to the sky without wings

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Fanfiction
Title: to the sky without wings
Author(s): leupagus
Date(s): 2016-01-02 to 2016-01-16
Length: 81567
Genre(s): Slash
Fandom(s): Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Relationship(s):
External Links: Ao3 Link
"illustration of two starfighters flying into a blue sky with a red sun, text reads leupagus, to the sky without wings, Poe dreams of a blue-green tree"
Cover art by aimmyarrowshigh (2022)

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to the sky without wings is a Star Wars: The Force Awakens fanfic by leupagus. Written immediately following the film's release, it was the first fic to feature the Poe Dameron/Luke Skywalker pairing.

"to the sky without wings" follows Poe and Luke's relationship from their first meeting when Poe is a child to their final encounter before Luke's disappearance following Kylo Ren's destruction of the Jedi temple.

Fic nickname

The author also affectionately refers Luke Skywalker in general--and this particular fic--as "Trash Fire Jesus". on Tumblr When asked about the reasoning behind the nickname, leupagus responded:

See the thing is that Luke has always and eternally been a trash fire, in the sense of being a beautiful phenomenon fueled entirely by terrible things. Witness New Hope, where he YOLOs his way into trying (AND FAILING, IT’S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER) to save a space princess using the power of his Pantene ProV hair flip. Witness Empire Strikes Back, which people keep referring to as their favorite Star Wars movie and I keep replying with “Do you remember that scene where Luke ugly-cried for five minutes while hanging upside down on an antenna?” Witness Return of the Jedi, where - honestly, just watch all of that and try to give me an example of him not being a hot burning pile of garbage and bad decisions. He almost gets eaten by teddy bears at one point, remember that?

However, after the events of the first trilogy it’s clear (given the way people from literally everywhere refer to him in TFA) that Luke has become a legendary and instantly recognized character throughout the galaxy. Even Finn, a nameless stormtrooper who probably got inculcated with propaganda against the old Rebellion (and now the New Republic/Resistance) never seemed afraid of him so much as in awe. And Rey’s comment, that she thought he was just a myth, shows that whatever exploits he’s done (and I’m guessing he was pretty active between the end of RotJ and whenever his self-imposed exile started) are so incredible, so amazing, that people have instinctively disbelieved the stories even while they’ve repeated them. Ergo, Jesus.

Put them together and you have Trash Fire Jesus. Which is not just the best nickname for Luke but also the only one that really matters.[1]

Reactions and Reviews

[...] As I understand it (and per the end notes), the fic started with the ostensibly ridiculous idea of pairing Poe Dameron and Luke Skywalker together romantically - except it ended up spinning out of control and, 81,000+ words later, it works. The final result is a long and satisfying story that follows Poe from childhood on and revolves around the acquaintance between Poe and Luke that slowly evolves from a one-sided crush (albeit with returned fondness) to a mutual romance. Which is honestly wonderful and superbly executed, but what really makes the story exceptional is Poe’s life and the other characters with which he interacts.
I think for me there was a certain relief in going into it already knowing things were, to some degree, going to go to hell. That made the grief easier to roll with, although I will say there was one section where I was somehow still seriously worried how Poe was going to survive. Most importantly, there’s a great emotional balance - yes, things do go to hell, but there’s also a lot of laughter and friendship and lust and tenderness. Honestly, even if you’re side eyeing the pairing here, that is no reason to give this one a miss. This is one of those fics that will sell you on it and make you enjoy the experience.[2]

I just read ‘the sky without wings’

AND IT FUCKED ME UP

what the fuck

like, i intellectually appreciate the concept of an open ending

but

i’m dying here

help[3]

i want the entire star wars fandom to read this fic u have maybe seen other ppl talk about the 80k poe/luke fic. and by talk i mean cry. im here to tell u yes. yes it really is that good and it deserves to become ICONIC[4]

Okay, okay. If you’d told me going into this fic that I would emerge from it shipping Luke Skywalker and Poe Dameron I probably would have… well, okay, I would have shrugged at you and said that anything’s possible, but I would have been pretty damn doubtful about it. I stumbled into this one blind, not knowing a damn thing about it, just that it was 80k of Poe Dameron backstory and as I was trying to write him at the time, desperately needed him to start clicking in my head. It’s a truly beautiful fic, fleshed out and horribly sad and exhilarating. It also contains one of the hottest damn scenes I’ve read in years, so look forward to that.[5]

Ultimately an amazingly well written character study/background piece that I just had to save.[6]

One of those fics that 100% sells you on a pairing you’d never considered before. It begins with Poe’s hilariously embarrassing childhood crush on Luke Skywalker, but evolves into a space epic about the growing conflict with the First Order, following Poe’s career as a pilot and later with the Resistance. The best longfic I’ve read in TFA fandom to date.[7]

This is a triumph. This is the slow burn to end all slow burns, with no real filler. I intentionally read it over a few days so that I could really savor it. The language changes so effectively as Poe grows up and it really makes this story feel immersive and intensely personal. Both V and I consider this fic among the best we’ve ever read. [8]

Related Works

Fanfiction

Fanart

Other

References

  1. ^ idk whay trash fire jesus even means, but
  2. ^ Rec by bluemeridian, February 2016.
  3. ^ Tumblr post by annakomnene, January 31st 2016
  4. ^ Tumblr post by wibblyrose, January 21st 2016.
  5. ^ "heather recs things pt. 2". Archived from the original on 2022-12-27.
  6. ^ "Rec at (Mostly) Slash Fiction Recs". Archived from the original on 2023-01-31.
  7. ^ "The Rec Center #2". Archived from the original on 2027-07-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archivedate= (help)
  8. ^ "The Rec Center #265". Archived from the original on 2024-07-22.
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