Disclaimer: Once again, I own nothing of Star Wars. I'm just playing in Lucasfilm's (and Disney's) sandbox
A/N: I return with the promised epilogue. My apologies to anyone looking forward to Curious Case - I'm having terrible trouble with it right now. Anyways, tune in to the closing author's note for a short Asexuality 101. On with the story!
The last time Luke Skywalker visited Ben Kenobi's hut was just before rescuing Han from Jabba. Sand had crept in and covered everything in what ranged from a thin film to miniature dunes, including the trunk to which Luke was being led by the Force. The trunk had been packed full of books - journals hand-written by the Jedi Master himself, detailing everything from Force theory to personal stories about Luke's parents - a few of holocrons, lightsaber parts, another whole lightsaber Luke would discover had belonged to a Qui-Gon Jinn, and a tiny paper package with a letter attached.
Luke had spent the time before Han's rescue pouring over Ben's notes on lightsaber construction, sorely needing to replace the one he'd lost. The moment Han was safe and they were back on the Falcon, however, Luke had dived into the anecdotal aspects of the journals. His mother's name had been Padme Naberrie Amidala. His paternal grandmother's name had been Shmi. He would have clutched those facts to his chest if he could, but settled for the more tangible journals instead.
After a suitable amount of time to decompress had passed, he tiny package was up for examination. He'd had his fun trying to figure out what was in it the old fashioned way - by shaking it, using the Force would have just been cheating - but had been unable to discern anything but that it was about the size of a pebble. Perhaps simply reading the letter first would have been a good idea. Which led to what he was doing now.
Luke,
In the days of the Order, despite a Jedi's few possessions, it was tradition for a master to give their padawan a gift for their first birthday as their apprentice. Now, I do not know if you are to be my apprentice in this life, nevermind one where the Order never fell, so perhaps this is more a gift from an uncle to a nephew - for your father was very much my brother in all ways save for blood, but I digress.
Now, onto the subject of the gift.
Were I still in possession of the riverstone Qui-Gon gave me, I would give it to you. Unfortunately, I'm afraid I gave that to your father and he to Ahsoka. I do, however, still have this. During the time of the Republic, and perhaps even now, it was common for asexual beings to wear a black ring on their right middle finger. I'm not entirely sure from where the practice originated from or if you still identify this way, but if you do, I would like you to have mine. It even doubles as a self-defense tool; there's a mechanism on the back that, when pressed, will cause two small spikes to spring forward on the front of the ring. I hope it fits. And if it's at all close to your birthday, happy birthday.
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Luke blinked - once, twice, then a third time - before breaking into chuckles. To think he'd asked Ben if he'd ever met another asexual person when all this timeā¦. Luke sorely hoped the ring fit.
(It did.)
A/N: The End!
Thank you for coming along with me on this little adventure! Please drop a review if you have the time. I'd really appreciate it! As for the whole gift giving thing I mentioned in the letter, I made that up. It just seemed like a thing the Jedi would do. Not sure about the ending, but eh. I'll rework that if I have the inspiration.
Now, I did promise an asexuality 101. As I'm sure you've guessed, asexuality is an LGBTQ+ orientation meaning that a person is not attracted to anyone. Some asexuals use something called the Split Attraction Model to differentiate between sexual and romantic attraction. This is not a requirement for asexuality, nor an asexual-exclusive thing if it's helpful to a non-ace. It's really just there for people who feel they experience the two attractions separately or are uncomfortable with the idea that they have to be inherently linked. Whatever floats your boat.
It's also worth mentioning that some aces have sex. This does not negate their asexuality. Attraction and action are different things. Also, the bit about the rings is true to real life. I have an ace ring myself.
Aromanticism is the specific lack of romantic attraction, and is also not exclusive to ace people. Someone could be, for example, aromantic and bisexual, if they felt that label fit for them. (I'm not sure if the ring thing applies to non-ace aros though.) Asexuality and aromanticism can be classified together as the "a-spec" or "a-spectrum" identities.
If you'd like to learn more about asexuality and/or aromanticism, go forth and google! However, the discourse surrounding the subject right now is absolute hell, so please make sure to get your information from actual aces/aros. If you want, you can shoot me a message with questions, though I any discourse/aphobia will be deleted. I'll also recommend fuckyeahasexual on tumblr's FAQ and Reference pages. They're very useful and have some further reading links of their own!
Thanks again!
