fandomhigh | Meditation and the Art of Kicking Ass [Thursday, September 4, 2014]

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meditation

Meditation and the Art of Kicking Ass [Thursday, September 4, 2014]

Anakin was back in the center of the room, looking...damp and not entirely serene. Teaching guided meditation when ice water kept dropping from nowhere was going to be a challenge. At least today he was more prepared for it: there was a pile of fluffy towels tucked into the corner of the Danger Shop to dry off anyone who got hit with a sudden deluge (assuming that the water wouldn't also hit the towels).

"Hello," Anakin said, gesturing for the students to join him on the mats. "The very first lesson in meditation is to learn how to concentrate on your own breathing without listening to every stupid thought your brain tosses at you. Sit down and make sure you're comfortable, then start counting your breaths. We're not trying to control them or hold them--just focus on how your body is working." He closed his eyes. "Breathe in, then out and count your breath silently to yourself. When you get to ten, start ove-eeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEE SITHSPIT."

Guess who just got drenched, kids. Go on.

Glaring at the ceiling, Anakin blew out a frustrated breath. "Then start again. Stang."

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Calmly.

Johnny Storm

Emma Swan

Barry Ween

Kathy Li

Daphne Blake

Marasiah Fel

Alana

Scott McCall

Kira Yukimura

Sit on the floor! Count your breaths! Get annoyed by how your brain never stops talking.

Oh get drenched by ice water. All the cool kids are.

Johnny was at least slightly prepared for this week's class. He'd bought an umbrella hat (http://www.amazon.com/Windy-City-Novelties-Umbrella-Hat/dp/B004SSVMP2) and he was freaking wearing it because he was getting tired of getting drenched.

Also, he made it look good on him.

He was having trouble with the actual meditation exercise, though. He needed to talk to Anakin which, if he listened to his roommate, might be dangerous. Or his roommate might be crazy. And that might make her a little more hot. Wait, that's a bad thought to have. If Ben were here, he'd make a joke about how empty Johnny's head usually was. That would be a pretty good joke.

So yeah, stupid brain kept on thinking. He was trying, though!

Dressed in a poncho, Barry did his best to clear his head.

What actually happened though was a lot of fidgeting and cakculating pi in his head.

Kathy had somehow managed to get through the week without getting soaked. Somehow, this had translated to a belief that she would continue to escape a dousing.

She was probably wrong, but it was working for her now.

Just sitting wasn't helping her shut out her thoughts any, so she decided to indulge in a little yoga to help focus her thoughts a little more. Lowering herself into a split, she tried to time her breaths with the stretching of her muscles. Wait, did that still count as thinking?

Darn it!

Sia didn't like meditation much, but she definitely knew how to do it. Was she the only person who could sit here and clear their mind?

Aww yeah, Imperial Knight training for the win.

Okay, Alana was on the floor, her eyes were closed, she was breathing evenly and keeping her mind blank.

She rocked this meditation thi --

And then down came the ice water, and Alana let out a screech of swearing that likely ruined the zen of anyone sitting too close.

Yeah, no, Scott was definitely not anywhere near being able to clear his mind- he was way too on edge about being caught off guard by a potential ice-water-drenching to relax.

... Look, when being startled meant suddenly growing fangs and claws, you'd probably not be letting your guard down either.

So he was doing the breath-counting thing, sure, but he kept losing count.

Ask for a towel, maybe.

After class, Johnny approached Anakin. "Excuse me, Mister... err, Dean Skywalker? Do you have a minute?"

[OOC: For the S-est of Ps, of course.]

"Sure," Anakin said, trying not to get too distracted by Johnny's hat.

"Nice hat."

...and failing, apparently.

"Dude, it's a necessity this week. I'd lend it to you, but then I wouldn't have it," Johnny said.

"Um, this might be kind of a sensitive topic, but I was wondering, last week you said you were a Jedi Knight. What exactly does that mean?"

"In my home galaxy--" Anakin paused in case Johnny was one who still found the idea of other galaxies strange, then kept talking, "--the Jedi are the symbol of justice and truth in the galaxy. We're diplomats who, due to our connection with the Force, are able to be sent into extremely delicate situations and either negotiate or, in the worst case, fight our way out."

Johnny didn't blink at the galaxy thing. "That sounds pretty cool," Johnny said. That seemed to make sense with what he knew of Anakin so far. "What's the deal with this force thing?" Maybe it was some kind of dark magic or demonic power?

"It's the power that links all things together," Anakin said. "It surrounds us and penetrates us. It's created by life itself. A Jedi is trained to harness and use that power to help other beings."

Or to throw Star Destroyers around, which was fun too. Shh.

And that was more of what Johnny would want to hear if he wanted to believe that his roommate was kinda evil. Which he didn't.

"Oh, cool. Cool," Johnny said. "Now, hypothetically, if there were some kind of, I don't know, let's call it an empire... Is that something you think the Jedi might rebel against or betray? And if they did, I'm sure they would have a very good reason."

Was Johnny ready to flame on depending on Anakin's reaction? Of course. He had no idea how the next couple minutes might go. It would be a shame to lose the hat, of course, but priorities.

Anakin sighed heavily. "You've met Miss Jade?"

"Oh, so you know about her. I have no idea how I was going to talk around who told me stuff," Johnny said with at least a little relief. "She's my roommate. And she said the Jedi were 'wiped out,' which was weird since, you know, I'm in your class."

Anakin nodded. "She's from a time slightly after mine. Politics have gotten a little...dark. The Jedi were exterminated by the Emperor of her Empire."

And Anakin himself. Cough.

"Why were they killed?" Johnny asked. Because even if he didn't support the slaughter of a whole group of people, maybe there was some kind of almost justifiable reason? Maybe?

"Power," Anakin said shortly. "There's a light side and a dark side to the use of the Force. The Jedi used the light side...and lost."

"And the Empire is all about the dark side?" Johnny checked. ""And because they won, they get to say they're the good guys and normal people like Mara believe it. I think I've got it."

Anakin nodded. "Exactly. If it makes you feel any better, they don't stay in power very long."

"What does that mean for loyal empire people like Mara? I mean, she seems pretty decent even though she likes the evil guys. When the Empire goes away, people like her are okay, right?" Johnny asked. And then something dawned on him. "Wait a second, I thought you said she's from after your time."

"Timelines from my galaxy have gotten very tangled here," Anakin explained. "I've met several of my grandchildren--they keep me up to date on what happened after I left. Mara will be all right, but she's in for a nasty shock in about a decade."

"This place is nuts, even by my standards," Johnny said, rolling his eyes. "Oh, wait, if Mara ends up falling in love with me because she's spent too much time around me and can't help herself, is that going to screw up your future history forever? If so, I'll be sure to lay off the charm."

It sounded like that might be a genuine question. Or it could be a joke now that he was a little more comfortable with the situation. There was no real way of knowing.

"It would definitely change some things," Anakin said wryly.

"Can't say more than that, got it. I'll try to be less appealing to her," Johnny said. "I always try not to mess up history whenever I deal with time travel."

Anakin laughed. "I appreciate it. Feel free to stop by if she gives you more things to question."

"Will do," Johnny said. "And thanks. At least now I ind of know what I'm in for."

"Kind of is better than not at all," Anakin agreed.

I love this event. Anakin is going to end up with the worst cold next week.

BRB going to be laughing over "eeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEE SITHSPIT" for the rest of the day now.

You're welcome :D

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Meditation and the Art of Kicking Ass [Thursday, September 4, 2014]

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Ohhhhhhhhm

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Talk to Anakin!

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OOC

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