Beyond - Legends His Smile - Songfic/Poem (Jaina, Kyp) Inspired by Foo Fighters. 9/28 Edit + question

Title: His Smile
Author: Tahi
Characters: Jaina, Kyp (implied)
Genre: Sort of songfic/poem inspired by "The Best of You" by Foo Fighters, from their album: In Your Honour
Timeframe: The end of Rebirth

Notes: This poem revisits Jaina's confusion at the way Kyp was able to use his sexuality to trick her into believing that the worldship the Yuuzhan Vong were growing was a weapon that had to be destroyed.

**********

His Smile

I?ve got another confession to make
I?m your fool
Everyone?s got their chains to break
Holdin? you

Were you born to resist or be abused?
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?

His smile
is a weapon
he wields with the confidence
of one well-versed in the art
of underhand combat, plying
his arsenal of feints and trickery,
baiting the sly traps with hints
and half-promises, enticing me,
stirring emotions I cannot name
. . . except in fantasies.

His smile
is a scalpel
deployed with the precision
of one practised in the art
of manipulation, skilfully,
coldly, cutting to my heart,
releasing a torrent of needs
I never recognised as mine,
and I cannot stem the flow.

His lips
are blades
curving slowly into couffes
that slash through my beliefs
desecrating the symmetry that,
layered slowly and textured
by nurturing years, saw child
grow to adult, girl to woman.
Callously they rip and reorganise,
mindless except for blind ambition.

He who will stop
at nothing
to prevent tyranny,
cannot see
the tyrant in himself
savaging the structures
I hold dear
with knowing lies,
shaping his lips
into that smile -
tearing me to shreds -
that smile, like gas
infiltrating, insinuating,
filling my head with clouds.

His smile
lays me,
flays me . . .
betrays me,

and for that
I cannot
forgive him.

You gave me something that I didn?t have
But had no use
I was too weak to give in
Too strong to lose
My heart is under arrest again
But I break loose
My head is giving me life or death
But I can?t choose
I swear I?ll never give in
I refuse

Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?

 

That was beautiful!

 

Very welll done, Master!

 

Wow, Tahi poetry and the Foo Fighters? That's a dream combination for me

Outstanding work, Tahi You really did a great job of illustrating how Kyp manipulated her into getting Rogue Squadron involved. I really liked this part:

His smile
is a scalpel
deployed with the precision
of one practised in the art
of manipulation, skilfully,
coldly, cutting to my heart,
releasing a torrent of needs
I never recognised as mine,
and I cannot stem the flow.

Poor Jaina Kyp completely distracted her to get what he wanted.

Excellent use of the song lyrics as well. I would have never thought of this for them, but they seem to fit perfectly

 

Tahi: Whoah!! Excellent as ever - dangerous, mobile like dancing smoke or fencing swords... physical, emotional, strangely tactile... flavoursome and dark. Rich, teeming. Teasing, sharp-edged, intangible and solid as steel.

I like it! A guilty pleasure?



- The Imperial Ewok

 

Brilliant as always my dear....

 

VaderLV
Hi there, and thanks for reading.

Healer_Leona
Thanks, Leona.

The poem is based on the incident in Rebirth where Kyp convinces Jaina that the YV are growing a new weapon, whereas it is actually a new worldship to replace one of their dying old ones. The problem is that he does it by playing on her teenage emotions and, to an extent, you could say it makes him a kind of sexual predator. Of course he sees what he did as a means to an end - but Jaina, when she realises what has happened, feels really betrayed, and I guess kind of violated.

FelsGoddess
Thanks, padawan. That's the first Jaina piece I've ever written.

Yoda
Wow, Tahi poetry and the Foo Fighters? That's a dream combination for me
Heh heh, what would you say to some Pearl Jam and possibly some REM and Nirvana? Those cwazy plot wabbits are biting.

Poor Jaina Kyp completely distracted her to get what he wanted.
Yeah - it was pretty sneaky of him. I think he regretted it later and realised he owed her.

Excellent use of the song lyrics as well. I would have never thought of this for them, but they seem to fit perfectly
Well - I've been listening to the Foos quite a bit lately, and it occurred to me that it just seemed to fit.

Thrawn
LOL Wow! I like the fencing swords idea - always wanted to learn fencing.

Like the guilty pleasure idea, too. And yes, there's a certain amount of that involved - older experienced man/young girl syndrome. And of course Kyp knew that.

Red
Ta very much, luv. Heh heh. [shades of Coronation Street accent]

 

I just made a little edit in the first stanza thanks to a suggestion from Thrawn. I had "underhanded" originally to allude to the idea of "one-armed" or single-handed" combat, but have changed it to underhand. I wanted the extra syllable in "underhanded" to work as a trip in the rhythm there, but probably the comma does that job adequately. I think it is better without the extra syllable.

Thanks Thrawn.

Any other suggestions are more than welcome. For instance, I want the "his lips" stanza to sound a bit distanced and kind of robotic, but do you think it needs a little bit more angst?

 

That was brilliant. Your best poem yet, Tahi. And I really like how you wrote where she feels betratyed even as she knows she wants him. Great stuff.

 

Thanks, Jek. Yes, that was Jaina's dilemma - poor girl. Kyp knew what he was doing, too - the meanie.

 

Love the way this poem really captures the emotion of that situation... the juxtapositioning of Kyp's manipulation and Jaina's feelings for him is brought out beautifully. I'm not really a huge Kyp or Jaina fan, but the great thing is that the poem gives such an insight into the both of them that you don't need to be. I particularly liked the line about how Kyp can't see the tyrant in himself... I wondered what he was thinking at that point, and this really explains how he rationalised things to himself. Seems very fitting with what I know of his character...

*rambling* Great poem, anyway - a pleasure to read.

 

Wow, that was great! You captured the emotion and the moment so well.

I totally agree! You've done a wonderful job of showing how much in turmoil Jaina's emotions are and how confused and hurt she is. This was an excellent poem!!!

 

Foo Fighters?

Who could resist?

I am again impressed how you can capture depths of emotion and ideas with not only words but also with a rhythm that gives those words more power. Great job!

 

K_A
the juxtapositioning of Kyp's manipulation and Jaina's feelings for him is brought out beautifully.
Thanks. That's exactly what I wanted to evoke - so thanks for that piece of feedback.

I'm not really a huge Kyp or Jaina fan, but the great thing is that the poem gives such an insight into the both of them that you don't need to be.
Thanks again. In many ways it's not an unusual situation. Ans when one is young it's easy to be manipulated emotionally like this.

I particularly liked the line about how Kyp can't see the tyrant in himself... I wondered what he was thinking at that point, and this really explains how he rationalised things to himself. Seems very fitting with what I know of his character...
Thanks again. The sense of integrity to character is very important to me, and in poems it's often easy to lose that.

a pleasure to read.
Muchos gracias.

GoddessJainaSoloFel

Hi there - and thanks for reading.

You've done a wonderful job of showing how much in turmoil Jaina's emotions are and how confused and hurt she is.
Thanks. I hate it when people do this kind of manipulation to others - so I sympathise with poor old Jaina a lot.

TKeira_Lea

Foo Fighters?
Who could resist?
Exactamundo. I LOVE Dave Grohl.

I am again impressed how you can capture depths of emotion and ideas with not only words but also with a rhythm that gives those words more power. Great job!
Thanks. That means a lot. I guess writing a poem is a bit like the Barabels' idea of hunting the moment. Poetry is not something I can just sit down and write - it IS very much a "getting into moment" kind of thing. There's a different processs goes on with poems than with prose. It's like - the poem is there, and just needs to be caught and crystallised.

Thanks for reading and reviewing - much appreciated.

 

::Blinks in shock::

Wow. That could almost be a spoken word piece, perhaps mixed with the Foo Fighters song a la "The Black and Blue Album" or Danger Mouse's "The Grey Album." You ever consider freestyle hip-hop battles as another way to showcase your extraordinary talent?

I am always so moved by the poetry you post here, and I am always so close to commenting on it, but I prefer just to sit back and let it be, without needing to analyze it. It's nice to be able to enjoy poetry without the burden that comes from studying it in class.

 

Hi there Crazy Rodian. I know exactly what you mean about just wanting to enjoy without analysing. I spent years HAVING to analyse works of literature and now it IS lovely just to be able to let it wash over me rather than write about it.

Thanks so much for the feedback. It is always appreciated. And, yes, I do like hip-hop, much to my husband's horror. It's the wordplay I like, and the syncopated rhythms. It's a bit like a maths equation getting the words to slot in where you want them without losing the beat. A hip-hop battle would be fun.


Thanks again

 

A little up for Jaina.

 

Wow this was awsome! I loved the idea. Great job!

 

Hi there Princess Melissa - and thanks for reading.

 

Encore une fois pour Jaina.

 

I was just listening to the Foos again so thought I'd give this another run in case there are Foo fans out there.