#theoretical rewrite

[k-she-rambles]

New chapter of the "I think I can do it better" Star Wars spite fic is up!

Ft, Poe having a Bad Time, an escape, and an attempt at making the Sequel Trilogy's politics a little more understandable

[k-she-rambles]

rey is aware of ghosts on jakku: lovely, poetic, there's a freaking Rakatan star map to deal with, 'tiny ferocious child is friends with the dead' is an excellent trope good

rey does not believe in ghosts until the events of tfa and still kind of doesn't: also excellent, rey is just...SO practical and learns from direct observation, makes repeatedly trying and failing to commune with Jedi past including luke in tros a running theme

Finn sees ghosts and knows better than to mention it: galaxy brain

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There was a woman in the recording. She was very beautiful, Rey thought, not too much older than herself, and very pregnant. She sat on some unseen surface, a couch or a bed that hadn't made it into the image. Out of the holorecording's range, too, a man was singing. Huttese. Rey knew the words, but she hadn't ever heard a Huttese lullaby. It had never occurred to her that all kinds of people had children. Lives of their own. And the woman struck Rey as much too wealthy to have a lover who spoke the trade language of the Hutts like it was his mother tongue.

The woman laughed. "How come that's the first time I've heard that?"

"You like it?" The man sounded startled, warmed. He came into the picture, but faced away from the recorder, and sat beside the woman on her unseen couch. The woman rested one elbow on the back of her seat, and twined that hand in the man's hair. Rey still couldn't really see his face.

"I like," the woman said, "everything that's yours."

"Jedi don't have possessions."

"You have me," the woman said. "The baby. You have yourself."

The man shook his head. "You're not getting out of singing. Come on. Or I could ask Jar-Jar, I'm sure he would love to share a Gungan lullaby."

The woman laughed and hummed a tune. "I don't actually know the words."

The man chuckled. "Oh, you're such a liar."

"I prefer politician," the woman said, teasing.

The hologram vanished.

"You still need to make me a copy of that," said Luke crossly.

R2-D2 whistled.

"I know the words," said Rey.

"Yeah, my Aunt used to sing me that one too."

"No, for the other one." Her hands were numb.

Luke looked at her, and this time what he was thinking she couldn't guess.

[k-she-rambles]

Noodling on the Sequel Rewrite today and the Plot Problem I'm tackling is that Luke does have to die at some point; his arc is definitely a passing of the torch/the weight of his reputation prevents him from being particularly useful against the first order

--anything he can and does do isn't going to measure up to "Luke Skywalker has come to save us" that characters like Rose Tico and TLJ Rey have in their heads.

But where and how to make it actually narratively satisfying? We could keep it at the end of TLJ with different circumstances. The appeal of force ghost Luke inconveniencing training Finn is very strong. (Finn can't tell anyone. Especially not Rey, who can't see ghosts)

But an argument could be made to keep him around until the halfway point of ROS, allowing Rey to confront him in person (or just miss confronting him in person) re: you knew I was connected to the Sith and you didn't say anything...

...Luke goes with them to that one planet in TROS and is there when 3PO's memory is wiped...

[k-she-rambles]

"So what's your story?" Rey asked as Xanvel swabbed her arm. "Why does Doctor Kelonia not like you?"

He smiled wryly and danced to the side. Rey was glad she was sitting down. His elbows seemed to be everywhere at once. "Oh I did work for the Empire. Not everyone gets a choice whether or not they live within or without the halls of power, you know."

Rey did know. Sometimes your choices were working for someone like Unkar Plutt or starving.

"And you can't build a Resistance out of all outsiders and ideologues. Most people understand that. You have to reach for your goals from where you are."

"So what did you do?"

"I'm a geneticist!" He waved the vial expansively. Rey had hardly noticed him drawing it. "Your sample is in good hands! What's it like?" he added, suddenly quiet.

"What?"

"The Force, of course." He passed a hand over his eyes. "That was terrible. My grandfather was a Jedi, you see. I've wondered." He fiddled with his necklace; she could see a broken signet ring on a chain

"It's like...it's like silence, but it's not lonely. Movement, but not turbulence. Like you're standing still on a dune and you can see the breeze moving the sand, shaping it."

"That sounds perfect," said Xanvel. "Don't worry about a thing, Rey. We'll find out all your secrets."

[k-she-rambles]

Awareness that Luke needs to have a heroic sacrifice for the story to work vs. desire to have Luke stealth training a certain ex-stormtrooper who desperately does not want to be pinned down about the powers he may or may not have FIGHT

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is poe in love with leia? who isn't poe in love with, but also it's leia of course he is

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Have some purple prose that may or may not make it into the main fic

Luke was standing in Leia's office. Leia was standing too, her chair askew, knocked on it's side as if she'd bolted out of it.

"You don't know what you're asking me," said Leia, leaning forwards with her knuckles on her desk. It was simultaneously icy and desert-sun scorching, and Rey was struck by an impression of a younger woman in a forest at night, frozen in place and trembling with movement, as someone she loved walked away from her, into something true that was too terrible to admit. "After you blocked yourself off so thoroughly that I couldn't find you, you think you have the wisdom--"

"Leia," said Luke, somehow making what felt like a lifetime's worth compassion sound like a boy whining about bedtime.

"I made my decision before my son was born, Luke. I'm not like you. You understood him better in that way. I would trade every birthright for my son's life."

"And the birthrights of others? Leia--"

"That's not fair! There's still good in him. You believed that, once."

The sudden pressure change made Rey's ears pop. She'd never seen Luke angry before, had she? Angry and hurt. Luke let out a breath. The moment passed.

Leia reached out a hand, palm up. "Luke. I'm sorry. That was uncalled-for."

"I do believe that," Luke said quietly. "But Leia. We can't fear what's right in front of us, either. I learned that."

Leia crossed around her desk and wrapped her arms around her brother, resting her head on his shoulder as he did the same.

How did that even work? Rey wondered.

"You hypocrite," said Leia fondly. "I'm sure you told Rey to never do this."

"I did," said Luke.

Leia somehow managed to project the impression of raised eyebrows without looking at him.

"I'm older and wiser," said Luke. "And I showed you what I saw."

"That doesn't mean it will happen."

"Still, it has me thinking about the future."

Leia stepped away to look at his face better. "You're always thinking about the future. You're just terrible at planning for it."

Luke made a face, as if to say she had him there.

"I will see you soon," said Leia, challenging. "In the flesh."

"I'll be there."

It wasn't the answer Leia wanted. "Luke!"

Luke woke, gasping for air in a different rhythm than Rey was keeping for him. He'd left his body without even thinking, just as she had. In. Out.

Rey opened her eyes and glared. "If you're going to die before completing my training, I'll leave."

Luke unfolded himself from his meditation position, groaning, and patted her knee. "I will not be the last Jedi."