Otter's Rock

I just realized that after the starwarsrollingremix authors were revealed, I never posted my story here! There was one starter story, The Devil in the Dust by sevenofspade, and three chains of remixes. I was the first remix in my chain. It was an interesting experience. Obviously, we didn't get to pick what story we remixed, and we only got two weeks from the first time we got it to the due date. So there wasn't any time to ponder or think, you just had to get it and go. It wasn't a fic I would have picked to remix; for one thing, I'm pretty sure there were some thematic stuff going on that I was missing that would make the plot make sense. But I didn't have time to let it sit and ponder it, even though that feeling of missing something crucial made me really leery about remixing it. Remixing works best, imo, when you take something to pieces and play with the guts of it. But you can't do that if you're not quite sure what the guts ARE. Which left me ignoring theme and plot and doing a character remix.. But it was a time travel/vision thing--none of the three characters were from the same time period, so I could either just ... retell the story (boring!) or take the setting (desert) and the characters and look at how the deserts they grew up in shaped them. And throw in some meta about the Force while we're at it, because they're all strong in the Force. So that's how I ended up with my story.

As to the title, both the desert and the Force are vast beyond knowing, and the remix subtitle refers to both the problems I was having pinning down the original fic well enough to remix it, and to the old saying the devil is in the details (picking up on the title of the original).

Title: Vast Beyond Knowing (The Details Remix)
Fandom: Star Wars: Original Trilogy, Prequel Trilogy, Sequel Trilogy
Author: beatrice_otter 
Rating: kid
Length: 5,579 words
Betaed By: anghraine 
Written for: Star Wars Rolling Remix 2017
Summary: Anakin, Luke, Rey. The desert taught them much. But not everything.

At AO3


( Anakin wasn't a baby. He knew how things worked. )

The thing about Rey is that for her to be a Skywalker would betray her whole thematic arc from The Force Awakens, in ways that would be really unfortunate for some of the people who identify with her.  She really has two: first and most obviously, "I'm no one," who becomes powerful.  She doesn't have fancy background or training, she's not some mystical Chosen One, she just steps up and claims her strength and succeeds.  That's a powerful message to send, not just to girls but to all people.

Second, she suffered because of (as far as she knows) her family.  She had years of abandonment, hunger, terrible conditions, because of what was done to her as a child.  Through it all, she had this idea in her head that if they would just come back--they, the very people who left her to that--everything would be fine.  That there would be a happy family.  But she is the one sinned against, here.  There are so many people (and I work with some of them) who have been abused and/or abandoned by their families.  Most of the time, reconciliation is not possible because the abusive family is not willing to change to become non-abusive or non-neglectful.  Any reconciliation requires the victim to make excuses for and buy into the abuser's story, at great cost to their own mental and emotional stability and healing.  (Yes, I know, there may have been extenuating circumstances.  That does not negate the damage Rey has suffered.)  Our society privileges "heartwarming reunion" even if it means papering over and ignoring the damage done.  I want more than that for Rey, and I want more than that for the people who identify with her.  I appreciate that her arc was to let go of her idealization that "when they come back for me, everything will be fine," and go on to a new life not dictated by the family that (whether intentionally or not) left her in hell.

I will be very disappointed if Rey is secretly a Skywalker.  I really hope they're trying to fake us out, and it's Finn.  But regardless, I'd rather no new Skywalkers than Rey being one.

On AO3
Chapter 1 on Dreamwidth
Chapter 2 on Dreamwidth
Chapter 3 on Dreamwidth
Chapter 4 on Dreamwidth

( Finn sat down heavily. )

Chapter 6

When I posted my latest fic, I went looking for Finn icons, and a cursory search found me some but not ones that really grabbed me. (What can I say, I'm picky about icons.) Specifically, I wanted a really awesome Finn-with-lightsaber icon. So I made some. Standard 100x100 size for DW/LJ, but I've seen several icon posts on tumblr that have 150x150, so I made them both sizes in case anyone wants them.  Feel free to use, just credit/comment/reblog/etc.

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War and politics (20878 words) by Deputychairman
Fandom: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Rating: Explicit
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Finn
Characters: Leia Organa, Rey, Luke Skywalker, Hux (Star Wars), Phasma (Star Wars)
Additional Tags: Poe is very brave and would do anything for Leia, here comes the General, Poe Dameron hurts so pretty, Implied/Referenced Torture, Finn has a plan, Rey and Luke have the Force, Leia has everything else, General Hux is not a good person, Poe is a battlefield flirt, First Time
Summary: Poe turns big dark eyes on him and Finn feels something ache in his chest. “Tell me, Finn, how is that gonna look, buddy? You save my life, we take you in and then we throw you back when it suits us? I wouldn’t fight for a Resistance like that and neither would you.”

He wants to say, yes I would, but with Poe looking up at him the words die on his lips.

Reccing this because I love how in-character Leia and Luke both are.