Saga - OT [DDC 2017]Teenage Rebellion--Updated 11/27/2017 (Mara/Ezra/Luke)

Dearest, lovely, perfect Mara
Your eyes greener than a million trees,
They sparkle like the Mon Cal waves
And I am lost upon their seas

Not even Wookiee fur can live up to
The shine of your flowing red-gold locks
Your head is like a bird nest to hide in,
And now little me-like birds arrive in flocks.

When they sing their songs of praise to you
Their voices are not as sweet than thine
Oh dearest, lovely, perfect Mara
I pray the Maker you’ll be mine.

I wonder if Padmé got similar poems from little Ani. Snigger!

 

I am not sure what's the funniest thing here, but this entry totally ROCKED. Thanks for including my itty bitty poem, I mean, C-3PO's poem there. The rest ain't bad either, same goes for Findswoman's bluesy number.

Angry!Mara and Angry!Luke are two interesting characters to explore. Her anger is more mature, but seems bigger than his. He's doing his usual mooka pup whining and in both cases, it seems to be about rocks, hence my initial comment. And it's interesting to see the same situation from all three POVs, especially the very moment where Ezra is hit with a rock. Both Ezra and Mara clearly see that Luke doesn't care about Ezra's feelings, which is a huge problem. The donut thing was nothing compared to the rock thing.

So, yeah, keep on ROCKING my world, please!

 

All credit for the awesomely awesome Luke/Threepio collaboration goes to Ewok Poet. :adore: Her metaphors were so perfectly what-the-kriff, I knew I had to use them in the story. I think someday I'm going to have to write the rest of Brrruuns' ode, because you never know when you're going to need Trandoshan love poetry. I've always enjoyed that particular line from Song of Songs...and from the description of a Certain Other Sad Mooka's hair, I'm guessing you do, too.

Luke is even more immature here than he was with Yoda; he hasn't had those years in the Rebellion to teach him at least a bit of restraint yet. He's still pretty fresh off the moisture farm. And because of that, it is easier for him to get wrapped up in his emotions. You're right that he needs to be veeeery careful, because it would be easy for all that jealousy and negativity to slide into Darkness.

She is nothing if not forthright! Raissa and Doran must be very proud. Mara may not believe that Luke misinterpretation of her friendship and the Force's reason for her being there are in any way her fault, but she does have her mom's strong sense of duty and feels responsible for fulfilling the Force's directive. Luke willfully ignoring reality is going to make things tough for everyone.

Reality or the Force or someone (Mara?) needs to smack him upside the head and knock off Luke's blinders. He's got such a narrow view of both Ezra and Mara, as that nerf-herding jerk who STOLE HIS GIRL and the perfect girl who is his DESTINY, that he's not seeing them as actual people. He's doing the right thing in deciding to apply himself to his lessons, but for all the wrong reasons.

That was not dumb; it's priceless! I can picture Luke in dark sunglasses, playing blues harmonica! Maybe this can be his next collaboration with Threepio, once reality smacks him upside the head

I bet she did...containing a hundred metaphors about sand

You're very welcome! And thank you for contributing its awesomely epic awesomeness

Very interesting points! I think you're absolutely right that Mara's anger is more mature and has a more appropriate focus than Luke's. She's upset that he's acting like a child during her lesson to the point where he hits Ezra with a rock, while Luke is all "Waaaaah! This is HARD and HE STOLE MY GIRL!" He really doesn't care about Ezra; he doesn't really see him as a person, just a rival, and almost never calls Ezra by name in his journal.

 

Thanks, as always, to Findswoman and Ewok Poet for beta-reading and suggestions. You guys ROCK!

Mara

Luke Skywalker continues to be full of surprises...but at least this time they were mostly good ones.

That first lesson was worse than trying to teach a Hutt to dance, and I bet I could have done better with the Hutt. I couldn’t possibly have been more useless than I was with Luke. I more than half expected him to mope at me some more when I tracked him down in the mess hall to tell him that we had decided to have the next training session Taungsday after dinner--or else ignore me. Or else tell me to shove off...well, no, not that--not from Master Sad Mooka Face, but maybe hem and haw and make a million excuses why he COULDN’T POSSIBLY. I even had a speech prepared about the importance of training, and overcoming one’s emotions, and the Dark Side. I didn’t get to use any of it, because as soon as he saw me, Luke was all mooka enthusiasm again, like nothing ever happened.

“Sure! I’ll be there,” He lit up like Annina with a new plush pittin. “I know I didn’t do so good last time, but this time I’ll do better! You’ll see! I’m going to be the best Jedi ever.”

“That’s...a very commendable attitude.” I said, wondering whether I was the crazy one or if he was. I really didn’t think it was me, but he was so excited, it made almost think I’d imagined the whole disastrous lesson, him hurling a rock at Ezra, and the whole “but the Force sent you for me!” thing. “And you’re okay with everything we discussed about you and me, right?”

“Huh? Oh...uh, yeah...right.” But he didn’t look at me when he said it, and it didn’t take any great insight in the Force to tell that Luke wasn't okay with it. Fine, whatever. He can be as not okay with it as he wants as long as he keeps it to himself during training. The Force gave me this job, and I'm going to see it through; I'm not giving up just because he’s got some silly crush on me. As Dad always says, “The Galaxy will will function in peace if certain things are a bit overlooked.” Which is also why I chose not to mention Luke’s conviction that I am here for him to Ezra-- he’s already so touchy about Luke, I don't need more rocks thrown at these lessons. I have a feeling Ezra wouldn’t miss.

Hera invited me for dinner on the Ghost on Taungsday as a sort of morale booster, I think. She’d made a noodle dish with mushroom sauce; it was so much better than the stuff Dex serves in the mess hall. We all ate in the common area, and for awhile I forgot about Luke and the Force and whether things were going to blow up like a thermal detonator this time, too. We joked and laughed, and it was almost like being home.

Too soon, though, it was time for lessons, but this time, we were all there to meet Luke together. He bounced up the path to the Ghost where all three of us were waiting at the bottom of the ramp, but he only looked at me when he said, “I’m ready, and this time, I promise I’m going to do better!” Luke unclipped his lightsaber and stood in a clumsy ready stance, grinning mooka-ishly.

“You won’t need that right now,” I told him, and his grin wavered uncertainly. Whatever Obi-Wan had taught him, shielding his emotions wasn’t part of it. Luke had psyched himself up for HITTING ROCKS, and now he was totally nonplussed we weren’t going to do it...and afraid it was going to be something worse. I caught him dart a tiny, shifty glance at Ezra at that thought. “We’re going to start with something easy. No rocks; no lightsabers.” I pulled a small packet out of my belt pouch and held it up. “Today, we’re going to be reading sabacc cards. It’s an exercise everyone in my family started with, even my mom.” It was a youngling’s exercise, tedious and repetitive, but that seemed to be what Luke needed. He’d certainly behaved like a youngling at our last lesson.

“Cards?” It was hard to tell with his mask on, but I thought Kanan raised an eyebrow at me, and he had the ghost of a smile. “An unorthodox choice of training tools, but it does seem appropriate.”

*Yeah, and at least if he has another tantrum and starts chucking them at me, I'll only get a flimsi cut.* Ezra’s silent comment had sharper edges than a thrown card.

*Oh, hush!*

Luke regarded the deck of cards as if it was something I’d pulled out of a scurrier’s nest. “Uh, that’s great, but I, uh, I don’t play sabacc. Aunt Beru always said that only smugglers, gamblers and scoundrels played cards.”

I refrained from mentioning that my father, the Jedi, taught me to play when I was five and my little sister was a better sabacc player than half the gamblers in Merkesh City. “You don’t need to play it. All you need to know is there are four suits.” I sat down on the ground, motioning for everyone to join me, and pulled out one of each suit from the deck. “Sabers, staves, flasks, and coins.” I laid the four cards face up in front of Luke. He frowned down at them like they were incomprehensible mystic runes; maybe to him they were. He touched each one and and repeated the suit as I said it. “I’ll hand you the deck. Reach out in the Force and see if you can tell what suit is on the top card.”

His frown deepened. “I ca…” Luke began to protest, probably out of sheer reflex, but caught himself. He clamped his mouth shut on the word “can’t” and changed it to “I’ll try.” He couldn’t have looked more grimly determined if I’d asked him to face down a squad of stormtroopers armed only with a hydrospanner.

I decided to that was probably as much enthusiasm as I was going to get. “Good. We’ll all do a couple, just for practice. Open yourself to the Force and see how we do it, okay?”

Luke nodded doubtfully.

I held deck in my left hand and laid my right fingertips lightly against the top card. The physical contact wasn’t really necessary, but I thought it might be helpful for Luke to start that way. I looked in the Force; what I saw made me smile. “Six of sabers,” I said, and turned it over. Ezra’s card--his honorary callsign in the Idiot’s Array.

He grinned as I passed him the deck, and his grin widened as he announced, “Ace of Sabers!” My call sign. Okay...so the Force was in one of its not-very-subtle-or-mysterious moods. You’ve got my attention, I told it. What is it you’re trying to tell me?

Kanan was next. “Endurance.” He turned over the card to show an upside down figure, a Jedi, balanced on one hand while levitating a cube and a sphere.

“That’s not any of the four suits!” Luke exclaimed, looking from the cards I’d laid in front of him to Kanan’s card and back.

Great; I’d forgotten to take out the face cards and even though there were only sixteen in a deck of seventy-six, one of just had to pop up to complicate things. “Don’t worry about that right now; I’ll teach you about those cards later. Just concentrate on the top card.”

He nodded and laid his hand on the top of the deck, pushing it against the top card like he could feel what was on the card that way. He screwed up his face in concentration and reeeeeeeeached out in the Force--a tiny, tenuous thread of awareness, just enough for me to sense it. Luke frowned, cocked his head to the side, frowned some more, cocked his head to the other side and scowled. “I don’t know! I don’t see any of those things! It’s just a big blob, like a really big circle!”

“It’s okay, Luke.” I put a reassuring hand on his shoulder as I took the deck before he decided to throw it. “It was a good try; this is only your first time. If you saw a circle, maybe it was coins.” I flipped over the card and laughed. The Wheel--one big circle. “You were right--see, you can do this!”

A grin--less like a mooka’s than an absurdly pleased tooka’s--lit up Luke’s face and he laughed too. “I did it!”

We did ten rounds of card reading--until Luke scrunched up his face so hard trying to “see” that his face turned red and he huffed like an overheated bantha when he missed one--and he got half of them right. Even though he pouted a little that he knew he could have done better, I considered it a good beginning. He really had put some effort into training this time. And no one was injured.

While Kanan worked with him on memorizing the Jedi Code, Ezra slid closer to me. “What are you thinking about, Ace? I could practically hear the hyperdrive kick in in your mind.”

“Just thinking about what the Force was trying to tell me with that first round of cards.” Sabacc cards have always had kind of a special place in my family's history; the Force sent my parents messages hidden in sabacc cards--it’s the reason our cell is the Idiot’s Array and our call signs are cards. Now it looked like it planned to use the same method with me. “The Six of Sabers and the Ace of Sabers, that part seems clear enough.” Even if Luke didn’t get the message… “And Endurance makes sense for Kanan, but what’s the Force trying to tell me about Luke with the Wheel?”

“That he’s a major third wheel around here?” he suggested, with a sideways glance in Luke’s direction. His mouth curved into a sardonic grin. “That he should just keep rolling along?”

“Ezra…” I couldn’t deny that Luke was kind of a third wheel, but he was one we were going to have to deal with for a while, at least. “Some species use sabacc cards to tell fortunes; each of them has a meaning--sometimes more than one. The Wheel signifies...lots of things. Good luck, bad luck. Beginnings, endings. Random chance. Change. So which one is Luke? Or is he all of them put together?” I sighed at the dubious look on Ezra’s face. “You think I’m reading too much into this, don’t you?”

“I don’t know, Ace. To me, sabacc’s just a game.” He shrugged; his expression turned speculative, and he edged a little closer until our shoulders almost touched. “So, every card has a meaning, even the Six of Sabers?”

“Of course.” I’d been wondering since Life Day when he was going to figure that out. I’d thought it would be sooner, but, then again, a lot of things--Scarif, Jedha, and Alderaan--had happened between then and now.

“Must be a pretty good one, huh?” Ezra grinned, nudging his shoulder against mine. “Like strength? Intelligence? Dashing good-looks?”

“Well, it isn’t modesty!” I laughed, even though I knew I probably shouldn't encourage him. “It is a good one, though. It means ‘a journey’s end.’”

“Huh? What journey?”

I guess being a Jedi doesn’t make a man less clueless about some things. “Hmm...Let’s see,” I teased. “I got your card, you got mine...what could it possibly mean?”

“Oh…” The credit finally dropped, and Ezra turned a little red. It was really kind of cute.

But whatever else Ezra was going to say was lost when Kanan’s voice cut in. “Luke, are you are you paying attention?”

He wasn’t. Luke was watching me, and he looked like his head was going to explode. I thought that the contradictions of the Code must have gotten to be too much for him--or at least I was going to pretend that was the reason, because certain things needed overlooking--and decided to skip drilling the basic lightsaber kata and called it a night. I had a lot on my mind, too, pondering what exactly the Wheel signified for Luke and for the rest of us.

And what kind of things are going to happen before we figure it out?

------------------------------------------------

Luke

I DID IT! I finished my second Jedi lesson today and I USED THE FORCE to read the sabacc cards! I really could ALMOST SEE the pictures on them...at least most of the time. Some of the time. I know I could have done better if HE wasn’t there, snickering at me, talking to Mara about me BEHIND MY BACK. I saw the way he pulled her aside while Kanan was teaching me the Jedi Code (and it doesn’t make ANY SENSE! How can there be no emotions? Even DROIDS have emotions!) and I know he was talking about ME, laughing at me! And the way he looks at her….ugh...I just can’t even… But Mara told me I DID A GOOD JOB. She said I had a VERY COMMENDABLE ATTITUDE and thought I’d IMPROVED. :-D <3

On my way back to the barracks, Threepio came scurrying up the path after me. If he’d been Human, he would have been panting, but instead he was waving a piece of flimsi frantically at me. “Master Luke! Master Luke! There you are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you! I have something very important to show you!”

“Oh?” Threepio’s idea of “important” is not always, well, important to anyone but him. “What is it?”

“I have a new poem for you, Master Luke!” Threepio held up the flimsi proudly. “I was rather surprised to find that I enjoyed the challenge of writing the last one. Who would have thought I had it in my circuitry for such creative endeavors? Tell me, was Mistress Mara favorably disposed to our last poem? Has she declared her feelings for you yet?”

“Er, no...not yet…” She hadn’t said ANYTHING about the poem. Maybe she still didn’t know it was from me? But shouldn’t she have said SOMETHING, though? I mean, girls love to talk about ROMANTIC STUFF, right?

Threepio cocked his head to the side. “Oh. Well, no doubt this will inspire her with the depths of your affection. I only hope I’ve done them justice.” He gave me the flimsi, and I read the first verse:

“My dearest Mara,
By the Force, Mistress,
Your eyes flash green nicely
I am going to overload
From your hair so gingery”

“This is great, Threepio!” It was better than anything I could have written, and I knew Mara would LOVE IT, too.

“Why, thank you, sir!” Threepio beamed. “I did the best my humble circuits would allow. I shall start on our next verse immediately!” He trotted off back towards the temples with a cheery wave.

So now I have another poem to give to Mara. I wonder what else I can do to show her I’m the BETTER MAN? I could bring her donuts again; she seemed to like those. Maybe there’s something I can do for her; girls like HELPFUL guys, don’t they? Like guys who move heavy objects or open canisters for them? Okay, maybe those aren’t the BEST EXAMPLES, but there’s got to be SOMETHING! And I wonder if I could borrow Janson’s sabacc deck to practice my lesson and be EVEN BETTER next time. I know I can show her how GOOD A JEDI I can be! <3<3<3

Note: Once again, Threepio's poem comes courtesy of master poet, Ewok Poet.

 

You always have this great symbolism in the cards (pun perfectly intended), but in this one particular entry, you're taking it up to eleven. Mara getting Ezra's call sign, Ezra getting Mara's call sign and Luke getting...the wheel?! Sure, there are many other symbolisms to this card, but it clearly states that he's the third wheel.

Oh, really? And how old are you, again?

Ezra is being as kind as can be given what this situation is like and given that Luke simply does not understand that he and Mara will never be a couple. It doesn't matter how good you are, it does not matter how many poems Threepio writes for you (hehe), it matters only that you're NOT the one Mara picked. AND OF COURSE SHE WON'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THE POEM.

 

I adore! just adore! this diary! Your voice for Mara is splendid, and Luke's voice is so golly-gee-ish
Got to the point where Ezra and Mara reunited on Yavin, so we officially have an inadvertent bit of unrequited longing from Luke and a reciprocal teen-crush between Mara/Ezra. Definitely gonna enjoy seeing how things unfold.

---

Read a bit more. LOL on all the fuss about who sent the gooey "sappy" note & the "sparkly rock." Ezra's musings on Luke -- hilarious.

 

This is great stuff as usual. But for some reasons I see a certain Jedi sitting at a tent during a fair and reading cards. Cannot get that image out of my head!

As for Luke: I loved his enthusiasm. But I bet he would never have survived a week as an initiate of the Courscant Jedi temple. Leave alone an entire day.

And if Mara should leave Ezra for Luke, there are always other options... snigger!

 

Thanks! The cards seemed like the right medium for the Force to send Mara messages, building on its unconventional relationship with her father. (And I've learned more than I ever wanted to about both sabacc and Tarot cards along the way ) The Force is not too subtle with its message here. Mara gets it, Ezra kind of gets it, but it's too bad Luke doesn't recognize the significance of the Ace of Sabers and the Six of Sabers. Maybe a message FROM TEH FORCE would wake him up a bit!

Well, Aunt Beru was right about the smugglers and scoundrels part....

Ezra is trying to behave at least as hard as Luke is trying to impress Mara. But Luke is being pretty willfully obtuse about his relationship with Mara. And as a formerly obtuse teenager, I can sympathize with him. At that age, I really thought I could win my crush just by being nicer than his girlfriend (who, unlike Ezra, really was a piece of work. Really.) As an adult, I want smack Luke (and teenage me!) and ask what the heck he's thinking, because that's not how the Force..er,love works. No, Mara is never going to say anything about that poem...she'd rather forget it exists!

Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying not-quite-as-jaded young Mara and fresh-off-the-moisture-farm Luke. It's been fun playing against canon with this love triangle, and I hope things will go in some fun and unexpected directions before these three get things worked out

I guess if she ever gets tired of the whole Jedi thing, Mara can always take up card reading! Or perhaps she can do it as a sideline--the Amazing Mistress Mara sees all in the cards! Luke is definitely long on enthusiasm, but short on discipline...another reason to start Jedi training at an early age!

What a cute painting! Ezra and Isabella...hmmm...well, she was quite the ace pilot in Phineas and Ferb:Star Wars, but I bet Phineas would have something to say about that!

Always!

How I Met Your Mother--Merkesh edition And of course, Doran used the same exercise with his children, too. Hey, you've got to stick with what you know!

Luke's got to gain some maturity; he's still in that early ESB mode where he gets testy with Yoda over everything, simultaneously exclaiming that he CAN do it, he IS ready...but it's SO HARD! Perhaps Kanan needs to counsel him some more on the "there is no emotion" tenet of the Code. Kanan's going to need Endurance, now that he's mentoring three teenagers in various degrees of angst. The Force is sending a clear message with the exchange of cards...or perhaps confirming some earlier ones. Hmmmmmm.... once again, it's too bad Luke doesn't get the import, since he does embody all the possible meanings of the Wheel (including the Third Wheel )

Luke's commendable attitude does make things easier on Mara, and good things can and should come from that positive attitude (hey, you didn't want me to spoil my own story? ) I don't think Luke is really on the Dark Side yet, but he's doing the right thing for a selfish reason and being obsessively mooka-ish about her praise (who's a good boy? I am!) Will this make it harder for him to keep up the good work once he finally gets the message?

Once again, all credit goes to the mistress of bad EPIC poetry, Ewok Poet. I think Threepio's always had a flair for the creative and dramatic (witness his recitation of their adventures for the Ewoks. He certainly hammed it up, though he would deny he had it in his circuits!) Even without the Force, Mara's not the type to need a big strong man to take care of her (fortunately, she's found someone who doesn't seem to mind that she can--and has--save his shebs as easily as he can save hers!) Between the bad poetry and the "helpfulness", Luke might just be pushing Mara's ability to overlook things!

 

to my fabulous beta-readers Findswoman and Ewok Poet

Briannakin, mavjade

---------------------------------

Ezra

So, I kind of never told anyone that Skywalker might be the Chosen One…

I didn’t really mean to keep it to myself, at least not at first. But after that first awful lesson with the rocks, Mara stormed into the Ghost’s common room and threw Skywalker’s squashed donuts onto the dejarik table--the custard-filled one landed with a splat--flopped onto the acceleration couch, and dropped her head onto her arms. “Well, that’s it,” she mumbled into the dejarik table. “He’s never coming back. Most powerful Jedi alive does not get trained, because the Force in its wisdom, sends a padawan to do a master’s job.”

No way was I going to mention that Skywalker might be more than just a powerful Jedi, he might be the key to defeating the Sith, not when Mara was holding herself responsible for everything. I slid in next to her and put my arm around her. “Hey, none of that was your fault. You did great; you can’t help it if Skywalker’s a…”

She raised her head slightly and peered out over her arms. “You have to say that; you’re my boyfriend.”

Kanan slipped in on the other side of her. “No, Ezra’s right.” Wait, did Kanan Jarrus just say I was right about something? Mark this down… “You can’t control the way your student reacts..something Ezra should know all about.” Ok, now that sounded more like the Kanan I know. “I’m sure once Luke has a chance to adjust, things will get easier. It’s just going to take him some time. Do you want me to…’

“No!” Now Mara’s head snapped up. Her mouth was set in a flat line, and she looked an awful lot like her mother the first time I met her--the time Mara and I were both hauled into her office in binders. “The Force gave me this job, and I'm going to see it through. I’m not going to let him go to the Dark Side just because he's being a total youngling about...everything.” Yeah, I could have told Kanan she’d say that. Mara doesn’t give up; she blames her stubbornness on the fact she’s half Corellian, but her mom is kind of...determined, too. Mara pretty much got a double dose. (But you did not hear that from me.)

Even though Mara was worried that Luke wouldn’t come back, somehow I knew he would. He was too much of a stray mooka-pup at Mara’s heels to stay away for long. And he didn’t; I don’t know what Mara said to him, but two days later he showed up for his next lesson. This time he actually tried, though. He still wasn’t the best student: he only got half the cards right and he didn’t pay attention when Kanan was teaching him the Code, but he didn't pitch a fit or throw rocks or whine (much). It was like he was the New and Improved Skywalker.

It turned out, though, that New and Improved Skywalker was even more annoying than the Old Whiny Skywalker. He threw himself into his lessons, and improved until Mara was dealing out a row of cards for him, not just having him read the top card on the deck. He asked Kanan lots of Very Earnest Questions about the Jedi Code. They were happy with his progress, and I tried to be happy with them, but I was beginning to think maybe I was the third wheel, not Skywalker. I was supposed to be there to support Mara, but things were going so well, I wasn’t sure she even needed me for that.

As if feeling like the most useless Jedi ever wasn’t bad enough, whenever Mara would praise Skywalker, he was like a mooka who’d been given a biscuit, practically rolling over in sheer bliss, so proud of himself. He’d grin at them and smirk at me when they weren’t watching. Okay, way to go, Skywalker; you’re the best student in a class of one. Still, Mara and Kanan said he was getting better all the time, so I gritted my teeth and made it look like a smile.

The whole time, I tried to convince myself that there was no way this mooka-pup could really be the one who was supposed to save the Galaxy. No way someone so clueless and childish could be responsible for defeating the Sith. I had to have misinterpreted my vision. Obi-Wan, Tatooine...it could all have been a big coincidence. Maybe I’d been right in the first place, and Obi-Wan really was the key to defeating the Sith. I couldn’t even make myself believe it; he'd been killed by Darth Vader--if he had been the key, we were pretty much borked.

And then Skywalker started bringing pastries or blum fruit to every lesson. “For my instructors,” he said, but there never seemed to be quite enough for me. The third or fourth time, Mara called him on it (love you, Ace!). Skywalker gave her that innocent farm boy look he’s so good at, but he had a smug smile--like a Hutt with a full snackquarium--for me. “But Ezra’s not really an instructor; he’s just sort of...here.”

So that means you get to act like a nerf-herder to me? Thanks, Skywalker. You’re my best friend, too. “Yeah? Well, I’m here because Mara asked me to be here,” I muttered. And I’m still here with her, in case you hadn’t noticed. Skywalker shrugged. When he turned around, dismissing me completely, I noticed that there was a tear in the seat of his pants.

What happened next was not one of my finest moments. It was stupid. It was juvenile. It was totally worth it.

I reached out in the Force and gave the loose thread a good yank. The entire thread pulled free, and Skywalker’s pants split from top to bottom, showing… “Nice shorts, Skywalker! Are those banthas on them? Wait…Are those the Brave Little Banthas?” I tried, not very successfully, to stifle a laugh. Yeah, I probably didn’t try all that hard…. “I watched that show when I was, like, five!”

Skywalker’s face turned the color of an overripe blum fruit. “I...but...they… Aunt Beru...birthday...!”

Kanan steered the spluttering Skywalker towards the Ghost. “Come on, Luke; let’s find you something else to wear.” His expression as they passed me promised we’d be having a long talk about this later, young man.

Mara pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow at me. I figured I was in for long talk from her, too, but all she said was, “Starting next time, you’re Luke’s lightsaber instructor. Try to act like it.”

I didn’t dare smile. “Yes, ma’am.” Saber instructor? I’d be lucky if I didn’t lose a limb. Was that was supposed to be a promotion or a punishment?

Either way...still totally worth it.

Notes: the Brave Little Banthas is a fanon cartoon created by Ewok Poet

 

Cool that Mara used cards as a training strategy. Heehee! The unusual poems continue. And then we get Ezra's POV. And his pants-ripping stunt. Yuppers, I bet Kanan and Mara both will give him a lecture about that although perhaps being secretly amused. "The Brave Banthas" Too funny!


So far it does seem Ezra and Mara are a better couple-fit than Luke/Mara would be at this stage. Wow, I did write that.

 

Poor Mara at the beginning of this. She is really, really angry and p'd off, for a good reason. Any thought of Luke's first training screams disaster and those donuts are unnecessary to begin with. But Kanan steps in like a true, wise mentor - you cannot control what a student does, even if the student is so strong in the Force that he cannot control it.

The moment both of Mara's parents kind of creep through her was so well-done. She can be both her mom and her dad when the situation allows it, which signifies maturity, since she is so far away from her home. Lucky or not, Luke is not familiar with those expressions, otherwise he would have run like hell by now. Then again, he seems to ignore all possible warnings as they come...

Ezra is right to have had enough of this, but the way he acted about it, even though the pastry thing might have been slightly passive-aggressive on Luke's behalf, it's what younglings do, not adults. Of course the shorts moment was HILARIOUS, but if Kanan does not approve, Mara won't approve of it either, and he's definitely going to be in trouble. Even if they might be fans of the BLB, that won't save them. And let's pray and hope that Skywalker's favourite BLB is not divapilot's invention and the original BLB, Kylo. That could be a problem, y'know?

At the same time, this is sooooo in the spirit of Rebels, that it could fit into the cartoon. Much like Findswoman's latest work - the two of you are bringing us Rebel treats all the time.

 

When listening to a song today, I thought perfect! This is totally Luke mooning over Mara.

 

The cards are a Blayne family tradition! When Mara has kids, you can bet reading sabacc cards will be one of their first lessons, too (and then Grandpa Doran can teach them how to use the Force to cheat at cards ) What can I say about Ezra...he's in for a couple good talking-to's, that's for sure! Mara probably stands a greater chance of being amused than the Very Serious Jedi, but even she's got to be shaking her head.

And the bolded part? I take that as a great compliment!

You do have to feel sorry for Mara; her first real mission and her best efforts are stymied by an impatient, jealous mooka. Kanan's been there, done that with Ezra--maybe not throwing Force-powered rocks, but definitely not doing what his teacher expected. No one's better to act as mentor to this entire group of Jedi teens than him.

Thank you! One thing I tried to build into both Doran and Raissa's character was a strong sense of duty to do what's right, because Legends!Mara certainly had that quality, even though initially that duty was misplaced as the Emperor's Hand. Here Mara has that same stubborn sense of honor directed towards a better Master, the Force itself. She's gonna see her job through, if it kills her. Or Luke. Or even if it makes her want to kill Luke.

Even Ezra admit that it was stupid and juvenile...which doesn't keep it from being totally worth it to give what he sees as that smug Skywalker a little comeuppance. Though in the end (/rimshot), it may not be so satisfying after he's gotten Kanan's Stern Lecture and had to serve as the mooka pup's new lightsaber instructor for a while. And knowing Luke, Kylo the Emo Bantha is probably his favorite

Once again, thank you! And thanks for contributing your own special touch to the story with Threepio's poems, more of which will be appearing soon!

 

Thanks as always to my awesome beta readers, Ewok Poet and Findswoman

Briannakin, mavjade

------------------------------
Luke

I HATE EZRA BRIDGER.

Mara says I’m making LOTS OF PROGRESS! I can almost read THREE cards at a time now, most of the time. She says she can tell I’m putting LOTS OF EFFORT into practicing. (I am! I practice EVERY NIGHT, even though Hobbie and Janson always tell me I’m playing solitaire wrong). And Kanan says I have LOTS OF INTERESTING QUESTIONS about the Jedi code and that I have a UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE.

But then there’s EZRA. So I forgot to bring him a donut once or twice...he doesn’t DO anything except ROLL HIS EYES when Mara says something nice to me and SMIRK at me like some stupid...bloated…slimy…HUTT GANGSTER or something when Mara’s not watching! I DON’T KNOW WHY HE’S THERE ANYWAY. He hasn’t DONE ANYTHING since that first lesson when he THREW ROCKS AT MY HEAD.

And then he SPLIT MY PANTS. I KNOW it was him! I FELT him do it! (Well, not felt felt….that would have been weird, even for HIM!...but felt, like IN THE FORCE) And he made me look STUPID in front of MARA! LOTS OF PEOPLE watch the Brave Little Banthas! There’s NOTHING WRONG with my SHORTS. NOT that it's ANY of YOUR BUSINESS!

I was SURE when he did that Mara would FINALLY see what a COMPLETE NERF-HERDING JERK he really is, but she DIDN’T.

She made him my LIGHTSABER INSTRUCTOR.

The Taungsday after, well the PANTS incident, I showed up at the Ghost for my lesson, like usual. All three of them were there and I could tell SOMETHING was going on. “Hi, Luke. We have some good news for you!” Mara was smiling, but not really. It was like she was on the edge of the sarlacc pit and was just waiting for someone to fall in...and HE was watching me like he’d already fallen in the sarlacc pit and was going to drag me with him. No one ever looks like that when they have GOOD NEWS. “I know you’ve been wanting to start lightsaber training, and I think you’ve made enough progress with your other lessons that you can start on the basic forms.” She smiled another smile-but-not-quite. “You’re going to be drilling with Ezra.”

I KNEW it was not going to be GOOD NEWS! “You want me to fight HIM with my lightsaber?” He’d probably KILL ME and just say “oops!” But... maybe I could impress Mara. I mean, Ben did teach me a few moves. And Ben had to be BETTER THAN EZRA.

He snorted like an eopie with a snout full of stickle-brush. “You wish, Skywalker. You’re not anywhere near ready for sparring. We’ll be working on the forms only. Your blade should not come anywhere near me.” He fixed me with this THREATENING LOOK as he came over and stood in front of me, leaving a good meter and half between us--I didn’t even have my lightsaber out yet, for Galaxy’s sake! “Okay, first things first; there are six body zones: head, right arm, left arm, back, right leg, left leg.” He pointed to each zone on himself. “Every attack targets one of those zones. Every parry protects one; right now, we’re just going to work on the parries. Start in the ready position. Saber up. Dominant foot back.”

Huh? Dominant foot? What does that mean? I figured I had a fifty/fifty chance, though, so I put my right foot a little bit behind the other. He sighed with the same disgusted sound Uncle Owen used to make when he found sand mites in the vaporator housings. “Dominant foot, Skywalker. You’re right-handed so your dominant foot is probably the left.”

How was I supposed to know that? I shifted my feet and he kind of nodded--more like a that’s-good-enough-I-guess shrug. “All right, now watch me: parry one…” He held his lightsaber in straight line over his head… “two, three…” ...lightsaber up on the right side, then the left… “five, six.” ...saber straight down in front of each leg. “Your turn.”

I TRIED but before I even got to parry two, he shouted. “Stop! Hold your saber straighter; don’t let your blade dip. Keep it parallel to the ground as much as possible. Try it again.” And he went on like this FOREVER. No...stop...keep your blade straight...feet apart...again...FOCUS, SKYWALKER, FOCUS! I NEVER EVEN MADE IT to parry six. I don’t even think I made it to THREE! Finally, Mara came over and RESCUED ME, saying it was time for my lesson with her.

“My arm feels like it's going to fall off!” I told her as we sat down to work with the cards. “I’m not even going to be able hold the steering yoke for flight sims! Can’t you, I don’t know, say something to him? I don’t think he’s being a very good teacher.”

She stopped dealing out the sabacc cards and gave me this flat look that reminded me of Aunt Beru the time Uncle Owen bought the Treadwell from those Jawas without asking her. “Better your arm feels like it’ll fall than to get it cut off.” She said it like she was quoting some sort of JEDI PROVERB or something.

What’s that supposed to mean? “Who’s going to cut off my arm?” Except maybe a certain NERF-HERDING JERK!

The flat look crept down into a frown. “I don’t know, and neither do you. The point is, you have to drill until you can do the moves without thinking in case something like that ever happens. And if you have a problem with the way Ezra’s teaching you, you need to take it up with him.”

No way am I doing that! I am not going to give Bridger the SATISFACTION of knowing that his SO-CALLED SIMPLE DRILLS made my arms feel like floppy plasti tubing. Somehow I will SHOW HIM! I learned the card reading and I can DO THIS TOO. And when I DO get to fight him, I will BEAT HIM.

I REALLY HATE THAT GUY.

 

LOL Ezra's being a good saber instructor, because Mara's right; you do need to get the moves down pat and automatic. Luke's taking it all too personally although he may have a point that Ezra's being more nitpicky than he needs to be.

 

Yes, yes, yes, I love me some angry Luke! I laughed so much at this entry while beta'ing it and I'm laughing again while reading it. HE HATES EZRA BRIDGER and how. His version of the story is, of course, completely different from Ezra's and it will be completely different from Mara's, too. The WORLD IS AGAINST HIM and it's all Ezra's fault.

*snort* Now, that's funny! The whole paragraph is pure gold, but this part is the best. And here's one more thing that the Force is useful for. Everybody, watch your pants!

Another nugget of awesome here. The wish to impress Mara coupled with namedropping that band. Love your writing!

Once again, I'm wondering how come that Mara is not losing her nerves. After Ezra went all Force on Luke and Luke whined as usual during the lightsaber training, she's got to crack at some point!

 

Literally laughing out loud here. Alas, poor Luke. Such suffering. I mean, I really do feel somewhat bad for him but he's so ALLCAPS that I can't stop laughing. BETTER THAN EZRA. (Just checked and I'm not imagining that phrase was familiar after all. Well done. )

The sections from Mara and Ezra's POV are equally entertaining, and I like that since they're a little more mature in terms of life experience their issues and worries are more complex. It's understandable that they're worried about this whole Chosen One thing and what it means in the light of Luke's... well, difficult personality at this point. It really does feel like he's going to need an even ruder awakening than the several he's had so far. Here's hoping that it comes without limb removal for anyone...

 

Holy guacamole am I ever behind in this story. At least I can try to catch up now!

March 20. So Luke has discovered that there’s this Jedi thingy and Mara can do FORCE STUFF TOOOOOO!!!111!!!. And her lightsaber must be sparkly green like her eyes. Loved how Mara’s eye rolling was so evident even though you didn’t write it and I’m sure she kept it under control. And how Luke just assumes that he and Mara are the only two Jedi in the entire galaxy, even though he’s coming in contact with other Jedi all the time these days.

March 30. The VibroAxe cologne is a hoot. Gotta add that one to the fanon catalogue – smells like teenage Jedi boys. I really like how Zeb’s giving Ezra a hard time about this.
Ezra has to really stop and think about how he comes across to others some times. He doesn’t own Mara and she can do whatever she wants to do, and there really isn’t much Ezra can do about that. At least he finally gets it, and can see it from her point of view. She has a huge responsibility and he needs to support her. And she still loves him, so he still has that. He needs to stop being jealous and to allow her to make her own decisions, and if he is worthy she will pick him.

April 2. Threepio is great here. I can hear Anthony Daniel’s voice when he talks! Poor Luke – all he gets for poetry examples are dead Wookiees and rotting trees. I can’t wait to see what poem the poor mooka manages to string together.

May 8. Poor Luke – Not only is he discovering that he is not the only Jedi in the whole galaxy, but his rival Ezra is one, too. How discouraging for him! And then Ezra gets to throw rocks at Luke? How lucky can a guy get?
It’s interesting that he understands that Kanan, who is totally blind, can use the Force as a Jedi, but Luke can’t seem to accept the idea that he should allow the Force to help him with this exercise. Instead he insists on using his senses. Luke can be a little dense sometimes.
What an ending for this entry! A literal punch to the gut with the rock that Luke inadvertently threw at Ezra, then the realization that Luke is far more powerful than Ezra understood, and Luke wants Ezra’s girl. This is gonna get interesting – I have no idea how this is going to play out. What a great story!

June 3. Oh. My. Stars. What a poem. Her hair is like little bird’s nests and the love birds are coming in flocks to sing her praises? Thank the Maker she found this before someone else did!
Poor Mara, thinking that she was the one who failed because Luke was being whiney and Ezra was being just this side of tolerant. Sometimes you can only do so much. She tries to let Luke down gently but of course he takes in entirely too personally and feels that the galaxy is against him because he can’t have the WOMAN he LOVES 4EVAH.

June 15. What a great analogy – harder than teaching a Hutt to dance. Now that’s a sight! And there’s definitely an improvement in Luke’s attitude. He’s gone from “I can’t” to “I’ll try.” Now he needs to get to “I’ll do it.”
Love the idea that Luke thinks that Mara would have talked with the other girls about the poem since girls like to talk about romantic stuff. He still doesn’t know her very much, does he?

June 20. Nice reflection here by Ezra. Even he sees the improvement that Luke is making, even though he is still unsure about the idea that goofy Luke is the possible key to the defeat of the Sith. Poor Ezra is starting to feel like he’s getting left behind. Speaking of behind, the prank with the “pantsing” – Ezra, you’re better than that. That isn’t going to win any points from Mara, and may in fact make her feel sorry for Luke. It’s actually rather sad that he thinks about Aunt Beru when he defends the fact he wears Brave Little Bantha underwear. That wasn’t the best idea, Ezra. You have to be the better man.

June 29. Luke’s got a point here; so far all Ezra’s accomplished is to throw rocks at Luke’s head and split Luke’s pants. Ezra’s not such a bad guy but he is not being particularly helpful here.
Wait – Luke thinks that Ben was Better than Ezra? Well, probably, but I love the band reference again! Ezra actually seems to be doing a good job teaching him the basic forms of saber work. And Mara’s right, Luke has to get this down and it has to be muscle memory. Luke needs to let go of the hostility toward Ezra and actually accept that Ezra is a good teacher here. It could save Luke’s life someday.


So happy I got a chance to catch up with this great story. I love how these characters are developing and changing as the story goes on.

 

Ezra has the experience and capacity to be a good instructor, but he and Luke are both letting their feelings towards each get in the way at these lessons. And it's kind of a vicious cycle, because the more they snipe at each other, the more it reinforces the other's negative views. Will they ever learn?

Yep, it's all that nerf-herding jerk Bridget's fault. All of it. Mara doesn't love him? Ezra's fault. Screwed up at Jedi lessons? Ezra's fault. Tripped over a rock? Totally Ezra's fault. Porridge in the mess hall? Must be Ezra's fault somehow! And Mara's version is coming up, and neither of them look very good in it.

If you can't use the power that binds the universe together to play childish pranks on your rivals, what can you use it for?

Thank you! Mara's got a hefty dose of Doran's Corellian stubborn and her mom's ability to grit her teeth and keep going even when the odds are against her, but even her tenacity is starting to wear thin. And they should watch out when it finally snaps!

I think some of those smirks (in both boys' entries) are partly their willingness to believe the worst of each other at all times. Every expression is a smirk and every comment is a slight to them. Luke's enthusiasm is commendable, but his reasons aren't quite ideal for a Jedi. Yes, Ezra's being irrational, fearing he's losing ground with Mara and maybe even as a Jedi as Luke improves, and you're right that it's making him take a harder line with Luke than it would if he was teaching someone else.

Not the best use, perhaps, but skillful! Let's hope that Space!Dad had a few words about kindness and passive-aggressive comments when he was finding Luke some new pants.The incident doesn't seem like it will do anything good for their relationship.

As someone who enjoys cartoons as an adult, I can sympathize--and the fact that BLB shorts come in Luke's size argue that he's not alone (unless they're custom made by Aunt Beru? ) And again, both guys are viewing each other in the worst possible light and acting accordingly, and it just keeps the cycle going.

[And oh, most notably, this absolutely gobsmacking bit right here:

If that's not chilling and potentially prophetic, I don't know what is! Of course, I know this is an AU, so some things might end up going differently, but even so! And I bet you'll come up with some very interesting and creative way of integrating this familiar SW motif into this 'verse. [/quote]
I hate it when I find a really cool quote that works perfectly in my story and when I try to find the citation, I can't! I want to say that source of the "better your arm feels like it will fall off..." quote was Corellian Jedi Thame Cerulian, so I thought it was something that Doran would have heard and passed along to his children. And yes, it does seem quite prophetic in light of canon events ( though I haven't reached even the planning stage for an alternate ESB in this 'verse!) It seems likely that someone, somewhere along the line will face the prospect, though!

Just the two of them! They are MEANT FOR EACH OTHER! <3 Luke's enthusiasm is cute in an oblivious sort of way, even if Mara is tempted to roll her eyes at it.

More fun with VibroAxe: Ezra does indeed wear "Scoundrel's Moonlight" fragrance VibroAxe cologne in @Findswoman's Spectres' Aubade

He is getting a teeny bit possessive here, though Mara is ready to call him on it! And just in time Ezra realizes that if he loves her, he needs to be there for Mara. Now if only he could keep that positive, supportive attitude when things get rough!

Threepio was so much fun; I'm glad that his distinctive voice came through. Trandoshan love poetry may be well regarded in Galactic literature, but not something that's going to warm Mara's heart (though Threepio's efforts ,courtesy of Ewok Poet, may not do much better than Brrruuuns would have!)

Luke's got some real limitations in his understanding of this Force thing, not to mention the love thing! Gut-punches on several levels as Ezra figures out there may be more to this mooka than he thought. And this is probably about when that great supportive attitude he's resolved to have starts to fray...wow, that didn't take long!

She takes her first big Force mission very seriously, and even though it's not in any way her fault, she feels responsible.The news that Luke is crushing hard doesn't make anything easier. Poor mooka.. everyone hatez him.

Nope, he's still seeing Mara the Perfect Sparkly Girl of His Dreams, who of course only exists in those dreams. He's moving in the right direction with his training at least, even if he's doing it to impress Mara (and show that jerk, Ezra).

More clouded judgement on Ezra's part. It's not worthy of him. Kanan knows it; Mara knows it...heck, even Ezra knows it, but he's not thinking clearly with all the worries about Mara, the Chosen One and where he fits into this new pattern that's developing.

Well, Ezra didn't really throw them at Luke's head, even if he did throw them at Luke...and yeah, the pants splitting was not very kind. But Ezra really isn't a bad instructor, thought being more patient and less perfunctory with his student would help, as would Luke admitting that Ezra does know what he's doing in this case.

I'm happy you did, too. Thanks for the great review These three have more fun and opportunities for growth in store

 

Thanks to my beta readers, Findswoman and Ewok Poet

mavjade, Briannakin
-------------------------------

Mara

“Boys…” I lined up my blaster with the training remote and pulled the trigger. My shot zinged through the air, and the remote's sensors lit up red, registering a hit. “I’m not even going to dignify them by calling them “men,” not when they’re acting like a couple of younglings.”

Hera had joined Sabine and me for our Benduday target practice. She looked up from sighting her own shot and frowned. “What are those two doing now?”

"More of the same. Luke tells me Ezra is so mean to him and Ezra tells me Luke is not even trying. And I tell both of them I am not their mother and they need to work it out on their own. Which, of course, they don’t.”

When I made Ezra Luke’s lightsaber instructor, I thought the two of them would have to start talking to each other, but I don’t think they’ve said two words besides what was required for their lessons--and even that little bit wasn’t that great. Ezra could have been a really good teacher if he’d given Luke a little encouragement along with all his directions; Luke could have been a better student if he’d lost the “I’ll show you” attitude. And their lessons would have gone a lot faster if they both hadn’t constantly been watching me to see if I was watching them. Neither of them were happy, even if Luke’s technique was slowly improving. “They’re still sniping at each other when they think I’m not paying attention. Really, they ought to just stick their tongues out and call each other “poodoo-head” and have done with it.”

“You mean they haven’t yet? That’s pretty impressive, actually!” Sabine laughed, snapping off her next shot just as Kain Apollyon’s final quetarra riff in Ithorian Rose started. “Are you still getting the poems?”

"Ugh...sadly, yes.” The bizarre rhymes comparing my features to leaves and Wookiee fur, beautiful rocks and sparkly stars kept arriving outside my barracks once, sometimes twice a week. After Luke had admitted he believed I was here for him, it hadn’t been hard to figure out I was only dealing with one clueless, lovestruck mooka instead of a mooka and a mysterious note-writer. Which was a relief in one way, but in another, what was it going to take for that mooka to get a clue? What about “I love Ezra” and “we can only be friends” was so hard for him to understand? And if he was still going to insist he loved me, how could he possibly believe sending anonymous, hideous poetry was the best way to impress me? “Do you want to hear the latest one?”

Sabine shut down the training remote as the song finished and holstered her blue WESTAR on her right hip. “Sure, I could use a good laugh.”

I handed the yellow WESTAR back to her and pulled Luke’s most recent declaration of undying love from my belt satchel. “Ahem.” I struck a dramatic pose, one hand pressed to my heart. “Dearest Mara--
Oh dear, oh dear
You fill me up with hope
I pace around nervously
At each single sight of you
Then I go outside
And I run into a tree
You and me, Mistress,
We are meant to be!”

Hera blinked. She hadn’t heard any of Luke’s other masterpieces, and she seemed almost as stunned by their sheer brilliance as I had been the first time I first received one. “Well...that’s…certainly interesting.”

“That’s one way to describe it,” Sabine snickered. “I’m almost impressed by the way he keeps developing the tree motif. If he keeps this up, you’ll have a whole forest of love poetry dedicated to you!”

“You can be impressed with the motifs,” I informed her. “I’m just going to keep overlooking it.”

Hera’s lekku twitched slightly and she pursed her lips. Since coming to Yavin, I’d gotten to spend more time with the Spectres, Ezra’s family in every way except blood, and gotten to know them a lot better. Sometimes, especially when it was just me and Sabine, Hera seemed more like an older sister, but right now, her expression was so much like my mother’s that it was a little scary. “Speaking of overlooking things, you haven’t said anything to Ezra about this poetry, have you?”

“Oh, good skies, no! How could I? He’d think it was his problem; he’d think he had to take care of it, and it wouldn’t be pretty,” I blurted, not thinking that if Hera was a mom, she was Ezra’s mom. Still, I could just imagine what Ezra would do if he found out that Luke was sending me love poems--admittedly awful poems, but still love poems. Splitting Luke’s pants and throwing rocks at his head would only be the start. I shook my head. “This is something I have to deal with on my own.”

“Ezra might be more understanding than you think. I’m sure he’ll realize that these poems aren’t something that you want or encourage.” Hera suggested gently, laying a hand on my shoulder. “But don’t you think things will be worse if he finds out on his own?”

“I don’t know,” I said, but I did--and I knew she was right. Without really thinking, I started pulling my shields up against the queasy churning in my stomach that started at the thought. I hoped Ezra wouldn’t ever find out. I’d hoped that Luke would get the hint if I just ignored his poems hard enough, too, but that was looking increasingly unlikely. “I just don’t know how I can talk to Ezra about this without things going straight into the sarlacc pit. The Force stuck me with Luke, at least for now, but they’re both so unreasonable when it comes to each other.” When it came to me. Velanie and Mella probably would have thought I should be flattered to have guys competing for me, but it was less romantic than it was annoying, like having a pair of tookas yowling under my window.

Hera’s expression was even more “concerned mom” when she exchanged glances with Sabine, whose brows knit in return. Neither of them spoke for a minute, until finally Sabine said, “So... I think it’s time for me to change my hair color; it’s been purple too long. Thinking about magenta shading into orange at the tips, to go with my armor. What about you, Mara? Have you ever thought of coloring yours? Not all of it!” She laughed at what must have been the startled look on my face. “You’d look kick-shebs with some bold streaks, though.” Sabine cocked her head to the side, considering my hair like it was a canvas she was going to paint. “You could go pink, too, or blue--maybe turquoise. No, I know...jade green! Like I had for you parents’ anniversary!”

“My mother would kill me!” I had thought of dyeing my hair like Sabine’s a couple of times, but mostly in an oh-I-could-never-do-that sort of way. I don’t know if Jedi did such things, but as the Prefect’s daughter, I could never pull it off. I could just imagine what kind of snide things Rominaria would say about the kind of girls who dyed their hair colors not found in nature (which made me hope she would say them in front of Sabine some day).

“Um, hello? Your mother isn’t here…”

Well, that was true, but still… “What do you think Ezra would say?”

“Who cares?!?” Sabine threw up her hands. “It’s your hair, Mara! You should do what you want with it, not what you think anyone else would like. You should do something for yourself, something to take your mind off the guys and their stupidity. Right, Hera?”

Hera looked startled for a second and a definitely maternal look of “please don’t involve me in this” flashed across her features before she managed to say, diplomatically, “It’s Mara’s decision.” I couldn’t blame her; she and Mom are pretty good friends and I guess moms, even moms who aren’t quite moms, stick together.

But, as Sabine had pointed out, my mom wasn’t here; by the time I got back to Merkesh, my hair could have grown out. It was just hair, after all. Not like I would be getting Zabrak facial tattoos the way some kids did. Maybe it was time for me to do something for myself, something that had nothing to do with the Force, or Luke, or even Ezra.

“All right; let’s do it!”

Notes
Once again, Ewok Poet is Threepio's ghost writer for awesome poetry

Sabine’s jade green hair and the story of the Blaynes’ anniversary appear in Findswoman Spectres' Aubade (Rebels, borrowed OCs; humor, music, fluff)—chapter 3 and epilogue, 7/6

 

Adore how these stories all streamline. Great advice from Hera and Sabine; they have the objectivity of not being frustrated by frustrated Ezra and mooka Luke I do sympathize with Mara though; she definitely feels caught in the middle.

 

Mara, Mara, Mara...I am amazed by her normality and patience. Even though she wants nothing to do with the boys for, like, the next ten seconds, she remains civil. Of course, having Hera and Sabine around = support.

And this is the biggest problem of them all:

Sabine's reaction to Luke's poem is priceless. And Hera is, once again, a true space!mom. Let's see if she's right about Ezra's reactions and, also, let's see how hair dye goes.

P.S. Being Threepio's ghostwriter is a pleasure.