Beyond - Legends We Will Call This Place Our Home | Kessel Run Challenge 2025

Title: We Will Call This Place Our Home
Author: Gabri_Jade

Genre: could be anything
Timeframe: Legends New Republic era (with possible exceptions, depending on prompts)
Characters: Mara Jade, Luke Skywalker, Jade/Skywalker family OCs, others depending on the prompts

Summary: We’ll tell our stories on these walls.

Author’s Notes: Y’all know the drill by now: this will be part of my Renewal!verse series. I recommend reading Renewal first. It’s not strictly necessary and I do try to make each installment in this ‘verse workable as a standalone, but things will probably make more sense that way. If you haven’t read Renewal, here’s a quick summary to help set the scene:

Spoiler: Renewal summary

When Palpatine took Mara from her family, her parents, Ronan and Nadira Jade, survived despite Palpatine ordering their execution. They spent years on the run out of fear that Palpatine might be searching for them, during which time they had two more children, Nico and Corissa. They reached out to Mara approximately six months after The Last Command, after seeing mentions of her in news reports about the new Smugglers' Alliance and its liaison. Now Mara faces the challenges and rewards of reuniting with the family she never knew.

The rest of the Renewal!verse so far:

Renewal
Fragments of Jade
Fractured
The Story So Far
And They Danced
From the Ground Up
Goes On and On
Bloom

Title and summary are from North, by Sleeping At Last. Thanks to @Mira_Jade for indirectly naming yet another KR thread for me by sending this song for title inspiration, and to @ViariSkywalker for suggesting the summary

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Index:

Week One: Lost and Found | Skywalker family; 22 ABY
Week Two: On the Matter of Siblings | Mara Jade Skywalker, Nakari Skywalker, Kaela Skywalker; 22 ABY
Week Three: The Wedding | Mara, Luke, Nakari, and Kaela Skywalker and Nico, Rielle, Rylan, and Valeria Jade; 22 ABY
Week Four: The Girl Who Cried Wolf | Corissa Jade; 2 BBY
Week Five: Astronomy In Reverse | Nico Jade; approximately 10 BBY - 25 ABY
Week Six: Fragile Things | Mara Jade, Nico, Corissa, Ronan, and Nadira Jade; 10 ABY
Week Seven: Whatever Comes Next | Luke Skywalker, Mara Jade; 11 ABY
Week Eight: I'll Keep It Safe | Rielle Amalyse; 13 ABY
Week Nine: To Be Loved | Mara and Nadira Jade; 10 ABY
Week Ten: All In the Family | Talon Karrde, Mara Jade Skywalker, Nakari, Kaela, and Ben Skywalker; 23 ABY
Week Eleven: The Exile | Luke Skywalker, Mara Jade Skywalker, Corissa Jade Vasseron; 33 ABY

 

Week One Challenge: Write a story between 100 and 1,000 words that ends with this sentence: “For the first time in her life, she felt powerful.”

1. Lost and Found (Skywalker family; 22 ABY)

---

The world, it turned out, was far bigger than she’d imagined.

She wandered through the towering greenery, only becoming more and more lost and feeling smaller and smaller, until finally, overcome, she huddled under a bush and called for help as loudly as she could.

Someone heard.

Above her the leaves parted, and a face appeared, blue eyes wide. Hands reached down, lifting her, and she clung tight to her rescuer and wailed some more, this time in relief. “Don’t cry,” the girl told her, holding her close. “You’re safe.” There was something about the girl that inspired trust, and she relaxed in her rescuer’s careful grip—though she still held on tight, just in case.

The girl carried her into a huge unfamiliar box-cave-thing, calling out as she did so. “Mom! Dad! Look what I found!”

Another voice, and she looked over the girl’s arms to see the speaker. “Nakari, don’t yell. Mom just got Ben to sleep.” The new person—who had blue eyes very like her girl’s—came close and peered down at her. “Oh, look at that.”

“Look at what?” Another new person had appeared—this one with sunset-colored fur on her head—with an even smaller girl than her own following behind, and the girl held her out for inspection. She held on even tighter to the girl’s sleeve, uncertain.

“A KITTY,” the smaller girl shrieked, and Her Girl pulled her back and held her close.

“Don’t scare her, Kaela,” Her Girl scolded.

“And everyone stop yelling,” Sunset Fur said. “If anyone wakes Ben up before I have time to eat something, I swear—”

“But Mom,” Her Girl said. “Look.”

Sunset Fur leaned over to do so, and their eyes met. “Let me see her,” Sunset Fur said, and Her Girl lifted her toward Sunset Fur, who took her. Her first instinct was to reach back for Her Girl, but Sunset Fur’s hands were soft as she inspected her, then let her fingers pause to rub at the base of her ears. “No injuries that I can see. She’s so little, though.” The ear rubs felt good, and she began to purr.

“We’ll have to see if her mother and littermates are still around,” Blue Eyes said, also leaning in.

“I am not having a menagerie in this house,” Sunset Fur said firmly, but the fingers were still rubbing her ears. “That’s Leia’s thing.”

“But we can keep this one, can’t we, Mom?” Her Girl’s voice was pleading, as though she expected a refusal, but Sunset Fur’s grasp was gentle and kind. Content, she closed her eyes and purred louder.

“We have to keep her,” Smaller Girl said, almost whispering now. “Mommy, please.”

“How did I wind up being the one to make this decision?” Sunset Fur asked. Though she felt secure now, she nevertheless opened her eyes to look up at Sunset Fur, letting loose a single mew amidst the purrs. “Oh, that’s playing dirty,” Sunset Fur told her.

“She’s just lost and needs a family, Mara,” Blue Eyes said, reaching out a single finger to rub under her chin. She leaned into the caress. “Like someone else I could mention once was.”

“Don’t you start,” Sunset Fur said, and sighed. “Fine.”

“Yay!” Smaller Girl whisper-shouted, and Her Girl bounced excitedly on her toes.

“I guess I’m off to a pet store to buy cat supplies,” Blue Eyes said, giving her chin a final rub.

“She needs food,” Her Girl told him.

“Toys,” Smaller Girl said.

“Litter box,” Sunset Fur said with another sigh. “We’re not putting such a little thing back outside.”

“Nakari,” Blue Eyes said, “call Jacen and tell him where you found her, please. Ask him to look around for her family.”

“If he finds them, he’s adopting them, not us,” Sunset Fur insisted.

“If he finds them, we could take one more,” Blue Eyes said. “She could use a friend.”

“Luke—“

“She can’t be lonely, Mom,” Her Girl protested.

“Families stick together, Mommy,” Smaller Girl agreed. “You always say that.”

She looked up at Sunset Fur and mewed again. This was a good place, safe and warm. The others would like it too.

“This is getting entirely out of hand,” Sunset Fur said firmly. “For right now we have one kitten, and that’s what we’ll deal with.” She found herself handed back to Her Girl while Sunset Fur continued speaking. “Nakari, Kaela, you take care of her—gently—while I find something for her to eat until Dad gets back with food.”

“We can play with her,” Smaller Girl said, rummaging in her pocket and coming up with something long and mysterious. “Like this.” She held one end and let the other dangle enticingly along the floor.

“Kaela, that’s one of your good hair ribbons,” Sunset Fur began, but the ribbon-thing wiggled like a bug, or a sister-tail, and she could no longer resist. She squirmed until Her Girl set her down on the floor, then reared up to bring her full weight down toward the ribbon. Smaller Girl yanked it away, giggling.

“I have an idea,” Blue Eyes said. Much to her dismay, he took the ribbon from Smaller Girl, handing it to Sunset Fur and reaching toward something up high, past where she could see. His hand came back with a pale flat thing that crinkled, and her ears perked as he crunched it up and handed it to Smaller Girl. “You can roll this on the floor like a ball. Maybe she’ll chase it.”

“She could use the pouncing practice,” Sunset Fur murmured, pocketing the ribbon.

“She’s just a baby, Mara,” Blue Eyes said, his voice warm with amusement. “She’ll get there.”

“Like this,” Her Girl was saying to Smaller Girl, crouching down to roll the crunchy ball past her. It bounced and crinkled, and Her People were safe and kind, and she was happy now, and brave. She pounced, pleased to find the crunchy ball between her paws, just as it should be. For the first time in her life, she felt powerful.

 

OOH this is so sweet and adorable. The viewpoint from a little kitten after she is found by the Skywalker family with all the names given by her. Sunset Fur for Mara and Blue Eyes for Luke. I love this and will see what comes next.

 

SQUEE! Can I Just. This is adorable. From the POV of a wee kitten.

Sunset Fur - what a name for Mara.

My favorite lines were this bit:
“I am not having a menagerie in this house,” Sunset Fur said firmly, but the fingers were still rubbing her ears. “That’s Leia’s thing.”
“But we can keep this one, can’t we, Mom?” Her Girl’s voice was pleading, as though she expected a refusal, but Sunset Fur’s grasp was gentle and kind.
Content, she closed her eyes and purred louder.
“We have to keep her,” Smaller Girl said, almost whispering now. “Mommy, please.”
“How did I wind up being the one to make this decision?” Sunset Fur asked. Though she felt secure now, she nevertheless opened her eyes to look up at Sunset
Fur, letting loose a single mew amidst the purrs. “Oh, that’s playing dirty,” Sunset Fur told her.
“She’s just lost and needs a family, Mara,” Blue Eyes said, reaching out a single finger to rub under her chin. She leaned into the caress. “Like someone
else I could mention once was.”
“Don’t you start,” Sunset Fur said, and sighed. “Fine.”

Love that. They, especially Luke, knows which buttons to push.
And the kitten doesn't miss a beat either, with her purrs and entreating meow.

The whole family enters into the fun of making the kitten feel right at home.

This KR is off to a splentabulous start.

 

I absolutely love cats. No question that was as adorable as could be. I love that the kitty has already imprinted on 'Her Girl', and it's too late to go back now.

 

Lolll I love this intro! You set the scene up so well to reveal who each person was, and I enjoyed figuring them out as I read along. The names the kitten gives to everyone are perfect; I like Sunset Fur and Her Girl in particular, and now I'm curious as to what she will think of Ben.

Too relatable! Seriously, once the baby goes down for a nap, everyone else better be quiet!

Great details here, showing how Mara is practical but still gentle and empathetic in her handling of the kitten.

Lolll I just bet

omg Gabri my heart! (Also this is so true to life, how is that I, the mom, end up getting saddled with decisions like these? )

Jacen!

(I love it so much )

The others?

Mara's already thinking ahead

Great use of the last line, and a worthy successor to the bee funeral as a start to your KR, in every respect. Sign me up for all the happy domestic slice-of-life stories, babe! I can't wait to read what you'll come up with next!

 

@earlybird-obi-wan

Thank you very much!

@WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

Thank you!

They do indeed! And no one can resist a kitten

@Vek Talis

I rather love them myself, and have some experience with cats choosing "their" person Glad you enjoyed it!

@ViariSkywalker

I'm glad that worked I will have to figure out Ben's cat-name eventually, won't I?

lol I may not be a mother, but with a brother eighteen years my junior, I do remember that feeling myself

Although she's reserved and often comes off as aloof or even cold to others, canon is just full of examples of how Mara is both kind and protective toward those who appear to need that protection, and that's long before she becomes a Jedi or has a child of her own. Certainly in this universe where she got an earlier start on both the Jedi and the family stuff, those tendencies would only get stronger - and the kitten is such a little baby herself

I have to imagine that Jacen's menagerie would be a bit larger once he's living in the more natural setting of the Academy grounds on Contruum rather than on Coruscant

Purrs and mews? Mara doesn't stand a chance (Someone has to, Vi! )

Ah, the problem that is Jacen. So many people now seem to be sharply divided on his characterization: either he's forever the goofy animal-loving kid with the painfully corny sense of humor from the YJK or he's the ruthless Sith from LotF, when the reality is that his arc in the NJO was critical to who he would become as an adult, yet is nearly always overlooked. Anyway, yeah, he may not fight in a war or be tortured in this universe, but he doesn't go out-of-character Sith, either. He gets to grow up as an ordinary kid who studies to be a Jedi and loves animals. And since the Solos live on the Academy grounds by this point and Luke knows of his skill with animals, he's the logical choice to look around for the mother and siblings that this kitten surely wandered away from

The others

The baby's hunting technique needs work, Vi

Aw yeah I sometimes feel like I have to write something other than slice-of-life just to prove I can, but admittedly Renewal is my excuse to revel in it Thanks for the prompt and the encouragement, babe

@Findswoman

Thank you! I'd already settled in my own head that eventually the Skywalkers would have some pets in this universe, including at least one cat, so although I hadn't really planned to make that a story subject any time soon, it was easy enough to slot in when I realized how the prompt might apply to a lost kitten - something I have a lot of experience with, myself. I've had cats (and two dogs) since I was 12, yet only one out of all of them was a planned shelter adoption. The Cat Distribution System finds me with regularity

lol, do they ever

I'm so pleased to get a cat pov right; I'd feel like I was shaming my own cats if I messed that up And I was trying for descriptions/names that a kitten who hasn't interacted with humans before this might actually think of, while still being clear to the reader

I'm quite sure that Jacen would happily take in any animal that crossed his path Fortunately for Leia, there's a bit more room for that here than on Coruscant

Like I said to Vi, Mara's not an openly warm and fuzzy person, but she does care very much about others and about protecting those who need it. She may not have expected to wind up with a pet today, but she's not going to turn away a kitten in need, and she'll certainly teach her children how to interact kindly with said kitten. In fact, that may just come up again in week two...

@Mira_Jade

You can praise me all you like, I won't stop you

It IS, I love it so very, very much

Every litter I've ever known has at least one very brave baby who is determined to explore when they're still very small. I imagine that this kitten was that in her family, but she explored a little too far and found herself all alone, and that was a scary moment of realization Of course, as tiny as they are, most kittens have very big voices, so she managed to call for help very effectively

Cats can be very cautious. Brave and mighty hunters though they often are, they're also small and know it, and this little baby is up very high when even a small child is holding her. Have to be careful in a situation like that!

I am glad that worked out; they're not wildly original names or anything, but I wanted them to feel organic for a baby cat who's really only known her mother and siblings before this. Different sizes are obvious ways to tell these new strange creatures apart, and she can tell that Nakari and Kaela are girls, but beyond that it seemed to me that she'd latch on to how eyes and "fur" looked, because that's how she'd identify her own family members.

Well, that and smell, for cats, but that was a bit more exposition than could really fit into a thousand words

That's right

Mara just wants to eat a sandwich without holding a baby at the same time, for crying out loud, everyone be quiet for half an hour, is that so much to ask

Exactly. Mara hasn't had a lot of personal experience with domestic animals, but she would certainly treat them kindly, and this one being a baby separated from her family - well, let's just say there are plenty of emotional parallels here for me to work with

They always know, Mira. Always

lol right? And you know, in both Luke and Mara's early lives, they were never going to have pets. Mara for obvious reasons, and as for Luke, Tatooine is a hard place to survive, and while the Larses seemed reasonably comfortable, they weren't wealthy, and spending extra money on a pet was likely never an option. And then in canon they both spend their adult lives rushing from one crisis to another; there was rarely room even for ordinary time with their human family, let alone pets. But in this universe, things are a lot calmer and more settled, and Luke strikes me as someone who would be very open to having a few animals around the house, should the opportunity arise. And he knows exactly how to cajole Mara

I'm telling you, Mira, the Kessel Run is a writing bootcamp I have definitely improved my writing in a bunch of different areas thanks to this format. (Thank you, Vi )

I still haven't managed to write really solid Skywalker/Jade interactions with the Solos, even with all these stories But I at least try to include details that show that the Solos are as much a part of this family as all the rest of them, even for Mara's family. Han and Leia and the kids now live within walking distance of the Skywalkers, and they're all well acquainted with Jacen's ever-growing menagerie. (Let's be real: Mara probably knew this moment would come eventually. She just wasn't expecting to be blindsided by a chance adoption )

ACCURATE

The little brave explorer kitten found a good place for her whole family, Mira

She's just a baby still; she hasn't seen a huge variety of prey. But she's seen bugs and wiggly sibling tails, and they are irresistable. And Kaela would definitely be the one to randomly have one of her good hair ribbons stuffed in a pocket, ready to be subjected to kitten needle-claws

Aw, shucks ngl, this was the bee funeral all over again. I looked at a prompt that, on the surface, reads as angst, and said, but what if comedy tho I'm difficult like that

Week two coming up!

 

Week Two Challenge: Write a story between 400 and 800 words using third-person omniscient POV in which a character teaches another character something.

Author's Notes: I'm taking a page from @vader_incarnate's book this week and directly continuing my week one story with the week two prompt. Also, thank you to @Mira_Jade for coming up with the title, and to Mira and Elli and @ViariSkywalker for all looking this over and confirming that it was actually third person omniscient, because yikes, this pov

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2. On the Matter of Siblings (Mara Jade Skywalker, Nakari Skywalker, Kaela Skywalker; 22 ABY)



Which aspects of life can be truly considered as constant is a subject of ongoing debate within the private ponderings of philosophers and the group discourses found in during after hours in tapcafs alike; yet few would deny that among the contenders is this truism: no matter the level of affection between them, any set of siblings will find something to argue about.

It was a lesson that Mara Jade Skywalker had learned later in life than she really should have, but had the discovery of her own siblings not been enough to convince her, certainly her daughters were currently doing their level best to make up for any deficit.

“No, not like that,” Nakari huffed as she sat back on her heels and watched her sister gleefully wave a long string high over the heads of the four transfixed kittens.

“They like it,” Kaela said, her defiance fueled by the deeply held opinion that just because Nakari was older didn’t mean she knew everything. “See?” The kittens’ heads swiveled to watch the still swaying string with undisguised fascination. One, bolder than the others, sat back on her own heels and stretched high with a determined paw.

Thus encouraged, Kaela swung it even higher. The kitten, suddenly unbalanced, toppled over into one of her siblings. Aggrieved, her brother promptly avenged himself by biting his sister’s paw. She in her turn caught him in a headlock and bit his ear, and the other two, seeing an opportunity for more fun than an out of reach string could offer, joined in with every evidence of delight.

The other set of children was scarcely more harmonious. “You’re doing it wrong,” Nakari informed her sister crossly. “How would you like it if I took one of your toys and held it so far away that you couldn’t play with it?”

“I’m not doing it wrong!”

“You are too,” Nakari insisted, and grabbed for the string.

“Don’t,” Kaela all but screeched, yanking it away. “Mommy! She’s not being fair!”

Upon such an outburst, Mara could no longer even pretend to be absorbed by the contents of her datapad. She cast her gaze over the bedlam before her with a sigh, then directed her attention toward the kittens’ mother—a distinguished-looking lady possessed of a white coat dappled with black, gray, and orange, upon whom Nakari had inexplicably but insistently bestowed the name of Tallulah (though everyone else had a tendency to follow Kaela’s example in shortening it to Lula)—who was lounging beside her on the sofa and calmly washing her face. “I would point out,” Mara told her seriously, “that although mine are noisier, they’re at least not biting each other.”

Lula paused in her bath to chirrup in response, and Mara could only tilt her head in grudging agreement. “You’re right. They’re not biting each other yet. Girls, stop yelling. You’ll scare the babies.”

The babies, currently preoccupied with their own melee, showed no signs of caring what their human companions might or might not do—that is, until Nakari lifted one from the fray to hold her close. “You’re not playing with my kitten like that!”

“She’s not yours!”

“She is! I found Starlight, she’s mine!”

Such provocation could only provoke a similar retort from Kaela, and she dropped the string to grab for another kitten and hold her similarly close. “Well, Soup is mine! And you can’t play with her!”

“That’s it,” Mara said firmly, rising to her feet. “They’re not things, they’re living creatures with minds and preferences of their own, and you’ll treat them as such or they won’t be staying here. They can go to Jacen, or with their brother and sister to Rylan and Valeria, or with Lula to Grandma and Grandpa.”

“No!” cried the sisters, of one opinion at last.

“Then you’ll have to be kinder, won’t you?” Mara sat on the floor beside them and took up the string. “Now put them down and let me show you how to play with them nicely.”

Her daughters obeyed with obvious reluctance, and Starlight and Soup, somewhat rumpled but otherwise none the worse for wear after their brief abduction, settled their fur with a slight ripple and rejoined their siblings. Mara trailed the string slowly before them, and all four kittens perked up. Little Starlight was the first to pounce. “Gently, like this,” Mara said. “So they can have the fun of actually catching it. Now you try.”

She handed the string back to Kaela, then returned to the sofa. Lula, having finished with her bath, rested her chin on folded paws and granted Mara an approving slow blink.

“Thank you,” Mara told her, as she once again took up her datapad. “But next time, it’s your turn.”

Lula could only chirp contented agreement as the children played on.

 

LOL at this:
no matter the level of affection between them, any set of siblings will find something to argue about.

I loved the names for the passle of cats. Tallulah, Starlight, and SOUP! How'd she get that name?

I agree with Kaela here.
“You’re doing it wrong,” Nakari informed her sister crossly. “How would you like it if I took one of your toys and held it so far away that you couldn’t play with it?”
“I’m not doing it wrong!”
“You are too,” Nakari insisted, and grabbed for the string.
“Don’t,” Kaela all but screeched, yanking it away. “Mommy! She’s not being fair!”

Yup, the words that transcend galaxies to draw parental attention.

I loved how Mara interacted with Lula throughout and especially the last couple lines.

 

Infectiously cute. I could see the whole scene playing out.

 

kittens at play with Mara's children is sure cute and I love your cat stories. With cats meowing and making noise. Perfect for omniscient view.

 

It is a truth universally acknowledged...

Perfect shift from the intro to the main action of the story, without wavering even a bit from the omniscient viewpoint, all while showing us more of the girls' personalities, and the kittens' as well.

Pfft, and you worry that you're not good at writing kids. This is 100% spot-on.

I swear the description of Lula could have been from an Austen novel, I love it

Ah, more of that 100% authentic sibling interaction.

(The names of the kittens are awesome, btw )

Yep, that's exactly how it'll happen.

lolll this is perfect

I don't know what you were worried about, babe, you handled this pov like a pro.

 

@WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

Kaela's four and practical-minded

Always

Thank you!

@Vek Talis

I'm glad you liked it!

@Findswoman

I hope you're not tired of them yet, because week three continues the kitten saga

I will say that my sister and I fight much less as adults, but the general disagreement level remains. Like, we've learned to accept our differences and and instead of actual fighting, it's faded into a live and let live "You're nuts, you realize that" "Not as much as you are, you weirdo" sort of deal

Yeah, neither of them is completely wrong here (Kaela is so quick to pull the string entirely out of reach that the kittens are going to get bored with it faster than they would if she let them catch it once in a while, but Nakari's also being pretty bossy about it); it's much more a matter of two little kids excited over their brand new pets and both wanting to direct the playtime their own way rather than compromise.

My headcanon is that Tallulah was named after a character from a book Nakari read, because she thought it was such a fancy and distinguished name, and she thinks that this calico with her rainbow fur is the prettiest and fanciest cat she's ever seen. (This may or may not have been exactly the sort of thing I did once... )

I think about this a lot, actually. If I lived with a group of giants who routinely scooped me up for a cuddle just because they felt like it as I was clearly busy with other things, or kept waking me up from naps just because they thought I looked cute, I don't think I'd take it as well as my cats do

Aw, thanks! I was impressed with yours too I've tried to write omniscient before this and given up, because it only felt like headhopping. I managed this one with Sense and Sensibility open in front of me, analyzing how Austen utilized the viewpoint and trying to emulate it And lol, yes, omniscient anything feels appropriate for cats

@earlybird-obi-wan

I thought you might like some cat stories! One more coming up!

@ViariSkywalker

lol, yup

I'm just grateful I have you and Elli and Mira to verify these things with

Deliberately so; I'm glad it worked In addition to using Austen as a model anyway, I just really liked leaning into the idea of Lula being calm and cool and completely unfazed by her children's brawling

Hey, my sister was a biter. I speak from experience here

Yeah, I felt very assured with this section because of my own vivid childhood memories of just such exchanges

For all the concern I had on that front, I wound up loving them all, I have to say

Right?

Parenting tag-teaming, courtesy of Mara and Lula

I am deeply relieved, but it was still a challenge on par with poetry and drabbles (My little writing drill sergeant, making me learn new skills I had heretofore refused to entertain )

Week three coming up!

 

Week Three Challenge: Write a story between 500 and 1,200 words that takes place at a wedding and features at least one EC and one OC in speaking roles.

Author's Notes: Thank you again to @ViariSkywalker and @Mira_Jade and @vader_incarnate for approving my writing of children, since they are all around kids more than I am, and to Vi for pointing me toward Bluey S1E9: Horsey Ride wherein there is a horsey wedding for the sake of research once she knew I was going to write a kitten wedding; the episode was very helpful and now I, a 49-year-old without children, am hooked on Bluey

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3. The Wedding (Mara, Luke, Nakari, and Kaela Skywalker and Nico, Rielle, Rylan, and Valeria Jade; 22 ABY)


There had been a time, Mara Jade Skywalker mused, when being told by a three-year-old where to sit for the wedding of two kittens would have thrown all her perceptions of reality into a thoroughly snarled tangle.

Now it was just another visit to her brother’s house.

“How long has she been on this kick?” Mara murmured to her sister-in-law.

“About a week,” Rielle murmured back. “She insisted that Nico and I ‘get married’ three times yesterday alone. I don’t even have a guess as to how many times her plushies have been married by now. At least the ceremonies never take long.”

“And Rylan is Yoda’s bestest man,” Valeria proclaimed from the center of the living room, presiding over the final arrangements.

“Okay,” Rylan said agreeably, before resuming making engine noises for the toy speeder he was carefully driving along the arm of a chair.

On Mara’s other side, she could feel Luke suppressing a wince as he settled Ben more comfortably in the crook of his arm. “I am never going to be used to that name,” he said under his breath.

Nico, sitting on the floor and wiggling a string to keep the young bride and groom occupied until Valeria was ready to officiate, merely snorted at that. “Rylan’s six. He doesn’t care that Yoda was a Jedi Master. All he remembers from your stories is that he was small and had pointy ears. Ergo—” he gestured toward the kitten in question “—Yoda.”

“Sounds like a kitten to me,” Mara agreed, sharing a smile with Rielle. For all that Luke had maintained the same encouraging approval over Rylan’s name choice that he always presented to their children and nieces and nephews, every adult in the family remained almost gleeful over the uncharacteristic bemusement they could see in his eyes every time the kitten version of Yoda was mentioned.

“And Nakari is Mew’s bridesmay,” Valeria continued.

“Bridesmaid, sweetheart,” Rielle corrected.

“Bridesmaid,” Valeria said absently. “And Kaela does the confetti.”

Mara raised an eyebrow. “Confetti. That’ll be fun.”

Nico only sighed as he reached over to scoop up Mew, who, bored with the string that still held her brother’s attention, had decided to go exploring, tiny tail held high. She squeaked in protest at being thwarted, but as Nico deposited her in his lap and rubbed her shoulders, her eyes drifted half-shut in contentment. “Clean homes were never promised to parents of young children. Valeria, are we ready yet? Kittens aren’t dolls; they aren’t going to wait forever.”

Mara tried hard to stifle a smile as Valeria put her fists on her hips and surveyed her painstaking arrangements: a mostly neat stack of blocks to serve as her officiant’s podium, topped with a handful of flowers from the backyard in her favorite cup (the one with banthas on it); one of Rielle’s scarves laid across the floor as an aisle; Nakari waiting beside the music player, fidgeting with obvious impatience of her own; Kaela holding a basket that must contain the aforementioned confetti and looking eager enough to make Mara suspicious; her parents and aunt and uncle obediently arrayed along (or in Nico’s case, in front of) the sofa, plus a group of plushies arrayed in one of the chairs to fill out the audience.

“Yes,” Valeria decided, which was enough for Nakari to start the music—a classical piece with a more martial air than most weddings would feature—and turn expectantly to her younger cousin.

“Now what?”

“Now they come here,” Valeria declared imperiously, waving vaguely at the spot in front of her impromptu podium.

“That’s for the bridesmaid and best man to handle,” Nico intervened, handing Mew to Nakari. “Gently. Rylan, come carry Yoda, please.”

Rylan paused his engine noises again. “But my speeder—”

“I know, buddy,” Nico told him. “But Yoda needs you, and this will only take a minute, okay?”

Rylan heaved a sigh, but set his toy down in favor of carefully cradling his kitten. “Okay.”

“There you go,” Nico told him and Nakari encouragingly. “Now you stand over there.”

They did so, and Valeria regarded them solemnly. “You may now get married.”

Rylan, clearly familiar with his sister’s preferred ceremony after a week of the game, held Yoda up in front of his own face. “I do,” he squeaked, in an apparent attempt at kitten-speak, then stage whispered to Nakari, “she has to say I do.”

“Ohhh,” Nakari said, nodding. She held the squirming Mew up and growled, “I do.”

Valeria turned away from the kittens to point at Kaela. “Confetti!”

“Confetti,” Kaela agreed exuberantly, and promptly dumped the basket upside down over her own head, causing Valeria to dissolve into giggles along with her.

“All done now,” Rylan informed Nakari, giving Yoda a kiss and gently setting him down. Nakari did likewise with Mew. Free at last, Mew took the opportunity to pounce her brother, who bounded cheerfully away, his sister in hot pursuit.

Mara raised an eyebrow at Nico. “That’s it?”

“That’s it,” Nico confirmed. “No one can say she’s not efficient. Are you ready for lunch?”

Nakari came over to stand before them before Mara could reply, her brow furrowed with sudden concern. “Dad, I just thought of something. Yoda and Mew are brother and sister. They’re not supposed to get married, are they?”

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Luke reassured her. “It was just a pretend wedding. They aren’t really married.”

“You’re sure?”

“Positive,” Nico agreed, getting to his feet. “Just pretend. How about my best girl helps me set the table?” He leaned over to whisper, “I’ll pay you a cookie if you don’t tell the others.”

“Okay,” Nakari said, her eyes alight and her worries forgotten, and followed him from the room.

Rielle glanced at Ben, sleeping in Luke’s arms, and also rose. “I’ll go get the bassinet so you can set him down and actually eat.”

“Although,” Mara murmured as they all stepped out of earshot, “from what Han’s told me, a wedding like that would fit right in with the Skywalker family.”

Beside her, Luke frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“Hoth,” Mara reminded him. “Medcenter.”

Luke’s frown deepened in obvious confusion, then the light dawned. “Oh, for—you can’t be serious. It was one kiss, we didn’t know we were related, and Leia only did it to make Han jealous anyway.”

“And yet,” Mara said, grinning.

Luke sighed. “There but for the grace of the Force go you, you know.”

“Mommy?”

Mara looked over to see Kaela sit up from where she and Valeria were rolling around in the pile of confetti. Beyond them, Rylan was happily piloting his speeder along a bookshelf. “Yes, sweetheart?”

“Can we marry you and Daddy after lunch?”

“Yes!” squealed Valeria, also sitting up. “Get married!”

Luke met Mara’s enquiring gaze with a spark of mischief in his eyes befitting a former Rogue, and made a show of shrugging elaborately. “Well, since Leia’s not here, I guess I’ll have to settle for you.”

Mara’s laugh caught her by surprise, and she leaned over to kiss him before standing and reaching a hand out to each girl. “All right, another wedding after lunch. But for now, let’s go wash up.”

 

This is adorably sweet with the kittens and the childen at play. Mew and Yoda. Nice names for cats.
And the discussion between Mara and Luke. A wedding betwen brother and sister. Luke kissed Leia on Hoth.

 

You had me at the first line about kitten weddings! And then it got more adorbs from there! Luke's befuddlement at the name Yoda for a cat matched mine. And I loved Valeria's 'efficient' but persistent focus on weddings for plushies, pets, her parents?! and her aunt and uncle. Oh the exchange between Luke and Mara TOOK the prize!

Han will never let Luke forget about that incident.

 

I wonder what ghost Yoda thinks of his getting a kitten version of himself?

And you know what they say about a brother and sister: keep it in the family.

 

You're welcome

lollll "just another visit to her brother's house"

I love it, of course they would name a kitten Yoda (My husband's grandparents had a dog named Yoda, it always threw me off because I never heard them mention anything SW in any other capacity)

Perfect scene setting details are perfect (and adorable!)

I know it's not the Imperial March, but now I'm just imagining the Imperial March, and lolll maybe that would have been appropriate for Elli's bad ending L/M Star Destroyer wedding (It's late and my fanfic wires are starting to get crossed here; cross-pollination ftw? )

Confetti!

(The dissolving into giggles is too precious )

Oh, Luke, that was a good one. Five stars, perfect comeback. We talk a lot about how good you are at writing Mara, but you're so good at writing Luke, too. This might actually have been my favorite part just for how funny and unexpected it was, sneaking it in right at the end, and for how it made Mara laugh.

This was another perfect follow-up to the bee funeral: hilarious and charming and sweet all at once!

 

@earlybird-obi-wan

Thank you! I like those names too I'm glad you enjoyed it!

@WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

Thank you! A dear friend of mine once had a cat named Yoda, so that was good inspiration for me. And small children can get very fixated on the preferred game of the moment

@Findswoman

Thank you! I admit that if I hadn't already written kittens into the timeline, I probably still would have gone this route for the prompt except with someone's toys, but hey, there the kittens were And since I'd already decided that the rest of the cat family would be adopted by the rest of the Jade family (Leia successfully suggested that as an option before Jacen could claim them for his existing menagerie, and it worked out for her ), this gave me a chance to show the other two siblings happily settled in with Nico and Rielle's family, so that was nice (Alaine is just barely a toddler; Corissa and Julian said that they'd wait until she was older before committing to a pet. Ronan and Nadira said that Tallulah could come be an empty nester with them, and she lives very happily as a spoiled only cat.)

lol, I love it See, that's the thing, little kids tend to love playing games about ordinary life. Weddings weren't of any particular interest to my sister and me, but we still definitely had weddings for My Little Ponies or Barbies on occasion, along with playing house or school or library or store, so I figured it was entirely realistic for one of the kids to be on a wedding kick

I haven't written very much of Valeria yet, so I'm still learning exactly who she is and how that personality manifests, but I feel like after a week she'd have the roles down pat. Probably Nico and Rielle get to be part of the audience now because she has two extra pairs of hands in her visiting cousins And Kaela was more than happy to help out on the confetti front

I'm so glad that Rylan's reasoning seems realistic! I was thinking that if I was writing original fic, I would have at least one kid name a kitten after a pop culture reference that the reader would recognize, but that's much harder to do in a SW fanfic. Then I had this entirely unearned flash of genius: surely all the kids have heard stories from the adults, surely Luke has told stories about the funny little green Jedi Master who trained him. Boom, done

Thank you! I primarily included it because since the kittens were siblings and this is the SW fandom, that Specific Moment was going to be mentioned one way or another, and I figured I might as well get ahead of it and treat it the way I think it would actually be thought of by the characters themselves. My headcanon here is that it came up while Han was telling Mara war stories years ago, probably before she and Luke were even engaged, and it went something like this:

Han: ….oh yeah, and once on Hoth Leia got mad at me and kissed Luke to prove a point.

Mara: …what point would that be?

Han: That I didn’t know everything about women.

Mara: *snorts* She had to kiss Luke to prove that?

Han: Hey, now.

Mara: Must have been awkward after they found out they were twins.

Han: There was a lot going on at the time, actually. Y’know, Endor and all that. It took a while before anyone remembered the kiss. But yeah, then they couldn’t meet each other’s eyes for a few days. You probably shouldn’t tell them I told you this.

Mara: Not a problem; I don’t want to think about it either

…until more than ten years later their eldest child was specifically worried about cat siblings getting married and Mara remembered this story and the whole thing was so far in the past that it had become funny and she briefly teased him about it, albeit out of earshot of everyone else so as to still protect his feelings and dignity. And because it really wasn’t a big deal in any way at that point, Luke first just sighed and then turned the teasing back on her, and everyone got on with their day

The challenge with Renewal is to continue to make ordinary slice of life moments compelling, so I'm always happy to hear it worked Thank you very much! The kittens (and Tallulah) will probably make further appearances within this 'verse, but probably in more of a background role

@Vek Talis

Honestly? I immediately think of, "lost a planet, Master Obi-Wan has. How embarrassing," and all the giggling kids who were just about the age Rylan is here, and I think he'd love it

Fortunately for both my compliance with the TOS and my own peace of mind, nothing of the sort happened here. Just a bunch of little kids playing pretend

@ViariSkywalker

I'm so serious, I adore Bluey. I think I'm almost halfway through the first season. And it really is excellent research for writing kids, so that's helpful

Mara's life has become very ordinary, and she loves it And I was thinking when I was writing it, when I got to Rielle saying she'd get the bassinet even though Rylan and Valeria are well past that age, I think that Luke and Mara and Nico and Rielle - and even Corissa and Julian, for all that Corissa immediately swore that she was stopping at one child - probably all hung on to their baby stuff for years because for so long someone in the family had a baby to be accommodated, and another addition to the family was entirely possible, and then on the other side of the family Jaina and Jacen and Anakin are heading into their teenage years by this point, and it's just like, yeah, this is Mara's life now. She's still a Jedi and working hard to help Luke reestablish the Order and train new recruits and all that, but she's also dealing with her own children and nieces and nephews at every turn, and random things like kitten weddings just happen

Right? My friend who told me about her late cat named Yoda was in her 80s at the time, and I never once heard her mention SW, so I always wondered who named her Yoda and why

I suddenly remembered that I needed some description and not just dialogue But I'm really glad it worked!

THAT'S WHAT I WAS THINKING OF I mean, in-universe, if the march exists, the anthem for the Imperial military would not be in any of the Jade family's music libraries, but it's what I'm hearing In-universe, let's imagine it was something like the 1812 Overture or Khachaturian's Sabre Dance

And now I'm imagining the Imperial March in Elli's fic too, thank you, you are right that it is entirely fitting :mara:

A detail lifted straight from Bluey But when I thought about including it, the thought immediately struck me that Kaela is the sort of mischievous child who would not throw confetti properly, but rather do something that she thinks is very clever and silly like dumping it on her own head, and despite Valeria's earnestness about the wedding, she's not quite four here, so I figured that would in fact seem very clever and silly to her as well as Kaela (All the cousins are buddies, I love them so much )

I kinda just really loved the idea that Nakari's concern would bring this incident to mind for Mara, while it's not even on the radar for Luke

If Mara's going to bring that up, Luke's going to turn it back on her And you know how I love banter anyway

Aw, shucks

Week four up in a minute!

 

Week Four Challenge: Write a story between 100 and 1,200 words with an unreliable narrator, using one (or both) of the following additional prompts:

• Don’t stop, don’t think, don’t look back
• Spoiler: picture

  

Author's Notes: Thank you to @ViariSkywalker for the brainstorming, and to Vi, @Mira_Jade, and @vader_incarnate for the moral support when I didn't think I could manage this week, with extra thanks to Elli for the perfect title

---

4. The Girl Who Cried Wolf (Corissa Jade; 2 BBY)


“We went camping on our vacation,” Adina said, and Corissa Jade frowned.

On the other side of the circle they’d drawn on the pavement, Roza said, “Oh, we did that last year,” then tossed the jackstones into the circle. “It was okay. My brother just stayed in the tent reading the whole time, though. Dad was annoyed.”

Adina made a huffing sound as Roza deftly tossed the ball, scooped the stones, and caught the ball. “Better than my sister who kept waking me up at sunrise to go on stupid hikes. Who cares about hiking, anyway? Your turn, Corissa.”

Corissa lifted her chin as she accepted the ball and stones. “My sister’s the best hiker. She knows everything. She saved me on our last vacation.” She scattered the stones with a practiced flick of her wrist. “We went camping by a lake next to a giant canyon.”

Roza glanced at Adina. “There’s no canyons around here.”

“We didn’t live here then,” Corissa told her, warming to her story. She leaned forward. “It was a huge canyon. Like, this big—” she held her hands as far apart as she could stretch them. “Daddy told us not to go into it alone, but one night I did.”

This time, Adina looked at Roza. Then she turned back, her eyebrows scrunched together. “Why would you do that?”

“Because,” Corissa began, then paused. “...because…there was a big spotted lizard and I wanted to get a closer look, but he ran so fast and I chased him and then before I knew it we were in the canyon and it was all twisty and narrow and when I looked up—” she leaned her head back and waved a hand upwards to demonstrate “—the sky looked so far away, with all the canyon walls squishing it into a little blue band, like a river but with stars in it, and I didn’t know where to go.” She took a breath, then added, “And the lizard got away, too.”

Roza’s eyebrows were all scrunchy now too. “Uh-huh.”

“But then Mara found me,” Corissa informed them. “She’s—” She paused again to do the math in her head. “Fifteen, almost a grown-up, and smart and brave, and she always takes care of me. We do everything together.”

Adina leaned backward, still in her cross-legged position, to rest her weight on her hands and eyed Corissa skeptically. “I mostly fight with my sister.”

“Mara and me never fight,” Corissa said. “She’s the best.” She tossed the ball into the air and swept her hand across the circle, catching every last stone before triumphantly catching the ball too and grinning at Adina. “Your turn.”

Adina sat up straight again and took the ball and stones. She looked over at Roza again, then back at Corissa. “How did your sister find you if you were in the canyon and it was dark?”

Corissa shrugged. “She’s just really smart like that. But it’s a good thing she did, because then we could hear wolves howling, a whole big bunch of them.”

Roza leaned forward, her head tilted and her eyes narrow. “Wolves?”

“So many,” Corissa assured her. “But Mara knew the way back to our campsite and she held my hand the whole way and said we couldn’t stop to look behind us for the wolves, we had to just keep going, and pretty soon we were at our tent again.”

“Was your dad mad at you?”

Corissa blinked. “What?”

“You said,” Adina continued with exaggerated patience, “that he told you not to go into the canyon alone, but you did. Was he mad?”

“Oh,” Corissa said. “No, because…because he was still asleep and we were quiet and sneaky.”

Roza lifted her eyebrows. “And your sister didn’t tell on you?”

“Mara would never,” Corissa retorted indignantly.

“It’s funny,” Adina said as she tossed the jackstones into the circle. “My sister is in the same class as your brother.”

Corissa took a breath. “She is?”

“Yeah, she is.” Adina looked at her with knowing eyes. “Nico Jade, that’s your brother, yeah?”

“...yeah.”

Adina tossed the ball and caught the stones. She missed one of them, but didn’t seem to notice, her attention still on Corissa. “So it’s funny that he never said anything about his sisters escaping from wolves and all.”

“He was asleep too,” Corissa said defiantly.

“In fact,” Adina added, ignoring her, “Their class had to write reports on family last month. My sister had to ask our parents for a list of all our aunts and uncles and cousins to be sure she didn’t forget anyone. She said after that Nico had the smallest family of anyone in the class.”

Corissa pressed her lips together. “Mommy and Daddy didn’t have any brothers or sisters, and their parents died before I was born. It doesn’t matter. Our family is still good even if it’s little.”

Adina passed the ball and stones to Roza, who was giving Corissa another funny look, then turned back to Corissa. “Sure. But you don’t have a sister.”

Corissa stood up so fast that she almost fell over. “I do too have a sister! You take that back!”

“You don’t,” Adina said, tilting her head back to look up at Corissa, but staying seated. “My sister’s class had to read their reports aloud, and she said that Nico only had one sister and his parents.” She stood up now, and propped her hands on her hips. “I mean, unless you lost her.”

Corissa’s eyes felt hot, and her breath came hard in her chest. “You don’t know anything. You or your stupid sister.”

Adina shrugged. “Better a stupid sister than an imaginary sister.”

Still sitting, Roza shifted uncomfortably. “Come on, guys, recess is going to be over soon. You can have my turn, Corissa.”

“I don’t want to play anymore,” Corissa told her, still glaring at Adina, and turned around and walked away as fast as she could without running, all the way to the far end of the playground, where no one else was right now, where she knew there was a little ditch alongside the fence that would hide her from view.

She was still curled up there when the bell rang.

 

Poor Corissa, being an unreliable narrator in the view of Adina. And a reason not to play anymore with Roza and Adina