A Bright Center to the Universe

This is my Worth A Thousand Words story, and idea that began by Voronda Elda-Aranel. (Actually, it is 1,006, but I guess it'll do. Voronda's is 1,002.) I always had this idea in mind, but never got the chance to form it until now. "A Bright Center to the Universe" is, as you all know, a quote of Luke that got me thinking. So here we are. The picture of the month, which I will be writing about, it below. Hope you enjoy it, and don't forget to check out Voronda's in A Believer's Journey!

It all began with my birthday. I am sure of it... as sure as I can be. Everything was so extraordinary, I thought I needed to write it down, in hopes that someone will read it someday. Everyone has a story, a story that's the bright center of the universe. Their universe.

My name is Sirita. This is my story. The bright center of my universe.

As I said, it all began with my birthday. My fifteenth birthday, to be exact. It was the best birthday of my life. My friends knew exactly what to give me, and I knew exactly what to do. It was like I lived this moment before.

I am a Star Wars fan. Always been, as long as I can remember. I recall my first birthday, where I heard the sounds of zooming ships streaking to hypersapace. Of course, it was in a movie, but a magical one that got me into another galaxy. My parents named my Sirita, unknowingly that it was like Siri Tachi, my favorite Jedi. Even before I knew her, my favorite color was violet. Her blade color was violet. My hair is blond like hers. My personality, as I've been told, is like her. It's like I'm not pretending to be Siri Tachi, but I am Siri Tachi. In a world called Earth.

So. Back to my birthday. I had a very good day, just as every other time I celebrated my birthday. My gifts, of course, were things of Star Wars. I got an awesome new poster, Chewie Cake, Princess Leia's costume, a "lightsaber", Jedi Robes, Revenge of the Sith novelization by Mathew Stover, and many other things. Strangest among my gifts, though, was a black box about the size of my palms, covered in Star Wars style ribbons. I couldn't get it open, nor could I tell what's inside. There was no note. Not even a Happy Birthday wish. Nevertheless, all of this was truly marvelous. But I only knew the true meaning of "marvelous" when I thought my day was over, even though it was just beginning.

I hopped onto bed, replaying the events in my head. Wherever my mind goes, though, it always came back to the box. I tossed and turned, and then finally stayed still. I felt something... not just the box, but a connection. A bond. It stretched out for millions of miles, yet it was so small... and so big at the same time.

 I could hear the trees rustling outside my window... feel the texture of the carpet beneath my feet... see the waves crashing in the oceans on the other side of the world... smell the left over soup downstairs, and taste the sweet Chewie Cake finished an hour ago, and hear my own cheerful cry echoing in my bedroom walls. Time doesn't matter to me anymore... nor does distance or size... because I was nothing and everything. I was the trees, the carpet, the waves, the cake, and the walls. I was light and dark. I feel like I was one of them, yet I was dwarfed by them. I couldn't grasp it completely. I was a part of them, yet apart from them.

After all, I was me. Taking comfort in that fact, I let myself be guided by the flow. It all centers around... the box?! I wanted to go get it, open it, see what's in it, and use it. The temptation was overwhelming. Yet I allowed myself to quiet down, and sink deeper and deeper into the bond and flow. Closing my eyes, I reached out my hand, feeling its smooth surface and coolness against my skin. I opened it. It was in my hand.

Right now I thought I would have panicked, but oddly I felt strangely calm. I felt rather than see myself open the box as I flowed with the invisible waves. Inside... was a ball. Reaching deeper and deeper into the flow, I was no longer guiding my hands but let everything take over. The ball cracked and light spilled, swirling around and around until it formed a galaxy in my hands.

We are one.

Clunk. Sunk deep into the Force, Siri could hardly hear the sound of the metal opponent falling against the hard floor. She was one with everything. With the Force. The Force guided her legs into a kick- no, the Force was her legs kicking. It was her lightsaber buzzing and her sweat rolling, and also her droid opponent. Soon, though, the Force took away the Force, or rather, Siri took away the droids. Slowly coming back to her conscious self, she put her blindfold down and allowed the sun to bathe her face with sunlight for a moment before she adjusted her eyes. She found Yoda smiling at her, definitely impressed, knowing that this was her first time on this exercise. She could be a legend. Allowing Yoda's silent praise to fill her for a moment, she breathed it out and let it go like a Jedi she was. The Force was to be thanked.

She recalled the lightsaber construction ceremony. Put plainly,  the lightsaber in her hand was intertwined with everything through the Force- because it was the Force. We are one.

I blinked. It felt just like I dived into the bright center- the Capital of the Republic, where the Jedi Temple was. I felt like I was there. Oh right, of course I was there... I was the Force, and I was everywhere. I was Siri. Wait... I was the Force. I was the Force. It took a few moments to sink in. I blinked again.

I woke up. It had all been a dream. A really good dream. Sunlight was pouring in my windows, just as it had in the Jedi Temple. I looked up and saw the black box just where I left it yesterday night. I smiled. I knew that it wasn't just a dream, but it was the first time I had touched the Force.

**********

Whew! That took a long time! May the Force be with you!

My Fan Art #1 :)

Well, I have done a lot of Star Wars art recently so I thought I'd share it here. Hope you like it!

I just finished this today. To me, that battle could determine the fate of the galaxy in many ways, so I felt I needed one to express it all.

As you all know, I love Ahsoka Tano. This is just one more picture I did that shows her in all the stages of her life, and when she was wearing different clothes.

To me, Ahsoka's eyes is one of the most striking things about her, so I drew one picture of it. Since it didn't really stand out, I guess I'll color it.

Another Ahsoka picture. I guess I need to fix her eyes and neck a little... and maybe her nose. Then I'll color it.

I never did one for Leia, so I just did one since she deserves some tribute. And I put my favorite quote about her down there... from Yoda, of course. It shows her as a baby in ROTS, young adult in ROTJ, and then her later life as a Jedi. She's my favorite original trilogy character.

Another wallpaper for my favorite couple

Ahsoka in her poses of the various forms of lightsaber combat, though not all. I had a glitch a couldn't fix, as you all can see.

That's it for now! May the Force be with you!

Brothers Review

The last words of the episode echoed through me head as I type this. I had a Star Wars marathon of reading fan fictions, watching the movies again, and now seeing this episode. The episode. Right. It could be summed up in three words.

Darth Maul returns.

Those three words carry a sea of meaning and raised up so many questions. What? Where? When? Why? How? I was all crazy about having my questions answered, and looked forward to this episode. One of the most awesome characters in TPM is coming back. That should cause a lot of excitement. I don't know how to say this, but I was disappointed. It wasn't that bad, but I had higher hopes for it than any other. But it turned out to be just another episode. Yoda's words echoed through my mind. "If routine you count on, disappointed you hopes will be. It is better to expect nothing and let each moment surprise you." Well, I wasn't counting on routine, but then I knew what he meant. My questions were hardly answered, but at least I got hope that it will next week and I got to enjoy the episode more or less.

Let's start of with the things not concerning this episode. I'm really glad that Anakin and Ahsoka are back, but they didn't play much of a role. Anakin sensing the disturbance is building up the story, but then it didn't help really much. Same thing with Dooku. I noticed that they repeated the same exact words. Chris in Secrets of the Force also pointed out that Ahsoka calling her master Anakin is unsettling. The Force theme was nice, but it was somehow off. I was happy Assajj Ventress was there, but I quickly discovered there was no point of putting her in since there was not going to be a good part of her inside the episode. Mother Talzin also had no point in the episode. I don't really see how she betrayed Savage either. Though, on a random note, I like her accent.

Next stop, the comic relief. The talking snake. It kind of reminds me of Jar Jar, but then he was not the same. I'd trade some humor for seeing Darth Mual sooner anytime. It was quite strange seeing a snake talk like that. I think it's not quite Star Wars-ish. The humor made me laugh a little, which was a good thing in the episode. I did not see the betrayal coming at all. I feel like strangling the snake myself, and I can't say that I didn't take pleasure in seeing it choked and burnt.

Savage is displaying his usual self. I winced when he threw the guy off his own ship- ouch. That gotta hurt. His tracking skills are good, and I'm glad the necklace has a role in it. There was too much of him tracking his brother on the planet, since we were all dying to see Darth Mual come back. There should be less of that and the scenes with the stupid talking snake. The "Is that you, brother?" lines were cracking my nerves. I'm glad, though, that he finally reached Mual, even though it was all for the rain.

Darth Mual. His voice doesn't match the original one that well, and it's understandable that he's mad but it's overkill. I find his legs creepy and weird. On the bright side, he definitely looks starving and his horns are longer than they had been in TPM, which suggests he was ill. It was queer to see a once strong sith become... this. I'm hoping for something. Anything.

The episode has some pretty good action, but then there's not enough. Seeing short fights between brothers aren't enough for me. And some pathetic life forms fighting with Savage isn't that good. I was hoping for a lightsaber fight or something.

The scene at the end was good. After the single word "Revenge" I knew something was coming up. At least the dark side did not blind Yoda, seeing he knows Mual was alive. Obi-Wan repeated the same thing he did in season three, though he was then talking about Savage. ("I killed him myself") I wonder what the chancellor would do if he knew... if he already didn't.

In conclusion, I hope this doesn't sound too negative. I'm okay with it, not hating nor loving. If this was in a normal Clone Wars episode to me, I would say it's awesome. It has some bright sides- the animation is great, some good action, appearance of the characters I like, etc. But then it was... off. I wanted better for Mual returning, and the trailer got me pumped up. I was disappointed, but then not that much. I still have hope that the next episode would really shine. I'd give this one a 6/10. Until then... May the Force be with you!

Brothers

I'll start off by saying that episodes without Jedi is starting to wear on me. I hope that this one has it, though I'm quite sure it does. Anyway... if my emotions can be described in words, I'd say I'm elated that Darth Maul is going to be epic. And that's putting it very mildly... and "very mildly" is an overstatement.

Moral

"A fallen enemy may rise again, but the reconciled one is truly vanquished."

Wow... I love this one as usual. Something to puzzle out... at night... reminding myself that I'm supposed to think of Star Wars...

Official Description

"The dark warrior Savage Opress is on a quest to find his long-lost brother. Could Darth Maul truly be alive, after more than a decade since his gruesome bisection at the blade of Obi-Wan Kenobi? Savage voyages into the depths of a twisted planet to find whatever became of the fallen Sith Lord."

My mouth is opening in a silent scream. That's all I need to say...

Pictures

In a cave... creepy...

Savage searching everywhere... he is close...

He finds out the necklace glows with the dust... which means something interesting is gunna happen...

Even with the clan dead she's still up to something.

The pictures below I'm not sure whether they are from the next episode, but I'm guessing they are and some of them are just epic.

Nice planet. I love this color. And his ship looks like a bus.

He knows...

He stands at the entrance...

Love his lightsaber :D

*mouth opens in shock*

The two brothers finally meet :)

I'm glad Assajj is appearing again! Can't wait for this!

I'm not sure if Obi-Wan is in here and I'm guessing not... but I wish it were so. Until next time, May the Force be with you!

Bounty Review

Man, that was a great episode! Though I can't say honestly that it was the best in the season, it sure did exceed my expectations. I did not think that this episode is going to be good, but boy I was wrong. Usually I enjoy all the episodes, and this one was no different. It was touching moments as well as humorous ones, and yet many full of action... which is everything I need to enjoy an episode. So, down to business.

The thing that struck out to me most is the star. Asajj Ventress. We always see her a a villain, and I saw her as that too... until the last episode. I pity her. After all she did, she found she had lost everything again and again in her life and then became aimless. But now I have to smile, seeing her finally know who she was and who she could be.

She's not a really bad person, is she? She can't help being like that after all she went through. She was fair with the credits in the end, and she saw from the little girl that she was like her. And she let them go without killing them. As it states in Wookiepedia, she had thought that perhaps Kenobi is right... and walked away from everything in the end. She made the right choice. She kind of reminded me of Starkiller, who's destiny was awoken like hers.

I have to admit I was worried about the Bounty Hunters who fell off, though I felt to special attachment to them. I was pretty surprised when they were all back with credits... since they failed and yet they got their bounty. I sometimes love seeing money quarrels.

I sided with the Bounty Hunters at first because I thought they were delivering something as a good cause. I knew they were doing it for money, and when the employer said "Loosing your bounty will be the least of your problems" it seemed really serious. Therefore I was shocked when the girl came out. And even then I thought she was a daughter of an important person, taken for a ransom. Thus, I was even more astonished when the box reached the employer and he declared stupidly that his bride was here. This episode has a few strange turns.

As for Boba, I'm glad he's back. I must say I liked his old haircut better, but him with the helmet is amazing. For one so young, he was really good. Though I'd say he was foolish at the end to test Assajj. I knew that when she took the cart out it did not contain the little girl, but I was surprised that Boba was in. I thought there was some useless junk in there... or nothing at all.

If I am to find one bad thing about the episode, I'd say the plot isn't very thick. I mean, the only thing that kept the episode going was one point: Deliver the cargo. But then later on that changed as well, since the main thing after the money quarrel was not to deliver the cargo safe and sound anymore. Also, I enjoy seeing Jedi in episodes, and it was a little disappointment not to see them. They're my thing more than Bounty Hunters are.

The setting was done really well. First I was doubting whether Assajj landed was Tatooine or not, but then it was confirmed a yes when they mentioned desert. That would explain Assajj shielding her eyes when she first landed. And the cantina was great. I enjoyed the part where Assajj seemed like trying to get herself drunk, but the killing part was not so pretty. Also, the alien planet was done well; I love the purple environment and the animals as well as the building and elevators.

Okay, I'm saving the best for last. I love the action the most. I like seeing fights when they were on a moving ground like this one. I wondered at first why Assajj did not use her lightsabers, but then it wasn't necessary. The weapons of the opponent as well as their agility and flexibility are awesome. I wasn't surprised they lost the battle, since Assajj was a very skilled dark assassin. On the other hand, I was surprised the girl had the nerve to speak out when the battle was lost. I'm glad there was at least a genuine hug in this one, shared by a family member to another. It lightens the mood a little bit.

Overall, I'd give an 8/10 for the episode. That's it for now! I look forward to seeing your thoughts! May the Force be with you!