SWTOR 30 Day Jedi Challenge - End

So I totally haven't finished the 30 days, BUT it's now moving on to just moving on from one planet to the next. And in all fairness, I haven't thought about ANY of that from a RP standpoint. Coruscant, maybe, because Arri shows up in Vacy's story in that one, but all I really know is that she's coming back to Coruscant at that point. I really don't have any headcanons for any of this, sooo I'd just be kind of slapping things together and pretending it mattered.

Which it doesn't. I'm sorry, Arri. You deserve a better writer than me.

OTOH I may have a go at this one sometime soon.

SWTOR 30 Day Jedi Challenge - Ship

• Day 17 - Ship: How does your Jedi like their personal starship? Did they give it a name? Any interesting little quirks? A gizka infestation, maybe? Do they do the piloting or does someone else handle that? Are they prone to crash-landings? Does your ship see a lot of battle or diplomatic missions? Is it well-equipped for either one? Does your Jedi ever detect a hint of Alderaanian nectar in the air?

 I feel like I didn't get much of a weekend. I spent so much of it grading! At least I got it done.

*sigh* And I kind of don't feel like finishing the rest of these. I'm just kind of making things up on the fly and I feel like I'm not doing a good job and I'm just wasting my time. You know? Like I don't have anything special in mind for any of this. What's the point? *another sigh*

I missed another day, too. Last night we had D&D and I'd also been lectured about the way I structure my lessons. I'm trying not to be frustrated and/or terrified. I feel like it's my neck on the chopping block.

Arri does her own piloting, for the most part. She learned while she was on Vornu. Starting out, she was very tentative. But over time and with practice she became more confident.

SWTOR 30 Day Jedi Challenge - Mounts

• Day 16 - Mounts: It’s a big, inconvenient galaxy. A Jedi like yours can’t do their job without their own speeder. What kind of mount does your Jedi have? Do they only have the one? If not, which do they prefer? Are they happy with their speeder or in the market for a new one? How did they acquire their speeders? Do they maintain them personally or assign the task to a companion? Maybe they pay a service? Or maybe your Jedi could stand to take a few lessons in how to fly a speeder?

These are getting harder and harder because the recent ones have been about gear, and Arri just hasn't been that concerned with special items. She does a pretty good job of not forming attachments, and that means things as well as people. But at the same time, good stewardship is important, so she did a fair amount of research before purchasing a speeder - used, of course - but a model that had a reputation for durability and safety.

SWTOR 30 Day Jedi Challenge - Armor

• Day 15 - Armor: How much and what kind of armor does your Jedi wear? Include a picture if you want! Is it distinctive in any way? Does it have any sentimental value or is it some kind of precious relic? The Order prefers function to form and traditionally Jedi are outfitted modestly, in unremarkable plain brown robes. How strictly does your Jedi adhere to this custom? Do they think it’s idiotic? Do they dress for fashion at the expense of function? What kinds of nicks and quirks does their armor have to give it character — does it have that one clasp that always catches, that seal that has to be jiggled just right?

Since she's often taking the brunt of the damage in most combat situations, Bel'arria wears heavy armor, for as much protection as possible. She avoids wearing her robes while on a mission as she learned early on that doing so often meant having to request new ones. Instead, she keeps her robes neatly folded in the locker on her ship.

Her armor is the sort used by common mercenaries. It's better than what's issued to low-level military grunts, but not as good as what the elite units have. She is careful to keep it well-maintained, so that while in some places the finish is scratched or the paint has flaked off, it fits with snug perfection.

• Day 14 - Weapons: A Jedi is never unarmed; describe your Jedi’s preferred weapons. Do they have a favorite lightsaber or are they more adept with the Force? Is their lightsaber (or lightsabers) unique? Does it have its own history? Do they have any other weapons — holdout blasters or hidden knives, for emergency situations? Anything they use just for special occasions, like an exotic lightwhip or a secret stash of frag grenades?

Well, I missed yesterday. Oops! I'm starting to feel better, though.

Arri's saber is pretty basic. It's not anything special to her, just a tool. But at the same time it's a reminder of the responsibilities she has accepted.

Even though it is warped and battered past the point of use, Arri kept the hilt of the saber that she crafted at the end of her training as a padawan. It's important to her because it's the first time she really felt proud of something she achieved.

The crystal that focuses the beam, however, is particularly special to her. It was crafted by Arimand Surik, and he gave it to her after she made her first saber. As she has continued to learn and progress in her skills, he occasionally retools the crystal, adding facets that enhance its intensity. Arri can't explain why, but whenever she ignites her saber she feels a sense of comfort, of rightness, that she doesn't get from any other weapon.

SWTOR 30 Day Jedi Challenge - Combat Companion

• Day 13 - Combat Companion: Some battles cannot be won alone. When your Jedi calls on one of their companions for assistance, which companion do they call on? Why? Do they always choose the companion whose skills best suit the situation or the one they like best? Which companions best complement your Jedi’s skills and combat style?

Today is another hard day. I'm tired of reminding my students to freaking SIT UP. It is not that much to ask. I just feel like every day is a battle lately, and I'm so tired of it. I never lose my temper. I never raise my voice to them. But if I do so much as speak to them sternly they look at me with huge eyes like I'm spitting fire.

Well, this one is kind of tough, because I really don't see her ending up with a full crew like you do in-game. It's more that she has temporary partnerships, with the exception of T7. Mechanically, Arri's fighting style should match well with Kira, who I think is a melee DPS. I can't imagine that she ever takes Lord Whatsisface with her just the two of them. She looks for the best in everyone, but she's not stupid! She'd probably ask Sergeant Rusk to stick with her until Lord Scourge had been appropriately dealt with. (I had to google his name! ugh. so tired today.)

SWTOR 30 Day Jedi Challenge - Combat Style

• Day 12 - Combat Style: What are your Jedi’s best moves? Which lightsaber form do they favor? Are they a great strategist, drawing enemies where they like and controlling the battlefield? Or do they hit so hard and so fast that the only strategy they need is to ‘kill them before they kill us’. What kinds of opponents are they best matched against? What are their greatest weaknesses in combat?

Arri tends to use Soresu when at all possible, to wear her opponents into submission rather than killing them if she can. But when simply holding the line isn't enough and she needs to remove obstacles, she shifts to Djem So. The master she learned it from, Slaine Drucker, warned her that its focus on power, aggression, and sheer brutality could lead her down paths from which it would be difficult to return. So when she fights using that style, she is very careful to keep her mind clear and her heart open, even to the enemy who is trying to kill her and hurt those she cares about.

She may seem to transform into a killing machine, but she is a compassionate killing machine.

Her aversion to hurting others can prove problematic; in many cases she would be able to achieve her goals more quickly if she was more willing to simply execute those in her way. Instead, she tries to avoid notice, and searches for ways around guards and patrols if she can.

SWTOR 30 Day Jedi Challenge - Combat Role

• Day 11 - Combat Role: On the battlefield, where are we most likely to find your Jedi? Are they leading the charge, drawing hostile attention? Are they invisible to the naked eye, turning the environment or even their opponents’ own minds against them? Do they hang back from the heart of the action, bolstering their teammates with Force, healing wounds even as they’re opened? Maybe they are leaping in from afar, slicing down one enemy at a time with ferocity and precision? Is your Jedi a team player or a solo artist, preferring to work alone? 

Today has been a not-great day mentally, but I'm a stubborn bitch, so I'm going to push through this thing because I know I'll feel proud of myself for keeping up my daily writing. GO ME, DAMMIT.

Okay, well, Arri's a tank. I really haven't written much with her fighting, but yeah, she yells a lot to attract as much attention as she can. She is very much a pacifist, but she realizes that sometimes a more assertive tactic is more effective. She is glad to have help and will do everything she can to keep her partners from being harmed, but she is also willing to carry out missions on her own if that is what is needed.

SWTOR 30 Day Jedi Challenge - Talents & Hobbies

• Day 10 - Talents & Hobbies: Describe any talents your Jedi has that are unrelated to killing rakghouls and saving the galaxy. Are they good with machines or a cunning linguist? A gifted dancer or wily sabacc player? Even if they aren’t good at it, how do they spend their downtime? Cooking, whistling, or flutterplume-watching? Any guilty pleasure holofilms or holo-serials? Do they keep their hobbies and talents to themselves or share them with others?

It suits her well, being a Jedi and all; Arri is particularly good at listening to people and getting them to open up. Sitting together and sharing a pouch of only-slightly-crumbled cookies has a way of softening even the hardest of hearts. Additionally, the easy frankness with which she asks "why?" disarms those who expect to be judged for their views or actions.

She is both practical and industrious. When not actively carrying out the duties assigned to her by the Order, she uses her time to study foreign cultures and languages (though literacy is still a struggle for her) and maintain her equipment. Once in a great while she finds herself in a fit of melancholy and looks out through the viewscreen of her ship, wondering if maybe her family is somewhere among the stars and planets that speckle the expanse of the galaxy.

SWTOR 30 Day Jedi Challenge - Pets!

• Day 9 - Pets: Does your Jedi have any pets? How many and what kinds? What are their names? Where did they get their pets? Do the pets stay on the ship? Where do they sleep and what do they eat? Do they chew on your Jedi’s robes? How do your Jedi’s companions feel about them? What kind of relationship does your Jedi have with them?

At this point, the closest thing to a pet is C2N2, the ship droid. And to be perfectly honest, this isn't something I've thought a lot about! I would imagine there are lots of plants on the ship. Arri loves life, in all its forms, although she would be careful to only keep plants that would not cause any sort of health hazard for her or her crew. She would also be careful to make sure that she's not accidentally carrying seeds or spores or anything when she goes onto a new planet.

But I can see her having something small. She would be less likely to take an animal from its natural habitat, but perhaps if she helped break up a dogfighting ring or something, and there's this little guy that nobody else is willing to take care of because it's small and ugly and vicious - I can imagine her taking the time to treat its wounds and feed it properly. Over time it latches on to her and it won't go with anyone else, and she doesn't fuss too much about that. Partly it's because she doesn't fuss much about anything, but it might also be because she would be sad to say goodbye, and now she doesn't have to.

SWTOR 30 Day Jedi Challenge - Day 8

• Day 8 - Romance: The Order has pretty clear ideas about passion and attachments, but not everyone agrees. How does your Jedi feel about romance and sexuality? Do they have any past loves or liaisons? What attracts them to a person and do they ever act on that attraction? Do they enjoy committed relationships or casual encounters? One at a time or several? Is your Jedi in a relationship now?

Arri respects the Order's concerns about attachments and the danger that passion can present to one who is connected to the Force. However, she does not believe that attachment is binary. In her view, rather, there is a spectrum of attachment, from ignorance on one end, through disinterest, proceeding through concern and connection all the way to obsession. She believes that either end of the spectrum is unhealthy.

Passion is not something to be feared, in Arri's worldview. Emotions can provide a useful counterpoint to logic and reasoning, but they should not control you. In that sense, passion is simply a measure of how much power your emotions have.

There was someone she became more attached to than she expected. One of her agemates was a solemn miraluka named Arimand Surik. He was far more advanced than her, as he'd been accepted into the Order when he was very young. But he was also very patient, and when she struggled in her lessons (as she often did) he was always willing to help out, with practice or with study. They seemed completely different - she was bright and cheerful, and he was serious and somewhat intense, but their differences seemed to complement each other rather than clash. They became closer as the years progressed, and what started as friendship grew to something deeper. Arimand finished his training on Vornu well before Arri was ready to move on, and when he was sent to Tython and she was left behind, she truly understood what her masters had meant about the problems created by attachment.

But he continued to progress rapidly, and after being released from his training as a Knight, he returned to Vornu to continue to work with the Academy. Arri had worried that he might have forgotten about her, or decided that their relationship was inappropriate, or nothing more than childish infatuation. But when he pulled her close and they embraced again, her fears evaporated into smoke, and she knew that though they might be separated from time to time, what they shared could not be taken from them.