#*waves I Love Mara Jade flag*

[ooops-i-arted]

@unsure-sincerity said: Cool Mara Jade. What is she like? I know she’s an important character in the legends books, I just don’t think I’ll ever get around to reading the books myself.

I’m glad you asked.  In short, she’s AWESOME!! :D  (Will contain some spoilers for the Legends verse but I’ll try not to be too specific.)

Mara Jade was first introduced in Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn trilogy (highly, highly recommend - definitely a worthy successor to the original 3 movies, regardless of how one feels about the Disney trilogy I think it’s just a way better crafted story and portrayal of the characters).  She ended up being a major player; she, Chewbacca, and Lando were kind of the Silver Trio to Han, Luke, and Leia’s Golden Trio.

Mara was the Emperor’s Hand, an elite assassin who served the Emperor directly and was trained since childhood to do so.  (She wasn’t the only one but believed she was.)  She was extremely smart and adept at espionage, combat, etc skills that she needed for her job.  When he died the Emperor sent her one last command, You will kill Luke Skywalker.  After his death it’s still in her head, so she vitriolically hates Luke for this and blames him for life as she knows it collapsing.  She ends up working under the smuggler Talon Karrde, and because he treats her fairly and with respect she ends up very loyal to him.  Mara will always back up anyone she considers worthy of her loyalty.  Luke and Mara cross paths and Mara is still tormented by the Emperor’s last command, but of course Luke is the sweetest, gentlest bean of all time and she starts warming up to him.  They make peace with each other by the end of the Thrawn trilogy and Mara continues to warm up to him until finally they fall in love and are married years later.  She also trains as a Jedi, and Luke gives her his father’s lightsaber.

Mara has trauma in her life - being taken from her family, being trained by the Emperor, etc - and while it affects her, she never wallows in it or uses it to excuse herself.  She’s always moving forward, trying to solve the next problem, and has incredible inner strength and resolve.  It can be hard to win her over but once you do, she’s very loyal.  She’s smart and clever and always an active participant in the plot, never just hanging around waiting for Luke to save the day.  When they get together, they are equal partners and trust and respect each other.  She’s loving toward her family, both the Solos and her husband and the son they have, Ben.  She never backs down from a fight, either.  Fuck Karen Traviss very much for killing her off, but at least Mara went out in a fight and doing what she thought was right to protect her family.

For me, Mara was one of the first kickass female characters I encountered (in the specific flavor I was craving).  I was kind of uniquely shielded from Star Wars Is For Boys because in my family my dad is the only non-nerd, but I was always aware of it.  Also much as I loved Padme and Leia, the Jedi were my favorite but the female Jedi were usually either obviously designed to be sexy and pretty and/or had very minor roles (at least in the Star Wars media I had access to at the time, movies + Legends books at the library).  Mara was an instant favorite for me.  She’s a Jedi, a badass with a cool backstory, highly skilled and smart, but a full character with flaws, not some #EmpoweredGirlboss token or an Always-Right Author’s Pet.  She makes mistakes, she takes time to warm up to our heroes (but she’s well written so you understand why she doubts them), and while pretty much all illustrations of her sexy her up, she’s described as wearing practical clothing much of the time, and when she isn’t, it’s for a purpose (like going undercover as one of Jabba’s dancers).

Also I just think it’s so fucking funny that people got all butthurt about Rey, a rando and a girl, getting the Youngling Slayer 3000 when Luke just gave the thing to Mara at the end of the Thrawn trilogy even though he hadn’t known her long and she’d been wanting to kill him most of that time.

In conclusion I’ve loved Mara since I was a kid and I think she’s a fantastic character.  If you or anyone else reading this gets the chance I STRONGLY recommend the Thrawn Trilogy and Hand of Thrawn duology by Timothy Zahn, both for main Mara readings by her creator, and just because they’re amazing books in their own right.  In fact I think that’s what I’m gonna do now!

Also here is Mara’s Wookieepeda page if you’re interested.

[thegirlwholied]

ten faves

Rules: name ten favorite characters from ten different things (tv, movies, books, etc.). 

Thanks for tagging me @bibliophileiz ; exactly the sort of distraction I both needed (and that my current concentration-level is capable of) at the moment! Hard choices ~ especially as many of my favorites come in pairs! ~ but my top ten today...

...after draft error #97 or so, sorry in advance for the scroll, and for anyone else who winds up responding, do not draft on your phone take my word for it... 

Princess Bride: Inigo Montoya

Which character don't I love in Princess Bride? Even Humperdink is such a pitch-perfect villain. But while I'd choose Westley if I was picking a date... Inigo's the one who captures me, every time. It's not the desire for revenge itself that's compelling; it's the love for his father - the heartbreak, the dedication, even the defeat and the rise again (the "you told me to go back to the beginning scene" comes to mind as one that stays with me and is probably a huge influence on things I think of but haven't really written yet...)

Harry Potter: Sirius Black

Yes, that's a gif of Midnight Mark from Pirate Radio, because I very much mean the book version (sorry, Gary Oldman!). Is anyone following me surprised by this one?

I'm so fascinated by all of the Marauder era characters, both as they are on the page and the hinted-at aspects of them explored in fandom; love Lily/James... but Sirius is the Harry Potter character I think of first (honorable mention to non-HP Edmond Dantès, as I love Count of Monte Cristo and think much of Sirius' plotline owes that a clear debt). Aside from being a tragedy, aside from all his great lines, what a *fascinating* character and twist, in a way, on the fairy godmother plot in his first book 3 appearance (getting Harry the Firebolt, his permission slip, etc). I could say SO much more but will avoid writing an essay.

Smallville/Superman comics/adaptations: Lois Lane

Always a favorite character for me, but Erica Durance in Smallville is my favorite version. I feel like they gave her a bit of Marian Ravenwood (specifically in the outdrinking the frat boys scene) and leaned into the modern comics "army brat" angle so well.

Anne of Green Gables: Anne Shirley.

With honorable mentions to of course Jo March, other fellow aspiring writer Emily of New Moon, and Pippi Longstocking, other fun redhead of my childhood reading... Anne, and all her drama and dreams and mishaps, wins out as most relatable for me. Book heroine of my heart.

Speaking of childhood book heroines...

Star Wars: Jaina Solo.

Look, this is partly to save me between picking a favorite between Leia and Han (a dilemma which has haunted me since childhood, in part because, guiltily, it's Han), and serious honorable mentions to Mara Jade and especially Jyn Erso here... but Jaina was *everything* I wanted in a heroine as a girl. We're talking about the Young Jedi Knights series here... though I actually started with Junior Jedi Knights featuring Anakin Solo (oh Anakin Solo 💙💔)... going into the New Jedi Order, as I stopped following the EU so passionately around there.

Jaina, who is brash and so her father's daughter but has a harder time seeing she's also her mother's, the Rogue Squadron pilot, the wielder of a purple lightsaber, the mechanic... my inner little girl will never quite forgive the sequels for failing to give me a Solo daughter (sorry, Rey; I still think Daisey Ridley was pitch-perfect Jaina Solo casting... and honestly part of me considers the sequels the "weirdest Jacen & Jaina fan fiction ever" 🤷🏻‍♀️)

BtVS (out of the whole Whedonverse really): Buffy

My other favorites in the show are really also doubles/foils for Buffy: Cordelia Chase & Faith. But the first episode of the show I ever saw was "Anne" and so I've always known I would watch an entire show with just Buffy (... I would also watch an entire show of her friends dealing with her absence, but that's more about *plot* than character). I love the concept alone of Buffy's character - overturning the blonde damsel in distress trope by making her what monsters fear - but I mostly just love her; favorite Chosen One ever. “No weapons, no friends, no hope. Take all that away, and what's left?"/"Me."

...and now it gets very hard, where my early choices were more instinctive and now I keep thinking of others and can't decide. Tempted to make a bracket (I feel like Sirius and Inigo have some crossover, but how could I put them against each other)?

But ("if you had to choose, if you had to choose") to get at some of my other favorite character types and embodiments thereof...

2010-me would never believe I'm going to say this, but: Jaime Lannister.

I'm usually not a villain girl... but of course, he isn't a villain, though he starts out cast in that light. Slightly annoyed I’m picking Game of Thrones (yes, even grouping the books in that, as post Storm of Swords, I remember thinking "this could really benefit from the tightening the show will likely give it" ahahahahahahaha whoops). And yet. Where did that "came for the Starks; stayed for the Lannisters" quote come from? I feel very attacked by it.

"The things I do for love". The boy who wanted to be Arthur Dayne and somewhere along the way became the Smiling Knight. The reveal that he's not (or at least so much MORE than) who he seemed : perhaps not the comparison you'd expect but ah yes that Mr. Darcy twist always does it for me. So much character development (let's not speak of how the show ended, but still). 

The motives, in particular:  I love the Spike backstory reveal in Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Fool for Love, and in many ways I think Spike and Jaime hit the same note for me. He’s definitely a character that stays with me. Also, he hits that "golden boy" type I also like but in a *very* interesting way (and oh no now mentioning golden boy is making me think of Aron and Cal in East of Eden, I don't have room to even consider them on this list but know I love them both...)

Speaking of golden boys (also I cannot believe this is the only character from a musical I'm choosing, and Eponine’s a character that haunts me too, but...)

Enjolras.

Michael Maguire is not a golden Enjolras but was my introduction to the character and still a (the?) favorite. Love both book & musical Enjolras in different ways. But inspiring idealists with the light of rebellion abalaze in their eyes...? Facing death & despair still waving the flag? Ah yes. Top ten, 10/10.

Favorite detective out of all mysteries really, but especially from the Nancy Drew & Hardy Boys Super Mysteries: Nancy Drew.

An icon. Why is it so hard to have a good Nancy Drew adaptation? (The new TV series lost me with going with actual ghosts - I love my supernatural shows, but I don't need that with Nancy Drew.) Detective characters tend to be some of my favorites; honorable mention to Shawn Spencer from Psych here, but I was reminded in watching that recently (as Maggie Lawson, Jules on Psych, had once played Nancy Drew in a Disney movie! ... that I need to find and rewatch as I remember almost nothing about it) a) how much I love a good mystery and b) that Nancy is the OG.

Speaking of icons... out of all the folklore & mythology I love, it’s clear what character I love best: Robin Hood.

Oh, I love my Arthurian knights, but I love all Robin Hoods more. Trickster heroes, rob-from-the-rich-and-give-to-the-poor-justice, true love... cheeky 1952-movie Robin Hood is my favorite - both favorite Robin and favorite Marian, and their childhood-friends-to-lovers romance is the epitome of that trope for me! - but I also love the fox version...and am very alarmed at the prospect of a CGI remake of that; I'm sorry but that is not live action... and also Errol Flynn! It has to be Robin. If this was a ranked list (it’s not) he’d probably take #1. 

My ten slots won out to other characters, but also I love every Tamora Pierce character and if I had to pick one, it would be Daine Sarrasri, YA fantasy heroine out of all magical girls (and yes over the lady knights; sorry Alanna and Kel; Daine had wolves for friends). Also shout out that I love a LOT of characters named Marian, aside the already-mentioned Maid Marian -- Marian Ravenwood (& Indy!), Marian ‘the Librarian’ Paroo (& Harold Hill!), X-Men’s Rogue (usually named Anna Marie when a name’s revealed, but a Marian in at least one version, & her own thief Gambit)... to quote Thin Man, “You got types?”

I’ve got types. 

If you’re reading this and have types yourself, please @ me them! But tagging, if you’d like, @conniecorleone​ @aliform​ @aurorawest​ @vivacephoenix @justkeeponthegrass