#swtor talks

So, yesterday, I came across this discussion right here detailing on how a relationship between Arcann and the Outlander could potentially be toxic (great discussion BTW, go check it out), and it made me wonder what if Arcann was written a bit better?

Strap in, this one’s gonna be a long one. Now, I don’t HATE Arcann. I think he’s a fairly serviceable antagonist who does his job well and possess a threat to the main protagonists. He does have his sympathetic qualities, like his backstory being neglected by his own father, and the time on the Asylum where he was willing to let your companions go as long as you’re willing to surrender to him.

However...that’s all he really has. The whole rest of the time, he’s just a generic, raging warmonger with daddy issues. Then he’s taken to the Voss and either instantly cured of all of his negative qualities, or just eventually killed.  Now, I do like post-Voss Arcann quite a bit, but I feel like there could’ve been a bit better buildup to his eventual redemption.

My suggestion? Make his sympathetic qualities more prominent.  Instead of just being a tyrant for the sake of it, perhaps he was aware of his father’s plan to consume the whole galaxy, and dreads being just another pawn in his game. However, since his father’s one of the most powerful force users in the galaxy, all he could do was play along for now. But with Valkorion out of the way, he can focus now on ‘uniting the galaxy’, from a certain point of view. Essentially, he wants to turn Zakuul into a thriving civilization that can oppose any apocalyptic threat to the galaxy, wether that be Valkorion or something else.  That would help make him to a foil to the Outlander. Both of you want to unite your respective factions against a common foe, but while you’re doing it through unity and inspiration, he’s doing it through control and oppression. 

On top of that, we could also have a foil WITHIN the Eternal Empire. Enter Vaylin.

Perhaps instead of Arcann being the one who’s glassing planets and torturing people, Vaylin’s the one who takes that role. She’d be the one who’s responsible for the Eternal Empire’s more heinous actions, constantly going behind her brother’s back to achieve these actions. Meanwhile, Arcann can only really tell her off, because if he does anything about it, he’ll appear weak in the eyes of Zakuulan society.  So instead of two batshit insane siblings, we have an orderly and focused brother, and his unhinged sister.

We can still have things like that chat on Asylum, but let’s take that up a notch. Perhaps he shows that he genuinely admires and respects the Outlander and wants them to join him against Valkorion, rather than just trying to stab them whenever he can. This could pave the way for philosophical debates between the Outlander and Arcann, discussing their methods and ideals and such. We could even have times where Arcann lowers his guard, showing he might genuinely believe the Outlander to a degree and gradually understanding them more and more. So, instead of just being Deus Ex Machina’d into being a good guy, he gradually goes from being your biggest obstacle to being your ally, in an organic way. This could make his friendship, and yes even his romance arc, seem a lot healthier and more heartfelt. 

Since I finally got Legendary Status this past week I figured it was time to update the OC list for the Shir Legacy with some of the newest OCs to come out of my grind of getting all the class stories done.

First up we have Orla Cevrus.

She was/is the character I made for my trooper run but quickly ran with the concept for her as a whole.

She is Isadola & Lana’s second child but their oldest. As a force-sensitive Chiss Orla was orphaned and shunned at a young age. She was a runaway stowing away on ships until she eventually ended up on Odessen before she was even 5 years old. She was formally adopted by Issie & Lana before their own firstborn daughter could even sleep through the night.

Despite being the oldest of Isadola & Lana’s daughters she is also the tallest, and doesn’t let her younger sisters forget it. Not as graceful on her feet as the rest of her sisters, but can still hold her own when a fight amongst them eventually breaks out.

Orla or Ori as her sisters call her, was trained just like the rest of her sisters to at least control their force abilities and trained with lightsabers. But was given the freedom to choose her own path in that regard by her mothers. Given the choice they didn’t get when in regards to using her force talents. Now she chooses to fight using assault cannons and lots and lots of plasma cell caused fires.

Orla eventually went on to command Havoc Squad later down the line under the command of General Elara Dorne. It took Orla a good bit of time to earn Elara’s trust after she learned who her parents were. Elara certainly didn’t forget what happened on Iokath after Isadola sided with the empire during that moment in time.

Next up we have Kelsa Tilera.

The character I made for my Smuggler class story, Which I also decided to run with for her own story.

She is Isadola & Lana’s firstborn daughter and their second oldest child. Half-human/half-Miraluka. Named after both of her grandmothers.

She has pale green eyes (if the game let me have that option) but is physically blind; bright side though she inherited Isadola’s miraluka ability to see with the force.

Strong with the force like her mothers, but chose to use her abilities differently than her sisters. Kelsa had a talent for disappearing at a young age which she managed to turn into a career down the line thanks to the encouragement of her Uncle Taskar, who later took her under his wing as a protege. Under his guidance she managed to make a decent name for herself as a smuggler.

Unlike her younger sisters, Kelsa wasn’t born on Odessen, but was raised there for most of her life along with her 3 sisters. Chances are if some trouble went down when they were younger, Kelsa was the mastermind of it all between the 4 Beniko children.

And (for now) finally we have Anira Candora.

The character I made for my Bounty Hunter playthrough but decided to run with that story for as well.

Anira is the youngest of Isadola & Lana’s 3 biological children. You wouldn’t know it by looking at her but like her 2 older sisters she is also half-human/half-miraluka. Anira was a tad luckier than Kelsa as she wasn’t born physically blind, but still inherited Isadola’s Miraluka ability to also see with the force if she focuses enough or is briefly blinded. Anira like her one older sister (sadly not in this bunch as I still yet to make her) doesn’t need to rely on that ability to see. Anira got her red hair from her grandmother Tilera, and like the rest of her sisters got her green eyes from Lana.

Anira fell into the bounty hunter profession after she learned to apply her own force talents in her own way. Deadly with a blaster and lightsaber, but also armed with enough fire to set a planet a blaze. Anira was mentored for a time by Shae Vizla at Isadola’s request when Anira became set on becoming a Bounty Hunter.

Anira may be the youngest of Isadola & Lana’s 4 children, but is easily the fiercest, and the one to start most of the physical fights between the 4 sisters. Underneath the surface though she is also the most empathetic, a trait she got from Isadola.

Lana would never outright admit it, as she loves all her daughters equally, but Anira is her favorite.

I have so many ideas for the 4 Beniko children. Yes despite the legacy name, they were all given Lana’s last name to avoid the stigma that still follows the Shir name around.

The 4 girls were the rowdiest bunch of kids on Odessen, but also ironically the most disciplined. The girls could go from causing utter chaos to “Yes Ma’am” standing properly at attention and working like a well oiled machine with one one word or stern glance from Lana. Theron still isn’t sure how Lana & Isadola managed that.

Okay - so the track is "The Other Side" from "The Greatest Showman", right? But instead of Hugh Jackman and Zac Effron singing about joining the circus, it's Lana Beniko singing with a reluctant Outlander about starting the Alliance with her. It is basically the same energy.

Sometimes, I'm a genius. 🤓

@fleeting-sanity

@swtorramblings

I know a lot of people want a Vaylin redemption story.

The argument is that Vaylin is at least as deserving of redemption as Arcann, if not more so, taking her childhood into account.

I imagine most of you know that story.

For me... i don't so much want to see Vaylin redeemed, per se.

I want to see a Vaylin who isn't in pain.

Because everything she does in KOTFE and KOTET and Echoes of Oblivion seems to have an undercurrent of pain attached to it. Pain and desperation.

I just... want to see who she'd be if she was free of that.

Would she be someone better? Someone who would cry in her mother's arms?

Would she be what Valkorion said she was? A monster who needed to be controlled?

Would she be someone who listened?

Who would she be?

Is this just me?