#Initiate Trials

[sw5w]

Training to Become a Jedi is Not an Easy Challenge

STAR WARS EPISODE I: The Phantom Menace 01:12:33

[kittystargen3]

Summary: A time traveling Grandmaster, to the Prequel Era, trying to fix the mistakes the Jedi made, and get rid of a certain Sith too. Only Time Travel is not that easy, as Yoda will soon learn.

Today I published a new chapter to Time Travel: To the Past Yoda Goes. This chapter features the Initiate Trials Anakin will take to become a Padawan. Below is a small selection. Click one of my links above to read more.

Chapter 48 - Initiate Trials

"The Trial will be in Three parts.  The first portion will test your knowledge of the Force and the code we live by as Jedi." Master Windu said to the classroom full of initiates.  "You may take the trials as many times as you like, though you should know that this written portion will be different each time you take it."

Anakin scoffed at the idea.  He did not intend to take these Trials any more times than he had to.  

"A passing score, anything above sixty percent, is theoretically all you need.  Although, higher scores do tend to attract more Masters.  So I understand wanting to try again in the future," Mace went on.  

Anakin felt relieved that he didn't have to worry about that part.  

"Remember, I will be your master no matter what." Obi-Wan had reassured him that morning.  "Just try your best, and…" 

"And if you score higher than Aayla did, he can brag to Quinlan Vos next time he comes over." Siri added with a smirk.

"Bragging is not the Jedi way," Obi-Wan lectured delusively.  Then he turned back to Anakin and said in a more serious voice, "Still, you've studied hard, try your best, and no matter what, I'll be proud."

Anakin knew by now that a Padawan’s scores on the Trials were a source of Pride for their Master.  Thus the Accomplished Masters had only the best students.  Anakin wanted to make Obi-Wan proud.  He’d already gone to the archives to look up this Aayla’s old score, as every Initiate’s Trial scores were considered public knowledge.  “Eighty-Five percent.  You can do this,” He whispered to himself as Mace handed out the test.  

In order to avoid cheating, the written portion of the trial was on Flimsy, and in addition to Master Windu, Master Billaba and two older Padawans were observing the room.  Any use of the Force, whatsoever, was forbidden until the bell rang and they handed in their test forms.  

Anakin took a deep breath.  He looked down at the Aurebesh writing in front of him.  Reading had been one of the first skills the Jedi had taught him.  He remembered he wasn’t a big fan of the many spelling drills Yaddle had made him do, including the one where they made labels for everything in her classroom.  In the end Yaddle had praised him, saying her room had never been more organized.  She told him to do the same to a room in his and Obi-Wan’s quarters as homework.  Did Obi-Wan’s eyes grow big when he picked his mechanical workbench as the thing to label!  Still, it was useful, both for allowing Anakin to have a quick way to locate the exact bolt cutters he needs, and for his learning to read as well as his peers.  

Anakin picked up the pen and started to fill in answers.  ‘ Aurek, Jedi are protectors.  That’s an easy one!  A Jedi is not to value possessions more than the lives he or she is sent out to protect.  Cresh, that was Master Gormo’s quote.  Besh, Cresh, Dorn.’  

[minjimunji]

I finally finished my Meg designs 😅

[akiacia]

the myth of eros and psyche

[copperbadge]

I’m not here to tell anyone how to have a good time, but if you really hate a fanfic and feel you have to tell the author that, the impact of your criticism may be reduced if you leave the comment on chapter 44 of 44. 

You can hate the food, but if you eat all twelve courses it’s tough to take your whining about the menu seriously, kiddo.  

[everythingannoyingpjo]

i really don't like how Riordan wrote Octavian in HOO. during SON, it really seemed like he had something planned for him, some backstory or reasoning for his actions, but when he saw the way fans hated on him he decided to just make him a laughingstock. he's supposed to be this powerful guy, Hazel even says so, and he's supposed to be able to talk the senate into almost anything, and yet we don't see any of this past SON. and the hypocrisy for him! with Luke, people forgave him even though he tried to literally destroy Camp Halfblood, gr00med children, and obviously did not care if his own allies got killed. his main reasoning was "I don't think my dad cares about me so I'm just gonna injure and/or off dozens of children!". Octavian does try to destroy Camp Halfblood (which I'm not gonna say is okay, bc it isn't) but he has an actual reasoning! his home had been attacked and the people who did it just ran away with no explanation. yes, Leo had been possessed, but nobody even told Octavian that! so his rage was absolutely reasonable. and he actually cares about his allies. he waits to attack several days to a week just so the onagers would arrive, that way there would be no casualties on his side. plus, it seems like people just ignore the fact that he was manipulated by Gaea and was obviously having a mental breakdown near the end. it's constantly brought up in arguments for Luke like "he was manipulated by Kronos!!" but when a similar thing happens to Octavian, nobody mentions it or seemingly cares.

Note: OP has a negative opinion of Luke and of some fans differing reactions to Luke and Octavian as antagonists. However this is not a fandom complaint or character complaint blog. It is a book complaint blog. This ask was sent before that point was clarified. Please try to limit complaints and discussions to what occurs in the source material only.

Yes, I agree. I tried to make a list of your points below for clarity.

during SON, it really seemed like he had something planned for him, some backstory or reasoning for his actions

It did seem that way. There are a lot of implications behind Octavian and not much fact.

It is implied he was raised in New Rome. This means he was raised in a culture that promoted suspicion of/aversion towards greek demigod culture. (You can see this aversion in the way people/the laeres react to Percy when he arrives at CJ.)

It is implied he has prophetic powers.

It is implied that he is unwell/unstable. It's implied he is being manipulated by Gaea.

It is implied that public opinion of him is favorable.

It is implied he wants to go to war, specifically against greek demigods should they exist, though he should have no proof of their existence.

It is implied that he killed Gwen.

It is implied (in TOA) that he has a connection to the triumverate.

None of this is ever explained/explored/given more detail. Why does he believe Apollo supports him? What is the extent of Gaea's influence on him? Why does he angle for war before the attack on Rome even happens? What does he know and how?

he's supposed to be this powerful guy, Hazel even says so, and he's supposed to be able to talk the senate into almost anything, and yet we don't see any of this past SON.

Given every implication above, he should be powerful, or competent, or at least have the backing of competent people. We never see that. We never know why he makes the decisions he does and how he accomplishes his goals is almost never shown or explored.

Octavian does try to destroy Camp Halfblood (which I'm not gonna say is okay, bc it isn't) but he has an actual reasoning! his home had been attacked and the people who did it just ran away with no explanation.

Octavian was pretty clearly angling for war even before the attack, but certainly that cemented the legitimacy of such an action in his mind. Yet from SoN onwards Rick treats Octavian as a complete joke. Which honestly, I do think Octavian is funny, but I also think the story would have been better if I believed Octavian was a legitimate threat. And I don't because he basically disappears from the narrative at this point except to exist as some sort of omnipresent boogieman. None of his actions, motivations, or reasoning is ever explored. Any shadow of substance he had in the previous books is flattened. He becomes completely two dimensional.

It's hard to even be mad at people for not seeing the legitimacy in his attack when it's the result of Rick completely ignoring his character. After SoN he basically only exists to create a sense of urgency in completing the quest.

and he actually cares about his allies. he waits to attack several days to a week just so the onagers would arrive, that way there would be no casualties on his side.

I mean, this is largely supposition. The narrative heavily implies the wait for the onagers is because he wants to win with overwhelming force. But you are right that his compatriots safety could be the reason he wants to win with overwhelming force! But we don't know, because again, he was never fleshed out!

plus, it seems like people just ignore the fact that he was manipulated by Gaea and was obviously having a mental breakdown near the end.

It's pretty clear he was being manipulated. I think one thing it's easy to forget is that all these characters are teenagers. Octavian is a child. He has been put in a position of responsibility that should be reserved for an adult. It's hard to think Octavian is 100% evil or that he 100% deserves to die. EXCEPT that Rick has prevented us from being allowed to see him as a real person. He has made him feel like a complete caricature of a human being. And even then, it still disgusts me that Rick made his death a complete joke, something to laugh at.

If Rick was trying to say that "people who think this way are a joke" he should have shown us more of Octavian's thoughts. He should have given us the oppurtunity to see the point he was making by laughing at him.

Instead we have the implication that there was more, and no answers. He never even gave Octavian a last name. I do not like Octavian as a character, but everything about how he was written is sort of fucked up.

[frootbyethefoot]

trophy hunting

[ID: a digital drawing of maki harukawa from danganronpa v3: killing harmony. maki is standing dead center, with a blank, almost thousand yard stare, and a neutral expression. she is holding a black and white checkered piece of fabric, with a splash of bright pink blood on it.

behind her are three panels. the first panel, towards the left shows a crossbow, the strike-9 poison bottle, the antidote covered in blood, and a bloody handprint. all of the panels are in greyscale, except for the bright pink blood. the second panel, in the middle, shows kokichi oumas clothing with blood running down the back. the final panel shows kaito momotas jacket, with blood running down the sleeve. END ID/]

[rockturbot]

The good old days when evidence law was still longer than three (3) pages😌

[apollosgiftofprophecy]

Swarms & Swears, in a nutshell

Athena, inwardly: I am merely going along with Apollo's desire to change the border to reestablish and reaffirm his trust in me. Once this is taken care of, I will press him on rebellion.

Also Athena, upon seeing Apollo getting giddy over the border & his kids: Another day, perhaps. Another day.

[vickyvicarious]

So this conversation... hoo boy, does it pack a punch. I had completely forgotten to think about what Kazuma being alive would mean regarding Herlock until Susato and Ryunosuke brought it up, but... this is a really agonizing betrayal. And even when they confront him on it, he just delays, waits out to see what they know, what he can get away with. So many times he just sits there for a long moment, letting them talk. He asks Susato, "You're quite sure?" He says this:

This is utterly infuriating. I would lose it here. And it's all the worse because Ryunosuke counters this with nothing but a certainty in Herlock's skills. He had to be lying, because they trust him to have known the truth. They aren't willing to believe that he made a mistake when he announced Kazuma's death, any more than they doubt their own recognition of him actually being alive. The confidence here hurts a lot in context. The friendship with which they approach this conversation. And he never tells them!

I'm sure the truth will come out eventually, and he'll have had his reasons, but... Ryunosuke has lived with him all along. Susato so clearly admires him so much. They're all friends. And he's seen how deeply they are grieving, he must have, and he's chosen to stay silent all this time. I'm so so impressed again by Ryunosuke and Susato's willingness to extend that trust further, to wait to find out answers.... And then even to continue investigating together with him shortly afterwards. It would be completely understandable if they couldn't. I still feel like they need to get properly angry at him, but maybe they're saving that for after they know the whole situation.

[sw5w]

I Take Anakin as My Padawan Learner

STAR WARS EPISODE I: The Phantom Menace 01:33:44

[panevanbuckley]

okay so first impressions of the sunbearer trials is that it's very much giving the vibes of percy jackson meets the hunger games

[arolesbianism]

I caved and made them real. Obverse me losing more and more motivation to draw as I made each of these back to back lol

[graveyard-society]

hi chat sorry for disappearing i'll start posting shitty doodles for now (mainly komahina ngl)

[everythingannoyingpjo]

I hated everything Bob the Titan. Like I was a PJO super fan, so I read all the books (so I did know who Bob was BEFORE reading HoH), but that doesn't excuse having him be such a titular part of Percy and Annabeth's Tartarus experience while being introduced in a side book. In what world does that make sense?

This isn't even mentioning how strange it is to blame Percy for not wanting anything to do with Bob/manipulating him. Sure, perhaps Percy MAY have been a little out of line there (truly, I don't think so, though, it IS an argument), and it also didn't help that he was being blamed by the narrative for Bob and Calypso, as if either were ever really HIS fault.

(Finally, Percy has ALWAYS been like that. Bob wasn't needed to show him to be a slightly manipulative person. There were much more interesting ways to go about introducing Tartarus and exploring both Percy and Annabeth as characters. Percy especially).

Not much for me to add here. Bob being in the book never bothered me personally, but I can see how it would be annoying to have the focus taken away from Annabeth and Percy. Percy's POV is actually largely absent in Tartarus, and I think the reason for this (the only reason I can think of) is that Percy's PoV was probably quite dark during this part of the narrative, especially since it's the lead up to his break down when confronting Akhlys.

Percy has always been prone to blaming himself for others misfortune, so the fact that he blamed himself for what happened to Calypso, Bob, and Nico is not surprising to me, what did surprise me is that the narrative played it completely straight. Honestly the scene with Leo and Percy also really bugged me and I know I'm not alone in this. I honestly think Rick bit off more than he could chew with HoO trying to balance the arcs of about 10 different characters with conflicting viewpoints. (I'm counting Reyna, Nico, and Misc side characters here too.)

I think Leo suffers the most from this since his character arc required the most development imo, but so do Hazel, Frank, Piper, and Jason. These characters all have relatively "healthy" coping mechanisms so they didn't need as much focus and were pushed to the side as a result. Percy, whether because we know him better or because he's easier for Rick to write (experience will do that to you) didn't have as much of a problem, except again for those things which required a certain amount of nuance, which is a weak point in Rick's writing already!

I never considered the point of Bob's character was to show that Percy could and would mislead people in order to survive, but it's an interesting point and I like it. I slightly disagree, but only because I'm of the opinion that Percy was being honest with Bob when he said he would let Bob bring Hyperion back if he really wanted to. And we never find out if he is, because that scene is from Annabeth's point of view and she admits she isn't sure if he's lying or not. Another one of those things it would have been nice to come back to. ALAS!

But also we already knew Percy was willing to trick people to survive, didn't we? He tricks his opponents into doing stupid shit all the time in the first series. I guess this is just the first time we as the audience feel sympathy for the character he is potentially deceiving so it FEELS like a betrayal. Definitely something for me to think about. Thanks for your submission.

[vorakh]

disco elysium written in the brothers karamazov style and the brothers karamazov written in disco elysium style