A bit more Star Wars with my Star Wars.

[Miss Blonde]

So there's been something bugging at me lately. For those of you who don't know my friend Corey (Krag) and I are just massive film and movie buffs on all things nerd. I've binged the entire Clone Wars television saga like to an unhealthy status, and now I'm starting Rebels (it's, eh. Not as good as Clone wars seasons 3-6 but at about the same level of seasons 1 & 2) and so while watching these shows and movies I just fall in love with them and I know I'm watching Star Wars, the classic tale of good versus evil, right and wrong, struggling to maintain the light or fall prey to the darkside. And truth be told it's something that holds a very special place in my heart, as I'm sure it does the rest of you. So let's get to what I'm trying to say.

Fuck the expanded universe and how it effects role play. Now before you kill me or write a very nasty comment hear me out. The expanded universe does provide a lot more content to the Star Wars galaxy and it brings more life to it, but when I go through it, it just doesn't feel like Star Wars to me. It feels a lot more like Star Trek. (Again this is to me) Star Trek there wasn't always a bad guy, a lot of the time it was painted in various shades of grey what with every admiral being corrupt and evil and the righteous fury of Captain Kirk's pimp hand, the expanded universe just feels like I'm reading or listening to something that I'm not all that into when it comes to Star Wars. And I feel that the expanded universe just bleeds into a lot of roleplay and while I am in no way shape or form saying don't write the EU I'm saying I feel like the film and show universe and that style of good and evil really just feels better than the EU and it provides good parameters for us. I mean come on just look at this and tell me that's not awesome.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&persist_app=1&v=C-DeI3ohVbY

But now in the spirit of compromise I will admit. If it wasn't for the EU we wouldn't have a few awesome things like the old republic, and it sets up this amazing universe where artists and gamers and other creative types can just go nuts and create some pretty amazing content. But sometimes I think we take it too far, cause when I look at chaos and other parts of the EU sometimes I don't see what was above, I see this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&persist_app=1&v=tzFRIQhOXcQ

With people having the power to control droids, split moons, do all kinds of crazy crap. And don't get me wrong I'm thankful for all that amazing content that the EU has put out there. But in the hands of people like us I think we have the capacity to just go over the top with our writing.

But does this article have a point? I'd like to say yes. I think that the point is that while the EU is fun and full of good content we shouldn't take some obscure article about something over powered and just abuse the heck out of it. We shouldn't hand wave a mind control of thousands of people or droids. Would I like to see a website that strikes down the expanded universe and be as popular as chaos? Yes I would. But this is what I have and I've grown attached to you guys, and for better or worse maybe having more content to work with isn't a bad thing. It's the way we use that content, did we learn anything by this? Probably not, do I flip flop on my opinions? A little. Do I like the movies and shows better? You bet your ass I do. But at the end of the day I think it's our responsibility as writers to use this extra content responsibly, I'd love to see us use the EU in a way that reflects the movies and shows. To do that good verses evil and that classic Star Wars vibe that's just beautiful. Not whatever this is now, but here's to hoping

 

[Captain Larraq]

*is the most un-mando mando ever*



Edit:


Actually, if I'm being completely honest, Larraq came to be because the Atrisian Empire/Galactic Empire already had a competent Naval commander, my IRL friend who I roleplay with loves Mandalorians, and because my research showed the Mandalorians as having lost their last invasion -solely- because they didn't have a naval commander to kick the Sith Empire's butt.

That's right... Larraq was -this- close to being an Imperial when I joined the site.

Since then though... he's evolved into quite the character.

 

[Kei Amadis]

[member="Patricia Susan Garter"]

No feeling is wrong to have. Some EU things are fantastic, others aren't but then that's my personal preference on certain topics. I've grown up with the EU and using it allows chaos to have that wide playerbase you speak of, because it caters to more writers and styles.

 

[tyrannusBE]

I have to disagree with you on the point of good and evil. See, one of the reasons I would prefer keeping the EU is because it makes things more 'grey'. Some of the Clone Wars novels, like the cartoon, ask the question of how ethical it is for Jedi to clone a man, give him a blaster and no choice but to go the war. It is something that is pretty lacking in the movies, and I for one am very glad that other sources expound on it. The Old Republic's sycophantic Jedi are replaced in the EU by a Jedi Praxeum where Luke Skywalker looks at Corran Horn and thinks 'yeah, why shouldn't we have families to care for'? (Okay, maybe he was also looking at Mara Jade a whole lot.) We get figures like Thrawn, who are not evil, but doing their military jobs after being indoctrinated into an evil Empire. And of course there is still good and evil, but with so much content there is room to consider how good this good truly is, and how evil this evil. I can only applaud that. Stark white good and pitch black evil is frankly just not good writing to me.

On the other hand, I do agree that some of the Force powers, particularly those displayed in Old Republic content, are completely bonkers and should not be used. The main reason I prefer a lot of the Legacy stuff is because many of the Force powers used there are a lot more down to earth. (Space earth. Yeah. >>) I am not a fan of the whole sunder worlds, create life, create firewaves out of nothing thing. Looking at you guys, Palpatine, Plagueis, Andeddu. Not coincidentally all Sith, since they tend to go most over the top. Hell, Darth Bane's ability to use Soresu (which was not even his main form) to keep himself entirely dry in the middle of rainfall makes me just as incredulous as all that, and I don't like it. It leaves the whole thing more removed from personal stories and struggles, and it pushes characters towards being mary sues a whole lot. I personally find the flawed Jedi Knight fighting with what he knows far more interesting than the Jedi Master using Battle Meditation to just kind of sit there. The Sith Acolyte sending his first sparks of Force Lightning and rejoicing in the rush of new power intrigues me much more than the Lord who can summon a Storm with the flick of the wrist. Again, this comes down to what I think is good story telling and what is not.

 

[Tellos]

[member="tyrannusBE"] I mostly agree, cept I don't mind wilder powers i just feel it should be kept to special occasions perhaps to raise the stakes or such. But Yeah if your calling force storms constantly it gets silly and at some point you have to set hard limits someplace to avoid crazy antics. I also agree some of the questions raised on ethics and really just philosophical ones in general I feel had depth and weight to the events and characters. Thats why I liked when the sith got expounded upon some to be not just all evil monsters, not to say some are not but the main difference was they were more individualistic. Namely in that they felt things got achieved when individuals got to use their talents to their fullest not when bottled up by enough red tape to choke a bureaucrat. Was less evil more different view on things and it made them easier to understand outside of the typical evil guy who just loves being evil.

 

[Kei Amadis]

[member="tyrannusBE"] [member="Tellos"]

Yes in essence good vs evil is all dependent on your characters motivations, past, history and what made them who they were, or just writer preference. Kei does believe in absolutes of such, with a wide degree in between, whereas some of my characters don't depending on the past they have lived, or what's shaped them since, some see life as a sequence of events people react to for example with no absolutes of persona. Others see a rainbow for example, and others really don't care, they just shoot things.

It would get boring pretty fast if every character and writer had the same motivations to their characters actions, or definitions of these sorts of concepts. It would even get boring to me if I were to write two myself who reasoned and looked at the world exactly the same.

 

[Jsc]

No feeling is wrong to have.

The Force is strong with this one. Senpai Corey is, wisdom he speaks. To have a preference, good it is. But to acknowledge the world for it's breadth and whole, a far greater vision one must embrace.

- Scribbles of a Handwavium Master

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

There's a ton of genuine gray in the movies if you're paying attention. More than there is in most of the EU, and I've read pretty much all of that.

 

[Moira Skaldi]

[member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"]


Particularly the prequels have always struck me as very grey in a number of ways. * deconstructionism intensifies *

 

[Tefka]

[member="Patricia Susan Garter"]

From your factory sub you posted an hour before you bash the EU for not being canon 'Star Wars' enough:

Intent: To create a organic force dead assault rifle for the open market

Be the change, homie, don't just ask for it.

 

[Miss Blonde]

[member="Tefka"]

Like I said, having more content to work with isn't a bad thing. It's the way we use it, I said I'd like to see the expanded universe done In a way that reflects more of a movie and show Star Wars. So try reading the last bit of the post please

And I also have said that the EU is filled with amazing content, I enjoy the EU quite a bit. I just prefer the films.

 

[Tobias Wraith]

You can't really pick and choose with something as big as Star Wars. With a few exceptions that are not allowed I feel the board is great as is. If we went by the movies we'd have two factions, five to six force users and the rest of us would be non-force users. Not really a good way to sustain a message board where we all want to tell exciting stories.

 

[Eddie]

[member="Tobias Wraith"]

Bam, right on the nail there

 

[Arumi Zy]

Star Wars is filled to the brim with Gray and there are very few what i would condier actually Light or Dark characters in it. Let's look at the Seperatist, yes there were definitly evil guys in it but for the most part it was peoples wanting to escape what they consider a corrupt, over reaching government. The Rebellion you might as well call terrorist without a plan ( especially if you go by the movies). During the Clone wars the Jedi became soldiers who commanded an army of slave soldiers breed to fight and die, is that being light? Han Solo did most of what he did for money, only actually doing it because it was the right thing to do in the end.

The Clones killed countless jedi generals, was their actions evil? They were programmed slaves carrying out their orders without hate or malice. The idea that the EU is bad because is paints to much gray is kind of silly.

 

[Xyl'Myrr]

i think its really just a "too each their own sort of thing"

you arent obligated to like EU stuff but for a fact a lot of it really expands on everything that exists in the movies and such. just think of it as extra content. and you are much as alright to not like it as others are allowed to like it. ya feel?

i am a huge fan of EU because the whole history of it just appeals to me and plus more to read and imagine and know is just exciting. but really whatever floats your speeder

its kind of like:

liking The Lord of the Rings series but ignoring everything important that happened in The Silmarillion that sets up the entire universe and history that comes before