#vergere

[magnetarbeam]

I've posted some of these on their own before but I think this is enough to call it a compilation.

[thats-ee]

Octoblorbober day 12! Vergere

Love that Fraggle Rock/Dark Crystal design energy

[incorrectstarwarslegendsquotes]

Star Wars Legends + text posts (part 4/?)

[movalise]

still thinking about all the female characters destroyed by post new jedi order bad writing

[sporkihime]

The idea of a student being a teacher and a teacher being a student is present in Ganner and Jacen's relationship just as much as it is Jacen and Vergere.

The entire final act of Traitor is meant to be a sort of role reversal. Jacen who was once the betrayed captive is now the traitor and captor. He copies some of Vergere's lines word for word- repeating them to Ganner, down to "everything i tell you is a lie."

Jacen guides Ganner through the land of the dead and to his destiny. And he is the one who makes Ganner realize the truth of who he is, and the greatness that only radical acceptance can achieve. Ganner accepts himself fully and becomes a sort of Horatius guarding the gate. Jacen becomes one with himself the force and the world brain, and through this understanding, through this love(because what is love if not understanding) he makes peace with the Dhuryam he betrayed.

However once Jacen leaves the well of the world brain he wants to go to Ganner, to throw away his progress for the sake of attachment, and die. It is not Vergere who convinces Jacen to not throw his life away but Ganner himself, who through the force tells Jacen to leave. Ganner who was once the student is now the Master and guide, leading Jacen to his greater destiny.

In the traitor epilogue, when Jacen reveals what he did in the well of the world brain and his plans Vergere says "This is the greatest moment of a teacher’s life: when she is surpassed by her student." both Vergere and Jacen achieve this honour, with Ganner, who is Jacen's student, understanding the force and life more intimately than jacen in his final moments.

Ganner Rhysode, Jacen Solo, and Vergere are all students and thus they are all teachers.

[ysalamir]

jacen in destiny's way every fifteen minutes: can my friend/former torturer vergere come too? :(

[solitaire-06]

Found this comment on Reddit that perfectly sums up Jacen Solo’s journey in Traitor and his resultant evolution as a Jedi:

Jacen, through the entire series up to this point but portrayed most clearly in his visions in Balance Point, is completely paranoid about falling to the Dark. He doesn't know how it happens, and the possibility of it happening to him (and to others) causes him paralysis. He seems to be under the perspective that any mistake, any slip-up, any flaw or missed motive or even well-meaning-error, can open the door for the Dark Side to slip into his soul and corrupt him against his will. Consequentially, he becomes ridiculously risk-averse, with actions both large and small. It cripples him as a Jedi.

What Vergere teaches him, in a variety of different ways and from a variety of different perspectives, is different reasons why inaction and risk-aversion are bad. She teaches him that not acting is just as morally consequential as acting. She teaches him that the Dark Side can't just .... slip into his soul from the outside and corrupt him, it's something that he has to invite in. She teaches him that mistakes are just mistakes, and making a small error is not sufficient to cause a Fall.

Vergere teaches Jacen everything he needs to hear to overcome the paralysis that has frozen him from the start of the series. Ultimately, the result is a liberated Jacen, one who is able to truly be himself, act as himself, with confidence -- and what does that Jacen do? He meets the World Brain with the empathy and love that has been a hallmark of his character going back to YJK, transforming an enemy into a friend and starting the New Republic on the road towards victory.

[mrkestis]

Rogue Planet - Greg Bear

A Spoiler-Free Star Wars Book Review

Summary: Three years after the invasion of Naboo and the death of Qui-Gon Jinn, young Anakin Skywalker and his master Obi-Wan Kenobi are sent on a mission to find the lost Jedi Vergere. Their journey takes them to the mysterious and legendary planet Zonama Sekot, where the fastest ships in the galaxy are rumoured to be created.

On this planet Anakin will face trials that could shape the course of the rest of his life, and both master and apprentice will encounter some of the great mysteries of the known, and unknown, universe.

Rating: 3.25 ⭐️

My thoughts (spoiler-free):

Let me describe this book with one picture:

In this story we follow Anakin ”adrenaline junkie” Skywalker and Obi-Wan ”stressed parent” Kenobi, and their dynamic is the highlight of the book. Anakin dealing with his trauma by competing in all types illegal racing, and Obi-Wan patiently but exasperatedly becoming well versed in Anakin’s ”radius of potential mischief” in order to take care of him is the content I want. The angst is also never-ending because Anakin doubts his place amongst the Jedi (he thinks they don’t actually want him and just keep him around for his potential), and Obi-Wan doubts his ability to train the boy.

We get quotes like:

”He and Anakin might’ve been brothers separated by only a dubble handful of years, but Obi-Wan was the closest thing the boy could ever have to a father.”

”Obi-Wan had never felt such a strength of connection with any other being, not even Qui-Gon Jinn.”

”Are you ever cheerful, master?”

"Obi-Wan felt a strong urge not to wake the boy up, to let him sleep like this forever, to forever anticipate a great adventure, forever dream of personal triumph and joy. This feeling held too much sentiment and weakness to be allowed, but he allowed it nevertheless. This must be how a father feels, looking down on his son, worried about an uncertain future, Obi-Wan thought.”

This period of Anakin and Obi-Wan’s relationship is so underrated, and also severely under-explored in canon. I hope we get a new canon book about them with this type of dynamic soon! Another little detail from this book that I wish was explored in canon as well is Obi-Wan using Qui-Gon’s lightsaber for a significant time after his master’s death.

I’m very picky about Anakin Skywalkers characterisation in Star Wars books, and this story had both positives and negatives. I like that his extreme force sensitivity was emphasised. For example he describes that when he’s meditating it feels like plugging into a supernova, and Obi-Wan constantly mentions how Anakin senses thing more strongly and vividly than him. I also like that his childhood trauma is discussed and affects him deeply, and that it intertwines with his force sensitivity. For example Anakin describes that he dreads sleep, because ”it seemed like in his dreams that something inside was testing him. Something very strong, and it did not care wether it was loved or feared.”

What I don’t like about Anakin’s characterisation in this story was the description of his dark side. It was almost portrayed like an aspect of himself he had no control over, and when it came forth he had no agency over his actions. I don’t like this because while trauma and manipulation certainly played a major part in his turn to the dark side, it was ultimately a choice he willingly made. That’s important, because it makes his choice to turn back to the light so much more impactful in Return of the Jedi.

I also don’t like when Star Wars stories hint at Anakin’s fall to the dark side being inevitable, because it wasn’t! He was steadily on that path for many years, but it was still an avoidable tragedy up until the very end.

(This following paragraph has minor spoilers so you can skip to the next if you want no spoilers at all!). At several points in this book Qui-Gon Jinn speaks to Anakin and Obi-Wan. In one scene they both have to throw things into a fire and watch them burn, and Qui-Gon starts spouting a prophecy about how this is Anakin’s fate and that there will be heat, death and resurrection… So he basically describes that Anakin will burn to a crisp and become Darth Vader, and I don’t like that this is portrayed as his predetermined destiny. However, I do like the idea of Qui-Gon’s ghost floating around and whispering prophecies to people.

The plot of the book is kinda…boring. We spend a lot of time on Zonama Sekot and explore how its inhabitants build semi-living ships, which is an interesting concept, but when most of the book is explanations of the different stages and rituals in the building process it gets very tedious. There are also so many other interesting aspects of the planet but just get brushed over. The plot with Vergere introduces a lot of concepts that I know will become relevant in later legends books, but If you read just this one it feels unfinished and very confusing.

The trials Anakin are described to go on are also just…not that challenging. The events of The Phantom Menace were a hundred times more difficult for Anakin, and yet this book tries to say that this story sets up the path for the rest of Anakin’s life. These events actually shouldn’t have any significant impact in my opinion.

One of my least favorite Star Wars characters is in this book. Tarkin…the racist and fascist with no redeeming qualities. So that didn’t really make the book more enjoyable for me. A character I did like however is one named Charza Kwinn. He’s a Priapulin (a worm basically) pilot working for the Jedi with a ship full of water and aquatic creatures. He’s a fun character that I think would translate very well into animated Star Wars content.

Overall the plot of this book was confusing and a bit boring, and while I really loved Anakin and Obi-Wan’s dynamic I had mixed feelings about Anakin’s characterisation. I would only recommend you read this if you crave deeper legends lore content, because I think it might become relevant in much later books, or if you’re desperate for more Obi-Wan and Anakin angst.