So if anyone’s interested I’ve decided to just turn Jedi!Cullen into its own blog. It’s still under HEAVY contruction, but if anyone wants to rp with him you’re more than welcome!

Cullen gripped her hand and gave it a firm shake, “Like you said, this planet gets boring. There’s nothing to do here.” He gave her a half-smile as the handshake broke.

“Well then, lead the way...captain.”

the woman crossed her arms, raising her chin triumphantly.

                    ❛ it’s not too hard to learn….i’m guessing i should be saying ‘welcome aboard,’ then? ❜

she offered her hand, glad that she’d finally have someone who could hold their own on her ship. maybe this time she’d have at least a few years before he either got fed up with her or, worst case scenario, died in the line of duty.

A feeling welled up in him that he desperately wanted to say was indignation but it wasn’t.

It was fear.

Deep down he knew that he needed to get off this planet. Do something, anything besides sit and wallow in his own self-pity, but smuggling? How could he be a part of that?

But that’s not why you don’t want to go, is it?

It wasn’t his own thought, but it felt...familiar. Like an old friend.

Trust your instincts.

Whatever it was, he felt like he could trust it. So he cleared his mind, focusing on what the Force was telling him.

“...You’ll need to teach me how to use a blaster,” he said after a few seconds.

                     ❛ ———i suppose we all have our own way of coping. ❜

lyana paused, considering what could possibly turn out to be an absolutely awful idea. but she proposed it anyway. she could use a co-pilot to make everything go a bit more smoothly. not to mention keep her from spending too much time in her own head. she’d given up on meditating to try and clear her mind. it only made her obsess over everything she couldn’t control.

                    ❛ ….if you want a chance to try doing something about all this, i have a few bunks on my ship that just got freed up. ❜

Damn, she’d noticed. He needed to work on that.

“Yes, well, it’s just hard to imagine that padawan I studied with growing up to be a smuggler,” he said, “...Sorry.”

He had missed her, and she was the only living Jedi he knew of, so alienating her probably wasn’t the best idea. Besides, at least she was doing something. He couldn’t even say that much. He’d been hiding here ever since the rise of the Empire. He wouldn’t even know what was going on if it weren’t for the high amount of transients here spreading news about the war.

the woman grinned.

              ❛ you don’t know the half of it. ❜

she didn’t have to be force-sensitive to know he was mocking her.

all lyana was doing with her life was trying to blend in as perfectly as possible. being to morally righteous, jedi or no, was a moronic choice nowadays. it was highly suspicious. she was making it almost impossible to peg her as a former jedi apprentice. what jedi would stoop to working simply for the money? why would a jedi abandon their code to survive?

              ❛ ———you can stop sneering at me now. i’m just doing what i have to do in order to survive in this new world we find ourselves in. ❜

Cullen nodded. Smuggler, then. His jaw clenched involuntarily. Smugglers had no code of honour. They owed allegiance to no one. It seemed to him a disgrace for a Jedi to take up smuggling as a profession. However, he was in a poor position to judge, given he’d stayed as far away from the conflict as he possibly could.

“I’m sure that keeps your life interesting,” he said, carefully masking his feelings in his voice. He’d just have to hope they weren’t strong enough to make a noticeable ripple in the Force.

              ❛ ———’m not exactly with the alliance. ❜

she tried putting it delicately. she was a smuggler. she’d worked for nearly everyone with any influence, the empire and the alliance included. whatever kept her ship fueled up and repaired enough to keep moving.

              ❛ i do what i can to help anyone….anyone who can afford my help, that is. ❜

“Sometimes.” He spoke easier now, clearing his mind of the guilt and pain he felt using the techniques Master Rasalas had taught him. Even after almost six years, he still had trouble believing she was truly gone.

“But boring also means safe. I’d rather be bored than dead.

You mentioned the rebels. You joined up with the Alliance now? I’m sure they’re grateful to have a Jedi on their side.”

              ❛ must get boring, out here alone. ❜

her voice is soft. it was lonely on her ship too. what little crew she’d scrounged up had gotten themselves captured and killed by jabba’s thugs a few months back on tatooine. lyana had barely made it out herself, and the warden had taken a fair amount of damage as well in that firefight.

“Absolutely nothing,” he said quietly.

“And that’s exactly how I like it. It’s a quiet place away from the war. Away from the bulk of the Empire. Away from...memories.” He cast his eyes to the ground. Part of him wanted to fight. To join the Rebel Alliance in defeating the Empire but...how could it be done? The Empire was too powerful. He’d just end up letting the rebellion down the same way he failed Tethran.

she almost doesn’t hear him speak.

she can sense his guilt; just a faint sting in the force, but she doesn’t press the issue….yet.

              ❛ ….business. the rebels needed some MREs and this was the best place i could get to load my ship before delivering. ‘s easy to get my cargo loaded here as the middle-man because of the lack of imperial presence. ❜

lyana’s eyes dart down to her feet before she blinks and they’re fixed on him again. she doesn’t know much to say, so she goes ahead and begins to pry:

              ❛ ———what’s out here for you, then? ❜

“So what brings you to this backwater planet? I chose this place specifically because no one ever comes here. I mean, even the Imperial Garrison here only has about twenty troops.”

Part of him felt like he was back on Coruscant before the fall. No Empire, a clear sense of duty... ...His padawan.

Cullen felt a pang of guilt and his face involuntarily cringed for a second. If only he’d been more careful...

But now was not the time for that. He composed himself again quickly, mentally chastising himself for not having better control.

she frowns.

               ❛ ———okay, VERUN. ❜

lyana’s tone almost mocks him when she says the name. but who was she to talk? she barely ever told anyone her name anyway.

              ❛ i’m glad you survived, though. for what it’s worth. ❜

she wasn’t lying. it was nice to see someone she recognized. it reminded her who she was before the order….even more than the lightsaber components on her gear did.

the word ‘run’ had begun to describe her entire being now. when asked who she was, her answer would often be a variation of ❛ no one. ❜ she had become little else than a vagrant, living aboard a stolen ship and going solely by her given name, renouncing her family’s. cullen had to have gone into deeper hiding than she had.

when the man bade her to follow him she agreed, keeping well away enough. she’d already been on-planet too long. she would normally be there to load and unload her bounty, then would fly off to find more goods to sell to either of the warring sides.

the smuggler quickly pulled her hood up and lowered her head, keeping the man’s boots within her field of view. there was no telling if any of the stormtroopers had been given descriptions of possible jedi survivors. she couldn’t take any chances.

when he arrived at what she assumed was his ‘place’, she ducked into an alley for a few moments — just long enough for him to enter casually.

“Okay, first things first, if you see me in public again, I’m not Cullen, I’m Verun,” he said sternly. There was no way for her to have known, of course, but the panic he’d felt when hearing his real name was still fresh in his mind.

“Second,” he said, his face stoic for a moment before he cracked a thin smile, “It’s good to see you again, Lyana.”

Star Wars Headcanon: Lightsabers and Fighting Style

As a Jedi Knight, Cullen swore to protect the innocent. As such his lightsaber glows a vibrant blue (colour meanings derived from this infographic). Master Rasalas trained Cullen primarily in the Shien/Djem So form of lightsaber combat, but once the Clone Wars began also trained him in the Soresu form. When training the new generation of Jedi with the Resistance, Shien/Djem So is the form he focuses on.

Cullen tensed up at the mention of his name, his hand subtly moving beneath his cloak to the silver hilt of his lightsaber. It had been an age since he’d used the weapon, but he kept it on him at all times; both as a reminder of his dedication to the Jedi Order, and in case any Imperials figured out who he was and sent their Stormtroopers after him.

“It’s been a long time since anyone’s called me that,” he said cautiously as he studied the person addressing him. He had changed his name to Verun Signas when he had gone into hiding, so the only reason someone would know his name is either they were a Jedi or, far more likely, the Empire had found him.

White hair, green eyes, and an expression that told him she was no Imperial. He couldn’t place it at first, but then his eyes flashed with recognition and he approached her, disbelief etched on his face.

“Lyana?” he asked quietly, already knowing the answer. This place was far too public for a reunion though, especially since she didn’t know that he’d changed his name.

“I’m sorry ma’am, I think you have the wrong person,” he said, louder than before. “I have a place not too far from here. If you want to talk, follow me, but keep your distance. Don’t want to raise suspicions, do we?” he muttered quickly under his breath before walking off in the direction of his home.

@sifaris​

               ❛ ———cullen? ❜

she had been  R U N N I N G  — faster and longer than she ever had in her life, and had begun to forget where she was….all she knew was that her master had told her to run, and she had obeyed. without question. it had been the second time she had done so, the first being when faced with an almost certainty of imminent death when she and her master’s squad of clones had been surrounded by separatist droids with no way out. that felt like someone else’s memory now; the huge loss of troopers and sense of hopelessness DROWNED by the grief for her master and her exhaustion.

now she was standing before one of the other younglings she had studied with at the jedi temple on coruscant — she hadn’t seen, or even heard from him since the beginning of the clone wars. she could barely gather her thoughts properly. only the other padawan’s name came to mind. she tried continuing, but all her mind was saying was KEEP  R U N N I N G, GIRL.

AU: Path of the Jedi

Cullen Rutherford was a padawan under Jedi Master Orthest Rasalas during the time before the Clone Wars. When the fighting started, he went on missions with his master for a year before finally graduating to the rank of Jedi Knight. He was very close with Master Rasalas and remained in close contact with her even after they were being sent on separate missions. He took on a padawan named Tethran Vargos during his tenure as a general in the Republic Army. He promised to train the young Jedi to the best of his abilities, taking any opportunity he could to show the young man how to find lessons in every situation.

When Order 66 was issued, Cullen and Tethran were caught by surprise, with Tethran falling before either knew what was happening. It was only because Cullen felt Tethran fall that he was able to react in time. He managed to escape, but will carry the guilt of his dead padawan with him until the day he dies. After Order 66, Cullen cast himself into a self-imposed exile, desperately clinging to the Jedi Code as he saw it as the only thing he had left in the galaxy. However, while he may remain a Jedi, he is also a broken man, and try as he might to clear his mind, his despair and fear or failing people like he failed his padawan has kept him out of the fight against the Empire.

After the destruction of the second Death Star, Cullen decided he would help rebuild the Republic as both penance for what he had failed to do to combat the Empire and to honour the memory of his fallen brethren who died fighting for the freedom the Republic offered. When the Resistance was formed to combat the First Order, he joined them, helping Luke Skywalker to train the new generation of Jedi.

Let’s break the hiatus with a Star Wars AU shall we?

there aren’t nearly enough ace/aro/demi graphics out there

“I fear we’ve already given her enough work to do with news of the wedding getting out. The Herald of Andraste marrying the ex-templar commander of her armies. I can practically hear the Winter Palace buzzing with rumours.” He emptied his mug, gesturing to Cabot to fill it again. He no longer knew how many he’d had, just that his head was beginning to feel light. Perhaps they should  return to one of their chambers before the Inquisition soldiers saw their commander and Inquisitor making fools of themselves.

herald’s rest;; private thread

“ Asking if you could just teach demons the    power  of  friendship sounded like that oaf. “

She giggled a bit, taking another swig of beer before continuing:

“  He’s my Warden friend too, Cullen!  Well,      actually  we were Q U I T E  friendly,  but   I       should  probably not  talk about  that with      present company, lest Josephine comes in     and thinks it’ll tarnish our reputation. “

“Why...yes, yes it was. How did you...?” Cullen asked before realization dawned on his face, “The Wardens! He was recruited shortly before he was to become a knight! I thought Hawke’s Warden friend seemed familiar!” 

herald’s rest;; private thread

Her laughter died down to a chuckle as he spoke.

“ ….Okay—that sounds FAR too familiar. Was     this recruit’s name Alistair, by any chance? “

Andraste’s tits,  he’d never told her  anything like this  during  the  Blight,  or  even  as  they  were stopping the Wardens at Adamant Fortress. She smiled back, just as wide  as her fingers lingered on her mug.

kxfir:

sifaris​

Lyana  felt  nice and cozy,  but her vision was beginning   to  swim   as  she  started  sipping her—fourth? fifth?  it was some number—mug of ale. No matter.  She had a few more before she  would  start having  trouble standing from the barstool.

“ So then I said to Hawke: ‘Just hide behind     that  cart  over  there   and  I’ll  seduce  the     Templar into leaving! ”

She burst into  her own fit of laughter and took another  sip,   and  she  slammed  it  onto  the counter clumsily.

Cullen let out a hearty laugh that drew the attention of nearby patrons and then took another long draught of his ale. He hadn’t felt this relaxed in ages. The Inquisition had been an unstoppable war machine while Corypheus was a threat, and as a result there had been almost no rest for the Commander. But now that the threat of the apocalypse was gone, he could allow himself to unwind a bit.

“There was a recruit once,” he started, grinning widely, “during training he kept asking why we couldn’t all just teach demons the power of friendship so we would all get along. Oh Knight-Commander Greagoir hated him.”

herald’s rest;; private thread