#no thrawn without zahn

[amandamadeathing]

I watched a video criticizing Tales of the Empire on YouTube. (Good! Let's let the hate run through my echo chambers). The speaker, who was too chickenshit to show their face saved most of their criticism for the Barriss Offee story. I agree with this: Being shishkabobbed by a lightsaber seems to only be fatal to Qui Gon Jin.

The rest of his argument turned cringe when they started down the "DiSnEy STaR WarS iz wOKE!! Dave Baloney is going to make a Star Wars 'A-Force' movie starring Rey! THat mAkEs ME aNGrY!" I paraphrase. Rey's Jedi Order should not have Clone Wars-Mandalorian characters, as was his thesis. But if Filoni is the raging feminist ruining Star Wars here is another irksome point from us Thrawn-Zahn fankids:

The 6½* canon Zahn/Thrawn books are FULL of strong women, any of whom would be great to tap into as protagonists, starting with (messed up!) the Sky-Walker program, Thrawn's best Chiss friends being women, many female senior officers, up to the Empire's Faro and Hammerly.

*I count Outbound Flight, as a ½ canon, a book I love. I love that Timothy Zahn underhandedly re-canonized it. RIP Thrass.

FILONI vs BOOKS

Filoni: I finally read them. Now we can make Thrawn the right way. You see, we'll make him he villan he was in the books: butal, ruthless and-

Some guy: Uh, Dave, I think you've read the wrong books. Those are legend... besides Thrawn isn't-

Filoni: What?! I spended weeks reading them... forget it we'll still do this anway. How much of a diffrent character an he be? ...

Tales of the empire:

Thrawn being loyal to the empire for real

No Eli Vanto (sorry Pellaeon but you shouldn't have been there)

Morgen suddently is the mind behind Thrawns Tie fighter project

No Karyn Faro

And where the actuall f*** comes Rukh at this point? (I dont remember him being at Thrawn side in the first book, pls correct me if I'm wrong)

The fandom: GET YOUR SH*T TOGETTHER FILONI!

[shoulderholsterfreak]

Thrawn in the books (legends AND canon): there is an evil force, a nigh-unstoppable wave of doom coming to destroy or enslave the entire galaxy. I have devoted my career and my life to the prevention of trillions of needless deaths. I have sacrificed everything—including my own happiness and humanity—and sold my soul to the devil in order to attain the position and power necessary to protect those who depend on me.

Thrawn in Ahsoka: screw preventing an extra-galactic threat, I’m leading the zombie hoard to be that threat!

[florafaunaandeldritchhorrors]

after opening with planetary rings made out of purgill bones, you could put anything in the rest of the episode and i would call it the best star wars of the year

[nobie]

A mutual of mine met Timothy Zahn at Comic Con Revolution last weekend. We scream about Thrawn all the time, so I was really excited for her to meet him! It was your usual fan interaction, but something that he told her really stuck out to me. It made me kind of sad too.

He said "If they [Lucasfilm] ever want to continue his story, I'm ready and waiting." (the context: my friend asked whats to come for Thrawn). Thats not verbatim, but the fact that Lucasfilm has not approached him about his OC confirms to me they wrote all his show appearances without even a glance in Zahn's direction.

You could come to that conclusion on your own bc of this "Heir to the Empire" characterization they've put him in. (The legends are great but not canon anymore and Filoni is back on his ignoring canon novels bs)

The fact that this came directly from TIMOTHY FCKN ZAHN himself makes it even more maddening.

[bonaesperanza]

Thalias from the Thrawn Ascendancy trilogy is how you do a female character with "traditionally feminine" virtues correctly.

The culture of the Ascendancy involves using young girls - the only Force sensitives their race has, since they all lose their Force sensitivity when they enter puberty - as ship navigators necessary to navigating the chaotic part of space that they live in. These girls are taken from their families at a young age and raised by a series of caregivers, and just like a bunch of plenty of carers IRL a lot of them are dogshit at their job. As someone who's worked similar jobs and watched other people work similar jobs, Timothy Zahn is BRILLIANT at portraying all of this - it gives me feelings like I can't describe. If you've ever seen a mean preschool teacher harranguing their charges or a shitty foster parent who doesn't treat their foster kids as individuals or anyone of the sort, you will feel this in your bones. Zahn goes hard on the "children are people" themes in this trilogy and I love love love this - it really means a lot to me to see a man known for his military and engineering competence porn stuff put so much thought and care into portraying caregiving as the important and complicated task that it is without coming off as sexist or patronizing towards it.

Anyway, Thalias is one such navigator, but even though most of them want nothing to do with the whole trauma-inducing system once they grow out of it, Thalias ends up returning as a caregiver and puts so much effort, compassion and logical thought into it that it makes me cry tears of joy. She draws on her own experiences but is quick to course correct when she realizes that Che'ri's experiences are different from her own (Thalias loved to read as a kid and still finds it comforting, Che'ri hates reading), she treats Che'ri with empathy and gives her as much autonomy and independence as she is allowed to. She uses a scientific method to figure out how the navigator powers work and adjust Che'ri's work routine accordingly - something no one has ever thought to do. She advocates for Che'ri with the rest of the ship's crew. She's amazing, and Zahn also makes sure to show how HARD it can be at times rather than just make her a perfect mind reader who always knows what her charge is thinking and what to say or do.

She's also kinda flawed - she seems to have an unhealthy obsession with Thrawn because he was once nice to her when she was a miserable kid in the throes of the shitty navigator system, and it comes off as kind of weird or cringe at times, and that's a GOOD thing in my book because it makes her character more 3D.

ALSO, the really nice part of it is that these books are filled to the brim with cool female characters that all feel really really different from each other, so Thalias being the nurturing, diplomatic type doesn't feel like Zahn sending some kind of message - the other prominent character is Ar'alani, a clever military woman who's a natural leader, excellent at handling her subordinates and recognizing their talents, excellent at handling politics even though she hates it, excellent at improvising on the fly, and also a kind and loyal friend. A lot of the other soldier or officer types are also women, and Zahn's other works also have a shitton of varied and cool women, so you feel safe in the knowledge that anything Thalias says or does is indicative of Thalias as an individual and not some vague idea of what women are like that the author has.

I also love how her character provides a contrast to all the "necessary evil" and "people are assets"-type thinking that a lot of the Ascendancy's more military types endorse (which make up a large percentage of the main cast, since this is mil scifi after all) - her conversation with Samakro about this is just chef's kiss to me. I feel like it's cool that we get this kind of POV because to me it serves as confirmation that Zahn knows what he's doing here - he's not being a stupid edgelord fanboy in love with the concept of doing shitty things for the greater good, he's just keenly observing how different people approach life and how all of these sorts of thinking are very useful in certain situations and deeply stupid in others. And the topic is treated with zero smugness - I've read things where similar arguments are used as a way of showing how wise and perfect one of the characters is and how stupid the other one is (coughvorkosigansagacough), but here everyone is treated with respect and empathy and consideration.

THALIAS SUPREMACY!!!

[third-generation-female-warrior]

Rules: answer + tag 9 people you want to get to know better and/or catch up with

Was tagged by @nightfall-1409!

___

Favorite color: Yellow.

Currently reading: So, I literally just did my first book haul in over a year today, so I picked up:

The High Republic: Convergence by Zoraida Cordova

Empire of Exiles by Erin M. Evans

Thrawn by Timothy Zahn

Can't Spell Treason without Tea by Rebecca Thorne

So, I don't know which one is gonna be the first non-fanfiction book that I've read in a hot second, but it'll probably be Empire of Exiles since the sequel, Relics of Ruin, is already out, and I like the author, they're really good with characters!

Currently Watching: It's a tie between Ghost Adventures, The Acolyte and Doctor Who rn... I'm thinking about watching Bridgerton because I like horny stuff and I've also been wanting to get into period romances.

Currently craving: Deep fried chicken legs and peach tea. I am not from the American south.

Coffee or tea? Depends on the day, the mood. When I'm in a writing/morning/working mood, coffee. When I want something sweet and hot but not milk, it'll be tea. Maybe I'll make some peach tea and take it to work with me tomorrow...

No Pressure Tagging! @ninjamelissajulien @happydragon @twinsunstars @orion-tyche

[heirtotheempire]

As I read through the Ascendency trilogy, it is becoming more and more clear that the Chiss Ascendency is as hateful as the Empire. And it's odd how few people call that out. I think it is because Zahn does a fantastic job at hiding it through Chiss POV, but even then, the Chiss are still incredibly xenophobic and controlling. Yes, this includes Thrawn, he isn't the saint that so many people like to paint him as and frankly could be argued as worse.

I keep thinking about Ar'alani admitting she never saw non-Chiss as people. She is brilliant and kind, but only to other Chiss. We view her in a purely positive light because the POVs in these books are primarily Chiss, who agree with her. Of course her mindset is normal amongst Chiss, of course it isn't questioned, of course Ar'alani herself never questions it despite her experience off-world. It takes a direct and pretty personal interaction for her to think twice, and even then it is difficult for her to accept the humanity of a non-Chiss. They are lesser in her eyes. They are lesser in the eyes of most, if not all, of the Chiss.

It is fascinating, it really is. It's an interesting look into a xenophobic society without the initial hate from the reader. Because xenophobia is born out of misunderstanding and perpetuated systems of ignorance. If a similar situation was told but through the eyes of Imperial officers, fewer people would be willing to see the nuances. Because Empire=Bad and anyone associating with it is also Bad, right?

But, propaganda and cycles of ignorance are also to blame. Not every Imperial Officer was born hating aliens. Hell, even TARKIN started out incredibly sympathetic to alien species according to the canon novel by James Luceno. But his family taught him otherwise, just as the Chiss Ascendency teaches its own children see other species as lesser.

This mentality from the Ascendency is also seen in Thrawn: Treason with how Eli Vanto is treated simply for being human. The majority of officers hate his existence, insist he must prove himself (despite being at a lower rank than he was at when with the Empire), and are distrustful of him. Very similar to how Ronan treats Thrawn in the same novel.

This isn't, like, a call to love Chiss characters any less, but it's a bit odd to imply that Thrawn, or any other Chiss, would be against the Empire for the same reasons the Rebellion is. The Ascendency doesn't like the Empire because it could encroach on their rule, their space- not because it's xenophobic and oppresses too many people to count. The two systems are remarkably similar, which may be part of why Thrawn was inclined to help the Empire. It is familiar, and a system Thrawn himself has never opposed, even without taking Legends into account.

(SIDE NOTE: PLEASE DO NOT BRING UP SPOILERS FOR GREATER GOOD OR LESSER EVIL ON THIS POST. I AM STILL READING THOSE BOOKS AND WOULD LIKE TO ENJOY THEM SPOILER-FREE)

[hydr0phius]

Welcome back to more crack summaries and notes. Today it's Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil, and I am absolutely distraught after reading it.

Linked: Chaos Rising and Greater Good

Starting out strong with this one aren't we, Mr. Zahn?

...

Samakro: please let this be a normal fucking side trip-

...

The Springhawk: *appears*

Jixtus: Not this mf again. Give me a damn BREAK-

...

Thrawn, over comms: If there are any Watith here, we have your prisoners.

Generalius Nakirre: I'm going to answer him.

Jixtus: Do NOT

...

Generalius Nakirre: If you're not going to tell me, I'll just ask him.

Jixtus: nO-

...

(word for word)

Generalius Nakirre: The Kilji path will prove superior

Thrawn, flatly: No. It will not.

Generalius Nakirre: Again, you dismiss our wisdom without even hearing it.

Thrawn: In my experience, superior wisdom can stand on its own merits. It does not require a warship to force acceptance.

Generalius Nakirre: You also bring a warship to this place.

Thrawn: But I do not claim to offer superior wisdom. Nor do I intend to impose my wisdom upon others.

(Thrawn, I love you dearly).

...

Jixtus, quietly in the background for the last five minutes of the comm call with Nakirre and Thrawn: Oh my fucking gods, DISENGAGE. DO NOT LET HIM KNOW ANYTHING MORE ABOUT YOU-

...

Nakirre, internally during the comm call and Jixtus' warnings: WHY SHOULDN'T I FUCK HIM UP? HE'S ASKING FOR IT. IT WOULD BE SO EASY.

...

Thrawn: *blank stare on the bridge, facing Thalias*

Thalias: Look at him going into deep thought. *Turns back to Che'ri*

Thrawn, directly behind her now: So have you-

Thalias, jumping about a foot in the air: -STOP SNEAKING UP ON PEOPLE LIKE THAT!!!!

Thrawn: I wasn't????? Anyway, has Che'ri had anymore nightmares?

(He was sneaking but he doesn't know that lmao).

...

Lamiov: *sends Ba'kif a message about Thrawn*

Ba'kif: *Dropping absolutely everything and moving faster than his colleagues would if there was all out war because his Son is up to things*

...

^^^ All that was just in the prologue and I was nearly losing it lmao.

...

Thurfian: *makes a decision*

Thivik: *judgemental vibes*

...

Thrawn: *rattling off info about the paintings in the reception area of the Mitth crib on wherever it is that they were*

Thrass: How the fuck did you know all of that-

...

Lappincyk: Larawn. Has a nice ring to it.

Me thinking of that vine: Larawn James sjsjs

...

Lappincyk: Ok and what is Thrawn to you?

Thrass making a spur of the moment decision: He's my friend.

Thrawn, sitting down: :3

(That felt like a set up. Thooraki and Lamiov going "Thrawn needs someone who knows politics" and then shoving Thrass into his orbit).

...

Jixtus: I have information you'll want

Thistrian: let me consult with the Patriarch.

Thurfian: Tell them to feck off. We don't want anything to do with them.

Thistrian: o h

...

Ba'kif when he found out about the Magys: SORRY YOU WHAT- NO. WHAT POSSESSED YOU

Thrawn: :)

Samakro: I'll see this through. I'm in too deep.

...

Thivik what's on that datacard??? WHAT DID THRASS PUT TOGETHER-

...

All the Thrawn and Thrass interactions give me life.

...

Zistalmu: I got a divorce.

Thurfian: babe, please. :'(

...

Roscu: *blathering on & being all high and mighty while a fucking asteroid missile is lining her up*

Ziinda: Can you shut the fuck up?

Roscu: I- ok.

...

Thrawn: I'll see y'all later. Uingali and I are going on a trip for a bit.

Samakro: k, bye.

later

Samakro: Where are we???

Bridge crew: idk man??

Che'ri: I'm following him. He's in danger and we need to be there.

Samakro after a lot of talking with Thalias: Oh. ok.

...

Thrawn: Can you fire a charric?

Qilori: *nervous wreck* nO

Thrawn dragging him up out of his chair: You're about to learn.

...

Thrass, holding a chair & ready to use it: Yeah, that's right! Drop the knife!

The thief: *slowly puts the knife down, looking behind Thrass the whole time*

Thrawn standing menacingly behind Thrass ready to deck the thief like he did his accomplices: >:)

...

Thrass: Ok, Roscu, but if you did fire on us you'd be killing a Mitth Aristocra and his brother.

Thrawn: :0

Lappincyk: :D

Roscu: Damn, ok.

*after the Odo ceremony*

Thrawn: Are we actually brothers now?

Thrass: Yeah, if you want :3

Thrawn: :') ok

*cue secret sharing*

...

CEDF: *trying to keep the peace in the Ascendancy on Syndicure orders*

CDF and Family Fleets, with the indignant air of a 10 yr old Sephora girl: Oh my GODS, can you LEAVE? You have NO POWER here!!!!

CEDF: Ok, fuck you. *sorts out the fighting anyway then dips off to wherever they get sent to next*

...

Che'ri: I'm fine. I can cook my own food while you're gone, and Mid Captain Samakro can check in on me.

Samakro: *worried Dad being left with the kids for the first time noises*

Thalias: ok.

Che'ri: Niceeee

Samakro: *sweating bullets*

...

Thalias: You Borika?

Borika, fake accent on: You a cop?

Thalias: What-

...

Borika: *nice rancher lady*

Borika 0.5 seconds after Thalias mentions the Seekers program: *pulls a charric on Thalias once they're inside the house and drops the accent*

Thalias: Holy fu- HANg oN-

...

TIMMY!!!! WHY DIDN'T YOU LET BORIKA AND THRAWN MEET!!!!!

...

Fuck the Ascendancy too btw. The systems in place are shit. Those poor sky-walkers.

...

*Two families fighting*

Ar'alani having been sent to deal with it, angry admiral voice engaged: OI, STOP THAT

One gunboat: NO. YOU HAVE NO JURISDICTION HERE CEDF.

Ar'alani, fed up: Flicker all of them, then drag them away from each other

Wutroow: That's going to piss a lot of people off, Admiral.

Ar'alani: idgaf. They're being stupid and putting civilians in danger.

Wutroow: Then might I suggest dragging them back to different orbital levels? if they want at it again, they'll at least have to try.

Ar'alani: Excellent thinking. Let's do that.

...

Ja'fosk 20mins after they flickered everyone and are headed back to UAG: Ar'alani you need to stop hanging around with Thrawn so much.

Ar'alani: Ok but he's right.

Ja'fosk:

Ar'alani: Y'all are just haters.

Ja'fosk: Just get back to UAG.

Ar'alani: Ok.

...

Ar'alani: *Firing on Dy'lothe's ship because he's ignoring her and possibly about to fuck up Thrawn's plan*

Dy'lothe: AR'ALANI, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?

Ar'alani, sick of CDF bs: GETTING YOUR ATTENTION. ANSWER YOUR DAMN COMMS, MAN-

(SHIP, SHIP, SHIP, SHIP)

...

Dy'lothe: Acting on the Syndicure's orders-

Ar'alani: Oh, so illegal orders, then?

Dy'lothe: ...yeah

Ar'alani: ha.

...

Ba'kif: Here's Thrawn's latest plan. I'm giving you and anyone else you can convince permission to go and assist him.

Ar'alani on four hours of sleep: This is completely insane and could ruin our careers.

Ba'kif: So you'll do it, then?

Ar'alani: Of course!

...

Thalias: There's no bus to the spaceport-

Borika: I've got you, girlie. I'll drive you.

...

Samakro: Oh yes, you're Thrawn's big, strong protector.

Thalias: yes.

Samakro: :)

...

Samakro: So, here's Thrawn's plan.

Thalias: Fuckkkkk, that's insane.

Samakro: Yeah... anyway good luck with Thurfian. I'll wait here for you.

(SHIP, SHIP, SHIP!!)

...

Che'ri: *possessed by the Magys*

Samakro, dad mode engaged: IF YOU DON'T LET HER GO, I'LL OBLITERATE YOU AND YOUR PEOPLE

Magys: You jest

Samakro: I do not >:)

Thalias: TAKE ME INSTEAD

Samakro: HELL NO-

...

Thalias: I pulled a charric on the Patriarch.

Samakro: WHAT-

...

Jixtus: And what question would that be?

Thrawn: The most critical one. Are you ready to surrender?

Everyone: oohhHhhoOhohoho, you've got some balls saying that, Senior Captain.

...

QILORI KNOWS ABOUT THE SKY-WALKERS. nOOoooOOOOOOOOO

...

Can we appreciate how well Thrawn's plan went? They tore Jixtus UP.

...

Ja'fosk, pleased: How did Senior Captain Thrawn obtain such accurate information?

Samakro who was fully ready to admit that he fed Thalias false info because he thought she was a spy: o H, uH. Yeah he kinda just pulls things like that out of thin air, you know? I can't explain it.

...

Che'ri has now met both Kivu siblings AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. I think she's going to figure it out if Thalias hasn't told her yet.

...

Everyone going into the chamber thinking Thrawn's going to get a promotion or something and then the Admiralty exiling him and stripping his honour chains sucker punched me in the gut. Thurfian's smugness did not help matters either. I could feel the anger from everyone in that scene.

...

Sorry the way the Aristocra had everyone lined up for serious consequences instead of the commendations etc they got in the end because Thrawn took all of the blame himself to keep them in positions where they'd be able to guide the Ascendancy's forces in his absence got to me oh my gods.

...

Ba'kif: We're telling you so that you don't kick up a fuss about the exile thing

Ar'alani: I would never!

(She would. She was going to)

...

Ba'kif: *explaining the Clone Wars*

Ar'alani: I'm not remembering all that. Happy for them, though. Or Sorry that happened.

...

(Not crack, just pain)

Ar'alani: Don't you dare leave before I say goodbye to you, Thrawn.

Thrawn: Of course not. That's not what friends do.

Timmy: *doesn't write their goodbye scene*

Me: *screaming*

...

Thrawn: It's only for six months. Perhaps a year.

Ar'alani: And then you come home?

Thrawn: Yes. It will be alright.

Me: It was not, in fact, alright. seventeen-ish years and then another nine missing out on Peridea is not 1, mate.

...

Ba'kif: it's a shame I'll never see you in admiral whites.

Thrawn: Nobody here is senseless enough to promote me to admiral lmao

...

Ba'kif: We have time for one final meal together, if you wish

Thrawn: If you don't mind, I'd like to eat alone. There's a bistro where Thrass and I used to meet. I'd like to spend my last evening on Csilla remembering him.

...

I'm not okay. Probably going to have new fics to write now. hhhhhhh. That was sad as hell at the end there.

...

Also these two trilogies just highlight how little Felony understands Thrawn, and I hope all of you understand after reading the books, how badly he massacred our boy in Ahsoka. It shouldn't be, "omg we got him in live action!" anymore. It should be, "who is that blue guy and why are we being given such shit quality shows and expected to like it when the characters that mean so much to us have been reduced to having less dimension than a cardboard cut out, and that a slug could move 1 kilometer at a faster pace than the supposed plot that's scarcely here?" Have some standards that aren't six feet under, please, everyone (this is not aimed at y'all who have seen this from the start <3).

Anyway! Onto the Imperial Era I go :D

[jedidryad]

WIP Wednesday: It's hard to be practical and pragmatic in this galaxy

If you've read The Hand of Thrawn Duology, you will know that Mara's search for Jorj Car'das results in data on how to get to a planet called Exocron. Since it's all a retcon, Zahn handwaves it with about three lines of set up in a dialogue exchange between Karrde and Lando while Mara is on Nirauan.

But she had to get that information somehow, so here's my supposition about how the journey to Exocron began, with information pulled from The Darkstryder Campaign- Kathol Outback via Wook.

“You found something then.” Karrde sounded relieved if still nonplussed as he grabbed two datapads off his desk. He handed one to me as I stood up holding one of the datacards.

Ghent continued to wriggle uncomfortably. He mumbled about things being impossible as Karrde and I pulled up the records.

What he’d found was a collection of star charts and entries in historical records, and also references in other texts: mythologies, religious ceremonies, folk tales.

I felt my brows knit together as Karrde continued to ask questions and Ghent only grew more flustered.

Then I stumbled across a verse, a holographic image that had clearly started life as vellum or nerf hide. The quatrain looked ancient.

I read aloud, 

“The coveted haven of the precious vessel, In celestial realms of treach’rous spectro, None alight without doubtful wrestle –”

“– on the hidden world of Exo”

I glanced up at Karrde as he cut me off to finish the fabled verse. He looked at me, bemused, “it’s the Cothian Rubei”

“Kriff. We’re at a total dead end.” I flopped down on Karrde’s sofa next to Ghent, “Sithspawn. Two years and all we come up with is a crikking mythical planet!”

“Car’das was a philosophical sort,” Karrde mused, rubbing his chin.

“Deamos Na Coth wasn’t a philosopher,  he was a madcap spiritualist.”

“Says the Jedi.”

“I’m not a Jedi!”

“Fine, you just use the Force sometimes.”

“That’s right, and don’t you forget it.”

“Mara, do you really think it’s impossible there’s some unexplored planet out there that resembles the lush green paradise of Exo?”

I stared down at the star charts and historical accounts in my hands. I’d read the stories of the expeditions to find Exo. They’d been led by a philosopher named Deamos-Na Coth in pre-Imperial times. The planet was supposed to be incredibly beautiful, a paradise available to those who knew where to seek it. 

Most of the expeditions had been disasters with few ships ever returning. Those that were recovered had clearly been raided by bloodthirsty pirates and slavers, or had become sites of bitter mutinies. Most ships had disappeared forever, lost somewhere between the stars. It had been presented to me as foolish to try to find a mythical planet when there was a beautiful, glorious Empire to serve.

“Of course it’s possible." I conceded, "there’s any number of planets that could match that description: Naboo, Yavin, even Endor if your paradise includes Ewoks, but that’s the thing. He could be anywhere now.”

“Ghent’s digging seems to point to Kathol.”

“Oh of course, the Kathol Rift, where comms get inexplicably jammed,  pilots go mad and pirates lie in wait to scavenge over the wreckage.”

“You don’t need to go in there, just pay a visit to the Kathol Republic and see what you can find out about the area.”

“You’re starting to sound desperate, Karrde.”

“You know I wouldn’t dare trust anyone else with this.”

I frowned. “I know.”

[blade-liger-4ever]

The Problem with Mara Jade, and Why She Doesn't Work

A Mara Jade dissection? From me?

More likely than you think!

Now make no mistake, I know exactly what kind of fanatic waters I'm treading. After all, it's no secret that the Star Wars fandom simply adores anything that Mara does, and people have been clamoring for her "long awaited" return to the Star Wars Canon since she was cast off along with the rest of the crew when the Mouse took over Lucasfilm. However, I have had many thoughts in direct opposition to Mara's worshiping fans, and now that I've finally had enough of both Mara's escape from her actions and attitude, as well as having snapped after suffering the ignorance of those who praise her to the heavens, I'm at long last going to tear down this character and explain in detail not only why she makes no sense in universe, but why she should have never been introduced the way Zahn introduced her in his trilogy featuring Thrawn.

Buckle up, 'cause I am not holding back on the fandom's darling girl.

Problem One: She never suffers in her upbringing

It's explained by everyone in Legends and the fandom that Mara Jade was taken in from a young age to be the infamous "Emperor's Hand" and raised to kill his enemies without remorse and blindly follow his orders. They all say the training is rigorous, and that she was spared no shortage of training in combat, espionage, and whatnot, and I will admit, her skills prove it. But you know what the flaw with this logic is?

Mara is not once shown to have any trauma, pain, or even physical scars from the training.

Don't believe me? Just look at her trading cards which, for added benefit, had a professional "head-turning beauty" model pose for her. She's a shiny, pristine woman in those pictures with no sign of the abuse she logically would have suffered during her training.

"Blade, why are you harping on logic? This is Star Wars, where there are space wizards and jetpacks and intergalatic travel. Logic doesn't have a place here."

I keep "harping" on logic because for the suspension of disbelief to properly work, there needs to be logic for things to work in a story. Take Galen Marek, a fellow Legends character, for example. He was raised by Darth Vader to be a relentless, unstoppable assassin - and his body is covered with scars, and most importantly, it takes Galen two thirds of the game to break free of his loyalty to Vader and see that he's been nothing but a means to an end to his master. By contrast, Mara doesn't suffer nearly as much, nor does she even, truly, break out of Palpatine's hold, even in the globally praised Thrawn Trilogy.

Which brings me to Mara's next problem.

Problem two: She never truly rejects the Dark Side, or her role as the Emperor's Hand

Now before you jump on me, let me say this: I recall her killing Luke's clone and "freeing" herself of the final command Palpatine lodged into her brain. However, if given the option, I still believe Mara would have killed Luke simply because she had no real reason to not kill him.

Oh yes, she kept finding "convenient excuses" to keep him alive, but those are points of plot armor. Anyone else in her place - like fellow Emperor's Hand Shira Brie - wouldn't have hesitated to shoot Luke's head off, or stabbed him through the heart with a lightsaber. The only reasons she didn't were because Zahn wanted Luke to have an enemies-to-lovers dynamic, and the writing world has never recovered since he glamorized that trope. Furthermore, despite the fact that Mara has a conniption over being lied to and manipulated into thinking she was the only Emperor's Hand by Palpatine, she does not do so with a realization that she was doing the wrong things for the Emperor. No, she only sees that she was used as a means to an end, and her fury is not all that different from Maul's rage when we see the former Sith Apprentice again in The Clone Wars - which, logically, points to the fact that Mara had a thirst for power, something that Legends actually confirms.

Don't believe me? Pull up her Wookieepedia file. It explicitly states in her bio that in her early career, she pratically dreamed of killing Vader and taking his place as Palpatine's apprentice. It's even said she revels in the Dark Side and her mission as Palpatine's Hand. Furthermore, she does not even express remorse for her actions, or even attempts to make amends by sharing her knowledge of Imperial Intelligence with Republic Intelligence. Compare her to Black Widow: when Natasha Romanov switched her allegiances, not only did she reject her past and even her nationality, she joined SHIELD to atone for her actions.

What does Mara do? Get Anakin's lightsaber handed to her by his own son after she tried to kill him repeatedly, and simply departs to "find her own path."

No honey, you don't get a consolation prize for choosing practicality in that moment with Luke's clone, and you certainly don't get to traipse around the galaxy free of consequences of your actions without at least giving vital information to the Republic.

"Oh, but she'll suffer from the memory of what she's done, Blade!"

Really? There is no reason for that woman to have a conscience, and the fact that everyone tries to hammer that into me points me to the next issue.

Problem three: Mara Jade is given a conscience with no substantial basis for it

Allow me to bring to light the history of a former assassin I love dearly for what she suffered to explain Mara's struggle here: X23/Laura Kinney of Marvel fame.

Literally born into a branch of the Weapon X project, Laura's life revolved around nothing but training, emotional distance, cold-blooded torture, and killing on orders from the highest bidder - and she made her first targeted kill at age nine. Because of that, she emotionally shut herself down.

Why do I have no issue with Laura's response to her first kill? Because she had two people who went against the Facility's status quo and fed her scraps of kindness, warmth, and love.

And for that, Laura was mind-controlled into killing them both as "poetic justice".

The first one she had killed via a "trigger scent" that was engineered to send her into a blind rage was used on her teacher, Tanaka. When she awoke from it, she was horrified to find her "sensei" lying dead in a pool of blood, her own claws coated in his blood. After this, she was given Kimura as a trainer/handler, and the woman took every opportunity to abuse and torture her - all in the name of "making her strong". This, coupled with her mother having to back off on showing her love, made Laura suppress her emotions, and deal with them by cutting herself with her own claws. Her mother, Sarah Kinney, didn't realize until later that the scars (I cannot recall if they healed or not) were Laura's own doing and not Kimura's.

Laura was used by many to kill hundreds, and Sarah eventually gave up hope that there was a little girl left in the assassin.

That changed, however, when Laura found a young boy listed as a target on her assignment. She knew that if she left him alive, she'd be faced with more punishments, torture, and abuse. She knew that, and she must have been terrified for her life.

But Laura, having been shown compassion and love at different points, was able to see a bit of that same fear in the boy.

And despite knowing full well what was in store for her, Laura let. Him. Live.

Sarah orchestrated her and Laura's escape after this, and had Laura undertake one last mission to kill the personnel at the Facility and the new clones of Laura that were being grown. However, Laura's main abuser had a last laugh by getting some of the trigger scent on Sarah, and even though they were both free, Sarah paid with her life at Laura's hands.

To this day in the comics, Laura waking to see her dying mother and her claws sticky with her blood, is one of her most traumatic and devastating memories.

I bring this up, patient readers, to point out the severe flaw in Mara's creation. She was taken in at three years old to be raised in the heart of evil, and yet she's somehow the only Emperor's Hand to have a conscience. Three years old is not the proper age to have a total recall of what morality is, especially when you're being trained to kill with abandon and to not care about taking a life. More to the point, Laura had two people who gave her morals and humanity. Mara, by contrast, had no one: no nanny or diaper-changing droid was mentioned in order to credit where she got her moral compass from, which flies directly against Galen's turn from the Dark Side. Because even Galen had PROXY to thank for being remotely approachable at the beginning of The Force Unleashed. If you don't believe me, check out his Wookieepedia file; the droid is expressly stated to be the reason he has any compassion at all.

Mara has no reason for having a moral compass, and anyone who tells me otherwise should go dunk their head in a frigid cold lake.

Problem four: Mara has too much autonomy for a born and bred assassin

Remember what I was going on about with Laura? Beyond the surface of what I scratched, she never got a break or any rewards for a job well done. That is because no one viewed her as anything more than a tool to get things done. Among the underworld, she was a favorite weapon, but because of that favoritism, Laura was worked to the bone by people around her. When you're a tool, favorite or otherwise, you don't get breaks.

But according to the almighty Timothy Zahn and countless others in Star Wars, Mara got to take vacations because the Emperor favored her so much. And furthermore, she had such an advanced favoritism with him, and was such a spectacularly good agent, she could choose who to kill and who to hide from the Emperor without him being the wiser. Mara even had the nerve to think of and enjoy herself as a "law unto herself" while still being under Palpatine's thumb.

Bullcrap.

Fellow assassin Galen never had breaks, child assassin Laura Kinney never had breaks, international spy Natasha Romanov never had breaks. They never had breaks because they were TOOLS. Tools, in the eyes of their masters, are nothing but instruments to be used or thrown away as seen fit, regardless if said "tool" is a handheld object or an entire company of soldiers. Assassins have this even worse because they are people exclusively used for your personal gain. Giving Mara Jade breaks from her work is inane and breaks the logic of having an assassin turn over a new leaf. And the reason for that is because all the other examples I named worked their fannies off in order to make amends and actively choose to become better. Even though we got little with Galen atoning for his actions, he still tried his best.

Mara doesn't do anything to atone, apologize, or even make up for the things she did. She lived and died in Legends continuity as a selfish brat who got away with literal murder and never had anyone question why they had her there on their side when there was never a guarantee beyond Luke's out-of-character defense of her by saying she "no longer serves the Dark Side/the Emperor".

Luke, my guy, my childhood hero second only to Optimus Prime. You know better than this. Yes, you see the good in everyone, but there was never anything she did right for purely right reasons to have garnered that level of loyalty and devotion from you. She tried to kill you, wanted to take your father's place in Palpatine's grand scheme, and was frightfully close to killing you in the third movie of the Original Trilogy while laughing as you fell into the sarlacc pit. The fact that this all goes on, and no one in or out of universe makes her pay for her actions tells me she was just everyone's darling OC insert girlfriend for Luke, who they could do anything with, and people would and did accept it because they wanted Luke to have a "hot bad girl wife".

Luke is the pinnacle of goodness in Star Wars. A pinnacle of goodness deserves someone who is just as good for almost the exact same reasons as the pinnacle, but able to back him up in his saving endeavors while being a shoulder for him when there was one lost soul he couldn't save.

Mara Jade has none of that, and she never showed anyone that level of care and attention. And if she did, it did not make sense with all the crap she got away with.

Conclusion

Well, there's not much I suppose to conclude this. I expressed why Mara doesn't work in excruciating detail, and why she didn't work in the end. I will go out on a limb and say that my distaste for her is clear, as well as my opinion that she should not have won Luke's hand when he had many other love interests (look it up. Trust me, he had many girls eyeing him, and had many dates in Legends.)

I will, however, say this much: In my Star Wars Canon, Luke marries Alex Winger, the only girl in Star Wars who I feel matches his personality and needs well. Ben Skywalker will not exist in it, unless I make him the oldest or youngest of Luke and Alex's kids, which is entirely possible now that I consider that option. And it may surprise you, but I do intend to bring Mara into my stories - as a true villain, though she may get a redemption before dying in my own take.

Regarding any hate I receive for both my tear down of Mara and my changed plans for my own Star Wars Canon, I will tell you this: I am one person with these thoughts and feelings, so far as I can see, whereas the much adored Mara Jade has hundreds of appearances in old Star Wars media and various fanfictions. If you can't tolerate my dislike for Mara, then go suck your thumb while reading Legends books involving her. It's not worth either of our time to fight over that blasted female, and I've got too much on my table to bother wasting my free time arguing over her.

Good day, and may the Force be with you.

[jumpyl123]

🫐🩷 Twin Cities Con Art Dump 🩷🫐

I went to the Twin Cities Con yesterday and had a blast! Though I did learn some things: never procrastinate on cosplay, don’t stress yourself to the point of two panic attacks the night before so you don’t almost faint when you are there. But I managed to have a great time and even got to meet FrostedGrape!

I was able to listen some of the panel with Timothy Zahn, and meet him afterwards! I got his autograph on my Thrawn book, talk to him about his thoughts on Thrawn’s portrayal in Rebels, he complimented by Tech goggles 🥺, as well as show him this!

I wanted to print it out and give it as a gift, but there was some mishaps and the measurements of inches didn’t translate it correctly. At least I got to show it to him!

And then here is the galaxy’s most trustworthy politician. This was for Ian McDiarmid, but I didn’t get to see him, decided the line was too long. Since I didn’t have the drawing physically on me, it would not be worth the wait to show him a pic on my phone. But still happy to have made this!

Finally, this was for Hayden Christensen, but I didn’t get to see him, decided the line was too long, not worth it, just like for Ian McDiarmid. This is a little rushed because I made this the morning of the con, but I still love these two! >w<

I love that Togrutas got little fangs, I wish they had Ahsoka have some in the shows, she would look so cute with them 😭

Please do not trace, recolor, edit, or repost my art without permission, even if you are planning to give me proper credit!

Thrawn, Palpatine, Anakin, and Ahsoka belongs to Lucasfilm/Disney

Thrawn also belongs to Timothy Zahn

Made with Procreate

[thrawns-backrest]

Hopefully there are still people out there that are reading this, I feel like I've put way too much thought in it. Anyway let the Ronan and Ba'kif adventures resume.

Title: Buried in Ice

Characters: Ronan, Ba'kif and others

Chapters: 6/?

Summary: Ronan adjusts to life with the Chiss when a sudden revelation leads him to realize that his fate is not as firmly in his hands as he'd thought it was.

___

Ba’kif shifted his posture and refocused his attention on the blank wall opposite him.

How had it come to this?

There was a dull ache in his knuckles from how tightly he’d been clenching his fists and he flexed his fingers before giving up on the effort altogether.

He should have seen this coming, he really should have.

Letting his eyes roam again, he glanced at the human occupying the seat parallel to his. Lyron’s complexion remained pale and drawn and his hands played nervously with each other where he’d folded them in his lap. It was one of the more extreme signs of alarm Ba’kif had observed in him and he filed it to the back of his mind on impulse.

If he’d thought the tension of their uncertain circumstances was taxing, then he was unprepared for the frustration their current circumstances incited in him. Perhaps he was losing his touch?

… He really should have seen this coming.

The café was nearing its evening lull by the time they were halfway through their drinks. Those who had opted to spend their afternoon there had thinned, making space for the patrons that would begin filing in at the end of their workday, and the servers had taken to lounging around the bar, in preparation for the coming flux.

It was just the right amount of ears Ba’kif felt comfortable discussing more sensitive topics around.

He set his cup back down in its saucer and repressed a grin at another blunt remark from his companion.

Despite having most of their work-related talks in his office back in EDF headquarters, he would still invite Secretary Lyron out here occasionally, under the pretext of a by now established tradition.

It would be dishonest to say that the human’s file was complete by now. No, unbeknownst or perhaps very much known to Lyron – Ba’kif had learned not to underestimate him by now – his evaluation was still very much in progress. And Ba’kif had taken note of the fact that the human felt much more comfortable in a less professional environment.

“It’s stupidly brash, is what it is,” Lyron fumed, picking his finished cup up for the umpteenth time before setting it back down, disgruntled at its emptiness. “How are we supposed to defend someone whose actions are indefensible?”

“We don’t.” Ba’kif said simply. “Our job isn’t to conjure blamelessness where there is none. So by all means, let the Syndicure rip into them.”

Lyron grumbled something unintelligible.

“That reflects on our own reputation you know.”

“I admit there is a certain tendency among the younger generations to blunder in their approach. There are a lot of young officers who seem to have misunderstood some of our more successful strategies.”

Lyron’s gaze beckoned him to elaborate. Ba’kif sighed and repositioned himself in his chair.

“Many saw Thrawn’s success in the early days of the war and thought uncompromising hardheadedness was the way to go.”

Essentially missing the true nature behind Trawn’s genius. And only taking away the unfortunate side effects, Ba’kif finished in his head.

“You mean we work for reckless upstarts who live in a post Thrawn era and think they don’t need an ounce of political acumen.”

Ba’kif chose to forgo his answer. Lyron winced sympathetically.

“Just how deep of a scar has this man left on your society?”

“Crises come and go, Lyron,” Ba’kif waved him away. “Our society is used to weathering them without any lasting effects. We, as the Ascendancy’s servants, simply need to make sure it survives its current predicament.”

Lyron shrugged his shoulders cheerfully.

“Well, I’ll be cheering for you from the sidelines.”

The remark prompted a wry smile from Ba’kif that he opted to hide behind his cup.

From the sidelines, Lyron said. Little did he know how hard that was to believe, just looking at him. Lyron might have been loath to admit it but he was integrating into their people quicker than anyone had anticipated.

As for his opinions on Thrawn, Ba’kif had to give the latter some credit and admit that it was all a bit more convoluted than that.

There was, for one, the possibility that the Syndicure’s desire to avoid another Thrawn scenario at all costs exacerbated the whole situation.

This was why the Mediation Bureau had come to be to begin with. But that strategy also had its pitfalls.

On the one hand separating politics from military matters presupposed some degree of detachment and independence for the officers of one from the other. But on the other it made a larger mess when the two were forced to interact.

This effect may be less Thrawn’s doing and more a natural progression of things that they had to adapt to for the greater good.

This was a point of contention between Lyron and Ba’kif; one they’d discovered during the many times they’d discussed the topic since it was first brought up.

Lyron argued the need for earlier family separation in the navy, as early as Junior Captain, and a simultaneous obligatory education in political and state affairs, while Ba’kif preferred to let things happen more naturally. Regardless of whether Thrawn’s influence had been the inciting push that had set things in motion, the lines between the two institutions were showing signs of becoming less blurred and the Mediation Bureau had so far proven successful in being both buffer and wedge.

Ba’kif could envision it growing and expanding slowly as the new status quo settled, a subtle development that responded more to demand rather than any artificial meddling. 

The Arostocra were still jumpy, even with Thrawn so far away, and a rapid reform like this could incite fear among them of losing some of their influence. Some of them were already noticing the shift Thrawn’s heroics and departure had caused in the navy and were not happy about it at all.

Ba’kif had tried to explain it to Lyron multiple times but the human merely shook his head, insisting that a strong legal framework was necessary for any experimental project’s survival and that establishing that framework while the Aristocra weren’t yet up in arms about it was crucial.

And Ba’kif, though he wouldn’t say it out loud, was secretly pleased by the opposition. Much like Thrawn, he recognized the value of different viewpoints working together and he had a good feeling that the solution to their problem would eventually be found in the middle, so long as they both worked diligently toward it.

Thrawn had warned Ba’kif that Lyron could be particularly stubborn about his opinions but could be swayed given a solid enough explanation. ‘A deference to hard facts and logic, if you will’ Thrawn had called it.

But Ba’kif suspected it had less to do with stubbornness and more with dislike, though he’d prudently chosen not to voice that opinion. Thrawn’s methods and Vanto’s apparent disloyalty (a rather hypocritical label, all things considered) seemed to be the source behind Lyron’s staunch antagonism and while that was a flaw that didn’t do him any favors, Ba’kif could tolerate it as long as it didn’t get in the way of his work.

So far that work had been satisfactory and promising for Lyron’s future in the Ascendancy. Although, Ba’kif had to admit, letting his thoughts drift for a moment, that was certainly not the only motivation he had for keeping Lyron around.

The man was a valuable asset in another regard. The place he came from, his vaunted Empire, was a form of government where the military held much more sway than it did in the Ascendancy. Essentially a stratocracy.

As such he could provide insight into how such a system operated. What loopholes were used to give the military its influence, what laws were in place to empower it. Thrawn had given them a detailed rundown of how the Empire operated but he was always more interested in the military side of things, as was Vanto.

How and where politics came into play was still a gray area which if charted, could provide guidelines of sorts, Ba’kif thought darkly.

Lyron seemed to straddle that line between military and politics. His own commanding officer, from what Ba’kif could glean, had been a civilian.

It was a dangerous thought… a slippery slope perhaps. But if they were to survive this war, they had to loosen the Syndicure’s hold on the military. An army fettered by a slow cumbersome political administration could not hope to weather the pressure the Grysks were exerting on them forever, if much longer.

And Ba’kif was well aware of that.

“Well, I believe this is all for today.”

Lyron sighed at length, getting up and tucking his questis under his arm. “No appointments for this afternoon?”

“None, Secretary.” Ba’kif nodded.

“Good, I can peruse these at home then.”

Home.

Another smirk hidden behind Ba’kif’s cup.

“Ah, and secretary,” Ba’kif stopped him before he could walk away.

“I had one of my aides order the garments you spoke of when we last met. They should be delivered from the seamstress’s in the coming week.”

The words sent a flash of surprise over Lyron’s face, bordering on shock.

“Thank you that’s...” he stopped and fumbled for words for a moment, “Very considerate of you.”

Ba’kif smiled indulgently.

“I know your situation makes it difficult for you move about freely. That shouldn’t bar you from simple comforts.”

“Yes, thank you. General.”

In a rare show of awkwardness, Lyron excused himself and hurried out of the café, leaving Ba’kif to finish his drink.

He did so with a touch of amusement.

It seemed, Ba’kif noted, that the human’s combativeness left him floundering when faced with simple courtesy. The Empire apparently didn’t employ such methods to ensure the loyalty of its subjects, though admittedly neither did the Ascendancy, not normally at least.

Turning back to his tea, he eyed the dregs at the bottom of the cup and contemplated dragging out his stay a bit longer. There were few opportunities for rest these days. The Syndicure and the Grysks made sure of it.

Something wouldn’t leave his mind, though, no matter how hard he swatted at it.

It was something Lyron had said. Something about a gift…

Now, the gift itself wasn’t unusual. Lyron had received various gifts and trinkets from Aristocra who were happy with how their family members’ cases were handled.

That part wasn’t unusual.

What was unusual though was that the gift was apparently anonymous.

No politician would make a moot move like that, Ba’kif reasoned, frowning at his cup, there was no point in an anonymous gift if your only purpose was to curry favor.

He tried to set the thought aside as paranoid but it persisted and the itch only seemed to grow the longer he let it ferment. In the end it bothered him enough to cause him to drop the idea of rest and make his way out of the café, setting a brisk pace in the direction of the EDF’s housing quarters.

Paranoid, part of him chided but he reasoned that indulging his paranoia in this case wouldn’t hurt. Worst case scenario, he wasted a few minutes on a detour. A detour he had no intention of relegating to someone else for fear of coming off as neurotic.

Making a sharp turn at the corner of the square, he ignored the stares of the passersby and found the nearest entrance to the winding building complex carved into the stone. The apartment was easy enough to find – he’d never been there himself but the number was seared into his memory. Few of the people they monitored were accommodated in their own branch’s housing district after all.

He rapped his knuckles on the hatch once then twice and was dismayed to receive only silence in response.

It pushed him into doing something he wasn’t looking forward to and he dug into his jacket reluctantly, pulling out an access card and swiping it against the hatch’s controls.

They would cross that bridge when they got to it, he told himself and took a step into the moderately sized suite. The place seemed empty, save for the scarf draped next to the hatch, and his eyes immediately landed on the bottle sitting innocuously on the coffee table in the living room.

Closer inspection revealed that it indeed bore no inscription just as a voice sounded behind him.

“General?”

He turned to see Lyron at the threshold to what seemed like the apartment’s fresher.

“Where did this come from?” Ba’kif asked brusquely, forgoing all formalities.

He watched as Lyron’s confusion reflected on his face, his eyes making a few meaningful trips between the open hatch and Ba’kif’s presence.

“Like I said, it was dropped off at the office this morning,” he tried hesitantly.

“Do you have any idea as to who might be the sender?”

“We had a busy month. Many cases.”

The words pressed Ba’kif’s lips into a thin line.

In hindsight, he would be grateful for the decision to indulge his paranoia, he reflected later as they sat in tense silence, awaiting the results of the secondary analysis.

Finally, the questis on the table in front of them let out a soft ping and Ba’kif’s hand shot out to grab it. He perused the brief message grimly and turned towards Lyron with a single word.

“Lethal,” he all but growled and watched the last of the color drain from Lyron’s face.

It was official then, Ba’kif concluded wryly as he set the device back down with a sigh, shooting a glance at the nauseous-looking human at his side.

He was once again fighting a war on two fronts.

[from-a-legends-pov]

Star Wars Legends Spotlight: The Wedding of Luke and Mara

In this last week of writer signups for the From a Legends Point of View fanfiction event, we’ll be celebrating Legends by spotlighting some key events, characters, and moments from the Legends continuity.

Writers: Help us add to the story! Sign up to write for the From a Legends Point of View fanfiction event now through June 2. Together, we’ll build a collection of Star Wars Legends fanfiction set during the time of the Original Trilogy. Use our Signup Form to pitch your story concepts (Signup Guidelines available here) and please encourage your favorite writers to participate!

Our first spotlight is the wedding of the galaxy’s most eligible Jedi bachelor, Luke Skywalker, with former Emperor’s Hand and current Jedi Master Mara Jade in 19 ABY on Coruscant.

Why is this important?

Luke and Mara are in many ways the power couple of Star Wars Legends (along with Leia Organa and Han Solo). While Leia and Han were shown as a committed couple by the end of Return of the Jedi, Luke Skywalker spent a fair amount of the Legends continuity in various ultimately doomed love affairs. Mara Jade, one of the most prominent characters to originate in Legends, was introduced in the Thrawn trilogy and clearly had some chemistry with Luke from the start, as well as going on her own journey from Emperor’s Hand to smuggler to Jedi knight to Jedi master before ending up with Luke.

How does it happen?

The engagement takes place toward the end of Timothy Zahn’s novel Vision of the Future, appropriately happening in the middle of a life-or-death situation. The room they are in is filling up with water, and Luke asks Mara to marry him. She says, “You mean, if we get out of this alive?” and he says, “I mean regardless.”

The wedding and the leadup take place in Star Wars: Union, a four-unit comic series written by X-Wing series writer Michael Stackpole. Most of the series deals with the more mundane events leading up to any wedding— choosing a dress, the bachelor / bachelorette parties, the wedding itself, and moments from the reception— but the happy couple being who they are, of course there is danger, intrigue, and shenanigans. There are actually two weddings: a Jedi wedding only attended by members of the Jedi Order early in the series, and a formal wedding that serves as a major event for the New Republic.

The Jedi portion of the wedding largely goes off without a hitch, but the New Republic ceremony is where the shenanigans come in.

We see Mara attempt to “say yes to the dress” only to be confronted with some of the worst fashion crimes imaginable, then find her dream designer out in the alley, having been originally prevented from preventing her designs by her evil boss.

Luke’s bachelor party at the Red Rancor (attended by Han Solo, Wedge Antilles, Chewbacca, Gavin Darklighter, Talon Karrde, Wes Janson, Derek “Hobbie” Klivian, Tycho Celchu, Kam Solusar, Corran Horn, Booster Terrik, and Lando Calrissian) ends in a bar fight instigated by a Moff who is trying to kill Luke / prevent the wedding.

Meanwhile, the women (Mara, Leia, Tionne Solusar, Winter Celchu, Mirax Terrik Horn, and Iella Wessiri Antilles) have a spa day and then kick some ass in a slingball game.

The day of the ceremony is a major New Republic event, with people like Mon Mothma in attendance and Admiral Ackbar presiding. A Moff is determined to interrupt the ceremony and violently prevent the festivities, but Chewie, the Jedi, and the Rogues take care of that while those with parts in the ceremony carry on. Meanwhile, Booster Terrik has been tasked with keeping the children quiet during the ceremony, including his grandson Valin Horn as well as Myri and Syal Antilles and Jaina, Jacen, and Anakin Solo.

Finally, we see the happy couple wed:

…And various other couples at the ceremony get nostalgic about their own weddings as they enjoy the reception.

[starplusfourletters]

I read vision of the future (hand of thrawn book 2 aka Who Scams the Scammers)

(spoilers) and once again it turned into a liveblog, apologies

Hold up are we doing Warrior Cats? Is this Warrior Cats Planet??

What base is “arm around your waist to serve as a psychic translator conduit”

Omigod I WISH my Warrior Cat name were “Jaded of Mara”

Everything I know about Soontir Fel I learned from x wing but I would not have guessed his primary motivation to be "dirt"

@ luke and mara: the girls are talkingggggg

North Barris Spaceport has me twitching

Ghent not remembering who the president is and just assuming it’s probably Leia. I mean fair

What base is "holding hands to brace yourselves over a swarm of flesh eating insects"

So we’re finally asking why Mara ISN’T actually dark side and the answer is… shrug emoji?

Man Zahn really is stuck on “character bonding hike” as a device huh. But consider I eat that shit up

Oh No Lando is racist

LMAO at “so oblivious you need a child pterodactyl to tell you to just kiss already” to “besides I don’t want my life to be like spiderman three I hated that movie” to “kissing with dubious consent” ALL ON THE SAME PAGE like Zahn finally realized he really needed to get this show on the road

LMAO at Ghent getting a free pass from Pellaeon to hack the empire. Like you’re just going to get the thing you need and not steal all of our military and political secrets right? Riiiight? Even more LMAO at the fact that that would probably not even occur to Ghent

When everyone assumes they're the protagonist so finding this one macguffin is their job personally. Like guys I like the energy but maybe we've got enough different plans to do the same thing (the exception, hilariously, being Luke) (and Oh No it turns out Luke is the one to find the macguffin because You Have to Follow Your Heart and Let the MacGuffin Come to You. I eat that shit up also)

Mara’s just... So great.

Not to make everything about my blorbo but absolutely to make everything about my blorbo I do wonder to what extent Ahsoka’s characterization post-Rebels doesn’t click for me is because a lot of the more obvious directions for Oldsoka overlap with Mara, and the powers that be didn’t want to reinvent the Mara Jade wheel. Not to say they have similar characterization – Mara has terminal sam coded dean girl syndrome – but idk, in dynamic range maybe? Calling out bullshit, weaponizing her own abrasiveness, covering insecurity with humor, being Kind of a Lot with a side of trust issues at any given moment – there are modes Mara and Youngsoka share that didn’t pass to Oldsoka apparently. Idk possibly all this is just me wanting them to TALK

Establishing that you can do evil things for selfless reasons without necessarily being in any danger of falling to the dark side is... Philosophically interesting

We interrupt this tale of political espionage to bring you Jedi Relationship Counseling (spoiler alert: communication is key)

"That part of her life [Mara’s time with Palpatine] had died unmourned" I mean mourned a little bit. Mourned for at least a book and a half

I've been willing to suspend my disbelief on everything in this book until "both Luke and Mara forget that ysalamiri exist"

I will never not be a sucker for The Movements and Transferred Ownership of Emotionally Significant Weapons

Oh No thrawn made a second foundation

The Aing-Tii seem OP but whatever

Oh No the second foundation forgot to close the garage doors

(Re: The Jade’s Fire) I know Mara’s having a Moment, and I promise I’m taking it seriously, but when the warrior cat asked “What is it you want, Mara Jade” my WHOLE BRAIN responded with "I want Hermione Granger! And a rocket ship!"

Moranda has real Kevin from home alone energy and I'm living for it

Is it bad that I’m actually kinda happy the Imperials’ Bothawui shield plan worked? Like, they had a really interesting plan and I’m happy for them. They earned it

WAIT IS MORANDA DEAD FR?

What base is “full mind meld while you’re fighting for your lives”

Who would win: ~1.5 Jedi, 2 sentinel droids droidekas, or Artoo with a sauntering gun

If I had a nickel for every time this duology explicitly established Jedi can’t go completely without oxygen, even when in a trance, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot but which makes me feel like the Ahsoka show had a weirdly specific axe to grind with the source material

Luke’s proposal to Mara is Just. The. Funniest. Thing. That’s some Anakin-level cringe and the prequels aren’t even out yet. He truly is his father’s son.

I mean POV there’s this guy and for a couple years you want to kill him, and then you realize that’s more of a You Problem, so then you’re friendquaitances for a decade mostly because you don’t approve of the shit he’s getting into, and then you have one (1) honest conversation and get caught in a death trap and he’s like “so I think the next step for us is marriage”

LEIAAAAAA! Full Jedi Knight Leia is both terrifying and hot. I would run.

“So it is treason” – Some random guy

Lando needs to be on the New Republic payroll simply for being willing to speak to any of the other characters and also he needs a raise. This poor guy getting called on to command the entire New Republic fleet mid-battle and he’s like “I’ve been a civilian for 15 years and also I knew you would pull some horse piss like this steve”

Mara Jade, Imperial protege. Skills include: Identifying load-bearing walls. (Now all I want is Property Brothers: Sith Edition)

Mara please. Luke please. These absolute idiots. This is some pear scene shit. I hope nothing bad happens to them ever

The whole back half of this book has been an emotional rollercoaster for me specifically because I wanted Flim to be Thrawn FR soooooo baddddd. And now I’m sad. His name literally means scam don’t do this to me Zahn

I’ve been amused by all the Star Wars universe idioms but I gotta take a moment to specifically showcase “burned your sky-arches.” Karrde is a delight to have in class

Having an independent intelligence agency that’s supposed to work for both the New Republic and the Empire seems absolutely unhinged but go off I guess

When the New Republic and Empire sign peace accords and Luke can’t even be bothered to show up

Mara is great and her arc is fuckin hilarious to me. The narrative has identified her as The Damaged One and I’m like???? She came to terms with her troubled past, drew her own boundaries regarding the Dark Side, recognized that there are people who care about her instead of pre-emptively pushing them away, and resolved to form deeper emotional connections. Smash cut to ROTS Anakin whose physical and psychic damage has literally turned his brain into oatmeal

Again I know this was before the prequels Mad points for explicitly saying Mara needed to form attachments to become a Jedi. Zahn being pretty gangsta there

OH NO THEMB

[nobie]

I need to talk about Morgan Elsbeth and the connection to Thrawn. Along with some other questionable narrative choices Filoni has made with Thrawn.

I want to preface, this is not going to be a hating Morgan Elsbeth post nor hating on the actress or any bts production of her character. There is enough hate towards characters like this in this fandom and I will not be perpetuating that (take that negativity somewhere else). I only want this to be an open discussion on this part of Thrawn's story.

Morgan is a character that has been placed into Thrawn's canon timeline. She was not written in (everything is written obvs but let me explain). The distinction I want to make between those narrative ideas is, placing a character into a story means they are important in supporting the main character, but no one cares if they are replaced or removed from the story. Writing a character into the story means they are so important to the direct development of the mc, if they are replaced or removed it feels like a piece of that character is missing. Some examples for Thrawn would be Eli Vanto or Ar'alani. Morgan was removed from the story in the Ahsoka series and it didn't even effect Thrawn himself.

So why create this character and push a narrative that makes her seem like the most important part of the story? Like without her Thrawn wouldn't be able to get back to the galaxy? Thrawn is a genius, a warrior, and a survivor. He could've figure that out himself, or with the help of Ezra (an established character that the audience loves). Instead he's had to rely on Morgan.

This is where my qualm with Dave Filoni comes into play. I love Filoni's work he has created some of my favorite stories in the Star Wars franchise. But he does one thing that I despise. Ignores the work of amazing authors. In this case Timothy Zahn. I can't say for sure that he hasn't read the Ascendancy Trilogy or the Thrawn (2017) trilogy, but it feels like it when analyzing Filoni's characterization of Thrawn. If he did read those books or least consulted Zahn on them he would know Thrawn's true motives for what he does. He is a protector for the greater good. He goes against many higher powers to make the right choice, not the good or bad choices. He shows the characters around him time and time again that he will always do what is right even if it means his downfall. He is not a villain in his own story just himself, not good or bad, the one in the middle. He evolves, learns, observes, and understands things on a completely different level. And we only see a sliver of this characterization in Filoni's story. I understand the narrative built around Thrawn being the ultimate villain for the ghost crew because a good story like this should have an interesting dynamic between protagonist and antagonist. But the fact that you'd have to read his books to know who he is, is a clear indication to me that his novel characterization wasn't researched enough.

It also shows me that Filoni favors the legends version of Thrawn more. Especially with the inclusion of Pellaeon in Tales of the Empire and not Eli Vanto. Who could have easily been placed into that role. Although, he his Thrawn's aide he can and has done things like that for Thrawn.

Now in Tales of the Empire we see that he isn't the original creator of the TIE Defender. Trying to place Morgan into a characters story that is so beloved [Thrawn] feels so forced through this idea that she created the TIE Defender. Why would someone who is trying to get revenge for her people go to the Empire with an idea like this. If she is so angry why she is relying on someone else's power to get her revenge? And even when she got in the good graces of the Empire with Thrawn what came of it? The Defender project was ruined, shouldn't her allegiance to Thrawn be in ruin too. The deal they made implied she would get what she wanted, but she never did and was still loyal to him. Thrawn does have this quality about him though, you'd follow him off a cliff, the gravity in which he attracts people to his cause is so alluring. But that still doesn't explain where Morgans revenge story went. And in the end she really does feel like a character that can be replaced.

Trying to make a character that was placed into the story important to the audience does a disservice to the story as a whole. Thrawn has an established world of characters in the novels that are readily available to use in the narrative. So why aren't they in it? Eli especially in one I cannot ignore the absence of. From the moment Thrawn is found in exile Eli does not leave his side. Eli follows him into battle again and again. Even after realzing his initial career choice will amount to nothing now that Thrawn has taken over his duty in the Imperial Navy. Thrawn himself says "you hold my words in your hand, and their meanings," and although that was in relation to his survival with the Empire it still held true throughout the story. Eli is an extension of Thrawn, whatever is said to Eli is said to Thrawn and vise versa. So where is he?

(Ok that's all my ramblings for now. Hopefully this made sense. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the tags or replies. Thrawn was the first sw novel I read, I'm fiercely protective of him. So when his characterization is kinda ruined like this it upsets me. But I'm always excited to see him in any media and hear that silky voice of his, thank you lars.)

[mario-art]

HELLO, you made such an interesting point in the tags of my post:

You know what’s funny? Is that Thrawn is really being turned into a “Machiavellian” type of villain, but what’s even funnier is that Machiavelli himself received this type of treatment. Now idk how much familiar you are with the 16th century author, but just know this: Machiavelli and “Machiavellian”, and whatever people can take from him, is heavily misunderstood (I actually really hate the use of the adjective, but perhaps that’s a story for another type). Now I know that Zahn wrote Thrawn based on a certain extent on the Machiavelli archetype (I remember reading it somewhere, pardon if I have no proofs), but I’m actually laughing hard thinking that as characters they are having the same treatment by popular media. Lemme explain: Machiavelli wrote the Principe not because “oh he cynic!1!🥶He mad!1🤬”. No. Machiavelli wrote what he wrote because he wanted to save Italy dalla Ruina, from its ruin. Machiavelli dreamed of a more compact and unified Italy. He had a vision and just as much as Thrawn, he wished to serve his people, Florence (in Thrawn’s case, the ascendancy) and Italy (which didn’t existed at the time).

And now, with Thrawn being reduced as you said in a villan without complex motifs, I can’t help but think how poetic is to be doomed to the same narrative as the figure who inspired your existence. Maybe this was planned all along, I don’t think so personally, but Thrawn is being oversimplified by Filoni the same way Machiavelli gets reduced as just a “pragmatic person” and “the ends justify the means” by everyone (don’t let me start on how wrong the quote is).

To sum up: Thrawn and Machiavellian are rhyming in the same direction in popular mainstream media.

This was my Ted talk, sorry in advance for possible writing mistakes, I just woke up✌️

Hiii! Thank you so much for the spontaneous Ted talk 😄😄 Your parallel between the Ascendancy and Florence+Italy is sooo on point, it blew my mind for a second. Now I have to delve deeper into it

Actually there was a period of time when I was really invested in this topic, I read his 10 letters, history of Florence +the Prince obviously and almost fell from a chair when they put him into Assassins Creed game, but now there're just small bits that I remember. Maybe it's time to refresh things

I didn't know that Zahn was actually inspired by Machiavelli. I'm new to this part of the fandom, so I haven't read anything about him or his working process, but after you mentioned it I'll take a note for the future. I must confess I learned who Thrawn was only during the Ahsoka show and due to the fandom. Like there were so many memes about him here on Tumblr, there's no way fans will hype some basic dude so much. And then my friend recommended the new trilogy

So yeah, it's such a pity that not 1, but 6 books of new material got completely ignored and the character simplified to what we've already seen so many times literally everywhere. You phrased it beautifully

I haven't read the old trilogy yet, heir to the empire, only know the plot in general, but I'm curious what exactly motivates Thrawn to rebuild the empire. And how the characterization of him differs between these trilogies. Is he mostly the same or did Zahn change the character after so many years like Terry Pratchett's Vetinari evolved from the very first version of the Patrician to his later works (I can't help comparing them after yesterday, though I hadn't done it before idk)

So yeaah... At least I'm happy that there're so many talented fans here and we can happily ignore whatever happens on the screen 🙃