One of my biggest literary pet peeves is when historical or history-inspired fiction pretends that "courting" is a synonym for "dating". Usually it's just a one-to-one word swap--in a modern context, these characters would be dating, but this is olden times, so they call it courting instead. Sometimes they'll pretend there's a shade of difference, and that courting is a more serious exploration of marriage or something. But I read a lot of fiction that was actually written during these historical eras, and the word "courting" is never used like that.
Two people do not decide that they are "courting". One person decides to "court" someone else. It's an action, not a stage in the relationship. A man decides to court a woman because he wants to encourage her to have romantic interest in him. He's trying to win her favor. It's not an exclusive relationship--a woman could be courted by multiple men at once. She'll spend time getting to know the guy who's interested in her, but they won't officially define their relationship as one where they only show romantic interest in each other. If they reach a point where they want it to be exclusive, that's when you propose.
There's no middle ground--either you're getting to know each other, or you're committed to marrying each other. This idea of a period where you kind of commit to each other until you decide you definitely want to get married is a modern one, and it occurs in eras where they use the word "dating" to describe it. The closest equivalent I can think of are times and places where they'd talk about a couple "stepping out together", but they're still not calling it "courting". Words have meaning, and the word "courting" has never meant that, so stop using it that way!
Evil wizard tasteful pin-up magazine but it's all photos of like, skinny old goths coyly fingering cursed amulets, long-bearded sorcerers doing the 'oopsie' pose as their corrosive destruction spell destroys enough of their own robes to show some skin, naked desiccated lich king positioning his staff of human skulls just so it leaves something to the imagination, dark knights in full armor just holding their soul-eating blades out in front of their codpieces, orc chieftain who did not understand the assignment and is posing with a monster he killed like one of those guys-with-fish photos. Or maybe he DID understand the assignment. Hmm.
(data extracted via Jedipedia's file reader with beta files; conversation data is from Parsely)
Sith Warrior:
Cyborg Veteran
Unable to resist the call to arms, you lied about your age to join the military and were nearly killed in battle as a teenager. Under the knife your Force powers manifested. The Empire rebuilt you and trained you to be Sith.
Child of the Emperor
Strong in the Force from birth, you were taken from your family at infancy and raised by the Empire. You have always been marked for greatness.
Sith Pureblood
You were born with the blood of the ancient Sith flowing through your veins. Your red skin marks you as superior to the ordinary humans around you.
The only Sith backstory that seems to be specifically referenced in conversations is Sith Pureblood, which is referenced in 3 class-specific quests. There doesn't seem to be a Zabrak-specific option here.
Sith Inquisitor:
Upstart Slave
Your parents were slaves and so were you-until you shocked everyone by demonstrating a talent for the Force. Now you enter a dangerous new life as a Sith.
Zabrak Criminal
Arrested for killing a noble, you claimed it was justified. The Empire put off your execution when you displayed Force sensitivity.
Twi'lek Renegade
Enslaved by the Empire, you murdered a guard and tried to escape. Imperials were about to execute you when a Sith realized you could use the Force.
Rattataki Acolyte
An open-minded Sith Lord came to your home planet and trained your people in the Force. When the Sith Lord was killed, you and the other acolytes were thrown in the slave pens.
Twi'lek and Zabrak Inquisitors are specifically referenced in two conversations, the first of which is definitely backstory-related:
There's no Sith Pureblood-specific option, even though IIRC there's a loading screen text specific to a Sith Pureblood Inquisitor.
Bounty Hunter:
Outlaw
You never knew your parents. Raised in the streets, you learned your skills through gang warfare. It's all about survival.
Cyborg Merc
You fought in wars across the Outer Rim, but the rules and regulations of a soldier's life never agreed with you. You've spent years upgrading your gear and yourself.
Rattataki Gladiator
Taken as a prisoner when your colony was conquered by Hutts, you survived the arena to escape and become your own boss.
Zabrak Tracker
You come from a long line of manhunters and you were eager to do your family proud and join the family business.
There's one reference to the Rattataki Gladiator background on Belsavis. This is the only place where it's referenced by background (qst.location.belsavis.world.imperial.gearingup.temp_background_rattataki) instead of species (qst.utility.misc.is_bg_bh_rattataki).
Imperial Agent:
Cybernetic Experiment
Eager to serve the Empire, you volunteered for a series of dangerous experiments that gave you skills equal to any trained spy in the galaxy.
Military Officer
You were a battle strategist and legendary shot for the Imperial Navy until you discovered your true calling as an agent of Imperial Intelligence.
Chiss Secret Police
On your conquered homeworld, you quashed rebellions, fought terrorists and maintained order for the Empire. Now, Imperial Intelligence wants you.
Zabrak Assassin
As a young alien child on an Imperial colony, you already showed great promise when it came to violence. Imperial Intelligence took you in and taught you to think, talk and shoot like a professional.
Chiss is obviously referenced a lot; it looks like it's in about twenty class-specific conversations. This line from Ardun Kothe seems to reference the Zabrak Assassin background, but triggers for Rattataki instead?
There's no Rattataki-specific background listed.
Jedi Knight:
Force Sensitive Orphan
Left on the Jedi Temple's doorstep as a newborn, you were raised entirely by Jedi and know little of the greater galaxy. Your true heritage is unknown.
Zabrak Swordsman
Brought to the Jedi Temple as a child, you have always found your calm and connection to the Force through the intricate saber routines taught by your masters.
Miralukan Survivor
The Sith devastated your world, forcing you to flee. Thanks to your powerful Force sensitivity, you found quick refuge among the Jedi.
The only dialogue reference I could find is when fighting Lord Nefarid, a Miraluka Knight will say they don't need to see him to fight him. There aren't Twi'lek or Mirialan-specific options despite both being available by default. There are lines from Kira that were probably supposed to reference these backgrounds, but for some reason it's assigned to trigger for Chiss and... also Chiss?
Jedi Consular:
Jedi Scholar
Fascinated with the history and traditions of the Jedi, it was your research of the Force that unlocked your amazing potential.
Twi'lek Visionary
You were born in space and grew up in a small colony of ex-slaves. When you started seeing visions of things to come, one of the wise elders took you to find the Jedi.
Mirialan Wanderer
Raised in a relatively primitive tribal society on Mirial, unexplainable visions drove you to roam the galaxy until you found the Jedi and your true calling.
Miralukan Prodigy
When the Jedi found you abandoned as a child, you were already performing feats one would expect from a Jedi who had been training for years.
The only dialogue reference I could find was that a human Consular tells Nadia's father that they were a prodigy as well. There's also three lines from Syo and from Yuon that can play, but it looks like only the first ever will as they have the same conditions. I assume 1 was originally the Miralukan Prodigy, 2 was the Jedi Scholar, and 3 was the Twi'lek Visionary and the Mirialan Wanderer.
Smuggler:
Corellian Nomad
Descended from people of fierce independence and pride, you're always on the lookout for adventure and any job that'll turn a quick credit.
Outer Rim Pirate
You're utterly ruthless and only in it for the money. If that means becoming more machine than human to gain an advantage, that's what you're going to do.
Twi'lek Rogue
You were smuggling your own people out of slavery, but the Empire's aggressive expansion forced you to take other jobs to survive.
Mirialan Trader
You've tried your best to keep your business legitimate, defend your cargo and protect your honor. Not always easy stuck between the Imperials, the Republic and the Huttsā¦
Twi'lek Smugglers are mentioned in one line, but it's not backstory-related.
There's no Zabrak-specific backstory, once again.
Trooper:
Republic Elite
You were groomed from youth to lead soldiers into battle. You've had the best teachers and trainers in the entire Republic, and it shows.
Outer Rim Veteran
Blooded in the terrible conflicts of the Outer Rim territories, you gave the Republic permission to put you back together and you went back out for more.
Zabrak Guerilla Fighter
The Empire invaded your world, and you fought back valiantly until Republic reinforcements arrived. Now you continue the fight on other worlds.
Mirialan Youth Leader
You were active and well loved in your community from a young age but secretly disappointed in your pacifist society. When the Republic recruiter came calling, you shocked everyone by signing up.
The first three do appear in dialogue with Jorgan, and the Zabrak Guerilla Fighter is referenced again on I think this is Corellia? Mirialan Youth Leader isn't referenced anywhere.
I Feel Like This Section Also Needs A Header
Interestingly, there are no Mirialan-specific lines in the entire game. Miraluka has one, Rattataki has a couple, and Zabrak has two each for Inquisitor and Trooper. Sith Pureblood has a few in the Sith Warrior storyline. Chiss definitely has the most.
This obviously isn't a comprehensive list of dialogue options. The Consular lines, for example, I stumbled upon completely by accident, so it's safe to assume there are more scattered around-- there's just not a good way to find them without manually trawling every conversation in the game. (Which I'm not doing.)
I have also seen this list of backstories spread around, but I haven't seen a source. The beta files I have are from 2011/07/22, so these options might be from an older beta. If anyone has older beta files I'd love to poke around in them.
Could not for the life of me think of anything cool to draw so I perused Pinterest for inspiration and hit the comedic gold mine for my au. Sorry in advance, this is a late birthday present for myself
One of the quiet background realities of the Star Wars galaxy is that it is spectacularly bad at labor. Not just ālate-stage capitalismā bad, but structurally, culturally, and institutionally allergic to the idea that workers should have enforceable protections. Youāve got child soldiers, child labor, debt slavery, corporate fiefdoms, and a Republic that can field a galaxy-spanning bureaucracy but somehow never gets around to standardizing āmaybe donāt enslave people.ā The Empire of course doesnāt fix this; it industrializes it.
So in that environment, formal labor law is either nonexistent, unenforced, or actively hostile. Which means if youāre operating in a sector where the state either canāt or wonāt protect you, you get a classic historical pattern: workers build their own rules.
Enter the gray economies.
Groups like the Smugglers' Alliance (Legends) and the Bounty Hunters' Guild (new canon) look, at first glance, like professional associations for criminals. But if you squint at them through a labor history lens, they start to look a lot like early, proto-union structures ā especially the kinds you see in maritime or extralegal industries on Earth.
Think pirate codes (yes actual ones, Pirates of the Caribbean didn't make that up). Think matelotage agreements. Think dockworker brotherhoods that predate formal unions.
Because what do these groups actually do?
They:
set norms for compensation and contracts
regulate competition to prevent destructive undercutting
provide a framework for dispute resolution
establish reputational systems (āyou donāt honor contracts, you donāt get workā)
Thatās industry self-governance in the absence of law.
Take bounty hunting. Without something like the Bounty Hunters' Guild, the field collapses into chaos: clients donāt pay; hunters underbid each other into oblivion; jobs get duplicated, interfered with, or sabotaged. And nobody trusts anybody!
The Guild steps in and says: here are the rules of engagement. Hereās how claims work. Hereās how you get paid. Hereās what happens if you break contract.
Thatās basically a union crossed with a licensing board and a regulatory agency, just without any moral pretense.
Same with the Smugglers' Alliance. Smuggling is inherently risky, decentralized, and dependent on trust networks. If everyone is constantly betraying everyone else, the whole system stops functioning. So instead, you hash out agreed-upon routes and territories, informal protections against betrayal, mechanisms for information sharing, and consequences for breaking the code
Again: not altruism. Stability.
And the reason this emerges specifically in gray/illegal sectors is because they have to. The Core Worlds might pretend they have laws, but those laws donāt meaningfully protect the people actually doing dangerous, itinerant, high-risk work. So the margins of the galaxy ā where enforcement is weakest and risk is highest ā become the places where labor organization evolves first.
Which is very historically grounded.
On Earth, some of the earliest labor protections didnāt come from governments; they came from workers in dangerous, decentralized industriesāsailors, pirates, minersāwho literally wrote their own rules because no one else was going to save them.
Pirate codes, for example, often included:
compensation for injury
shared distribution of loot
limits on captain authority
Which is ā¦ shockingly progressive compared to a lot of contemporary working conditions (cough Amazon cough).
So in the galaxy far, far away, you end up with this ironic inversion:
The ālegitimateā systems ā Republic, Empire, megacorporations ā are exploitative, inconsistent, or indifferent.
The āillegitimateā systems ā smugglers, bounty hunters ā are the ones building functional labor frameworks, because they need to survive.
And that feeds back into why the galaxy feels so unstable overall. Thereās no universal baseline of rights. Everything is hyper-local, network-dependent, and contingent on whether youāre inside a system that has rules you can rely on.
If youāre a clone trooper? You are literally property.
If youāre a factory worker on a corporate world? Your protections are whatever your employer feels like offering.
But if youāre a smuggler or a bounty hunter?
You might actually have clearer expectations about your pay, your risks, and your recourse ā because your āunionā is the only thing standing between you and total chaos.
So yeah: the Smugglersā Alliance and the Bounty Huntersā Guild arenāt just flavor. Theyāre a glimpse of what labor organization looks like in a galaxy where the state has fundamentally failed to provide it.
Pulling a reverse load-bearing boss and setting up a contingency spell triggered by my own death so that if the heroes kill me a cursĆØd citadel of iron and bone will spontaneously construct itself right in the middle of their stupid town.
a genetic dead end @thirdwizard - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
