magicpurplelady:

melkorstars:

roxannepolice:

benperor-ren:

darth-tantrum:

I get that it makes sense to headcanon teen Ben as rebellious and recalcitrant, but lately I’ve been wondering if it was the opposite.

Of course he has a mischievous streak in him as most kids and teens do, but I like the idea of very eager to please Ben Solo. Like he had a stint of acting out to get attention and couldn’t stomach it, so he completely did a 180 and instead tried to be a golden child. A perfectionist at his core determined to prove to everyone that he’s as great and good as his heroic family.

I feel like there could be truth to this because an eager to please Ben Solo would have been what Snoke was looking for.

I hope this is 100% canon because it makes a lot of sense.

you see, the paradox is that he was trying to please a pair of rebels. how do you go about obeying people who believe in disobedience?

I think they believed in disobedience to a point where it didn’t hurt their unreachable ideals, disobedience was good until their son started tempering with the dark side and instead of educating him to embrace it and use anger on his favor, to understand the dark, they taught him to be afraid of it by fearing him themselves. So I can see a very “eager to please, please don’t believe I’m bad” Ben solo when it came to this. 

I have always pictured Ben as a child who was desperate to find his place and his purpose, to live up to unrealistic expectations, be they self-imposed or real. He comes from a family of attractive, charismatic leaders. People who are talented and well-liked. And Ben struggled to see those things in himself. (*cough*Snoke*cough*grooming*cough*) I see him as a pleaser, desperate for validation. But when that validation is inadequate, he becomes withdrawn and frustrated. Maybe even resentful of his ~*pErFeCt*~ family. Because if Ben was good enough, Mom would spend more time with him. Dad wouldn’t leave so much. Luke would trust him. But none of that happens…at least not in a way Ben is able to appreciate anymore. By the time Luke comes for him, Ben is teetering on an emotional tower of wobbly chairs. And after that, who can give him purpose and direction? Who can give him attention and validation? You know who.