The Slave Who Makes Free: An Anakin Skywalker Quest

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We're gonna be pushing Anakin to look at himself and test his comfort level at times. This feels like one of those opportunities to let him just have this one.
The first such. Going by the quest so far, they may be comparatively rare. Alternatively, and this seems fairly likely given we're between movies which dramatize the highly stressful turning points in our life, we may be entering a stretch of the narrative where they become somewhat more common -- where we learn the coping mechanisms that may serve us well, or poorly, in the storms to come.
 
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[X] Form V - Djem So
[X] Form VI - Niman

Not a fan of purposefully adding stress for this, especially not to practice a style that's about the fundamentals of lightsaber combat (adding stress because it feels boring/can't add personal flourishes) rather than to actually teach Anakin patience or some such. edit: was mistaken, but still personally prefer the other two candidates

Okay, done. It's in an inline spoiler at the bottom of the update.
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[X] Form I - Shii-Cho
I decided to change my vote after hearing Etranger's reasoning for this.
 
Not a fan of purposefully adding stress for this, especially not to practice a style that's about the fundamentals of lightsaber combat (adding stress because it feels boring/can't add personal flourishes) rather than to actually teach Anakin patience or some such.
Learning Shii-Cho doesn't add stress, though? That's Makashi and Soresu.
 
Learning Shii-Cho doesn't add stress, though? That's Makashi and Soresu.
Considering opportunity cost, and assuming it works the way I think it does (a generous assumption, natch), every form "adds" stress compared to Form V (and Form VII, but we don't talk about Form VII). Forms II and III merely add more.
 
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[ ] Form V - Djem So

I was originally going to vote for Shii-Cho and Niman, but the argument of adding lightsaber practice to Anakin's list of coping mechanisms is too good for me to pass up on. And if Anakin comes to unconsciously link lightsaber practice with stress relief? Taking Djem-So now could potentially result in letting him combine destressing with picking up a new style later down the line.

And 'Way of the Krayt Dragon' just sounds cool and resonates with this Anakin too damn well!

EDIT: Changed my vote in a later post.
 
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[X] Form V - Djem So

I was originally going to vote for Shii-Cho and Niman, but the argument of adding lightsaber practice to Anakin's list of coping mechanisms is too good for me to pass up on. And if Anakin comes to unconsciously link lightsaber practice with stress relief? Taking Djem-So now could potentially result in letting him combine destressing with picking up a new style later down the line.

And 'Way of the Krayt Dragon' just sounds cool and resonates with this Anakin too damn well!
I mean again and I'm not saying that this is definitely the case, but do remember that Kirook has told us that the Quest won't be so easy if we just pick Blue all the time.

Lightsaber practice as a coping mechanism can be absolutely great. Moving your body to calm your mind has been an established practice for all of human history for a good reason.

But you know, that also means that Anakin comes to unconsciously and consciously link stress relife with swingling his lightsaber around. It's a double-edged sword for anyone.
 
Lightsaber Forms also teach or reinforce lessons and philosophies into Anakin. The problem with Djem-So is that it is simply reinforcing Anakin's tendencies towards direct, aggressive action. We've chosen for Anakin to try and be more sociable and more considerate...but he is still aggressive. OTL Anakin was a master of Djem-So and the QM's description suggests that Anakin wouldn't be exposed to other points of view if he practiced Djem-So.

Honestly, from a purely character perspective, learning Soresu would be best for Anakin. Most of his issues stem from an unwillingness to be patient and to think and analyze for a moment.

From a most powerful lightsaber form, it would probably be Niman...eventually. Darth Sidius was an amazing dualist (matching even Yoda) and the form is built to be stronger the more powerful the force user is. Anakin is a vergence in the force and is potentially the most powerful force user. So, mastering Niman would be the most powerful form of all with his force powers.

In a nutshell: Djem-So is short-term good for a long-term lack of other viewpoints or developing character. Soresu is great long-term for developing patience and character but short-term bad due to stress. Niman is long-term great as it is potentially the strongest form and also strengthens connection to the force but short-term bad because it is potentially a weak form in the beginning.
 
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I´d rather burn of some stress on less important stuff, then have a mental breakdown in a middle of an important moment like canon Anakin. Sure picking only blue options is bad for us, but allowing stress to build up unchecked will be as well. Plus blue is getting rid of stress in a productive way.

We can´t fix every one of Anakin´s issue, without causing him to have a mental breakdown and cause more damage in the process. I think we should pick our battles and in this case that means not giving him more stress by focusing on a form that will stress him, for a slight advantage in the future, especially since he is already stressed from the Ferrus disaster.

My personal opinion om the topic of Soresu specifically boils down to: "Shields are nice, but not if they engender passivity", so I would prefer a more proactive form.
 
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[X] Form VI - Niman
The untapped potential of a desert night.

We've put a lot of focus into our Force powers, lets lean into it. Anakin's got more raw Force Power than anyone else in the Galaxy at the moment right? Let's put that potential to use.
 
[X] Form VI - Niman

Anakin relying more on his connection to the force during combat, rather than just his lightsaber skills, seems like an interesting pivot from canon.
 
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