#star wars the old republic races

[renesassing]

taris was a buddy comedy for these two

[wolveria]

You've got more planned for Yielding???? 👀 Also gimmie Revan x Reader I love me some old republic 👌

Sadly no, that's just the original doc for Yielding XD I'm sorry!! But you know I've got more Crosshair lurking in the wings

YESSSS BABE I'LL GET YOU SOME REVAN GOODNESS

The bridge was dark, empty of crew, which was odd considering the ship was currently being boarded by the enemy.

You wouldn’t have seen it with your eyes, the light too dim and sporadic, but you sensed the presence, as old and familiar as a much-beloved blanket, though this one had grown strangling around your neck.

The dark robed figure waited, motionless, in front of the massive viewport. He’d been… expecting you? A small, hopeful voice tried to make itself heard, but you crushed it down before it could speak. You gathered your focus and calmed your emotions. There were too many to name, vying to be at the top, but there was only one that ruled the others.

Rage.

You unclipped your lightsaber from your belt.

“Hello, Master.”

You ignited the blade.

The hood of the figure slightly turned, its wearer moving his head in your direction, and words filtered through a mask, twisting the once familiar voice into something alien and cruel.

“Not the greeting I expected.”

You shifted on your feet, one sliding back as the other moved forward. Readying your position.

“But it is the one you deserve.”

He paused, another tilt of his head.

“Perhaps.”

You crept closer, blue lightsaber raised in a defensive position, watching for the snake to strike.

“By order of the Galactic Republic and the Jedi High Council, you will surrender yourself into my custody.”

“For what crimes?” he asked, amusement flitting at the edges.

“Treason,” you spit out, unable to keep your own tone anywhere near civil, rage bleeding into the words. “Sedition. Conspiracy to kidnap high-ranking officials, assassination of high-ranking senators, and war crimes against the galaxy.”

“That’s quite the list.”

You wanted to bare your teeth, but that would carry you forward to the action of biting.

“I’m not done. You will also be charged with the near complete genocide of the people of Telos IV.”

Finally, some emotion other than amusement.

“I did not order that bombardment.”

The slope of his shoulders were stiff against the constellations and battle outside, bursts of orange and yellow where lasers and torpedoes hit their targets.

“And yet, it was carried out in your name,” you said, voice low, the words simmering around the hum of your lightsaber as if the blade agreed. “For your glory. Don’t turn away from it now, Lord of the Sith.”

He still wouldn’t turn to look at you, as if unconcerned there was a lightsaber at his back, and his lofty words confirmed it.

“Where are the rest of my jailors?”

You bristled.

“They’re coming.”

In the distance was an explosion somewhere on the ship, and your old master tilted his head once again.

“Yes. I’m sure they’ll be here any moment.”

You leapt at him before you realized what you were doing and swung your lightsaber down.

A crimson lightsaber ignited and arched over his head, blade parallel to the ground, and he blocked your attack without even bothering to turn around.

You pulled back your blade and swung again, but he ducked under it, moving behind you as you spun. He brought his crimson weapon down and hit your blade so hard you were forced back against the cold transparisteel of the viewport.

The severe mask stared down at you from inches away, reflecting the blue and red dance of the locked lightsabers. Even after all your training since he left, Revan was still stronger than you. Faster. More experienced.

But he hadn’t been hurt the way you had. He didn’t have your pain.

The rage of his betrayal, the agony of his abandonment, the loss of your old mentor, you poured it all into your limbs, your strength, and with a scream in your throat, you shoved him back.

[hurricanek8art]

So! Update on my SWTOR woes! I figure putting it in the main tag makes it so everyone that helped me sees it. Thank you everyone for your advice! I was so nervous about asking and you guys are so cool!

I'm planning on just doing Voss and Corellia for now to keep from burning out! This is like attempt three at me making a Jedi Knight because I wanted her to be my Outlander and then I'd freeze up and panic because I wanted it to be "perfect" but y'know what? Perfect's overrated anyway, this is supposed to be fun! I'll keep the other planetary storylines on the backburner in case I need to level up any further, but since I hit level 50 before I was out of chapter one and I thiiiink I hit 54 last night finishing Maelstrom Prison, I don't think I need to worry about my level being too low for a while. 🤣🤣🤣

(side note—thank you so much @greyias I GOT THE STUPID WHATSHISFACE COLONEL GUY WITH THE EYEBEAMS FINALLY 🤣 I do not know why I didn't think of using those crates as a shield before, I am so dumb :P)

You guys were so helpful and nice and I don't know what else to say I'm so bad at this 🥴🤣 but thank you! All of this actually helped me work up the courage to maaaaaaybe share my stuff? At least screenshots and backstory rambles because I have to share it somehow. I can only yammer my brother's ear off about it for so long, and he's the only other person I know IRL that's as into all this as me, so y'know. 🤣 I might make a masterpost to introduce everyone but I gotta gather up all my screenshots first and I'm kinda meh about getting good ones, so :P we'll see. And condense about two and a half/three-ish years of my brain hurtling backstories at me faster than I can write when I'm supposed to be writing other stuff into readable paragraphs. Uh... yeah, maybe don't expect it too soon. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I'm queuing this for tomorrow because I only got the chance to actually sit down and write this at midnight here, it's been crazy. Thank you again, everyone! I'm so bad at social stuff I don't know what else to say but thanks!

I don't know how to end this, so uh... Here! Unnecessarily adding all my Republic side characters in because I love them and I constantly want to infodump when it's not the time or place! 🤣

Aja Verdona, my Jedi Knight; Reilly Hawkins, my Smuggler; Ataraxia Kestis, my Consular (and my smuggler's twin sister); and Ijaaka Ordo, my Trooper. They have permanently rewired parts of my brain and I love them all dearly even though I accidentally play favorites with Aja. 🥴

[swanofcoruscant]

I’m so excited to begin leveling Twi’lek Rose she’s truly been on my mind for the last week and a half lately, her ass is gonna romance Theron too, as we romance him on ALL main playthroughs in this house

[guiltknight-gaming]

Star Wars The Old Republic Episode 97: | Jedi Knight | Race To The Ruins

[g4zdtechtv]

X-Play Classic - X-Play Spoils Everything

And we MEAN everything.

[sergeantgoggles]

Prompt: Ghost Ship: Jesse/Kix Rated: G .

Kix is initially not interested in the junker selling “war relics”, and he has every intention of simply walking past with his nose turned up like he usually does, but something out of the corner of his eye grabs his attention and makes his heart stop in his chest.

Behind the merchant is a white helmet striped in blue with the familiar Republic cog painted in grey over the face, and goosebumps race up his body as he's drawn to it, trance-like. The merchant is speaking to him, but he can't hear a single word he's saying because all he hears is Jesse's laugh through the comm telling him 'not to worry so damn much.'

He picks it up, and it's definitely old, scratched, but when he puts it to his forehead and closes his eyes he can still smell Jesse and the cologne that Kix swore he stole from some off-world shop but stars it smells incredible on him. He can feel Jesse's arms around him and taste the kisses on his lips all over again.

[aspiringnexu]

Something I've never really understood is people comparing Star Trek and Star Wars. Not only because the genres are so different (sci-fi vs sci-fantasy) or the fundamental difference that is the absence of Earth entirely in the Star Wars universe (Star Trek is meant to be about a recognisable, if improbable, future, whereas Star Wars is a Space Opera a Long Time Ago and Far Far Away).

But the biggest difference I see is that the two are set in fundamentally different times.

Yes, yes, I know that's obvious. I literally just pointed out the 'Long Time Ago' bit, but bear with me.

Star Trek is set in a time where exploration is still the order of the day. The Alpha quadrant is still being explored, new species are still being discovered. The Beta and Gamma quadrants are the big new frontiers. The Delta Quadrant has one very hazily mapped squiggly line with a few gaps thanks to Voyager but even that small portion was chock full of New Things. The Galaxy is still divided and unknown with new stations and trade routes popping up all over the place.

Meanwhile Star Wars is old. Real old. By the time of the Clone Wars the Republic has gone through different eras. There was a golden age. It has come and gone already. Sure there are still the Unknown Regions but it is fairly fucking rare to come across a brand spanking new space-faring race or rival government. Coruscant as the heart of the Republic has not been outright attacked for a millennium by the time of the CW. The galaxy is such a hot mess of a melting pot that only the truly reserved and isolationist species are rare to see. Humans have been buggering about and propogating so much that now its impossible to tell where they actually all came from because Alderaan? Naboo? Corellia? All major human hubs, but you could say the same about dozens of other planets, and as far as anyone can tell, at least some of the near-human species are almost definitely genetically related to humans so there has clearly been enough time for some natural evolution after the space travel.

I just find it so interesting that people try to compare them when they are at fundamentally different stages of galactic development. Its like comparing the Wild West to the modern day. The galactic governmental structures and attitudes are so amazingly different and that is to the franchises' strengths.

Star Trek is about, at its most basic point, exploration.

Star Wars is about, again at its most basic, adventure.

Sounds similar? They are similar, but whereas in Star Trek the New Things are new, in Star Wars they're new to those characters, or at least new to the audience.

Kirk and Spock are exploring the unexplored.

Luke and Han and Leia are having adventures in an already clearly established society. They forging new paths in an already defined environment.

They're both also, coincidentally, fighting evil Space Fascists but that's just par for the course. I think something about space just Does That. The Void inspires assholes to go 'I can conquer those stars!' only for said stars to pull an uno reverse in the shape of a blond kid with little to no self-preservation skills but a knack for flying spaceships.

Something something space something something sci-fi.

TL:DR Star Wars and Star Trek are different on so many levels but the most interesting one is the fact they're represent galactic civilisation but at different stages. The 'fun, exploration, everything-is-new!' stage, and the 'established society including rampant corruption, unfortunately' stage.

I love 'em both.

[grifonecoronato]

The Guardians of Peace and Justice

(spoilers for The Acolyte)

In A New Hope, Obi-Wan describes the Jedi as the "guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic"...

...okay, but what does that mean, exactly? On its surface, Star Wars positions the Jedi as agents of pure goodness (at least if we're to take Obi-Wan's description at face value).

But The Acolyte asks us to wrestle with that question on a practical, everyday level for the galaxy's citizens. After all, a religious order whose charge is to be "guardians of peace and justice", coupled with the fact that its members are armed, implies that militarisation is part of their mandate.

Faith-based police, in other words.

Orthodox Star Wars fans seem to hate this portrayal of the Jedi as cops; Jedi in The Acolyte tend to throw their weight around the citizens of the galaxy, routinely using intimidation to get what they want, and when they make mistakes they have an institution that provides them with cover and support.

With all these traits in mind, The Acolyte positions the Jedi not as agents of pure goodness, but as imperfect members of an institution that prioritises its own protection at least as much as its duty to the Republic's citizens.

So... not just faith-based police, but corrupt faith-based police!

But if you look at the story George Lucas told in the prequels, the Jedi's portrayal in The Acolyte keeps faith with how they were portrayed, and what they will eventually become.

Jedi as Superheroes

So if not cops, how do orthodox Star Wars fans want the Jedi portrayed?

I've been watching Star Wars since the 80s, and to my surprise, the Jedi we've seen in the (canon) movies, and TV shows have surprisingly few scenes with everyday citizens. Usually, the Jedi in these stories are involved in larger-than-life struggles, like blowing up the Death Star, commanding Clone Troopers, or talking in the Jedi Council chambers about politics and Force stuff.

When Jedi do encounter citizens, they are positioned as superhero archetypes: they hear a call for help from beleaguered citizens, rush in to resolve the dispute -- usually through talk and diplomacy, but also with violence and lightsabers -- and then fly off into hyperspace.

Two recent examples come from Tales of the Jedi and Jedi Survivor, both of which feature Jedi acting on their own volition in places where there is no formalised local security.

In the Tales of the Jedi episode "Justice", Count Dooku and Qui-Gon Jinn defend villagers who are holding a Senator's son hostage, and act against the tyrannical Senator who's starving the villagers. Toward the climax of the episode, Dooku reveals that he never informed the Senate that he was undertaking this rescue operation, and thus he and Qui-Gon Jinn were acting without oversight (which is not something Jedi are supposed to do, especially if they're trying to rescue a Senator's son!).

In Jedi Survivor, Cal Kestis saves a villager from being killed by the Bedlam Raiders. This story takes place during the Reign of the Empire era, when the Jedi are almost all dead, so Cal is taking decisions without Senate oversight.

In essence, Dooku, Jinn, and Kestis are free to act as superheroes because no one else is able to do anything. By acting, these Jedi "restore peace and justice".

The Jedi's Hubris

The Original Trilogy portrays three Jedi: Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Luke, and each is a paragon of goodness. Well... Obi-Wan deliberately misleads Luke about his father, and both Yoda and Obi-Wan conceal Leia's true parentage and her relationship to Luke...

... small potatoes stuff.

But when the Prequel Trilogy came out, the Jedi were portrayed very differently. These Jedi:

...attempted to defraud a merchant of his livelihood...

... cheated at games of chance...

... and were happy to risk the life of a child on a dangerous race.

But it was for the greater good, right? There were more pressing concerns at play than one junk trader's livelihood, and besides the kid was Force-sensitive, so he'd be fine in a high-octane contest.

The prequel Jedi had good intentions, after all.

But that's exactly the kind of permissiveness that led to the Jedi's downfall. And it is this attitude that The Acolyte showcases the most in its Jedi characters.

In episode 1, "Lost/Found", Jedi Knight Yord Fandar boards a Trade Federation ship to find, question, and arrest Osha. He comes aboard without permission, and when the captain doesn't immediately give him the answers he seeks, Yord outstretches his hand as if to use the Force against him.

The captain and first mate are terrified, and immediately reveal what Yord wants to know.

In episode 3, "Destiny", the Jedi tresspass into the witches' compound, in order to rescue the children they believe are being mistreated.

The scene is very tense, with the witches being very apprehensive of these Jedi and their intentions.

These actions, and many more, were taken because the Jedi had "noble intentions", as Sol puts it. And if the intentions are what matters most, the way they fulfil those intentions are of secondary concern.

Because the Jedi cannot be perceived as having done wrong, less their political enemies use that to undermine them.

That's hubris. And that was George Lucas' intent, which Leslye Headland fulfilled to a tee.

Because Headland absolutely knows her stuff when it comes to Star Wars.

The Jedi's overarching story says that the Order was destroyed because of their own hubris. Darth Sidious was just an instigator, and he only had to topple a few dominoes, which the Jedi Order had already set up by themselves.

But at the same time, we can't accept the overarching story that the Jedi fell from hubris, and then get upset when the Jedi are portrayed as acting hubristically.

The Jedi on The Acolyte had good intentions but they acted badly. That's the whole point: to sow the story seeds for what comes later.

In short, The Acolyte nailed it.

[marvelstars]

I really loved Vader´s and Prince Xizor rivalry in old school star wars. Their conflict is different to the ones Vader traditionally has.

Xizor isn´t a military adversary, a jedi or a sith, he is a legitimate leader of a very powerful corporation that serves an important role in developing the construction for death star II but he is also a mafia Don,leader of Black Sun, an undersworld organization that shares intelligence with the rebels and the Empire because he is playing the long game and betting to both sides until there´s a clear winner, Xizor is sure the Empire will win but he is covering all his bases. He is also 300 years old so he has done this in the past with the Republic as well, his race lives for such a long time that he sometimes can get bored.

Xizor fight with Vader is mostly political and strategic, he wants to capture and kill Luke Skywalker for the Emperor in a way to show him his capabilities but also to take Vader´s role in the Imperial court, he is aware Vader is a Sith Lord but he doens´t know Palpatine is one as well and so his chances of getting Vader´s position in particular isn´t a safe bet but the Emperor allowed him to think he had an opportunity because his resources are useful and because he wants to test Vader on his political skills.

Vader prepares to confront Xizor because he doesn´t really want to relly on Black Sun for the death star, knowing all the intelligence he most definitely must be sharing with the rebels but more than that he is aware of Xizor ambitions but he isn´t truly worried about his own position, he is worried about Xizor killing his Son or hurting the Emperor which I find honestly cute, at that moment Luke and the Emperor are the people Vader cares the most about so their protection are his priority :D and so his whole role in this story, shadow of the Empire, is to get into the politics of it all, protect Luke, send Boba Fett and another of his agents to protect Han Solo´s carbonite block and keep an eye on Luke´s shennanigans, both the legitimate imperial politics and the underworld ones to keep his Son safe and to protect the Emperor.

This is an interesting story in which Vader´s foe isn´t fighting him directly but looking to show him innefective in his work as the imperial enforcer and leader of the army to defeat him politically, Vader´s initial reaction is to follow the game, aware of his Master expecting him to do that but once his darling Son and Lando decide to bomb to death Xizor´s Corustcant castle to rescue Leia and for his betrayal of the rebellion there´s clear evidence Xizor is trying to kill Luke and his friends right in front of him, so Vader no longer has to hold back.

Love this because this story is bassically about poor Xizor´s no good bad week with the Skywalker family, Leia spying on his archives, taking his intelligence of the death star, Luke bombing his castle and everything around him which is his style and Vader joining for the sake of protecting his boy but also because he kind of likes Luke´s style of burning everything in his sight even if this brings down all his political plans to deal with Xizor personally but he still offered Xizor to be captured out of professional etiquette.

This old flavor Vader is very refreshing, because he shows here how while politics isn´t his arena, he is no slouch at them whe he has to get involved there and I belive that´s something modern star wars comics have not tackled as well as this story did.

If there´s ever a Vader or Empire series, doubtful I know, I would like it to tackle his story from this perspective to truly connect the PT with the OT.

[aestariiwilderness]

Bad Batch -- Actually Probably Not Spoilers?

But Just In Case:

Like, for plot reasons, I see why they couldn't do it. But my biggest (and possibly the funniest) peeve I have with Bad Batch is this: Canonically, Tech is some kind of master hacker. Can forge chain codes after learning about them five seconds ago. Hacks battle droids -- presumably, you know, SECURED in some way -- on the regular. Masked a ship's signature or whatever. Calculates percentages of plans' successes on the fly while hanging upside down from a screechy flying reptile. Has zero fear (except when Omega is driving the Marauder or someone is doing the Wikipedia entry who isn't him) ("it's not affecting life support. We're fine"; riot racing; everything he's ever done). The moral heart of the Batch pre-Omega ("the systematic termination of the Jedi was a big one for me"; "I understand. I do not agree with you"; "of course we are a family"; "we have not always seen eye to eye with Crosshair but he is our brother and we do not leave our own behind"; but has no issue being pragmatic when it's called for (see: Cid, riot racing again, missions for Rex, interruptions thereof, etc.). Seriously. Wack job of a man. Crazy. Strict moral code arranged almost solely around his family that absolutely nobody sees coming and that, specifically, does NOT preclude massive destruction, property damage, and lethal measures. Ridiculous man. Homeschooled. Genetic Mandalorian. COMPETENT. (Usually.) Bona fide, literal, genetically-engineered test tube genius who is also biologically nine years old. Has no concept whatsoever of overkill. Point being -- he is EXACTLY the kind of person I would expect, once it sunk in that: 1. They are no longer Kaminoan/Republic property 2. They are, in fact, on the run with fam + new baby and - cranky but nonetheless beloved sniper bro who picked a terrible time to be stupid And 3. that "money" is now a thing they must Account For.... Give him two days to study finances, economy, and the various mafia; send him on a weekend trip to Nal Hutta to observe gangs, and hey presto -- the Hutts? overthrown in a year. Black Sun? Under new management. Pykes? A thing of the past. The Senate? Convening emergency sessions to discuss Where All the Money Has Gone. Palpatine's Secret Slush Fund #43? Drained. Hemlock's Science Budget? Currently funding the clone rebellion. ISB 401ks? Being used to pay someone to "retrieve" (read: kidnap) Crosshair from Rampart. Cad Bane's baby-stealing revenue? Currently outfitting the Marauder with gold plating. My point: WHY ISN'T TECH HACKING STAR WARS ATMs Story would have been over six episodes in. Tech would have foreclosed on the Palace; the Death Star would have fallen prey to insurance fraud; Omega would have grown up with more gowns than Padme. The Banking Clan bows to their new and, uh, eccentric overlords. Wrecker has thirteen new Z-6 cannons. Echo has thirteen natborn employees and is thoroughly enjoying himself. Hunter took an actual shower (still didn't get a new bandana). The Empire is turning over the empty coffers and shaking them out, wondering if they have rats. Mas Amedda is standing on street corners with an upturned hat. Crosshair is happily occupied with suing the Kaminoans for emotional damages. The end

[snipsnipsnippy]

Alright I’ve been pushed. Now I’m in a Satine Kryze mood. And BOY do I wanna have a chat some of y’all are not ready for.

Satine and the New Mandalorians are the true Mandalorians. Or at least, they were the popular representation of Mandalorians. First things first, I want to remind everyone that the Mandalorian history we have post Clone Wars-era is entirely told by the surviving Mandalorians, who are.. a fringe cult and a terrorist group (ie The Children of the Watch and Death Watch) and any other surviving exiles or enemies (eg Boba and you know, the Jedi). None of these people lived in mainstream Mandalorian society so how are we to believe them on what “true” mandalorian culture is when their beliefs or actions were deemed so radical they were exiled (or in the case of COTW, left on their own accord).

Now, yes, Satine’s position of pacifism is very extreme. No fighting at all ever is a pretty questionable long term survival strategy and an incredibly divisive one, but it’s literally one the mandalorian people defended and accepted and even tried to bring to the Republic. Because considering the historical and political position Mandalore has been in, it was only this extreme strategy that could save it. It literally ended generations of civil wars. It united the remaining mandalorians and built survivable, architecture for the barren world (which probably saved the planet, but that’s a different theory). But Death Watch, you know the party that meant to overthrow and kill her, will tell you that this was an erasure of mandalorian culture and ignorance of their warrior history, but that’s not the kind of warrior we ever see outside of Death Watch.

Everything in mandalorian culture points us to this much more protective survivor, rather than this vindictive sort of conqueror. Foundling culture in the Mandalorians is so profound because it’s something that is so unique to them. Other cultures do adopt nonfamilial members, yes, but Mandalorians do it so wholeheartedly and without question. There’s a baby alone in the woods? I don’t care if it’s 4,000 years old or its a race that hasn’t been discovered yet, that’s your child now. The way mandalorian clans are structured such that a foundling is immediately no different than a blood relative, whether they come from the same species or star system. Nephews or daughters or neighbors are all the same to a mandalorian (and a hot mention to mando’a for throwing out gender biases too). They are fiercely protected and fiercely loved too. Every excess that exists in mandalorian society goes to their children. To their education, their protection, the survival of the next generation was most important to a mandalorian society.

Even something like beskar, their very armor, was prized for protection, not for offensives. There’s a whole lecture on how beskar came to be metal of choice, but it boils down to being, guess what?, the best defense against lightsabers. And we see Mandalorians come out with the best armor design in like literally all of Star Wars armors ever. I’m not joking. It’s made for visibility, for protection, for comfort, and for not dying. Their identity is their armor. Its value and its design is sacred to each clan because it is forged from their history and painted with its battles.

So working back to Satine, who was raised learning all of this history, learning the ways of her warrior people and seeing the culture stray from what was once a people built for surviving and then watching it kill them, watching it tear apart her family and her home, and for a year, it even tore her away from her identity. She stands up to this massive swath of the deadliest fuckers in the galaxy, and she says “no.” She doesn’t raise a sword. She doesn’t point a blaster. She knows how. She was the fucking mandalorian princess. Clan Kryze was deeply respected. Her father died a hero to these people, and for her to stand up without using force or weapons takes a shit load of courage and some uniquely mandalorian stupidity. All to save their future, their culture, and their children. She said “kill me if you wish but spare the kids” and at the time, she can’t be any more than 20 because timelines are rough. She’s probably still just an orphaned teenager herself. This is the wake up call that broke the Mandalorian Civil Wars.

This is the Most Mandalorian stunt a mandalorian has ever mandalorian-ed since Tarre Vizsla himself told off the fucking Jedi.

She’s the savior of her culture, and Death Watch burned it all down because they wanted to kill, not protect. Satine was more a mandalorian than most of the Mandalorians we see. More mandalorian than her sister will ever be, and Bo won’t even speak her name.

[thehollowprince]

Hi! I’m completely new to the Star Wars universe and saw your post on Vernestra being ooc. I’ve seen a lot of people have similar thoughts and was wondering if you could explain how the actor’s portrayal differs from other material (I don’t mind spoilers. I’m genuinely curious). Or if you name the material where she appears? That would be awesome. Like for me, her stoicism makes sense as a Jedi so I saw no issues tbh.

Thank you!

Vernestra Rwoh was a Jedi during the High Republic era of Star Wars, former apprentice to Master Stellan Gios, and one of the youngest to ever achieve the rank of Knight, being only fifteen standard years old at the time.

That's the basic outline for who Vern was back when she was introduced. She was one of the main characters of the Young Adult novels in the High Republic Phase 1. It's something I had a little trouble adjusting to, her being so young and being a full Knight already and then her taking a Padawan who was only two years younger than her. It took me out of the story a little bit. But I also recognized that those books weren't written with me in mind as their target audience.

In those books, Rwoh is reserved and little overly cautious, but overall, she is an enthusiastic and hopeful character. Certainly not the extremely paranoid and underhanded character we see in The Acolyte. I don't recall her ever caring that much about the Jedi's reputation to outsiders or her having a particular distaste for the Senate.

That's why the character portrayed in The Acolyte didn't feel like a natural progression of who Rwoh was in the High Republic books, even at her lowest, and more like a brand new character. It overall just feels like Headland was using a pretty popular character from the books to try and validate or connect her show to the overall story. It's right in line with retconning Ki-Adi-Mundi into this series.

And this is just a personal critique, but it's the appearance of the character.

Yes, Mirialans age slower than humans in the Galaxy Far Far Away, but they do still age. Rwoh should have looked to be in her late middle ages or even elderly years at this point in her lifetime. Between that, what I said above, and the shaved head, I didn't like it.

If you're interested in reading up on her to gather your own opinions, these are the books she's featured in.

A Test of Courage (by Justina Ireland)

Out of the Shadows (by Justina Ireland)

Mission to Disaster (by Justina Ireland)

Race to Crashpoint Tower (by Daniel José Older)

Into The Dark (by Claudia Gray)

Note: I would highly recommend reading Race to Crashpoint Tower and Into the Dark before Out of the Shadows for context.

I do really enjoy the High Republic stuff and the characters they've given us, which is why I dislike what they've done with the character on this show. That's not the Vernestra Rwoh I know.

[thebrickinbrick]

The Horizon Which One Beholds From the Summit of a Barricade

The situation of all in that fatal hour and that pitiless place, had as result and culminating point Enjolras’ supreme melancholy.

Enjolras bore within him the plenitude of the revolution; he was incomplete, however, so far as the absolute can be so; he had too much of Saint-Just about him, and not enough of Anacharsis Cloots; still, his mind, in the society of the Friends of the A B C, had ended by undergoing a certain polarization from Combeferre’s ideas; for some time past, he had been gradually emerging from the narrow form of dogma, and had allowed himself to incline to the broadening influence of progress, and he had come to accept, as a definitive and magnificent evolution, the transformation of the great French Republic, into the immense human republic. As far as the immediate means were concerned, a violent situation being given, he wished to be violent; on that point, he never varied; and he remained of that epic and redoubtable school which is summed up in the words: “EightyNinety-three.”

Enjolras was standing erect on the staircase of paving-stones, one elbow resting on the stock of his gun. He was engaged in thought; he quivered, as at the passage of prophetic breaths; places where death is have these effects of tripods. A sort of stifled fire darted from his eyes, which were filled with an inward look. All at once he threw back his head, his blond locks fell back like those of an angel on the sombre quadriga made of stars, they were like the mane of a startled lion in the flaming of an halo, and Enjolras cried:

“Citizens, do you picture the future to yourselves? The streets of cities inundated with light, green branches on the thresholds, nations sisters, men just, old men blessing children, the past loving the present, thinkers entirely at liberty, believers on terms of full equality, for religion heaven, God the direct priest, human conscience become an altar, no more hatreds, the fraternity of the workshop and the school, for sole penalty and recompense fame, work for all, right for all, peace over all, no more bloodshed, no more wars, happy mothers!

To conquer matter is the first step; to realize the ideal is the second. Reflect on what progress has already accomplished. Formerly, the first human races beheld with terror the hydra pass before their eyes, breathing on the waters, the dragon which vomited flame, the griffin who was the monster of the air, and who flew with the wings of an eagle and the talons of a tiger; fearful beasts which were above man. Man, nevertheless, spread his snares, consecrated by intelligence, and finally conquered these monsters. We have vanquished the hydra, and it is called the locomotive; we are on the point of vanquishing the griffin, we already grasp it, and it is called the balloon. On the day when this Promethean task shall be accomplished, and when man shall have definitely harnessed to his will the triple Chimæra of antiquity, the hydra, the dragon and the griffin, he will be the master of water, fire, and of air, and he will be for the rest of animated creation that which the ancient gods formerly were to him. Courage, and onward! Citizens, whither are we going? To science made government, to the force of things become the sole public force, to the natural law, having in itself its sanction and its penalty and promulgating itself by evidence, to a dawn of truth corresponding to a dawn of day. We are advancing to the union of peoples; we are advancing to the unity of man. No more fictions; no more parasites. The real governed by the true, that is the goal.

Civilization will hold its assizes at the summit of Europe, and, later on, at the centre of continents, in a grand parliament of the intelligence. Something similar has already been seen. The amphictyons had two sittings a year, one at Delphos the seat of the gods, the other at Thermopylæ, the place of heroes. Europe will have her amphictyons; the globe will have its amphictyons. France bears this sublime future in her breast. This is the gestation of the nineteenth century. That which Greece sketched out is worthy of being finished by France.

Listen to me, you, Feuilly, valiant artisan, man of the people. I revere you. Yes, you clearly behold the future, yes, you are right. You had neither father nor mother, Feuilly; you adopted humanity for your mother and right for your father. You are about to die, that is to say to triumph, here. Citizens, whatever happens to-day, through our defeat as well as through our victory, it is a revolution that we are about to create. As conflagrations light up a whole city, so revolutions illuminate the whole human race. And what is the revolution that we shall cause? I have just told you, the Revolution of the True.

From a political point of view, there is but a single principle; the sovereignty of man over himself. This sovereignty of myself over myself is called Liberty. Where two or three of these sovereignties are combined, the state begins. But in that association there is no abdication. Each sovereignty concedes a certain quantity of itself, for the purpose of forming the common right. This quantity is the same for all of us. This identity of concession which each makes to all, is called Equality. Common right is nothing else than the protection of all beaming on the right of each. This protection of all over each is called Fraternity. The point of intersection of all these assembled sovereignties is called society. This intersection being a junction, this point is a knot. Hence what is called the social bond. Some say social contract; which is the same thing, the word contract being etymologically formed with the idea of a bond. Let us come to an understanding about equality; for, if liberty is the summit, equality is the base. Equality, citizens, is not wholly a surface vegetation, a society of great blades of grass and tiny oaks; a proximity of jealousies which render each other null and void; legally speaking, it is all aptitudes possessed of the same opportunity; politically, it is all votes possessed of the same weight; religiously, it is all consciences possessed of the same right.

Equality has an organ: gratuitous and obligatory instruction. The right to the alphabet, that is where the beginning must be made. The primary school imposed on all, the secondary school offered to all, that is the law. From an identical school, an identical society will spring. Yes, instruction! light! light! everything comes from light, and to it everything returns. Citizens, the nineteenth century is great, but the twentieth century will be happy.

Then, there will be nothing more like the history of old, we shall no longer, as to-day, have to fear a conquest, an invasion, a usurpation, a rivalry of nations, arms in hand, an interruption of civilization depending on a marriage of kings, on a birth in hereditary tyrannies, a partition of peoples by a congress, a dismemberment because of the failure of a dynasty, a combat of two religions meeting face to face, like two bucks in the dark, on the bridge of the infinite; we shall no longer have to fear famine, farming out, prostitution arising from distress, misery from the failure of work and the scaffold and the sword, and battles and the ruffianism of chance in the forest of events. One might almost say: There will be no more events. We shall be happy. The human race will accomplish its law, as the terrestrial globe accomplishes its law; harmony will be re-established between the soul and the star; the soul will gravitate around the truth, as the planet around the light.

Friends, the present hour in which I am addressing you, is a gloomy hour; but these are terrible purchases of the future. A revolution is a toll. Oh! the human race will be delivered, raised up, consoled! We affirm it on this barrier. Whence should proceed that cry of love, if not from the heights of sacrifice? Oh my brothers, this is the point of junction, of those who think and of those who suffer; this barricade is not made of paving-stones, nor of joists, nor of bits of iron; it is made of two heaps, a heap of ideas, and a heap of woes. Here misery meets the ideal.

The day embraces the night, and says to it: ‘I am about to die, and thou shalt be born again with me.’ From the embrace of all desolations faith leaps forth. Sufferings bring hither their agony and ideas their immortality. This agony and this immortality are about to join and constitute our death. Brothers, he who dies here dies in the radiance of the future, and we are entering a tomb all flooded with the dawn.”

Enjolras paused rather than became silent; his lips continued to move silently, as though he were talking to himself, which caused them all to gaze attentively at him, in the endeavor to hear more. There was no applause; but they whispered together for a long time. Speech being a breath, the rustling of intelligences resembles the rustling of leaves.

[dude1818]

I just finished The Immortality Thief by Taran Hunt, and it's one of the best books I've read in a while. The basic premise is that soon after humanity abandons Earth and reaches the stars, an alien race called the Ministers shows up and subjugates their colonies. A thousand years in the future, one colony stellar system was able to fight off their oppressors and formed the militaristic Republic, which remains at war with the Ministers who rule the other populated stellar system. The main character, a smuggler named Sean, is conscripted by a Republican senator to go on a dangerous mission to a derelict research station orbiting a star that's about to go supernova, where it's believed the humans of old Earth squirreled away the Philosopher Stone. With the Stone, the Republic thinks they'll finally be able to defeat the Ministers

I was expecting a suspenseful, atmospheric grind through the abandoned spaceship. Instead, a squad of Ministers immediately shows up and captures Sean et al. The Ministers also believe the Stone is vital for their nefarious plans, and can't risk the Republic getting it first. Almost as soon as the Ministers take control, we discover that the spaceship isn't empty at all, but is instead full of countless horrible monsters: the remnants of the genetic experiments for eternal life that comprise the the Philosopher Stone

Isolated from the others, Sean and one of the Ministers have to team up to make it to the Stone and get off the spaceship alive. It turns into a horror story in the vein of Prey (the 2017 video game) as they have to stealth past and fight through hordes of vicious humanoid predators, childlike scavengers with way too many teeth, and the ship's rogue autorepair nanobots. They also encounter a Republican soldier who had been stationed on the ship for the past five years, who is the only surviving member of a previous team sent to recover the Stone. They're going to kill each other when they reach the end, but for now the other monsters are even worse. It turns into the most wild example of found family I've ever seen

The narrative style is very interesting. Sean has some form of PTSD from when the Ministers destroyed his home as a child, so various events in the story trigger flashbacks to that. It's a neat way to explore the backstory, but it flows really well with what's happening in the present. There are some pretty deep mysteries that get slow-dripped to the audience this way, like "what are the Ministers really" and "what happened on Sean's home planet," and I really enjoyed figuring them out

There's a really cool "there's something on your back" sequence near the climax. Not going to spoil what happens, but he pegs something is wrong way faster than Donna did, and it's so funny watching him gripe his way through the altered events. He's such a fun character and really balances the horror well

[guiltknight-gaming]

Star Wars The Old Republic Episode 93: | Smuggler | Race The Devil