May the Fourth Be With The All Skate

[jedi_interrupted]

The bar shifts, or it changed when no one was looking, and now resembles a certain cantina popular with the villainy and scum, as well as more upstanding folks. The air is dryer than usual, and a taste of grit and sand just hangs in the air. It just makes you want some blue milk doesn't it?

Has your character changed? Perhaps...who can tell? The Landlord I suppose but they aren't talking.

[ooc: HI and Welcome to a Star Wars themed All Skate, the best way to celebrate May the Fourth! Party style post. You do not have to interact with any of my characters to play.
The Rules are simple:
- This post, and any post with the subject heading ALL SKATE are open to everyone.
That means old characters, new characters, retired characters, doubles of characters, original characters, non-canon compliant characters.
- We will all play nice and adhere to Wheaton's Law: Don't be a dick.
- Gratuitous behavior, either of a violent or sexual nature, will not be tolerated in the Comm. Take that to an OOM, and then Content Warning the hell out of it before you link it.
- Communication is paramount. Everyone's keyed up, let's just have some fun.]

Comments

[mm_kippur]

He's not trying to get into her head. At least with the Force. He is trying to find out this information though normal conversation. It is hard though.

Closing his eyes for just a brief moment, he tries to center himself.

A friend of a friend.

That's all he's going to get, but it at least goes through two people. He supposedly lost it on Mustafar... considering the only other person there, from what he's learned, was Kenobi... humm... Which means he's probably still alive. Gone into hiding. Now there's a question. If Kenobi was still alive, should he go hunting for him?

Nah.

Kenobi would return, eventually. And that would piss Vader off to no end. Which would amuse him to no end. He's totally keeping that to himself. Why deprive himself of that joy?

"Okay. A friend of a friend. We can leave it at that."

[imagines_the_ocean]

She does not drop her mental guard.

"Oh, we can? I'm so glad to hear it."

[mm_kippur]

Well, he could have yanked it out of her mind if he really wanted to know.

What has made her so skittish... okay. Him, in general. Sometimes he really hates... all the time...he hates his father. And his life. It's made everything so difficult when trying to talk to other Force users. Non- dark siders. It wasn't like he could say he wasn't dark side. He was stuck on that end.

How many of the dark siders has she run into that want to turn her, make her their apprentice or kill her? It seems to be standard procedure. Turn, Teach or Terminate.

He gives a slight shake of the head. Well... no use ... and why did every glass just blow up? Quick glance around and oh. He pinches the bridge of his nose.

"That man. I swear, he thinks violence is the only way to solve problems." There's a nod to the saber. "I would hide that if I were you."

[imagines_the_ocean]

He could have tried.

(He is not Kylo Ren.)

She grabs her head when the glass shatters. She strangles a scream. She grips the saber tighter.

Slowly she raises her head. Her eyes look almost bruised. "Just how your father wants him."

She does take his advice. Her hand shakes when she quietly hangs the weapon on her belt.

[mm_kippur]

He could have.

But he is not Kylo Ren. He is not Darth Vader. And he is not his father.

He's only Dark Side out of circumstances, not want. The display doesn't bother him as much. He's felt it before. A tantrum.

At least she listened to him about the lightsaber. If only out of spite, does he not want Vader to discover the girl.

"Yes. I know," he says dully, before gesturing to himself. "And this is how he wants me; but he started much younger. He'll want you the same, if he finds you. It's what he does. Finds someone powerful and then twists their mind with things that sound true, could be true, offers you something you want more than anything in the world. That you would do anything for. That one thing that you would destroy everything you are to get. And he makes it so tangible. You don't realize what's happened until it's too late. Until all you have left is him."

[imagines_the_ocean]

She watches him. Her eyebrows climb.

She opens her mouth. Another crash sounds, and she stops herself.

She can see green and grey and white foam. She can taste the salt.

Her Force presence quiets. It does not, as such, dim.

She looks up again. Her eyes are sad. "I am so sorry," she says earnestly, "that this happened to you. You deserved better than him, or any of this. We all did, I suppose. I wish I could help you, but I can't. I hope there's someone out there who can."

She wishes she could tell him.

[mm_kippur]

There's a new reaction.

No one's ever felt bad for him. At least not after the Republic fell. Which is a rather odd sentiment. The annoying thing is, she's being sincere. He could understand the false pity. He's gotten that enough but not the real stuff.

It's a bit disconcerting.

"You know. I don't think anyone has ever said that to me, in my entire life. Before and after the Republic fell," he said with a snort. Not a derisive one. But just... amused in a sad way.

From his belt he pulls the right lightsaber off. It's a plain thing. No fancy designs or embellishments. Fiddling with it for a moment, he pops open a panel and removes an orange crystal. Not something a Dark Sider would have. He places it onto the table between them.

"That there is the only thing keeping me... not like him. It bled me."

[imagines_the_ocean]

"They should have said it," she says firmly. It is equally sincere.

She looks at the crystal curiously. It is not unnerving the way he is.

"I didn't know there came in more colors. Is the spectrum like visible light? More red, more evil, more purple, less evil? Are there ones in ultra-violet?"

[mm_kippur]

"There is no one in my life to do so. Which, I know, is a tragedy."

No. The crystal is not at all Dark Side. It's definitely Light Side.

He frowns a bit at the question. And then because he was a researcher before everything happen, he does answer her, almost like he's explaining it to a youngling.

"They do come in quite a few colors. It's a spectrum, but more on the emotional and how you lean in the Force specturm. Crystals are clear when you first get them. When you make your lightsaber you... make a connection with your crystal. Which is why a lightsaber you build will always work better than someone else's. Jedi tend towards blue and green, though I don't know why. The Jedi Guard had yellow ones. I think they were yellow because they were shared. Only a guard could use it," he said.

"Purple... I've only seen one person with a purple lightsaber and he was a man who used certain... techniques that could be considered Dark Side but he managed to stay on the Light Side. Red crystals are created when you... make them bleed. Put all your anger, pain and everything wrong into it. Until they can't take it any more. Because they're alive."

He spins the crystal absently. "You can purify a red crystal, according to texts I've read, which turns it white. As for orange. You make a crystal bleed to turn it red. The Force making you bleed to get a crystal turns it orange, apparently."

As he talks, there's a bit more of a calmness over him. More... grey than dark. Not that the eyes change. But more human. Probably more like he was before Everything Happened.

[imagines_the_ocean]

She listens quietly.

"I'm very sorry, in that case," she says slowly, "that the Force would be used that way on you."

She talk to Luke about it.

[mm_kippur]

There's a tilt of his head back to stare at the ceiling and the down to her. He returns the crystal to the saber where it gives a very satisfying click and then hum.

Her responses are still very disconcerting. Because really, people don't say those sort of things to him. Especially since they are sincere.

"Yes. Well. The past is the past and I've not discovered time travel yet." He shrugged. Then feeling a bit spiteful, as Vader tantrums his way in the bar he asked, "Would you like to hear something I've figured out about the Force? Which might be helpful to avoid being turned into something like that... or me?"

[imagines_the_ocean]

She tilts her head, simply watching him.

"I usually think people are worth listening to."

Sometimes she can learn even from the ones who have nothing useful to say.

[mm_kippur]

That is very true.

He wonders if he should ask her name, but decides against it. The less information in his head, the less information can be taken out of it.

She does make him quirk another quick smile. "There is no absolute sharp divide between the light and the dark. There can be no absolutes, after all. Sith, Jedi? We dwell on the far sides of the spectrum. But if you can figure out how to be in the middle, you'll be more powerful than my father or him," and he nods towards Vader, "Or any Jedi at their peak."

Personally, he's gotten as 'middle' as he cares or dares to as he has no desire to be considered a threat to his father... just yet.

[imagines_the_ocean]

"I'll remember what you said."

She will remember as much as she can about today.

It was informative.