GENERAL how do i work this thing?

[snokepoke]

reyofsands‌:

Rey stood there listening to every word of his, trying to assess the grave situation she was in. She knew very well that if she were to retaliate in this moment, in some violent way, that everything would be for naught. Though, she should have known he’d tell his Supreme Leader of all their interactions, but it felt a little strange to have it laid out in such a way. “Yes, you’re right… I did try to turn him from you. Unsuccessfully, so…” She knew it was pointless to say any of this, but inside she could still feel the man behind her was struggling between the Dark and Light, even now. Yet, try as she might to deny herself, there was indeed a curiosity about what Snoke was proposing. Still, she didn’t want to accept this so readily, for this sounded nearly too good to be true; Something too easy to just give in, like the Dark was so good at being. She lifted her chin up higher, trying to see past anything that she could with his ‘request’ of her to stay, but found nothing but his cruel judgment; His wants and his desire to have two strong beings of the Force at his side. It frightened her, but also truly intrigued her, for she felt that she wasn’t anyone deserved of this…     “If I were to go along, will you have your army cease with chasing the Resistance? To do them no more harm, until whatever I decide on, given the time you’ve allowed me to choose?” However long that may be… I should be saying no, shouldn’t I? This is something I shouldn’t be negotiating, right? | @snokepoke​ |

He sensed his apprentice’s unease stirring just beyond her, always so easily provoked. The boy misliked her offer, he surmised. Yet there was so much fear ever clouding Kylo’s mind, something difficult for even him to sift through. A mire of doubts that weighed him down, made him weak. And then, there was the girl...

“Is that your offer...is that really an acceptable offer to make in your mind?” His voice, about gnarled as he looked, rose to a booming crescendo that seemed impossible from his feeble frame. Yet it echoed throughout the chamber, filling it with a darkness that clouded, that choked. He let its heaviness bear down upon her for some time, silence that deafened. And then.....he laughed, again, in the face of her brave front.

“What fire you have...” Leaning back, he peered at her over steepled fingers. ”I accept...though under the condition that I may bring this agreement to an end whenever I see fit. I will not have you dragging us along in some cheap Resistance ploy. Small battles will still be fought, such things cannot easily be stopped. Wars cannot be put on pause. But I will....pull back, in a sense. Let things remain at a standstill, where I can. Do you find those terms acceptable, Rey?”

[ @reyofsands ]

[snokepoke]

reyofsands‌:

Rey tried everything in her power to steel herself of the emotions that threatened to overwhelm her, and with this sinister creature sizing her up made everything more complicated. She knew very well that she had to be on her guard, and each and every twitch or flex of a muscle was something for him to feed off. Yet, with what each of them possessed, this usage of the Force’s guiding sense, Rey could tell that he knew so much more about her with a single thought’s glimpse. Those words of his only unsettled her further, because they weren’t wrong in the slightest. Anger was biting at her heels, but she would fight against it for as long as she could.     “I don’t think you could give me that, and I wouldn’t even want it from someone like you. If you’re thinking of turning me, like you did Ben Solo, it won’t happen.” She felt as though she were running in circles, still, but even all of what she was saying wasn’t the real truth. Somewhere deep inside Rey could feel those whispers, those wants that she so vehemently denied herself every given chance, of some curiosity she held for the power that those of the dark use. It always intrigued her, the light and the dark that she so recently discovered was actually in her all along; She must have been sleeping in that desert, for all of those years. There was something that Luke was honestly terrified of that he saw in her, and she was angry at him for not even trying to let her explore it; The Dark Side, with all of it’s uses, could be something to help with everyone’s plight… But also could the Light Side. She craved a balance, as it was something she’s never had. Chaos was her childhood, and it still seemed to remain. The only moments of real peace that she managed to feel, was in the short and quiet moments within the bond that mysteriously linked her and Kylo together. All of their emotions had been shared, even the awful ones.

    “I want nothing from you.” | @snokepoke​ |

It was rather ironic, he mused, that the girl was so very similar to his apprentice and at the same time, completely different. Where Kylo had taken quickly to shadow, she still desperately clung to the light---but both were still pulled, nonetheless, by opposing forces too strong to ignore. Rey, thus far, had shown more initiative in determining her own path and that alone had caught Snoke’s eye.

“From me...” He repeated, slowly, as though chewing on the words, digesting them. His smile was such a terrible thing, slow to form and grotesque in its completion. “But what about from him?” Slowly, his finger rose, directing her gaze over her shoulder. “Kylo. With him...you feel a bond yes? A similarity...”

Under Snoke’s gaze, Kylo had brought himself to full height. He was waiting for direction, but it never came. Instead, the Supreme Leader’s attention fell back upon their guest. “You tried to take him from me---do not lie, there is no use. Hm,” His expression was difficult to read, but his piercing pale eyes did little to comfort. “What if I allowed you to remain, unharmed, and learn what you might from the boy? And from there...it would be your choice, whether to return to your precious Resistance, or...” The ensuing silence hung heavy in the cavernous room, like the rumble of thunder before a storm.

[ @reyofsands ]

[snokepoke]

reyofsands‌:

Rey felt that cold streak of said fear running along her spine, dancing between each nerve in the same way that he was seeming to find amusement in her being. She felt completely at a loss on what to do, since nothing in her limited training with Luke spoke of anything like this scenario, and the Force didn’t lend her much insight on it as well. With the apprentice of this monstrous foe behind her, Rey couldn’t even dare to let a single trace of this ‘fear’ show, not in her posture or her face. Try as hard as she could with hiding it, and yet the powerful being called it out anyway, much to her annoyance. The stress was almost unbearable, and she knew immediately that she had made quite the grand mistake in giving herself over to their clutches. Rey didn’t know if she was going to make it out of this room alive, but something told her that it would be a long while off until if they even decided she wasn’t of use anymore. Tilts her chin up, deciding to try and wear her fear with a brave face, and take all the repercussions of her next words; Thinking it was better than remaining like a silent pet, as Kylo behind her was seeming.

   “Isn’t fear to be expected? I’ve heard plenty about you, Snoke. Surely there must be some natural reason to fear someone with this supposed power you possess. Though, whatever fear you’re sensing might not be enough to really disturb me much, if that’s what you were hoping for. I’ll not fall like Kylo Ren.” She says, ignoring the possible daggers pointed at the back of her head from the mentioned one. | @snokepoke |

Snoke offered a chuckle at her response, laughing at the defiance that showed so brightly in her eyes. As he saw it, everything was falling into place for him...and thus for the First Order. He was a fox in the hen-house, and he looked every bit as smug.

“Well, you aren’t as much of a fool as my apprentice seems to think.” Snoke, much like Rey, spoke as thought he boy was not currently present. His twisted gaze remained on the girl, one finger tapping thoughtfully at the arm of his throne. His robe, every so often, would catch the light and shimmer as though attempting to lure in some sort of prey.

“Tell me, Rey...what did you truly hope to find here? A new ally in my apprentice, and end to the war? These are all...quite overwhelming, improbable ideas. Things that only a child would believe to be so simple. No...I do not believe that even you are that naive. So tell me, what is it you truly seek. Peace of mind, of heart...or perhaps a way to vent the frustration building so strongly inside of you.”

The more he spoke, the closer he leaned, and the lower his voice grew. Gravelly, menacing, hungry...

[ @reyofsands ]

[snokepoke]

reyofsands‌:

Rey didn’t object much to being carted off, so soon after her initial meeting with Kylo Ren, yet she almost wished she had put up more of a fight in all of this. The wash of cold hit across her back as she was unhindered in feeling the other’s presence at a much closer range, and without walls to block them away. She was staring off with a foe that was several times worse than the worst of Kylo’s might, and surprisingly she seemed calm in the face of this decrepit being. Though he appeared something aloof in his stern expression, Rey could feel the deep malice that lay just underneath scarred flesh. He was definitely a powerful being that’s seen more than she could imagine, and from a simple glance alone there were many years ahead in terms of their connection with the same all-surrounding energy that they shared; The Force was all things good, all things bad, such concepts were beyond it’s bound. If Rey learned one thing from Luke’s teachings, it was that the Force wasn’t a tool, but something living within all, and it held no sides in a war that was meaningless to it’s existence.

  “Shouldn’t you already know? After all this talk of you being ‘so powerful’, and all.” | @snokepoke |

Such a comment might have offended one who looked as self-important as the man on the throne, yet Snoke laughed at the response he was given, flashing an amused look at his apprentice. His eyes were alight with purpose, the wheels in his mind turning as he gazed upon what he viewed as a found asset.

“Oho, aren’t you smart. Yes...I know, Rey. I know why you come here. I know what you seek...” He leaned forward, shifting so as to get a better look at the one who had given his protege such a nasty scar. “Do you know, truly? Hm...you were the one who bested Kylo, on Starkiller. You have fire in your eyes. But something dampens it...” He let the silence grow louder, before breaking it with a single whispered word.

     “Fear.”

[ @reyofsands ]

[snokepoke]

“Yes...The girl.” A voice rasped from somewhere unseen, deep in the dim cavernous room that Kylo had led her into. Snoke sat tall upon a throne of sleek material, hard and angular, as though its owner cared only to impress that they were one of a rigid and unyielding manner. Yet his robes, as she would see once she stepped closer, were as lavish as one might see glimmering behind the window of a shop in the cities. Woven with a golden fabric, it covered him in a soft material that seemed to imply he valued his own comfort and status over such strict impressions. These clashing ideals were broadcast forth in conjunction with the unsettling stare of the strange man. His once-human features had twisted grotesquely, to make the most unassuming of expression appear menacing. Even so, his eyes alone--blue and shining--were filled with a malicious interest as they raked over Rey’s form.

“I heard of your arrival, yet my apprentice...has not told me yet of the occasion. I wanted...to hear it from you, young Rey. Why do I find you here, on my ship, armed and alone?” Every word was spoken slowly and deliberately. He wanted her to remember her place, and to be very aware that she had no friends here.

[ @reyofsands ]

[snokepoke]

reyofsands:

She knew that she should have just ignored him, ignored those hurtful words, since that’s what he wanted from her, a reaction that would only boost his spirits. Yet, Rey couldn’t help it, for they did affect her, and she felt isolated once again. It was as if she was right back on those sandy dunes of Jakku, and that loneliness came creeping back. She was disgusting. Memories of her encounter with the creature in the mask flashed across her thoughts, and that name ringing in her ears. Fists balling at her sides, and she bit back on her emotions from going out of control, not wanting to give into him. She knew what she had felt from Ben, a glimmer of light, and it couldn’t be a lie.    “I think you may be placing too much pride in yourself. People can change, and at least the Resistance would acknowledge that, if they’d see it… You’re only keeping him on a chain that’s about to break. You can only beat a dog for so long, before they turn around and bite your hand…” This was a dangerous game, and she could feel how powerful the other one was, but there was that same fire coming back inside her heart. She needed to save Ben from this creature, but how to go about that was the real question. If he is right. If this is all a lie, then… –

    “Why haven’t you killed me then, if I’m wrong about him? Since I’m just some disgusting scavenger, then surely I’m as useless as a speck of dirt…” | @snokepoke​ |

“Hmph, if anyone beat Kylo in any sense of the word, it was that hack Skywalker. The one that you idolize is more flawed than you realize, but you keep holding on to that fairy tale if you like.”

She was grating on him, the way a persistently eager pet might wear out the patience of their owner. He listened, watching the fire grow in her eyes. It was a waste, such a waste of potential, but that reflection was overshadowed by the danger that her existence could prove to be. Still, she made a point. There was a hesitance on his part to simply dispose of her. 

“Hm...” A hand shot forth, and the pressure around her neck would begin to tighten like a vice. His lips twisted, in malicious enjoyment as he watched her struggle. “Yes, you’re right. You’re useless, you never should have left that wretched desert. Yet here you are, so determined to do something with your miserable life. Tell me,”

Finally, he let his grip relax, dropping her abruptly to the cold tile. 

“What will you do if the Resistance wins? When the war is over, what’s left for you? Luke won’t train you, and you’ll be left to wonder forever what could have been. Your power will wane, forever unused. Why, you may even go back to scavenging. There will be nothing left for you.”

[ @reyofsands ]

[snokepoke]

reyofsands:

Shakes her head, taking another step closer as she felt that anger again rising up in defense of not only herself, but of the unseen other’s she knew he must have had his hands wrapped around in the past. This had to stop, and she couldn’t almost believe it was this confrontation that she’d encounter. “No, you stole him from a family, just like your First Order stole other’s from theirs. You took someone who was good, who was decent, and made them hate everyone and themselves most of all. Any potential you saw was only for your needs, not theirs, and not his.” This isn’t safe. She felt as if she needed to be here, even if him moving just the slightest had her more on edge. Whatever this was, it was like the greatest pull on her mind, egging her to keep on winding up. Then came that doubt upon his next words, like a cloud that felt as frigid as the temperatures in that cave, came flooding over her senses. Here sat someone that was certainly powerful, twisted but strong, and she wondered if he really could give her what she wanted. This had her pausing in her vicious verbal lashes enough to let that process. To see them… My...–

    “You’re lying… You only want me to be another Kylo Ren. I won’t fall for it.” | @snokepoke​ |

“My my,” Snoke laughed, shaking his head slowly. The gesture and tone both dripped with condescension. He saw nothing but childishness in her words. “Quite taken with him after only a few meetings. Are you so hungry for companionship that you would turn a blind eye to his deeds, so eager to believe that he might turn to your cause?”

He scoffed, and the simple sound seemed to change his demeanor entirely. That slow amusement vanished, replaced by something colder. Not quite anger, but assertion of his will. Dominance. His eyes narrowed to slits as he fixed her with his stare and let his voice boom throughout the cavernous room.

“You came here on a fool’s errand, what did you expect? For the boy to follow you like a puppy back to the Resistance, where he would be accepted with open arms? Are you so stupid as to believe that anyone would be swayed by the pleadings of some worthless scavenger? He drew you here, to me. He LIED to you.”

[ @reyofsands ]

[snokepoke]

reyofsands:

She realized very quickly that this wasn’t Ben that had called out to her, and that voice made her instantly freeze up with a feeling that was similar to the cave back on Ach-to. Cold. Her eyes lingered in the darkness, seeing the vague shape in the distance, and horror flickered in her gaze when they finally caught sight of that twisted form. The lights had risen to the occasion, illuminating all that needed to be seen, and there were places that looked darker than a void. Rey kept her eyes on this individual, and it was difficult for her to speak, but she felt the awfulness reeking from deep within his decrepit form. This is what Ben had to deal with??     “…Where is he??? What did you do to him???” She started forward, letting her anger lash out through her loose lips, feeling that rise in defensiveness needing to kick in. It was absolutely dreadful, this feeling that this monster was leeching, as if there was a heavy sickness with every breath she forced in. Though, she stopped short of her pace, not sure if she should get any closer than she had, which was only a few feet. If that was instinct keeping her away from danger, then it may have been the wrong time for that, as she could see his predatory stare.

    “You’re the snake that poisoned Ben Solo. You won’t do that to anyone else.” | @snokepoke​ |

     “Snake?”

The word became a laugh, a slow and burdened sound. His pale eyes studied the girl, sunken deep in the grotesque mask that his face had become.  They saw everything: her power, her potential, and the foolish pride that kept both from growing. A pride in others that she had put her faith in, those who blinded her from a better path.

“Ben Solo was nothing until I found him. He would have been wasted under the inept teachings of Skywalker. Doomed to wander, confused, never realizing his full potential. I molded him, made him something better. Something stronger. But you...”

Now the figure leaned forward, one bony hand grasping at the arm of his throne. He was cloaked in gold and sitting high above her, yet nothing about him could be called splendorous. He was unnatural, both in look and in the aura that he projected. It reached out like the sticky strands of a spider’s web, looking to ensnare the weak, the unsuspecting.

“I can feel something in you, stronger than Ren. You have a hunger to prove yourself, to understand that power inside of you. Skywalker has not shown you what you wanted to see.” A smile, if it could be called that, curved his thin lips. It wasn’t kind. It was ravenous. 

     “I could show you.”

[ @reyofsands ]

[snokepoke]

reyofsands:

The plan was simple; get in, grab Ben, and get them out. The question was how all of that was to be accomplished, and if she could do it without being detected. Of course the second her little pod had managed to find a secret duct to scoot itself into, she immediately felt the other Force-user sense her presence. Now, it was all about trying to reach him, and Rey spent no time in slipping out past the hissing doors of this enclosed hangar. Blaster in hand, lightsaber attached to her belt’s side, Rey was ready to at least stun any individuals that came her way. Moves silently down several corridors, until she felt his presence nearing, and slips into the closest room that she could get into. The area was dark, but she noticed it was much larger than she had anticipated, and still couldn’t help but to smile at the idea of how bizarre this was. We’re going to help each other! Luke’s even agreed! This is going to be amazing! She felt a little too excited, all caught up in the moment here.

    “Ben?? Are you in here?? Come on, we haven’t much time.      I told Chewie that I’d send him the signal when I was ready for pickup, so!…” | @snokepoke |

The most common misconception about the Force was that it’s greatest use was physical. Whether sending out waves of lightning or healing with a touch, these shows of strength were impressive, yes. But were they truly the most powerful thing that one could achieve with mastery of the Force? To Snoke, the answer was a resounding no.

It was manipulation of the Force that demonstrated one’s true strength. How you might weave the loom that made the very fabric of life, pulling strings to create your very own tapestry. He had given so much to achieve this power, and the pieces continued to fall exactly where he directed them. He had always known that he would meet Rey, since the first time his apprentice had told him of their encounter, and even now he could see a hundred different ways that this could end. The question was, which one would he choose?

“Rey.” It was hushed, yet loud, all at once. His voice was one that commanded attention, one that people quieted to hear. It carried the weight of so many years in each word, the heaviness and burden of a life such as his. “At long last, you arrive. Close, come closer.”

He rasped the command from the shadows, waiting for her to heed it. If she hesitated, if she refused...well, he would get what he desired in the end. 

[ @reyofsands ]