Paper Flowers.

In which we're introduced to Ben Organa and Leia Organa, and things are set up for the opening of A New Hope.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Author's Notes: Thought that I'd post this before I go off to do my French homework and everything else. I was definitely worried about, amongst other things, making sure that not only are the canon characters in-character, but the original characters are likeable. It's definitely a fear that hangs over my head whenever I write original characters -- whether or not they're likeable or at least compelling.

Also, the matter of opening the story with more character-oriented chapters was definitely a conscious choice for me. I kind of wanted to have the audience care about the characters before the shit hit the fan as well as sort of set things up -- the matter of Mara's restlessness, Padme's grief, Vader questioning if there's something more, and in this chapter, the matter of Ben and Leia having to masquerade as the "good little Senators", so to speak, all while working to bring the Emperor down. And to sort of set up, at least somewhat, the matter of how bad things really are under the Empire and how bad the Rebellion is really losing (at least judging by the opening crawl of A New Hope) prior to the Battle of Yavin IV. And to sort of set up what it might be like living this sort of stressful lifestyle -- I can definitely imagine that it would be terrifying, trying to deceive the Emperor and his enforcers (enforcer in canon), all while no doubt living with the threat of being arrested and/or executed. I'd be terrified, really.

Also, the matter of setting up Terminus' character -- after all, Padme and Vader have mentioned him, but we've never gotten a glimpse into his thoughts or seen him until now. I've sort of seen Terminus as this sort of Inspector Javert character; he doesn't think of himself as the bad guy, he's just doing his duty. Even if it does mean arresting people and committing multiple atrocities. (Also, I apparently have written way too many Well-Intentioned Extremist characters. I think the appeal of them for me is that, well, it's easy to just write a character who does evil things for the sake of it. There's something about a bad guy who thinks that he's in the right while doing evil things that just, for me personally, is far more terrifying)

Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter.

( "Finally, some sort of turning point in the war!" )

In which we see how Padme's been holding up since the events of the previous installment.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Author's Notes: This was actually kind of one of those chapters that...well, for lack of a better word, definitely reflected my mindset when I first got to writing the sequel. Let's say that I'd been having weird dreams/nightmares, sleep issues in general (I remember actually falling asleep on the couch because I was so tired and dreaming about jack-o-lanterns. The fact that Halloween was coming up probably didn't help), and then there was the matter of some issues in one fandom I was in that were actually kind of stressing me out (and sadly, they don't seem to have let up yet). Not to mention school. I think in a way, writing this chapter definitely helped me -- writing this whole fic definitely helped me, actually; there's definitely something about the act of writing that's very cathartic -- through some of the frustrations I had. That and I feel it was definitely one of those moments where the story just clicked, so...yeah, this is definitely one of my favorite chapters.

And emotional TMI aside (sorry), I hope you like this chapter.

( "You can't just wait for a miracle." )