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phantom-le6 · 3 years

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Episode Reviews - Star Trek The Next Generation Season 1 (3 of 6)

As we draw close to crossing the first month of 2021 off the calendar to make room for February, which in my view is only of use for Pancake Day and nothing more, I’m back with yet more reviews from the first season of Star Trek: TNG. Will these episodes prove any better than those of the first two rounds, or are we looking at more lemons with warp engines? Let’s find out…

Episode 10: Hide and Q

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

The Enterprise is en route to Quadra Sigma to aid colonists caught in a methane explosion when Q re-appears and demands that they abandon their mission to compete in a game. He teleports Commander Riker and the bridge crew, with the exception of Captain Picard, to a barren landscape and appears in front of them wearing a uniform of a Napoleonic era French marshal. He explains the rule of the game is to stay alive, and after Lt. Yar refuses to compete, he transports her back to the bridge of the Enterprise in a "penalty box".

Q returns to the bridge too, to talk Picard into setting a wager. He explains that the Q Continuum is testing Commander Riker to see if he is worthy of being granted their powers. Picard, having the utmost faith in his First Officer, takes the bet, as winning it would mean Q would get off their backs. Meanwhile, Riker and his team are attacked by what Lt. Worf reports as "vicious animal things" wearing French soldier uniforms from the Napoleonic era and armed with muskets that fire energy bolts instead of the classic projectiles. Q returns to Riker and tells him that he has granted him the powers of the Continuum, and Riker promptly returns his crew mates to the ship but remains behind with Q to ultimately reject the powers. Q brings the crew back to the landscape, this time without their phasers and with Picard. The crew are attacked once more by the aliens, and both Worf and Wesley Crusher are killed. Riker uses the powers of the Q to return the crew again and bring both Worf and Wesley back to life.

Riker makes a promise to Picard never to use the powers again and the ship arrives at Quadra Sigma. A rescue team beams down and discovers a young girl who has died. Riker is tempted to save her, but in the end, he refuses to do so out of respect for his promise. However, he quickly shows signs of regret at this decision, which he expresses to the captain. Tension between Picard and his first officer grows as Riker now seems to be embracing his powers, and his behaviour toward the crew begins to change. At Q's suggestion, and with Picard's blessing, Riker uses his powers to give his friends what he believes they want, turning Wesley into an adult, giving La Forge normal sight in place of his visor, and creating a Klingon female companion for Worf. All the recipients reject their gifts, however, with Data even anticipating and declining Riker's attempt to make him human. Picard declares that Q has failed, and when Q attempts to go back on his word, he is forcibly recalled to the Continuum. Picard is pleased to see Q gone, and praises Riker for confirming his trust in his "Number One".

Review:

There are two main reasons to enjoy this episode; Q and Picard. This is the first time since the pilot that we’ve seen Q and Picard interact, and it’s much better this time because both the actors are a bit more at grips with their characters. The scene in the Captain’s ready room between the pair where they both quote Shakespeare is one of the real highlights of the first season, a veritable miniature diamond in a season-long run of rough. In some respects, it’s almost a pity Picard-Q meet-ups aren’t more frequent, but ultimately, I think that they have to be done as little as possible to retain some impact in the later seasons.

Unfortunately, the episode lacks sufficient subtlety in trying to convey a story about power corrupting. The key reason why the Dark Phoenix story in the X-Men comics is a classic that no adaptation has ever effectively captured is because it involves Jean Grey being corrupted by power slowly, inch by inch, until circumstances push her over the edge. When the Primarch Horus is turned to Chaos in the Horus Heresy novels that form part of Warhammer 40,000 lore, it’s not an overnight transformation from the noble being he was to the power-mad tyrant laying waste to Terra years later. It’s a slow, gradual seduction by power, and a single episode of any TV show doesn’t give that.

As a result, the idea of Riker’s shift in character and attitude seems too rapid and falls flat. The only thing that doesn’t fall flat is how the rest of the cast reacts when Riker tries to act with benevolence. It’s a testament to each of them how they resist being granted their supposedly fondest wishes. I especially applaud Geordi and the autistic-like Data for their choices. I never like stories that try to push the idea that characters who are somehow differently abled, either blatantly or through the metaphor of a genre-specific concept, should always want to eliminate that difference. Maybe Geordi can’t see like everyone else, but considering all the different things he can see with his visor, it’s not like the vision he has is any better or worse. It’s just a pity his reason for saying no was more about not liking a Q-style Riker than about accepting himself and all the goodness inherent in that.

Add in Troi not being around at a time when her character could be very annoying without much effort, and you’ve got an episode that has many saving graces propping up a poor execution of a decent core concept. End score for this one, probably 7 out of 10.

Episode 11: Haven

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

The Enterprise arrives at the planet Haven, where the ship's half-Betazoid Counsellor Deanna Troi has been summoned by her mother Lwaxana. Deanna had previously been set into an arranged marriage to the young human doctor, Wyatt Miller, and his parents have since tracked down Lwaxana to enforce the marriage. After Lwaxana and the Millers are welcomed aboard the Enterprise, the parents argue over whose cultural traditions will be honoured at the ceremony. Deanna and Wyatt attempt to get to know each other but find it difficult, as Deanna is still in love with Commander William Riker. Wyatt has had numerous dreams of another woman with whom he has fallen in love, and had initially believed her to be Deanna communicating telepathically with him.

The Enterprise then learns of an unmarked vessel approaching Haven. Captain Picard recognizes it as Tarellian, a race they thought to have been wiped out by a highly lethal and contagious virus. When they contact the ship, they find a handful of Tarellian refugees who have been travelling at sub-light speeds to Haven in hopes of finding an isolated location to live out the rest of their lives in peace. Picard insists that they cannot go to the planet for fear of spreading the virus, and has the Tarellian vessel placed in a tractor beam. Wyatt discovers that one of the Tarellians, Ariana, is the woman from his dreams, and she too recognizes Wyatt. Wyatt tells Dr Crusher that he will transport some medical supplies to them, but transports himself along with the supplies. When the crew discovers this, Wyatt's parents demand that Picard bring Wyatt back to the Enterprise, but Denna insists that he cannot return, as Wyatt would now carry the Tarellian virus. Wyatt promises his parents, Deanna, and the rest of the crew that he knew that this would be his destiny, and is happy to try to help cure the Tarellian virus. Wyatt convinces the Tarellians to leave Haven and search for help elsewhere. Picard orders the tractor beam to be dropped and allows the vessel to depart the system.

Review:

When it comes to Majel Barrett in the era of the TNG-DS9-Voyager shows, her best work as a guest star is her voice work as the voice of any given Starfleet computer. Her worst work is when she’s guest-starring as Deanna Troi’s mother. Her whole character is the very definition of nails on a chalk board, and it’s very rare if ever that an episode featuring her can be anything good. That said, her presence does help to improve Deanna’s character just because it means Deanna’s suddenly no longer the most likely to irk you with her characterisation. Basically, anytime Deanna’s on the screen at this early stage in the show, all I can think is “please don’t have her go all over-sensitive like she did in the pilot.”

Leaving the Troi family aside, the episode isn’t much to get excited about. Just a run-of-the-mill b-plot about a plague ship that interconnects with the main plot nicely to save us from the Trek equivalent of a shotgun wedding. Frankly, I’d have preferred it if they’d done a plot exploring the arranged marriage idea and casting it down as the terrible idea it is, but then I suppose it wouldn’t be politic to do that with a culture that is part-and-parcel of the Federation instead of being the guest-race-of-the-week. I’d give this one about 3 out of 10.

Episode 12: The Big Goodbye

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

The Enterprise heads to Torona IV to open negotiations with the Jarada, an insect-like race that are unusually strict in matters of protocol. After practicing the complex greeting the Jarada require to open negotiations, Captain Jean-Luc Picard decides to relax with a Dixon Hill story in the holodeck. Playing Detective Hill in the holo-program, Picard takes up the case of Jessica Bradley, who believes that Cyrus Redblock is trying to kill her. Picard decides to continue the program later and leaves the holodeck to affirm their estimated arrival at Torona IV. He invites Dr Beverly Crusher and historian crewmember Whalen to join him in the holodeck. While Crusher is still preparing, Picard and Whalen are ready to enter the holodeck when Lt. Commander Data arrives, having overheard Picard's invitation. Entering the holodeck, the three discover that Jessica has been murdered in Picard's absence. As Picard explains that he saw Jessica at his office the day before, Lt. Bell brings Picard into the police station for questioning as a suspect in her murder. Meanwhile, the Enterprise is scanned from a distance by the Jarada, causing a power surge in the holodeck external controls. Dr Crusher later enters the holodeck, first experiencing a momentary glitch with the holodeck doors, and joins her friends at the police station.

The Jarada demand their greeting earlier than the agreed time and are insulted at having to talk to anyone other than the Captain. The crew tries to communicate with Picard in the holodeck but finds it impossible; the Jarada signal has affected the holodeck's functions, preventing the doors from opening or allowing communication with the crew inside. Lt. Geordi La Forge and Wesley Crusher attempt to repair the holodeck systems. While inside the holodeck, the group returns to Dixon's office. Mr. Leech appears, having waited for Picard, demanding he turn over an object he believes Jessica gave him. When Picard fails to understand, Leech shoots Dr. Whalen with a gun, and the crew discovers that the safety protocols have been disabled, as Whalen is severely wounded. As Dr Crusher cares for his wound, Picard and Data discover that the holodeck is malfunctioning, and they are unable to exit the program. Mr. Leech is joined by Redblock, who continues to demand the object. Lt. McNary arrives and becomes involved in the standoff. Picard tries to explain the nature of the holodeck, but Redblock refuses to believe him.

Outside, Wesley finds the glitch; however, he cannot simply turn off the system for fear of losing everyone inside. Instead, Wesley resets the simulation, briefly placing Picard and the others in the middle of a snowstorm before finding themselves back in Dixon's office. With the reset successfully clearing the malfunction, the exit doors finally appear. Despite Picard's warnings, Redblock and Leech exit the holodeck, but dissipate as they move beyond the range of its holo-emitters. As they leave the holodeck, Picard thanks McNary, who now suspects that his world is artificial and asks whether Picard's departure is "the big goodbye", to which Picard replies that he simply doesn't know. Picard reaches the bridge in time to give the proper greeting to the Jarada. The Jarada accept the greeting, heralding the start of successful negotiations.

Review:

The Big Goodbye has a special place in the era of holodeck era of Trek as the first example of a “holodeck-gone-wrong” episode. Later episodes of this series and the spin-off shows Deep Space Nine and Voyager would return to the premise of holodeck malfunctions time and again as either minor or major plot points. Unfortunately, the holodeck is already going wrong as a plot device in the show just from a technical realisation standpoint.

The basic idea of the holodeck is that it creates 3D images that resemble whatever is programmed into the computer, with some kind of force-fields giving the images substance while other aspects of the technology fill in the proverbial blanks (e.g. special programming to create interactive characters, localised environmental controls, etc.) However, everything that exists within the holodeck can only exist within the range of the room’s tech; if anything created by the holodeck moves beyond its walls, it should instantly cease to be. However, in the Farpoint pilot, Wesley Crusher fell into water on the holodeck, and when he walked out into the corridor, he remained wet and dripping when all the holographic water should have disappeared the instance he walked through the exit.

Likewise, in this episode Picard picks up a lipstick mark when he first tries the holodeck’s new upgrades, and that should have disappeared when he later briefs the crew in the observation lounge. Instead, Dr Crusher has to wipe the lipstick off for the captain, despite the fact it should have disappeared from Picard’s face long ago. It’s an annoying issue, and one that could have been easily fixed even back in the 1980’s when this show was made; evidently, this was just another example of how bad the show was at this stage. If TNG ever gets the kind of reboot the original series did, I sincerely hope any use of the holodecks pays attention to and rectifies this error in the application of the holodeck concept.

Otherwise, this episode doesn’t do much more than give Brent Spiner a bit more to do with Data by having him impersonate a 40’s-style gangers and give Patrick Stewart someone else to be besides the captain of the latest version of the Enterprise. It’s a fairly well-made episode for season 1 of this show, and it really sells the illusion of the holodeck program for the most part. The people who made the show just needed to learn that anything that gets made in the holodeck stays in the holodeck. I’d give it about 5 out of 10.

Episode 13: Datalore

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

While on the way to Starbase Armus IX for computer maintenance, the Enterprise arrives at the planet Omicron Theta, the site of a vanished colony where the starship Tripoli originally found the android Data. An away team travels to the surface and finds that what had been farmland is now barren with no trace of life in the soil. The team also finds a lab which they discover is where Dr. Noonien Soong, a formerly prominent but now discredited robotics designer, built Data. The team also find a disassembled android nearly identical to Data and return with it to the ship. As the course to the Starbase is resumed, the crew reassemble and reactivate Data's "brother" in sickbay. He refers to himself as Lore, and explains that Data was built first and he himself is the more perfect model. He feigns naiveté to the crew, but shows signs of being more intelligent than he is letting on. Later, in private, he tells Data that they were actually created in the opposite order, as the colonists became envious of his own perfection. He also explains that a crystalline space entity capable of stripping away all life force from a world was responsible for the colony's demise.

Lore then incapacitates Data, revealing that he plans to offer the ship's crew to the entity. When a signal transmission is detected from Data's quarters, Wesley Crusher arrives to investigate. He finds Lore, now impersonating Data, who explains that he had to incapacitate his brother after being attacked. Wesley is doubtful, but pretends to accept the explanation. Soon after, the same crystalline entity that had attacked the colony approaches the ship. Lore, still pretending to be Data, enters the bridge as the object hovers before the Enterprise and explains that he incapacitated his brother by turning him off, causing Doctor Beverly Crusher to be suspicious, since Data had previously treated the existence of such a feature as a closely guarded secret. Lore then explains that he can communicate with the crystalline entity and suggests to Captain Jean-Luc Picard that he should show a demonstration of force by beaming an object toward the entity and then destroying it with the ship's phasers.

Lore's attempts to imitate Data are imperfect, though initially only Wesley is suspicious, and his efforts to voice these concerns only draw rude rebukes from Picard and his mother. However, Picard does ultimately become suspicious, especially when Lore does not recognize Picard's usual command to "make it so". Although Picard sends a security detachment to tail him, Lore overpowers Lt. Worf and evades pursuit. Meanwhile, the suspicious Dr Crusher and Wesley reactivate the unconscious Data, and the three of them race to the cargo hold to find Lore plotting with the entity to defeat the Enterprise. When Lore discovers them, he threatens Wesley with a phaser and orders Dr Crusher to leave. Data quickly rushes Lore and a brawl ensues. Data manages to knock Lore onto the transporter platform, and Wesley activates it, beaming Lore into space. With its conspirator no longer aboard, the crystalline entity departs, and the Enterprise resumes its journey to the starbase.

Review:

This episode very heavily relies on answering the mystery of Data’s origin and giving him a villainous brother in a manner similar to the Thor-Loki dynamic of Marvel superhero lore (pardon the inadvertent pun) to make it worth watching, because goodness knows it falls down everywhere else. Spiner is remarkable playing the treacherous Lore alongside his regular character of Data, and it’s fun to see him make the best of what ultimately becomes a poor episode on other fronts.

I know some reviewers have stated they don’t understand Lore’s motives for allying with the Crystalline Entity, but as a Marvel fan, it’s actually fairly easy to deduce. Much like Loki in Marvel’s Thor franchise, Lore is a bit of a trickster, an android Q but without the pseudo-godhood or ultimately benign motives of Q. Also like Loki, Lore is the unfavoured son, one who was basically cast aside in favour of something supposedly better, so he’s turned against the humanity his brother admires and emulates out of jealousy and the pain of rejection. It’s not a hard motive to grasp, but with Lore not explicitly saying it, you need that knowledge of another fictional reference to make the deduction. Given that Marvel lore was largely overlooked by the adult world until superheroes were made into a legitimate cinematic genre at the turn of the century, it’s unlikely many original reviewers would have made the link.

However, as I’ve noted, the episode falls apart in other respects. The crew’s haste to reassemble Data’s brother mid-flight is very risky behaviour more akin to the cowboy antics of Kirk’s crew from the original series than Picard’s more measured approach, and they are remarkably stupid in failing to catch onto Lore’s threat. Only Wesley shows the requisite insight and intelligence, but expresses it poorly because at this time no one on the show could write Wesley with any kind of competence. As a result, Picard ends up looking like a total git for his outburst at Wesley, Wesley’s mother comes off almost as bad, and when it turns out that, as ever, Wesley was right, there’s no apology from Picard at all. On balance, this episode rates about 5 out of 10, which can be taken as the anti-Wesley acting having a severely detrimental impact on a great Spiner performance, or a great Spiner performance saving the episode by some horrid Wesley-bashing.

Episode 14: Angel One

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

The Enterprise arrives at the planet Angel One, which is ruled by an oligarchy of women. The ship is looking for survivors from the shipwrecked freighter Odin, over seven years after having been evacuated. The freighter was missing three escape pods and the only planet in range was Angel One. An away team consisting of Commander William Riker, Lt. Commander Data, Lt. Tasha Yar, and Counsellor Deanna Troi beam down to the surface. They attempt to negotiate with Mistress Beata, the "Elected One" of the native inhabitants, to let them search for the survivors. Time is of the essence however, as the Enterprise must travel to a Federation outpost near the Romulan Neutral Zone (where a group of Romulan Battlecruisers has been detected) as soon as they resolve their investigation into the Odin survivors.

Beata reveals that they are aware of four male survivors of the Odin who have caused disruption in their society, and are considered fugitives. Beata requests Riker stay with her (and later requests that he order Troi, Data, and Yar to track down the survivors' camp and their leader Ramsey, while staying and dining with her). After some back and forth, Data concludes Ramsey and the survivors of the Odin would have platinum with them, and Angel One is naturally devoid of platinum, allowing the Enterprise to easily detect them. Meanwhile, Riker dresses in the garb given to him for his dinner with Beata, Troi and Yar tease him for dressing in clothes that sexualize him and, in some ways, demean him. He responds by saying he is honouring the local customs, and acknowledges Beata's beauty, and that the garb is rather comfortable.

The Enterprise searches while in orbit around Angel One. Doctor Beverly Crusher relieves Captain Jean-Luc Picard of duty after he and most of the crew have fallen ill to a random virus on board. The Captain leaves Lieutenant Geordi La Forge in command (Geordi's first time in acting command of a starship). Shortly after, they find Ramsey and transmit his location to the Away Team, who beam directly to there.

When confronted by Data, Yar, and Troi, Ramsey and his men, having taken wives and started families during the seven years, refuse to leave. Data points out that as the Odin was not a star fleet vessel, its crew is not bound by the Prime Directive and the Enterprise cannot remove them against their will. Geordi informs Yar of the medical situation on board, and that more Romulan ships have been detected near the Neutral Zone. Riker gets close to Beata as they compare how gender roles differ between Angel One and the Federation. On the Enterprise, systems are becoming harder to maintain with more crew succumbing to the virus. Geordi (after a friendly reminder from a sniffling Worf) remembers that in command, he must delegate tasks so he can stay on the bridge. Dr Crusher finds that the virus is an airborne organism that produces a sweet smell, to encourage inhalation, after which it becomes viral inside the body.

Riker gets up to date with the situation, and decides that while Ramsey and his group are at large and refusing to leave the planet, there is little they can do. Before leaving they find that one of Beata's fellow mitstresses, Ariel, has married Ramsey, and was followed by Beata's guards to their camp, where they arrested the survivors and their families. The Away Team attempt to explain to Beata the reason for Ramsey's refusal to leave. Beata and her council reject his reasoning, and threatens to execute them the following day. After failing to convince Ramsey and his group to leave with them, Riker contacts the Enterprise in hopes of transporting Ramsey and his group without their consent (despite it being a violation of the Prime Directive, and almost certainly an end to his career). However, Dr Crusher (while treating an incapacitated Geordi in the Captain's chair) refuses to allow anyone to beam aboard for fear of them being infected, but allows Data, an android, to return. Riker orders Data to take command and get the Enterprise to the Neutral Zone before it's too late.

The following morning the Away Team is invited to witness the execution of Ramsey and his followers. Moments after Riker rejects their invitation Data makes contact and informs them that there is a 48-minute window in which Dr Crusher has to find a cure, and Riker must defuse the situation on the planet before the ship must leave for the Neutral Zone. On the planet, Ramsey and his men are prepared to be executed by disintegration despite Ariel's pleas, while Dr Crusher discovers a cure for the virus. Riker is prepared to have the away team and the Odin survivors beamed to the Enterprise, but makes a plea that execution will do Angel One’s society little good. He contends that Ramsey and his men have simply become a symbol for pre-existing dissatisfaction with the current society on Angel One, an evolutionary change that execution may only accelerate by turning Ramsey’s group into martyrs.

After deliberating with her fellow mistresses, Beata announces that she will stay the execution and banish Ramsey, his men, their families, and any others that support them to the far side of the planet. She explains that their banishment will not stop the fall of the oligarchy, but will slow it down enough that Beata will not be around to see its end. The away team return to the ship and Picard, already recovering from the virus but hardly having a voice, orders the ship to the Neutral Zone at high warp.

Review:

Apparently, the idea of this episode was look at South Africa’s apartheid system, but using a gender-based schism in a female-dominated society to explore the concept along gender lines rather than being more direct and using anything akin to a racial divide. As a result, the intention is lost behind some very horrendously sexist rubbish that makes the show seem more like a bad parody of feminism. The episode also has a lousy b-plot of a virus story that adds nothing to the episode, and again showcases how badly the holodeck concept was being handled at this time. A snowball from a holodeck skiing program should not be able to go through the holodeck doors to hit Picard and Worf in the corridor. 2 out of 10 is all this episode deserves.

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lucytara · 6 years

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okay since walk where the wild things grow was posted back in march or whatever ive had a bunch of questions over time about the Lore™. i kept saying i’d make a post or something explaining it all and i finally did it!

the beginning/first war/etc

in the beginning, the world itself actually seems very similar to what v6 is describing re: salem’s origin. magic was much more common, and many could access/wield it. blake, yang, weiss, ruby, and pyrrha had a much more uncommon ability with it - they were basically gifted, in a way. they could do stronger things, they could learn to harness it in ways normal people couldn’t. and they were among the front lines in the first war against the darkness.

ozpin gifted them their greater forms of magic, tying power to their souls and basically rendering them immortal. he also sensed incredible magic inside of jaune and tried to gift him something similar, but jaune never learned to access it.

even then, yang was always the most powerful. she utilized her power in a way others didn’t, or they gravitated towards other things. blake, for instance, would’ve much rather created than destroyed - which is the literal influence of blake over yang’s soul where wwtwtg picks up. yang leans towards creation now because of blake.

they were more magical than human by the end of the first war. the scale was so much grander than anything now. think like demigods or something. they weren’t quite transcendent but they were close.

adam was more human than magical. his power came more in the form of intangible effects - leadership, an otherworldly charisma to the point of forced influence, physical strength, willpower. the ability to strike unrelenting fear. he still was magical, but his gifts weren’t primarily magical like the maidens.

blake and yang were the biggest threats in existence. yang was very much the personification of fire and fury and destruction, think yang in early volumes, letting her emotions get the best of her, dictate her moves. blake was really the only one who could keep her in check - not in a bad way, but blake was much more strategic, worked more from shadow, could play around with day and night and darkness, lightning and thunder and storms. and they both made each other stronger because they wanted to keep the other safe so badly. they drove each other to extremes, like qrow tells her. they did things nobody thought possible just to protect the other.

because of this they became the primary targets, aside from ozpin himself. and their enemies stopped fighting them directly, instead search for a new way: undo what ozpin had done, detach power from one of them, leave them aimless. this is their final fight together - countless people died trying to stop this from happening - but blake’s power ultimately was unbound, only they didn’t realize it would go to the last person in her thoughts, which was yang. adam managed to strike yang in the chaos of the battle, trying to protect basically powerless blake at this point, unable to harness all the power that was now inside of her. so blake essentially sacrifices herself to buy yang time. adam was the one who killed her.

holding now nearly-limitless power and basically a force of nothing but rage and revenge and grief, yang destroys everything evil - banishes it, burns it, tears it to pieces - and the population’s so decimated at this point anyway, this was almost a post-apocalyptic world, ruby and weiss and pyrrha and jaune are dead - and yang creates the pocket dimension where we see salem live in the series, essentially, locks away what can’t be destroyed, basically the concept itself of magical evil. that’s really the limit of her power. and at the end of all things, now left only with her grief, she grows flowers, trees, forests, creates rainstorms, oceans. in her last moments she’s thinking of blake and the world she wants to find blake in again, and it isn’t the war-torn hell surrounding her

Past Lives

separating blake’s power from her soul should have made it impossible for them to find each other again, and for awhile - a lonnng while - it did. when yang couldn’t find her the next life, or the next, she forgot more and more until she was left with only the knowledge that love had been there itself.

adam was the one who found blake next. blake, not having her own pwer to know for certain, only felt a strange connection to him without realizing it was a sinister one. it ended poorly for her, as it does in every life adam exists. when he’s able to influence blake, she and yang rarely cross paths. however, in lives he doesn’t exist, blake and yang have plenty of almosts - they’re in the same city at the same time, the same festival, on opposite sides of the street, walking the same woods, etc. maybe yang catches the back of her head in a crowd, but she blinks and blake’s gone.

in plenty of lives, yang runs across adam and without remembering fully who he is or what he’s done, murders him. some part of her soul has that age-old instinct and recognizes the part he plays in her life. he’s the biggest threat to her and she never lets him live.

however, unlike yang, adam (and evil in general) grows weaker with time. the power itself dilutes every life because evil can’t reincarnate without extraordinary effort and chaos to take advantage of in the world itself.

which brings us to...present day!

in wwtwtg, adam’s hold over blake breaks entirely. it’s why she’s able to leave him, and why she travels to vale instead; the pull on her soul is too strong, even though she doesn’t recognize it. after this life, he’s never able to influence her again.

yang and blake look the most similar to their first selves, which is one of the reasons their connection finally overpowers every other influence over it. not only do their souls recognize each other, but on some level they literally recognize each other.

like yang says later, blake should not have been able to see her in the forest the first time they meet. she was masking herself, but blake’s immune to the effect of it because they’re soulmates. like she says, she’ll recognize yang anywhere.

the island in the ocean near where they have their first kiss is blake’s grave (a lot of you guessed this which was super cool). it’s the centralization of yang’s grief, but also of what was her hope for the future. it’s eternally in conflict; the residue of the magic and emotion was too strong.

the ruin just outside of Shor, the crumbling house where they grow the flower, is where they used to live. the magical presence is strong because their power soaked into the world around them. in their first life, before she died, yang put it under some sort of protective spell, keeping it more intact than anything else. Shor itself would’ve been the capital city back then; all of them lived there before and during the war. it was a primary trading port, situated near a deep bay (which is now cut off from the ocean). it was so entrenched in magic that it managed to survive total annihilation, and it’s the largest ruin that exists in remnant. think pompeii, but even bigger.

ozpin now is something that lives almost around the fringes of the world, rather than in it. he’s kind of like salem in that way, the concept of evil, and the concept of hope. but of course he made a visit to ensure blake didn’t have any reason to leave.

the books in the shop do allude to their pasts. remorse of time - blake and yang thought they’d find each other and they didn’t. the first six - hint that there were 6 of them, like is revealed at the end. darkest game - the final part of the war that got blake killed, sort of how the evil became its own undoing by killing her.

cinder was reincarnated their last life, and she was able to steal their power. yang could’ve defeated her easily, but two of her friends were dead, and she was tired. something was telling her to start over. she knew cinder wouldn’t be able to handle the power she’d get from yang, and yang essentially let herself die. that’s why cinder was more grimm than monster when ruby finally found her - yang’s power was the tipping point, so overwhelming it was like acid, eating away at her body.

during the fight in mistral, yang’s soul was essentially reacting to blake being there the way she would’ve been in the very beginning. she was driven to protect her, to do her justice. like instinct, like something feral. the power she accessed was even greater than normal. like it’d been unleashed.

ruby and yang are always sisters or half-sisters. they don’t normally start showing their gifts until they’re five, so there’s no way for parents in vale/mistral to know in advance. like, they can’t be like, shit just had a kid who’s a maiden and i don’t want another one, time to stop having kids. they aren’t always born in their kingdoms; ruby and yang were both born in vale, but the guard at the time (qrow’s the main one here, ironwood in atlas, etc) determine their positions based on their memories of their past lives among other things. ruby always would’ve been drawn to mistral. pyrrha likes to say the desert just agrees with her.

ruby and weiss don’t always have a romantic relationship, unlike blake and yang, who always do from here on out. it depends entirely on the life. sometimes their relationship is just that in itself: they’re soulmates.

people ask me all the time if blake ends up getting her powers back. all i’ll say on that is that there is definitely a way, should they ever decide to pursue that course. ;)

thanks to everyone who asked questions and if it wasn’t answered here you can shoot me a message!! <33

#bumbleby #wwtwtg #fic lore?

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marybeatriceofmodena · 7 years

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chance may crown me - a story for the 2017 reylo fanfiction anthology: celebrate the waking

Thanks to everyone who took the time to leave a comment on AO3. This will be my last Reylo fic for an indeterminate amount of time.

It didn’t take long before Queen Kusumina’s troops made their way to the throne room, meeting Rey, Ben and Leia. Upon discovering King Prana was dead, along with one of their generals, the First Order troops were in chaos, not knowing who to turn to.

The Naboo military admitted their complicity with the First Order, even confirming that General Hux’s murder had been staged in order to accuse the Royal Alderaanian family of the deed. Along with the Queen’s escape from certain death, it didn’t take much more to prove the First Order’s ill intentions.

It left as quickly and as quietly as it could from Naboo, and rumor had it that its members present on Naboo were heading towards the Outer Rim, sending word to their allies as well. What would be their next move was uncertain: but such worries were the Galactic Senate’s business.

Whether there would be war again or not, or rather, whether the First Order would go out for revenge or be crippled permanently, no one could tell.

For those who knew who had been truly pulling the strings all those years, they could only hope the organization would fall apart on its own. Snoke had been defeated, but his spirit, while weakened, wasn’t dead, and would find a way to come back. They could only hope it wouldn’t be for a long time.

It had been a week since the First Order had fled from Naboo. There was still a lot of work to be done, and guards who couldn’t be trusted anymore had to be replaced. There was a pressing need… which meant taking more unorthodox measures.

It wasn’t every day a scavenger from Theed’s undercity became part of the Queen’s personal guard. But Rey had to admit Finn looked very handsome in his uniform.

It was a way of rewarding him for saving the Queen’s life. However, Rey wondered if there weren’t more personal interests involved. Finn was the one guard Rose requested at her side at all times. Judging by how they often stood a bit too close to each other at times, or the stolen glances when they thought no one was watching, Rey knew that if a relationship would come to form between them (if it already wasn’t the case), it wouldn’t stay a secret for very long.

For Finn, Rey only wished the best. And after all those years in misery, he got what he truly deserved.

As for her… she had no idea what would happen.

Finn was busy with his new duties. Rey had been granted a room in the palace, but she knew very well it was temporary. While Finn was away, Ben was the only one who kept her company during those solitary days. But there was still something different, almost melancholic about that change: before the events of the last week, Rey had never been separated from Finn, or at least only for a few hours.

Now, it felt as if he was moving onto a new step in his life: one where she would still be important, but not as a centerpiece anymore. Somehow, it felt like losing her parents again, and without Ben’s presence, it would have been unbearable.

Ben could be unbearable too: but he was company. Good company. Though he didn’t need to know that.

They had common interests in tech, though Rey’s knowledge was practical while Ben’s was theoretical. He also loved to go on long rants about anything that would come across them in the walks they’d take together. He’d do it mostly to amaze her, showing off how incredibly intelligent he was. Rey pretended not to be impressed: though deep down, she was an avid learner.

And - yet another thing he didn’t need to know - he was a good teacher.

“So who trained you?” Ben asked, one day. Rey stared at him in surprise.

“What do you mean, trained me?”

“Your Jedi training. Though I suppose it wasn’t called that.”

Rey blinked, her mouth half-open. Of course, she had trained with a lightsaber, and had been forced to do boring meditation exercises thanks to Maz. But to think that she had potential as a Jedi…

“Are you going to contact your uncle again?” asked Rey. “Continue your training?”

Ben scowled and shrugged. “I’m not going back to him,” he grumbled. “I’ve had enough masters to last me a lifetime. Best way to learn is to keep on searching for old lore. And I’ll try to avoid the ones written by stuffy old masters. Reminds me of one time I fell across a holocron from a Master who thought all Jedi should shave their heads. He said his padawan was far too attached to his. I had to threaten Uncle Luke that I would destroy the holocron if he forced me to shave my hair. Thankfully, I didn’t have to.”

Rey burst in laughter, while Ben had another one of his crooked grins. She liked them. In those moments, he looked like a little boy.

“You know,” Ben added, “you have a lot of raw potential. You need a teacher.”

“Who?” Rey asked, tilting her head. “You?”

“Of course,” he said, puffing his chest, and Rey rolled her eyes. But Ben twisted his mouth, pouting slightly. “Well, I still have a lot to learn myself.”

“Good,” Rey replied. “That means I won’t hear you brag all the time about how smart you are.”

Ben grumbled something, while Rey laughed again, nudging him gently on the shoulder. He then grabbed her hand, locking hers into his.

“So when do we start?” Rey asked.

Whatever cheerfulness was on Ben’s face quickly faded away. “I’m-- not supposed to tell you…”

“What?” Rey interjected. “What’s going on?”

Ben twisted his mouth, staring at the ground. Rey grew frustrated. If there was one thing she hated, it was being left in the dark.

“Ben, tell me. I have a right to know.”

Ben gulped. “They’re-- they’re deciding what to do with you.”

“What? Who?”

“The Queen. My mother. And other close advisors. You see… with your lineage… it’s big business. Snoke knew who you were. He could have given that information to other high-ranked people in the First Order. Ill-intentioned people could discover your identity. Not just on the First Order’s side, but the New Republic’s side too. And there are people there who are out for Imperial blood.”

The world starting spinning around Rey. She could hide, and no one would ever know what had become of her. She could manage on her own. She always did, and high-ranked people deciding of her fate had no power over her. It wasn’t like they could…

...exile her.

Rey knew all too well what had happened to Imperial leaders, when they hadn’t been able to run away to the Unknown Regions-- or had been executed.

“This isn’t fair!” she shouted. “I did nothing wrong. I didn’t choose my family.”

Ben chuckled mirthlessly. “Obviously.”

Rey glared at him. “Your parents and your uncle are war heroes. Don’t patronize me.”

Ben turned away, contemplating Theed unfurling under the balcony where they were standing. “Remember when we were looking at all the Monarchs’ silk portraits? You were wondering why I was staring at Queen Amidala’s.” He took a deep breath. “She was my grandmother.”

“What?” Rey replied in disbelief.

“She died the day my mother and my uncle were born. She had fallen in love with a Jedi Knight, Anakin Skywalker. They got married, and they kept it all secret. Thing is, he wasn’t an ordinary Jedi. His Masters believed he was the Chosen One, and that he was destined to destroy the Sith for good. He died during Order 66. At least, that’s the official story.”

“But Luke Skywalker destroyed the Sith, right? At least, that’s what the legends say.”

Ben smiled, but there was no joy. “You’ll learn that legends tend to make the events a lot more pleasant than they truly are. Anakin Skywalker didn’t die during Order 66. He actually led the Clone troopers into the Jedi Temple. He then became known as Darth Vader.”

Rey’s throat tightened. She found herself at a loss for words. She wanted to comfort Ben, express some sympathy-- but she realized now that it wasn’t her forte. Her pain was something she always pushed back, bottled up, in order to focus on the positive sides of her life when she wasn’t forced to focus on survival.

“It’s-- it’s not your fault,” Rey attempted. “You’re not responsible for what happened fifty years ago from now--”

“Well, some people will disagree with you,” Ben cut her. “If the truth came out, like it nearly did if Snoke had got his way, my mother would be forced to abdicate. She’d lose all credibility. They wouldn’t care, even after she devoted her entire life fighting against the Empire and building the New Republic. That’s why I infiltrated the First Order. I didn’t care what happened to me. My mother once said she’d burn down the entire galaxy just to prove that she was right. I guess we’re not that different.”

Rey moved away, uncomfortable. “Thankfully, I’m not very good at it,” Ben continued, in an attempt to lighten up the mood. “I always end up doing something stupid.”

“No! You’re not stupid, you’re--” Rey hesitated, unsure if honesty would be the right option. But Ben staring at her encouraged her to continue. “You’re reckless. But you’re like that because you care.”

A shy smile drew itself on Ben’s lips. At that moment, Rey couldn’t resist hugging him tightly. He responded by patting her back, awkward, as if he still wasn’t use to that kind of contact. But it didn’t take long before he hugged her back, his hold gentle yet firm.

“I think I have an idea.”

Rey shot her head up. “What?”

“I was planning to leave to Corellia once all this would be over. See my father. I haven’t seen him in years. I don’t want to risk anyone trying to hold me back with protocol or Jedi training or whatever they’ll have in store for me, so I was going to leave in secret.”

“So… you’re giving up on becoming a Jedi Knight? And what about your mother?”

Ben sighed. “I’m-- I’m scared. I don’t want to be forced to go back to the Alderaanian court. And I need time. You know… I never wanted to be a prince, or a Jedi. I wanted to be a pilot and a smuggler. Like my father.”

Ben then cleared his throat, shifting awkwardly. “So… before someone else makes the decision for you, I was thinking… I mean, if you want, and you can say no, I mean, I’d love to if you said yes, but you don’t have to--”

“You want me to run away with you.”

Ben froze, afraid of what Rey’s reaction might be next. She picked up both his hands. “I-- I don’t know if leaving Naboo will be easy, or a good idea,” she continued. “I’ve been here my entire life.”

He crossed his arms. “You only remember Theed. You haven’t seen that much.”

“And I guess I’ll have to hear you brag about how well you know every single planet in the galaxy,” Rey sighed. “But… I do want to see it. Other worlds, I mean. I’d like that. But... ” Her throat tightened. “I need to say goodbye to someone. Please. I can’t just leave like that.”

Ben frowned, but his features softened as he realized of whom Rey was speaking. He nodded. “Of course.”

Ben had left a note for his mother: she’d see it only in the morning. She would know where he went: and by the time he’d be gone, it would be too late to hold him back.

It wasn’t permanent, but he, as well as Rey, needed time away from the greater scheme of things, in anonymity.

That night, on the landing pad, there were only three people and a BB unit, three of whom would fly away to Corellia, on the used ship Ben had got the same day.

Finn was the only one aware of their escape. Elopement.

Despite Ben’s fears, it wasn’t difficult for Rey to convince Finn to keep it all secret. Nevertheless, he was worried.

“You don’t have to go,” Finn said. “It doesn’t have to be like this. I can find a way--”

“I know you would,” Rey replied, attempting to keep her voice clear despite her throat tightening. “And I know Rose would, too. But in the end, you’re not the ones making the final decision. So… I guess you could say I’m breaking the cycle.”

Finn attempted to smile. “Yeah. You’ve had enough crazy to last you a lifetime. But anyway, be careful.”

Rey titled her head with an amused smile. “I’m always careful, you know that. And BB-8 will protect me.”

BB-8 beeped in approval, brandishing his welding torch with pride.

“And as for you…” Finn added, turning towards Ben. “If you let something happen to Rey, or if you’re the one hurting her, I swear, I--”

“Yes, I know,” Ben replied, rolling his eyes. “You’ll hunt me down and kill me. Of course. You know, it’ll take more than a blaster to stop me, kid.”

“I have a vibrosword.”

Ben gulped. “Okay.”

Finn nodded with a smirk, before turning again to Rey. He cleared his throat, but like Rey, he was unable to hold back the tears in his eyes.

They hugged each other tightly, Rey burying her face in Finn’s shoulder, as she always did.

“When you’re off duty, you’ll come and see me, right?” asked Rey.

“Of course. I’ll come every chance I get.”

“And-- could you… actually, do Ben a favor. Do it for me. Tell Leia I’ll watch over Ben. And that we just need some time away. Promise me?”

“I will.”

Without further ado, Rey pulled herself out of Finn’s arms, and followed Ben into the ship, BB-8 right behind her, but not without one last glance behind, towards Finn, and towards Theed.

Leaving was now becoming very real, and Rey was torn between her thirst for exploring the rest of the galaxy and her fright at the thought she was leaving Naboo, after staying all those years, hoping for her family to come back.

Now, she was running away.

She closed the airlock behind her, heading towards the cockpit, where Ben was waiting for her.

When she entered, Ben turned towards her, with another of his shy half-smiles in an attempt to reassure her. With his fingers fiddling all over the controls, his giddiness was obvious. Despite everything, Rey couldn’t help but smile.

“I’ll have to learn how to pilot too,” she said.

“I’ll teach you.”

“Good. Then I’ll have to become better than you.”

He smirked in amusement. “Well, maybe not piloting. But perhaps a better Force user than me. It comes more easily to you.”

“So… a Jedi?”

“Not a Jedi.” He remained silent for a few seconds. “Maybe something else.”

“What, not a Sith?”

“No, of course not. Though, you would make a wonderful Empress.”

Rey glared at Ben. “Don’t--”

“I was joking. However, milady, if you change your mind, I’m at your service.” He bowed his head, but Rey softly elbowed him, half-annoyed, half-smiling.

“So, if we’re not Jedi, or Sith, what are we, then?”

Ben remained pensive. “We’ll have to figure that out. We have time.”Do you want to be the one plotting the course?” he asked, pointing to the navicomputer. “Corellia’s right there.”

Rey nodded, swallowing back any nervousness as she sealed her fate, leaving Naboo behind her-- for now.

For the first time, she didn’t know what would be awaiting her: but now, there was a thrill to it rather than fright.

It was a new beginning, for both of them. And this time, perhaps they would be able to leave the ghosts of the past behind for good.

#reylo fanfiction anthology #star wars #rey #kylo ren #reylo #reylo fanfic #finn #rose tico #finnrose #my fanfiction #my writing

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