#unteathered life

[elfdyke]

she literally has the sadness in her eyes that you only find in eastern european gay porn. if you even care.

[batwynn]

I got so distracted talking about the asshole who stole my story that I forgot to tell my therapist that I legit feel like I’m loosing my mind and might go wander into the woods to become one with nature. Oops 😂😭

[worldismyne]

Based on my ShadowAU where P5 takes place mostly in metaverse and the Phantom Theives are the unteathered shadows of the main cast. There would be a bigger emphasis placed on how the various rules (no real names, no killing people, etc.) could have negative consequences in the real world. 

Makoto would first be introduced as a knight in Kamoshida's palace, someone who enforced the rules there. The destruction of that palace would put her on a personal quest to reinstate a ruler of some sort to the palace. Her codename, Queen, ends up being a dig at this as she never considered taking over herself.

She is blindly devoted to upholding the rules of the metaverse, often finding herself on the same side as Robinhood (Akechi) who's secretly working for her sister. The two form a reluctant good cop / bad cop antagonist pair at the beginning of the story, gradually gaining the trust of the Phantom Thieves. The tipping point is Kaneshiro's palace where Makoto sees for the first time how breaking the rules of the metaverse can help people (saving herself from getting trafficked in real life). She's inspired to join their cause of pursuing justice in the metaverse for those that can't find it in the real world.

She hesitates at entering her sister's palace, which she escaped from initially. The palace ruler greatly impacts the behavior of the people close to them, and setting foot in the Casino makes Makoto appear and act like a child (Akechi as well). It puts her a great disadvantage, the longer she's in the palace, the harder it is to fight this perception that's been forced onto her. It's here that Akechi confesses he's escaped from a palace as well, and had hoped Sae would have been enough to take down Shido.

In the end, Makoto embraces the role of a palace ruler, learning from Sae and Akechi's negative examples. The palace that surrounds the school is bathed in white flowers from then on, with a court of other influential personas from the school. Bonus points if her color palate is now informed by Johanna and Robinhood. While on the metaverse side this is seen as the best possible outcome, we can see in the real world the start of Makoto's original pathway in P5 (that the students see her as an authority figure).

Finally got around to Makoto. The concept was so clear in my mind, but it took 3+ attempts to get a piece that matched the vibe I was going for TTvTT

[misscrawfords]

I really want to like Citadel because it ticks all my boxes for a glossy, not too serious spy thriller. And it is entertaining enough for me to keep watching. Stanley Tucci is especially awesome. But I am left a bit cold.

It's extremely predictable, like a paint-by-numbers spy thriller. Even the plot twists are predictable. After episode 4 I am hoping desperately that it might go somewhere interesting with Abby and it turns out she's playing a long game for some third party that isn't Citadel or Manticore, but I'm not holding my breath. If she has lost her memory too it feels a bit pointless. If she hasn't and she's just trying to get revenge that feels a bit obvious.

It also makes me miss when seasons were about 20 episodes long because I feel like this could really benefit from being slowed down and drawn out. I feel very little investment in the characters because I haven't had a chance to get to know them. Without investment, the stakes are very low and I don't care about the outcomes of the plot. I want to spend several episodes with Kyle and his family getting to know their dynamic so I actually care about him discovering that his other life will take him away from them and put them in danger, so that I feel some kind of emotion other than "lol predictable" when it turns out Abby has a secret past. I want to build up Citadel as this amazing force for good so that I feel pain and shock at the idea it isn't good. I want to be introduced to Manticore by stealth so they feel truly threatening. I have no investment in these characters so it doesn't matter whether they are good or evil, they're just spy thriller archetypes who deliver snappy one-liners at each other and look hot. Kyle literally discovers he's a spy in a past life he doesn't remember and he's really chilled out and just has all his spy reflexes. Like, where's the drama in that? Who cares?

I'm also baffled as to why the show keeps telling the audience everything. It's a spy thriller! Mystery and suspense should be part of the plot and pleasure of watching! But instead we are immediately introduced to Manticore and their motivations, everyone talks explicitly about everything, spelling out as if the audience is stupid exactly what is going on and who is suspicious of whom. Constant flashbacks mean we have a clear idea of how the past affects the future. It just... doesn't leave the viewer to do any work. You couldn't watch it a second time and think "ohhhh the red flags were all there now I know the truth!"

At this point, I'm actively rooting for Manticore to turn out to be the good guys all along because Cipher seems like such a bunch of arrogant losers. They keep all the nuclear codes in the world in one briefcase. What? Why would they do that? Why would any do that? Is it just me, or is that a TERRIBLE idea? Why are all the operatives we see American? I get that it's an American show and of course the world revolves around America so heaven forbid any of the heroes should genuinely be based elsewhere in the world and be culturally diverse, but if you have a global spy network that is unteathered to any particular nation... why does it read like any old lazy pastiche of a US secret spy ring? So unbelievably boring! What a missed opportunity.

I can't help compare it to Alias and its slowburn of revelations and twists and character investment or Chuck where even though it's light-hearted, you get totally invested in the characters and relationships and the tug between a normal life and spy life. Both of these things are totally missing in Citadel. Which is a shame because it has such a good cast and an intriguing premise.

[randomestroleplays]

𝔧𝔲𝔩𝔦𝔢𝔱𝔱𝔞 𝔡𝔯𝔞𝔨𝔢 ⊱⋆⊰ 𝔪𝔢𝔡𝔢𝔞

fandom: batman

open to: platonic and romantic relationships with original or canon characters

content warnings: medical trauma, teen pregnancy, non-consensual medical experimentation, mental illness, suicidal thoughts, forced pregnancy, assault

Julietta Drake remembered what it was like to be happy. To be a child in Gotham, raising her baby brother, the perfect little heiress who got everything her heart desired; everything except for parents who were around. But that was before.  Before the League. Before Talia al Ghul. Before she was taken to Nanda Parbat — to Ra’s.

Even then, there were good days. Days when Jason was awake; cognisant. Days when he saw both she and Damian not just as a mission but as the people he loved. Days when Ra’s felt merciful enough to leave her little patchwork family in peace. Days when she could almost forget the bad ones.

Then they took Damian away. Only just four years old, but old enough to embrace his destiny. Losing Damian broke her irreparably, a piece of her lost that she would never get back. Her lifeline for almost five years, ripped from her arms and thrust into the tragic fate she’d tried to shield him from. Jason left soon after; vanished into the night without even a word. She was alone. Alone until Talia decided to let her go — out of pity or something more untoward, Julietta still didn’t know. Unteathered, her life in pieces, she found her way back to Gotham, to the only home she’d ever known.

The Gotham she returns to is unlike anything she could have expected.  Somehow darker, even more haunting than she remembered, the city suffocated her in a way that it never had before.  But the changes helped her realize something; she couldn’t go home.  Not without a plan, an explanation, an apology.  So she stayed in the shadows, watching, waiting, until the day she saw the headline of the Gotham Gazette announcing that Bruce Wayne’s son, Damian, had returned home to his father.  And the picture below it, somehow now ten years old, was Damian al Ghul.

Julietta wastes no time in going to Wayne Manor, determined to have her questions answered.  Only, instead of Damian opening the door, she’s greeted by the last face she ever expected.  Tim Drake.

(x)

faceclaim: india eisley

age: 19

ships: jason todd

friends: the batfamily

affiliations / allies: the batfamily, drake industries, justice league, talia al ghul

enemies: league of assassins, ra’s al ghul

alignment: chaotic good

enneagram type: type 8 — the challenger

soul type: the warrior

mbti: entj-t — the commander

Hogwarts House: slytherin

Element: fire

Trope: took a level in badass

Theme Song: seven devils, florence + the machine

Quote: you said I killed you – haunt me then

[dumdme]

to float through life, untouched, unteathered

my actions don’t cause change and nothing can alter me now

my flight lifts by your memory

so please

remember me

[evelynstarshine]

we have lost an inheritance there was a cultural wealth and depth, I talk to my father, I listen to music, read stories or watch films from his generation. They exist within a context of thousands of years of inherited culture, faith, music and human life. That we today, are cut off from, we can touch it's surface repackaged for consumption and sale, we don't have that foundation to ourselves, our art, our faith, our lives, our culture, our world. It's all so unteathered. Our world has been shrunk to be contained only in the commercial

[to-the-journey]

[randomestfandoms-ocs]

Julietta Drake ✤ Seven Devils

See I was dead when I woke up this morning

Julietta Drake remembered what it was like to be happy. To be a child in Gotham, raising her baby brother, the perfect little heiress who got everything her heart desired; everything except for parents who were around. But that was before.  Before the League. Before Talia al Ghul. Before she was taken to Nanda Parbat — to Ra’s.

Even then, there were good days. Days when Jason was awake; cognisant. Days when he saw both she and Damian not just as a mission but as the people he loved. Days when Ra’s felt merciful enough to leave her little patchwork family in peace. Days when she could almost forget the bad ones.

Then they took Damian away. Only just four years old, but old enough to embrace his destiny. Losing Damian broke her irreparably, a piece of her lost that she would never get back. Her lifeline for almost five years, ripped from her arms and thrust into the tragic fate she’d tried to shield him from. Jason left soon after; vanished into the night without even a word. She was alone. Alone until Talia decided to let her go — out of pity or something more untoward, Julietta still didn’t know. Unteathered, her life in pieces, she found her way back to Gotham, to the only home she’d ever known.

The Gotham she returns to is unlike anything she could have expected.  Somehow darker, even more haunting than she remembered, the city suffocated her in a way that it never had before.  But the changes helped her realize something; she couldn’t go home.  Not without a plan, an explanation, an apology.  So she stayed in the shadows, watching, waiting, until the day she saw the headline of the Gotham Gazette announcing that Bruce Wayne’s son, Damian, had returned home to his father.  And the picture below it, somehow now ten years old, was Damian al Ghul.

Julietta wastes no time in going to Wayne Manor, determined to have her questions answered.  Only, instead of Damian opening the door, she’s greeted by the last face she ever expected.  Tim Drake.

I’ll be dead before the day is done

Forever Tag List: @themildestofwriters-ocs @gottaenjoythelittlethingzz @perhapspearl @seaweedhufflepuffocs @the-october-reviewer @foxesandmagic @perfectlystiles @anotherunreadblog @peacheydelanhoes @darkwolf76 @randomfandomingwrites @ocfairygodmother @villain-connoisseur @witchofinterest @neutralomens @ultraocfury @guardiansofheroes @malice1329 @ochub @cas-writesocs @eddysocs @ocappreciationtag @fiercefray @stareyedplanet @farfallasunicas @amixedwitch @ocs-supporting-ocs @stanshollaand @decennia @darth-caillic @ironverseocs @elorasfandomsandocs — want to be added? shoot me an ask

[mlwritingprompts]

Submitted Prompt: Journeys of Self-Identity (Danny Phantom Crossover)

After her grandfather, Roland, makes a deragatory comment about her mother, Marinette's eyes are opened to the real reason her grandfather was not a part of her life growing up, and that her father did not estrange himself for the sake of a bread recipe

-- he left to protect Marinette and her mother from his father's long-simmering, burning hatred of anything different. 

Shocked and strangely numb, Marinette flees her grandfather's house and launches herself onto an impromptu patrol over the rooftops of Paris, trying to burn off the anger, frustration and betrayal coursing through her veins as she fights off the tears that threaten to break her composure. 

It happens very quickly, between one heartbeat and the next.

One moment, Marinette is leaping from the ledge of one roof to get to the next building-- 

And in the next, something green flickers in front of her, she blinks and-- 

cold. 

--Finds herself soaring,unbound by gravity, unteathered, through a green, cold, alien landscape, all swirling viridian supernovas and eerie violet islands full of trees that writhed with teeth and flowers that smelled like death.

Twisting frantically in the air as her momentum carried her breathtakingly -ast past door after door after hollow empty door, Marinette turns just in time to see a small tear in reality snap closed like a jaw full of teeth over the familiar Parisian skyline, darkening the world in ominous, florescent, poisonous green as the daylight vanished as though it had never been.

Leaving her, trapped.

Stranded, in the world of the dead, with no idea where she is or how to get back home, and surrounded by strange enemies and a hostile environment, Marinette has no food, no water, and the Lucky Charm she desperately summons has no immediate use that she can see. Marinette's only hope is the strange white-haired boy in a prison uniform who is as lost as she is...

In more ways than one. 

Because while Marinette is struggling with her identity that comes from her mixed heritage, young Danny Fentom is struggling with the identity that comes with being half dead.

Can the two 14-year old superheroes help each other find not only their way home, but also help each other accept and embrace their unique selves for who they are?

[Submitted by @Walks-the-ages ]

[girl-next-door-writes]

Words I Meant To Say

@thisismysecrethappyplace​ sent me this gif and so here is something to break your heart. Sorry.

​Of all the many ways he saw this playing out, he could honestly say this was not even on his radar. Sitting in a cell, yeah, he’d figured that might be a possibility. His brothers disappointment, that had been a given. If he had known for even a fraction of a second that this outcome was a possibility he would never have embarked on this madness. If he had known that he might lose you...

“Loki.” Your soft voice rang out in the quiet of his prison and he closed his eyes, unable to look at you. “I know that you can hear me.”

“Of course I can, you’re a figment conjured up from my own mind.” he mumbled.

“Yes, but why have you brought me here? You could create any illusion you want, and yet here I am.” 

The silence was heavy for a long time and Loki wondered if you had left him. Opening his eyes, he looked up to see you standing there, that familiar soft smile on your lips. The vision of you blurred as his eyes filled with tears. 

“I never meant...” he trailed off, his breath catching in his throat.

“I know.” you assured him, sitting down beside him and leaning against the wall. 

“There were so many things I wanted to tell you.” 

“So, tell me.” Your hand rested beside his but there was no warmth raditating from you, a reminder that you weren’t real. 

“You made me hear such music, made me believe in something more. Without you, I feel- I feel unteathered. Like I could just float away into the abyss. I’m sorry. I never meant for you to get hurt, never meant for you to...” Closing his eyes once more, the warmth of his tears heated his cheeks. 

“Never meant for me to what, Loki?” 

“Never meant for you to die.” His voice cracked and his head fell back, resting against the cool wall behind him.

“Who told you I was dead?” Loki frowned as he realised your voice was not coming from within the boundary of his cell. Opening his eyes, he squinted through the containment field. You were standing there, half hidden in shadow, battered and bruised but definitely breathing. 

“I thought...”

“You thought I was dead? Oh, darling.” You moved closer, placing your hand on against the contraints of his cell. At once, he was on his feet, his hand pressed to yours through the barrier. 

“I swear I will spend the rest of my life ensuring no harm ever comes to you.” He vowed earnestly, wishing he could gather you up in his arms, prove to himself that you were real. 

“Well, the first step to ensuring that is to get you out of that cell. Let’s see if we can’t find a way to liberate you and then we can talk about ensuring both our safety.” You gave him a lopsided smile and his heart skipped. As soon as he got out of here he would tell you all those things he had meant to say, as soon as he could hold you in his arms again.  

[pastelpaperplanes]

Why is Panoply so sick? Was he born to early or something?

Panoply was a bit premature yes, on top of that his spark didn’t split correctly from his Carrier’s frame during Pre Emergence (where the Newspark unteathers itself from the Carrier and travels to meet with the forged frame)

The Pre Emergence stage is likely the most dangerous for the Newspark as it had to detach just right to avoid the hot flares and spasms of the Carrier’s spark (the detachment is NOT comfy for the Carrier, remaining calm, keeping cool, and staying fully fueled are the most important parts they can do in order to ensure that their Newspark can split properly)

Panoply did not detach properly! I mentioned in his bio that he was born with a near snuffed spark—thats because his detachment likey caught Poly off guard. Poly, his Carrier, was also fairly sick during both of their carriages (Nex and Pano’s) so on top of Pano coming a bit early, Poly’s frame was already compromised a bit. Pano had a tough time even before he was born but he made it and THATS all that matters.

Poly has been mentioned to have artificial coding due to Soundwave being an artificial Cybertronian, so already keeping that in mind Poly’s biological experiences with their Carrieges/Creatorhood were likely different than any normal Cybertronian since they’ve got handmade coding laced within their frame from Megatron’s AND Shockwave’s tamperment with Soundwave’s biology. In Eve’s canon, the offspring of Empuratas already have issues to begin with because of the corrupted nanites an Empurata would produce. So this means that Poly has a disadvantage on both sides of coding from their Carrier AND Sire.

So Panoply’s issues with having a very frail spark all throughout his life are due to his traumatic pre emergence and emergence, as well as having coding issues on his Carrier’s side of his genes. This definitely weighs some guilt on his Creators’ minds.

Panoply genuinely showed incredible strength as a Newspark and did manage to pull through even after months of post emergence care. He’s one helluva fighter, he gets that from Polyphony.

[ardenttheories]

amityli replied to your post: “Completely off topic but DirkJohn actually does work as a relationship...”:

well NOW all i care about in life is reading this analysis.

Your wish is my command. 

As a Prince of Heart, Dirk is deeply entrenched in the Self. We see this a lot in the main comic; he feels physically haunted by himself, by his Splinters, unable to get away from his own Destruction. He feels Suffocated (in his own words) by his inherent ability to Destroy so perfectly that - quite without realising it - he can Destroy his own progression as a person (such as, perhaps, by convincing himself that he’s some awful villain, and that he was wrong in thinking that he could ever be better when faced by the multitude of Selves that exist across Paradox Space). 

What Dirk needs is... to learn to be Free. To let go, to go with the flow. He spends so much time thinking, in his own head, that he very rarely spends time Feeling - and if he does Feel, he then overthinks it to such a degree that he mechanises his own Emotions. It’s well within the role of a Prince of Heart to do this, of course - it’s the natural course of Desruction of the Heart - but it’s more a Prince of Heart that doesn’t know how to stop himself. A Prince who, perhaps, has a tendency to try and Control other people, himself, his Emotions - and who needs to be shown how to relinquish that control. 

Naturally, you can see how a Breath Player like John would help here, but a Breath Player who has Inherited Freedom - is quite literally Freedom Incarnate? This is more likely to help Dirk because of two things:

A) John has always been a narrative anomaly. Yes, Dirk managed to control and kill him in the Meat timeline, but all that did was pave the way for a comeback in the Candy timeline, a more aware Candy John. It is a lot harder to control John as a general rule of thumb, which means, in some ways, he’s a narrative equal to Dirk. He has freed himself from the narrative before. He can do it again, rendering Dirk’s powers fairly useless. (If, of course, the writers had thought about John’s abilities for longer than two seconds, they’d have realised this). 

B) John isn’t an active Player. He’s Passive; his use of Breath is relaxed, unassuming; it happens around him. Dirk doesn’t need someone that will try to fix him or force him to face the facts, because Dirk can easily talk about that sort of logic, can fight back against it and ignore it. If he’s exposed to it more naturally, however - put in the presence of someone who can help him Breathe, to relax, to let go - then there’s a higher chance that he’ll accept it. A greater potential that Dirk will allow himself to open up, without even realising he’s doing it, so that he can’t overthink it. 

He needs to be Freed from Himself, his thoughts, his ability need to Destroy - but as an Active-Destructive Player, it will always work best for him to be with someone who is Passive-Control (as in, someone who is strong enough to stand up to him, but not going to go out of their way to pressure him or needle him). 

On the side of John... John is so unteathered from Reality it’s startling. He has so few connections that he feels as if he has no place in his timelines, and he has a tendency to ignore everything about himself to such a degree that - for instance - he’s not even aware he’s depressed. 

John very rarely considers himself. He doesn’t tend to overthink, to analyse, to really look at himself and question who he is. 

This is great, in some ways - consider, for instance, that this is exactly the sort of thing Dirk needs to stop doing in such extremes - but also comes with its own drawbacks, since John is inherently very ignorant about sexuality and gender identities, as well as his own mental health. He isn’t aware that, for instance, he feels so Disconnected from his friends because he knows different versions of them that don’t have the same set of memories, because - for some reason - no matter what he does, they are always different. 

John needs to be guided. He actually does his best when he has a purpose, has a plan, and knows where to go. Otherwise he just floats along, completely separating himself from everything he loves, without realising that he’s the reason for his isolation. He doesn’t need someone to control his life, of course, but he does need someone that knows how to motivate people and push them back onto course. 

Someone like a Prince of Heart who has a history of pushing people in the right direction, perhaps? 

Of course, you’d assume immediately that this is a bad idea. A Prince of Heart Destroys the Self and Emotion - why would that help John?

To that, I offer you this: if John lacks a sense of Self... what can Dirk Destroy? John does not understand who he is or what he does, he just exists. There’s nothing really there for Dirk to sink his teeth into, no foothold to step on. Dirk needs a Self to Destroy to do his thing. 

Maybe, then, what he’d Destroy is the fake Self surrounding John’s true Self. The Self that exists because John thinks it does, because John’s never really looked into it, but isn’t actually the fully fledged him. In other words, a Dirk that has been influenced positively might be more capable of Destroying the barriers that stop people from being themselves - the temporary Selves we all cling to while we either try to figure out who we are, or try to ignore the Truth of our Selves. 

On top of that, one of the best things a Prince of Heart can do, when they have a rein on their powers, is Destroy Negative Emotions, destroy Impulsivity. In other words, Dirk could Destroy all of the things that’re keeping John from interacting with his friends, that are weighing him down yet allowing him to float away at the same time. Dirk can Destroy the desire that John has to flit from thing to thing, and help him settle down a little, to find a form of Stability that helps even him out. 

And, to return back to that concept that John perceives himself as different from everyone he loves... Dirk could Destroy that Self. Not the physical Self - the John that we have now - but more the metaphorical Self; the things that makes John feel different, the things that make him struggle to connect. He could quite literally just help John feel like he DOES have a place by Destroying that sense of Displaced Self and making him a part of the group again. 

Their Classpects and how they work have a fairly fitting effect. They’re uniquely positioned to be interlocking with the things they struggle with and the things they’re strong at, without having the natural flare-up that tends to happen between Opposing Aspects. Something Dirk’s weak at, John excells in; someone John’s weak at, Dirk excells in. 

John helps Dirk be Free while Dirk helps John be Real.

They could actually work as a couple, and work exceedingly well. In fact, I’d argue they’d end up being one of the best couples for how well they could bounce off of each other and mellow each other out. 

I’ve seen this as a resurgance in recent JohnDirk fiction, actually, which I love to bits. Even without fully understanding how Classpects work, people can tell that they naturally balance each other’s faults and struggles while improving upon their natural strengths. 

[anogete]

It's been a difficult year. That's an understatement, for sure. Maybe it was my turn to learn about loss. Losing my grandma in March was so painful. I'd never cried so much or so hard. Then I lost my sweet doggo Ferguson in September, and I found out that I could cry even more and much harder. His absence in my life left my unteathered and floating away. I lost so much of my purpose and routine. I sat in my car in the Costco parking lot and ate half a dozen croissants over the course of 2 hours because I didn't want to come home. I went into work every single day for three weeks because I thought I had nothing else but work. And I sob in my car every single day on my way home. But I'm trying to be okay now. I made a shadow box to hold some mementos and hung it above the shelf with his ashes. I have a consultation to get his portrait tattooed on me next month. But I also need to move on and find a way to honor his memory without living in the past only. There is a rescue that pulls dogs with pending euthanasia dates from South Texas shelters and transports then north if they can find people willing to pay their way and adopt them. There was a sweet little dog looking to be saved and her energy reminded me of Ferg so much. He can never, ever be replaced, but when I saw her in the rescue's video, I thought he'd have liked her so much. After a week-long application process and a two week wait, tomorrow I get to pick her up from the trailer she's been riding in to get here.

[moth-and-mayfly]

Most days are white sugar days. Light and fluffy, sprinkled over your head to land at your feet. Only a few moments will get stuck in your hair and stay with you tomorrow, if any. You can make these days into cakes in your memories or leave them for the ants to take away in a line. These days come and come and come.

Brown sugar days are similar, but with more stick. There might be clumps you can’t get out and sometimes the entire day turns into a rock and you will want to scream. But rest assured, years later these will be the days you turn over and over in your mind, for better or worse. These are the days you will roast on the fire and break a slice from to share with your friends and make them laugh, the days talked about in toasts and stories, at your wedding and your funeral.

And of course molasses days. You know these days, they are the ones that stain your hands for life. They engulf you, drag you down into their depths and hold you until their nails dig into your skin and their sludge fills your lungs. You will still be dripping them off years later, but I promise they will not always be so heavy. Someday you will unteather yourself, and there will only be the occasional drops found clinging to your hair. You will hold them not because you’re chained to them, but as a badge of honor of the things you can survive.

And then there are the honey days. Promise me you will always remember the honey days, because these take time and love to create. Remember the way the stripes of sun draped lazily over her shoulders, the slow, sweet love of the heavens on her skin. Glazed eyes and music turned up too loud and that full feeling in your belly. These days last a lifetime but will only be seen by you and the lucky few they are shared with. They aren’t loud like the other days, but they are the fullest. They are the result of all your work, all your love crystallized. You will keep them.

[jackpotgirl]

Open Arms

When Rey dies, she doesn’t even realise it at first. It’s not something she had ample time to prepare for. It’s a freak accident.

They’ve been rebuilding the galaxy. In every system change started slow but steady and Rey had been working for five years to train new Jedi, teach them to learn to handle both sides of the Force, the dark and the light. And she had never stopped telling Ben’s story.

It’s one of her Padawans who accidentally slices a transmission tower in half at the bottom at lightsaber training and Rey doesn’t think before charging forward, Force pushing three students out of the way from the tipping mast. But one doesn’t get out of the way fast enough. Rey runs into the path of the falling steel beast to try again and shove her student out of harms way. Too quick to realise that she is getting herself into mortal danger.

The beam hits her completely unprepared, crushing her body and trapping her underneath it. She’s dead in an instant and there’s no one strong enough left to bring her back.

“Huh,” she thinks, the second she feels herself float above herself, there but gone, and understands that she’s both no longer among the living but also not gone from existance.

“I didn’t expect you here so soon,” a low voice says and suddenly Rey is unteathered, on a different plain, on a white pathway in a sparkly sky and opposite of her, Ben, the way she last saw him, dressed in black. Trousers and a lose shirt and tousled hair. His face immaculate, no scar, no wounds, but otherwise the same - even the smile that had haunted and saved her for five years.

“You’re still here,” she mutters, unable to move. “Why did I never see you?”

“You got the part of my that could’ve come to see you still inside you, I’m afraid,” he says easily. “The life force and all...I got nothing but my soul on me. So I’ve been waiting here for you.”

Rey laughs and then nothing else matters anymore. She runs to him and crashes into his broad frame at top speed, a supernova greeting sealed with a kiss.

A new star is born that night and finally...balance.