( closed ) imperial march plays?

[facultative]

Who: Anakin Skywalker (facultative) and various
What: Anakin wakes up from his month long nap
When: Throughout October
Where: Around

Content Warnings: n/a

[Closed starters in the comments. Feel free to hit me up if you want to do something.]

Comments

obi-wan

[facultative]

[There's no great fanfare when Anakin comes to, no shift in the Force. One moment the cocoon is still, the next a gloved hand punches through and he drags himself out of the quickly drying membrane. But once free he continues to lay on the floor seemingly regretting waking up in the first place.

He should get up, but he doesn't.]

[jedies]

[ obi-wan had been close by, obviously. he wanted to be there, not because he feared the worse, but because he knew anakin would have wanted him there. and obi-wan has had enough cocoon experiences now to understand how disorienting and confusing it may seem at first.

gently, he drapes his cloak over anakin's shoulders. ]

[facultative]

[He doesn't look up as Obi-Wan makes his presence known.]

You're not worried I've become him?

[jedies]

[ ah. gently, obi-wan lays his hand on top of anakin's head. ]

No. I already know in my heart that you've surpassed him.

[facultative]

[They know each other well enough that Anakin can immediately note the difference in his voice. He sits up and realises something has changed. It's not just in the increasing grey in his hair or the deepening lines in his face, it's also in the slope of his shoulders lacking the weight of his prior grief.]

How long...?

[Obi-Wan was always the best Jedi, he shouldn't have been surprised that he's been able to move on. Not at all like Anakin who still quakes in remembrance that the one person he had always believed would be there for him had taken a weapon to him and left him to burn.]

[jedies]

[ obi-wan pauses momentarily. ]

Ten years.

[facultative]

Oh.

[Ten years is a long time. It's almost the same number of years he's known Obi-Wan for. He's barely been in Obi-Wan's life.]

Is... [He wants to ask about Padmé and even knowing that Obi-Wan probably doesn't care any more isn't enough to make him bring up the topic.

Instead he looks down and clenches the blanket.]

...That's a long time.

ezra

[facultative]

[Anakin's emotions are almost palpable as he fails to hold in the sudden pain that lances through him. Where he'd normally shove his fear and anger down as far as he could get it, it now lingers as he curls into himself. He doesn't know what brought this on, only that he's imagining this is what it might feel to be burned alive.

It's what he deserved after all.

The weight of his emotions quickly grow oppressive as it's left to fester unchecked and from there it starts to expand out from his room and then to the rest of the house.]

Re: ezra

[ezra_of_lothal]

[He wasn't there when Anakin first awoke from the cacoon. When he'd come home to Anakin up and, well, not in a black life support suite or feeling like the ice cold of the Dark...

He's simply slowly sighed out in relief and tried to let go of all those worries that had lived in his chest for weeks.

But he has been keeping a tendril of his attention on how Anakin feels, in the Force, too long to entirely miss that lance of pain, tangled up in emotion.

A few quick steps from his own room, and he calls out, from the hallway-]

Anakin? What's wrong?

[facultative]

[It's taking far too much out of him to remain upright. It would be all too easy to curl up into a ball and... he's not sure what. Ride it out? As far as he can tell this came out of nowhere and he's not injured or sick so he has no idea how temporary this is or even if it is.

There's no reply to Ezra's call, not even to tell him to mind his own business. The words held back behind clenched teeth. Instead there's a thud and crack as his fist impacts against the wall for any sort of reprieve.]

[ezra_of_lothal]

I don't think you're ok, but I don't think you can respond either, so I'm coming in.

[He wouldn't ever go into Anakin's room without an explicit invitation without a really, really good reason, but-

He cracks the door open and slips in, his hands spread wide and empty to show he's just hear to help.]

[facultative]

[Anakin's room is messy to put it simply. Robes piled on any surface, spare parts littered all over the floor and a few racing posters haphazardly plastered on the walls. His bed is unmade, the sheets bundled up and pushed against the wall. As Anakin never leaves the door open, this would be the first time Ezra has cause to glimpse how he lives. There would have been some hints from how carelessly he occasionally leaves items in the shared areas, but he does generally try to keep to Obi-Wan's standards there.

The man himself is currently leaning against the wall, sweat slicked hair plastered over his face and a fist covering what is definitely a crack in the wall.]

[ezra_of_lothal]

[Ezra also prefers to keep things mostly orderly, but he barely notices. His focus is on Anakin, as he eases closer. His body language and feeling in the Force.]

Anakin. I'm not a - a great healer, but maybe I can help.

kylo ren

[facultative]

[His wife was gone. Anakin feels numb to the realisation, he thinks he should feel something, but his emotions feel like they're carefully pressed into stasis just like his entire existence in Trench. He goes through the movements of his day to day life, focusing solely on the minutiae.

It's at least a week of this before he thinks about who else knows. He thinks they all should, the rest of his family were better at keeping in touch than he was except his mind snags on one face. The grandchild who took after him far too much.

He doesn't know where Kylo lives, but Anakin's a vergence in the Force and his descendents all had his power. If he focuses he can somewhat locate each of them, from Luke's bright warmth to Anakin Jr's peaceful signature. He looks for the dark instead, shaking off the temptation that will likely never leave him, but what he finds is surprising. The dark layers over everything, but still beneath it there's a light that refuses to be extinguished. Not too much like him then and for that Anakin is grateful.]

There's something you need to know.

[When he finally manages to track him down, he's direct. Small talk has never been his forte.]

[dyaddyissues]

[ Kylo doesn't get many visitors. Or any, really. He hasn't telegraphed his home location to much of anyone, not even Rey. He keeps his tabs but contact is minimal for the most part; figuring that if anyone; Luke, Rey or Anakin wanted to find him they'd manage.

So he doesn't ask how Anakin has found him or is here at his door when he opens it to him. ]

What is it?

[ Not much in terms of preamble, getting straight to it. But he does step aside to allow his grandfather in his home. There's not much to it, it's small with sparse decor as if the tenant doesn't really expect that they'll be living here permanently. Neat and orderly, save for the books scattered on a table in the front. ]

[facultative]

[Now that Anakin's here, he realises there's things he should have known before he decided to show up. Namely if he even knew his grandmother. His shadow loomed large over their family and it didn't leave much room for anyone else.

One step at a time and he did like to improvise.

He quietly takes in the space. Its better set up than the other grandkids, but he isn't here to compare them. It's also unfair of him to do so, he doesn't want to pit them against each other like his favour means anything at all.]

Do you know who your grandmother is?

[dyaddyissues]

[ With the two of them in the room, Kylo is aware that it seems smaller than it did previously. It's safe to say that the height skipped a generation in their family, going from the respective sizes of his mother and uncle. But back to it... He crosses his arms and nods. ]

Padme Amidala. Yes, I know who she is --

[ He's a bit taken aback by the question. Little was known of her life with Anakin, but his mother had made an effort for him to learn about her, bringing him to Naboo on diplomatic visits, where they'd seen her grave. Kylo had wanted to meet her, truly. ]

We also spoke when I first arrived.

[facultative]

[He doesn't know if the knowledge makes this easier or not.]

I see.

[With neither of them inclined to small talk the silence in-between weighed heavier.]

What did you think of her?

[dyaddyissues]

[ Kylo shrugs. ]

She was kind, helped me with a problem I was having with a doll stalking me. Witty. I wanted to get to know her more, but I didn't tell her who I was because I -- [ wanted at least one family member who wasn't disappointed upon first meeting? Kylo waves the rest of that sentence off.

He glances up sharply at Anakin. ]

Why do you ask.

obi-wan round 2

[facultative]

[Anakin is in a poor mood. While some might chalk this up to the absence of his wife, her loss makes him mopier not more prone to snapping and stomping about.

It wasn't fair. That he should suffer so and his master instead breaking everything he's taught him. Not to mention the gall of him to say nothing even when he knew Anakin had struggled with this. Like it meant nothing or worse like he meant nothing.

At first he's moodier than usual. Pointedly leaving the room or ignoring Obi-Wan whenever he can. It then quickly escalates to snipes and then outright hostility.]

What?

[jedies]

[ obi-wan blinks, one eyebrow going up. ]

And hello to you too.

[facultative]

[He debates not saying anything and just walking out, but he gives up on that idea quickly as Anakin has never been one to let something go.]

Don't you have other things to do than watch me?

[jedies]

[ obi-wan gives him a placid look. ]

Well, if you want me to leave . . .

[facultative]

[For a brief moment he looks utterly stricken. It's quickly covered up by anger.]

Maybe you should.

[jedies]

[ uh-huh. ]

What's this all about, Anakin?