After watching The Last Jedi in theatres, I became certifiably obsessed with the characters Kylo Ren/Ben Solo and Rey, especially their love story and what happened to them in TLJ. Thoughts of them plagued me like a ringing in my ear, and finally I had to sit down and write about them. What resulted are my translations, if you will, of my favorite scenes from the movie.
I simply guessed at the thoughts and feelings of the characters. Their expressions and movements—or at least how I perceived them—are exactly as they are in the film, as is the dialogue. I’m 99.9% sure the quotes are correct. I can’t say if what I wrote is accurate; most likely I just projected the fuck out of it. It’s highly romanticized for 
sure. I tried to stay as close to canon as possible but blended TFA and TLJ with the TFA novelization. I tend to lean toward movie canon, though.
(Side rant: The TFA novelization is the most aggressively ambiguous book I’ve ever read. Sometimes we’d get glimpses into Ben’s head, but more often he’d say or do something and we’re left clueless. I feel bad for the author, Alan Dean Foster. I think he did okay considering he had to follow a script and leave things open for further character and plot development. To be fair, the movie was pretty ambiguous at times, too. coughforcevisioncough)
DISCLAIMER: Anything and everything regarding the Star Wars universe belongs to LucasFilm, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. I am forever grateful that fans are allowed to play with the world George Lucas created and write stories of our own within its context. I make no profit on this.
You’re Nothing – A Ben Solo Character Study
Listed in the order they appear in the movie:
A Child in a Mask
Ren’s first few scenes
published 1/25/2018
Just You
the first force connection
published 1/29/2018
Lesson One
Rey’s first lesson from Luke
published 2/2/2018
A Monster
the second force connection
published 2/7/2018
Your Greatest Weakness
Rey’s second lesson from Luke and the third force connection
published 2/22/2018
Not Alone
Rey’s experience in the sea cave and the fourth force connection
published 3/5/2018
His True Enemy
Rey goes to Ren and they confront Snoke
published 3/17/2018
Let Old Things Die
the “proposal” scene
published 1/16/2018
Let Old Things Die
revised and expanded
fighting the guard and the proposal scene
published 4/2/2018
The Supreme Leader
Ren’s last few scenes
published 5/6/2018
Do you plan on doing anything with the new movie? I mean, I know it’s not really the best, but I think a few rey and Ben scenes are really worth it and I’d love to see them in your translation, which by the way is perfect!
I thought about it, but I don’t have the time and honestly the vitriol thrown at Reylo and Star Wars in general since TLJ has really stolen the fun out of all of it. I’m glad you enjoyed what I wrote, though! That always makes my day. 🙂
Do you have anything new! Maybe from the last Skywalker. I’d love to read that. Also I’ve written my own short story San was wondering how to get it on this site if that’s possible.
Hi, Michelle! I’m afraid I haven’t written anything new; I didn’t find IX particularly inspiring, lol. And this isn’t really a site to post fanfiction like fanfiction.net or anything; it’s primary purpose is to display my book reviews and my friend Elise’s author interviews. I just figured since I’m paying for the domain that I might as well put up my fanfiction, too.
Your translations of the scenes are fabulous! Likewise obsessed, I tried my hand at getting into these characters’ heads and writing the scenes, but yours are better. You’re very good at expressing the passion and intensity of the scenes without getting too sentimental or melodramatic. Looking forward to new additions!