faults. I think this is part of a major misconception of his character that a lot of people seem to share. But Obi-Wan spends like all of AOTC being VERY aware of Anakin's faults and has to figure out how to let go of his worries in order to have faith that Anakin has learned enough to fix and learn from his own mistakes. So by ROTS, it's not that he's blind to Anakin's faults at all, he's just chosen to have faith that even when Anakin stumbles, he'll always pick himself back up again. We see this most evidently in his reaction to Anakin's temper tantrum in the Council chambers about not being made a master where he's clearly disappointed in Anakin's behavior, but he later tells Anakin that despite that, he's still ON HIS SIDE and tries to give Anakin guidance on the situation. He takes Anakin's apology later as a sign that Anakin is sort-of figuring things out a little more, but he is uh. Wrong. Anakin's apology is sort-of half-assed AT BEST, but I can see where Obi-Wan would at least see it as good first step in the right direction. But I don't see Obi-Wan's faith in this film (or in TCW) as a flaw or a blindness because he cares too much about Anakin. It's his STRENGTH. Much like the Jedi themselves, just because his faith was betrayed and misplaced doesn't mean that he was wrong to decide to have faith in the first place. It was STILL the right, healthy choice to make.

The guilt we see him have in the Kenobi show is more a product of the uncertainty surrounding why Anakin did what he did than it is about Obi-Wan caring too much about Anakin to handle what he did. I think if Obi-Wan had KNOWN about Palpatine, and Padme, and the visions, and how all of those things came together, he might've had an easier time of it. But he knows VERY VERY LITTLE about why Anakin is making the choices he's making, and in that uncertainty, the easiest thing to do is blame HIMSELF. Especially since, at the beginning of the show, he believes Anakin to be dead. In some ways, it might feel easier to blame himself than it is to blame Anakin or even Palpatine. And this ISN'T healthy, but I don't think it's necessarily a problem because he blinds himself to Anakin's faults. His journey at the end is about accepting that he may NEVER know why Anakin did what he did, that there might not have BEEN anything he could've done differently or better to cause a different outcome, and that there is likely nothing he CAN DO to keep Luke and Leia from going down the same path. All he can do is have faith again, faith that he did the right thing by giving Luke and Leia to the Larses and Organas, faith that the Larses and Organas will raise Luke and Leia well, faith that Luke and Leia will not be like Anakin and repeat his mistakes.

Rex is definitely just a product of not knowing the truth. I imagine he'd have a LOT less positive gushy things to say about Anakin if he knew Anakin was the one who betrayed them all and became Darth Vader. I'm STILL waiting for someone to show us Rex's reaction to that because I would maybe DIE to see Rex react to finally discovering that particular truth. With what we do have though, I think Rex is mostly come to peace with what's happened to him. I don't think it's that he's choosing to ignore the things that hurt so much as that he's gotten himself to a place where he CAN just... let himself remember good moments with people he'd cared about. The end of it sucked and there were moments in the middle that sucked, too, but there are still a lot of good memories acquired during the war, good people he'd met, good lessons learned. Rex seems like he's in a pretty healthy place by Rebels, having had to live with the truth about the chips for a while and do what he can to live his life as happily as possible with what's left of his family. He can't do anything to change what happened, so he's let it go. He obviously does still have some PTSD from the war, that's always going to be true, but he genuinely seems like one of the most healthy characters in Rebels despite how shit his life has been.

[marvelstars]

Anakin origin

Anakin´s story is one of dissapointment, he expected the Republic and the Jedi to be different to Tatooine but the truth was that the power plays that are obvious and often brutal on Tatooine are the same in the Republic, just covered under a false pretense of politeness and worse than that they are also involved in slavery and support it either by innaction or active action, there are Senators involved in slavery and the Jedi Order don´t involve themselves there because their authority is the Senate and during the clone wars they made the active decision of supporting Jabba´s rule just so they would get acess to his territory and keep the separatist out of that area, recognizing Jabba´s non official authority over Tatooine.

So Anakin was told to do everything in his power to support a power structure that by all intends and purposes was even more corrupt than Tatooine, because they tried to hide it and he was made also an instrument to support it´s existence as a Jedi and later as Vader.

He does exactly that, he protects the republic, he actually becomes loyal to the Republic as a Jedi, the apparent reckleness the Jedi see isn´t about him personally, it´s about him going outside his usual orders to attend something or someone, be it save Ahsoka from being executed, Plo Koon from being left behind after a battle, investigate who wants to kill Padme in AOTC, investigate if Obi-Wan was still alive after the battle of Jabbin, training defendless citizens in self defense so they can protect themselves from bounty hunters and separatists, him freeding a group of slaves, etc the jedi thought he was arrogant but the main reason why he goes besides or outside orders is because is trying to make a difference within the parameters of his role as a Jedi.

Because being a Jedi came at a price for Anakin, being a Jedi cost him his mother, as a Jedi he was asked to forget and leave behind his mother as a slave on Tatooine, cutting all comunications with each other which lead to her kidnapping, torture and death.

The death of the woman who teached him how to have compassion, how to give without expecting recompense, how the biggest problem in the galaxy was that no one helps each other. Anakin learned his compassion from Shmi despite the fact they were both slaves, she gave them both dignity with those principles despite being aware of their situation.

Part of the reason he supported and admired Padmé and Palpatine so much in his early years was because he genuinely thought they could make the changes neccesary for the system to work in the way Anakin thought it worked, it wasn´t just his madness and love for Padmé the thing that drove him to give her the title of Empress, it was also a recognition of her being someone who actually cared about the people even during his biggest emotional break down and dissapointment on Palpatine for what he had shown himself to be.

So unlike Luke and Leia, Vader doesn´t see much of a difference between the Empire and the Old Republic, he simply sees a more honest version of what happened behind curtains on the republic in the brutality of the Empire, that ressembles Tatooine and at that point in his life, he lost hope of making any substantial changes to the system, his hope died with Padme, his role is bassically to be the "Jedi Order" to the Emperor´s Empire and he has decided that maybe justice is not possible but Order is enough for the galaxy to work better than it did when he was young and certainly a lot better than a civil war like the clone wars, you know, he isn´t a friend of "destructive conflict" as he told Luke. This is how a good person becomes evil, when the ends justify the means.

But Luke gave Vader his hope back, for himself as the good person he used to be, that the dark side and his master didn´t need to have the last word but also hope that maybe, just maybe, things can actually change for the better if the rebellion counts with people like Luke and Leia.

This is one of the reasons why I love Anakin´s/Vader character so much, he brings the complexity of reality to the fairly tale that is star wars with his tragedy, because he truly was a great, wonderful person who lost his hope and sanity, became the instrument of evil but he redeems himself in the end thanks to his Son giving him hope again, Luke was Anakin´s New Hope and it works when you see his complete story.

[kanansdume]

I wanted to look at why it feels so frustrating for Sabine to have been utilized the way she was in the Ahsoka show and why it doesn't work even though the general concept behind it isn't inherently a bad thing.

Basically, Sabine only exists on this show, primarily, to be Ahsoka's crutch. She is the character through whom Ahsoka learns to grow. Sabine KIND-OF has her own journey as a sort-of sidestory, but her main purpose is to be there as a vessel to prompt Ahsoka's own growth.

And this is not, inherently, a bad thing to have done. Using a pre-established character in this way is fairly normal. And I'm going to compare this to the way Leia was utilized in the Kenobi show because on paper, the circumstances here are pretty similar.

Both Leia and Sabine are main characters in their own right in their original media (Leia in the OT, and Sabine in Rebels). Both Leia and Sabine did not really ever have a relationship with the main character of this new show prior to the show coming out (Obi-Wan for Leia and Ahsoka for Sabine). Both Leia and Sabine are SIDE CHARACTERS in this new show in order to support the storyline of the main character.

The difference for me is that Leia was explicitly chosen for this supporting role BECAUSE SHE'S LEIA. Leia is not mutilated and frankenstein'd into being basically unrecognizable in order to be someone who could help Obi-Wan on the journey he goes through in the Kenobi show. She is still pretty recognizable as Leia. She has the same stubbornness, the same snappy insults, the same passion and almost bossy personality. The Kenobi show and Deborah Chow have made it fairly clear that they chose the characters they did very carefully so as to provide a framework for Obi-Wan to grow through while never letting those other characters OVERSHADOW Obi-Wan just because they are also beloved characters in their own right. They very nearly didn't bring in Anakin for exactly that reason and clearly worked very hard to ensure that his presence on the show never pulls focus away from Obi-Wan entirely. Leia was also chosen specifically because they felt like it would make sense for Leia to be in this position. They chose Leia because what else could get Obi-Wan off of Tatooine in this state of mind but her? They chose Leia because who else might be able to break through Obi-Wan's depression and show him the hope for the future but her?

And while they had never had a canon relationship prior to this show, there IS just enough there to make it believable. We have a lot of obvious reasons for why Obi-Wan would care about her deeply and connect to her within a very short period of time. And we have plenty of reason for why Bail would only ever ask Obi-Wan for help in this particular situation. So the set-up for the plot and the relationship DOES EXIST within what we already know about the characters involved even if the relationship itself was new. We're also seeing that relationship develop ON SCREEN rather than being told that it existed elsewhere. The only relationships that are important here that happen off-screen are Obi-Wan and Anakin, and Obi-Wan and Bail, both of which exist within the Prequel trilogy that you can pretty safely assume most other people have seen. Everything else is developed on screen for the audience, which means nothing has to be explained at the audience through exposition.

Now let's look at Sabine. Oh Sabine. Poor darling Sabine.

Sabine was pretty clearly NOT chosen for this storyline at all. While we don't know the exact details of how this went down behind the scenes, we do know that there was AT LEAST two separate shows at one point (maybe three) that ended up getting compressed into just one: a Rebels sequel presumably involving Ahsoka and Sabine searching for Ezra, and an Ahsoka show looking at her journey of coming to terms with Anakin's betrayal. We don't know precisely how those two shows ended up combined into one; maybe the studio execs decided an animated Rebels sequel wouldn't do well and Filoni combined it with the Ahsoka show in order to preserve it in the only way he could, or maybe the studio execs came up with the combination idea on their own. We may never know. But I feel like it's pretty obvious that the original concept for the Ahsoka show likely included a Padawan storyline through which Ahsoka could come face to face with her fears and doubts about Anakin. This Padawan was probably going to be an original character who shared many of Ahsoka and Anakin's more negative traits (arrogance, brattiness, stubbornness, maybe even anger and fear from some kind of prior trauma) that would force Ahsoka to come to terms with what happened to Anakin in order to accept her Padawan.

And then the two shows got combined and Ahsoka's journey has to happen simultaneously with the search for Ezra. Except. Ahsoka's feelings about Anakin have exactly shit all to do with Ezra, or Thrawn, or the search for either of them. They could've just tossed in the original Padawan character to sort-of tag along while Sabine stayed more focused on finding Ezra, but this probably would've had the result of Sabine feeling pretty sidelined. So instead, they just... slotted Sabine into the Padawan role and nixed the original character.

Which means that Sabine lost pretty much ALL of the characteristics we knew about her from Rebels in order to fit into this new role. Instead of the merciful, compassionate, mature young adult she was by the end of Rebels, we get this overconfident bratty personality that feels more fit for a teenager than the 30 year old that Sabine actually is at this point in the timeline. Instead of being someone who connects very deeply to being a Mandalorian, suddenly she wants to be a Jedi and it's never actually explained why that is. An entire trauma was created to exist off-screen just to explain why Sabine is acting so radically out of character and even THAT isn't actually believable with how far she had come by the end of Rebels. Sabine was NOT chosen for this role because of characteristics she already had, she simply was the most convenient choice when her storyline ended up fused with Ahsoka's and as a result she is almost completely unrecognizable as a character. This isn't Sabine. It's an abomination and a piss poor shadow of the character most of us remember from Rebels.

And her relationship with Ahsoka is developed OFF screen rather than ON screen. Instead of showing us how these two ended up getting together and how they got closer to each other and learned to trust each other, etc, it just all happens years before our story starts. There's an entire history between these two characters that absolutely NOBODY is familiar with because it comes out of absolutely nowhere. And so instead of being able to WATCH these two characters come together as a team, we have to keep getting TOLD about it in either throw away lines or infodumps. Huyang keeps talking about how they work better together, Hera says they used to be good for each other, and their whole history is laid out by Baylan and Huyang separately (and the stories don't even match). There's no gradual development of trust, the two characters just careen between trusting each other and not trusting each other because of this history that is barely ever explained to us and then is apparently (almost literally) magically fixed by the end.

This is a bad way to handle this relationship even if Sabine had been a completely original character. I've seen stories where the relationship has developed off-screen and it's still, generally, worked. I mean, just for a Star Wars example most people are familiar with, let's look at Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan in TPM. Qui-Gon is entirely original here, nobody knows who he is, but Obi-Wan is a well-known character to the audience. It's set up fairly quickly that the two of them have been Master and Padawan for a while probably and then within the first several sequences we get an idea of what their relationship is like. We see the deference that Obi-Wan does have for Qui-Gon but we also see Obi-Wan capable of teasing Qui-Gon while in the middle of a life or death situation. We see how well Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon pick up on each other's queues and how they can team up towards a common goal. So while we haven't gotten to see their relationship develop from beginning to end, we get enough scenes of them together right off the top to give the audience a sense of what this relationship IS so that by the time you hit the Council scene, Qui-Gon's quick decision and Obi-Wan's shock at it are entirely understandable. But then so too is Obi-Wan's willingness to apologize afterwards and his grief at Qui-Gon's death.

So it's not impossible to set up a relationship where the history between the characters and the initial development of it happened off-screen. But the way the Ahsoka show handled it gives us really none of that. We don't get a lot of chances to SEE what this relationship actually is and what we do see often is wildly contradictory (for example we see Ahsoka not trusting Sabine and then an episode later we see Ahsoka trust Sabine with her life). The development that does exist in this relationship over the course of the show has to be done with the characters completely separated and they come back together and everything is just hunky dory somehow. So even without the aspect of Sabine being a pre-established character in her own right, the writing of this relationship makes no sense and doesn't allow anybody to actually invest in it or understand it.

But Sabine IS a pre-established character and a major character of a show of her own that has fans who already love her. So now this relationship not only needs to just be generally well-written and coherent, it SHOULD still feel like a believable relationship for the Sabine that fans remember and love. Those of us who knew Sabine remember that she and Ahsoka don't HAVE a relationship to pull from. Sabine cannot just be treated like an original character who doesn't have any history that fans already know about. This relationship with Ahsoka DOES need an explanation in order to make any sense and the easiest way to do that is to actually SHOW IT DEVELOPING rather than having it happen off-screen. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon's version of this is able to skirt most of the actual details and just imply their history while showing us their current dynamic. Ahsoka and Sabine can't get away with that because everyone watching this who has even a passing familiarity with both characters is going to be wondering what the fuck this history even is and how ti led to this particular dynamic. Which is why we ended up with a bunch of infodumps trying to explain it to us rather than something more meaningful that allows the audience to actually connect to it.

And on top of that, this was a storyline that Rebels set up to be SABINE'S STORY. Ezra's disappeared so this was supposed to be Sabine's time to shine, her moment to be the center of attention. Which means it's not satisfying to see her end up as a support for someone else instead. It's not satisfying to see her character have to be warped and mutilated in order to support someone else. This was supposed to be Sabine's story as much as it was supposed to be Ahsoka's, but Sabine ended up getting the shorter end of the stick in the merger.

[leiafett]

So I’ve been thinking about Leia and Chewbacca’s relationship.

When they first meet, Leia calls him a “walking carpet”. We don’t know how Chewie feels about her though, he didn’t get much of a personality in a New Hope besides just not wanting to go down the garbage shoot and being Han’s loyal dog.

Then comes Empire Strikes Back. At first we don’t see them interacting at all really until Cloud City. I personally think they connected on not liking the vibes. When Han got frozen, he told Chewie to protect the princess. And he did. But after that I would argue that they had an unspeakable bond.

I think it stems from Peter and Carrie having a great relationship and wonderful chemistry. You can really tell in the behind the scenes photos. They were photographed so often, not sure about Peter but Carrie seems to be having fun.

Back to Empire. After Han gets frozen, Leia and Chewie are ICONIC. From giving each other looks when they’re trying to escape and Lando is surprised that it isn’t fixed. To Chewbacca rallying around her telling Lando to go back and get Luke.

In return of the Jedi, you can really see their relationship has grown a lot by the simple fact that he lets her use him as bait for Jabba. We know from A New Hope he doesn’t like to be put in binders by just anyone. AND she pulled on him with a collar??? We know he used to be a captive by the Empire. He doesn’t like chains. Though you can argue that he’s doing it for Han. He felt okay enough for Leia to be holding the chains.

Come the sequels and their hug reunion is just so needed. They continue to show the unspoken bond. The mourning he does for Leia. Just like R2, he’s there till the very end.

We know force users have a great bond with Wookiees they seem to understand what they’re saying as of most living creatures. I do think that helped but I also think it’s all going back to Han and how much they all love him.

[writerbuddha]

I am conflicted about something with Star Wars. I have been thinking about the Jedi, Anakin, and what could have been done different and what would have happened if the Jedi Council had just said no to training Anakin.

I feel a lot of Anakin's issues stem from being separated from his mother when he was 9. Luke and Leia handled the lose of their loved ones better because they lost theirs when they were 19. Whereas Anakin spent a decade worrying about his mother because as far as he knew she was a slave until Watto told him what became of her.

I feel if the Jedi had freed her and give Anakin a note from her that explained she was free his training about have gone better and he would have been able to handle things better. And before it is brought up, yes she died when she was free, but my focus is on Anakin and him spending 10 years worrying about her.

But the Jedi do not help her and even stranger she has made no attempt to contact Anakin at the Jedi Temple. I guess she could have, I don't know if the Jedi would allow them to talk. Based on a line from Anakin, he says he's not allowed to be with the people he loves, I assume the Jedi would not.

So we have the story as told and we know what happens there.

If the Jedi Council refuses Anakin's training and he goes back to Tatooine or Obi-Wan leaves and trains Anakin he isn't around Palpatine and all that so he might do better but the Jedi Order still gets taken out.

I did a rewatch of the Prequels over the last few days and found Anakin really was not key to any part of Palpatine's plan. Remove Anakin and Mace and the other masters would not know Palpatine is a Sith Lord when they confront him. Although that situation probably wouldn't happen like that because I believe Palpatine revealed where General Grievous was to get Obi-Wan out of the picture and it is Palpatine that tells Anakin in the opera.

With all this in mind I have come to the conclusion that the Jedi were handed the Golden Ticket (Anakin) to destroy the Sith and instead of cashing it in to win they punched their own ticket out of existence by not addressing the situation with his mother.

The Jedi need Anakin to win, I watched a behind the scenes video where Lucas says the prophecy is real, Anakin is the chosen one, and he does fulfill the prophecy in Return of the Jedi.

And given a theme of Star Wars is nature, balance, and I see that the Jedi Order had reacted it's evolutionary dead end because the Jedi could not adapt to survive which is do something outside their rules and no allowing Anakin's training was not that in of itself. They needed to do more to help the child.

With Lucas confirming the prophecy is real and all that I am left to conclude that Anakin would have destroyed the Sith some other way.

I guess the lesson with the Jedi Order is that institutional stagnation will lead to destruction. The Jedi and Sith are cycles of life, both predators, and the Sith had evolved while the Jedi did not. Nature and the Force are unforgiving I guess.

So I guess in the grand scheme of things, what I am trying to say, is the Jedi Order had reached it's end and was mean to shuffle off.

Dear Anon,

You feel, a lot of Anakin's issues stem from being separated from his mother when he was 9, and you feel, if the Jedi had freed her and give Anakin a note from her that explained she was free his training about have gone better and he would have been able to handle things better.

The thing is, I don't get these feelings when I watch the movies. And I have to admit, I'm a bit in trouble here, because I am not sure if I can put my finger on what evokes these feelings in you. I'm all virtual ears if you are OK with telling me!

To me, it was always clear that Anakin himself tells us the cause of his issues: "I don't want things to change." And as the Jedi Masters point it out: he is afraid to lose his mother. Yoda explains he has much fear in him, which can be a problem, because there's always fear behind anger, which is behind hate, and these are adding up to a state of suffering, which also a state of being on the dark side.

The story what's told illustrates this perfectly.

You imply that you think, the older one gets, the easier for them to handle the loss of a loved one.

With all kindness in my heart, I have to tell you, that's just not true. The only thing age does is that when we get older, we more or less successfully internalize a sense of "I must get over this, I must beat this, I must take this blow with a straight face." So, we learn how to suffer with clenched teeth and screaming and weeping in the inside, because we're told, that's adult and mature. In my experience, real, genuine ability to handle the loss in a constructive way requires ceasing attachment to your loved one and develop unconditional love for them. That is, however, accessible for us in any age.

You say, Anakin spent the ten years between Episode I and II in constant worry for his mother's well-being, which undermined his Jedi training.

Since you said, you re-watched Episodes I-II-III recently, please help me: on which part or parts of the movies you draw this conclusion? What makes you think that he felt that his mother is in constant danger? Because to be honest, I see Anakin being afraid of losing his mother, I see him missing his mother, I see him being sad over not being with his mother, but I don't see him worrying for her well-being. He is afraid of losing her - he is not fearing for her.

He even says, "I don't know why I keep dreaming about her" in Episode II, and when he realizes that he’s having premonitions about his mother being in pain, and returns to Tatooine, his behavior toward Watto is quite friendly, rather than jumping to the conclusion that it must be his former slaver, who harmed Shmi, pretty heavily implying that he did not expect Shmi to get hurt while he is away, training.

You find it strange that Shmi did not contact with Anakin, and you vaguely suggest that she was not allowed to communicate with Anakin, because the Jedi would forbid it.

In Episode II, when they discuss the life of the Jedi Knight, Padmé says, "Must be difficult, having sworn your life to the Jedi... not being able to visit the places you like or do the things you like." To which Anakin replies: "Or be with the people that I love." Now, you read this in a way that says: Jedi Knights are not allowed to do the things they enjoy, visit the places they enjoy or be with the people they enjoy to be with. To me, this does not make too much sense.

To me, the discussion is about the fact that Jedi Knights go to the places and be with the people where they are needed, with who they need them, as their duty dictates this. Not where they would like to be, or with the people they would like to be.

When I watch Episode I, I see no reason to believe that Shmi and Anakin expected to be able to communicate, which makes sense - Tatooine is the seat of a crime lord, it would be rather strange if the heart of the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order would be a "phone call" away. I'm afraid, you read too much into this, which seems to be founded on the idea that the Jedi are frowning upon love.

You say, the Jedi could have done more for Anakin and they were supposed to change.

Well, at the end of the day, Anakin was resisting their teachings - that's not something that only he could have change. Instead, he wanted to stop things changing, he wanted to stop the sun from setting and to stop people from dying. From where I stand, I can see no flaw in how the Jedi Order operated.

You seem to say that the Jedi Council was wrong to not to say no to training Anakin.

With all fairness, the Jedi Council actually did say no to training Anakin, because he was too old to be trained. In the end, they said yes, because they felt, the right thing to do is to train him to cultivate unconditional love for all living beings, to cease his grasping and clinging to coming and passing things and to overcome his fear, anger, hate and aggression, and to train him to be a selfless guardian of peace and justice in the known universe. So we have the story as told and we know what happens there. But in Episodes IV, V and VI it's powerfully stated that it's not impossible. Luke started his own training even later in his life, and he was able to become a true Jedi Knight, something that Anakin failed to achieve until the very end.

You seem to say, since Darth Sidious would have been able to orchestrate the separatist crisis and the clone wars with the clone army, thus he would have been able to butcher the Jedi and turn the Republic into the Empire without Anakin helping him, proves that the Jedi Order was beyond saving, it was "institutionally dead". And that they are "predators" and they were meant to be erased.

I am truly sorry, but I have to say, I genuine have no idea of what makes you draw this conclusion. I have the feeling that there is something else going on that is unrelated to Star Wars, that you might need to work out... If I'm wrong about this, I apologize. It comes off like something else is going on.

[imabeautifulbutterfly]

l need Luke Skywalker x Jedi!reader x Din djarin imagine Please

Hello dear love,

I'm so sorry it took so long to have this written for you. But I hope I did it justice.

______________________________________

CHOICE

SUMMARY: Your past and your future collide, what decision will you make?

A/N: Hello lovelies,

It's been a while since I have posted. Life has been one blow after another. Good news is that my mother is doing very well. I had COVID for two weeks almost, thankfully it wasn't too bad, but it did drain me quite a bit.

I don't write poly-ships, but I hope I did this request justice; also it's not necessarily a Jedi reader, but a reader who is force sensitive.

Thank you to the lovely @firstofficerwiggles for beta reading.

This will be a 7-parter. Updated weekly.

Love oo

Italics - flashback

WARNINGS: Angst, anger, sacrifice, force use

AO3 Link   |   OS & MS Master List |   Main Master List  

Words: 1601 | Next

Luke wiped the sweat from his face as he ran through his drills, he couldn’t help but think back to his time on Dagobah, running through that humid and dense forest with Yoda on his back. The jokes his old master would share with him, the conversations they would have, and the wisdom he could impart.

Now, he was alone. 

Sure he had his twin sister, Han, Chewie, and R2 but it wasn’t the same. They didn’t understand the responsibility of becoming a Jedi, and Leia all but decided she didn’t want this life. She wanted to raise a family with Han. 

A family.

His eyes focused on the stars overhead as he lay down on the grassy field, the breeze cooling his body, as he wondered what would happen if he did have a family. 

Someone to love. 

Who was he kidding, it would be a pipe dream. Who would he even have a family with? 

It’s not like he couldn’t find some random person to start a family with, but he didn’t want just someone he could pick up at a bar. He wanted to have a deeper connection. Someone who would understand the responsibility of being with a Jedi, and the issues a long distance relationship could have. 

Family.

That one word kept him up unsettled. Not because of the responsibility but because of you.

He tried to push you out of his mind, clearing his thoughts so he could focus on his meditation, however now whenever he mediated and that word kept popping up, there was one face he saw. It was yours, and all the firsts you two had shared. 

His heart began to ache when he thought of the last time he saw you. 

The music from the Ewok’s impromptu party still filled the night air, he looked around to find you, he hadn’t seen you since he told Leia he was turning himself in to the Empire, only to walk right into you waiting on the next catwalk. 

You tried to stop him, told him you’d overheard his conversation with Leia, that he was crazy and out of his mind for going to face Vader. He did his best to reassure you, but you weren’t hearing it. He did the only thing he could think of, he leaned in and gently kissed your cheek lingering for a few seconds longer than necessary. It was the sure fire way of making sure you stopped talking, he’d used once or twice to win an argument between the two of you. As you stood there, tears in your eyes, he wished you the best and left you standing as tears streamed down your face. 

He spent a good portion of the night trying to find you, and now that he had found you standing away from the party, looking out into the forest of Endor, all the words in that moment flew out of his mind as he remember the first time you two kissed. 

Turned out it was both your first kiss, you were both clumsy and awkward, however, it was special. A special moment that started the both of you through a journey of friendship and love that neither of you had expected. 

You looked beautiful, standing there with a drink in your hand, your eyes shined even though they seemed lost and sad. He was glad he made it back. He didn’t want to have any regrets about leaving things the way they had before he went to meet Vader, but he also knew things might never be the same between the two of you. 

He took a deep breath, calming down his racing heart, taking one step towards you, “I’m surprised you’re here” Luke’s voice called over, he could see how you flinched at hearing his voice, “I thought you would’ve been having a drinking contest with Chewie by now.”

You simply hummed an acknowledgement not bothering to turn to look at him. 

He ran his hand through his hair, letting out a sigh, he could sense your annoyance at having him stand beside you. He leaned on the balcony doing his best to keep his distance without looking like he was keeping his distance, he just needed to appear casual “Still mad at me?”

Your hand clenched around the mug that contained some obscure liquor the Ewok’s made, it wasn’t the tastiest thing but it certainly had a kick, you took a sip trying to calm the annoyance in your heart. Taking in a deep breath, you closed your eyes and exhaled doing your best to let your frustration go. “Let me ask you, what would you do if it had been me?”

“But it wasn’t you”

You squeezed the mug, “So because it wasn’t me, I have no right to feel anything?”

“That’s not what I said”

“Then what did you mean? I’m asking you to put yourself in my shoes, my friend … my partner or someone I thought loved me, goes to sacrifice himself, and the last thing you said to me was ‘I’m glad you’re my friend.’ Then you walked away. You didn’t turn back, you didn’t falter, you just left. If it had been me, wouldn’t you still be mad at me?”

Luke rubbed the back of his neck, “Yeah, I probably would be” he felt bad for leaving you standing there, “If there had been another way to save Vader, if it was possible for me to do it any other way, don’t you think I would’ve tried?” He looked over to you, hoping you’d understand his predicament.

A defeated sigh left you, you knew how much saving Vader meant to Luke. It was his father after all, what would you do for your family? 

“I’m sorry. I know, I shouldn’t hold it against you. I know what you went through with Vader, and how much it meant for you to save him, it’s just …” You ran your hand down your face, “It just … you scared me. I thought I’d never see you again.” Tears began to well-up, “Do you know how much I love you?” 

Luke stepped closer to you, resting his hand on your elbow, turning you to face him, “I know how much you care for me; it’s because I had your support I was able to do what I needed” his hand cupped your cheek, “I appreciate you more than you can possibly imagine.”

“Appreciate?” You clarified, as you stepped away from him, “You appreciate me?” You felt a nervousness rising, as your stomach fluttered, you could feel your heart breaking, “You don’t love me, do you?”

Maker how he wished he didn’t have to have this conversation, how he wished thing didn’t have to be this way. 

“I … I'm the last Jedi, and with that comes a responsibility. If things were different, if I wasn’t my father’s child, if …” Luke took in a shaky breath, as he stepped closer to you again, “If I had the freedom to say what is pressing on my heart to say, what you are wanting to hear …” his hand caressed your cheek, “However, I can’t tell you what you want to hear. It’d be unfair and cruel, especially since I’m not able to give you the life you want. It’s my responsibility to train the future generations, to pass on the knowledge I have gained.”

You couldn’t believe what you were hearing, “What are you trying to say?”

His hand dropped to his side, as he took a minute to steady his nerves, he closed his eyes using the force to give him the strength of what he needed to do. He took in a deep breath before looking into your eyes, as resolve settled within his heart. 

“We need to be honest about our future”

“Our future?”

“We’re heading in different directions, love. I can’t …” he cleared his throat, forcing the words to come out, “I'm not able to dedicate myself you. I am a Jedi Knight, like my father before me, my will is the will of the force, and you deserve someone who will focus on you completely”

“I don’t care what you think I deserve, I want you.” He could see how your mind was racing a million miles a minute to keep this from happening, “I can … I can help with training. I can provide support. I … I can’t …” your bottom lip started to tremble, as your eyes welled up, “I can’t walk away from you. I can’t …”

Luke wiped the tears that had slipped down your cheek, “I’m sorry. I wished things were different, but I can’t turn my back on the legacy that has been placed before me.”

You took another step back, you closed your eyes steading your nerves as much as possible, “I understand.” You did your best to fight back the tears, you were sure he could hear your heart breaking, “I know you’ll do an amazing job. I wish you all the best.” 

His eyes opened as the rocks floating around him plummeted to the floor, maker how he regretted walking away from you. The next day you had left without so much as a goodbye, he didn’t blame you, after all it was his fault for making you leave. 

Now, however, all he really wanted, was to see you again, to tell you he did love you. He never stopped loving you. Walking away, was the hardest and most painful thing he had to do. 

He realized his mistake, especially after Grogu decided to go back to his Mandalorian, to have his family.

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[david-talks-sw]

Luke Skywalker in 'The Last Jedi' (2/2)

OK, so in Part 1/2 of this post, we explored why Luke's TLJ characterization isn't really inconsistent with what had previously been established in Star Wars lore. It tracks. Dare I say: it works.

And yet... something still feels off, right?

Well, the reason for this is because Luke's character development is impacted by the film's structure, which in turn is impacted by - of all things - Poe's lack of development in Episode VII! Just hear me out!

The intention: Making the audience feel the same emotions as the protagonist, deuteragonists and antagonist.

This is what most movies strive for. Unless the film is trying to go for some dramatic irony, you want your audience to be on the same page with your protagonist, emotionally-speaking.

And y'know what? Rian Johnson does this very well.

Overall, he displays a very good grasp of making us, the audience, feel the same emotions as a film’s protagonist (generally, the main character, whose POV we follow) or deuteragonist (the ‘secondary main character’).

Rey was expecting to meet the Luke from the Original Trilogy, the Luke from Legends... and instead was disappointed to meet an old jaded hermit. Just like many of the fans were.

Finn is fooled by DJ, mistaking him for an archetypal "misfit with a heart of gold". Just like the fans were.

Poe is increasingly frustrated with Holdo, just like we were.

Call it "meta", call it "subversive", the bottom line is that some of the narrative choices that a lot of fans criticize the film for are intentionally placed there to put you in the same mental state as the characters you're following, even during the film's twists.

But as a result, if a character isn’t the protagonist (Rey), or the deuteragonists (Poe or Finn), or even the antagonist (Kylo)... they'll barely get any development.

They might get one or two scenes for themselves tops, but overall secondary characters like Luke, or Holdo, or DJ will mostly be shown through the filter of Rey or Poe’s or Finn's POV.

The Problem: Luke isn't a protagonist or deuteragonist, so he isn't developed to the audience's satisfaction.

Don't get me wrong: Luke has the second-most screen time in the whole film, but that's because Rey is the one with the most screen time, and he's primarily a character in her storyline.

To be fair, he does have his own subplot, he's the spiritual center of the whole film. But concretely, he’s one step above support characters like Holdo, Leia, Rose and DJ. We're barely shown his own POV and mainly view him through Rey's lens.

Like, there's a reason why in this scene...

... we don't see what Luke witnessed in Ben’s mind, simply his reaction to it: Rey didn’t see it either.

All three "Rashomon" flashbacks are what Rey is picturing in her mind when she’s being told three different versions of the story. She doesn't see what Luke witnessed, so we don't see it either.

And you know what? On paper... this is also not really an issue. It's actually quite standard. I mean, Yoda doesn't get much backstory or an arc in Empire Strikes Back. He's just the mentor figure, and we see him through Luke's POV.

There's no arguing that Luke in TLJ receives much more development than Yoda does in ESB.

But y’know what?

Yoda was also never the protagonist of a whole other trilogy.

So if you're gonna tell an audience that "the protagonist of the previous trilogy strayed from the path and is now a completely different person" - even if they eventually make their way back with a character arc - I don’t think it’s out of order for audience members to expect more development than a regular mentor archetype.

Context is expected, and when it isn't delivered, that'll kill the suspension of disbelief, for many fans. They're not just disappointed in Luke like Rey is, they're not immersed in the movie anymore.

So how do you go for what Rian was going while also trying to keep about half the fans from jumping ship?

The Solution (?) Delving deeper into Luke.

So let’s suppose Luke was treated like a deuteragonist. Suppose we see his own POV more, rather than just seeing him through Rey’s eyes. Would that help? And what would that look like?

Firstly, we keep that deleted scene of him mourning Han’s loss.

Or we show it like in the comic adaptation of TLJ, with Luke getting angry at his decision to cut himself off from the Force, unintentionally levitating objects until Chewie consoles him.

WHAT IT DOES: Either version humanizes Luke, shows who he is beneath the jaded mask he's putting on, gives audience a chance to mourn Han with him.

We keep that deleted scene of him explaining to Rey why he thinks the Jedi were flawed, also known as the “3rd lesson scene”.

WHAT IT DOES: Spells out Luke's rationalization that the Jedi Order needs to end. Marks the beginning of Luke's wake up call.

We add one or two additional short flashbacks of Ben gradually becoming darker and unhinged. Maybe he harms one of his fellow students in a fit of rage.

WHAT IT DOES: Clarifies that Ben was going through a dark period and that's why Luke went to confront him in his hut. He didn't just saunter into Ben's hut, sabers blazing.

Maybe halfway through the film, we see Luke pack his bag as he prepares to rescue his friends with Rey, only to find her communicating with Kyloe.

After all, the novelization shows that, upon opening himself to the Force and sensing Leia, he immediately decides to get back in the game. So if that’s not just something Jason Fry added to embellish stuff, let’s see that.

WHAT IT DOES: Drives home the fact that Luke realizes his mistake. (Although, it might also take away from the subsequent scene with Yoda).

Finally, let’s actually see what Luke saw in Ben’s mind: him killing Lor San Tekka, killing Han, killing Leia, murdering Chewie and countless more innocents all with a smile on his face.

WHAT IT DOES: Provides context for Luke's extreme reaction.

Most of these things are already technically canon, the only difference is that it would be shown on screen. And if all these elements are added, then Luke’s reasons for staying away and his reaction in Ben’s hut are already more understandable.

So where’s the flaws in this solution?

Solution Flaw #1: Plot twist would be ruined.

Talking about this one:

Again, we're seeing Luke THROUGH Rey's POV, for the most part. Our reaction is - intentionally - the same reaction as Rey.

The whole point of the twist is that

we, with Rey, believe Kylo can be redeemed, because

we, like Rey, remember Luke redeemed Vader.

So when she realizes “oh shit, Luke was right, he’s too far gone”... we react that way too.

But if we had seen Ben’s turn as well, if we had seen how he was during his training, if we had seen what Luke’s saw in Ben’s mind, we would all collectively agree with Luke and think that Rey is making a mistake in trying to redeem Kylo.

So when Rey walks away from Luke, rather than hoping she succeeds, we’d just be waiting for her to inevitably fail. We'd be thinking:

"Rey, you moron, you're walking into a trap and Kylo isn't gonna turn!"

Emotionally-speaking, we would be detached from the protagonist.

Solution Flaw #2: Increase in the runtime at the cost of other scenes.

The Last Jedi is already the longest film in the franchise. Adding just three of the above-suggestions would increase that runtime, which wouldn’t work. So you’d need to take something out.

But Finn and Poe’s storylines are already stripped down to their bare bones as it is. Hell, so was the Rey/Luke storyline, for that matter.

Actually, wait... why do we have three storylines, in the first place?

After all, if we look at The Empire Strikes Back, they only have two storylines, right?

The protagonist, Luke, goes to Dagobah.

The deuteragonists, Han and Leia, evade the Empire.

Main plot & subplot. Great.

Wouldn't it be better to just have Poe and Finn do the Canto Bight storyline together? That would give us sme remaining time to focus on Luke’s past, right? Where’s the issue?

Well, Rian Johnson put it this way:

Bottom line, in The Force Awakens, Poe is a clear-cut character. Simple as that. He’s charismatic and fun, but there isn’t much room for him to grow.

A lot of people compare his character to Han, but there's an issue with that comparison (besides the obvious fact that Finn is Han and Poe is Leia)...

In ANH, Han has an arc. He's the philosophical antagonist of the film, he's only out for himself which conflicts with Luke's attempts to help others. Han goes from being a selfish irresponsible gun-slinger to taking responsibility and becoming a selfless rebel, a part of something bigger. Arc concluded.

(Hell, this very reason is why Harrison Ford didn’t wanna keep playing him and lobbied to kill him off.)

So in ESB, Leia is the one who has the arc. Han is just being himself. Leia is the one who must slowly come to terms with the fact that she does love him, despite him being a total nerf-herder. So she and Han bicker, there’s conflict there, but there’s also an underlying affection.

As such, when Poe doesn’t have an arc in TFA, and is already on great terms with Finn, then there’s no conflict if you put them together in a subplot.

And conflict is crucial, in storytelling. If it's absent, then the story becomes boring.

As a result, Rian Johnson had to create conflict and growth for Poe.

Which means that, now, a third storyline is thrown in the mix... and the pacing and development of the other two are affected by this. Some really good scenes need to be cut, some stuff needs to get shuffled around.

For example, remember this deleted scene, from further up?

In the commentary, Rian explained that the reason it wasn’t in the film is because it didn’t intercut well with the other two storylines. *Three and a half, if you wanna count Kylo's personal scenes.

As such, there’s no space to add more scenes to develop Luke's perspective.

And if Rian made more space, well, that wouldn't work either. Because while Luke is the spiritual core of the film... this isn't his movie. He's not the protagonist anymore. But he used to be, and if you show him too much (not as Rey's mentor figure, that is, but as a protagonist or deuteragonist), he'll take the spotlight off the new cast with the snap of a finger.

When Michael Arndt was working on the Sequels with George Lucas in 2012, he encountered this same issue:

“Early on I tried to write versions of the story where [Rey] is at home, her home is destroyed, and then she goes on the road and meets Luke. And then she goes and kicks the bad guy’s ass. It just never worked and I struggled with this. This was back in 2012. It just felt like every time Luke came in and entered the movie, he just took it over. Suddenly you didn’t care about your main character anymore because, ‘Oh f*ck, Luke Skywalker's here. I want to see what he’s going to do’.” - Michael Arndt, Entertainment Weekly, 2015

And I'm guessing this is a problem that JJ had to deal with too, hence why Luke was pushed to the end of Episode VII: so as to give the new characters a chance to be developed a bit more, first.

“In a very general sense, the original idea for Episode VII started midway through what we now know as Episode VIII...” - Pablo Hidalgo, Twitter, 2016

There's finally the fact that, while most of those ideas can make Luke's fall more understandable... his story isn't about "how he fell".

It's about how he got back up. The whole point of the film is that even when you've reached your lowest point you can still inspire and be inspired by hope.

So while adding any of the above scenes would only reinforce what was already shown in the movie, be it explicit or subtextual... they wouldn't ADD anything to the theme of learning from failure and getting back in the saddle.

Do I care about Luke’s characterization in TLJ...?

In spite of what the length and intricacy of these two posts might indicate... I don’t, really 😅

Like, sure, I wish more had been done with the character, but Luke was never really my childhood hero, Obi-Wan was.

So Luke in TLJ isn’t a gaping wound in my chest. I didn't whine about it in 2017, nor did I shed tears of joy and said “he’s finally back” when we saw him in The Mandalorian, for example.

Like, it was an awesome scene, but in my mind Luke never left.

Also I’m the type of Star Wars fan who’ll tolerate any addition to the canon by virtue of it being new Star Wars content.

So even if that addition is something I didn’t enjoy during the viewing, I still focus on the positive and roll with it, I come up with a headcanon that'll make it work.

Because you get to do that, with a transmedia franchise!

If you don’t like how it went down in the movie? There's always a comic around the corner that'll retcon it and/or retroactively make it better... that's how it was for the Prequels.

But for the Sequels, it's difficult. There's a scarcity of transmedia content, when it comes to stuff set around the Sequels era.

I mean, can you think of any

Luke-centric work

that serves as a meaningful addendum to what's seen of him in the Sequels?

A novel, a comic issue and a distantly-relevant manga.

That's it.

(The Mandalorian and Book of Boba Fett are too soon after ROTJ to have any meaningful impact on Luke's journey in the Sequels. Some people see Luke's behavior in those shows as "the beginning of his failure", but I covered why I don't think this is really the case, here.)

Instead of just three items, how about a comic mini-series focusing on the year Luke spent training Leia, or on his adventures across the galaxy as he tries to rebuild the Jedi Order? Maybe he meets Cal Kestis, or Quinlan Vos? Maybe he needs to face against an Oppo Rancisis who was consumed by the darkness, post-Order 66?

Or better yet, how about a video game centered on Luke, in the style of Fallen Order or Jedi Academy?

Get Mark Hamill to motion cap it, he's done it before.

This would also allow the fans who grew up with the powerhouse that is Legends Grandmaster Luke Skywaker to have some fun!

Many fans wanted to see Luke in action, in TLJ, and instead got a pretend-samurai fight. Which is nice, powerful and symbolic, he goes out like a true Jedi, it makes the Force more than a superpower... but it's not a lightsaber duel. In a game, though? Players can go to town.

I dunno... any additional content would've smoothed the blow for many people who didn't like what was done with Luke in TLJ. Sure, you'd always have people who just hated the whole thing, but if transmedia content helped reduce the hate for the Prequels, it could've done the same with Luke.

I'm not sure why that route wasn't taken.

[orangevtae]

Follow Trough | Kylo Ren

Summary: You were Ben Solo's partner since before he turned to the dark side and changed his name to Kylo Ren, you met during Luke's Jedi training. Scaping the planet alongside with Rey, Poe, Fin and the Resistance while Luke distracted Kylo long enough so you guys could escape, you, Kylo and Rey end up making a bridge trough the Force connection and he discovers that you're carring his child on your womb.

Warnings/Additional tags: afab!reader, use of she/her pronouns, angst like really angst, romance and a little bit of fluff (it's more on memories though), conflictual feelings, Rey's a sweetheart, hurt and comfort.

Pairings: Kylo Ren/Ben Solo x Reader, Rey Skywalker/Palpatine x Reader (platonic)

A/N: I was making a Star Wars marathon and while watching the final scenes of The Last Jedi, i thought of that for some reason

"Leia, let me help you" you offered to Leia, holding out your hand to help her walk on the Millenium Falcon

"My Darling, we both know that i'm not the one who needs help" she laughed, eyes scanning over your growing belly "But i appreciate it either way"

You smiled at her, her right hand tapped your left cheek softly and up she went to the ship. You stayed behind with Rey to make sure that all of the survivors of the Resistance got inside safetly, hand carressing your belly.

You were at least 5 months long or so, you were pretty sure that you were almost 6, you lost count when all the attacks ordered by The First Order surrounded you. You sighed remembering that that meant that it was really that long since...you last saw your husband, your last encounter with Kylo Ren, it was really that long ago, even if you and him had a connection bridge trough the force way before you started to admit to have feelings for him back on the Jedi training time with Luke Skywalker, you refused to let the connection happen for the sake of your unborn baby.

You had no idea of what Kylo Ren would be able to do of he discovered that you were pregnant with his child, you always got worriedly sick thinking of it, so you did the best you could to hide the pregnancy from him, using the Force to make a fog up on the tracks of your baby, you still remember the last time you had one of your encounters, way before Rey appeared, way before things with The First Order angainst the Resistance got thicker in tension because of the back of the Jedi.

"Y/N/N? Hey, keep your mind back here" you looked up blinking rapidly, Ben's broad form in front of you, you squinted your eyes looking up at him and shielding your eyes from the burning sun light with your hands "Here you are darling everything's ok? You dissociated a moment back there"

He told you worriedly, face full of concern looking down at you, hand carressing yours softly. You were in a planet that The First Order couldn't reach you and Be- Kylo Ren on your monthly encounters, you were actually pretty tired of only being able to see him one time a month and even if you always were happy to see your husband, it wasn't the same since he turned to the dark side few years ago, you took well the first times, overjoyed to be with him for two or three days before you would part ways yet again, it was hard, hard loving him the way things how they were now, but you could handle it, right? You always thought that you could, but for two months now, you started to fear your encounters.

Kylo always tried to get you to join him on the dark side, so far deep on his fed hatred by Snoke even if you could see a little disturbence on him and the last bit of light while you always tried to bring him back home, for the sake of Leia and Han, and for the sake of the unborn baby you discovered to be carrying some weeks ago. The unborn little one would need their father present, but you couldn't let it happen while he was on the dark side, that would be the last time you would see him, it broke your heart, but you knew it was for the best.

"Yes, i'm sorry honey, i'm just tired, need some rest that's all" you smiled at him while seating down, pushing him lightly to be with you "Come lay with me"

Without a single resistance, he got rid of his gloves, shoes and cape and layed down on the little made up bed you had separated for your monthly encounters. He pushed you by the waist, your arms circling his neck, head on his chest and his cheek on the top of your head, hands softly carressing your hair.

It still pained you to remember the day you left without saying goodbye to him, you had be gone way before he woke up, ending your connection with him trough the force and hiding your baby whenever he would try to connect with you again, it was hard the first months but you soon got too busy helping Leia, the Resistance and focusing on your growing baby that everything with Kylo turned tolerable, not easy cause you could never get rid of how much you missed him.

"Y/N/N, everyone's already inside the ship, we should go" Rey's voice brought you back to the present, a soft smile on her lips as she extended her hand for you to hold "Let me help you"

"You such a sweet Rey, thank you, let's get out of this ice cube" you smiled at her and took her hand, her free hand going to your back as she helped you up and inside, worried gaze traveling from your face to your growing belly

"You have already thought of a name?" she asked, mentioned to your belly "Any ideas?"

"I have a few, but there's one that it would suit her well" you smiled as you looked at her, already inside the ship, hands carressing it softly

"Her? You think it's a girl?"

"Something just tell that it's a girl, can you feel it?"

You asked her excitedly, she closed her eyes and took a short while till her lips started to form a big smile, hands instantly on your stomach "I can feel her"

"Her?" You heard a well known voice and before you could have a reaction, you and Rey felt a pull made by the force, your hands turned sweaty as you and Rey turned to look outside of the ship, there stood, even if it was only a projection, Kylo Ren. You knew that he and Rey had some sort of connection by the force just like you and him but you had blocked him months back and as you were watching him and Rey go back and forth about how he had murdered Han, his own father, you felt a kick against your belly, a hand fastly over it and all the power you were using to hide your baby presence from him vanished from the surprise kick.

Kylo Ren never turned so fastly in his entire life, even during his little rage bickering back and forth with the Rey girl, his eyes never leaved your frame and when he felt a fourth presence, he frowned and then his eyes doubled in size by seeing your hand carressing your growing belly. It was then that everything downed on him: you were pregnant and he knew that he didn't need to search further to know that you were carrying his child, all this months of you blocking him whenever he tried the connection and you always not having that much time to be with him, you were hiding his child from him.

Kylo Ren always felt a disturbence on the force whenever you and him would connect and he never knew the cause, now he knew it pretty well and something inside of him just shaked by knowing you were expactating his child. You on the other hand were sweating, your hands trembling a little as the wind whispered your clothes and hair around you, you had to end the connection now.

Sensing you uneasyness, Rey quickly sprung to action, made a snark comment directed to him and pressed the button that would close the door.

"Y/N..." Kylo whispered, voice heavy and you could take a fast glance at him to see his eyes to get glossy and then the door closed, the connection ended and you sighed heavily, holding onto Rey that fastly got by your side seeing you getting pale and the Millennium Falcon took off.

When he couldn't no long reach either Rey or you, Kylo was looking back at a wall, he felt frustration tears leave his eyes and rage overtook him as he destroyed the room he was inside. He knew he gave up on a lot of things, did a lot of things for the sake of the dark side, but there was only much he could take, he already was separated from his lovely wife and now he just discovered that you were carrying his child, his unborn baby girl and as he destroyed more things, he thought if he could ever be able to have you in his arms again and if he would ever be able to carry his daughter on his arms.

Kylo Ren did many wrong choices but he never wanted to lost the both of you on the same time as now.