Saga 100 Grains of Sand - UDC 3 response, Week 14: Why Can't We Be Friends?

DINING ROOM

Jobal entered the dining room carrying a delicious-smelling pot.

"I hope you're all hungry," she said.

"I am!" Ryoo said, making everyone laugh.

She carefully set the pot down and took her seat. She looked around at her smiling, happy family as they began to dish up the food: Sola and Darred, helping Pooja with the serving utensils, Ruwee pouring a drink for Ryoo, and Padmé exclaiming that not even the finest Coruscanti restauarants compared to Jobal's cooking-

Jobal woke up, realizing it was just a dream and remembering that Padmé would never again share a family dinner with them.

Loved them all, but this was my favorite!

 

Aww, these were bittersweet but well done! I think "Mess Hall" was my favorite, but they were all wonderful! Lovely job as always!!

 

Oh, these were all so wonderful, but I enjoyed "Diner" most of all, for the peek of what happened with Dex after we saw him last. And how sad that he never knew what happened to Obi-Wan. I also really like how you wrote Padme and Bail meeting for a meal--I love that they were friends. Bail must have seen so much of his friend in Leia. Wonderful update!

 

Dining room was so sad! It was beautiful, but heart wrenching. Lovely job.

 

An amazing set. Of these, Tapcafe was great because it showed Bail and Padme as close friends. Enjoyed her thought that she'd like to be dining with Anakin Dining Room--wow, that's gotta be so awful to wake up from such a super dream

 

VaderLVR: Thank you!

dancing_star: I don't know what it is, but all these prompts seem to be bringing out the angsty and bittersweet side of me. Thank you for reading!

ginchy: I know, I feel bad for Dex, too. Thank you very much for reading!

DarthBerryStraw: I'm not really intending to make these drabbles angsty, but they just seem to go that way! Thank you for reading!

Jade_eyes: Dreams really can be such sad things, when you wake up and realize it's not real... Thank you so much for reading!

Thank you all again. Your responses mean so much to me.

 

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[b]Week 11[/b]
[hr]

[b]DENIAL[/b]

Leia sat against the wall with her knees drawn up to her chest. She had a rare moment of privacy, with no one around to ask her for anything or tell her of some new crisis. She should be relaxing. Instead, she was talking to herself as she tried to sort through her emotions.

"I don't love him."

She didn't believe the words even as she said them. She tried again.

"I care about him, but I'm not [i]in love[/i] with him."

That was better. She still found it frustrating that Han Solo could make even her own feelings complicated.

[b]SADNESS[/b]

He could see that she had been crying.

"Hey," he said "Is something wrong?"

She looked at him, chin lifted defiantly.

"No," she said. "Nothing to concern you."

"Okay, Princess," he said. "If you want to talk or...anything else, you know where to find me." He winked.

She didn't call him names, or do any of the things he expected her to do. She just smiled.

"Luke's a much better listener," she said calmly. "Maybe I'll go find [i]him[/i]."

Han watched her leave, surprised at how upset he felt by the notion of her talking to Luke and not him.

[b]ANGER[/b]

Leia paced back and forth, fists clenched. She was trying to calm down, but it wasn't easy. Han Solo was just so...[i]infuriating[/i].

Still...the smirk that appeared on his face when he teased - no, [i]insulted[/i] her, she reminded herself - was endearing. And the way he looked at her sometimes...

"No!" Leia said. "What am I doing? What am I [i]thinking[/i]?" She turned on her heel, retracing her footsteps yet again. "Han Solo is nothing but an arrogant nerfherder!"

She didn't know what made her angrier - Han, or the fact that once again, she couldn't stop thinking about him.

[b]GUILT[/b]

She used to lay awake at night wrestling with a crushing sense of guilt. Sometimes she would wonder why she had survived. She would ask herself why she hadn't done more to save her people, to save Alderaan.

Sometimes she'd even wonder if they were all fighting for nothing, if all the sacrifices were in vain. Sometimes she thought of giving up altogether.

But she'd pressed on, even during her darkest hours, and now with each victory, no matter how small, her guilt eased a little and her faith that she and the Rebellion were doing the right thing increased.

[b]ACCEPTANCE[/b]

Leia lay in Han's arms, glad for a rare moment alone with him. So much had changed for her when she learned that Luke was her brother and Vader - she couldn't think of him as Anakin Skywalker, not yet and maybe not ever - was her father. She was struggling to accept that, and to adjust to the reality that the Empire was defeated. She didn't think she could have gotten through it all without Han. He had accepted her for who she was and loved her as much as ever, and for that, she loved him even more.

 

These were all simply beautiful, and it was difficult, but I picked this as my favorite:

ACCEPTANCE

Leia lay in Han's arms, glad for a rare moment alone with him. So much had changed for her when she learned that Luke was her brother and Vader - she couldn't think of him as Anakin Skywalker, not yet and maybe not ever - was her father. She was struggling to accept that, and to adjust to the reality that the Empire was defeated. She didn't think she could have gotten through it all without Han. He had accepted her for who she was and loved her as much as ever, and for that, she loved him even more.

 

"I don't love him."

She didn't believe the words even as she said them. She tried again.

"I care about him, but I'm not in love with him."- Yup. That's denial alrighty!

 

Marvelous to see these updated and great H&L.

Guilt--I can so see that playing a part in the satisfaction behind each victory

Sadness LOL great exchange there

Denial, Anger, Acceptance: wonderful trio showing the progression from "I don't love him" to "I love him even more." Squee!

 

"I don't love him."

She didn't believe the words even as she said them. She tried again.

"I care about him, but I'm not in love with him."
Yeah, we believe you, Leia.
Loved Leia's thoughts on Han! Just spot-on for this time in their relationship. The last one was very beautiful and sweet, probably my favorite though they were all wonderful. Great job!!

 

Those were wonderful!

I enjoyed seeing Leia's emotions so perfectly written.

Still...the smirk that appeared on his face when he teased - no, insulted her, she reminded herself - was endearing.

Yep, there's no escaping the Solo charm

Great update

 

Love, love, love the H/L. Leia's thoughts are wonderful here.

 

These were so sweet! I love Denial. That was my favorite, but they were all so good that it was hard to choose!

 

You're pretty good too!

 

I missed some? Apologies. (My want PMs. Don't like to miss anything.)


Wood: Anakin's first sight of Padme? Adorableness, right there.

Window: Good look at Palpy. Liked that.

Roof: Ah, but home can be where the heart is, none of those places were probably it.

Walls: A few feet that felt like miles...

Floor: Similar setting, different result, and wow.

Week 8: Padme in various stages of her life. Love how you took us through those.

Purple: Wow...

Orange: Family moment! Awwwww...

Green: Liked Bail there... it's a plant, but Leia took care of it, and that makes all the difference.

Silver: So much and so little time for Obi-Wan, out there in the sand.

Copper: So it wasn't just Luke wanting to leave, but feeling that the universe was calling him out as well. Like that way of looking at it.

Cantina: I wonder... did they find what they were looking for?

Tapcafe: Padme having a working meal... yep, sounds like her. Glad Bail got her to put it away.

Diner: Dex! Liked Dex!

Mess Hall: Stale ration bars? Well... Obi-Wan might be wishing for something else, but at least they've got SOMETHING to tide them over...

Dining Room: Poor Jobal... check that, poor Naberrie family.

Denial: Leia! Stop denying it! (Liked that one. Good job.)

Sadness: Ouch...

Anger: He might be a nerfherder, but he's HER nerfherder...

Guilt: Lessening guilt is a good thing...

Acceptance: That was just lovely.


Good drabbles.

 

VaderLVR: Thank you so much!

PonyTricks: I think both her and Han are good at denial. Thanks for reading!

Jade_eyes: Thank you! I'm really glad you enjoyed these.

dancing_star: Maybe if she says it enough, it'll come true...nah! Thank you for reading!

KELIA: Yeah, the Solo charm is pretty hard to resist. Thanks for reading!

ginchy: Thank you very much!

LASOS: Denial was my favorite to write. Thank you for reading!

Lady_Misty: Thank you!

DaenaBenjen42: Cantina: I wonder... did they find what they were looking for?

They did, and they actually got rather tipsy in the process. The scene's from Labyrinth of Evil (which is an awesome book all-around).

Thank you so much for reading, and for the wonderful comments. You're added to the PM list.

Thank you again, everyone! I appreciate your responses and your readership so much.

 

Notes: I figured finally updating these would be a good use of my 5,000th post.

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[b]Week 12[/b]
[hr]

[b]COMET[/b]

Some beings thought that comets were a sign of bad luck and viewed them with apprehension.

One old woman who held such beliefs, revered by many locals as a prophetess and healer, spotted a comet blazing in Naboo's skies one night. She proclaimed that it heralded an age of evil and fear, and that the Republic would fall in a generation. Her followers rushed to spread the word.

A woman heard the doomsayers' pronouncements, laughed them off as she had heard similar words many times before, and turned her attention back to her baby, a son she had named Palpatine.

[b]STAR[/b]

The stars had always fascinated him. As a child on Tatooine, he had spent many hours at night gazing into the endless sky, imagining the worlds that existed out there and dreaming of visiting them. Throughout his life as a Jedi, that dream, at least, had come true.

Now, though, when he was able to look at the night sky from wherever he happened to be, he focussed in one direction and on one star. He imagined her on that distant planet, looking at the stars and thinking of him, and he dreamed of going to be with her forever.

[b]PLANET[/b]

With the help of her handmaidens, the newly-elected Queen Amidala had just scrubbed off her makeup, removed her headdress, and changed into a simple shift. After the victory celebrations, and with her full schedule of meetings and appointments in the days to come, she was ready for a quiet moment.

Taking a deep breath, she went to the window and looked out. She still couldn't quite believe that not only Theed, but the entire planet of Naboo, was looking to her for leadership and guidance now. She made a silent promise to her people that she wouldn't let them down.

[b]MOON[/b]

Although Padmé had studied Naboo's religious traditions, she had never really believed in them. She valued the rituals and the stories as important parts of Naboo's cultural heritage, and no more.

But one evening, after a particularly stressful day in which rumors from the Outer Rim had left her terribly shaken, she stood alone in her apartment for a long time, contemplating the decorative statue of the moon goddess Shiraya. Finally, with tears in her eyes and one hand on her belly, she whispered a prayer to the goddess to bring Anakin home safely to her and their unborn child.

[b]NEBULA[/b]

It seemed to Bail Organa that every time he tried to speak with the Chancellor, he had a longer wait.

He stood up to stretch his legs and peered at a holo of a newly discovered nebula in the Outer Rim. Looking at it, he reflected on the fact that such beauty could come from clouds of dust and gas. He felt a surge of renewed confidence that someday soon, the goodness and justice he and other like-minded politicians still fought for would shine out from the corruption and greed of the current political situation, as beautiful as a nebula.

 

Comet: Sort of: And how did they meet the coming of their doom? With laughter. (Liked the irony there.)

Star: Is that Anakin? Wow...

Planet: Padme during the quiet moment... showing her strength and her will and her desire to serve her people.

Moon: Liked that. Praying for strength in a time of weakness... and a ritual suddenly has purpose.

Nebula: Liked the paralelles there...



Good drabbles.

 

A woman heard the doomsayers' pronouncements, laughed them off as she had heard similar words many times before, and turned her attention back to her baby, a son she had named Palpatine.

WOW

I can understand a mother not wanting to believe anything bad about her son, though.

Great update

 

Very super update. If you're keeping a PM list could I be on it?? Delightful balance of moods/tones between Comet and Nebula.

Very well done!!!

 

Ooh, these were all fantastic!! It's a three way tie for planet, stars, and nebula for me. Very well done as always!! Looking forward to more!!

 

STAR

The stars had always fascinated him. As a child on Tatooine, he had spent many hours at night gazing into the endless sky, imagining the worlds that existed out there and dreaming of visiting them. Throughout his life as a Jedi, that dream, at least, had come true.

Now, though, when he was able to look at the night sky from wherever he happened to be, he focussed in one direction and on one star. He imagined her on that distant planet, looking at the stars and thinking of him, and he dreamed of going to be with her forever.

Loved them all, but this was my favorite.

 

loved those drabbles all of them.

 

Sorry I haven?t been replying lately. College ate my brain.

Good to see something about Dex. He?s an immediately intriguing character to explore IMO. How the heck did this guy get to be a diner-owner, an expert in who-knows-what, and friends with a Jedi?

All of these drabbles I missed are absolutely superb!