milo

[resol-nare]

So the Imperial Agent brain worm is persistent today, and now I'm just thinking about how much I love the "erase your identity and become a ghost" ending and a big reason is how Darth Marr interacts with you during the expansions and how he always seems like he's one bad day away from Force choking tf out of you. My favorite is on Yavin if you let Satele interrogate the insane Imperial Guard and he says "It should please you to know that your service to the Empire is invaluable."

Which is basically Sith for "you'd be dead already if you weren't so good at your job."

It gave me a good laugh, and Evalu definitely gave Marr a wide berth for a while afterwards.

[tiredassmage]

I c o n o c l a s m

[karkitol]

anybody out there who actually likes Kaliyo, maybe skip this one.

Holy shit she drives me nuts. Just--this most recent mission with her. she sells information to her anarchist buddies and is angry when I (well, my agent) call her out on it??? "Don't expect me to be loyal to the Empire like you" mf I DON'T. but the least you could do is not put my job (and life) and everyone else on this ship's jobs (and lives) at risk.

"I get it, I'm your prisoner" I DON'T WANT YOU HERE EITHER

sometimes I almost like her, and then--

idk I think I might be getting too invested in my imp agent's life, lol. never in my life did I think I'd hate someone who works against the empire so much. if it were any other character-- yeah, you go girl. but no. it's fucking kaliyo

[eorzeashan]

Quesh World Mission/IA Minor Spoilers:

Moff Dracen gives the player a mission to invade the Three Houses' palace by fighting through the frontlines, or rely on the Hutt's inside-man to smuggle you in and skip the heavy fighting-- by taking a Quesh adrenal and being smuggled inside unconcious. To me, this wasn't so much a choice at all: die charging souped-up Republic commandos or go the sneaky route and infiltrate.

However, since this is Eight we're talking about, this is where it all goes wrong for him.

Especially since this is the same planet that manufactures the serum for Castellan restraints.

Instead of going through Nine's version of events, the Moffs were given the extra task of innoculating Eight with one of the first prototypes for the IX Serum. Easy enough, given that Dracen gave him a choice between life and death on an important mission where he has to take it.

Norvaan Kel was blackmailed into doing so, but the Republic discovered Portho's plan conveniently right as he was smuggled inside, and I definitely think the Chevin betrayed him and tipped them off in return for safety from the warring Hutt Houses and at the same time, informed the Republic about the Castellan Restraints. Albeit unknowingly, as he was only given sparse information about the strange adrenal but the tip was intriguing enough that the SIS investigated and was able to uncover the Empire's secret brainwashing program a little later, hence why they decided to use Cipher Nine at the timing of their class story instead of earlier as the serum would have been perfected by then.

Ironically, Eight also is the one who allows the Empire to seize a good chunk of the venom mines on Quesh and in turn the deposits of dimalium-6 by doing this world mission, so you could say this was an extreme precursor to the events of Imperial Agent if you headcanon this world mission as taking place prior to the brainwashing operations.

I also headcanon that since he received an early prototype of the Castellans it had a few design flaws/failed several instances of activation, so it's still technically running through him, but rather unpredictably. Wink wink. I'll have to brainstorm on that more.

Quesh has a lot of foreshadowing to the serum since AFAIK it's the only planet that has that much direct influence to the class story in the agent's, but it gets me so excited. I'm surprised it was that good considering Quesh is the WM everyone groans at bc it's partially mandatory (and now I understand why) before everyone forfeits it and skips it entirely.

[monocytogenes]

(belated) WIP Wednesday

Tagged by @theluckywizard!

I recently acquired a gaming laptop and have been back on my SWTOR bullshit, so I've been going through some older writing and working on fics with my imp agent Pravin! (His main fic is here, which is more or less "the agent Shadow of Revan mission but make it a heist.")

I have a lot of headcanons about how the denouement of Chapter 2 goes in his timeline, including that he has a bit of a freakout, tells Shara he's resigning and fucks off for a while. He reconnects with Vector, who ends up being a very needed voice of sanity and convincing him to go back.

So yeah, here's a bit from Vector's perspective, where Pravin's explaining to Vector what the hell happened to him. (Vector doesn't know his actual name here--I have this whole idea that agents have operating names before they earn their numbers to keep their true identities totally unmentioned, so the moment where he drops a first name is a shocked reference to Pravin's operating name.)

Spoilers for the imperial agent story; warnings for mental horror stuff and drug use.

Down a musty corridor with sagging paneled walls, the sconces coated in dirt and bugs, he found the room and pressed the bell. A mechanical ping sounded.

Nine cracked it open immediately. “Back up.”

Vector retreated a step. He leaned out just enough to scan Vector’s surroundings; the glint of a blaster’s barrel catching the light. Satisfied, he released the handle, wordlessly ushering his friend inside.

The room was cramped, outfitted with a bed, a refresher and a kitchenette consisting of little more than a sink and a cooktop. The bedsheets were tossed about in a tangle; discarded clothes were strewn across the floor, and the remains of carryout containers filled the counter. Vector’s eyes widened in concern; Nine had never been a compulsively tidy person, but this level of disarray was unlike him.

Then there was the man himself, depositing his pistol on the nightstand and taking a seat on the limp mattress. He was clad in a short-sleeved undershirt, one of those issued with civil service uniforms, and his left arm was done up in a cast held in place by a sling. His sleep pants, sporting a lively geometric pattern, hung loose on his hips; he seemed gaunt, cheeks sunken beneath a layer of stubble. Unkempt curls tumbled about his brow; as he swept them back with his hand, his forehead shone with a sheen of damp.

He smelled sour with perspiration, tinged with sickly-sweet kolto and an edge of something sharper. Vector’s gaze slid to the nightstand. Emptied stim syringes lay atop torn-open packages of dressings, set beside a half-filled pouch of glittery spice.

“Stars,” he breathed. “Cipher—”

“Can you double-check that’s locked?” Nine interrupted, pointing at the door.

Vector turned, examining the lock, then glanced back at his friend. “Arnav, what in the galaxy happened to you?”

Nine opened his mouth and shut it again, his hand curling into a fist in his lap. “...I left Intelligence.”

“You did what?” Vector strode up and dropped onto the bed, his killik companion crawling out onto his shoulder in alarm. “Why?”

“They fucked me over,” Nine spat, the fuzzy edges of his aura sparking. “Those sons-of-scum stabbed me in the back. I just spent two months in a living nightmare because apparently I was too fucking good at my job, too fucking competent to be trusted—”

“You were—what is it called? Burned?”

“No.” Nine gave a humorless laugh. “No, no, I was...I was raped. Mentally. You know how they experiment on prisoners, and—how do I even kriffing—”

He wiped at his nose, searching for words. “You ever had sleep paralysis? Where you wake up partially and you’re seeing things going on around you, and you can’t move?”

“We know of this, yes.”

“That, but you’re fully awake. They tell you to stay, and you’re frozen. They tell you to go, and—” He swallowed. “You’re trapped in your head watching it happen. Can’t even scream.”

He looked towards the wall. “SIS got the trigger word. I don’t know how—one of them’s on the lam, they’re saying he’s got some other allegiance—but frankly, I don’t give a kark. For my part, I’ve fixed it; I took a hit of the chemicals and rewired my own brain because I had no other choice. And no amount of begging on Keeper’s part is going to change the fact that the people whom I trusted, the people whose job it was to be my lifeline, to be there for me whilst I’m running about hostile territory, doing what they don’t even have the guts to do, put me in that position.”

His voice caught; he motioned frenetically at himself. “I gave them six years, Vector. Six years of my life! I was loyal, I was good, I saved thousands of people, and this—this is how they repay me. Fine work, Cipher, you piece of rubbish. None of that meant anything at all.”

[jbeansdraws]

My contribution to my fellow Hunter fans in honour of that final scene where you're talking to Ardun Kothe and Hunter is just lying dead on the floor behind you.

Video version below the cut

CW: Flashing lights, eyestrain

[revanknightwoman]

Old Republic DLC without the context

My horny imperial agent:

Poor Lana trying to hold everything together:

And in all of this HK:

[harlequinalis]

Finally getting back into star wars the old republic and having a great time rediscovering my love for this game and my silly little ocs all over again. + bonus Sa'har bc this was all I could think of during that one cutscene (sorry Sa'har 💀)

[larena]

Wanted to try ranking SWTOR class stories in order of "importance" - how relevant they are to the games overarching ongoing storyline, based on factors like how often aspects of them come up in other class stories, or elsewhere in the story, how easily they flow into the expansions, how important their companions end up being later, etc.

Jedi Knight: This one's undeniable, I think. It's basically the main plot class. Knight kills Vitiate first, deals with a lot of the more important problems on most of the planets they go to. And Kira, Scourge, and T7 all get main character status in the expansions regardless of your class.

Imperial Agent: This one is a tossup with Sith Warrior for me. I can see arguments for either, but Agent wins out imo just because of how far-reaching the Star Cabal is, and, maybe somewhat paradoxically, how relevant *other* class stories are to its story. Kaliyo and especially SCORPIO also end up being pretty important in the expansions, as well as a few other Agent companions and NPCs.

Sith Warrior: You are literally the Emperor's Wrath. The class with the closest direct connection to the Emperor, besides maybe Knight. Again its a tossup for me whether Warrior or Agent are the "A" plot for the Empire storyline, but the Wrath almost single handedly reignites the war for Darth Baras. As well as being a fairly close acquaintance of one of Vitiate's potential successors, Vowrawn. Vette also ends up being fairly important in the expansions, though not as much since Eternal Throne.

Jedi Consular: The Children of the Emperor have only recently become very, very relevant again, and we don't fully know where that plot is going, but I think thats still a compelling argument to put Consular relatively high. None of their companions have been super relevant post-class story besides Nadia on Ossus, but the Rift Alliance does end up feeling like a precursor to the Eternal Alliance, to me.

Sith Inquisitor: This may feel low for Inquisitor, given they become a Dark Council Member but honestly they don't do that much. They're somewhat responsible for the Dark Temple being Like That in the other class stories, and the Silencer Fleet is somewhat important, as well as Moff Pyron. But none of their companions are relevant anywhere else and I don't think the events of their class story are referenced anywhere except some passing name drops of Darth Thanaton. I could realistically rank them lower, but again, they ARE on the Dark Council.

Bounty Hunter: Honestly the remaining three tech classes are hard to rank. But I think BH gets a lot of credit for technically allowing Saresh to rise to power. And not for nothing, a lot of their companions have been relevant in expansions, especially Torian recently. You only get a *lot* of the earlier Mando stuff through BH, which I think also counts for something.

Trooper: I think Trooper mainly gets points for Jorgan being a main character in Fallen Empire. They do a lot of stuff that *feels* important, and General Garza, Rakton, and the Bastion come up elsewhere, but it never feels like there's much impact from the Trooper story overall.

Smuggler: I mean what can I say. I love the Smuggler storyline, and Nok Drayen *is* a member of the Star Cabal, but none of this shit mattered lol. Which is totally thematically appropriate imo, it's at least meant to be a pretty personal story with personal stakes. At least everyone can meet Akaavi and Guss in the expansions.

[squirrel-art]

never sat right with me that poor phi-ton got to enjoy a single night with his wife and then never saw her again. never even got a credit of alimony.

so anyway here’s him & cipher nine enjoying their amicable no-fault divorce

[leafthesheep]

SWTOR quests with my zabrak imperial agent: poison slaves. They're mostly aliens cause the empire is racist. You are also an alien. We will remind you of this fact every two minutes

SWTOR quests with my zabrak jedi knight : so we know you're chasing a sith lord and all that but could you please fix the drainage system?

[tiredassmage]

I'm not sure if this would ever happen, so it's a total what-if. (Also, I would love to do some writing about Tyr and Liv, but I'm not sure what. If you want to write something with the two of them, go ahead) I'm curious if Tyr would have any sort of reaction to learning about Liv being a double agent (Cause we already know that's the Ch 3 ending we're doing for her. She despises her father, and the Empire almost equally), or the truth about Leo, cause I know he's met Leo once or twice in some of your fics.

Dakdfnsl;dfn;lsaf I meant to get to this sooner because it's one of my favorite questions, but! Anyway! This has some spoodles for the Imperial Agent storyline, naturally, so I'll put most of this answer under the cut.

So, this is fun because Tyr in his own spin as Nine is also a double agent, and there's I'd say a fair period of his life where he figured the outcome of all of... that, really, that he'd be satisfied with would've been actually being able to walk from the Empire's intelligence operations, whatever they would've looked like by that point, and finally work properly for the SIS. This is... less true later in his life [say, after the Alliance and the era of handling Zakuul has kinda put life for everyone as it was prior to all of that on a bit of a spinner], but I guess the only real important thing from that note is that Tyr ends up with... similar interests and sympathies, wink wink, etc etc.

A lot of Tyr's disillusionment in the end comes down to the Sith and their absolute power, at the end of the day. And that's not a power structure Tyr sees changing in the Empire within his lifetime. There are still decent people working within those systems - its why Tyr remains loyal to Imperial Intelligence, even when the agency is cannibalized. But Tyr ultimately... can't stay. Not with the way he tends to work - that... line between ingenuity and obedience, as Lokin calls it. There is a very, very small handful of individuals Tyr would consider to have the 'right' to ask him to stay in the Empire, if they ever learned his true feelings on the matter, and... again, with the eventual dissolution of Imperial Intelligence around Corellia and in its wake, not a lot of them are still actively serving in roles where they'd have the authority to do so, as per Imperial power structures.

The short answer to Liv and Leo in Tyr's perspective then is... that with how Tyr is, he'd probably be someone willing to help Liv actually leave, actually properly defect to the SIS. If he were in her shoes, it's... probably (and we know it is, from his own runs) what he'd choose, too. Intelligence work is the kind that'll each you alive, given a fraction of the chance to do so, especially if you try to keep your ideals on the table doing it. It's likely one of the qualities he was warned about himself - to not let his 'personal feelings' get too involved in how he works, how he resolves matters. I'm sure at least one person in his life has accused him of being a bit too idealistic for a Cipher's work, but... Tyr's of the mind that someone has to be.

Now, whether that "help" for Liv is to simply... cover for her and stay behind, or to offer to leave with her..? That probably depends on whether or not Liv would put such an offer on the table - and whether or not Tyr thought they could pull off something convincing enough that it wouldn't put the wrong kind of people on her tail. Tyr, comparatively, doesn't have as much to lose, if you will, in something like committing an act of treason against the Empire. He's got no real family to look after or protect or that might be used against him, and as much as the whole idea of the Castellans plays a not-insignificant role in souring him to Imperial service, he could... make do. Him and his tendency to put others first, frankly... He's also probably been told that'll get him into trouble some day /lh.

I think even early in Tyr's career, he was... not entirely unaware that the kind of loyalty demanded by the Empire is... steep. The kind of systems they have... have gaps to leave people behind. It's a lot of pressure - not just intelligence work, but the kind of demands the Empire tends to produce in its general working relationships, and... he's not entirely unfamiliar with familial varieties of that trouble himself (though his ran more to the side of 'good riddance' than the kind of lingering troubles Leo has to deal with).

Now, him and meeting Leo is... still a bit of an amusement to me because Tyr is... trying not to analyze him entirely as he's prone to clocking people as a Cipher, but it's... the way him and Leo met, there was... not a lot of hiding that Leo's got some... troubles, to speak loosely, lol. And I think if they got to know each other any better, it wouldn't take long for Tyr to puzzle together why he struggles the way he does with pressures and... commitments and a pretty good educated guess on just how Leo ended up in the kind of work and scenarios he tends to find himself in. Part of an agent's job is being able to figure people out, after all.

Now, if I told Leo that pretty blonde guy he let walk him home from the Nar Shadaa cantina one night was also an Imperial spy off-duty, I think he'd be so mortified he'd resemble a tomato and he'd probably be so incredibly obstinate and grumpy about trusting Tyr no matter how nice Tyr is to him in any subsequent meetings because Liv is the only spy that Leo is kind of okay about trusting and it's because she'll always be his little sister first. xD If Liv decides she's gonna be Tyr's friend, Leo is going to be giving Tyr some (attempted) very stern looks to warn that he better be damn careful about what he does with his sister. Because if Tyr gets her in trouble, Leo will do... Something!!! Okay??!!! [No, he doesn't have a plan. But he'll get creative.]

[I think Tyr could eventually get him to submit to something of a friendship and Leo would continue to be a little mortified about it. Because by the time they'd be friendly enough to pick at one another, Tyr would tease him about never trusting 'spooky spies.' He won't bring up Nar Shadaa, he's got more respect than that. But he wouldn't let Leo entirely forget about trusting big scary spies. /lh]

[ainyan]

I don't think we give Vector enough credit for his maturity, especially when the game glitches him into believing he's still in a romanced state with the Imperial Agent when he returns at the end of KOTFE.

He loves you, he searched for you, he almost alienated his people in his despair at losing you - and if you tell him that you've moved on, he's just like...

Well, let him say it:

I could never give over Theron for him, but there's a reason my Agent always feels just a smidge of regret every time she looks into his eyes.

[eorzeashan]

How to Talk Jadus Down:

It's come to my attention that some people haven't achieved this ending or have found difficulty in getting the desired outcome without a video (which can be a pain) so I made it into a transcript with every choice needed to get there! Spoilers below. This is NOT a full dialogue transcript, only the prompts by Jadus with the dialogue option you need to select.

SCRIPT

Jadus: Accept the gift of your life, agent… and we will discuss terror, the Empire and the Sith. CHOICE: Let’s do that. Jadus: I required a weapon that the Dark Council would overlook. The terrorists became my unknowing servants and carried out my plan.  CHOICE: The Dark Council? Jadus: After the Dominator, I came here, bringing with me those passengers worthy of elevation. I maneuvered my pieces into place. CHOICE: How did you survive? Watcher 2: I can’t call for reinforcements as long as that jamming field is active. But he’ll annihilate anything less than an army.  CHOICE: Continue, my lord. Jadus: All this while, the Eradicators were growing. Now they are ready, and my victory is close at hand.  CHOICE: Your victory? Jadus: Then I will return to the Council and lead the Empire into a new age– an epoch of terror.  CHOICE: You’re forgetting the Emperor. Jadus: But without both halves of the Eradicator codes, my weapons cannot be targeted; they will merely cause chaos. CHOICE: Your plan requires more. Jadus: Enter your codes into the ship so the Eradicators can target my enemies. You will be rewarded. You will be my herald.  CHOICE: Rewarded, hm? Jadus: Imagine a world where you could act with true authority, and fear controls the populace. Together, we can create a stronger Empire.  CHOICE: Let me consider it.  Jadus: I can be merciful. Take the time to consider your choice. Then we can begin the true work.  CHOICE: But if I die, you get nothing.  Jadus: A bold sentiment–but not a wise one. With your death, neither of us achieves our desire… and only I will be in a position to form a new plan.  CHOICE: I know something you don’t.  Jadus: You are in my sanctuary, and my power is infinite. CHOICE: My allies are listening.  Jadus: Their lives are forfeit. CHOICE: Not if they flee.  Jadus: I will still prevail. CHOICE: Everyone will be your enemy. Jadus: You think my foes are capable of doing me harm? That I am so vulnerable? CHOICE: This is your one weak point. Jadus: (Turns red) CHOICE: I’m certain. (LIGHT ALIGNMENT)

[imagineamagicworld]

Slept on my Thoughts and Big Feelings™ about yesterday's patch, here we go (in true stereotypical fashion, this got a bit longer than I initially thought)

Spoilers for the 7.3 story moments (impside)

So obviously this was a very character-centric patch and its highlights really were the cutscenes. Like many people, I expected slightly more out of the gameplay part of the patch, especially after 7.2 and everything we got on Ruhnuk...

But the team really, really pulled through on what we got out of the cutscenes.

Rivix seems like a slimy bastard and I alternated between cheering him on for decking that other random Sithy guy and praying for his downfall at Tau's hand (you'll get him next time baby girl <3)

pleasantly surprised to see him immediately contact the Commander, and YET, I am and will remain suspicious of his every move and will anticipate the inevitable backstabbing

"what about your fascinating Hutt scientist?", mum come pick me up, i'm scared

Sa'har's interactions with Ri'kan make me want to bawl my eyes out, why can't Bioware ever let siblings be happy, she's so gentle but so blind and he's drowning in resentment and rage and they are so doomed

"I had little choice. Some earn what they have. Some are given everything", "and some lost it all", "you dare speak to me of suffering" I am going Insane™

Heta is so delulu it would be funny if it didn't make the situation go from worse to worser so fast, "it's never safe to change a galaxy, never easy to fight corruption and hypocrisy" be for fucking real

Sa'har, just say the word and we WILL come and pick you up (i have all the adoption papers ready whenever)

"I would be more than happy to go over the details", "... But not right now" PLEASE the Commander is SO TIRED lmaoo

not Oggurobb admiring Darth Nul's work, can you please focus

more on The Discrovery™ later in this post

Mind you, I played this whole patch on my main (Elias my love <3), who is a Saboteur ex-Imperial Agent, but...

my god, the Torian alert talk hit Different™

whoever decided this should be a cutscene and not just a letter... you are everything. It felt raw, it felt reflective, it felt absolutely necessary and i'm really liking the depth it is bringing with it

"I agree with Heta about the banner being used as a symbol of shame and betrayal. And yet... how dare she burn it"

"How you feel about your past is for you to decide"

"I spent so much time trying to be better than my history, I didn't stop to think about where I came from", "Good and bad, this box contains my past. Who my father was. My family. My sense of right and wrong. I can open it and remember when I need to, or I can leave it shut. The choice is mine."

It's the intergenerational trauma, fighting against yet embracing your history to shape your future and find your own purpose in life, I-

This Barbie is an ex-war criminal haunted by the Past!! And so am I!!

The whole Malgus cutscene was incredible and I probably spent at least half an hour (if not more) just going over all the different options.

flirting with Theron at work!! In front of our bestie Lana who is So Done™!! "May I remind you both we still have more to discuss", it never gets old <3

was actually shocked by how involved Theron was in the cutscene? actually had a lot of lines and he felt materially present in a way that i hadn't seen in a loong time (I will never ever kill Theron off [I have morals and I love him, your Honour] but I do wonder how the cutscene looks when you don't have him around?)

Theron calling the Imperial characters the fuck out is a kink I didn't know I had, but I do, so thank you for that

"Some higher-up is all sweaty about my past contracts with Malgus", "One of those contracts was destroying the defense grid on Coruscant during an Imperial invasion", get her ass my love!!

the tensions with Shae are back and, listen, I love our problematic girlie as much as the next person (too much), but I am thriving

"Don't you get it? With the holocron, Heta is part of that plan, willing or not", "You weren't interested in the holocron when you shot a teenager out of nowhere we ran into Sa'har", the girls are FIGHTING

I just can't get over how similar yet different they both are. Probably won't resonate with all Outlanders, but as a former Imperial agent, Elias NEVER thought he would become a Leader of any sort. He was always content to stick to the shadows, do what he does best with few restrictions and little scrutiny. It's so so so interesting to see Shae feeling like she owes so much to her people and yet struggling so much with being Mandalore

"Make him think you understand" and isn't the interesting part that some Outlanders really might understand, at least in part? Unique perspectives indeed.

"You and I are very much alike. I couldn't stand it when my mind was at the mercy of another... I don't fault you for wanting to break free" (patch 7.1)

"... few minds can comprehend my vision", "none who have stood by my side have understood this. The only one who could have... is my enemy" (patch 7.3)

Mirrors and narrative foils and the weight of our choices and I'm going Insane™ once again

we didn't learn much from the interrogation that we didn't really already know or couldn't suspect, it was very much about the Themes™

I know it's controversial, but I actually like the Nul and Mandalorian plots intermingling

"The Mandalorians are fractured... a broken people. They struggle to decide who they are", something that is so so important in basically all of the Mando characters we have here. Torian, Akaavi, even the Ordo brothers, Heta herself of course and the Varad, the Dar'manda and the Ash'ad, SHAE SHAE SHAE

I am going to ignore how this would inevitably resonate in many Outlanders too, the longing for home versus the morality of doing what's right for the galaxy and fighting your home and saving your independance but never knowing if it's going to be enough-

it was a bit weird that there was no way to prevent Shae from listening in on Malgus' interrogation, but then again, the whole scene where he bypasses us to speak to her directly is so powerful that I can't really mind too much

the them of HISTORY strikes again!!

"Can you not see it? The past looms over us all... a shadow of unchanging history. There are fools who believe they can outrun the shadow. Without a flame to chase it away, it will consume them - they are doomed to repeat the same failures"

the SILENCE once you get back from the interrogation is so LOUD and I felt a true sense of heaviness from it

Unfortunately, I feel like the Voss part of the patch was the weakest in many ways. I haven't played Shrine of Silence yet (the Flashpoint), but it is (as was announced) not required for the main story content.

The highlights truly were, again, the characters.

Arcann is back!! and we get to have a very nice talk with him about redemption, acceptance and forgiveness. all things that felt very important for Arcann's journey (and for my MC as well, actually)

"I saw centuries worth of horrors committed by my father. I felt the rage and the cruelty born of my desperation to please him", "I was afraid I saw those ruins because I was doomed to follow in his [my father's] footsteps", navigating intergenerational trauma and trying to trace the lines between what you suffered and what you are responsible of, painfully delicious

"I will never expect forgiveness - or even acceptance - from anyone I have hurt. But I will cherish any that is offered", what, me, crying? no, it's just raining, i would never cry (i am bawling like a little baby and will never stop)

can't say I was that surprised to learn that Darth Nul had been a Jedi before being corrupted over to the dark side, but I'm glad that finally puts to rest the "Lana is Darth Nul" theories

I am very intrigued by that Force power of hers , however : "she could mentally bond with anyone who could feel the Force. In those who did not recognize their own abilities, she awakened that realisation", okay, but what does it mean exactly?

the Voss stuff was otherwise a little bit on the forgettable side, I must admit (but I'm always happy to come back to Voss, so it's okay)

"[the Three] would never share them with an outsider, even one of your status", hmmm, excuse you, Sana-Rae, but I was once married to a Voss lady, doesn't that count for something

And just like that we were back to doing little chores-like quests and rocking it KOTOR-dialogue style. Which was okay, but not groundbreaking by any means.

of course it was Czerka, of course it was

out of all the side quests, I really liked the cantina one, it was so silly

the talk with Sana-Rae before going to see the Three was really touching <3 It really is all about personal choices and finding one's purpose even if it clashes with what you were taught growing up

the... prophecy itself is very vague and doesn't give us much more than what we've learned so far

"Life will be reshaped... scales unbalanced... A wave of change rises and falls... beyond the reach of Darth Malgus... and as he dreams, he awakens a great power... one that will tear the galaxy apart"

"Should Darth Malgus perish, this catastrophe will transpire more quickly"

I can't for the life of me begin to guess at what the devs have in store for us, but you can colour me intrigued for sure (and a bit wary)

the sheer unavoidability of "what is to come" is ???

and yet, somehow, "whatever is to come from this, it is you... who will choose the fate of us all"

"I'm tired of being responsible for the consequences of every decision"

"You can fight against destiny, but it is inescapable"

When I tell you boyo is TIRED

Overall, very strong themes for this patch. The way both the past and the future are inescapable, unavoidable, dooms that we cannot run away from.

The way we have to embrace them, embrace who we are, who we were and who we can become.

The way there is always a choice, there always has to be a choice.

[cryo-lily]

Kaliyo’s post class story messages are a riot.

I need art of Vector in a glass jar now, or at least of Kaliyo attempting to get him in one.