#Xalek

[lanabenikosdoormat]

sith inquisitor tomfoolery

[i-looove-dillydallying]

Khem Val, underrated king

[0alix0]

believe it or not this one's been in progress for months (i actually just forgot about it mid way lol)

ᵒʳᶦᵍᶦⁿᵃˡ ᵘⁿᵈᵉʳ ᵗʰᵉ ᶜᵘᵗ

[the-tomato-patch]

[moontheoretist]

Call me blind but I never noticed before that when your SI is attacked both Ashara and Xalek have a special move to jump in front of you and protect you. It's so cute of them to care about my well-being 🥹

[rubensmuse]

"Xalek is the most boring companion in the vanilla SI storyline" he's got a cool mask and a deep voice and he canonically calls you mommy WHAT else could you POSSIBLY want

[chubbyooo]

Kyradia (Sith inquisitor): If you kill me you’ll bring down the Wraith of my crew.

Random Thug: … Don’t you mean wrath?

Xalek: *appearing from the shadows with a knife*

Xalek: No. He doesn’t.

[darthmana]

[sealeneee]

Tanno Vik vs Xalek

[patiusarchivist]

Rise of the Hutt Cartel: Assignment

Darth Nox strode slowly before his apprentices; his gaze was piercing – even under his death mask. Ashara and Xalek in attention, almost competing for one another to falter to their master’s glare. Foolishness but the Dark Lord allowed it before finally speaking, “This is our moment, to prove onto the Dark Council as to why I stand among peers and it is unto you, I place this responsibility to represent me. As my apprentices and most potent agents, fail me in any way, you both will know my immense displeasure. Do I make my one – and only – warning clear?”

“Yes, milord.” They both said, crisp and clear. Ashara added, “We shall not fail you, your image and success is our utmost priority, Master.”

Nox did not expect anything more from Xalek. The Kaleesh had consistently been the least disappointment and he knew it or kept to his record. However, favoritism was not the Dark Lord’s game. Efficiency is. “Good, for you will go into Makeb and handle this Hutt situation. I must ensure our forces in this are coordinated to my vision…’ he took a moment to let his words sink. ‘And my vision is to ensure our Empire’s continuous existence and dominance in this pisspoor galaxy.”

“I will keep a constant observation upon you two during this critical mission. Traditional politics will not be yours to play, you will work together, or you will die together, we can not afford the hierarchy of ‘whomst the better apprentice’ in this. In the end of this, you serve me and the Empire. Anything else will be scrutinized at the pain of my disappointment.”  The emphasis was needed, Ashara might work to it but this was extended onto Xalek and he could see those cold golden reptilian eyes tense as the sorcerer’s hand crackled with the amethyst jeweled jolts.

“Yes, Master.” The Kaleesh said, knowing whom this was directed to.

“Good, dismissed.” Darth Nox finished, folding his hands behind his lower back and watched them go in preparation. There was a moment of silence in the Ambition’s debriefing room before there was a brush of something. In the far distance, a warm feeling in the cold tempest of the Darkness. It gave him a momentary feel of respite from the gnawing anxiety. Enough to continue on.  

When he stepped out, there was a presence brushing at his side like a knife. “I am going with them.” Andronikos Revel said, pushing himself from the wall. Good, then that will make his intended order less troublesome. “Oh?” Nox humoured as his mask’s dark sockets looked over at the pirate. “Look, we both know they are going to muck up like any newbie given a big mission. At least, with me there – the mess won’t be thermal, and we can make it into a nice cake for you to slice out and dish out.”

The Dark Lord tilted his head as if in thought to the idea, only for the scoundrel to snort with a wave of his hand. “Oh please, ‘Dark One’. Don’t act like you weren’t thinking about it too. You and I have been on this ride too long for that.” Andronikos half-joked and he is one of the few to be given that open policy of free tone. Formalities were tiresome sometimes. In fact, the lord laughed dryly. “And you would be right…don’t let them kill each other. Trying to get one of them was tedious as it was.”

“Yeah, you certainly took a while to get one that was actually trained to be Sith.” Andronikos noted with a grin, knowing the situation about that. On that, Nox yielded, “As if I had the pleasure of choice in my first, but…she is at least cooperative. Now.”

“Yeah, at least. She got some of your quirks.” The pirate said as he started to walk. “Like?” The Dark Lord questioned. “Being stubborn for one.” Andronikos said with a wave. Nox didn’t pursue that further, looking beyond and taking that to consideration.

[eifron]

God I love them all

They outlived their purpose long ago Yet you permit them to live.

Other class companions

[spitzobsessed]

Is there any way to make Xalek hunt on Ilum shorter? There is a lot of ground to cover on mount only

[the-kraken-legacy]

for a long time my Republic main was my Commando, Zekket (started life as a Twi'lek but always headcanon Togruta, naturally made the switch once available) who I've recently started to imagine connecting with Rusk post-KOTFE

He's not my story's Outlander - despite Vyzzir (SI) being my main, he's more on a fun journey to explore Dark Side options, his story in my canon has him staying on the Dark Council under Vowrawn - my Outlander is Jelrin Eis, a mostly-LS Consular - but I still imagine the Jedi Knight team becoming fractured in the Zakuulan war, so Rusk would be operating in his thing you find him in the Alliance alerts

Zekket, for the record, was in love with Jaxo. I enjoyed her as a love interest and wholeheartedly wove her into his story as his personal canon; he started as an honest-to-Force lightsider, idolized the Jedi commitment to peace and nonaggression wherever possible (he has a cousin who he looked up to who was very much a chivalry/bushido/honorable Jedi who died in the Battle of Corellia), always did the Right Thing even to the point of pissing off Garza, I think he spared every former Havoc member you could

Until the Thing with Jaxo happened

I remember literally having my heart pounding realizing what was about to happen, putting off the choice with as many dialogue choices as possible til I got the one where Jorgan was like "we're all soldiers. she knew the risks. there's only one right choice here" and he, of course, saved the prisoners.

This was unexpected to the way I'd imagined/played him, but the curveball honestly made gameplay so much more interesting....because that absolutely broke him.

I actually sent him to Tython and had him just hang out there for a while (in my story it was several months), when I played him I mostly did crafting/GTN stuff rather than any missions, because he was so wracked by what he'd had to do, and he was fighting hard to find the same clarity and compassion he'd always idolized....

....but he didn't.

He then flipped entirely. He didn't go like full-selfish-cruel dark side, but he never spared another Imperial or Sith. Ever. Not even surrender/prisoners/civilians. Took every weapon, took every harsher choice he could. He was still a diehard Republic soldier, and believed he was doing the right thing, but his rage and spite for the Empire honestly took over a lot of his decision-making

He also, not suprisingly, started ignoring a lot of command orders that tried to temper any recklessness; the same command that got Jaxo killed wasn't someone he trusted anymore, making him much more of a loose cannon

In my "endgame" stories for the fate of all my characters post-whatever-SWTOR-comes-up-with, he leads the strike team on Vyzzir's stronghold, and personally is the one who kills Crythos, Vette (my headcanon Vette romanced my darkside SW and had a kind of thrill-of-the-battle Bonnie and Clyde dynamic), and ultimately, Xalek

(Xalek's death is what made Vyzzir surrender; for all his lawful-evil Sithness, he'd never gotten over losing his brother as a child, and Xalek had very much replaced that empty hole in his life; despite having his relationship with another Twi'lek slave on Balmorra (hence Crythos's birth) I have written Vyzzir mostly as aroace, with his most important relationship being his comradeship with Xalek. If it had happened maybe 20 years prior, Xalek's death would have fueled a formidable rage that would have probably turned the tide of the whole battle, but with the crumbling of the Empire and his advanced age, losing his son, most apprentices, and then the most important being in his life all in the span of a single day was too much)

Vyzzir was fine with Zekket being ready to execute him despite surrendering - he pretty much expected nothing less - and was only spared because Utuli (ironically, Vyzzir's brother who grew up as my canon Consular, at least for the main story) was there. He'd assumed Utuli died when they were children, Utuli was the one who figured it out that they'd both lived; his main virtue in the way I play all his choices is mercy, so it made sense for him to prevent Zekket from executing him despite being a Dark Council member, though there was certainly a struggle with Jedi-detachment in him when realizing it was his brother

ANYWAY back to Zekket, he and Rusk obviously align on a lot of things in the way they approach their duties as Republic troopers. I could see them teaming up; I'm not sure about romance between them but honestly I haven't ruled it out. The idea of them finding someone who Gets It; of them first fueling off each other's bloodlust, but slowly starting to recognize how it was eating them away by seeing it in each other (seeing someone they care about consumed by anger and guilt and violence and realizing that they're hurting themselves and other people, then in turn realizing "wait I'm doing the same thing") and finding some form of healing in that relationship is something I find intriguing

Anyway I don't often post so much of my SWTOR story but here's a peek into it

[kemendin]

I swear I’m going to have to make a masterpost of all the nudity stronghold incidents because Tharan just showed up at Cas’ apartment?? He doesn’t even know you Tharan?????

[queen-scribbles]

Guess who got her new hairstyle? :D 

[moontheoretist]

Why I have to suffer like this?

I just wanted to google "Why Sith Warrior has only one apprentice". I didn't want to see bad takes about how "Ashara's development is ass because she doesn't "have "persona" or "doesn't even fall to the Dark Side". EXCUSE YOU. That's HER DEVELOPMENT. She doesn't fall because she is not the type of Jedi prone to that. She is a Jedi who QUESTIONS the Jedi teachings and who doesn't understand why emotions are considered to be bad to the Jedi. THAT'S WHY SHE DOESN'T FALL. People who follow the teachings of the Jedi without any questions (with obedience like Jaesa) or who question but are denied bare human emotions (like Anakin) are usually more prone to falling because they were deprived of skills they need. Because Jedi Order is teaching them that emotions are bad they don't learn how to cope with emotions and when you don't know how to cope, you just fall like a fucking rock to the bottom of the pit. There is no control, no rails to catch yourself on. Coping allows you to descend down rather than fall, it helps you to control your investment in the Dark Side. See Lana Beniko and her amazing not a mad woman persona. She is not acting like a typical psycho because she has skills to manage her own emotions. Siths are about using emotions for battle. Managing your emotions is the most improtant skill they may have. Uncontrollable falling into the Dark Side, or chosing corruption and becoming a mad driven lunatic is the worst thing that Sith can do. That's. the. point.

I will not judge or riddicule people who pushed Jaesa to the Dark Side but I will definitely make a fucking problem from people who lack the ability to UNDERSTAND the world they're playing in and its nuances. Ashara is fine. Her development is not worse than Ahsoka's - hell, she actually keeps to her views about the Jedi Order while Ahsoka, even though she actively rebelled against the Order, turns around later in life and still doesn't get why her Master had fallen. (If anybody here is badly developed it's Ahsoka in Mandalorian and Ahsoka TV shows. Her portrayal in Clone Wars animation showed that she had the greatest potential to understand all the wrongs of the Jedi Order, but no, Filoni was like "oh attachments make you vulnerable to fear". Shut the fuck up. The contradictions you are creating drives me mad!) Is Ashara's story a bit bland? Yes. But so is every other companions' in this game. After their recruitment you never get anything more meaningful so saying that "Xalek had a persona while Ashara didn't" is bullshit. The only true statement in this bad take is that Xalek deserved more than what he got. He is very interesting character and I hate it that he is just relegated to the "alien apprentice" whose name you are not allowed to respect. He sounds very dedicated and loyal when you speak to him, and I think he could be treated with much more care than he is. And the same is true for other companions too. Every single one of them deserved better, but Xalek specifically was treated like a decoration.

Ashara not having a persona. Seriously!? I constantly keep talking with her about the Force and stuff, and I saw how she behaved in the quest when we were recruiting her. I liked her approach and the way she was thinking about the Force and how she asked questions and rebelled against Jedi's bullshit. She has a personality of a Jedi rebel. That's it! Her not falling to the Dark Side is the feature not a mistake, dammit! It's very clear to me that someone mistook blodthirstiness for persona.