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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Characters Mara Jade Skywalker Character Discussion * NEW - Quote Challenge! *

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction and Writing Resource' started by Jedi Trace, Sep 5, 2005.

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  1. Jedi Trace

    Jedi Trace Former RSA star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Dec 15, 1999
    Gabri: Wouldn't Zahn going AU be something to see?

    Yes!!! One of the things I remember him saying at the Allegiance signing was that he doesn't like to write other author's characters because he's afraid he'll mess them up. If he had no restrictions.... 'twould be a thing to see. :D


    BJ: They announce another Celebration and dead Mara will be packing her bags to and be on her way...

    Woot! Maybe I'll have that Celeste costume by then. We could have a theme pic! [face_laugh]


    Jade_Pilot: How was mouseville??? You do know you went during Central Florida's Spring Break...right??

    I know. It was my kids' spring break, too. I thought it was packed and miserable, but they had fun. (I'll post on LJ about it.)


    I was disappointed in the Mara and Vader scene in Allegiance, but it made me more curious about that timeframe. I'd love more ff about this era.

    Definitely! I get discouraged, though, because most Saga era fan fic I've seen where Mara and Vader are both players has them hating each other and that's not much fun. For me, at least. But I'm the weirdo who ships them in AU fic, so... [face_blush] Edit: And/or would have loved for her to have been his secret apprentice.

    Speaking of, has anybody else read The Force Unleashed? It takes place two years before ANH, so Mara and Starkiller/Galen would have been around at the same time, right? [face_thinking] There's a plot bunny in there somewhere.





     
  2. ViariSkywalker

    ViariSkywalker Kessel Run Hostess Extraordinaire star 4 VIP - Game Host

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    Aug 9, 2002
    I don't really get the hate between Mara and Vader either. I can see her being somewhat arrogant in her youth, thinking she's better than Vader because she's the Emperor's Hand and Palpatine feeds her ego by making her a BA assassin, but I can't really see her hating him. As for Vader, I very much doubt that he would have hated Mara. To him, she would have been just another servant, a deadly, effective servant, but a servant nonetheless. Certainly no threat to a Sith Lord. That's one of my few quibbles with Zahn: I think he places too much importance on their rivalry for the Emperor's favor. Xizor in SotE is a more likely rival because he is an incredibly powerful and influential crimimal/businessman. Mara is not a threat to Palpatine's Empire, so I don't think Vader would have given much thought to her one way or another. I actually always thought Vader might have had a grudging respect for Mara, maybe even a weird kind of fondness since she is almost the same age that his daughter would have been. (This is me going off of the RotS novelization where Anakin claimed that the baby was a girl. :p ) So anytime I write about Vader and Mara in fanfic, I tend to portray them in that light, rather than having them hate each other. Whether that's right, I don't know; but it's certainly more fun for me. ;)
     
  3. Jedi Trace

    Jedi Trace Former RSA star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Dec 15, 1999
    I couldn't agree more!

    Even with the arrogance of youth, only a fool wouldn't have had a healthy respect for Vader. And Mara wasn't a fool.

    Going back to Karen Traviss' short stories, she actually writes a good deal about the Emperor's Hands. In the Vader Guide story (In His Image) Palpatine sends a Force adept Emperor's Hand named Cuis to assassinate Vader. (The Insider story reveals that Palps did this frequently. The Hands knew that they would die, but they did the Emperor's bidding anyway.) Palpatine's M.O. was to keep Vader angry and Vader caught on pretty quick that Palpatine didn't care if he lived or died. In the story, Vader duels Cuis for a while and then asks Cuis to join him to try and defeat the Emperor. Cuis, being a loyal Hand, refused but Vader was impressed with his loyalty and used his DNA to create a new wave of clone troopers. (They might have become the 501st - I can't remember.)

    In that context, I can imagine that Vader would have been wary of Mara - knowing that she might eventually be sent to try and assassinate him - or he could have made her the same offer he made to Cuis and Luke if he deemed her worthy.

    Either way, I think they have a lot more potential as allies than most people give them credit for.


     
  4. Jedi-2B

    Jedi-2B Jedi Master star 4

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    Nov 2, 2000
    Yes, I read it. While overall it was okay, I thought parts of it were totally unbelievable. I don't believe Vader could've kept Galen a secret from Palpatine. And the magnitude of Galen's powers were ridiculous. I've never seen Luke, Vader or Palpy doing some of the stuff that he was doing.

    Galen's love interest (can't think of her name) was a good character, but an AU story with him and Mara getting together has lots of potential.
     
  5. Bri_Windstar

    Bri_Windstar Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    May 27, 2002
    I always got the impression that Vader was largely apathetic towards Mara. He knew her secret role in the Empire, but other than his few run ins with her probably could care less one way or the other about her. Did he ever have anything to do with her training? I don't think so but I can't recall. Mara, on the other hand, while maybe a little less apathetic, never specifically answered to him and only took a vest interest in his activities when asked to do so by Palpatine because of Vader's consuming obsession with finding and converting Luke, for obvious reasons. :p

     
  6. ViariSkywalker

    ViariSkywalker Kessel Run Hostess Extraordinaire star 4 VIP - Game Host

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    Aug 9, 2002
    Bri, you're always able to sum up in a few lines what I take half an essay to try to explain. :p

    I completely agree. ;)
     
  7. Bri_Windstar

    Bri_Windstar Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    May 27, 2002
    Oh, you know me. I'm a girl of few words. ;) :p
     
  8. madman007

    madman007 Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Aug 22, 2007
    I never believed Vader felt threatened by Mara Jade. He and Palpatine knew that Vader could wipe the floor with her in a battle. I took the angle in my stories involving them as they tolerated each other. No more. No less. I imagined Palpatine would allow Vader to train Jade in some aspects of lightsaber duel because, well, look how old and decrepit Palpatine looked in ROTJ. Can't imagine him dueling anymore.
    I read Allegiance and I had no clue as to what set Vader off so suddenly at Jade in that scene. Was it something she said?
     
  9. Gabri_Jade

    Gabri_Jade Fanfic Archive Editor Emeritus star 5 VIP

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    Nov 9, 2002
    Vader was set off because he thought that Mara was going after Leia, not Governor Choard, and Vader wanted Leia to lead him to Luke.

    You know, in among the overblown-ness of that scene, there was at least one part that I thought was very in character for interaction between Mara and Vader:
    "I'm here on an important mission, and I need some assurance your presence here isn't going to get in the way."

    "That my presence won't get in your way?" Vader demanded, his voice dropping half an octave. "Walk softly, Emperor's Hand."
    I like the understated "you're on thin ice, girl" nature of Vader's response. Shame we couldn't have stayed a little more on the understated side for the rest of the scene. :p

    Bri, I agree with Vi; you summed it up beautifully. :cool:
     
  10. Jedi_Liz

    Jedi_Liz Jedi Grand Master star 6

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    Apr 24, 2000
    Two months and no activity.....where are you, Mara fans?
     
  11. madman007

    madman007 Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Aug 22, 2007
    Can't speak for anyone else, but DRL has gotten me by the neck lately. Lost my job twice in 6 months due to low activity. Trying to find a new career, or expanding on the one I got. I only have one big epic I'm writing now among little vignettes here and there. Sorry if I can't keep up with all threads.

    But, I do have a discussion about Mara Jade.

    Knowing that she grew up on Coruscant, and that the resident accent there sounds to us like English, would Mara Jade have an accent? Or would she speak like Luke and Han (Leia did try a English accent in ANH but failed. Of course, not as bad as Costner as Robin Hood. [face_laugh])
     
  12. Zardi

    Zardi Jedi Youngling star 1

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    Jun 3, 2008
    She does have an English accent in my head. Which unfortunately slows down my reading speed, because I have to concentrate a bit harder to produce it correctly :p I just can't bring myself to let her sound American, even though it would be easier for me.
     
  13. JediMaster_Jen

    JediMaster_Jen Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 3, 2002
    I tend to hear her voice in my head as I write and read and it usually sounds quite English. But, that could be because I'm English by birth and still carry a bit of the accent myself. :p I just can't imagine her sounding American.
     
  14. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

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    Aug 31, 2004
    I always think of Mara as having "no" accent of her own during her EH days ... needing to put them on and off like disguises--like actresses who can sound convincingly like they were born and bred in a particular country or region. :D I'd think of her as having a hodgepodge accent, a little bit of everything but nothing in particular. :D She came to Coruscant so young that she doubtless lost her original accent. But, if I had to, I'd give her a New Yorksy type accent LOL -- ;)
     
  15. Gabri_Jade

    Gabri_Jade Fanfic Archive Editor Emeritus star 5 VIP

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    Nov 9, 2002
    I'm sure Mara was taught early on how to lose or assume an accent as needed, but having grown up on Coruscant from such a young age, I strongly suspect that her default manner of speaking is with a Coruscanti accent.
     
  16. divapilot

    divapilot Force Ghost star 4

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    Nov 30, 2005
    Wookieepedia states that Ben spoke with a "distinct Coruscanti accent," which is English. I would think he got it reinforced from his mother. Mara always sounds British to me.
     
  17. madman007

    madman007 Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Aug 22, 2007
    I kinda have to agree with Jade_eyes' idea on Mara's accent. She was essentially a spy for the Emperor and a good spy would learn various accents as their disguises, as Jade_eyes said.
    And I agree that because she wasn't born on Coruscant, she wouldn't have it's accent.

    It's funny that since I'm American, I can't hear Mara having an English accent.

    The problem is that we can never know because Mara isn't on screen anywhere and the only model to play her never had any lines to say (to my knowledge). Unless, you have the ROTJ radio drama, where "Arica" makes a small cameo. True Mara fans would know who I'm talking about (Mara as the dancer Arica in the radio play questions C3PO about when Skywalker is coming). Whoever the actress who played "Arica" she was definitely an American, which is not to say Mara would have that accent. It would be one of the disguise accents she would have learned.
    And in the PC game, Mysteries of the Sith, that features Mara, the voice actress who plays her doesn't have an accent.

    Just an observation.
     
  18. Gabri_Jade

    Gabri_Jade Fanfic Archive Editor Emeritus star 5 VIP

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    Nov 9, 2002
    Birthplace has very little to do with one's accent; it's what you hear all the time. I grew up in the American Southwest, but when I had a manager who was from Mississippi, I rocked that accent like no one's business simply from hearing her all the time - and I'm not talking deliberately, either. I'd find myself speaking like a Mississippian without even noticing it until someone commented on it. Same when I had an Irish co-worker, and an Italian one, and so on and so forth. The funny thing is that I can't simply fake an accent to save my life. Ask me to speak like a Southerner now and all I could offer up would be one mangled, pathetic attempt that any true Southerner would roll their eyes at. (*waves at Traci* :p ) But put me in a situation where I hear the accent frequently, and I pick it up without even noticing. Similarly, my step-niece was born in Alaska, but when my brother-in-law and his ex-wife divorced, his ex took their daughter to England, where she grew up. She now has quite a thick English accent.

    Mara speaking with a Coruscanti accent is what makes the most sense to me, because that's what she'd have heard from very early childhood; it would be natural. But yes, she'd certainly learn to mimic other accents or drop her own when needed. Actors and actresses do that all the time. It doesn't, however, mean that they don't have an accent when they're speaking naturally. It just means that they can vary it at will.

    Eh, the covers are canon too, and the cover of Sacrifice has her looking thirty or so years younger than she was at the time. Just because everything that ever gets LFL's official stamp of approval counts as canon doesn't mean they don't make mistakes. It just means they don't admit to it. :p Or Mara might have been suppressing her natural accent in Mysteries of the Sith for whatever reason. There are a number of potential interpretations there. ;)
     
  19. divapilot

    divapilot Force Ghost star 4

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    Nov 30, 2005

    Holy cow, that's true! Weird, isn't it? I have a pretty strong Rhode Island accent, but after a week in Wyoming, I was talking with a western twang.[face_laugh]
     
  20. kataja

    kataja Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 4, 2007
    It's a while since I posted here. Nice to see activity again!

    British english, definitely, since she grew up on Coruscant - and since she'd never feel any need to distance herself from that heritage, on the contrary. But as so many of you have pointed out she'd be able to drop her accent when needed, and she'd probably be pretty good in imitating other ones too. After all she's a master spy...
    [face_thinking] I could actually imagine her teasing Luke for his broad Rim accent... face_mischief]

     
  21. JediXManSerenaKenobi

    JediXManSerenaKenobi Jedi Padawan star 4

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    Jul 27, 2007
    Yeah, I'd have to agree with the British/Coruscanti accent for Mara - something about her just doesn't fit the American accent.


    [face_laugh]

    Yeah, she'd probably be calling him names like "Farmboy" and...


    Oh wait. Never mind. :p
     
  22. Jedi Trace

    Jedi Trace Former RSA star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Dec 15, 1999
    *waves back* Yeah, I know. I have a thick Southern accent. :p (Didn?t realize HOW thick until I recorded a voice post on someone?s Live Journal once. [face_blush] )

    I also pick up accents quickly, but then revert back to a Suthern drawl.

    (And you?re right about bad Southern accents being painful for us natives. I?m loving HBO?s True Blood series, but I almost gave up on it after the first episode because of the horrible fake Louisiana accents, LOL. You?re a good actress, Anna Paquin, but even in the South it?s ?vam-PIRE? not ?vam-PAAR.? [face_talk_hand] )


    As for Mara, I always imagined her with what we would call non-regional dialect. Something that couldn?t be traced back to any particular place of origin. But definitely more refined than Luke?s Outer Rim ?farmboy? accent, lol.


     
  23. divapilot

    divapilot Force Ghost star 4

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    Nov 30, 2005
    OK, I know this is weird and shows that I really have no life, but...Here's my personal nationality analogy.

    Coruscant (this is Obi-wan, Qui-Gon, Mara Jade) = British isles. You pick the specific sub-accent.

    Tattooine = Australia, the great frontier. Yeah, I know Luke & Anakin aren't yammering like Nicole Kidman, but I mean metaphorically.

    Corellia (Han Solo) = USA. Very independant & a little in your face at times. But still sweet.

    Alderaan would be some nice subset of Coruscant, and that's why Leia uses her prissy pseudo-British accent when she was ferst brouught on boahd, then switches to an American accent.[face_thinking] Hmmm. Maybe Leia's Canadian...:p
     
  24. madman007

    madman007 Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Aug 22, 2007
    If you're speaking metaphorically, you forgot:

    The Empire = Texas; totalitarian state, will not bend for no one; likes everything made BIG!
     
  25. ViariSkywalker

    ViariSkywalker Kessel Run Hostess Extraordinaire star 4 VIP - Game Host

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    Aug 9, 2002
    Well, the Empire encompasses many of the above-mentioned planets/nationalities and then some, so metaphorically you'd probably have to pick an empire or similar government on Earth that does/did the same, such as Alexander's empire or the Roman empire. I suppose you could say America if you think America is an empire, but Texas being only one state in the USA doesn't really seem to represent the Empire. Besides which, if Texas is a totalitarian state, then I'd hate to live in Italy or Belgium or any number of countries further down on the democracy index than the United States. As long as you stick to the Scandinavian countries, you should be safe. :p

    But if you want to pick a place on Earth characteristic of the Empire, I'd say look no further than Nazi Germany. Stormtroopers, the Imperial military uniforms... I'd say that one's a pretty obvious connection, though. ;)

    I have to agree that Mara, canon-wise, would most likely have a Coruscanti (some kind of British) accent. Since the EU does confirm that Ben has a Coruscanti accent and we know Luke certainly doesn't, I think it's pretty safe to assume he got it from his mother. Granted, her own accent may have changed over time, depending on how much time she spent away from Coruscant, but it would still be there enough for Ben to pick up on it in his own speech. Do I personally hear Mara with a British accent? No, but that's really not the issue here. It makes the most sense for her to have one, although as several people have pointed out, she would probably be a gifted linguist and also able to alter her accent to fit whatever role she was in.

    I do have a question that I'd be interested in discussing if anyone else is game. I'm bringing it up because I recently read a fic that involved Mara and Leia, but I'd been thinking about it on my own for a while and thought I'd pose it here. What do you all think of the relationship between Mara and Leia? Does the EU portray it as you think it would be, or do they have it wrong, either all or partially? If you feel it should have been different, what do you think and why do you think it? I can't remember if that's been discussed here recently, but I'll leave it in the air to see if anyone bites. ;)
     
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