#life in the post-war universe can get messy and busy so its a good opportunity to just hang out w/ your family | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

renegade-skywalker · 6 years

Text

It’s a shame how underappreciated Mical is, really, especially since I think he gets the Luke Skywalker treatment when it comes to dudebros complaining about how whiney he is. But he is actually rather similar to Luke in many respects. Not just in appearance and temperament, but even in how they react to the things that happen to them, and unlike everyone else in kotor 2, Mical manages to remain a beacon of hope in a way that I think he may be some strange fictional past-life of Leslie Knope’s.

I may be jaded by nearly 12 years of fandom, but Mical is usually depicted as this goody-two-shoes, and he kind of is, but it’s not really his defining trait. Sure, he’s a nerd but he’s incredibly intelligent, and his opinions don’t actually differ from many of the other characters - namely Atton who has a distinct dislike of him and would probably rather die than ever admit that they’re at all alike. In most ways, they aren’t, but their opinions are actually far more aligned than I think either of them realizes, and if this game were ever remade with updated graphics/party banter/npc interaction etc. like many modern rpgs, this sort of interaction would be something I would totally want to see.

Okay, okay, I’m already all over the place. Let’s start with when/where/how we meet Mical. Depending on whether you play as male/female, Mical’s role differs. If a female, he joins your party and you learn more about him bit by bit, but if male he has a Jedi-heavy conversation with you in the ruins of the Jedi Temple and then again back at Khoonda militia HQ aaaaand that’s it. Mical has a wealth of knowledge regarding Jedi history, and as an agent of the Republic can also provide insight regarding how the Jedi conflict(s) have also affected the galaxy at large. As eager as Mical is to become a Jedi from the onset (as a companion) he does have a very objective view of the Order. He’s more up-front with his view-points if you talk to him the second time as a male Exile, but he basically lays down the law for you. Like Atton, Mical understands how the rest of the universe sees the Jedi. Common folk don’t see a difference between Jedi and Sith, hence why the Jedi Civil War is called just that and does not at all reference the fact that Revan and Malak returned as Sith. Which is his main point. What makes Mical, well Mical, is his insight. He finds it curious that Revan made certain choices as a Sith Lord, such as keep Onderon untouched (even if it is plagued by its own civil war, currently) while other worlds were demolished, as if in preparation for something else, something unseen and unpredictable. But despite his astute observations, and regardless of what he believes Revan was actually trying to do, he does condemn both sides, Jedi and Sith. He mentions the fall of Exar Kun and Ulic Qel-Droma, and how it was potentially their masters who are at fault for what happened, the same going for Revan and Malak. But instead of shrugging it off and condemning the lot of them, he goes on to say why the Jedi are still important regardless. I think this is a lesson TLJ tried to teach us but didn’t give it enough time to really sink in. The image of the Jedi, what they stand for and what they mean in theory is part of what keeps other, larger gears in motion, like the Republic, and he believes the Jedi should be held accountable but also that they could do better. I think this is where Mical and Atton really differ.

One of the first, most poignant, conversations with Atton revolves around the events of the previous games. Atton acts as a bit of a conduit for the player establishing their world state as much as he acts as a representative for “average space folk”. Despite his past, Atton believes himself to be like “everyone else”, so his experiences during the Mandalorian Wars and even the Jedi Civil War are from that of an average non-Force Sensitive person. Since the discovery of the latter is what causes him to leave his Sith station, Atton’s experiences are still that of someone unfamiliar with the Force or the two ideologies surrounding the use/manipulation of it. He’s the first one to tell you that the average person sees no difference between the Jedi and the Sith, though namely because of the Jedi Civil War. Mical is the one to further explain why, and while he disagrees with how both factions handled themselves and essentially fucked the galaxy over because of what many saw as a pissing contest, Mical also sees the advantage of hope or at least the idea of it. The Jedi, despite their faults, do have the capacity to do good for the collective people at large. The Sith Code is not inherently evil, per se, but is a very self-centered ideology, whereas the Jedi Code does at least attempt to “protect” and “preserve” the whole of humanity versus the interests of a single person or party.

But what makes this perspective so meaningful for Mical is that he was overlooked as a padawan, he wasn’t even granted the opportunity to train despite his Force sensitivity, and he was essentially denied ever becoming a Jedi, at least formally. Despite the circumstances and despite his luck, Mical still has trust in the idea of the Jedi and finds hope in it. Perhaps it has something to do with his time before being called away, but he could also easily be bitter for it as well, but he isn’t. His bitterness could have been multiplied if he was holding a grudge against the Exile for not taking him on as a padawan and instead leaving to join Revan’s war. But, again, he’s not. This is a lesson that the other companions learn in one way or another, and even if they don’t trust the Jedi as a conglomerate, characters like Atton and Visas agree to train with you because they trust you and they believe that learning the ways of the Force can help them grow as people and to help you in your quest more effectively. Even if they don’t believe in the Jedi, they believe in you. Which does tie into Mical’s hopes for the future of the Jedi Order. As messy as things are, especially considering the whole Revan/Exile business is not really canon but has plenty of additional material what with the book and the SWTOR DLC and other related content, the Exile and their companions form the foundation of the Jedi Order that follows, which I guess is the only thing that makes sense since everyone else literally dies by the end of TSL.

But for all its lessons, TSL is still a precursor to the Jedi Council of the prequels, which we know is just as fraught with issues as the Council that dismissed Revan and the Exile yet sort of started this whole mess, so no matter what the Exile learned or changed about how the Jedi operate as a whole didn’t stick. I feel like this was a lesson missing from TLJ. Luke focuses on the failings of the Jedi that preceded him, and his argument for the Jedi to end is a good one. What we were missing is the thought-process behind keeping the Jedi alive, not because their foundational texts were law, but in that they represented hope and goodness and that’s what should continue, even if the rest of it changes (which it should).

Anyway, this started out as a post about Mical… and he is essentially what I was hoping Luke would be, though he was missing a bit. He eventually came to the same conclusion in TLJ, that the Jedi are flawed but are needed, but he didn’t get to see that journey. What I also like about Mical is that he’s experienced the failing of the Jedi first hand but he still sees a use for them. Not only was he denied becoming a Jedi or training as one, but he was then sent to the corps so he ends up seeing the Mandalorian Wars up close, and as a medic he get’s a front row seat to the atrocities of war as well as the suffering that the Jedi at large are wholly ignoring. Even as a Republic officer or whatever he is, his interest in politics and history are what allow him to see through Revan’s ruse, he finds out where the Council went wrong and what could be done to stop it. There was even cut content from the game (not in the restoration mod, though, I don’t think this ever got to production) where Mical would lead you to hidden Jedi and Sith holocrons, perhaps in his attempt to preserve the teachings of the Jedi and any information about the Sith once it appears that both are gone from the galaxy. While the other characters either see things as dark, grey, or are just incredibly jaded, Mical is always as objective as he can be (and he admits his biases) as well as positive. In a game that is so dark, and often so defeating, it’s nice having someone like him on board. I feel like a lot of the (especially old) fandom view of him was skewed and only highlighted his more “annoying” qualities but I feel like it’s a nice counterbalance to the rest of the game and the characters in it. Honestly, the only other people as helpful and positive are the Ithorians and let’s be honest, it’s kind of a chore to get through those dialogue bits.

#mical #the disciple #kotor 2 #star wars #kotor #sw meta #my meta #idk if this even is meta anymore I just can't stop talking about this game #also this didn't even really have a point this was more of just a mical/sw eu appreciation post

109 notes · View notes

castleportrpg · 6 years

Photo

MEET QUINN FABRAY

The daughter of Maine’s leading news anchorwoman; The Fabrays also own the local newspaper and radio station. Popular in high school, Quinn led a comfortable middle class life, an exemplary student and the darling of her parents and their well-to-do friends.

With her parents’ divorce her junior year of high school, Quinn’s attitude shifted drastically. It was a messy situation full of infidelity, with mother and father on opposite ends and Quinn caught in the middle, causing her to lash out and act out, much to her parents’ chagrin.

College became her escape; Yale University was far enough away from her tumultuous home life, though she wasn’t without scandal if the rumors about her and her literature professor were to be believed.

Moving to NYC post college, Quinn finally had her independence. Though her career isn’t flourishing as much as she’d like (even with the Fabray name drop), being first assistant to a top editor at a leading publishing house is one step closer to getting her writing out there. Even if her boss is a pompous jackass.

HEADCANONS:

When Quinn wasn’t torturing people on lower social rungs, grappling for acclaim that would expire the minute she crossed the graduation stage, or doing her best to live up to the Fabray name, Quinn was reading. Some of Quinn’s earliest memories are of watching her father finalize the newspaper copy for the next day, or of watching her mother on television. Words melted seamlessly into her life, and it’s no wonder she learned of how words can shape or change the world early - words were weapons, when the right person said them. But her love for words wasn’t all for war; words and books provided an escape for a girl who seemed to have everything but still wanted so much. Books were there for her when she had no one and nothing; when her parents divorce was the subject on everyone’s lips, Quinn buried herself in Audre Lorde and Sylvia Plath, in the Bronte sisters, and even in Sapph (which she hid beneath a loose floorboard under her bed). Books and poetry occupied the her hours - the hours she didn’t spend snapping or silencing those who dared to comment on her personal life, anyway.

This love of books carried her through to college. She double majored in English Literature and Business (with a minor in theatre, because she cries on command too well to let that talent go to waste), her analytical mind only bolstering the creativity that hadn’t found a home in high school. She discovered that being challenged is a good thing, taking it as an opportunity to grow instead of a personal offense for the first time. She met interesting people with worldly ideas and experiences she couldn’t begin to comprehend, and it was…intoxicating. College, for Quinn, was a time of self-discovery that was not without its mistakes (and its misbegotten trysts with older, accented men that held the power to destroy or elevate her GPA), but it’s behind her now. That is her mantra now - it’s behind her now, where ‘it’ are the mistakes of her youth that she prays to keep from repeating.

At Yale, Quinn discovered who she was, on her own, for the first time, and most days she’s fairly happy with with the results. Without the microscopic cosm of high school and without the ‘gentle’ guidance of her fracturing family, Quinn could breathe for the first time. She had always been headstrong, but the stakes had always been laughably low; the consequences for her actions always minimal, whether because she was a pretty white girl or because her parents dictated what people talked about in town. After Yale, though, there was just life. She likes to think she’s left a lot of her bitter anger behind her, but she knows herself too well to think that’s completely true. Still, Quinn is really trying to be the best version of herself - even when her boss truly tests her patience.

CONNECTIONS:

Mercedes Jones ‘THE EX-ALMOST’: Despite the differences in their social circles, the pair bonded beyond the confines of similar after-school activities, and soon friendship turned into…something more. Maybe it was just two lost girls looking for a connection or just sheer boredom. Years later, they’re still close albeit with seriously simmering tension and plenty of secrets.

Santana Lopez ‘THE BEST FRENEMY’: Their similarities (a need for power, insufferable insecurities, and obsessive need for admiration from their peers) could cause them to butt heads, almost as much as it brought them together. They were partners in terror. Whether in cheer, parting the hallways as they strutted down them, or torturing Rachel. Something they apologized for--albeit between cracking jokes about some of their most heinous offenses towards her--briefly during their senior year of high school with an asinine excuse of girls just being girls. Post high-school, their interactions are friendly, though with an undercurrent of competition and comparison. Some things never change.

Mike Chang ‘THE PART-TIME LOVER’: They weren’t the closest within the Glee bunch, mainly a ‘friends because our friends are friends’ deal. Most of their interactions were limited to social media post-high school, until Mike relocated to NYC for Columbia Law. They reconnected, and this time, there was benefits to their friendship. After a six month affair, Quinn was suddenly dating someone else. The shift was effortless (and a little careless) for Quinn, while Mike thought they were more, and felt led on, though Quinn vehemently denies that. Though the benefits ended, their friendship has continued, but not without some resentment on Mike’s part.

#taken #takenf #tag: quinn fabray

0 notes