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Entry tags:
Fic: Concentration
Title: Concentration
Fandom: Exo
Focus: Suho-centric
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: G
Length: Drabble, 625 words
Summary: Junmyeon's first Initiate Trial is to find a crystal for his lightsaber, not to avoid freezing to death. Star Wars!AU.
Original Post: Here.
Author's Note: Written for the Star Wars AU event held over at EM right after Christmas, lol. It was a pretty fun challenge, and one I got moderate prep time into seeing as I ended up doing a lot of research into the Star Wars universe during my flight to Arizona (though, unfortunately, there wasn't enough time or inspiration to write more). I was solely on Team Suho this time around, and he... didn't win haha. Anyway so. This is based off of the Jedi Initiate Trials that Jedi Younglings/Initiates must undergo in order to advance to the next level and become Padawans, specifically the Trial where Initiates must build their own lightsabers. One of the most interesting things I found during my research was that the mantra associated with the construction of lightsabers ends with the phrase "We are one", which is very obviously also Exo's slogan. So it felt right to mix them both together, because they're words both the real Suho and this Star Wars AU Suho would find comforting :)
So. Notes. Writing about the Force was hard. His lightsaber crystal is going to be green because that tends to be the color of Jedi Consulars, who seek peace through diplomacy rather than battle and force, focusing on the more scholarly approach to the Force. Jedi Younglings were raised in groups that were named after animals, so I put Suho in the Wolf Clan because of its coincidental connection to Exo. I titled it "Concentration" mainly because I'm not sure what else I could've called and also because of a quote about how it is "focusing totally on the business at hand and commanding your body to do exactly what you want it to do" which is exactly what Suho is working on here. I tried to be as accurate as possible regarding Star Wars mythos. Yay.
Fandom: Exo
Focus: Suho-centric
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: G
Length: Drabble, 625 words
Summary: Junmyeon's first Initiate Trial is to find a crystal for his lightsaber, not to avoid freezing to death. Star Wars!AU.
Ilum was a ridiculously cold planet, and not for the first time since Junmyeon and his classmates had been sealed within the crystal caves underneath its frozen surface did he grumble over the fact that the kyber crystals so essential to every Jedi's lightsaber could only be harvested on an arctic hellhole like this. Such behavior wasn't exactly becoming of a Jedi Initiate, but neither was freezing to death like what was going to happen to him if he stayed in these caves any longer. How anyone could concentrate long enough in this place to actually successfully meditate was beyond him.
And yet, this was what years of training in the temple had been leading up to. Hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of his fellow Jedi had gone through this particular trial, one of the first before officially embarking on the path of a Jedi Padawan. Junmyeon wouldn't be any different.
It'd be easier if he could use the Force to numb himself to the cold a little, but selecting the perfect crystal for his lightsaber meant he had to concentrate.
"The crystal is the heart of the blade," he muttered, clutching his robes tighter and trying to ignore the way he could see his breath after each word, "the heart of the crystal is the Jedi."
As he recited the mantra, he thought of his instructors back at the temple, of the customized lightsabers hanging from their utility belts and how dearly he had always wanted to wield one instead of the standard training sabers he and the other members of the Wolf Clan had all been handed to practice with instead. Envy, like most other passionate emotions, was strongly discouraged. But did it count as envy to want a lightsaber of his own, to take his place alongside the Jedi Masters and Jedi Knights and serve the Republic like he'd always been taught?
Focusing on those teachings seemed to be the best way to block out the cold at least, and Junmyeon was certain he'd be able to achieve Moving Mediation if he just started concentrating on peace and serenity and the all-encompassing nature of the Force rather than the goosebumps forming on his skin.
"The Jedi is the crystal of the Force," he continued reciting, continuing to walk through the endless tunnels. He closed his eyes and felt himself reaching out for the Force, for any sign of life and energy besides himself. "The Force is the blade of the heart."
There. A spark towards his left, like a tiny voice calling out to him. He felt his skin prickle, not from the cold for once, but from gentle pull of whatever was waiting for him at the end of his path. Junmyeon must have walked past dozens of other crystals, only faintly registering their faint connection to the Force. All of them paled in comparison to that little spark though, so similar to the draw he had felt each time he had found a new component for his future lightsaber during the past few months.
"All are intertwined: the crystal, the blade, the Jedi." He was so close now, but instead of excitement, Junmyeon felt the familiar calm that accompanied him each time he truly entered a meditative state. Only when he felt the crystal -- his focusing crystal -- in front of him did he open his eyes, taking in the beautiful green glow of the gem. Slowly, he extended his hand and called upon the power of the Force to gently free it from the surrounding rock, smiling as he released his hold to drop it into the palm of his hand.
"We are one," Junmyeon whispered happily, soaking in the sweet warmth of the crystal on his skin.
And yet, this was what years of training in the temple had been leading up to. Hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of his fellow Jedi had gone through this particular trial, one of the first before officially embarking on the path of a Jedi Padawan. Junmyeon wouldn't be any different.
It'd be easier if he could use the Force to numb himself to the cold a little, but selecting the perfect crystal for his lightsaber meant he had to concentrate.
"The crystal is the heart of the blade," he muttered, clutching his robes tighter and trying to ignore the way he could see his breath after each word, "the heart of the crystal is the Jedi."
As he recited the mantra, he thought of his instructors back at the temple, of the customized lightsabers hanging from their utility belts and how dearly he had always wanted to wield one instead of the standard training sabers he and the other members of the Wolf Clan had all been handed to practice with instead. Envy, like most other passionate emotions, was strongly discouraged. But did it count as envy to want a lightsaber of his own, to take his place alongside the Jedi Masters and Jedi Knights and serve the Republic like he'd always been taught?
Focusing on those teachings seemed to be the best way to block out the cold at least, and Junmyeon was certain he'd be able to achieve Moving Mediation if he just started concentrating on peace and serenity and the all-encompassing nature of the Force rather than the goosebumps forming on his skin.
"The Jedi is the crystal of the Force," he continued reciting, continuing to walk through the endless tunnels. He closed his eyes and felt himself reaching out for the Force, for any sign of life and energy besides himself. "The Force is the blade of the heart."
There. A spark towards his left, like a tiny voice calling out to him. He felt his skin prickle, not from the cold for once, but from gentle pull of whatever was waiting for him at the end of his path. Junmyeon must have walked past dozens of other crystals, only faintly registering their faint connection to the Force. All of them paled in comparison to that little spark though, so similar to the draw he had felt each time he had found a new component for his future lightsaber during the past few months.
"All are intertwined: the crystal, the blade, the Jedi." He was so close now, but instead of excitement, Junmyeon felt the familiar calm that accompanied him each time he truly entered a meditative state. Only when he felt the crystal -- his focusing crystal -- in front of him did he open his eyes, taking in the beautiful green glow of the gem. Slowly, he extended his hand and called upon the power of the Force to gently free it from the surrounding rock, smiling as he released his hold to drop it into the palm of his hand.
"We are one," Junmyeon whispered happily, soaking in the sweet warmth of the crystal on his skin.
Original Post: Here.
Author's Note: Written for the Star Wars AU event held over at EM right after Christmas, lol. It was a pretty fun challenge, and one I got moderate prep time into seeing as I ended up doing a lot of research into the Star Wars universe during my flight to Arizona (though, unfortunately, there wasn't enough time or inspiration to write more). I was solely on Team Suho this time around, and he... didn't win haha. Anyway so. This is based off of the Jedi Initiate Trials that Jedi Younglings/Initiates must undergo in order to advance to the next level and become Padawans, specifically the Trial where Initiates must build their own lightsabers. One of the most interesting things I found during my research was that the mantra associated with the construction of lightsabers ends with the phrase "We are one", which is very obviously also Exo's slogan. So it felt right to mix them both together, because they're words both the real Suho and this Star Wars AU Suho would find comforting :)
So. Notes. Writing about the Force was hard. His lightsaber crystal is going to be green because that tends to be the color of Jedi Consulars, who seek peace through diplomacy rather than battle and force, focusing on the more scholarly approach to the Force. Jedi Younglings were raised in groups that were named after animals, so I put Suho in the Wolf Clan because of its coincidental connection to Exo. I titled it "Concentration" mainly because I'm not sure what else I could've called and also because of a quote about how it is "focusing totally on the business at hand and commanding your body to do exactly what you want it to do" which is exactly what Suho is working on here. I tried to be as accurate as possible regarding Star Wars mythos. Yay.