#world tag | [dromund kaas]

[certified-hunterfucker]

world tag post.. augh.. i wanted to say planet but not all of these are planets so what ev er

[swtorpadawan]

“Killing that beast was your ritual blooding – so you’re already Mandalorian in spirit if not in name.” Mandalore declared proudly. Xadya had just returned to the Spirit of Vengeance from Dromund Kaas, having slain a mighty creature that had dwelled in the caves of that dark world for years if not centuries.

The job had been a final test for the hunter. One she’d passed with flying colors.

“Now do me the honor of joining my brothers and sisters in the great clan.”

Tagging - @catierambles @yamisnuffles @rhomellegacy @shabre-legacy @freebirdcreates @cinlat

[cursedbeasts]

Bestia's Wrath Chapter 12: Common Ground

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Summary:

Bestia makes new friends and regains some old ones.

Beginning Notes:

Recommended listening for the droid factory segment: Berserk OST - Aria

See the end of the chapter for more notes

"So that went exceedingly well." Bestia remarked, grim sarcasm oozing from her tone. "Kaliyo decided to fuck off at the worst possible moment, and Havoc got nearly slaughtered."

She leaned onto the command table, looking over the meager gathering. Theron's holo was glaring at her. Aric was busy arranging funerals for the fallen Havoc members, so Bestia offered to report in his stead. Senya was pacing off to the side, her arms crossed and a frown on her face. Lana and Scorpio stood by the table opposite of Bestia. 

"The casualties could have been much worse if you weren't there." Lana said.

"I wish I could be inside the facility keeping tabs on Kaliyo but I guess I can't be in two places at once. At least I got to do some property damage."

"I have information regarding the Gemini network." Everyone turned to Scorpio. "Each Eternal Fleet ship has a mechanical captain linked to the network. They cannot be directly subverted."

"Why?" Bestia crossed her arms, glaring at the droid.

"Because they were based on me. I do not know how they came to exist, but I will not be imitated."

"You could sue them for copyright infringement," Theron chimed in.

"The captains are produced from a template: Gemini Prime. I have located the factory the unit resides in. It is located on the planet Darvannis." 

Bestia flinched a little at that name. It was where Styrak fell. Tired of the Dread Masters' constant blunders, Styrak had tried to take the matters into his own hands. He chose  Darvannis because of all the resources and people gathered there for a huge underworld auction. Styrak wanted to corrupt all of them with a massive Sith Alchemy ritual and come back to Oricon with a huge army and a pile of wealth and weapons. 

However, the Empire and the Republic learned of it somehow, and sent in a joint team of their strongest. The group swept through the city, found Styrak, and fought him to the death. The only reason he came back was the loyalty of his surviving apprentices. They sacrificed themselves to conduct a ritual that pulled Styrak from the other side. And now Bestia was going to the world that almost claimed her husband's life. 

"So, you want someone to steal that particular unit."

"Yes, very perceptive. Retrieve it, and I will decode the Gemini Frequency from its databanks." 

"Senya, can you tell us anything?"

"Darvannis was one of the first worlds we conquered. The facility is a key factory that produces droids, weapons and starships. So it's secured accordingly."

"Let me guess. We'll need a fucking army that we don't have."

"We have three ancient Sith lords." Theron pointed out.

"Sending Styrak to the place where he pretty much died is out of the question, unless you want a Force storm that will take out EVERYTHING. And turn Darvannis into another Dromund Kaas." Bestia snapped. "Also, as much as I hate to point it out, our powers are useless against droids. Unless someone develops a virus that teaches them to feel fear, we're pretty much just regular Sith folks against Zakuul. I'm still willing to go though."

"And you will. I've found some possible allies on the planet. They want to meet the one in charge of the Alliance."

"Who are they?"

"I can't say much, but they have skill and firepower, and they won't stab us in the back. They're more of a "shoot you in the face" type."

"I see. I have a feeling I will like them. We should prepare the Gravestone for combat. Once we get that droid, we can take the fight to the Eternal Fleet."

With that, the meeting was concluded. Bestia found Styrak and Rammas waiting for her in a hallway outside the War Room. Rammas walked up to her, and unclipped something from her belt. She held it up to Bestia to see: two lightsabers with golden hilts etched with curving dark stripes.

"Where'd you get these?" Bestia picked up one of the hilts, weighing it in her hand. 

"Eh, long story. A Jedi found me in the woods and had me make these for you. She said they'll help defeat Arcann." Rammas shrugged. "I kinda modified the hilts and put in orange crystals though."

"These are wonderful!" Bestia held the lightsaber up, and activated it. A fiery orange blade hissed to life. Bestia gave it a few swings.

"Thank you. Who was this Jedi?"

"Satele Shan."

"Wait, the Grandmaster of the Jedi order?"

"Yep. Camping out in the woods as a hermit."

"She could join the alliance."

"I asked. She said her fate isn't here."

Rammas rolled her eyes at the memory, then turned to leave.

"I'm gonna go visit Shyren."

Styrak lingered around after Rammas had left. 

"There's more to her story. She mentioned having a vision of Vitiate's original form in a cave during the journey the Jedi sent her on."

"They do have the same eyes. You think they're connected?"

"I don't know." Styrak said. "Do you remember the tests I carried out shortly after we were freed? You and Raptus were the closest matches. But there's also this unidentified part."

"Yeah and I said that I wouldn't have fucked Raptus in a thousand years. Not to mention we were both in stasis at the time of her birth."

"What I'm saying is, they could be connected. We know nothing about Raptus's background. He just showed up when Vitiate gathered us to be shipped off to Oricon for the first time. But it could also be a mutation or a throwback trait like in Vitiate himself."

"You think she could be some sort of sleeper agent sent by Vitiate? Like his Children of the Emperor project?"

Styrak shrugged his great shoulders.

"That is a possibility we should account for."

"Eh, I don't want to judge someone based on what their possible ancestors are like. She's a good kid. And you've pretty much adopted her."

Styrak hummed and nodded. Bestia couldn't see his face under his mask, but was sure he was smiling a little.

"I suppose I have."

The preparations for the mission took several days. Time that Bestia used to rest and recharge, find out some information about the planet, and train with her new lightsabers. They really did feel like an extension of her body. Bestia wouldn't be caught off guard with an unwieldy lightsaber spear anymore. Which was good, considering she wouldn't have Styrak around to save her on this mission.

Darvannis, Hutt space. The shuttle had trouble landing due to strong winds, but eventually it connected lopsidedly with the landing pad. Bestia was the first to hop out, and was nearly knocked down by the wind, but managed to right herself. Squinting, she looked around. They landed on the edge of a city filled with rounded sand-colored buildings that had tiny windows. A gap in the walls led into a yard, and beyond that, was a maze of streets. Bestia looked in the other direction, and saw a blank desert with a few thin palm trees bending in the wind.

"So this is the world that claimed my husband's life? I expected something more impressive…"

Theron didn't reply. He turned around and walked into the city. Bestia followed him. They walked until they ended up in a plaza. Several tents stood around the edges, proudly decorated with banners of various clans. People in armor walked around. A larger tent dominated one edge of the plaza, with a tusked skull hanging above the entrance. It was the one Theron led Bestia to. Two guards stood at the door, they nodded at Theron and let them pass.

Inside was a large central room, flanked by two wings. The wings were filled with rows of bunk beds and footlockers. The central room had a holo table, similar to the one back at the base, but slightly smaller. Several armored people stood around it, staring at a woman with shoulder length red hair. 

"You secured contact with the Mandalorians." Bestia said, impressed. 

Mandalorians were an interspecies gathering of warriors, recognized by their distinctive armor, united by a common culture, and led by a code of honour. Usually consisting of scattered clans and mercenaries acting on their own, sometimes Mandalorians united under a singular leader. It looked like Bestia was witnessing one such occasion. She wondered what brought them to Darvannis. Mandalorians usually sought out challenging opponents to fight, and Darvannis was an out of the way world. There was no Dread Master for them to tackle here anymore. Aside from herself, but she came to try and forge an alliance against Zakuul.

A man with tan skin and a close-cropped mohawk of hair fixed Bestia with a stare.

"You're on the wrong world, Sith. Belsavis prison is on the other end of the galaxy!" He laughed at his own joke.

Bestia simply glared right back at him, letting some of her power loose. The man flinched, but stood strong.

"Shut up, Khomo. I've heard of you, Dread Master. Shae Vizla. Mandalore the Avenger."

"Bestia. Dread Master." Bestia stuck her clawed hand out for a handshake. Shae shook it.

"I take it the Mandalorians have no love for Zakuul?"

"The bastards scattered our clans. What remains stands with Mandalore the Avenger."

"Nice title. How'd you come by it?"

"My clan did better than most in the past years. I ended up in charge mostly by accident."

"I can relate." Bestia sighed, and rolled her eyes. "I set out to avenge my family and take down the sith emperor and now I'm stuck leading the rebellion like some goody-two-shoes Chosen One from some kids' story."

"That's quite a tale. Is your fighting as good as your Force powers?"

"Oh, it is. I've had plenty of practice beating up droids, considering my fear powers are useless against them." 

"Good. We have assault teams hammering at the factory. Make yourself useful and disable the perimeter guns." She looked somewhere behind Bestia. "Torian!"

A young human stepped up. He had short blond hair and crescent scars on his cheeks. Seemed like some sort of ritual scarring. 

"Mand'alor." He said respectfully. 

"Torian will show you the way. He's the best scout we got." 

Bestia nodded at Torian. 

"My name is Bestia. Just point me at the enemy." 

"Guns are in sector six. I'll try to protect you." 

Bestia burst out laughing.

"I think I'll be the one protecting, but thanks all the same. We Dread Masters are pack beasts, after all. Maybe even to our own detriment."

Torian gave her a look.

"I've heard that this world is where one of your kind fell."

Bestia let out a sigh as the two walked to the speeders parked at the edge of the camp. 

"He didn't stay dead for long, but his fall did a lot of harm to us. One of the reasons I came out here. Wanted to see the world that killed my husband. Can't say I'm impressed, but I don't know what I expected. The other reason is that I want Zakuul gone as much as everyone else does. They destroyed my home."

"I see. Our heartworlds were taken by Zakuul." Torian said.

"I hope they weren't bombed like Oricon was."

They mounted the speeders and rode out into the city. They weaved through streets, dodging Zakuulan patrols until they made it towards the first gun emplacement. It was inside a building on top of a hill with a winding walled path leading up to it.

"Time to test my new lightsabers on some real targets." Bestia said, eyeing the Skytroopers patrolling the perimeter of the building. "Cover my back."

She grabbed her weapons, orange blades coming to life, and leapt forward. The Skytroopers didn't even have time to register what hit them as Bestia sliced one vertically into three pieces, and then spun around and cut down a turret that aimed at her. She saw a blaster bolt hit another Skytrooper in the head from the corner of her eye. 

"Damn, these lightsabers are good."

Bestia and Torian fought their way up the path and inside the building, where Bestia stood guard while Torian reprogrammed the gun. When they exited, Bestia looked up and saw the gun pointed towards the huge looming tower of the droid factory. 

They fought through to the other two gun placements without much incident. However, when Torian leaned over the controls of the final gun, a burst of transmissions came from his communicator. The guns were ready to fire, but there still was a group of Mandalorians trapped inside the factory. If the guns were to fire now, they'd get caught in the blast, but so would the factory. Bestia watched Torian consider the options, a deep frown on his face.

"These are your people. It should be your decision. I'd divert one of the guns to clear a path for them. Let them fight another day."

"There's no honor in running away. Besides, it would mean less damage to the factory."

He keyed in the command. All three guns pelted the factory, engulfing it in flames. The ride back was silent. 

They reconvened in the command center. A holo of the factory in flames floated above the table. 

"We reprogrammed the guns." Bestia said. "The factory is damaged, and the shields should be down." 

"And our losses?" 

"Twenty eight seasoned Mandalorian warriors." Replied Khomo, the man who tried to snap at Bestia previously. "How valiantly they fought against the spawn of production line fifteen alpha!"

Acrid sarcasm dripped off his mocking eulogy. Torian frowned at him.

"Don't mock the dead." Bestia said. "Unless you want to be haunted."

"You're no Mandalorian, but you pulled your weight." Shae said. "We'll plan our next move in the morning. For now, we celebrate survival and victory."

Bestia thought celebrating in the wake of their allies' death was odd, but decided against saying anything. Maybe it was the Mandalorian way of honouring the fallen.

"Let's see how you handle Mandalorian drink." 

"I drank stuff that would probably kill a regular person. Bring it on!" 

The celebration was, indeed, a way to honour the fallen. While the bodies couldn't be retrieved, the Mandalorians deemed the burning factory a fitting funeral pyre. At first, Bestia stood awkwardly to the side, but then someone challenged her to a brawl, and she found herself inside a ring of shouting and cheering people, faced off against a masked stranger. Shrugging, she summoned her own mask and assumed a battle stance. 

"No claws!" The Mandalorian said. "And no Force powers." 

"Alright. We fight till one of us is knocked down." 

Bestia charged forward, going for the opponent's midsection. For her, the best defence was offence, for better or for worse. She also didn't exactly need Force powers to scare someone. Being charged by a really tall, really beefy person would make most people flinch. Not this one, though. The Mandalorian stepped to the side, avoiding the hit. Bestia spun around and moved behind her opponent. Before they could react, they were lifted up and thrown to the side. The crowd cheered. 

Several more people lined up to fight Bestia, and one even managed to knock her down. It seemed like Bestia's displays of strength warmed the hearts of the Mandalorians, and soon she was sharing stories and drinking with them. In the end, Bestia passed out, exhausted but content.

She woke up with a mild headache. Those drinks must have been strong to get through her Sith Alchemy reinforced defences. She grumbled, re-did her hair into a long braid, and joined Shae and others at the command table. 

"Hangover?" Khomo ribbed.

"A bit. Must have been some drinks." She looked over at the table."What are we dealing with?"

"Power stations and a tactical outpost in the way. If we disable the stations, we can move on to the factory." 

"I'd give a lot for an actual opponent to fight." Khomo grumbled.

"Same. Like a big beast to wrangle or something. In the meantime, I could take the outpost. How big is it?"

"You're going to take on a battalion alone? Brave, but not very bright."

"I never claimed to be the brightest lightsaber in the bunch." Bestia shrugged. "Torian can vouch for my ability to cleave through metal, though."

Shae leveled a doubtful look at Bestia, but nodded.

"It's not a very big outpost. You holding the droids off would give the clans time to reach the power stations…" she mused. "I will trust you on this. "

Bestia was given coordinates, and left the meeting, walking to stand outside the camp. Torian would be accompanying her on this mission too, but for now she was alone. Her holocom beeped.

"Lana. What is it?" Bestia asked.

"Theron has procured schematics of the droid factory. They're incomplete, but they should help in planning."

"I sense a "but" coming."

"I have concerns about our new allies. Mandalorians tend to value war and challenge above all else. They're opposing Zakuul now, but when it's gone…"

"You could say the same about me and my family." 

There was an awkward silence.

"I have found a lot in common with them. I won't betray their trust."

She could see Lana's expression change to a frown.

"You must think about the galaxy. This arrangement will not last."

"I "must" nothing, Lana. I'm already thinking about the galaxy by trying to rid it of Vitiate. I'll do as much as necessary to achieve that goal. Beyond that, I simply don't care as long as me and the Dread Masters are left alone. If it doesn't last, then so be it. Just send me the damn schematics. I'll contact you when I have the droid."

Bestia cut off the communications, and kicked at a withered palm frond at her feet, sending it flying. Now on top of having a headache she was pissed. She paced around fuming until she saw Torian emerge from the camp.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah." Bestia did her best to erase the scowl off her face. "Let's go."

The outpost was a series of winding corridors. Droids were spat out by side tunnels and swarmed the place, but they stood no chance against Bestia's need to vent her anger. They were cut down, and the side gates wrecked with broken droids piled up to the ceiling. Finally, they made it to a control room and Torian started typing away at a console while Bestia stood guard.

"I overheard your call. Your friend thinks we're animals. We're not. We're warriors."

"I don't agree with her on everything. I'd wager that deep down she sees me as a dangerous beast too."

"Then I shouldn't have said anything." 

"We should report to the camp."

The mood back in the camp was cheerful, especially compared to when Bestia just arrived. 

"Well done, all of you. We will march on the factory within the hour."

"There's a droid within it that I need to grab. It holds the key to the eternal fleet."

"We're after weapons, not droids." Khomo said. "Just imagine: us with all these weapons, smashing apart the siege on our homeworld!" 

"You can dream of glory later. Go, prepare the clans!" Shae snapped at him. She leaned on the table, looking tired. "Half the time I struggle simply keeping my people together."

"At least they're your people. I'm stuck in a position I didn't ask for, leading several different factions, all of which have a warrant for my arrest and likely execution. Fun times."

"Looks like you've got quite a challenge on your hands. Come, let me show you the battle plan."

"Oh yeah, speaking of. My people sent me partial schematics of the droid factory."

"This is much better!"

Bestia followed Shae outside. The Mandalore climbed on top of a stack of crates, and Bestia listened to her speech. Her people cheered, and roared when she was done. 

Bestia rode at the head of the small army, clashing with the droids alongside the Mandalorians. Among the chaos, she and Torian made their way up the tower. The defences inside were minimal compared to all the droids crowded outside. The two wrecked production lines as they went, carving a veritable path of destruction through the factory and, probably, through Zakuul's budget. 

Finally, they made it to the topmost level. It was a huge room with several elevators leading to an upper level. And there, opposite of the entrance, Bestia saw the final prize: a skinny humanoid droid floating in an open glass tube, with countless cables connecting to it. The droid looked a little like Scorpio with the same face and halo, but whoever designed it decided against giving it a weirdly feminine shape Scorpio had. 

"So that's your droid?" Torian asked.

"Yep. Now to climb up there and wait till a contact on my side slices into it."

A faint sound came from behind them. Metallic footsteps. Far too many of them. The two turned around to face a horde of droids bearing down on them. It looked like they had a long fight ahead of them.

Some time later, Bestia and Torian stood on top of a growing pile of skytroopers, with more and more surrounding them. Bestia struggled to deflect blaster bolts with her lightsabers, and Torian's shield was running out of power. Was this how it was going to end? Overrun by machines? Bestia sneered.  Khomo Fett was right, dying by droids was a stupid way to go, unworthy of both a Dread Master and Mandalorian.

Suddenly, sparks fell from above, landing on top of the droids, and Bestia chanced a look up towards the ceiling. A cyan lightsaber blade was almost done cutting a circle in the facility ceiling. With one final flourish, the cut section groaned and dropped down, crushing several skytroopers and drawing their attention away from Bestia and Torian. A figure stood on top of the circle, with its back to Bestia. The stranger spun around, the giant lightsaber in their hands cutting a dozen skytroopers in half. Black wings spread behind their back, and glowing eyes bore into Bestia's. Torian aimed his weapon at the stranger, but Bestia forced it down.

"Hi mom." Sharack said simply. A large black and gold droid charged at her, but she simply kicked at it with one of her cybernetic legs. 

And suddenly, the droids stopped. Bestia watched, her mouth agape, as  their eyes went dark and their arms fell limply to their sides. The screens on the upper level flickered and glitched out, text and data in Zakuulan replaced with a triangular logo made of sharp blades. She hasn't seen this symbol in a long while. Not since she had left Oricon, for it was the Dread Masters' coat of arms. 

"We are right on time," A deep feminine voice spoke over the communication system. 

"Sharack? Brontes?!"

"Hey, don't forget me." Another voice cut in, a very deep and rumbly one.

"Tyrans?!"

"Who could ever forget you, brother?" Bestia could hear the eye roll in the tone of Brontes's voice. "You are after the Gemini unit, correct? Your path should be clear, and we can assist you in extracting her. Then, we can gather in person once you return to your base."

"Where have you assholes been? I could have used your help about two weeks ago!" Bestia yelled as she trudged towards the elevator. 

She stepped out onto the upper level, a long platform that circled around the entire room. Cables ran all over the walls and ceiling towards one point: a capsule with a humanoid figure floating inside. Sharack followed her. Now that they had a moment of peace, Bestia could sense how warped Sharack's presence had gotten. It felt unnatural, like it wasn't supposed to exist. Styrak felt the same way, as well as the Dark Side beasts that spawned from the Force itself back on Ziost. Bestia decided to not linger on it for the moment.

"We have been in hiding." Brontes said. "Sharack is a bit of a later addition to our team."

"There's so much I want to talk about, but we have a droid to retrieve." Bestia turned to Sharack. "Just, promise you won't disappear?"

"I won't." Sharack stepped up to the capsule and reached towards the droid. "So, do we just tear it out?"

"No!" Brontes sounded almost frantic, but quickly regained her composure. "We do not tear the unit out of its capsule. We carefully unplug her when I'm finished overriding her protocols."

"Got it." Sharack moved away from the droid. The screens next to the droid started glitching out, and an alarm went off.  

"Good news: Brontes is in. Bad news: there's a fuckton of skytroopers converging on your location, and your Mandalorian friends are pulling out. Take the Gemini unit and go." Tyrans announced.

Bestia and Sharack scrambled to unplug the cables connecting Gemini to the facility. Sounds of shooting came from downstairs. Sharack dropped the cables.

"I'll help hold them off." She vaulted over the railing. The droids were no match for her, even in their numbers. 

Gemini twitched and slumped over when Bestia disconnected the last cable. She hoisted the droid over her shoulder and peered into the level below.

"I got the droid!"

"And I have located the self destruct codes for this facility," Brontes's voice dripped with cheerful venom. "I suggest you and the Mandalorian vacate the premises." 

Bestia jumped over the railing, the Force cushioning her fall, and ran towards the exit. Sharack flew past, Torian held under one arm, and a heavy piece of machinery levitated by the other, acting like a battering ram and clearing the path. 

Explosions thundered out soon after the group cleared the exit. Sharack dropped Torian into his speeder and took the deactivated droid. She kept up with Bestia and Torian as they made their escape, the droid factory crumbling into flames and smoke behind them. 

The camp met them with celebration. Huge crates full of weapons now lined the edges of the camp, with Mandalorians going to and fro with new guns in hand. Bestia stumbled into the command tent.

"You two look like osik."

"We just fought through like a hundred droids. We got the one I needed though. And I suddenly reunited with some allies of mine." 

Shae looked past Bestia, and the Red Sith turned to see what she was staring at. Sharack stood at the entrance, Gemini still held under one arm. She waved at Shae and gave her a toothy grin.

"Hi, Torch!"

"Sharack Snow. The one even death can't hold back."

"You two know each other?" Bestia asked.

"Remember the whole thing with Revan and his cult bringing Vitiate back to power?"

"Yeah?"

"I met Shae while investigating. We fought on top of a volcano!"

"And then I assisted Sharack in a fight against Revan."

Revan was a legendary figure, a Force user who was both Jedi and Sith. The Sith emperor held them captive for several centuries, and Bestia remembered Raptus gloating about tormenting them. Then Revan was freed by a Republic team and disappeared, only to re-emerge years later at the head of a huge cult. The cult manipulated both sides of the galactic conflict, and the whole chain of events culminated in Revan bringing the Sith Emperor Vitiate back to almost full strength. Which, in turn, led to the destruction of Ziost. Which, in turn, started the entire journey Bestia was currently on. She groaned at the realization. 

"The factory is mostly online, and we have new weapons for the first time in years." 

"Thank your spy when you see him. He brought the glory days back." 

Shae shook her head. 

"Blast it. I won't be able to stop them from starting up some sort of a neo-crusade. They'll want to fight more than droids."

"I understand." Bestia said. "How about, once Zakuul is dealt with, you help me hunt down a god?" 

"That emperor of yours?"

"Precisely." 

"I'll definitely consider it. In the meantime, I think your alliance could use a representative of the clans." 

Bestia nodded. The hum of ship engines came from the outside. 

"Looks like our ride back is here. Welcome aboard, kid." 

Torian, Bestia, and Sharack exited the tent. A shuttle with a faded Zakuul insignia on its tail sat on the landing pad. 

"Goodbye, Darvannis, I guess." Bestia said as they all piled in.

Everyone took their seats, and for a while, no one spoke as the ship took off. After a while, Bestia shifted in her seat, and looked at Sharack. The Jedi sat slightly to the side in the opposite row of seats, her cybernetic legs taking up the entire aisle.

"What happened?" Bestia asked, and after that, more questions poured from her. "Where have you been? How are you…?"

"Alive?"

"Yes. You were on Ziost when…" Bestia shut her eyes, trying to prevent herself from tearing up at the memory. When she spoke again, her voice was full of pain. "When Vitiate devoured it. I felt you die."

"I did. But also I didn't. I'm not sure what happened, but I woke up after a while. And I was like this." Sharack held up one of her arms.

The arm was covered in dark grey scales that roughly followed the flow of muscle fibers. Bestia stared at it, and then recognition sparked in her mind.

"Styrak has scales like these on his right arm and leg." 

"You mean we're, like, both the same undead thing?"

"I think so."

"Brontes said the same thing." Sharack rubbed the back of her neck. "Man, this is ironic. I led half the group that killed him. Now I'm the same thing as him. And I never got to apologize properly."

"He's back at the base, so you have that chance now."

"I guess." Sharack shrugged. "So after I woke up, I wasn't really myself. I was numb and angry, and the only thing that mattered was tracking down Vitiate. I just kinda flew off into space, not thinking much. I can exist in space now. And then Zakuul ships showed up. They managed to knock me out, and when I woke up, I had Force suppression shackles on."

"I saw you in the throne room."

"Yeah. I was still not really there. Just, laser focused on getting to Vitiate, and here he was. The motherfucker. The tool. Right fucking there inside that old guy." 

"Then Marr set us free and you stabbed him."

"I think the dude he was hijacking wanted him gone as much as I did."

"I bet he did."

"For a moment, I think he took control back and asked me to do it. So I did. Ran him through, and Vitiate exploded out and escaped. I flew after him, but I lost track of him." 

"What did you do after? I was stuck in carbonite for five years, then Lana found me."

"Oh, shit, Lana's here too? This is gonna be awkward. I kinda broke up with her. Thought she wouldn't wanna be with a monster. I drifted around for a while. Eventually, I started to sorta feel like myself again, and decided to try and return to the Jedi. Except, by the time I did…"

"There wasn't really a Jedi order to return to?"

Sharack nodded, her ears lowered.

"Yeah. Coruscant was blockaded, and the Jedi were scattered. I don't know if they'd even accept what I've become. Some of them struggled to accept my species even after I literally beat the shit out of the Sith Emperor. I couldn't even contact my former master. So I went back to drifting and eventually Brontes found me and I've been with her and Tyrans since. Maybe I should ask them to find master No'ree. Just, to know if she's okay or not."

"Will you join the Alliance?"

"Sure. Seems like the only way to get to Vitiate is to get Arcann out the way. Annoying little man." Sharack grumbled.

"That, he is. I found Seid a bit ago on Zakuul." 

"He's okay?" Sharack perked up. "I never got to talk to him after Ziost…"

"He is. I didn't really talk to him much though." 

In truth, Bestia mostly didn't know how to approach her son. He had chosen to maintain a bit of distance from both her and Styrak, being Force-blind and wary of his sith parents. With the twins located, that left only one of Bestia's offspring unaccounted for: Mu'hass, her eldest. Bestia only knew that he escaped with Styrak and Rammas, but later on split off on his own. He'd be fine, Bestia thought, trying to soothe her worry. He's a grown man and a Sith, and he had a level head, meaning he wouldn't take unnecessary risks. He'd turn up eventually, or Brontes and Tyrans could track him down.

As soon as they landed, Sharack hopped out, carrying the droid towards the base entrance. Bestia ambled after her. An alarm blared, causing Bestia to grumble and reach for her lightsabers. She was exhausted, and there was sand in far too many places, and she was looking forward towards a shower and not another fight. Someone shouted, pointing up. A wedge-shaped vessel revealed itself in the air above Odessen. It was painted a faded red, and sharp white designs ran along its underbelly. A hatch opened and two small figures flew towards the ground.

"Do not attack!" Bestia shouted in her most commanding voice. "They are on our side!" 

Confused and angry stares were aimed her way, but no one fired. The descending shapes drew closer, turning out to be two people in red robes and golden crested masks. They both wore bladed cybernetic wings. They landed in front of Bestia, the wings folding neatly behind their backs, and Bestia pulled both of them into a hug.

"Hey." The taller one said.

"Hey Tyrans. I see you assholes still love to make an entrance."

"Yep." Tyrans sounded decidedly smug. 

"Hello to you too."  Brontes freed herself from Bestia's hug. "I would like to see the Gemini unit."

"You'll have to contend with Scorpio, but I got a feeling you two will get along. Let's head inside."

They met Lana at the base entrance. She frowned at the sudden arrivals.

"More Dread Masters?"

"Yep." Tyrans and Bestia said in unison, and then chuckled.

"Do not worry. With us here, there is only one Dread Master left unaccounted for." Brontes reassured. Lana didn't look convinced. 

"Raptus." Bestia rolled her eyes.

"I don't think he'll be joining us. Even we couldn't trace him. Bastard just disappeared." 

"Eh, good riddance." 

Lana led them all to the command table. Sharack sat in a chair watching Scorpio pick at a port on the back of Gemini's neck. She turned to look at the new arrivals, and beamed when she saw Brontes. Brontes in turn walked right to the droids. Tyrans sat on a smaller holotable by the wall that wasn't in use, and Lana took her place at the head of the table. 

"I believe we both have quite a lot to report."

End notes:

Osik means "shit" in Mando'a.

This was a surprisingly fun chapter to write and there's a surprising amount of common ground between Bestia and the Mandalorians.

Also a fun bit of lore that I wanted to include but couldn't find a way to do so organically: the celebration where Bestia suplexes a person is a Mandalorian death ceremony. The only outsider to be honoured with one was actually a female sith lord named Raze who fought off many Jedi and died fighting.

[lordviridis]

Fictober 11 - Escape

Prompt: Escape

Summary: Aleena has managed to get off Dromund Kaas. Now she just has to figure a way off the Empire’s favourite tourist spot. Early 14 ATC.

Rating: Gen

Tags: Chill and hopeful vibes

Aleena had forgotten what warmth of the sun felt like on her skin. The rare sunny days on Dromund Kaas were still overcast by the usual rain. Not to mention the colourful houses and banners that filled the streets along with live music. It was so much easier to smile and breathe. Even the Force felt lighter, puzzling with life.

As far as her escape paths could go, Esliea was definitely her best bet. As a popular tourist spot, the flights had been frequent and she had managed to not even have to choose her flight until her moment had come. Now it was all about getting to Nar Shaddaa. Those flights were less frequent, but as one of the few Imperial worlds open to outside, they did happen. Now she just had the day to kill.

Luckily the market was easy to blend in, filled with delicious food and wares definitely made for the tourists. She’d already got a giant hat and scarf to hide her face a little. It was entirely possible father had already sent people after her. Living in the Empire had made her paranoid.

The Imperial credits fall from her fingers as she pays for her meal. Better use them all up, she wouldn’t need them soon enough. 

Aleena slowly eats the paella as she takes the sights in. Esliea was beautiful, if she was staying for longer, she might have gone to enjoy one of the beaches, gardens, or museums. Despite how the Empire usually was, there was a beauty to it all. But she had to get back to the Republic, back home.

She gasps as a hand grabs her shoulder. “You shouldn’t be here, now should you?”

[astralflows]

Follower Meme || Lord Praxyrn

(I got tagged more than a month ago so i’m definitely late to the party / tagging: anyone who sees this and wants to do it!)

Class: Sith Inquisitor (Sorcerer)   Weapon: The Force, Lightsaber.

Selection lines

“It better be worth my time.”

“Ah. You again.”

“Why…”

“What do you want?”

“Please, let’s hurry, I have better things to do.”

Battle lines

“This better be interesting.”

“Surrender or die.”

“Beg for mercy and I shall grant you a quick death.”

“You don’t stand a chance.”

“Finally. I was getting bored.”

Exiting Battle

“They never learn.”

“Pathetic.”

“Fools.”

“Boring.”

“You fight well, I’m impressed.”

Low Health

(to the PC) “This is all your fault, you have underestimated the enemy!”

“I am a Lord of the Sith, how dare you!”

“Our enemies will pay for this.”

“If I die, tell Malgus… Oh, he knows.” (rare)

“Death, at last.”

Resurrected

“How embarrassing.”  

“We will never speak of this again.”

“Are you alright?”

“Next time, listen to me: learn about your enemies before you engage them.”

Misc. Click lines

“Hm…”

“I think we should keep moving.”

“Aren’t you bored?”

“Do you actually enjoy having me around?”

“What are you staring at?”

(On Korriban) “So much history. Fascinating, isn’t it? Can we stay here a bit longer?”

(On Nar Shaddaa) “I hate this planet. Everything is so loud and bright. Why did you take me here?”

(On Ilum and Ossus) “Can we visit the Jedi ruins? I promise I won’t touch anything.”

(On Hoth) “This place reminds me of Iraess. Hm… In a good way of course.” (rare)

(On Dromund Kaas) “Finally back at home. I hope I didn’t miss anything important.”

(On Voss) “Interesting culture. I am intrigued, but… I think we should leave. These people shouldn’t have to suffer from our war.”

(On Corellia and Balmorra) “Another world destroyed by a pointless war. What a pity…”

+ bonus

When you first recruit him, you have no idea what he looks like. He always wears his mask and doesn’t show his face. If he trusts you (high approval), he will remove his mask and talk about his past, his friends and all the things he enjoys. 

You can flirt with him, but you can’t romance him. 

He rarely approves dark side choices.   He doesn’t approve altruism either. He greatly approves pragmatic and manipulative choices.

Favorite gifts: Cultural artifact, Imperial Memorabilia, Republic Memorabilia, Luxury.

[fluffynexu]

Astralignment

and the Korribani Calendar System

Before the arrival of the Exiles the native Sith on Korriban had their own system of keeping track of time. Over the years, this became standardized and refined and is still in use by a large portion of the modern Pureblood community. Since the ancient Sith were observant beings of their world, many of the names and symbols reflected their natural environment. All of these aspects go into what is known as a Sith’s astralignment (astro-alignment).

Since the Empire runs on Imperial Standard Time (IST), anything relating to Korriban or any other Imperial world is referred by the local time of that planet.

Compare a year on  Dromund Kaas to Korriban:

Dromund Kaas (everything in standard)

24 hours/day

312 days/year

7,488 hours/year

60 minutes = 1 hour

24 hours = 1 day

5 days = 1 week

7 weeks = 1 month

35 days = 1 month

8 months (+4 weeks and 4 holidays) = 1 year

312 (standard)days = 1 year

Korriban

28 (standard) hours/day

780 (local) days/year

21,840 (standard) hours/year

70 (standard and local) minutes = 1 hour

24 (local) hours = 1 day

10 (local) days = 1 week

6.5 (local) weeks = 1 month

65 (local) days = 1 month

12 (local) months = 1 year

780 (local) days = 1 year

This roughly makes 1 Korribani year approximately 2.9 [Dromund] Kaasi years.

Calendars

The days on Korriban are annotated on some versions of the Imperial calendar alongside the standard days.

In this example, names of the days on the calendar reflect the IST. The black numbers indicate the date in IST, the red numbers represent the date of the Korribani calendar. Placement of the Korribani date indicate when that day begins in relation to the Kaasi one.

A. 00:00 is the same for both. B. 00:00 K starts at 04:00 DK. C. 00:00 K starts at 08:00 DK. D. 00:00 K starts at 12:00 DK. E. 00:00 K starts at 16:00 DK. F. 00:00 K starts at 20:00 DK. G. Loops back around and 00:00 K lines up 00:00 DK .

While seemingly complicated to some, most Sith have grown with this system of overlapping calendars and can easily tell the date by the positioning of the numbers in this format. 

There are of course, electronic versions where the date is shown simply:

Since the Korribani month is longer than the Kaasi one, the dates will continue through the Kaasi months. These next two pictures show how long 1 Korribani month is in relation to a Kaasi one.

There is also a version of the Korribani calendar that does not overlap with IST. These are used locally on the planet.

The days of the Korribani week were named after major gods from the most widespread pantheon on the planet:

Ahmuriq, from Ahmurn: the creator god.

Marseriq, from Marserha: mother goddess of the Sith.

Bashariq, from Bashara: goddess of passion.

Teraiq, from Teral: god of protection and justice.

Iskarliq, from Iskarln: god(dess) of conflict and war.

Marduriq, from Mardur: patron god of the Massassi and strength.

Rusaniq, from Rusanel: goddess of knowledge.

Zefiriq, from Zefir: goddess of the hunt.

Shumariq, from Shumari: god of the harvest.

Goruiq, from Gorul: the trickster god(dess).

Months

There are numerous constellations in the Korribani sky. Twelves of these mark the months of the year as well as going into the astalignment. The 12 major, monthly constellations all depict local fauna from ancient fables and have certain characteristics that are commonly associated with them.

1. Yuninchâtsutuyok, the jiminat and agzonûboj engaged in eternal conflict. Dedicated, ambitious, and insightful.

2. Qyalatuyok, the qyalak. Calm, sentimental, and inquisitive.

3. Badzuriqatuyok, the badzuriqash. Tenacious, practical, and direct.

4. Kaarjontuyok, the kaarjontû. Spontaneous, contemplative, and observant.

5. Tukatatuyok, the tukata. Loyal, respectful, and staunch.

6. Hatyatuyok, the hatya. Articulate, perceptive, and adaptable.

7. Lomaituyok, the lomait. Disciplined, fearless, and competitive.

8. Dzushatuyok, the dzushaj. Private, calculating, and flexible.

9. Mowhetuyok, the mowhef. Stern, traditional, and ruthless.

10. Dyaltituyok, the dyaltir. Mischievous, studious, and charismatic.

11. Jhan’dikanatuyok, the lost dikana. Creative, sociable, and resourceful.

12. Niqoituyok, the niqoit. Erudite, cunning, and free-spirited.

Years

The years are also represented by local animals. No one, not even Sith scholars or historians, are sure of the origin of how these animals came to represent the years on Korriban’s calendar. It is one of the many parts of Sith culture that have been lost since it is believed this particular record has been passed down through oral tellings.

The years are kept track of in a 6-year cycle with each year emphasizing a likely success for the ones born in that year.

Chiroik - Wealth

Wokinai - Knowledge

Natûsh - Fame

Dzenal - Influence

Litskoj - Power

Sulemish - Longevity

(ie. Those born in the year of the Sulemish will have a long life.) This again factors into a Sith’s astralignment.

In addition to the years, these 6 animals are also used for the hours on Korriban. But time is not conveyed in the same manner as Basic. While in Basic one would simply say “14:25” (or two twenty-five in the afternoon) the Sith have a much more involved way to convey time.

For example: Shyracks screech and return to their caves as the priestess prepares the altar in the hour of the wokinai.

Translates to: 07:15 local time (or seven fifteen in the morning).

As a side note, a few centuries ago Darth Feras domesticated and bred wrats within the Empire. At first they weren’t seen with much interest by her peers. But popular rumor has it that she pointed out her creations embody the physical traits of the yearly beasts.

Eyes - Chiroik

Ears - Wokinai

Body - Natûsh

Hands - Dzenal

Feet - Litskoj

Tail - Sulemish

Afterwards they quickly became a favored pet and companion among the Sith, being seen as an auspicious animal.

While not related to their calendar there is a tradition of being assigned a birth flower. For this, the Sith do not look to their skies but rather, when a child is born the placenta is buried in a pot with 12 seeds. The first of these seeds to sprout becomes that Sith’s birth flower. These 12 flowers are also used in medicine, therapeutic or preventive, for some common ailments.

Serla for headaches.

Roshal for good eyesight.

Nashkir for sore throats.

Atsudqâ for heart health.

Hyaranjat for good digestion.

Mûyoin for muscle pain.

Shasâyar for fertility.

Jûzon for blood circulation.

Ashanin for bone mending.

Qoyo for fevers.

Chisiqsanu for irritated ridge skin.

Kûsk’inti for fatigue and replenishing energy.

The last two parts that go into a Sith’s astalignment are their energies. The weekly energies correspond with 4 classic “elements” of earth, fire, air, and water. While the daily energy simply refers to day or night (d/n) in regards to when the person was born.

Combined with all aspects mentioned in this document, year, month, weekly energy, day (+energy), and flower, one can study a Sith’s astalignment.  ex. Darth Vowrawn’s astalignment factors:

The study of these astralignments is a complicated field on to its own while the findings can be very important to some among the Sith. There are specialized scholars who offer their services to the old families so that the “perfect matches” (marriage, business, or otherwise) can be set up.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

aaaaahhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT’S DONE. i feel like frodo at mt. doom after the ring is destroyed omg... ;-;

SOOOO. i wanted, and i mean REALLY wanted, to finish this for lunar new year (for pretty obvious reasons lol)...... :,) welp. then i was like “i can do may 4″ lol NOPE. but here we are! still technically sith day? whatever. imma say I Did It. :D

also pls don’t laugh at my stupid drawings. i already know i can’t art. ok??? >,<

special thanks to @snootysith​ for giving me a bunch of sithy names and words for me to use. c: like y’all... coming up with fake words, that look and sound ok is really HARD (for my dumbass anyway)

other worldbuilding posts that are... sorta mentioned/used in this:

@inquisitorhotpants​‘s dk calendar

BOOS! x3

and some other stuff ....

but uh, yea. if you’re wondering “hang on there fluffy... did you really make a big, dumbass zodiac/astrology post??” the answer is...

yes.

yes i did... xU

but also i imagine the ancient sith had a lot of special and important dates for you know... religious things? *shrug* and over the many, many years all of this was passed down and prob altered in some way to fit into modern sith society? idk...

now imma say some things here bc i know For A Fact!!! that ppl don’t go onto original posts to read op tags on this hellsite lol.

and this isn’t me trying to sound like an arrogant asshole... but these are for some common questions that’ll undoubtedly come up:

yes, you can use this in any extent or manner.

no, you obvs don’t have to. ignore it if you want. i’ll be ok lol.

no, i’m not gonna write a long ass book with all the little details on every aspect of all the traits and then assign these things for your character(s). just make something up. that’s what i did here xD (plus my brain is d e a d from this)

yes, this is seen as a mostly(!) tomato pureblood sith thing but obvs attitudes are different between individuals. some are super into it, some could careless and think it’s all fake news, some have parents that care too much about it which is annoying and interfering with their life so they lowkey hate it lol.

no, i couldn’t do a read more bc it wouldn’t look as nice and i worked hard ok? ;-; i apologize for clogged dashes in advance.

i think that’s it? ofc feel free to hmu if you’re ok with a reply that can take anywhere from a few min to 3 business days ^-^;

[depizan]

I was thinking about the post I reblogged about the loss of the Alliance in SWTOR, and some of my other disappointments with how faction is handled in the game, and how faction based MMOs in general tend to get stuck in this kind of "eternal conflict" mode. (Not that factionless MMOs don't get stuck in their own kind of weird "eternal conflict" mode, too. Look at Guild Wars 2 and the growing list of things that have tried to destroy Tyria.)

But there are stories that lend themselves to a faction model, and SWTOR does have - or does begin with - one of those. It's just that with no prospect of whatever conflict divides the factions ever being resolved, you have a weird permanent stalemate situation, kind of. The Sith Empire will never win, because that would make Republic players unhappy. The Galactic Republic will never win, because that would make Empire players unhappy. No actual solution to the conflict can ever be found because then it would be game over. (Also, no real faction shifting because how would you code that?)

Except... maybe none of that is true. There are games that have faction shifting of a kind coded in. Think of all the minor factions in World of Warcraft, some opposed to one another, some just independent. Sure, those faction shifts are mostly achieved with some kind of grind, but it does prove that mutable factions are codeable.

This might even solve the problem of the Smuggler and the Bounty Hunter being tied to specific factions when that leads to some very odd story stuff, particularly outside of each class story. It suggests a way to handle factional grouping and third faction classes without making those factions "better" because all flashpoints are available to them.

Here is Mac's theoretical redesign of SWTOR with a different handling of factions and playing into the story focus that is the game's best quality.

Republic and Empire each get three classes, Smuggler and Bounty Hunter are Underworld (a third, neutral to the others faction). Since the galaxy is supposed to be under a peace treaty - the Treaty of Coruscant - you design the game with flexible faction tagging and lean in hard to the Cold War set up.

You have degrees of faction, just like those minor factions in WoW. I'm going to borrow the middle part of WoW's faction set up for this. Theirs runs Hated - Hostile - Unfriendly - Neutral - Friendly - Honored - Revered - Exalted. We just need the middle chunk, from Hostile to Friendly. Hostile is typical enemy mob: bar is red, it will attack you on sight. Unfriendly is an orange bar, but will not fight you unless you attack. Neutral is a yellow bar, again, will not fight you unless you attack. Friendly is typical allied mob: bar is green, etc.

Imperial players can go to Coruscant, and Republic players to Dromund Kaas, but everything is Unfriendly to them, they can't buy anything (except maybe at the spaceport?), and there are no quests available to them. Underworld players start out one tick up at Neutral and have a few merchants and quests available. Ones that it makes sense would be available to random people. (This is to balance out Underworld space starting at Neutral to Pubs and Imps.) And, obviously, Pub space starts out Friendly to Pubs and Imps space Friendly to Imps. (Though I would be slightly tempted to have Korriban be neutral to the Agent class because, as a non-Force-Sensitive you don't really belong there.)

(As you can see, we're basically using a game mechanic to underline the state of galaxy. We can also set things so that people can't go fuck things up for their fellow players by coding it so that if you just go attack people on the opposite faction capitol, you get blipped to hostile and squashed like a bug.)

Now, we write the game like there is actually a Cold War happening. This means missions for Imps and Pubs that send people into "enemy" space (not, to start with the capital or Force User planets, though) where they have to accomplish their missions without attracting the attention of the other faction. We can take advantage of instancing to allow for diplomatic incidents, like thinking "well, they can't report I'm here if they're dead," without triggering the anti-trolling splat mobs. This is also where we introduce some side quests that give people the opportunity to work on becoming to Neutral with the opposite faction.

Smugglers and Bounty Hunters are off doing Underworld stuff, with some options to take quests that benefit the Republic or the Empire. (Giving them the chance to work on becoming Friendly with one or both factions.)

All class stories get written so that there are several potential outcomes. We're going to use the Agent story as a model here, and basically set it up so that everyone has a story line that ends with them still loyal to the faction they began with, now Underworld/Unallied, or loyal to the opposite faction. This gets paired with the ability for characters to keep doing things to make the other faction like them better and you're setting up defections or the decision to go neutral with mechanics and story.

You use the Cold War setting to ramp up general tension. Have more missions like that one on Republic Hoth where you can work with some Imperials. Or the times where a Sith Warrior can use Republic soldiers to their advantage. So the whole base game has this good overlay of people wanting peace and people wanting to go back to war (on all sides!). This lets you really flesh out the factions, and the good and bad people in them. Have a more positive sort of Gray Morality going on.

As far as Flashpoints go, you re-write The Black Talon/Esseles for proper Cold War subtlety. I think we want to use the intro flashpoints to give people a better idea of the kind of proxy conflict stuff, where you might be fighting what appear to be a third party (like pirates), but you get info (of the non provable kind) that they're working for the Empire/Republic. And maybe come up with some kind of mechanic where party members can get special communications based on faction. Like, the main (everybody) cut scenes for the Esseles talk about it being pirates that are attacking them, but the Jedi/Trooper characters get a quick comm call that the pirates are probably working for the Empire and after a particular person.

For all the shared flashpoints, you tweak them so they are truly shared. One queue for everyone, we still need to work out exactly how we're getting the different factions their special flavor bits, but there's more of that here. And maybe a kind of saboteur mechanic for things like what to do with the missiles on Cademimu, so that they can still be launched at a fleet for a DS option, but it's not in-character obvious that someone did it.

We can still have some Empire and Republic specific flashpoints, which we might allow Underworld characters who are Friendly with the right faction to do. (Or maybe not if we're keeping the ones we have. They've got a bit of a secret mission vibe. Maybe we add a fun treasure hunt flashpoint for the Underworld folks.)

The end of the base game becomes the Cold War going hot because of Revan (and let's say it's not the Republic at large backing him, but a smaller group within the Republic that's okay with his plan). Now we get proper fall out from someone wanting to commit mass murder, we get a good climax, and we can shift from writing eight class stories to three-ish main stories with class and faction related flavor bits. You'd have those fighting for the Republic (ex-Empire characters could get good flavor bits about fighting their old allies and some suspicion from their new ones - a suspicion ex-Underworld characters would also get), for the Empire (again, joined members get some good flavor bits), or who are with the Underworld now.

First expansion is the war, maybe with some of what we used to have in Chapter Three going on. I'm also kind of tempted to weave in some actual foreshadowing for Zakuul here. I'm not keen on Space Voldemort or the time skip, but other parts of those expansions seem worth trying to save. But maybe we have the player characters working with Lana and Theron like in the Revan expansion, but it's about hints that there's something bad coming instead.

Next expansion, Zakuul attacks, things go super to shit, Lana, Theron, some people from Zakuul and the player character(s) form the Alliance. Oooh, wait, lets go ahead and keep the Vitiate/Valkorian thing, and have killing the Emperor be the end of the first expansion (because he wants to eat the galaxy - he's gone mad, but the Empire as a whole won't acknowlege it and are following him off a cliff, the Republic isn't seeing him and the Empire as separate, even evil characters live in the galaxy, etc). Now, Zakuul invades because when you kill Vitiate, Valkorian keels over. Whoops.

(Zakuul is the backup plan. If he can't destroy the galaxy as Vitiate, here comes the uber-Empire! You just managed to off him, but the uber-Empire gets fired at the known galaxy anyway.)

Now we have one story going, with different flavors depending on the characters relation to the three old factions. Kind of like we do in the existing game. And we avoid bumping the player character up to a ridiculous level of authority by making them part of the leadership of the Alliance instead of the leader. Keep them more in line with the base game power level.

Not quite sure where we go from here, but basically you have this kind of flowing faction thing going through the game that meshes well with the story.

I don't know. Mostly I wanted to work out how you could do something more interesting with faction.

[semper-draca]

WIP Wednesday

Tagged by @tishinada​ :D

Not sure who to tag here, so sorry if I do/don’t tag you and you don’t/do want to do this: @riajade01​ @inquisitorhotpants​ @pineaberry​ @sheyshen�� and uh... idk, whoever wants to do this? idk yall, I need friends lol

Anyway this is from the next Iustitia chapter:

“Sir.” It’s Ensign Lee, one of his security team. “Preliminary scouting has finished. They didn’t find anything.” It goes unspoken that they didn’t expect to find anything. But the effort had to be made regardless. They had to try. “Captain Yaxl reports that the Victorious Storm is ready to continue on to Dromund Kaas. Major Sheynaar is waiting by the shuttle.”

“Inform him I’ll be there momentarily,” Malavai replies, not even turning to face the ensign. 

“Sir…” Lee hesitates. “It’s dangerous to linger here. And it’s my job to ensure your safety. We need to leave.”

Annoyance doesn’t rear up at the insubordination as it perhaps otherwise might. Nor is he even particularly concerned for his own safety at the moment. This is a dead world, filled with naught but ghosts and ash. They all know that Vitiate wouldn’t remain behind, not when he’s already claimed the prize he came here for. There’s nothing left for anyone in this planet, not anymore. With the sudden departure of everyone manning the forges of the Trodian Droid Factories, the facilities spiralled into meltdown, ruined forever. Nearly two decades of civil war tore down any salvageable infrastructure that might be useful. 

There’s nothing left here for Malavai either, is there?

[thedinalixlegacy]

World building thing

Tagged by @raven-of-domain-kwaad​ thank you so much!!

I’ve already tagged a lot of my mutuals in my last world building post so I’m only tagging everyone who sees this and thinks hm. yes. i still have a few oc facts I want to share. Feel free to say I tagged you!

I have not talked a lot about this dude yet (haven’t played much with him either even though he’s probably going to be one of The Eight). But I was thinking a bit about him so here is what I’ve got right now.

Armagesh

Armagesh in his late teenage years/early twenties can most accurately be described as “annoying rich kid���. He’s an only child who was born on Dromund Kaas. His parents were both influential sith lords and allowed him quite a bit of freedom, a bit too much perhaps. He partied like crazy and has thrown quite a few big parties himself as well. His status as both sith pureblood and the son of two important lords of the sith gathered him plenty of attention from peers but also from those who wished to bring his parents down by either killing or capturing him. That last part didn’t bother him too much, he had been trained in lightsaber combat and the dark side of the Force by his parents since he was little, and those who went after him often were too weak to face his parents directly and thus were also little to no match for him. Besides, when the story of the failed assassination attempt eventually got around (and it always did) his popularity temporarily skyrocketed which got him invited to even more parties and events.

Eventually he knew he would have to actually go out and do something with his life, he couldn’t live from his parents’ money forever. So he did what he had always sort of known he would do, he trained to become Sith. He had hoped to maybe find a little group of friends with whom he could hang out every now and then but it turned out most acolytes were way too serious about this becoming sith business, and those who weren’t were too scared of being killed to go do anything fun. The training quickly turned out to be the most boring experience ever. He considered stopping but kept at it because he did have the talent for it and he honestly didn’t know what else he would want to do.

When he met Vette it was like a breath of fresh air, finally someone who didn’t take this all too seriously and who he could laugh with. As Baras’ apprentice he also had a little bit more status than as an acolyte so instead of quitting he just started to make being a sith fun. Laughing at those he knew couldn’t hurt him because of his current status, or just joking around with Vette on his quests, it all made this job worth it. Maybe he isn’t as ruthless as most of his fellow Sith, and maybe he could get higher up more quickly if he actually did listen to his superiors every once in a while, but at least he doesn’t die from boredom at age 30.

[raven-of-domain-kwaad]

Follower Meme: Ryscha Kine

Got tagged by @swtorpadawan​ Thank you so much! Already did Amarra so I’ll take a look at the other Kine sister for this.

I’ll leave this as an open tag as I know this went around to pretty much everyone I follow. Also I’m a bit lazy right now.

Class: Jedi Guardian

Weapons: Single purple bladed lightsaber, force powers

Selection line:

“What’s up?”

“It’s still me. Believe me, you’ll know if it’s my sire.”

“Jedi kill Sith, Sith kill Jedi and the galaxy burns. I wonder if we’re all insane trying to win philosophical debates through war.”

“Spar later? I’ll go easy on you.”

“We should get drinks later. I know a place that has great Corellian rum and surprisingly few Corellians.”

Battle Lines: 

 "Press the attack!”

“Take them down!”

“Do you actually think you have a chance?”

Exiting Battle:

"I’m sorry it came to this.”

“Nice form.”

“Could you possibly make any more noise?”

KO’d/Low Health: 

"I’ve got a problem here.”

“Please, don’t leave me.”

“He will not have me.”

“Into to void, like my mother before me.”

Resurrected:  

"I... thank you.”

“Sorry about that. I won’t make a habit of this.”

“I knew I should’ve stretched before this.”

“Ouch.”

Healing:

“That looks like it hurt.”

“Lets try and do better next time, yeah?”

Misc. Click Lines:  

"I wonder what the Jedi would think if they could see me now?”

“Wonder if I would’ve made it on Korriban? I hear the night’s are freezing and sand gets everywhere. So, I can’t say that I’d be eager to sign up.”

(rare) “Next person to call me the Heir to the Sith Empire gets stabbed.”

Planets: 

Courscant: "I hate this place. So many people up here lying and bending the truth for their own benefit while millions suffer in the lower levels.”

Dromund Kaas: “Does it ever stop raining here? How do you keep everything from rusting?”

Nar Shaddaa: "Spent a lot of time here after leaving the Order and it never fails to be interesting. Actually teamed up with an old Imperial Intelligence agent at one point. I should see how he’s doing.”

Tatooine: "So. Hot. Send me to Hoth instead of this.”

Alderaan: "They strut about like roosters, thinking that their titles mean something. But murder is still murder no matter how these people to pretty it up. This is a world of killers, be careful.”

Hoth: "I take back every bad thing I’ve ever said about Tatooine. Hoth sucks.”

Gifts:

Love (Cultural): "I... thank you. Thank you so much.”

Favorite (Underworld): "Someone’s trying to get on my good side.”

Like (Maintenance): "Appreciate it.”  

Indifferent: "Eh, won’t say no to a free... thing.”

Likes: Helping others, back talking Jedi, Sith and authority figures, acting independently of the Republic and Empire

Dislikes: Lying, abuses of power, dogma, the Emperor

Her part in the story below the cut because I’m ridiculous and integrating her into the whole KOTFE/ET story.

Story/recruitment: Ryscha would be an expansion character in KOTFE/ET.

She would first appear on Asylum as one of Lana Beniko’s contacts. Upon first meeting her, Ryscha would ask to speak with the Outlander alone. She would comment that she can sense the Emperor in the Outlander’s mind but not explain that she is technically his daughter through Sith force experiments. Then, depending on if the player used his power in the Endless Swamp or not, she would either say that he is never to be trusted or that working with him will come at a price that the Outlander might not be able to pay.

When it is revealed that Senya is the mother of Arcann and Vaylin, Ryscha would darkly comment that all children of the Emperor are dangerous, regardless of who their mother might have been (again hinting at a connection she has to the Emperor).

During the Battle of Asylum, she would be a third option to appear at the end of the duel with Arcann (say if neither Lana or Koth had been flirted with). She could either engage Arcann in a brief duel before cutting the floor out from under him and sending him falling to the levels below. Or, if the Outlander used Valkorion’s power, she would angrily call them a fool and again hint at her own connection and understanding of him but stop short of revealing anything else.

Ryscha would continue to serve as a field agent for the growing Alliance and butt heads with Senya and Koth a lot regarding their love of Zakuul and Valkorion. 

In Visions in the Dark, Valkorion would reveal that Ryscha is a failed experiment and child of his. He would use this information to mock the Outlander for trusting their companions when they hide such secrets and be a lead up to his whole reminding the Outlander what it is to be alone thing.

When the Outlander returns from the Wilds, they can confront Ryscha about her past. She’ll admit that it is true, she is the result of a failed Children of the Emperor 2.0 experiment. She would argue that she knows more than anyone how dangerous the Emperor’s creations are and that she can help bring down his Eternal Empire and her Tirall half siblings. The Outlander can either accept her help but warn her never to keep secrets like that again, banish her saying that she cannot be trusted or kill her with the Outlander agreeing with one of her earlier statements that all of the Emperor’s children and creations are dangerous. 

All three choices have a large impact on Senya. Ryscha being allowed to stay gives her hope of reaching and reasoning with her children. While banishing or killing Ryscha turns Senya against the Outlander and is a large reason why she steals Arcann away at the end of KOTFE.

If she is allowed to stay, she is then able to save Vette or Torian in KOTET. She will fight her half sister Vaylin and be severely injured in the process but the other companion will survive.

If she is banished, she will appear at the end of KOTET during the mind fight with Valkorion. She’d just shrug if the Outlander asks what she’s doing there. “I’ve been trying to kill him for years. I wasn’t going to let your little banishment tantrum get in my way.”

As she can be killed in KOTFE, her roll in the story beyond the Zakuul arc would be minimal. But she might show up in Echoes of Oblivion if banished or allowed to stay in the Alliance. If banished, she might be found fighting the Scions and the Hand on the HUGE ship. If allowed to stay in the Alliance, she would join you from the start.

[synoxshots]

That’s the easy part

Fill number 6 for fictober!

Prompt number: 2

Fandom: Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR)

Rating: T

Warnings/Tags: Canon-typical violence, guns, alcohol reference. 

Summary: Onyxus has been accepted into the Grand Hunt, even if it wasn’t actually his idea to enter. There’s only one thing left to do before the Hunt begins: steal a ship from Dromund Kaas spaceport.

(Note: Onyxus isn’t my canon hunter, instead an extra member of Paxton Rall’s band of pirates)

Dromund Kaas was far from Onyxus's favourite planet. It wasn't just the weather, though the constant storms were hardly a selling point, but rather the constant imperial stuffiness they all had to put up with anywhere they went. As a bulky Rattataki, he was used to attracting a few wary stares, but walking around with four other aliens on a world that treated them like dirt meant the disdainful looks and filthy glances were never-ending.

Of course, the group tended to attract attention wherever they went. As a gang of pirates – or 'professionals', as they were supposed to say – they were hardly the quietest of citizens. Just adding some flair and panache to our surroundings, Paxton would say, even as a job required a touch of subtlety. Make enough noise and people will do anything to tune you out, Bloodhound would offer instead, which seemed far more likely.

But Onyxus wouldn't change them for anything. Paxton was his love, the crew his family, and even for all their excesses, he'd found a place where he belonged.

Even if they were responsible for his current predicament.

It had all seemed like such a good idea at the time, as many things tended to after several glasses of kri'gee in an evening. And that night marked his birthday as well as the end of another job, meaning more glasses than usual were going round. Double the reason to celebrate, as if they ever needed an excuse. He'd woken up in the morning with a pounding in his head and a flashing holocom telling him he'd been accepted into the Great Hunt. Nobody could quite remember who'd actually submitted his name, and pulled in their last favour with the Hutts to get him sponsored. Either that, or nobody wanted to own up to it.

But there was no backing out of it now he'd come this far. There was just one thing left to do before the Hunt began in earnest, a grand tradition to be fulfilled. Steal a ship, and from one of the most heavily monitored ports in all imperial space.

“But we already have a ship!” Rin exclaimed, his voice standing out even in the constant din of the Nexus Room cantina.

“I don't know why you're complaining when you're the one who got me into this mess,” Onyxus retorted.

“Me?! I'm pretty sure Bloodhound was the one who-”

His words were cut off as the Togruta began spinning her blaster in her hand, “Are you sure you want to finish that sentence?”

“Easy folks, easy,” chuckled Paxton. “Have you forgotten we are the finest in the galaxy at our craft? Led by the most brilliant, cleverest, charismatic, and – well – devilishly handsome captain around? Stealing a ship is a piece of theatre, and when have we ever turned down the chance to put on a show of it?”

* * * * * * * *

Any thoughts of a subtle approach were lost the minute the five aliens strutted into the spaceport with a dramatic air of confidence that only made it obvious that it wasn't, in fact, a ship that belonged to them. Yet. Paxton had been right, they were certainly going to put on a show.

Paxton and Bloodhound were stood back to back, spinning together in a perfect circle as they fired volleys of blaster bolts at their foes, their lekku flying behind them. Rin had taken the physical approach, almost making the ground shake as he tackled his opponents to the floor, kicking their weapons from their hands before they could think to use them. Onyxus also made full use of his size, looming over spaceport officials and incapacitating them with only the slightest effort. And if anyone managed to avoid those four there was still the Mauler, the smallest of the bunch, able to weave about and pop up in unexpected places, leaving a trail of explosions in his wake.

The fight was over within minutes. The crew may have been outnumbered, but it was a well-rehearsed routine mixing distraction, diversion, and all-out blazes of gunfire and brute force. They each knew their roles to perfection, practised on many occasions across the galaxy. Such events were an occupational hazard, after all, and they'd all received enough kolto in their lives to learn the cost of any mistakes.

“I still prefer our ship,” Rin complained, stomping his boots as he caught up with the rest of the crew.

“Well lucky for you, someone has to fly that off this rock too, and it sounds like you've just volunteered yourself. Unless there's any objections, of course,” laughed Paxton, preparing for the inevitable squabble that would trigger amongst the crew.

“Hang on, does the Hunter have to fly the ship as well? Because if Onyx is flying then I'm definitely going in ours,” gibed Bloodhound, already revelling in the offended look on the Rattataki's face.

“I don't think that's how it wor-” Onyxus began, but was cut off by Paxton's elbow nudging him repeatedly. He cleared his throat and started again, “I mean, that's definitely how it works, yes.”

“Don't you dare go crashing my ship!” yelled Paxton as the gang began running out of the hangar bay, apparently all in a battle to reach the captain's chair first. Sighing, he turned back to where Onyxus was stood, smiling as he reached up for a quick kiss. “Well, that's the easy part done I guess, now on to the rest of the competition. You ready for it, Hunter?”

Onyxus grinned. “With you at my side? Always.”

[swtorpadawan]

Beautiful

The women’s screams of pain and anguish echoed throughout the throne room of the Emperor’s Fortress.

Lord Scourge, the Emperor’s Wrath, merely watched impassively, his stoic expression and posture giving nothing away.

Behind him, standing tall on his raised podium, stood his Master. The Sith Emperor.  

His most hated enemy.

The Emperor’s Force Lightning continued to pour from his fingers, all directed at the source of the screams.

In front of Scourge, writhing in torment on the floor, was a young human female.  Her name was Kayeh Antilles.

This woman was a Jedi Knight, already a legendary warrior throughout the galaxy despite her relative youth. She had foiled the Emperor’s plans for Darth Angral to devastate Tython and the Republic using the Desolator super-weapon. (He understood that the Jedi had decreed her ‘the Hero of Tython’ to honor her victory.) She had foiled Scourge’s own efforts on Quesh to execute Sajar, the former Dark Council member who had betrayed the Empire and the Sith by joining the hated Jedi Order. Over the course of the last several months, she had likewise crippled or hampered the Empire’s efforts on nearly a dozen other worlds, all to impressive effect for a single Jedi.  

Scourge did not care about any of that, however.

For Scourge, this woman – this Jedi – represented something else entirely: The culmination of a prophecy the Force had bestowed upon him three hundred years before.

Antilles continued to scream, lying mere feet from him.

Her raven-black hair, previously bound back tightly in a bun, had long since come loose, thick strands flying around her shoulders as her body continued to spasm under the horrific assault.

Her lightsaber had been taken and turned over to the Overseers. She had been stripped of her armor and robes and was left clad only in her short tunic vest and trousers. Scourge further knew that she had been sedated even before she had even been taken from her bacta tank. Her arms and wrists were shackled securely behind her, the Force-cuffs cutting off the young Jedi from the Force. (Theoretically. Scourge observed, noting her remarkable resistance thus far.) Four Imperial Guards had dragged her into the throne room, unceremoniously shoving her down to her knees at the foot of the steps leading up to the Emperor’s throne.

Had she been anyone else, Scourge, thinking on a professional level, might have considered the combination of all these measures to have been somewhat excessive.

But even as weakened, disoriented and bound as she was when she’d been brought into the chamber, Antilles had immediately started struggling to get to her feet. But then Vitiate’s Force lightning began raining down upon her, driving her to her knees and then to the floor. Scourge doubted she was even aware of where she was; only of the pain being inflicted upon her. The Emperor’s ritual for binding someone to his will did not require them to be completely lucid.

It only required them to be conscious when they finally broke.  

In the weeks since the doomed assault on the Fortress, the other Jedi – Leeha Narezz and Warren Sedoru – had each broken after a single session with the Emperor, giving in to their hatred and turning into loyal servants of his will. Even Master Tol Braga, the strike team’s leader and a member of the Order’s illustrious Council, had found his will crumbled by the end of his second. Each of them had, by now, passed a multitude of tests to demonstrate their devotion to the Emperor and to the Dark Side.    

Antilles was now on her sixth session.

Scourge privately wondered if even Revan had lasted so long. The iconic Jedi had seen both sides of the Force and had been the most knowledgeable Force-practitioner Scourge had ever known, next to the Emperor himself.

Yet even Revan – and his partner Malak – had eventually broken all the same, becoming Sith Lords themselves and servants to the Emperor’s will. All well before even Scourge’s time.

Antilles… lacked Revan’s knowledge of the Force, but perhaps – perhaps! – rivalled or even surpassed him in her untapped potential power in the Force. She seemed a devout follower of the light, but Scourge had felt the touch of darkness in her spirit all the same, back when he’d encountered her on Quesh.

The girl – Antilles’ apprentice, the former Child of the Emperor who had inexplicably broken free of his control – had been imprisoned down in the Fortress’ hanger along with the other members of Antilles’ crew. For the moment, they had not been interrogated or otherwise harmed. Scourge suspected that Vitiate was keeping them undamaged for some special purpose after he finally bent Antilles to his will.

Perhaps I can use them for my own purposes. Scourge mused, silently. When the time comes.

Whatever information Antilles’ followers may have had about the Republic or the Jedi was irrelevant to the Emperor; let the Dark Council and the military concern themselves with the progress of the war. The true servants – the Hand, the Children and Scourge himself, the Wrath – were all focused solely on the Emperor’s grander plans.

Plans that Scourge secretly intended to see foiled no matter what the cost.

The Jedi’s back arched as she continued to twist and turn in suffering. Scourge had interrogated and tortured hundreds of individuals over the course of his career, dating back even to well before he’d been named the Emperor’s Wrath. Inevitably, even the strongest and bravest individuals would inevitably beg for their lives, or at the very least plead for a quick death to end their suffering. The mind and body simply were not designed to withstand the prolonged suffering a skilled torturer could inflict.

Kayeh Antilles’ screams were incoherent. There were no words. Each time the lightning had struck her, she’d attempted to stifle a scream only to be quickly overcome. Through it all, she’d never once begged. She’d never said anything discernable at all.

The storm of lightning ceased as Vitiate paused for a moment, a natural step in the process. Scourge knew full well that it was best to give a subject a brief respite, so they did not become desensitized to what was being done to them.

He watched as the brutalized Jedi seemed to suppress a sob, then slowly, gingerly rolled up onto her knees before the throne.

For a moment, he was certain that this would be the moment where she finally broke and submitted to the Emperor. Where she would pledge herself to his will, and join her fellow Jedi in becoming his servant, his weapon… his slave.

Impossibly, he watched her right knee come up, as her foot planted and started to push off the floor.

She was trying to stand up.

Alone. Weaponless. Bound. Drugged. Tortured. Injured. Exhausted beyond reason. Surrounded by the most powerful being in the galaxy, his personal executioner, four of his Imperial Guards, and a whole station full of his servants… and she was attempting to stand.

To defy him.

Scourge watched transfixed. Her hair was in her eyes as her head tilted upward towards the throne. Had Scourge not been standing almost directly in front of her, he might have missed the look in her eyes. He doubted if even Vitiate himself noticed. Her deep green eyes weren’t full of defeat, or anger or even pain.

Just defiance. Defiance at this being who had imprisoned her. Defiance at this creature who had caused her such pain.

It was the most beautiful sight Scourge had witnessed in three hundred years.

There was fire and steel in this young Jedi. A resolve that refused to give in, even in the face of absolute power. Combined with her skills as a warrior and her immense potential with the Force, she was a remarkable specimen. The Emperor’s Wrath felt stirrings deep within him, the shadows of emotions not experienced for centuries…

The moment of awe came to an abrupt end as heard a sound much like a snarl from behind him.

The explosion of lightning was more focused this time, almost a solid blast of power as the Emperor focused his rage. It struck Kayeh Antilles square in the chest, knocking her clean off her feet and driving her back several meters in a blast of Force.

It was over as quickly as it began.  

The stream of lightning ceased, as Antilles lay in a heap on the ground, unconscious.

But not defeated.

There would be no submission this day.

Scourge felt a surge of cold rage bubbling up behind him. He hadn’t felt this much anger and hatred coming from the Emperor since the confrontation with Revan and Meetra Surik on Dromund Kaas three hundred years before.  

Though no words were spoken, the four Imperial Guards converged on the fallen Jedi following the Emperor’s unspoken will. The quartet would drag her back to the bacta tanks for as long as her body needed to recover. The injuries she had endured this day, like those she had suffered when she’d been captured and during her first five ‘sessions’, would not result in permanent scars or other physical damage: The bacta would see to that. The scars to her spirit would be another matter, but such wounds were typical when driving someone to the Dark Side.  

Her defiance in the face of the Emperor would mean nothing in the end, of course. She would eventually break in time. Everyone did.

But Scourge now felt a renewed sense of confidence. She would fall, but she would eventually free herself, as Revan had done. And in that moment, he would be ready to ensure her success.

Perhaps – if he were very fortunate – he would bare witness to the beauty of her defiance once again.

He almost – almost! – grinned in anticipation. [Tagging people who liked my teasers - Thank you! @a-muirehen , @cinlat , @introversiontherapy, @tishinada , @sleepswithvillains , @theravenassassin95 , @blueburds , @actualanxiousswampwitch​ ]

[hothian-snow]

OC Music Meme

List one or more songs that relate to the following tagged by @a-muirehen​ tagging @sith-nb @elvhenyoung @rainofaugustsith @jacemalcom

OC: Yennevyr Dosal aka Lord Soteira

Reminds you of them most:

Moonsea by Phildel Don't share the past, if you won't share your heart All that we share is the view of these stars There are diamonds on the floor you can't take back There's an eyelash on the board, does she wear black? All the violence that I swore you could have back There's red varnish on the door, I don't wear that I called it, I called it, I called it the moon scene

The song depicts how she views the relationships in her life, from her very first lover to her current master. It speaks of the surface glam, the glittering mystique, the toxicity she sometimes fall into (most of the time originating from her), and the conflicting feelings of vulnerability. The tone of the song represents her perfectly.

Teen Idle by MARINA I want blood, guts, and angel cake I'm gonna puke it anyway I wish I'd been a teen idle Wish I'd been a prom queen, fighting for the title Instead of being sixteen and burning up a bible Feeling super, super, super suicidal

It's almost narcissistic how much Yen hates herself. She had battled with mental health issues which she hides away for the majority of her childhood and teenage years. Her father was oblivious to how bad she was suffering, and Gisele saw glimpses but not enough for her to directly intervene. Yen's obsession with creating an image for herself, of wanting to be unattainable just so she could be wanted, is depicted tragically well in this song. Also, the teen angst is lovely.

No Children by The Mountain Goats

And I hope I never get sober And I hope when you think of me years down the line You can't find one good thing to say [...] I am drowning There is no sign of land You are coming down with me Hand in unlovable hand And I hope you die I hope we both die

Yen’s depression song. Her self-destructiveness coupled with her spite makes a horrible combination that encapsulates her dysfunctional state.

Blinding by Florence + The Machine No more dreaming of the dead as if death itself was undone No more calling like a crow for a boy, for a body in the garden No more dreaming like a girl so in love, so in love

Yen has always been an escapist at heart- escaping the world, escaping from herself. It's about time she stops running, and wake up from that dream world. The death of her father and the supposed death of her childhood lover haunts her. It's time that she moved on.

Reminds another character of them:

Sober II by Lorde You asked if I was feeling it, I'm psycho high Know you won't remember in the morning when I speak my mind Lights are on and they've gone home, but who am I? Oh, how fast the evening passes Cleaning up the champagne glasses

Anyone who knew Yen on Celanon (or on her late night outs on Dromund Kaas) knows that she is a woman who wears 'glamour and trauma' like they are designer clothes. She loves to drink just so she can feel good, to flirt just so she can feel attractive, to party just so she can forget. An unhealthy coping mechanism to deal with what was initially just an unfulfilling familial relationship, and later to deal with her various emotional baggage.

Watching Ruth by Alexandre Desplat

A musical ost from The Shape of Water, one of my favorite films. The music reminds Darth Kharopos so much of Yen, even if Yen would never see herself in this song. A low, dramatic, slightly foreboding tune that turns into something out of a romantic bed-time story. He senses the pain and anguish in her, but in the end, he sees her in the best light possible. It is in their initial meeting that he sees her doing something out of the goodness of her heart- hence, he knows she isn't who she pretends to be, that she is better than she thinks she is. He sees the girl who, deep down, wishes that life would play out like a fairy tale.

Reminds you of a relationship of theirs

Gisele and Yen

Whisper by Birdeatsbaby Pulling through the distant nightmare A pain I’m hungry to share You’re my dirty secret But I won’t keep it Simmering and spilling over Calling every, every quarter I’ll be fire, earth and water Now you’re shouting I can hear ya Bang bang lover we’re running undercover From the guns of tyranny 

Gisele was her bodyguard and Yen was the crime princess. It was a fairy tale romance, only with guns and blood. Of course, Gisele realizes that the explosiveness and drama of their relationship was partially performative too- something Yen won’t admit.

Tyrkos Rosokor aka Darth Kharopos and Yen

Sylvia by The Antlers Sylvia, get your head out of the oven Go back to screaming and cursing Remind me again how everyone betrayed you Sylvia, get your head out of the covers Let me take your temperature You can throw the thermometer right back at me If that's what you want to do, okay?

Sometimes, Yen spirals. Their relationship becomes heavily toxic. At first, Darth Kharopos thought he’d helped her through her issues but mental health maintenance is a lifelong process, one that cannot be fixed with a few months of therapy. Especially, not when it is a childhood issue that is worsened by constant trauma. It gets worse when Yen reaches the point where she is powerful enough to lash out at the world, to potentially kill her master if she wishes it so.

Falling by Florence + The Machine

I've fallen out of favor and I've fallen from grace Fallen out of trees and I've fallen on my face Fallen out of taxis, out of windows too Fell in your opinion when I fell in love with you [...] I'm not scared to jump, I'm not scared to fall If there was nowhere to land I wouldn't be scared at all

Yen knew the dark side has become a part of her, no matter how much Darth Kharopos preaches about balance, about the light. Then, Yen realizes eventually that her master means something to her. She loves him- and that truly scares her. Stars, why did she ever catch feelings?

Love Run by The Amazing Devil

Love run, love run For all the things we wished we’d done Run from all you know that’s coming Run to show that love’s worth running to

Their bond has grown into something beyond that of master and apprentice. Love is a double-edged blade.

Darth Tiophis and Yen

Seven Devils by Florence + the Machine Seven devils all around you Seven devils in your house See, I was dead when I woke up this morning I'll be dead before the day is done

The ghost of Darth Tiphios has bored her way through Yen's spirit, and turned Yen into something else, something Other, one foot in this world and another elsewhere. Yen is ready to be a vessel for retribution.

The Horror and the Wild by The Amazing Devil

You're the daughter of sightless watching stones You watch the stars hurl all their fundaments In wonderment, at you and yours, forever asking more [...] We're drunk but drinking, sunk but sinking They thought us blind, we were just blinking [...] Give me back my heart you wingless thing

Darth Tiophis to Yen is like the Devil to a witch, like Hekate to Medea. This song is the song of Yen, the woman who bleed stars and learn from ghosts, a Sith powerful enough to go toe-to-toe with the likes of Darth Malgus. She is the legacy of Darth Tiophis, ancestor of Darth Lokess who is the infamous sorceress that attempted to overthrow the Sith Emperor and paid for it with her life.

[sith-shenanigans]

WIP Sampler

Rules: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Send me an ask with the title that most intrigues you and interests you and I’ll post a little snippet of it or tell you something about it!

Tagged by @dragonheart-swtor, thank you! I continue to feel weird about tagging people, so: if any of y’all want to do this, consider yourself tagged.

In-progress chapters:

1. A Longer Leash

2. The Expedition

3. Wheels Spinning

4. Out of the Frying Pan

5. Like a Sieve

6. Chains of Command

7. Dromund Kaas Nightlife

Chapters/arcs that aren’t really in progress yet but have titles anyway (mostly pivotal moments, since those are what I plan out most):

1. Failures of Command

2. Fear Itself

3. The Dark Council Meets

4. Station Under Siege [part one/two/three/etc, it’s a mini-arc]

5. The Light That Burns and Blinds

6. As Above, So Below

7. Interlude: You Can’t Go Home Again

8. The Tower

9. Interlude(?): Diplomatic Impunity

10. Somewhere Between Tar and Clarity

11. you and me, we’re faithless [nsfw, so won’t be in the main fics]

12. Dies Irae

13. Shadow Duel

14. At the End of the World

15. All You Love

16. The Inscrutable Commander

I have a bunch more WIPs, but most of them don’t have titles, because Scrivener doesn’t require titles within a project. The rest are some variant of “Epilogue.”

[chaoticspacefam]

(lovely art was done for me by @moonlitalien​ <3 you should totally go check out the rest of her stuff owo)

GENERAL

name : Aria Saal-Shenly | Darth Canis, Commander Canis

gender : Female

age : 38 as of 3629 BBY (physically looks about 24, thank you Force powers!)

place of birth : Onderon, Japrael system. But was only there for 2 years, spent the rest of her early years on Korriban and Dromund Kaas after her father took her from her mother to begin her apprenticeship.

spoken languages : Basic, High Sith, Twi’leki, Huttese, Mirialan, also understands but can’t speak fluently in Selkatha and Droid speak

sexual orientation : Demiromantic Pansexual

occupation : Sith Acolyte/Apprentice → Sith Inquisitor → Jedi Padawan (Sith Assassin) → Spice smuggler → Jedi Padawan again/Barsen’thor of the Jedi Order (Sith Assassin again)   →  co-Commander/High Council Member of the Eternal Alliance

APPEARANCE

eye color : Dark side amber, very bright. Naturally, her eyes are heterochromic;

hair color : Raven black, with a blonde streak dyed into her fringe on the left side.

height : 5 ft 1 in, she’s tiiiiinyyy (but don’t say that to her face)

scars and burns : Quite a few. Most notably, she has a large puncture/bite mark scar (lining up pretty good with the average-sized Tuk’ata’s teeth ;)) on her throat, various smaller blaster marks and/or saber burns, particularly on her shoulders and collarbone. And finally, a very large cluster of through-and-through scar tissue stretching across almost her entire torso, and mirrored on her back.

overweight : Not really, but she is very stocky in build, so she doesn’t have an hourglass figure at all.

underweight : No

FAVORITE

color : Gunmetal grey

music genre : Doesn’t tend to listen to music much, pretty much just chills and listens to whatever Vano likes.

tv show : mostly documentaries on Sith Archaeology and artefacts, occasionally a holodrama, though she mostly watches those because her wife likes them and she just wants to spend time with her, as opposed to actually caring about the storyline.

food : hearty, warming food like stews, curries etc.

drink : alcoholic: Arkanian Sweet Milk, anything strong enough to knock you onto your ass, she likes heavy liqueour and holds hers well. Though she will drink just about anything. Non-alcoholic: partial to bantha or nerf milk, especially slightly warmed.

book : not much of a reader, but will sometimes go over ancient Sith scripts with Ni’kasi, or read through some of her father’s old archive files when she’s missing him.

HAVE THEY:

passed university : if graduating from the Sith Academy/Jedi Order counts as university, then yes.

had sex : Yes. 

had sex in public : A public place, yes. In front of other people, though? nope.

gotten pregnant/gotten someone pregnant : Nope. Aria is sterile due to side effects from a blunt trauma injury in her youth (she crashed a TIE fighter and was impaled by the bulkhead. A longass soak in a kolto tank and several months of treatment and physical therapy restored most of her other physical abilities, but they couldn’t undo the damage to her reproductive system - she doesn’t mind, she never wanted kids anyways and now it just means she doesn’t have to faff with...things when she’d rather be doing the other thing ;))

kissed a boy : Yep!

kissed a girl : Yep!

gotten tattoos : Yes. Aria has red Sith tattoos along her jawline, on her chin, and around her left eye (see image above for reference!). she covers these up with a TON of makeup while she’s undercover with the Jedi, but finally stops putting the concealers on once they get to Yavin and she can confidently be herself again.

had a broken heart : Nnnnnooopeee. She’s the one that does the heartbreaking ;’)

been in love : yes! only with Vano, though. and it took her YEARS to finally admit it to herself, nevermind poor Va sjuhsgyudg XD

stayed up for longer than 24 hours : on a few occasions yes. More often during the KOTFE/ET timeline, when Valkorion starts terrorising Vano in her dreams. Aria stays up to shake her awake and bring her back down when it gets really bad :(

ARE THEY:

a virgin : Lol, no. (she’s a whore and she’s not even sorry)

a cuddler : If your name is Vano, yes. With everyone else, not so much.

a kisser : Absolutely! Especially with Vano, of course, but is known to be quite kissy with just about anyone, sometimes purposefully just to make them flustered and/or for a laugh, because she’s a troll like that :’D

scared easily : Ahahahahahahahahhahahahaha. No. Definitely not, this woman has nerves of steel. She’ll stare down a beast ten times her size and scream back at it and not even flinch once. That’s not to say she’s entirely fearless, she does have fears, but they’re incredibly specific and chances are you have to actually know what they are before you’ll actually be able to frighten this tiny gremlin.

jealous easily : not particularly. she can be somewhat possessive at times, but usually only with a fairly good reason (watch out, Quinn)

trustworthy : If you’re someone who has earned her genuine trust and respect, absolutely. Otherwise...don’t trust her as far as you could throw her. She’ll stab you in the back as soon as is convenient for her, especially to save her own ass (or someone she does care about)

dominant : Can be, depending on the mood (an anashamed switch *wiggles eyebrows*)

submissive : Can be, depending on the mood (an anashamed switch *wiggles eyebrows*)

in love : yes! even she was surprised by that one, but she and Vano are inseparable now.

single : Nope! Happily married and even though she might flirt sometimes (especially if it makes the recipient uncomfortable), she has no intention of following through with any of it.

RANDOM QUESTIONS

have they harmed themselves : Not on purpose, but had a glitterstim habit for a good five years when she first fled from the Sith and Jedi and has some problems with her long-term memory as a result, as well as a binge-drinking problem. She’s still a heavy drinker, but nowhere near what it used to be.

thought of suicide : surprisingly, no. she’s too stubborn for that. Aria will keep chugging on out of sheer spite.

attempted suicide : nope, even though she’s been through some bad, bad stuff and had a lot of trauma to work through, even at the worst moments of her life she was determined to poke the entire world in the eye and tell it to “go fuck itself” :’)

wanted to kill someone : Bwahahahahah absolutely. It’s...I mean it’s basically her entire job. The person in charge points at something/one and says “that one” and she’ll go do it (: She calms down a bit once she follows Vano into the Alliance and starts taking orders from her and Saarai (but only because they are more chill. If they leave her unattended and/or don’t explicitly say "DO NOT kill the thing!!” then she’s a loose cannon *whistles*)

rode a (space) horse : yes! she’s ridden various things from Uxibeasts to Tauntauns and Icetrompers, and even a Hssiss once, but her usual go-to mount is a Varactyl.

have / had a job : Yes. She was, for a time, the Barsen’thor of the Jedi, but secretly a Sith Assassin/sleeper agent who weakened the Order from the inside, until the tail end of the battle(s) on Ilum when Satele finally caught her out and threw her ass in Time Out (a.k.a jail/a Force cage) before Vano and Ni’kasi could get to her. She was eventually - somewhat begrudgingly - released and ordered to accompany Theron on his mission, as Theron didn’t trust Lana or the other Sith they were sending enough to go alone and no other Jedi would volunteer to go with him without further details. When that Sith turns out to be Vano, Aria joins up with the proto-Alliance they begin to form on Yavin and stays at Vano’s side to become a co-Commander/member of the Alliance’s High Council once it’s formed for real.

fears : she has PTSD associated with the people she killed in her younger years (most notably her mother and a certain someone else I cannot yet mention because spoilers), but her biggest fear is actually death/dying. Aria is terrified of the day the Force finally takes her and she has to face all the people she’s harmed while she was a puppet to Vitiate’s Empire.

FAMILY

sibling(s) : none in official canon, though in the Zephyrverse AU she does have quite a few half-siblings on her father’s side.

parents : Myala Thulie | (Former) Cipher Nine (non canon) (Mother, deceased), Roanan Saal | Darth Noctis (Father, deceased as of end of Sith Warrior storyline)

children : Ahahahahahahahahahaha no.  Do not leave her around children, she’s an awful babysitter and would be an even worse mother. Aria will teach them to cuss like a Corellian pilot in all five languages that she knows and just generally be a very awful influence on them.

pets : the former Tuk’ata Mother, Chwûq, and her mate Taral. Once bonded to her father, but chose to attach themselves to Aria instead after his death; and a Woodland Varactyl (female) named Maeiv (pronounced “may-eev”),

I’m not gonna tag anybody cause I’m literally doing this one again because I’m bored/I needed stuff to throw into the queue for this weekend while I’m afk. If you’re reading this and you want to do it, tho, go for it!! :DD

[swtorfamilyandfriends]

Name- Vicroria Krell

Face claim- Had to look up what it meant, still not 100% sure so...

Age- going by the lore they've given us, probably in her 30s. Headcanon shes 33.

Height- 5'6

Species- Human.

Gender- Female

Birthday- Early Winter.

Residents- Born and raised Dromund Kaas, only going off world a few times a year as a young girl for meeting with the rest of House Krell on an undisclosed planet.

Marital status- currently married to Arcan.

Alignment- Lawful evil.

Good Drink- Something hard, a shot if possible.

Snack food- Always on the run, she rarely has time to snack. Imperial rations are always stocked away in her ship.

Pet- No pets, no time for pets. She does keep an interrogation probe with her handy.

Color- Black, red.

Flower- black Rose.

Sexuality- heterosexual.

Body type- thin, lean muscles, agile.

Eye color- Blue.

Hair color- Blonde.

I was tagged by a few people actually, so here goes my main.