( Do you have a moment? )
[ So far he's only gotten snippets of what happened, regardless of how linked everyone was, mentally. The chaos at the explosion site had been enough to scramble everyone. ]
[ So far he's only gotten snippets of what happened, regardless of how linked everyone was, mentally. The chaos at the explosion site had been enough to scramble everyone. ]
( Yeah. What is it? )
[ Well, he can guess. ]
[ Well, he can guess. ]
[Unfair. Unfair. To have come so far, to have claimed so much for himself only to be leashed to the light. As always, it seems - this time embodied by a frail body with a tireless heart.
Whatever self-righteous anger he'd held close bleeds out, expression tired. Paper thin.] You think you know better.
[It isn't accusatory; for once, Ren hasn't got it in him.]
Whatever self-righteous anger he'd held close bleeds out, expression tired. Paper thin.] You think you know better.
[It isn't accusatory; for once, Ren hasn't got it in him.]
In this case? Yeah, I do. [ He can only do what he thinks is right.
His expression softens a bit, though he holds a certain amount of wariness. ] You and Anakin - I didn't think you two were, uh, close.
[ He's pretty sure Anakin expressed some deep dislike for Ren and his brand of space sorcery. Steve just kind of figured the feeling was mutual. ]
His expression softens a bit, though he holds a certain amount of wariness. ] You and Anakin - I didn't think you two were, uh, close.
[ He's pretty sure Anakin expressed some deep dislike for Ren and his brand of space sorcery. Steve just kind of figured the feeling was mutual. ]
[Deep dislike barely scratched the surface of how much contempt the man held for Kylo Ren. A conflict that compounded the fracture when Anakin's loss took hold— acceptance, it seems, lies far beyond the pale for Ren.
His lips thin out into a rigid line; he opts not to look at Steve when he finally responds.] Anakin Skywalker was my grandfather.
[What use was there in hiding it any longer? Ahsoka and Hux both knew, Sam spat it out during the chaos - time would dislodge it from someone else's thoughts eventually.]
His lips thin out into a rigid line; he opts not to look at Steve when he finally responds.] Anakin Skywalker was my grandfather.
[What use was there in hiding it any longer? Ahsoka and Hux both knew, Sam spat it out during the chaos - time would dislodge it from someone else's thoughts eventually.]
after all that kylo ren nonsense idk i wanted a steve and sam thread
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frakkincylons
2016-08-11 10:41 am (UTC)(link)
[ For the time that they're still passed out after the disastrously failed mission, Sam's going between the three rooms like a pin ball, peering in on Ren still passed out, on Ilde as she naps, and on Steve as he heals.
Once he notices Steve's awake, and likely after giving him time to sit and talk with Barnes (well aware of the bond they share), Sam shuffles his way over, lifting a hand to knock at the door frame as he leans in. ]
Hey, champ. How's the battle wound doing? [ Or, multiple wounds, but whatever. There's fondness in his voice, and in the mental link surrounding it, as well as admiration, for how he'd stood up unwavering. ]
Once he notices Steve's awake, and likely after giving him time to sit and talk with Barnes (well aware of the bond they share), Sam shuffles his way over, lifting a hand to knock at the door frame as he leans in. ]
Hey, champ. How's the battle wound doing? [ Or, multiple wounds, but whatever. There's fondness in his voice, and in the mental link surrounding it, as well as admiration, for how he'd stood up unwavering. ]
( I'm sure you've an idea; I'd like your point of view on what happened at the arena. I'd ask who I suspect to be the source, but his retelling is not always objective. )
[ Kylo Ren: an emotional time bomb, really. Not the best for understanding what happened sometimes. ]
[ Kylo Ren: an emotional time bomb, really. Not the best for understanding what happened sometimes. ]
[ Inside the room Steve can be found sitting up on the bed, back pressed against the wall and his body curved as his fingers drift across some unseen screen in front of him, sorting through news story after news story projected from the device at his ear. He looks up, blinking owlishly at Sam for a second, if mostly with a single eye. One side of his face is bruised and swollen, hair flattened down by a bandage that wraps around his head.
His hands lower, attention focused. ]
I've had worse. [ The humor is strained, his mental walls fortified. Sam's brain blast was a hell of a kick in the head, but it did the job. ] How're the others?
[ He reached out for Ilde when he first regained consciousness. Ren - he hasn't decided when and how to approach him yet. ]
His hands lower, attention focused. ]
I've had worse. [ The humor is strained, his mental walls fortified. Sam's brain blast was a hell of a kick in the head, but it did the job. ] How're the others?
[ He reached out for Ilde when he first regained consciousness. Ren - he hasn't decided when and how to approach him yet. ]
[ A pause, his mind buzzing. ]
( I don't know that you'll find my side all that objective either. )
( I don't know that you'll find my side all that objective either. )
( No one is truly objective. I'd appreciate your viewpoint all the same, if you're willing to give it. )
[ He just doesn't want to hear Ren's side only since that's trouble. ]
[ He just doesn't want to hear Ren's side only since that's trouble. ]
[ His lips part, a second later forming a silent oh with a sharp bolt of surprise. Eyes scan across Ren's face, this time searching for any kind of familial resemblance - the shape of his nose, mouth, jaw - anything.
And the age discrepancy - ]
You're from the future. [ Anakin's future, maybe even some other timeline, the same way Barton, Wilson and Bucky are all from Steve's. ]
And the age discrepancy - ]
You're from the future. [ Anakin's future, maybe even some other timeline, the same way Barton, Wilson and Bucky are all from Steve's. ]
[ A deep breath. ]
( Anakin's death sent Ren over the edge. He was going to hurt people. I tried to stop him, but he had help. ) [ The Darkling's face passes between the link. ]
( Anakin's death sent Ren over the edge. He was going to hurt people. I tried to stop him, but he had help. ) [ The Darkling's face passes between the link. ]
[Ren feels the weight of his broodmate's searching stare: a natural response, really, in spite of the fact that Ben Solo inherited too much from his father's side.]
From his. [Difficult to imagine that remains true in whatever mirrored world they left behind - Anakin's absence should negate Ren's existence, after all. Or perhaps there's more to it than the simple matter of one-dimensional timelines. It's difficult to say.]
From his. [Difficult to imagine that remains true in whatever mirrored world they left behind - Anakin's absence should negate Ren's existence, after all. Or perhaps there's more to it than the simple matter of one-dimensional timelines. It's difficult to say.]
[ Huh. Hard to tell if Anakin knew. If he did, and still hated Ren - well, none of this is really Steve's business. He goes quiet for a minute, mulling over the information. ]
Barnes is from my future - far into the future. [ His turn to let his gaze lower, head tilting to one side. ] Not much of this makes sense.
[ Somewhere there most be a universe where Anakin didn't get hunted down by the Nest's enemy, where he's still alive. Another where Bucky's fate goes a different way.
Neither thought gives much comfort to fresh wounds. ]
Barnes is from my future - far into the future. [ His turn to let his gaze lower, head tilting to one side. ] Not much of this makes sense.
[ Somewhere there most be a universe where Anakin didn't get hunted down by the Nest's enemy, where he's still alive. Another where Bucky's fate goes a different way.
Neither thought gives much comfort to fresh wounds. ]
He told you? [Picking at the binding on his arm, Ren's keeping his attention fixed elsewhere; small distractions, a means to weather topics that might otherwise incite him, stretching out the span of his own apathy.]
Didn't have to. [ The picture of a clean cut man in uniform flickers, bright and young compared to the man that arrived on Concordia. The pain attached to that is dulled, weighted with guilt. ]
Did you? [ Tell Anakin? ]
Did you? [ Tell Anakin? ]
[ Anakin sending Ren over the edge and pushing him into violence is hardly surprising. Hux had kept it to himself– the family ties, that is. He had been more than happy to let Ren handle that on his own time. Steve, naturally, would try and stop something like that.
However, the image of Darkling gives him pause. He frowns deeply, not sure he likes this development overmuch. ]
( Darkling actively goaded him? Why? )
However, the image of Darkling gives him pause. He frowns deeply, not sure he likes this development overmuch. ]
( Darkling actively goaded him? Why? )
( He's got funny ideas on how someone ought to deal with their grief. )
[ Funny as in terrible. ]
[ Funny as in terrible. ]
I thought he would know. [How senseless it sounds, how stupidly sentimental.] The Force should have been enough.
[What a strange, strange concept - was it Anakin's ability with the Force that failed him, or was it the Force itself, hampered by the symbiotic bond, that reached some seemingly impossible limit?]
So I said nothing. [A beat:] And he died hating me.
[What a strange, strange concept - was it Anakin's ability with the Force that failed him, or was it the Force itself, hampered by the symbiotic bond, that reached some seemingly impossible limit?]
So I said nothing. [A beat:] And he died hating me.
( Kylo Ren believes he could have found something at the parlor if he wasn't stopped. What do you make of that? )
[There are times to be indirect and there are times to be direct. She decides that it is better to skip to what would be her final question here, and then work backwards should things come to that.
Her impression of the scene of the bombing is very different, after all. But she did leave through the back to set up certain meetings. She can't really say that she saw everything.]
[There are times to be indirect and there are times to be direct. She decides that it is better to skip to what would be her final question here, and then work backwards should things come to that.
Her impression of the scene of the bombing is very different, after all. But she did leave through the back to set up certain meetings. She can't really say that she saw everything.]
[ Somewhere, his jaw tightens at the question. ]
( Cost of letting him go for it would've been too high. )
( Cost of letting him go for it would've been too high. )
[ A scene plays: the first planet they visited, raining - something cuts through the air, sharp and focused like a knife. ]
( Something called the Force. More people would've gotten hurt, he would've steamrolled over anyone in his path. )
( Something called the Force. More people would've gotten hurt, he would've steamrolled over anyone in his path. )
( He explained his power to me. One of my broodmates has it as well. )
[In the way that it's like an answer coming together for her finally. The Force provides so many answers to so many questions she hasn't known, but it's like a dictionary entry opening up in her mind.
Being in the Nest has its uses when it comes to things like this, but she's still slightly irritated by it.
Just the same:] ( More than that. He would have exposed us. )
[In the way that it's like an answer coming together for her finally. The Force provides so many answers to so many questions she hasn't known, but it's like a dictionary entry opening up in her mind.
Being in the Nest has its uses when it comes to things like this, but she's still slightly irritated by it.
Just the same:] ( More than that. He would have exposed us. )
( We stopped him. )
[ His tone is warily defensive despite his own misgivings about his broodmate. It's not a promise that Ren won't try to lash out in public with his powers again, but this incident had a very specific trigger. ]
[ His tone is warily defensive despite his own misgivings about his broodmate. It's not a promise that Ren won't try to lash out in public with his powers again, but this incident had a very specific trigger. ]
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