#jeckie can do better

[fen-luciel]

The mistakes of a Acolyte

4

Chapters

Summary: You are pregnant with Qimir's child and the universe is not big enough to hide you from him.

There was an embarrassed silence for a few minutes before Sol decided to clear his throat.

"I understand the fear, but this time we'll be more prepared, we won't let him even touch you" I looked at him unsure, I didn't know what was worse, if I brought them there and he was there... even hiding my belly, being seen with the Jedi would be a death sentence, or he could speak out of turn and get me arrested while he escaped, the possibilities were endless and each worse than the other.

"Excuse me, I need... to wash my face" my hands trembled as I tried to get up, Yord beside me stood up worried before offering me a hand which I quickly took, with a nod he pointed me to the bathroom and I hurried there.

The door opened automatically and I rushed inside, closing the door behind me, the sterile light illuminating the small room burned my eyes.

When I rubbed them, I realized the problem, unshed tears filled my lashes, the burning sensation I was starting to feel was the familiar one of crying.

I turned off the light and turned on the smaller, dimmer one above the mirror, in the dark I took a few deep breaths, hands resting on the rectangular sink before placing one on my belly and gently rubbing it.

The dark atmosphere calmed my nerves and fortunately, I managed to hold back the tears, turning on the water I washed my face with my still trembling hands, my shadowed reflection in the mirror was terrible, like the night before, it was written on all my features how bad I felt, the almost sickly purple bags under my eyes, the reddened irises, a disaster that seemed only to worsen.

As I took more breaths, I realized there was talking in the background happening a few meters from me, I could hear them discussing even with the door closed, especially Yord who seemed to have a particularly loud tone.

I pressed my ear to the door to better understand what they were talking about.

"I'm just saying we could try another way" the rhythmic sound I heard was probably his nervous footsteps, I could imagine him pacing back and forth nervously. "I don't like doing this either, but it's our best way," Jecki replied calmly. "We can get an approximate direction and go—" "With the risk of being discovered?" Sol interrupted her.

"And if he's really there? Maybe waiting for us. He'll assume we've rummaged through his things and found his partner" Jecki speculated. "Ex-partner" Yord immediately intervened afterward.

There was a few seconds of silence, I could imagine them looking at each other grimly. "He could be waiting for us with traps, or see us coming and escape while we search for the way, in the best-case scenario he'll be there to retrieve the last things before disappearing, we must seize the opportunity while it's available. He was injured the last time we clashed but I doubt it will slow him down, we must keep up" more muffled sounds followed, and some words I didn't quite catch as they continued to speak in a more controlled tone.

"We should at least give her time to process and understand if she wants to—" Yord's tone was irritated, you could hear it a mile away, but again Jecki intervened. "We must act now. We can help calm her nerves, but we need her and now."

I pressed my forehead against the metal door, weakly rubbing my eyes, I took a deep breath.

I had to think clearly, now more than ever I was caught between two fires ready to explode in my face, what was happening to me? What was I doing? How many times had I already said the wrong thing without even realizing it?

Was this farce I was carrying on the problem?

Had I become too weak?

Had these months of calm made me more docile or was it just me wanting to be? After all, it had already happened many years before.

Sure.

It had already happened.

When everything around you is a lie, you adapt to it, believe you are part of it, accept it, and carry on that fairytale.

I was doing it again, I had adapted to that desire that had started growing in my chest.

To be a normal person, a mother, a civilian like everyone else.

But I had never been that.

I had never been a victim.

Even what Qimir did to me. I let him do it, because deep down, it was what I wanted.

To feel loved regardless of the consequences, of how it would present itself and how I would live it.

I knew what I had to do.

I left the bathroom after washing my face again.

Immediately everyone turned to me, so I gave an encouraging smile. "Sorry, I needed a moment to think. I'll do it... I just ask that you keep me informed of the plan, if something goes wrong I want to understand it. Especially to escape the danger if it arises" I announced with a deep breath.

The reactions I received were different, it was obvious that Yord was not happy about it, Jecki nodded impassively, but Sol was clearly happy with my choice.

"Certainly, we'll organize the plan this afternoon and let you know when we've decided" Sol replied. I nodded before taking a few steps forward. "If it's not a problem, I'd like to go home, especially if we have to leave early, maybe put some clothes in a bag, or retrieve my old blaster." The three nodded. "If all goes well, you'll be away from home for a maximum of one day, but it's right to prevent, thank you again" Sol replied with a slight bow that I returned.

"Wait, I'll accompany you" Yord offered me an arm which I took with a smile. "Thank you"

We left the ship at a slower pace, the city was fully awake by now, the streets were full of busy civilians, but they seemed to easily step aside as we passed, whether to help a pregnant woman or for fear of the Jedi I couldn't tell.

"You're not obligated if you don't want to" Yord suddenly said, I looked at him with a small smile on my lips, he was deliberately avoiding my gaze, walking with a rigid posture, eyes fixed ahead of him.

"It's okay Yord. I want to end this story. Maybe for real this time" the only response I received was a snort from his nose, it was a rather amusing reaction despite everything, although I didn't understand the reason, sure Sol and Jecki were also worried, but he seemed on another planet.

"How sweet, you're worried" I intoned teasingly as I slightly squeezed his arm, the muscle contracting under my fingers.

"Of course I am. We are putting a pregnant woman in danger, I know you're not inexperienced, but we're Jedi, we should protect you, not ask you to be on the front line" I exhaled a snort of amusement. "Well, I have my Jedi knight to protect me, don't I?" I gave him a playful smile, but I could clearly see a slight dark blush on his cheeks.

When we reached my building he accompanied me to the door of my apartment where I let go of his arm.

"See you then?" he nodded before crossing his hands behind his back in a rigid posture. "We'll contact you as soon as we're organized, I'd tell you to bring something you need so maybe prepare a bag, but I don't think we'll contact you before evening. So rest" rummaging in his pockets he handed me a small comlink which I put in my pocket.

"See you later"

I closed the door behind me, the comlink left on the kitchen table as I quickly headed to the bedroom.

I had to do things right if I wanted to get out clean, to kriff with the Jedi, Qimir, and this shitty life I had tried to get into, peace had never existed, all the notions that had been taught to me were dictated by hypocrisy, but I had come out of it and I would come out of it this time too.

Rummaging through the closet, I took a loose shirt to put on, took off my shoes for comfort, and quickly tied my hair in a messy bun on my head.

Sure, if he didn't answer... but at that point, I didn't care, I would make another plan and another until I freed myself from the problem.

I sat cross-legged in the middle of the bed, the shutters were still down leaving the room dimly lit, I took deep breaths before closing my eyes, hands resting on my legs.

Over the years Qimir and I had developed a direct bond in the force, which had helped us on many occasions, the more time passed the easier it was for us to use it and outside it was almost impossible to perceive us. In recent months Qimir had repeatedly tried to call me through the force, I had closed the bond as soon as I escaped into hyperspace, the first days were a nightmare, he tried to contact me in every way, dozens of times a day, forcefully. It was obvious he was furious, he immediately realized something was wrong, he was more the type to disappear without saying anything, I wasn't. I would have warned him, I would have told him what I had to do, when I would return, anything, I was paranoid by nature and Qimir was a companion, so it seemed logical to tell him everything.

Even when I had to keep a low profile, I found a way to warn him of the problem, that day 5 months earlier, however, was particularly calm, we weren't doing anything special, so when I took my things and left it took him less than 12 hours to realize something was wrong.

The first calls were calm but insistent, when he realized I didn't intend to answer him, he got furious.

It was absurd how, despite being equals, his presence made me uncomfortable. It was a change I hadn't perceived. It took me five months to realize that what was happening was wrong.

And now I had to reactivate the bond.

And talk to him.

The last time he thought it was a dream, and he still managed to hurt me. I couldn't let him terrify me.

I tried several times, taking deep breaths, trying to reach him through the Force, but between the back pain and the nerves, I could barely concentrate.

I needed to relax, to find his familiar signature.

I lay on my side and closed my eyes again. I had to find Qimir, I had to remember his presence. The night before, we had connected in a dream, more out of visceral instinct, probably. I had emptied my mind of him, had forced myself to forget him, but the arrival of the Jedi had awakened everything, and it would have been hypocritical to deny the truth.

I was worried about him.

Where he was, if he was hurt, if he felt lonely... because of me.

My heart tightened in my chest. A tear rolled down my cheek, but I wiped it away with my sleeve. I hugged one of the pillows to my chest, seeking comfort, rubbing my face against the soft fabric.

The truth was that I missed Qimir terribly.

No matter how much I lied to myself, there was a void in my heart that only he had filled. He would have been so happy to know about this child, would have been by my side, worried about my well-being, massaging my back, and cooking my favorite dishes every day.

I loved him.

And he loved me.

But... the dark side of him wasn't just due to what he had gone through. There was something more visceral, possessive, violent... something that he took out on me.

I thought we were on the same page, that we were equals. But he didn't see it the same way.

I tried again, my arms tightening around the pillow. I tried to imagine him there with me, his delicate yet strong scent, reminiscent of a rain-soaked forest, the warmth of his body, the defined muscles, the numerous scars felt under my fingertips, his soft lips on my forehead... and it was then that I felt him.

It was like seeing a house with an open door from afar. He hadn't noticed that I was searching for him, trying to reach him, but he had left the door open, waiting for me.

And that's how I reached him. The darkness behind my closed eyes was soon illuminated by a cold blue light. I rubbed my eyes from the discomfort before realizing I had made it. My physical form had projected through the Force near Qimir.

I immediately recognized the place, the one I had hinted at to the Jedi. I immediately knew I was right. He had returned here, perhaps for the map, perhaps just to hide.

Looking quickly around, I noticed nothing different from usual. In fact, nothing seemed to have changed at all. It was an old stone room we had turned into our bedroom, although at first glance, it looked more like a storage room. Scrolls, books, devices of all kinds were placed in every corner, on the floor, under or on top of furniture. The windows, usually covered with rudimentary curtains we had hung, were now open, showing the night sky outside.

Walking towards the back of the room, I noticed a backpack carelessly placed on the floor, his clothes haphazardly thrown nearby, and then I spotted some bloodstains but ignored them. I knew who he had fought with, and I remembered Sol and Yord talking about an injury.

And finally, there he was, lying on an old double mattress against the wall at the back, pillows and blankets messily strewn on top, surrounding his sleeping body. A small bandage wrapped around his arm, but apart from that, he seemed fine. He had his back to me, sleeping deeply, his hair tousled on the pillow. I wanted to approach him while he was still asleep, to watch him while he was still peaceful, but I couldn't risk it.

So I did what I had come for.

I approached the small table next to the bed where he kept a flask of some foul-smelling drink and began to hit the metal surface with an open hand, once, twice, three times until Qimir woke up, pulled the lightsaber to him, and ignited it in my direction, terribly confused even as he tried to stand.

"I leave you alone for a few months, and this is the result?" I started, approaching the bed with a flat tone.

I had to be confident. I had dressed specifically to hide the curves of my pregnancy. If I showed any hesitation, he would realize I was hiding much more than I was letting on.

The surprise on his face was almost endearing, his eyes wide and still a bit clouded by alcohol. It took him a few seconds of silence to fully register what was happening.

"Sabrina..." he began to get up from the bed, but I stopped him with a gesture of my hand.

"Let's skip the pleasantries. You're in deep shit" He slowly sat back down on the mattress before deactivating the lightsaber, suspicion clear in his gaze.

"What are you doing here? You disappear for months and then come back to do what exactly?" There was acidity in his tone. This wasn't the dream he thought he was having. He didn't know I was really pregnant, and he didn't see me crying or sad. This probably wasn't the kind of reunion he hoped for. It was just me, waking him rudely and treating him with indifference.

"I've come to warn you. The Jedi know where you're hiding and will be here soon" The surprise and then the confusion were clear in his features. He opened his mouth to speak, but I didn't let him start. "The idiot you were dragging along talked, but I guess you suspected that already. They found... our photo" I added the last part with a frustrated sigh.

"Wait, they found you? Were you captured?" He jumped up, reaching out a hand toward me, but I stepped back a few paces.

"No. I convinced them I was an unaware colleague of yours. But they knew too much, and I had to say some things"

The more details I added, the more confused he seemed. He tilted his head in that cute way I often teased him about, and I held back a smile. It wasn't the right time.

"I'll have to bring them here. We'll probably arrive in less than two days, maybe even sooner. So pack the most important things and hide them on the ship, especially all the Sith artifacts. I don't want those dogs touching or, worse, destroying everything we've recovered..." Without realizing it, I started pacing back and forth in front of him, lost in my thoughts. It was true that many of the things were scattered across the various hideouts we had, but what we wanted to study and analyze, we kept within reach.

Needless to say, between things to do, other... hobbies, and the undeniable laziness of both of us, a lot of things had accumulated here too.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when Qimir suddenly grabbed my wrist. I turned quickly, my heart pounding in my chest, mentally cursing myself for letting my guard down so easily. I shouldn't have let him get too close. Yet in his gaze, I read none of the emotions that made my knees tremble. He looked at me with an unreadable expression.

"Are you okay? How did you reach me without getting caught?" I exhaled deeply before yanking my wrist away from his warm hand. I was sure he noticed my accelerated heartbeat, but it wasn't unusual given the situation we were in.

"Yes. I'm... in a hotel I rented. They left me alone to decide a plan. I hoped to contact you after knowing it, but I doubt I'll have time. We need to think carefully about what to do next." I cleared my throat before sighing. "If you just want to leave before they arrive, I understand. But make sure not to leave any traces. I told that Jedi about our map. If they don't find it, you'll have time to hide and heal," I continued, nodding towards his arm. He shrugged in response, making an irritated grimace. "I'm fine. It's nothing."

"And you? They know about us now. Do you really think they'll let you go?" he continued. I gave him a half-arrogant smile. "I was very convincing in my story. They think I'm just a former colleague and lover. They actually want to protect me from you" I said mockingly, but instead of smiling as I hoped, he lost every ounce of lightness he had. The rigid posture of his back and the darkening gaze made my toes numb from how tightly I was keeping them to avoid stepping back.

"A hotel? Is that what you've been doing for five months? Wandering the galaxy doing what? You left without telling me anything, cutting me off from the bond, and now you reappear, warning me about the Jedi" he began to slowly step towards me with a gloomy look. The anxiety gnawed at my stomach, but I had to keep the façade.

Attack was the best defense, after all.

"And you? I leave for a while, and you find an acolyte, get caught by the Order, and then what?" He stopped mid-step, fists clenched at his sides. I could see how tightly he was keeping his arms contracted. It was obvious he was furious, but my words had hit him at least a little.

"I was looking for you. But I didn't want to let the Jedi go. At one point, I even thought they had taken you, that you had run away to keep me safe... but it seems I was wrong" the last sentence was almost growled, as I raised my arm towards him and instinctively grabbed his wrist, pulling him towards me. With my other hand, I grasped the t-shirt he used for sleeping, forcing him to bend down to my eye level.

The unexpected movement left him silent as he looked back at me, confused.

"I feel like I've always been honest with you all these years. I've always told you everything. I've included you in my personal and non-personal life. For once when I needed my own space, you're angry? And how should I feel?" Both of us were short of breath, our gazes hard, too many things left unsaid, or at least, I was hiding everything from him and continued to lie to his face, since we were friends, an unspoken rule was that I was always honest with him, not because he asked me or some code imposed it on me, but because if there was something my past experiences had taught me, keeping secrets only led to disasters.

But this was different. I had to lie.

I pushed him away from me and he didn't resist. "I'm trying to help you in case you hadn't noticed."

Qimir snorted before crossing his arms over his chest. The muscles in his arms bulged with the movement. Had he become even bigger while I was away? I mentally pinched myself at the thought. It was really the wrong time to fantasize about those arms.

"I have no intention of leaving you alone with the Jedi. Maybe you've tricked them for now, but it's obvious they won't let this go so easily. If they decide to report this to the higher-ups, sooner or later someone will recognize you. And you don't know when or how. I'm staying. And I'm taking you with me," I swore I heard his voice grow huskier towards the end, but I ignored the shiver down my spine and cleared my throat.

"I know. But we have to keep up this facade until the end. At least as an emergency plan"

The silence that followed was tense, almost suffocating. I rubbed my eyes tiredly, and swore I saw him lean towards me for a second before dropping his hands to his hips again, probably bitter and disheartened by how this conversation was going.

"I could pretend to kidnap you" he hypothesized. "You said you're playing the victim, right? Tell me what you told them and maybe I could-"

"No. We want them to leave us alone, not to pursue us more aggressively" it was obvious things would only get worse if we pretended a kidnapping. They were bringing me there, pregnant, by that time they would have felt responsible and there would have been chances that they would call the council. "We have to make sure you slip from under their noses. They mustn't realize you knew about their arrival. But... you could hurt me" an idea finally flashed through my mind. "Of course, they don't know about my Force abilities, you have to attack me-" I began to pace the room as a plan formed in my mind. "No, wait, I don't want to hurt you—" "—as if you could" I interrupted with a mocking tone.

Maybe it was the fact that we weren't really in the same room, maybe it was the months apart, but I felt much less uncomfortable now in his presence, and having the upper hand gave me more confidence. Sure, Qimir wasn't stupid, but I had the advantage. And I needed to get rid of him like the Jedi.

"I told them we were engaged and that I ran away when I realized you were dangerous—" he rolled his eyes before making an irritated grimace "—we can pretend I betrayed you, you attack us in anger, I slip inside and reach the ship we have down here. While you fight the Jedi, I'll activate the doors to buy you time. They'll think a droid helped you, and we can leave on two separate ships" I turned towards him with a satisfied expression.

"Sweetheart. I thought we agreed not to play the kidnapping card" he whispered with an ironic smile on his lips as he took a few steps closer. I ignored the affectionate name he called me, not letting him get into my head and distract me with less important things.

"And indeed, we'll take two separate paths. They'll be too worried about chasing you, and in the meantime, I'll cut off all communication. We'll both have time to disappear"

He looked at me irritably before walking away, throwing the lightsaber casually on the bed as he started taking off his shirt. "This plan sucks" he hissed through his teeth as he continued to undress, calling his usual tunic abandoned in a corner with the Force and starting to get dressed.

"Do you have a better idea? I don't think so. And anyway, for all we know, they could come in four or twenty" I snapped irritably, raising my voice. "Do you realize how many things could go to kriff?" he ran his hands through his hair, frustrated, and I sighed in response, irritated. "I know! We'll improvise, as we always do, but it's better than nothing... Where's Sam?" I asked suddenly, looking around.

"I deactivated him, he kept bugging me because you weren't here and was blaming me" I rubbed my eyes once again before turning towards him and pointing my finger at him. "Reactivate my droid, get help, and keep your eyes open. If everything goes well, we'll drop off their radar for a while, and maybe we can shake them off since you decided to get caught" I snapped irritably.

"Sorry, but can't we just ambush them?" he replied, frustrated.

I swallowed bitterly before answering more calmly, "I can't. Not now. We need to get rid of them calmly" I saw him make another grimace, ready to protest, but I interrupted him again.

"Shut up. You created this problem. That's why I'm the master between the two of us. Don't forget that. You have orders. Execute them." My tone was hard. Disappointed. I sounded convincing. Maybe I was venting a different kind of irritation at the moment, but he couldn't imagine that. Fortunately, I struggled to read him just as he struggled with me.

Ours was more of a dance, armed with sharp claws and lightsabers, ready to attack each other for sport or wound each other out of personal pride. I could suffer as much as I wanted for his actions, be afraid of him, but I had no doubt that deep down, Qimir had the same fear of me.

It was a race to see who would break first.

That's why I couldn't allow him to see my weakness.

"Don't get yourself killed."

And with that, I looked at him one last time before severing the bond. Darkness returned, and when I opened my eyes again, I was still in my bedroom, hugging the pillow, as that forest scent faded from my senses.

[kcrabb88]

I think one of the things I've found most frustrating about sections of Star Wars fandom since being more active in it (rather than just being a Star Wars appreciator) is that some folks are constantly looking for a reason that the Jedi "caused" or worse "deserved" what was coming to them with Order 66. It's hard and horrible to watch the Jedi get slaughtered in Revenge of the Sith, so people search for a reason that it was, in some sense, justified. But that's not what genocide is. No group can "bring a genocide on themselves." It doesn't matter WHAT mistakes they may make. The whole point of the Clone Wars all the way down to destroying Jedha City in Rogue One was to wipe out not only the Jedi themselves, but the memory of them, so that the empire can fully take root.

And this is why the end of the Acolyte finale felt so so so bad to me. It was meant to be, or so I believed, a show about how the Sith were getting closer to their goal of getting rid of the Jedi as we close in on the century before The Phantom Menace. I sat there, I waited for the narrative intention to set in, and that narrative intention surprised me by saying "ah yes, well, some Jedi made mistakes and it was fine for one to be murdered HORRIBLY as a result, and the subsequent cover up of all of it is just the Jedi wanting to avoid senate knowledge of what really happened because the Jedi are too powerful." It's like, nevermind that the SENATE is the power here, and the Jedi long-ago agreed to help them out but are being shouldered with more and more and more and they may have the Force but they are still only people (which the High Republic books show REALLY well). It's like, nevermind that Star Wars is about redemption and always trying to be a better person and learning from our mistakes! It wasn't a situation, when Osha kills Sol in a nasty and cruel way, where you see a person going corrupt and know the narrative behind it is like "oh shit, this is a bad turn for them!" It felt like the narrative was saying she was justified (at least to me) and that's just. Sad? Bleak? The end of the finale felt to me like "hey, some Jedi made some mistakes while trying their best once, and that's why these Sith get to do whatever and that's why the Jedi walked right into their own demise."

When the scene with the senator happened, I thought, oh, interesting, we're going to see the prejudice against Force-sensitives here that leads to the senate clapping in the face of genocide. That leads to the safehouse in Kenobi where we see Force-sensitives carving messages of hope into the wall while they're being hunted down and killed. But that's ... not what happened. In the end, it felt like the narrative said, "yep that guy is right, the Jedi are a power-grabbing cult." It just felt bad, man. I thought this was going to be a story about the lineage leading up to Plagueis and Palpatine and I thought, interesting, I'd love to see that, but it just ended up being this messy thing with clunky writing and a bunch of loose ends that teased me with Jedi characters and then said "eh, these guys deserved it."

We got to see a kyber crystal bleeding for the first time in live action, and I can't even be excited about it! Did we ever really find out how Osha and Mae were created and what weird stuff the witches were up to? Nope! Just woah disappointing as far as even learning new stuff about how the dark side corrupts the Force, and that was one thing I was interested in as the show started to go downhill for me in later episodes.

(RIP Sol, Jecki, and Yord. You deserved better than that, and Vernestra, so did you)

[o-wise-corvid]

You know what the tragedy of Sol is to me? It’s impatience. And then tragedy of the Jedi themselves? Being set in their ways.

Hear me out.

When he is with the team on Brendok, there’s a moment when he and Indara are discussing things and she makes the statement: “that’s why I have a Padawan and you do not.”

It’s meant to be a joke but one of the things that Indara embodies in the story is wisdom. She is the voice of reason constantly, grounded in balance and serenity as much as she can be despite the turmoil raging around her. What she’s reminding Sol of is he isn’t ready. And it’s alright! All in good time. Patience and maturity is still something that he still needs to grow into. Plug for “there are no time limits on your life”.

But Sol doesn’t listen. He wants what he wants and he literally coaches Osha to want that too. I personally think she did truly want to be a Jedi, but Sol wanted her to be too. He didn’t want what she wanted. He wanted what he wanted. They may have been the same goal ultimately but he wasn’t thinking about what she wanted, not what she understood, nearly as much.

The mistake is made.

Osha becomes Sol’s Padawan, again at the behest of Indara because she does know that Sol is Osha’s only rock now. Regardless of how that came to be.

But because of the seeds of hatred sewn in Osha’s heart, for her own innocent sister and by Sol no less, Osha can’t become what she once wanted to be. She can’t let go. She can’t forgive. And Sol loses her, the little girl he loved and obviously shared a parental bond with.

Osha leaves and you could argue she finds something of a decently happy life as a meknik. She feels safe there anyway. If she’d have been left alone, I think she’d have been okay in the end. Lived a quiet life.

Sol bears the guilt of how all this turned out. And that burden weighs on him. Ages him. Matures him. He still tries to justify what he did but deep down, Sol knows the gravity of what he did. And with this maturity, comes the ability to wait that Sol lacked all those years ago. And he’s given the Padawan he wanted so badly. But Osha is a wound that he licks privately, looking at holos of her that he kept. Jecki even calls him out on it. And she’s right to. Jecki isn’t “oh you shouldn’t care about your padawans”. She’s recognizing that Sol still has a broken attachment to someone that he refuses to release. Maybe he can’t. But he doesn’t ask for help. Because then his secrets would be revealed and the point for even having those secrets is long gone.

He’s got to just… keep going and hope that the past fades. But it doesn’t. Even when he is trying to teach the class of younglings, they sense his past. It’s wafting off him like smoke. Sol’s simply good enough to keep the depth of the tragedy of Brendok covered; most assume it’s just trauma from a mission. Other Jedi have had similar, unfortunate experiences.

And then we come to his newest Padawan. The one he was ready to recieve. It’s obvious he’s trained Jecki well, but shes not only been trained by him; she’s not another Osha. He doesn’t love her as a daughter. Hes not been her only foundation. He’s proud of her and her accomplishments, of course, but she is nevertheless just his student. He’s learned how to put those barriers in place so that he doesn’t get too wrapped up in people whose lives are their own. He’s learned to find balance.

But Osha returns and the carefully constructed life Sol has managed to build over the years crumbles little by little. He’s better, yes. More the Jedi he should’ve been. But even in the end, he still tries to justify what he did.

And Osha kills him. I think Sol let her, because just a few moments before, the man was swiping lightsabers away with the Force. He could’ve defended himself. But to see the hatred and the pain in Osha’s face, I think Sol realized at the very end that he put it there. Jecki preceded him because of this impatience. So did Yord. Bright, promising, innocent young people. So many innocents paying the price for Sol refusing to listen and to wait for the right time. I just don’t think Sol could live with himself, after all that.

When Vernestra arrives, she sees the totality of the tragedy through the Force. She sees it all. Beginning to end. And what does she do? She covers it. She heaps all the blame on a dead man, exactly what Sol did with Mae, and covers the existence of the Sith. We all know where that leads. Vernestra, in all her years and training and supposed wisdom is also impatient. But it’s not for the same thing. It’s to get the Senate off her back. She even snarls at the Senator she meets with in private. She’s seen the entire tragedy of Brendok, of Sol, Osha, and Mae. She knows the truth. And she learns nothing. Because she’s a Jedi and Jedi are simply too good at what they do and too good to be hawked by the Senate in her mind. She sees the Order as infallible as a whole, notwithstanding the mistakes of individuals. And we don’t even know the full context of what happened with her and Qimir.

But regardless, it’s another tragedy. Another cover up. Another grave mistake that should’ve been rectified but wasn’t. It’s not the fault of the Jedi as a whole. No. Indara is how we know that. Indara is the core of the Order, the bedrock that upholds the less stable pieces. But Jedi like Indara will be the first to pay the price when the Order’s doom arrives.

[eggdrawsthings]

For me, Sol, didnt do anything that bad as all think. Like, he killed one person and what now lol. Like Anakin killed a dozens of children and nobody takes shit lmao. Sol thinks that he was doing the right thing. And I kinda didnt liked the twins so…

He made a series of mistakes and he clearly was carrying that guilt and shame w him all that time. we can see this from his reaction all the way til the finale (he never draws his saber until the situation calls for it, still sees good Mae, was the first one saying he will face the council, and still wants to tell Osha the truth and face the consequences). His mistakes make him a complex character and w LJJ amazing performance he became an unforgettable character to me. Idc if ppl hate him I can just ignore them or block them if they are being annoying in my posts.

** long rant about what actually pissed me off under the cut ⚠️

I'm jsut tired of this show as a whole so im just taking Sol and Jecki out, read my one fav fanfic of them, and create their own version in my head that has nothing to do w the show anymore.

However, if you want to see a good depiction of a well-intentioned yet emotionally flawed and morally ambiguous father figure who then died at the hand of his adopted daughter, I suggest you watch "Hunt". It's a movie directed by LJJ back in 2022. It has its own issues but the ending of that movie got me more emotional than this shit show lol.

** What actually pissed me off about this show is the way the finale threw Sol's whole arc up until this point into the trash. Suddenly he started yapping about the vergence, which was not established until ep7 (and in ep7 his main concern was the twins' safety, not that bs). Suddenly he wanted to shoot down Mae now even tho he didn't wanna fight her and was trying to save her on Khofar. Suddenly he didn't want to face the council now and tried to justify his action (while he clearly was so sorry about it and wanted to face the council before). All of this happened without a proper build-up (The father's spiraling was done much better in Hunt lmao). Osha's fall can be done much better and still have everyone stay in character yet still lead to the same outcome, and have a much stronger impact.

And the way Leslye talked about him in her interview like he's an overbearing father and him saying "it's okay" in the end is taking away Osha's agency (???). If i talk more this post is gonna get too long so I'm just gonna link a few links here so you can read them. They explain everything that made me dislike the show even more and don't wanna think about it anymore now lol

x <- about how they ruined the first Asian Jedi Master we got, which pissed me off as a SEA person and a Jedi enjoyer.

x x<- about the writing for Sol

x <- about one of LH interviews where the interviewer said Sol is a bad parent and sexist, and she just went along w that take (how???)

x <-Jedi can love deeply, be it familial or romantic. they just don't let those emotions control them

x x <- more about the shitty writing of this show

[shield-and-saber]

feeling insanely curious about the possibilities of sol's darkness.

a young boy, shy, perhaps feeling very lonely in the grand temple on coruscant but who feels very deeply about the people he cares for. who struggles with attachment because his heart is so inclined to connection and to familial bonds, to love

the boy becomes a padawan, then a knight, but he doesn't take on his own apprentice, not yet. perhaps the council decides he isn't ready yet. they sense the ways that his desire for connection are selfish, based in a deep-seated desire for attachment to an unhealthy level. the kind of attachment that leads to fear of loss, to greed and jealousy, and they decide he must wait. he must see the galaxy first, he must grow before he can become a teacher and master

a knight on brendok makes the greatest mistake of his life. 51 lives lost because of his selfishness and impulsivity. so he returns to coruscant with a new padawan (a daughter) and he decides never again. he decides to be better, to be everything that he was not on brendok so that no one ever dies because of him again. but he doesn't learn to let go of his attachments, only to ignore them. to pretend they aren't there

the knight becomes a master, the master becomes apprentice-less. a failure. he failed mae, and he failed osha, and he is so, so lonely. better take all that darkness, the shadows clouding your heart, and stuff them somewhere else. don't stop to feel the pain, just move on. be better

so the council grants him a new student, bright and brilliant like the sun, a child who adores him, idolizes him. she is sweet and smart and respects him far too much, and then she dies because he was blind to the evil that guided mae's hand. she dies because he failed

there is only one answer to this, right? for surely it isn't darkness when painted with the brush of justice? the sith deserves to die because indara, kelnacca, and torbin are dead. jecki is dead, yord is dead, because sol failed. this isn't darkness, it's the sweetened flavor of a jedi's revenge. but this, too, is another failure that tallies itself in the back of sol's mind

on the ship. broken. empty. unmoored. jecki is gone. his entire team is gone. the sith is gone, still alive because the girl who couldn't be a jedi told him not to kill in cold blood. and then, it turns out, that osha is gone too. so what is left for him but the depths of his despair? what is left for a man like sol when his daughters are missing or dead? what does it matter that mae (the daughter that might have been but never was) is restrained on a table, unable to enact her own revenge upon him, when he could simply explain himself? assuage his own guilt? beg for forgiveness?

sol has lurked in the shadows since nightfall on khofar. the darkness is coming back. after so many failures, there is only one thing for sol left to do and that is to save osha. one last time.

yeah, no wonder this guy is 50 shades of fucked up

[captainamericaonthemoon]

The Acolyte ep 7 spoilers

.

.

.

I absolutely love seeing the conflict in the tags right now. We were meant to see Sol as a great Jedi, not letting his emotions guide him, only the Force.

That started to change in episode 4 and 5 (and sure the others but these are the bigger ones). He wants to protect Osha. He gets angry at Jecki’s death. And now with ep7 we really see he wasn’t always the perfect Jedi. I love this. Jedi can be flawed and they can let their emotions get the better of them

And I love what it’s doing to the audience! Now we feel conflicted. There are always multiple perspectives to each situation, now we’re experiencing all of them too

[juststoriesintheend]

II. The Lesson

Pairing: Master Sol x gn!Reader

Chapter Content: some light Jedi philosophy, lightsaber sparring, mutual pining, first kiss

Word Count: 2.7k

《 [series masterlist] 》 《 I 》

In an attempt to remain as cool, calm, and casual as possible, you’ve left your cloak in your room. You’d only have to take it off in the training room anyway, so you’re saving yourself the extra time and effort. Not that you’re overthinking things. At all. You’ve only re-layered your tunics and tabard half a dozen times, adjusted your belt twice that, and very nearly stepped out with only one boot. Whatever spell you had been under in Sol’s presence yesterday has completely worn off.

You arrive an hour earlier than you normally do, which is about fifteen minutes before Sol comes in with Jecki. If you remember right, Sol is done teaching the younglings by now and is off doing whatever it is he does in his spare hour between duties. While you’re a little deflated not seeing him right away, it’s for the best because his absence allows you focus and control. You can concentrate better on the saber, on your hands, on the slicing of air and the humming of the Force without him distracting you.

After some quick stretches, you unclip your saber and ignite it. The floor and nearby pillars reflect the light back to you, as well as a distorted image of your silhouette. A lifetime’s worth of muscle memory kicks in and your body is alive, thrumming with energy as your wrist twists, then your elbow, then your torso tilts and the saber swings in front, in back, in front again. Your wrist flicks and the saber swirls above your head, down behind your back, and finishes with a flourish at your side.

It feels like coming home.

Switching the saber from one hand to the other, you warm up your other side, copying your previous moments as precisely as possible even though it’s definitely your weaker side. This is the freedom you’ve been missing. You’ve been so fixated on Sol that it’s kept you away from the calm that saber work has always brought you – the repetition of the familiar, the Force as it flows through you, the shadows and highlights cast upon the walls as your saber arcs. Nothing could ever compare to this.

The saber flies into the air after you toss it. This is one of the fancier tricks you’ve seen some of the younger Knights and Padawans practicing, and you can already tell you won’t be able to catch this one properly, not without hurting yourself, so you jump back and flick the blade off with the Force. You fully expect it to clatter on the stone floor, and you’re hoping the fall doesn’t damage the casing or the kyber, but instead it… hovers.

It takes a millisecond to search the room for the source, and another to turn your head. Sol stands near the doorway with his arm outstretched, both eyes open and his face lightly furrowed in concentration. His attention flickers to you before refocusing on your saber, and it unexpectedly flies across the room into his open palm in the second it takes for you to catch your breath.

There’s something remarkably intimate about him holding this piece of you, something so vital to your being as a Jedi that you feel empty without it at your side. Still, if there were anyone you trusted to hold your saber, your very life, in their hands, you think it would be Sol. It just so happens that you also like to watch him hold it, whatever that means to the secret, affectionate creature that lives inside you.

“I’ve never seen you try that before,” he finally says. He starts for the center of the room, his gaze still focused on your saber as he rubs his thumb over the hilt.

You’re strangely breathless and you can’t understand why. “I was feeling adventurous. Saw some of the Padawans trying it the other day and, very foolishly, thought I should try it too.”

The corner of Sol’s mouth dimples into a crooked smile.

Wait, did he just say he’d never seen you try that before? He’s aware of the type of saber work you usually do? Heat blazes across your face at the realization, but Sol is too occupied to take notice, thank the Force. He continues to turn your saber over in his hand, though you’re not sure why. It isn’t so remarkably different from any other saber.

“Why did you think you would disappoint me?”

Your saber is returned, and you clip it back to your belt just to have something to do. “Well, I’m not a Master, for one thing. If I’m going to be sparring with you, I’d like to at least look like I know what I’m doing.”

“It certainly appeared that you did.”

You duck your head the moment he makes eye contact with you. Now that he’s finally here, your confidence wavers, and you know that your concentration will do the same the moment he begins to fight.

“What is it that makes you so unsure of yourself?” he asks with all the gentleness of a man who senses discouragement and knows it like the back of his own hand. “You are an accomplished dueler.”

If only he knew the magnitude of his question, he might choose to ask you something else. Huffing a breath out the side of your mouth, you start with a lazy, “Well, I–”

The air around you seems to vibrate, then electrify as Sol summons his own weapon into his hand and ignites it. He bears down upon you, and you know deep in your heart that he would never hurt you, but this knowledge does not override instinct. Your saber is in your hand without conscious thought, brandished and burning as his blade lands near the hilt. The junction where they touch burns white-hot, so starkly bright that it hurts to even look.

What are you doing? you mean to ask, but the words never come. You’re too enraptured by the flame of blue-white light reflected in his pupils to speak. How long have you spent watching him from afar, marveling at his skill, and now you find yourself on the receiving end of it? It feels unreal. It feels jagged and raw in the same way a cold wind off the sea does, exhilarating in some forbidden sense.

He retreats and you stumble back a step as your lightsaber comes to hang by your leg, still ignited but out of the way. It’s not proper form, but you’re too dazed to care. Sol spots this and advances again, giving you only the slightest margin for error as your blade comes screaming back into position to block him once, twice, three times before he backs up again.

“You react with instinct.” He begins to circle you with his blade extended toward your face. “Good.”

You feel a flash of irritation in your chest at this. While you’re certain (at least, you hope) he means well, this feels more like a Master testing his Padawan than a fellow Jedi electing to spar with you. You are not Sol’s Padawan and you’ve already fought to make your mark as a Knight, you don’t like feeling like a child again and certainly not at his hands. That’s not the kind of feeling you want from him.

“I don’t need a lesson,” you say as politely as you can, which isn’t very much at all currently.

Sol’s head tilts slightly in the way it always does when he’s considering something. “Then why am I here?”

Electric blue flashes across your vision as he slashes his way forward and you parry away. He’s not even giving you time to answer, let alone think, and you know it’s on purpose. Your Master’s used this trick on you several times, but that doesn’t mean you have to like it.

“Why am I here?” he repeats. He doesn’t even react when your blade swings past his shoulder and misses. “Why did you accept my offer?”

You swing again, agitated, and miss a second time, only to be pushed aside by an invisible hand so strong that it nearly knocks your breath from you.

“Because!”

Now that there’s some distance between you, you have a moment to think, to assess yourself, the questions he’s asking, and the answers you want to give. Sol, however, chooses not to give you that time. His arm extends, fingers splayed and palm open as that same invisible hand grasps you by the tabard and pulls. His wrist twists and you come flying into his hand like your saber had mere minutes ago. Instinct and fear kicks in again, and you find yourself forced to choose between freedom with no saber and close quarters defense in the amount of time it takes to decide to breathe.

Your saber drops to the floor, the blade disappearing into itself as you summon the Force to instead push yourself away from Sol and out of his grasp. The resulting blow is strong enough to knock you both off your feet, though you have just enough forewarning to brace yourself for impact. Cold, hard stone meets shins and knees, but you’re already up and recovering your saber. Sol isn’t far behind, but he’s clearly startled. Startled enough to have dropped his saber.

You are no Jar’Kai prodigy, and indeed, it’s been years since you’ve attempted to dual wield with any amount of seriousness, but you try now. It makes sense. It feels right. Sol’s saber is heavy in your hand, heavier and wider than yours, but it doesn’t fight you when you brandish it. His kyber sings a peculiar harmony with your own, as if they were exchanging greetings, embracing each other through the Force. It tickles in the back of your brain like a shot of spotchka.

Sol’s hand meets your wrist when you bring his blade down. The leather glove creaks under the weight of your blow, but his arm remains firm. Your other arm remains frozen mid-air as it quivers with the effort of resisting his Force. He’s got you pinned and while he can’t release you without putting himself back in danger, you can no longer land a blow on him without losing any ground. It’s a stalemate in its truest form.

You’re closer to him now than you ever have been before. His breath fans out across your face as it comes and goes in quick exhalations, and you find yourself wondering if you should’ve brushed your teeth again after lunch. If you’d known he’d be so close to you now, you would have.

“Why?” he grits through his bared teeth. “Why did you accept my offer?”

Something hotter than ice burns from your shoulder down to your wrist with the effort of fighting him. “Because I can’t focus,” you gasp. You won’t be able to hold on much longer. “Keep. Making mistakes.”

He presses his advantage until your arm shudders with enough strength to completely collapse. The saber is snagged from your hand as it drops and quickly redirected to spark somewhere near the column of your neck. There’s no real threat behind it. Sol is moments away from winning this round and your body is already tired.

“Let your instinct guide you,” he instructs, and though it burns to admit it, you know he’s right. “Don’t think. Feel.”

But that’s exactly what you don’t want to do, what you can’t do. Because to feel would mean to let the sin of your affection for him seep deeper and deeper into your bones until you can no longer draw it out like poison from a wound. To feel would be the most beautiful agony imaginable. To feel would be to dream of possibilities that can never be. You would rather not feel it at all, than to feel it and lose it in the end.

You shake your head. “I can’t.”

Sol frowns. He looks so beautiful bathed in the light of his kyber. “What are you afraid of?”

The blue saber deactivates, then your own, and the training room returns to normal, but your wrist remains trapped in the palm of Sol’s glove. He’s close enough now that the voluminous lower half of his robes fall around your knees, brushing your ankles as he adjusts his stance and leans further into you. Is this not everything you ever wanted?

“Tell me.”

And it’s the gentleness of this prompt that finally cleaves through your heart. You are, quite honestly, tired. Your heart and mind are exhausted from the burden of your guilt, from the knowledge that you are already so attached to a man you hardly know. You want to fight his inquisition, but more than that, you want to give in if only to find relief from the torment of not knowing.

With closed eyes and a trembling voice, you finally relinquish your secret. “Rejection. Abandonment.” Half-concocted visions of a future without the Jedi, without the Order or your Master or the life you’ve worked so hard to build, materialize behind your lids. All this because you tend to fall in love a little too fast? How is that fair? “Myself. I’m afraid of myself and what I could do to destroy my own life.”

Something knocks at the door to your mind. It is a familiar sensation, like the sound of boots on stone or a guiding command given between the sparking of saber blades, it burns golden-brown like the sun and the tunic on his chest, and it smells like incense from a far away planet, the incense you sometimes smell on his cloak when he passes you by. You let him in.

You think, at first, that sharing your mind with someone is a bit like a kiss. A gentle nudging of one mind against the other until both become one, pressing thoughts and feelings and vague ideas together like a mouth or tongue might go against your own. You think that it feels like the kind of intimacy you’ve always yearned for but feared you would never know. Then you realize that Sol is actually kissing you.

Shock ripples through you fast and hard enough to make your stomach simultaneously drop to the floor and catch in your throat. You can’t breathe, you can’t move, there’s only Sol and his lips and the blazing freedom of peace cutting through the noise that usually clouds your thoughts.

He withdraws far too soon, and it leaves your mouth tingling and bruised. Your eyes flutter open and are unsurprisingly met with the umber-blackened hue of his pupils. So close. So real. His chest heaves with the effort of… what, exactly? Does he suffer from the same strange side effect as you, the unimaginable urge to kiss him again and delve even deeper? Is he fighting to restrain himself as much as you are?

“I feel it, too,” he whispers, and his eyes drop to your tongue as it darts across the seam of your mouth.

“What?” You don’t even dare to dream, but what if…?

Sol swallows heavily. “The pull. You feel it like I do?”

The hand not grasping his lightsaber drops lazily against his sternum as you both shuffle awkwardly into more normal, non-battle stances. “I do,” you reply. “I have. For a long time.”

There is a soft rustling of fabric and breath as Sol takes a moment to clip your saber back to your belt – the feel of his fingers, even through his gloves, lingering on your belt will stick with you forever – and to gently pry his from your hand. Then he reaches for your shoulder and lays his hand there, his thumb rubbing a semi-circle into your collarbone.

“Is this what you were afraid of? That I would not return your feelings?”

The ease with which he sees through your carefully constructed walls before completely blowing them to pieces is startling. Not even your Master is quite this forward with you. It’s different, to be sure, yet oddly refreshing.

“Among other things,” is your bashful response, half murmured to the space above his shoulder.

“We must have the courage to say what we want, even if we are afraid.” His hand resettles upon your cheek and your breath rushes out of you in an instant. All you can think is Sol Sol Sol Sol Sol, the only prayer you’ll ever need. “Are you afraid now?”

“No.”

“Then… I would like to kiss you again.”

When he smiles, you feel it curling up around your heart, a string that ties you to him, first knotted when he summoned your saber into his hand and now finished with a kiss.

taglist: @wolffegirlsunite

[hithertoundreamtof23]

My thoughts during and after The Acolyte episode 5 (basically a play-by-play featuring a plethora of emotions).

~~~ MAJOR SPOILERS: ~~~

I wanna know how the sabers fizzled out during the fight. Did it have to do with the orange powder, or was it the force? Oh, it was him slicing the activation switch?

Everyone is dying. Oh, it's a Jedi kebab. XD

MASTER SOL!! He better not die.

I'm still on board with Qimir being the sith. Who else would it be?

I'm in love with the amount of slideshow transitions they have. It's not Star Wars without them.

Not jecki! Yord, I'm mad at you. She better not die.

Oh, she's okay. Holy cow, she can handle herself better than any Jedi!!

... NEVERMIND.

Shit. That was brutal. 😭😭😭

YUP WE GUESSED IT GIRLIES!!!! QIMIR!!

No!!!! Master Sol needs a hug.

"ITS"?? "ITS"?? 😡

Oh. Those muscles. Those facial expressions. 👀

YORD NOW TOO?????

I can't handle this. 😭😭

The acting is a little wonky. I know she's essentially talking to herself, but it throws me off guard.

Ohhhh she's going to do a whole "Princess and the Pauper" move.

SOL! My SOL!! I need a comfort fic for him right now.

Isn't it ironic that he has so much darkness in him despite being named "Sol"?

Plot hole: why couldn't they sense that the siblings were swapped? Was it because Sol and Qimir were so distraught?

I'm scared for how this will go next.

[diresquid]

I finished The Acolyte and i noticed some things that really got me and made me go crazy over that I’ll share with you all cause why not

(Warning spoilers)

Ok first of all watching the finale for the second time made me realize even more things than I did the first time like how in the beginning osha said she had a vision of Mae holding a lightsaber but not using it with her hand outstretched killing Sol and originally I thought she meant when Mae is holding the saber and then throws it aside (and maybe I’m stupid for not realizing the first time)but then I realized that the vision is actually her killing Sol herself but she thought it was Mae and I thought that was really amazing

Also how she went to the planet to save sol but that was the very thing that led to his death ( which is also like almost an exact parallel of Anakin which is beautiful)

I thought it was really interesting how at the beginning both sisters are angry and struggling with what happened on Brendok and Mae chooses to hunt down and kill the Jedi as revenge and in anger and osha tries to bring Mae to justice but at the end when the whole truth comes out Mae refuses to kill Sol and wants him to be brought to justice and Osha is the one who kills him in cold blood out of anger which really shows how the sisters have switched places over the course of the show

(Which is mirrored by the way at the end it is Mae wearing Osha’s white clothes showing her turn to the light and justice while Osha wears Mae’s black clothes and gives into her anger)

Also I love how perfectly they set up her killing Sol like they specifically have her say that she failed at being a Jedi because she couldn’t control her negative emotions and couldn’t cope with what she’d lost and she was attacking Mae with clearly a lot of emotion and then when she finds out it was Sol and that he lied to her all this time she once again couldn’t control those emotions and ended up killing him even though he was her master and she went to the planet to save him

(Also adding on that they way she choked him as she was saying how much he loved her and the way he told her it was ok basically forgiving her as she was killing him I mean he obviously made a lot of mistakes but no one can deny how much he loved her which just makes his death so much sadder cause really everything he did was for her even if he was also somewhat selfish at times)

Another thing is just how on Brendok the Jedi blamed Mae both for Osha’s sake and to hide their own actions but it all came out later and really hurt them all but now Vernestra is doing the exact same thing which is probably going to send everything into a huge downward spiral

Alright a couple things to finish up

what is Plagueis doing there??? Honestly I don’t even want to know but that’s slightly scary for season two

Also can we all agree that Vernestra’s purple light whip is cool as hell? Cause I feel like it doesn’t get enough recognition

Alright last of all rip to my favorites Sol Jecki and Yord the three of them deserved better and I wish we got to see more of them (especially jecki and yord in that manner)

Alright sorry this post got really long and it’s honestly just my ramblings that no one needs to hear but you’re getting them anyway

Enjoy

[thehollowprince]

We're a few days away from the premiere of The Acolyte, and this showed up on my Google Recommendations. Against my better judgment, because it's Screenrant, I opened it anyway, and I'm a little torn.

Like, on the one hand, I've never viewed the Jedi as gods, literal or otherwise, but I fully admit there has been a kind of deification of characters like Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Qui-Gon Jinn, and more recently with newer characters like Rey and Ahsoka. Even Anakin, though, to a lesser extent. There have been quite a number of people who have looked at these characters and said

"This is what a Jedi is supposed to be and nothing else."

Of course, it's been that exact sentiment that has led to a lot of negativity toward other Jedi, namely Mace Windu, but also Yoda and Luminara and Ki-Adi-Mundi.

But since there are no legacy characters in this show (with the possible exception of a Yoda cameo), I'm hoping this show will look at the Jedi as what they are, warrior monks doing the best they can to keep the peace in an ever more chaotic galaxy.

Charlie Barnett (Yord Fandar) said this

I want to talk specifically about the first half of this quote.

"It's like that moment when you realize that your parents aren't gods, do you know what I'm saying? That kind of mysticism plays out., and I think Yord is stuck in and committed to being in the 'Jedi are gods' sentiment. He is a Jedi Knight, and he's fairly new to the position too, so he is very excited to do it right...

I am all for exploring the "flaws" of the Jedi (such as they are) by showing a character that grew up with this expectation of what a Jedi was supposed to be (basically the galaxy's version of superheroes) only to find out that it's not all like it was in the holos.

The only downside I have with this is the fact that Yord would have grown up in the Temple and realized that the Jedi aren't these superbeings. Sure, he could have idolized his teachers and masters, but not to the extent that he'd be blind to the realities of the position.

And then we have this.

I remember reading the interview with Dafne Keen in Empire where she talks about her character (Jecki Lon) and how, even though she's just a Padawan, she's a better Jedi than Yord.

That rubs me the wrong way. Not every Jedi is obviously equal in all talents. Anakin, for example, was one of the best lightsaber duelests of the Order, even when he was just a padawan, but he lacked focus and control, something Obi-Wan had in spades. Same with Ahsoka later, with her being an exceptionally talented padawan but letting her anger get the better of her sometimes, as well as her pride. Yoda was the wisest member of the Order, but Mace was the Order's best duelist.

You get what I'm saying?

Even Obi-Wan had an answer pointed out to him by a youngling in Attack of the Clones. They all have their strengths and weaknesses, and they compensate by working as a whole.

So, while I don't have a problem with Jecki being a better duelist or being stronger in the Force than Yord, it's irritating when it's labeled as her just being a better Jedi. Another thing I remember specifically from her interview was her saying that the only reason Yord became a Jedi Knight was because he was older, and I didn't like that, because that's not how the Order works!

Who knows, maybe I'm reading to much into this, because I've been pretty vocal about how most of what's been said about this show behind-the-scenes has been pretty anti Jedi and this just feels like a continuation of that train of thought. I have no problem with Yord being proud or angry or even falling to the Dark Side and becoming this acolyte. I'm just nervous about how they're framing it all.

[im-writing-extra]

pls forgive me, this took way too long😭 I’ve been getting back into the swing of work plus my main blog has been severely neglected. but here you go!

table of contents

chapter 7 - tiniest death

Dalphri and the Jedi in the medical wing have pumped you so full of drugs that the two weeks after Jelucan are nothing more than a fever dream. Your conversation with Jecki is the most coherent you’ll be until a sunny morning where you wake up to find Yord, asleep on a chair and holding your hand.

His head is tilted back, mouth slightly open. He’s snoring every so slightly although he’d be appalled at the accusation. His robes are crumpled slightly, and you wonder how long he’s been here. You’ve rarely (if ever) seen his clothing wrinkled, aside from the night you saw them on the floor.

And even then, you weren’t really paying attention to the clothes, were you?

Yord senses you’re awake and opens his eyes.

“Morning sunshine,” you say.

“Good morning,” he replies. “How are you?”

“Good, I think,” you respond. You take stock of your body. Your blood feels normal, hand feels normal, heartbeat- well, you don’t think it will ever be normal if Yord’s in the room.

It’s so silly and so stupid- you feel like a padawan, blushing at the thought of him.

He’s just Yord, you remind yourself. The same Yord who steams his robes every night and needs everything in his room to be perfectly straight. Who short-circuits at the thought of something outside his paradigm, unless it involves a diplomatic matter in which case, he’s all in.

“What are you doing here?”

Yord moves to lean on the bedrail. “Venez and I have been staying with you in shifts. He should be here in a few minutes. Do you need anything before I go?”

You grip his hand and pull it ever so slightly. “Can you stay?”

Yord frowns, but you know it’s really a smile because he tells you to move over and gets into bed next to you.

“I’m glad you’re not dead,” he says. “Imanu Venez is insufferable without you.”

“Rude,” Venez says from the doorway. “And hey, you’re all better! Move over, Yord, I don’t want to squish her.”

“I can’t move any further-”

“Well you need to make room somehow-”

“It’s a finite space, it’s not like I can just-”

“You could try.”

Venez and Yord are on either side of you at awkward angles, but you don’t care. They’re both doing their best not to hurt you, and it’s sweet.

Dalphri opens the door a moment later. “You’re alive!” she squeals. “I got the notification that your vitals were back to normal and I ran, literally ran to get here first. I’m so glad you’re okay.”

Dalphri piles on top of you, causing yelps of complaint from Imanu and Yord.

“Touching, this is,” comes a voice from the doorway.

“Master Yoda!” the four of you chorus. Yord tries to get up but can’t, awkwardly pinned down.

“Seen this sight since you were younglings, I haven’t,” Yoda says. “The best at meditation, you were not.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about Master, I was an angel,” Venez grins.

Yoda diplomatically says nothing.

“Better you are?” he asks and you say, “Yes,” as best you can from being crushed under your friends. 

“Good,” he replies. “Much to discuss we have, I’m sure. Resume your celebration, I will let you.”

Venez says, “My back is cramping.”

“Happens, when you get older,” Yoda replies with a smile.

“No Master, I’m young and exciting! My whole life is ahead of me!” Venez calls to Yoda’s retreating figure. You turn your head to look at Yord. He has a pained expression, so you tap his ankle with your foot. He meets your eyes but his expression stays the same.

You mouth, “Lighten up a little, love,” and he softens.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” he whispers into the shell of your ear. “I missed you.”

—

It’s your first night back in your room in almost three weeks. You stand in the doorway and take it in.

It’s a standard room for a Jedi Knight, but it’s one of the few things that’s just yours. The bed on the left with a pillow you got on Naboo. The cream-colored curtains on the round window directly opposite from where you’re standing. The uneti tree in the corner from Ahch-To.

As you survey your room, your eye catches on something. Someone’s been in here, straightened up and placed your new kyber crystal on your dresser. It’s right next to your lightsaber, and they fill your chest with a pleasant buzz. 

You close your eyes and plant your feet in the floor, just feeling. You see the ghosts of Imanu Venez opening the window for fresh air, Dalphri Ameras straightening the bedspread, Yord Fandar re-straightening it and unpacking your bag. You feel him turn the kyber crystal between his fingers, press it to his lips, then put it next to your saber.

Breathe in. 

I am one with the Force.

Breathe out.

I wish Yord were here.

You wonder if you should go find him, he’s almost certainly in his room; but he’s probably meditating, and you don’t want to disturb him. But he probably wouldn’t mind. Or would he? You haven’t had a moment truly alone with him since that night on Jelucan. What if Master Battchi was right, and Yord’s beginning to regret his actions?

Your hand hovers at your door as you debate.

No, this is Yord you’re talking about. He’s not so fickle as to change his mind like that. You open the door and make your way down the hall to his room. He’s not far, you’re on the same floor, but it’s a more difficult walk than you’d anticipated in your weakened state. A few other knights give you curious looks as you pass, but you disregard them. Curious looks are nothing new. 

You pause to lean against a column by a large window. It’s night, but Coruscant is no less busy. Ships and vehicles of all kinds pass by and you press a hand to your chest in an effort to regain control of your breathing. 

Breathe in.

I am one with-

Breathe out.

I am one-

Breathe in.

I am-

Breathe.

You slide to the floor

Your clenched fingers dig into your crystallized palm, reminding you that you’ve been permanently changed. No one, not even yourself, truly understands the physical effects Jelucan had on you. Why you’re still weak and Yord was fine, you’ll never know. You wonder if you’ll have side effects for the rest of your life or if the kyber in your hand will eventually become the only reminder of your mission.

Your eyes are heavy. You should have listened to Dalphri when she told you to take it as easy as you can, and you remember the pills she gave you for fatigue.

“Force illness or no, these will help you get back to normal. Take two in the morning and one at night, and you should be back to yourself in a week,” she’d said. You can picture where they are in your bag back in your room, and mentally curse yourself for not taking one before you went to find Yord. You close your eyes, just for a moment, promising that you’ll get back up in a minute.

Someone calls your name. Boots hit the floor, running toward you and you crack your eyes open. Yord drops to his knees in front of you and puts his hands on either side of your face. He’s checking your pulse, tilting your head from side to side as carefully as he can.

He asks, “What happened?” and it takes far too much effort to reply than you think it should.

“Came to find you. Got tired,” you slur. Best to keep it succinct and conserve energy.

“Can you walk?” he questions. He’s still holding you, running his thumbs up and down your cheekbones.

“Dunno. Can try.”

Yord slings your arm around his shoulders and supports your back as he all but drags you to your feet.

You say, “Thanks,” and lean heavily against him as you stumble back to your room.

He punches the door code in with ease. “Go lay down.”

He doesn’t have to tell you twice. You flop down onto the bed with a sigh as Yord rummages through your bag.

“Here,” he says. He hands you a glass of water and you throw back your medication with a grimace.

You say, “I feel hungover,” in an attempt to make him laugh but he just shakes his head.

The pills works with remarkable speed and before long, you feel your head clear up.

Yord hasn’t moved from his position, standing beside your bed with his arms crossed. He’s either changed or pressed his robes, because they show no sign of his visit in the medical wing.

“All better,” you say with a half-hearted smile.

He doesn’t budge. “What were you doing?” he asks sternly. “You’re supposed to be resting. Do I have to install a lock on the outside of your door?”

You shrug and look away. Tears well up and you blink them back. You’re not even sure why they’re there. Maybe it’s relief at finally being in your own bed and finally being alone with Yord.

Yord sighs and sits on the edge of the bed. “I’m sorry,” he says softly. He reaches for your hand and presses a kiss right on the crystals. “I was just worried. You’re lucky I was on my way to find you.”

At those words you surge forward to capture his lips in yours. He makes a startled noise but reciprocates as you tangle your hand in his hair. You run your other hand down the length of his arm and when you reach his hand, you place it on your thigh. He squeezes for a brief moment, then pulls away.

“We can’t.”

You groan. “Yord. I’m fine. And anyway, it’s a natural painkiller.”

Yord shakes his head. “I’m not talking about that, but that is a concern. I was considering the fact that there are a few thousand Jedi in the Temple right now, and that raises the chances of us getting caught by an astronomical amount. Besides, it’s forbidden.”

You snort. How quintessentially Yord. He abides by his rules even when breaking them. “Yord. Do you have any idea how many padawans, right now, are-”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence,” he warns.

You raise your hands in defense. “You remember what it was like,” you tell him. “All those hormones. Being told that we still had a chance to decide if the Order was for us or not. Of course, I was a perfect angel and never did anything but I know for a fact Dalphri-”

Yord covers your mouth with his hand. He says your name like both a plea and a sigh of resignation, a talent of his you’ve never been able to mimic. You kiss his palm and look up at him with the softest eyes you can muster.

“All right,” he relents, beginning to untie his robe. You reach to help him pull it off and he continues, “You have to let me know if it’s too much. You’re still not supposed to exert yourself.”

You smile. “I’ll just lay back then, shall I?”

Yord pauses. “Not a bad idea.”

You take a moment to admire his biceps as he slips his fingers under your waistband. The cool air hits your legs and you gasp.

next chapter

[animazi]

well. hornet's nest time I guess. qimir is the one part of the acolyte I would cut to make it better. so the show is ostensibly about mae and osha's (and sol) relationship right? osha is our main character; the conflict with mae is a key part of her story. this is her sister who she loves and who tried to kill her. who is a danger to the jedi she once was a part of and who she knows she cannot stop. part of who she is however much she draws away from everyone and rejects mae. sol's line about how mae is her family is an acknowledgment of the fact that osha has conflicted feelings here. similarly, mae is willing to drop her whole revenge quest the moment she knows osha is still alive, that oshie is back, that the missing half of her soul can be reunited; born as two can become one again. sol is also deeply tied up in this - he failed (deliberately) mae, his desire for a padawan led to him triggering the actions that cumulated in osha being stripped of her family; hell he killed her mama! and he does love osha and want the best for her; for her to be safe, and he wants to use mae to atone. he has spent sixteen years thinking about what to say to her and now she is there and has to listen - she can be his arbiter in place of the council. he has failed his daughters padawans, time and time again.

qimir is also there. my main issue with him is that he comes at the story from a different, more philosophical direction, and one that distracts hugely from everything the show has set up earlier - he is also genuinely just unnecessary. introducing this new sith, complete with mysterious backstory and strange scars, properly half way through the show is such a strange choice. narratively he. well I don't really know what he represents honestly. sol does a great job of showing how desires cloud the mind and the issues with sw attachment (to an idea of a person. he wants osha-the-padawan, even though he can barely tell osha and mae apart). mae and osha have some of that juicy attachment going on too, as well as their own emotional story, and qimir is. there to tell you about the dark side? he's handing out free flyers with 'WHY YOU SHOULD JOIN THE DARK SIDE OF THE FORCE TODAY' emblazoned on them. I genuinely don't care what you think of him, all he has done so far is say he wanted a different, edgier, type of power than what the jedi allowed. he's so shadow the hedgehog coded fr fr. anyway, I digress. qimir does not share the same stakes in the emotional core of the story as the other three, he does not even serve as an interesting criticism of the jedi - and yeah sure maybe he'll be super cool and interesting in e8, but that doesn't change the fact that he isn't now, or that more development of mae and the witches could have easily substituted as a way of presenting an alternative to the jedi. i know I'm being a little harsh here; narratively qimir is there to show osha a feelings-based alternative to the jedi; to teach/corrupt her, but it is genuinely unnecessary to the emotional core of the show, the relationship between mae and osha and sol, and all he is doing is distracting from that. there is also the matter of time. there are just too many balls (ideas) in the air for this show to juggle well and satisfyingly. atm its like watching a shit clown that really wants everyone to take him seriously as he adds another ball to the juggling routine and everything starts to wobble dangerously and half the audience have wandered off to stare at the strongman doing bodybuilder poses. which is all to say I genuinely do not see how episode 8 is going to resolve all this also, justice for my girl mae; they could have had her as a conflicted sith figure who is a bit of a failgirl but also imagine her killing jecki. sol's greatest failure from the past striking down his padawan of the present - if he had waited, had never done what he did on brendok jecki would still be alive, and mae wouldn't be this murderer before him. imagine that. wow. imagine it being mae telling osha that the jedi can never love her the way she wants to be loved, blood is thicker than water, do you know what they did? I sure do like thinking about what could have been. oh no im just writing fanfiction of the acolyte...time to stop...

[clonehub]

The way the show kind of threw Mae to the side like all the characters did in favor of recreating some weird r*ylo bullshit with osha. I knew from the beginning they’d switch it and osha would be the one to kill sol but the way it’s kind of like they forget Mae is also powerful is interesting… like she probably could’ve force choked him but she chose not to (which is also interesting cause why is it like all her hurt and anger disappeared when she was literally the Jedi’s scapegoat). And obviously osha had the sudden rage to do it since she found out she was lied to for the last 16 years. Anyways im just not seeing why Mae couldn’t leave with osha & qimir at the end… really no logical reason as to why they left her behind unless im missing something. it just felt really forced to me so they could have their r*ylo moment. Also still not seeing how everyone’s immediately jumping to romance there like yeah they’re both hot but narratively i don’t get how we’re at “enemies to lovers” when it’s mainly master/apprentice but I digress

yeah the "enemies to lovers" isn't really giving the first one and the second one is ehhhh. bc Osha liked and was friends with Yord and Jecki and Qimir killed them. If they'd shown her like not actually being very attached to people or if that darkness in her was more apparent it'd be one thing, but she actually really liked them? and now they're dead and she's holding their murderer's hand. Ok.

If they were going to go the Oshamir route, they could have developed that better. A LOT better. and now im thinking what if Qimir wasn't a master looking for a pupil, but a dark side learner looking for someone to learn with him? maybe he wants to try something a lil new. they can go to Sith University classes together and study together and cheat one exams together.

and mae....yeah in terms of characterization there were parts of her that were the roughest. upon my rewatch i still could NOT understand why she didn't reveal who killed their mother A) on the broken bridge and, if not there, then b) on Khofar. It just doesn't make SENSE. If your entire plot problem can be fixed with one conversation, then it's weak writing.

[multi-fandoms-posts]

Together Part 1

Yord x reader

I'm sorry for my bad English😕

Your view:

We're back on Coruscant with Osha. Master Sol reports to the other Jedi, and Yord and I are training. "Come on, you can do better than that," Yord grins. I attack him immediately, and he dodges. I immediately turn around. "You're pretty slow," he just grins to himself. Yord and I make a good team, but he knows exactly which buttons to push to throw me off track. I try again, but he dodges again. "Still too slow," I hear him say. "That's enough," I growl, turn around and throw myself straight at him, tugging him to the ground. "Who's too slow now?" I say, grinning as I sit on him. "Hey, that's unfair," he says. I bend down. "It's not," I whisper in his ear. Suddenly I'm yanked to the ground, and Yord is above me, grinning. "Yord," I say. "Yes?" he grins. "Come on," I say and try to free myself. He laughs, but stands up and helps me up. We are standing very close to each other now.

It feels like we are being drawn together like magic, until suddenly, "Y/N, Yord, come!" calls Master Sol, and we immediately separate. We look at each other briefly before we leave.

On the way we meet Sol again.

"Yord, get Bazil," he says, and Yord nods before heading off.

"Master, what's going on?" I ask. "We're going to set a trap for Mae. Where's Osha?" he asks. "She wanted to leave again," Jecki says as she comes around the corner. Sol sets off in the hope of catching Osha here.

"What's going on between you and Yord?" asks Jecki. "Uh, what? I don't know what you mean," I say nervously. "Don't act like that, the way you look and just the way Yord is when you get hurt. The last time you got hurt, he went crazy, I'd say. He killed the guy," she says. "It's complicated," I answer. "Is that it? Or are you just making it complicated?" she asks. I think for a moment. Well, she wasn't entirely wrong.

"We are Jedi, Jecki, how should that work?" I say quietly.

"Bazil, come back," I hear Yord calling. I turn around and see Bazil running towards me. I kneel on the ground. "Bazil," I say with a smile. He jumps into my arms and says something excitedly. I only understand a few sentences because of Yord.

I look at Yord. "What is he saying?" I ask him.

Yord takes a deep breath. "Already out of breath," mocks Jecki, and I try not to laugh. "Very funny," says Yord.

"He said he was very happy to see you," smiles Yord. Bazil jumps out of my arms and looks at me and then at Yord and tells him something I don't understand. "No," says Yord, and Bazil continues. "It's complicated," he says. I look at him questioningly. "Not that important," he says.

The four of us made our way to the ship. Sol and Osha are already there, and Osha is wearing a civilian uniform.

Jecki and I stifle our laughter. "You don't have to look like that," says Osha.

I look at Yord, who is talking to someone. He just looks so hot. Jecki nudges me with his elbow. "You really should talk to him. I have no idea why you like Yord," Jecki says, pulling a face. I just roll my eyes.

"What am I hearing, Y/N and Yord?" Osha says, looking at me and then at Yord. "The way you look at each other is the way you looked at each other before. You should talk to him," Osha says. "Not you too," I say.

"Let's just get on board," I say.

Once inside, we all gather together, Osha sits a little way off and I stand next to Jecki.

Yord explains everything. I try to concentrate.

"The Order has stationed Master Kelnacca on Khofar, but has not heard from him for over a year. He has also not responded to our warnings," says Yord,

What Jecki said to me is going through my head and it's becoming clearer and clearer to me that maybe I should talk to him after all. I'm so lost in thought that I didn't notice that the meeting was over until "Y/N" says Jecki and waves his hand in front of my face. "Huh, what?" I say. "Where were you with your thoughts?" asks Osha. "I was just thinking." I say. They both exchange glances. "Now he's alone, so it's your chance." says Jecki and I look over at Yord. "Are you crazy? There are others here, including Master Sol." I say. "You shouldn't rip your clothes off." says Osha.

"Osha," I say, horrified.

I look at Yord again "I can't" I say dejectedly "We are Jedi and... what if he rejects me" I say quietly "Y/N, ever since we met I've seen these looks between you. I don't think he would reject you" says Osha, I sigh "You won't stop annoying me, will you?" I ask and they both just shrug their shoulders "Ok" I say. I mean, in the worst case scenario I'll just leave the Jedi.

I walk over to Yord "Hey Yord" I say "Hey Y/N" he smiles "Can we talk alone for a minute? Only when you have time" I say nervously "I always have time for you" Yord smiles, we go into another room and I get more and more nervous, my heart rate increases. Yord and I just look at each other for a few seconds "Is everything okay?" Yord asks "Y-Yes, everything's fine" I smile nervously "Y/N what's wrong?" he asks worriedly.

So many thoughts are going through my head, is it a good idea to tell him? Does he really feel the same?

Yord puts his hand on my shoulder "You can tell me anything Y/N, you know that" he says.

Ok, just get it out there. "I like you" I say and Yord looks at me strangely. "I hope so" he says, slightly confused. "No, I mean damn it. I love you, Yord" I burst out of me.

Yord looks at me in surprise and I look at him in shock, this isn't how it should go, he didn't say anything, he just stared at me and I feel more and more uncomfortable. "Shit" I say. "I... I'm sorry" I say quickly and want to leave but Yord holds me tight and pulls me towards him.

We look at each other. "You love me?" he whispers hopefully. I can't say a word and can only nod. Yord puts his arms around my waist and pulls me closer before we kiss. I put my arms around his neck. After a while we separate. "I assume you love me too," I say, still slightly nervous. "For so long," Yord smiles. "I was afraid to tell you, afraid that you wouldn't feel the same," he says. "Afraid of the code," he says quietly. "The code," I whisper. But before either of us can say anything else, the ship leaves hyperspace and we immediately leave the room without saying another word.

Jecki and Osha look at me "And?" asks Jecki "So we kissed and he said he loved me" I say "And then?" asks Osha.

"We talked briefly about the code but then nothing more," I say dejectedly.

Before we could continue talking, the ship landed in Khofar. "Go ahead," I said and sat down.

I put my head in my hands "Y/N" I hear Yord say, I look up and see Yord standing a few meters in front of me.

"Yord" I say and stand up, he comes straight to me and kisses me. I am surprised by his actions but kiss him back. "We were just interrupted" he whispers and I smile at him. "I know we are Jedi but damn it Y/N I love you. I want to be with you" says Yord. I just smile at him, I can't believe what I just heard. "I want to be with you too Yord" I smile.

We have found the place where Master Kelnacca is and Mea is also because Bazil found her. But something is strange, I sense a dark threat, I turn around "Osha" I say and everyone turns around. We have taken out our lightsabers,

Osha is suddenly pushed away with the Force and we run towards the Sith together, but he uses the Force and everyone flies away. I'm the only one standing there and turning to the others. "Yord," I say, turning around again. "Is that all?" I ask and the Sith points his lightsaber at me.

I swing my lightsaber "Show me what you can Sith" I say......

[dealingdreams]

The Acolyte s01e01 : Lost/Found

I'm going to put all my thoughts as I go into this one post, and at the end summarize some of my thoughts over the whole episode.

Also before you get any further just an fyi obviously there will be spoilers for this episode but I have already watched the whole season so I'll be referencing things later revealed so proceed with caution.

Notes while watching:

Mae's outfit is so fucking cool. I love the subtle pattern on her cloak.

She does crack me up...she's so dramatic 'attack me with all your strength'

I love this when Indara says 'the Jedi do not attack the unarmed' and Mae's response is 'yes, you do' what an efficient way of peeking interest into what this conflict is about.

I also idk. I don't know how to explain this well but...I don't like when shows make their characters unnaturally gifted. Like Indara has been doing this for a long time so her fight skill would have been better than Mae's so I like that it indeed was yaknow. Mae however, doesn't fight fair which also love.

Osha waking up and putting her hand over her heart...right where Indara was stabbed. I think this was the first real sign that Osha might feel like she hasn't been accessing the force she still is very connected to it.

Little hints at what to come there with the trade federation needing shields prepared. Love to see it.

Osha is so snarky.

Osha is doing an illegal job btw

She does seem genuinely happy to see Yord. It kinda what makes him reaching for his saber even more upsetting.

Sol's quote 'close your eyes, your eyes deceive you' really fucks me up when you think about how that's exactly what Sol's eyes did. He saw something he didn't completely understand, he had good intentions but ultimately he let it blind him.

I like the texture they did to Vernestra's makeup

I do like that Sol immediately was in Osha's corner.

I think Osha's kindness is so sweet. she immediately was concerned for that prisoners wellbeing and saved his life when she could have just left him.

Amandla's scream is so good.

Sol saying let me take accountability is interesting. I think he always was caught between genuinely believing he did the right thing and knowing he was in the wrong. I don't think you need to justify your actions if you genuinely think you were right yaknow.

Yord steaming his cloak cracks me up.

'as above sits the stars, and below lies the sea. I give you you, and you give me me' very as above so below vibes. I feel like the twins might be destined to remain on opposite sides.

I don't think Sol remotely thought Mae was dead when Jecki asked him.

Yord is that know it all in your intro to sociology class.

I think Osha slipping was more to show us her disconnection with the force.

"the Jedi live in a dream. A dream they believe everyone shares. If you attack a Jedi with a weapon you will fail. Steel or laser are not threat to them. But an Acolyte an Acolyte kills without a weapon. An acolyte kills a the dream."

See, I think everything The Stranger says is layered. He's talking about killing without a weapon but also that it's more than the physical death of the Jedi...but the dream as well. This idea of the Jedi supremacy, that they are so powerful. That only the Jedi can access the force. Anyone Killing a Jedi without the use of a weapon would ultimately show that there are others that are capable of using the force.

Anyways so thoughts:

I think this episode was immediately engaging. I really enjoyed how the set up the characters...layed some hints on what is to come. Overall I think it is a solid pilot episode.

Also I think it's heartbreaking that Osha has so much faith in the Jedi but aside from Sol they all were very much convinced of her guilt from the jump. Sure her having a twin wasn't in her file but they had her convicted before they even really investigated it.

Amandla carried herself just a bit different for Mae than with Osha and I adore that. She is so amazing.

Anyways love it...I also think this is the type of show that gets better with every rewatch it's so rich.

[thecoffeelorian]

Fandom Friday, 07/05: Fanart

Hello again, everyone...and welcome to another Fandom Friday: Fanart Edition.

Let me first begin by thanking everyone who stuck by me last week during my grieving period, specifically for Jecki and Yord from 'The Acolyte', and wasn't too embarrassed enough to unfollow me. You've been more than patient as well as good to me, so I hope not to let such positive things in my life go to waste.

Second, now that I'm in a better headspace, and certainly don't mean to make this a negative habit any time soon...here are the fandom recs for the week. Let's get started!

THE ACOLYTE

The Acolyte Fanart--By @wendydoodles

THE HIGH REPUBLIC

The High Republic Fanart--By @orionis13

THE CLONE WARS

The Clone Wars Fanart--By @firelance2361

THE BAD BATCH

The Bad Batch Fanart--By @carhorno

The Bad Batch Fanart--By @dib-dab-art-attack

The Bad Batch Fanart--By @locitapurplepink

STAR WARS REBELS

Star Wars Rebels Fanart--By @swordbladeknight7

THE MANDALORIAN

The Mandalorian Fanart--By @aka-lorterian

In conclusion, as part of my mission to poke around the Star Wars fandom and, on Friday every week, highlight those artists who might otherwise go unnoticed…I hope you will check out the links I have included for yourselves and like, comment on, and reblog them, as well as also giving the artists a few more followers to their Tumblr pages.

Please also like and reblog this latest installment so that these links can be spread around to as many other fans as possible, just in case not all of them can tune in at the same time.

An additional thank you goes to @djarrex for making the divider I used earlier in this post, but still want to give credit for.

And finally, so that I do not forget…this post will be continued in its second half: the Fanfiction Edition.

Thank you, good morning, and I'll see you in the next post!

The No Pressure Tag List: @musicalselaw @gun-roswell @callsign-denmark @melymigo @saphiranishimurashan

@theosb0rnway @hastalavistabyebye @vaderkin-is-a-lightning-rod @vincili @tlmtwelve

@bbtechsimp @thatflatfrog @algo-o-nada @ankossss @tazmbc1

@yeehawgeek @tech-aficionado @exquisitesarcasm @korribanarchive @msknight10

@sharpasanaro @that-gay-jedi @badbatchposts @quietgingerfangirl @sunshinechildskywalker

@universitysunflowers @littlefeatherr @riverside-of-neverland @pastasmoothie @cyberscorch

@ilovemedia @cinnamonsugar-pretzel @brownielocks69 @here-comes-the-moose @skellymom

@lilithastar @maxims-multifandom-corner @serinzatravel-blog @rott1ngbra1n @snap-my-kneecaps and anybody else who might be on the lookout for new and interesting works around the fandom.