#(personal theory they're an old archivist)

[lesbicosmos]

WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE TAPE RECORDERS BITE NOW

[bonzos-number-1-fan]

TMAGP 26 Thoughts: Sam is awkward. Celia is hot.

Yet another guest writer episodes and this time it's Muna Hussen. She' co-creator and producer on The Silt Verses, and produced and acted in I Am In Eskew. The Silt Verses is a show I can wholeheartedly suggest giving a listen. It's great in just about every way a thing can be. I might leave a pitch for it as an addendum. I Am In Eskew is in the forever pile of things I may one day get to. It's a really well written episode too, I liked this one a lot. It is, unfortunately, another pretty explicit one so I don't expect to have a load to say, but that's not the same as it being bad.

Spoilers for episode 26 below the cut.

Celia and Sam's conversation doesn't have a load of note in it. Yes, they're going to meet Helen but that's for later. The important detail here is how Celia categorises her incidents. Which she does with the least effort imaginable. She's not had any misfiles yet which tells me that either those no longer happen or you just need to get it in the right Section. But more importantly than that it's also a good look at just how little she cares about the job. We've all known she's had ulterior motives from her introduction but it's nice to see ways that is reflected.

Much like the last incident there isn't too too much to rip into for what I talk about. I'm not sure the themes of this one speak to any greater connection and the characters are all new as far as I know. Which only really leaves one detail to talk about. The Archivist or, rather, *an *Archivist as that's the more interesting detail. The Archivist here didn't really do much we've not seen before. The forced running isn't to dissimilar to the forced drowning and Jarrod did seem to be mumbling in classic fashion. No statement to be heard as such but that might just be because of the framing. However, unlike previous run ins with an Archivist they're very much aware that they're not the only one. Whether this leads to something more grand or not is hard to say but it's an interesting detail.

Alice is finally up to episode 11 with the plot. More seriously it's nice to see her piecing things together now. I do wonder if that was Chester's point or not. Gwen was a little weird in this interaction IMO. Alice and Gwen shared a fairly major revelation together, that this ties into, but she seems to have distanced herself a lot from that emotionally already. Which isn't out of character but does come a little fast.

Helen is *very *Helen here. I think of all the returning characters she might have changed the least. At least from where she started. It's lovely to see her back, although I do wonder if maybe they're leaning on these characters a little too much at this stage. It's hard to know if this is one-off fanservice or the way of things going forward. I hope it's the latter because the less of the old cast we get the more of the new cast we'll see. There isn't a huge amount to say here but its good to see them getting more information about the Institute. Also, unfortunately Helen is still a tory. Categorically disproving the "these characters are now living their best life" theory. It's all still hell. I'd also include the transcripts note for the laugh but that's a TMA spoiler and probably one person hasn't seen that show. Besides if you know, you know.

Sam and Celia finally fucked. Good for them. Well, bad for them if TMA is anything to go off for couples in this setting. But, y'know.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Incident/CAT#R#DPHW Master Sheet and Terminology Sheet

DPHW Theory: 4463 is pretty normal for this, I think. No major surprises.

CAT# Theory: 1 is a 1. I'll maybe try to write an essay on this before the season ends. No prommies tho.

R# Theory: BC seems about right.

Header talk: Exhaustion (Athletic) -/- Compulsion (Tape). Also very very normal.

I guess I will write that addendum then.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Addendum: Go listen to The Silt Verses.

It's a horror audio drama that's more or less a world where the modern religious landscape is a polytheistic one, with fabricated corporate gods putting pressure on local ones, outlawed religions, and all sorts of fun stuff. But it's a world where religions, fabricated or otherwise, are also powerful and gods do exist and perform miracles. It follows two worshippers of the Trawler Man, and outlawed god, on their pilgrimage up its great black river. As you might expect things don't go smoothly and soon enough there's a man hunt, run ins with cults stranger than theirs, and all sorts of revelations.

The world building is a real high light too. It's just the right level of "this world is horrific yet treated as mundane". It's worth listening just to see how that's all built on.

I rate it a strong prisoners-buried-alive-in-the-foundations-of-new-construction-projects-to-bless-them/10.

[gallifreyinstituteforlearning]

Wait, how do Grade levels work in Gallifrey? Like the order and what they’re called

How do grade levels work in Gallifreyan schooling?

📚 Preschool/Nursery

Before Gallifreyan kids get anywhere near a school, they undergo what's known as 'brainbuffing'. This intensive education is supervised by robotic avatroids in their Houses and involves learning the very basics.

Aged 8, they take an entrance exam for the Time Academy. If they succeed, they'll spend 12 years at their Chapter Academy before going straight to the Time Academy.

They start their first term at the Chapter Academy living in dorms away from heir parents, and eventually it's time for the Untempered Schism. Assuming they survive with their mental health intact (and many don't), they're then enrolled in one of the six Chapter Academies based on their personality and talents.

Chapter Academies:

Prydon Academy: For decision-makers, plotters, and those with language talents.

Arcal Academy: For logical minds, thirst for knowledge, and scientific or engineering talents.

Patrex Academy: For artists, philosophers, archivists, and talented telepaths.

Cerulean Academy: For environmentally conscious Gallifreyans.

Drome Academy: For those focused on social democracy.

Scendeles Academy: For the remainder of the children.

Gallifreyan children's entrance to the Chapter Academies is 'costly' to their Houses. Those who fail the Time Academy exam will stay in their Chapter Academies until the 6th/7th grade. There's no info on if they can retake that entrance exam.

Which Gallifreyan academy would admit you? (Quiz)

📖 Primary Schooling

This covers 1st-5th grade.

In their Chapter Academies,. allifreyan students start their education with a focus on broad subjects, similar to primary/elementary school on Earth. They're force-educated using Neural Training, enabling them to learn quickly.

Their Chapter Academy will largely determine their curriculum, but they'll learn everything needed to get them to the Time Academy.

🎓 Secondary Schooling

This bit is slightly gammy because everything conflicts, but is probably right.

6th Grade

To become a Time Lord they need at least 51% in their coursework, at which point they'll have their biodata modified to include Rassilon's Imprimatur. This makes them a Junior Time Lord.

If they want to progress to 7th grade, they need to pass the Final Temporal Engineering Examination, an oral test conducted by the Education Committee for the Academy of Time Lords of Gallifrey. This involves being questioned on Time Lord Law, temporal theory, and general studies.

Once this is completed, they advance to 7th grade to become Apprentice Time Lords, but they're free to leave before this point. Most of them are a few centuries old, but some can be as young as 125.

7th Grade

7th grade is highly prestigious, and most Gallifreyans drop out before it. It's only really for those who want higher positions in society (Probably Cardinals and the Lord President).

🏫 So …

Gallifreyan early education is a bit like Hogwarts, but with less Quidditch and a lot more pressure for 7-year-olds. Being a Gallifreyan kid just isn't easy. No wonder some have issues.

Related:

What are young Gallifreyans/Time Tots taught?: Detailing what the kids of Gallifrey are taught.

What happens with 'gifted kids' on Gallifrey?: How Gallifrey deals with particularly talented children.

Do Gallifreyan children have toys?: Describing the very limited supply of toys for kids on Gallifrey.

Hope that helped! 😃

Any purple text is educated guesswork or theoretical. More content ... →📫Got a question? | 📚Complete list of Q+A and factoids →😆Jokes |🩻Biology |🗨️Language |🕰️Throwbacks |🤓Facts →🫀Gallifreyan Anatomy and Physiology Guide (pending) →⚕️Gallifreyan Emergency Medicine Guides →📝Source list (WIP) →📜Masterpost If you're finding your happy place in this part of the internet, feel free to buy a coffee to help keep our exhausted human conscious. She works full-time in medicine and is so very tired 😴

[dear-ol-bot]

The Dear Ol's

Hello! I've been meaning to create stories with these characters but have been pretty lazy! Didn't help that I got Covid also and then immediately got another illness after that where I got prescribed medicine that makes you sleepy as a side effect RIP

(I meant to finish this on the first day of this month and I started like a few days before that so I guess that's how things are going)

So the Dear Ol' thing is like my own take on what a title(?) for nonbinary characters in the Mr Men universe would be like! The idea was to make the title as general as possible! Honestly, I'm still wondering if it should have been "Ol'" or "Old"! I know that Mx exists though! I do like it and I honestly don't remember why I don't just use that, but I'm much too attached to "Dear Ol'" at this point tbh! Oh, maybe this Dear Ol' thing could just be my own thing now that I think about it LOL

Anyways, I actually came up with some Dear Ol' characters! Press "Read More" for some Dear Ol's that I came up with as of current! I haven't designed how they would look yet, but I have some general ideas! I will either draw them individually (like as on the covers of the books) first, or just draw them all in one picture, or reveal them along with their own story (please trust that I will actually not be lazy and create them eventually (impossible))! So far, I only have a general idea of their personality and plot!

Dear Ol' Oblivious

As if living in their own bubble, they tend to be very oblivious to what is happening around them! Not only that, but it seems that they are not able to read between the lines! You have to tell them precisely what you want or what you mean or else they just won't get it!

Dear Ol' Memory

They actually have another alternative name, which is Dear Ol Archivist! This character was truly inspired by the Internet Archive, hence the alternative name! Dear OI' Memory is the kind of people who would love to write in their diaries, take pictures, and maybe even make scrapbooks with them!

The story reveals the reason why they feel like it is important for them to keep these memories, but I think you may be able to guess what the reason may be already! Maybe it's something that you may personally relate to?

You can't stop the whimsy.

Dear Ol' Whimsy

A pretty jolly fellow, just living their own life, hopping around trees and buildings and sometimes doing a silly little dance just for the heck of it! They're pretty tiny too, probably the tiniest one on this list! Seeing them living their life would probably make witnesses feel a little bit joyful and whimsical themselves!

Just hope that you don't become their target whenever they decide to feel just a bit mischievous that day! Even if you do get targeted, please do not make too funny of a reaction that you become one of their regular targets!

Sure, you can always try to stop them from playing tricks on you! Maybe even try to stop them from being so whimsical if you don't like whimsy! Try as you might, but soon enough you'll learn a very important lesson!

Dear Ol' Elusive

Ok, so this is a very strange one because I technically have finished drawing them! That's because you won't be able to see them at all or at least not that much, not even on the cover! This obviously won't be a good idea for a book just for that alone LOL

The plot for this one is also very strange! I'm actually not too sure if this story would work or end at all! The story is that some of the other characters have managed to see a glimpse of them, though not enough to confidently define some features! It's just that whenever they look even a millisecond at them, they kind of just ran away! Nobody knew who this is and why they keep escaping. Some of them had been making theories on what kind of person they may be, and some of them even tried to look for them and might even go so far as to try to trap them just so they can get some answers! However, this whole ordeal does bring up some interesting questions: just when are we going too far to know someone, and do we really need to know who they are?

Dear Ol' Villain

Dear Ol' Kind

Dressed like a villain, acts like a villain, too bad it takes more than that to be one! They really want to be a villain just because they feel like it's so much more fun than being all nice, but unfortunately for them, they're really awful at trying to do evil things!

It seems that in pretty much every evil scheme that they carry out, there's always a positive thing that comes out of it that greatly outweighs the con! Basically this one ProZD skit (they're literally based on this skit)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPUgjy-Pn-4

Of course, because of that, nobody really considers them as a threat! They're kind of a cringefail tbh, the poor thing! At least they will also have a happy ending in their story!

Probably the simplest character in here, they are simply a very kind person! They always try to give help to those who need them, and do not expect anything in return!

Their plot doesn't revolve around how kind they are though! Instead, it will be about a rather unusual but welcome chain of events one day caused by one of their kind gestures! A chain of events that they don't even realize was caused by them!

Dear Ol' Bot

Oh no this isn't a character, it's actually just me, but I do have Dear Ol' on my name after all LOL

I guess this technically doubles as a reintroduction!

Hello there!!!! I really like robots and machines and stuff! That's actually why I named myself Dear Ol' Bot! :]

Anyways hope you guys will like these characters when they're finished!!!!

[itchyeye]

this also sort of aligns w my working theory that in terms of avatars/monsters the dividing line is sort of like that old bit about how it's fucked up that goofy is like a clearly sentient person-adjacent creature but pluto is just a normal dog

like jonah magnus is obviously purposefully eye-aligned, he draws his powers from it and he orchestrates the watcher's crown. but he's is also so much more driven and in control than like, the creature that lived in the ming vase, for example. or the thing crawling around under alexandria. or the big slimy tentacle thing that haunted benjamin hatendi. like peter lukas and maxwell rayner and simon fairchild they're all such active agents in service to their patrons.

but jon is just. hungry. and some of that is for sure his own lack of agency between elias and the web. but it's also i think that the archivist is more of a monster than an avatar.

god i love this. I LOVE THIS. obviously we know gertrude kept the archive in disarray on purpose, but i'm also sure that a good chunk of that was just that like. the archivist has no drive to catalog. the archivist needs to know, not to record or to sort or to label. jonah of course keeps his mementos, his trinkets, his tokens, and talismans. jonah hoards the letters sent to him by long dead paramours. jonah collects objects of power. jonah logs and records and researches. but the archivist just. feeds.

[tma-ficrec]

do you have recs for jon for other entities? like end!jon or spiral!jon?

Hello! Here are a bunch

See the Line where the Sky meets the Sea by The_Floating_World . 59k words. Vast Avatar Jon, minor Jmart and Jon/Oliver.

Summary: When Jon is a child he looks into the infinite abyss of space.  The Vast looks back into him.

In Elegy, Love me by beepun. 20k words. WIP. End Avatar Jon. Jmart. Pushing Daisies AU.

Summary: Someone is dead. That’s old news, as there is always someone dead when the Head Archivist of London’s Magnus Institute is involved.A Pushing Daisies Au

Terror management theory by prismatical. 36k words. End/Eye Avatar Jon. Temporary Character Death. Jmart.

Summary: “It’s a preexisting condition,” Jon explains, sipping more bitter tea.  “I sort of got—hm. You know Spiderman?”

Tim raises an eyebrow.“Heard of him, yeah.”

Jon nods, studying his tea.

“It’s sort of like that,” he says. “A spider killed and ate me when I was a child, and now I can’t stay dead.”

-

Resurrection isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Sucker's Bet by yellow_caballero. 61k words. Web Avatar Jon. Deconstruction of romcoms. Jmart.

Summary: 27M seeking The Perfect Man: must be passionate, rich, attractive, charismatic, honest, and ready to love.

Jonathan Sims, Avatar of the Web, is the perfect man. He likes Martin, and Martin likes him back. He probably doesn't even have egg sacs. What's the problem?

Well, there's Jon's vain and ditzy personality. There's his overprotective family and meddling sister. And there's the small matter of a two way bet between them: that Jon can't make a man into a monster, and that Martin can't make a monster into a man, in ten days.

There's no way this can go wrong. Maybe there's no way this can go right. And if Jonathan Sims knows, why isn't he telling?

How big, how blue (how beautiful) by screechfox. 17k words. Vast Avatar Jon. Mike Crew/Jon

Summary: From the moment Jon and Mike meet as teenagers, they're caught in each other's orbits.

Occupational Hazards by sunflowerprince. 113k words. Hunt Avatar Jon. Jmart, canon divergence, everyone is an avatar of some time

Summary: Welcome to the Magnus Institute, a creature feature where representatives from every Entity collaborate to preserve and investigate artefacts, examine public testimonials, conduct paranormal research, and yes, occasionally exterminate. There are our rapscallions we're fond of, such as that silly Distortion, always getting up to hijinks and light maiming. But then there are our liabilities, such as Nikola Orsinov and Jude Perry, who really could use some premeditated murder, which our team captain Basira Hussain is more than happy to arrange. We also must eliminate any and all manifestations of the Extinction, because we're trying to have a nice time here.

Feat. Head Archivist and Resident Vampire Jonathan Sims and his Archival Staff, Task Force Captain and Resident Phoenix Basira Hussain and her Squad, and Director Elias Bouchard, which we have no idea what the fuck he is but he sure is something. With special appearances from several departments to include Research speared by Peter Lukas, and our pool of consultants, to include our favourite podcaster and avatar of The End, Georgie Barker.

Step right in and mind the bloodshed and cassettes.

Merry-Go-Round by Prim_The_Amazing. 20k words. Stranger Avatar Jon. Pre-canon, angst

Summary: This place is creepy. His immediate instinct is to turn back around and leave.

And go where? Back to his empty flat? To a bar, to drink himself miserably drunk?

Jon heads deeper inside the taxidermy store. He has to walk slowly, carefully, and still almost pulls a fox to the floor when its fangs snag on his shirt. He’s carefully plucking the fabric free from the teeth when a light, airy, feminine voice says, “My, my, what do we have here?” 

i said i wanted to worship something series by louscr. 8k words. WIP. Hunt Avatar Jon and Slaughter Avatar Martin. childhood friends, pre-canon

Summary of the first part: Jonathan Sims is not born a snarling, ravenous thing. He is born quietly, grows quietly, and watches in silence as slow years pass him by: as his mother and father are buried, and his grandma tugs him through the aftermath.

 (His eyes are much too wide, much too watchful. His teeth are not yet sharp.)

Dread Child Jon series by Ketakoshka. 55k words. One shots for every entity

[fialleril]

Do you happen to have a snippet you're open to sharing of a character having grown into being confident and-or in control of themselves? Vaderkin openly snarking or goofing off with Padme for one of the first times, or maybe a newly freed droid (in the Resistance even?) openly refusing someone's order to their face? (Sorry this is out of the blue but I just learned my ESA has a brain tumor, and even if they're fictional seeing someone can grow to be confident on their own would be really nice.)

Hi friend! I’m sorry about your ESA - sending prayers and good vibes if you want them.

As for snippets...hmm. I have a couple of Anabasis snippets up already that might fit the bill, particularly the one where Anakin destroys the Sith holocrons, the one where he rolls into a meeting shirtless and forces everyone to deal with the reality of his scars, and the followup to that one where he and Padme plot against Orn Free Taa.

But for something new: idk if you’re reading Heretic Pride, or if you’re at all interested in OCs, but if so here’s a snippet for what will be chapter 14 of that fic. (So, if anybody wants to read it in order without spoilers, don’t click the read more!)

*

Miik is the one who arranges the first meeting. It’s in thefern room in the conservatory, during their free meditation period, and theyall know to tell any master who asks that they’re going to practice groupmeditation.

Aloo runs into Master Sinube on her way to the conservatory,and she’s only a little surprised by how easily the lie comes. The guilt thatfollows it, though, twists in her stomach for hours and even days after. Butit’s not enough to stop her from going.

Almost sixty younglings come to the first meeting. Aloo isone of the last to arrive, and she stands for a moment just inside theentrance, blinking in surprise. She’d thought she was alone. She’s neverimagined there could be so many of them.

Miik seems startled by the turnout, too, and more than alittle nervous that everyone seems to be looking at him. He’s a good anddiligent student, and everyone likes him, but he’s never really been much of aleader in the Temple.

“Um, hello,” Miik says, his antennae trembling with nerves.

There’s a smattering of greetings in reply, but they quicklypeter into silence. They’re all eyeing one another nervously, and no one seemsto know where to begin.

“So, uh,” Miik starts again. “We all know Anakin, right?”

Something about that question, or maybe the way he asks it,seems to break the tension, and Aloo finds herself laughing along with everyoneelse.

“Is that our code phrase, then?” asks a Muun girl whose nameAloo doesn’t know.

Miik stands there blinking in surprise. “Do we need a codephrase?” he asks, a bit weakly.

“We might,” says Ras. He’s raised his chin the way he alwaysdoes just before the beginning of a duel. “I don’t know why the rest of youcame, but I’m here because Anakin helped me find my family. We all know that’sagainst the Code. But I asked him to help me anyway, and he did.”

There’s a long stretch of silence. No one seems to want tomeet anyone else’s eyes.

Aloo squares her shoulders and looks directly at Ras. “Metoo,” she says.

“Yeah, me too,” the Muun girl says, and then someone else issaying, “me too,” and then it’s like a floodgate has opened and the truth,terrifying, exhilarating, liberating, comes pouring out.

They’re all here because they’ve broken the Code. Becausethey’ve taken the forbidden step, most of them before they’ve even beenapprenticed, of learning about the people they came from.

“I think we do needa code phrase,” the Muun girl, who introduces herself as Palek, says. “Becausethere are a lot of us already, and there are going to be more, and…we need away to know.”

“What about…Grandmaster Jocasta?” Miik suggests shyly, andeveryone laughs, not at him but at the story behind the name.

“I like it,” says Aloo, grinning. “It’s perfect.”

“Grandmaster Jocasta” is almost infamous by now, and thereare endless rumors about the name. But Aloo knows the full story, because sheheard it from Anakin himself.

He calls the chief archivist of the Jedi Order “Grandmother”most of the time, a fact which still leaves Aloo a bit awed. Madame Nu can berather severe, especially if she suspects you of treating her archives withanything less than perfect reverence, and Aloo’s not ashamed to admit she’salways found the old woman intimidating. Most younglings feel the same.

But Anakin seems strangely fond of Madame Nu, and, strangerstill, she seems fond of him in turn. She actually gave him permission to call her “Grandmother,”though he tries not to address her that way when any other masters are present.

That’s how “Grandmaster Nu” was born. It only took a handfulof times: Anakin beginning to say “Grandmother,” realizing there were othermasters present, and changing titles mid-word. Aloo thinks that if she’d donesomething like that, she’d be mortified, but Anakin seems more gleefully amusedthan anything whenever he tells the story.

Aloo’s heard that once, when Anakin was twelve, there wasactually a special session of the Council called to address the fact thatPadawan Skywalker apparently believed Madame Jocasta Nu, who didn’t even have aseat on the Council, was Grandmaster of the Jedi Order.

Anakin himself refuses to confirm or deny that this everhappened. But he always does so with a wink, and Aloo is pretty sure about hertheory.

“Grandmaster Jocasta,” Palek says, snickering. “And we cansay we’re working on a research project. It would even be true.”

“A cultural research project,” says Miik, getting into thespirit of the thing.

“Okay, but…what are we researching?” asks a Chagrian boynamed Tago. “I mean, now that we know something about our families, what are wegoing to do with that?”

There’s another nervous silence, broken at last by Palek,who squares her shoulders and says defiantly, “Well, I don’t know about anybodyelse, but I’m planning to contact mine.”

A soft but collective gasp goes through the room. If theyweren’t all gathered here actively discussing breaking the Code, it wouldactually be funny.

Palek stands there, glaring around the room as though daringany of them to tell her she’s wrong, and that gives Aloo the courage to speak.

“I have contacted my family,” she says. She whispers itreally, but the room is so quiet that she may as well have shouted. Noweveryone is staring at her.

“What…what was it like?” Miik breathes into the silence.

“Strange,” says Aloo. “But good, I think. I have a motherand a father and two sisters and two nieces. They’re nice. It was…awkward, atfirst, talking to them, but they’re nice.” Everyone is watching her in raptattention so, emboldened, Aloo continues. “I’ve talked with one of my sistersthe most, probably a couple dozen times now. The others I’ve only talked totwice so far. But I like talking with them. I feel like…like I’m learning apart of me I never knew.” She swallows, and because they’re all watching herthe way she thinks she probably used to watch Anakin whenever he spoke abouthis family, she forces herself to add the most dangerous thing of all. “And Ifeel at peace when I talk to them. I feel at peace in the Force. I know Ishouldn’t, that it’s wrong to have attachments, but…I do.”

“Is it wrong, though?” asks Ras. There’s a stutter in hisvoice, and he looks absolutely terrified, but he’s asking.

“I’m not sure it is,” Palek says, forcefully enough thatAloo is pretty sure she’s trying to convince herself, too. “The masters arealways saying we should trust the Force and our instincts, right? Well, if allof us are feeling the same way about this…maybe there’s a reason.” She looksaround at each of them, eyes blazing with defiance. “Maybe this is the Force’s will.”

“Master Yoda wouldn’t agree with that at all,” Tago nearlygasps. He looks terrified.

But who says he’salways right? the memory of Anakin whispers in the back of Aloo’s mind.Those phantom words fill the dead silence of the room and leave her shaking.

“But we’re all here anyway,” says Miik. His antennae aretrembling but he meets Aloo’s eyes as he adds, in a voice too unsteady to bereally teasing, “And Aloo doesn’t seem likeshe’s going to fall to the Dark Side at any minute. Right?”

He winces. Aloo thinks that probably came out sounding morelike a question than he’d actually meant it to.

“No,” she says, and thinks that she doesn’t sound asflippant as she’s like, either. “I’m not.”

“And besides,” says Palek. “There’s Anakin.” When everyonelooks at her, she only shrugs. “I mean…he’s always known his family, right? AndI think we all know he still talks to his mother. And that’s all against theCode, but…”

But it’s made Anakin the Jedi he is, Aloo thinks. And that’strue for her, too, she realizes. Who would she be now, if she’d never triedAnakin’s meditation, never dreamed of the stone house and the beautiful garden,never learned about her sister or spoken with Padmé and Sola and their parents?The question leaves her startled and breathless. She can’t imagine the answer.And she finds she doesn’t want to.

*

Palek is the first person to ask to borrow Aloo’scommunications array. Aloo isn’t really surprised when the Muun girl pulls heraside after lightsaber practice one day, though she is impressed by Palek’sboldness. Master Yoda has only just left the room.

Palek has two fathers and three younger sisters, and shesays she’s contacted them via datapad twice now. “It’s like you said,” shewhispers to Aloo as they slip through the halls of the Temple. “It’s…strange. Idon’t know if seeing them and really hearing their voices will make it lessstrange, or more, but…I want to find out.”

Aloo waits until she’s certain no one else is in her sharedquarters, and then she slips the equipment into a pouch on her belt and makesher way to the meditation room where Palek is waiting. It’s one of the smallerrooms, empty except for a trickling fountain in one corner and a pair ofmeditation cushions on the floor. There’s no cameras. That’s important.

Palek is almost shaking with nerves as Aloo shows her how toset up a secure channel. She’s turning her datapad over and over in her hands,and she offers Aloo a tight smile when everything is ready.

“Thanks,” she whispers just as Aloo turns to leave. She’salready tapped in her parents’ com code, but her hand is hovering over the com,hesitating.

“Aloo, do you…are you sure we’re right about this?”

Aloo swallows. “I don’t know,” she whispers. “But…what doesyour heart tell you?”

That’s an Anakin question, and it brings a more genuinesmile to Palek’s face. “Yeah,” she whispers, and presses the com button.

[yay855]

Ki-Adi-Mundi belongs to an endangered species, which is the main reason why he was allowed to marry, and marry five women at that. His species has a very low birth rate and a higher number of women than men, and as a result, he is literally the first male Cerean Jedi since the ban on Jedi marriage was enacted, which is why a legal exception was made for Mundi so that his presence in the Jedi Order would not contribute to the decline of his species.

Anakin desperately tries to come up with an excuse that he carries the genes of an extinct or near-extinct race and begins studying them in the Jedi Archives. Anakin eventually panics and declares, publicly, that he's descended from the Sith species, which is why he's so strong in the force, and that his heritage should not be erased. Mace Windu sees this happen on TV and the Jedi Council demand that Anakin privately take a genetics test to see if he's telling the truth.

The Sith Species didn't really die out so much as just become interbred with humans. It's almost impossible to find a human who doesn't have some Sith heritage by this point, but your average person rarely has more than like, 5% Sith in their genes. The Jedi Council know this, they know full well Anakin is bullshitting so that he can be married while still being a Jedi, and having him take a genetics test will force him to choose one way or another.

Anakin reluctantly goes along with the genetics test. The results are actually a bit unusual- Anakin is in fact less Sith than the average person, in that he's got 2% Sith heritage. What's more unusual is that many of his genes that aren't related to physical appearance belong to a species no one knows of. It's pretty damn obvious that Anakin was genetically engineered using a sample of a previously-unknown species, though why someone would do that and then dump the child and its mother as otherwise-normal slaves on Tattooine makes no sense.

The Jedi Archivists are going over all of their records and pulling in genetics records from across the galaxy- it's pretty obvious to everyone that Anakin was right in some way, and there's tons of theories about why the Jedi are doing this instead of just announcing the truth.

One day, one of the Jedi Archivists ends up chatting (vaguely enough to not get in too much trouble) about the issue with a friend who works at an archeological expedition on Dantooine. There are a lot of Jedi and Sith artifacts and information to be found there, though the friend remarks that it's funny- about twenty years ago they discovered an utterly bizarre ruin buried beneath an old Sith Temple that didn't match up with any known species or culture from the region, and the Banking Clan ended up purchasing most of the artifacts from it, since they clearly weren't Sith or Jedi. One of the artifacts was a genetic sequencer containing DNA from an unknown species which they had planned on having analyzed, but which ended up being stolen in the middle of the night- the Banking Clans were the prime suspects, but there was no proof. Still, they had recorded a small bit of the DNA from the sequencer and stashed it away in their own archives; maybe it would be what the Jedi were looking for?

The Jedi then begin an entirely new rush of getting genetics sequences, this time from archeological digs similar to that one. Corellians end up saving the day- they're not actually that close with the Jedi Order, as they in fact have their own sect of Green Jedi, but the mystery is just too juicy for everyone to stay away. Corellia has a lot of ruins and artifacts similar to what was described on Dantooine, including genetic samples of the same species. In fact, the Green Jedi know the name of the species.

Anakin Skywalker, rather than being part Sith, is part Rakata. The Jedi Order tries to make a quiet announcement, with Anakin stating that he was mistaken about his heritage, but by this point everyone is talking about it, and the news spreads like wildfire. Padme ends up getting hate mail and letters of appreciation in equal amount, while Anakin literally ends up getting an archivist just to sort through the sheer amount of letters and emails he and the Jedi Order as a whole getg on a daily basis concerning his heritage, his love life, and so on.

Palpatine meanwhile is sweating bullets.

Imagine Anakin absolutely losing his mind as it’s explained to him that his marriage is literally illegal because of article whatever subsection b and it’s because 400 years ago there was an entrapment scheme and that’s why Padme is being sued by the republic