#and artoo is used as a clue so often

[ragnarlothcat]

For the ask game, 10 and 48! ❤️

Hello and thank you 🥰 (ask game)

10. How do you decide what to write?

Interesting question 🤔 I guess all my wips and ideas are constantly swirling around my head and I'm always writing down fragments that occur to me (I just thought of a real banger for my daddy kink fic). Then I either hit a relevant time of year (October and demon fic), an embarrassing length of time without an update (everything) or reach a point where I have enough fragments that I can string together a framework and then go from there!

48. What’s the last fic you read? Do you recommend it?

I've been catching up on @renlyslittlerose's kinktober and I read If Only They Knew and I would indeed recommend it! I was just saying in another one of these that humiliation is a tricky one (for me) and I think Lemon did a fabulous job!

[vagrantblvrd]

Luke “I’m here to rescue you!” :DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD Skywalker rescuing Din and others with rad Jedi powers and Din “I’m so tired, please let me rest” Djarin and his “Are you a Jedi” is like. The best.

Luke used to being recognized pretty much everywhere he goes and this Mandalorian who has no clue is so great, he loves it?

And then the however long after taking Grogu as his student Luke ends up chasing Din. At some point there’s another rescue that’s marginally less dramatic than the one on Gideon’s cruiser.

Din just stares at Luke before he offers a quiet thanks and trudges off because ow and tired and so, so tired and his job’s not finished yet, and did he mention the tired part? Because so very tired.

Luke is like ??? but gamely follows along because Grogu is miserable, inconsolable  -

“What did you say?”

Luke blinks at the way the Mandalorian whips around, hand dropping to the blaster at his hip as he strides toward him and has to run the last thing he said back in his mind and oh, of course.

Cocks his head, because this Mandalorian, exhausted, hurting, and covered in...well, Luke’s not sure but there’s a very large creature behind them that was mostly dead before Luke had to step in at the last minute to save said Mandalorian, and anyway.

After all that and having gotten a glimpse of what Luke’s capable of on Gideon’s cruiser, he looks like he’s figuring out the best way to kill Luke and it’s kind of great?

(Leia would have conniptions if she could hear that part and would also kill him, which is why Luke is never, ever going to tell her. Ever.)

“He misses you,” Luke says, keeps eye contact with Din because the Force and all even with the helmet - even with the way Din’s fingers over his blaster twitch, the way it looks like oh, hey, the Mandalorian might kill him anyway, but -

He just sighs, shoulders dropping as his hand falls away from his blaster, head turning away.

Not much to look at here, rock and dust and burned out mining settlements.

“I have a job to do,” the Mandalorian grits out.

Luke studies him, considers his words and smiles. Small thing at the corner of his mouth.

“Want help with that?”

Which is how Luke gets dragged into a plan only an idiot could love, which of course is why he’s all for it and all kinds of fighty action.

(Including the one where he and Din end up back-to-back against a mob of baddies and quips an one-liners and dry retorts are exchanged and Luke is far more charmed by the whole thing than he should be, and the same for Din and it’s just a slippery slope from there, you know?)

Also, just when they think the fighting’s over the last baddie on a roof somewhere takes a shot at them and it’s hard to say which of them is more impressed at what happens after that. Din who shot the baddie dead, body tumbling from the roof as in westerns of olde, or Luke who deflected the shot with his lightsaber.

Still.

Din tilts his head at Luke as he holsters his blaster, says - mocking? teasing?

“You missed.”

Because he has seen, okay, he has seen Luke deflect blaster bolts right back at the idiot who fired them, knows he can do that.

Luke shrugs, that little smile on his face he had when this whole mess started back, and he says,”You had it covered.”

And then goes off to check on the innocents they were protecting, who hired Din to save them, while Din stares after him thinking uncomplimentary things about Jedi because seriously, okay, seriously.

But also that thing about Grogu and Luke not having to work all that hard to convince Din to come see his kid.

(Has this moment, though, when Din mentions what Ahsoka told him about the Jedi order and attachment and makes a mental note to have a chat with some Jedi masters he knows later, but for now, yes.)

Din who’s all...restless, antsy, worried about setting Grogu on a path to the Dark side, so he doesn’t stay.

Goes off on Adventures and such, meanwhile Luke’s sending him updates on Grogu’s progress. Sometimes just happens to be in the same place as Din - What a surprise Din’s ass, what with the smirk on Luke’s face and oh, look, Grogu’s here too.

There’s just.

A lot of that going on, and Din is kind of losing his mind about it because it’s hard to be noble and self-sacrificing when the person he’s doing it for isn’t letting him???

Just absolutely refuses to, and has the galaxy’s worst enabler in an annoying smug Jedi who should really know better, because Jedi???

Luke just shrugs, that same dam smile on his face s Grogu chatters at Din - lecturing him, really, with that scowl on his face and angry little growl to his voice.

“He misses you,” is all Luke ever says, and it’s just.

A lot.

And then there’s a situation in which Din evades the bad guys in his new ship but also ends up crashing it. Just staring at the damn thing, hull integrity compromised and listing sadly to the side because broken landing struts and also a pile of boulders and look, not his best landing ever.

He’s not in his best shape ever either, bruised and battered and just so, so tired, and then a damn X-wing shows up not too long afterward.

Skywalker, because of course it’s him, and Grogu too.

Din’s sitting on a boulder staring at his ship and just.

Tired.

Luke doesn’t say anything, but he sets Grogu down and Din’s tiny green gremlin kid scampers over to him and tugs on his pants. Lifts his little arms and Din obeys the unspoken command to pick his kid up, and stares.

Because his tiny green gremlin kid has a helmet.

Pilot’s helmet, though, and Luke just shrugs when Din looks at him because what? Things get turbulent sometimes when one is flying about in an all too recognizable X-wing and it’s not like Luke has a wingman to watch his six wherever he goes and also there are so many people out there who’d love to take a shot at him, so.

Safety measures and all.

Really.

Although maybe having a Mando-Dad is influencing his son’s sartorial choices, who can say.

(But please consider Grogu in a full set of Grogu-sized Mandalorian armor as I sure the hell am right now.)

Din huffs, and when he looks back a Grogu his heart does this Thing inside his chest because there’s a mudhorn insignia on the helmet.

Luke just happens to be looking at something in the distance when Din looks at him again, but there’s this hint of a smile and an air of amusement about him and just.

Yes.

Anyway.

Luke wanders off to examine Din’s poor, poor ship, see if it can still fly and leaves Din and Grogu to their reunion. And since it’s mostly the two of them staring at one another and Din being emotional Luke sets about taking care of what repairs he can do with what’s on hand while he’s there.

Artoo trundles over from the X-wing and pitches in and between the two of them have the Din’s ship looking a little less pathetic by the time Din and Grogu come over to see what they’re up to.

“Huh,” Din says, because they did a good job, but it’s not like he can just say that, now can he?

Luke rolls his eyes, says, “It’d go faster with more hands,” which he isn’t wrong about.

So Din gets back to work, and so does Grogu.

Din stealing glances as Luke sneaks in Jedi lessons such as holding panels in place as they weld them to the ship’s frame and such. Tiny green gremlin son practically beaming as Luke praises him for a job well done and Din’s heart does that Thing again.

Anyway, they get his ship patched up far sooner than he would have on his own and then it’s this tiny bit awkward.

What he wants - no, what he thinks he wants - is to leave in search of another bounty, Karga always has some for him - keep busy, make himself useful, but -

“You look like you could use a few days to rest,” Luke says, kind about it.

Din knows very well he’s not in the best state at the moment. Armor dirty and tired down to his bones, and the Jedi’s not wrong, exactly, just.

Reasons.

Ones that don’t stand up to Grogu’s little face and sad eyes and Din’s tired, enough so to give in to weakness this one time and go with them to wherever Luke’s set up shop.

And then he just.

Stays

Mostly.

Still gets restless, antsy, and goes off to hunt bounties, but when his job is done he finds himself going back to Grogu and Luke more often than not.

Enough that he has a set of rooms shared with Grogu and he’s become a familiar figure to the town not far from Luke’s school and -

“You really don’t have anything better than to hang around here?”

Cara and the others giving him looks when he goes to Nevarro to pick up more than a handful of bounties at a time, or wanders the town to soak in the changes they’re bringing to it with the Empire gone and funds coming in - New Republic fighters and such stopping by for fuel and minor repairs.

Which.

Cara gives him a look, a smirk, as though Din’s got anything to do with that, and yes.

Anyway, anyway, no matter how long he’s away Luke’s always there when he gets back, Luke and Grogu, and it means something, doesn’t it?

After a while - the trips away don’t stop, can’t help that - but he stops staying away for so long, looking for excuses to stay away.

Starts to feel less like...like an interloper at Luke’s school eve though he was the only one to think like that, especially once Luke gains more students.

Because fighting and such, and sparring demonstrations and Din won’t mind, and really, it’s as fun for Din as it clearly is for Luke.

But also Din teaching Luke’s students in combat forms aside from lightsabers and such.

(Luke sneaking in at the back when his own classes are done, leaning against the wall and watching Din with an appreciative eye until Din has had enough of the smug and the smirking and hauls him in front of the class for practical demonstrations.)

Perhaps there are long walks together, Luke and Din with little Grogu toddling along or hitching a rid in their arms or on their shoulder, and quiet conversation and peace and quiet and this contentment Din hasn’t found anywhere else.

And, perhaps, on one of those long walks together there’s a moment where Din leans down, forehead against Luke’s while Grogu chases after a frog, Luke smiling up at him -

A splash and indignant little squawk, splashing from Grogu who chased the frog into the water, of course he did. Luke’s laughter as he pulls away to rescue their tiny green gremlin child while Din closes his eyes, helpless smile on his face as he listens to Luke gently chiding Grogu and Grogu’s protests, stubborn as Din and Luke combined and breathes.

(Also, though. Grogu pouting all the way home because he almost had that forg okay, if his dads had just given him another chance he would have had it.)

[atamascolily]

The cover of Junior Jedi Knights #5: Vader's Fortress by Rebecca Moesta features Anakin and Artoo dodging blaster fire while Tahiri does a bad-ass leap and Darth Vader looms in the background. So I guess this next field trip is to wherever the hell Vader's fortress is located... and given that this book was published in 1997, I'm pretty sure it isn't Mustafar.

Readers, I squealed with delight when I realized they were actually going to Bast Castle on Vjun.

[cut for length and discussion of Dark Empire]

Vjun's first appearance was in Dark Empire, but it's the main setting for Sean Stewart's Clone War-era novel Yoda: Dark Rendezvous (2004), which happens to be one of the best Legends books ever. Period. Drop everything and go read it now. Stewart's Vjun is a Dark side Gothic horror wonderland full of crumbling castles, crazed nobility, and flesh-eating moss. I love it, and you will, too.

Vjun also appears in various video games, with no less than Kyle Katarn describing it as "a big, dead, important rock". High praise, indeed.

Oh, and if you're curious, Wookiepeedia says Vjun is "pronounced as "VAH-JUHN" in Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, but in Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron, it is pronounced as "VUHN"".... so anything goes, really.

Anyway, so having dealt with his heritage by going to Dagobah in the last book, the logical next step is for Anakin to actually go and visit Vader's castle in person. You know, exposure therapy. Right?

Okay, let's see what the text says.

Anakin, Tahiri and Uldir are hanging out on the landing pad on Yavin IV waiting for Tionne to show up. Tahiri loves Tionne so much, she doesn't mind waiting around, and she wishes she could have gone with Tionne on this latest trip to Borgo Prime and I just... I love their relationship, okay?

Tionne has a new ship - the Lore Seeker! Anakin uses the Force to determine it's in great shape despite its odd appearance. (It has sails to harness solar wind, lol!)

“I’m glad to hear you say that,” the Jedi instructor said with a smile. “I thought so, too. But because the ship was so old, I was able to buy it from a Randoni trader for a song.”

“How much did you really pay?” Uldir asked.

Tionne shrugged.

“Just a song. Really. While I was looking for Jedi legends, I came across an ancient song that told about the very firstRan - doni merchants and the vaults where they hid their wealth. The trader was so interested that she offered me the Lore Seeker in exchange for the song. Now come help me unload my cargo, and I’ll show you some of my other treasures.”

DID I MENTION I LOVE HER???

Also, Tionne got some other stuff, too:

“You may carry this Twi’lek story-chain, Tahiri-each link tells a different part of a story. Please be very careful with it. Uldir, here is a holodisk. It holds a recording of some very old Jedi songs. Anakin, would you please carry this scroll? I’ll take the tapestry.”’

AHHHHHH, I LOVE THIS.

But Tionne found out something else important "in an old fortress on a planet called Vjun" and this is where I started SCREAMING because I know exactly where this is going and this is such a great set-up - especially since none of the kids have a clue.

Of course, they want to go, and Tionne's trying to be diplomatic about it.

“Does anyone live in the fortress?” Anakin asked.

Tionne shook her head.

“Not anymore.”

“Well, if it’s really that important, don’t you think you ought to go find it?” Tahiri said. “And don’t forget that you promised to take me with you this time.”

“I’d like to go along, too,” Anakin added.

“Yeah, it sounds like fun,” Uldir said.

Tionne frowned.

“I’m not sure Master Skywalker will approve. It could be a bit dangerous."

LOLOLOLOL, since when has that ever stopped anybody in this series?? But according to Tionne, the danger isn't Sith ghosts or anything like that - it's other people trying to snag a certain treasure first.

And what is this special object? the kids want to know.

Tionne’s face lit with a wondering smile, and she gave a happy sigh.

“It’s Obi-Wan Kenobi’s lightsaber!”

ITS A MACGUFFIN! Also, given all of Vader’s issues with Obi-wan, the fact that he kept his old master’s lightsaber in his hidden Gothic Drama Castle is... something. But I digress.

Cut to Luke, being Luke.

Luke Skywalker, dressed in a comfortable black flightsuit, sat on the stone floor in the room where he meditated and did his office work. At the moment, though, Luke was not meditating. Before him in the center of the room stood his barrel-shaped blue and white droid, ArtooDetoo. It was time for Artoo’s routine cleaning. Anakin’s older sister Jaina often helped Luke with this chore, but the Jedi Master didn’t mind doing it himself. He actually found it relaxing. With his tools neatly laid out on the floor and fresh packets of lubricant beside him, Master Skywalker opened ArtooDetoo’s front panels and got to work.

After checking the droid’s numerous electrical connections, Luke added a few gadgets and upgrades Jaina had scrounged up for Artoo: a retractable mirror attachment, a power booster for the comm unit, and a new focusing lens for the hologram projector.

I'm sure NONE of these upgrades will come in handy later on in the book. Nope. Nope. Nope. Move along, nothing to see here, just a boy and his bro-bot.

Ikrit is hanging out on top of Artoo's head during all of this, when there's a knock at the door. Luke asks him to open the door and Ikrit DOES and I don't know why I find this so adorable, but I totally do. More of this, please.

Luke looked up from the packet of slippery lubricant he held in his hand, then smiled when he saw who his visitors were.

“Come in,” he said, “all of you.”

His words seemed to open an invisible dam, because people and noises instantly flooded into his quiet room. Luke laughed as everyone tried to talk to him at once.

“Master Skywalker, I have wonderful news,” Tionne said. “You’ll never guess in a million years,” Tahiri added.

“Can I go with them?” Anakin asked.

“Yeah, me too!” Uldir said.

News of Obi-wan's lightsaber makes Luke have all kinds of Feels (and a handy flashback for those who have forgotten the movies). Luke's like, Oh, yeah, Bast Castle, I've been there before back in Dark Empire when things got weird, and Anakin FREAKS OUT. Tionne's like, huh, maybe that's why my contact said only family had a right to claim the lightsaber then.

Tionne wants Luke to come with her, but Luke is meeting with Leia for pressing NR business, so Anakin volunteers to go as the family rep. I love that Luke looks at Ikrit first, and only says okay when Ikrit nods. Of course Uldir wants to come too, and Luke is about to say no, but Tionne's like "he's just going to stow away, so you might as well and the cargo hold on my ship is too small for him plus our stuff" so Luke caves. DID I MENTION HE'S A SOFTIE?? And with Artoo and Ikrit to help, Luke feels good about it, but again, he insists on the parental permission first.

[Oh, no, I just realized that Luke might not want to go back to Vjun after all the traumatic shit that went down in Dark Empire, and that's ALSO horrifying to contemplate. Like, it's not dangerous anymore, so he's okay with sending Anakin there with supervision, but he might not be eager to re-visit it? MY HEART.]

We skip that scene, though, and jump immediately to everyone in the Lore Seeker, and Tionne teaches them about lightsabers. Nomi Sunrider is namedropped (queen!) but overall lightsabers are reified, and I don't know how I feel about that tbh, even though they are admittedly SUPER COOL LASER SWORDS BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ.

Fortunately, Ikrit's there to say "Not All Jedi," since I am not, which catches Tionne off guard, since she didn't know he was a Jedi master. Tionne is apologetic about treating Ikrit like a pet, but Uldir continues to be a jerk, especially when Ikrit starts sharing his own personal trauma. And then Ikrit declaims about Anakin and Tahiri's powers, but graciously includes Uldir once Uldir pokes him about it.

The skies of Vjun are stormy, so it's a bumpy ride down. They land outside the castle instead of on the landing pad at the top because the weather is so awful. Anakin did his homework, and explains the situation (Dark Empire recap!):

“Did Uncle Luke tell you anything about the fortress itself?” Anakin asked.

“I don’t know much about it.”

“Well, I found out as much as I could before we left. Apparently Vader built Bast Castle as one of his private strongholds; he was a powerful man. After both he and Emperor Palpatine died, some of the Emperor’s followers brought a copy of Palpatine’s body here-a clone. This second Emperor was defeated too. Since then, the fortress has been abandoned, as far as we know.”

“I still don’t get it,” Uldir said to Anakin. “Why would your grandfather choose to build in such a desolate place?”

Oh, you sweet summer child.

They spy another shuttle, and Tahiri is forced to wear shoes again so they can climb up in the rain. It's basically the Stairs of Minas Morgul from LOTR, only the rain is turning to sleet. Artoo hates stairs and Ikrit rescues him when he falls off - but he can hack the door open, so that's good. The hall has a giant, larger-than-life statue of Darth Vader toppled over on the floor, because... drama.

Then the laser fire starts, and everybody ducks for cover. Artoo uses his newly-installed reviewed mirror to deflect the laster bolts, so they can disarm the automatic security system. Tionne steps in with her lightsaber when Artoo gets shot, and she and Ikrit start tossing random objects to block them while the kids race for the control panels and it's epic. The statue explodes and Artoo manages to hack the system right before he powers down.

Uldir clapped one hand down on Anakin’s shoulder. “Not half bad for a kid,” he said.

Quiet, you condescending fuck. Yes, I know, he's like 14, but he's still obnoxious as hell here.

Anyway, they repair Artoo, except he can't climb any more stairs (I'm so confused how he did it earlier, but okay), and they debate whether to split the party. The smart answer is always "No," but they eventually do anyway, because plot. Tahiri's just happy not to wear shoes. You'll be happy to know that the bathrooms still work. This whole thing feels like an RPG dungeon crawl and I'm HERE FOR IT.

Tahiri notices the floor's texture shifts and that turns out to be a clue and I LOVE THIS. There's a secret pit trap full of spkes, and then suddenly they're attacked by monsters. But eventually, the others find them and deduce that they're holograms. Anakin IDs himself to a door and it opens into a secret chamber... and then this happens:

At the same moment, a puff of smoke erupted in the doorway, and a dark-haired man with a neat beard, tawny eyes, and a deep purple cloak stood before them. The man threw back his head and laughed, although Anakin couldn’t see what was so funny.

“The powerful Mage of Exis Station thanks you,” he said. “I would never have found the lightsaber without your help.” He snatched the weapon from Tionne’s hand. “But I’ll take it now.”

Tahiri starts pestering this guy with questions and he is startled enough to admit he's the Mighty Orloc. Tahiri realizes he's a stage magician, but even so, he manages to open a trapdoor, sending Tionne and Ikrit elsewhere. The kids rush him, but there's smoke and when it clears, Orloc has vanished.

Ikrit and Tionne are fine, and they start looking to rejoin the kids, who are searching for them and/or Orloc. Artoo and Uldir take a tunnel while Tahiri and Anakin go up stairs. Everyone keeps tossing the stale Imperial ration bars they picked up earlier to test for traps, and the RP gamer  in me approves.

“What’s this?” Tahiri asked, pointing to a raised platform that held a huge tube made of black plasteel. Wires and hoses snaked out from the cylinder in all directions. She ran a hand along its smooth side and found some sort of control panel.

“This looks like the tubes they use to bury dead people in space,” Anakin said.

It's actually Vader's bedroom! They find a little hidden hologram of a young Luke and I just... can't even...

Anakin opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. The little hologram of a young Luke Skywalker turned in a slow circle, so that they could see it from every angle.

...Anakin felt a lump form in his throat. “My mom keeps holograms of me and Jacen and Jaina on her desk at work, and Dad has one of me and the twins in the Millennium Falcon. I think Darth Vader was just doing the same thing.”

“So maybe he wasn’t all bad,” Tahiri said in a soft voice.

Anakin starts to feel better about coming to Bast Castle, which is good, because he has Deep-Seated Issues that need to be resolved.

Meanwhile, Uldir sees the lightsaber as a magical talisman that will help him become a Jedi. He abandons Artoo and confronts Orloc, who draws the blade on him. Orloc offers to teach Uldir his powers if he'll come with him. Orloc's looking for the Holocron in Vader's private quarters, and Uldir is tempted, but ultimately turns him down because he realizes Orloc is a fraud.

Anakin and Tahiri find Orloc and Uldir and Tahiri slides down a pole to confront him. Orloc attacks her with the lightsaber. Tionne and Ikrit show up, and Artoo uses a high-frequency blast to distract Orloc long enough for Ikrit to yank the lightsaber with the Force. Orloc disappears, and Uldir mentions the Holocron in Vader's private quarters. So Anakin and Tahiri take them back there.

Tionne's like, let's GTFO, but Uldir suggests they test it, which is a mistake, but Tionne agrees. OF COURSE Orloc comes back and snags it. They chase Orloc through the castle, and there's a lot of trap door shenanigans, but ultimately Artoo helps save the day and they get the holocron back, even though Orloc conveniently escapes.

(Maybe I've been watching too much Scooby-Doo, but I honestly expected Orloc to say "And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for you meddling kids and your talking [lagomorph]!" ...maybe in the next book?)

Ikrit suggests they use the ships in the hangar to fly down to the Lore Seeker instead of walking. Anakin suggests Ikrit keeps the ship, since he seems to enjoy piloting, and I don't know how Ikrit is piloting this thing since he's a lagomorph, but it makes him happy, and they all make it back to Yavin in two ships without incident, which means it's time for the inspirational moral!

“It feels good to be back,” he said with a sigh. Tahiri giggled. “That was certainly more of an adventure than I had bargained for.”

Tionne looked at her two students.

“Are you sorry you came with me?”

Anakin shook his head.

“The trip was worth making. I learned some interesting things about Darth Vader.”

“I learned to trust the Force and not just my eyes and ears,” Tahiri said.

“And we did find a lightsaber and a Holocron,” Anakin said.

“And a new ship for Ikrit,” Tahiri added. “So I think we’re glad we came along, but it may be a while before we go looking for adventures again.”

HAHAHAHA, right, kids. You just keep thinking that.

Ikrit names his ship the Sunrider after Nomi Sunrider, because he, too, stans a legend. Anakin and Tahiri ask if they can take the turbolift up to the Great Temple when Luke starts walking up the outside stairs, and Luke has NO IDEA WHY THEY HATE STAIRS, and... on that note, the book ends, with Luke being VERY confused. [I like that Moesta remembers the Great Temple has outside stairs, but... THE LAYOUT STILL MAKES NO SENSE!!!]

So, I don't know how to feel about this book. PROS: I love the character details with Luke, Ikrit, Tionne and Tahiri, and I like how all of the adults continue to be responsible while still allowing opportunities for the children to be competent and show initiative. It's great to see Bast Castle, and the whole thing has the feel of a classic RPG dungeon crawl. Yay for Artoo saving the day ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS, lol.

CONS: Uldir is annoying, and I wish he'd stop being such a jerk. None of the characters have ever played RPGs and it shows in their lack of genre-savvy. And I guess we'll see Orloc again in the next book, because... it feels like there wasn't much resolution of that particular plot in this book... no resolution to who Orloc actually is, or what or why. I feel like this book is part one of a two-episode plot, and I wasn't expecting that, but okay.

It's unclear if Obi-wan's lightsaber has any further plot significance or if it's just a macguffin. Ditto the holocron. But given the next book is Kenobi's Blade, I suspect Orloc's going to try and snag both, and Uldir is going to have a Not-So-Secret Test of Character about it. (To be fair, he passed the one in this book, so he's not all bad, but he's so obnoxious, it's challenging for me to give him credit where it's due.)

This book also kinda sorta falls into the "Jedi lightsaber fetish" trope, which I hate. Don't get me wrong, I love the laser swords and they are freaking awesome, but I hate how everybody latches onto "Jedi = laser sword" business as a symbol of identity. I know, I know, Star Wars is really ambivalent about whether the Jedi are Space!Samurai or Space!Monks, and I just... lean more towards the latter than the former, I guess?? But like I said, the lightsaber is more of a macguffin here, and Ikrit at least lampshades the issue a little bit, so I feel better about it.  

Also, it just occurred to me it's unclear whether Tahiri hates shoes, sand, or stairs more, lol.