#runt ekwesh

[jkcorellia]

🚨RED ALERT🚨 THE ESSENTIAL LEGENDS COVER FOR SOLO COMMAND HAS SHALLA AND RUNT ON IT

finally a good, official image of Shalla Nelprin

[its-a-full-galaxy]

"Why do you do this?" || Runt & Echo-17 || Drabble

"C'mon, kid! Give it a break! It's done!" the mechanic called up as Wraith 13 continued to scrub the nearly polished surface of her X-wing.

"Unless you've got something else for me to clean, Cubber," she called back down, "I'm not moving."

Cubber threw his hands up in frustration as the turquoise exo continued cleaning her X-Wing, the padded head of her long mop swiping back and forth once again along its fuselage. "Somebody get her down from there! She's gonna wipe the paint clean off!"

Behind him, another pilot approached, his long, brown face looking up at his fellow Wraith. His ear twitched and he narrowed his eyes, thinking about his approach.

"We will help," Runt said, causing Cubber to turn and look at him.

"Great," Cubber said, waving Runt forward, "do what you gotta do. I'd give her the Nara to clean off but it's out for the moment. But if she keeps this up, I'll put her to work cleaning the carriers while she’s at it!"

Runt nodded. "We will get her," he said and strode forward. "Echo?"

The exo paused, straightening as Runt Ekwesh approached, her chest heaving slightly. "Yeah?" she called, slightly out of breath.

"May we talk to you?" he asked, looking up at her.

Echo shrugged and waved him up. "Sure, come on up," she called, stepping over her canopy and onto the other wing.

Runt hesitated. "Uh, that is not what we meant," he called back up.

Echo paused, looked at the tail end of the X-Wing and then down at Runt. "Well, you're gonna have to come up because I'm not ready to come down yet. And unless I have orders, I'm going to clean."

Runt considered her for a moment and gave a nod. Beside the X-Wing was a mobile stair platform, probably what she used to get up there or to hold her things while she scrubbed. He climbed up and rested his arms on the railing of the short staircase, watching the exo as she worked. He frowned deeply.

"Why do you do this to yourself?" he asked, recognition and dislike glinting in his eyes.

"Do what?" Echo asked, running her mop over the outer canopy.

"Punish yourself."

Echo stopped, the audio fins on the side of her head tilting back slightly. "I'm not punishing myself," she said quietly. "It's not a punishment."

"Then what is it?" Runt pressed. "Why do you put yourself through this? Working harder than you should, hiding away from your friends when we know you would rather be with us than away from us."

Echo closed her eyes still catching her breath. How could she explain? How could she explain the pain and the fear she was feeling? The fear she was forcing out through her work while feeding it at the same time?

"It's not a punishment," Echo repeated, turning slightly toward Runt without facing him. "It's... a diversion."

Runt cocked his head and Echo could swear he was part horse or maybe a borzo-chocolate lab mix. "A diversion?"

"Yeah," she answered, turning toward him now, "a diversion. A diversion for me from the things I'm afraid of."

Runt blinked at her, his large, equine eyes fixed on her in confusion. "And what are you afraid of?" he asked, his voice lowering slightly.

Echo paused, her mouth plates pressed together as she pulled the mop in close to lean on it. Here was the million glimmer question - the one thing she didn't want to admit to but was tearing her up inside each day.

She opened her mouth but the words got caught in her throat. She tried again but she couldn't get it out. She tried to gather the words but they kept getting stuck in her mouth.

Well, she could just spit it out and rip the serrated thorn out while she could, maybe bleed out emotionally a bit before patching herself up. Or she could fight with how to word it so it wouldn't make such a big impact and just get back to scrubbing. One option made her quail and the other option made her choke.

Echo took a deep breath and leaned back, gripping her mop in what would've been a white-knuckle grip if she were human. "I'm afraid of being abandoned, okay?" she said at last. "I've been abandoned before, and I just..."

She looked away, closing her optics as she gripped her mop.

Runt lifted his head, a look of deep concern on his face. "You... were abandoned?" he asked carefully.

Echo swallowed and nodded. "Yeah... Yeah I was abandoned." She shifted uncomfortably, lowering her gaze as she spoke. "I... made a bad mistake with my first pack, the people who were first teaching me to be a Hunter. I had it out with them and I left thinking I could still be friends with the rest them even if I wasn't friends with the leader. Maybe I miscommunicated. Maybe I misunderstood. But the moment I wasn't part of them, I was shunned. Abandoned. I was six months old, Runt. I was a guardian without any idea what the hell she was doing, and I got abandoned by the only family I knew at six months old."

Runt was quiet for a long time. Finally he spoke. "I... am sorry," he said quietly.

Echo sighed and shrugged. "It is what it is," she said softly.

Runt was quiet for a moment before he lifted his head to speak again. "Do you think... we would abandon you?"

Echo looked up, alarm, regret, and earnest apology filling her plated features. "No! No, I just..." She put a hand to her face and sighed softly. "It's not you, Runt. It's not you or Piggy or the other Wraiths. It's not even my other pack, my Wolf Pack who tried to help me afterwards. It's me. I know it's me. I know it's me who's in the wrong for thinking this. But I can't stop! I can't make it stop! Even when I know things are going to be or should be okay, it keeps coming back. Like... Like being stuck on the wrong defaults for your X-wing. Or having to re-calibrate an R2 unit after every trip. It doesn't stop. It's just burned into me like bad defaults in an Astromech."

"Like a bad mind in one of my people," Runt murmured, a hint of a low growl in his voice.

Echo looked at him, this time it was her turn to cock her head. "A what?" she asked, a little thrown off. "What's a... bad mind?"

Runt shifted his shoulders, straightening slightly. "We have many minds, my people and I. Many minds for many tasks, the things we need to do to survive and thrive. Some minds are very good! But... some minds are very bad. We have seen some with good minds but we have also seem others with very bad minds. Minds that punish them for mistakes, that run away when they should fight. This fear, this insistence that you will be abandoned is a bad mind."

Echo considered Runt for a moment, her grip on the mop handle loosening somewhat. It made sense for someone like Runt to see it as a "mind". It made sense how he separated it too. Echo looked over absently and rested her eyes on the Astromech socket behind the cockpit.

"A bad mind..." she murmured and looked back at the Thakwaash pilot. "Alright, if I have a bad mind, how do I fix it?" she asked. "Because right now, I don't know if it's a bad mind anymore than a bad default. I mean, I'm more machine than organic at this point and I'm pretty sure you can't override burned-in defaults."

Runt hummed, frowning as he stroked his chin in thought. "No, but you forget that you are not a droid! Droids have defaults, things even a factory reset cannot destroy, personalities set in their circuits. They can be reset at will! But you cannot. You struggle with overcoming bad programing, your bad mind, but you still try, still fight to become better!"

Runt grinned, his blocky teeth pale against his brown fur. "We have seen you be better! You used to run and hide for a long time when this would happen. You have not been doing that so much. You have been working instead! Letting your friends and fellow Wraiths find you when we need you."

Echo paused and tilted her head at Runt. "And... you needed me? while I was up here?"

Runt shook his head. "No," he said and looked at her fixedly. "You needed me. Just as you needed Piggy when your pilot and hunter mind were not listening, we believe you needed us to help you with your bad mind, your fear mind. And we will! We will help you... Ah, if you will let us."

He lowered his head at the last few words, making it less of a statement and more of a deference to her boundaries.

Echo smiled lightly, a feat of facial control managed by few exos outside the legendary Cayde-6.

"I'd like that," she said, letting the mop lean a bit as she loosened her grip. "I'd like that a lot."

Runt lifted his head, beaming with a horse-ish grin. "Well, come on then!" he said, waving her toward the small staircase. "The sooner we get started, the sooner we can fix it!" He turned and trotted down the stairs, the spring in his step getting a laugh out of Echo.

"Alright, alright, hang on," the exo said and called down to the mechanic below. "Year that Cubber? You got your wish! I'm coming down."

A whoop of relief and delight sounded from across the hanger.

"Finally!" the mechanic hollered and made his way to the X-wing as Echo and Runt departed.

[incorrectstarwarslegendsquotes]

Kell Tainer: dude i'm so hungry right now Kell Tainer: i could Kell Tainer: eat a Kell Tainer: Runt: Go on.

[from-a-legends-pov]

Star Wars Legends: Poll of the Week - Favorite Wraith Backstory, part 2

In the Star Wars Legends novel X-Wing: Wraith Squadron, Wedge Antilles and Wes Janson put together a new kind of group for the New Republic Navy – a combination commando unit and starfighter squadron. To conserve resources, Wedge and Wes recruited the initial members of the squadron largely from pilots who had promising skills, but had been identified as misfits or at risk of washing out of the New Republic navy.

Wedge, Wes, and ten other pilots with a variety of skills and backstories made up the original roster of Wraith Squadron (initially known as Gray Squadron).

Of these five original Wraiths to join Wedge and Wes, whose backstory was your favorite? (We covered the other half of the original Wraith Squadron roster in last week’s poll.)

Eurrsk “Grinder” Thri’ag, a Bothan slicer who had a talent for angering his squadmates in various ways, and later turned out to have an extreme love of playing pranks but little sense of the right audience or timing.

Hohass “Runt” Ekwesh, a Thakwaash pilot who, like most of his species, had multiple personalities and regularly switched among them. He had difficulty with flight training while in his “pilot mind” personality as it was focused on finding and shooting enemies rather than on following orders, and upon first joining the Wraiths had a tendency to switch wildly among his various minds.

Tyria Sarkin, a Toprawan pilot with mild Force-sensitivity who was recruited to the squad for her previous experience in the Antarian Rangers, an elite anti-Imperial guerrilla force from her planet; she had nearly washed out due to an abusive training officer who had tampered with her flight scores and blackmailed her about it, destroying much of her self-confidence.

Ton Phanan, a doctor who was seriously injured in the Battle of Endor when the medship he was on was attacked, and chose to become a pilot so he could prevent others from being shot by Imperials instead of merely dealing with the after effects; because of his allergy to bacta, he had to rely on cybernetic implants to deal with his injuries.

Garik “Face” Loran, a former holovid actor who was famous in his youth for his good looks (thus the nickname) and his starring roles in a series of thinly-veiled Imperial propaganda holos that had been wildly successful. He later learned the truth about the Empire from an extremist anti-Imperial group who had kidnapped him, sustained severe injuries to his face, and eventually defected to the Alliance and attempted to atone for his previous work for the Empire.

Hungry for more Legends content? Follow @from-a-legends-pov and check out our upcoming Star Wars Legends fanfiction event, From a Legends Point of View, HERE. Signups open April 28 — please encourage your favorite Star Wars writers to participate!

[checkoutmybookshelf]

What is a Wraith, Anyway?

Ok, so I am primarily a Jedi girl when it comes to Star Wars, but snark-ass Corellian pilots also occupy a very soft spot in my heart. Han Solo is now and forever the GOAT Corellian smuggler and pilot, but Wedge Antillies--particularly as he is expanded in the EU books--is absolutely in the top 5 favorite pilots. I'm not overly fond of Rogue Squadron, if we're being honest, but I adore the antics and missions of Wraith Squadron. So let's talk Aaron Allston's Wraith Squadron.

*Spoilers below, so beware!*

Wedge Antillies.

Wes Janson.

Myn Donos (and Shiner).

Kell Tainer.

Garik "Face" Loran.

Falynn Sandskimmer.

Jesmin Ackbar.

Voort "Piggy" saBinring.

Hohass "Runt" Ekwesh.

Ton Phanan.

Eurrsk Thri'ag.

Tyria Sarkin.

This is Wraith Squadron, Wedge's pet project that pulled together competent officers who might have been bad at office politics or made a few too many mistakes or whose careers were otherwise dead and would jump at another chance to fly. Wedge's plan was to create an experienced, multi-talented squadron to take on the jobs for which the venn diagram of piloting, ground skills, and espianage is a circle. And while he did do that, he also somehow managed to take a bunch of hard case and traumatized pilots and transform them into a family.

The progression of the transformation though, is beautifully paced. We spend the early sections of the novel learning about each individual pilot's personal (or not so personal, given Tainer's near-paralyzing fear of Janson that tends to read as aggression) issues or motivations and getting some tentative interpersonal bonding. Interestingly, Face and Jesmin aren't hard cases or screwups. Face is tying to atone for having been the Empire's golden boy child actor in their propaganda films--although I wouldn't ever have recovered from having to sit in Ysanne Isard's LAP while she told me I was a good imperial citizen. Jesmin, however, is simply trying not to be a waste of her training because as Admiral Ackbar's neice, no commander has ever been willing to put her in actual danger.

Jesmin is, unfortunately, the first casualty of the squadron, and during the mission where she is lost, Myn Donos's R2 unit, Shiner, is unfortunately blown to peices. Myn has some seriously unresolved trauma (and arguably PTSD and survivor's guilt) from being the sole survivor of his former squadron, and Shiner's loss absolutely breaks him.

Ultimately, however, it's the loss of one squadmate and the threat of losing a second one that really cements Wraith squadron as a unit. This begins with medic Ton Phanon (attempting to) hiding the extent of Myn's breakdown from Wedge and Wes. The rest of the squadron then works to cover his shifts and duties, trying to give him time to snap out of it on his own. Eventually though, Kell overhears Wes and Wedge privately plotting how to keep buying Myn time and preventing the breakdown from landing on any official reports or paperwork.

This neatly severs the Gordian knot of Kell's fear of Wes, and ultimately gives the squad the courage to stage an intervention for Myn.

Having saved the squadmate they could, the Wraiths go on to become a tightly knit family and scary effective squad of pilots with commando skills.

I love this book. The team dynamics and the journey to find those dynamics are beautifully plotted and written, and the book flies by.

[accidental-spice]

Re-reading Wraith Squadron again...

[captaingondolin]

--- Aron Allston, X-Wing: Wraith Squadron

This passage is making me FEEL THINGS. I can’t even articulate how much this hits me. I have been both sides of the argument. I too would love to turn my guns on my friends’ anxiety and self-loathing, to just destroy the things that make them miserable.

I also tend to dwell on my (real or perceived) mistakes for far too long. In the last few years I’ve tried to improve my self-talk, to cut down on outright insults, but the instinct is still there. “If I don’t punish myself, how will I ever improve?"

So... I don’t have a deep analysis. Just. This is so good.

[girlbossk]

WHAT is dinner squadron i need to know

OKAY SO it was only in one book, x-wing: wraith squadron and it started bc they were called gray squadron which is soooo boring and they were making up names like silly squadron. 

and dinner squadron. 

so wedge antilles, known fun-killer, said no way

and they were named wraith squadron

but then some annoying imperial asshole shows up on whatever planet theyre on and so all the rebels or new republic or whatever are running away bc theres like. a star destroyer???? idk anyways theyre running but the last transport cant get away bc thats a classic star wars plot and all of wraith squadron and some a-wings too are like flying cover or whatever they do 

BUT 

there are four people who were like scouting or something???? idk and anyways these four people are: FACE LORAN who named dinner squadron in the first place. hes an actor. RUNT EKWESH the sporse (space horse) pilot. DORSET KONNAIR who is an a-wing pilot with a star tattooed around her eye and she NEVER SHOWS UP ANYWHERE EVER AGAIN. and TETENGO NOOR who dies in one of the other books . thanks zsinj, for killing the star wars name dude 

but anyways they form dinner squadron for this one battle and they do this weird thing with their shields or whatever??? and somehow they trick the stupid imperial into thinking theyr’e the MILLENNIUM FUCKING FALCON so mr imperial dude is like “KYLO REN VOICE ALL FIGHTERS ON THAT FREIGHTER” or whatever the line is idk im not looking it up 

so everyone including the star destroyer chases dinner squadron allowing the transport to escape

and then dinner squadron makes the illusion go away and it’s like they disappeared and they have thus never lost a battle ever. 

[maryellencarter]

so @corelliaxdreaming​ put 48 star wars characters into a hunger games simulator, and the results were entertaining (Snap Wexley fell out of a tree onto Hobbie and killed them both! WHY IS THIS SO FUNNY TO ME), so I was like “I will do the thing also!” So here is the link to the generator, and here is my cast list:

Wedge Antilles, Tycho Celchu, Wes Janson, Hobbie Klivian, Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Corran Horn, Erisi Dlarit, Mara Jade, Kirney Slane, Myn Donos, Face Loran, Piggy saBinring, Ton Phanan, Asyr Sei’lar, Gavin Darklighter, Mirax Terrik, Iella Wessiri, Kell Tainer, Falynn Sandskimmer, Shalla Nelprin, Tyria Sarkin...

...that’s 24, I’m not sure I *have* 48 characters if I stick to pilots and pilot-adjacent characters? It seems weird to throw in, like, Thrawn or somebody...

...Plourr Ilo, Koyi Komad, Xarcce Huwla, Dia Passik, Nawara Ven, Rhysati Ynr, Lujayne Forge, Inyri Forge, Poe Dameron, Squeaky, Pash Cracken, Castin Donn...

...jesus. This is hard fucking work...

...Elassar Targon, Dorset Konnair, Jesmin Ackbar, Snap Wexley, Jek Porkins, Biggs Darklighter, Bror "Bro" Jace, Tetengo Noor, Target Nu, Tal'dira, Runt Ekwesh, Sharr Latt. HOLY FUCKING MACARONI I DID IT!

Stay tuned for updates? :-) "star wars hunger games" to block/track the tag

[vamprisms]

if r*ylo ever becomes canon i’ll change my name to hohass ‘runt’ ekwesh by deed poll

[thebastardofgloucester]

Me: the Star Wars EU is ridiculous and was getting wildly out of hand after the Vong were introduced. The original trilogy era was comically overstuffed and even video games were kinda canon. It was insanely white. There were more stupid superweapons than brown people. Or LGBT characters. Possibly combined. the new eu canon is loads more diverse and (thus far) more unified

Also Me: DO NOT SPEAK ILL OF HORSE PILOT HOHASS ‘RUNT’ EKWESH YOU UNCULTURED BASTARDS

[incorrectstarwarslegendsquotes]

Wedge Antilles: Imagine if someone handed you a box full of all the items you have lost throughout your life.

Lara Notsil: It would be nice to have my sense of purpose back.

Face Loran: Oh wow, my childhood innocence! Thank you for finding this.

Myn Donos: My will to live! I haven't seen this in 15 years!

Piggy: I knew I lost that potential somewhere!

Runt: Mental stability, my old friend!

Wedge Antilles: Guys, could you lighten up a little?

[accidental-spice]

Solo Command re-read part one.

Spoilers, naturally.

1. 'Naval Lieutenant Jart Eyan looked rested and cheerful. The fact that he had only twelve minutes to live would have changed his disposition, but he dud not possess that knowledge.' What an entrance, Allston.

2. And Piggy thwarts an assassination. And he does it really awesomely, too. Reminds me a bit of one of the half dozen Sherlock episodes I've ever seen.

3. So, one of the best parts about this book is the fact that one of my favorite platonic relationships, and one of my favorite romantic relationships, both come to fruition. Firstly, the platonic one: Face and Lara. I'll probably elaborate later, but they're cool. I'll definitely elaborate later on the romantic one, Myn and Lara.

4. Oh. Great. A replacement medic. Just great.

5."Elassar Targon, master of the universe, reporting for duty!" Wedge: oh, great, another maniac.

6. Face becomes the leader of the squad. When I started this series for the first time, I had no idea that Face was gonna end up Wraith One. Unexpected, but not unwelcome.

7. Wedge is analyzing the other lieutenants to see how they feel about their new squad leader, and all seems well thus far.' That left Myn Donos, a lieutenant with more years and more experience than Face. He looked serious and contemplative. But then, serious was merely a step up from his usual expression, that of dour intensity.' Yep, Myn's facial expressions are pretty much limited to intense and...... More intense.

8. Wedge is going on a da-ate. According to Hobbie, "He smells like a fresh spring breeze ". Bet it's with Iella. Speaking of OTPs...

9. 'Dia Passik, the female Twi'lek, said, "He (Face) insisted that he wasn't feeling well." Lara Notsil smiled over her shoulder at them. "He lied. He lies all the time, you know." "I know. But he seemed so genuine." "He does that all the time, too. This is the right thing to do. Myn, Elassar, back me up. " For context, they're going convincing him to go for a night out with the four of them. See? BROTHER.

10. "I've often suspected that you sometimes put on disguises just to go to the refresher. "

11. Oh, look, someone mistook Lara for their old student, Edalia Monotheer. Bet that won't come back to bite us...................................................

12. And Zsinj calls up the ship Han's on, and Chewie answers. "It's, ah, Chewbacca, isn't it? Please put your owner on." Zsinj, Han doesn't own Chewie. It's actually probably the other way around.

13. Tyria just called Face "chief". Hallelujah.

14. It's amusing to realize that Wraith and Rogue Squadron are assisting Wedge in his 'I refuse to become a general' scheme. Because they are.

15. So apparently, Corran and Han have never been in the same room together during this trip, so there's a baseless conspiracy theory that they're the same person. Hilarious.

16. Piggy's fresh out of the bacta tank, and the Wraiths are here to greet him. And troll him, naturally. 'Shalla said, "Kell and I worked up an instructional manual for you. It's called, *How to Dodge*." Piggy mopped away at his damp skin and allowed himself a slight smile. It was good to be home.' *gets bowled over by found family feels*

17. *mentions Phanan* Me: AGONY! PAIN! MISERY! VARYING LEVELS OF AMUSEMENT!

18. Donos will now commence to initiate a conversation with a young woman he likes. *eyebrow wiggle* Hopefully, he asks her to do an activity together. That'll sell..

19. He does not ask her to do an activity together.

20. Which is probably why its doesn't go THAT well.

21. "I'm going to be a tremendous embarrassment to the Wraiths." Lara, honey, Wraith Squadron can't afford to get embarrassed. They're already an embarrassment. (Affectionate)

22. Tyria is getting better at the Force. Knew you could do it, Tyria.

23. 'Shalla said, "You're getting weird, Tyria." This is good. When things start to get weird like this, that's a good thing.

24. Elassar is eating candy mid-mission. Okay, he's growing on me. I do have a slight prejudice against him because he's the new medic. And I really really miss the old one....

25. I retract my weird-means-good statement, they are in an incinerator.

26. Well, that could have been worse.

27. "By the way, I'm putting in a commendation for Kell for his initiative, and one for Lieutenant Janson for bravery." "Like he needs another one." "Maybe he can build a little fort out of them."

28. "Get the Wraiths together," Wedge said. "We're going to conduct one of their insane speculation and planning sessions. " Yeah, this line just amuses me.

29. So, they're having a dance, and Donos and Lara are flirting, and Dia and Face are flirting by watching them flirting and basically competing over who can read their body language better. It's weird and adorable.

30. Well, Facebis gonna do some research on Lara and Edalia Monotheer. Bet we won't live to regret that............................................

31. Okay, Solo's gone off the deep end. "Without her (Leia), I don't have a place. I'm just a drifter with an irresistible dose of roguish charm. And someday she'll get tired of the charm and there won't be anything else for me to offer her." "You know," Wedge said, "I can't do it myself, because you're my superior officer. But I could call Chewie down here, and tell him what you've just said, and then he'd beat you nearly to death with a hydrospanner." Stars, Han. Anyone knows that Leia needs you. It's so obvious, even a blind man could see it.

32. So, Wedge is giving everyone the night off, unofficially. Including the astromech droids. Also, he's not Wedge. After all, Commander Wedge Antilles would be wearing proper rank insignia.

33. The book calls it 'Wedge's mutiny of anonymity,' and I really can't do it justice. It's hilarious.

Pretty much sure that's half the book done, then. Later!

[accidental-spice]

Okay, let's make this Iron Fist re-read post NOW, so my next one can be full of unintelligible ranting about........ Y'know.

Spoilers below.

1. So, this book is when some of my favorite characters come in: Dia Passik(Twi'lek, former slave, little scary, really cool, hasn't seen Face's holo-shows, allegedly immune to his charms. So.), Shalla Nelprin (her older sister taught Kell how to kick butt, and she's even worse) and of course, Ga- *violent coughing* I mean Lara Notsil. Who is a truly FASCINATING character. Also, Castin Donn comes in, but he's not my favorite, TBH. He's got an ego on him. But I'll admit, he has a rather interesting character arc.

2. "Sounds like a mild concussion. See our doctor about it." "Oh, I'm too important a doctor to see anyone as lowly as myself." Why do you crack me up so much, Phanan. Why.

3. 'Wedge retrieved it and looked at the message. It read: *Lieutenant Kettch reporting for duty, sir. Yub, yub, Commander!* Wedge shook his head sorrowfully. "Sometimes I miss my sanity." He retrieved the toy and handed it to Face. "Deal with that." Face, who was working so hard to repress a laugh he couldn't speak, simply threw a salute and escaped with the Ewok pilot.' And thus, a legend was born....

4. Flip to the villain's POV, and they're complaining about a town's name. To be fair, it IS pretty unfortunate.

5. "Rogue Squadron doesn't run," said Corran Horn, dead-pan. "Unless we really, really have to." That got more laughter. "No," said Wedge, "this will be Wraith Squadron's mission. " We don't mind running," Face said. "Even *when* we don't have to." And if someone ever asks me the difference, I'll have my answer.

6. Wedge has officially owned this squadron so hard, everyone in it is his child. Therefore, he will be committing some mild treason if necessary.

7. 'But those pilots who'd just been sacrificed, who'd died to satisfy Zsinj's sense of efficiency. It was like Admiral Trigit. And it wasn't-- "Thirteen." --honorable. There was no honor in it.' Oh, I really like this scene. Lara comes to the realization that Zsinj, and her old boss, Trigit, are the same: honor-less, unclassy, ect. And I love the way it's put together, I love her realization, I love the part after that when she and the rest of the squad get back and she realizes that she's one of them now. They've adopted you, Lara. Too late, you can't retract it.

8. 'Wedge gaped. "You robbed a bank." "We did. It was fun, too." So, I really like Kell and Phanan's friendship. And despite the fact that Kell gets the girl, and Phanan doesn't, they do stay friends. Which I really like.

9. ' "You do remember that the Hawkbats are a front, a sham?" Kell and Phanan exchanged looks suggesting that this was news to them.'

10. Okay, I don't really know where to start with this part. It breaks my heart every time. Phanan just doesn't see anything in his future. At all. And Face and I are equally saddened by this. I just wish... I guess I wish things were different, as I often do with Star Wars. And real life. I wish that Phanan had hope. That's all.

11. Lara trusts Donos. Which is a first for her. Plus, like, romantic foreshadowing. Yay.

Well, there's chapters one-ten. Sooner or later, I'll get through the......... Halmad part. And then I'll make a really long, incomprehensible post about it all.

[accidental-spice]

Iron Fist re-read part three.

Spoilers ahead. Seriously, don't read this if you haven't read Iron Fist. Don't be like me. Be better. Okay, joking. But there are a lot of spoilers.

1. 'Castin and Donos sat in the second row of seats, bent over a long weapon- Donos's laser sniper rifle. "We did not know you had brought that," Runt said. Donos snorted. "I take it to parties, dining engagements and the refresher." ' It's delightful that Donos has a sense of humor now, and a good one, too. At least I THINK he's joking.

2. 'On the sensor board, Hawk-bat Seven, Ton Phanan's signal, faded to black.' *dies inside* Seriously, the first time I read this.... I knew it was coming. BUT STILL.

3. Wedge says retreat. Face doesn't spend time arguing. He just goes after Phanan.

4. 'Face paused, sensing some of Phanan's innate perversity at work.' ALLSTON, NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO MAKE ME LAUGH I'M SUFFERING.

5. Face: *gets hit in the head with a rock* Face: Found him.

6. "Face?" "Yes?" "Thanks for coming back for me." "If you got captured, I'd have to fill out forms." "Reasonable." I love this friendship.

7. "Starting over means more time. More time for Zsinj to bombard more colonies, to destroy more ships. Another day may mean some bright young doctor gets it the way I did and ends up what I am." "What you are is pretty good." Phanan shook his head. "Not as good as some kid with a superior intellect whose only aim is to make people better. I'd rather he be out there than me." These two are killing me. Also, I knew you had a heart in there somewhere, Ton Phanan.

8. "I was just imagining was a sad galaxy this would be without my superior intellect and general state of wonderfulness."

9. "Don't be so fatalistic. You're just punishing yourself." Phanan managed a hoarse chuckle. "You would know. That's your specialty, isn't it?" "What do you mean?" "I do what I do because I very badly want to hurt the people who hurt me. You do what you do so you can punish a little boy who once made some holodramas for the Empire." This is it. The ONE reason I'm okay with this. Phanan sees that Face is needlessly tormenting himself. And Face.... Well, he just needs the push.

10. "It's up there again."

11. 'Phanan's chest did not rise or fall. But his organic eye was still open, directed upward, and his expression-- for once lacking pain, lacking the shields of sarcasm or manufactured self-appreciation-- was that of a child wondering at the glittering beauty of the stars.'

12. 'Face's vision blurred as his own eyes filled with the first tears he'd shed since he was a boy.'

13. Well, now I'm dead inside. Everything HURTS.

14. Okay, guys. Face is the person Phanan wanted notified upon the event of his death. And Face is the beneficiary of his will. I can't decide what's more painful-- the fact that Ton Phanan had no one to an extent that he leaves everything to his wingmate that he's know for a few months, max, or the fact that he cared about Face, and thought of him as that good a friend. Just- he left him everything. That's who he chose.

15. Phanan's letter- kills me. I am now legally dead.

I don't really know what else to say about this. Just, Phanan was and is one of my favorite SW Legends character. And I very much appreciate Allston making his death meaningful.

[accidental-spice]

Finished Iron Fist!

Spoilers, but you knew that. (Yes I stole that from CinemaWins)

1. Okay, post-suffering.... Mooooostly.

2. Donos being over protective of Lara😍😍😍😍. Kiiiiiiinda one of my favorite tropes.

3. Castin does a stupid, and gets himself killed. Then, Dia has to fake-kill him. Not ideal.

4. Ugh, this part.... Face blames himself, Wedge talks him out of it. And then Wedge waits until Face gets far enough away..... Then kinda looses it. It's just a very human scene for him, and I like it.

5. 'He (Wedge) found a scrap of flimsi and a writing instrument and scribbled a very brief note, then folded it several times and handed to Janson. "Tuck that away. Take it out when we have our answer and it will make my reputation as a military wizard." Janson pocketed the note. "You already have that reputation." "Well, then, I'll have two."

6. Oh, this next scene is GREAT. Runt's party. One of his best scenes.

7. 'And Kell and Tyria danced, smiling at one another, the rest of the universe suddenly lost to them.'

8. Face is talking about Phanan with Lara-- "I only met him a few weeks ago. But by the end of the second day, we were finishing one another's sentences and being obnoxious enough to drive everyone around us crazy." "Well, you'll have to be obnoxious enough for both of you now. Phanan would want that." "He would." It's just.... It's too funny. I love it.

9. And then Lara and Janson, Dia's dance partner, maneuver Face and Dia together. NICE.

10. "That's what I wanted to say to you, what I didn't know how to say before," she said. "That I know that you feel you failed Ton Phanan. But you did not fail me." Ah, romance.

11. Bit quick, but I still ship it.

12. "You know, pretending to an Ewok is a felony on some worlds."

13. 'And Ton was right.' Phanan, somewhere in the Force: Well, it's about time someone appreciated my superior intellect.

14. "I want to thank everyone who retrieved pieces of me, everyone who retrieved pieces of my X-wing, and especially those who sorted them out correctly." *snickers* ahhh, I underestimate Face occasionally.

15. And we finish out with some post-humous blackmail (loving).

Well, let's go torture ourselves with Solo Command, shall we?