Beyond - Legends Dark Paths (Jacen, Tahiri, Anakin, Jaina, Jag - 5 years after "The Unifying Force"!)

Thrawn Mc Ewok wrote : the-Admiral: me likes ...........

Aw, shucks. Glad you like it! I don't know I'd have done it if I'd found (or at least worked out what the heck was going on in) Oracle (go read, people!) first (and was actually sure you were doing what I think you're doing)...

Without giving anything away (or necessarily being right), might I be right in thinking we're doing approximately similar stuff here? Tangentially to the fic (and laying off the heavy use of brackets for a while), I definately suspect that your putting Tahiri into vonduun crab armour gave me an unconscious mental nudge in a certain direction...

And for that matter, would I be totally off-beam if I thought that YodaKenobi might be doing something slightly similar as well...?

weeellll i'll have to have a marathon read to tell you for sure about YodaKenobi work.

but i must say i was pleasantly surprised to see how some of the themes evoqked were quite similarindeed with Oracle great minds think alike - or plot alike in this case.

however - when it comes to the Oracle - well - as you mentioned it so well i do have a few aces up my sleeve.

in a way - i am angry at myself for reading this fic. as i read through it i was telling myself -[i[ that's a good twist - maybe i should... [/i]
But don't worry - i won't .
I don't know why i feel compelled to adding a layer of pseudo-philosophical insight in my work. I say pseudo because i don't claim there is a philosophical drive in oracle - but there s something nudging that wants to get out. i just have to find the way..

Kudos to you. You have squared down what you want to convey. the style speaks for itself. COnfident with some characters - doubting for others. the ambience is well conveyed in your words. I feel like i'm right there next to them.
And I love this Anakin. he has so many facets he feels alive beneath that armor. I must adit i am getting kind of tired of reading the mono layered Characters of the official EU.

Your work is a very welcome change.

Keep up the good work.

the Admiral

(PS if i sounded pompous / "blazé" - I'm sorry - i'm not so good at find the right words to express my feelings in English.)

 

Blended: Cool. Bud WT[something] is happeing with Jaina? I thought she was in his dungeon?

She was... several years earlier. I suppose you could say that... something... happened to her, but in truth, that was only the consummation of an internal process that started on Myrkr, if not earlier... and remember, she may have been the one in the cell, and Anakin may have been the one holding the key, but that didn't mean she wasn't an equal partner in what happened...

Since then, she's been... there in spirit, I suppose... and no, she's not been dead...

YK: Yeah, I was just checking

Trying to trick me into saying stuff, eh?

that's what I was thinking. Dark Lords probably think of themselves as good, and doing the right thing

Even if you're right, who's to say that Anakin thinks of himself in those terms? But then, I think you're digging for roots here, YK. Stop trying to figure out my fic, and post more of your own!

I think we all learned after the first post not to believe the obvious in this story

Heh.

[fails to think of a witty comeback]

still haven't gotten the details of this new jedi purge,

There are several details in there, actually... albeit in no particular order...

so I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop

?

You're explainations are even poetic a surrealist, huh? an interesting projection of the character I suppose.

In a certain sense, it's inevitable...

I understood it wasn't as powerful as the death star I got it.

Aye. I was just taking the opportunity to throw out some more tangential comments that may or may not be useful...

Darth Vader.

No, Vader was always Human. Luke was right.

When you set the bar that high, it's to be expected

Agh!

Brett: Yes, me too, T McE.



Hell, just look at my monster posts in here for proof of my quasi-madness...


Is that really something you wanted to draw to anyone's attention?

Except mine?

But I should perhaps quietly point out that big tractor beams which throw massive asteroids at targets are an emphatically obsolescent form of tactical/siege weaponry in the GFFA...

[due to excessive numbers of s, this post is now hyphenated - ]

 

[... !]

Daughterofflame: Yeah. I usually do that, but I ran out of time on the last post.

Instant coffee will do fine in future...

(*runs off to fix problem*)



PS Have you read After FOrever???? (Just couldn't remember)

Less of it than I'd like...

Jags_Scoundrel: Hmmm . . . you may have a point there.

Just so long as you are mad enough...

Jag's Scoundrel, the Misbehaving Muse! (There's a story in there somewhere!)

Heh. Why do I see it involving Jaina and some coffee?

btw, would you prefer to be known as Jag's Scoundrel or Jags_Scoundrel?

the-Admiral: weeellll i'll have to have a marathon read to tell you for sure about YodaKenobi work.

It's worth it, IMHO.

but i must say i was pleasantly surprised to see how some of the themes evoqked were quite similarindeed with Oracle

So you know how I felt reading your fic, then? Actually, I enjoyed reading it so much that it was only in retrospect that the similarities started to occur to me...

great minds think alike - or plot alike in this case.



however - when it comes to the Oracle - well - as you mentioned it so well i do have a few aces up my sleeve.

Ahh... I look forward to it!

in a way - i am angry at myself for reading this fic.

Thanks, though!

as i read through it i was telling myself - that's a good twist - maybe i should...
But don't worry - i won't .



I'll do my best to do the same... which will probably now mean that I trip over myself second-guessing what I'm trying to do...

I don't know why i feel compelled to adding a layer of pseudo-philosophical insight in my work. I say pseudo because i don't claim there is a philosophical drive in oracle - but there s something nudging that wants to get out. i just have to find the way..

I know what you mean - sort of... I'm not sure that what I'm doing is as sophisticated, but I guess part of the reason I like Oracle so much is that it contains a lot of what I'm looking for in a fic (and that's true of YK's stuff as well, if sometimes in slightly different ways)... all of which is likely to be reflected (at least in a warped way) here as well...

Kudos to you. You have squared down what you want to convey. the style speaks for itself. COnfident with some characters - doubting for others. the ambience is well conveyed in your words. I feel like i'm right there next to them.

If there's any truth to that (it feels right, but then, that may be because I feel genuinely flattered), it's not that consciously analysed most of the time... not that there isn't thought going into the fic - just that that particular aspect is essentially intuitive....

And I love this Anakin. he has so many facets he feels alive beneath that armor.

That's a brilliant turn of phrase!

I must adit i am getting kind of tired of reading the mono layered Characters of the official EU.

Your work is a very welcome change.

Keep up the good work.

[looks decidedly uneasy at the amount of expectation now weighing on this fic]

Thanks! I'll do my best...! ?

(PS if i sounded pompous / "blazé" - I'm sorry - i'm not so good at find the right words to express my feelings in English.)

You're doing fine... and no problem in the fic, IMHO... and fine here, too, even if I do 'hear' more of an accent when reading these posts than over in the Oracle thread...

Et ne t'inquiete pas. Ce serait beaucoup plus difficile s'il me faut necessaire parler Francais pour exprimer mes idees...!

[I should probably point out that I have no real idea just how bad that was... my French is very rusty... sorry if it's particularly painful ]

- The Imperial Ewok

 

Heh. Why do I see it involving Jaina and some coffee?

btw, would you prefer to be known as Jag's Scoundrel or Jags_Scoundrel?
Whichever you prefer. I've always said, I don't care what you call me, just don't call me late for dinner!

 

You're, like, the only other person outside my family that uses that phrase, Jag's Scoundrel!

 

Brett, What can I say? I seem to have the habit of using goofy little sayings like that (which seems to be a constant source of amusement to most everyone around me.)

 

bump

 

Scoundrel: Whichever you prefer.

As you wish...

I've always said, I don't care what you call me, just don't call me late for dinner!

"So be it... Shirley!"

[Apart from that, it's the time of year when STAR WARS things get slow... I suppose I should probably tease you all with an idea for something I'm thinking of using, just to keep you all simmering... ]

A vision flashed in front of Jag's eyes. Darkness, skin on skin, two people locked together in an embrace. A man's broad back, strong and scarred. A girl's arms wrapped tight around him - left arm slim and strong, right arm sheathed in a cyborg gauntlet below the elbow.

Jaina! he realised, his mind reeling from the psychic punch of her unguarded thoughts.

She was looking at him, worry in her eyes, left hand closed awkwardly around her right forearm in front of her.

Skin on skin.

"Jag?" she asked.

He blinked.

In his mind's eye, he saw her looking up into her lover's face, her eyes bright with emotion. The man - he was a full head taller than her - was holding her gently around the shoulders, as if afraid that he might break her. Her right hand slid up and round across his back - her cyborg hand, blunt-tipped metal digits slowly massaging his powerful muscles.

"I love you," he heard her say. "I don't want to lose you again. I couldn't bear that...."

Jag just stared in disbelief. He couldn't see the man's face. Dark, touseled hair falling forwards, features hidden in shadow.

But it wasn't him.

"I love you too," he whispered.

He narrowed his eyes, to try and make out the details.

Then he blinked, and he was back in her stateroom aboard the Star Destroyer. But the image seemed to have printed itself on his retinas.

Jaina, and.... and who, exactly?

"Kyp?" he asked, realising he'd spoken out loud, feeling an edge of annoyance in his thoughts, a flat, off-key note in his voice. But he was too surprised - and too perplexed - to be really angry. The irritation felt unreal, an instinctive flash of animal jealousy that he could easily let go of.

"Kyp is dead," Jaina reminded him, a flicker of grief in her eyes. Less than he would have expected. Then it changed, became concern for him. Love? he wondered.

"Jag? Jag - are you all right?"

He couldn't answer. All he could see was the image of her with the other man, reaching up slowly to kiss him, standing on the balls of her bare feet.

He couldn't tell whether it was a memory, an image of a possible future or simply a private fantasy. But he was sure of one thing. It was real to her in every way that mattered.

"Jag?" she asked again.

"Oh?" he frowned, blinking, wondering how long they'd been standing there like that, awkward. She had a slight frown on her forehead now, lips pressed together in a pensive line. The concern in her expression was in danger of becoming irritation.

As though she's hiding something, he realised numbly, rubbing the scar that slashed across his temple, noting - without anything that he could really call surprise - that he hadn't even blinked at the thought.

"I'm okay," he told her. "I just - I missed you, Jaina. You have no idea..."

A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

"I think I might have some idea, Jagged Fel," she told him.

"Yeah," he nodded, sounding stupid. What's happening here?!

He was putting his arms around her, letting her bury her face in the fabric of his jacket, whispering reassurances to her, sharing in her sudden surge of emotion.

"I love you, baby," he told her. "I love you, I love you, I love you."

He even sounded as though he meant it.

He even thought he meant it.

But he felt disolcated from his body, like a dispassionate observer of another man's emotions. As though the man who was holding her was someone else entirely.

?

- The Imperial Ewok

 

*gurgles in confusion*

 

*Joins Brett in gurgling*

 

Guys, gurgling doesn't help! We need to take drastic measures to end our confusion...like a puppy dog look!

*PUPPYDOG LOOK*

Please oh please will you tell us more? And if you won't do that, at least post something!

Elena

 

"Kyp's dead" NOOOOOOO!!!!!

When are you planning on adding this bit? I grow weary of your taunting

 

Huh? . . . What the . . . Gaaaah . . . !

(As an "official muse", is there anything I can do to inspire you to write something that answers some questions, instead of raising new ones?)

 

Brett, Blended: it would be more help if you could tell me exactly how that was confusing. Is the narrative opaque, is the characterization inconsistent, or do you just have no idea where the characters have been to get to where they've ended up?

Elena: *PUPPYDOG LOOK*

That gets you appointed as an Official Muse... but it wouldn't be any fun if I said anything that wasn't designed to mess with your heads now, would it...?

YK: NOOOOOOO!!!!!

Not a reaction I expected from anyone who isn't:

• KJA

or...

• hormonally-inclined to identify with Jaina

Is there something you're not telling us, YodaKenobi...

I grow weary of your taunting

"Your mother was a hampster, and your father smelled of elderberries!"

And yeah, Kyp died. But that doesn't guarantee anything any more, does it?

To say any more would be to draw attention to some possible similarities between Kyp and Anakin...

It's not really your fault that trying to concoct a suitably misleading reply to your post made the idea pop up in my mind, YK ("somehow I've always known" )... but while it might make Jaina's feelings for Kyp since Star by Star more plausible, it would also make the whole thing much more wrong...

So yeah. Don't try and think about Kyp and Anakin simultaneously. That just makes that last teaser... very, very disturbing, I suppose...

Scoundrel: Huh? . . . What the . . . Gaaaah . . . !

I trust you'll not be offended if I say that I expected you to say something like that...

(As an "official muse", is there anything I can do to inspire you to write something that answers some questions, instead of raising new ones?)

Well, I can say that Jaina and Jag are bound by "true wuve" in the best sense of the term. However, I do think the NJO makes it clear that Jaina also has feelings for another man ('Kyp?' I hear you all assume... yeah, no harm saying that that, I guess... I mean, who else is there - Anakin?! ) which can also be described under the term "love"...

I'm not sure if I want to run with this, but I think I will...

- The Imperial Ewok

 

TMcE:I trust you'll not be offended if I say that I expected you to say something like that...
Not at all. Glad I didn't disappoint!

In regards to your question to Brett and Blended, you can file me under "Confused because I have no idea where the characters have been to get to where they've ended up"

 

Not a reaction I expected from anyone who isn't:
KJA or... hormonally-inclined to identify with Jaina
Is there something you're not telling us, YodaKenobi...

Nah, just a Kyp fan he's a great character.


"Your mother was a hampster, and your father smelled of elderberries!"

Can't believe you brought my mom into this! lol

I'm not even going to talk about how weird the last part of your reply was

 

Thrawn McEwok:It would be more help if you could tell me exactly how that was confusing. Is the narrative opaque, is the characterization inconsistent, or do you just have no idea where the characters have been to get to where they've ended up?

For me, it would have to be #3: How the heck did they get to this point? Where in time is this - after TUF? Or is it totally unconnected?

That gets you appointed as an Official Muse... but it wouldn't be any fun if I said anything that wasn't designed to mess with your heads now, would it...?

*Stutters* I'm, I'm honored...I think. But if I'm an 'official muse', is there any way that Jag's Scoundrel and I can inspire you into making more posts?

Not a reaction I expected from anyone who isn't:

KJA What does this stand for?

And yeah, Kyp died. But that doesn't guarantee anything any more, does it?

To say any more would be to draw attention to some possible similarities between Kyp and Anakin...

Alright, if Kyp is still alive at the end of TUF, then he must of died later on...why?

It's not really your fault that trying to concoct a suitably misleading reply to your post made the idea pop up in my mind, YK ("somehow I've always known" )... but while it might make Jaina's feelings for Kyp since Star by Star more plausible, it would also make the whole thing much more wrong...

So yeah. Don't try and think about Kyp and Anakin simultaneously. That just makes that last teaser... very, very disturbing, I suppose...

Well, I can say that Jaina and Jag are bound by "true wuve" in the best sense of the term. However, I do think the NJO makes it clear that Jaina also has feelings for another man ('Kyp?' I hear you all assume... yeah, no harm saying that that, I guess... I mean, who else is there - Anakin?! ) which can also be described under the term "love"...

I'm not sure if I want to run with this, but I think I will...

You keep mentioning Kyp and Anakin together. Although I'm hopelessly confused about this and am just following along, I've just noted several things:

1. Jaina has a mechanical right hand in the dream - odd parallels to Anakin #1. If I remember correctly, it was Luke's left hand that went. Is there some odd symbolism here, or is it just coincidence?

2. What's to say this guy is her lover? We're looking at this from Jag's eyes, after all, and what's to say he might not misconstrue what he's seeing? What if it's Anakin that she's hugging, and it's totally platonic? Or (going into sicko territory here) what it is Anakin, and what they're doing isn't platonic? Although that seems unlikely...

3. It isn't clear in Jaina has lost her arm by the time she and Jag meet in her stateroom, so wee don't know if it's the future yet. I do wonder what her rank is and how she got to command a Star Destroyer.

4. How can Jag see this, anyway. I wouldn't think Jaina would forget to shield, and wouldn't she notice if Jagged picked up her broadcast? Or is the Force that gave Jag this vision?

5. e you, baby," he told her. "I love you, I love you, I love you."

He even sounded as though he meant it.

He even thought he meant it.

But he felt disolcated from his body, like a dispassionate observer of another man's emotions. As though the man who was holding her was someone else entirely.

Alright, if you say Jag and Jaina love each other, why does Jag seem to forget. This whole last part is kind of odd.

Well, that's all I can think of at the moment. I think I'm over-analyzing, however, but please...tell me if I ever hit the mark...

Elena

 

Thrawn McEwok:It would be more help if you could tell me exactly how that was confusing. Is the narrative opaque, is the characterization inconsistent, or do you just have no idea where the characters have been to get to where they've ended up?

For me, it would have to be #3: How the heck did they get to this point? Where in time is this - after TUF? Or is it totally unconnected?

That gets you appointed as an Official Muse... but it wouldn't be any fun if I said anything that wasn't designed to mess with your heads now, would it...?

*Stutters* I'm, I'm honored...I think. But if I'm an 'official muse', is there any way that Jag's Scoundrel and I can inspire you into making more posts?

Not a reaction I expected from anyone who isn't:

KJA What does this stand for?

And yeah, Kyp died. But that doesn't guarantee anything any more, does it?

To say any more would be to draw attention to some possible similarities between Kyp and Anakin...

Alright, if Kyp is still alive at the end of TUF, then he must of died later on...why?

It's not really your fault that trying to concoct a suitably misleading reply to your post made the idea pop up in my mind, YK ("somehow I've always known" )... but while it might make Jaina's feelings for Kyp since Star by Star more plausible, it would also make the whole thing much more wrong...

So yeah. Don't try and think about Kyp and Anakin simultaneously. That just makes that last teaser... very, very disturbing, I suppose...

Well, I can say that Jaina and Jag are bound by "true wuve" in the best sense of the term. However, I do think the NJO makes it clear that Jaina also has feelings for another man ('Kyp?' I hear you all assume... yeah, no harm saying that that, I guess... I mean, who else is there - Anakin?! ) which can also be described under the term "love"...

I'm not sure if I want to run with this, but I think I will...

You keep mentioning Kyp and Anakin together. Although I'm hopelessly confused about this and am just following along, I've just noted several things:

1. Jaina has a mechanical right hand in the dream - odd parallels to Anakin #1. If I remember correctly, it was Luke's left hand that went. Is there some odd symbolism here, or is it just coincidence?

2. What's to say this guy is her lover? We're looking at this from Jag's eyes, after all, and what's to say he might not misconstrue what he's seeing? What if it's Anakin that she's hugging, and it's totally platonic? Or (going into sicko territory here) what it is Anakin, and what they're doing isn't platonic? Although that seems unlikely...

3. It isn't clear in Jaina has lost her arm by the time she and Jag meet in her stateroom, so wee don't know if it's the future yet. I do wonder what her rank is and how she got to command a Star Destroyer.

4. How can Jag see this, anyway. I wouldn't think Jaina would forget to shield, and wouldn't she notice if Jagged picked up her broadcast? Or is the Force that gave Jag this vision?

5. e you, baby," he told her. "I love you, I love you, I love you."

He even sounded as though he meant it.

He even thought he meant it.

But he felt disolcated from his body, like a dispassionate observer of another man's emotions. As though the man who was holding her was someone else entirely.

Alright, if you say Jag and Jaina love each other, why does Jag seem to forget. This whole last part is kind of odd.

Well, that's all I can think of at the moment. I think I'm over-analyzing, however, but please...tell me if I ever hit the mark...

Elena

EDIT: Whoops! Double Post! Sorry...

 

Scoundrel: you can file me under "Confused because I have no idea where the characters have been to get to where they've ended up"

Should it worry me that my first thought on reading this was to cackle and gloat like Palpatine?

YK: Nah, just a Kyp fan he's a great character.

?

I'm not even going to talk about how weird the last part of your reply was

Yeah. I'm just messing with your heads...

Elena: For me, it would have to be #3: How the heck did they get to this point? Where in time is this - after TUF? Or is it totally unconnected?

It's five years after TUF, as it says in the thread header... normal EU continuity right up to that point, thoroughly spoiled on Ep. III... possibly with the partial exception of "Red Sky, Blue Flame"...

But if I'm an 'official muse', is there any way that Jag's Scoundrel and I can inspire you into making more posts?

Synchronized eyelash-fluttering?

What does this stand for?

"Kevin J. Anderson"...

Alright, if Kyp is still alive at the end of TUF, then he must of died later on...why?

Starkiller, they called him. The Son of the Suns.

And he had killed them all.

Oh, why, as in "why did Anakin kill all the Jedi"?!

I've (entirely accidentally, I think) given you all the links in the chain already... you just need to line them all up, and consider them in the light of TUF... there's only two-and-a-half or so, anyway...

It wasn't the will of the Force, though... I can tell you that... or rather, the will of the Force was the reason, but Anakin isn't Jacen, and vice versa...

Then again, from a certain point of view (or at least, looked at individually from the right perspectives), Jacen isn't Jacen, and Anakin isn't Anakin, and Tahiri isn't Tahiri, and Jaina isn't Jaina...

Jag, nevertheless, is Jag.

You keep mentioning Kyp and Anakin together. Although I'm hopelessly confused about this and am just following along, I've just noted several things:

Attagirl!

1. Jaina has a mechanical right hand in the dream - odd parallels to Anakin #1. If I remember correctly, it was Luke's left hand that went. Is there some odd symbolism here, or is it just coincidence?

Coincidence - or at least, unconscious accident. You'll note that that cyborg hand has actually appeared in two scenes, and is absent in at least one...

2. What's to say this guy is her lover? We're looking at this from Jag's eyes, after all, and what's to say he might not misconstrue what he's seeing?

That, at least, is true...

What if it's Anakin that she's hugging, and it's totally platonic? Or (going into sicko territory here) what it is Anakin, and what they're doing isn't platonic? Although that seems unlikely...

It's not what you think... at least, I don't think it is... but the opportunity to mess with everyone's head (including my own) is really too good to pass up...

[Let me know if I cross any lines, though? The fic itself is supposed to be human, humane and humorous, but in the discussion, I tend to toss raw ideas about rather shamelessly... It's just struck me that some people might object...]

3. It isn't clear in Jaina has lost her arm by the time she and Jag meet in her stateroom, so wee don't know if it's the future yet. I do wonder what her rank is and how she got to command a Star Destroyer.

Ah, "skin on skin"? The Jaina in the stateroom has two flesh-and-blood arms... but we've seen the cybernetic arm earlier in the fic...

4. How can Jag see this, anyway. I wouldn't think Jaina would forget to shield, and wouldn't she notice if Jagged picked up her broadcast? Or is the Force that gave Jag this vision?

It's to do with what's happened to Jaina since TUF... Jag is really just seeing a projection of her thoughts...

5. e you, baby," he told her. "I love you, I love you, I love you."

He even sounded as though he meant it.

He even thought

 

TMcE: Should it worry me that my first thought on reading this was to cackle and gloat like Palpatine?

No, but would it surprise or disappoint you to learn that confusing me is not exactly a monumental feat?


Synchronized eyelash-fluttering?

Okay, Elena, on the count of three: one . . . two . . . three! ** flutters eyelashes while smiling sweetly **

 

[Happy Christmas!]

To the east, the sun stood proud above the horizon, gleaming like molten gold, suffusing the sky with a peach-skin blush of light.

But the light had no real warmth to it, and the wind had died with the dawn. The skin of Jag Fel's face was already starting to burn in the icy air, and he blinked again to stop his eyes pricking.

Although the spectrum of visible colour ranged from pale pinks and dawn-oranges through to the intense dark red of dried blood, he found himself imagining what the red-shifted colours would look like under white light - the sky a pale, icy blue, the crisp, cold carpet of snow on the landing-pad pure white.

But no matter what, the battlements of the Hand of Thrawn, built from Hijarna stone that swallowed light and heat as surely as any known substance short of a quantum event, would remain absolutely black.

He stood on the rampart walk, his back to the battlements, watching as his Clawcraft rose up on the big lift-platform from the hangar to the launchpad. A team of Phalanx technicians in cold-weather clothes were still working on the ion drive, making the last adjustments to the fighter's systems before takeoff. Perfectionists, it would be several minutes yet before they were done, fine-tuning the control surfaces and heat exhausts for optimum atmospheric performance in Nirauan's winter sky.

With one gauntleted hand, he flicked his hair back out of his eyes, and heard footsteps crunch behind him.

"Wyn," he said, turning to face his sister, and smiling as he saw her. She was wearing their father's old Imperial greatcoat, the one he kept in his quarters. It looked far too big for her - but it had looked too big for him once as well - and the way she wore it, wrapped round her like a dressing gown, suggested warmth, comfort, and the familiarity of family life. The fur hat pulled down over her spiky blonde hair, big, black and shapeless, only added to the effect.

"I just came to wish you luck," she shrugged, the gesture almost lost beneath the coat.

"The Chiss don't believe in luck," Jag answered, smiling at her with a sort of pride.

"We're not Chiss, big brother," she reminded him, mischeif in her grin now. "Remember?"

"And even those of us who are have found that we can learn a lot from you," another voice interrupted, and he turned to see Kyrn step through the doorway, a generous smile on her face. "Thank you, sir. For everything."

Jag opened his mouth, and closed it again, speechless. There was nothing he could say to that, he realised.

Not in public, anyway.

Behind her, a train of people were making their way up the spiral stair. He blinked again, this time in disbelief. His mom, Bron, every warrior and retainer who could get away from their duties - and even stiff-backed old Stent.

"You were really going to take off without saying goodbye?" Lady Wynssa Fel asked, cocking an eyebrow at her son. "I think you may have underestimated your friends."

"We have trained him better than he realises himself," Stent said, and Jag grinned back as he saw the amusement gleam in the old soldier's eyes, the slight tug in the muscles of his cheek. "And perhaps we have learnt from him as well. Good luck, Baron. From what I hear, your betrothed is quite a pilot. It will be an honour to meet her."

"Yeah," Jag agreed, hoping that his voice carried more conviction than he felt. Then he smiled, a bright smile in the wan light. "The thing is... there are some places where people believe in things other than duty and skill. I guess Jaina is one of them. One of those people. I don't want you to be disappointed."

"Oh, I doubt that, sir," old Bron said, with a slow smile of his own. "Now there may be some as have different measures of duty and skill, but that's all just names. In all my years, I've never heard of any as didn't believe in such things." As he spoke, his eyes gleamed suddenly. "And besides, if she didn't value such things, sir, what would the young lady see in you?"

Jag laughed, and suddenly, his memory took him back five years, b

 

Great Job!!!!!!!!!!!!! i missed some of the recent posties!! arghhhh... umm what is a muse?

 

Thrawn McEwok:
It's five years after TUF, as it says in the thread header... normal EU continuity right up to that point, thoroughly spoiled on Ep. III... possibly with the partial exception of "Red Sky, Blue Flame"...

That?s OK. I?ve never read ?Red Sky, Blue Flame? anyway.

Oh, why, as in "why did Anakin kill all the Jedi"?!

I've (entirely accidentally, I think) given you all the links in the chain already... you just need to line them all up, and consider them in the light of TUF... there's only two-and-a-half or so, anyway...

I?ve never read TUF!

It wasn't the will of the Force, though... I can tell you that... or rather, the will of the Force was the reason, but Anakin isn't Jacen, and vice versa...

Then again, from a certain point of view (or at least, looked at individually from the right perspectives), Jacen isn't Jacen, and Anakin isn't Anakin, and Tahiri isn't Tahiri, and Jaina isn't Jaina...

Oh, this makes perfect sense. If the characters aren?t themselves, and aren?t each other, than who are they? And what are you ? and I ? talking about in the first place?

Jag, nevertheless, is Jag.

So everyone else has changed, except for Jag ? I?m not sure why. Is it because he?s been isolated by the conflict? Hasn?t had to go through the horrors of yet another war? Or is it just that he?s made of stronger stuff?

Attagirl!

*Proud Smile*

Coincidence - or at least, unconscious accident. You'll note that that cyborg hand has actually appeared in two scenes, and is absent in at least one...

Yes, but I assumed that it was because we were slipping in and out of various stages of time. You really need a timeline to go with this story?

It's not what you think... at least, I don't think it is... but the opportunity to mess with everyone's head (including my own) is really too good to pass up...

[Let me know if I cross any lines, though? The fic itself is supposed to be human, humane and humorous, but in the discussion, I tend to toss raw ideas about rather shamelessly... It's just struck me that some people might object...]

Don?t worry about it. I didn?t really think that you?d go down that path of incest ? Anakin seems a little too wrapped up in Tahiri to even take a substitute, but if you did, I could go with it. I?ve got a very strong stomach for most things.

It's to do with what's happened to Jaina since TUF... Jag is really just seeing a projection of her thoughts...

So, she?s unhappy with Jag ? she?s thinking about another man ? and the man in the vision may or may not have been real, if he was just a projection.

Jag?s Scoundrel:
Okay, Elena, on the count of three: one . . . two . . . three! ** flutters eyelashes while smiling sweetly *

Hey, Jag?s Scoundrel, do you think the fluttering eyelashes have gotten to him yet?

JAGSGURL15:

umm what is a muse?

I looked it up in the encyclopedia for you. It says that in Greek mythology, the muses were nine daughters of Zeus, the king of gods (no duh), and Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory. They were thought to inspire all artists, particularly poets, philosophers, and musicians. By about the fourth century CE, each muse inspired different kinds of people.

1. Calliope was the muse of epic poetry.
2. Clio presided over history.
3. Euterpe was the muse of lyric poetry sung to the accompaniment of the flute.
4. Melpomene was the muse of tragedy.
5. Terpsichore was the muse of choral songs and the dance.
6. Erato was the muse of love poetry sung to the accompaniment of the lyre.
7. Polyhymnia was the muse of sacred poetry.
8. Urania was the muse of astronomy.
9. Thalia was the muse of comedy.

Nowadays, the muses can inspire anyone they please, especially fanfiction writers who need a leg over writer?s block. Some writers say that the muses are the ?voices in their head?; in other words, the creative sides of their minds. Others supposedly ?buy? them off the

 

Elena: Hey, Jag?s Scoundrel, do you think the fluttering eyelashes have gotten to him yet?

Apparently not. We either need to try harder or think of something else.


I suppose that if we used the old muses, we?d come under the patronage of Calliope, Melpomene, and Erato. What say you, Jag?s Scoundrel?

I wonder what is the name of the muse of twisted, confusing fiction . . .


Oh, BTW, MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!

 

Elena: That?s OK. I?ve never read ?Red Sky, Blue Flame? anyway.

Anyone want to admit they have? Why the heck do LFL make all these things so obscure, anyway...?! ?

I?ve never read TUF!

That could be more problematic...

But back to the point. If I nodded you in the direction of whose armour Anakin is wearing, that might give you something that might be thought to constitute half the answer to the question of why he killed the Jedi...

Oh, this makes perfect sense. If the characters aren?t themselves, and aren?t each other, than who are they? And what are you ? and I ? talking about in the first place?



The same, but different?

So everyone else has changed, except for Jag ? I?m not sure why. Is it because he?s been isolated by the conflict? Hasn?t had to go through the horrors of yet another war? Or is it just that he?s made of stronger stuff?

Well, Anakin died, and large chunks of Tahiri's brain were replaced with biotech circuitry... Jag hasn't really gone through any of that, and he can't really experience what Jacen and Jaina have gone through in lieu of character development either...

FACPOV (and this has only struck me in hindsight) it's because Jag isn't a Jedi...

*Proud Smile*



Yes, but I assumed that it was because we were slipping in and out of various stages of time. You really need a timeline to go with this story?

Actually, except for the opening scene and the flashbacks (all approximately two-three years after TUF), it's all in a straight line (five years after TUF)...

The key events of "flashback" chronology, in approximate order, are thus - Jag returns to the Unknown Regions, Jaina loses her hand, Anakin returns, Anakin kills the Jedi, Jaina is captured by Anakin, Jacen and Tahiri arrive on New Alderaan

Don?t worry about it. I didn?t really think that you?d go down that path of incest ? Anakin seems a little too wrapped up in Tahiri to even take a substitute, but if you did, I could go with it. I?ve got a very strong stomach for most things.

It's not just you I'm worried about, though... there's a broad enough variety of stomachs in this thread to introduce a tribe of cannibals to the whole gammut of different types of haggis...

So, she?s unhappy with Jag ? she?s thinking about another man ? and the man in the vision may or may not have been real, if he was just a projection.

She's not exactly unhappy with Jag, and I'm not sure that if she'd noticed her own thoughts, she wouldn't have noticed Jag noticing, either... but beyond that, that's accurate enough, I guess...

Hey, I just noticed something! You insinuated that Kyp had been killed in the purges...so that means...that Jaina and Jag were still together as this happened.

I don't think they've ever officially split, actually... is there anything in the fic to say they have?

And since Jagged thinks Jaina died three years ago, this means Anakin must have come back from the dead right after TUF.

Ah... where does Jag think Jaina's dead?

She probably lost her arm later on, too. Ooh, this has complications upon complications...I'm on the edge of putting something together, only I can't...quite...reach.

Heh...

Oh well. I'll sleep on it.

Any more thoughts?

Scoundrel: Apparently not. We either need to try harder or think of something else.

Hey! There's part of a post in Christmas wrapping up there... it contains one fairly blatant hint as to what happened to Jaina...

I wonder what is the name of the muse of twisted, confusing fiction . . .

The Ancient Greeks had a reputation for being twisted and confusing generally, though...

- The Imperial Ewok