#no one believes in arcann lol

[spitzobsessed]

Heh, according to 550+ people, it goes like this:

Valky, Inquisitor, Consular, Revan, Vaylin.

Great job everyone)

My special love to those voting Kira Carsen, she may not be most powerful (literally) in the Force but her Will has proven to be stronger than that of Vitiate (being the Only one to kick Vitiate out of her head by herself, pushing from under his control is no small feat).

(ignore this, I'm just putting my thoughts on "paper")

While I agree with the Vitiate and Vaylin being the strongest because the entirety of KOTFE&KOTET have been telling us exactly that, canon is just... an offer of how things could be. And following canon to the letter is kind of boring.

So.

Vaylin being born to Force users is the same Extra power Luke has got. She is stronger than her brothers Because and suffers for it. No big deal - some Force users are stronger than others, although some have to deal with people like Vitiate. Disappointed with his twin sons being "not impressive enough" the old man made sure his next child will be more powerful™. Who knows what sith magics were used, that in the end even he, immortal emperor, cannot overpower the girl?

Vitiate is a cheat. He may have had the potential to become a mid-level to high-level Lord, but he decided he could do better. So the ritual that doomed Nathema (what was the planet's original name again?) Granted him his wannabe Immortality and more power than any Force user should have. But that's not HIS power.

Jedi Consular, Barsen'thor. Game's counterpart to Inquisitor. They (consular and inquisitor) are possibly Anakin-level, maybe weaker. Unlike Chosen One, Barsen'thor has had training since young age, no prophecy, no sith plots destroying jedi and Republic from within and no Palpatine. So our Consular is very poweful, "stronger at 4 years than his master was at 15". They (consular) get to reach their peak (if they're not killed/haven't Fallen etc) of power, scaring Jedi and Sith and Emperor with how unstoppable they seem to be.

Inquisitor is, could be, would be, about as strong as Consular. But they're at a big disadvantage in the "contest" - our Kallig junior starts training with the Force late - no younger than a teen, so they try to catch up at first. The whole ghost eating quest is necessary simply because they don't have the time to reach needed power level by their natural pace - they need a boost. Some like to appreciate the paralel of lord Kallig junior and Vitiate: they both sought out a shortcut to power, came from the lowest and climbed highest. So for most of the 2nd, 3rd and prior Zakuul victory (or earlier, at Ziost) Inquisitor is a cheater, though to a lesser extent than Vitiate. Kallig, however, isn't fully dependent on ghost power, they can let the dead lords go after they reach Dark Council. They are still more powerful than most, without ghosts assistance, after they'd had the time and resources and more training. War with Zakuul and Republic was great practice probably.

Revan. Darth Revan. The one whose presence was akin staring at the force itself. Boy were they powerful in their prime. And oh how broken and a shadow of their firmer self they are after 300 years in Emperor's prison. Three centuries ago Revan could challenge Tirall kids and likely win. In swtor era though... The man is simply tired and alive when he shouldn't be anymore. Abstractly though, I'd put him alongside Consular and Inquisitor, or even a little above, closer to Vaylin.

I'm trying to build a headcanon and I've seen many thoughts on who's stronger. Although polls are biased by who sees and reposts them I decided to give it a try.

This isn't to make people argue. I just wonder what others think based on what SWTOR gave us as context.

For some reason I feel like I should add that the strongest/powerful doesn't equal favourite character.

May the Force be with you ;)

[ebitenpura]

saw that ETL post about needing to have respect for your enemy to both loathe and love them, and sat there for awhile thinking about it in Eight's terms because when do I not have thoughts about him, lol.

Eight gives as much respect as he can to whoever he kills, but he can never despise them, unless they truly are someone who has fallen into depravity and cowardice (i.e. Valkorion). Even for someone like Arcann who effectively stole 5 years of his life away and hurt countless lives in pursuit of a rather close-minded goal, he could only judge him on what he saw of him on the battlefield in their private duels-- and that was Senya's son who fought every single time to destroy Valkorion. A conviction that he was unafraid to die for. Even "judging" is a loose term when it comes to his enemies because he cannot actually judge based on any morality: he can only see the full extent of their devotion to their own cause no matter how small and their lives in the few minutes before it is cut away.

People tend to show their true selves to him when they know these are their final moments, so he understands the full weight of taking that life. There is nothing glorious nor honorable about it. In fact, it only reaffirms that war is truly hell- where even the most fulfilling of lives can be struck down the same as the most insignificant ones. To that end, he believes true warriors should understand this: taking anything more from your enemy after taking their life is abominable; no killer should find peace or satisfaction from murder. An odd statement from one who does nothing but kill, but he despises the thought that killing is anything other than the act itself no matter how you dress it up. It can be for a worthy cause, but it should be seen for what it truly is at the end of the day.

That's also why he seems to bide his time waiting for the penultimate battle that barely lasts 10 minutes the entirety of a war. Everything else is just steps leading up to that. He conceals and holds back everything until he can meet his enemy face to face, which is why he essentially got...bored waiting to strike at Ardun Kothe, since it took forever to get to him with a bunch of menial tasks. He's a guy who does everything 0 to 100. It was the same with Hunter.

The real tragedy of Hunter was that they both knew they were very nearly the exact same-- only that Hunter could not stand up to him martially and once caught, was as good as dead. Eight just barely came out on top because of his doggedness and the fact that Watcher 2 and Keeper acted as his tactical minds. I think he wished Hunter could've met him on the same level in battle, but the way both of them fought was too different, despite the way they lived being extremely similar.

I guess the end point of this analysis is that Eight devotes his entire being to the fine point of a blade because it carries all the meaning in the world and none at all when it comes to those he meets and inevitably kills. You can attribute it partially to being Echani as yet another culture that thrives off war, but killing itself means nothing. It has no honor. It is yet another duty only he can carry out because of his detachment and dedication to it that surpasses everything. To his dear enemy that he meets for the first time on the battlefield, he'll give them his entire life- a meaningless thing designed to cut theirs.

[queen-scribbles]

13, 14 and 20 for whoever you’d like!

Since I'm just a tad excited for 7.3 dropping tomorrow, we'll go with Endrali(/Arcann) :3

13. What is their go-to for making a partner feel loved?

Arcann is Endrali's first romantic partner, but it's honestly very similar to what she does for friends; listen and offer encouragement when she feels like he needs it, be open about how much she enjoys/values his company. She also has a bunch of Zakuulan touches to the decorations in her stronghold(what I can afford to do at least, those suckers are pricey). Basically just make him feel included and integral to her life bc that's what he is now.

And I'm v firmly attached to the headcanon that Arcann is good at working with his hands, so he does things like making her armor or repairing one of her holocrons.

14. What makes them feel loved? Would they build up the courage to ask for it?

Quality time is absolutely Endrali's love language(noooo the last several months with her man halfway across the galaxy haven't been hard at aLL), both showing and receiving, so just being willing to spend time with her and do things together is good for her. Also good sex.

She would be perfectly comfortable asking for it if that was every necessary, but since Arcann is more than happy spending time with her, and they always seem to default to each other's company, that's a need that's being fulfilled without her having to ask.

The same is basically true for Arcann; the things that would make him feel loved are the things Endrali is already doing to show she loves him. I don't think he'd say anything if that desire wasn't being met, though. He'd see the deficit as something he deserves, believe that he doesn't have the right to ask for her to show she loves him.

20. When would they say “I love you?” Do they say it first? Do they say it often, or is it reserved for special moments?

Endrali would say it once she realized someone was special to her in a way that's different from friendship, very likely coupled with physical attraction. Arcann's the first/only time she's been in love, so it's hard to judge if there'd be a more general threshold, as opposed to just specifically how things go for them. She is the first one to actually say The L Word. Arcann keeps phrasing it as, like, "you know what you mean to me" and "I care about you", like he doesn't feel right being that bold. Even after she's told him she feels the same. So she has to actually say the sentence "Arcann, I love you". Renders him completely speechless for a solid 5 minutes, and seems to break whatever barrier he'd put on himself.

Actually saying it in those words is something that gets saved for special moments, yes. Endrali is, however, a big fan of saying she loves you in a dozen different ways, from telling you to be safe, stay warm/cool(location dependent, lol), low-key fussing over your wellbeing, basically. The words I love you carry something approaching reverence for the two of them, though she does call him 'love' as an endearment with some frequency.

Couples Asks

[arkannis]

*best friend by saweetie ft. doja cat faintly plays in the background*

[fleeting-sanity]

OC Talk #9

My OCs as 2020 songs.

There’s a LOT of releases this year but this is all I’ve listened to so far? Post is long as always.

PS: LOL I struggled to find suitable songs for some OCs that 2020 ended ahhaha I’m slow as always-

Aryuni

Rina Sawayama - Comme Des Garçons (Like the Boys)

Yeah, oh, girl, it's okay You should never be ashamed to have it all Yeah, yeah it's gonna be okay Yeah, you've come a long way

Don’t fuck with me hoe Take you down like Judo Elevate your vision when you put me on the cover

Hot like a fever Make you a believer Write my name up in the sky  From Paris to Shibuya

Lady Gaga - 911

Holding on so tight to this status It's not real but I'll try to grab it Keep myself in beautiful places Paradise is in my hands

My biggest enemy is me Pop a 911 

Taylor Swift - mad woman

What did you think I'd say to that? Does a scorpion sting when fighting back? They strike to kill and you know I will You know I will

Every time you call me crazy I get more crazy What about that? And when you say I seem angry, I get more angry And there's nothing like a mad woman What a shame she went mad No one likes a mad woman You made her like that

Ariana Grande - shut up

My presence sweet and my aura bright Diamonds good for my appetite Guess it fuckin' just clicked one night All them demons helped me see shit differently So don't be sad for me

I vibrate high and my circle lit We ain't really with drugs and shit Love the game so I never miss Keep opinions muted for the hell of it 'Cause I like my shit

Harry Styles - Adore You (From Arcann)

Your wonder under summer skies  Brown skin and lemon over ice Would you believe it?

You don't have to say you love me You don't have to say nothing You don't have to say you're mine

Oh, honey I'd walk through fire for you Just let me adore you

Taylor Swift - mirrorball (To Avery, Avelyn, Saxan)

I want you to know I'm a mirrorball I'll show you every version of yourself tonight I'll get you out on the floor Shimmering beautiful And when I break it's in a million pieces

Hush When no one is around, my dear You'll find me on my tallest tiptoes Spinning in my highest heels, love Shining just for you

Chloe x Halle - Tipsy (To Arcann)

I've been crucified, darling Ghost haunt me like New Orleans I've been charged with murder 'Cause some wanna push me further I'll hit you where it hurts, yeah If you don't put me first, yeah And I don't give no apologies If you lose a life that's not on me, yeah

I might be a little tipsy on your love Makes me a little crazy but so what You're strumming on my heart strings, don't be dumb If you love your little life then don't fuck up

Avery

Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia

I know you're dying trying to figure me out My name's on the tip of your tongue, keep running your mouth  You want the recipe but can’t handle my sound

No matter what you do, I'm gonna get it without ya I know you ain't used to a female alpha

Katy Perry - What Makes A Woman

Is it the way I talk sweet? The way my skin is soft? Or how I can be a bitch? Make you keep your fingers crossed? 

Is it the way I cut my hair And put no makeup on? I feel most beautiful Doing what the fuck I want 

Rina Sawayama - Dynasty

I'm a dynasty The pain in my vein is hereditary Dynasty Running in my bloodstream, my bloodstream Dynasty And if that's all that I'm gonna be Won't you break the chain with me

I'm gonna take the throne this time All the words all mine, all mine It's been way too long, too far Too gone, to carry on You can't hide it in the walls Sweep it under marble floors It's been living in our lives Best told damn family lie

Chloe x Halle - Overwhelmed

Holding my breath till my face turns blue Head underwater Breathe deeply they said I need a weekend again Looking for bright sides Low on the high types Running so fast, I done worn my shoes Head on the pavement I'm just trying to win Pushed in the river, I swim Nothing can blind side  Me like the high tide I don't do well under pressure I don't know at all I wish I had all the answers Fix it all myself (Oh) I feel overwhelmed

Avelyn

Selena Gomez - Dance Again

Happiness Ain't something you sit back and you wait for Vulnerable Ain't easy, believe me, but I do it

Feels so, feels so, feels so good to dance again With my emotions, I just start going in With everything To dance again 

Katy Perry - Resilient

'Cause I am resilient A full flower moment Won't let the concrete hold me back Oh no I am resilient Born to be brilliant You'll see me grow right through the cracks Yeah, 'cause you're gonna watch this flower grow right through the cracks

Childish Gambino - 19.10

I remember back when I was six years old Daddy said "the world's so cold" "There is something that you should know", "You're so gorgeous", (thank you daddy) "Nothing's really worth your time" "But someday soon you just might find" "The truth about the world's design", oh

“To be beautiful is to be hunted I can't change the truth, I can't get you used to this”

Ariana Grande - my hair (To Ezekiel)

It’s got body and it’s smooth to touch The same way as my skin Don’t you be scared 

To run your hands through my hair Baby, ‘cause that’s why it’s there Come run your hands through my hair Ooh baby, so don’t you be scared So come run your hands through my hair 

It’s been way long overdue Just like these inches down my back Usually don’t let people touch it But tonight you get a pass

Enzaran

Miley Cyrus - Midnight Sky

I was born to run, I don't belong to anyone, oh no I don't need to be loved by you See my lips on her mouth, everybody's talking now, baby Ooh, you know it's true See his hands 'round my waist, thought you'd never be replaced, baby Ooh, you know it's true, yeah

You should know right now that I never stay put in one place Forever and ever, no more

Dorian Electra - Gentleman

I'm a gentleman Take my gentle hand Off to a gentle land I'm a gentleman

I pick you up I put you down I say the perfect thing then I make you spin around Yeah I'm lighting you up Throw you around This is a conquest a war is going down 

Thundercat - King of The Hill

A king in his castle A king of the hill Wasting his time Chasing cheap thrills He knows it's gonna cost him God knows how much

Jurbiend

Billie Eilish - Therefore I Am

Stop, what the hell are you talking about? Ha Get my pretty name outta your mouth We are not the same with or without Don't talk 'bout me like how you might know how I feel Top of the world, but your world isn't real Your world's an ideal

I don't want press to put your name next to mine We're on different lines, so I Wanna be nice enough, they don't call my bluff 'Cause I hate to find Articles, articles, articles

Childish Gambino - 32.22

I'm a funky motherfucker, man Don't fucking call me I been the man, don't fire me Things ain't all bad

We are the, we are the warlords We are, are you ready? Firelight, got it, warlords Pick it up, no, pick it up Firelight gonna clean it up Firelight's goin' way up Red light's on fire

Riornivo

Harry Styles - Treat People With Kindness

Maybe we can find a place to feel good And we can treat people with kindness Find a place to feel good

Givin' second chances I don't need all the answers Feelin' good in my skin I just keep on dancin'

Childish Gambino - Time (ft. Ariana Grande)

Seven billion people Tryna free themselves Said a billion prayers Tryna save myself I can see it coming But it's moving fast

Maybe all the stars in the night are really dreams Maybe this whole world ain't exactly what it seems Maybe the sky will fall down on tomorrow But one thing's for certain, baby We're running out of time

Running after something But I don't know what Am I running to? Too afraid to stop Hundred miles an hour With no seatbelt on Time is everlasting I can't wait that long    

Selena Gomez - Let Me Get Me

Like a prayer surrounding us, moving effortlessly  Every word is relief  No self-sabotage, no letting my thoughts run Me and this spiral are done Burn this camouflage I’ve been wearing for months Tryna let a little happy in for once

Don’t get me down, I won’t let me get me I’m good right now, I won’t let me get me Take that tired heart and go and turn it inside (out)      

Diving in ferociously, dancing intimately I’m so connected to me In the dark I’m letting go, so anonymously I guess this is what it feels like to be free

Troye Sivan - Take Yourself Home (To Rionnic)

Talk to me There's nothing that can't be fixed with some honesty And how it got this dark is just beyond to me If anyone can hear me switch the lights

Who you really tryna be when they see your face? Is it worth it trying to win in a losing game? Well it's all waiting for you And, boy, I know you're eager But it just might destroy you Destroy you 

Arca - Calor (From Arcann)

Rio, me tienes Rio, me tienes

Eres el premio que más deseaba Eres el sueño que no me atrevía a tener Eres el premio que más deseaba Eres el dueño de todo mi ser

Lady Gaga - Stupid Love (From Vaylin)

You're the one that I've been waiting for Gotta quit this cryin' Nobody's gonna heal me if I don't open the door Kinda hard to believe, gotta have faith in me

Now it's time to free me from the chain I gotta find that peace Is it too late or could this love protect me from the pain? I would battle for you, even if I break in two

Look at me now 'Cause all I ever wanted was love I don’t need a reason Not sorry I want your stupid love

Taylor Swift - marjorie (To Vianiel)

“Never be so kind, you forget to be clever” “Never be so clever, you forget to be kind”

“Never be so polite, you forget your power” “Never wield such power, you forget to be polite”

And if I didn't know better I'd think you were talking to me now If I didn't know better I'd think you were still around What died didn't stay dead You're alive, you're alive in my head 

Rionnic

Lady Gaga - Sine from Above (ft. Elton John)

When I was young, I prayed for lightning My mother said it would come and find me I found myself without a prayer I lost my love and no one cared When I was young, I prayed for lightning

When I was young, I felt immortal And not a day went by without a struggle I lived my days just for the nights I lost myself under the lights When I was young, I felt immortal

Thundercat - It Is What It Is

When the gold becomes dough And the magic starts to fade When it all comes to an end When there's nothing left to say It is what it is I tried to make it work My best just wasn't enough It couldn't be helped, the end The things I would do for you

After all is said and done And I'm all alone When I sit back and reflect From a broken heart Sometimes there's regret It is what it is

Taylor Swift - peace (From Jaesa)

Our coming of age has come and gone Suddenly this summer it's clear I never had the courage of my convictions As long as danger is near And it's just around the corner, darlin' 'Cause it lives in me No, I could never give you peace

And you know that I'd Swing with you for the fences Sit with you in the trenches Give you my wild, give you a child Give you the silence that only comes when two people understand each other Family that I chose now that I see your brother as my brother Is it enough?

Rina Sawayama - Chosen Family (From Vette, Katei)

We don't need to be related to relate We don't need to share genes or a surname You are, you are My chosen, chosen family So what if we don't look the same? We been going through the same thing Yeah, you are, you are My chosen, chosen family

Saxan

Dorian Electra - Edgelord (ft. Rebecca Black)

We live in a society That's always lashing out at guys like me They pushed me to the edge, you see Never, never, never gonna come down One question, why so serious? Did I offend you? I'm so curious Ha, my identity's mysterious Never, never, never gonna come down 

Taylor Swift - this is me trying

I've been having a hard time adjusting I had the shiniest wheels, now they're rusting I didn't know if you'd care if I came back I have a lot of regrets about that

They told me all of my cages were mental So I got wasted like all my potential And my words shoot to kill when I'm mad I have a lot of regrets about that

The Weeknd - Save Your Tears (To Linnea)

You could've asked me why I broke your heart You could've told me that you fell apart But you walked past me like I wasn't there And just pretended like you didn't care

I don't know why I run away I make you cry when I run away

I made you think that I would always stay I said some things that I should never say Yeah, I broke your heart like someone did to mine And now you won't love me for a second time

Taylor Swift - gold rush (From Linnea)

I don't like a gold rush, gold rush I don't like anticipating my face in a red flush I don't like that anyone would die to feel your touch Everybody wants you  But I don’t like a gold rush

What must it be like To grow up that beautiful? With your hair falling into place like dominos My mind turns your life into folklore I can't dare to dream about you anymore At dinner parties I won't call you out on your contrarian shit    

Vianiel

 Katy Perry - Daisies

They told me I was out there Tried to knock me down Took those sticks and stones Showed 'em I could build a house They tell me that I'm crazy But I'll never let 'em change me 'Til they cover me in daisies Daisies, daisies 

Billie Eilish - everything i wanted

I tried to scream But my head was underwater They called me weak Like I'm not just somebody's daughter

Coulda been a nightmare But it felt like they were right there And it feels like yesterday was a year ago But I don't wanna let anybody know 'Cause everybody wants something from me now And I don't wanna let 'em down

Selena Gomez - She

'Cause she was a girl with good intentions Yeah, she made some bad decisions And she learned a couple lessons Wish I could tell her

She didn't know all of the hurt she could take Her world was crumbling and so was her faith Wish I could talk to her, 'cause what I would say "Oh baby, you're enough to get you out of this place"

Taylor Swift - tolerate it (To Jurbiend)

I greet you with a battle hero's welcome I take your indiscretions all in good fun I sit and listen, I polish plates until they gleam and glisten You're so much older and wiser and I

I wait by the door like I'm just a kid Use my best colors for your portrait Lay the table with the fancy shit And watch you tolerate it If it's all in my head tell me now Tell me I've got it wrong somehow I know my love should be celebrated But you tolerate it

Vyria

Rina Sawayama - Paradisin’

Paradisin' Living my best life, drivin' Drivin' you crazy Paradisin' Living my best life thrivin' You say I'm misbehaving But I'm just a kid, so save it Let me have an unforgettable time of my life

Lady Gaga - Free Woman

I'm not nothing without a steady hand I'm not nothing unless I know I can I'm still something if I don't got a man I'm a free woman 

[rainofaugustsith]

SWTOR critical: On Quinn and forgiveness

(spoilers for Sith Warrior story, KOTET, Nathema, Iokath and Ossus) I've been thinking about objections to different characters and I've realized something: my big objection to Quinn in SWTOR is not what he does, but how it is handled.

Disclaimer, of course: I don't like Quinn in any way - not his voice, not his looks, not the way he treats others, not his personality. That's my personal opinion and in no way, shape or form has anything to do with how another person sees or SHOULD see Quinn. This will not be a Quinn hatefest post.

Quinn follows a pattern in SWTOR that forgiveness AND befriending/being forced to work closely with past enemies or betrayers are expected as the "light side" options. It's like Arcann. I do not like Arcann and in fact find him very triggery, but do not have an issue with the game giving Arcann a chance to change his ways. I do have a problem that the only way to do that is to take Arcann and his mom into the Alliance and let them replace your trusted advisors and friends in the final chapters of KOTET. Also that Vaylin didn't get the same shot, but that's an argument for another day.

Quinn's betrayal really should not be a surprise. It's set up from Korriban. We learn very early on that Darth Baras has eyes and ears everywhere. He has covert agents all across the galaxy and they've infiltrated a lot of very powerful places. Tremel is supposed to be keeping the Sith Warrior a secret, but when the Beast of Marka Ragnos goes down, Baras not only knows just where to look, but he knows everything you've been up to. As you go through the game you meet lots of other Baras operatives.

Quinn is introduced to you as a Baras operative/contact, in fact. You're told that he owes a debt to the Darth (oh no, that could be a song title. "Debt to the Darth." LOL). He actually excuses himself to speak privately with Baras via holo. There's no reason to believe that he's not still allied with Baras after he begins working for you.

You're also shown, early on, that Baras has no reservations about terminating his agents when they cease to be useful or become too much of a threat. You know this because you're tasked with taking some of those agents and operatives out. It's how it works with Baras: he uses people as long as he can, he gets rid of them when he's done, and he doesn't seem to care much about whether the agent who is sent to dispose of the unwanted person dies along with them.

Nothing you can do in the Sith Warrior story stops Quinn from rising against you. You can get "Quinn approves" points in every conversation from the end of Balmorra to Corellia or romance him, and he'll still try to kill you. There's no great moral outrage on his part. He got an order from Baras and he's doing his job. The author left it very open to interpretation on Quinn's feelings about that job, but he still does it. So it's not a shock. It's the standard cycle we see with Baras's agents. In the Sith Warrior story you can also show regret about killing off an agent you’ve been sent to terminate, but it’s still done. 

What is frustrating is that after the Quinncident, there's only one way for a Sith Warrior to handle it, in the end: you let him return to your crew.  There are a lot of ways to headcanon the Sith Warrior's response. Maybe she truly forgives him. Maybe she is pragmatic and realizes that Quinn's skills and knowledge are useful to her at that time. But it's also reasonable to believe that after Quinn has orchestrated an assassination attempt complete with custom programmed battle droids, the Warrior might not want him back on the ship.

I'm told that in the beta game, there was a kill option after the Quinncident. It was removed because at that time, the companions had static combat roles and Quinn was the Warrior's only healer. I'm not sure why they could not have assigned the healer role to another companion, such as Jaesa, to avoid the conflict.

I'm also not sure why the story could not have accommodated it. We all know that in recent years, kill options for companions have meant that they are functionally dead for everyone. They're usually not seen again in the main story. If they're lucky they get a tiny cut scene every now and then, but not usually. In the class stories, however, the writers did successfully juggle a lot of different branches to the story. The Imperial Agent story has so many possible permutations that I've lost count. LS and DS Jaesa have entirely different conversation and personal story arcs, as well as different approve/disapprove parameters. In the Jedi Knight story, several different things can happen with Lord Praven and Bengel Morr that do affect the story. And after the Quinncident, there's very little of the class story left and Quinn has, I believe, two sentences in one cut scene, so it's especially confusing to me that they didn't accommodate this possibility.

They didn't learn when they brought him back on Iokath, either. There's no way to calmly tell Quinn "I don't want to work with you again." The only way to avoid working with him and welcoming him to your Alliance, provided you have remained Imperial, is to stab him in a totally unnecessary and gruesome scene. It’s one extreme or the other: you either take him back or you kill him.

Maybe Bioware has learned from this. I'd like to hope so. In the traitor arc, you can tell Theron Shan to leave the Alliance without coming across as a monster. The choice to leave him on Nathema is DS, as it should be, but once you are back on Odessen, it's a neutral decision to allow him to stay or not. The same is true with LS Jaesa, Doc and Nadia on Ossus; you can refuse to let them join the Alliance without killing them or being monstrous.

Forgiveness should not be mandatory; refusing to work in close contact with someone who has violated your trust should not be dark sided, and that's what frustrates me about Quinn in the class story.

[visionmarred-archive]

7, 17, 20 + yula/koth

thanks, Dani! 💜

7. What’s the first thing that changes when they realize they have feelings for the other?

Yula gets hesitant about being around him. their relationship up until then had been working together to find the Outlander and fight back against Arcann’s regime. it was one thing to be friends and trust each other implicitly, it was another thing to want a relationship with somebody when you can’t imagine they’d approve of the things you’d done as Baras’s apprentice and as the Wrath. “I want to be with you, but I can’t ask you to forgive the things I’ve done when I can’t forgive them.”

Koth strikes me as the type to be a bit more forward when he realizes he has feelings for somebody? expressing his interest in somebody while still being his usual self. which makes for a fun combination with the two that I really should write about sometime.

17. Who says I love you first?

Koth. I feel like he casually drops it one night on Odessen when they’re taking a moment to watch the stars or something, which startles Yula at first before she smiles and says she loves him too.

20. What do their family/friends think of their relationship?

Vette’s probably a bit skeptical of Koth at first, just because Yula’s previous romantic choices (unrequited crush on Quinn, briefly dating Lemon) weren’t. the most caliber people. lol. but Koth is a good person who doesn’t take long to prove it, and he makes Yula happy, which is good enough for Vette. Jaesa probably skipped the initial skepticism phase just because of her Force powers being able to read his character, and thinks they’re good for each other. what happens to Yula’s family by then is still undecided, but since they’re Sith who believe in upholding the family legacy... can’t say they’re approve much of her choosing a Force blind Zakuulan. :/

I have no idea of Koth still has a family in the picture (shakes fist at bioward), but I like to think his crew comes around to liking Yula. maybe take some fun in messing with her occasionally because it’s easy, but she makes Koth happy and nobody’s more protective of him than she is.

[blueburds]

From the next chapter in To Reclaim what was Ours.

Tagged by @sleepswithvillains - thank you! <3

Tagging @pooktales​ @seilune and @shanfamilydrama​ - Sunday? Nah. Whenever lol. I won’t tell.

“You’re becoming the monster you believe my children to be,” Senya panted.

“And you're the one creating it,” Thexia hissed. “What’s one life to suffer in order to protect a million more?”

“Arcann is no longer a threat.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do.”

[vecna]

For fandom meme-swtor?

Send me a fandom!

This one isn’t as spicy as the Dragon Age one, but I still got Wordy.

Also there’s lots of KOTFE/KOTET/etc spoilers in here, so don’t read if you don’t want to see em. (Looking at you, Chignon.)

The character(s) I first fell in love with:

My own OCs haha.

But more seriously: It was actually Darth Malgus! I was always going to play a Star Wars MMO, let’s be real. But when they started posting promo videos and cinematics for the game, my Sith-loving ass immediately gravitated to that guy haha. And then, it turned out he had the same VA as The Architect from Dragon Age, and that was it for me.

If we’re talking about companions, then it was probably Malavai Quinn. Sith Warrior was the first class I got to 50, and Quinn was the first companion that I really got overly attached to haha.

The character(s) I never expected to love as much as I do now:

Most (not all, but most) of the “new” companions that came in with KOTFE and beyond. I was initially really sour when I realized we were losing all our class storyline companions, and they were being replaced with a new crew of Lana, Theron, Koth, my mother-in-law Senya, etc. Especially when they – at the time – said we’d eventually get our class companions back, but it would be a while. So I started KOTFE sure that I would hate the new crew because I would rather have the old one…. and ended up liking them quite a lot! Mostly, lol.

The character(s) everyone else loves that I don’t:

Doc is the main one, jesus christ. If you didn’t read my last post, I just really really really do not mesh well with overly sexual and Adult Humor-y characters who scold you with a “You’re no fun.” if your OC isn’t into it. Doc is the worst example of it that I’ve ever encountered. I always play a male JK, and the fact nearly all of his convos amount to, “Boy, you and me are going to be up to our eyeballs in vagina when this war ends, amirite?” “You don’t want that? Come on, the Jedi Code doesn’t say you can’t FUCK, live a little.” “You’re no fun. Well, more for me.” drives me NUTS. This combined with how he interacts with Kira just does me in. Shoves him out an airlock.

Dark Side Jaesa is another big one, albeit mainly for OOC reasons. I just hate the fact that she even exists, really. I get the appeal of a story where a Sith corrupts a Jedi to the Dark Side, but the way she does a total 180 into gross hedonism while Serving You always just makes me cringe. Plus there’s the fact that straight dudebro gamers are really nasty with her, and she’s the main companion I always see men put into the slave bikini outfit, and just yikes.

Also just a lot of one-off NPCs that everyone goes crazy for and ships their OCs with, but I  constantly forget who they even are lol. Attros Finn comes to mind. I don’t hate them! Just don’t get the appeal I guess.

The character(s) I love that everyone else hates:

Lord Scourge, although I’m not sure he’s really hated as much anymore. I just remember at launch, when all of the overly invested Revan stans absolutely HATED him because of what he did in the Revan novel, and then flooded the tags with vitriol over being “stuck” with him as a Knight, and having to hear about Revan in his companion convos. It was really, really tiresome! Maybe it’s because I never really cared that deeply about Revan as my personal character, but I could not understand the backlash.

Anyway, Lord Scourge is my favorite companion in the game by a long shot. I love the conversations you can have with him about the Jedi vs Sith, and I love the mutually respectful tone those conversations take. (Where other Bioware companions who disagree with you have a tendency to just go, “You’re wrong.” and shut you down.) The fact that he’s so tied in with the plot just makes me love him more, really.

The character(s) I used to love but don’t any longer:

Cytharat, Koth and Theron mostly. Although this takes a bit of explaining, and is a bit Discourse-y – because I really appreciate them as characters, but their role and Bioware’s decisions with them is what made me no longer love them.Here’s the thing: Bioware has a bad habit of introducing male characters that are bisexual, and then having them betray you, leading to situations where they either get murdered or vanish from the narrative entirely. Meanwhile, bisexual women like Lana are untouched and around forever.

I was overjoyed when I first saw Cytharat. Y'all know I’m a ho for purebloods, and the fact that he was Malgus’ apprentice was fascinating to me – and then he turned out to be a bi romance. I got very hyped for him, only to find out he dies like 5 minutes later – or if you save him, he’s never seen again. Huge letdown.

Koth was the first character I fell in love with of the new KOTFE crew – I even initiated a romance with him! – but it quickly became obvious there’s no way to play the expansion without him turning on you judgementally at some point or another. And then, hey big surprise, you can kill him or else he’s never seen again.

Theron I’ve loved since we first got to know him in the Forged Alliances content, but that whole storyline where he seemingly betrays you out of nowhere, only to later reveal he didn’t actually, idk. And then, once again, you either kill him or he disappears from the story. It felt like a weirdly shoehorned in plot for shock value, and robbed us of a second bi MOC character.

You see the trend here? I want to love these characters, but Bioware continually electing to do this shit with bi dudes is tiresome and makes me unwilling to invest any interest in the characters anymore.

The character(s) I would totally smooch:

None.

The character(s) I’d want to be like:

None really come to mind? I just want to be a Jedi, come on.

The character(s) I’d slap:

Hunter all day every day.

The pairing(s) that I love:

Haha, this question is hard, because most of the SWTOR ships I’m invested in are between my OCs and my friends’ OCs.

However.

SCOURGE / KNIGHT IS THE BIG ONE, THE ULTIMATE, THE ALL-TIME FAVORITE. It’s really hard to describe just how much I love this ship, and just how much time and energy I’ve invested into it over the past… 8 years wow……….. To the point of being almost territorial. And it’s also near impossible for me to talk about why I love it, because the version I ship is so personalized with my specific Jedi Knight, especially since it had to live exclusively in headcanon land for so long. Scourge is, more or less, my Knight’s support pillar and the thing that grounds him and keeps him humble, in a world where my Knight is surrounded by people who expect him to be a pure flawless messiah. But, I mean. How can you have a man look at your character and say, “I’ve waited 300 years to see your face.” and not immediately ship it. And then I finally got vindicated after all these years when it was made canon!

I really love Arcann / Knight for a lot of the same reasons as the above, but I just really adore his one (1) romance convo haha. Granted, yes he did a lot of fucked up things, but I was so grateful when he had like… a Zuko-esque redemption. Where he comes to your character and firmly believes he doesn’t deserve forgiveness, and especially doesn’t deserve affection, and is instead met with acceptance and a chance to grow and heal. That’s the good shit.

Others:

Lana / Warrior and Lana / Inquisitor are my particular jam. I endlessly enjoy the mutual respect between Lana and those particular PCs.

Malavai Quinn / Sith Warrior is a longtime fave, and although I DO love him with a female Warrior, I really do with he’d been an option for dudes as well. And I feel the same in reverse about Vette / Warrior – I do like her with a male Warrior, and it’s so sweet and wholesome and endearing, but man I wish she’d been an option for female Warriors.

I ship Risha with every woman – especially Vette and Sumalee – and will be salty until my grave that Risha / f!Smuggler isn’t possible, because I love Risha with the Smuggler but she gives me powerful WLW vibes.

Agent / Watcher Two is also a lowkey favorite, but I ALSO wish it could be done with a female Agent instead. Same with Agent / Raina Temple.

Agent / Vector is very sweet, but again, I will be salty until my grave that it couldn’t be done with a male Agent.

Can you guys sense a running theme here?

Finally: NGL I love Valkorion / Senya, even though that ended in pure disaster.

And people around here used to ship Keeper / Lokin, and tbh, I still kinda love it lol.

The pairing(s) that I despise:

In general terms, I fucking hate every single romance that involves the male PC romancing his padawan or underling, especially since most of them seem like very young girls. I don’t know why this is so pervasive in the game, but yikes Bioware. Consular/Nadia is the worst offender, but they’re all just cringe central for me.

But the big one is Agent / Hunter. This would have gotten me run off Tumblr back in the day, but god I hate this pairing. I mentioned in the last post that I just will never enjoy ships where the two characters actively want to murder each other, but. This just gets magnified for me with Agent/Hunter, where all the mind control and blatant abuse comes into play – and people have a tendency to write noncon rape fic of the two and present it as ~sexy rivalmance~, which is awful. Add to this the “no homo” reveal where Hunter turns out to be a woman, after getting everyone hyped about a dude flirting with their male character the whole game, and it’s just a huge No Thanks from me all around.

And for largely personal reasons I just don’t like seeing female Knights with Scourge. Listen, for YEARS  I was treated like a pariah for shipping Scourge with my male Knight, while being unable to find Scourge content that didn’t have a female Knight plastered all over him. Even though he wasn’t even a romance option one way or another, the way the fandom treated m!Knight/Scourge with disdain while ardently shipping f!Knight/Scourge was offputting as shit. And then, after years, he was made a romance option for women AND men, and all these awful people acted like they were robbed, the way people reacted when Kaidan and Jaal were made bi in Mass Effect. I’m so tired. I never want to see Scourge with a female Knight again.

[ooops-i-arted]

15 Day SWTOR OC Challenge

11. Canon divergence. Are there parts of their story that don’t line up with in-game information? Why? Where?

Definitely.  My opinion of KotFE/KotET and their bland, boring, pissy villains and their meandering plot and their gotsdamned railroading is barely above my opinion of Kyle Ron and the 3D Clone Wars, and y’all know how much I don’t like those lmao.

*cracks knuckles* I’m just gonna do Avei and Illi and everyone else together since it’s easier.  Let’s do this.  Under a cut because I know no one but me cares this much lol.  Another unnecessarily long post ahoy!

Skye Lir and her master, Derran Kanis, are asked to go on a joint Imp-Pub mission into Wild Space to hunt this ~mysterious threat ooooh~.  Skye asks her pal Avei along since she’s handy in a fight and has plenty of experience navigating galactic-level threats.  Avei is reluctant to leave her family, especially her three-year-old daughter, but agrees to just one more big-stakes mission.  The Jedi Knight crew goes along; the smuggler crew is off elsewhere in space.

Chapter 1 happens like in canon.  Derran, Skye, and Avei try to prevent the ship’s destruction but fail.  Skye instructs her crew to escape and warn the others and they do so.  Avei decides to buy time for the crew to escape, and they are all captured.

Right as the ship explodes, across the galaxy in Avei’s ship the whole smuggler crew is woken by Kiva screaming bloody murder.  They all come running; Kiva cries repeatedly for her mommy.  Corso finally gets out of her “Mommy’s ship blew up.”  He tells her it was just a bad dream and gets her back to sleep.

Chapter 1 continues.  Derran is the canon Outlander; Skye and Avei are treated as her accomplices.  Derran refuses Valkorion’s power but he still possesses her when she “kills” him.  Arcann has Derran, Skye, and Avei all carbonited.

Kiva is still upset and not herself the next day when the smuggler crew gets a call from Kira, who tells them what happened.  They book it to the site of the wreckage to help the Republic forces Kira also called comb the desert wreckage for survivors.  Kiva is distraught and keeps repeating that Mommy is gone.

At some point Kira and Corso talk and Kira mentions she can’t feel Skye or Derran in the Force anymore (I believe she mentions this in her letter to a romanced JK) and Corso mentions how weird Kiva was acting the night before they got the news.  They put their heads together and Kira tells him more about Force abilities and a whole puzzle Corso didn’t realize he was putting together falls into place - all the times Kiva nabbed a toy or treat supposed to be out of reach, her strange knack for getting through doors he could’ve sworn were locked, her uncanny ability to know which room he and Avei were in, and now her strange dream - and Kira confirms Kiva is very likely Force-sensitive.  She offers to bring Kiva to the Jedi Temple but Corso refuses; he’s lost enough family and he won’t send his daughter away.

The Republic and Empire go to war with the Eternal Empire, blah blah.  I refuse to believe they were instantly crushed by sooper speshul Zakuul so this goes on for a while, at least a year.

Risha leads smuggling jobs but Corso isn’t really involved with that, as his hands are full with a preschool child dealing with the loss of her mother with separation anxiety from hell, and also the fact that her now-frequent tantrums make things move around the room.

Kiva is three so her mindset is “Mommy left and didn’t come back, so if Daddy leaves he won’t come back either.”  Also one of her best skills with the Force is sensing emotions, so not only is she dealing with her own grief, she’s being bombarded by everyone else’s through the Force, and hasn’t learned to regulate any of her Force abilities yet.  (I majored in Early Childhood Education so the idea of how a Force-sensitive child would operate, so to speak, is endlessly fascinating to me.)

Corso reads everything he can on the Holonet about using the Force, and between him and Guss’s memories of his training, they are able to slowly teach Kiva how to at least not lose control during tantrums.

Over in the Empire Illivrin is having the time of her life.  Illi hates the Empire and her two goals as a Dark Council member were 1. self-preservation and 2. running the Empire into the ground.  She’s doing great at the second but not so much at the first, because her top subordinate Sali’ra is busy gathering every scrap of info she can to overthrow Illivrin before she gets them all killed.  Sali’ra is coordinating her efforts with her uncle, Av’en, and her cousin, Furi’sa, both who want Illivrin gone for the good of the Empire.  (My headcanon is that literally everyone else in the Empire looks at Illivrin as one of those crazy power-mad Sith who always die in a week from their own schemes, except she keeps not dying somehow.)

Vae’ra and Torian get married!  Yay!  It’s a Mandalorian ceremony.  Vae’ra bridesmaids or equivalent were Sali’ra, Mako, and Blizz.  Gault got ordained on the Holonet for the make-it-Empire-official part of the ceremony.

After the better part of a year Sali’ra has turned enough of Illivrin’s forces onto her side (and attending Dark Council meetings while Illi is off pointing the Silencer at everything she can, and showing the Council what a better option she would be) and is ready to make her move.  Furi’sa comes to the latest Dark Council meeting and accuses Illivrin of being an enemy of the Empire and not having the Empire’s interests in mind, etc.  When the Council backs Furi’sa, Illivrin - cornered, desperate, and dangerous - attacks Furi’sa.  Khem and Xalek back her while Sali’ra and Furi’sa’s father, Av’en, are on her team.  Team Illi vs Team Furi is brutal and vicious and very cinematic in my head.  Illivrin finally strikes Av’en a mortal blow with her lightning.  Enraged, Furi’sa beheads Xalek and tosses his head at Illivrin’s feet.  The two fight fiercely but they’re burned out after the fight already.  Illivrin tries to kill Furi’sa with lightning but is too tired to make it a death blow; Khem barely saves her from Furi’sa’s killing strike.  Khem tells his master to run; Illivrin doesn’t want to leave him but ultimately decides on self-preservation and runs while Khem mows down the Sith guards that swarm him.  Khem is finally subdued and while Furi’sa almost kills him, she instead has him imprisoned back in the tomb of Naga Sadow.  Sali‘ra takes Illivrin’s Council seat as Darth Colubra.  Furi’sa mourns her father and swears she will have revenge on Illivrin.

Illivrin successfully escapes Korriban and flees into exile in the Outer Rim.  For the next decade-ish she’s gonna wear rags and eat whatever she kills with her bare hands in some desolate Outer Rim jungle.  She snatched Xalek’s mask before she ran and keeps it close, swearing she will avenge her murder son and her murder bro.

Vae’ra alerts Corso that Furi’sa and Illivrin are loose and on the warpath.  Wanting to hide his Force-sensitive daughter from the Sith and also give her a stable, normal childhood, he takes the ship and moves out to Dantooine, where they will be anonymous and fairly hidden, and takes a job on a farm.  Kiva gets to go to school like a normal kid.  Corso forbids her from doing any Force stuff in public (she has better control nowadays) but she’s always curious and there’s a convenient abandoned Jedi Temple not too far away, so he occasionally goes and raids the databanks for anything that will help her learn, and lets her practice her Force abilities in the privacy of Avei’s ship.

The rest of the crew sticks with Risha, who works on reclaiming Dubrillion.  By the time the five years are up, she is Queen like she should’ve been.  Guss also gets some Jedi training.

Vae’ra and Torian adopt an orphaned Chiss girl, Iseli, and a Zabrak boy, Jerro.

Seren has been in contact with Theron.  Together they try to piece together what happened and track down Skye’s sister.  With Lana and Koth they start setting down the foundations of the Alliance.

Eternal Empire conquers a lot of stuff.  Illivrin stays hidden.  Furi’sa hunts her and any other threat to the Empire.  Corso and Kiva stay on Dantooine.

Picking up with our unfortunate carbonite blocks, Derran is the one forced to chat with the Lamest Villain.  Affected by his presence, Skye has dark visions of the Republic’s fall, while Avei has terrible dreams of her crew and family dead.

KotFE picks up from there.  Lana and Koth rescue the trio.  They are suffering from carbonite poison but Avei most of all, because she couldn’t use the Force to enter a meditative, preserving state and also because she was bashed over the head to get her in the carbonite mold and she had an open, bleeding wound when frozen.

Blah blah KotFE continues.  (I was much more interested in the implications of the five year skip, can you tell?)  They flee, they meet Senya, find the Gravestone, etc.  Avei hits it off with Koth and suffers increasing symptoms from her carbonite poisoning and does not give a shit about anything but locating her family.  Nobody likes or trusts Lana.  Skye and Derran don’t like Senya much but Avei understands her Mom Vibes and gets along with her okay.  They make it to Asylum.  Skye recognizes that psycho murderbot her sister picked up.  Arcann and his Kyle Ron Knockoff Sister show up.  Derran gets stabbity stabbed and Avei finally succumbs to her carbonite poisoning.  I can’t be assed to remember all that stuff, it was mostly boring.  HK-55 doesn’t die because I love him, and remains Derran’s loyal bodyguard and friend, although he has a rivalry with her other HK droid, HK-51.  (Derran loves HK droids.  The Jedi politely look away as long as she keeps them under control.)

They make it to Odessen, where Seren and Theron have been overseeing the start of a base.  Seren is overjoyed to see her baby sister; Skye cannot handle this level of emotion and is awkward but glad Seren cares this much somewhere deep inside.  Avei is dragged to the medcenter, still very sick, and refuses to get in a kolto tank until Skye swears she will call Avei’s family now that they have secured communications and it is safe to do so.  Derran is named Alliance Commander.  She probably develops a drinking problem.

Skye calls Avei’s ship and finds Corso and a (now eight-year-old) Kiva and tells them Avei’s not dead.  Corso immediately flies the ship straight to Odessen.  (I refuse to believe that Corso, whose chief character trait is loyalty, waited a whole nother year to be reunited with his wife.  I REFUSE.)  Avei is out of the kolto tank and doing much better by the time he arrives and SHE FINALLY GETS TO SEE HER FAMILY AGAIN AND THEY ALL HUG AND IT’S ADORABLE.

Then Kiva says “HEY MOM WATCH THIS” and throws a rock with her mind and that’s how Avei finds out her daughter is Force-sensitive.

Skye gives Kiva some formal training but is mostly busy with helping her former Master run the Alliance.

Avei sticks around the Alliance for a month but decides screw you all, my family is more important, and leaves.  She continues to suffer lasting sickness from the carbonite poison, and it takes at least a year for her to truly recover.

I haven’t decided for sure how to manage it but basically KotFE and KoTET are condensed into one without all the nonsense like Iokath or whatever.  (Also, obviously they can’t recruit say, Torian because he’s off with his wife.  Or Vette, because she’s off with Furi’sa.  etc.)  Skye sticks with Derran; Seren is also a major player in the Alliance.  Arcann and Vaylin are both killed and no one misses them.

Derran finally kills Valkorion in her head (without any part of being Valkorion, because screw you for making me play your pretentious crappy villain sue oc) but the mental toll of having a pretentious college philosophy major in her head makes her decide to use her Jedi Exile Retirement plan, and she peaces out to a nice beach planet with her HK droid pals.  She hangs out there until years later, Kiva comes to pester her for training.

Seren takes over as Alliance commander.  The Iokath stuff probably doesn’t even happen because I didn’t like it.  The Theron’s-a-traitor arc does, but I haven’t played it all yet so I haven’t decided how much I want to tweak.  All I know is Seren is pregnant but doesn’t know it til after Umbara, because I enjoy maximizing angst with basic tropes.  She and Theron do stay together and name their daughter Caeles, after Theron’s ancestor Revan/Caele.

Idk about the rest but the Alliance does disband and its resources go to strengthen the Republic, but while Seren stays a free agent because of all the issues the Agent storyline gave her, she’s basically Republic at this point.  Skye is very proud.

Years later Illivrin shows back up and Furi’sa discovers Kiva is Force-sensitive and lures her into her van shuttle with candy the promise of Force training; Kiva escapes Furi’sa and goes to train with the Jedi.

Over the course of a lot of years the Valaris Legacy gradually teams up to finally kick Illivrin’s ass.  Kiva is the only one strong enough in the Force to challenge her and seals Illivrin inside a tomb on Yavin 4, where she remains trapped for all time, eternally separated from Khem Val, the only being she ever cared about.  (This is how you treat a villain, Rian Johnson, just saying.)  (Also Furi’sa kills Khem Val and avenges her father, though she dies doing it.)

All the post-Theron-traitor stuff is all more loosely sketched out and also it’s midnight rn and I need to go to bed, so let’s leave it at that.

[lily-orchard-gossip-blog]

I'm back yay

3rd best Rey Palpatine

Ah Rey. What has not been said about her, and honestly, I just do not want to repeat the words of smarter people, so if you want a full analysis of her character, just write Rey is a Mary Sue on YouTube, and get your dose of analytics.

Let's be honest, the character was a flop from the start, both because of the cast (Daisy, I'm sorry, but you can't play a serious strong woman) and because of her design and script of the entire trilogy. Rey's story is extremely stupid (I don't believe that a child will survive in the desert even with improvised means sorry not sorry), clumsy in showing itself (a character who has just get weapon defeats several professionals, yeah of course) and inconsistent (Rei starts training only in the third film lol). I saw a couple of times when people tried to rewrite the plot of the trilogy, one of the options to shut the plot holes I mentioned was to give Rey a Jedi mentor who could've raise her and teach the basics of self defence (and then went on some mission and did not return), give Rey full training with Luke which she would have pass and overly prided herself for and then, under the influence of Snoke, fell to the dark side (in order to eventually fight against the redeemed Kylo Ren). As you can see, even with a minimum of effort, the plot improves significantly.

But another question, why did Lily like Rey so much? IMO Rei is a clay character. In fanfiction, people can sculpt almost anyone out of her, due her having no personality. Add to this some of Lily's abnormal love for female characters who are cute in the canon but suddenly become too harsh and rude in fanon (as was the case with Willow from tOH) and you will get the answer. In addition, due to the level of her writing skills, Lily simply cannot understand that Rey is simply badly written, incredibly unbalanced in her powers, which is why people do not love her, and not because she is a woman. The question is, by what principle does Lily put the characters in the rating. I know why, I just wanna keep the intrigue.

3rd blandest darth talon

Well, there's really nothing to say here. The design was clearly made for a male audience, and everything else about her is secondary. I would agree with Lily, only one thing worries me ... Don't Lily and Makaila themselves draw their characters in, let's say, a rather objectified way? I don’t know about you, but I’m always cracked by Aliana’s huge breasts and occasional inappropriate statements about female genitals and sexual subthemes in comics or any other Lily's works . kinda hypocritical dare i say. 3rd worst Arcann

And... here I bursted. I note right away that despite the well-written original stories of the SWTOR, the script of kotfe and kotet can be lame. Precisely because the writers deliberately write the victims of abuse as tyrants (Arcann himself) or irrevocably crazy (Vaylin), in order for the story to always have an e~e~evil antagonist (forgetting that the real villain is right next to the player). But Lily doesn't even mention it.

Most of Lily's arguments are rather simplified. Like... to call the long-term abuse (both psychological and physical) a "daddy issues" is just... open the trailer "sacrafice" and in the second minute you will see two children being beaten with sticks to bruises and blood. Or that Arcann tried attack the main character... Lily kinda forgot that, according to Arcann himself, he was attacking his father, who was in the head of MC, a direct threat to him and the entire galaxy, well, ok. And oh wait, didn't Lily say that the victim cannot become abuser?)

I just want you to taste the irony of the situation. Lily (the former victim of parental abuse for a second) literally took the victim, who was manipulated since early childhood, survived the war that began because of his father, and received a disability, and accuses him of ruthles actions (which by the standards of Star Wars does not exceed the actions of Lily's beloved Siths tbh) aimed at getting rid of his abuser........ just to turn around and write Aliana! The only difference is that Arcann was able to understand that he was a horrible person and wanted to change, and Aliana... well of course, she is already an ideal, despite the bombing the planet and murdering random people for fun. Certainly.

By the way, you know what else is funny? The real villain of the story, the dude who destroyed two planets for his own good, manipulated his wife, raised his sons as child-soldiers and who tortured his own fucking daughter... Lily doesn't even mention this guy.

So that's it. Obviously, the choice of characters in the top is based on Lily's personal preferences, that is, "only those whom I can substitute for my favorite unhealthy type" or a character licking shoes to all of Lily's political and moral views. Honestly, I could've largely agreed with the criticism of the kotfe, but in Lily's case, it's just a stream of bile splashing on everything around. To be continued~

3rd Best Rey,

I think Lily likes her, because Rey looks kind of buff. (And she does.)

She also say's that Rey is a dork, but I never got that vibe. To be honest, I kind of found Rey to be... wooden? Like the actress wasn't being given any direction for the character. She was clearly suppose to be the Luke parallel, with Finn becoming the Han Solo of the adventure. But they forgot to include the Obi Wan and the Chewbacka.

Though, while on the subject of Rey, I wonder if she likes her because she can just do a repeat of this kind of dynamic:

But with Star wars? I don't know, just a thought.

Moving on!

3rd Blandest Darth Talon

Never heard of her, didn't read the comics, I guess sexy is sexy.

3rd Worst Arcann

Honestly, Arcann is probably on the list for the simple sin of being a romanceable character, and being able to get a redemption arc, and also being male. (I noticed that that the characters Lily tends to hate the most are male characters who get redemption arcs, and that the fandoms find sexy.)

And the actual bad guy behind all of it... doesn't factor in, because Lily can just murder him, and not have to debate morality, like you do with an optional redemption.

Look forward to you going over number 2!

[secretfeanorian]

It’s apparently National Siblings Day, so have an annoying copy-paste of my twitter SWTOR OCs rant :D

Under a Read More, because yeah, it’s really fucking long.

First off; Ri'tari & Tsel'raldo. My canon Warrior and Smuggler. They're twins who were separated by slavers at a very young age. Ri'tari was sold into Imperial space and ended up in Sith training thanks to one very memorable murder spree of her masters, while Tsel ended up in Hutt space, escaped, become a thief, stole a freighter, became a smuggler, stumbled head over heels into being a Republic Hero. Tsel doesn't share Ri's strength in the Force, but she's just sensitive enough to find some use for it.  Ri and Tsel reunited on Tatooine, through the planetary arcs there and manage to keep in contact with each other while cheerfully avoiding the fact that their respective factions would want them to kill each other. (besides, Tsel just kind goes where the money goes XD)  Personality-wise, they end up being almost polar opposites of each other. Ri'tari is solemn, takes everything seriously, takes loyalty very VERY seriously (with the exception of not killing her sister), has a very repressed sense of humor. Tsel doesn't take anything seriously, has no loyalty to anything but her crew and her family, doesn't say anything without making a wise crack, etc. They're still fiercely defensive of each other, and Ri'tari totally *didn't* kill a Dark Council member for threatening Tsel. :D

(You may notice a trend of 1 Force-sensitive sibling and 1 less Force-sensitive sibling) My second pair of siblings to come into existence, Kei'tlya and Riv'aria. (Kei gets the most rants of any of my OCs, so I'll try to tone her down a bit)  Kei, as I've mentioned before, was sold into slavery when she was 4 by their mother (because she was kind of a bratty, trouble-making kid and their mother is a complete asshole). Their mother's reasoning is kind of a mess, but short version is their family had a lot of trouble, Kei was making it worse (unintentionally), and their mother was all like "Well, this kid is worthless to me, so I'll sell her and get some money for the rest of the family." And...that's what she did. Without telling their father, and their older siblings (who aren't pictured). Riv'aria and said other siblings spent the rest of their lives up until Ziost believing their mother's story about slavers attacking her and Kei, but while the rest of the family was content to basically do nothing, Riv'aria ran away from home when she was 19 to try and find Kei. This...didn't really work, but the end result of that was Riv'aria ended up in Havoc Squad. And was on Rishi. And Yavin 4. And Ziost. And reunited with Kei as a result. So....I guess it actually sort of worked? Lol.  Kei spent most of her childhood and teenage years blaming herself for what her mother did, and while she's mostly gotten past the self-hatred, her personality remains firmly withdrawn and serious as a result. (Despite my occasional jokes and dialogue choices to the contrary.) (ZR!Kei gets over it, canon!Kei never really does.) Riv'aria was the serious one before, but now she's got nothing on Kei. She's professional and quiet most of the time, but is known for her sense of humor more than anything else to the people who know her.

Sa'zrino and Eld'sherihee's relationship is a bit...less developed than the previous two. Sa'zrino in particular is lacking in the personality development department, so this one will probably be mostly about Eld. They left Chiss space because of Sa'zrino's Force sensitivity, Eld joined Imperial Intelligence while Sa'zrino just kind of....hid out for a while, before joining the Sith Academy and eventually becoming Kei's apprentice somewhere at the tail end of Chapter 2. They never lost contact with each other, but drifted apart for a while, before reuniting at some point after Makeb (but before SoR). Sa'zrino may have slightly lost her shit after hearing what Eld went through and...maaaay have yelled at Marr for about an hour over it. (He never did actually find out what Imperius' apprentice was so mad about lol) She just about left the Sith after hearing what they were willing to authorize, but Eld of all people managed to convince her to stay. Eld met Kei'tlya through her sister and Darth Imperius is the only Sith Lord that Eld will do anything more than barely tolerate.

And here's my Zakuulan assholes, Esnë and Elmissisa. (Not pictured are Aivelä - Esnë's twin - and their youngest sister Alayalie because I deleted them a while back to clear up slots & apparently never took screenshots of them. Aivelä's an Exarch & Alay's a Scion)  The only one who's really had any character development is Elm, who was going to be an Exarch, but ran away from Zakuul & ended up as a bounty hunter working for the Republic. (She has 2 incarnations, a Sage & a Gunslinger, and her fighting style is somewhere inbetween those two)  In my Thexan totally lives what are you talking about timeline, Elm is the one who smuggles him out of Zakuul (along with Alay, because Aivelä and Esnë suspect something's coming after Arcann tries to kill Valkorion the first time and they want their baby sister tf off Zakuul)  (I also am beginning to ship Elm and Thexan and YOU CAN'T STOP ME *more sinister emote here*)

BONUS ROUND: Kei and Arcann's kids. There's 3 of them currently; Phy'cara, Bi'akri & Mayarria. Phy and Akri are twins, and May is the baby. Phy's DS, Akri's LS, May's neutral (LS on a good day). I'm so not sorry XD

[motheatenscarf]

All the odd numbers for Tallia?

1. what’s your character’s dream team? could be companions or npcs, could be from another class or from their own.

Please let her run around with Risha and Vette, she would be the happiest person in the galaxy if they let her do that. 

3. if your character could romance anyone, regardless of class or npc status, who would they have romanced?

Baby Tallia had a minor case of hero worship for infamous pirates because to her it represented the freedom and rebellion she and her sister craved so I can easily see her getting all heart eyes for Risha or Andronikos as a result of that. 

Also ngl, lately I have been thinking if Tallia should try the Arcann romance since he’s already her dark mirror. It would require a lot of headcanon, but I’m gonna give them one last chance to do right by Theron before I give up entirely on that.

5. are there any choices they wish they could’ve made? (redeeming vaylin, keeping scorpio, etc.)

She absolutely wishes she could have helped Vaylin in some way and it actually eats her up inside that Vaylin wouldn’t let her because Senya is one of her favorite people and she feels like she let her down. 

7. did they name their ship, or is it just referred to as “the ship”?

She didn’t name it, but Vette did. Vette named it “Bubbles” because it seemed like a dignified name for a Sith ship. It is listed in the official Imperial registry as a “Bubbles - Fury Class Interceptor.”

9. if time travel existed and they were thrown into the prequel/original/sequel trilogy, how would they react?

Um. Poorly. Lol. She’d be really mad at all these wannabes calling themselves Sith and even more furious that the Jedi hadn’t learned from goddamn ANYTHING in however many thousands of years. She’d at least get a good chuckle at how the Sith literally in-fought themselves to extinction though.

11. are there any choices they wouldn’t have taken, knowing the eventual outcome?

God, Tallia’s entire life can pretty much be summed up with “hindsight is 20/20″ but for actual in-game events, the biggest regret she has wasn’t so much a choice from a meta standpoint but she deeply, PROFOUNDLY regrets how she freed the Emperor on Voss, since she basically set the stage for him to consume Ziost in doing so.

13. do they wish they were/weren’t force sensitive?

She’s pretty comfortable with her identity as a Force user. Sometimes when she would think about defecting, she’d wish she were just another soldier since the Jedi wouldn’t demand penance from them like the would a Sith, but even if her conscience made her isolated from her Sith, her power at least was enough to make them listen to her. 

15. do they consider themselves a hero?

Good god, no. The self loathing and guilt over past mistakes are too strong for her to ever believe that.

[arkannis]

Hello,

I just recently got into the Old Republic Fandom, and the Eternal Empire is my favorite arc. I do wish there was more story content to give more development to the characters, particularly in Arcann's case. While I love his romance scenes, I wish there were more scenes about his redemption and relationship with the Outlander or a dark side ending where the Outlander or Arcann takes the throne with the other as a consort. I found your blog while trying to find content further developing his character. Thank you so much for posting all your headcanons and musings!

With that being said, what are your headcanons for Zakuul culture? And could you post a masterpost compilation of your Arcann headcanons? I am trying to find the post where the romance novels headcanon originated in the tags and not having much luck.

Hope you have a nice day!

Hi anon!! Sorry for a late reply. First I’ll answer the second part of your message. The romance holonovels headcanon originated from the this post ; the post doesn’t outright say it, but some people in the tags (when they reblogged it) mentioned that Arcann probably seemed like the type to read romance in his free time. As of what I can remember the tags were from this reblog and this other reblog and both say that Arcann reads romance holonovels. The continuation of this headcanon were in replies or tags, so it’s hard to track them all down! Secondly, my Arcann tag is a mess, and I probably threw in multiple headcanons in reblogs or tags so it would be hard to find them all... I’ll think about making a masterpost, but I don’t think I have time for something like that right now. Ok, now that’s over with... I 100% agree with you, anon! I HAVE so many things to say about the possibility about that dark side ending. I don’t think devs were planning to make Arcann a possible romance option in the beginning, so it wouldn’t have been possible to be his LI and rule as emperor/empress. I also agree with the development of the characters... however, Arcann’s redemption and relationship with the Outlander was definitely rushed, because the plans to make a third expansion was apparently cancelled due to the backlash from fans who wanted pub vs. imp back. I made a whole post complaining about that... Otherwise, I definitely think they would have had more time to flesh out his characters and the other Zakuulan characters as well (Vaylin, Senya, Koth, etc.). I’m like pretty much sure content was cut out from KOTFE/KOTET to make them shorter. Due to such lost content, I have to create my headcanons from extrapolation based on the Sacrifice trailer, available codex entries, existing dialogue, and implications of existing issues. As well as other people’s hcs and commentary!! WARNING: SUPER LONG BULLET POINTS for Zakuulan culture headcanons.

The reason why I don’t have that many Zakuulan culture headcanons is because.... I feel like it’s so weirdly explored in the expansions.

I think the arts is a big thing in Zakuul! The Dragon’s Maw chapter gave me that kind of vibe. I also discussed this mildly (not) with Arcann. Most specifically THEATRE, PERFORMANCE AND SINGING. 

Evidence: Senya sings and composes and there’s the famous Zakuulan holoperformer, Malita Tal. No, I don’t have evidence for theatre, but honestly? Zakuulans are so goddamn dramatic, they most definitely have reality TV series or drama series... 

arcann be like oh you listen to malita tal? name all of her albums in alphabetical order or you get exiled

Zakuulan culture most definitely has idol culture, based on Malita Tal (and reportedly her performances were watched by millions). And those fans apparently also protested against Arcann’s rule. personally i think if they had twitter the u.s. gov*rnment would be wiped out.

I just think singing is a big thing in Zakuulan culture. I mean, even Valkorion sings (if you decide to kill Senya, his force ghost appears. They both have an exchange and it’s actually sweet for like 0.1 second). 

I also think there would be typical Zakuulan fairytales embedded in the culture. Hear me out. Most specifically those type of royal fairytales with the princes and princesses. This can be heavily contributed to the fact that a royal family is essentially in power. 

You cannot expect me to believe not a single person in Zakuul has written a Prince Arcann x reader holofic. You just can’t. Or Prince Thexan. Actually, I think Thexan would be more common, I think he was perceived to be more compassionate and kind compared to Arcann by the common folk? Since I know there’s that NPC dialogue where one of them goes how different it would be if Thexan took the throne instead. 

The fairytales would probably involve a lot of references to the Old Gods. I kinda imagine that the enemy would be some sort of serpent, that is, Zildrog, because apparently he’s just a bedtime story to scare children away. 

I think these Zakuulan fairy tales would contribute to the theatre and performance, acting culture that Zakuul has. 

Furthermore, I just think the Tirall kids probably read these fairytales as well. francis dont talk about arcann reading again

I want to talk about the Old Gods and that religion, which is one of my favorite things ever... probably because the Gods are machines. Superweapon machines... ok ill shut up

Even if Valkorion basically got rid of the religion, it’s clear that the religion is still incorporated into heavy talk in Zakuulan culture (e.g. eyes of Esne, heart of Scyva). 

My headcanon is that there are sanctuaries or small secret churches (?) for those who want to worship the Old Gods. Obviously the Herald of Zildrogs who believe in the Old Way are a cult, so I think people would look for an alternative. 

I think there would be great effort to hide these places, as it can get you exiled. Thus these would probably be located in the Old World, rather than in a more obvious position like the Spire. 

The beliefs of the Old Ways isn’t exactly clear, they aren’t exactly touched upon, which is a shame. I think people would ask for help from each of these gods depending on what they want.

Those who ask for Izax’ guidance want to seek success, accomplishments, power, and glory.

Those who ask for Scyva’s guidance ask for her to guide souls peacefully to death (she is described as someone who weeps beside Zakuulans as they march towards Izax - basically death) , or ask for help/compassion from her. Maybe maternity as well? Or parental love?

Those who ask for Aivela (goddess of passion) want her to guide them with her passion (Aivela accompanies Tyth, who is kind of a god of war/warrior). I think there would also be romance related stuff as well. If someone asked for help regarding their love related issues, it would probably be from Aivela!

I’m not sure about Esne - but maybe in a similar sense, if someone is suffering with jealousy - in any situation, they would ask guidance from her. I don’t know where I read this but I think the “eyes of Esne” expression meant like having eyes of jealousy.

Nahut? I don’t think he was worshipped.  “Nahut was considered to be gray, formless and cold, and was denied worship by all except his mother Scyva.” But regardless, I think he still had a role to play. 

After the Outlander takes the throne, and Zakuul renounces their membership from the Eternal Alliance, I think people would be allowed to openly express their religious beliefs, that is, the Old Ways. Oh, personally I headcanon that they would build beautiful places of worship in the Spire with similar geometrical pyramid designs...!! 

Yeah...I think that’s all I got! I’ll need to see how I can somehow make this post easily found, lol. This is quite a long list, and I have to emphasize that these are my headcanons! They are based on what I see and I just kind of fill in the gaps to fit my own stories. This took a while to write because I KNEW I had these headcanons, but they just didn’t appear at the time I saw this anon ask. Anyways, I’ll probably create more headcanons in the future. Also:

a dark side ending where the Outlander or Arcann takes the throne with the other as a consort

I have so many things to say about this. I know the game won’t permit it, because if you think about it, both the light side choice (Eternal Alliance) and the dark side choice (Eternal Empire) are happy endings for your characters anyways. They can continue as the “hero” or the “protagonist”, so I don’t think this route could ever be implemented. However, I think it would be absolutely interesting if throughout the gameplay, players are given a choice to flirt with Arcann. The Outlander and Arcann agree to get rid of Valkorion, but thats if the Outlander decides to betray the Alliance and joins Arcann instead. And should they join him, they have the choice to romance him... and I guess it’s a happy ending for you both :P Obviously this won’t happen, but maybe it will. I wouldn’t mind being the prince consort of Arcann lol idk! me and vaylin are gonna be besties and we’ll paint each others nails or something Oh and have a nice day too anon...!!

[fancyfade]

misc kofte chapter 6 screencaps

[image: a codex entry from SWTOR on the Old Ways of Zakuul. It reads “Before Valkorion’s rise to power, Zakuul was a backwater planet in Wild Space with almost no contact with the rest of the galaxy. Forced to settle in bogs and swamps, early Zakuulans were a superstitious, nihilistic people who worshipped a pantheon of ruthless gods. These deities expressed their power through the pain and suffering of their followers. The pantheon’s father was Izax, the god of death and the Ultimate Devourer. The ancient Zakuulans believed their fate was tied to the will of the gods and belonged to Izax. Those who challenged this view were considered demons. While most Demons were outcasts and expelled from society, a prophecy emerged claiming that one would climb beyond Izax’s reach - an immortal god of gods who would topple the pantheon and usher in a new age for Zakuul. Claiming to be the Demon Savior of prophecy, Valkorion began his campaign against the Old Ways.” end image]

and this demon thing was so important it was never mentioned in dialogue ever. more of kotfe’s “world building”.

[image: dialogue from Saeyt Doraz reading “The Force and I aren’t on speaking terms.” end image]

the important thing about Tank is in kotfe she just gets so so tired of this Force bullshit

[image: dialogue from Heskal reading “his destiny is to fall. We have foreseen that much. But his final fate remains unclear. When he is at your mercy, what will you do?” Tank says “I want Senya to answer first.” Senya says “Arcann will not escape justice for the lives he’s taken.” end image]

should be noted, at this point in the playthrough my first time I wasn’t super Arcann-negative, I didn’t have any opinions whatsoever on him. Tank also is holding out hope that she can convince him she wants his dad dead just as much as he does (lol).

And I assume by justice senya means “he’ll totally join your party and not go to jail even a little!” (unless I missed some jail spoiler in the redemption storyline i hear about). Yes, Senya, if a knights justice is letting people do whatever they want I can see why it is rare for someone to escape a knights justice...

this turned out more senya negative than i intended im sorry senya

[image: dialogue  between Senya and Tank. Senya says “You don’t have to take my word. You can ask the Immortal Emperor himself.” Tank says “I’m not him. I’m me.” end image]

The important thing to keep in mind is that anytime someone implies Tank is Valkorion or suggests she uses her “connection” to Valkorion for advice or to let people talk to him, she gets super mad at them. I’m pretty sure her actual response here (cuz kotfe tank is a lot less patient than vanilla game tank) would be ruder. or just a blank “seriously” look

[pokethoughts]

So, 5.4. Haven’t done one of these in a while since if I don’t write a thought post in one sitting I get lazy and procrastinate so much no post ever comes of it. Though this update was small enough to write something not super long.

I’d read the datamine before playing the new update, which is something I usually don’t but I felt like it for whatever reason, so shocked I was not.

This little story bit felt like Forged Alliances, where it’s some lines with a flashpoint as focus. FA was also the lead up to Shadow of Revan, so this might be the lead up to a new expansion. The new little “basement” area of Odessen looked like it could house one or two more flashpoint instances.

The new Umbara flashpoint itself was fine, it had some cool new beasts and scenery and also it’s not common to fight on a moving object. The patch had to be delayed by two days due to a critical bug, and it’s good that they chose to fix it instead of releasing it bugged. Still... the flashpoint has problems. The performance during the train section is pretty crappy, the bonus boss is not performing its animations properly, and it’s got some strange delays.

Now Theron. Oh, Theron. Personally I don’t believe Theron is genuinely betraying the Alliance, it doesn’t fit him. I read some reactions on various interweb places to this which were pretty amusing (the subreddit has the lols, while tumblr has the cringe along with some lols), generally most I saw was confusion. I’m not confused, I think there’s something more there. I’m putting my money on triple agent Shan (son of a Jedi).

I’ve run it through thrice with different characters. My juggernaut was furious and put out the bounty on his head, my gunslinger was so confused that she couldn’t pick any joke answers, and my agent’s little heart got hurt.

I liked the romance path of this little story, the heartache is strangely delicious. I don’t know which words to pick but it’s like... Theron’s face. Just his emotive face. Theron. Stupid Theron. Where will you go next?

And Lana, she cements her loyalty to you even further. She takes a bullet for you, and in her romance letter afterwards she says she’ll destroy stars for her loved one.

Speaking of letters, you get a bunch of them after this little update. Arcann sends one if you have him (now if only he’d be in the actual cutscenes darnit), your love interest does (Quinn’s is pretty good), and Theron does send one of four (depending on if you romance or not, and if you put out a bounty on him or not).

This post became kinda crappy, but in short: I don’t believe Theron’s betraying us for real, I know nothing yet of this “Order” but welcome new info, Lana is more loyal than the most loyal dog, letters this time around were juicy, and the new flashpoint needs some polish.