Beyond - Legends Teetering - POST LotF - A/T One shot -- 1st Sentence

Teetering

Standing on the railing of the skybridge, teetering on the edge of oblivion, she remembered it all; the event, the consequences, and, most of all, the disappointment.

Tahiri Veila had thought that it would be all right; that after his death she would be able to live again. That she would be able to love again.

Yet, after so many years of pain, after missing him for half of her life, waiting for him to walk through the door one more time, she had given up. She had decided that it was enough.

Enough of being a Jedi.

Enough of being used by the Jedi.

Enough of being a Sith.

Enough of being used by the Sith.

Enough of being used by the Solo's.

Just enough.

None of them had anything to offer her anymore.

There was nothing left.

She was empty. Bereft.

Fate. Destiny. The Force. Whatever one wanted to call it, her entire existence so far had been meaningless. Everything and everyone that she had ever loved had ultimately been ripped from her.

So, that was why she was here, standing out over the edge of the abyss in the middle of the night. No pedestrians, no passing motorists. Just her, the bridge and the wide open chasm beneath her toes.

She edged closer to the abyss, and leaned forward slightly, watching the clouds as they passed through the emptiness beneath her.

The pit called to her. It beckoned, promising release.

Release from the pain. The suffering.

She wanted nothing more to throw herself forward, and accept the pit's offering.

Gathering the Force to her, she prepared to leap.

And that's when it happened. That's when the world shifted again.

It was soft, gentle, an almost whisper on the breeze. Yet she heard it clearly.

"Tahiri..."

Her name.

His voice.

She swallowed and lifted her head towards the sky. Looking upwards even though no stars were visible. Her eyes drifted close as a lone tear traced its way down her cheek. "You had better not be some trick or joke or something. You had better be Anakin."

She heard him coming closer; heavy boots shifting the occasional bits of gravel which accumulated on the skybridges.

"It's not a joke, 'Ri. I'm here."

She knelt onto the railing as another tear raced down her face. "You were supposed to come back. You promised me you would."

"I know. I'm here now."

"Why did you take so long."

He chuckled. It sounded like he was right behind her.

Warm moist arm floated across her arm. With a start she realized that it was his breath.

"I missed you, and I'm here, isn't that enough?"

Tahiri clenched her teeth and lowered her head; pressing her chin tight against her chest. She didn't want to break down and cry. Not here. Not now. Not in front of him.

"If I turn around will you still be there?"

He chuckled again, and grabbed her arm, pulling her down. She let out a short yelp in surprise and then safety and warmth flooded back into her existence.

For the first time in years, she felt whole and alive.

He held her in his arms, not letting her feet touch the ground, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in the between her arm and his cheek.

She allowed herself to be held and comforted as he whispered something into her hair. She didn't care what he was saying, just the fact that he was there to say it at all was enough.

 

*first*

 

steals first post from Evie.
So there!
evil laughter

darn you Thrawn! and your little red eyes too!

 

Great work, Kidan. You set up her suicidal thoughts so well, I actually thought you might follow through with it.

I also got the scary thought that she jumped and that Anakin's appearance was in the Force.

Makes one think for sure...

brodie

 

This is how I imagine Tahiri must have felt. But you gave her a happy ending. It doesn't even matter if she jumped or not, IMO. As long as she's happy...

Another way to deal with LotF. Full of possibilities!

*glares at the others (especially MU) for letting her have sloppy fourths*

 

That was the ending that i wanted for the end of LOTF books

 

Thrawn McEwok
*first*
and here's your no-prize.




DARTH_MU
steals first post from Evie.
So there!
evil laughter

darn you Thrawn! and your little red eyes too!
and exactly WHAT does that have to do with the story?





brodiew
Great work, Kidan. You set up her suicidal thoughts so well, I actually thought you might follow through with it.
whose to say that I didn't?

I also got the scary thought that the jumped and that Anakin's appearance was in the Force.
y'know, that's a perfectly valid interpretation of events....

Make one think for sure...
thanks! No higher praise could be granted




EvieSolo
" "


This is how I imagine Tahiri must have felt. But you gave her a happy ending. It doesn't even matter if she jumped or not, IMO. As long as she's happy...
*nods* Aye, I gave her a happy ending.

Another way to deal with LotF. Full of possibilities!
</mutters>the best way, IMO

*glares at the others (especially MU) for letting her have sloppy fourths*
hey, you got the dedication




Darthrevan4ever
That was the ending that i wanted for the end of LOTF books
you and me both!

 

Wow, this was great!! You did a great job with Tahiri in this vig, very powerful.

My favourite parts:

Fate. Destiny. The Force. Whatever one wanted to call it, her entire existence so far had been meaningless. Everything and everyone that she had ever loved had ultimately been ripped from her.



That is so true!! But wonderfully worded there, too.

It was soft, gentle, an almost whisper on the breeze. Yet she heard it clearly.

"Tahiri..."

Her name.

His voice.



*Ant melts*

She knelt onto the railing as another tear raced down her face. "You were supposed to come back. You promised me you would."

That's right, he really did.

Tahiri clenched her teeth and lowered her head; pressing her chin tight against her chest. She didn't want to break down and cry. Not here. Not now. Not in front of him.

"If I turn around will you still be there?"

Aww... Tahiri's voice is so perfect here -- her pain and desperation are just what I would expect at this point in time.

She allowed herself to be held and comforted as he whispered something into her hair. She didn't care what he was saying, just the fact that he was there to say it at all was enough.


w00t! I heartily agree!! What a lovely, lovely ending.

Very nicely done, Kidan. I really enjoyed this one.

Ant.

 

Jedi-Ant
Wow, this was great!! You did a great job with Tahiri in this vig, very powerful.
Thanks! Glad it worked so well for you

My favourite parts:
Fate. Destiny. The Force. Whatever one wanted to call it, her entire existence so far had been meaningless. Everything and everyone that she had ever loved had ultimately been ripped from her.



That is so true!! But wonderfully worded there, too.
*nods* aye it is... and thanks!


*Ant melts*
*chuckles*

That's right, he really did.
it's why we have ff

Aww... Tahiri's voice is so perfect here -- her pain and desperation are just what I would expect at this point in time.
thanks! Glad taht desperate!Tahiri makes sense to you

w00t! I heartily agree!! What a lovely, lovely ending.
again, thanks! I for one, wanted to see a scene like this in Invincible

Very nicely done, Kidan. I really enjoyed this one.
great! Thanks for reading!

 

*grins proudly, and puts it on the mantlepiece*

I like the way that you build up her state-of-mind through three different, contrasting perspectives here: you begin with what she's doing physically - a fairly unified view - and then shift to her hopes, developing a sense of her instinctive expectations, her sense of who she is... but then you offer a completely contrasting definition, a different part of her - a different Tahiri, even ("waiting for him to walk through the door one more time").

It's doing several things at once: very expressive of her disassembled mental state, and poignantly illustrative of the unhappy situation she's in, and also embracing her wider backstory, tying in with the sense of her fractured identity.

The elegance of the structure also works into it, giving it an elegaic quality, a control and restraint...

Which, of course, may say something about Tahiri, too. She's doing this very quietly.

Now this is a very neat piece of rhythm. The way you interrupt the pattern indicates the Anakin-void; had it continued, you'd have had her being a Solo... which, of course, is what she's not been able to become.

*blames LucasBooks/Del Rey*

Again, this is nicely fractured thinking from Tahiri. She starts with terms that normally define meaning, then moves to suggest that what she experienced was actually "meaningless", and then moves on to claim that the meaning had, in fact, been violently taken away.

Also, incidentally, she's avoiding Yuuzhan Vong perspectives. She's tired of pain, of accepting it?

More nice use of language here; it's very clear in its description, like night air; but "wide open chasm" is a nice inversion of upbeat like "wide open sky", both underlining how her world is upside down, and suggesting that the jump seems like the only hope for her, a sort of dark optimism, finality; and "beneath her toes" is just pure Tahiri.

She's used to talking to the Anakin-shaped emptiness?

But maybe it's lying to her...?

I love the idea of the clouds below her - it gives a dramatic emphasis to the visual image (just how far she has to fall?), and it extends the "upside-down sky" image.

 

Thrawn McEwok
*grins proudly, and puts it on the mantlepiece*
*snorts*

""


I like the way that you build up her state-of-mind through three different, contrasting perspectives here: you begin with what she's doing physically - a fairly unified view - and then shift to her hopes, developing a sense of her instinctive expectations, her sense of who she is... but then you offer a completely contrasting definition, a different part of her - a different Tahiri, even ("waiting for him to walk through the door one more time").
I'm ecstatic that that first paragraph worked so well. But yeah, she's definitely a collection of different peices....

It's doing several things at once: very expressive of her disassembled mental state, and poignantly illustrative of the unhappy situation she's in, and also embracing her wider backstory, tying in with the sense of her fractured identity.
[face_blinks] I know I've stated this in the past, but things like this are why I love your replies. You explain what I've written just so great....

The elegance of the structure also works into it, giving it an elegaic quality, a control and restraint...
*nods* it does, doesn't it...

Which, of course, may say something about Tahiri, too. She's doing this very quietly.
*heh* she doesn't feel like talking?

Now this is a very neat piece of rhythm. The way you interrupt the pattern indicates the Anakin-void; had it continued, you'd have had her being a Solo... which, of course, is what she's not been able to become.

*blames LucasBooks/Del Rey*
I'm glad that you caught that. and I blame LucasBooks & DR as well....

Again, this is nicely fractured thinking from Tahiri. She starts with terms that normally define meaning, then moves to suggest that what she experienced was actually "meaningless", and then moves on to claim that the meaning had, in fact, been violently taken away.
Well, Tahiri is fractured here....she lacks the meaning that those terms give others.... (again, thanks DR!)

Also, incidentally, she's avoiding Yuuzhan Vong perspectives. She's tired of pain, of accepting it?
reasonable interpretation....

More nice use of language here; it's very clear in its description, like night air; but "wide open chasm" is a nice inversion of upbeat like "wide open sky", both underlining how her world is upside down, and suggesting that the jump seems like the only hope for her, a sort of dark optimism, finality; and "beneath her toes" is just pure Tahiri.
again, I'm ecstatic that that symbolism was picked up on as well. the whole inversion of the open sky

She's used to talking to the Anakin-shaped emptiness?
aye, she is....

But maybe it's lying to her...?
maybe...

I love the idea of the clouds below her - it gives a dramatic emphasis to the visual image (just how far she has to fall?), and it extends the "upside-down sky" image.
I liked it as well

""




A/T!!
aye... A/T!

I love this! it's the contrast between the back-and-forth dialogue and her down-and-backwards movement towards him.
and that's a good point

Two observations: the hesitation in her POV of him (and perhaps her movements) - it sounded like he was right behind her; and the way she instinctively falls into conversation with him, without the slightest hesitation.
well, he is Anakin....

The pain of the way she looked up at the sky was also very effective; accepting the pain - in that single,

 

Wonderful!!!
and just that bit sad

 

THE_EVIL_CLIFFIE
Wonderful!!!
and just that bit sad
Thanks! And aye...

 

woohoo Anakin is back!

 

SilSolo
woohoo Anakin is back!
or did Tahiri jump? of course it's up to the reader to answer that question so

 

Hah! I was feeling so very cynical...assuming that the reason Tahiri could 'hear' and 'feel' Anakin was because she had in fact jumped, and I was going to just crawl bak into my little hole and continue with the lurkiness, not wanting to spread my particular brand of 'joy', but then I saw that other people had said the same thing.

Not that I've got that out of my system...oh, yeah, that's why I didn't finish reading reading LotF, aside from the fact that they killed Mara (those bastards) they turned Tahiri into a crack-whore as you so eloquently put it. Incidently, I think I used the exact same term when discussing this with Qwi_Xux when it started.

So, thank you for bringing a little bit of a recognizable Tahiri back into the world.

How sad is that? That a suicidal Tahiri seems closer to character than what Pro-fic actually gave us?

Rambling PregMe

 

pregnantpadme[/]
Hah! I was feeling so very cynical...assuming that the reason Tahiri could 'hear' and 'feel' Anakin was because she had in fact jumped, and I was going to just crawl bak into my little hole and continue with the lurkiness, not wanting to spread my particular brand of 'joy', but then I saw that other people had said the same thing.
nope, it wasn't your feelings of cynicism--I wrote it in such a way that she could either be saved from jumping by Anakin, or meeting Anakin there after the jump. I love ambiguity

Not that I've got that out of my system...oh, yeah, that's why I didn't finish reading reading LotF, aside from the fact that they killed Mara (those bastards) they turned Tahiri into a crack-whore as you so eloquently put it. Incidently, I think I used the exact same term when discussing this with Qwi_Xux when it started.
*nods* Aye, they have been a bit harsh on those two characters

So, thank you for bringing a little bit of a recognizable Tahiri back into the world.
and thats' what I was hoping to do

How sad is that? That a suicidal Tahiri seems closer to character than what Pro-fic actually gave us?
now, that is a depressing way to put it, but now is it the fact that she's suicidal or that she's there with Aankin that makes her so much closer to herself?

 

Wow, that was great, Kidan You did a fantastic job of writing Tahiri, especially in her post-LotF state, and I loved Anakin returning to her

Another awesome fic

 

YodaKenobi
Wow, that was great, Kidan You did a fantastic job of writing Tahiri, especially in her post-LotF state, and I loved Anakin returning to her
Another awesome fic
Thanks!! And thanks for reading!! I'm happy that this Tahiri works so well as a post-LotF Tahiri. As for Anakin--of course he returned, he promised her he would--but it still leaves the question, did she jump or not?

 

Awsome. Both sad (that tahiri is suicidal) and happy (that Anakin came back to her)

**Wallows in A/T goodness**

great work

 

The_Slilent_One
Ack! sorry that I forgot to respond to this

Awsome. Both sad (that tahiri is suicidal) and happy (that Anakin came back to her)
Thanks! And yes, it is sad and happy at the same time (isn't that nostalgic?); and i take this to mean that you're in the camp of folks who believe she didn't jump

**Wallows in A/T goodness**
aye!

great work
thanks!!