|onging sou|

Soft Ben Solo who loves selflessly, who goes head first into any situation to save the woman he loves, who drags himself towards because nothing else matters. Soft Ben who looks at her like she is the whole galaxy, who waits to kiss her, who cradles her like she is everything. Soft Ben who with tears in his eyes smiles so brightly after getting his first kiss.

“you’re not alone”

“I did want to take your hand. Ben’s hand.”

Rey has always loved Ben Solo, but she knew she could never be with him while he was still self-destructive and hiding behind the persona of Kylo Ren.

Her love declaration for the real man behind the mask is the turning point for Ben. He makes amends with his father and decides to kill Kylo Ren for once and for all.

And when he comes back for her, this is the look on her face. She sheds a tear and smiles because she’s not alone anymore. Ben Solo came back for her. Tell me how this isn’t the face of someone who is completely and utterly in love?

(x)

Ben has been the only one who Rey has ever looked at like this. This much love in her eyes has always been exclusive to Ben Solo (that’s why when this shot appeared in the trailer we all knew right away that she was looking at him).

And when she comes back to life and finds herself in Ben’s arms, this is her reaction:

(x)

She has the biggest smile as she whispers his name, because the man she loves just saved her, they are both alive and they can finally be together. Look how soft she is - this is a Rey we have never seen before. This is a hapy, fulfilled Rey.

She then tenderly touches his cheek, because she’s been craving to touch Ben Solo again ever since they touched hands. It’s almost like she can’t believe that he’s there with her, that he’s real and that she finally gets to be with him.

And here, look at her cheeks and her eyes in this GIF:

 (x)

You can tell that she keeps smiling at him and taking small glances at his lips the whole time.

Look how genuinely happy and hopeful she is just before she kisses him. And I repeat, she is the one who takes the initiative to KISS him. And she does it because she loves him and has been wanting to kiss him for a long time. 

And she smiles into the kiss. Because she’s feeling the love pouring from it in every single bone of her body.

(x)

And when they finally pull apart, this is the way she’s looking at him. She sighs, probably trying to catch her breath because her heart is beating super fast. All of this while having the biggest hearteyes. 

And then she looks at his lips again. She wants to go for round 2:

But then she realizes that something’s wrong, that his life is fading away from the Force and you can feel her heart breaking just by the expression on her face.

It was dirty and nonsensical that this was basically the only reaction we got out of her to his death, but that’s in line with this film not being able to stop for a second and let the characters breathe and feel. And they knew they couldn’t end this with the protagonist crying and looking sad AF, because they wanted to sell this ending as something happy and hopeful instead of the tragedy that it is, so they just shoved all of Rey’s pain and mourning aside. 

Adam’s acting has been praised a lot (and rightfully so, he’s terrific), but I think Daisy was equally amazing in this scene and was absolutely playing a head over heels in love with Ben Solo Rey in this moment.

So is there really any doubt that Rey loved Ben just as much as he loved her? Please.

Guys.  I’ve seen it twice, I’ve had time to think it over, and my husband put it best when he said Reylo fans have “an embarrassment of riches” coming out of TROS.  No matter what else happened, these things happened.  I’m beyond sure this is not the first such post, but allow me to list them for your and my appreciation:

The Force Bond Connection still exists and happened multiple times.

Kylo/Ben did not want to kill Rey for one second of the film and instead spent the entire thing chasing her obsessively to win her hand.

The previous attempt to win her hand was discussed at length.  Yes, I know “at length” is a relative term given the pacing of this film, but there is now no longer any question of interpretation of that scene in TLJ and the GA/antis/whomever can shut up about “KyLO rEn just wanted her P0w3R” and “ReY don’t need no mAN” forever.

Ben Solo was a victim and this was finally spelled out for the GA and we have been vindicated for believing this.

Ben Solo managed to get closure not only with his mother but also with his father, in a beautiful beat-for-beat inversion of his greatest sin.

Bendemption happened and he threw away the red saber and we literally heard the words “Kylo Ren is dead.  My son [Ben Solo] is alive.”

Ben and Rey are literal soulmates.  Say that again with me.  A plot device was created to convey beyond any doubt that these two characters are cosmic-level soulmates.

Rey gave what must have been a not-insignifcant part of her own life force to heal Kylo/Ben after realizing the mistake she’d made.

Ben ran like a bat out of hell and then finally fought with raw confidence and poise the way he always deserved to in order to come to her aid when she needed it most.

Ben crawled out of a pit with all the strength he had left so he could come to her aid when she needed it most, again.

He held her tenderly, held her ACHINGLY close, trembled with a perfect puppy-dog look in his eyes, swiftly comprehending that she was all he needed now and then that maybe there was something he could do about it.

He. Gave. Her. All. His. Remaining. Life. Energy. So. She. Could. Live.  This was the ultimate selfless act.  You’ve seen it in movies before; you’ve seen it in books, in plays, in songs, in sonnets, but there’s a reason it’s an age-old trope and an unambiguous ultimate declaration of pure love. Yeah, the price was high, and yeah, it’s gonna hurt for awhile, but narratively speaking, this bolstered the credibility of his love more than anything else could have.  It may be raw as hell right now, but I have a feeling it will age well, not least because:

Reverse Anidala happened.  C’mon fam.  Just let it sink in.  “Grandfather, I will finish what you started.”  Don’t make me gesture at empty air, folks.  In the context of the films that came before, and in the context of Kylo/Ben’s stated goal throughout this trilogy, this is poetry and the ultimate Triumph of Love and also a fitting conclusion to the Skywalker saga and to Ben Solo’s personal arc.

The. Smiles.  THE. PURE. SMILES. WITH. THEIR. ENTIRE. GODDAMN. FACES. AND. THEIR. WHOLE. SOULS.

The. Kiss.  IT HAPPENED.  No more “will-they-won’t-they”, no more doubt among the GA, no plausible deniability for anyone who wants to try to claim that they were not canonically in love.  Also, Rey initiated the kiss and it was a kiss with Ben Solo, so the word “toxic” can be buried in the sand (deeper than those lightsabers - push it to the core of Tatooine and let it melt!).  This was a kiss for the ages and I believe it will go down among the greatest moments in the Star Wars saga.  This was the kiss we’ve all deserved since the Prequels tried and failed to make us feel romantic chemistry.  This kiss wins everything.