#risha romance

[groundrunner100]

Each one of these girls is like wine. Pick your flavor!

[captainderyn]

Me every time Emeldir speaks: it’s my boy!! HI MY BOY! *clicks screenshot button*

[roamingswtor]

male characters getting not one, not two, but THREE class stories where they have 2(!) romance options (Smuggler, Warrior, Agent) meanwhile female characters have two class stories where they get. a one night stand with another crew mate (Consular and warrior)

Male smuggler? Risha or Akavi

Male warrior? Vette or (Darkside) Jaesa

Male agent? Kaliyo or Raina Temple

Female warrior? Ok you can fuck lieutenant pierce once. but then it’s malavai ‘betrayal’ quinn only.

Female consular? You can sleep with Tharan once before he decides to return to his sexbot.

[oriental-tragedy]

my namesake 🥰

[queen-scribbles]

Thinking about making Renatis a Space Slut™ who flirts with everyone except the romanceable companions. 🤔😋

[murder-and-mayhem]

I apparently have made a grave mistake in leaving Risha off of the Bad Bitch Romance Poll. Please forgive me 🙏🏻 there were 10 slots and I haven't made it very far in the Smuggler story so I legit forgot she existed. Akaavi got a spot because I watched her romance on YouTube and I turned into a complete simp for her (my twig-boi smuggler WILL be swept off of his feet by my Mando queen when he finds her).

In short, I'M SO SORRY.

[jolyne-best-jojo]

Despite my love for swtor's smuggler storyline I hate the fact that despite the Jedi Knight getting a sapphic option for Kira in Onslaught Smuggler doesn't get a sapphic option for Risha or Akaavi leaving female smugglers with Corso misogony Riggs as their only original companion romance option.

[aeskanera]

No one asked for it but here it is! My personal ranking of Swtor companions from most to least favourite (in a more general sense this time since there’s so many) (sidenote this is entirely based on the og class storylines as I have not found time to play/read through the extended games yet) (tw for bad and inconsistent grammar):

TOP FIFTEEN

Vector Hyllus (IA) - bug boy❤️

Lord Scourge (JK) - let me romance him you cowards (obligatory statement that yes i am aware of post-onslaught romance but i don’t want to have to play through all that just to bang him)

Blizz (BH) - BLIZZ!!!!!!!

Risha (S) - one of the most detailed, nuanced companions in the game, my wife, top tier female love interest, she doesnt just have backstory she has Backstory ™️

Andronikos Revel (SI) - many points for the coolest name in star wars. ok like i think his character concept is kinda boring comparatively but they pull it off so well as a romance arc. he feels very real and human and natural and i like that he keeps the inquisitor grounded by being the everyman in a story about sith sorcery and going insane because of ghosts in your brain

Akaavi Spar (S) - she is SO hot. the superior Mandalorian like Torian Cadera who?

Treek - TREEK!!!!!!!

Kira Carsen (JK) - my first ever swtor love. she has a special place in my heart

Jaesa Willsaam (SW) - let me have lesbian sex with her

Qyzen Fess (JC) - i looove him, easily one of the most interesting characters and the deep dive into trandoshan lore is so fascinating and interesting

Vette (SW) - she’s my darling 🩷 i would die for her. i bonded with her so much cause i play female characters as a rule and her whole character and relationship with the female warrior is about her craving sisters and sisterly relationships and then finding that in the warrior. and at the same time that i was playing that class i was repairing and working on my real life relationship with my little sister who i’m now very close to. so Vette is my sister. plus if you play as female you still get to hit on Tivva (just not sleep with her) and the dialogue is extremely amusing to me

Elara Dorne (RT) - in game doing that sweet pseudo-enemies to lovers with Jorgan so my character meeting Elara was like FINALLY someone who i don’t hate. out of game i was like FINALLY my autistic companion. it’s not a swtor playthrough without at least one autistic companion

Holiday (JC) - she COUNTS ok!!!!

Aric Jorgan (RT) - cat boy husband

Khem Val (SI) - objectively one of the best companions, if not the best. he’s just so low because i have more emotional attachment to the ones above

MIDDLE FIFTEEN

Torian Cadera (BH) - super well written romance especially when you get to the GenoHaradan arc, an underrated love interest (at least in the circles i run in online). however. sir we need to have words about that facial hair. also i guess it’s not an old republic game without at least one character that makes me say “they are NOT a nineteen year old”

Kaliyo (IA) - i get that she could rub people the wrong way but she’s my bestie. plus she coined the nickname bug boy for Vector

Tharan Cedrax (JC) - the superior version of Doc

SC0RPI0 (IA) - they gave that droid madonna cone titties. also i was so excited by her since i found the previous agent companion so bleh

Malavai Quinn (SW) - time to drop a controversial opinion…i think he’s overrated. like don’t get me wrong he’s a fantastic love interest, he’s just hyped up a LOT compared to other love interests and i think he maybe only deserves like 85% of the hype he gets (which is still a lot!). i just think he has a lot of the traits tumblrinas go nuts for and then they act like that makes him superior to other love interests when that’s not necessarily the case. and i say this as someone who romanced and placed him higher on this list than several other love interests so im being objective here. on a more positive note his deadpan humor is greatly enjoyable, and i find it very entertaining that when his health bar drops but is still like halfway full he starts saying shit like “my death is imminent” overdramatic king

Xalek (SI) - the superior inquisitor apprentice

Zenith (JC) - let me romance him you cowards but im far less passionate about this one than i am about Scourge (yeah yeah the expansions i want him to be my MAIN story love interest in the origin)

Broonmark (SW) - i love my giant murderous fluffy alien monster baby

M1-4X (RT) - i do enjoy being told how amazing i am on a regular basis. the most egotistical character let alone the most egotistical droid but unlike other swtor companions he pulls off having one single character trait cause he’s funny about it

Doctor Lokin (IA) - the mad scientist thing is very cool but i feel like for me personally it was not as cool as it sounds in theory

T7-O1 (JK) - teethree 2.0 and since they made teeseven like several hundred years old anyway i genuinely do not understand why they didn’t just make him T3-M4

Lieutenant Felix Iresso (JC) - literally only exists for me as eye candy (and what a good job of it he does)

2V-R8 - they gave that poor droid anxiety

C2-N2 - i love my aromatherapy droid

Yuun (RT) - he’s just so nice! so pure, so wholesome. marge simpson voice i just think he’s neat

BOTTOM FIFTEEN

Talos Drellik (SI) - am a huge nerd over history and archaeology…literally me in star wars…so why don’t i like him more??? absolutely no idea it’s just a vibe. also not to be mean but according to the swtor encyclopedia he’s supposed to be younger than Quinn…bb girl you did not age well

Corso Riggs (S) - idk i mean he’s cute and all, and we’ve established that i love my autistic companions (plus he’s very luke-skywalker-my-favorite-character coded) but like he came across too young for me to want to romance him with the smuggler character especially with how superior the girl love interests are. Much potential as a bestie though

Guss Tuno (S) - i literally have no memory. could not tell you a thing about him. oh wait except this insanely hilarious line I came across the other day while casually reading wookiepedia (as one does) that goes pretty hard and honestly yoinked him up from the bottom of the list: “You've never known real rage until you've been lectured on controlling your emotions by a four-year-old in a robe.”

Sergeant Rusk (JK) - he sure is there i guess

Nadia Grell (JC) - i cannot wrap my head around anyone wanting to romance her. it just feels icky to me. like i can handle a lot of the power imbalances in the other romances but this one is just too much for me, especially if you’re a light side jedi

Ashara Zavros (SI) - yawn. she will never be Jaesa Willsaam no matter how hard she tries. pretty tho

Doc (JK) - bootleg Tharan Cedrax

Lieutenant Pierce (SW) - if i have to hear about the Bastion one more time i stg….ruined the trooper chapter three story for me. he’s not lower only because i enjoy that his dynamic with Quinn is literally just them

Ensign Raina Temple (IA) - god she is so boring

Bowdaar (S) - deep sigh of course the smuggler is the one who gets the wookiee companion. bootleg Zaalbar

Tanno Vik (RT) - on the one hand his recruitment quest made me want to shoot myself in the face seven hundred times…on the other hand he has that fuckoff awesome sword…much to consider…

Gault (BH) - so one note and that makes me sad. yeah so are a lot of companions but he’s neither adorable enough or funny enough to pull it off. i guess he does have a sliver of likability such as his ex-girlfriend storyline that makes him able to endear himself to me just enough

HK-51 - sigh i guess it’s not an old republic game without an HK unit

Mako (BH) - grow some balls girl. i genuinely don’t even know why i hate her so much. you’re telling me this girl’s supposed to be a bounty hunter? don’t make me laugh. maybe if she develops a real personality. im so mean to her for absolutely no good reason i really do turn into a high school bully about this girl. if someone wants to psychoanalyze me and tell me why i despise Mako that would be much appreciated

Skadge (BH) - yikes

[imperial-topaz2003]

SWTOR Companion Sexuality Headcanons

Instead of sleeping, I decided to slap this together. These are my personal headcanons as to the sexualities of SWTOR romance options. Please don't flame me for these, or else I will cry.

Let's get into this

Republic:

Kira Carsen: Bisexual, male-leaning

Doc: Heterosexual (duh)

Scourge: Demisexual, biromantic

Felix Iresso: Straight

Nadia Grell: Bi-curious

Zenith: Yeah, I got nothing

Corso Riggs: Hetero, more of a ladies' man than a men's man.

Risha Drayen: Bisexual, but male leaning, again

Akaavi Spar: Pansexual, to give the girls some love.

Aric Jorgan: Heteroflexible

Elara Dorne: Bi-curious

Imperial:

Vette: Straight as a line

Malavai Quinn: Bisexual, equally both ways, change my mind.

Light Jaesa: Gives off Demisexual vibes to me.

Dark Jaesa: Chaotic Heterosexual

Andronikos Revel: Probably straight.

Ashara Zavros : Also probably straight.

Khem Val: Demi ftw

Mako: Pansexual

Torian Cadera: Heteroflexible

Kaliyo Djannis:...complicated.

Vector Hyllus: Bisexual (BioWare plz)

Raina Temple: Most likely Hetero

Expansions:

Theron Shan: Bisexual, female-leaning

Lana Beniko: Bisexual, both ways equally

Koth Vortena: Gay, or at least male-leaning bi.

Arcann: Maybe Demisexual

Tau Idair: Pansexual

Anri: Lesbian

Arn Peralun: Hetero

Rass Ordo: Bisexual

If you guys are curious as to why I see it this way, feel free to ask! And if there's some other SWTOR character you want to hear an LGBT headcanon on, lemme know!

[jessequinones]

Writing Advice: Slow burn vs. dragging it out (relationship edition)

I’m currently reading Dragonfire: Fallen Star and I need to get this off my chest, it’s about the difference between a slow burn and dragging something out, namely in the way of creating a relationship.

In the first book, Blaze meets Risha and it’s obvious she’s the love interest and that’s fine. She doesn’t have much of a personality besides being moral support for Blaze but it’s whatever. At the end of the book, the author does something differently and doesn’t pair them together despite it being obvious.

That caught my attention, if it didn’t happen in the first book after the final battle and Risha almost died, maybe Blaze would get with someone else in book two? No ... he doesn't. It takes until the end of book two for both of them to admit they love each other and Blaze is confused because he never had a concept of “love” and didn’t realise he was in “love” or that Risha loved him. (I know asexuality is a thing however I can’t comment if Blaze is asexual or aromantic because I’m not either of those things. As far as I’m aware, Blaze isn’t.)

So let’s talk about a slow burn vs. dragging out a relationship.

A slow-burn love story is kind of the focus of the story. Most of the time you see them in either slice-of-life stories, romance, or even erotic storytelling, but the main focus of the story is primarily the relationship between two or more characters. You know it’s gonna happen, everyone around them knows it’s gonna happen, and the build-up of their relationships feels natural, and if written well, you’re waiting for that “I love you, let’s kiss as a couple” moment just like how everyone else in the story is waiting for it.

Now that’s not to say a slow-burn relationship is only found in those stories, as it’s a common trope with a lot of storytelling. Two characters are in love but don’t have time to do anything about it until the story is over where they can relax and admit their feelings for one another. (Insert nearly any story here).

The point is, if it’s obvious, and we know it’s gonna happen if it doesn’t happen at the end where we thought it would...then it becomes a love story which feels like it’s dragging on.

Case in point, Dragonfire book one and two. While I was caught off guard about book one’s ending where Blaze didn’t get with Risha, book two started off with the most obvious “I’m in love but don’t realise it” kind of writing there is and it doesn’t stop until near the end. This relationship was already established and written in book one, why does it have to carry over to the next book? Mind you these books are over 400 pages long, I basically, read an 800-page romance where they don’t get together until page 800. That’s not a slow burn, that’s dragging it out.

Slow burn vs. dragging it out comes down to how the reader feels about said relationship. I’ll use myself as the main example because I like slow burns. I giggle when I see them because I think it’s cute when two people are in love, don’t realise it, and they blush every time they see each other. I’m a sucker for romance so I’d like to see my slow burns every once in a while.

Slow burn for romance, slice of life, and even erotica are kind of the point of their stories. Two characters are in love, they spend a lot of time together and in the end, they get together. So I don’t need to explain much about them because it’s kind of the whole point you read them some of the time.

Slow Burns for nearly every other story is written in a way where two characters are in love, they don’t know it, but as the story progresses, they think about each other, maybe even flirt a little, and they sacrifice their lives for each other. (Typical romance in more adventure pack stories.) At the end of the final climax of the story (normally after a love interests nearly die) and the world is saved, they kiss at the end and everyone cheers. While the romance isn’t the main point of the story, it’s still a very obvious way to write one and a lot of readers expect something at the end after it was built up from the beginning. Even if the relationship isn’t written well, some readers might give it a pass if they know what’s gonna happen at the end.

Now what about a slow burn for multiple stories? At what point does it drag?

Slow burns for multiple stories can work, but you need to change the relationship a little. First of all, having the main character “not realise” they're in love isn’t a good way to avoid putting them together unless said character is aromantic or asexual. (Like I said, I’m not either of them and have no idea how to write a character who's like that, so if that’s what you’re going for I suggest asking other writers who are either of those things.)

The relationship needs to grow and others need to comment about it. The characters could be unsure if the other will like them or they could both be aware they like each other but have neither want to make it official because what if it causes their friendship to break? Just do something which indicates they’re trying, but have a good reason not to make it official. 

Sometimes you can make fake love triangles. (Fake love triangles are love triangles which are put in place to further the relationship between two characters). Fake love triangles normally don’t last long, but last just enough for the slow burn to do its magic. Which is mostly by making one of the love interests either jealous or sad because they “missed their moment” even though the character they're crushing on is very obviously not gonna stick with their current partner.

Real-life relationships don’t just happen overnight, sometimes they can take years so there’s nothing wrong if you want to write a slow-burn relationship, the problem comes from the audience's patience and this is something which will vary from person.

From my own experience and how I feel when reading these types of relationships. If it was obvious, that they were supposed to get together at the end of one book but didn’t, that could either surprise me as I might've felt I read the entire relationship wrong or get annoyed because we’re doing this entire song and dance all over again in book two.

While I can’t give an example for every time I felt like this while reading stories, I’ll try to explain why I felt like some relationships were dragging on because as I stated before, this ultimately comes down to audience patience.

Enough time has passed: Most of the time between books one and two, there’s a time jump. Book one of Dragonfire and book two have a four-season time jump (so most likely a year) during this entire year, neither Blaze nor Risha get together? What were they doing this entire time?

I don’t know about other readers but I’d like to imagine what characters do when the story is over and if there’s a seconded book with a time jump, I'd try to imagine what they were doing in said time jump. Both of these characters were crushing on each other for the entirety of book one and yet neither made a move during the gap? Why? It also doesn’t explain why they never tried to make a move on each other during the gap in book two as well.

If you want to create a slow burn for several stories and you know there’s gonna be a time jump in between some of the stories, you need to explain why your characters, who now have some time to relax, don’t get together. Sometimes it can be as simple as “we already tried and it didn’t work out”, it happens. Sometimes people need to try a relationship a few times before getting it right. If this is the case, it’s more believable that while they still like each other, they don’t want to try again because what if it doesn’t work out a second time? What if they get into a fight and ruin their friendship?

You can also have one of the characters already in another relationship with someone else. This is leaning more on the love triangle side of things instead of creating a fake one, but how this one works is that one of the characters took a bit too long to say “I love you” so, the other character moved on during the time jump and now the character which took a bit too long to say “I love you” is upset about their actions. The reason why I say this isn’t really a fake love triangle trope is because if this love triangle is established at the beginning of the second book, then it’s gonna play a more prominent role throughout the story.

Maybe you could create a Romeo and Juliet kind of slow burn where the main characters know they love each other but they can’t make it official because of reasons. While this is on the line of creating an established relationship, there’s a difference between them kissing in secret compared to kissing in public and it’s the public kiss the readers are waiting for. You can also do this same exact love story but have it where one of the characters keeps refusing to progress because if others find out, then a war will break out or something.

The point is, that you need to acknowledge why they haven’t gotten together instead of the “I didn’t know I was in love” trope.

Another reason why I feel a slow burn turns into a dragging-on love story is when there are no other options. I know we all hate love triangles but they do serve a purpose. If two characters love each other, and there’s no other character that ever gets brought up as a potential love triangle then I ask, why haven’t they just tied the knot if neither of them have any options?

It should’ve happened already: This one is an easy explanation. If a reader feels like the relationship should’ve already been confirmed and it’s not...that feels like the relationship is dragging on. This kind of feeling will vary from reader to reader so if this is what someone says, it’s best to ask them to clarify.

The writer put too much emphasis on the relationship: If you want a relationship to take place over several stories, or even just one, but you want it to be a slow burn, while not creating a romance, slice of life, etc. If you bring up the fact two characters are in love over and over, to the point it feels like the relationship is getting more attention than the actual story, readers might want those characters to tie the knot just so the story can move forward.

Every single one of these examples is based on a reader's feelings about the relationship you're creating so it changes for everyone and everyone will have a different spot in your story they can tell you where it felt like the relationship is dragging on. For me, it was in chapter two of book two, I already felt like it was dragging on as soon as I realised this was gonna be the same thing as in book one.

Beta readers are your friend and if you’re gonna have this come across in multiple stories, then make sure to find beta readers who’ve read each story and ask them how the relationship felt for them. If someone tells you it feels like it’s dragging a bit. You don’t have to change the relationship entirely, but make sure you get multiple opinions because each reader will view your relationship differently.

Despite love being a very common experience everyone has felt, it’s also one of the most difficult ones to write. Just make sure to get different opinions and see what the majority of your readers feel like.

[utilitycaster]

Your blog feels like somewhat of a safe haven because you seem like a very reasonable person, which is why I feel safe saying this here only. Some of the responses to L*udna calling Im*gen sister make me very uncomfortable. People literally saying that m*risha is wrong about her character or that it doesn't mean anything, or that laudna doesnt know how she feels. It reminds me of my least favorite aspect of the Fandom, where people will decide how they think the characters feel or think about something or how they would act in a given circumstance, and then in their minds it becomes Canon and they get frustrated when the actors (who in dnd are the storytellers) don't act upon their Canon. This is different than just being disappointed that a ship you like didn't become Cano, IMO. I really like Imogen but I LOVE laudna, and I feel like a lot of the times she is reduced to just be Imogen's other half, and now that people denying what marisha says her character thinks, saying she's wrong, being mad at the choice, it makes it hard to interact with the fandom on this site because I feel like I can't talk about Laudna or Imogen without it circling back to their relationship. My favorite pairings in C1 were Vex and Percy and Vex and Keyleth and I feel like I didn't have this problem as much with them but also I wasn't as deep on the internet or in fandom back then. :(

Hey anon,

Thank you so much for this - it’s really nice of you!

I don’t have a ton to add or say about this, honestly; the post I reblogged about it said it better than I could. This has always been what put me off the ship as it exists in the fandom: I’m not opposed to Imogen and Laudna becoming a couple, but the fanon is deeply boring while also being all consuming and crystalized before the end of the first episode. It’s frustrating, as someone who enjoys both Imogen and Laudna, to try to talk about them without getting obnoxious responses to anything that even hints there might be misunderstandings or conflict between them. It lessens their characters and the work both Marisha and Laura have put in. It makes it impossible to explore their flaws, and it makes everything about them uncompelling, when they are both very interesting characters. I’ve found Laudna especially to be coming into her own in this Team Issylra arc.

The fact is, Laudna said what she said. It doesn’t mean a romance is impossible, but I think it’s genuinely indicative of how Laudna feels at this time. Which to be honest matches how I’ve felt regarding Laudna’s feelings about Imogen from early on! I think Imogen is romantically interested in Laudna, but I think Laudna has always seen Imogen in a more familial way, and I don't know if it's fair to her to try to explain that as just Laudna's insecurities. I also think it's possible Imogen has exacerbated those insecurities - if I were Laudna, I’d be feeling a certain way about Imogen’s exploration of the validity of the Vanguard, and I might even still be feeling the unresolved pull of the gnarlrock fight.

I can’t speak to Campaign 1 ships specifically since I watched that campaign after it had already finished, but at the very least Imodna has felt notably different to me in that usually people talk about at least one of the parties of a popular ship as an individual, even if they reduce the other to nothing. Here it feels like they both get folded into ship fodder. I’ve also seen a really strong trend of people tagging fanart of one of the characters alone, without the other, with the ship name, and that feels new compared to past campaigns and popular ships though the obvious cynical answer is just that the ship is more popular than the characters on their own and so artists are just trying to get eyes on their work in the most effective way. And as I’ve said a few times, the fact that Laudna’s death was more than once referred to as throwing the ship away has stuck with me as an illustrative moment. I think the fandom response to this ship is different than some past ones, and not in a good way.

With that said, I am trying, despite myself, to practice good faith here. I’ll admit that I’ve had enough bad faith interactions with fans of the ship such that it’s no longer an option when I get reblogs on my posts or anons in my inbox. But in terms of what might transpire in the hypothetical situation where Imogen and Laudna end the campaign without becoming romantically involved, I would like to give those who ship it the chance to respond with grace rather than assuming they will not.

[ebitenpura]

What's your favorite Swtor romance?

That's a tough question, given how I tend not to like inserting my own personal bias into something as varied as the SWTOR romances, but I'll do my best to answer!

The short of it is that I really feel that all of the romances have the potential to be someone's favorite depending on how they roleplay it with their own characters, so I don't actually have a favorite, in addition to not having seen all of them.

But if I can shoutout a special few, then it'd have to be Theron, Lana, Koth, Andronikos, and Khem Val.

The KOTXX people I feel a little bad about choosing given their obvious popularity save for Koth, but I've met so many amazing people through the shared love for those characters so it's highly ranked for me--I even stopped shipping my own character with Theron because I was more interested in others' versions of their own romance with him. That's how good that romance is. Lana, on the other hand, was my first WLW ship so that's both a special experience and self explanatory as to why she's a favorite. She'll always be my JK's wife (and mine).

Koth is probably a shocker to be on here but I genuinely think he deserves a lot more credit even with all the writing and content setbacks he had. For what little he's given to work with, what he has is both solid and extremely heartwarming, especially with his latest date night. I just think he has that much potential.

Andronikos I didn't even actually romance but I think his character is so strong and loyal that it had my heart fluttering on a Male!Inq. Also highly underrated romance, plus his dynamic with his Sith is always a treat and well-written. 8/10, with only -2 points for having no moments in KOTXX. But even his letter makes up for that.

Khem is a bit cheating given it's another Inq comp, but I think for something so short and sweet it's also incredibly compelling and serves his character while being unique. It's not every so often you see a romance where the recipient isn't ready to be touched but still wants to express their love, and as an aspec person, it's nice to see that kind of representation when a lot of the romances are very sensual. It speaks a lot to Khem's willingness to learn how to love despite not knowing how and his dedication and I think that's just really, really great as a romance, especially when said character is unconventional as one.

Others that didn't make this list because I could really go on forever would be Kira, Risha, Akaavi, Vector, etc. they're all special! Okay!

[captainderyn]

My boy! My best cinnamon roll lad! The OG returns!

(y’all have inspired me to leap back into the smuggy storyline and redownload swtor lol. I am absolutely frothing at the mouth, chomping at the bit to get to Risha)

[sullustangin]

Spoilers Ahoy: Consular Thoughts

I’m doing a quickie consular story  re-playthrough, and ... I have thoughts, mainly about the companions.

I do like the overall story arc until Chapter 3 when everyone except the Selkath thinks going to Belsavis to make friends is a great idea.  Awakening an imprisoned army is a terrible idea.  This is sort of how I feel about my OC confronting Malgus alone in prison recently: I don’t have a choice not to be stupid, and I HATE that.  LS is “Gonna get new friends for the Republic” and DS is more like “Gonna get new friends to serve me.”  THESE GUYS ARE NOT YOUR FRIENDS.  It’s a lot of risk and no guarantee of reward. I’d mark this as ‘a jump the shark’ moment. 

The Consular also has the inverse problem of the Bounty Hunter:  BH gets all the lighter companions first (Mako most of all) and then gets DS only at the end (death to Skadge).  Meanwhile, the consular gets a Hunt All The Things Uncle Lizard, Guy Who Literally Lives in the Basement with his Holo Girlfriend, and a politically inclined Murder!Noodle. Consular only gets LS Felix and LS Nadia as the last two companions, which results in some problems -- they’re also the romance options, which gives them the least amount of development in the vanilla game. 

To be fair, I think Felix Iresso is one of the least problematic guys in the SWTOR universe.  He’s so kriffin’ sweet.  He’s perfect for a young Jedi.  I totally think there was an attempt at a Jace/Satele parallel here. It’s not toxic and it’s well-paced... minus the fact that he doesn’t show up until Hoth.  Yes, I know what’s in his head...but he’s still a good person before and after the experience in Vanilla.  (I know how he was done dirty in his return -- poor sweet man.) 

For perspective, Hoth is when the smuggler gets their last companion, Guss Tuno.  Corso (f!smug romance option) was acquired in Chapter 1, and Risha (m!smug romance option 1) was acquired at Chapter 1′s end.  Akaavi was acquired in Chapter 2 after Balmorra (option 2).  Even then, Akaavi’s relationship feels better paced just by having her a whole planet early.  I know @swtorpadawan​ and others have commented on how fast the Nadia Grell romance is.  Pair that with her relative youth -- even with the consular being super young themselves, it still feels ‘yikes’, especially in the context you romance her.

I love and hate Qyzen.  He’s a great first companion, part of a cultural immersion experience for a young Jedi.  His hunting for the Scorekeeper works in contrast to the peace that the consular seeks to establish, and yet it does provide a path to that -- sometimes, you do have to fight for the 'greater good’ end result; compliance works for the enemy.   However, on a personal level, I have my political loyalties to Wookiees, and I would cheer for Bowdaar to kick his ass.

I do like Zenith, and not just because he’s voiced by Troy Baker.   There’s a very gritty, realist element to Zenith. After the hero moves on from a planet, what happens to it?  Great, Balmorra is liberated, but it doesn’t fix everything going on there. Should there be ‘necessary evils’ done in the name of politics and managing power? All of the war, death, and other baggage can screw a person up; I read Zenith as walking PTSD, having lived in a war zone all of his life (he was born 3 years after Jace and Satele reported the fall of Korriban, and Balmorra has been a mess since). Zenith is a great foil to a consular, regardless of alignment.  

...I have a really hard time justifying Tharan’s recruitment so early minus the fact he does fit on Nar Shaddaa better than anyone else.  I know the developers tried to keep all of the Pub and Imp players running on the same sets of planets in each chapter...but if there was ever an exception to be made, it should have been for the consular, because I feel like Tharan is taking up an important space that he really shouldn’t. He’s not actively evil, but he’s not a pleasant or honest person. Super skeevy vibes once Nadia joins the crew too.   I feel like a lot of time is spent on Tharan with not a lot of growth or character development to show for it.  I think I feel that way because there’s this weird ‘affair’ the consular is propositioned with early on -- it felt like filler from the start.  It’s not as well done as the Pierce one-night stand.  Some of his comp convos seem tacked on or “oh no we have to make more content for this guy.” 

Nadia’s acquisition as a companion hinges on certain late stage events, but I feel as if the romance would have felt ‘better’ if her father had let her go to be a padawan as soon as she manifested on Quesh.   Then, she could have grown up a little more before the later events and would have been on more equal footing and more familiar terms with the consular, romance or not. 

In sum, I think the consular’s personal story with the crew has great elements, but I feel like they got put together in the wrong order.  To me, companion order would be:  Qyzen, Felix (set him on Tatooine, the opposite temperature cesspit in the galaxy), Zenith, Nadia (on Quesh), and then... Tharan on Hoth because someone unloaded him there? or Belsavis for crimes related to unethical experiments?  Again, Tharan’s convos seem overstretched; the Vandrayk Generator could have really been done in two or three convos rather than the big thing it was in Chapters 2 and 3. 

[jb-nonsense]

Made up Situation: Dreams come true, Bioware is able to go back to SWTOR's base game and unlock 4 romances for both PC genders, two for each faction!

[queen-scribbles]

What motivated you to make Tel your canon outlander?

Oh, that's a fun story :D

Originally it was his big sister, Silver, smuggler extrodinaire and one of my OG launch day babies

(art from emedeme)

She's two years older than Tel and I've always(since making him, at least, bc he came along a year or two after she did) headcanoned they were going through the class story events at roughly the same pace. She was a little ahead for Act 1, he was in Act 2, then she was for Act 3 and the post-main story stuff. They keep in touch and are on good terms; catching up, goofing off, teasing each other mercilessly etc etc. So when Silver starts running Shadow of Revan, of course she taps in her little brother for help. There's no way Tel's a Revanite; he loves the Republic so much he left the family smuggling business to be a goody-two-shoes soldier.

Since this means they've both interacted with Marr and Satele, I had the thought it would be really funny if when Marr commed Silver about the Wild Space Expedition she snarked something about her war hero brother being a better fit for somethin' like that and gave him Tel's holofrequency before snuggling in against Corso and going tf back to sleep. (cue five years of Guilt™ when she thinks she got him killed >.>) And then I started actually thinking about it, and realized it was a) something she would do and b) very helpful for some Silver/Corso timeline things. With when I wanted them to have kids, she would have been 7 or 8 months pregnant in carbonite(yeesh) and Corso would have had an 18 month old to handle while she was MIA and while Silver is good she's not heroic, if that makes sense.

Tel is both. He's so Captain America his face claim is Chris Evans /cough And he's a really good fit for Alliance Commander(better than Silver, much as I love her, she does not do the Leading Large Forces thing). Sooo my joke thought turned into canon. Silver instead got that Dantooine farm Corso mentions in one of his romance letters, three kids, and occasionally goes on forays into Wild Space to look for her little brother bc part of her can't believe he's dead. (she finds him on one of them, and becomes an Alliance recruit. Yes, this messes up the whole Corso and Risha alliance alert, but you only get that as a smuggler, so it's fiiiiine. Risha can tag along. That way I get to reunite her with Vette and all is as it should be in the world.)

OH. Also, Elara Dorne is my favorite romance in the whole game, so I had to make her my canon one. :D