Welcome one. Welcome all. I have brought all of you here today to say that YOU WERE LIED AND DECEIVED BY THE FORCES OF HOLLYWOOD AND UNCHECKED CAPITALISM. 'How?' You ask. And yes. I shall answer. It is simple:
The ending of the Rise of Skywalker was wrong
Wait. Excuse me. WHAT THE FUCK?
You read correctly, dear friends. Someone fucked with the editing of Rise of Skywalker and it changed the entire ending of the movie. It changed the characterization of three key characters and it's clear this was against the creator's wishes. I'll be breaking this down into a few key sections. What were the changes, Why I believe these changes were made (and made last minute), and do I consider this ending more or less canon then the theatrical ending. So. JOIN ME ON THIS ADVENTURE FRIEND
The plot changes/editing change
It's fairly simple. They changed Leia's role in the plot, this changed the entire direction of the last few minutes of the movie. Let me break the timeline down
โ Deathstar fight on the ocean still happens, Ben is distracted by Leia reaching out to him. She either still enters her "disappointment son" coma here, or perhaps simply just reaches out to him.
โ From here, the plot continues as normal. Ben and Rey both get to the sith rave separately.
โ Rey Dies
โ Ben Revives her and dies.
โ Leia chooses THIS MOMENT to die and give her life to her son
โ Ben is revived. He and Rey kiss.
โ Move to conclusion
WHAT EVIDENCE DO I HAVE THESE CHANGES WERE MADE (and at the last moment)
Take in note, my evidence is circumstantial, but circumstantial evidence still counts as proof
โ Leia's final role in the movie is insanely unclear. She also takes 12 hours to actually die or something. Again. Confusing
โ Ben's final words, as of this moment, are "OW". Adam Driver said he was nervous about his final dialogue in the movie to the point he stressed about it on the flight over. And. Man. IDK about you but OW seems a little unstressful to say
โ There was no Force Ghost Ben, a decision that is baffling story wise. It would take any competent VFX team hardly any effort to throw a ghostly adam driver next to Leia and Luke. And this would be advantageous to add to the plot if Ben was going to die, give that final bit of closure to the Skywalker fam.
โ Rey's near LACK of emotion over his death. Go watch her realize she has to leave Ben behind in TLJ and tell me that the difference isn't noticeable. It's completely against her character.
โ The weird beats of Leia going into her disappointment son coma and the other strange beats of Ben's death. Especially the fact that you only see him disappear in like. one shot.
โ None of the cast thought he was going to die
โ Wow I wonder why Adam Driver is adamant about never wanting to do star wars at this point?
โ Wow, why does disney keep resetting the character poll of who is the most anticipated character of this movie????
โ The prophecy about Ben's death is completely unnecessary at this point. If it was brought up during TFA, it's understandable to put that thread there. Instead it's in the last movie when his death seems to be a foregone conclusion???
โ So Rey's fine for Luke and Leia even tho she's palpatines kid, but Luke and Leia don't seem all that bothered by Ben's death??????
โ This was supposed to be Leia's film and complete her arc. And while I understand that there was a lack of footage to use for her, it's odd that she ended up not playing much of a role beyond "Distract Ben so he gets stabbed ig"
โ Every single hole in characterization for Luke, Leia, and Rey, every strange beat that didn't really make sense in Ben and Rey's fight on the ocean and during their ??? Mutual deaths???? and the some how rushed and dragged on ending can be solved by a simple solution. Occam's razor, Ben was never meant to die permanently.
โ The fact that there was no final dialogue for Ben after his talk with his father suggests he had something significant to say after his resurrection
โ The fact that they didn't have a cut of Rey absolutely LOSING HER MIND over losing to, what amounts to, the other half of her soul suggests that she was never supposed to lose him permanently
โ The fact that there is no Ben Ghost means that they didn't have the time to slip that in before pushing it out to theaters
โ The way the final scenes with Rey are shot and edited are, again, weird, off balance. It seems like it ends WAY TOO QUICKLY and far too on the nose.
โ no but really guys. His final words are "OW"
โ As for WHO changed it, because of the fact that this is clearly an edit job done at the last minute? I'm putting my money on a CEO that is above Kathleen Kennedy and JJ Abrhrams. I think their hands are tied ATM. This is the ending that had been planned for, this is the ending they wanted, otherwise there would not be such big holes that felt weird and dishonest to the characters. And, like, Kylo Ren/Ben Solo was JJ's child, he wouldn't have done him dirty like this.\
THEATRICAL ENDING/TRUE ENDING
I'm sure opinions would be divided on which ending is canon depending on the person. The theatrical ending will be what's considered canon in the universe of star wars at large. For myself, I find it hard to deny the creators and filmmakers the right to present the story they wanted to tell. So, in that way, both endings are true for me. Though, I am biased-- both as someone who is an artist myself and someone who adores Kylo Ren's/Ben Solo's character-- I like the story the film team were trying to tell over the agenda that whoever pushed for these changes had. Personally, I believe it pushes Star Wars as a universe forward into new territory rather than keep it stagnant in the same old same old that it's always been. Plus. this maintains the integrity of Luke, Leia, and Rey's characters, Ben was never forgotten, far too gone, or unloved. Leia gave him one final gift, a second chance.
That said, I'm not pushing this ending on anyone. I won't be playing it by default. I would rather ask permission or have someone else bring it up.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vaderstan) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
literaldumpsterfire2020-01-04 09:58 am
no subject
REY HE DOESNT KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THESE TINY CREATURES WHO ARE CROWDED AROUND HIS FEET.
This is just a Real Hard introduction into domesticity right now, and Thankfully BB-8 is keeping well enough away. No one can record evidence of him kneeling besides Rey and a flippin' porg just immediately attempting to ascend his body. One is able to use Rey as a launching pad and finds it's target.
Ben's hair. It's perfect nesting material. Thankfully they don't rip out a TON, so there's a hiss of pain and 'OW' as the creature skitters off to add this to it's nest. Ben is gonna have to find that hair brush and sacrifice the hair in there to the Porgs or they are gonna steal ALL HIS HAIR IN HIS SLEEP.
Ah, and that's when he spots one making a STRAIGHT UP MAD DASH TO AN OPEN PANEL OF WIRING. He has to reach out and block it's course....
Which results in it deciding that means Ben is a Big Safe Haven and now he has porgs harassing him. HE'S BEING OVER RUN. They're gonna try to snuggle him an what the HELL CHEWBACCA??? ] I can see why Chewie had them locked up.
[ It would appear that they are part of the wiring issue. Only mitigated by the fact that the porgs haven't been back on the Falcon for very long. ]
no subject
She winces a little in sympathy when they go straight for his hair -- why is literally every creature in the galaxy obsessed with Ben Solo's perfect hair? -- but it's just so cute that they've all decided to snuggle him at once, save one or two that have decided to hop up on her instead.
Eventually, she decides to take pity upon Ben, who is clearly entirely out of his depth, and start collecting up the porgs and gently shooing them back towards their designated space before they can cause real issues with the wiring.]
Chewie got very attached to them on Ahch-To. We had to relocate them for a while; I wasn't certain what he'd done with them. I suppose he's kept them somewhere safe all this time.
[She's honestly trying not to giggle as she attempts to retrieve some of the stragglers who really do not want to come away from the large human creature who is apparently an acceptable Chewie substitute. She's trying, but it's not entirely successful. Has Ben ever even heard her laugh in a non-hysterical manner? Here's his chance, if not.]
no subject
He really hopes that's the last he'll see of them.
It's not. ]Is that where the milk comes from?
[ God, cause that shit is vile. What the fuck was wrong with Luke's taste buds???
The children are successfully contained, he'll let Rey shut the door since she seems to enjoy their company. ]
He's always had strange taste.
no subject
What? No, that comes from a big... sort of... sea mammal?
[Look, Rey doesn't know; and technically the Ahch-To version and the Tattooine version are different but she doesn't have any way of knowing that and THEY'RE BOTH GROSS okay.]
Your uncle was a very odd person. Though I suppose that's only natural by the time I met him.
[Rey is well-acquainted with the things that solitude can do to one's mind. And oh no, why does everything end up in faintly sad territory even when there were just porgs? Oh right, it's because these two have had terrible lives.]
no subject
Luke Skywalker has always been strange.
[ Ben is smart enough not to venture into terribly sad territory, however. Luke had been his hero when he was a child. How could he not be? This huge legend of an uncle who told stories of space battles and the foes he cut down. He'd do all the voices, too. The reenactments were wild and treasured affairs where Leia and Han would sometimes cut in to correct his re-telling of whatever tale.
But at some point Luke stopped visiting. And Ben noted when he saw him at the camp that-- some of that eccentric spark had gone. He was never sure what happened, he's sure Luke would avoid that topic if pressed.
This time Ben reaches forward to pluck up Rey's hand and get them back to the safety of the captain's quarters. New stash of food acquired....
Did BB-8 just drop more condoms on the bunk??? My god Ben is going to dismantle him. He's gonna force fling those dumb fucking things off the bed and out the door to hit the passing droid and get the door to slam. Quickly. ]
Everyone in my family is strange.
[ And yes. Lando counts as family. LBR.
Rey's free to help herself to any of the stash he brought while Ben perches on one side of the bed and pokes around with the datapad he managed to pocket. He kinda just wants to know what the hell is going on in the galaxy since he's been dead. This won't be a super deep dive, he's just more wondering about the general state of the First Order and how much of a pain in his ass will it be. He will be plucking up various food items to eat as he reads. And. Again. He's not acknowledging this HEAVY SEX IMPLICATION SHIT. He doesn't want to give Lando the win of kicking off their sex life. ]
no subject
Then again, they did sort of pointedly lock themselves in the ship's only bedroom but THAT WAS TO SLEEP, God.
And it's anyone's guess if they're going to get any closer to it now, since Rey's going to sit next to him, loop both her arms around one of his, and lean her head on his shoulder while he reads. It would probably be annoying if he hadn't already made it super clear that invading one another's personal space was a thing that was just going to happen now. But good luck using that arm for anything other than a Rey security blanket. She also just kind of doesn't want him to read too much of what's going on out there.]
Anything in particular you're looking for?
[She's really not eager for either of them to return to the world outside these walls. She knows there are a lot of loose ends to clean up. Everything's got to be in a state of general disarray and it's really not fair that the ones who literally died to save the galaxy still have to clean up the mess. Even if one of them helped make most of that mess.]
no subject
Trying to get an idea if any of the officers or leadership are alive.
[ Which is looking like a big fat No. And if they are they've gone underground. He could get more info if he wanted to, but at this moment he really doesn't. Plus, he'd have to use and encrypted back network and make sure whatever datapad he was using was completely clean. Lando could find one, no doubt, but it's not worth the risk at this point in time.
Though... he has noticed something even from this brief skim ]
Is General Hux dead?
[ Like, wow. When did that happen? Why wasn't he invited???? He needs a playback reel that he can just watch again and again because FUCK THAT GUY. ]
no subject
He doesn't know.
Rey had been filled in later; no one knew for sure that he hadn't escaped, but with weeks of silence it was looking like Armitage Hux was either dead or so far underground that he may as well be.
But Ben probably didn't know of his final betrayal. He mustn't have had time to be informed, or else no one cared to.
Rey fidgets and has a silent inner battle with herself before she decides they'd promised truth to one another. And better he hear it from her than anyone else.]
We think so. We suspect he was executed for... for being an informant to the Resistance. He helped Poe, Finn and Chewie escape the Steadfast while you and I were were fighting one another.
[She holds her breath to see how he'll take it. Even if the hatred between them had been mutual, it cannot possibly feel great to know that you were sold out almost immediately upon assuming leadership.]
no subject
Not surprising. [ Is his non-reaction to the news. He'll set the datapad aside in a spot that they can't kick it off or break the thing on accident. ] After you left for Crait, I woke up with him hovering over me with killing intent.
[ ---- oh that won't help with Rey's guilt on that matter. But if she had known that then he has no doubt that she would have either dragged his body to the escape pod or waited for hux herself to slice him in half. ]
I knew he wanted me out of the way.
[ It is a testament to the fact that Hux most underestimated how unpopular he was among the officers. He'd thought simply getting rid of Kylo Ren would gain him the title of Supreme Leader... When really Kylo Ren had been keeping him alive in many ways ]
If he'd lived, I'm sure he would have come simpering to the Resistance and blame all of his plans on myself or other officers.
[ Had Kylo Ren ever mentioned that Hux was the one who planned the attacks which counted as genocide and war crimes???? Whatever. He's dead now. One less head ache. ]
no subject
She'd walked away.]
You have to know I never would have left you if I'd had any idea.
[She thinks he probably does, but she needs him to hear it out loud. As for the rest of it...]
A lot of people are going to want you to answer for the crimes of the entire First Order once they know you're alive.
[She has absolutely no intention of letting that happen. But they were going to have to come up with a plan. More than just the Resistance would be looking for what they imagined was justice.]
no subject
I know. [ He says this reassuringly because he doesn't want her believing that he thought this would be easy or clean. He knows what he's done, the people he's hurt. He never expects anyone to forgive him or understand. The only thing that will keep him from being locked up or executed is Rey And if she ever decided she was done with his shit? Well. He'd come to accept that as well. ] However you wish to proceed in that regard, I will follow.
[ Honestly, she could tell him to jump off a roof and he'd probably do it at this point.
Man, they'll all soft and quiet and this is a good mood. Somber as it may be, they've finally settled into something closer to what will become normality for the both of them. Man, maybe it's time for Ben to lean in and Show her the Dark side.
Oh fuck him. It appears that the Soon to be Angry Boys and the Good Good Girl have seen Rey's message and????
THey????
HAVE SO MANY??????
QUESTIONS?????
Ben shoots her a look which says she gets to handle this because-- well. He could answer it if she really wanted him to. But that would be tossing water on to a grease fire. ]
makes everything worse or better idfk
She's off the bed and out the door to the HoloNet communicator that we're just gonna assume Lando had put on this thing. Because otherwise we can't have this conversation in the most awkward way possible and no one else gets the benefit of Rey's multitude of expressions as she's greeted with two furious (and one mostly confused) friends.
It's a cacophony of overlapping shouting which Rey tries to calmly interject herself into three separate times before she finally loses her patience.]
Everyone. stop. TALKING.
Somehow, miraculously, that works for long enough for Rey to give her next order.]
One at a time. NOT YOU, Dameron.
[Poe gets the last name treatment; Rey is not fucking kidding around.
None of them have really seen her like this except perhaps Finn, in the moment she Force-threw him away from her and Kylo Ren on Kef Bir. She's got that same energy now, just contained. She won't be Force-throwing anyone through the Holonet. Probably. This isn't really helping anyone entirely believe she's not crossed over to the Dark Side, though.
There's a slightly more contained array of questions that follow, including about a dozen separate attempts to discern whether or not Rey's evil or being mind-controlled. She answers them as calmly and levelly as she can, even when Poe cannot take it anymore and launches into a torrent of curses and physically improbable threats that Rey calmly makes clear that she won't be entertaining.
She does her level best to give them as much information as she possibly can. No, she doesn't know where they're going next, as that all depends on what Ben wants and whether or not the Resistance is willing to accept him. Yes, this really was Leia's final act, and out of respect for her, Rey expects everyone to behave themselves regardless of their personal opinions. Yes, she's aware of everything he did as Kylo Ren. She isn't trying to deny anyone justice. She just believes that there's a difference between actual reparations and vengeance.
After a whole lot of back-and-forth, Rose finally speaks up again, having gone silent and thoughtful for a while.
"Are you in love with him?"
Rey's expression softens a fraction; she should have known Rose would be the one to ask. The answer would matter to her.
Rey's voice is soft when she speaks, and she takes a moment to look back at Ben, wherever he's decided to place himself.]
Yes.
Bruh its both
Ben, for his part, stays out of the range of the camera. He figures his presence wouldn't make this conversation any better. It's a safe assumption. Rey's already dealing with enough as it is. It's not as terrible as it could be. They haven't demanded his immediate execution, a low starting bar but we all gotta come from somewhere tbh, and they have only threatened to track her down and find her right now. Honestly, he thinks the only reason they aren't on their way right now is because they have made the logical leap of Chewbacca is with them and no one wants to fuck with Chewbacca.
They is insulting and name-calling (Around him, which he knows is well-deserved), and Ben quietly puzzles over the girl with them. He hasn't seen her before. She seems a fairly good match to Poe and Finn's bald-faced aggression. He has a feeling she is also part of the reason they haven't sent out an entire detail to track down the Falcon.
And it's right around the time that BB-8 shoves past him and Gets himself involved in this madness (Oh Poe is calling him a traitor now??? BB-8 is actually hurt by that because LOOK HE HAD SOME SERIOUS TRAUMA BONDING WITH KYLO BEN AND THEY ARE.. ON TERMS NOW OKAY??) that Rose poses her question and he can feel the air around the entire conversation just-- stop.
Oh. Well. It's nice to be claimed.
His eyes meet hers and-- it looks like Poe (and rose tbh) have noticed her looking off-screen and. Yeah. This is just gonna be a Time.
'You're karking kidding me, right?' Poe sounds done. It's a scoffed declaration of disbelief. 'While all of our allies and friends were out there dying, you went off and--'
Deep breaths. Deeep breaths poe. Don't say things you'll regret.
'What was it? The torture? The way he murdered his own father?!'
YIKES POE. YOU HAVE FAILED. ]
no subject
[She's absolutely not going to speak for Ben on the matter of any of Kylo Ren's crimes. It's not her place and she couldn't even get at all of the necessary nuance if she tried. She's forgiven what is hers to forgive, which there isn't even that much of, honestly. She tried to kill him more times than he tried to kill her. It kind of leaves them on personally fairly even footing. She's not going to deny the rest of them their right to be angry or to demand explanations; she's just going to tackle the ones that are hers.]
There are things about me that... if you'd known from the start, you might never have accepted me. I'm not ready to talk about them yet, but I will when I see you again, if you give me a chance.
["I think I've heard just about all I need to." "Rey, whatever you think you've done, this isn't you."
This really isn't going well. Rose is... trying valiantly to get the other two to shut up and let Rey talk, but it's a losing battle. Rey makes a solid attempt at the beginnings of an explanation about the Force working in mysterious and bullshit ways, and then she just gives up and wordlessly hold out a hand to Ben to invite him into the frame.
She gives up. You give it a shot, Ben.]
no subject
Everyone on the line grows quiet as he appears, more than her quick holo message this crystalizes how real this situation is. Even Poe is struck speechless. It's one thing to hear your Jedi friend rant and rave about Ben Solo and his redemption and him being one in the same with Kylo Ren. It's another for him to just casually stroll in to frame and confirm that all of that was real.
'How long have you been in love with Rey?' Rose is the first to chime in because she now NEEDS a timeline of what happened. Also... she knows Poe or Finn are bound to say something stupid and off-topic
Ben is a bit taken aback by the direct bluntness of the question. This is a 0-70 mph conversation here. And he opens his mouth to answer when suddenly Finn just comes crashing in and interupts everything.
'How long have you been connected to Rey?' Finn says this as though he will find the proof he needs to debunk all of this shit. And then Rey can murder Kylo Ren and everything goes back to the way it was-- ]
I don't know. [ Which earns him a look of disbelief from the trio. ] This dyad is forged by something far more powerful than I can fathom.
[ There's another burst of chatter. It's like Family Feud and everyones talking at once about the next thing to say to try and earn them the most points. Finally Poe manages to formulate a response along the lines of why he thinks their connection is so ~Destiny Forged~. ]
Snoke and Palpatine targeted me. They only targeted me because I was born earlier.
[ Palpatine had made it fairly clear who his real goal had been all along. And
Lmao lets see that fact sandwich hit Poe and Finn in the face. ]
coping skills: n o p e.
But Ben had put it out there, and they weren't going to see things clearly any other way.
So.
Deep breaths.
She addresses Finn directly, because of all of them he knew she'd been going through some shit before Exegol. He knew some of it, but not why. She hoped he could trust her enough to understand, and maybe then the others would follow, at least a little.]
Finn, you know I was having visions from the Dark. You know what I saw. You just didn't know why, and I couldn't tell you then. I didn't want it to be true.
[Deep breaths, Rey. Find your calm place. You can do this. You have to do this.]
Palpatine wanted me all along. He wanted me because I'm--
[There's a horrible moment in which Rey chokes on the words and honestly thinks she might vomit. She's never admitted this aloud. She can't do it. It's not happening.
And then she somehow pushes past it and--]
I'm his granddaughter. He's wanted me since I was born. If he had been able to find me earlier I would have been lost to the Dark before any of you met me. You can't understand the kind of power he had.
[Ben Solo had never really had a chance. And though she isn't responsible for any of it, there's a part of her that knows how easily it could have gone a different way.
There's a flurry of sound that Rey just... isn't really aware of. Her ears are ringing and there's that distant feeling you get just before you pass out and she just really, really really can't all of a sudden. ]
I'm sorry, I can't do this. I'm sorry, Ben.
[She doesn't even bother to break the connection; just flees from the room and will throw herself face-down on the bunk and quietly fall entirely to pieces. Let Ben hang up on her friends, fuck it. Rey can't.]
coping skills: laughs in star wars
His eyes are locked on to her as she jolts out and BB-8 is immediately on her heels, Ben's just about to leave when he remembers. Oh right. Her friends are still on the call. And looking back it appears Rose is ripping them a new one for doing this to Rey. And he is really about to rudely just end the transmission (Because that is who he is as a person, it isn't even out of spite), but Rose stops him. And if either of the other boys try to speak she just Immediately snaps at them to shut up.
'Ben...' She starts, but then realizes... she has no clue on what to say. Which is understandable. This is just a Lot right now. ]
Your resentment and anger towards me is understandable. [ He's trying to sound "conversational" but is struggling because his first normal conversations in years have been with Rey and he's just OUT of practice. ] But don't let it affect your relationship with Rey.
[ ...and that also comes out sounding like some ominous warning.... when really it's just him speaking from the experience of his mother never addressing her anger with her father and that just fucking everyone up???? ]
When you feel up to that task, contact us again.
[ He'll shut the line down there. He doesn't have time to deal with this high school shit. And when he makes his way back into the captain's quarters he stumbles upon the sight of BB-8 trying to offer Rey some fruit to cheer her up.
He will give credit to the droid for attempting.
BB-8 is waved off and makes a defeated chirping noise before dropping the fruit on to the side table and rolling off. Ben just takes the moment to lock the door after them, hoping Lando and Chewie know not to disturb them. And with all that done, he'll climb on to the bunk next to Rey wrapping his arms around her and just tugging her into him. He doesn't really think he needs to say anything right now. ]
no subject
And in some ways, it'll be simpler. They'll despise her and she can mourn the loss of the only family she's ever known and move on. Rey had practice moving on. She won't wait around scratching hatch-marks into walls this time.
For now she'll just cling to Ben like he's the only source of air in the galaxy. He probably is doing wonders for her ability to come down from the edge of hyperventilation she'd been hovering on.]
They hate me. They're never going to want to look at me again. I don't honestly know how you look at me after everything.
[How did he love her? How did he love the granddaughter of the man who had destroyed his whole entire family? He should have learned the truth and then stabbed her directly through the heart. For all that she'll insist that Vader's legacy wasn't his... it's another thing to learn that you're the granddaughter of the galaxy's most evil being and you've inherited a bunch of his scary power and also btw you're the last Jedi, good fucking luck not screwing it up, hero.
Rey is trying her level best not to fall entirely the fuck apart because honestly it's not Ben's job to deal with her bullshit, but she's projecting all of the above and kind of sniffling into his resurrection shirt and honestly she's a mess. Again.]
no subject
He pulls her closer and runs his fingers over her hair. They're still running on low emotional and physical energy, this was A Lot to handle right now. But-- well. It wasn't as if it would have been any better if they had waited. He'll have to find some way to grapple with that. ]
You're not Palpatine. [ Just like he would never be Vader. ] Your friends know that.
[ That was clear to him, at least. Like, they're mostly pissed about the Kylo Ren shit and wondering what SORCERY he used.
But, in the meantime, there are still waves left in his wake. He wishes he had some kind of magic words to make it all go away in an instant, but-- yeah. There's no assurance he can bring that would be steeped in the clarity she needs around this situation. ] What can I do for you?
[ When Kylo Ren is more calm and supportive than your friends tho. ]
this sure didn't get any better!!!!
Rey shakes her head minutely. She doesn't know. There's nothing to do. This is one of the things she'd planned to take to her grave; that and how deep her feelings for Ben had truly run.
Now both of those things are out in the open and it's almost as bad as she could have envisioned. The only saving grace was that she'd had enough physical distance from them to make it less immediately awful, and Rose had -- maybe -- seemed like she could understand a little. Possibly. Rey lifts her head enough that her words aren't entirely muffled, and makes some attempt at absolving Ben of any responsibility for fixing this one. They were her friends and this was her bullshit.]
You can't do anything. They'll hate me or they won't.
[They'll leave her and never come back because of who she is. That's the fear at the heart of all of it; her rational mind understands that her parents had loved her. But the barrage of new information about who she was fed the deep-seated doubts she's always held; that she hadn't been wanted, that she hadn't been important enough to her parents to return for. Perhaps they'd made a last desperate grab at their own survival when they left her. She'll never be able to know all of it; only that she's the reason they left and the reason they died.
She's probably thinking this pretty loudly and there's a part of her that hates that, too, that she's just projecting all this noise all over her recently alive boyfriend who has layers of his own bullshit to deal with, too.
Ugh.]
ITS ALL FINE. DONT WORRY. NOTHING TO SEE HERE AS REYS LIFE CASUALLY LIGHTS ON FIRE.
He runs his fingers across her back and absorbs all the negativity he can. There's not much more he can do than this and- you know. Honestly it's fine. Like, nothing is Okay, but the fact that he is her with her in this moment while she is markedly not okay is okay. ]
I won't leave you. [ That's the most he can do for the moment. Well. the most NON evasive thing he can do at the moment. He'll keep those suggestions to himself. ]
You have nothing to be ashamed of. [ -- okay except maybe being involved with him but we ALL have our vices okay??? ] If they judge you-- [ He tries to find a good word in his mind ] -- they were nerfherders to begin with.
[ Seriously tho. Finn is an ex-Stormtrooper. Certainly he isn't at Kylo Ren's level of sheer destruction and chaos, but his exit from the order was hardly heroic and since then he'd helped kill ... likely hundreds of his fellow troopers. Brainwashed kids just like him. And he can't imagine Poe, an experienced man of war, had a clean record either.
He'd seen Rey's one big slip up. An emotional outburst that he was partially at fault for. He hadn't expected it to happen, but he still blamed himself in some way. And-- it didn't matter. She still carried that burden with her. She just had the misfortune of being born to a galaxy which tied her to the two most problematic men in existence at that time.
Also he's juggling some ideas on how to distract Rey in non-sexy ways but he's not sure if he should take Evasive Maneuvers yet. ]
does he kiss his mother with that mou -- whoops nvm
He may have decent luck just going out there and raiding Lando's liquor stash because dear lord these two could use a drink, forget everything I said about it being too early for that. Would also probably help get them laid but their first time probably also shouldn't be drunk so forget I said anything.
Or, you know, Rey could just sit up a little more and fix him with a quizzical expression.]
Did you... just call my friends nerfherders???
[It's kind of an outdated insult on the one hand, something she'd overheard Leia mutter under her breath once or twice, but not really anyone else. They tended to just go straight into the rougher swearing on Jakku. It's certainly not the kind of insult she expected to hear from him.
On the other hand, it's absolutely hilarious and so very much like his mother at the same time that Rey's mouth twitches into a little smile despite everything.]
excuse me wtf I never said I was gonna bring out the porgs.
I did mention my conversational skills were outdated, correct?
[ He didn't really verbally insult people so much as just murder them while being completely straight faced about it. Honestly the harshest shit we have him on record saying is "Old man" and "No one". Scavenger could count as well but... these are just all reaches to call insults considering they are all (at the time) things which were true. ]
Be thankful I didn't call them laser-brains.
[ THAT IS HOW OUTDATED HIS CURSING IS. ]
look it's either dick or porgs i don't make the rules
Look, she'd honestly imagined him with a way filthier mouth. My God, what has she done? She's going to have to spend the rest of her life Force-bonded to someone who can't even talk dirty to her. Tragic.
Either way, it's at least surprising enough to break her out of the immediate negative thought-spiral. He's shockingly good at that. So good that she's going to hug him now even though she hadn't really entirely stopped hugging him before. Details.]
I really, really like this version of you.
[It's different from being inexplicably, painfully in love with him. She's honestly starting to get the idea that she is going to seriously enjoy getting to know Ben Solo as a person.]
okay porgs were first on his ideas list, then booze, then finding something for her to fix
I'll attempt to take that as a compliment.
[ He doesn't feel like it is, though.
Here, he's going to just shift his and her positions on the bunk so he's reclining on a small stack of cushions and she can just lay on top of him. No dicking involved, this just feels like the "Safe"/"No one can invade our bubble" position. ] If I took the title of Prince I could possibly force them to like you whenever they step foot on Naboo.
[ Can u fukkin imagine ]
all A++ ideas tbh, good thinking Ben
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
lord I spent 24 hours dealing with sick children pls send help enjoy Disney!
What if I just send more children.
(no subject)
(no subject)
writes this high on Nyquil thanks kids for the plague
Rings bell and screams BRING OUT UR DEEEEEEEEEEAD
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
isn't the desire to fuck han solo just part of the galaxy's collective consciousness?
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
current soundtrack: desire by meg myers. you're welcome.
LMFAO I'm tagging u at an airport gate sO UR WELCOME TOO
ofc now I've just got Lin Manuel Miranda singing you're welcome in my brain gj self
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
these icons ruin everything lmfao
you misspelled "enhance the entire experience exponentially"
(no subject)
remember the good old days when it was just Rey on the verge of a panic attack?
honestly we're all impressed he's kept it together this long
They are a relay race of keeping it together. It's a balance.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
I literally fell asleep halfway through writing this last night lmao
LMFAO. It was your intentions that counted most
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
i didn't write this at the dentist, go me
I DIDNT WRITE THIS AT WORK GO US
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
hey fam. wanna come rip out my uterus these cramps are killing my vibe
my kids gave me their sore throat. shares advil and general lack of vibe.
Work was being a dick so here I am back
my household had the plague so we all lose
(no subject)