#Star Wars dark nest trilogy

[skyguy8108]

Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force

We now know that Anakin Skywalker and Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo married in secret in the year 22 B.B.Y., just after the Battle of Geonosis. It was only after the astromech droid R2-D2 divulged recordings of Anakin and Amidala that contemporary scholars became aware of their relationship. It is almost a certainty that Anakin told no one of his marriage, and subsequent interviews with Amidala’s relatives have determined that family members were also oblivious.

After Leia Organa Solo discovered the identity of her mother, she realized that Pooja Naberrie—a former representative of Naboo and a friend she had known since her service in the Imperial Senate—was not only Padmé Amidala’s niece but also her own first cousin. In 35 A.B.Y., Pooja Naberrie recalled meeting Anakin when she was a child, just prior to the Battle of Geonosis:

I was just a little girl, only four years old, when I first saw Anakin. Oh, my. I thought he was the most handsome man I’d ever seen, and so tall! My memory of him is entirely from a child’s perspective, and I still envision him as a giant.

I was at my grandparents’ home with my sister Ryoo, who’s two years older, when he came to Naboo. He came walking up the street with Aunt Padmé, and they brought an R2 unit. Ryoo and I always got so excited when Padmé would visit, because we sometimes didn’t see her for months at a time. And if you’re four and six years old, months can seem like years! Anyway, if I remember right, I think Ryoo and I must have thought that Anakin had brought the droid to us as a because we just started dancing around it, right there in the street outside the house. We were so silly.

I’d overheard someone say that Anakin was Padmé’s bodyguard, and I don’t think I thought there was anything strange about that. Padmé was often accompanied by a security officer named … Oh, my, what was his name? Ty? No, Captain Typho! Anyway, I just imagined that Anakin was Padmé’s boyfriend. I thought they both looked so beautiful together.

Well, Ryoo and I were just heartbroken when we learned that they weren’t staying at the house. They left just a few hours later for the Lake Country. I recall our mother saying something about Padmé needing to get away from the city and rest for a few days. We cried because we wanted the droid to stay and play with us!

A few days later, I remember there was some concern in our house about no one knowing where Padmé was. She and Anakin had been staying at a retreat in the Lake Country, but then they’d left without telling anyone where they were going. My mother was a bit frantic until a few days later, when she received word that Padmé was alive and well.

It wasn’t long after that that Padmé returned to Naboo with Anakin, and that was the second time I met him. I remember that encounter more clearly because of the way I reacted when I saw that his right hand had been replaced with a prosthetic. The fingertips were made of a gold-colored metal, and I thought it looked cold. And there were exposed wires. I guess it may have been just a temporary prosthetic. When my family and I greeted him and Padmé, I couldn’t stop myself from staring at his new hand. And then I looked up into his eyes.

He looked … well, I thought he looked angry, and I just started crying. Maybe he was angry, but in hindsight, I’m certain it had nothing to with me. My mother apologized for my behavior, but Anakin said there was no reason for anyone to be sorry. He knelt down beside me, held out his left hand to me, and asked me if I’d put my hand in his. I did. He smiled and gave my fingers a gentle squeeze, then said, “That’s for good luck, so we’ll all hang on to our fingers from now on.” I’m sure he just wanted to make me feel better, and he did. But I still felt so awful for him for losing a hand.

And then, three years later, Padmé was dead. It was awful. She was so young. And no one in our family seemed to know how she had died, or at least no one told us. My sister and I did learn that there had been assassination attempts, and that was why Anakin had been acting as her bodyguard.

At her funeral, I didn’t just weep for her. I thought Anakin was dead, too. We’d heard that the Jedi had attempted to overthrow the Republic, and that most of the Jedi had been killed. To Ryoo and me, Anakin was our hero. We couldn’t imagine him doing anything wrong. I had all sorts of fantasies about how he might have been killed or injured while trying to save Padmé, or that he’d gone into hiding because he refused to participate in the so-called Jedi takeover. Silly dreams.

But all that was … How long ago? About fifty-five years, I think. And now, my dear friend Leia Organa Solo tells me about her discovery that Padmé was her mother, and of what became of Anakin. My head is still reeling. I’ve known Leia ever since we both served in the Imperial Senate, and to think that neither of us ever had the slightest inkling that we were first cousins.

If Leia hadn’t told me herself, I don’t think I ever would have believed that Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader. It’s just so … so entirely inconceivable that that lovely young man could have become Vader. And yet that’s exactly what happened, isn’t it? To think I held his hand. His good hand. Oh, my.

i have one braincell and it is constantly occupied with the twins going to naboo and meeting padmé's family

(support me on kofi!)

[incorrectstarwarslegendsquotes]

you are not alone. there's bugs.

Jaina Solo, The Dark Nest Trilogy

[randomwritingguy]

I just finished Legacy of the Force and it was absolutely dreadful. There were some good bits like the stuff with Ben Skywalker and Boba Fett but overall it was garbage. It ruined so many characters to varying degrees, Jacen Solo being the one hurt the most. Everyone is either stupid or out of character or both.

Star Wars ended with The Unifying Force. Nothing happened afterwards.

[yubsie]

This is your periodic reminder that there was a Legends novel where the B plot was Han, Luke and Leia watching the prequels on Artoo.

This was in fact that good plotline of that trilogy.

The A plot was Jedi bug sex orgies.

[solodaughter]

Even in Star Wars (Legends) there's a societal expectation that you should be married to have kids

[miraluking-respectfully]

I wanted my next longpost about DNT to focus on what this book reveals wrt the process of Joining. Instead, I accidentally went on a rant in the Discord server about the Killiks as a people during this particular era of galactic history in-universe, and by extension, Raynar Thul.

Raynar Thul, aka UnuThul, is a Joiner of Unu of some significance who I've put off explaining because when I entered the book, I knew about him and I considered his presence abhorrent. I've since gotten over some of those feelings, but I'm better off copy-pasting my Discord Rant than to try and summarize here.

Spoilers for The Joiner King below, but don't worry about that too much, as I'm kind of reading this book so you don't have to.

Call me Bug Walker.

*bad rimshot*

Begin Copypaste

The trouble with this particular novel is that while it's EXTREMELY juicy with Bug Lore, half of what it reveals about Kind society/culture/biology are New Developments™️ that i'm having to untangle from what could feasibly have been present before, ie, within the SWTOR era. Basically the premise of this book is that the nest has been undergoing some Changes due to the influence of a highly Force-sensitive Joiner, who was then able to extend his will over the nest as a whole. So discovering which is the nasty yucky invasive anthropomorphism introduced into my bugs by this character and which is the acceptable seasoning of anthropomorphism inherent to the development of a fictional intelligent species is not always super cut and dry

Like, the care given to individual casualties is an explicitly new development (makes sense, there aren't a ton of eusocial hive insects IRL that perform triage), but is the spaceport they built? Is the trade they're performing with other species? Is the Colony involving multiple distinct nests sharing a unified hive mind as opposed to a bunch of them? I'm like, not sure

Which is kind of funny, because the idea that the Killiks were a static culture until this One Guy with the right levels of space magic crashed into their planet & exerted his will over them with his last burst of near-death strength Also Really Bothers Me(edited)

"Well, Mads, if you like an aspect of Killiks 2.0, you can just pretend it's always been present in Killiks 1.0!" I don't waaaannaaaa

I want the LEAST anthro version of my bugs!!! I want the version of them BEFORE Raynar Thul got his grubby little mind all over them!

Joiners as a concept are fuckin sick not only because of what the bugs can give to them but for what they can give to the bugs. Joiners aren't Oops! All Hive Mind, they are two minds. Your old personality and memories still exist, but your understanding of the world and your priorities are now one with the Hive. And because I <3 TLT and I'm really big on the permeability of the soul rn, that suggests to me that the character and personality of a hive would change, slowly and surely, depending on the types of Joiners incorporated into it. It would have to. If the hive mind pre-Raynar has no clear source, no clear singular will behind it (disclaimer: IDK if this is true, I have 2.75 more entire book to read), then it could only be shaped and influenced by all its participants, bug and otherwise.

Raynar's existence + influence over the Colony doesn't preclude this possibility, but like. He does raise a question,

that being, could any Forcie have done this under the right circumstances? if not Why not

Like the book hasn't stated it outright but the wiki seemed confident that this guy has been the only Forcie Joiner to get subsumed, and while I don't know if that's a wholly accurate statement bc fucking nobody has read these books, the fact that the books gave the wiki authors that impression BUGS ME (pun intended)

This is the first EU book I've ever read. IDK what kinds of fuckin galactic percentages of Forcies to non-Forcies it's assuming. Obviously the number would be low because this book takes place a point when the Jedi are bouncing back from a painful extinction, but that extinction was recent, it was artificial, and also as we all know well Jedi =/= all Force users and statistically it is buckwild crazy to me that the Killiks would exist for 20,000+ years (the migration Vector mentions was introduced here btw! These are the Kind that left Alderaan, that he was looking for!) and at no point would they have picked up a strong-willed Force-user before this one dude

Now, there IS a confounding factor here. Which is, I imagine any other Forcie Joiners pre-Raynar were not, um. Trying to influence the nest as hard as he was

For starters he's just super duper strong in the Force, but also, he Joined because he crashed into a planet and crawled out of his ship half-dead and super on fire after watching multiple of his friends die horribly, and the will he exerted over the Killiks was a last-ditch effort to get them to save his life as opposed to eating him

that is a SPECIFIC-ASS set of circumstances and maaaybe if such a thing happened again within a different and unrelated nest, the same thing could have happened. Maybe it wasn't the presence of Force abilities that caused this one guy's brain to redirect the flow of the collective mind, but the effort he was putting behind it, effort that previous Force-sensitive Joiners had not found a need to wield

And also, like, UnuThul is 100% a Joiner. He is no more the same guy he was going in than Vector is, this is made clear

Bright side: as I said, I have A TON of this book left to go. And there have been a bunch of really strange happenings within the nest that Raynar in his Dawn-Herald-On-Steroids role seems as baffled by as the rest of the Kind. So maybe the next Big Reveal is gonna blow my ass clean off, slash positive, and make this all sit right with me.

But nonetheless I am bovvered. I am bovvered that a hive mind could develop a person in the drivers' seat for any reason. It feels too easy and it feels too anthropomorphizing, and both of those make it reeeally boring

End Copypaste

[magnetarbeam]

I'm using this as an excuse to talk about Alema Rar, who deserved so much better than to be cast as a villain just because Troy Denning apparently hates women who won't date him.

“But….She can’t be a Jedi. She’s a female!”

“I am a female, I am a Twi'lek, and I am a Jedi. The Galaxy is wider than your prejudices.”

[whitejays-galaxy]

Star Wars cat AU pt. 2: The Villains of the Prequels

Some pose studies I did of these evil goobers:

Sidious:

Maul:

Dooku:

Vader:

Lore:

<Lightningstrike/Sidious>

Name Meaning: Bolts of "Lightning" are very unpredictable, and they always "Strike" when you least expect it. It also represents his deadliness and power that of a lightning bolt.

Plus he also got struck by lightning across the right side of his face when he was a smol psychopath kitten during training at some ancient Darkhaven temple

He's the same size as Yoda/Horizonstar in my AU

He eats other dead cats

He tore Dooku's pelt and made it into a cape he wears sometimes

His nest is made out of cat pelts and bones(mostly from the victims of Order 66)

He is capable of Force Masking(a rare Force ability that allows one to shapeshift into anything. The only other cat who had this ability in the same period was Qui-Gon-Jinn/Sagepelt)

He is an albino cat, and his only physical weakness is bad eyesight

<Bloodburn/Maul>

Name Meaning: "Blood" symbolizes his bloody past, and the loss of his brothers, and "Burn" symbolizes his world and true self burning away.

He was formerly called Russetstorm, and lived with his two brothers, Tigertalon/Savage, and Amberspark/Feral.

Since Dathomir is a society where she-cats have more power, Poisonstar/Mother Talzin was fascinated and angered at the same time when her son, Russetstorm beat all the other she-cats during sparring.

Soon, she realizes that Russetstorm is Force Sensitive, and she tries to get rid of him by sending him off to Lightningstrike in exchange for valuable metals and other resources.

Russetstorm quickly finds out that Poisonstar is trying to get rid of him, so he runs away in the middle of the night with Tigertalon and Amberspark.

They didn't go far, as the two brothers were brutally slaughtered by the guards before Russetstorm's very eyes.

Russetstorm tips to the dark side in his fury and anguish, killing all the guards; Lightningstrike, noticing Russet's raw power in the Force, abducts him anyhow and seduces him to the ways of the dark side.

Years later, Poisonstar would meet her downfall by her son's own claws, which takes place two years before the events of The Phantom Menace, and Russetstorm would be renamed Bloodburn.

<Frostshard/Tyrantturn/Dooku>

I mentioned the meaning of Dooku's name in my first Cat AU post, so I'll be telling you his Sith name here

Name Meaning: "Tyrant" because Frostshard betrayed everything he once stood for, and "Turn" represents his fall to the dark side.

Since he was never a full Darkhavener, his pelt stayed clean and his eyes were normal and not orange like a typical Darkhavener.

When he got killed by Skyfire/Anakin, he gets stuck in the Dark Forest(cat hell), soul constantly glitching/shifting from Frostshard to Tyrantturn(who has a dead grey pelt and orange eyes)

<Deadsoul/Vader>

Name Meaning: I chose "Dead" because Skyfire/Anakin died when he turned to the dark side. He lost everything, with no reason to live except to serve Lightningstrike/Sidious until he died. 

I chose "Soul" because he is a lost soul wandering in the remains of his failures and losses. His body is functioning, but his spirit has been crushed into smithereens.

After his battle with Hazeldusk/Obi-Wan, his body gets reconstructed in the Dark Forest(which Lightningstrike opens a portal in Mustafar using the dark side of the Force)

Nine Darkhaven/Sith souls(Revan/Corvidheart, Maul/Bloodburn, Plagueis/Plagueshadow, Bane/Nightshade, Tyranus/Tyrantturn, Starkiller, Malgus/Stormcutter, Tenebrae/Vortexvoid, and Hellfire/founder of Darkhaven)were used for his life support, and each soul gave him the power of its owner(but only if he studied the different aspects of the Dark Force was he then able to obtain the soul's energy. Which he does with most of the time during the OG trilogy)

See more of my Cat Au designs here :3

The Disaster lineage (Yoda, Dooku, Qui, Obi, Anakin, Ahsoka + lore)

Prequel villains (Sidious, Dooku, Maul, Vader + Lore)

Kit-Fisto

Plo-Koon and Ahsoka

Sifo Dyas and Dooku

Disaster trio(Obi, Ani, Soka) doodles

Smol comics(ft. Qui, Rael, Sifo, Dooku): pt 1

Aayla Secura and Quinlan Voss

Luke and Leia

DO NOT COPY ANY OF MY CAT DESIGNS

This is a PERSONAL AU and they mean so much to me

[daisyishedwig]

So my plan was originally to do these recaps every month, but that didn't happen. So instead, here's a reading recap for the first 6 months of 2024 in which I read 99 books, a concept that is still insane to me considering my goal for the year was 50. Pictured are my highlights, the god-tier books that left me screaming or the ones that I left feeling like a new person.

And here is the full list of everything I've read so far this year. (Bolded are the books pictured and italicised are books reread)

January My Dear Henry by Kalynn Bayron 4/5 The Seven Husband of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid 5/5 Padawan by Kiersten White 5/5 Dark Heir by C.S. Pacat 5/5 You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron 3/5 The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones 5/5 Teach the Torches to Burn by Caleb Roehrig 5/5 The Star Host Trilogy by F.T. Lukens 5/5 Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa 4/5 Harley Quinn: Die Laughing by Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner 3/5 Coffee Boy by Austin Chant 5/5 Star Wars: Vader: Dark Visions by Dennis Hopeless 3/5 Caroline’s Heart by Austin Chant 5/5 Stranger Things: Flight of Icarus by Caitlin Schneiderhan 2/5

February Self-Made Boys by Anna-Marie McLemore 5/5 Pretty Boy by Jett Masterson 1/5 The Prince’s Dearest Guards by Beau Van Dalen 3/5 The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab 5/5 A House Unsettled by Trynne Delaney 3/5 Bunt! Striking Out on Financial Aid by Ngozi Ukazu 5/5 The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan 4/5

March  By Any Other Name by Erin Cotter 5/5 From Here to Eternity: Travelling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlin Doughty 4/5 Family Business by Jonathan Sims 5/5 Hook's Tale: Being the Account of an Unjustly Villainized Pirate Written by Himself by John Leonard Pielmeier 4/5 Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones 4/5 Ouran High School Host Club by Bisco Hatori 5/5 Peter Darling by Austin Chant 5/5 Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones 3/5 Darling by K. Ancrum 5/5

April The Candy Shop War by Brandon Mull 2/5 A Worthy Opponent by Katee Robert 5/5 Circe by Madeline Miller 4/5 The Never King by Nikki St. Crowe 4/5 Ben and Beatriz by Katalina Gamarra 5/5 Hide: The Graphic Novel by Kiersten White 3/5 The Darcy Myth: Jane Austen, Literary Heartthrobs, and the Monsters They Taught Us to Love by Rachel Feder 4/5 The Dark One by Nikki St. Crowe 4/5 Their Vicious Darling by Nikki St. Crowe 4/5 Ledfeather by Stephen Graham Jones 5/5 The Fae Princes by Nikki St. Crowe 4/5

May  Black Butler by Yana Toboso 4/5 The 2000s Made Me Gay: Essays on Pop Culture by Grace Perry 4/5 Pan by Christopher Ruz 3/5 Devourer of Men by Nikki St. Crowe 3/5 The Promised Neverland by Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu 4/5 A Sea of Unfortunate Sould by Jay R. Wolf 3/5 Someone You Can Build A Nest In by John Wiswell 4/5

June The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan 5/5 Red Rising by Pierce Brown 4/5 Neon Gods by Katee Robert 5/5 The Girl From the Well by Rin Chupeco 5/5 The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan 4/5 What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher 4/5 The Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan 5/5 Hooked by Emily Mcintire 4/5 Anger is a Gift by Mark Oshiro 5/5 A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow 5/5 A Thief in the Night by KJ Charles 5/5 How To Bite Your Neighbor and Win A Wager by D.N. Bryn 5/5 His First Bite by D.N. Bryn 5/5 The Lost Boy by Joshua Grant 3/5 Tink and Wendy by Kelly Ann Jacobson 3/5 The Wicker King by K. Ancrum 5/5 Epically Earnest by Molly Horan 4/5 Otherworldly by F.T. Lukens 5/5 White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson 5/5 Dark Heir by C.S. Pacat 5/5 A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow 5/5 Peter Pan in Scarlet by Geraldine McCaughrean 5/5 Night of the Living Queers: A Queer Horror Anthology 4/5

[tremendouskoalachild]

Wookiee Jedi: A History

Wookiees. Jedi. Wookiee Jedi. How could you not love them? I’ve decided to compile a hopefully exhaustive little list of all Wookiee Jedi in Star Wars, canon or not. They are ordered chronologically by their introduction and sorted by decade.

The 90s or: Lowbacca, a category of his own

The first Wookiee Jedi in Star Wars was Lowbacca, nicknamed Lowie, introduced in 1995. He was Chewbacca’s nephew and one of the principal characters in the Young Jedi Knights book series, where he trained as one of the students at Luke’s Jedi academy alongside Han and Leia’s kids. He remained a quite frequent side character in later books, especially the New Jedi Order series.

Lowbacca was literally and figuratively exiled in the Dark Nest trilogy (2005) after Lucas banned Wookiee Jedi (we’ll get to that). He did appear in books since then until the cancellation of the now-Legends timeline, although less frequently than before. His appearances in late-stage Legends content are usually related to Wookiees and Kashyyyk specifically, rather than as just another Jedi knight, and mostly reserved for Troy Denning’s novels. Important fact to know about Lowie: I love him.

The 2000s and The Ban

The early 2000s saw the introduction of several Wookiee Jedi, although always as very minor characters. The first one we need to discuss for completeness’ sake is, no joke, Unidentified Wookiee Jedi. We know next to nothing about them: they appear briefly in the background of a 2000 book as a student of the new Jedi Order. This is contemporary with Lowbacca’s time but due to other storylines we can rule out that this Jedi is him. I suppose you can decide for yourself whether this is a simple continuity error, or a random background character used to characterize the setting of Luke’s Order as a harmonious multispecies organization (while utilizing a well-known Star Wars alien species).

For more senior – and named – Jedi we have Master Tyvokka, member of the Council, introduced in 2001. He appears in the flashbacks of a single issue of the Republic comic line by John Ostrander, though he is mentioned in several following issues. He is technically canon despite only appearing in the old continuity due to a mention in reference to Plo Koon, who was his student in both continuities. I think he’s cool for the simple fact that he used a yellow lightsaber. We know Lucas was familiar with the Republic comics (he famously incorporated Aayla into the prequels) but it isn’t entirely clear how much of them he read.

Next we have RPG Wookiees. Master Kirlocca was a prequel-era Jedi in the campaign Living Force, which started in 2001 and concluded in 2007. He has appeared in many installments and supplementary materials of the campaign but never outside it. Living Force also “introduced” Wookiee Jedi Knight Vorlocca as a corpse players find in one of its adventures. Whatever, he counts. (the RPG also introduced Force-sensitive non-Jedi Wookiees named Kuce and Furellas, who is notable for being a lady.)

At some point in the early 2000s Lucas banned the introduction of more Force-sensitive Wookiees. Apart from Lowie this affected Hanharr, a member of your party and playable character in KOTOR II. The devs were supposedly not allowed to include the option of making him a Dark Jedi for this reason. When working on ROTS, concept artist Derek Thompson "wanted to try at least one Wookiee Jedi on the off chance that George would go for it. He didn't go for it."

The 2010s or: maybe we can get Wookiee Jedi again?

Quite possibly the most widely known on this list is Gungi, the first Wookiee Jedi we’ve seen on screen. He made his first appearance in a 2012 episode of The Clone Wars’ fifth season as one of the Jedi younglings gathering crystals for their lightsabers, in an arc that was at one point considered for its own spinoff. He has since also appeared in The Bad Batch season 2. His nature as a Wookiee Jedi is specifically referred to as rare by Huyang and since Lucas was still involved in making the show at that time we can assume he either went back on his distaste for furry Jedi by then, or wanted Gungi to be all the more unique.

Also in 2012 – suggesting Gungi’s introduction might have loosened the ban – we have another comic Jedi, Ruhr. More accurately, he was a Je’daii, a predecessor organization to the Order we know. He was part of the Dawn of the Jedi series, also by Ostrander for Dark Horse. That series ended 15 issues in because the comic rights were transferred to Marvel after the Disney sale, so no more Ruhr.

We also absolutely have to mention Kitmum. She (!) is not canon and never was – unlike the other books and comics discussed here her 2013 book was explicitly non-canonical even before the impending canon reboot of 2014. We love her for her outfit, teaching children how to exercise, and being the only girl Jedi on this list.

The 2020s and the High Republic, golden age for Wookiee Jedi fans

Star Wars publishing over the last several years was largely focused on the High Republic initiative, which is so far a great time for Jedi Wookiees (or, more accurately, for their fans – the Jedi are not doing so good), with more to come soon in The Acolyte, set in the same era.

The first and most prominent is Burryaga Agaburry, one of the principal characters in the adult novel trilogy in Phase I, introduced in Light of the Jedi (2021). He is both a POV character in his own right and the best friend of the main teenage Jedi in the adult novels, Bell Zettifar. Apart from the novels he appears in the audio drama Tempest Runner and is often mentioned or shown in the background of many other High Republic projects. He is also one of the characters most often depicted in children’s media of the era, probably due to his adorable cuddly appearance. His fate in the wake of Phase I’s ending was a major cliffhanger leading into Phase III, leaving the readers hanging for over a year and a half. You love Burry.

The other major Wookiee Jedi in the High Republic multimedia project is Arkoff, technically first introduced in the same book as Burry due to a single mention of his name in a list of notable Jedi. He is the teacher of Lily, herself the protagonist of the Edge of Balance manga, and appears more notably in the manga’s prequel volume set 150 years earlier during Phase II. Ah, the advantages of Wookiee life expectancy.

2023 saw the introduction of Krrsish, an initiate in the flashback sections of the Yoda comic. He has a hard time.

The first Wookiee Jedi in live action is set to be Kelnacca in The Acolyte. He is played by Joonas Suotamo, the actor who took over the role of Chewie for Solo and TROS. He’s also getting a comic one-shot by Cavan Scott later this year!

I can't wait to meet him.

[receival]

the dark nest trilogy starters.

the following is a collection of sentence starters from the star wars expanded universe’s the dark nest trilogy.

there is no poison in truth.

if you don’t wish me to return, i won’t.

what i don’t wish is for you to leave.

it’s too soon. you’re not ready.

sometimes, the effect is all we can know of the cause.

do you remember my words only so you can use them to spar with me?

so now you are beyond light and dark? beyond good and evil?

my bodyguards will wait in the corridor.

then you know the purpose of my visit?

an explanation? of what?

my apologies for taking so much of your time.

forgive me. i didn’t mean to imply anything.

you need to put a stop to this, and soon.

okay, so it’s a small chance. but it’s better than nothing.

are you crazy? …you are. you’re crazy.

i do want to win this thing. and to do that, we need to stay alive.

it’s not too much, if you’ll just leave me alone!

when are you going to stop calling me ‘kid’?

trust me.

this should be interesting.

i’m looking forward to see how you do it.

they’re wondering what you’re doing. to tell the truth, so am i.

you’ve been awfully quiet, (name).

(name), i think you’re just making the situation here worse.

you’ve lost your objectivity and you’ve taken sides.

that was a thoughtless thing for me to say.

some things i won’t tolerate even from you, (full name).

at the moment, it’s you i’m most worried about.

what happened to defending the weak? to sacrificing for the poor?

i don’t know the truth. and i see no reason to think of one, since you won’t believe it anyway.

i’ve seen enough. take me back to the hangar.

doesn’t this all seem a little easy to you?

i can still do what needs to be done.

we’re in this together, nerf herder.

i’m suggesting that we might not have a choice.

you didn’t ‘rescue’ me.

are you still here?

did you just call me a liar, (name)?

you think, or you’re sure?

it seems like something’s always broken down just when you need it most.

better take a sensor reading on our destination — but don’t go active. we don’t want to give away where we’re going.

you’ve been reading my mind again, haven’t you?

we should probably turn around now, before anything unfortunate happens. it would be much safer

go ahead. fly us straight into that planet, and you won’t hear another word from me.

you don’t have to worry about that. i haven’t been eating it.

i keep feeling like we’re about to be attacked again.

you’re just trying to get me into your cabin again.

(name), how long is it going to take for us to be honest with each other?

since when did you start worrying about the odds?

something happened to you. anyone can see that.

why don’t we take care of these wounds?

you’re not dead yet.

how do you feel?

didn’t know. and it wouldn’t matter if i did.

there’s something sneaky going on here.

(name), sometimes you think too much.

nice try, but we’re not changing the subject.

i’m surprised you have so much trouble remembering the name of someone who betrayed you.

what does this have to do with anything? they’re both dead.

just making a point.

i’m glad i still have something to teach.

perhaps you’d explain your concerns?

i let my emotions carry me away. i apologize.

you’re in a better mood.

i don’t recall you doing much cooking.

tell me, (name). what don’t i want to know?

tell me the truth. are we going to die?

if we’re going to die anyway, there’s nothing left to lose.

you cannot know how refreshing it is to speak with someone who is not trying to win my hand or coax something out of me.

you would not believe what they do to curry favor.

you do know that we’re not alone, don’t you?

why do you put up with them?

everyone wants something from me, (name).

am i required to laugh?

what about the will of the force? why not trust it?

everything i tell you is a lie.

should i trust a river because it wants to run downhill?

it took five years to learn that?

we’ll have to make this fast. the grounds a little soft here.

it’s my fault. i hope you can forgive me.

you can still lay down your weapon. it would be better if you did.

i don’t want it repaired until we find a way to extract some information stored on the chip.

didn’t you hear me? we’re in the middle of some very important business.

you have what you came for. but it wouldn’t be wise to act on the information.

are you threatening me?

you’re a hard woman, (full name). i kind of like it.

remind me not to get on your bad side.

pretty sure of yourself, aren’t you?

what are you doing, sneaking up like that?

okay, maybe my best friend’s a lizard.

i told you it wasn’t what you thought.

i don’t understand why you want to fight — because you have no chance of winning.

i need to hurt them. inflict pain. torture them, in truth. not for long, and nothing that will injure. but it must be intense.

perhaps we should back up a little.

there isn’t any other way. not in the time we have.

the only thing pain would cause me is a religious experience.

i have seen everything i need to.

i hope you’ll forgive the room. it’s the best i could do under the circumstances.

your presence would make any room pleasant, (name).

some of us still honor our promises.

why in the blazes would you do something like that?

who else can we trust to wield our power? we must follow our own consciences.

even in those with the best intentions, power corrupts.

i haven’t seen a good lightsaber fight in ages.

i was feeling a little cramped myself.

i’m sorry. i don’t understand what you’re saying.

i — i thought it was a dream.

no, it was fun! great, even. i just … it didn’t feel real …

your touch can be very compelling.

you’re not just here to say hello. something’s wrong, isn’t it?

you’re not very good at hiding your feelings.

i was hoping he may have talked to you.

we can’t do anything. it’s too late.

come get me, lover boy.

has this ever been tried before?

ambush . they’re starting to come after us.

your request lies outside my mission profile, but i have been authorized to wish you good luck.

you don’t have to impress me.

from where i stand, you’re in no position to stop me.

you will need more than lightsabers and blaster pistols, i think.

my trigger finger is getting itchy.

(name), this doesn’t have to happen.

you still have a home with us.

(name), reach out to me. i can help you find the way back.

how about it, (name)? that enough fun for you?

you always know how to make a girl feel better.

neat trick. it isn’t going to save you.

i am not your son.

no hurry. i’ve been hit worse than this.

all you did was save their lives. that doesn’t make you responsible for what they did later.

that was entirely uncalled for.

well that was fun. let’s never do it again.

we need to make this fast.

come here. i’ll try to help.

i have not forgotten. you may be sure of that.

i don’t think i like what you’re saying.

i’ve done nothing to deserve that tone.

they want you to suffer. then they want you dead.

i’m not leaving here without you, (name).

i hate this. it makes me feel like a coward.

i don’t know why that should surprise you.

of course they’re concerned about us.

you’ll understand if i don’t believe you.

(name), you disappoint me.

you let your anger make you weak.

i’ll lay the blame where it belongs.

i’m not interested in ‘redemption’, or anything else you have to offer.

that’s enough. are you trying to kill her?

i could have sworn i had it set on full power.

you could have fought this. maybe you still can.

you place too much faith in others, (name). that has always been your weakness — and soon it will be your downfall.

i’m just going to blast her now.

i won’t lose you, (name).

do you mind? i don’t want to catch anything.

we don’t have time to meditate, (name).

we don’t have time for rules.

we should handle this ourselves.

silence is not agreement.

there’s no sense discussing this any further. my mind is made up.

sometimes i hate it when you’re right.

i’m serious. if you go there, you’re on your own.

why are you whispering?

what’s wrong? i didn’t hit you with a stray, did i?

they’re all dead.

i was hoping to get some answers out of them.

i’m not worried. you’re covering me.

doomed? what are you talking about?

what’s wrong with you, (name)? you could have hurt someone.

tell you in a minute — in case i’m wrong about this and need to make something up to keep from embarrassing myself.

i see you’re making the most of your house arrest, (name).

your act isn’t fooling me.

so we can do this the easy way … or we can do it the hard way.

you’re a jedi! you can’t do this.

it is your intention that concerns me.

you see? that wasn’t so hard.

they didn’t say, and i didn’t ask.

this was a political arrangement, not a marriage.

tell me why i shouldn’t kill you now.

i apologize if i offended you, (title).

i was only trying to help.

i wasn’t expecting to hear from you so soon.

oh, boy. this is bad.

we gotta get off this sponge before we start glowing or something

if you’re going into a trance or something, now isn’t the time.

don’t worry. everything’s under control.

you won’t need your (weapon). i’m not here to harm you.

how could i have been hiding? i only just arrived.

that’s backward. and a lie!

if you were going to pull the trigger, you wouldn’t have wasted your one chance talking about it.

i’ll see you in your dreams.

i was certainly not just kissing her.

you see? i didn’t miscalculate!

you keep telling me to doubt everything.

you are a terrible student.

give me your (weapon).

the last time i did that, you hit me on the head with it. i had a knot for a week.

this is no time for games, (title). i need to know.

i find your lack of faith disturbing, (name).

we’re still in one piece, aren’t we?

i’ve been wondering what she sees in you.

did you just use a jedi mind - reading trick on me?

hey, open up! i need to talk to you.

that was low, (name), even for you.

i’m trying to make the best of a bad situation, here.

you’re getting on my nerves.

i’ll be okay, (name). i just need to center myself.

just how angry are you trying to make me?

i’m sure you’ll understand my complete lack of confidence in that plan.

that’s not your decision to make!

i’m afraid you’re going to be waiting a very long time.

these things happen when we keep secrets from each other.

i wouldn’t want to make this too easy on you.

what is wrong with you? you could have gotten killed!

i just don’t worry about things i can’t control, and i fix things i can control.

what’s the hurry? it’s not like we’re going anyplace.

i’ll see if i can improve our chances.

maybe we should turn back.

you’re not looking too great.

you want this done, we’ve got to do it ourselves.

(name) would kill me if i let you die alone in there.

everything’s fine here. there’s no need to be alarmed.

whatever you say, (name). you’re the one holding the blaster.

why are you laying on the floor at a time like this?

these bugs are really starting to scare me.

[bookwormscififan]

Reflected Refractions, Chapter 11

Clandestine Co-Operation

Read on AO3!

Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

A/N: So... this was supposed to only be a 10-chapter thing to open up a trilogy, but then it took forever to get Mad and Mare together, so I'll aim to wrap this one up at 15 or 20.

--

“Mare. Meet me in my office.” Night’s words were curt and clipped, barely stepping into the dorm before closing the door and heading down the hall.

“What have you done?” Phantom hissed, joining Mare as they headed for Night’s office. “He’s calling me in, too.”

“Boys,” Night greeted them as they entered the office, hands clasped behind his back as he stood behind the desk. “This incident with the demon Mad has been developing some… apprehensions around the campus. Hunters are uncertain whether they’re truly safe in their dorms anymore, and even going so far as to be mistrusting of those they call their friends.”

Mare bit his lip, staring at the ground with his hands behind his back. From beside him, he could hear Phantom’s nervous tic of tapping on the desk with the nail of his index finger, lightly kicking the leg of the desk with his foot.

“How are we responsible?” Phantom asked, not looking up to meet Night’s eye.

“My star pupils met with the strongest demon we know, and yet we don’t have it in our possession,” Night explained, drumming his fingers against his notebook as his cheek twitched near his scar. “Their confidence depends on whether the Twins can capture demons effectively.”

“We can easily make up for this by hunting some lower-classed demons,” Phantom offered, cutting off Mare’s attempt to defend himself.

“That would not be enough,” Night answered, pausing to take a deep breath before looking at the twins. “You must capture Mad and give a talk about the best ways to destroy it. Once the strongest demon is killed, the others will be weakened, and we can stop this war once and for all.”

“Mad wants to stop the war with peace,” Mare blurted, causing both Phantom and Night to stare at him. “He wants to find some way for humans and demons to coexist without all the killings. And… I agreed to help him.”

-----

“Why would you say that?” Mad asked, combing his fingers through Mare’s hair as he rested his head in the demon’s lap, both sitting under the courtyard tree in the middle of the night with Phantom standing guard outside the curtain of leaves.

“He wanted us to kill you,” Mare whispered, reaching up to brush his thumb across Mad’s freckles, watching the way his eyes shifted to pink from the touch. “’m tired of all the killing. And if it’s to destroy you, I’d prefer to be dead.”

“That’s morbid,” Phantom scoffed from outside, pacing footsteps stopping suddenly. “Don’t leave this tree. I need to… check something.” Before he got an answer, his footsteps echoed through the courtyard signalling he’d run off, and Mare relaxed so his full weight was against Mad.

“The easiest way to kill me is to break my heart,” Mad whispered, leaning down to kiss Mare upside-down, humming as Mare melted into his touch. The slowest way is to use one of those smoke bombs your hunters used on the nest outside the campus. They couldn’t see where they were going, so they kept reappearing in corners and solid stone, and eventually they either starved to death or ceased to be.”

“Dark topic for our position,” Mare chuckled, sitting up so he could turn and straddle Mad’s lap, now facing the demon without having to crane his neck. “But I thank you for the information. I’ll never intentionally break your heart, Mad, because I’d be breaking mine.” With that, he leaned forward to kiss Mad again, sighing when the demon tangled his fingers in his hair after gently removing his glasses.

Heart pounding, Mad held the human close, free hand going to his hip to pull him more into his lap, then gasped as Mare shifted against him, causing heat to flare across his body. Mare didn’t give him time to recover, however, pushing his tongue into Mad’s mouth the second the demon parted his lips, one hand moving to rest over Mad’s on his hip while the other cradled the back of his neck, keeping him from pulling away.

“Well, when you’ve stopped figuring out what Mad’s stomach tastes like, it’s almost dawn,” Phantom stated, parting the branches of the tree slightly so he could look at his brother, awkwardly tugging at the collar of his own shirt to hide his neck and collarbone.

“We hide in the archives,” Mad whispered against Mare’s lips, giving his hip a final squeeze before disappearing into the shadows, leaving Mare kneeling in the dirt with flushed cheeks and his glasses beside him.

“He’s not talking about the archives under campus, is he?” Phantom asked, helping Mare out of the planter and toward the dorms. “The hunters say that place is haunted.” His voice disappeared for a moment as he spoke the last word, and he cleared his throat before opening the door for his brother.

“I think I’ve been invited there,” Mare muttered, turning to look at Phantom as they stepped into their dorm. “And where did you sneak off to? We’ll have to get you something to hide that mark on your neck.” As the door closed, Phantom’s affronted gasp sounded from his bed, followed by Mare’s laughter echoing down the hall.

--------------------------------------

@iamvegorott @brokentimewatch @rattyboyisemo @dungeon-dragons-dragons

[solodaughter]

This song is literally Chapter Twenty Three of The Joiner King when Jacen goes to Hapes to convince Tenel Ka that she should give him her military and they “spend the night” together, resulting in Allana. It sums up the chapter so perfectly.

[miraluking-respectfully]

Diving back into the Space Ant Book & something I wanna mention unrelated to bugs is that Han Solo is great in this book. Like, it's been a while since I watched the OT, but the characterization just feels spot on in how he's reacting to all this insectoid nonsense, ie, VERY grouchily. He's also the only non-Forcie in this group of friends, family, & in-laws. So you've got Luke and Mara Jade and whoever else slowly uncovering the workings of the hive mind and how to coax information out of them via Force means, and they're experiencing this situation as detectives in a mystery story. Then they explain the info they've learned to Han and he's like ARE YOU SAYING MY DAUGHTER THINKS SHE'S A BUG

[mwolf0epsilon]

Do you think the SW Sequels Era did anything right? I've seen a lot of backlash in regards to what they did wrong, but I'm genuinely curious to see what some people think were positives ideas to come out of the whole ordeal. (Luke's characterization, Reylo canonicity completely sidelining Finn and Poe, and Disney/Execs overall throwing their POC cast to the wolves when they weren't happy with conditions were decisions that should have never been made in my own opinion btw)

This is one of those topics that might stir up a wasp's nest depending on who you ask, but honestly the Sequels Era as a whole wouldn't be so bad if the executive decisions behind them weren't such a disrespectful trash fire.

But yeah Anon, I getcha. We've all seen people's (rightfully) negative opinions of the Sequels Era and how much squandered potential the trilogy turned out to be. That said I do think there are some positives. Mostly in the form of ideas that DO still have potential so long as they're approached with care and consideration.

With that said, what I think they did right:

The Force Awakens - It's just a straight up good movie that opened the door to a lot of possibilities. Good OST, good cast, interesting alien and creature designs, combined some pretty dark elements that could very easily be explored more deeply by anyone who's interested in sparking a debate about willing conscription vs forced indoctrination and how to tell the two apart, etc. I still consider it a part of mine and @lost-on-kamino 's Forceful Intervention AU Verse because honestly it's a movie that paid excellent homage to both the original and prequels trilogies.

Star Wars Resistance - A lot of people consider it a subpar show, which honestly I don't see. It has so many interesting themes, from privileged kids that want to actually do good instead of sitting pretty while the world burns around them, the dangers of targeted propaganda and how it's specifically used on youths that are dealing with trauma left behind by war, trying to make your way in a galaxy that isn't always friendly but that can offer you community if you know where to look, and more. The cast is fun, the style isn't the worst I've seen in terms of animation, and overall I feel like it's a breath of fresh air to focus on characters that aren't inherently connected to the Force.

Kix Lives - There is absolutely so much potential behind the reveal that Kix was not only frozen in stasis by Dooku, but also found 50 years in the future after everyone he knew and held dear to his heart have been dead and gone for a long while now. The amount of survivor's guilt and trauma would be immeasurable, if not torturous, and I feel like the writers at least owe it to Kix to help him find some legacy his brothers might have left behind. Be it artifacts or even entire lineages they might have been able to start. If not that, then at least show us some of his adventures with the crew of the Meson Martinet.

Barghests - They added a new kind of space doggo that I absolutely love the design of, and want to see in action so badly. Just look at these absolute creatures of all time:

Delightful beasts! Friend shaped! Worthy of as much esteem as the humble Massiff, the zesty Charhound or the beefy Corellian Hound!

And that's about it on my list of things that the Sequels Era did right. If only the rest wasn't an absolute mess... We could have definitely had something really good to work with.

Ah well... Nothing like rolling up the proverbial sleeves and getting to work exploring all the wasted potential yourselves!

[electricnik]

I managed to get this set of books, the Star Wars Dark Nest trilogy.

These are set right at the end of the Legends timeline and are set in Chiss space, where there is a war going on because some of the Chiss have teamed up with a species that resembles giant ants and are trying to dominate. At this point, it is the Skywalker team from the original movies and a Chiss called Formbi that stand against the universe getting overrun. More when I get to read them.