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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Beyond - Legends "Something There" | Ad-hoc OTP Romcom & Discworld Challenge |Song!verse; Jag/Jaina, Anakin Skywalker

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction- Before, Saga, and Beyond' started by Mira_Jade , Mar 30, 2021.

  1. Mira_Jade

    Mira_Jade The (FavoriteTM) Fanfic Mod With the Cape star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jun 29, 2004
    Title: “Something There”
    Author: Mira_Jade

    Genre: Fluff, Drama, pre-Romance
    Rating: PG
    Time-frame: my Song!verse, post-RoTS AU; 20 ABY & 25 ABY
    Characters: pre-Jaina Solo/Jag Fel, Anakin Skywalker/Padmé Amidala, Jacen Solo, various ECs and OCs

    Summary: As if Jaina Solo would let ever Jagged Fel get the best of her in the sky. She was ready to prove who was the better pilot, once and for all. Her competitiveness was based solely on professional pride, of course, and not anything else thankyouverymuch, Jacen. She just had the Solo/Skywalker legacy to protect, and so, protect it she would.


    Notes: This bunny is one that has, admittedly, been nibbling at my muse for a while now. I've wondered from the beginning how my favorite generation of young Jedi Knights would grow up in my Song!verse. Then from there it's potentially epic to imagine how Anakin Skywalker and his children and grand-children, along with their respective allies, would have rewritten history against the Yuuzhan Vong. You can call this fic a precursor to that, if you will. This is all part of a larger story I would someday love to tell! [face_mischief] [face_dancing]

    For those of you who are not familiar with my Song!Verse, it's simply an AU where Anakin was not quite so dumb and Sithy, and made better life choices during RotS that prevented his fall to the Dark Side. Thus, the entire OT was circumvented - and now beyond. Prior reading is not required to understand this story, but if you are interested, I have provided links to the rest of the story beneath the spoiler tag below.

    Then, this was primarily written for @Kit's fantastic Discworld Challenge over in the Mini-games thread. My quote was: “It's not worth doing something unless someone, somewhere, would much rather you weren't doing it.” For added spice, I also picked another ad-hoc set of numbers for the OTP Thread's 19th challenge: Return of the Romcom ... in Space! The prompts I received were #4. Childhood Friends and #1. Dare. (Which we'll see come into play near the end of this story.)

    That said, this is going to be three or four parts in total, with a bonus coda chapter set a few years in the future. ;) [face_mischief]

    Enjoy! [:D]


    • “An Old Song, Re-Sung” - the one that started it all! A complete RoTS AU short story where, and I quote: Anakin is not dumb and Sithy. From a certain point of view, at least. [face_mischief]

    • “Her Still, Small Voice” - the sequel to AOSRS. A Mara Jade origins story that is, unfortunately, on hiatus.

    • "Even Without a Voice" - my answer to the 2018 DDC. Ahsoka's companion story to Anakin's, picking up right from her leaving the Jedi Order through just after the subverted events of RoTS.

    • "In That There That Isn't Here" - this is something a little different for me. A Sintas Vel diary I started for the 2020 DDC. This is, as of now, another incomplete WIP, but one that I hope to start up again in July

    • "All That's Unsung" - a complete short story, set 3 years post-RoTS. Featuring Anakin and Padmé trying to have a date night, and Rex and Ahsoka babysitting the toddler twins.

    • "So Few Things" - a WIP short story, set 5 years post-RoTS, featuring Bly and Aayla Secura.

    • "Color Me Pink" - a complete, goofy short story written for the 2020 April Fools Challenge, featuring the preteen twins and Mara Jade building their lightsabers, set about 13 years post-RoTS. It mainly focuses on one of my OCs, Rhysa, and her relationship with Ezra Bridger. With bonus married and happy Aayla Secura/Bly on the side.

    • "We Claim Our Own Landscape" - a WIP short story, set about 20 years post-RoTS, where Han meets the parents.

    • Various odds and ends can also be found in “The Rest is Silence”, "Our Love of Constellations", and my "Cut Into Little Stars" UDC thread.

      [:D]


    Disclaimer: Nothing is mine, but for the words! :)






    “Something There”
    by Mira_Jade

    I.

    The ship, in Jaina Solo’s eyes, was the unmatched pinnacle of single-pilot starfighter perfection. With extensive modifications made by her grandfather, the classic, blue-striped Delta-Aethersprite was even more impressive than the shiny new XJ2 starfighters the Republic had commissioned from Incom to reconfigure the bulk of the GAR’s navy. Since the Clone Wars, robust KDY engines had been rebuilt from the ground up by Anakin Skywalker himself, and were now a unique work of art that boasted speeds that even the new A-Wings couldn’t match. With Sossen-X sublight engines and a Class 0.9 hyperdrive to supplement its already impressive raw power in real-space, the ship was a fighter pilot’s dream and then some.

    Or, the Azure Angel was Jaina’s dream, at least. Her father usually rolled his eyes to say that Anakin was cheating with his death-trap of a ship. What he sacrificed by way of stabilizers and thrust capacitors in the name of speed and maneuverability meant that only a pilot with the Force as their ally could reasonably fly the fighter without spinning out of control – a pilot with the Force, or, her father had scoffed, a laser-brained speed demon who was looking to dive nose-first into a star. And, Han had added, good luck aiming that monster; all the firepower in the galaxy won't mean a thing if you can't put it to good use. I’d rather spend less time stabilizing my ship and more time actually engaging my target. Thanks, but I'll pass.

    Han, her grandfather had archly replied, was just jealous that his Azure Angel could fly circles around the Falcon in real-space while turning three times as many targets to cosmic dust. (You couldn’t compare the starfighter’s long-range speeds to the Falcon’s hyperdrive capabilities, of course. Anakin knew that was a losing battle.)

    Like I’d want a raw engine strapped to a pack of explosives, Han had later muttered to the Falcon when he thought that no one else could hear. You know you’re the only girl for me.

    Yet while Jaina had spent the whole of her thirteen years surrounded by top notch light-freighters and star-yachts – like her grandmother’s Angel and her Aunt Mara’s Jade Sabre – there was something special about a starfighter. Tucked into the solitary cockpit, the bond between pilot and ship was more tangible than it was in a larger vessel. Here she was part of her ship, just as her ship was an extension of herself. When she was flying she understood what the Masters of the Order meant about being one with the Force. While the Force was strong with her, just as it was with her entire family, her power was nothing compared to her mother or Uncle Luke or Uncle Shmiq, and it especially paled in relation to the supernova’s flare that was her grandfather's blazing presence in the Force. Even her baby brother Anakin was more of a pure wellspring of potential power than she could ever hope to be, and he was only ten. No; she was not an overflowing vessel for the cosmic Force, nor was she so sensitively attuned to the living Force like her twin brother was. Instead, she felt the Force best when she was in motion, when past and present and cause and effect collided with instinct and reflex and knowing to guide her hand. In those moments she felt as if she left her corporeal self behind; instead, she simply was.

    Jaina had tried to explain how she perceived the Force to her Master once, and Mara had smiled one of her rare, soft smiles to say that she knew exactly how she felt. (Really, if there was any Jedi whose path she want to emulate, it was her aunt’s, anyway.)

    Which was why, Jaina was self-aware enough to admit, losing to him had stung so badly. She was a scion of the Skywalker legend, and her father’s daughter in every way. Her family was so intrinsically written into the tale of galactic history that separating their names from great deeds and feat of renown was all but impossible. She was the next chapter in that story, just waiting to be told, and she felt the burden of her legacy so heavily at times that it seemed ready to crush her.

    So for that flimsiboard cut-out, Chiss-wannabe, absolute joke of a Corellian boy with beautiful green eyes to take her pride in the thing she was most confident at . . . no. No. She wouldn’t accept it; she refused to lose to him again. Her dignity as a Solo, as a Skywalker, wouldn't allow her to end the tournament as anything less than the very best.

    If she could take top marks on the last day of the games, then Jaina knew that she could still take the lead on the scoreboard overall – but that would only be possible if she flew the Azure Angel. She knew that she was ready for a ship like this, she was. Or, at least, she was reasonably certain she was. She just had to take it for a test-run first . . . just to double check and make sure.

    "There’s no way I can talk you out of this, is there?" Back in the hangar, Jacen had crossed his arms as she climbed the ladder and settled in the cockpit to start her pre-flight checks. He'd just looked at her with that one brow raised – the same way their mother did whenever she was waiting for them to confess to some misdeed or another, as if they were so clearly in the wrong that she didn’t even have to say a word aloud for them to realize the error of their ways.

    Jaina hated that look.

    "There’s nothing to talk me out of," she'd scowled at her twin. "I've got this."

    A thought had pulsed across their bond – so quick as to be a blinking, but Jaina had felt his intentions loud and clear. "And if you even dare go and tattle," she'd leaned over the lip of the fighter to jab a finger at him, "I’ll release all of your Maunib monkey-spiders out into the conservatory again. You know that Master Windu still hasn’t forgotten the last time that happened."

    Jacen had rolled his eyes for her threat. "Clearly you have the maturity to be stealing Grandpa’s starfighter, sis."

    "Hey!" she'd flashed a crooked grin, "I’m not stealing Grandpa’s starfighter. I’m just going to ask permission after I show him I can handle flying her. There’s a difference."

    There went that eyebrow again. "Besides," she scowled, annoyed, "isn’t it always your Master who’s saying that it’s not worth doing something unless, someone, somewhere, would much rather you weren’t doing it?"

    "So you’re admitting this is something you shouldn’t be doing?" Jacen challenged – to which Jaina had flipped her brother a rude gesture before pointedly turning to sit back and strap into her crash-webbing. She was done with their conversation. "Besides, Master Bridger said that he used to say that, before he learned the hard way - "

    - but whatever else Jacen had been about to say was cut off when she closed the canopy with a resounding thud and hiss of pressure. Sweetly, she turned out the viewport and blew a kiss at her twin. Jacen, for his part, merely threw his hands up in exasperation before turning to walk away. He didn’t even stay to watch her lift off.

    Jaina narrowed her eyes at his back. Traitor! she mentally projected, and knew she was right when Jacen pointedly pushed her from their bond. She didn’t trust her twin not to go running to tell on her – for her own good, he’d argue – and so she didn’t waste any time in departing.

    “Ready, Sparky?” she asked, and her R5 droid warbled uncertainly in reply. Apparently, she listened to the anwering fluttering of binary, Sparky had quite the challenge on her hands with getting around Artoo’s added security measures and reading his uniquely individualized protocols. The ship spoke a language of its own to the point where Sparky doubted her ability to successfully navigate in his place.

    Yeah, that sounded like Gramps and Artoo.

    “Don’t worry,” Jaina assured the droid. “This is going to be mostly on me, anyway. We're not going anywhere near hyperspace. I just need you there to make sure I don’t spin out too badly, okay?”

    She’d never hear the end of it if, Force-forbid, she actually crashed her grandfather’s starship . . . or burned the foils in an uncontrolled atmospheric dive . . . or stalled out one of the engines by not adjusting the compensators quickly enough during any sudden changes in her velocity (because of course nothing was manual on her grandfather’s ship like it was on an ordinary starfighter).

    Yeah, she shook her head, no need to tempt the universe by even thinking about those possibilities.

    The Azure Angel was already well known to Caridan ATC, as was her grandfather’s penchant for taking flights at odd times of night, whenever sleep eluded him and he needed a way to clear his mind from his premonitions and dreams. Jaina asked for and received clearance to depart, and – helmeted – she saluted the controller in the tower as she flew past on her assigned vector. The GAR’s naval academy slowly disappeared behind her, lost to the rugged expanse of the Absolutan mountains and then to the blurry haze of the horizon as she broke through the atmosphere to be greeted by the stars.

    “Okay, Solo,” she muttered. “You can do this.”

    Before her, further out in the great parsecs of empty space between Carida and Cardus, the next planet in the solar-system, was Carida’s naval training grounds. Jaina had been overjoyed when she’d applied for and was accepted into the Pilots of Tomorrow youth training program. The GAR hosted the class once a year for Humans and near-Humans ages thirteen to sixteen, or for those of equivalent ages in other sentient species. As soon as Jaina’s lifeday passed, she hadn’t wasted any time in applying. This was her first step towards joining an actual fighter squadron someday, as she already knew she wanted to do with her life. The GAR had long since worked with the Jedi Order to cross-train Force-sensitive officers for its ranks, and she was ready, she was ready, to be the Jedi fighter for whatever squadron would have her. Maybe I can find a place with Phoenix squadron, or the Rogues, she felt her heart leap to consider. Someday, maybe I’ll even be able to create and lead my own squadron. That thought, though, still felt like too much of a dream to even imagine.

    Especially since she’d only see that dream realized if she made it through this course – and, someday, through the Academy – without humiliating herself.

    . . . just as Jag Fel had completely and totally embarrassed her earlier that day.

    Jagged Fel; even the name made her eyes narrow and her teeth clench as frustration swelled up from deep inside her gut. Jag Fel was the son of the renowned GAR fighter-pilot Soontir Fel and the famous Corellian holostar actress, Wynssa Antilles-Fel. Admiral Fel was one of the top officers in Grand Admiral Thrawn’s GAR defense fleet – who were gone for years at a time in the Unknown Regions as part of the Great Plan. There was a threat on the horizon, even Jaina in her youth knew, one that their galaxy wasn’t yet prepared to face, and they were building up their resources and planning for every contingency against the Far Outsiders as well as they could. Jag's family was at the center of those preparations, just the same as hers was.

    Though Jag had more Corellian blood than even she did, he’d all but grown up on a Super Star Destroyer beyond their known galaxy, staffed by mostly Chiss officers. Thrawn’s force was primarily composed of his own people, and his number of followers from the Ascendancy grew every year. Yet his ranks were supplemented by a few familiar faces from the GAR and the Republic's allies. Jacen himself had gone on a six-month sojourn just that last year when Master Bridger returned to aid the fleet alongside Master General Tano’s 501st and the force of Mandalorian warriors led by Sabine Wren herself, a veteran of the Palpatine Resurgence Wars. Those months had been the longest Jaina had ever gone without her brother, and she'd ached from missing him. Their separation had felt like a cord stretched tight from her heart, drawn thin and pained between them but not quite snapping. Never that.

    Jacen, in that time, had grown to call Jag his friend. He’d even been happy to introduce them, certain they'd hit it off. Eugh; sometimes, twin or not, Jaina just didn’t understand her brother.

    You know, I’d think you’d actually like him if you gave him a chance, Jacen had said to that. Well, if he hadn’t beat your score, anyway.

    By one point! Jaina had nearly screeched in reply. He beat my score by one point!

    And, to add insult to injury, that was only after she had broken the previous record set by none other than Jacen Syndulla-Dume himself. For the sweet glow of her victory to be then so summarily overshadowed by that . . . by that nerf-herder! She couldn't stand it; just the thought of her humiliating defeat made her grit her teeth in frustration.

    Better luck next time, Solo, Jag had even paused to rub salt in the wound. And then the boy who never showed any emotion for anything actually winked at her. His salute had felt more like an insult than a gesture of respect, and she'd just as rudely stalked away without a word said in reply.

    Clearly, the way her heart skipped for the crooked shape of his grin was in rage; pure, incredulous rage. Jacen, however, hadn’t been so sure. But, that too was another opinion her twin could stuff.

    Now, there was only one day left in the games. Whoever had the highest tally after the final three rounds would take it all. Jaina’s scores were respectable – amazing, actually – and she knew that she could catch up if she gave the final day of the tournament her best. She most likely could still pull it off with the Zephyr, the XJ1 fighter she was training on, but, with the Azure Angel . . .

    Ha! she reveled in the idea of racing through the final finish line, the blue striped wings of her grandfather's fighter glinting in the distant light of Carida's sun as Jag trailed in behind her. Eat my ion exhaust, Fel!

    But first she needed to prove that she could handle the Azure Angel. Not that she doubted her abilities, of course. She just needed to make extra sure.

    All was well as she approached the training course, and Sparky communicated with the server to bring up an exact replica of the final drill they would run tomorrow. The darkness of space lit up with projected obstacles – obstacles that the her ship’s systems would respond to and then simulate real damage for once their computers synced. The obstacles were no different than any standard asteroid belt, dangerously chaotic and without any predictable pattern. Hiding within those obstacles were opponents that she would have to snuff out and destroy – just as those same opponents would be gunning for her. Most important of all, there was a capitol ship making its way through the asteroid belt whose job it was for her to protect. She had to balance her objectives between destroying and defending, along with watching her time all the while. The quicker she got her capitol ship to the finish line, the more points she'd earn.

    All right then, Jaina drew in a deep breath to find her center; she could do this.

    “Ready, Sparky?” Jaina asked, just as the electric red starting gate lightened to orange. Her gloved hands flexed over the yoke, anxious to begin. The orange brightened to yellow, and then -

    - green.

    With that, she eased the Azure Angel forward. Eased, and yet the ship was off like a blaster bolt through the gate, easily eclipsing the max speeds of her XJ1 with her only barely touching the throttle. “Whoa, whoa!” Jaina cried. “Too fast, too fast!” She automatically reached for her dampeners, only to remember that they weren’t there. For a single, heart-stopping moment she panicked as her starboard wing clipped the first projected obstacle in her path. Her adrenaline spiked as Sparky's frantic beeping warned her of her shields taking the brunt of the hit, and then . . .

    - breathe, just breathe, a voice that sounded like her mother’s whispered through her, soothing her nerves and slowing the frenetic cadence of her pulse. Jaina closed her eyes, and let the Force fill her.

    Okay then, she exhaled shakily, she could do this.

    It was rough, at first. Her shields were still in the red as she grappled for control, struggling to stabilize the ship for long enough to hit the targets in front of her. But neither were the targets hitting her, and with the blistering pace she was setting through the course, the capitol ship behind her was making excellent progress. She only needed to get her points up by taking out her opponents, and then she'd have a shot of breaking yet another one of Syndulla's records.

    As she thought less and less about what she was doing, she and the Azure Angel moved together like they were made for each other. She understood her grandfather’s stories about pod-racing in that moment – as much as he said, under no circumstances would he ever take her pod-racing himself, of course. She understood what he loved about the speed and the exhilaration and the rightness of flight. She was spinning between the present and the future – so many possible futures – as the Force guided her reflexes and illuminated the best way forward. Finally, she shot one opponent down, and then two and three and four. By the time she had only one enemy combatant left, she was almost to the end of the course. She could either play it safe and guide her mothership in safely, or try to rack up as many points as possible by destroying the last remaining fighter.

    Better luck next time, Solo, she remembered that small, stupid smirk on Jagged Fel’s stupid face, and -

    - it wasn’t even a question. With a fierce grin, Jaina gunned her thrusters, and spun back into the simulated asteroid belt.

    As she searched out the last ship with her scanners, Sparky warbled a question.

    “I know!” Jaina replied. “But if I’m fast enough I can still get this target and beat the record for time. I can do both; I know I can.”

    But her opponent was stubborn – there was a reason that she hadn’t been able to destroy this particular target yet. Even with the Azure Angel, no matter how she dipped and spun and rolled, the enemy ship remained tantalizingly out of reach.

    “C’mon, c’mon,” Jaina grit her teeth. “Stang it, you Force-forsaken son of a gundark.”

    But when the ship rolled around one of the larger protected asteroids, and then fell back towards the capitol ship that she was supposed to be protecting -

    - oh no! Jaina felt her heart drop as the sudden possibility of failing the course entirely flashed before her eyes. Forget the record she was hoping to smash; an incomplete mark would be disastrous!

    “No, no, no!" Jaina tried to double back and follow the enemy fighter, but the asteroids had shifted again, giving her no clear way forward. Two massive asteroids – one the size of a small moon, enormous to the point where she would have to worry about compensating for its gravity – were converging in front of her. In the time it would take to fly around either of the obstacles, let alone both . . .

    . . . she would fail.

    There was only one choice; only one path forward she could take. Eyeing the slowly closing gap between the two monstrous asteroids, Jaina adjusted her vector and dove.

    Sparky screeched in objection as Jaina poured everything the Azure Angel had into accelerating. G-forces tugged at her gut and a painful pressure bloomed to throb in her temples. She grappled to keep the ship in a steady line at the unbelievable speeds flashing across her gauges without the help of even manual dampeners. She was going to make it; she was. She poured her will into the Force and felt its power burn through her like a solar flare in answer to her summons until she felt white-hot and incandescent, she was going to -

    - she flew through the gap without a nanosecond to spare, and yet was kept from immediately locking on the target in her scopes when the edge of the second asteroid just barely brushed her aft dorsal wing.

    That was all it took: the Azure Angel went spinning in a livid helix, careening and tumbling out of control. She was flung out of the obstacle course completely, wheeling over her own axis again and again as the stars kaleidoscoped in a too-bright whirl of blinding light across her viewport. She couldn’t find her voice to communicate with Sparky, not with how her stomach was seemingly climbing up into her throat and trying its best to choke her. The pressure in her head was bad enough to cause black spots to blot her vision, distorting what she could make of her line of sight even further. She stubbornly held onto the yoke, trying with everything she had in her to adjust the ship’s course and straighten out her spiral as she was flung deeper and deeper into empty space. But the more the ship tumbled, the more it picked up on its own momentum. Jaina couldn’t get the bucking starfighter under control no matter how she tried. What was even worse, she could alarmingly feel her grip slackening as the pressure in her head became nearly unbearable, and then, suddenly -

    - she'd never been sick in a moving craft before, not even when both Jacen and Anakin had been hurling over the side of one of Uncle Lando’s gem divers out on Corisca last year. Yet Jaina couldn’t find it within herself to feel embarrassed by her body's ignoble rebellion; she couldn't seem to concentrate on anything other than her own misery as the ship kept on wheeling and the stars turned over and over and over again.

    “Mom?” instead, she just barely managed to breathe. Jacen! her heart screamed.

    We’re here! miraculously answering her cry for help, Jacen’s voice burst into her mind like a sunrise breaking over the dark side of a planet. Just hold on, Jaya, we’ve got you!

    Jacen! she couldn't do anything more than moan into their bond, amazed and so very, incredibly thankful. You're here.

    Of course I'm here, sis – I couldn't let you have all the fun, now could I? Now just hang in there!

    Slowly, she felt as her vision focused. Her nausea eased as Jacen reached out to take what he could of her pains onto himself. Normally, she’d fight him doing so – Jacen hated feeling queasy, more so than anything else, she wanted to protest. He was always the worst whenever he caught the half-moon stomach flu. But she couldn't summon enough energy to push him away; she didn’t have the strength.

    Distantly, she registered a new flutter of binary over her comms. Artoo! she would know that voice anywhere. The older astromech was buzzing and chirping indignantly at an exceptionally demure Sparky as he took over controls for the ship. Then, finally – finally, the enormous pressure that was seemingly trying to rip her apart eased. The Azure Angle stabilized, and the stars returned to mere pinpricks of distant light once more.

    Jaina felt as a docking clamp locked onto the fighter, and when she was able to focus her eyes again she saw the Angel – the silvery gold Nabooian yacht that belonged to her grandparents – take up position alongside her in order in order to pair with her ship. With that, Jaina let herself go limp, torn between relief and shame. Mostly, though, she couldn't seem to concentrate much beyond the urge she still felt to be sick again.

    A few minutes later she distantly recognized the canopy above her opening, and a wave of fresh oxygen helped ease the acrid scent of her own bile. Jaina tried, but she couldn’t manage to undo her crash-webbing. Her hands were shaking too badly, and her arms felt limp and heavy. She didn't think she could move yet, not even for the prospect of getting clean.

    “Grandpa?” she whispered, just as she felt strong arms reach into the cockpit to free her from her confines. “Careful, I was sick,” she miserably warned as she was picked up and held close. The beginnings of mortified tears pricked at her eyes as her grandfather leapt lightly to the ground, careful not to jostle her. “There's a mess.”

    “Shh, you're okay. It's okay,” she felt the familiar sensation of a biomech hand stroke over the tangled ruin that was left of her braid. She didn't even remember taking her helmet off. Oddly, she thought, her grandfather was the one shaking then – she'd gone boneless with spent adrenaline as soon as the canopy opened. “Don’t worry about that, Jaina. I’ve got you.”

    With that assurance, she only managed to blink up at the obvious concern shining in Anakin Skywalker’s eyes before sagging even further into the protection of his embrace. She closed her eyes as unconsciousness tugged at her, and let the world around her fade to black.



    TBC


    ~ MJ
    @};-
     
    Last edited: Mar 31, 2021
  2. ViariSkywalker

    ViariSkywalker Chosen One star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 9, 2002
    AAAAAHHHHHH I LOVE IT!!!!!!

    Wow. I will have hopefully more coherent feedback in a bit, but just... wow. This is everything I could hope for in a world where Jaina gets to know her grandfather, and where she meets and competes with Jag. [face_love] [face_love] (With bonus Jacen & Jaina twin bond stuff!!! Twins! :D)

    I love it all so much, and I'll be back with more!
     
  3. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    HAVE I MENTIONED EVER EVER HOW MUCH MUCH I adore this 'verse of yours? [face_dancing] Because. SQUEEEEEEE! Jaina and Jag competing and snarking and that nail-biting dash through the obstacle course :eek: And grandpa!Anakin is too endearing. I cannot wait to fill in the blanks LOL and read about Luke and Mara becoming more than friends. [face_love]
     
    Kahara, amidalachick and Mira_Jade like this.
  4. ViariSkywalker

    ViariSkywalker Chosen One star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 9, 2002
    Once again, I forgot to edit my previous post, but oh well, here have a new post and bump to the top. ;) [:D]

    Hell. YES. You already know I am SO on board with this development. [face_mischief]

    I just love everything about this paragraph: all the starfighter history spanning the PT and OT and NJO eras and the way you use that to highlight both Jaina and Anakin’s similar yet distinct personalities, and then how you weave it all in a way that not only makes sense, but that I actually find interesting! I’m seriously in awe of the knowledge on display here.

    This is just a brilliant summation of the relationship that would so obviously exist between Han and Anakin. Seriously, that is one of my favorite barely-explored relationship dynamics, going all the way back to one of my favorite fanfics of all time, Lisse’s original version of The Circle, which featured an incorporeal, semi-redeemed Anakin riding shotgun in Han’s head. :p I’ve had a soft spot for it ever since then, so I LOVE seeing even a hint of that relationship here. :D It cracks me up thinking of these two arguing over whose ship is superior, and it’s made all the better by the fact that Jaina – who resembles both her father and grandfather in no small amount – is the one doing the reflecting.

    This is an incredibly interesting and beautifully written piece of introspection. What a brilliant way of summing up the Force dynamics that we’re familiar with, and even explaining the way Jaina’s Force abilities (when she wasn’t piloting a ship) were often downplayed in the NJO and later books in favor of both her brothers’. But it absolutely makes sense that she would feel this way, and that the cockpit of a starfighter is where she would feel most herself and most attuned to the Force. I love seeing each character with their own gifts and abilities, and being given opportunities to shine that are unique to them.

    I am dying here. “Flimsiboard cut-out” [face_rofl] [face_rofl] I see what you did there. [face_mischief]

    But I just love everything about this. A lot of the profic, especially after the NJO, never seemed to know what to do with Jaina or how to write her character, but you capture her voice so perfectly. I love being reminded of all the things I loved about her. And I LOVE that she so strongly identifies as a Skywalker. [face_love] (No offense, Han, I love you, too, and Jaina is so clearly and obviously a Solo that it hurts. :D)

    I will never tire of drawing parallels between the different generations of this family – and there’s just such a wealth of parallels that can be drawn between all of these characters – but the Leia-Jacen dynamic is one that doesn’t get nearly enough attention. I am SO happy for even this tiny little nod to it. :D

    GIVE ME ALL THE JOINT JEDI-THRAWN BATTLES AND STRATEGIZING AGAINST THE YUUZHAN VONG, GAAAAH!

    Whew. I’m good, everything’s good.

    There are SO MANY THINGS HERE. I want to read about them ALL. Especially the Palpatine Resurgence Wars, I mean, come on. Your worldbuilding is, as usual, incredible.

    ALSO: Jaina and Jacen's twin bond, gah, my heart. [face_love]

    I think I’d forgotten just how good these two are together. Honestly, I might ship them more now in this moment than I ever did. [face_love]

    Nope, now I ship them more than I ever did. Give me all the stupid smirking faces and infuriating banter, thanks. [face_love] [face_love]

    The details of this entire exercise were amazing, but this section was particularly vivid. I’m in awe once again of your talent for description, and for describing things like this in a way that’s both beautiful and accessible. I could picture all of this perfectly.

    Grandpa Anakin, aaaaahhhhhh! :D :D

    What you said about Anakin with his children/grandchildren being your kryptonite? Yeah, same, girl. SAME. [face_batting]

    I’m so hyped for the next update! [face_dancing]
     
    Last edited: Mar 31, 2021
  5. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    GIVE ME ALL THE JOINT JEDI-THRAWN BATTLES AND STRATEGIZING AGAINST THE YUUZHAN VONG So incredibly THIS. Like right away. LOL [face_batting]
     
  6. devilinthedetails

    devilinthedetails Fiendish Fanfic & SWTV Manager, Tech Admin star 6 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Jun 19, 2019
    @Mira_Jade I haven't read a Jaina/Jag fic in so long, and this fic really reminded me of how much of a soft spot I do have for that pairing, so I can't wait to see how you develop their relationship more in upcoming chapters!

    I really appreciate how you've written Jaina here. Her fierce, feisty, and competitive side shines through in a wonderful way that showcased what a strong character she is.

    Her relationship with Jacen was also very well-written. There is the sibling banter between them but also the sense of how deeply they love and support each other. That can be a balance that can be hard to achieve in a story, but I think you've captured it brilliantly here, so hats off to you, my friend!

    Haha, that is such a Han thing to mutter to the Falcon. Love it!

    What a nice passage that communicates such a wonderful sense of the mentoring bond between Mara and Jaina and how much Jaina really idealizes her aunt. I feel like you can always convey so much emotion in just a few sentences, and, as I've said before, I think your parenthetical comments are a very effective part of that.

    So much brotherly taunting and banter here. [face_laugh] Perfect!

    Oh, boy, does this whet my appetite for more Jaina/Jag interactions. [face_love]

    If that isn't the distilled essence of the brother and sister relationship, I don't know what is!

    Lovely job with this piece as always, and thank you for reminding me of what I love about the Jaina/Jag pairing[:D]
     
    Kahara and Mira_Jade like this.