ferwis jedi order au where 14 rises through the ranks of jedi leadership, gets entangled with political factions, and eventually just. eats the entire government whole and turns the jedi into his personal political apparatus.
so 44 uses the force to travel back in time to stop him.
and then 44 realizes among everything 14 did, there is not a single thing that the jedi order hadn't already been doing themselves. what made 14 different was just that he was slightly more of a sociopath than his predecessors, slightly more ambitious, and that everyone was so busy praising his talent that it never occurred to anyone that maybe he needed to be, like. supervised.
the jedi masters would fall over themselves complimenting him, not just his force abilities but how perfectly he understood the code - emotional restraint, don't get attached, and all that. they would say he didn't just practice these principles but embodied them, without realizing he wasn't controlling anything, he was just not born with it lol
anyway 44 goes back in time and comes face to face with baby faced padawan 14, still with fat cheeks and all that. and no matter how long 44 looks he just cannot find the evil in him. this version of 14 isn't evil yet - so what made him evil? and the answer is nothing. he didn't become evil. he didn't become anything, was the same person the whole time. so the question becomes: was 14 evil from the beginning, or was he never evil at all, and this whole situation is just the product of 14 interacting with the environment he was given? (what would 44's conclusion be? dunno yet)
personally, thought it would be interesting if 44 just went 'you know what the problem is? the jedi. they are the problem' and "turns to the dark side" trying to overthrow the whole order
or or maybe (still in brainstorming mode so bear with me) 44 isn't fully convinced that the jedi order needs to be reformed entirely yet but it's immediately clear that padawan 14 should not be allowed to become a jedi - so 44 just grabs him and runs as an emergency measure
he obviously can't say 'hey so you grow up to be a space dictator and i came from the future authorized to kill you if necessary' so instead he goes um I'm from... the future and um... you... you can't become a jedi!! come with me and I'll explain everything later thinking omg who the fuck would actually listen to this but surprise!! 14 goes 'ok' and 44 is just there gripping the ship controls with sweaty hands wondering what the fuck just happened, with 14 on his side
the thing is: 14 didn't follow 44 because he believed him, he followed because he clocked that 44 was stronger than any jedi master 14 had ever met up to that point
he notices 44 struggling to come up with a sane explanation and goes 'I won't ask you anything further and do whatever you say on the condition that you teach me everything you know with full effort'
I'm wondering how old they are at this point... maybe 14 is in late teens and 44 (from the future) is like mid to late thirties?? idk (accidental age reversal dynamic acquired. nice)
so 44 starts out thinking: ok forget everything else just try to raise him in a way that doesn't turn him into a war criminal. aim for the lowest possible bar. you can do this
but turns out 14 absorbs everything 44 teaches him like a sponge and he is genuinely such a rewarding student to him and 44 has never actually taught anyone so he's having the time of his life and staying with 14 is... not that bad actually? he's surprisingly nice to have as a companion? kind of endearing? as a teenager? he's so much younger both than 44 and than 14 he used to know and 44 finds himself feeling unexpectedly soft towards him and convinces himself that it's fine, this is a different 14, all this means that he's doing a good job. the attachment (lol) accumulates and the "future" occupies less and less of 44's mind. he starts to think of 14 as his actual student...
14: sets the jedi order on fire (both figuratively and literally)
14: why are you looking at me like that I thought this was what you wanted. wait it wasn't? oh well guess I was wrong
the thing is 44 never once said anything related to this to 14, 14 just watched 44 going through all his internal conflicts, reading between the lines and reading his face, and then on his own reached a conclusion that he had figured out what 44 wanted and he was gonna do it for him
and 44 noticed none of it beforehand so the shock is immeasurable
the way 44 cares for 14 is 'I want you to grow into someone I don't have to kill' and the way 14 cares for 44 is 'I want to do the things you want but won't let yourself do' :) :)
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