audio ; un: a.solo

[hopesparks]

[ There's a faint sound of wind in the background of his broadcast, as if he's sitting somewhere up high. ]

Hello. Again. [ Oof, okay, not the strongest start. ] I'm Anakin Solo, a knight of the Jedi Order, at your service. I sort of remember being here before, and I wanted to thank everyone who helped me out.

They offered me a bed at the orphanage, but I don't want to take it from someone who might need it.
How does housing work here, exactly? I don't mind sleeping outside, but that doesn't seem wise in the long run.

[ A pause. ]

By the way, I don't remember the sky being like this before-- is this normal? As normal as anything is here, I mean.

[ Another pause. He's clearly not in his element. ]

Thanks again.

[ The feed ends. ]


( ooc: let me know if you want to keep his tdm thread! i'm cool either way. )

Comments

[hopesparks]

It doesn't sound stupid. I'm usually not on my own for longer than a few weeks.

[ Ruefully: ] And when you're Force-sensitive, you're never really alone.

[ He can always feel it-- the hum of life all around him, the ebb and flow of the Force. It actually took training to learn how to shut it off rather than to open himself up to it. ]

[thisislife]

[she sounds genuinely surprised and pleased] It doesn't? I mean, it's not that I'm glad that you understand, but. It's still kinda nice that you do?

Force-sensitive...what's that?

[there's always something new to learn around here, that's one of the things which she actually loves about this place. she's always been eager to learn as much as she possibly could. not because she was jockeying for valedictorian, but because she genuinely enjoyed learning]

[hopesparks]

It means you have a strong connection to the Force.

[ Anakin pauses. She probably doesn't know what the Force is. He's still getting used to interacting with people outside of the Order or those Jedi-adjacent. ]'

The Force is what binds all living things together. Every living thing has a connection to it, but some have a stronger connection than others. They're able to use the Force to do things they otherwise wouldn't be able to do on their own. That's where my power of telekinesis comes from.

[thisislife]

Oh. Um. [trying to sound suitably enthusiastic] That's cool?

[no, she really doesn't. she hasn't run into any other Force-users in Trench. those who knew Force-users, yes, but not them in person. until now]

That's...you're in touch with what binds everything together? All living things? I guess that includes you and me. And, I--I still owe you for the telekinesis earlier. Would you like to go grab fish and chips from the best place in Trench for it?

[yes, she's asking him for a date. God have mercy on her soul]

[hopesparks]

Essentially. I'm not sure how much of it will translate over, but it can't be too different even if the source of the power is.

[ The "date" invitation flies right over his head. You had him at food, Lexi. ]

Sure. Give me a day or two to settle in, but then I'd be happy to.

[thisislife]

That's both really cool and sounds like it could be really overwhelming. To be in tune with everything around you, I mean. There's just so much around that I don't think I'd be able to tune out what was and what wasn't important. Not without a lot of practice, anyway.

[she's too shy and awkward at this point to make it clear that it would be more than a just friends thing]

All right, that's great! There's a place in Willful Machine which has really good fish and chips, you can text me when you're ready and settled, then I'll text you the address.

[hopesparks]

I've had to practice since I was really young-- it's really the only way.

[ The world was overwhelming to him when he was little, but he's always trained diligently to make the most of his power. ]

Sure. I'll look forward to it.

[thisislife]

So...can you read minds?

[since all of it seemed like super-powers, it seemed like a sensible question to ask]

All right, cool! I'll see you soon!

[hopesparks]

In a way. But it's not easy to do and doesn't work on everyone. [ Quickly: ] It's not something I would ever do lightly.

[ She doesn't seem too alarmed by the prospect, but he wants to be clear. He doesn't want people to be scared of him. ]

[thisislife]

No, no, I don't think you would. Only that it's got to be wild, to be able to tune into someone else like turning on a TV channel.

[she's heard of Palebloods, who could also read minds. so, she's had a little time to get used to the concept]

[hopesparks]

I've always been able to do it, so it's not that strange to me. I usually don't talk about it, though. Not everyone will trust a "mind-reader."

[ He shrugs slightly. ]

It has to be difficult for those just getting abilities like that though. Not having control can make things difficult. [ To say the least. ]

[thisislife]

I guess this place is good for one thing: getting people to accept the idea of mind readers since that's supposed to be the Palebloods' big thing. Did you end up being a Paleblood?

Yeahhhh. I've only been able to use my Darkblood abilities once. Some guy was kinda hassling me and I thought maybe he'd be violent, so I kind of reflexively warped reality for him so that he was in my high school. Funny that I can't think of anything worse than high school, really.

[hopesparks]

I'm not sure. I don't feel any differences, but might take awhile.

[ Now he's curious. ]

What's high school?

[thisislife]

I guess that's the difference between us: as soon as I heard of the blood differences, I gave myself a papercut and found black glitter coming out of it. And it's scary. To alter one's perceptions of reality or to slow down time. That's not even taking into account the telekinesis.

[she'd be happy to satiate his curiosity]

Oh! It's the last four years of schooling. It's a mess, the whole thing is a mess. That's why I sent Evil Jude Law there.

[hopesparks]

Once you learn how to control it, it's not as scary. I'll help how I can.

[ The last four years? He wonders what's so bad about that. ]

Oh. I didn't go to a traditional school, so I missed out on that.

[ He had private tutors and the Jedi academy. A very different experience, to say the least. ]

(CW: drug use, bad relationships)

[thisislife]

Thank you. To say that I'd appreciate it---well, it would be a huge understatement.

[jerk jocks, snobby cheerleaders, and trying and failing to keep Rue's hands off of every substance there was]

Count yourself lucky. I tried to talk mom into letting me take one of those computer-based home schooling programs but no luck. Someone had to keep an eye on Cassie.

[she loves her big sister, she really does. she just wishes Cassie would quit getting herself into situations with guys who didn't deserve her]

[hopesparks]

[ Anakin wonders idly if there's something like "high school" back home at all. Probably, but he rarely interacts with people his own age outside of the Order. So this whole experience so far in the Trench has been complicated in more than one way.

Though this is a pretty tame strangeness, all things considered. ]

That seems unfair.

[thisislife]

[Lexi would like to think not. high school was a chamber of horrors which always smelled like damp gym socks and tater tot casserole. gross.

it could be worse?]

Maybe, but she...not really as good at taking care of her self as I am. So, the logic goes, I can take care of me and her since I'm already a step above.

[hopesparks]

[ He still thinks that's unfair, though he doesn't reiterate the point. And it's not for him to judge, in the end. ]

Isn't that a lot of pressure?

[thisislife]

[it is unfair. she's well aware of that. though, she also knows she can't do anything about it]

Sort of? My sister's kind of...weird. Like, she'll do these things that make no sense at first, but then you slowly get the rest of the puzzle and you're like "oh, yeah. Why didn't I figure it out sooner?"

[hopesparks]

I know a few people like that. [ Wryly: ] I think I'm that sort of person sometimes.

[ Though at the moment, his life has turned into a bizarre incomprehensible puzzle. ]

[thisislife]

No wonder why we get along so well.

[she says, gently teasing. but she's met his grandmother, considers her a friend. she has something of an inkling how complicated]

[hopesparks]

That explains it. Am I allowed to apologize in advance for being exasperating?

[ It happens inevitably. He's not always good at communicating, so he tends to frustrate others from time to time. Particularly people outside of his family. ]

[thisislife]

[she grins] Yes, of course you are. Only if I get to apologize, too. I can be exasperating, too.

[and she has such low self-esteem that she has a hard time believing it when people say nice things to and about her]

[hopesparks]

[ That gets a soft laugh out of him. ]

You have a deal.