#rancors

[celinamarniss]

Since I shared this excerpt with the fic writing circle, why not here?

Deep, deep at the back of my drafts drawer is a Courtship of Princess Leia remix in which Mara is raised on Dathomir as a witch. Here's the opening:

Mara stood and stretched out sleep-stiff joints as the first rays of the sun began to cut across the grasslands, turning the reddish tips of the kala grass to bright gold. A morning gecko sang out nearby, a light, trilling sound that drifted across the plain. 

Her skin prickled. Something was coming. 

Mara dropped low, palm flat to the earth. Head tilted to the side, she listened to the breeze drifting through the kala grass, all of her senses wide and aware. Whatever the threat was, it wasn’t near, she concluded; she would finish her patrol of the grasslands and return to the Singing Mountain as scheduled. 

It was time to move. 

“Come on, Loli,” she said, nudging the rancor with her foot. The big beast shifted in place, like a small child pretending sleep. “Time to get up.” 

No. Don’t wanna, the rancor grumbled. 

“It’s time,” Mara said firmly. 

Loli uncurled, slowly lifting herself to her full height, rising up and up until she was obscured by the morning fog. 

Mara grinned. “You’re getting so big,” she said, scratching Loli’s side. 

Hungry, Loli complained. 

“We’ll find you a hosho nest,” Mara told her. “The blue ones you like.” 

The rancor extended her arm and Mara swung herself up onto the rancor’s arm, bracing herself on the hide as Loli lifted her upward until she could reach the saddle straps and pull herself onto Loli’s back. The rancor grumbled again as Mara patted her side affectionately. 

The morning mist still hung over the grassland, though it would burn off in less than an hour. Mara clicked her tongue and Loli ambled forward, moving carefully. As soon as she warmed up, she would pick up speed, loping across the grasslands just for the joy of it. 

Hosho? Loli asked. 

Mara chuckled. “Soon enough, you greedy girl.” She began to sing a riding song, a steady, simple tune that mimicked the rhythm of a rancor’s gait. Behind them, the gecko started up again, its lilting trill following them through the tall red grass.

[maaruin]

I think I figured out what the rescue plan for Han Solo in Star Wars - Return of the Jedi was. I don't think the plan was completely cook up by Luke (as I have seen it sometimes described as), but instead they developed it together. I will also say that these characters aren't master heist planners who thought of everything that could go wrong - because as I will describe, I think things did go wrong and Luke had to improvise. But in general, the plan makes a lot more sense once you assume that it contained multiple ways to success: Step 1: Smuggle agents into the palace: Lando as a guard, R2-D2 as a gift. C-3PO was too risky to tell the plan, but is needed as a translator for R2. The message with the offer to buy Han back is delivered. If Jabba accepts, all good. Lando and R2 will smuggle themselves out and take 3PO with them. If that fails, Step 2 kicks in. (It is possible that, offscreen, Lando and/or R2 had the ability to send information out of the palace, about Han's whereabouts and the schedule the palace worked by.) Step 2: Leia pretends to be a Bounty Hunter to gain access by delivering Chewie. She uses an hour when most are sleeping to free Han and disappear with him. Lando frees Chewie and escapes with him and R2 and 3PO. If that fails, Step 3 kicks in. (I don't think Leia expected to be enslaved in the way she was. She probably expected that if discovered, Jabba would throw her into the prisoner cell like Chewie and Han. She has unlucky that Jabba happend to have killed his main dancing slave shortly before capturing her.) Step 3: Luke goes himself to negotiate the release of Han, Leia, Chewie. If he succeeds, Lando, R2 and 3PO smuggle themselves out. If that fails, Step 4 kicks in. (Luke was probably unsure if his mind trick would work on Jabba. He also expected that they would require him to hand over his weapons over before being allowed to speak to Jabba, so he placed his lightsaber in R2.) Step 4: Luke takes his lightsaber out of R2 and does mayham in Jabba's throne room. Lando opens the cell in which they expected Han, Chewie, and Leia to be if it came to that, and they would flee together. Luke would take R2 and 3PO after killing Jabba and his guards and bounty hunters. This open violence was the last contingency they planned for, but some things went wrong: R2 was not present in the throne room when Luke was there, so he couldn't take his lightsaber. He went for a guards gun instead but wasn't aware he was standing on a trap door (R2 could have warned him in binary if he was there, but he wasn't; 3PO tried to warn him but was interrupted because Jabba understood his language). Luke had to scramble to kill the Rancor, but after managing that he was confident that he could free his friends and was just waiting for the right moment.

[mwolf0epsilon]

Boba Fett deserves to have at least 50 rancors.

[sybisti]

OMEGA in THE BAD BATCH 1.05 | Rampage BOBA FETT in THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT | Chapter 07

[mordicaifeed]

[jofacademy]

This is Madness! JoFAcademy Rancor time!

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Video by Creyon!

[reallystellacadente]

If only. 

[insufficient-focus]

CM Flash Sale 8/10

Ridge Hunter Rancor, now 1,100 50% off from normal price of 2,200 cartel coins. This is something I’d personally skip but if you’re into the rancors, today is your lucky day. 

Breakdown of US currency for coins - 

Image of flash sale -