#I also stole obiwan from her

[cloned-eyes]

I found this little fella while setting up my new wardrobe today and he is now supervising me

[gospelofme]

Leave didn’t happen very often. It was even a rarer opportunity when that included Ahsoka being able to do something fun. Most of the time, leave was for the men. She’d stand with Anakin and Obiwan in the drop ship and listen to the plans the troopers around her were making. Leave for her, however, mostly meant study time at the Temple. But, Anakin had agreed that this time could be for fun. She had worked very hard the last two months and never complained once (that he heard).

She was trying to think about what she could do on Coruscant, being a novice when it came to the planet’s nightlife. She heard Jesse and Fives mention something called Limmie, talking about attending a small match later that evening. She didn’t want to just invite herself, as she knew how important it was for the men to have time to themselves. But she didn’t want to wander around clueless for her free time either.

“What’s Limmie?” She asked, Jesse looking down at her like he’d just noticed she was there, he wore a startled expression.

“It’s bolo-ball, there’s a match tonight between two local teams. Nothing big but it’s fun.” Fives explained, giving a shrug. Ahsoka gave a nod,

“That sounds fun.” She replied. As things between the three grew quiet, Fives looked and Jesse who shrugged. They weren’t sure what Jedi did for fun really. Studying and training didn’t sound like a good time on leave to them.

“Do you...want to join us?” Fives asked, raising an eyebrow and looking at the young Padawan. He must’ve said something right because her face lit up.

“Yes! That would be great!”

Fives and Jesse explained the rules of Limmie to Ahsoka, who was taking mental notes. She had met them out in front of the Temple and they shared a cab to the location. She’d never seen them in casual clothing before, or rather as casual as clone troopers got. The two wore matching PT outfits, black shorts and a grey top with the Republic’s symbol printed in the center in a slightly darker grey. It was almost invisible really. She just wore her regular Jedi getup, feeling a bit out of place in anything else. The cab soon stopped at a sports field, a small one but it was well-kept. Ahsoka truthfully had no idea there was a sports complex in Coruscant.

Tonight it had been rented out by two local Limmie teams. The Raging Rontos and the Red Banthas. There were a fair amount of fans for each team.

“This is nothing really, not in terms of field size or fans. Coruscant has always been skimpy on the Limmie love, even though the Galactic Cup is held here.” Jesse explained, buying their entry tickets. He handed Ahsoka a lanyard with a tag on it that showed she’d paid. She thanked Jesse who waved nonchalantly. Fives picked out a good spot in the stands, Ahsoka spotted some other clones from different battalions in the crowd. They were on their way to their seats when a Rodian called Jesse over.

“Hey man, you just get in?” The Rodian asked, shaking hands with Jesse and then with Fives. Ashoka stood back a bit, it was clear these three knew each other.

“Yeah, about an hour ago really.” Fives said with a shrug. The Rodian looked at their badges.

“Did you just buy those? I’d ask for a refund bros.” Jesse and Fives glanced at each other.

“Why?” They asked in unison.

“Well, two of our guys have been injured and one got called into work. So we’re down three players. We were going to forfeit to the Banthas. Unless....” The Rodian looked the two troopers up and down.

“Do you two want to play? You’ve played in the causal games.” The Rodian offered. Jesse and Fives readily agreed.

“Now we’re only down one.” The Rodian stated, trying to think of someone else. Jesse looked over at Ahsoka, who had been standing awkwardly to the side. He nudged Fives who also looked over at Ahsoka.

“I don’t know, she’s just learned the rules...” Fives said uncertainly. Ahsoka picked up on what they were talking about.

“I can do it! Trust me.” Ahsoka said, not wanting to be left out. The Rodian considered her. She was small, but that wasn’t really a bad thing.

“Are you fast?”

“Yup”

“Okay.”

Soon the three were wearing Raging Ronto shirts, Ahsoka’s nearly swallowed her. She laced up the cleats they had found for her and stretched like Jesse and Fives had. The other team looked disheartened since they were expecting a forfeit. Ahsoka decided not to use the Force, as she was sure that was against the rules. The team huddled, Ahsoka elated to be included as if she’d always belonged. The play was laid out, a couple other team mates giving Ahsoka a run down of her role. A whistle was blown and it was time to start.

Jesse and Fives had certainly played before. She heard their names called out in the stands. She looked over and saw Echo, Kix, Boil, and Waxer in the stands. When they noticed her, they looked at each other uncertainly but cheered for her too. Their team was given the ball first and they took off with it down the field, passing the ball off to a free member when the opposite team players came upon them. It was a fast paced game and you had to know who was around you. Early on the other team members zoomed in on her as being a newbie, knocking her over and stealing the ball from her a couple times. Once Jesse came over and helped her up as Fives stole the ball back. Ahsoka shook off the frustration.

She soon got the hang of the game, she was a fast learner. Stealing the ball and knocking other players over. She soon had some people chanting her name in the stands. The adrenaline high had kicked in and she found it something she craved. Right up until one of the Red Bantha’s elbowed her in the face, Ahsoka fell backwards, stunned. Her team was suddenly at her side as the ref called foul on the offending player. Laying on the grass, Ahsoka stared up a the skylanes. Her nose throbbed and felt a bit numb. The team medic, a Zabrak, was at her side and helped her sit up. Fives and Jesse grimaced as blood started run from her nose.

“We should get her back to the base.” Fives said, Jesse nodding.

“No! Then the Rontos will be three down again.” Ahsoka said, attempting to stand.

“See, I’m fine. I can play.” She wobbled into the Zabrak medic.

“I’d advise against that.” The medic said, already leading Ahsoka to the benches. The game paused to allow the Rontos to figure out a game plan.

Echo, Kix, Boil, and Waxer were already at the barrier that separated fans from players. Kix asking the medic what happened.

“Bloody nose and slight disorientation.” The medic replied, handing Ahsoka an ice pack from the cooler and sitting her on the bench.

“Why did you two let her play?!” Echo asked Jesse and Fives, who shrugged.

“Captain Rex is going to be upset and I don’t even want to know how General Skywalker will react.” Boil said, shoving a handful of popcorn into his mouth.

“No! We can’t tell him! He can’t know i got a nose bleed like this!” Ahsoka said, raising her head from where the Zabrak had positioned it.

“Keep your head low so the blood flows out and not back.” He instructed again, pushing her head gently back towards her knees.

“Keep playing Fives and Jesse! You can play with one out right?” Ahsoka asked the Rodian, who was the Ronto’s coach. The alien nodded,

“It will be tough but not impossible.”

“We’ll avenge you Tano.” Fives assured.

The Rontos went on to win the match, by just one goal. Ahsoka walked out with Jesse, Fives, Kix, and the gang with a Raging Ronto’s shirt that fit her.

“That was so much fun!! Fives, the way you stole the ball and kicked it to Jesse like that! Golden!!” She expressed. Her nose had stopped bleeding but was bruised. They walked towards the entrance to the base, Ahsoka feeling like one of the guys.

“Where have you guys been?” Came a familiar voice. Anakin. She turned and saw him walking toward them with Rex in tow. He saw her bruised nose and his eyes narrowed. He took in the dirt on her arms, legs, and face.

“Have you been in a fight!?” Anakin demanded, noticing her shirt.

“The Ranging Rontos?” Anakin asked.

“Local Limmie team sir.” Rex clarified. “Did they win?” He asked Jesse.

“Uh, yeah...it was close.” The trooper replied, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Ahsoka, what happened to your nose?” Anakin asked again. Fives noticing Kix, Echo, Boil, and Waxer had ditched them.

“Well, Master, the player on the Red Banthas elbowed me in the face because he was mad I stole the ball back from him. But don’t worry, Jesse and Fives avenged me.” Ahsoka said causally. Anakin staring at her, mouth agape.

“You...you played?! Do you know how hurt you could’ve been?!” Anakin exclaimed.

“Fives, Jesse, why did you let her play?!” Rex added. Ahsoka held her hands up.

“I wanted to play, it’s not their fault. And I didn’t get hurt much. Besides, I do way more dangerous things in the field!” Ahsoka said defensively.

“I agree.” Obiwan said, appearing from out of no where, one hand on his beard. Startled, Anakin grabbed his chest.

“By the Force, I thought you left!” He muttered at his Master.

“Need I remind you of your podracing days Anakin?” Obiwan mused.

“Podracing?” Ahsoka asked, that sounded fun.

“No! No you do not!” Anakin said quickly, ushering his Padawan aside.

“I just don’t want you to get hurt where I can’t help you.” He explained to Ahsoka, his tone more gentle.

“I know Master, but you can’t protect me forever.” Ahsoka debated. Anakin smirked.

“I can try. Did you have fun?” He asked. Ahsoka immediately launched into an excited re-telling of the match. Play by play.

@wille-zarr I hope you like it!!

[tammbienn]

So what would happen after Han-Vader’s Best Friend-Solo ends up on the falcon? I could see Vader not even realizing han helped in the escape and being even more furious that ObiWans new apprentice stole the only imperial he tolerates.

What better maiden post to smash a wine bottle against as it sets sail for the great Tumblr blue than this! Thanks for the first ever ask on this blog!

I’m gonna answer this similar to how I would write notes in a WIP (it usually goes notes-first draft-refined draft-draft I share with beta readers if I have any-posted chapter):

Vader doesn’t realize Han has left until the initial chaos of the Falcon squad has died down. Would he have noticed Han getting half-led half-dragged by their resident prisoner Princess? Possibly, if Obi-Wan hadn’t been there. His presence both physically and in the Force (I always like to think that Obi-Wan was purposefully screaming I’M HERE in the Force, tugging on the threadbare remains of his former bond with Anakin, so that ALL of Vader’s attention would be on him whether Vader wants it to or not) It takes a fair amount of time, since searching to make sure there are none left on the something as big as the Death Star takes time and organization. Sure, a sliver of worry creeps into his head when Han doesn’t immediately answer his summons, but like with most emotions he shoves it down, saves it for later, let’s it fuel him to be extra pissed off if he finds any other rebels scurrying around like rats.

Once that’s done, they check the bodies. Usually, Imperial dead are quickly and cleanly disposed of, but Vader makes a point of checking every. Single. One. Just waiting for the moment when he discovers something else has been taken from him. Then he’s like ‘Wait, no. I don’t care about Solo that much. Nope’ but we all know otherwise.

I expect that the chance to check security feeds might have been swept under the rug since the Rebels attack like the very next day, but I’m sure there’s one or two officers that despise Han enough to be like ‘I saw him leave on PURPOSE.’ which is only partially true. Han never intended to leave. He was kinda just dragged into it. How Vader reacts to that? Or, even better, how he reacts if Sidious gets word of it first? ‘Capture him, but bring him to me alive’ and then he sends out the bounty hunters. Yay!

Meanwhile, bouncing to Han’s POV, he’s basically a prisoner and everyone else on the ship is deciding what to do with him. Luke is advocating for immediate shoving out of an airlock (I like Luke being more than little Mr. Naive Peaceful Farmboy. Let him get a bit of Anakin in him. Let him get mad); Leia is being surprisingly diplomatic about it (let her be Ms. Peaceful Princess for once, who shows that, oh yeah, she’s trained for this sort of things), saying that this Imperial helped her escape and they should at the very least take him back to the Rebels for interrogation. “Great,” says Han from where he’s cuffed on the couch. “Could I maybe just get the airlock?” Lando is just trying to stay out of it. Chewie is too, until he finally goes back there and is like “OH IT’S THAT IMPERIAL THAT SAVED ME ONE TIME” and is promptly on Team Leia regarding not immediately killing him.

Should probably mention that Han still has Ahsoka’s old lightsaber (that Darth Vader picked up at the end of TCW, and in this AU ended up giving to Han because it’s just fun symbolically. Also it let’s Han have a lightsaber) and has it promptly taken away from him. Haven’t decided whether Leia or Luke will take it yet, but one of them does.

The Rebels aren’t aware yet that Han is basically Vader’s right hand dude. Things are bound to get hairy once they do. Plus! Do Boba and Han have a history in this AU? Have they met before? Find out next time on Dragonball Z!

[kichimiangra]

To celebrate Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart... I rant about things I would have done differently with the Ratchet and Clank Movie (2016)

Ratchet and Clank fans who saw the movie give it a read and tell me what you think! This isn’t solid or well written, it is seriously just a long rant of “Then they do this! Then That!”

To be fair I am a huuuge Ratchet and Clank fan, I enjoyed the film, I know it's not good, and I'm not quite sure exactly what happened here? I don't know why they tried to do a star wars esque "Save the galaxy; I wanna be a hero!" story when the games would better be described as a "Buddy Road trip".  The relationship between the titular characters is non existent because the film instead decided it was more important to cram about 3 games worth of character development into Quark instead. I like the designs for the Galactic Rangers but other than that I hate them because I am 100% sure I know why they're there and they take even more screen time that should be spent on the titular duo. This is my list of demands if I had been someone who somehow got to demand how this movie got made: -First of all, and I hate myself for saying this... *Don't Hire James Arnold Taylor, David Kaye, and Jim Ward to reprise their roles as Ratchet, Clank, and Qwark respectively.* I love them, but I theorize it's their fault that the galactic rangers are even taking up space in this film. Lookit the movie poster! It list Paul Giamatti, John Goodman, Bella Thorne, and Rosario Daweson, before James and David. Jim Ward isn't mentioned in favor of Sylvestor Stallone. The whole point, (in my opinion) the Rangers were really a thing was to have a few more major characters.  John Goodman plays Grim and Sylvestor Stallone plays Von Ion. These parts are arguably smaller than Qwark or Nefarious... and I would say those two are more prominent that Clank!  But they try to get some names that will put butts in seats because UNFORTUNATELY people are stupid and many WILL go see a movie just because it has an actor they like in it. -Second... throw out the script.  Start over. *Buddy Road trip! * It's not hard.  You can't fit every planet into the film but you can fit enough for a road trip movie!  A few important ones? -Third... *CHARACTER RELATIONSHIPS AND MOTIVATIONS.* I'm gonna be a bit detailed here.  First of all, NO MORE GALACTIC RANGERS PLOT! IT GOES BYE BYE!  And screw Qwark let him go back to being a frgging mid point boss!  This movie is about RATCHET and CLANK!  And you Know what they're gonna do? SOME RATCHETING and some CLANKING! And they are going to GROW AND DEVELOP TOGETHER! ---So this:  Clank gets made, gets the info on Dreks deathstar plans (But maybe we don't know that yet? Maybe we can play it Vague? Maybe we don't have Clanks whole origin story yet? That's for later...) and escapes to Veldin.  This is where he meets Ratchet.  Ratchet is building a ship to try and leave Veldin because it's a bupkiss nowhere desert planet!  Where's he going? GLAD YOU ASKED!!! He wants to go to the Blackwater City hover board tournament on planet Rilgar in which the trophy is being handed out by his celebrity hero: Captain Qwark. Why? We don't know this just yet but Ratchet is a Lombax abandoned on Veldin.  He's never even seen another Lombax, there's not a lot of them in Solana. He didn't grow up alone, but longs to find his lost family.  He thinks maybe... if he wins that Tournament, which will be Broadcasted around the galaxy and get a sponsorship with Gadgetron, being the face of the Hoverboard branch of the company for like 2 years (LEIK IN DA GAYM!) , his family will see it and they can be reunited. (hahaha no...)  Too bad Ratchet can't get his ship working without a robotic ignition (LEIK IN DA GAYM!) Clank crash lands and befriends Ratchet. Clank needs a Hero (HE'S HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO TILL THE END OF THE NIGHT!) to stop Drek and Ratchet knows just the guy!  His idol Qwark! Who he is also going to meet! At the Hoverboard tourney! So they agree to go together, Clank being able to turn the ship on and Ratchet able to pilot it.  They hop planet to planet for the first act because crap isn't going to hit the fan until they meet Qwark. So buddy road trip for a bit they help people along the way!  For example Ratchet only starts with the Wrench, but when they crash land on Novalis they meet up with Cora, who is the Presidents body guard and help her save the president (LEIK IN DA GAYMS!) and is rewarded by meeting the Plumber who fixes their crashed ship. Plumber is grateful that the Prez is safe (Maybe they related?) and gifts Ratchet the Weapon ring claiming he used to work for Gadgettron inventing all sorts of doodads, but they wouldn't put some on the market so gifts them to Ratchet, warning that the Attack ring is a little glitchy so you might not get what you want from it? So basically season 1 Ben 10's Omnitrix. Just for fun. They hop to another few places with the major take away being Clank being all like "Ratchet I am super logical and freshly baby and the galaxy is more important than the Local stuff so we gotta hurry to find Qwark!" but Ratchet is like "Sorry Clank my OCD won't allow it and we got time to kill before the tournament!"  The main point of this is Clank learning feels and empathy quickly from Ratchet and also gets to see Ratchet being a hero even if SpaceRat won't admit it.  They eventually end up on Rilgar and Ratchet enters the tourney with his home made garbage hoverboard because we are skipping the whole Skid McMarxx thing for time sake.  So Ratchet enters the hoverboard tourney, we get a cool music montage, it looks like he's gonna win! He's in first! BAM! His hoverboard craps out on him and leaves him tumbling to the pavement.  Someone passes him, he desperately tries to pull himself up, he tries to run to the finishline, more people pass him, he's in last place, he stops running. He's given up.  He screwed it up for both of them.  Now Clank won't meet and give his message to Qwark, and Ratchet won't get the sponsorship from Gadgetron that could get his face out there for his family to find him. Clank tries to cheer him up, but can only do so much.  Ratchet feels useless and defective and maybe that's why his family abandoned him? Maybe it wasn't an accident, maybe he just sucked?  But Clank knows a thing or two about being defective... so he tries to comfort Ratchet, but is interrupted when someone from the tourney approaches them and says that Captain Qwark was super impressed by Ratchets boarding skills and decided he wants to meet them. Things are looking up for the duo, but like.. you and I know Drekk told Qwark to keep an eye out fro a Lombax that's been ruining his plans and if he get's his hands on him, kill him and take Clank (LEIK STARWARS... Wait...?).  Qwark blows up Ratchets ass this whole being a hero thing so Ratchet can be known throughout the galaxy and Ratchets like "BALLER!  YEAH!  Sign me up!" and then he betrays them, I'm foggy on this part I ain't a screen writer! BUT ANYWAY Qwark can't just be blowing up his potential fans... that looks bad, so he plays along the whole "Oh yes I am Hero Qwark What is it you need from me?"  Clank then reveals his origin story of being a warbot in Drekks factory and what Drekks plans are.  This is confirmation enough and Qwark betrays the duo rips something out of Clank, leaving him robot-unconscious.  Ratchet defends Clank from Qwarks betrayal, Is it the Blargian Snagglebeast? I don't know who cares? And when he's done uses a leftover part from his broken hoverboard to fix Clank.  They have a minor Buddy fight.  Not a long one.  We don't have time for a long one we're getting close to the end here! Maybe Ratchets mad that Clank is one of Drekks warbots? Was this a trap? Clank then goes further into his backstory explaining he's a defect.  He had one purpose: to find someone to stop Drekk and give him that thingy. But Qwark made off with it. Maybe it was a virus to kill switch the deplanetizer? Who cares it was for Obiwan Kenobi and Qwark stole it. Now Clank has no purpose.  Ratchet though tells Clank that people aren't made with purposes, they find purposes and make purposes and Clank almost feels better about that level of freedom. Ratchet and Clank bond over being full of suck and how there are no real heroes out there to stop Drekk and Clank suddenly realizes that all of the traits that make a hero are right there in Ratchet!  All this movie he's watched Ratchet do hero shit and help others even if it's in a "Goddammit we're gonna miss the tournament but I have to save the orphans goddammit!" way.  They both decide that they need to be the heroes they want to see and agree to go stop Drekk themselves.They go after Drekk and have a final confrontation with Qwark and Clank retrieves his Macguffin. Then they go stop Drekk.  Clank has learned empathy and humanity, and Ratchet has got a found family in Clank.

[prowlingthunder]

PT Watches Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Another Trip Into Star Wars: The Clone Wars S2

Episode 3: Oh. I forgot what had happened last. Ow. My heart. "The most force sensitive children in the republic," except the slaves, because you never check those, because if you did you'd have found Anakin in the first place I approve of Gungan cradle designs. Tiny gungan girl is awesome. "Subjects this age rarely survive the slave conditioning," what. No. "We'll be fine Cody, stay here and watch the ship." Windu has a Thing for that lightsaber. Wait. I thought he stole three kids. Why are they only rescuing two. Or, no, Naboo was the third child... I SAW KIT. KIT. HI.

Episode 4: Hello Padme, your hair is very purple today. How do people not know you two are a thing. For not knowing you two are married they sure do ask you to talk her into a lot of things. "You're constantly getting shot at--" "I've been trained for that!" She's from NABOO so has SHE. You two need marriage counseling. Also you need to like. Not tell your husband you're planning on having an affair with your former flame?? Seriously Padme. Oh my god Padme. Why. Anakin No. N. O. Anakin. Oh. Skeevy frog guy. "What if we were to poison Senator Amidala and we have the only antidote?" I feel like that is a bad plan. I ship Clovis/Padme/Anakin a little. Just a little. Anakin and Clovis would hate each other so much but it's for Padmeeee. Also Anakin it's not very Jedi like to leave a man to face certain death.

Episode 5: Is this a Geonosis mission. I think I've read fic about this mission. It always goes tits up. "No sir, I wasn't involved in the first assault on Geonosis." "Well, you didn't miss much. Last time I was chained to a pole and attacked by several humungous monsters." "...that sounds.. entertaining." This sounds like the start of a bad porno, is what it sounds like. ART ON THE TROOP CARRIERS. I LOVE. Tell me one contains Obiwan in drag. "Good luck general." "There is no such thing as luck." *long pointed look at Han* ...right. "Good thing those bugs can't aim." BOOM. Yeah I thought this whole tactical plan seemed very bad. You guys need to like, study the art of war. Who's your Sun Tzu? Sweet six it's FUBAR and they've not even started. CIRCLE THE WAGONS. Aww Boil and Waxer. The best of the bunch. Oh look. Forest of giant metal beams. Oh boy, using the lightsaber as a light. You know what you guys need? Archangel. I smell a SW/ME crossover somewhere. ...also this mission went tits up about five seconds in and it is so hard to watch. Oh Rex. I love you. ....oh. This is the throw Rex from the wall mission. I have a lot of salt about this choice of activities. "We're almost through! Bring in the flame throwers." I want you guys to go hang out on Chimera. SW/JoS crossover? What IS that creature on Mundi's troop carrier though. Looks like it's riding a surfboard...

Aaand that's all I've got time for tonight, alas. Sad. Until next time!

[angelsaxis]

I think what's important is that the Jedi are a religion--religions come with rules, and I'm not saying that you don't understand that they're a religion, but a lot of the people I've seen saying they're a cult of the most extreme detrimental variety seem to also not understand that it's literally impossible to have a religion or a distinct cultural group without some level of rules and regulations that bind, bond, and yes, sometimes kick out members that don't conform. This is applicable to all groups.

I'm by no means a Jedi defender--ultimately idc in general what people think of the Jedi--but I'm only bugged when people liken being a Jedi to detrimental cult behavior because, again, they have little to no experience with how the average religion works and their only understanding of cult behavior comes from other people likening anything religious with being bad.

I'm not saying YOU said that, just to clarify, but that's the origin of the post itself.

How would you define "excessive" meditation? Black and white thinking I haven't really seen, but also I'm no Jedi expert so I can't say for sure. Maybe some individual Jedi expressed it, but does the Order as a whole think that? In terms of rejected critical thinking, however that's defined--again, was that expressed by like most of the Jedi? Can you give examples?

Most....religions and cultures do not want people to engage in extreme hate and jealousy because those feelings quite literally eat people alive. Advising against letting hatred and jealousy and rage consume your heart doesn't seem like the makings of emotional control to me. I'm also still not sure how often the Jedi say "being angry and greedy makes you a sith lord" versus how much they say "these things, if not addressed properly, will lead to the Dark Side, as exemplified by literally every sith ever". Let's not forget that the Jedi are dealing with a massive power (the Force) that, combined with things like uncontrolled rage and greed, would arguably lead to ten times more destruction than the average person could do. With great power comes great responsibility and all that.

"(the only family and work they have ever known or had after the jedi stole them from their cradles and then forced them to only learn the way of the jedi so that they have little worldly experience or skills in navigating it and also have no family ties or friends outside to rely on)"

Jedi initiates aren't kidnapped, the Jedi ask the parents' permission and the parent gives them up, whihc we can see is different from the sith who literally kidnapped children in that one episode of TCW, and then the Bardottans in that other episode who do not like the Jedi--and the fact that the Jedi got the message and avoided that planet.

The use of "force" here is interesting because it's like saying kids from any religion are "forced" to only learn about that religion. Like....the point of being a Jedi teacher is to teach the next generation of children the ways of the Jedi? The Jedi clearly have other subcultures within their ranks; Barriss has a statue of a goddess in her room. Everyone's got the different cultural markings from their respective species. People have accents and are multilingual. They don't only know the ways of the Jedi, most of them have a decent amount of worldly experience and the vast majority of Jedi do have other skills, because we see how good Anakin, Obiwan, and Ahsoka are with ships, and we know that there's Jedi healers, and we know that there's the agricorp and other parts of the Jedi order specifically designed for people with different skills sets. There's teachers, trainers, whoever is taking care of the initiates that they did not kidnap--and I'm sure there's chefs and dancers and artists.

The Jedi make friends outside the Order--Obiwan is friends with the guy that runs the diner. We see Jedi with connections all over the place. And Jedi, from what we've seen, leave more than they're kicked out. Ahsoka was kicked out because she was accused of literal terrorism. Otherwise, afterwards she left on her own. Anakin clearly kept dancing with the dark side and wasn't even kicked out for that.

That line about Christianity (at least to me) is hardly even relevant because the Jedi are heavily based on Islam and Buddhism, not Christianity, which I guess is the source of my irritation with people claiming that they're a cult--it's literally, for hte most part, how some real-world religions operate. Move away from extreme emotions because they'll eat you alive and you'll do bad things. Pray a lot. Raise children in the same religion as you.

And regarding your weirdass tags:

#also the jedi arent real you dont have to protect them#obiwan isnt gonna fuck u for saying the jedi order isnt cultish#but i WILL tell u that sadly: it is#also i shd say im not like mad or anything i just think discussions of cults and how to identify them is interesting

I know they're not real, I'm not a ~Jedi defender~ and I'm literally a fucking lesbian what's the matter with you?

There's a disturbing number of y'all who think the Jedi are a cult because they don't embrace wanton exploration of the dark side

[inkognito97]

Vampire obiwan's parents are shocked that quigon is a vampire as well

Keith Kenobi definitely despised him, Qui-Gon had suspected that as soon as he had left the transport vehicle he and Obi-Wan had come with. There was a lot of jealously in the other man and he did not need to think long to know the why. Though he did not think the man had any right to feel this way. Keith and his wife Lohla had given away their son to the temple and therefore they had given away the privilege of raising him. This visit was just a short one and would most likely be the last one, until Obi-Wan reached knighthood and the parents just had to deal with that.

Qui-Gon knew that he was just a little unfair, but the way the older Kenobi looked at him… well, he was allowed to have feelings and certain thoughts too, even as a vampire.

“So, how long have you been my son’s Master?” Lohla seemed genuinely interested. Also did Qui-Gon not detect any hostility from her. She seemed to like or at least approve of him. That was certainly better than nothing.

She set the trail she had brought, with old and worn, yet also expensive looking tableware on the dark wooden table. The tea smelled sweet and somehow Qui-Gon doubted that it was to his taste. 

Qui-Gon stole a quick glance to his young charge, who was sitting in the living room on the brown carpet, right before the beige couch, entertaining his small brother with stories and by playing with him. It was a nice picture and Qui-Gon was happy for the bond his student had formed. 

“We have been together since he was three years old, it was when he started to show signs of being a vampire and he needed special care and attention then. The creché had wisely decided to hand him to me, they simply cannot spare the attention Obi-Wan would have needed, not with so many other Force sensitive children.”

“I can imagine that,” there was a dreamy smile on her face, when the older Jedi mentioned the children.

A huff escaped Keith. “Are there even other vampires in that Order of yours?”

Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow at that. Could the man not tell that he himself was one? “There are a few, yes.”

“They must have been quite weak and pathetic, if they decided to give Obi-Wan to you.”

“Keith!” Lohla was shocked at her husband’s rudeness. “Forgive my husband, Master Jedi.” She pleaded. 

Qui-Gon waved the insult away as if it were nothing. Actually, it WAS nothing. He knew of his own worth and that was enough. “No harm done.”

Keith had completely ignored his wife’s outburst, his red eyes were firmly fixed on the long haired Jedi, who returned the gaze calmly. A slight tuck at his bond told Qui-Gon, that his Padawan had caught the tension in the air, but he quickly sent reassurance back. That was a matter that needed to be dealt with by him and him alone. Obi-Wan would just get into the way. 

“Tell me Jedi,” the older Kenobi leaned on his elbows and also closer to the taller male. “what has my boy learned about being a vampire.”

At first, Qui-Gon had pushed the desire to lean back, away. It would have been seen as a sign of weakness on his part. But now that he had been asked a question, he could lean back in his chair under the pretense of thinking about his answer. Also, he crossed his arms over his chest and averted the other vampire’s red eyed glare by looking over his head at the white kitchen cabinets with flowers and other greenery painted on them. 

“The first thing my Padawan learned, was concealing his fangs, afterwards we moved to transformation. He is able to turn into a bat, though not for very long and he has a few… problems with turning into other animals, though we are still working and I am confident that he will overcome this hurdle too.”

Lohla’s eyes were glittering and the pride in her was palpable even without the Force. She was happy that her son had already learned so much and it showed. Keith on the other hand…

“And what has he learned that is actually of use?” he asked gruffly, not caring for any of the things the Jedi Master had just named.

Qui-Gon barely kept himself from stating his real opinion. He should have known from the way the younger vampire was moving and talking that he was one of those, who only thought with their fangs instead of their brains. Just his luck then.

“He knows how to hunt, kill and fight, if that is what you want to know,” the brown haired Jedi answered coldly, his eyes were hard. The female at the table shifted, she had noticed the change in the Master’s mood, while her husband seemed as oblivious as ever.

“Finally,” the ginger haired vampire said arrogantly, “and here I thought you were turning him into a tame leech or something.”

Lohla had eventually excused herself to look after her two sons. The two boys had moved out of their line of sight and she just wanted to make sure that everything was alright.

“Mindless killing is neither the Jedi way, nor the way for ANYONE to behave,” the long haired male said, his eyes fixed on Keith’s face.

The older Kenobi’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “I would watch out, what you are saying, human. You should keep your ugly nose out of business that you do not understand, because even your little lightsaber toy will not help you here. But I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that my son is not properly taken care of, not with incompetent beings like you, who cannot even teach him how to rip someone’s throat,” he growled deep in his throat. When he thought that he was impressing Qui-Gon in anyway, then he should be disappointed.

Meanwhile Lohla had returned, yet she stopped in the doorway, when she heard her husband’s threat. She was about to reprimand him and apologize to her son’s guardian once again, but said Jedi beat her too it. 

He leaned forward, his face only inches away from the other vampires. “I don’t need my lightsaber to beat you,” he replied calm and in a deep voice and he finally allowed his eyes to turn blood red as well.

Keith Kenobi flinched violently away, falling back with his chair, lying on the ground like a stranded whale. He was struggling to get up, surprise and sudden fear making him unfocused and therefore making him lose control of his body. Lohla Kenobi stood frozen where she was. She was openly gaping at the now standing Jedi Master, who was towering over her unfriendly husband. There were no emotions in his eyes and his posture was relaxed, yet something told him that one wrong move was enough, to make the man jump into actions. She knew Keith had no chance against him.

Qui-Gon let razor sharp and long teeth emerge from his gums and he openly bared them for Keith to see. “As I said, there is so much more to being a vampire and you would do good to remember that. Also, Obi-Wan is mine now, you gave him away all these years ago and as the Knights, who came and took him with him have surely said and explained, there NO taking him back.”

“But…” Keith stuttered, but he was interrupted.

“He. Is. My. Son. Now.” He emphasized every single word. “Deal with it.” Without another word, he strode past the only female in the house and walked into the living room, where his little bat boy was having fun with his brother. A gentle smile appeared on Qui-Gon’s features and he made his fangs and red eyes disappear again, before sitting himself next to the two boy. Immediately he found his lap full of two eager young souls, who were begging for a story that he was more than willing to provide.

[i-aim-to-overanalyze]

Fanfic writers meme: 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 13, 14, 17, 19, 20, 27, 39, 40, 42, 45, 46, and 50 (my question for #50 is: Your favourite character from any of your fandoms (pick one or several characters you like) is writing a fanfic STARRING YOU AS A CHARACTER. Regarding this fact, what kind of fanfic do you think he/she/they are writing about and how would you feel about you literally being in it?)

Thank you so much for sending in an ask! :D

3. Name three favorite writers.

Ahh, this is a toughie! I’m going to list three writers from different fandoms that I admire a lot.

A. Anappleofdiscord from fanfiction.net I’m pretty sure she doesn’t have a tumblr and even tho it’s been forever since I spoken with her personally, she is an awesome person and an awesome writer. She writes for the Hetalia fandom, focusing on gen stuff centering around England and America. If you know anything about the Hetalia fandom, it’s ridiculously rare to find platonic fics about these two and her fics are like the cream of the crop. Her characterizations are on point, her fics are educational and hilarious (and also a rollarcoaster of emotions) plus she pulls off OCs superbly. If you ever check out her fics, tell her that Listenerofshadows sent you ;)

B. Glimare from fanfiction.net I don’t know her personally, but I love her work in the DC fandom. Sadly, she’s since mostly moved on to other fandoms (which is great for her, if the feeling’s not there, don’t push yourself to write fanfic for certain fandoms) but she has a TON of content and it’s all so good. Her most-well known work is a collection of one-shots known as “Daddy, Not Bats”. It’s an AU where Bruce encounters the bat-kids at a younger age and decides to retire to raise them all. It’s sweet, fluffy and angsty all rolled into one.

C. @elfpen from AO3, Fanfiction.net and Tumblr.  I stumbled across her fanfic Reprise when looking for a good star wars time-travel fanfic to satisfy my needs and boy, DOES SHE DELIVER. Most time-travel fics center around the OT era or Obiwan and/or Anakin traveling to TPM, but hers focus on OT!Obiwan traveling back to the era BEFORE TPM. It’s a great fic, I love the characterizations and her OCs are on-point. Not to mention, she also has a lot of other awesome SW and HTTYD content. 

Putting everything else under the cut because this is gonna get long quick!

4. Name three authors that were influential to your work and why.

A. Anappleofdiscord, again. Because she has actually beta’d my work before and given me great writing advice. I haven’t finished Neverlast, nor barely touched on it, but I’m thankful for her influence she’s played on it.

B. It’s hard to pinpoint my inspiration for my writing, because it’s kinda an intuitive thing? Like, I’ll be writing and a phrase comes up and I’m like “I know I stole that phrase from some fanfic lol” but i don’t know which one??? But basically all the fanfic writers I love are legions above me and I admire them all. But I have to say, I’ve started writing more third-person present tense because of a few good fanfics (but I can’t pinpoint which ones) which it’s a rare tense for a novel to pursue but I love the rhythm of it.

6. How did writing change you?

I’ve been writing before I could even write. Basically as a little four-year-old, I’d make pictures and then dictate to my older sister/mom what the pictures were about, essentially creating a storybook out of it. Since writing has been part of my life for so long, it’s so innate to me like breathing air. I know there’s a lot I could improve on writing, but it’s just a freeing way for me to express myself in a clear and concise manner. In real life, I can be awkward in how I word things and I have a tendency to trip over words or don’t fully pronounce my th-s and s-es. Fanfiction is great because I can explore my favorite concepts of a fanfic in a medium that people can enjoy reading in :)

7. Early influences of your writing

Once I discovered reading was fun (I didn’t learn to read until 2nd grade but that’s okay, because once I did I was reading several grades above my level) I devoured books. Some of my favorite books as a child are: PJO, Chronicles of Narnia, Boxcar Children and Black Beauty. I also did some RPG’ing at a young age, which greatly improved my writing as the constant writing at a rapid pace forced my writing to improve exponentially. There were roleplayers that I admired greatly that I imitated because I wanted my writing to be as good as theirs.

10. how do you do your researches?

Google, man, Google. For example let’s say my fanfic is a historical AU. I know a lot about history, but I might look up a historical site to proofcheck my dates or phrases of the time. Fanfic is nice, because it gives you an excuse to rewatch your favorite show if you wanna make sure you nail the characterizations. I might just look at a fan wiki if it’s a minor detail like what’s Ahsoka’s smaller lightsaber called. 

13. Hardest character to write

Oohhh boy! I think everyone can agree that Yoda and Darth Vader are the two toughest SW characters to write for. It’s hard to get into the head of a 900 yr old troll and Vader is just…really hard? Palpatine is also hard not to make him the typical cookie-cutter villian (Which he is, but I’d like to try to give him some depth). I feel like I write a different take of Anakin every time I write a different AU involving him, but I think that’s because the AUs are at different points of his life and also the AU effects his reaction to things.

14. Easiest character to write.

I know it’s contradictory, but Anakin. He’s definitely chaotic good and it’s fun to write that archtype. I haven’t written much Obiwan (actually I have, but I can’t post it until I write the chapters bridging to him :/) but he’s more lawful good compared to Anakin and throwing those two into the same fic is fun to see. Padme is a fun one to write as well as Ahsoka.

17. Favorite AU to write

I have so many AUs so again, hard choice. Gotta say Impetus, since it’s the most I have written for and I love it. It deals more with the traumatizing effects that slavery/the Jedi have inflicted on Anakin plus an even more problematic Palpatine. I didn’t mean to recreate Palpatine in that fashion he’s basically a pedophile in this AU, the characters kinda just made it happen and I ran with it. It was supposed to be a humorous/fluffy what-if but like everything I touch, it’s also angsty ( ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)

19. Favorite fandom to write for

My favorite fandom to write for naturally changes with my interests. I was obsessed with YJ for a while, then Hetalia and now SW. Star Wars is fun to write for because there’s a big audience and it’s pretty easy to find a pocket audience who love the same types of things that you do. YJ will always be my first love. I’m currently writing a fanfic for a YJ fandom event, but I’ve been kinda struggling? I’ve lost my enthusiasm writing-wise even tho I still love it to bits.

20. Favorite Character to Write.

Anakin, probably. It’s funny because I used to never like the PT, but the Clone Wars changed all that. It’s a shame that Lucas went the direction he did for Anakin in PT because TCW uncovered a problematic but likeable hero and I wish we could’ve seen that live-action (It’s not Hayden’s fault btw, the director is the one responsible for what portrayal the actor gives)

27. Best review you ever got.

Okay, so. I used to share an account on FF.Net with a friend and I wrote of a lot of YJ fanfics. One of them was a gen one-shot involving Bart and Jaime that received a good amount of attention. AND A REALLY GOOD FANFIC AUTHOR THAT I ADMIRED AND LOOKED UP TO REVIEWED MY FIC AND I HAVE NEVER GOTTEN OVER IT. I never in a million years imagined that my favorite authors potentially read my fanfics, let alone review/favorite it.

39. Do you want to be published some day?

Kinda. As a kid I’ve always wanted to get published but now I’m not so sure. I’ve never finished any fics other than one-shots and that really has gotten to me. My current goal is to finish at least one of my fanfics but I think I’ve been putting it off because I’m afraid it’s impossible to acccomplish. It’s silly, I know. I just need to do it.

40. Which one of your stories do would you most like to see as a movie/series?

Hmmm….probably my one-shot involving those two bounty hunter OCs. I could just see them trying to survive the universe with the least amount of weird space stuff happening but they seem to get pulled into it anyway. Those two are actually the easiest OCs for me to write, btw.

42. Do you plan or do you write whatever comes to mind?

I’m a weird creature. In life, I like to know things ahead of time. I like things to run exactly the way I planned. I don’t like unexpected variables. but in writing…I rarely outline. I usually write whatever is on my mind. Pure inspiration is awesome…until it runs out and feels like you’re pulling teeth to just to write a single sentence. That’s when I attempt to outline things.

45. Share the synopsis of a story you haven’t published yet

“Whatis love? To a young child slave, it is the words his mother used to caress himafter a brutal beating by their master. It is wrapped in the kisses she givesto each bruise and lullabies that lull him to sleep.” A meta on Anakin’s varying views of love a crappy summary authored by moi

46. Share a scene of a story you haven’t published yet.

Welp. Might as well share from the above fic.

Whatis love? To a young child slave, it is the words his mother used to caress himafter a brutal beating by their master. It is wrapped in the kisses she givesto each bruise and lullabies that lull him to sleep.

Hismaster can freely touch every part of him he wishes. He can say words to him—hecan do anything he like to him.

Hecan say things like, “You know I love you, boy?” and the slave obedientlyanswers, “Yes, master.”

He’sso very young, but he knows that his master’s words and touch are not love.Only his mother’s is. He doesn’t know how to describe it. But he can feel thewarmth behind them, like hovering over a fire on a cold desert night. They arelike a thick blanket made of bantha furs, soft and comforting. They melt awayhis tears and fill his lungs with laughter.

Everyday, his mother tells him “I love you Ani.” and Ani, the slave boy, freelyreplies, “I love you too, Mom!”

Hefollows by her example, smothering her with hugs and tells her silly stories tohear her laughter that rings like the bells at the market stands. Because heknows love is the best medicine to heal anyone. It makes them feel fuzzy insideand they don’t feel so sad knowing someone cares about them.

Hismom gets sad a lot, so he does his best to repel the sadness away. He doesn’tget angry when she’s sad, because she isn’t angry when he’s sad.

“It’sokay to be sad,” She tells him one night as she runs her hands through hishair, “Everyone gets sad, just like how everyone gets angry or happy.”

“Mastersdon’t like it when we’re angry though.” Anakin pouted.

Shepauses; looking down at her son with a sad smile, “No matter what they say,you’re allowed to feel angry, Ani. Bundle it up, and keep it to yourself—andrelease it when they aren’t looking.”

“Areyou ever angry, mom?” He yawned as he snuggled closer.

“Yes.”His mother breathed deeply, and he could feel a bit of her anger—for aninstant.

It ishot—not warm like Love’s fire. No, it burns and consumes him for a moment. Itreminds him of all the bruises and welts that his masters have given him. Angeris selfish and doesn’t love. He doesn’t like seeing the giver of his Love feelthis way. He internally sighs in relief when her anger melts away as he told atale about a funny customer that came in that day.

Hehas never truly felt anger. He flinches from its’ touch and refuses to feel theemotion that his masters are fond of.

50. Your favourite character from any of your fandoms (pick one or several characters you like) is writing a fanfic STARRING YOU AS A CHARACTER. Regarding this fact, what kind of fanfic do you think he/she/they are writing about and how would you feel about you literally being in it?)

I feel like everyone relates when I say I don’t think my life is interesting. I’d pick Cassie from YJ because I feel like she’d be the type to write fanfic. I will say one ironic moment in my life is that I starred in a play as a shy bookworm girl who got the lead role in her school play alongside her crush, the star basketball player, incidentally they ended up together in the end. Everyone irl teased me about this but the truth is….I actually had a crush on the actor himself. We’ve known each other for years and are good friends. And the closest I ever gotten to “kissing” him was a moment in the play where our characters almost kissed before being interrupted by other students. But of course nothing real came of the play and we still remain good friends.  I always note in my head that the hollywood version is that we…would’ve hooked up in the end. I’m sure if I was a fictional character and Cassie shipped me with him and we didn’t get together in the end, she’d be writing a fix-it fic where our pairing is the true pairing in the end. If i wasn’t fictional, I’d feel really weirded out by it. I don’t like fic involving real people in it, especially if it involves ships. I’m almost 90% sure this guy doesn’t have a crush on me and just regards as friends. Which is okay, because I’m not sure if I even want a relationship at the moment.

[nickberger]

A Star Wars Primer

This is an email I wrote to my 73 year-old mother in-law who borrowed all my Star Wars movies because she felt like she was missing out on a cultural phenomena, and she wanted to understand what it’s all about. (I LOVE my mother in-law!)

Hi Susie.

I was thinking about you watching Star Wars to understand the story, and I wish I could be there to explain some things to make it easier to understand from the beginning. The whole plot gets revealed over time, but without spoiling anything, I want to give you this intro.

First, the political climate:

In this galaxy "a long time ago... far far away", there is the Empire and the Rebellion. Originally, there was a galactic senate with representatives from all over the galaxy. Then, during a crisis, Senator Palpatine was given emergency power and he never ceded it. Senator Palpatine goes on to become Emperor Palpatine, and the senate gives way to what becomes the Empire. Darth Vader is essentially the leader of the Empire, with Emperor Palpatine calling all the shots from behind the scenes. 

The Rebellion is the organized resistance against the Empire and it's authoritarian rule over the galaxy. Princess Leah is a major leader of the Rebellion. The first scene of Star Wars (episode IV) shows Darth Vader and his soldiers (storm troopers) boarding a ship. They are looking for stolen plans for a moon-like military base they are building, called the Death Star. The rebels stole these plans and got them to Princess Leah, who is hiding them in R2D2, her personal droid. Nobody but Princess Leah knows where the plans were hidden. R2D2 is given the mission to deliver the plans to Obiwan Kenobe (one of the last living Jedi), who will help the rebellion bring down the Empire by destroying the Death Star.

There's also the spiritual background of the whole story:

Behind the story of good and evil is The Force. The Force is an energy field that surrounds and penetrates everything in the universe. It has a light side and a dark side. Each side has it's own school of mystics who can manipulate The Force for its own will. Students of the light side are the Jedi, represented by Obiwan Kenobe and Luke Skywalker. Students of the dark side are the Sith, represented by the Emperor and Darth Vader. The Jedi and Sith are imbued with clairvoyance and a ninja-like ability to fight with their unique weapon: the light saber.

The Star Wars saga has strong mythical themes: the hero's journey, light vs. dark, family ties, masters and apprentices, a chosen one, initiation and rebirth, annihilation, and more. 

This is basically what you need to know to appreciate the story of Star Wars. If you can follow these themes through all the different scenes and characters of the movies, you will appreciate what a masterful piece of storytelling it is. I hope you enjoy this saga as much as I do.

Love,

-Nick-

[inkognito97]

Quigon grows plants and basically a rapunzel au only obiwan is rspunzel and quigon is a frumpy old warlock who lets obiwan out of the tower and satine is the woman who decides to marry obiwan.

He had seen the boy quite a few times, sitting on the windowsill of his tower. Qui-Gon had often wondered how the boy had gotten there, but upon taking a closer look, he had detected foul magic. Now, he was not one to fear foul magic, as a warlock he had fought against many dark magic users, but he preferred keeping out of other’s businesses. For one, he did not now WHY the boy was in the tower to begin with. He could be ill for all Qui-Gon knew, or he could be a thief, caught in an ancient trap. This is why he had turned his back to the tower and the boy and returned to his small hut in the middle of the forest, with the new plant that he had discovered. 

Still, something kept bringing him to the tower, day after day, week after week, month after month and year after year. He could watch how the boy grew, saw the braid that he sported behind his right ear growing. It was quite curious that the young male kept his hair relatively short, except the small tail at the back of his head and of course the braid that came to his waist. Something told the long haired warlock that it was even longer, but due to the style it had been braided in, it appeared way smaller. Despite all, Qui-Gon kept watching from a safe distance. The young ginger haired man did not seem to lack of anything, he looked healthy, perhaps a little bit too thin, but all in all like a healthy lad. So, who kept visiting him and bringing him food? Sometimes there was that blonde girl, who came to the tower, but she never entered it. She would talk to the male, she would sit down on the grass and talk to him and then she would take her leave again for an uncertain amount of time. If Qui-Gon did not know better, he would say that the lass was head over heels in love with the mysterious man in the tower. He shook his head at the foolishness of the young, but decided it might be better not to comment on it. He too had been young once… for quite some time.

Qui-Gon could not help but wonder. There was something about the boy that highly interested him, especially since the day, when he had spotted the younger male saving a small bird that would have fallen out of its nest right over the window. A few weeks later, the same bird had been returned to its freedom, but it came back and sometimes the warlock saw it bringing little things to its human friend. When he spotted one of his own latest projects in the bird’s peak however, he was not amused. 

It was a beautiful little flower, or at least it had been, before the red petals with the golden edge had started to wield. No matter what he had done, it would not get healthy again. But despite having given up hope for the small plant, he did not like when someone, or in this case a insolent blue bird, stole his property. This was the reason why, for the first time in years, he stepped out behind the trees he had been hiding behind and walked towards the tower. Upon getting closer, he could feel the dark magic more and more and he was also able to make out, what the ginger haired man was saying.

“Where have you found this, Anakin?” his voice was slightly accented, hinting at a noble family. Also, the bearded warlock with the beige tunics and the dark brown robes figured, that the bird’S name must have been Anakin. “Don’t tell me, you have stolen it.”

The bird chirped in response.

“You know that its wrong,” he sounded scolding. “Its owner will certainly be sad.”

Again, a few high pitched noises escaped the blue bird. 

“That is mean Anakin, of course someone will miss it, despite the number of plants and flowers he has… even though… you ARE right, it DOES look ill. Let’s see what we can do about it.”

Qui-Gon was frozen in place. Not only had the other male actually TALKED with the animal, but now he could feel the other’s bright energy and it was transferred into the small plant in his hands. After the magic had lessened and after the young man had opened his hands again, the warlock could see that the flower had regained her natural beauty.

“Now take this,” he handed the blue bird the flower, “and bring it back to where you found it.” The animal nodded and took off again, not noticing the bearded male with the brown hair that was starting to turn grey, who followed its movements with narrowed eyes.

A huff escaped Qui-Gon and then he turned back towards the boy only to flinch back, when his own eyes met with curious blue-green ones. The ginger haired man tilted his head and regarded him with unguided features.

Qui-Gon knew, he shouldn’t. His old teacher would most likely have his head for that, because whoever was the owner of this tower, wanted to keep the man away from the outside world. Yet the warlock could not help himself. He reached for the magic that came easily to his call and warmed his whole body like an old friend or perhaps even like an old lover. A moment later, the ground began to shake. The boy looked scared and in wonder down at the ground and clutched the frame of the window so that he would not fall, it would be deadly and he seemed to know this.

Qui-Gon pointed with his hand to the ground and only a second later, a stalk began to grow and the warlock quickly stepped onto one of its giant leaves, while it grew and grew, higher and higher, until it had reached the height of the tower.

The ginger haired man was gaping at the warlock in shock and perhaps even fear. Qui-Gon noticed that he was clad in poor looking cloths and he was wearing no shoes. 

“Who are you?” whispered the tower’s resident, who actually seemed to live here. The room behind him, had a circular form and there was a kitchen, a detached space that might have been the bath and some sort of podium where the bed was. The walls Qui-Gon could see were painted on and the pictures and images looked as if they were alive.

“My name is Qui-Gon Jinn, I am the king’s personal warlock.” He introduced himself. It was not the whole truth, he did not belong to the king, actually, he only had business with the man, when there was war or matter of magic were concerned. 

“A warlock?” that seemed to have caught the ginger haired man’s interest and he stepped forward again, closer to the window, from which he had previously fled upon seeing the approaching stranger. Then he blinked, his blue-green eyes that seemed to change color depending on the light, widened. “But where are my manners, I have not even introduced myself yet. My name is Obi-Wan.”

The long haired man with the beard gazed upon the younger male in shock. Could it be? His king once had a son called Obi-Wan, but he had vanished years ago, without a sign. 

“And what are you doing in this tower, young one?”

“I… My… my guardian says that the outside world is dangerous and that I am not to leave the tower. He said there are people out there, who are out to get me.” He hesitated and took a step away from his visitor again. “Are you one of those evil man?”

“What? Of course not. Were I evil, then I would not hold this conversation, I would simply have taken or killed you.” He shook his head. “But tell me boy, what makes you so valuable?” He was genuinely interested.

Freckled cheeks reddened and Obi-Wan suddenly looked uncomfortable. “Because of my braid…” he mumbled, almost inaudible.

“Your braid?” He was perplexed by the answer.

The pale face reddened even more, Qui-Gon would not have thought it possible. “My guardian says it has… healing powers.” He suddenly looked unsure and afraid and the warlock realized that he was afraid of him.

“There is no need to be scared of me, lad. I have my own healing abilities, I don’t need yours.” Though he suspected that there was something else behind those so called ‘healing powers’. He did not doubt the man’s words, the lad was clearly speaking the truth, but something told him that this was more than it seemed.

“How long have you been… trapped in this tower?” he continued with his questions.

“As long as I can remember.”

A thoughtful hum escaped the bearded warlock and he leaned against the stalk behind his back, his midnight blue eyes resting on the tower’s resident.

“Tell me just one more thing Obi-Wan, would you like for me to show you the world?” He was certain that the man would say yes. There was this longing in his eyes, that natural curiosity. It was clear that he wanted to get out of his prison.

“I would like to, but…” he trailed off.

“You do not need to be afraid, I will be at your side. I will protect you.” Another natural reaction. Humans tend to fear what they don’t know and this young man had never gotten to know anything except his tower, its near surroundings and the blond female that visited him sometimes. And perhaps what the little bird called Anakin told him.

“Do you promise?” his hands were resting on the wooden windowsill.

“I do not only promise, I swear it upon my honor and my life. A warlock never breaks his words lad.” 

“Then I would gladly come with you.”

in the privacy of his mind, Qui-Gon applauded himself. This might prove to be certainly interesting. Being near Obi-Wan might give him the opportunity to study the matter with his braid, the magic the man obviously possessed and perhaps he had even found the king’s lost son. The last would remain a secret however, until they could reach the castle. 

“Obi-Wan, Obi-Wan…” chirped an excited voice and a moment later, the blue bird appeared in Qui-Gon’s line of vision. The warlock had said a spell so that he might understand the animal as well.

“So, YOU are the little thief, who keeps stealing my plants,” he growled, watching how the bird fluttered with his wings, before hiding behind the ginger haired man’s head.

Blue-green eyes widened. “The flower belonged to you?”

Qui-Gon nodded, while he helped Obi-Wan onto the leave he was standing on. Anakin the bird was keeping a safe distance away form him. “Though I guess I have to thank you for taking care of it.”

A shy smile appeared on freckled features and Obi-Wan unconsciously took a step closer towards the warlock, when the rank began to lower. He was still holding onto the bearded male’s hand, though the warlock was not particularly fond of physical contact. He allowed it nevertheless, even if it was just for the lad’s comfort.

“Where will we go?” fear had found it way into the small voice.

“To my hut at first. I need to make a few preparations, before we can travel… and I want to see what your winged friend did to the flower.” He shot a look at the bird and then, FINALLY, let go of the younger male’s hand, who obediently trotted after him like a lost duckling. It was almost comical. Though he kept looking around in a mixture of wonder and fear.

“Travel… can we… can we travel to the lights?”

For a moment Qui-Gon had to think about what his mysterious companion was referring to. Then he remembered the annual kite festival. Every year at the birthday of the lost prince, the whole kingdom would sent kites into the sky and when the day was over and the night had appeared, the kites would be ignited. It was meant to be the guiding light for the lost prince, it was supposed to show him his way home. 

“If you wish so,” he barely noticed the joy in blue-green eyes while ducking under low branches of an old oak. 

Also, Qui-Gon had completely forgotten about the owner of the tower, the guardian his new charge had mentioned. He had forgotten about the dark magic and about the evil that would not be happy about the theft of the ginger haired man…