#Romantic!Thrawn

[blackmonitor]

Last Weird Au in 2022... This image will be promoting something special that you’ll soon hear about! It will fun, dramatic, and very romantic of course! 

Happy New Year Everyone!

Discord / Patreon / Redbubble

[curiositykilledtheradiostar]

got a second one to sort of turn out. trying to sell these two to the majority of my follower base here. these bad boys can fit so many parallels queercoding and autism I promise

[zeb-z]

when ar’alani thinks thrawn is asking her out for drinks and he takes her to an art museum and she’s just like ok. and then she makes the mistake of asking him to infodump about his art analysis. peak literature

[tiny-space-whale]

Mara Jade, leave that homosexual alone he's not interested stop

[limnsaber]

Thranto this thranto that no hate to Thranto but what about Juahir/Arihnda?

[haveyoureadthisfanfic]

Summary: “I don’t have a lightsaber, so I can’t practice fighting,” Ezra pointed out. “I don’t have any sacred texts to study. You definitely don’t know anything about the Force, so…” Thrawn’s shoulder twitched in what might have been a minute shrug. “You could read my mind,” he said. At first, Ezra didn’t fully register those words. He interpreted them metaphorically, classified it as a somewhat odd thing for Thrawn to say, and dismissed it. Then Thrawn glanced up, his red eyes burning into Ezra’s, and suddenly Ezra realized he’d missed something. “Read your mind?” he repeated.

Author: draculard

[selchwife]

looked at some of my old vent posts from like early 2022 and holy shit im doing a lot better!

i was way more frequently Deeply upset and a lot more vocally struggling with like, really intense self esteem issues. seeing the stuff i would say about myself and how emet would see me is like, totally foreign to me now. i would never in a million years think that kind of stuff about him or me.

i’m still mentally ill like fucking clearly and life isn’t Perfect but im happy that i kind of overcame at least a large piece of that really really deep and persistent shame. and i no longer like, blame myself or deny myself sympathy for the abuse i underwent through emet. i should be proud of myself for that.

[bruh-myguy-what]

Things That Can’t Be Undone

I’m obsessed with Thrawn having overwhelming emotions and either people not noticing it because he’s so good at hiding it, or him just not knowing how to react to them….so, in lieu of that…

Have sad Thrawn, because I want to explore all range of emotions with him.

We could always use a new story in the Thrawn fics anyway

I also HIGH KEY didn’t proofread this lol sooooooo

--------

Pairing: Thrawn x fem!reader

Warnings: heartbreak, sadness, regret, longing/pining

Summary: Thrawn sees you with another man and it hurts.

Word Count: 1.2K

***

It wouldn’t have been the first thing Thrawn thought he would’ve felt when his heart burned painfully against his chest at the sight before him. There was an accompanying knot in his stomach while he watched you from across the room, his eyes tracking every small detail of you so he could account every moment to his memory. That way when he was aboard the Chimera, so far away from you, deep in the galaxy traveling the stars alone (alongside his crew) he could close his eyes and remember your smile as if it were made solely for him instead of the man it was directed at now.

He felt almost irrational for envisioning what it would be like to be the man beside you, your arms encircling his arm instead. The way your eyes would sparkle when you’d gaze longingly up at him, so unapologetic of the adoration you’d be announcing silently to the rest of the world. The simple thought that everyone around would see how clearly enraptured you were with him would fill him with such pleasure, to have the most captivating person in all the universe sharing such a flawless sentiment between the two of you. To see and hear the people around you whisper words of envy or idolization of the affection shared between the two of you.

Thrawn was certain at this point that there was nothing he wouldn’t give up, to have you smiling at him again, the smile that was nearly devastating. It had made his heart ache before to see it so honestly made for him, but it hurt for a different reason now…it was a pain he couldn’t change- no matter how much he wished he could. He was a Grand Admiral, but his title meant nothing to you, for your affection never came at the fancies of rank.

He momentarily wondered if the man with you knew all the small things Thrawn had found to be so personable about you? Was he aware of the splendor within you, or just the perfect art that lay bare for others to see? Did he truly know how priceless it was to be able to hear your brilliant, infectious laugh? What about how your eyes gleamed in wonder when you saw the stars so close as you traveled space aboard the Chimera? The way you so freely gave your attention to whoever needed it, so quick to assist, listen, give advice, or just make someone feel less lonesome by giving your time silently. Was the man you were giving your time to truly understanding of how precious you were? Could he really appreciate the way your hand fit within his? Did it even fit the way it did with Thrawn? And how fortunate did the man genuinely feel when you hugged him, so earnest and emotionally available? So ready to catch him if he ever fell…

Did he value you any better than Thrawn did when he had you at his side? Did the senator you were with realize what a gift you were….or did he take it for granted like Thrawn had? It was a dreadful feeling to know that if he had been any more aware of the things he could’ve done correctly, he wouldn’t be yearning so painfully for you from this far away- from galaxies away on the ISD Chimera. Thrawn wished he could feel the gentle caress of your hand again, just once, even if for a second. To know the feeling of being the only person you shared your intimate moments. Did the senator you held so tightly to know how to comfort you when you cried? Had Thrawn?

Perhaps there were a few things he did correctly at the time?

He knew he was giving himself too much credit. Had you seen any hope in him being able to give you what you needed from him, he wouldn’t be seeing your beauty from the other side of the room. Thrawn recalled the crestfallen expression that fell over your freely expressive features as he told you to stay here in Coruscant, to stay away from the Chimera from now on. At the time he believed it to be for the best, to give you the opportunities you truly sought. How could he keep your abilities and magnificence from the world and seal you away aboard the Chimera just out of his own indulgence?

But that was his misunderstanding…

He had pushed you away, leaving you alone on a planet you knew nothing about. What he thought was best for you…wasn’t what you wanted at all. What he thought you were hiding from him wasn’t even your true desire and he saw that now. You sought someone to share life with, to trust when you didn’t want to be the strong one anymore- when it felt like the whole world would cave in. The person you could run to when you were unhappy, when something humorous happened, someone you could share your whimsical excitements with. You had entrusted that opportunity to Thrawn, and he misunderstood, he miscalculated it so dreadfully and it was too late to undo it.

You’d found another to give those luxuries to. Thrawn could only hope the man never took your heart for granted, or thought he knew what was best for you- even over what you wanted- like Thrawn had.

“Sir?” Eli Vanto’s voice had startled the Chiss out of his revere, jumping slightly at the man’s soft voice beside him. Blinking away the memories, the sadness, the regret, the Grand Admiral glanced at his subordinate. Eli could see a peculiar change in his friend, and it troubled him, “are…are you alright?” His voice cautious. When he’d approached Thrawn, he’d noticed the man in thought as he stared off. His eyes following the line of his admiral’s gaze, he found you standing there with your date, and it all made sense.

“Y-yes, of course,” Thrawn replied, scarcely convincing Eli, or himself, “forgive me, Commander.” There was silence between the two for a moment as they evaded mentioning Thrawn’s odd behavior.

Finally, Eli spoke up, resolutely, “are you ready to go, sir?” He straightened up and with an understanding expression, he awaited his admiral’s command. Perhaps what his friend needed was normalcy and structure to reshape his mind back to its normal methodical state. Eli would do whatever he could to help because if no one else could, he could see the struggle Thrawn was experiencing.

Sending one last look over at you, wondering- for just a second- if there was anything he could do to change his unfortunate fate. But as he watched the affectionate kiss you shared with the senator; he recognized it was indeed too late to change any of his hopeless choices. “Yes,” he agreed just as resolutely, even if a little forlorn, then met Eli’s eyes fully this time. “Let us return to the Chimera, commander.”

At least you would still be his in his dreams.

[the-baddest-of-batches]

Morning After. 2023

Just a Lil doodle

[rosheendubh]

AWAY…(have a ficlet From Latticeof Infinity/Elegy of Dead Kingdoms—from this shattered disaster of a crack SpaceRockOpera—the lyrics are from Nightwish’s, ‘Away’. Because some divine being posted 4+ hours of Nighwish’s Top50–and this song embraces quite the Theme of this segment from my particular AU crossover of StarWars-through TTT/HandofcThrawn/Merged Dark Empire1/Shadows of Mindor/events of the YuhzanVong War with Firefly/Serenity, and the Keltiad-squished into the Firefly ‘verse as an Independent system…)

~

“Away, away, away in time Every dream's a journey away Away, away, to a home away from care Everywhere's just a journey away

Cherish the moment Tower the skies Don't let the dreamer Fade to gray like grass…”

~

The first time Thrawn kissed Rhyanon it was after he’d destroyed a fair bit of the Galaxy by collapsing the Wormhole connecting the Terran quadrant with the quadrant of the Imperial Remnant still in conflict with the Republic Alliance. He had good intentions, because there was really no other way to slow Abaddon. But, the fallout by anyone’s measure, even megalomaniacs like the long-deceased Sith, Palpatine, proved a little apocalyptic.

Thrawn, of course, had a contingency plan for the survivors, leading them to the old ruins of the 2nd Death Star, which existed in a sort of fluctuating twilight-world of shifting space-time corridors. An after-effect of the cataclysm imploding through the continuums of the meta-verse.

Amid other events leading to this moment, Rhyanon eventually found him kneeling in the sands of the Oceans of Time, staring off into a horizon of fire and storm and cosmic winds. Pain and anger stained their shared past, dating back years to her time as a courtesan-trained-medic while in Palpatine’s court, when Thrawn was promoted to Grand Admiral on the eve of the Emperor’s death.

Until this moment, she never would have suspected Thrawn capable of suffering as other sentients. Loss, the great price of sacrificing the Ascendency to stall Abaddon’s dark ravaging of planetary systems, wrought lines of weariness heavy upon his brow, around his mouth. The shadow haunting the scarlet eyes cut raw in her heart.

Thrawn asked if her people, the Keltoi, had a word for the kind of grief that formed a void beyond emptiness. “A ballad or a lay, perhaps?” His words stumbling out in that eloquent cadence of velvet and steel, edged in bitterness. “The Keltoi—the legendary race of warrior-poets.”

Rhyanon couldn’t recall any from her youth. But then, her youth had been stolen prematurely, swept away by a brutal act of violence, taking her from everything she’d known and loved.

A memory came to her then, of her brother. Bard-trained Talhaiarn, an officer of the Keltoi fleet in service to the Ardrian Aeron Aoibhell. Warriors, the Keltoi as the Chiss, and Talhiarn renowned as a fearless pilot, a devoted commander. He’d indulged music’s magic as an escape from the horrors of war.

As she knelt before Thrawn, Rhyanon spoke gently. “I may have no verse to offer, but my brother often says the first song was born of sorrow so deep, words were inadequate to lift such sadness to the skies.”

Thrawn’s grief, his remorse, buried under the armor born of leadership, broke through, etched in rivulets of moisture, liquid garnet, like blood, rolling down his azure cheeks.

Rhyanon, with her biokinesis, accessed the nanoplexus integrated into her central nervous system. A graceful curl of her wrist, bend of a finger, she directed a green-gold plasmic current, capturing, analyzing the composition of his tears. The microscopic manifesting as vision, the molecular shaped into an endless weaving of threads imparting life. The profundity of sorrow captured like a globular prism, a raindrop, a teardrop, restless as the cosmic storms ravaging the horizon of this liminal plain.

“Chiss lacrimal secretions,” she murmured as he stared at the mirage coalesced between them, rapt by her enchantment, “while differing in certain constituents, hold a similar salinity to human tears, an osmolarity nearly matching the ocean waters.”

Rhyanon tried offering some other surcease beyond an academic text, wiping at a blood-tinged track from against his cheek. “Our tears flow, as our lives, and our griefs, rivers washed into the Sea where all things end. And emerge again.”

He searched her face, trying to find some salvation from the decisions he’d made. Dreamlike, she slowly leaned toward him, hearing his muted gasp at the softness of her lips upon his cheeks, his dark lashes, wet, salt like human tears—why would she expect differently—where she kissed away his silent sorrow. His surrending sigh as she chastely brushed his mouth with hers, held the synchronicity of their breath, shared in this precious moment.

When Rhyanon drew back, she seemed as mystified as he, her action leaving them both pensive. Her eyes drifted shut, as she turned from the wonder in Thrawn’s look.

And in those moments where Rhyanon still seemed held by that light first brush of lips, Thrawn, utterly mesmerized, reached toward her, her eyelids fluttering wide as he guided her face close. Before she could tense back, his mouth claimed hers, thirsting, seeking, wanting. Her breath caught in surprise, but she responded, easing to the exploration of lips and tongue, eyes closing once more, lost to the taste of warmth, and the heady euphoria of wandering hands, his arms encompassing her supple form, her hands clinging onto his shoulders and neck… ~ It was said, of the 5 Greatest Kisses in the Galaxy, this one was ranked somewhere in the top 10. A true Cold Mountain performance, as Kaylee might have approximated. Had she been there to witness the Kiss. But because no one of the Serenity crew, or the Wilde Kaarde had any idea what transpired between the biokinetically gifted Keltoi medic, and the former Grand Admiral, now Supreme Commander of the Imperial Remnant united with the Empire of the Hand, and they only found out about it after-the-fact, it was ranked in the top 10, without ever receiving any explicit ordinal denomination.

The Republic Alliance and the Fringe systems of the Terran Core were amid a truce with the Empire of the Hand, but the split of forces on either side of the spatial conduit had delayed progress. The conundrum of truncating communication and travel in the absence of the wormhole left River Tam with a puzzle more entertaining than figuring out how to overcome the thousands of meteors orbiting Coruscant, utilizing the antiquated tracking of spatial aquatonics, accelerated by River’s unique talents. A mind operating in fractal domains, dimensional analytics reducing equations to a few hours, that would have taken the Republic’s best physicists a month, she needed something else now, to keep her distracted, or the sound of Abaddon’s Reaver-Hybrid Clones, never far from her consciousness, might threaten the precarious hold she’d only recently recovered of her sanity after Miranda.

Thus, on that rare evening while Rhyanon and Thrawn continued groping and caressing each other like teenagers riding passion’s hormonal tidal wave, Ar’alani was subjected to learning why Terran humans seemed so obsessed with quoting script-lines from long-dead movies. A favorite of these oft-repeated one-liners: “as you wish,” Jayne, Serenity’s weapons-happy muscle-man, babbled every time Ar’alani drifted somewhere in his general vicinity.

This was the penance for losing the Girls’ Night Drinking Game to Zoe and Saffron—aka Mara Jade. Subjected to Jayne’s movie-night choice of Old Terra’s cinematic selection stored in Serenity’s archives. Who knew a man who strolled through civilian markets with a rocket-launcher on his shoulder because ya’ never knew what fruit-vendor might turn into an assasin indulged a secret fetish for romances.

Resignedly, Ar’alani settled back on the worn cushions of the sofa, housed in a back storage pit of the ramshackle smuggling ship. Serenity gloried in its disarray and disrepair like a flick-off to Talon Kaarde’s well-maintained vessel, and orderly crew.

Stale beer and cigara fumes filtered through the air of Serenity’s makeshift entertainment center, holos projecting what Jayne swore as the greatest movie of all time.

“Want some?” Jayne asked, rattling a bowl of heat-reactive seed kernels under her nose, crunching down on a fluffy piece of styrofoam-looking cellulose lathered in butter and salt.

Ar’alani’s expression puckered at the charred pungency of fumes wafting from the bowl, and altogether overwhelming for the refined senses of Chiss olfactory centers. “No, thank you,” she said, trying to keep the forebearsnce from her voice, seeing Jayne’s puppy-dog eyes. “And if you say, as you wish one more time, I’ll dump those seed kernels—popcorn—“the word awkward from her throat”— over your head.”

A mistake, she realized, quickly learning females speaking in a commanding voice only made Jayne more moon-eyed. Which was enough for Ar’alani to toss back another Ewok microbrew.

Keth roach piss would have tasted sweeter*, she thought spurring another curse at Thrawn for bringing them to this lost twilight realm. The crash site of his old Emperor’s mad battalion of destruction. She chokied down the beverage, because drunk was the only way she could envision sustaining Jayne’s company for the next 2 hours, and hoped whatever involved the Supreme Commander in that moment, it was either thoroughly tormenting or worse, boring to the point of death.

When she learned later, the indulgence that had indeed occupied Thrawn, she had no regret for the data-pad aimed at his head from across the conference desk of his office. Thrawn caught the object effortlessly of course, which irked her all the more. Fuming, Ar’alani stalked out from the office, vowing over her shoulder as she exited between the sliding doors, Thrawn could spend the next movie-night subjected to Jayne’s visual art tastes, his rancid popcorn, and cheap alcohol. She heard the low laughter in her wake, the words, “As you wish,” reaching her as the doors whisked shut.

For a moment, she considered turning back around, marching through the doors, up to Thrawn, glaring fire to match the subtle teasing glint in his eyes. And stuffing as you wish right back at him.

As entertaining as the vision was, of smashing a few more data-pads over Thrawn’s polished composure, Ar’alani prided herself on possessing the rare trait of taking the high-road, as the saying went.

Especially because of the laughter. That had been good to hear. Clean, honest laughter, something like joy and the bravado she recalled when Thrawn had been an infuriating captain under her command.

After all the loss, the death, and decimation swallowing their Galaxy, with Abaddon, and forces of the Coroniad-Virathi [read: my analog to the Grysk, but adapted from the Keltiad verse] still afoot. It was the first time she’d heard that sound from him in decades. And if it took basting the Keltoi medic—Mal Reynolds kept calling her Gaia—in reference to some ancient Terran goddess that recalled Rhyanon’s abilities of organic molecular manipulation. Well, Ar’alani decided, if this was what followed a good basting for Thrawn, it was better than the melancholy devouring him since the Battle of the Event Horizon.

So, she held her peace that day, hope’s candle, a flicker in the storm, but present, wakening for the first time since she’d led the few Chiss survivors to this rendezvous of Endor, fleeing their home-worlds, a cold rage constricting her chest, watching Csilla’s incinerated caracass fade away like a million ashes blasted across the Star-ways.

Hope, that flickering candle in Ar’alani’s mind. She strode down the passage to the main hanger-port, notified of General Skywalker’s return with a new collection of refugees from the Infernal Regions bordering the dimensional rift left by the Wormole’s collapse, dubbed Ginngungagap, after some other archaic Terranism.

Echoing through her mind, with that candle, the words, As you wish, yourself, Vu’rawn.

[saradika]

Hi J!! It's been so long since I've been fully active on here, so I hope you're doing well 💜

If you make any more NSFW dividers, could you do some rose-themed ones to match this image from your dark romantic florals? Thank you for blessing us all with your talent at making these!!

hi lyria!! I can do that for sure! I think the originals were black and red, but I did some in blue in case you use them for a Thrawn fic (And ahh, thank you so much 💖 I have been!)

Hope you are having a good week! 💕

(Matching dividers are here!)

[Free] Masterlist Headers & Dividers!

Please consider liking or reblogging if you use 💕

[dontremembermejust]

Baylan: Did you take out Sabine Wren as requested?

Shin: Sabine has been taken out, yes.

Thrawn: You have my grat-

Shin: It was a great restaurant.

Shin: We had a romantic candlelit dinner.

Shin: Sabine proposed afterwards- we’re filing the wedding papers.

[ceapa-mica]

How to befriend Grand Admiral Thrawn

I AM SO BACK! And I wanna thank my friend @thrawnsboots for some ideas for this. 💙

SFW | reader is gender neutral

Taglist: @bingbongooo @dance-like-russia-isnt-watching @ele-millennial-weirdo @enaelyork @jesslove23 @thrawnalani @twincesskorisoka @davesrightshoe @shoe-bag @tearyeve @blackddarling @obbicrystaleo

You want to become Thrawn's friend? Let me tell you how to gain friendship points with the Grand Admiral.

Work hard and contribute good strategies and ideas to his plans.

Be willing to take responsibility for mistakes and errors you've made.

Dare criticize him. Your co-workers would never. Thrawn is glad you're open and honest with him about your concerns.

Thrawn appreciates people he can trust and who keep their promises. Honesty and reliability matters a lot to him.

Show genuine interest in his art collection, and don't mind him explaining art for hours.

You can impress him with knowledge, specifically about art, culture and war. Even more so if he isn't familiar with the knowledge you're sharing with him.

If you want to spend time with him, be prepared for intense sparring lessons in his personal dojo.

Respect Thrawn's boundaries. Period. That goes for both, emotional and physical. If he doesn't want to talk about himself, accept it and move on, and don't be clingy.

Keep in mind that he's a busy man. So don't be disappointed if he doesn't seek you out outside of work all the time.

Learn to read his facial expressions. Thrawn's very good at hiding what he feels and thinks. Only those closest to him can read him, and when you do, he knows putting effort into your friendship is worth it.

Share your hobbies with him if you can. Cook a meal, knit him socks etc. He will appreciate your efforts.

Remember what he likes. How does he like his caf? Favorite artists? Favorite music? Favorite holonovels etc.

Gift giving is one of Thrawn's love languages (platonic & romantic), along with acts of service. He appreciates when you return the favor. Love languages are a two way street!

Let Thrawn feel included. As a Grand Admiral he has a certain reputation to maintain of course. When off-duty, he won't mind if you treat him like you're on the same eye level though. Less formality and more deep conversations.

Make sure Thrawn knows you see him as the man he is. Not only as the powerful Grand Admiral but as an autistic art nerd with an extraordinary mind.

You know you've gained maximum friendship points with this man when he chuckles over one of your jokes

Be prepared to go out of your comfort zone. Thrawn will encourage you to try new things, whether it's food, art or work related.

Thrawn is hard to befriend, but once you manage to earn this man's friendship, he's a loyal soul who will stop at nothing to support you unconditionally and who brings out the best qualities of yourself.

Let me know in the comments what you think or if I missed anything. 💙

[jessequinnfirstofhername]

The Rules:

Every twenty-four hours there will be another round. After every round, the ship in last place will be eliminated.

If there are multiple ships tying for last place, there will be a special elimination round. In these rounds, every ship in last place will be eliminated, even if all the ships have tied equally.

When there are only two ships remaining, they will face off against one another in a week-long poll to determine the victor.

If the ship that you consider the best isn't listed here, hit the 'the best polarizing ship is ___' option and reply to this post with the overlooked ship. The ship with the highest 'write-in' votes will be added to the next round. Unless the 'the best polarizing ship is ___' option is the least voted for, in which case it will be eliminated.Welcome to the party, VaderLuke/AniLuke!

Addendum to Rule 4: Only polarizing ships are allowed. Yes, I'm sure your OTP is awesome, but if there's no proof of it being polarizing then it unfortunately cannot be added to the poll.

This is all for fun. Don't take it too seriously ;)

NO! Anisoka, my problematic beloved! Platonic or romantic, it’s just so narratively interesting! Why! Why cruel world, why?!

Hey, Rosario, Hayden! I could use a hug too, you know!

*Sniff*

Round Nine, whatever…

[david-talks-sw]

An argument I hear from time to time is the following:

"I don't care that this novel is considered Legends, if it was canon when George Lucas was in charge of Lucasfilm, it's still canon to me now. Whatever George says is what counts, I don't care what Disney says."

Putting the Expanded Universe's Star Wars and George Lucas' Star Wars in the same basket. And that's, uh... inaccurate.

So without further ado, let's explore:

George Lucas’ involvement in the Expanded Universe

Early years of the EU...

When the first bit of EU content came out in the form of the novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye, Lucas was too busy working on the films, so Alan Dean Foster wrote it by himself (which explains why Luke and Leia's relationship plays out romantically).

After the movies came out, when new material was going to be created, George told Lucas Licensing and other authors that the Prequel era was off-limits to write about, because he might tell that story one day.

Beyond that, they could go to town and write sequels, for instance. After all, part of why Star Wars was created was to let people's imagination run wild and George was happy to let other artists play in the sandbox he created.

That said, things were very clear from the get-go.

These weren't his stories.

The Thrawn books, Dark Empire, all this material was explicitly just Tom Veitch and Timothy Zahn and whoever else's creation. Not George's, who was described by Lucas Licensing's Lucy Autrey Wilson as "not very involved".

The most he did was answers "OK/Not OK" questionnaires about what the EU writers could or couldn't write.

Telling Yoda's backstory? Not OK.

Telling Han's backstory, between the Prequel and Ep. 4? OK.

Having someone wear Vader's suit after his death? Not OK.

The Emperor returning in a clone body? OK.

So that's it. That was his involvement in the 90s.

Him saying "don't write something set during this/that period".

"OK/Not OK" questionnaires.

It's also worth mentioning he didn't approve of Mara Jade, Luke's wife in the EU. In his mind, "Jedi don't marry".

Rather, the character herself wasn't an issue... until she married Luke. When Timothy Zahn asked for Luke and Mara to be married or engaged, back in 1993, Lucasfilm initially vetoed the idea.

According to Brian Jay Jones (author of "A Life", George Lucas' biography), in 1995 George convened a 'Star Wars Summit' wherein he gathered licensees and international agents to Skywalker Ranch to reinforce "the need for him to maintain quality control, especially in the areas of publishing, where some characters—such as Luke Skywalker, who’d been given a love interest in a fiery smuggler named Mara Jade—were living lives far beyond the ones he had written for them in the original trilogy".

Sources:

During the Prequels...

George Lucas was writing and directing three movies with large themes, shot almost back-to-back, commuting between Australia and California. That's hard enough as it is.

Also, in the 90s, most movies were still shot on film. During the making of Phantom Menace, Lucas shot parts of the film by combining prototype digital Sony cameras and using them in combination with videotapes, rather than shooting on film.

For Attack of the Clones, George worked with Panavision and Sony to develop fully digital cameras, which eventually became the standard.

As if that wasn't enough, by making the Prequels, Lucas and ILM were also creating fully-digitized worlds (Coruscant, Geonosis) and characters (Jar Jar, Yoda) and laying the groundwork for the CGI technology that has now become essential for today's blockbusters.

Having established all this...

Do you really think he had the time or the patience to read through a bunch of novels and guidebooks?!

Simply put: George Lucas was too busy revolutionizing cinema to be involved in the development of the EU.

So if you ask George who Tahl or Vitiate are, or what the Stark Hyperspace War or a vapor manifold are, if you ask him to recite you the Sith Code... he'll grumble and say "heck if I know".

He outright admitted that fans know more Star Wars lore than him.

Because SOMEBODY ELSE wrote that stuff.

And he let them do it because:

It made money. A lot of money, especially after TPM came out. Money that could fund his next films. You don't mess with licensing. Hell, it's why he was so cool with there being all those Star Wars parodies.

He didn't see those stories as canon anyway, so it couldn't hurt. He saw them as a separate universe, an alternate timeline wherein the films happened ALONG with all these other tales.

So associating the EU content with Lucas is unreasonable. He was too busy, so he just let Howard Roffman, Lucy Autrey Wilson, Sue Rostoni and Lucas Licensing do their thing and crank out new stories and transmedia content for the fans.

It was a one-way relationship. The licensing parallel universe needed to have some internal consistency AND adhere to what Lucas established in the new films movies (which was difficult because they weren't involved in the production process), but he didn't need to be in line or consistent with anything they established.

Now, George did set some guidelines/boundaries and there were obviously do's and don'ts. But once those boundaries were set and the brief was established, the authors had a lot of freedom and, like, 99% of their interaction was with their editors from the respective publishing houses (Scholastic, Del Rey, Dark Horse) and the folks at Lucas Licensing.

George was only really brought in to sign off on, like, some of the major plot points only once in a blue moon. Stuff like:

"Let's make a Maul novel". George would go "fine, just keep him mysterious."

"What species should Plagueis be?" George: "he could be a Muun, here's concept art."

Nothing more than that. Again: the Expanded Universe was other storyteller's interpretation of what Lucas had created.

Sometimes, it was spot on and it aligned with George's vision.

Other times, this additional lore was created by writers who didn't know what he was doing with the Prequels, so they were in the dark regarding certain plot points.

And then you have the authors who absolutely disagreed with George's vision of the Prequels, or of Star Wars, in general, but wanted to engage with the material nonetheless.

Which is why, whilst sometimes the EU fixed some plot-holes, sometimes the EU had inconsistencies.

Inconsistencies such as Ki-Adi Mundi being a Knight on the Council, who is married and has kids (when the Jedi being prohibited from marrying is a major plot point in the Prequels)...

… or the Jedi being essentially superhuman (when one of the narrative reasons Qui-Gon is killed is to show that the Jedi are mortals, not supermen)…

... or other stuff like Mace having a blue lightsaber for a period (because who the hell knew purple was an option?!) or some Jedi having red lightsabers, or Sith Lords being able to become ghosts after death, when that's a feat you can only achieve by being selfless.

It's also why you get conflicting definitions of what the Jedi call "attachment" or conflicting narratives trying to reframe midi-chlorians as a cold, intentionally-flawed way of seeing the Force (when they're meant to be a beautiful metaphor for symbiosis and how the Force works).

And it makes sense that some of this stuff wouldn't track, considering how Lucas stated multiple times that he didn't have anything to do with it, that it was a separate universe from his own...

Safe to say that if George had any involvement in the EU, it was so minimal that he, himself, didn't count it as "involvement".

Additional sources:

Later years of the EU...

After the Prequels were over and done with, Lucas created The Clone Wars with Dave Filoni. At first, he'd just suggest a few storylines, but he quickly got VERY involved in the whole process. Far more involved than he ever was with EU content.

And y'know... Dave Filoni is a massive Star Wars fan and an avid EU reader. So, from time to time, Filoni would bring up EU material for Lucas to consider during the story conferences, and they'd look at what was out there together.

But it's important to note that George's stance toward the EU didn't change and became a rule for everyone on the writing staff: the EU content was nothing more than a pool of "fun what-if ideas" that they could draw inspiration from.

If they could, they'd try to not mess with continuity... but if the story called for it, they could retcon anything without batting an eye. Because it wasn't canon to them.

It's why author Karen Traviss quit working with Lucasfilm after the Mandalorians were retconned into pacifists in The Clone Wars.

The only things that were truly canon were:

George Lucas' own word.

The movies.

Previously established The Clone Wars lore.

And that's it.

Everything else was somebody's else's concern. Not George's.

Sources:

This way of seeing the EU continued all the way to the time shortly before George sold the company to Disney as his drafts for the Sequels featured:

no Jacen, Jaina or Anakin Solo (Han and Leia's kids from the EU),

a still-alive Chewbacca (who died, later in the EU),

no "New Jedi Order".

Every version of George's Sequels ignored the EU.

Which would explain why the EU reboot was planned in the summer of 2012 (when Lucas was in charge)!

I'll repeat: the EU reboot was planned months BEFORE George Lucas sold the company to Disney.

Because of course it was! It's a natural result of 30 years' worth of content that's so intermeshed that it would stop future artists - namely George himself - from creating anything else.

Sources:

Exceptions to the rule:

1. Comics (kinda)

He did read the comics. Or at least, he gave them a glance.

Aside from the fact that he grew up reading comics, understand that George Lucas is a visual artist, first and foremost.

That's what he's about and that's what he loves, that's what speaks to him. There's a reason his upcoming Museum of Narrative Art will feature comic panels and pages of all kind.

During pre-production on Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, Lucas had the art team draw concept art before a script had ever been written so he'd have ideas for set-pieces.

Later on, J.W. Rinzler pitched him the idea of adapting his early drafts for Star Wars into comic form. Lucas' initial reaction was going "hell no". Rinzler had concept art made…

… and George took one look and was on board.

So it's not a stretch to assume that a book telling a story through beautiful drawings would catch his attention more than a novel.

Case in point: He knew who Quinlan Vos was and was enamored with the character. He knew Aayla enough to put her in Attack of the Clones after seeing a cover of Republic by John Forster featuring her (below, left).

(although, it's worth pointing out that he doesn't call her out by name a single time, in the director's commentary of the Attack of the Clones, she's just the "Twi'Lek Jedi" and her inclusion was done mainly to add more diversity to the Jedi fighting in the arena)

Over a decade later, when the comic Star Wars #7 came out in 2015, Lucasfilm acquired artist Simone Bianchi's original 20 pages and cover art for George, so he could feature it in his the Museum of Narrative Art:

So at the very least, he looked at the comics and admired the visuals.

Whether he actually read the comics in detail or just skimmed through most of them because he liked the pretty pictures (likelier, imo) is an entirely different matter.

Sources:

2. Video-Games (kinda)

Lucas would periodically check in on the status of LucasArts games, lending creative input and advice.

Sometimes, his advice ranged from "weird" to "he's gotta be fucking with us, right?"

Apparently, he advised the team developing Star Wars: The Force Unleashed that they dub Starkiller "Darth Insanius" or "Darth Icky".

And you know what? I have no trouble believing it.

Firstly because if you're going by the idea that he gave no fucks about the EU, then of course he'll come up with "meh" names. But also, this is the same guy who created "Winkie" in 2012/2013, the character who'd go on to be named "Rey".

He also told the team creating Star Wars: 1313 that he wanted a fresh face as the main character, then only weeks before the game was announced he went "let's make it Boba Fett".

Finally... the cancelled Darth Maul game by Red Fly.

Codenamed “Damage”, then “Battle of the Sith Lords”. Think Batman: Arkham City meets Star Wars.

Red Fly pitched it as a coming of age story where we see Maul be kidnapped, tortured, eventually joining the Dark Side, and ending in TPM. Then they had interactions with LucasArts and found out Maul survived his fight with Obi-Wan.

The game went through several iterations, partly because the people at Red Fly were kept in the dark about the developments in The Clone Wars (Season 4 wasn't out yet), and even when some tidbits came out and they knew characters like Savage Oppress and Death Watch would be included, they didn't get more details.

Whatever. They do their best to make something from what they're told. Then they have a meeting with George. As this GameInformer article explains:

“A friendly George Lucas entered the room and was eager to hear the pitch from Red Fly’s creatives. “Before they could finish their spiel, Lucas cut them off, stood up, walked over to [two Sideshow Collectibles statues of Darth Maul and Darth Talon], rotated them to be facing the same direction, pushed them together, and said ‘They’re friends!’” adds the source. “He wanted these characters to be friends, and to play off of each other. […] The problem with the idea of Maul and Talon teaming up for a buddy cop-like experience was that they were separated by over 170 years […] When this vast time divide was brought up to Lucas’ attention, he brushed off the notion of it not working, and said that it could instead be a descendant of Darth Maul or a clone of him.”

So now the game is about a descendant of Maul, guided by his ancestor and fighting a redesigned Darth Krayt, etc?

The game was eventually cancelled when George sold the company.

Worth pointing out that this was circa 2010/2011... around the time that George started working on his Sequels, according to Jett Lucas. And we know that the treatment for the Sequels that Lucas presented to Bob Iger featured old man Maul and Darth Talon as the villains of the trilogy... take from that what you will.

3. The Prequel novelizations (kinda)

They were all given a copy of Lucas' screenplay.

While most of their work was with Sue Rostoni, Lucy Autrey Wilson, and Howard Roffman on the Lucasfilm team (like some of the other authors), Terry Brooks, R.A. Salvatore and Matthew Stover all spent a bit of time with George before writing their respective novels.

George told Terry Brooks to write some additional material for Anakin Skywalker because there wasn't enough of that in the movie. He was shown rushes from the set, they "opened the safe" for him. When Terry had further questions re: midi-chlorians and the history of the Sith, George goes on a 30-minute monologue about all that.

R.A. Salvatore had a 45-minute interview with him that turned into a 3-hour chat. He was able to go back to the Ranch a few times during the writing process, and one of those times George chatted with him and his wife during lunch. He was shown various cuts of the film and concept art.

Matthew Stover and George talked for a whole afternoon (I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume he was also shown the other stuff like some cuts/deleted scenes, concept art, etc etc).

Was there a line-edit of the ROTS novel from Lucas? Regarding the Revenge of the Sith novelization, some people bring up the idea that George Lucas did a line-edit on the book because Stover wrote this statement on theforce.net:

That said...

Stover, also stated that Lucas told him to write whatever he wanted as long as it was good,

he also said he didn't actually see Lucas type the edits,

an anonymous Del Rey editor stated on theforce.net that the notion that George edited the novel himself is "extremely incorrect".

There's enough "reasonable doubt" for the argument to be made that the Revenge of the Sith novelization was edited the same way as any other Star Wars novel, rather than by George himself.

The fact remains, though, that it was a novel written by someone who understood the source material, as it was explained to him in detail by George Lucas himself (a luxury many SW authors never got).

Lucas' backstory for the Sith in the TPM novel: If Pablo Hidalgo is to be believed, the backstory of the Sith, as detailed in the Phantom Menace novelization, came from Lucas.

(Obviously, I'd allow for the very likely possibility that there was some embellishment by Terry Brooks)

20 years later, however, it seems George decided to stick to the idea that there was no war between the Jedi and the Sith.

Final thought:

A lot of people will insist that George was involved in spite of all the above-posted evidence. Saying stuff like:

"But [X person] said that it was canon..."

Sometimes, they’ll link you to this whole website collecting quotes of other people saying "the EU was canon" (never George Lucas except for, like, one/two quotes where he acknowledges the existence of Sequel books which MUST mean he saw them as canon, right?) and...

On the one hand... of course they'll all vaguely say he's "involved" and tip-toe around the subject; it's technically true and, again, they're trying to make money. It's a business, folks.

On the other... yeah? Duh. Of course it was canon to Lucas Licensing and the authors who wrote for the EU. But it wasn't canon to George. And I just gave you a whole bunch of quotes directly from him and/or the same people quoted on that website, all confirming that he didn't see them as canon and he wasn't involved (or barely was).

Other times, we're straight-up approaching "burying head in the sand/lalalala I'm not listening!" levels of justifications.

Like, we just talked about the Sith's origins, right?

I remember a while ago, this Star Wars YouTuber was reviewing this quote from Lucas, in The Star Wars Archives: 1999-1995:

The YouTuber's reaction the second after reading the quote is saying:

"And of course, what George is referring to, here, is the Battle of Ruusan and the Brotherhood of Darkness using the Thought Bomb created by Lord Khan to kill the Jedi Lord Hoth and…"

My guy! You read a whole excerpt that started with "there was never a war between the Jedi and the Sith" and the words "Ruusan" or "Thought Bomb" never being mentioned once in the passage (or in the TPM novelization)... and concluded that George was referring to the Jedi/Sith Battle of Ruusan? And all that other EU stuff?

See what I mean, folks?

Now, look, I grew up with these stories (heck, I grew up with these stories in three different languages). So I get it. I know they're awesome.

And, yes, there is a difference between the kind of content we used to get and the content we're getting now (for one, lightsabers used to be lightsabers, in video-games, not baseball bats).

But if you're trying to prop up the EU, the facts show that the "George Lucas signed off on them" authority argument isn't a valid one. Because he clearly wasn't very interested or involved in it.

And why would you want to use this authority argument, anyway?

You shouldn't need to say "this came from Lucas" to like those stories. They don't need to be George Lucas Approved™ to matter and to be validated as "worthy of appreciation". They're valid on their own, they're great stories. And if you like them better than the Sequels, go to town. I know I do.

The only thing you can't do (with a straight face, at least) is hold them up as "the True Lucas-Approved Canon™ as opposed to the Disney Trash" in a rant, because you'd be wrong and/or lying. Neither had Lucas' hand in them in any meaningful way.

Finally... I was devastated when the EU was officially made non-canon, in 2014. And for a few years, I saw the new Star Wars continuity through this lens:

"Any EU content is still canon unless it's directly retconned...!"

Trust me, when I say that only pain lies that way. Because that's not how a lot of Star Wars creators, including the Flanelled One himself, see it. The way they saw/see it is:

"Unless it's been shown in a movie or TCW... it's a legend, it might have happened."

This line of thought seems to be increasingly applied to the new Disney canon too, by the way. "If it's not shown on a screen, then it's probably canon yet also up for grabs to be retconned."

And the sooner you accept that this is how it's being treated, the sooner you accept that the EU was never canon to Lucas or Filoni...

... the less painful it'll be when, I dunno, you watch The Acolyte and it's nothing like the Darth Plagueis novel or Plagueis himself is absent, or he's there, but as an Ithorian instead of a Muun.

(note how I didn't use the word "painless")

[the-hidden-empire]

Thrawn NSFW alphabet:

18+ warnings: breeding kink, mating cycle

A/N: I know I’ve been gone for a hot minute, but guess who’s back🫠 decided to take a break from college (parents have no idea yet), so I have some more free time to write.

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

Quiet but loving. He’s a busy man so you don’t get to cuddle him often afterwards, but you’ll shower together before he goes back to attend his duties. You’ll also help him fix his uniform, always fixing his collar, to make sure there is no evidence of you’re sexual acts that take place between you both.

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

His favourite body part on you is you’re eyes, there is something mesmerizing about them. Those eyes could trap any man or woman in his opinion. That seductive look you give him, drives him crazy. He’s ready to bed you there and then.

His favourite part of himself is his hands, he loves how petite you look while he holds you in them. They are strong and rough, so he loves the feeling of you’re soft delicate ones in his.

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

Doesn’t enjoy messes, he’s a very neat man. So creampie all the way for him. He not so secretly wants to see his seed taking inside of you as a result of his actions. He loves the risk, and the idea of impregnating you. But something in him desires to fill you to the brim with his seeds.

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

Again not so secret not so secret to you, he wants to impregnate you, he enjoys the idea of you’re body growing to accommodate his child. The idea of you’re breast growing swollen as a result. Knowing he’ll constantly have to satisfy you’re sexual cravings as you’re child grows in your womb and you’re hormones become untameable.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

He has some experience, but he definitely knows what he’s doing. He also knows you’re body better than you do. So once you’ve slept with him, he’ll constantly mapping you’re body out in his mind for next time, because yes there will be a next time. He is sure of it.

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

Any position where he’s on top and in control. He is power hungry in the bedroom. He also doesn’t mind you riding him on occasion as long as he has some kind of control, such as holding you’re hips and helping you move/ momentum.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

Definitely not the humours type in general, let alone in the bedroom. But every now and then he’ll let out a comment that one would consider as dry humour. Or will occasionally smirk at a comment you make. But he takes his sexual activity with you serious.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

When he came out of exile, he was not well groomed. He became very well groomed as he became a member of the empire.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

Surprisingly intimate. You are his top priority, his better half. He likes to imagine that you both become one, during sexual intercourse. He enjoys maintaining eye contact during sex. Holding your hips, while drawing small circles on your hips lightly. But is still in charge and on the rough side with his thrust. But he’ll make you feel special with the words he spews from his mouth as he loses control of his senses, his body will take over as if on auto pilot mode and will encourage you along passionately.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

When he is away from you, he may on occasion. But it’s only because he can’t focus with you on his mind. He’d much rather the actual act though.

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

Definitely has a breeding kink, and a lactation kink. Seeing you’re breast create vital nutrients for his child to survive and feed off does something to him. Especially when they are swollen leak through you’re clothing.

He also enjoys taking you on his desk while he’s fully clothed in his white uniform, it gives a power trip that he lowkey enjoys. Reminds him what he’s fighting for, and the power he holds within the empire. And how he’d do anything to protect you and his native people.

He definitely enjoys dominating you, he loves seeing you obeying his commands.

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

His office, or his room. Has to be somewhere private. He doesn’t like to be interrupted. And he’s unwilling to let anyone else see you in such a intimate situations (or you’re body, it’s for his eyes only)

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

Seeing you take control/ taking matters into you’re own hands. Or when you help him dissect a piece of artwork.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Sharing, he defiantly would not share you under any circumstances. You are his prize, and his prize alone. No one else’s.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

Quite enjoys receiving, especially with the things you’re mouth can do. Can be greedy, but will gladly give back in return. He knows how to use his tongue well.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

Rough for sure, he has a lot of weight on his shoulders and it helps him relieve his frustration and anger. But he definitely is sensual. He enjoys the sensuality, it helps with you’re bond.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

As grand admiral, he doesn’t get a lot of free time. So quickies happen more often than not. But he makes sure to leave you full satisfied.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

He enjoys the risk of fucking you while he is on a hologram with others. He enjoys the risk/challenge of keeping you quiet while he burrows himself in you. He knows he won’t get caught, but still enjoys the thrill of getting caught. Even though he says he states he doesn’t want to get caught.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

This man has incredible stamina, much more than any normal human. He will last longer than you, but he’ll hold you while he continues to impale you with his cock. He recognizes that humans don’t have the stamina that Chiss have, so he’ll warn you before hand that it will be a lot for you to handle. But you enjoy the challenge, and he enjoys seeing you collapse from exhaustion, as be rubs you’re back and encourages you to continue and take him. He enjoys watching you struggle with it, makes him laugh silently. You definitely are meant to be his.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

I can’t see him being into toys, but I can for see him being open to any idea that’s not going to hurt you. Maybe some bondage.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

He is a tease even when he is not trying. But he knows exactly what makes you’re body react. He also knows what to say. He gets amused ,seeing you’re reactions, so he enjoys being a tease. He won’t admit it though.

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

He’s not a very loud man in general, which means he carries the quietness into the bedroom. But he makes lots of low grunts and moans, can get breathy, and he’ll whisper dirty notions into you’re ear as he completely destroys you’re insides.

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

Chiss definitely have a mating season/ cycle. Male Chiss testosterone hits a high once every few cycles. So those periods he will go into a phase of extreme sexual desires. Only you can satisfy him during those days. He usually spends the day rutting into you. He makes himself scarce during this time, as he spends his cycle mating you. It can be hard on you, he even warns you before hand that it won’t be easy. But you enjoy the challenge.

Also when something goes wrong/ bothers him, he’ll use sex as a means to release pent up anger. During those times he’s less soft, but very dominant. He’ll vent to you as he rearranges you’re insides. only allowing you to see him like this, and no one else. He does not want his crew or adversaries to see him distraught. He uses you’re body as a tool as a coping mechanism for him. You’ll hold him after, and comfort him. Don’t forget he’s going to be more harsh than usual.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

Very large, Chiss men have larger penises than most species. It takes you a while to get used to it, you’re body still struggles to take it though to this day. He understood right away that he was going to have to be careful as not to hurt you. It takes a lot of waiting and patience on his part. He knows he can’t just move away right away. But he didn’t realize that actual size difference between you both till that moment. He has to start off slowly, as it can become very difficult for you to handle.

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

High! But he is very much cool and collected at all times. Others would never know how much sex you both have had, its quite impressive. Most men would be envious if they knew how much sex Thrawn has with you. Even as he ages, his sex drive definitely doesn’t slow down. He just becomes more experienced with time

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

If you are both going to bed for the night than he will likely sleep right away, due to his early morning schedules. But sometimes he’ll stay up and finish work while you dose off with him keeping an eye on you while he works. He’s not much of a sleeper.