Chapter 1: Character Select
Chapter Text
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Rey’s POV
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Rey should have known that accepting a job offer to work on the Prequel Trilogy games was a mistake.
Aside from the fact that investors had decided to spin up a studio to create the sequel-–sorry, prequel-–to one of the most beloved game series of all time after waiting 16 years should have told her everything she needed to know about the project.
But she had been swept up in the hype. The press had exploded with praise at the studio’s announcement and recruiters had courted her; no need to apply Ms. Niima, Ms. Organa and Mr. Skywalker are already familiar with your work.
She had been heady with the praise, the attention, the starting base salary.
Never meet your heroes.
Just look at where that got her.
Sweat slicked her brow as she swung around the snowy landscape, trying to get a look at the arena and not accidentally roll dodge into a tree because the dodge distance bug from last week’s playtest still wasn’t fixed. She’d have to ask Finn about that afterwards.
The environment looked good. Puffs of snow spawned as her feet moved through the snow, her footsteps persisted behind her, and a heavy snowfall triggered as she moved through the thicket. The lighting tinted everything with a cold, blue hue as her character’s hair bobbed in the physics sim.
Rey smiled to herself, relishing briefly in the fact that she had snuck her signature hair style-–3 stacked buns and some wispy bangs-–into the character creator. She chose it every time she playtested.
She swung the camera to look up at the skybox and–-shit , accidentally roll dodged directly into a tree, knocking her character flat on her back in the snow.
A grumble sounded behind her, Finn, “Fuck, I thought we fixed that.”
Rey stayed mute, focused on the game as she heard Finn shuffle impatiently. She didn’t have to look at him to know that he had crept a hand up his cheek in nervous thought. Tense.
She squinted through the snowy landscape and swung the camera again, looking for movement-–there. A dark figure was leaning over in the snow, hand outstretched, body shaking with effort. If this were a normal playtest Rey would have turned and congratulated Finn on how good the animation looked.
But this was not a typical playtest.
The hunched character was clad in all black with tousled dark hair that obscured his face and stirred in the wind system. Rey was careful to stay far enough away from the character to avoid alerting him. She held down the controller’s right trigger to active the Force–-
A button prompt appeared in the middle her screen.
Gotcha.
She smashed X and the lightsaber hilt flew past her opponent, landing directly into her hand.
Rey fumbled with the controls slightly as a murmur zipped around the room, and activated the lightsaber. The sudden addition of bright blue light cast a nice key light on her character’s features and threw color across the snow particles that swirled around her.
Blue saber, nice, that was a rare drop. She felt relieved until the dark figure across from her deployed his lightsaber, spinning the red blade in a practiced circle and holding it at the ready.
Shit. That one was Exotic, way better stats.
Rey had the briefest moment to wonder if his ult was on cooldown before she was engaged in combat, the camera pulling in tight over her character’s shoulder. Her fingers flew across the controller’s face buttons, inputting combos she had been practicing for a week.
If only the playtest had been with mouse and keyboard-–she was so much better on PC–-
She swung wide and hit a tree, burning a slice in the bark where the lightsaber intersected. The tree fell, but she had no time to appreciate the environmental destruction system because her opponent was advancing relentlessly. He used attack animation combos she had only ever seen playblasted on Poe’s computer, never hooked up in-game before.
She was forced to give ground to keep from taking damage; parry, block, step back, parry, counter, shit, he blocked, he countered again. Spark VFX flew from where their weapons scraped the rocks around them and Rey recognized that he was going to back her into a corner of the map unless she made a move.
She waited for an opening, watching his animations and carefully timed a climbing QTE that propelled her to the top of the gorge. From the corner of her eye Rey saw that he had also nailed the prompt–-bastard–-and she desperately needed to put some distance between them.
She mashed the dodge roll and it catapulted her much farther ahead than what the designers had intended. It worked to her advantage, and she exploited the bug a few more times, blocking an attack and retreating again, carefully leading their fight towards the scripted event behind her.
She heard appreciative murmurs around the room her as the geometry in the arena split open, trees falling into a deep fissure in the ground that glowed red from within. From somewhere to her left, Rey could hear Holdo, their Engineering Director, talking in conversational tones about how the map would shrink as the match dragged on, driving remaining players closer and closer together to increase tension and create emergent gameplay.
Poe’s snarky tone echoing in the back of Rey's mind; Didn’t emergent gameplay . . . emerge? Naturally? If you have to specifically plan it, it isn’t emergent.
The momentary distraction was enough to cause Rey to fumble her combo, and her opponent caught her in a defensive maneuver, using his weight and momentum to push her back towards the fissure.
She snuck a glance behind her to admire the falling rock particle effects, before a deep voice cut through the proximity mic and into her headphones,
“You need a teacher. I can show you those Force combos.”
The other character’s face was close to their interlocked sabers, and Rey watched the dual red and blue lighting splay across his intense, drawn features. Of course it looked exactly like he did in real life. It was an impressive character creator, Rey admitted, stopping herself before she got too swept up in the art,
“The Force . . .” She mumbled in thought. Force combos. The Force system had new keybindings and she had read that documentation recently. If she could just remember–-
She executed a guard break to gain some distance before advancing on him, using the few Force button combos she could remember. Wide, powerful two-handed swings drove him back and Rey pressed the thumbstick forward, catching and slicing her opponent’s leg, then arm.
The damage chunked at his HP bar and he staggered. She took advantage of an optional combat QTE to kick him back onto the snow but he countered and reached forward with his free hand as they grabbed each other’s wrists. They were locked face to face, hair and cloak whipping in the wind system.
His weapon–-
She waited for an opening as they struggled, her hands gripping the controller. The haptics were picking up dramatically–-was that a bug?--and the controller vibrated so hard she thought it was going to shake out of her lap. Rey managed to keep her grip, driving the Exotic red lightsaber down into the snow before swinging her Rare blue one around in a charged attack, downstriking against his weapon before whipping it up to hit his character in the face.
The cumulative damage finally dropped the man to the ground and he looked up at her, blood streaming down his character’s face.
“Woooo!” Behind her, Finn cheered, “Go ProcScar!”
“And that-–” Holdo said, speaking over Finn, “Is our procedural scarring system. Players who are wounded in battle will carry those scars with them through to future battles, as a way of personalizing their journey.”
Rey eyed the convincing wound for a moment before her character began sliding away from the downed and bleeding man. A crack had appeared between them, widening rapidly into another fissure and a UI warning appeared to inform her the map was shrinking again.
Her gut jolted for a moment before she realizing he’d lost too much HP to even drag himself across the kill circle towards her. She backed away from the fissure’s edge, moving deeper into the safe section of the map, only relaxing once a congratulatory pop-up appeared. Her screen cut to a pre-rendered cutscene of the Falcon landing in the snowy forest to take her to safety.
Rey Niima sighed in relief, the adrenaline finally beginning to dissipate from her system as she took off her headphones.
The first thing she saw was Kylo Ren’s dark eyes staring at her over back-to-back monitors. He glowered, eyes practically sparking, making no move to acknowledge the rest of the dev team that had gathered in the meeting room to watch their demo of the multiplayer combat system.
Their very very high stakes exhibition demo. For their visiting publisher. Who controlled all of their studio’s funding. Rey felt her adrenaline spike again.
She gulped heavily, even as Finn rested a congratulatory hand on her shoulder and gave it a friendly squeeze. Her eyes jumped through the gathered crowd to find a small group of three well-groomed First Order executives, standing slightly apart from the rest of the dev team as if they were in a little forcefield. A bubble of wealth and power in a sea of black hoodies.
The First Order was a venture capitalist fund, new to games publishing but backed by shockingly deep pockets. It was only through their generous funding that Skywalker Family Studios had been able to develop the Prequel Trilogy for the last three years. First Order had a keen interest in the old IP, and wanted their first game release to be an explosive hit. Skywalker Studios and Prequel Trilogy checked all the right boxes; it was the highly-anticipated follow-up to a beloved IP, the original leadership team was back together, and the only thing they needed was funding.
And funding they had found. While initially suspicious about the deal–-given that First Order had no track record of making videogames-–the money spoke for itself. Even the pre-release press hype that First Order had drummed up around Skywalker Studios had been impressive. Gaming news sites were already talking about how Prequel Trilogy was shaping up to be Game of The Year, when no one from the public had even played it. Yet.
Rey scanned the small crowd of publisher reps, as if she could read their body language to find out if they’d been impressed by the demo. She didn’t know who she should worry about more.
Scyre Phasma wore a crisp off-white pantsuit, towering above most of the men in her 5-inch Louboutin close-toed pumps. A black silk blouse was tucked into tailored trousers and her pale blonde hair was braided and pinned back within an inch of its life. Phasma was the First Order’s Chief Technical Officer and existed to make sure their business decisions and investments were sound from an engineering standpoint. What that meant for Skywalker Studios was that Phasma existed as a constant existential threat to the engineering department, her central team of First Order engineers auditing code and frequently clashing with Holdo and Poe.
Rey attempted to feel a modicum of admiration for Phasma’s ability to climb the corporate ladder as woman in a male-dominated industry, but the CTO was so cold and abrasive to work with that all Rey could muster was a resigned respect. Her eyes continued to scan the group that listened intently to Leia.
Armitage Hux was the most familiar face to Rey. His ginger hair was geometrically parted and slicked back in an affected way, which tonally clashed with the graphic t-shirt he wore under his slightly-too-big black blazer. His shirt today read STARKILLER VERSION CONTROL SYSTEMS in white font, a look that screamed he was a c-suite tech exec trying and failing to blend in with the dev team. As the publishing producer embedded with Skywalker Studios, he make sure the team was on schedule and in-budget. He reported directly to the man in charge–-
Snoke. Rey couldn’t remember his first name. Everyone, even his direct reports, always referred to him as Snoke. He was the CEO and founder of the First Order, dressed in a beige sport coat and mustard button up with a collar that hung loose around his neck, the top two buttons left undone in a purposely casual way. Rey didn’t know anything about his past other than he was either very good at convincing people to give him money or he came from generational wealth. He was a thin, bald man with sunken cheeks and bright eyes that flashed around the room before locking suddenly and inexplicably with Rey’s.
She had the distinct and implausible feeling that her mind was being read, and she glanced away quickly to aimlessly scan the lavish wood-paneled demo room. She had mixed feelings whenever she came in contact with reps from their publisher. Sure, First Order was the reason she even had this job in the first place, they paid her and her friends’ salaries, and they wanted to see the game she desperately cared about be successful but . . .
She couldn’t put a name to the uneasy feeling that burned in her gut as she watched the three reps chat with Leia, Luke, Han, and Holdo.
“--for our battle royale-style online multiplayer mode, which will ship alongside Prequel Trilogy’s single player narrative campaign.” Leia, Skywalker Studio’s intrepid Creative Director was telling the group animatedly, “We’ve been calling that mode you just saw The Force Awakens , which will allow players to put themselves into the story in a way they were never able to with the Original Trilogy or Prequel Trilogy’s campaign modes, thanks to our advanced character creator. We can talk more about our seasonal content plans for it over lunch.”
Snoke murmured something too low for Rey to hear, but she watched Hux nod over-enthusiastically as his head whipped to look between Snoke and Leia. Phasma grimaced like she was sucking on a lemon that had just slipped to the back of her throat.
“Now if you’ll follow us over to this station, Holdo and our Lead Engineer, Poe Dameron, will demo our latest vertical slice for Prequel’s campaign mode.” Leia deftly corralled the group over to another corner of the demo room, where a separate tv and dev kit was set up to display a carefully paused screen that showcased a dusty race track. Poe sat ramrod straight on a sleek low-backed couch, controller gripped tightly in his hands.
“This section of the game takes place during Episode 1, the first chapter of Prequel Trilogy. Anakin Skywalker is a young slave boy who is about to compete in a high stakes pod race on the desert planet Tatooine. If he wins the race, he will be freed of his servitude and set out across the galaxy with the Princess and two Jedis, one of which might be a familiar face for fans–-after this demo we’ll move into the conference room where Luke will walk you through the latest character concepts our art team has been working on.”
Not for the first time, Rey marveled at how natural Leia was at giving demos and talking to execs. As Poe unpaused the game and the Mos Espa level loaded, Rey felt a rush of pride at seeing her podracer hovering in the center of the screen.
Ah, hard surface design, her one true love. She had originally been hired by Luke because of her mech-heavy portfolio; vehicles, weapons, and mechanical props were her forte. Designing robotic hydraulics and greebles made her industrial design heart happy. Anakin’s podracer had been one of her first concept tasks after being hired at Skywalker Studios, before she was assigned to The Force Awakens multiplayer team. Luke had gushed at the podracer’s visual design during their art review, heaping praise on Rey that made her feel seen in a way she hadn’t been in years.
She watched Luke as he fidgeted during Poe’s demo, his eyes on the First Order execs instead of the TV. At least Rey wasn’t the only one–-
She was pulled abruptly from her thoughts by a short QA tester who bounced on the balls of their feet next to Rey’s elbow. They wore thick circular glasses and a bright orange denim jacket, with a series of fashionable plastic clips in their hair.
“Erm, hey Rey, do you have a chance to give me some playtest notes from your demo? Artoo wants me to file tickets ASAP before C3 closes the sprint.” They asked, hopping from one foot to the other.
“I do, Bebe, lets debrief.” Rey reluctantly turned away from the crowd that had now gathered around Poe’s campaign demo. The rest of the room had thinned out, its sleek white furniture, glass walls, and rich wood paneling belying the depth of funding that First Order had poured into Skywalker Studios. They had just finished construction of their new offices when Rey joined the team, and their new studio space was fit for a science fiction setting.
Rey lead Bebe out of the over-large meeting room and down a hallway, “I’m not actually convinced that bugged roll dodge distance is so bad. And it’d also be nice if there was some kind of visual indicator on the HUD when a player’s force skills were proc’d. You know, to remind players of their full suite of abilities.”
Bebe’s thumbs were a blur as they input notes on their phone, staring intently at the screen and smacking the wad of bubble gum in their mouth loudly, “Ohhh yes, I think Luke has a task on him to mock that up–-hasn’t gotten to it yet.”
Rey nodded as they rounded a corner, entering the vaulted ceiling and open air warehouse-chic space that held dozens of desks, all aligned in neat rows and punctuated by wooden shelves bursting with tchotchkes, trinkets, and trophies. The entire interior continued that same white, metal, and wood panel design from the demo room, broken up by a thick red accent stripe that spanned two of the walls opposite them. The fresh paint smell was finally starting to dissipate.
“I’ll follow up with Luke, then.” Rey parted ways with Bebe and wound her way past desks, yoga balls, and a slightly bent cardboard cutout of a Strom Trooper from Original Trilogy that was being used as target practice for some foam dart toy.
She made her way over to a corner of the building which was much darker than the rest of the office--a prized location for digital artists. A self-satisfied smile crossed Rey’s mouth as she passed a wall covered in printouts of various concepts and assets the art department had completed. Quite a few of them were her drawings. As she slipped quietly back into the familiar chair behind her desk, she tried to ignore the man who sat a meter away. Their desks were arranged at a 90 degree angle to each other, more elbow-to-elbow than side-by-side, which was still far too close for Rey’s comfort.
She snuck a glance out of the corner of her eye. Kylo was turned away from her, headphones on, hunched over his tablet display, drawing. Of course he was still working during a milestone review. Half of the dev team was milling around watching the demonstrations while the other half took a “long lunch” at Cantina, the team’s favorite dive bar down the block. But no, Kylo was working. Drawing. Honing his craft. She could tell it was a character lineup, but his broad shoulders obscured the rest of his screen from her view. His shoulder blade shifted under the fabric of his black henley as he worked.
Ben Solo. Her brain belatedly chimed in, We’re coworkers, I’m supposed to call him Ben now.
But even after a year, Rey still had trouble referring to him as Ben instead of his online handle–-@KyloRen. In fact, most of the team referred to him as Kylo, only their manager Luke and a few other Leads ever called him Ben.
Because, nepo baby that he was, Kylo was related to half of the leadership team and the other half could be his godparents. Rey would have been angrier about this fact if he wasn’t also one of the most talented visual designers currently working in the entertainment industry. He was a Senior-level concept artist at Skywalker Studios, a prominent member of an online digital art atelier called the Knights of Ren, and had over 250K followers on Quibble-–probably even more followed his Qtube. Rey had made an unfortunate habit of periodically checking his socials. Hate-watching, Finn had called it, but even Rey couldn’t deny that the man was an incredible artist with an innate sense of color and proportion. His character designs were appealing and stylized, his environments graphic and story-rich. The online life drawing course he taught was by far the most popular class on the Knights of Ren website, and slots in his classes sold out within a week of going live.
Because not only was Kylo an amazing artist, he was also striking to look at. Objectively. One young woman who had taken his digital illustration course had gone viral for a painting she had done of an ominous, brooding knight in shining black armor and long black robes, holding his helmet in one hand and sword in the other, the sword tilted so that its sharp metal reflected the reds and oranges of an out-of-frame fire. But the knight’s face-–it was obvious that the artist had just used Kylo, her own instructor, as a face model and painted him into the illustration instead of the live model.
She had been immediately hired by Actiwision Quizard.
Rey shook her head to herself, turning back to unlock her computer and pull up her latest assignment, a series of rare drop lightsaber hilts. Despite being acutely aware that she had a more junior title than Kylo, Rey still took pride in the fact that even as a mid-level she could draw circles around him when it came to hard surface mechanical assets.
Follower counts aren’t everything. She told herself, trying to make her brain believe it.
A seething drawl froze her in her tracks before she nestled into her headphones and playlist of rain noises,
“If we’re ever put on another exhibition demo, how about spending less time ogling the graphics and more time showcasing the actual combat?” Kylo’s low voice slid against her like a weight, heavy with disdain.
Rey’s hackles immediately rose and she spun to face Kylo whose headphones were around his neck and arms crossed against his broad chest. Her eyes snagged on the lineup behind him–-a cast of characters in bright outfits and fun shape language-–but she forced herself to meet his burning gaze.
“I was trying to show off the art department’s hard work, but I guess that’s something you don’t care about.” She shot back, forcing her voice to remain steady. He barely flinched,
“You and I both know that gameplay sells games.” Kylo rumbled, his grimace deepening.
“Yes, and art markets games.” She raised her eyebrows, trying to stay in control of the anger bubbling in her gut, “Or have you forgotten what department you’re part of?”
“You don’t get it.” He shook his head before turning back towards his computer and pulling his headphones back on.
Ass. Rey thought bitterly, angrily spinning back to her computer. Who cared about how a good an artist he was when he was such a pain to work with. His expectations were through the roof and his pursuit of quality was relentless, Rey had seen him berate more than a few coworkers for misinterpreting a concept of his or not understanding his feedback. When he wasn’t drawing he was playtesting and when he wasn’t at Skywalker Studios he was at home moonlighting as an illustrator. His life revolved around execution and improvement, and Rey suddenly couldn’t stand to be in the same room as him.
She pulled up the company-wide chat app and scanned the public channels before popping open her personal chat app, Quiscord. They weren’t allowed to use Quiscord for sharing work files, but she, Finn, Poe, Bebe, and their producer Rose used it to have backchannel discussions and send memes to each other that they didn’t want IT to see.
R0b0Rey <11:34AM>
hey
where is everyone
im alone in the bullpen with kylo and hes trying to kill me with his brainwaves
FN-2187 <11:34 AM>
loooolool
RoseyPosey <11:35 AM>
@BarrelRollPoe is still demoing, I think @BB-8’s with him
We’re at Cantina with half the team. I think Design is still watching the demo
R0b0Rey <11:35 AM>
k be there in a sec
FN-2187 <11:35 AM>
Rey
Just like
Tell him you're assigning him a Qira ticket
To fix his attitude
Tell him
The estimate is
R0b0Rey <11:36 AM>
finn this joke is already stale
FN-2187 <11:36 AM>
0.1 day
So he better hop to it
RoseyPosey <11:36 AM>
Finn, I’m a producer and even I think that joke is shit
FN-2187 <11:37 AM>
Poe would think it’s funny
@BarrelRollPoe
@BarrelRollPoe
@BarrelRollPoe
R0b0Rey <11:37 AM>
HES DEMOING, FINN
RoseyPosey <11:37 AM>
His phone better be on silent or it’s going to mess with the podrace!!
Rey pinched the bridge of her nose and began to pack up her backpack, shooting off one last message before shutting down her station for the day,
R0b0Rey <11:39 AM>
order me whatever Finn is having, its going to be hell catching up to him
With one last glance over her shoulder she ducked under a TIE fighter that someone had strung from the ceiling and headed for the lobby, eager to leave the stressful afternoon and a tense, brooding Kylo behind her.
Chapter 2: Singleplayer
Summary:
I didn’t think too hard about the worldbuilding for this fic other than every company is either derivative of the Star Wars IP or it starts with a Q. The Q stands for “quantum mechanics”.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“Hear. Me. OUT.” Rose said, slapping her open palm against the table to accentuate each word that spilled tipsily from her. Rey had met Rose and Finn at Cantina, sliding into the empty stool they saved for her at the retro high-top. The bar was dark, divey, and loud. Exactly how they liked it.
“It just makes sense .” Rose lamented, before taking a long sip of a shockingly blue slushie through a curly straw.
A matching, untouched drink sat in front of Rey, “ What are we drinking?” She asked with growing concern as Finn loudly slurped at the bottom of his glass, outpacing Rose.
“Bantha slushie! The bartender said there was milk in it.” Finn shrugged, “‘S delicious.”
“ Listen ,” Rose interrupted as Rey took an experimental sip, “We’ve all read the narrative treatment that Han and Chewie put together for Prequel Trilogy , right?”
She pointed around the table, placated when both Finn and Rey nodded, “So it’s 3-part story, space opera romp-across-the-galaxy, Jedi vs Sith, political machinations, lots of shooty-shooty, right?”
“Uh, Yep.”
“Yeah, that about sums it up.”
“And they’re leaning all-in on this romance subplot between Anakin and Padme, right ?” Rose leaned in conspiratorially, lowering her voice to a more appropriate discussing-secret-work-stuff-in-public volume, “But what about . . . Padme and Obi-Wan ?” [1]
Finn and Rey stared blankly at Rose,
“. . . What about them?” Rey asked, lost. She had only seen the Episode 1 versions of the three characters at art reviews, all drawn by Kylo, their older Episode 2 and Episode 3 versions had yet to be designed.
“What if they . . . you know.” Rose wiggled her eyebrows, “What if there was a love triangle! There was one in Original Trilogy. ”
“That is so heteronormative of you.” Finn said with mock-dismissiveness as he mimed sweeping hair over his shoulder.
“Fine, make them gay--make them a thrupple, I don’t care! But this game would be so much more compelling with some actual romantic tension--everyone is always lamenting that there’s not enough women in the fanbase, ‘we appeal heavily to men age 18 to 35 , blah blah’ , but no one cares about investing time in writing stories targeted towards us!” Rose waved her blue slushie to punctuate her point, the curly straw dangling haphazardly.
“Rose, as a fellow boob-haver, there are more genres than just romance that appeal to us. Like sci fi?” Rey countered, leaning a chin heavily against her hand as she took another sip of the slushie. She’d never tell Finn that the drink was delicious and tried not to think about how it was definitely staining her tongue blue.
“Of course, but first we gotta reel in the ladies with some hot chemistry.” Rose said, acting like she was reeling in a fishing line. Finn wiggled as he leaned over the table, pretending to be a fish just long enough to take a sip from Rose’s drink without her noticing.
Honestly, these two.
“As far as sci fi goes, you and I both know that women are the entire reason Star Trek got as popular as it did.” Rose pointed a finger at Rey, “Did you know that the first fanfiction ever written was Kirk/Spock? 60’s Star Trek fanzines were mostly organized and read by women. They circulated little them in-person at conventions! Women pioneered fandom spaces!”
“To Kirk/Spock.” Finn nodded solemnly, raising his empty glass in tribute. Rose joined, and Rey followed suit, sighing,
“Long live Spirk, and it’s clear that fandom spaces only benefit from including women. But even if we were in charge of deciding Prequel Trilogy’s demographic--which we’re not ,” She shot pointed looks at the other two non-seniors seated at the table with her, “It’s going to take more than just a compelling romantic subplot to get this game out the door.”
Rey could see the cold-water effect her words had on the table, but she couldn’t stop them from coming out of her mouth. Her insides squirmed, she shouldn’t spew anxiety on her friends like this, especially when they were having a night out to escape their collective nerves.
She sighed, rubbing the side of her forehead, “I’m sorry, Rose. Today was just--a lot. Kylo was seriously such an ass before I left.”
“Good thing you whooped his ass in front of the First Order suits.” Finn grinned, “He was so mad .”
Rey groaned, “And he’s going to take that anger out on me for the next, oh, month . How was it seeing Phasma again?”
“Oh, ya know, she acted like she didn’t even recognize me.” Finn rolled his eyes, and took a sip of Rey’s drink. Finn had been a VFX artist in the film industry until a few years ago, working at a post-production house where Phasma was his supervisor. The horror stories were appalling.
“I left film to get away from her--and she followed me!”
“Trendsetterrrrr.” Rose trilled, and she and Finn did a wiggly-fingered handshake.
“Speaking of--I’m grabbing us another round.” Finn slid off the stool as Rose followed suit,
“And I need to visit the ladies room. Hold down the fort!”
Which left Rey, alone, slurping more of her atrocious, delicious drink that would turn her tongue blue for at least the next 24 hours. She slumped heavily against her arm, whipping out her phone and opening Quipper out of habit--a mistake. Two swipes later and her eyes snagged on a gorgeous black and white drawing of a contorted nude. Her art-brain registered that it was Kylo’s linework before she even saw his username.
With vague dismay, she realized she had gotten very good at identifying Kylo’s art.
@KyloRen
Latest demo for my Life Drawing 101 class with @KnightsOfRen
Slots opening for fall semester soon.
[LD101_NudeStudy_longpose_0027.png]
The attached drawing was a nude man with his arms wrapped dynamically around his head, abs and torso tense and tilted, the perspective of his elbows perfectly rendered in confident charcoal lines that showed no trace of erasing or rework. The toes of the left foot were splayed in perfect foreshortening. Text advertising the online art school was arranged above the drawing and in the corner was a screenshot from Kylo’s webcam, a still of him explaining something to the class. His head was tilted, thoughtful, mouth pursed as he held up his drawing stylus. The perfect advertisement.
“I arrive with cavalry--” Finn announced, placing three more alarmingly-blue drinks on the countertop, “--what is that face for.”
Rey groaned, turning her phone towards him. Finn and Rey spent a good chunk of their time together swapping links to artists they stumbled across online. With his film background, Finn was always showing Rey new animated shorts and Rey was the one who supplied him with mech designers and monsters. And of course, they both had an appreciation for well-drawn abs.
Rose arrived back to the table to find Finn and Rey huddled around the glowing light of her phone screen in the dimness of the grungy bar,
“See, it’s about the inclusion of this muscle here.” Rey said, pointing to the line that ran along the figure’s upper hip, curving up towards where it attached to the back of the rib cage, “Then he hints at the rib muscles, but doesn’t over render them like some superhero cartoon. It’s so good. I hate him.”
“You can’t pour your energy into disliking this guy, Rey. Comparison only robs you the joy of creation. Besides--it’s all about those shoulders . Big traps.” He nodded to himself, “The trapezius are where it’s at.”
“What are we talking about?” Rose asked, attempting to follow the plot.
“Kylo Ren. He’s only popular because he posts thirst traps.” Rey said, sullenly, “Both of himself and his art.”
To prove her point, she clicked on Kylo’s username. His profile loaded and the pinned post at the top of his feed displayed an “Art vs. Artist” meme; the image on the left was a beautifully-rendered oil painting of a nude, the figure lying in extreme perspective with his feet towards the camera and a delicate hand against his chest. The anatomy was textbook; a prone contrapposto. The image on the right, however--
It was a shirtless selfie that Kylo must have snapped at the gym. He had somehow managed to artfully compose the shot despite the ad hoc location, catching his broad chest and abs, one shoulder cut off by the edge of the mirror. He wore loose black shorts over black leggings and fingerless lifting gloves. His face was in profile as he looked away from the mirror, dark hair hanging in wet curls around his face, slick from the sweat of his workout.
“ Hot. ” Rose declared decisively, pointing at Rey’s phone screen.
Finn, at least, had the decency to wince on Rey’s behalf, “Oh man, he can oil paint too?”
“I know!” Rey practically wailed, locking her phone and dramatically dropping it face down against the table, “Physical and digital media expertise. Asshole.”
“He can physical my . . . media.” Both Rey and Finn stared at Rose who took another sip of her drink.
“You’re cut off.” Finn deadpanned.
“We have work in the morning.” Rey added.
-
The next morning as Rey was scrubbing the blue off her tongue, an all-hands meeting appeared on her work calendar.
The sick pit that bottomed out her stomach would have been comical if it hadn’t been, well, sick . Last minute all-hands were universally known to mean bad news. Famously so, to the point that managers were instructed to do anything they could to not schedule studio wide meetings with no warning.
Leia Organa either didn’t know that axiom or, more likely, was forced into the decision.
“I’d like to start by thanking everyone here for being gracious to our visiting First Order publishing partners--and to Poe, Rey, and Ben for helping showcase everyone’s hard work that went into our latest milestone.” Leia had stood in the middle of the office, turning to address the entirety of the gathered dev team. Luke, Han, Holdo and Hux stood near her in a show of support, “They were pleased to see the progress we’ve made, but there’s going to be some . . . shifts to our team’s focus for the next deliverable.”
Layoffs . The word seared through Rey’s mind and she tried to press it down. No, she wasn’t going to freak out unless Leia or her manager Luke actually said the word. She glanced across the office and met eyes with Finn, whose mouth was pressed into a thin line.
“You all are here because you are committed and dedicated to making Prequel Trilogy the best game it can be. There is more talent in this one room than any other dev team I have been a part of,” Leia caught the eyes of several devs and Rey watched them nod eagerly back at her. She wasn’t Creative Director for nothing, “And that team is not going to change. But our focus over the next few months will.”
Here it comes--Rey felt the chasm in her stomach widen--
“Over the next several weeks we are going to refocus our team resources and budget in order to make Prequel Trilogy the best game it can possibly be. What this means for us is that part of our multiplayer team, The Force Awakens team, is going to be redistributed to the Prequel singleplayer team . We are also going to be cutting several features from multiplayer in order to accommodate this shift, but the core product we are making has not changed .”
“In order to facilitate these new goals, next week will be a planning week for Production, so please clear your calendars of non-essential meetings. Thank you everyone for your time and attention on a Friday morning. If you have additional questions, reach out to your manager.”
Rey didn’t let go of the breath she was holding until Leia walked out of the bullpen and down the hall, a flock of producers, Hux included, following after her towards the meeting rooms. No layoffs.
She worked to regain control of her sprinting heartbeat, the adrenaline that coursed through her system at the prospect of being jobless with little-to-no savings in a foreign city. She knew what it was like to scrimp and scavenge, and she didn’t relish returning to that lifestyle. Rey slunk back to her desk as the team devolved into nervous chatter, a crowd gathering around the remaining Directors to ask questions.
She shouldn’t have been surprised to see Kylo already sitting at his desk, headphones on, drawing, but she was. Had he even gone ot the all-hands? Had he heard about the info another way, directly from his mom? Did he even care ?
Rey shook her head, maybe layoffs wouldn’t have been so bad. Hyper-specific layoffs localized to exactly one (1) moody senior artist. That might have been a nice start to her morning. She was about to open her lightsaber concept sheet when Luke stomped behind the joined corner of her and Kylo’s desks to catch both of their attention,
“You two,” He pointed with two fingers that held an unlit cigarette between them, the rest of the carton balled in his fist, “Follow me.”
Rey nearly fell out of her chair in her haste to hurry after Luke as he hustled towards the lobby, lighting up the cigarette as he walked.
“Er--Luke--” Rey began, throwing an apologetic glance to the aghast receptionist, “I don’t think you can smoke in--”
Luke spun on his heel in front of the 1/8th scale replica Millenium Falcon that was tilted at a jaunty angle and took up most of the lobby. Light up plastic trails emerged from its engines and there was a button near its display stand that visitors could press to play sound effects.
He took a pointed drag of his cigarette before pointing with it at Rey, “I have been making games for 30 years, and I have seen the exponential advancement of technology from cartridges with 2 kilobytes of storage to goddamn VR. I will light up a cig when I want to. Either follow me or don’t.”
Rey cringed inwardly at herself, trying to bite down the embarrassment that threatened to consume her face. Kylo silently followed behind them out to the parking lot.
The facade of Skywalker Studio’s building matched the inside decor. The thick red stripe theming extended here too, wrapped at an angle across the front, the left side of it painted white and the right side raw brick. Manicured gardens and a water feature were carefully maintained, and a large sign bearing the name Skywalker Family Studios angled towards a long, curving driveway that lead out to the street.
Luke stalked past all of it and hooked a right to lead them into the alleyway, under a sign that read,
NO SMOKING
Within 10 Feet
Of Building
He finished a second cigarette before he spoke again, muttering, “Never gets old, you never get used to this shit . . .”
Rey threw a questioning glance to Kylo who didn’t even try to meet her eye. He just crossed his arms and leaned back against the privacy fence, watching Luke. Rey balled her hands into fists by her side, guess it was up to her to interrogate their AD.
“What does this refocus really mean, Luke?” Rey asked, imploringly. She still felt the claw of adrenaline in her gut--maybe he was going to fire them here, get them out of the building so they could be locked out of the system and--
“Corpo-speak.” Luke spat on the ground and ashed his cigarette into the brick, “We played nice and hit the milestone, but Snoke still wasn’t happy. Nothing in the contract they could point to and tell us we legally messed up, but they didn’t like the . . . feel of the game. The direction.”
“So, a refocus on singleplayer . . .” Rey prompted.
“And a restructuring of everyone’s tasks for the next six months. I do not envy the Production team right now. So here’s what’s going on,” The nicotine must have kicked in. Luke flapped the ID badge clipped to his belt as he spoke, “You two are our concept artists for both game modes, so there’s no teams to shuffle you between. Who will be shuffling is basically every other art discipline. VFX, 3D, UI--it’s all hands on deck for the next milestone. Art’s job is to feed Design and Cinematics assets while they lay track down ahead of us.”
Rey tried to wrap her head around the planning implications. She would have so much documentation to catch up on, “Is there a--ramp up?”
“Next week is ramp up.” Luke smiled bitterly, “Congrats Rey, you’re on character design. There are several versions of adult Padme that need to be concepted for Episodes 2 and 3, so you’re on those starting now. Talk to Kylo for reference handoff and Chewie will email over new narrative treatments for you to read.”
Rey’s head spun as she tried to catalog the information. Characters don’t have hard surfaces her brain supplied uselessly.
“And you,” Luke turned to Kylo, “I need you moving fast on high-level enviro design, we’ve got several planets that we haven’t broken ground on. Mood paintings and callout sheets for buildings and foliage, then there’s a . . . creature design task. Special request from the top. More about that from Narrative when they know what’s going on.”
Kylo leveled Luke with a cool gaze and Rey saw a muscle in his jaw twitch, “And there was no pushback against this by studio leadership?”
“Kid,” Luke said before flicking the butt of his cigarette on the ground and grinding it with the toe of his sneaker, “They own the purse strings. There is no pushback.”
-
Rey’s head was still reeling as she sat down heavily at their usual lunch spot on the back patio. The patio itself was laid out in the shape of a Rebel Alliance logo, peppered with wrought iron yard furniture and surrounded by more meticulously maintained garden beds. A tall, wooden security fence ran along the perimeter.
Finn and Bebe sat on either side of Poe who looked beside himself. His head was in his hands, an untouched cup noodle growing cold on the table in front of him,
“I fucked up that demo so badly they want to completely change the project.”
“Poe, you’re a very talented engineer but it’s not like you alone caused the First Order to change our entire production schedule.” Finn rationalized.
“Yeah, the demo went super smooth. You only crashed the podracer once.” Bebe said, quickly adding once they saw Poe’s tortured face, “--wha–which was good! They got to see what the game looks like if a player fails the race!”
Poe moaned again, scrubbing at his face as Finn shot a look at Bebe. He rubbed circles into Poe’s back and Bebe busied themself with their phone, the Ewok charm that hung from its case clinking faintly as they taped at whatever idle game they were currently addicted to.
“It had nothing to do with you, Poe.” Rey said, pulling a veggie sandwich out of her brown lunch bag, “Snoke and First Order didn’t like the direction of the game. Luke said they want a different feel or something. Sounds way bigger than just losing a podrace.”
“Oh you have intel .” Bebe looked back up from their game and Poe peeked at Rey from between his fingers.
“What does ‘different feel’ even mean?” Finn scoffed.
Rey shrugged, “I dunno, but Luke was not happy about it. He looked like he had been up all night. My tasks are totally scrambled. Where’s Rose?”
“All-day production planning meeting.” Poe said as he finally reached towards his lunch, “Don’t worry, they’re getting catering from Cantina.”
“What a mess.” Rey sighed, looking back down at her untouched sandwich. She wasn’t even hungry, her stomach still a jumble after the morning all-hands.
“What else did Luke say? Holdo has been pretty tight lipped with me.” Poe said bitterly into his noodles.
Rey shrugged, “Not much, honestly. Entire art team is getting put on assets for Episodes 2 and 3, sounds like Design and Engineering will too. Probably some feature cuts coming to The Force Awakens because of it.”
“Aww, I like The Force Awakens .” Bebe pouted, pushing up their glasses. Rey smiled at them,
“Me too, Beebs. But I guess First Order thinks the singleplayer experience is more important.”
“What, because it caters to more of the established audience?” Finn’s face twisted in consternation, “That’s dumb--we should be focusing on appealing to younger players and finding a niche with a new demographic, catering only to an established audience limits our lifespan. Don’t they know how huge multiplayer is these days?”
“But remember Finn, we’re backed by rich VCs,” Poe said in a voice heavy with jest, “Why would we do anything risky or new!”
“Spoken like a man climbing the corporate ladder.” Finn nodded sagely.
“That’s why they pay me the big bucks.” Poe winked. Rey watched an uncharacteristic blush spread across Finn’s face and filed the detail away for later. All this talk of funding had truly killed her appetite--
“We can still bring creative ideas to the table, but it will take collective effort to move the needle.” She shook her head, already feeling tired at the prospect, “Now if you all excuse me, I have a meeting to get to that I’ve been dreading.”
-
The dreaded meeting was with Kylo to discuss her new Padme character concept assignment. She huddled next to his chair, Kylo sighing heavily and he navigated through files to pull up on his monitors. The first was a character lineup, the one Rey had only seen parts of over his shoulder. There were four characters, all different heights and ages. The designs were appealing, stylized; their expressions and poses all conveying different personalities.
“Episode 1 character designs are done. This is just a lineup so we can compare against our design decisions for Episodes 2 and 3.” His tone was strained, as if he was talking to her through gritted teeth, like he didn’t want to be here. She shifted uncomfortably in her own chair and the hair on the back of her neck raised.
Well, the feeling was mutual.
“We’ll need a couple different outfits for Padme for each episode--Luke will tell you the exact number. 3D will need turnarounds for each one.”
Rey glanced over at Kylo and watched a muscle twitch in his jaw. It was easy to see that he was tense and irritated, which was hard to ignore given that he was still a head taller than her when they were both sitting. He couldn't be happy about passing off his assignments to her . . . her eyes strayed across his broad shoulders.
He was in a black henley again, the top two buttons undone. Did he only wear black henleys? Was he trying to be the art version of Steve Jobs? She knew it was basically a meme that game devs only wore black hoodies but now that she thought about it, Rey couldn’t remember seeing him wear anything else but a black henley with the sleeves pushed up.
Kylo pulled up a browser tab and a giant web of images appeared; little tessellated boxes filled the screen with various photos, drawings, movie stills, and images of women at different ages. He sighed heavily,
“This is my reference board for Padme. All of the themes and details that I set up for her Episode 1 costuming are in this board somewhere. The most important outfit is the one she’s introduced in.”
He zoomed in on a character turnaround, Padme was a young girl but wearing a long red dress with wide fur-trimmed sleeves and gold filigree details. A red and gold helmet framed her face, looking vaguely Thai in origin, and red jewels decorated Padme’s forehead and ringed her skirt. Her face was pale, young, and her makeup was geometric and minimal.
“She wears this to the Senate meeting. Since she’s representing her home planet Naboo we want her to be dressed in cultural regalia. In general I’ve targeted mostly Mongolian and Tibetan influence, heavy fabrics and the type of clothing that would be worn in cold-weather climates. I’ll send you some movie titles to watch so you know what the vision is. And don’t just look at Qinterest for costuming reference, you need to research actual real-life cultures.”
Ass . She knew how to gather reference.
“She’s young, just 14 at the start, so she wants to appear older and probably taller--hence the headpiece and dramatic silhouette. The makeup is not her personal style, it’s the style that all Naboo queens wear. We did a lot to change up her silhouette, not make her look so young at the start, she’s supposed to look like the Queen of Naboo not Padme Amidala. It’s important to keep that in mind as you design her outfits. Think about what she’s trying to say without without words.”
Rey nodded, silent. This was both the longest she had ever heard Kylo talk for and the most interesting thing he’d said. Usually when he spoke up it was to complain about another department or coworker, but the way he thought about character design was . . . Rey found it begrudgingly interesting. He clearly had his own rigid, internal logic that he followed.
“Even after Padme’s succeeded by the next elected queen, she still tries to work within democratic means to establish peace as a senator. She’s not part of the religious Jedi order, but is an elected official who’s upset when Palpatine declares himself Emperor. Think about her internal monologue as you design her outfits.”
Kylo looked down at her, his expression that of a teacher waiting for a pupil to answer a question correctly. He did teach online classes, no wonder he was used to lecturing.
“You, uh, really must have studied the narrative treatment from Han closely.” Rey said after a moment.
“If us devs don’t thoroughly understand the story we’re trying to tell, how do you expect to convey it to a player?” Kylo’s response was structured like an insult, but there was no bite to his voice. Rey glanced up at him and their eyes locked. She got the distinct feeling that he was--waiting for something? Testing her? She couldn’t tell. She looked away, back to his reference board.
She couldn’t help but sullenly admire the breadth and focus of images he had collected. Old black and white photos of Mongolian royalty, Russian and Japanese headdresses displayed in museums, screenshots of what looked like extreme closeups of characters from the Original Trilogy games, and classic sci fi paintings. Interestingly, he had it organized by theme rather than by shape, the way Rey did. His was easy to navigate hers was, well, hers . Rey squinted as a corner of the board,
“No, you’ve read more than just the narrative docs--you must really love the Original Trilogy games.”
“What do you mean?”
Rey tapped the screenshot images, “I haven’t seen these angles in image search. Did you take these screenshots yourself? Then you must have an old console hooked up that can play them, or you went out of your way to set up an emulator.”
Rey squinted and pointed to a grouping of sci fi paintings, “Zoom in here.”
To Kylo’s credit he only hesitated slightly. It was a series of illustrations depicting smooth, colorful gradients, hard plane transitions, sleek robots, and skies with huge planets in the background. One image at the top depicted a black-clad Darth Vader mid-fight, lightsaber drawn, with a series of Vader character sketches stacked below it.
“Is this Ralph McQuarrie? I haven’t seen these sketches before--do you have his art book?” [2]
Kylo looked down at her, face impassive, “I do.”
For a moment--a brief moment--Rey forgot that Kylo was an ass who couldn’t stand her. Her face lit up in excitement, “Can I borrow it? I love his work, 70s sci fi art is so fun and weird . Everyone was inspired by the space race, NASA and the CCCP were basically global marketing for the genre. McQuarrie is a legend, didn’t he work with Asimov too?”
She was doing that thing Finn kept calling ‘info dumping’, but she couldn’t stop the mix of nerves and genuine topical interest that fueled her word vomit.
Kylo’s expression didn’t change but he nodded slowly before adding, “McQuarrie looked at samurai armor for Vadar’s helmet--I was grabbing similar reference for Padme.”
A jolt of intrigue skipped through Rey. That would be an interesting angle to play with.
“Oh--smart! I’m looking forward to digging through all this.” Rey turned and gave Kylo a genuine smile.
His brow furrowed before he jerked away from her, suddenly minimizing the screen, “I’ll send you a link to the board. Just don’t mess up what I’ve started here, ok? I’ve laid down very deliberate foundational themes.”
Rey’s smile dropped into a scowl as their eyes connected. He didn’t even want her concepting these characters, did he? It was like he couldn’t care less about her existence unless he suspected her of messing up his plans. His lip curled derisively, as if in agreement.
She turned away from him at the same time that he scooted back to his keyboard. Fine . She wasn’t sorry for info-dumping. As she reached to pull her headphones on, Kylo spoke without turning around,
“I’ll bring in the art book next week.”
It was on her desk Monday morning, carefully arranged and centered over her keyboard.
Rey looked over at Kylo who was diligently working away already, his black glove-clad hand sliding easily across his drawing tablet’s surface. The book was hefty and expensive looking, with a dreamy illustration of a bipedal droid on the cover. Rey perused it over her morning coffee, taking notes when she found something interesting or snapping a photo with her phone. She’d add them to the Padme reference board and find a way to work it into Kylo’s organizational structure.
When her mug was empty she opened the board that Kylo had sent her, pulled up her drawing software, and froze.
Rey wouldn’t blink twice if you asked her to draw a robot. Pistons, hinges, ball joints, armor, bevels, extrusions, metallic surfaces–easy. They existed in her mind’s eye, in her brain. She could see an object, spin it around, and easily draw what she ‘saw’ by following rules of perspective and how 3D forms behaved in space. [3]
But human anatomy was an entirely different ballgame.
Ok, just think of Padme like a fleshy robot. Her hand still wouldn’t budge where it hovered over her warm drawing tablet. She glanced wistfully over at the droid on the cover of McQuarrie’s art book. Why couldn’t Han or Leia have put more droids in Prequel Trilogy ?
Rey opened a browser window and paused, doubled checking that Kylo was still deep in the zone before typing into the search bar:
Women’s anato
Wait, wait, she was on company property. That was not a safe search term. Rey snorted at the irony as she retyped the query:
Human anatomy
Safe for work images populated the screen. Her relief lasted only for a moment before dismay set in. Technically the images were anatomically correct but they were all medical drawings. The figures were stiff, not in perspective, and some were overly-cartooned. As bad as Rey’s anatomy knowledge was, even she could tell that some of the proportions were incorrect.
She spent too long digging through search results to find something she could work with before finally putting her stylus to the screen.
She spent the rest of the day grappling with anatomy.
The rest of the week, even.
The studio atmosphere also held an underlying tension; the large meeting room that shared a glass wall with the office had become the Production Department’s temporary mission control as they locked themselves in for all-day scheduling meetings, punctuated by lunch and dinner catering. Rey, Finn, Poe, and Bebe only had one chance to say hi to Rose each morning at the kitchen espresso machine before she disappeared into a storm of whiteboards and sticky notes.
Rey’s anxiety squeezed tighter each day as she laid out meticulous thumbnails for Padme’s Episode 2 outfit options. She had intended to also paint a headshot of Padme off to the side of the outfit options that would depict makeup changes when Padme wasn’t in her royal getup.
But--
Her pen would not cooperate. Or was it Rey’s wrist? Padme’s eyes were wonky--no wait now her forehead was too big, nope shit, her waist was unrealistically small and now her feet didn’t sit in perspective correctly. She lassoed, selected, control + transformed, shifted, nudged, flipped the canvas, flipped it back, closed the program, went for a walk around the Rebel Alliance gardens to remember why she liked this job, came back, erased, squinted at subpar anatomical reference again.
Rise and repeat. It felt like Rey’s entire brain wouldn’t cooperate.
By Friday Rey had barely staved off a full nervous meltdown. She had given up on getting Padme’s figure perfect, it was the costuming that was most important anyways, and had moved onto drawing the clothing itself. Cloth was at least a bit easier, Rey told herself, and she was beginning to find some enjoyment in the medieval English references she had found.
All it took was one question from Luke to send her back into a spiral.
Rey hadn’t noticed her Art Director amble into the concept pit as he munched on a sandwich that was clearly swiped off a Production catering plate. She was engrossed in reading about medieval crispinettes and working out how to put an art deco spin on them. She figured that leaning into the art deco movement would be a fun way to pull in additional McQuerrie inspiration to Prequel Trilogy, and was beginning to formulate a plan for her next sketch when Luke leaned over her shoulder,
“What’s going on with her nose?”
Rey froze, panic rising as she looked between her boss and her drawing of Padme. She couldn’t see anything wrong with the nose. That made the panic worse.
“What do you mean!?” She was vaguely aware of the hysterical note in her voice. To her horror, the conversation had attracted Kylo’s attention and he surreptitiously slid his headphones off his right ear.
Eavesdropping ass.
Luke winced, “Ah, send me the file . . . I can help with a paintover.”
“What needs a paintover!?” Rey’s voice climbed another octave. In the back of her mind she knew her Art Director was there to help her with situations exactly like this, and generally Luke was a knowledgeable, if not gruff, mentor but--this had become personal. She desperately searched the drawing for obvious flaws, but her eye wasn’t practiced enough to spot them.
Kylo’s chair squeaked and she almost swore out loud.
Luke frowned as he regarded Rey, “Rey, I know you’re not all that familiar with characters--we hired you to draw spaceships and lightsabers but . . . sometimes, teams need each other to, uh, cover each other’s bases--”
He really was awful at this whole ‘inspiring speech’ thing.
“--And while this has typically been Ben’s wheelhouse, I know you’ve got something . . . new to bring to the table. Something fresh. I’m looking forward to seeing what you come up with to keep our Senior Concept Artist on his toes!”
But you did just see what I came up with . She thought despondently as Luke made an escape with his sandwich. She stared down at her half finished concept.
Kylo’s chair squeaked again and Rey looked sharply over at in him time to watch the older man slide his headphones back on and return to work. Hot shame and anger burnt through her, rekindling the bubbling in her gut that had settled since the company all-hands meeting.
Her AD didn’t think she could draw. Her Senior didn’t think she could draw. Her features were getting cut, she was getting reassigned partway through tasks. And she had spent a week on one drawing--she was normally so much faster.
Was she good enough to work on the prequel to one of her favorite games? Did she belong here, in the games industry?
Maybe she should have stuck to her old industrial design job.
Rey minimized the drawing app, unable to look at her own art any more. She opened Qiscord to distract herself with whatever her friends were chatting about,
FN-2187 <1:43 PM>
Pls tell me we’re not considering lootboxes
lootboxes are literally gambling
like
for kids
BarellRollPoe <1:43 PM>
It’s just rng!
Well, weighted rng
FN-2187 <1:43 PM>
It’s illegal
gambling, not rng
BarellRollPoe <1:45 PM>
It’s just for cosmetics
It’s not for like…important gameplay
BB-8 <1:45 PM>
itz so fun i can literally spend all evening opening gachas
they go brrrrrring~ ding~~ ding~~~!!
FN-2187 <1:45 PM>
Bee you are not helping
Rey tabbed out when she felt her blood pressure spike. She clicked on another notification she had from a private chat with Rose,
RoseyPosey <12:08 PM>
OMG new Quagic the Qattering set just announced
It’s all about aliens and astronauts!
Look at these beauuuuuuutiful promo cards!! Please tell me you'll play some booster draft with me at Canto Bight when it drops????
The attached link was a Quote Re-Quip from Ahsoka, the AD at the QotQ, the studio that made Quagic,
@AhsokaWithAnH
I am so proud of our new Quagic set, can’t wait for you all to see the latest card illustrations!
I think my favorite in the ENTIRE set might just be this piece from @KyloRen – check it out and send him some love:
———
@KyloRen
Honored to work on another Quagic card for @QotQ. Here’s a sneak peak of the card “Betrayal” from their upcoming set:
[Solo_Betrayal_final.png]
The image attached was a digital painting of two masculine figures facing each other, the lighting rendered in dramatic chiaroscuro and lit primarily by a bright red laser that fired from a sci-fi weapon the younger figure held and ripped through the older figure’s chest. They were both shirtless--Rey rolled her eyes--and the composition angled up at them from below to catch the red lighting splashed across the snarling face of the younger figure as the beam exploded out of the older figure’s back. Their sweaty musculature was rendered in stark contrast and the older man’s hand cupped the younger ones cheek affectionately.
Indignation flared in Rey’s gut, adding to the caustic mix already swirling there. Here she was, killing herself to get attention by being technically accurate while Kylo drew thirst traps and raked in the praise.
Rey stood up from her chair so quickly she smashed her knees into her desk’s keyboard trey.
She couldn’t be in this office right now. She needed fresh air.
She hastily packed up her messenger bag and swung it around her shoulder, stomping out of the office. She hurried down the drive and past Cantina, her feet on autopilot taking her several blocks away.
Kanata’s Castle Emporium was a curious store that Rey could--and frequently did--spend hours getting lost in. Ostensibly it was a second-hand book store, but it seemed to sell whatever the owner deemed valuable. Rey had seen everything from chests of what she assumed were costume jewelry to busts of people she didn’t recognize to movie prop weapons, all being sold side-by-side in the claustrophobic store.
A bell tinkled above her as she pushed open the front door to find a deserted register. This was typical, the owner was usually squirreled away in some hallway or back room, always managing to reappear when it was time to check out.
Rey squeezed past half-toppling cardboard boxes and picked her way towards the art book section–or at least, where it was the last time she was there. The owner had a habit of changing her store layout on a whim.
Three wrong turns later, Rey wasn’t sure which cardinal direction she was facing but she had found the art books. Stacks and stacks of them were laid out on mismatched shelves containing various levels of dust, and she began the soothingly methodical action of book browsing. Rey sullenly tucked any mechanical design book she came across under her arm.
80s vehicle design, check.
Tanklike RTS mechs, check.
Anime-ass giant robots, double-check.
She was so engrossed in her quiet tantrum that she didn’t notice the old stooped-over woman who had hobbled up to her until the click of her intricate glasses pulled Rey’s attention away from the stacks.
Maz Kanata, owner of the castle, stood in front of Rey cleaning her thick circular glasses with a soft cloth before placing the lenses back into their metallic frames, “Find anything interesting?”
Rey sheepishly looked down at the stack of books in her arms, “. . . Maybe?”
“Wrong.” Maz said plainly. She turned and walked back down the hall, gesturing over her shoulder, “Follow me, I have something for you up ahead. Leave those books behind you. New shipment from Japan just arrived.”
“Japan . . .?” Rey asked in a daze as she followed the woman through several turns, two staircases and a half-height doorway before somehow arriving back at the front desk. A fresh looking cardboard box was sitting on top of a worn looking cardboard box and Maz dug through it before pushing a brand new art book into Rey’s hands.
“For drawing help.” Maz said, patting her hand kindly.
Rey looked down at the book. It was weighty, printed on glossy thick-stock paper and smaller than the typical art books she was used to seeing. It had a slip cover and while she couldn’t read any kanji, the image on the cover was a series of collaged photos; a Japanese man in a business suit, a brown-and-gray office space filled with cubicles, a copy machine, and a Japanese woman in a white blouse sitting on a generic office chair.
“What is this?” Rey asked, an amused smile breaking out as she flipped through the book. It was full of real life photos of mundane office spaces. Immaculate meeting rooms with neat stacks of notepads. Staged photos of professionally dressed business people having conversations around water coolers and writing on whiteboards. The crisp folds of fabric that bunched at the shoulders of the men’s suit jackets caught Rey’s eye.
“Is it--” Rey flipped through several pages of salarymen and women in formal and semi-formal outfits, “--Is it a reference book?”
Maz nodded, “Pose catalog, lots more where it came from. Have that one on the house.” She deftly hopped off the stool she was standing on and disappeared again. [4]
Rey stared down at the pose catalogue. An idea was beginning to form--
She swiped in back at Skywalker Studios and dumped her bag in her chair, dropping the catalog next to her keyboard as she walked past it. She was relieved but not surprised to find the bathroom empty; there were more men than women at Skywalker Studios. But that fact played to Rey’s advantage right now.
She leaned towards the mirror, hands planted on either side of the sink as she inspected her face. She looked serious, determined. Confidence flickered within her. It felt good.
She pulled out her phone, then looked up, assessing the lighting. She shuffled one sink to her right to make sure the light was even and not casting strange shadows, tilting her head carefully. She angled it in a similar orientation to the Padme headshot that had stumped her.
Rey snapped a photo. Then another for good measure. Adjusted her expression, snapped a few more. She changed the angle of her head’s tilt and snapped another--that should be enough to work with. She sent them to herself over Quiscord before glancing up to the mirror again.
Time to draw. She nodded decisively before leaving the bathroom.
Within a couple hours Rey had successfully redrawn Padme’s face. The nose was fixed, the nostrils had definitely been uneven and thanks to Rey’s own photo reference Episode 2 Padme now had a cute philtrum that curved up at her top lip.
Rey sighed, leaning back in her chair and minimized the collage of photos that she had taken in the bathrooms. Tackling facial anatomy was trivially easy when using proper reference. Rey didn’t know why she hadn’t thought of this sooner, she had learned to draw all kinds of industrial equipment by looking at photos and real-life machinery. Why would human anatomy be any different?
She owed Maz, big time.
Looking around, Rey realized that she had been so absorbed in her drawing that it was far past 5 pm. She slung her bag over her shoulder before opening her chat app to respond to Rose's messages.
Kylo’s illustration of two shirtless man greeted her again. She snorted and began to scroll when she stopped, taking a closer look at the younger figure with the weapon. Did he--did he kind of look like Kylo? Rey glanced to her left but Kylo was already gone for the day, his locked computer monitors dark. With how spartan he kept his desk it didn’t even look like anyone ever occupied it.
Rey frowned back at her screen. The image wasn’t high enough resolution to tell, but the figure definitely had similar hair. She shook her head before typing out a quick message,
R0b0Rey <5:41 PM>
why are theY SHIRTLESS
so unnecessary
and yes i will play draft with you
RoseyPosey <5:41 PM>
yaaaaaay
I need a light at the end of this planning tunnel to look forward to
I can feel myself turning into a calendar
Ask me what day of the week any date in September is
R0b0Rey <5:41 PM>
lets grab drinks when you can come up for air
RoseyPosey <5:41 PM>
Ask me Rey
Please, this is all I have left
R0b0Rey <5:42 PM>
lol
23rd of sept
RoseyPosey <5:42 PM>
That’s a Wednesday because we’re going to have Sprint 2 end on the 25th, which is a Friday
Boom
I am Rainwoman
R0b0Rey <5:42 PM>
get some sleep rose
She closed out the chat as Rose bombarded her with a series of gifs about coffee and pushed away from her computer for the final time that day.
-
When Rey got home, she dropped her bag on the floor and threw open her front closet, which also served as her only closet. A precarious stack of folded t-shirts swayed dangerously but didn’t topple. Her apartment was, well, cozy was the word she liked to use. It was the smallest square footage she could find that wasn't too far of a commute into the office, but she wasn’t going to be hosting a Qagic game night anytime soon. She could maybe fit herself and Rose at the small countertop in her kitchen, but trying to fit Rose and Bebe and two broad-shouldered engineers in her space meant that something was going to get knocked over.
She stepped out of her jeans and tugged off a t-shirt that read Jakku Online Training , a freebie from QDC, throwing them into a worn out hamper before turning to face the main living space of her studio apartment. Rose had jokingly referred to it as a ‘shoebox LKD’; the kitchen was crammed along one wall, her bed against the other, and a circular rug acted as the living room between them. Her desk and home computer barely fit at the foot of her bed but the miniscule square footage was worth it for the cheap rent.
Rey was on a mission now. After carefully apprising the room, she took the mirror down from her closet door and carried it into the sliver of a living room where she leaned it against the wall instead. She stepped back into the middle of the circular rug and was relieved when she could see her whole body in the mirror, lit dramatically from the side thanks to the windows.
Her flat may be too small to host anyone, but it was just perfect for Rey to take her own reference photos. The mirrors in Skywalker Studio bathrooms were too high up to capture a full body shot and she needed space to maneuver.
Rey unlocked her phone and lifted it up before pausing.
Probably not the best idea to put pictures of my undies on company hardware, Rey thought, watching herself grimace in the mirror at her tan bra and nude underwear, which had a small hole near the elastic. If an lingerie photo of hers did ever leak, she hoped she would at least be wearing something sexier.
Shaking her head to dispel the thought, she walked back around to her closet and dug through it until she reemerged in a camisole and thin workout shorts. They offered a bit more modesty without bulking out her silhouette and she returned to stand in front of the mirror, setting up her first pose.
The rest of her evening descended into a flurry of posed mirror selfies between bites of her dinner--leftover Cantina quesadillas that she had swiped from work. She experimented with different camera angles, moved her lamp for lighting adjustments, and even tried mimicking some poses she found online. She used clips and hairbands to test out different hairstyles, and had been contemplating breaking out her makeup before realizing it was well past midnight. Rey had work in the morning, where she needed to put all of her photo reference to the test.
She lay on her bed, in the dark, swiping through photo after photo. Assessing, deleting, sorting. Roughly 50% of them were awkward, 25% blurry, but the remaining 25%--promising. Rey stopped at one, zooming in to squint at herself. Partway through the evening she had rolled her camisole up to reveal slender abs so she could use her belly button as a surface landmark to judge proportions while drawing.
Rey panned up to appraise her face. Photo-Rey looked serious, but her jaw was loose, lips parted. her half lidded eyes that focused on the phone in her hand, intent on getting the shot right. Rey stared at herself, at the tousled hair that she had freed from her typical three-bun-stack for the reference shoot. Her weight was shifted onto one leg, the other slightly bent and tucked behind her. Her hips were canted and her free hand squeezed the back of her neck.
Rey had never thought of herself as hot before. Action words suited her better; tenacious, hard-working, stubborn. But the Rey in the photo didn’t look like she owned a pair of underwear with one or more holes in them, she looked like all of her underwear was lacey and sheer. Like the camisole and shorts was just a temporary uniform.
Rey favorited the photo and stared at the ceiling until she drifted off.
Notes:
Thanks to everyone for the week 1 hits, kudos, and comments! I just start writing chapter 14 last night, so I don’t anticipate missing a Sunday upload for a while.
A few sources referenced in this chapter:
[1] https://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/ent/obi-wan-kenobi-affair.html
[2] https://www.iamag.co/star-wars-the-art-of-ralph-angus-mcquarrie-100-concept-art/
[3] Rey does not have Aphantasia, maybe you do? https://www.theguardian.com/wellness/2024/feb/26/what-is-aphantasia-like
[4] https://japanese-creative-books.com/pickup/theme/pose-ideas-for-manga-and-figures/
Chapter Text
BB-8 <3:15 AM>
its sunday my duuuuuudez
BarrelRollPoe <6:26 AM>
Beebs why were you up at 3am
BB-8 <6:30 AM>
au contraire~~~
i am STILL up
guild stuff, raid boss with the bosses
artoo and c3 r trying for some rare weapons drop ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
not sure theyd know what to do if they got it tho
FN-2187 <9:03 AM>
Poe, why were YOU up at 6!?
That is a godless hour
BarrelRollPoe <9:15 AM>
Then call me a heretic, ‘cause I’m worshipping at THIS alter
[IMG_20XX0603_091437.jpeg]
The image was of a beautiful plate of stacked waffles, eggs, and bacon, with syrup poured over top. An orange stripe ran around the rim of the plate, and a diner mug in the background was slightly out of focus.
Rey took a bite of a cold leftover quesadilla, her weekend breakfast in bed, and scrolled down,
BB-8 <9:15 AM>
woooooaoaaaaaahhhhhhooooww
RoseyPosey <9:16 AM>
Stahhhhp, that is torture.
BarrelRollPoe <9:16 AM>
It’s cheat day!
Only thing that gets me out of bed for weekend gymtime.
BB-8 <9:16 AM>
u r not beating the brogrammer allegations
bro
FN-2187 <9:16 AM>
Shots fired
BB-8 <9:17 AM>
oop brb
RoseyPosey <9:19 AM>
How does it taste?
Stop, don’t tell me.
Is it incredible
No wait
Please
BarrelRollPoe <9:21 AM>
Rose, I genuinely wish I could decipher that.
FN-2187 <9:26 AM>
You guys see the article that QGQ posted?
quantumgamesquetwork.qom/inside-the-dramatic-rise-and-fall-and-rise-again-of.html
Rey brought her phone up closer to her face as the article loaded,
----------------------------
QGQ RETROSPECTIVE: Galactic Fallout -- Inside the Dramatic Rise and Fall and Rise Again of Luke Skywalker’s Legacy
By C. Kestis | Quantum Games Quetwork, AU Edition
It’s now public knowledge that the recently-founded Skywalker Family Studios is developing a followup to the smash hit game series Original Trilogy , responsible for defining a generation of childhoods. They’ve even got the original team back together to make it. But what was industry veteran and reclusive auteur, Luke Skywalker, up to in the interim?
Readers may remember Skywalker’s short-lived Academysoft Atelier, which was poised to become the next big force in bespoke art outsourcing. Academysoft gained cult acclaim for its work on Jedi: Lost Order , a slow-burn adventure about the burden of power, co-developed with Interactive Yodaworks. Critics hailed the game for its “humanization of war and conflict, emphasizing it’s toll rather than glorifying it” and fans both new and old waited with baited breath for the announcement of a sequel.
Sadly, it would be the one and only game that Academysoft would produce before shuttering.
Looking back now, the collapse of Academysoft seems less than a like a failed business and more like a Shakespearean tragedy played out in leaked Quack threads. A new source, who wishes to remain anonymous, informed QGQ that at the heart of the drama lies Luke’s protege; his nephew Ben Solo, better known by his online moniker KyloRen.
Solo joined Academysoft at Skywalker’s behest, our source claims. Readers may recognize Kylo for his Quagic the Qathering Card art or contributions to QAFTA-winning Bl4ck_Kn1ght, but at the time Solo was a promising up-and-coming artist. Our source suggests it was fundamental creative disagreements that ripped Academysoft apart. “[Solo] kept pushing for darker themes. Like, really dark,” our anonymous tipster claims, “At one point he suggested our protagonist mercy-kill their mentor? We weren’t even in charge of narrative.”
New documents obtained by QGQ suggest that Academysoft ran out of funding after a series of contract disputes ended in several high-profile clients quietly canceling and transferring those projects to The Knights of Ren--an art collective that Solo founded shortly after quitting his uncle’s company. Solo denies any responsibility for Academysoft’s collapse and no charges have been pressed.
Solo, who called himself a “creative disruptor” in recent podcast appearances, has historically refused to comment on his time at Academysoft or allegations of nepotism. As for Skywalker, he withdrew from public life, never to release another game.
Or at least, that was true until early last year. Fans were shocked at the surprise announcement of Skywalker Family Studios and its mysterious benefactor, First Order. Some were thrilled at the prospect of a high-budget Trilogy game, while others whispered concerns about First Order’s “corporate oligarchy”.
And according to the Skywalker Family Studio website, Ben Solo is once again part of the team.
Has the legendary Skywalker family repaired old wounds? Does this mark the beginning of another Trilogy , or are the same patterns doomed to repeat themselves? One thing is for sure; fans are eager to get their hands on whatever Skywalker releases next (your faithful author included)!
Sometimes the past doesn’t die, it just gets patched.
If you’d like to send a story tip and wish to remain anonymous, you can reach me at [email protected]
----------------------------
RoseyPosey <9:35 AM>
They just love dredging up old news, don’t they
BarrelRollPoe <9:35 AM>
Even if this all is ‘alleged’ or whatever--Ben still sounds like a total dick
Wtf is a “creative disruptor”
RoseyPosey <9:36 AM>
We shouldn't give it the clicks.
R0b0Rey <9:37 AM>
too late
FN-2187 <9:37 AM>
The nepotism is strong with this one
BarrelRollPoe <9:37 AM>
Can you imagine being born into industry royalty and throwing it all away like that?
The levels of nepo babying are absurd.
FN-2187 <9:38 AM>
This article is tea tbh
Did Kylo really ruin Luke’s studio? Jedi: Lost Order is what made me want to get into the games industry
R0b0Rey <9:38 AM>
god kylo is a massive dick
BarrelRollPoe <9:38 AM>
That's what I'm saying!
A Dick Disruptor
RoseyPosey <9:39 AM>
…I'm pretty sure Hux thinks ‘corporate oligarchy’ is a compliment
FN-2187 <9:39 AM>
He and Kylo were made for each other
RoseyPosey <9:39 AM>
Maybe you should tip off Cal to that scandal
BarrelRollPoe <9:40 AM>
QGQ EXCLUSIVE: Inside Skywalker Family Studio's steamy affair--the Dick Disruptor and the Corporate Oligarch
FN-2187 <9:40 AM>
Loooooool
Needs more colons
BarrelRollPoe <9:42 AM>
QGQ EXCLUSIVE: Inside; Skywalker Family Studio's steamy affair: the Dick Disruptor and the Corporate Oligarch; Corrupt Contracts or Forbidden Romance??
BB-8 <9:42 AM>
9.9
wut
did I miss another cal article ?
–
It was Monday afternoon before Rey realized it. The morning--and lunch--had zipped by, Rey finally achieving flow state while working on the Padme outfit options. Her reference photoshoot paid off and she had added her best neutral poses to the folder in her phone alongside her impromptu bathroom headshots.
She hadn’t realized how much faster drawing with reference would make her. She might have spun out on this assignment last week, but with her reference pulled up on one monitor and her drawing on the other, she had blown through all of the necessary anatomical adjustments in half a day and could finally focus on the costuming side of design.
Rey was already deep in thought about how to repurpose her bed’s duvet as a cape for tonight’s photoshoot when a voice behind her nearly jolted her out of her skin,
“Hey Rey, are you up for a quick review? I have a meeting that stomped on our usual--well look at that!” Luke exclaimed, and Rey froze as he leaned over her shoulder to look at her latest Padme design.
“Look at that nose! I was wondering when you were going to send me the file but--did Ben help you?” Luke asked, with a mild note of concern in his voice. Rey shook her head,
“No, I . . . I figured it out.”
“Marvelous!” Luke slapped an encouraging hand on her shoulder as Kylo sidled up on her other side, rolling his chair over to see what the fuss was about. Rey glanced nervously up him as he leaned back, a stoic hand covering his mouth. Rey realized he was assessing her art as she watched his eyes move across her screen.
She turned to Luke in an effort to distract herself from the anxiety of Kylo's scrutiny.
“Which outfit is this?” Luke asked, leaning over the shoulder of her chair.
Rey had wanted to start off simple and exploratory. The character sheet had a number of different options for Episode 2--she was playing with fabric and silhouette, trying to incorporate all the various references. But she was focused on one outfit in particular; Padme’s Corde disguise. [1]
“Well uh, I'm mostly getting my bearings--” Rey stumbled, awkwardly put on the spot, trying to ignore Kylo’s presence, “But thought I'd start with her disguise, when she avoids the Trade Federation’s assassination attempt. She's disguised as a pilot but is still royalty, so I've been looking at a bunch of medieval costuming reference--I wanted her disguise to look like a knight or a pageboy….”
She trailed off as Luke nodded, “Yes, making it look like she's wearing armor or some shielded material would match the rest of the Naboo royal entourage--we should give her a helmet or something to obscure her face that also pulls in some of the WW2 ref. What about her hair?”
He pointed to the screen where the rough gesture drawing of long hair curled around Padme’s shoulders.
“Well I figured all the Episode 1 costuming has her hair either covered or pinned up. If she was really trying to disguise herself, she’d wear the opposite of that. I’ve got some options--” Rey zoomed into the image, panning around so Luke could get a better look at her drawings.
He studied them briefly and tapped the screen, “I like this one with the metal bangles. Make her hair longer and give me cleaned up versions of these two in the top row.”
Rey nodded, relief flooding her shoulders as Luke turned away. Thanks to Rose, Rey had spent the weekend walking through the updated narrative docs. She owed her friend big time.
Now that the adrenaline was subsiding, she became aware that Kylo was still studying her screen. His chair was close to hers and she battled with the dual urges to both ignore him and pry for additional feedback.
Luke was her AD and manager, she already had her feedback and next task. She didn't need Kylo's opinion too. And yet--
Padme’s design was originally his assignment. He had basically mapped out her character inspiration for the entire series--
Rey swallowed her pride with difficulty, steeling herself before she spoke in a tone more casual than she felt, “Any, ah--any notes, Ben?”
He wasn't even looking at her art.
Her pride clawed its way back up her throat, twisting her mouth with its acidity. He was still learned back in his chair, impassive hand covering the bottom of his face in thought--staring at her second monitor.
Her second monitor, which was cluttered with open windows of her email, Quiscord chat, work chat, calendar, and-- the reference photos from last night . Rey’s face drained of blood as she realized that there were several photos of her face from different angles, and one full-body image of herself half-turned away from the mirror. The camisole she had worn for the reference shoot suddenly didn’t feel like such a modest choice.
Her eyes darted back and forth between Kylo’s face and her screen. Had he seen them? There was no way he hadn't noticed, but she did have a mosaic of useless windows open and several colorful gifs from Finn and Rose were looping in the chat window. Maybe those had been distracting enough--
Kylo huffed after a moment, his voice harsh with derision and muffled behind his fingers, “Just be sure to consult the materials library I've been building. You can't just go around adding new fabrics and leathers whenever you feel like it.”
Rey’s cold horror was beginning to turn into hot rage as his dark eyes caught hers, “And any new materials you propose have to be vetted by Connix and Dand in tech art. We’re limited.”
“ I know. ” Rey growled back, although she had not, in fact, known. She spun her chair back towards her computer.
She already had her assignment from Luke; do another pass on two iterations of Padme and design a helmet. Rey was already behind on her estimates and would need to catch up after floundering last week.
But now she also was going to propose a new material to add to their library.
Spite coated her tongue as she bit it.
-
Rey must have looked murderous as she slid into the restaurant’s booth because Rose winced and Poe froze mid-drink where they sat across from her.
“What!?” Rey asked, ignoring that the slightly hysteric octave she hit answered her own question.
“I feel this , really, I do--” Rose pleaded, one hand on her heart, her other hand gesturing to encompass Ray’s general direction, “But I can not talk about work right now. I have done nothing but talk about work for the last week. Right now it is Friday night and I just want to have a genuinely happy hour.”
“ Fine! ” Rey tossed her jacket and messenger bag in a pile next to her, desperate to unleash her pent up work nerves physically, if not verbally. She had spent the last hour reading Kylo's materials documentation and the consistent, methodically patronizing tone had dulled her patience.
But Rose did deserve a break from work and Rey would be a bad friend to deny her request. She sighed, snagging a finger through the handle of the highball they had ordered for her, “Where's Bebe and Finn?”
“Bebe’s not coming, more raids with the other QA ‘droids.” Rose shrugged.
“Finn’s at a Team meeting.” Poe added lightly.
Rey's chest constricted involuntarily. A team meeting on a Friday night . . . her adrenaline threshold was going to be shot after this project.
Rose caught her expression, “Don't worry! It's about outsourcing so they can hit the new First Order milestone dates. Sounds like they’re just going to throw money at the problem-- but I am not talking about work!”
She looked at Poe and Rey, stricken, before downing the rest of her Sapporo and smacking her hand on the table, “Who wants to get drunk!? ”
Poe and Rey wordlessly raised their drinks in cheers.
-
FN-2187 <9:48 PM>
Wait where d you guys go
I have shots
R0b0Rey <9:49 PM>
back of the bar
dancefloor
rose wanted to dance
BarellRollPoe <9:49 PM>
Rose wanted to dance!
BB-8 <9:51 PM>
0000000h b0y is rose dancing ?
Rey stood in the corner of the dark bar, music pumping, mangling a straw between her teeth. Din & Tonik was a small venue and the dancefloor was crammed against a stage stacked with shiny black electronic gear, where a musician playing dark ambient electronic music bobbed. Rey scanned the packed dance floor until she caught a glimpse of Rose, wildly swinging her arms above her head in an insane dance maneuver that somehow fit the divey atmosphere and decor. When their eyes snagged each other’s, Rose grinned.
'I wanted to dance!' She mouthed, and Rey nodded back encouragingly, giving her drunk friend a thumbs up.
R0b0Rey <9:54 PM>
rose needed it
BB-8 <9:54 PM>
i can check Quinstagram 2 see if that taco truck is out 2nite
BarellRollPoe <9:55 PM>
Oh helllllllll yeah, thanks beebs!
BB-8 <9:55 PM>
whoops
brb
dps just ate shit
Rey bobbed her head absently to the pounding beat that pumped through the cramped basement club, mindlessly scrolling on her phone. She knocked her booted heel against her calf, only half paying attention as Finn sidled up beside her and deposited a handful of drinks on the high-top table.
“Miss Robot-Reybot.” he announced, pouring a fresh drink onto the empty cup she held.
“Many thanks, Finny.”
Her thumb scrolled as Finn lingered next to her. She glanced up to watch a kaleidoscope of blue and red light play across his cheekbones, eyes distant as his drink hovered somewhere between his shoulder and chin, forgotten. She followed his attention out to the dancefloor--his gaze too high to be looking at Rose--and watched as Poe tossed his head back in a laugh that was lost in the blaring music, curls bouncing across his forehead.
Poe's smile flashed bright under a UV light. Finn's mouth softened.
Suddenly he threw his glass back and shouted at Rey over the music, “Watch the drinks!” before he disappeared into the crowd.
Rey filed the interaction away again--a pile of mounting evidence, really--watching as Poe clapped Finn on the back, the latter leaning in towards the former to shout something. Rose waggled her fingers in the air next to them, throwing her hips in an exaggerated circle.
Rey snorted in affection before returning to her phone, scrolling. Illustration, illustration, ad, comic, ad, job posting, illustration, game trailer, ad, abs, ad--
She stopped, scrolled back up.
The image was of a man standing mostly in darkness. A shadow cut across the top half of his body and melted it into the shadows behind him while his broad, flat abs and stomach was thrown in stark contrast by a light off-camera. He stood in a wide, neutral stance with legs apart and gym shorts slung low, the barest rim lighting around his shoulders and head. The image appeared to be in black and white but it was just a trick of the lighting, white walls, and black granite flooring.
@KyloRen
Sometimes you just need to do a dark workout
[IMG_20XX0607_085657.jpeg]
What the--of course Kylo was the kind of guy who went to the gym on a Friday night and posted about it.
She clicked on his name without thinking, scrolling through his profile. His most recent post sat at the top of the screen:
@KyloRen
Latest @KnightsofRen class demo: Rendering Metals. The trick is to have a key light and solid reference.
[Solo_Materials_Metal02.png]
The image under the post was a half-finished illustration of a toned woman's torso adorned with a chainmail bikini. The background was dark, painterly, the focus clearly meant to be on the painted study that had infuriatingly consistent lighting and quite impressive material definition. The figure was sketchy and blocked out, but the subject--the metallic bikini--was rendered carefully with time and care.
Fucker.
Of all the subjects he could have chosen--a literal chainmail bikini? How rich. How absolutely Frank Frazetta of him. [2] Rey pouted despite herself, automatically scrolling through the comments, desperate to see someone, anyone calling him out for the distasteful study.
@Sithtrooperfan2199
Omg beautiful !! :pleading: :pleading: what brushes did you use here? :pleading: :heart eyes:
@B1gGrummg4r
Now thats what I call an armor set!
[advertisement]
@DophMitaka98
Hey KyloRen I don’t know if you’re even going to see this but I’m a student at The Academy, and I’m about to graduate this summer and I’d really appreciate if you could do a portfolio review for me itd mean a lot. My portfolio is DopheldMitaka.qom
Thank you
Sincerely, Dolph
@General_Hux
That’s our Kylo! This is the incredible skill of someone I consider an industry #disrupter at @SkywalkerFamilyStudios , one of our @FirstOrder #firstparty studios #videogames #games #leadershipprinciples
[Re-Quipped]
@BazineNetalCosplay
Next time you can just ask me to be the life model lolololol
jk
Unless,,,, :eyes:
Rey angrily threw back her own drink, smacking the glass down on the table as her three friends danced their way back towards the crammed high-top.
“ I have to pee!” Rose shouted over a roar of laughter from Finn and Poe.
“ Same.” Rey grumbled, following her shorter friend through the packed crowd and towards the line to the bathrooms. It was long, and the music was too loud to make conversation possible.
Rose bounced on her heels as they stood in the narrow hallway, the spirit of dance still compelling her. She pulled her phone out of the slim, stylish bumbag strapped to her waist and gestured to the mirrored wall across from them, “ Selfies!?”
Rey rolled her eyes in an exaggerated manner, pretending to protest but ultimately capitulating, unable to resist indulging Rose. No one in the group was ever able to, which is precisely how they had ended up at this loud, dark club in the first place.
Rey leaned over her shorter friend’s shoulder and pulled a series of horrific faces as Rose vogued, snapping away.
An image of Rose, sweaty and breathless, eyes lidded, staring down the camera as she pushed a hand through her hair; a certified bombshell in cat-eye liner. Rey jutted her chin out, baring her teeth and pushing up her nose in a pig-like snout.
An image of the two girls pursing their lips lips in exaggerated duck faces, eyes squinting, while Rey reached around to push up Rose’s boobs and give her comically luscious decolletage.
An image of Rose shrieking in mid-laugher, batting Rey's hands away as Rey's hair escaped its single bun, swinging wildly around her crinkled eyes and smile.
An image of Rose's hand snaking in from off-camera to shove two fingers up Rey's nostrils as Rey grinned at the mirror, hands on her hips and stance wide.
An image of the two friends, hair curling in the humidity, laughing as they embraced one another. Rey rested her chin on the top of Rose’s head, eyes closed in a serene expression. Rose was mid-giggle.
The door to the bathroom swung open in front of them.
“Send me the good ones!” Rey leaned against the sink, unphased as Rose sat down on the toilet in front of her.
Rey unlocked her phone only to be confronted with--boobs --Kylo’s post again. It must have shown on her face because Rose sighed loudly,
“Alright, I am peeing. You have until I'm finished peeing to talk about your work ennui.”
Rey hunched her shoulders, silent for a moment as her thumb tabbed at her phone screen. Then she launched into motion,
“Fucking-- Kylo Ren. He's haunting me. He's everywhere. He's at my desk, he's in my documentation, he had my assignments, he's in my phone . He has abs.” Rey said miserably, turning her phone to show Rose the Friday night gym selfie.
Rose pressed her lips, studying the phone silently before she stood and flushed, “Girl, you gotta let this go. You cannot take your work home.”
Rey rubbed the heels of her hands into her eyelids, suddenly feeling very sober, “But I turned my passion into my career. I can't not take it home.”
“I know,” Rose said softly as she and Rey traded places, “That’s the curse of creative work--but it means you have to get really good at setting boundaries with what you love.”
Rose continued, washing her hands as Rey took her turn to pee, “Like maybe hate-stalking your coworker isn’t a healthy choice.”
“What do you mean,” Rey grumbled, feeling drunk once again, “Hate-stalking is just a combination of two provocatively self-destructive words.”
Rose turned to lean against the counter, thumbing through her own phone, “Comparison is the--”
“--Thief of joy, I know, I know. Finn tells me all the time.” Rey’s phone chimed to let her know Rose had forwarded their selfies as she re-buttoned her jeans.
“That’s because Finn is really good at setting boundaries between his work life and home life. Trust me, I’m his Producer. And here’s my boundary--” Rose paused in the open bathroom door, looking meaningfully at Rey, “--No more work talk. For your sake.”
Rey shot her a lopsided smile and dried her hands. She flipped through the photos while following Rose back out to the dancefloor, deciding to open one of them in Quipper; the image of them embracing in the low light of the grungy hallway, old band posters papered behind them and hair loose.
Rey paused, her thumb hovering over the keyboard. Rose was attempting to drag Finn and Poe back out to the dancefloor, but they were protesting and pointing to their full drinks.
@R0b0Rey
Sometimes you just need to do a dark techno night
[IMG_9123.jpg]
She hit send as Rose dragged her out onto the dancefloor, shimmying to the beat.
Notes:
I know it's not an accurate portrayal of the games industry, they don't have nearly enough meetings.
[1] https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Padm%C3%A9_Amidala%27s_wardrobe?file=PadmePilot-DaG.png#Disguises
[2] https://www.frazettagirls.com/pages/oil-paintings
Chapter Text
Rey was elbow deep in hair-styling video tutorials while researching outfits for Galactic Senator Padme when Luke stomped through the art bullpen.
His hair was mussed--not unusual--but he looked pale and wore a pair of wraparound shades. One of the epaulets on his worn leather jacket was undone, and it wobbled as he raised a hand to point at Rey and Kylo.
“Art Review’s canceled today--need to reschedule.” He winced and began to walk away, “Check your calendars.”
Rey blinked after his retreating form before turning to glance confusingly at Kylo. Kylo, for his part, looked furious. He had taken off the black, sleek metallic headphones he usually wore and his face was contorted in a look of quiet contempt.
Rey was so taken aback by his anger, a deviation from his baseline ‘persistent vague disapproval’, that the question tumbled out of her, “What?”
“He can't even show up sober to work .”
Rey scoffed reflexively, remembering her own weekend recovery, “He’s like, hungover at worst.”
Kylo pointed the full weight of his scowl at her, “Is that good enough for you?”
He meant it as a barb, but the implication snagged. No, she hadn't expected Luke Skywalker, legendary artist and industry darling to be so . . . irresponsible. The internal struggle must have played out on her features because Kylo rested the headphones around his neck and spun in his chair to face her,
“You would benefit from a better teacher.” He said seriously, brows knitting low over bright eyes. His shoulders were back and his hands wrapped into wide fists, “Someone who won’t just paintover your work and call it ‘instruction’. Someone who will actually foster your creativity and development.”
“As clumsy as Luke is ,” Rey ceded, a defiant hand on her hip as she turned in her own chair, “He also advocates for us; for our pay, for our schedules, and his teaching style happens to match my learning style.”
Kylo recoiled his chin with a sneer, “ Bullshit. An artist like Luke who had his talent fostered and encouraged from a young age could never understand how to motivate someone who came from nothing--someone who had no encouragement but raw potential.”
“They’re--leadership is just nervous about the new First Order milestones.” Rey retorted, recovering quickly after Kylo’s unsettlingly accurate assessment. Did he just compliment her? Could he tell just by looking at her art?
She wasn't sure either of those were good things.
“First Order wouldn’t be so nervous if Skywalker leadership hadn’t pissed away all our funding on years of pre-production.” He glowered, meeting her eyes.
The color rose in Rey’s cheeks from anger. Kylo was the worst when he was correct.
“Well maybe if you hadn’t destroyed Academysoft he’d be more patient with you--like he is with me.”
Kylo’s eyes flared and his mouth dropped open to retort just as Luke returned to the bullpen. His sunglasses were still on, but now he held a mug of coffee that read ’Galaxy’s Best Mom’. He seemed agitated as he waggled his finger at Rey and Kylo again, “Rey, send off your favorite Senator Padme designs to the character modelers. I need you on another character that Han and Leia says is vital to the narrative for the next milestone level.”
Rey blinked at the abrupt assignment, her brain a car crash of impulses, “Ok--”
“It’s for Episode 2 Anakin, there should be an email from Chewie with some more info and the narrative docs, much longer than Padme’s--” His thumb skirted across his temple, “And let me know if you have any questions about Jedi lore. Those fuckin’ Original Trilogy games are still drilled into my brain.”
“And remember, no art review today!” Luke called over his shoulder as he walked away again. Rey slowly dragged her eyes back to Kylo,
“You could get much better direction than that.” He spat.
“From who , Ben Solo ?” She asked hotly, fed up with being target for his misplaced anger and wielding his name like a weapon, “You or someone else who ‘came from nothing’?”
His eyes lit with a new level of cold malice. Wrong answer. Rey felt a sensation of violence waft over her and it throbbed in time with her growing headache. Her adrenaline had kicked in somewhere between the conflicting conversations and Rey’s brain belatedly registered that Luke had once again assigned one of Kylo’s precious character design tasks to her . She was now designing Anakin as well as Padme. She watched the resentment bow Kylo’s shoulders, flare his nostrils.
Luke had lit a fuse and walked away, and Rey didn’t want to stick around to see the explosion.
“Save me the pitch.” She waved her hand through the air sharply, jerking up to stand barely above eye level with him, “We all just want to make a videogame, ok? We’re here to do a job . It’s not about being special, it's about working together for something bigger than all of us. You wouldn’t--”
She gathered herself before she said something else that would keep her up at night, “ Nevermind . Just--I don’t need anyone’s direction .”
It was Rey’s turn to stalk into the kitchen.
-
Rey slouched at their lunch table, the wrought iron grating of the tabletop digging painfully into her forehead. Despite Finn rubbing warm circles across her back, her limbs felt cold.
“My professionalism is torpedoed.” She mumbled incoherently and Finn hummed sympathetically.
“He had it coming. Ben’s chewed out like, half this building.” She could practically hear the dimples in Poe’s voice. Finn sighed,
“Not helpful, Poe--”
“He’s not not wrong, though.” Bebe drawled.
“Beebs, hun, that’s a double negative.” Poe corrected amicably.
“No, no, they’re absolutely correct.” Finn cut in, “ Poe’s wrong.”
“I am not--!” Another smile creeped into Poe’s voice. He turned in his seat to address the table of devs next to them. Rey, from her vantage point facedown on the table, only saw their sneakers.
“Hey lads, show of hands; who here has been personally chewed out by Ben Solo?”
A rustling of sleeves, a triumphant Hah! from Poe, and Rey could guess what the result was.
“You watch out, Finnegan.” Poe’s voice dropped and Finn’s hand stilled between Rey’s shoulder blades, “I’m built for statistics. Nothing gets past me.”
“ Alright boys , I’ve got info.” Rose huffed as she sat down heavily. The enticing scent of melted queso and greasy brown paper bag hit Rey’s nose.
“You didn’t tell me you were--”
“You went to Cantina--”
Finn and Poe stumbled over themselves in outrage.
“ I needed it .” Rose hushed the men with practiced ease, “ And I come bearing info .”
“Is it about the email?” Bebe asked. Even Rey lifted her head to look at their QA tester,
“What email?”
“You guys seriously need to get better at checking your Qmail.” Bebe scoffed, and Rose waved her hands,
“ Info here! The First Order set some really strict milestone dates. We’re all aware of that, right? So, because of the new schedule, we need more hands on deck and the leads have decided we need a co-dev partner to handle perf and optimization.”
Poe grimaced, “How did you know about--”
“Production.” Rose interrupted, raising a hand, “The walls have ears. Finn and I are being sent to chat up Canto Blight. We’re going to hire some of their devs to work remotely--one of them in particular is some kind of code-wizard.”
Finn hissed air out of his teeth, “And they’re shipping us out to meet them face to face? When?”
“Sometime next month. Keep your calendar open.” Rose said, biting into a gratuitously soggy burrito.
“ Christ .”
“Well this morning Holdo told me I’m going with her to evaluate the engineers at D’Qar.” Poe said, shooting a lopsided smile at Finn, “We leave next weekend.”
Poe’s expression dropped but Rey was only half paying attention.
“At least me and Bebe--” Rey started, glancing around the table,
“Sorry Rey,” Bebe ducked their head, “The ‘droids and I have like, hours of First Order compliance training we need to catch up on. I’m about to be stuck in training video hell.”
“Didn’t you guys have to do that the day you were hired?” Rose admonished.
“Yes.” Bebe grinned, “We just value our limited time on this Earth. FO’s HR had to literally threaten Artoo before they gave in.”
Rey smushed her cheek against the cold grate of the table again, “You’re all ditching me. I’ve got an avalanche of work and a jackal for a deskmate and you’re ditching me.”
“Think of it less as a ‘ditch’ and more of an ‘interlude’.” Rose said around a mouthful of burrito.
“Don’t worry Rey,” Poe winked at her from across the table, “Ben’s bark is worse than his bite.”
“Yeah Reybot, you’re pretty good at standing your ground.” Finn nudged her shoulder and Rey grunted inelegantly,
“ That’s the problem.”
-
FN-2187 <3:24 PM>
My legs are too long for economy
Skywalker Studios has my t-shirt measurements, shoe size, social security number, bank account, and healthcare information
you’d think they’d know my thighbone length by now
BarellRollPoe <3:27 PM>
Did you know thta Fathier Airlines gives you two free drinjsk for free
FN-2187 <3:29 PM>
Someone is going to have a fun flight
BarellRollPoe <3:29 PM>
Finnny I have been training for this flight my entire life
FN-2187 <3:29 PM>
How long is it?
Wouldn’t it have been faster to drive?
BarellRollPoe <3:29 PM>
But then the First Order couldn’t havve flexed the credit card!
And Holdo is already driving me nuts
She wants me too put together some last minute powerpoint to introduce our studio to D’Qar
I already miss Leia
She at laest knows how to smile
Yes more more red wine for me i think
FN-2187 <3:31 PM>
Hey @Roseyposey , @BarellRollPoe convinced me
I’m also going to order some wine
RoseyPosey <3:32 PM>
Nice try--get off Quiscord and get some sleep or you’ll never adjust to the timezone change
FN-2187 <3:32 PM>
Damn your logic and superior circadian rhythm
RoseyPosey <3:33 PM>
That’s why they pay me the mediocre bucks. Goodnight everyone! See you in a new timezone!
R0b0Rey <3:37 PM>
Safe flights, everyone
Rey pushed back from her keyboard to look at her drawing display. She was wrapping up her final Padma costume design, a flowing blue funeral gown, and had saved Padme’s makeup for last. Rey was torn between giving her a natural look or more elaborate variation of the Naboo traditional makeup.
She hemmed. She hawed.
A reference image would be an easy way to force the decision.
Rey had never made bold makeup part of her daily routine. Rose was much better at that habit--and in fact, Rey knew exactly where Rose kept her emergency work lipstick.
She slipped away from her desk and over to the Production pod, easily identifying Rose’s desk as the one covered in miniature model ships. She riffled through the side drawer, bypassing gel pens and a tangle of type-c cables until she found the tube of liquid red lipstick.
Once in the bathrooms--empty again--Rey applied the matte red. She painted her lips in the traditional Naboo style; outlining the dip of her cupid’s bow to give herself an arch of color on her top lip and dragging a thick line down her bottom lip. She checked in the mirror, whipping out her phone. She could draw two versions of Padme’s makeup and decide before sending the final concept off to Larma, the Lead 3D Artist.
Rey moved to swipe the back of her hand across her mouth and caught herself. The lipstick looked good on her, the shape and emphasis complimented her features. Why shouldn’t she leave it on? She could use a little pick me up with her friends all gone on work trips, leaving her to toil away at the office alone. Her entire day was shaping up to be eat-draw-eat-draw-eat-sleep-repeat . She wasn’t sure she’d said more than two words to a coworker since Finn and Rose had said goodbye, even Luke had been hard to get a hold of. And she was going to have to start her Anakin character designs next.
Rey headed back to her desk, distracted. She had finally familiarized herself with Padme’s references and backstory, and she was already being yanked onto another character to start from scratch. Not to mention that she had only just started learning anatomy--how different would men's musculature be? Even more difficult?
She tried not to think about it as she downloaded and opened one of her photos, a semi-closeup where she combed her hair back with one hand while the other held her phone. Rey wasn’t going to be able to rely on her own photo reference for Anakin unless they wanted the main character to resemble her short, lean build. She would have to do some serious online digging or maybe go back to Maz for additional art books . . . she'd need to figure something out. She arranged the lipstick reference on her second monitor and bent over her tablet to draw.
She was so engrossed in her thoughts that it took her a few minutes to respond to the solitary ping! from Qlack. Rey absently tabbed over to the studio’s internal messaging system, still musing about the appropriate shade of lipstick.
Ben Solo - 3:51 PM
Have you checked in Padme’s funerary concept yet?
Luke wanted me to send it to D’Acy along with my world bible for Theed.
Their shared chat log above his message was empty, save for two unanswered questions sent from Rey dated seven months and three months ago. If Kylo was choosing to message her instead of talking IRL, he must be really pissed at her. Rey bit the inside of her cheek, hands hovering over her keyboard. They hadn’t spoken since she had been reassigned Anakin and Kylo said she had raw potential . He had been insulting Luke but complimented her in his own backhanded way.
And then she had told him he was an entitled brat. No wonder he only wanted to talk through Qlack.
Rey Niima - 3:58 PM
not yet
on finishing touches
done by eod
Ben Solo - 3:58 PM
Do those finishing touches require additional outfit adjustments?
It took Rey a moment to comprehend the message. Her head jerked to stare at the back of Kylo’s head. He wasn’t looking at her, he was facing his computer and checking emails while a digital painting of a candlelit city was open on his screen.
Rey had never considered herself a self-conscious person, but a flush began to creep up her neck,
Rey Niima - 3:59 PM
what?
Ben Solo - 3:59 PM
Are you attempting to method act?
Rey couldn’t tell if the question was a jab or a rib. He must have seen her wearing the lipstick, he couldn't have seen her reference photos. He barely left his desk. What did he care if she decided to wear lipstick? It must be a taunt.
She frowned, typed out a succinct message, and returned to her drawing,
Rey Niima - 3:59 PM
???
There were no further pings. Without interruptions, Rey felt herself mercifully slip into a flow state and zone out as she put the finishing touches on Padme’s funeral robes. The Queen and Senator was fated to have a tragic ending, and the obvious visual reference to draw from was Ophelia from Shakespeare’s Hamlet . Both characters were idealistic almost to the point of naiveté, and the downward spiral of the men they loved had ultimately doomed them both. It seemed an obvious choice to place Padme in an open casket of water, surrounded by flowers. [1]
Rey almost found it fitting that the final look she would design for Padme would also be her final depiction.
She was so deep in the creative flow that she didn’t notice the tall black-clad man standing behind her until he leaned over. One arm crossed the back of her chair while his other hand tapped rhythmically against the desk next to her keyboard. Rey's heart lodged in her throat from his sudden appearance, looking between his hand to his jaw which was now perpendicular with her eyeline.
“Method acting--popularized by a Russian director in the early 1900s, in which an actor utilizes real life experiences to bring them closer to a character they’re intending to portray.”
Kylo’s voice was measured, low. He leaned forward and inspected the lipstick reference photo pulled up on her second monitor. Rey realized with blooming dread that the folder containing all of her reference photos was still open on screen, revealing square after square of her figure in miniature.
They depicted versions of Rey, standing before her mirror with phone in hand, hair long and loose around her shoulders. She faced the mirror squarely in her camisole and shorts but with her hands posed in different positions in an attempt to capture the right funeral solemnity. She watched Kylo’s eyes scan row after row of files, fingers tapping out a steady beat on her desk, drawing out the tension.
Rey had been kidding herself, really, thinking that she could draw from her own reference on the sly. Of course he had noticed --they sat practically back to back, he must have seen them over her shoulder at some point. She began to explain,
“Look, I--”
“You know, you do get benefits from observing people, looking at real anatomy. It’s amazing what you’ll learn.” He said evenly, but Rey’s spine straightened. He was still surveying her monitor. She didn’t dare move.
“Some things you can never understand by relying purely on imagination. Too many artists put too much faith in their minds, not enough of them take the time to actually see what is happening in reality.” He stopped tapping and instead laid his palm flat against the desktop.
He was teasing her. He had to be. Or--? It was legitimately useful artistic advice.
“Because when you live in reality ,” Kylo’s voice dipped too low for a work conversation as he loomed over her, crowding her against the desk, “You learn to appreciate the shape of things. The primitive forms, in different proportions.”
He almost sounded like an instructor . Rey’s hands pressed against the edge of her desk. She felt breathless.
“Once you learn how muscles work in real life, you can learn how to stylize them. It's the fastest way to improve .”
But did he--was he even aware of--
“I highly recommend reading Hogarth’s Dynamic Anatomy and Richer's Artistic Anatomy to get a solid foundation.” He said curtly before knocking his knuckles against her desk and walking away. Rey blinked down at her keyboard. [2] [3]
--What he was saying !?
-
FN-2187 <7:06 PM>
Fancy people in fancy places @RoseyPosey
[IMG_4822.HEIC]
Rey clicked on the photo to enlarge it. Finn and Rose sat across from each other at a table draped in a white linen tablecloth, chandeliers and wide windows behind them. Finn held up the camera in one hand while both he and Rose toasted the camera with glasses of white wine, their faces haughty and uptight.
BB-8 <7:07 PM>
awooooga.gif
:tada: :tada: :tada: :dancing_woman:
BarellRollPoe <8:08 PM>
Wow, looking snazzy!
BB-8 <7:08 PM>
that img is eyebleach
after all my c o m p l i a n c e t r a i n i n g 2day
BarellRollPoe <7:10 PM>
Oh no, how many braincells died off? Did you learn not to bribe the president? How to not fall for incredibly obvious phishing scams?
BB-8 <7:11 PM>
I can see ∞
BarellRollPoe <7:11 PM>
At least your manager acts like they’re part of your team.
Holdo doesn’t delegate at all and just ends up stressing herself out.
I’m here with nothing to do while she gets angry about it.
I know she still holds that podrace demo against me.
Ugh
I wish I hadn’t gone on his trip.
BB-8 <7:12 PM>
Nüüüüüüüü poe im so sorry
that sucks
you r gr8 at teambuilding
holdo should trust you more with offsites
R0b0Rey <7:12 PM>
dang, I’m sorry Poe
Order more alcohol on the company dime
The chat went quiet for a few moments and Rey scrolled back up to look at the pic of Finn and Rose. She sat at her desk at home, catching up on Quiscord messages after work. The evening sunset cast a golden bounce light across her apartment’s tiny LKD and Rey leaned her chin in her hand, one leg folded under her.
She clicked on Finn’s profile link and scrolled through his recent Quipper posts. There were several other photos of him and Rose; walking around the flashy nightlife of shopfronts, several shots of massive casino floors-- a teambuilding exercise? --and a photo of Rose and Finn posing with a dark haired man in a room full of computer monitors and equipment.
@FN-2187
@RoseyPosey and I making new friends with @DJ_DontJoin
[IMG_4815.HEIC]
Underneath the Quip post was a long thread of fans either enthusing over the image or insulting each other.
Out of habit, Rey clicked away from Finn’s profile to her Quipper homepage, watching it fill with tiles of images and conversations. She scrolled absent-mindedly, feeling the evening slip away until she inevitably ran into a Quip from Kylo Ren,
@KyloRen
Warmups
[Solo_LifeDrawing_04.png]
The image was a series of flowing life drawing sketches, lazy loops and lines crossed the page depicting various poses from a model. They were dynamic and foreshortened and--she squinted at the profile picture. He had changed it recently, she almost hadn’t recognized Kylo’s account. Rey clicked on the image to load his feed.
His profile picture was larger on this page, depicting a painting of a sleek black helmet--Vader’s. She was looking at fan art that had impeccable lighting and material rendering. It cut a black slash in the middle of the composition, tilted against an impressionistic background of a purple nebula.
Well if he was such a big Vader fan that would explain his penchant for black.
He had a new post as well, must have been doing some evening drawing,
@KyloRen
Sketching an old OC, trying to stay loose
[Solo_OCDoNotSteal.png]
“An OC? That's so . . . weeby .” Rey muttered, clicking on the image to enlarge it.
The drawing was indeed a loose sketch with some very basic colors and lighting applied. A figure dressed in black and wearing a full face helmet stood menacingly, heavy cloak billowing behind him. The helmet was surprisingly Vader-like. Rey squinted at it. Concentric metallic rings emphasized the eye sockets instead of Vader’s samurai-like brow, and the brim was shorter in the back. It was ominous, dangerous, the figure held up a longsword with a cross guard that tinted red in the light.
She backed out of the image and noticed his banner photo, some old Stormtroopers-but-make-them-chrome fanart of Kylo's that had done massive numbers on ArtQation a few years ago. Rey knew he must have liked Original Trilogy if he was working on the Prequel games but--a Vader-inspired OC? He was a bigger fan than she thought.
And if he was a fan of Vader, he must be a fan of Anakin.
Whose Episode 2 designs Luke had just passed off to Rey. Her stomach turned heavy.
If their situations were reversed--
A chime from Quiscord pulled her from her thoughts and Rey quickly closed the window. She shouldn’t be hate-stalking her coworker again, she should be desperately researching masculine pose catalogues to order from Maz’s Emporium tomorrow. She could practically hear Rose and Finn’s admonishments now.
Instead she absent-mindedly opened Quiscord, clicking on the chat at the top of her screen with an unread badge on it:
This is the very beginning of your conversation with KyloRen
----
KyloRen <7:46 PM>
I have an inquiry.
Rey stared at her screen for a moment, uncomprehending. The circular icon displayed a shirtless photo of Kylo, hair curling around his neck, pecs broad and pale, dark brows drawn and serious. The background was heavily shadowed with green undertones. He stood facing the camera, the shadows doing little to obscure his bulk and height.
Rey’s fingers hovered briefly over the keyboard,
R0b0Rey <7:47 PM>
i’d rather not do this right now
work-life balance and all
She leaned back in her chair and tried to imagine Finn being proud of her.
KyloRen <8:47 PM>
Bullshit.
You don’t cease to be an artist when you leave the office.
The image of Finn withered in her mind. Kylo wasn’t wrong--he was just a dick. ‘ Zero bedside manner’ is how Luke described him when he had given Rey the tour on her first day of work and Kylo had the nerve to ask if she was lost.
Before Luke had given Kylo’s dream assignment to Rey.
R0b0Rey is typing . . .
She deleted several responses, the ellipses appearing and disappearing while Kylo waited silently;
R0b0Rey <7:48 PM>
what is it?
KyloRen <7:48 PM>
The reference photos that you’ve been using for Padme, where did you get them?
R0b0Rey <7:48 PM>
i took them myself
easier to get the right angle that way
Rey sighed. She could’ve lied or pointed him in another direction but he had seen the files in her reference folder, could even have caught glances over her shoulder without her noticing. It wasn’t like her monitors had security screens or anything.
Kylo’s prompt responses stalled and Rey almost closed the chat before--
KyloRen is typing . . .
KyloRen <7:51 PM>
Really?
R0b0Rey <7:51 PM>
yes really
KyloRen <7:51 PM>
That’s…
Efficient.
I’m freelancing on some card art for Quagic and there’s a specific pose I’m trying to capture.
My usual figure drawing sessions aren’t helping.
Would it be possible to send me a specific angle, or series of angles, that would clarify it?
Rey blinked at her screen. She wasn’t used to polite Kylo, she was more used to simmering or seething or sneering Kylo. How was she supposed to parry this?
R0b0Rey <7:52 PM>
oh, i don’t think i’d be good at that
i’m really not a professional at this or anything
i only did it for Padme because i was
Desperate.
R0b0Rey <7:52 PM>
i only did it for padme because i was
on a deadline
KyloRen <7:53 PM>
I can supply you with reference photos in exchange.
You could use them for Anakin’s character sheets.
Rey wanted to hate the wave of relief that washed through her at the prospect of not needing to hustle and stress over sourcing masculine musculature reference. She wouldn’t fall behind on another assignment, she could finish all of her work before the looming First Order milestone. Then Kylo’s follow-up message appeared,
KyloRen <7:53 PM>
Or are you planning on giving him the same waistline as Padme?
Ass.
R0b0Rey <7:53 PM>
ass
KyloRen <7:54 PM>
You have fundamentally different proportions that would be hard to augment without a regular gym habit and higher doses of testosterone.
Both of which I happen to have.
Rey looked just over her monitor, refocusing her eyes to stare out the window. Her view wasn’t amazing; half of it was taken up by the poorly painted wall of the apartment building next to her and the other half was a straight shot of building rooftops that skipped her eye down the gently-sloping neighborhood towards city center. Rey usually saw more birds than people from her vantage point.
She used the visual distance to mull over the offer. Kylo was an ass, confirmed, but he needed her reference just as much as she needed his. Quagic was a regular client, and he needed to maintain speed and quality if he was going to continue moonlighting for them.
And to top it off--a flash of excitement sparked in Rey’s gut despite her best efforts to keep it contained. The next best thing to drawing a Quagic card was knowing that she was on a Quagic card. Rose would be ecstatic. What if she pulled it from a booster pack? What if it was rare? What if--
Her hands danced across the keyboard, betraying her,
R0b0Rey <7:55 PM>
fine
whats the angle you cant figure out
KyloRen <7:55 PM>
[Solo_Forcegrip_thumbnail.png]
Rey enlarged the image to see a rough sketch in chalky grey lines. A young woman’s arm was outstretched towards the camera, her hand curled in a bent claw. The rest of her body fell away from the camera as if suspended in mid-air, her hair a single curling contour line. Some scribbles in the background--foliage?--framed the figure, and her eye was centered almost perfectly between her pointer finger and thumb.
Well no wonder he needed photo reference. Just about every limb was angled towards the camera, the series of stacked forms posing one of the hardest anatomical challenges an artist could attempt; foreshortening .
R0b0Rey <7:56 PM>
don’t you like
get to pick your composition for these things
KyloRen <7:56 PM>
What's wrong with the composition?
R0b0Rey <7:56 PM>
are you trying to make things harder for yourself?
KyloRen <7:56 PM>
That’s the whole point, yes.
It’s a new planesquakker, for the next sci fi set.
She’s a future knight who can use invisible powers to read minds and move objects.
R0b0Rey <7:56 PM>
this is one hell of a pose to photograph, it’s going to need a series of photos stitched together
way more complicated than a full body shot!!
KyloRen <7:56 PM>
I’ll shop them together, it’s fine.
R0b0Rey <7:57 PM>
i meant that this deal is skewed in your favor
Rey frowned. It was going to take significantly more time for her to take the foreshortened photo reference than it will take for him to snap a quick selfie. She was going to need to lay down on something and angle herself towards the mirror. She tilted her head, looking at the sketchy thumbnail again.
KyloRen <7:57 PM>
I’ll send you drawovers to make up for it.
Whatever you need.
I can make it worth your while.
R0b0Rey <7:57 PM>
don’t phrase it like that
brb
Rey fiddled with the hem of the oversize promotional t-shirt she had snagged for free at a QuAX convention 4 years ago that read “Siq Meyer’s CLONE WARS”. She was going to have to move fast if she wanted to snap the reference before the sun set and she lost natural light--Rey was an artist, after all.
She pushed away from her desk and stood in front of her mirror, shedding the shirt. Her athletic shorts were skin tight and covered several inches of thigh--modest enough. She slipped on the camisole she usually used for reference and laid stomach down on a kitchen stool, angling herself towards the mirror. Using the sketches from Kylo for reference, she took a series of photos from a range of different angles.
After a few minutes of effort tensing her muscles in strenuous positions, Ray collapsed on the rug, her phone held above her as she swiped through the photos in the fading light. She had never taken reference to send to someone else, and felt self-consciousness creep up her neck as she deleted blurry and badly-cropped photos.
When she finally had whittled it down to a few shots, she opened the Quiscord app on her phone and selected Kylo’s chat.
KyloRen <7:57 PM>
Like what?
R0b0Rey <8:34 PM>
[IMG_9138.jpg] [IMG_9140.jpg] [IMG_9141.jpg] [IMG_9143.jpg] [IMG_9144.jpg]
don’t know if you need this one too, closeup of the expression
[IMG_9139.jpg]
i have some alternates but those should cover it
i think
took a bit to get the angle
KyloRen <8:34 PM>
Perfect
Rey’s hands stalled in the middle of typing another caveat. Heat rushed to her cheeks, buoyed by the memory of his voice from earlier that day,
You do get benefits from observing people, looking at real anatomy.
She was snapped back to the present with Kylo’s next message.
KyloRen <8:34 PM>
I’ll send you reference for Anakin tomorrow.
R0b0Rey <8:34 PM>
whaT!!!!
KyloRen <8:36 PM>
I need to get moving on this illustration, and I’m going to the gym in the morning.
I’ll get you what you need before work.
He went silent after that, presumably off to draw, and Rey was left staring at the strangest conversation of her life. She felt vaguely uneasy about the loose deal they had struck, but her relief at having access to accurate reference was stronger. And if Kylo owed her, maybe he wouldn’t be such an ass to her--Rey’s shoulders dipped with relief. She’d get her reference tomorrow, some muscle callouts, speed through her Anakin designs, the team would hit their milestone, First Order would be pleased with their progress, and no one would get laid off.
Maybe.
Notes:
This idea has been stuck in my head for a very long time; What if the modern AU of Kylo and Rey’s force-bond telekinesis was them DMing each other? The story spiraled from there.
Thanks to everyone for sticking around and giving a WIP a chance. Things will begin to pick up from here, now that the premise is laid out.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophelia#/media/File:John_Everett_Millais_-_Ophelia_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg
[2] https://archive.org/details/BurneHogarthDynamicAnatomyRevisedAndExpanded
[3] https://archive.org/details/artisticanatomy0000rich
Chapter Text
Rey inadvertently learned Kylo’s schedule from his Qiscord habits.
He went to the gym early in the morning, before work. She knew this because the day after striking their deal, her phone buzzed while she was brushing her teeth. Half awake, she unlocked her phone and was greeted with a gym selfie from Kylo.
KyloRen <6:36 AM>
[IMG_20XX06_063332.jpeg]
He stood in a large room with black and blue padded walls, half-turned towards a full length mirror. He wore loose shorts that ended high around his thighs, dark tights, and a black tank top with one bare arm raised to hold his phone up and away from his body. His shoulders were wide, spine curved. The room behind him was full of black iron and sparsely populated workout machines. He had angled himself towards the mirror in a perfect 3/4 neutral pose for a character concept. Even his feet were slightly splayed.
Perfect.
Rey saved the photo to use at work. He had upheld his end of the deal. She stared at their chat for a moment,
R0b0Rey <6:37 AM>
thanks
KyloRen <6:37 AM>
Of course.
Her thumb hovered over her phone screen for a beat,
R0b0Rey <6:38 AM>
you’re up early
KyloRen <6:38 AM>
How else am I supposed to keep in shape for art reference?
R0b0Rey <6:38 AM>
…is that why you do it?
KyloRen <6:38 AM>
Yes?
During his afternoons at work, he was disciplined enough to stay off Quiscord unlike Rey who checked it now and then to see if the group chat had any new messages. She took a break from laying out Anakin’s character sheet to stretch her hand,
RoseyPosey <1:40 PM>
This drink has like 3 different alcohols in it and costs $32 dollars
[IMG_5647.HEIC]
The attached image was of a reeded lowball tumbler with cut ice inside, sitting on a bar top in a dark wood-paneled room. Rose’s red polished fingers held a spiral orange garnish above the rim.
BarellRollPoe <1:54 PM>
Pray for me guys, Holdo is taking us on some teambuilding event tonight since all the engineering leads are here.
She’s having us turn off our phones.
I’m texting you all my coordinates, just in case.
BB-8 <2:01 PM>
lulz
she doesn’t seem like a “heartless killer”
she’s more like “lets hold hands and sing Kumbaya”
BarellRollPoe <2:03 PM>
Beebs, if my soul leaves my body tonight, I need you to find it at this location ok
[Screenshot_202506-140235.png]
A screenshot of Poe’s maps location was attached.
R0b0Rey <2:06 PM>
finn are you also out and about tonight?
FN-2187 <2:07 PM>
Hah, not tonight
Not feeling so hot
BB-8 <2:09 PM>
awwwwww
srry finn
RoseyPosey <2:10 PM>
I’ll steal an overpriced free matchbox for you
FN-2187 <2:10 PM>
Rose, I genuinely think you might be a klepto
RoseyPosey <2:10 PM>
They're free!! Anyway, I’m going to go mingle with some rich executives.
R0b0Rey <2:11 PM>
trip going ok?
FN-2187 <2:11 PM>
Yeah, it’s fine.
Don't think I'm over my jetlag yet
The chat slowed and Rey tabbed back to drawing. She swiped a GPS-coordinate filled message from Poe off her phone screen.
In the evenings, messages from Kylo were sporadic. He was back to drawing, but would take occasional breaks.
KyloRen <7:57 PM>
Can I get a high thigh angle?
The chat bubble popped up in the corner of her screen, catching Rey off guard. She was in the middle of scrolling Quipper, DMing with a very tipsy Rose who was typo-ing about the fine differences between publishing guys and VC guys. Rey stared at Kylo’s message in miscomprehension before it disappeared.
R0b0Rey <7:58 PM>
what?
KyloRen <7:58 PM>
[Solo_ ForceGrip_wip2.png]
Rey opened the image to see a fleshed out sketch in layers of black and grey lines. There were more details now, curvilinear lines described the figure’s form and--Rey bit the inside of her cheek. The figure’s face bore a decent likeness to her own; arched brows and an elfish cheek. One of the less detailed areas was across the figure’s hip, where the ridge of the pelvis met the quadriceps. It was a tricky transition from tendon.
R0b0Rey <7:59 PM>
i want a diagram of muscles of the arm
Rey made the demand, figuring she would take advantage of their deal to get some anatomy practice in.
KyloRen <7:59 PM>
Of course.
She moved to the mirror, but realized she could more easily take the photo by pointing the camera down the length of her leg and curve of her hip. Rey had to hold the camera up by her chest to get the right angle, but it worked. Her athletic shorts added cross-contour lines to help describe the form of her thigh.
Despite the athletic shorts, Rey’s eyes snagged on the photo. Her legs looked nice; a gentle plane of muscle, a swaying curve of tendon. Her skin was lightly tanned from the summer sun. Feminine.
She sent the reference image over and only had to wait a few minutes for a response.
R0b0Rey <8:05 PM>
[IMG_9150]
KyloRen <8:09 PM>
[Reference_AnteriorBrachial_01.png]
[Reference_AnteriorBrachial_01_Labeled.png]
Kylo had sent back two versions of the same photo. One was an untouched image and the other had drawn-over outlines identifying the different muscles of his arm; bicep, tricep, deltoid, trapezius, brachial radialis. He flexed in front of a tall mirror, phone covering the bottom half of his face. The edge of a sparse, black leather living room was reflected in the mirror from behind him.
The draw-over was useful. Rey's eyes snagged on his shirtless pectorals. He hadn’t labeled them.
KyloRen <8:10 PM>
Perfect.
She bit the inside of her cheek.
Rey lay awake that night scrolling through her phone, flicking between the new photos from Kylo. She double tapped his most recent image to zoom into the half of his face that wasn’t covered by a phone. Kylo's brows were tense with concentration and his eyes cast down towards his phone screen. Curls of black hair hung against his forehead and splayed out in wild whorls. Two dark moles sat above the dip of his left brow.
His wasn't angry, for once.
He was intent.
–
R0b0Rey <9:22 PM>
can I get a better shot of your neck/collarbone?
i want to do some more studies
It took a while for Kylo to respond, it was evening but Rey figured he was drawing.
KyloRen <9:46 PM>
[Reference_Clavacle_01.png]
[Reference_Clavacle_01_Labeled.png]
R0b0Rey <9:47 PM>
thanks
She opened the images. Kylo stood in front of that tall mirror again, shirtless, tilting his head and turning slightly so that the focus was on his collarbone and a tendon that stood out in his neck. From behind the well of his collarbone, the curve of his shoulder bulged--what was that muscle? She flipped to the labeled version--the trapezius that curved up from the apex of his shoulder to intersect midway up his neck, contrasting and accentuating the curve of it.
One hand held his shirt and the other held up his phone, partially covering his face with it. She could still see his brows and eyes, intent once again.
Her own eyes slid back to the chat.
R0b0Rey <9:48 PM>
are you drawing again tonight?
KyloRen <9:57 PM>
As usual.
[Solo_ ForceGrip_wip3.png]
She clicked on the image to see more dark, confident lines had replaced the looping grey lines. The figure’s form was solidifying and Rey had to admit that the forshortening was spot-on despite such a challenging angle. Kylo had even added a billowing cape and a swirl of leaves behind her to reinforce the depth in the composition. Her reference photos had been put to good use, and the figure’s face had an undeniable resemblance to Rey’s.
R0b0Rey <9:59 PM>
it’s looking good
KyloRen <9:59 PM>
It’s looking disproportionate.
Rey rolled her eyes,
R0b0Rey <9:59 PM>
oh come on its looking good
you got the motion of it
and my likeness
Kylo didn’t respond until later when she was laying in bed, pillow scrunched atop her forehead, scrolling on her bright phone screen in the dark. A narrow push notification slid down from the top of her screen,
KyloRen <10:46 PM>
Your features are highly symmetrical.
Rey frowned and pressed on the notification, pulled out of the group chat where Poe and Finn were sending each other unflattering photos of their nostrils. ‘You can have attractive nostrils’ Poe had declared 20 minutes ago, ‘Wait let me check’ Finn had countered.
R0b0Rey <10:46 PM>
thanks
i think?
is that a compliment i cant tell
KyloRen <10:46 PM>
It is an observational compliment.
Her frown deepened. Maybe it was better when he was angry all the time.
R0b0Rey <10:47 PM>
then observational thanks
KyloRen <10:47 PM>
Your thanks is observed.
Rey tabbed back to the group chat and was faced with the prospect of counting Finn’s nose hairs,
FN-2187 <10:45 PM>
[IMG_4818.HEIC]
BB-8 <10:45 PM>
nostrils look like lil quotation marks for ur lips
“ “
BarellRollPoe <10:46 PM>
Hey, yea, BB? Can you dial up the human a little more please? Thanks
BB-8 <10:47 PM>
srry
`~-recalibrating-~`
||||.......|
||||||.....|
||||||||||||
human filter back online
Rey thumbed back to her chat with Kylo,
R0b0Rey <10:49 PM>
so do you draw every evening?
and every day?
KyloRen <10:49 PM>
Usually. Sometimes I take weekends off.
A notification slid down her screen. Finn’s scrunched nose filled the thumbnail. Maybe she should just go to sleep and spare herself.
KyloRen <10:50 PM>
Thank you for the reference photos, by the way.
Typically I attend life drawing sessions to work out a pose.
This was more expedient.
R0b0Rey <10:51 PM>
your reference was useful too, saved me from having to find a new pose catalogue
your build makes it easy to see surface anatomy
Rey bit the inside of her lip, she had deliberated over using the word build.
R0b0Rey <10:51 PM>
so that’s nice
i don’t have the same musculature
KyloRen <10:51 PM>
You don't.
But it’s perfect for what I need.
An involuntary thrill ran through her. Rey rolled onto her side and pulled the phone up to her face,
R0b0Rey <10:51 PM>
until you get assigned a beefcake to draw
then i really can’t help you
KyloRen <10:51 PM>
Hence, the gym membership.
R0b0Rey <10:51 PM>
you really got ripped for art reference?
KyoRen <10:52 PM>
It makes things easier.
Strength training prevents wrist, shoulder, and back pain.
Since we sit for 8+ hours a day at a computer, we should dedicate part of our day to moving.
And there are tertiary benefits.
R0b0Rey <10:52 PM>
tertiary benefits?
KyloRen <10:52 PM>
When a coworker asks for the Vitruvian Man, I can immediately deliver.
R0b0Rey <10:52 PM>
i never asked for that !!!!!
there is a clear difference between you and vetruvius
his hair is combed
KyloRen <10:52 PM>
The only difference?
R0b0Rey <10:53 PM>
only one that comes to mind
The chat stilled. Rey snorted, locking her phone screen and rolling over to stare at her ceiling.
-
Rey might have been going insane because she actually liked the Padawan braid she gave Anakin. It’s kind of working. No it’s not, it’s shit, she should hide the layer--but now he just looked plain, his hairstyle needed something unique and--she unhid the rattail.
Maybe Anakin should just have a side shave and be done with it.
She was debating the lineup of different Anakins on her screen, their hair and outfits roughly sketched out. She wanted to design a version of the typical jedi outfit from the original series, but add an edge to it for Episode 2. Rey was so engrossed in comparing her art to the reference board she had assembled that she nearly jumped when movement shifted in her peripheral.
Kylo had sidled up to her desk, leaning a fist on it while the other rested lightly against his lower back. He bent to peer at her tablet display,
“A rat tail? At least make it asymmetrical.” He huffed, sounding bored.
“Excuse me, I don’t think you're an expert on men’s fashion.” Rey snorted, turning back to assess her drawing. Despite the retort, she reached forward with her stylus, hit a key, shifted the rattail so it peeked out over Anakin’s right shoulder.
“Contrary to popular belief, my hair does know what a comb is.” Kylo said, still bored as Rey flushed at the memory of their text chat.
“How are the muscle studies?” He leaned in again and Rey messed with some layers to show him. Her Anakin figure drawing was dynamic, and while she still struggled with the exact overlaps and inserts of different muscles, the information she got from Kylo’s instruction had genuinely helped.
Rey hated to admit it, but maybe Kylo was a good teacher after all.
“Mmm, you’ve got to be careful not to flatten out the sternocleidomastoid.” He gestured unhelpfully at her drawing.
“The what?” Rey turned in her chair to look up at him, utterly confused.
He stared down at her, somehow also confused.
“How do you not know the names of muscles?” He asked patronizingly, the hand held behind his back suddenly seeming like a professorial affectation.
“I’m completely self-taught.” Rey pointed dumbly to herself, “Industrial design background over here.”
Kylo stared at her for a long moment before reaching forward. Rey stilled as his thumb tucked under her hair, tracing lightly at the skin just behind her ear,
“The sternocledomastoid connects the mastoid process, here,” He lightly dragged the side of his thumb slowly down her neck, coming to a stop at the hollow of her throat, “to the sternum, here.”
“Oh.” Rey said.
Kylo withdrew his hand and tapped his thumb against his lip, studying her character lineup again, “Common mistake. It’s a complicated shape, it tapers and then inserts at the clavicle near the manubrium. I can send some reference later.”
“Uh huh.” Rey watched his thumb still against his lip.
“The rat tail may be growing on me.” His voice was low.
“That’s what I was afraid of.” Rey managed.
She looked back down at her character designs, vaguely dazed. Luke had been scarce, busy with meetings and unspecific with feedback. She was left to practice on her own--if it hadn’t been for her deal with Kylo she wouldn’t have kept up with the schedule. But a nagging sensation tugged at the back of her mind.
Rey couldn't help feeling that there was a catch to Kylo’s help, a hook buried just under the surface waiting to snag and puncture. She could see glimpses of it sometimes in the flash of his eye or angle of his hand. He moved like a caged animal, impatient but calculating. If she closed her eyes it felt like she was standing at the edge of a high ridgeline, the land receding away from her on either side. If the wind blew too hard she was afraid that she'd tumble down one of the steep slopes.
There was a part of her though, that couldn’t--that she didn’t--
Rey found herself wondering what the tightness of his snare felt like.
Notes:
I still can’t believe Disney didn’t make Rey and Kylo Force Dyads. Completely wasted opportunity!
Typical of them to leave the hard work to fic writers.
Chapter 6: Tighten Up the Graphics on Level Three
Notes:
Heads up, tags will be added or changed from hereon out. You’ve been warned.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Rey lounged against the fluffed pillows of her bed, computer screen tilted in prime movie-watching position as the evening sun lit up the city in orange squares. A subtitled cartoon that she had seen a dozen times was playing but Rey was barely paying attention, flipping instead through a fashion illustration artbook she had picked up from Maz’s. There wasn’t much of a reason to leave her apartment when her entire social circle was out of the country.
She lazily flicked a page. There was a whole section on lingerie that she hadn’t noticed until she got home, and Rey found that she was pleasantly surprised by some of the complicated arrangements with elastic and lace.
The trip to Maz’s Emporium had been the highlight of her week. Well, that and--
A message popup appeared in the corner of her computer screen, a square overlapping her show.
KyloRen <9:46 PM>
I need an angle
She picked up her phone which lay on the bed beside her and opened their chat,
R0b0Rey <9:46 PM>
what are you drawing?
KyloRen <9:46 PM>
Commission.
[Solo_Calm_wip1.png]
R0b0Rey <9:47 PM>
is this for Quagic?
KyloRen <9:47 PM>
Private client.
Rey opened the image. It was a loose sketch depicting a meditating woman with flowing robes and crossed legs. Her hands and face were serene, her legs folded in a complicated position. Her hair was gathered on her head and the fabric around her diaphanous, showing off her figure.
KyloRen <9:47 PM>
Legs in particular would be useful.
R0b0Rey <9:47 PM>
kk
She slipped out of the bed, consulting the drawing on her phone for the right angle. Rey wore a massively oversized t-shirt depicting a giant sharp-serifed M on top of the words Midiclorian Engine. She regarded herself in the mirror for a moment, the hem of her shirt skirting the tops of her thighs past where her athletic shorts ended.
The effect was a delicate sense of--femininity. A racy illusion. She snapped a photo, and immediately tabbed over to look at it. Her hips were canted, one foot rolled against the carpet as the other flexed, the shirt’s hem skirting and tugging over her hips, obfuscating form. This one wasn’t for Kylo--it was for her. She taped the photo to favorite it.
Rey shifted positions, sitting on the ground and folding her legs correctly in order to match Kylo’s thumbnails. She took a series of photos from slightly different angles and flipped through them. They weren’t exact matches for his sketch, but some of them were close. She sent a couple off to him, pausing before she closed the app. Even these images had an edge of delicacy to them, the long hem of the shirt making it unclear if she was wearing anything underneath.
KyloRen is typing . . .
The line blinked a few times. She felt vaguely lightheaded.
KyloRen <9:55 PM>
Excellent, thank you.
She didn’t know what to expect. She hardly knew what she was doing.
R0b0Rey <9:55 PM>
do you always draw half-naked women?
KyloRen <9:55 PM>
Did the Greeks sculpt nudes?
R0b0Rey <9:55 PM>
yes and they’re all headless now
KyloRen <9:56 PM>
It’s a challenge. That’s the whole point.
The short conversation echoed in her mind afterwards, and Rey spent the rest of the movie browsing for lingerie--she was long overdue for some new undergarments. Maybe a matching set, something sheer. Her skin prickled.
It was worth spending a bit of money on a wardrobe staple. The first step was deciding that she wanted it.
-
BarrelRollPoe <3:06 PM>
Oh dear god
I’m free
Holdo is finally letting the team explore the city after all-day teambuilding
I need a drink STAT
BB-8 <3:10 PM>
Based that pin you dropped, there's a [4 star] bar called A New Hop 200 meters north
BarrelRollPoe <3:11 PM>
Beebs if you weren't aro id kiss u
BB-8 <3:11 PM>
o7
FN-2187 <3:12 PM>
@RoseyPosey and I got to meet some fans today!
[IMG_4819.HEIC]
Rose and Finn stood on either side of a line of young, wide-eyed kids. Everyone grinned at the camera.
R0b0Rey <3:13 PM>
awww
BB-8 <3:14 PM>
awwwweeë
RoseyPosey <3:14 PM>
Canto Bight runs a coding summer camp and these three got so excited when they found out we work on the Trilogy games!
BB-8 <3:14 PM>
qtpies
R0b0Rey <3:14 PM>
wait
what's our age rating?
FN-2187 <3:17 PM>
Uhhhhhhh oops
Rey tabbed out of the chat as Luke approached her desk, only a few minutes late for their one-on-one.
“What have you got here--? Well damn, Rey, you’ve been busy!” Luke was in a good mood as he pulled over a spare chair, sitting down next to her.
Rey retuned the smile, her director’s good attitude infectious, “Just a little.”
“This is good Rey, this is good.” He nodded, surveying her Anakin character lineup for Episode 2.
“I know he’s supposed to be kind of emotionally volatile, still figuring out his alignment, and he’s kind of a show off,” Rey panned around her references for Luke, showing him the lineup of Jedi costumes she was pulling inspiration from, “I think putting Anakin in darker colors helps differentiate him from Obi-Wan, so I added some leather for a material contrast.”
“Your anatomy is also improving.” Luke said, tapping her display, “You’re putting in the work.”
“Just trying to keep up with the pace of everything.” Rey said nervously, grateful Luke couldn’t read her mind.
“It’s more than that though, it’s the energy you bring, the creative thought behind everything.” Luke rested his elbow on her desk and his chin in his hand as he regarded her, “Corporations might own IP and payroll and whatever, but they aren’t alive. Corporations don’t have ideas the way humans do. If you left Skywalker Family Studios tomorrow, it would be a much bigger loss for us than for you.”
“Oh, I don’t think that--” Rey’s chest constricted at the implication, but Luke waved off her concern,
“I’m not saying you’re getting fired or anything Rey--not right now at least--but if or when that happens? You’ll be fine. This industry is not for the faint of heart, either. Companies shut down constantly, but ideas persist. No matter what our publisher says.” His face was lined and he smelled faintly of nicotine but his voice was warm. Rey felt like she was a kid again, watching one of his rare interviews on Qtube. This was the Art Director that had made her want to become an artist.
“It’s hard.” Rey admitted, a sad smile twisting her mouth, “Being a professional artist is like being paid to constantly expose a raw nerve, this vulnerable part of myself to the world. It was almost easier at my last job. The pay was horrible but the work wasn’t so . . . personal.”
“Yes, but you but must resist the temptation of making something insincere, just because that’s less painful.” Luke said, impassioned, “The only art worth making has a meaning behind it, something that you desperately need to communicate. A salary isn’t everything, nor is fame or notoriety or success.”
“Resist success?” Rey asked, dubious.
Luke sighed, leaning back in his chair and laced his fingers in his lap, a strangely reserved pose for the eccentric man, “Did I ever tell you how my previous studio went under?”
Rey bit the inside of her cheek. She only knew the rumors that had leaked and twisted together online, “I don’t think so.”
“I was hopeful.” Luke began heavily, “I founded Academysoft, predicated on my legacy in games, built entirely with my savings and industry connections. I hired Ben, my nephew.”
Rey’s eyes flicked over to Kylo’s empty chair.
“In my hubris I thought I could train him, pass on my strengths. Leia trusted me. I took him and a dozen other young, talented artists and created an outsource studio. We specialized in niche sci fi art support, and for a while we were inundated with work. By the time I realized the art wasn’t enough to satiate the hunger inside him, it was too late.”
Can you imagine being related to industry royalty and throwing it all away like that?
The levels of nepo babying are absurd.
“What happened?” Rey asked.
“I went to confront him, and he turned on me.” Luke said it matter-a-factly, like a man with hours of media training, but Rey could see the shake in his hand and how he laced his fingers together tighter, “He wanted higher profile jobs, fame, thought the business wasn't growing fast enough. I told him to take the holidays off, get his head on straight.
“When I returned in the new year Academysoft was destroyed. He had stolen all of our clients and established his own company, The Knights of Ren. Ben quit with a handful of my employees and the rest had to be laid off when we went bankrupt.” Luke was somber, his voice betraying his age,
“Leia blames Snoke for funding Ben and The Knights, but it was my fault. I failed. Because I was also more focused on my own brand than the art.” He stared off across the studio bullpen, the sounds of a raucous playtest reaching their dark corner. [1]
“Maybe you let each other down.” Rey said thoughtfully, catching eyes with Luke. He almost looked bashful,
“Perhaps . . .” But Luke's eyes slid away, drawn over her shoulder by another chorus of hoots and groans from the playtesters, “When First Order gave Leia such generous funding for Prequel Trilogy, they insisted that we hire Ben. Snoke had worked with The Knights of Ren on some project that made them all millions. ”
“I don't know about First Order, but Ky--Ben, he's talented.” Rey stumbled, attempting to reckon the two men with the impressions she had of them in her mind.
Mentor, director, legend, abdicated leader.
Protege, powerhouse, influencer, asshole.
Neither of them acted the way she had expected them to, the way they presented themselves online or in interviews. Luke was much less professional, Kylo much quieter. By all news accounts, the Academysoft drama also destroyed the relationship between Kylo and the rest of his family. Over what--millions of dollars of funding? Was that what it cost to screw over the rest of your family?
It’s a challenge. That’s the whole point.
But Rey couldn't quiet the doubt that hummed in her mind. Humans weren't ever just black or white, it didn't get to be that easy. Why had Kylo turned on his uncle? What happened?
“He is talented. That's the problem.” Luke said dully, before slapping his hands on his knees, “And anyways, don't let the ramblings of an old man take up all of our one-on-one time. Move forward with the black leather and brown cloth. More layers are fine for Anakin, we can spend visual detail on him since he's the main character and focal point. Show me a cleaned up version of #3 in a day or so.”
Ray blinked at his sudden shift in tone, “Yes--can do. I do have a question about some of the Jedi lore–”
But Luke's eyes had darted away again; a chair squeaked to her left. Kylo had returned from the playtest, and in typical fashion had avoided acknowledging either of the other artists.
Despite their near-nightly chats, Kylo barely addressed Rey in the real world. And ‘barely’ was actually an improvement from ‘never’. Yesterday he had casually dropped a double entendre about ethernet cables when they passed each other by the sever room, but just today he had silently walked away when she asked if he was having a sandwich for lunch.
He was brooding. He was doing her head in.
“Ben.” Luke said in stilted greeting, “How are those Tatooine keyframes coming along?”
“Almost done.” Kylo was monotone, “Had to do something about Darth Maul’s combat animations, Hux wanted to skimp out on telegraphing attacks until I showed him what that was like. They’re convinced now.”
“Good . . . good.” Luke said distractedly. He tucked his hands in his pockets, “Well, let me know if you hit any more trouble.”
“What, no stunning speech for me?” Kylo sneered, turning over his shoulder to glare at Luke.
Luke pinned him with a long look, “Not today, kid.”
Kylo turned back to his computer and Luke turned back to his office and Rey let out a silent, exasperated sigh.
-
“Z-fighting graphics on level 3. Drink.” Kylo deadpanned from somewhere to her left.
Rey cursed, and took another sip of margarita from her red plastic cup. They were nearing the end of their milestone and QA had organized a bug bash for the entire team to participate in.
“Dont forgot to tag your reports with MS0X_BugBash!” Artoo said, their electric blue hair easy to spot from across the bullpen, “Thanks for your help and your time! There are drinks in the kitchen.”
And so, Rey had ended up with a home-made margarita from C3, and in a competition with Kylo.
“The selection states in the Settings are broken. Drink.” His in-game character was crouched on the ground, starring at a wall while Kylo apparently scrolled through the Settings menu. The were testing co-op, Rey’s Padme teamed up with Kylo’s Obi-Wan. Padme provided cover fire against a squadron of troopers that had steadily surrounded the two of them. Her white cape flapped in the wind--nice cloth sim--while her ammo counter flashed that she was running low.
“What, why are you in the Settings right now!?” Rey swung the camera wildly around, on the lookout for enemies as Obi-Wan slowly walked into a wall.
“Tcht. You are so behind. Are you logging your tickets one by one?” Kylo admonished, amused.
“What??? Yes????” Rey nearly shouted, swinging the reticule on her screen and firing a barrage at two enemies hiding behind barrels, “Are you not!?”
“I’m collecting them and submitting in batches.” Kylo snorted, derision with no bite.
“Is that why Obi-Wan’s head is clipping through a wall?” Rey asked.
“What? Is it?” Kylo’s voice was uncharacteristically hurried as it cracked through her headphones. They were practically sitting back to back, but it was out of habit that they spoke through in-game proximity chat.
“No way, this one is mine--collision issue on the corner of the outpost. Drink.”
Kylo’s sigh transmitted close to her ear, and Rey went still.
Padme was hit from behind by a barrage of shots, dropping her health critically low and and sending her to the ground.
“Ack, shit.” Rey mumbled, the in-game camera pulling back to reveal Padme laying prone next to Obi-Wan as blaster shots singed the air overhead. Obi-Wan was crouched next to her but facing the wrong way.
Still scrolling through Settings.
“Hey asshole,” Rey prodded, “Stop messing around with the Settings and revive me.”
“What?”
Rey raised her own blaster as Padme propped herself up with a forearm. She aimed at Obi-Wan’s head and fired a shot that phased straight through him. Friendly fire was off.
“You heard me! Rez me! Unless you want those Storm Troopers to send us back to the start of the level. Quick saves aren’t in yet.”
Kylo paused, “Yes, I suppose we’ve seen all the bugs in the starting area, haven’t we?”
Obi-Wan straighted and swapped through a series of weapons, the models appearing and disappearing from his hands before he finally settled on a red-colored light saber. Custom Legendary. The troopers advanced on their location, hemming them in behind a conveniently half-height wall.
He deployed the light saber and a series of VFX erupted on-screen as Kylo shot acrobatically between enemies, targeting and killing each one. From Padme’s prone position, Rey could only see the tops of the trooper's heads as they dropped out of sight one by one. She drummed her fingers on the desk, waiting for combat to end so she could get back in the game. She took another drink for the hell of it.
Finally, Obi-Wan dropped to a knee next to Padme. He leaned forward and cradled her in his arms, tucking her in against his thigh. The animation idled in that position as a timer above them began to smoothly count down to her respawn.
“Doesn’t that producer friend of yours have some weird Obi-Wan and Padme theory?” Obi-Wan asked Padme.
Rey laughed, “You mean Rose? Is she telling the entire company now?”
“I think she’s trying to make it cannon.” Kylo had a tilt to his voice--was he smiling?
“Honestly, there’s something to it. I mean, look,” Rey gestured to the animation of Obi-Wan holding Padme, “That’s pretty tender. I’d believe that.”
“I believe that Rose has the Animation team under her thrall.” Kylo groused. Rey snorted again,
“Well, it’s a compelling theory. It speaks for itself!”
“Convince me.”
“What?” Rey took another drink. She heard Kylo uncorking a bottle behind her.
“I just don’t see her point at all. It’s Padme and Anakin. Her death is what instigates the plot of Original Trilogy.”
“Well, Rose thinks there are a few cutscenes in Prequel Trilogy where they have chemistry. I can kind of see it, honestly. Anakin is pretty whiny.”
“Whiny? I can’t believe you would say that. He’s got the weight of the Jedi order’s restrictions on his shoulders, of course he’s in a bad mood. He’s conflicted. It’s conflicting.”
“Fine.” Rey rolled her eyes, “What’s your excuse.”
“Ok then,” Kylo said, a dangerous edge creeping into his voice, “Walk me through it. What about that pairing could possibly be appealing to the audience.”
“Well, it’s already in the story that Palpatine uses the thought of Obi-Wan and Padme having an affair against Anakin--to turn him.” Rey said carefully, walking through the logic as she spoke.
“So? It’s a lie. Anakin being suspicious of Obi-Wan just shows how desperate and driven to extremes he was--”
“But what if the suspicion was well-founded?” Rey asked, “Would that make Anakin a more compelling character to root for? He'd be more sympathetic, more interesting. Instead of just watching him slowly turn into a turbo-dictator, he’d be a scorned turbo-dictator.”
“Morally grey.”, Kylo bit out, grudgingly.
Rey nodded, “It’s more relatable. That’s ultimately what audiences want.”
“And what do y--”
“Drink!” Rey practically shouted, slapping the table, “I think the game is crashing. We’ve been stuck here too long--the timer is hanging.”
“Fuck.” Kylo murmured through the headphones and Rey found herself flushing at the intimacy of it.
They reloaded, queued, and respawned in Naboo back at the start of the level. Rey looked over at Kylo in-game. She had chosen Padme again, but Kylo--
A young Anakin smirked at her, “Just giving some equal time to the opposing team.”
Rey rolled her eyes, disappointed the action didn’t translate to Padme, “You are such a fanboy. Let’s log some bugs.”
Anakin deployed his lightsaber. The beam was offset from the hilt by half a meter. Anakin and Padme looked at each other,
“Drink!”
-
Kylo piloted the tie fighter, testing the flight minigame controls while Rey lounged in the co-pilot seat, playing the conciliatory match-3 game that they had reskinned to keep Player 2 busy during flight. She turned away from it, bored, and watched Anakin steer the ship with futuristic HOTAS controls that he adjusted minutely, exactingly.
“Can I asked you something?”
“You just did.”
Rey made a conscious choice to ignore the annoying reply, “Luke told me that you were part of his previous studio, Academysoft. What happened?”
“Listen to me, Rey,” Kylo’s voice was deep and close in her ear, “Luke will use you to make himself look good. He already is.”
“He’s trying to train me.” She said, frowning, “And--he said he was trying to train a bunch of young artists at Academysoft, but you destroyed the company.”
“Luke was jealous of my skills, so were the other artists. Do you know what that's like?” Kylo ground out, the memory clearly still a fresh wound, “Luke tried to fire me so I smeared them online and took the jobs they were bidding for.
“I can see the way that Luke treats you,” Rey said slowly, “It sounds like you both really hurt each other. You’re family.”
“And we’re dead again--” He muttered. A popup on screen told her the game had crashed, “Drink up. Did you do something weird in that co-pilot game?”
“Definitely not.” Rey snorted, taking another sip of C3’s margarita.
They reloaded into the next level. The strained silence between them was short-lived, broken when Rey burst out laughing at the sight of Darth Maul.
The arena set piece looked impressive and imposing, a wide hanger of fluted concrete and polished rock. Two dramatic doors across the arena slid open to reveal--a completely broken Maul. His arms immediately started spinning and clipping into himself, the un-deployed lightsaber hovering next to his hip. His pathing veered to the left while his feet skated awkwardly across the ground in the wrong direction.
Rey and Kylo stood at the edge of the area, useless weapons drawn as they watched the boss snap into a jittery T-pose and skate away from them.
“This guy is . . . completely borked.” Rey said flatly as Kylo groaned,
“I worked so closely with Animation and his pathing is still fucked.”
“It’s a neat design at least?”
“Don’t say that with a question mark at the end.”
“It’s a neat design.” Rey said firmly, in an attempt to console the sullen Kylo. Darth Maul drew his double-sided lightsaber, running up to a column. When he hit collision, he stopped, re-sheathed his light saber and started jittering to the right. “And anyway, I’m pretty sure Obi-Wan is supposed to be the one fighting Darth Maul.”
“Is that why Padme likes him more?” She heard Kylo’s voice tilt again.
“Yeah, clearly.” Rey laughed, “Just look at what a threat this is. I think we both need to finish our drinks.”
“I’m going through an alarming amount of whisky.” Kylo conceded.
“This build is in rough shape.” Rey sighed. The team was going to have their hands full before the next First Order milestone.
-
Their conversation tumbled easily from headset mic to DM chatlog, Rey messaging Kylo after they left the office later than usual,
R0b0Rey <9:23 PM>
who’s shit idea was it to drink when we found a bug
KyloRen <9:23 PM>
That would be you.
And I believe the rule was that the other person drank if you found a bug.
R0b0Rey <9:23 PM>
oops
Rey had tucked herself into bed, tired after the long week and the drinks. The alcohol lulled her into a warm, fuzzy state where everything was just a little blurred around the edges.
R0b0Rey <9:23 PM>
oops
the build isn’t great, is it
KyloRen <9:24 PM>
We’ll see. The bug bash was productive, we still have a few weeks before the end of the milestone.
We’ve got time to fix things for FO.
She blinked at his surprising optimism. The screen was bright in the dark of her room, illuminating her face as she propped herself up on her pillows.
R0b0Rey <9:24 PM>
thats
optimistic of you
KyloRen <9:24 PM>
I’ve seen this before a dozen times. Sometimes people need pressure to pull it together.
A common occurrence in game dev.
But there is one thing I don’t think will get in.
R0b0Rey <9:24 PM>
?
KyloRen <9:25 PM>
An indication of Padme and Obi-Wan’s relationship.
I saw the ticket you submitted.
R0b0Rey <9:25 PM>
I didn’t submit a bug for that!
KyloRen <9:25 PM>
Well someone did. I saw it when I was logging off.
R0b0Rey <9:25 PM>
then that must have been someone from animation
or bebe, they’re pretty into the idea too
KyloRen <9:25 PM>
Ok, run me through it. What do Padme and Obi-Wan have that’s so compelling? What’s the hook for them?
R0b0Rey <9:25 PM>
the hook?
KyloRen <9:26 PM>
Where’s their chemistry come from?
Rey thought for a moment, staring up through the light pollution into the night sky.
R0b0Rey <9:27 PM>
well they’re opposites, kind of. he’s older, duty-bound to protect her but she’s his job. she’s trying to save the galaxy through policy and has to keep up appearances for everyone but him.
KyloRen <9:27 PM>
But Anakin has the same duty of protection, what makes the Obi-Wan dynamic different?
R0b0Rey <9:27 PM>
i think it’s more dramatic because obi-wan is the teacher and should have more willpower and control
so there’s a
like
allure there
KyloRen <9:28 PM>
Allure?
R0b0Rey <9:28 PM>
yes
KyloRen <9:28 PM>
What is so alluring about that
R0b0Rey <9:29 PM>
he usually has such tight control over himself, but with padme it all falls apart. his jedi training fails, and he gives into her.
KyloRen <9:29 PM>
So she’s that special? Out of everyone else?
R0b0Rey <9:31 PM>
no
well, yes
ok
she’s an idealist. despite assassination attempts and in the face of a totalitarian regime seizing power, she keeps trying to work within the system to enact change. the jedi are a pseudo-religious order and obi-wan can see how they can be corrupted--his own padawan is being corrupted before his very eyes
but padme is incorruptible and is taking a stand
KyloRen <9:31 PM>
I’m ... seeing the argument.
R0b0Rey <9:31 PM>
he’d probably find that admirable
right???
it’s compelling
KyloRen <9:32 PM>
So what, they have to sneak around behind everyone’s backs?
R0b0Rey <9:32 PM>
including anakin’s back
it just layers on the taboo
KyloRen <9:32 PM>
They probably couldn’t get away with being alone often. It’d be something rare.
R0b0Rey <9:32 PM>
but there’d be some good yearning
KyloRen <9:32 PM>
Some distance.
R0b0Rey <9:32 PM>
until they were alone
KyloRen <9:32 PM>
One of them would orchestrate it.
R0b0Rey <9:33 PM>
he’d have to corner her somewhere secluded
Rey’s cheeks heated, burning up any thoughts she had about keeping things professional. Her chest felt tight, she was too aware of her breathing.
KyloRen <9:33 PM>
Go on.
R0b0Rey <9:34 PM>
she’d be having a hard day, suffered a strategic political loss or something. he’d try to help; he couldn’t console anakin but he can console padme
KyloRen <9:34 PM>
Go on
R0b0Rey <9:35 PM>
it’d probably have to be her chambers now that I think about it. it’d be normal to have him there for protection and no one would imagine that he was breaking jedi code
so he’d find her there
and she’d need him
KyloRen <9:36 PM>
He wouldn’t take her in the bed, he’d take her on the desk.
The bed would make it too real.
The feeling of syrup dripped from her ribs down to her hips. The sweetness of it made her heady, heavy.
R0b0Rey <9:36 PM>
she’d be pliant and touchy, would need reassurance more than she’d need decorum
KyloRen <9:36 PM>
He'd be dedicated to making her feel good.
Rey bit the inside of her cheek and rolled over in bed, hugging a pillow between her and her phone. Her insides felt like a liquid threatening to spill across her sheets, and she could feel the prickling blood rush down her neck and chest.
R0b0Rey <9:36 PM>
she’d ask for what she needed
KyloRen <9:36 PM>
Then ask me.
R0b0Rey <9:36 PM>
what angle do you need?
There was a noticeable pause.
KyloRen <9:38 PM>
I need your shirt yanked up under your chin.
Rey felt very still, calm on the outside as her heart jackhammered under her sternum. She raised her phone up above her, watching herself in the image preview as she pulled up her oversize shirt with one hand, bunching it under her chin in a fist. She had worn her new white lace bra that day, cotton detail curving across decolletage. The overall effect was soft skin and sheer fabric against the mosaic of her sheets, a tightly gripped hand and red face, the color high in her cheeks and ears. The lighting was thrown into stark contrast by the flash of her camera.
It was a filthy photo; it was clear what she was thinking when she took it. Rey sent it, and wondered if he would be able to read her mind.
R0b0Rey <9:39 PM>
[IMG_9158.jpg]
KyloRen <9:39 PM>
Good girl.
You take direction so well.
Her head swam and she had to close her eyes for a moment to keep from becoming unmoored.
Her hand dipped down her stomach, under her waistband.
KyloRen <9:39 PM>
Good girl.
You take direction so well.
[IMG_20XX06_213952.jpeg]
Rey thumbed open the image, her other hand teasing herself.
It was an upwards angle; Kylo lounged back in an expensive computer chair, wearing a housecoat over joggers and nothing else. His unruly hair was pulled back and his pale skin was lit by the orange tint from a computer screen, falling off to greenish shadows behind him. It was dark in the room and his abs and bare chest were accentuated in the low light.
Kylo gripped the crotch of his joggers over the fabric, hand straining. There was no doubt what her photo was going to get used for. A slickness enveloped her fingers as she pressed against her clit at the thought.
R0b0Rey <9:41 PM>
oh
KyloRen <9:41 PM>
You always send such good reference.
R0b0Rey <9:41 PM>
is it?
KyloRen <9:42 PM>
So eager to help
So focused on the task.
I don’t think you understand how I see you.
“Ah--” Rey ground her hips against her hand, pressing a finger into herself, palm against her clit. She arched into her pillow, a shock prickling up her spine.
R0b0Rey <9:43 PM>
i didn’t know you were looking
KyloRen <9:43 PM>
I’ve been paying attention.
She chased the rising tide within her, squeezing her legs together around her hand,
R0b0Rey <9:44 PM>
so you’re saying I should send more photos
KyloRen <9:44 PM>
You’ve been making me request them.
R0b0Rey <9:44 PM>
you need to l earn to b e polite
KyloRen <9:44 PM>
I need to see yout tit s
ah fuck
tits.
It didn’t matter, Rey was hurtling over the edge of her first orgasm in--years? Ever? Her brain blanked, reeling at the wave of sensation that left her limbs feeling numb and sluggish. She panted, that was--
She held up her phone to snap another photo from above. Her hand and glistening fingers--filthy--thrown across her eyes, shirt still pulled up to reveal the lace bra. Her skin was dewy, her jaw slack.
R0b0Rey <9:45 PM>
[IMG_9159.jpg]
KyloRen <9:45 PM>
Fuck.
The chat went quiet. No picture came in response, and Rey carefully scrolled back up through the chat, as if to confirm for herself it had happened. How was she supposed to sit next to him for 8 hours a day knowing this and--
And being polite.
The next morning she woke up to a gym selfie from him,
KyloRen <6:43 AM>
[IMG_20XX06_063204.jpeg]
Kylo looked away from the mirror post-workout, jaw sharp, black hexagonal weight racks lining the wall in front of him. Black leggings outlined the shape of his thighs, and a black tank top with wide arm holes and a red stripe showcased corded arms. His hair curled with sweat and a series of veins bulged along his wrists, forearms, and back of his hands.
She felt a sudden and profound appreciation for vascular health.
Rey was in trouble.
Notes:
So, next week will be fun.
See you all again on Sunday![1] https://www.businessinsider.com/george-lucas-says-he-sold-star-wars-to-white-slavers-2015-12