futurology application (TLJ spoilers)

[sololoquy]

APPLICANT INFO.
NAME: Kay
CONTACT: stabs

CHARACTER INFO.
NAME: Kylo Ren
CANON: Star Wars: The Last Jedi
AGE: 29
APPEARANCE: Swole
CANON POINT: In the middle of The Last Jedi, when (HIGHLIGHT FOR SPOILERS) he discovers who Rey's parents are through the Force Bond

BACKGROUND:

SPOILER TOWN

IN FUTURO: Kylo Ren arrived at an untimely point in his life and was met with several challenges, from being confronted and rejected by his idol, Anakin Skywalker, right down to finding common ground with Rey. His time in Oska was mostly spent struggling to reconcile not being the biggest bad on the block anymore, while also being forced to emotionally engage with people in ways he had not previously done so. Shortly before returning to his galaxy, Kylo Ren was bitten by the temporal bugs and went through a brief stint as his younger, much more frightened self. He was returned to the dark side by a bug-corrupted Rey, when she jogged a memory of the Supreme Leader.

Development incurred involved a heavy appreciation for allies, and a deep obsession regarding his personal strength in contrast to other Audentes.

PERSONALITY:

"You don't have to do this. I feel the conflict inside of you, its tearing you apart."

-- Rey, The Last Jedi

Born as the son of bullheaded parents Han Solo and Leia Organa, Ben Solo (as he was once known) was doomed from day one to be just as troublesome as his heritage. At a young age, his Force powers developed extremely quick, but his hotheaded temper and internal teenage conflict lent itself to the Dark Side well before he was redirected to a proper teacher in his uncle, Luke Skywalker. Eager to understand the immense power at his disposal and unable to receive guidance from his parents, Ben was a prime target to be seduced to the Dark Side. It is upon killing all of the jedi that Luke had been training that Ben takes the name Kylo Ren, an attempt to fully abandon his past life.

"Your parents took you, and threw you away like garbage. But you can't stop needing them. Its your greatest weakness. Looking for them everywhere, first in Han Solo, now in Skywalker."

-- Kylo Ren, The Last Jedi

Conflict is Kylo Ren's driving force. His personality is extremely volatile -- the shadow of the moon could change, the tide could shift, and Ren could become a different person as the Force makes its ultimate decision. Ren virtually has no control over his emotions -- frustration rules him, as it often ruled his parents. He can be found throwing literal temper tantrums when things don't go his way. It makes him incredibly deadly, and Ren knows it. Despite perhaps lacking confidence in most of the universe, he is very certain in his ability to scare people and he uses it to its full advantage.

Kylo Ren was born into a family well known for their compassion and heroic deeds by the public at large, in spite of the hot streak that his parents were known for. It is not entirely reflective of reality; Han Solo and Leia Organa might have been married, but Ben Solo was an unexpected addition to their family. Their busy lives often meant that Ben was left to keep himself company, and when combined with their other shared family trait (their temper), young Ben was doomed to live a life consistently plagued with loneliness and bitterness in spite of his otherwise compassionate upbringing. Even into adulthood, long after his fall to the dark side, he is forced to come to terms with the fact that he cares too much about his family, and that some piece of him still wants them (or anyone, really) to care about him and his struggles.

"The mighty Kylo Ren. When I found you, I saw raw, untamed power, and beyond that something truly special: the potential of your bloodline."

-- Supreme Leader Snoke, The Last Jedi

Kylo Ren has a long list of things to live up to. His potential in the Force comes from his mother, Leia Organa, daughter of Anakin Skywalker (better known as Darth Vader). While Light is a constant in his family, the conflict in his life repeatedly attracts Ben Solo to the Dark Side. It was for this reason that he was targeted by Supreme Leader Snoke at a young age, and it defines his development throughout the series. Kylo Ren (and everyone else) possesses the knowledge that Darth Vader was a powerful Sith Lord, and as such, the promise (and fear) of becoming the next Vader has many years to stew in his head while he is alone. Even his uncle Luke Skywalker, who took up his training in an attempt to pass on what he had learned, was unable to chase the darkness away from Ben Solo's heart. In fact, Luke's fear of his darkness was the greatest betrayal of them all, and the final straw that caused him to give up hope in himself. He has been manipulated to believe that it is the only way he will ever achieve worth in the galaxy, and so he pursues that goal relentlessly, at the expense of his own heart and sanity.

"Let the past die; kill it, if you have to. That's the only way to become what you are meant to be."

-- Kylo Ren, The Last Jedi

Kylo Ren spends his entire life trying to get away from his past, and the expectations of his future. During The Force Awakens, he is utterly consumed by the dream of becoming the next Darth Vader, right up until he kills his own father and is forced to come to terms with the fact that he won't be satisfied until there is nothing left to drag him away from the path he's carved for himself. It becomes less about Darth Vader and more about proving that he doesn't need his family or anything else to achieve notoriety. He only needs himself and his power to shape the reality he wants to live in.

For all of his attempted bravado, Kylo Ren is in fact an adult man stuck in the mindset of a teenage boy. He mirrors Anakin Skywalker in a lot of ways when it comes to his temperament, though where Skywalker had cockiness and confidence, Kylo Ren possesses paranoia and doubt. It's most easily seen in how he constantly checks in on General Hux's progress and how frequently he questions after the various actions of his support crew. In the same light, Kylo Ren's anger could easily rival that of Skywalker's -- perhaps even surpass it.

When Kylo Ren isn't busy being overly emotional, he attempts to maintain an aloof persona. As Snoke's apprentice, he is expected to enact judgement without blinking -- something that is not always so easy when you have other emotions aside from anger and passion to consider. However, being that Kylo Ren has very specific interests (in specific people), he often succeeds in his charade of appearing to have it all together as long as he doesn't struggle at his task. It also lends to his unpredictable nature.

"It's time to let old things die. The Resistance, the Jedi, the Sith, let it all die. Rey -- I want you to join me. We can rule together, and bring a new order to the galaxy!"

-- Kylo Ren, The Last Jedi

His goals are simple: overcome that which makes him weak, and find understanding in the darkest parts of himself. The First Order believes in order through chaos, that hard restrictions will prevent mass casualties -- but that sometimes, extermination is the easiest way to deal with a wayward planet. Kylo Ren finds comfort in that narrative because he himself is so volatile. Cutting down things that don't make any sense is far easier than trying to understand them, and it is the faster solution. And if he cuts himself off from the past and burns it all down, then it can't haunt and chase him anymore.

ABILITIES:

FORCE SENSITIVE: In Star Wars canon, the Force is described as an energy that connects all things in the universe. Some people, like Kylo Ren, are born with the ability to feel it more keenly than others. As a descendant of Anakin Skywalker, Kylo Ren's Force sensitivity is extremely potent. With it he can move/stop objects, read minds, sense intent, and manipulate its flow in other people (ie: Force Choking).

PILOT: Raised by Han Solo, one of the first things Kylo Ren was taught to do was fly. He is an extremely skilled starship fighter pilot, and even has his own fighter: a heavily-modified TIE Interceptor, known as the TIE Silencer.

KNIGHT OF REN: Apprenticing under both Luke Skywalker and Supreme Leader Snoke, Kylo Ren is highly trained in several forms of combat, though he is most proficient at hand-to-hand and lightsaber combat.

RAGE: Kylo Ren's weaknesses lie in focus, and his inability to contain his emotions when they run high. He can be forced into a retreat by breaking his focus or by insulting him. When heavily injured or blinded by rage, the Dark Side will consume him, and he will enter a berserking state that will use the last of most of his energy in an attempt to achieve a win.

INVENTORY:

- Armored tunic (plus pants, gloves, and boots)
- Static-dampening cape
- Lightsaber (Crossguard, red, fractured crystal)

HATHAWAY.
SUITABILITY:

Despite the fact that he is a menace to the Galaxy, Kylo Ren is one of the many arms of the First Order. He is not so morally defined that he won't stoop to whatever means necessary if it means getting what he wants -- that includes working with people he hates (the exception to this rule would be Luke Skywalker). He is extremely goal driven, so as long as he has a tangible reward waiting for him, he will do what he needs to do in order to achieve it.

INCENTIVE:

Kylo Ren would ask for assistance in murdering Luke Skywalker, preferably with his own involvement.

SPECIALIZATION:

1. BRUISER. Kylo Ren is the First Order's enforcer, always on the front lines to clear a path for the rest of the army. He's been a fighter since he was old enough to pick up a weapon, and has exceptional fighting and battle tactics skills. He fights like a berserker, until he cannot fight anymore.

2. NEGOTIATOR. As the son of Leia Organa, Kylo Ren has the potential to be a leader -- were it not for his horrible temper. He is, however, a very skilled manipulator thanks to the Force's assistance, and has no qualms about using it to his advantage.

WRITING SAMPLES.
NETWORK SAMPLE: HERE

ACTION SAMPLE: There is a lot to choose from here