🎶Ba’kif, @thrawns-backrest and Heidi are lying on the floor, ignoring the task-demons knocking on their door. They just need a peaceful minute - before they do yet another draining chore🎶
💬 8 🔁 25 ❤️ 94 · I saw this while waiting for my flight back home, why couldn’t you post that earlier? I was so excited and full of energy
I struggled to hear half of this because what do you mean I'm lying on the floor with Ba'kif? am I close enough to touch him? can I ask him what his favorite color is? will he answer?
also for some reason I imagine Ba'kif's task demons as an angry Ronan barging into his office, banging pans together or something (honestly I wouldn't mind an angry Ronan making me do tasks right now, it sounds like the only way the stuff will go away)
Hello again! This may be a bit random, I know, but I just wanted to check in to tell you that you should be more careful with what you write me. Because this little „Heidi’s General-Proof furniture“ joke has grown and manifested in a complete drawing + new HC for me on what Chiss architecture on Csilla could look like.
With your idea of the Chiss making the EDF-offices look like as if they would put them right on the planets surface and my addition that they would „bend nature“ and the elements when designing their buildings I thought that they maybe not only used the solid rocks in their vast caves but also the ice itself as an architectural-asset. Combine those ideas with other cultures i connect the Chiss with and you have whatever this is:
This is just a sketch but I call this particular building the „frozen-waterfall-building“ because it is supposed to look like - alright, I think you get it. Along with using the ice in its „natural form“ (as if it where a real waterfall) they could also use it as bricks like you would when building an igloo. They are so called „glass bricks“ that were highly popular in the 70s and are experiencing some kind of renaissance in the last years. It is those „glass bricks“ (that to me look like huge ice-cubes) that would make a funky building material for a species that inhabits an ice-planet. As for the other architecture-item: for me the Chiss give off a bit of a Japanese/Italien/iranien vibe (please don’t ask me how that combination manifested). So I have intentionally as well as unintentionally copied certain elements of their architecture.
You have the door (that I drew based on vibes only and only realized after finishing that this could be the door to a Moschee or a library) or the mosaic resembling the Chaos the Chiss inhabit. The lamp really exists: I saw that one when I visited Milano a year ago and just had to take a picture of because the design and craftsmanship was truly mesmerizing. As for the simple sign.: You have a human-craftsperson, might as well let her bring a sign from her place of origin.
Thank you for inspiring me so much that I actually went and made this. It was incredible fun to make it and I actually would love to think more about the possibilities of Chiss architecture. Maybe you have some other ideas?
Sending you hugs and all the best for the upcoming school-week! See you!
GOODNESS ME, WHAT A TREAT!! you keep telling me to be careful but the only thing I hear is 'don't be careful and you'll get scrumptious content'. I'll start off by saying THIS IS SO GORGEOUS I CAN'T STOP LOOKING AT IT LOOK AT ALL THE DETAILS AND THE BEAUTIFUL FLOWY LINES CONTRASTING WITH THE RECTANGULAR ICE BLOCKS IMAGINE HOW PRETTILY IT ALL GLITTERS UNDER THE SUN OH MY GOD I WANT TO BE THERE SO BADLY AND THE ICE WATREFALL BUILDING WOULD BE SPECTACULAR IN REAL SCALE I WANT TO EAT THAT IDEA
alright. now that that's out of my system. let's try and be coherent. I am so in love with the idea of the ice bricks and absolutely see what you mean, it's a very proud Chiss thing to do, as if saying 'the environment tried to crush us but we subjugated it and turned it into something beautiful'. it both embraces and takes control of the hand they were dealt and the thought of the different ice slash snow forms they could use as inspiration makes my head spin with possibilities. the frozen waterfall idea is brilliant!! those elongated elegant shapes are so pretty but also kind of sharp and daunting which is exactly what I associate with the Chiss
have you heard of cute aggression? I think I'm having beauty aggression looking at your second drawing because I want to squeeze it and shake it violently for how pretty it is. Japanese/Italien/Iranien?? that sounds so cool oh my god. the lamp and the flooring absolutely floored me (pun intended) and I adore the little representation of the chaos flowing under their feet. that's just mesmerizing. and the door?? hello? illegal. jail. too pretty to be true. everything comes together so wonderfully too, like the different elements are meant to coexist (with the little exotic touch of the sign, we have an alien craftsman after all). I can see myself drifting to that place every day, at first to wonder at the crashing noises coming from inside but eventually just to admire the pretty place
I once again can't help but think how beautiful all of this would look in the sun (artificial sun?), with all the mosaics and ice and glass textures all glittering along with the natural snow and ice themselves. it's also fascinating to imagine the technology behind it, if they are using actual natural materials for some of this, maybe we're looking at chemicals mixed in with the ice or spread over it to prevent it from melting?
and finally, I'm a bit giddy because we somehow arrived at similar visions, at least I flatter myself by thinking so, because my architectural headcanons for the chiss, though they're somewhat sparse, have always involved tons of colored glass and glossy icy surfaces (with a generous amount of gold metalwork) and I feel like our visions match there. I also had a little headcanon that the Chiss incorporate a great variety of shapes into their art to create the image of seemingly disparate parts working together (an allusion to the ruling families being in harmony, which, obviously not the case but something they'd love to project). and I feel like that's embodied perfectly in the intricacy and variety of the shapes you've used
again, correct me if I'm wrong but this is one of the images I've always used as inspiration and I feel like it has a similar vibe to your ideas?
uuuh yeah, I may be completely confusing styles here, please bear with my ignorance. as for art, the only more 'architectural' piece I've drawn was this very rough sketch of a Mitth throne (as part of a circular room with similar seats for all the nine family heads where I imagine they each get a dais and a pretty stained glass backdrop with an abstract illustration of their crest behind them). the texture is a stand in for stained glass windows and the 'rays' are golden metalwork
anyway, your drawings reminded me of that little piece and again, I flatter myself by thinking it's compatible with your far more informed and superior vision. at the very least I can see them existing side by side
to wrap this up before I ramble further, thank you so much for blessing our eyes with your drawings, I'm super proud and smug that I was able to inspire you to do them and am myself feeling incredibly inspired with my head swimming with images of pretty cathedral slash mosque like images of Chiss architecture. you made me want to get up and join my best friend in her weekly winter hikes, your images remind me of the pictures she's shown me of frozen trees and pretty ice scapes. I'm especially obsessed with the ice bricks and intricate mosaics
all in all just gorgeous. no idea how I'll teach my classes today what with my mind being elsewhere but I'm not complaining
First of all, I would like to remind you that no: “don’t be careful and you´ll get scrumptious content” is not working on me (it actually is). Secondly, I am totally not smiling like the cheshire cat and kicking my feet at seeing your response. Thank you for your kind words and your own headcanons (that funnily enough collide with mine. Well done, Timothy, I guess?)
Thirdly, I would like to remind you, that sending me drafts of yours is also no way of baiting me into picking up a pen (unfortunately, it also is *sighs*) – so this happened.
I regret to inform you, that I couldn’t finish it in time before I go and spent a week with my family where I will have no time to work on it, so I thought I may put it out there before I forget about it and it starts moulding somewhere in my folder. I tried to keep as many details as possible from your work and let my pencil run free for the rest of it. This also led to me, realizing halfway through the drawing, that it had detached from my original vision and ended up being much more art-deco than Chiss-inspired. I didn’t intent for the windows to be complete squares but to have a shape much more related to that of a gothic-church-window. I also wanted to work much more sun- and ascendancy inspired symbols into it or the few canon-family-crests that we know of. But I still hope that I caught your idea of “incorporating a great variety of shapes into their art to create the image of seemingly disparate parts working together”.
Again, I didn’t get to add more details to show the smaller glass-parts that form each individual shape or draw any shadows, but I still hope that it manages to pull your thoughts away from the stress you experience right now – even if just for a second.
Sending you strength and all the best before I go back to building an ice-brick-wall for the two of us to hide behind when the stuff and its hellhounds come looking for us.
okay.... hold up.... hold up hold up holdup holdupholdup hold up.... like seriously hold up
gimme a moment
okay no, moment passed I am still freaking out
I'm sorry this is a cease and desist. do you know what you're doing to me? are you seriously expecting me to just be functional after this? like, I'm just supposed to look at this and be normal and carry on with my life? impossible. actually this is certified sadism, I want to complain to the international court (@random-user753 do you think they'll hear me out?)
how dare you make something so beautiful?? and do you realize I am now contractually obligated to stare at it for hours on end?? the symmetry, the detailing and the scale of it??? unbelievable. all the pretty shapes weaving in and out of each other with the sharp angles and smooth curves throughout? Thurfian must feel like the baddest bitch with that backdrop and honestly I would too, can you blame the man for being such a diva if this is what he gets to flex. I'm sorry but Ba'kif called and he's offended that you designed for his nemesis, he feels betrayed and wants a second desk and a new smoking lounge.
also don't you even dare stop me if I decide to color this (is it okay if I try to color this?? I say this as if I have the time to do so but a girl can dream and I'll outrun the stuff if I have to). I hope you feel the aggressive appreciation and awe I'm currently telepathically bombarding you with because words don't cut it here (this is me wishing you a good time with your family, it's the best I can manage with how my attention is still glued to the drawing, again, your fault).
honestly, I would have written all of this in caps lock but I think I'm actually too awestruck for once. wait, no, I am going to write one thing in caps
*takes deep breath* WHY IS MY MAN WEARING CROCS I AM DYING HERE FSFSGFSFSGDSHGHS
okay I'm done. back to staring. for all eternity. you're seriously going to make me cry here
Hey, friend. Welcome back! Glad to see you again, and good luck with whatever else needs resolving. Be healthy and lucky:з
Thank you so much! 💙😭
hopefully the resolvable stuff will be resolved soonish and I'll be able to get back into the groove. I wholeheartedly hope you're doing well and sending all my hugs
Hiya! And thank you! Though to be honest it’s a bit of an on and off return for now 😅 life is still busy but I’ll try to be more active here as soon as I’m able to
Hello again! This may be a bit random, I know, but I just wanted to check in to tell you that you should be more careful with what you write me. Because this little „Heidi’s General-Proof furniture“ joke has grown and manifested in a complete drawing + new HC for me on what Chiss architecture on Csilla could look like.
With your idea of the Chiss making the EDF-offices look like as if they would put them right on the planets surface and my addition that they would „bend nature“ and the elements when designing their buildings I thought that they maybe not only used the solid rocks in their vast caves but also the ice itself as an architectural-asset. Combine those ideas with other cultures i connect the Chiss with and you have whatever this is:
This is just a sketch but I call this particular building the „frozen-waterfall-building“ because it is supposed to look like - alright, I think you get it. Along with using the ice in its „natural form“ (as if it where a real waterfall) they could also use it as bricks like you would when building an igloo. They are so called „glass bricks“ that were highly popular in the 70s and are experiencing some kind of renaissance in the last years. It is those „glass bricks“ (that to me look like huge ice-cubes) that would make a funky building material for a species that inhabits an ice-planet. As for the other architecture-item: for me the Chiss give off a bit of a Japanese/Italien/iranien vibe (please don’t ask me how that combination manifested). So I have intentionally as well as unintentionally copied certain elements of their architecture.
You have the door (that I drew based on vibes only and only realized after finishing that this could be the door to a Moschee or a library) or the mosaic resembling the Chaos the Chiss inhabit. The lamp really exists: I saw that one when I visited Milano a year ago and just had to take a picture of because the design and craftsmanship was truly mesmerizing. As for the simple sign.: You have a human-craftsperson, might as well let her bring a sign from her place of origin.
Thank you for inspiring me so much that I actually went and made this. It was incredible fun to make it and I actually would love to think more about the possibilities of Chiss architecture. Maybe you have some other ideas?
Sending you hugs and all the best for the upcoming school-week! See you!
GOODNESS ME, WHAT A TREAT!! you keep telling me to be careful but the only thing I hear is 'don't be careful and you'll get scrumptious content'. I'll start off by saying THIS IS SO GORGEOUS I CAN'T STOP LOOKING AT IT LOOK AT ALL THE DETAILS AND THE BEAUTIFUL FLOWY LINES CONTRASTING WITH THE RECTANGULAR ICE BLOCKS IMAGINE HOW PRETTILY IT ALL GLITTERS UNDER THE SUN OH MY GOD I WANT TO BE THERE SO BADLY AND THE ICE WATREFALL BUILDING WOULD BE SPECTACULAR IN REAL SCALE I WANT TO EAT THAT IDEA
alright. now that that's out of my system. let's try and be coherent. I am so in love with the idea of the ice bricks and absolutely see what you mean, it's a very proud Chiss thing to do, as if saying 'the environment tried to crush us but we subjugated it and turned it into something beautiful'. it both embraces and takes control of the hand they were dealt and the thought of the different ice slash snow forms they could use as inspiration makes my head spin with possibilities. the frozen waterfall idea is brilliant!! those elongated elegant shapes are so pretty but also kind of sharp and daunting which is exactly what I associate with the Chiss
have you heard of cute aggression? I think I'm having beauty aggression looking at your second drawing because I want to squeeze it and shake it violently for how pretty it is. Japanese/Italien/Iranien?? that sounds so cool oh my god. the lamp and the flooring absolutely floored me (pun intended) and I adore the little representation of the chaos flowing under their feet. that's just mesmerizing. and the door?? hello? illegal. jail. too pretty to be true. everything comes together so wonderfully too, like the different elements are meant to coexist (with the little exotic touch of the sign, we have an alien craftsman after all). I can see myself drifting to that place every day, at first to wonder at the crashing noises coming from inside but eventually just to admire the pretty place
I once again can't help but think how beautiful all of this would look in the sun (artificial sun?), with all the mosaics and ice and glass textures all glittering along with the natural snow and ice themselves. it's also fascinating to imagine the technology behind it, if they are using actual natural materials for some of this, maybe we're looking at chemicals mixed in with the ice or spread over it to prevent it from melting?
and finally, I'm a bit giddy because we somehow arrived at similar visions, at least I flatter myself by thinking so, because my architectural headcanons for the chiss, though they're somewhat sparse, have always involved tons of colored glass and glossy icy surfaces (with a generous amount of gold metalwork) and I feel like our visions match there. I also had a little headcanon that the Chiss incorporate a great variety of shapes into their art to create the image of seemingly disparate parts working together (an allusion to the ruling families being in harmony, which, obviously not the case but something they'd love to project). and I feel like that's embodied perfectly in the intricacy and variety of the shapes you've used
again, correct me if I'm wrong but this is one of the images I've always used as inspiration and I feel like it has a similar vibe to your ideas?
uuuh yeah, I may be completely confusing styles here, please bear with my ignorance. as for art, the only more 'architectural' piece I've drawn was this very rough sketch of a Mitth throne (as part of a circular room with similar seats for all the nine family heads where I imagine they each get a dais and a pretty stained glass backdrop with an abstract illustration of their crest behind them). the texture is a stand in for stained glass windows and the 'rays' are golden metalwork
anyway, your drawings reminded me of that little piece and again, I flatter myself by thinking it's compatible with your far more informed and superior vision. at the very least I can see them existing side by side
to wrap this up before I ramble further, thank you so much for blessing our eyes with your drawings, I'm super proud and smug that I was able to inspire you to do them and am myself feeling incredibly inspired with my head swimming with images of pretty cathedral slash mosque like images of Chiss architecture. you made me want to get up and join my best friend in her weekly winter hikes, your images remind me of the pictures she's shown me of frozen trees and pretty ice scapes. I'm especially obsessed with the ice bricks and intricate mosaics
all in all just gorgeous. no idea how I'll teach my classes today what with my mind being elsewhere but I'm not complaining
Leaning foward in his command chair, Grand Admiral Thrawn smiled. “They are doing quite well, aren’t they, Admiral?”
Admiral Pellaeon dutifully nodded, wondering when the Grand Admiral would stop this charade. Toying with the enemy was all well and good, but it had been nearly an hour of battle. “If I may ask, sir, when will we show your trump card to the Rebellion? Surely they must know by now that something is different.”
“Quite right, Admiral. They have had plenty of time now. The game is up, and the Rebellion is only just beginning to realize it.”
His smile turned into a predatory grin. “Open a hailing channel - I believe it is time that we informed our adversaries of my long-overdue return.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I live in a fantasy world where a certain perfect glorious warlord returns from the dead to rally his forces and take back the Empire’s rightful place in the galaxy.
….. This took forever but I’m really happy with how it turned out.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Title: Buried in Ice
Characters: Ronan, Bakif and others
Chapters: 28/28
Summary: Ronan adjusts to life with the Chiss when a sudden revelation leads him to realize that his fate is not as firmly in his hands as he'd thought it was.
___
Ba’kif gave the artwork in front of him a lingering look.
The last time he’d been here, it had been a seascape, roiling waves and a mottled sky over a mountain range rising in the distance. This one was a more pastoral image, with open fields sprawling towards a horizon and a few scattered clouds. He wondered if he’d seen either of them before. Most of the pieces rotated around the different Stybla estates were all works by famous artists and artisans, some of them Stybla and others big enough names that had risen beyond family boundaries.
They were all masterpieces, carefully curated and imbued with meaning and a history someone like Thrawn could probably make a treatise of. Personally, Ba’kif couldn’t really make much of any of them.
“Things in the Syndicure finally seem to be calming down,” Lamiov said next to him, his eyes similarly fixed on the painting. Ba’kif wondered if he saw as little as he did in it or if his insights were closer to Thrawn’s. “The Mitth took quite a few blows but the barrage seems to be slowing down. Indeed, it looks like they might be able to hold on to their position.”
Ba’kif hummed in response. That certainly hadn’t been a guarantee for them. The Mitth had been doing well under Thurfian’s leadership, a bit too well perhaps, and their rivals were more than happy to knock them down a few pegs now that the opportunity had presented itself.
“A fortunate outcome for us,” he said. “Having one of the Nine stripped of their power would have caused a lot of chaos. We should consider ourselves lucky it didn’t come to that.”
Even more so as they were still preparing to spring their trap on the Grysks, he thought to himself. The preliminary preparations were already in place, the fleet assigned to be the main bait for the ambush already on location, with Ar’alani’s own stealth force having moved into position just a few days prior, equipped with the dust-countering tech from the UAG. Should their luck hold, their enemies would bring a full fleet of their own to bear, hoping to score a major victory.
Lamiov made a cynical-sounding noise. “That might not have been the case if the Irizi had been more active in exploiting that opportunity. And yet they have been strangely reluctant to do so.”
Ba’kif pursed his lips. “Most strange indeed.”
There was a bit of orange in among the greens and yellows of the fields, he noted absentmindedly, somehow he hadn’t managed to notice that before.
“If I may, Your Venerante, why is it that the Stybla stepped down from their position?”
Lamiov threw him a sideways glance. He clearly thought the question strange but didn’t comment on it.
“There's no one agreed upon reason for it,” he said. “Everyone has their theories. Some in the family say it’s because they realized centralized power invited too much opposition. That it built resentment in the other families who felt their voices weren’t heard. That the Stybla courted disaster and even destruction if they risked remaining in power.”
“And their response to that threat wasn’t to suppress it but to step gracefully to the side and continue working from the shadows?”
“That’s the general gist of it.” Lamiov shrugged. “At least that’s the working theory among our scholars. There may not be consensus on the reason but considering our history, it was the right thing to do.”
Finally, he couldn’t suppress his curiosity any longer and frowned at Ba’kif. “Why are you asking me this now?”
Ba’kif relished the feeling of being the one in the know for once. “Because it seems some lessons are better taught when the time is right for it.”
There was a brief silence before Lamiov shook his head and turned away. “You’re becoming cryptic in your old age, Labaki.”
Ba’kif gave a small lop-sided smile.
“I learn from the best, Your Venerante.”
He turned his attention back to the painting before them. Certainly, he couldn’t understand how so many colors and shapes came together to form something cohesive. That was for the skilled mind of an artist to study and replicate. But Ba’kif did know something of managing the disparate parts of a navy, perhaps even the disparate parts of a government.
At some point, not so long ago, he had perceived that as a burden. Indeed, there was a time when he’d seen their latest envoy as a key to strengthening the voice of their navy in the hopes of drowning out that of the Syndicure.
He knew better now.
The Empire had concentrated all its power into one weapon and lost it. The men who had vied for that power had destroyed each other, leaving some of their allies drifting and hopeless. Most importantly, ambition always seemed to crop up where power was involved, the two inseparable.
Perhaps it was inevitable that when you poured too much influence in one place that influence tended to become self-serving. Either way, he wasn’t eager to find out where such a path would lead the chiss.
“Misguided tough they may be sometimes,” he said, almost to himself, “we should give our people more credit.”
Lamiov’s shoulders curled with his smile. “They do seem to find the right way in the end don’t they?” he said. “Although a helping hand never hurts.”
___
The world of Stevortia was something of a bucolic paradise. Sprawling fields, a few picturesque farms and a handful of cities with sparse tourist attractions. As far as locations for an exile went, it was a perfect one. As far as Thurfian was concerned, he would trade the endless expanse of wheat stalks and ranches for Csaplar’s chaos in a flash.
Sending the view outside one last look, he moved away from the window and turned to pad into the kitchen of his modest accommodations. He was stopped by the sound of a landspeeder zipping over the dirt roads in the distance and echoing over the fields and he paused to frown at it. He wasn’t expecting any visitors. And neither did he want any after the spectacle that had been the end of his career.
The sound made itself pointedly known again as it moved closer and came to a stop outside the house and Thurfian’s frown deepened. One of the neighboring farmers? A lost tourist?
He moved to the entry hatch, fully intent on chasing away whoever had decided to impose on his solitude only for the words to die in his throat as the hatch slid away to reveal the man on the other side.
The expression on Zistalmu’s face was worth more than a thousand words as he stood there, silently sizing him up. Thurfian thought he saw his eyes narrow as they passed over his simple clothing and the modest interior of the house.
“You’re a fool Thurfian,” the Irizi asserted finally. “A tremendous fool.”
Thurfian found nothing to say to that for a good while.
“You could have exploited that,” he offered at last. “Why didn’t you?”
Zistalmu answered him with a huff as if he had just made a particularly offensive joke. “Don’t ask me that. You’re the one that set this in motion more than a decade ago. I suppose that investment has paid off for you.” Zistalmu sneered.
Thurfian considered the words for a moment.
“It’s paid off for all of us,” he said quietly. “We’re stronger when we’re not hell-bent on destroying each other.”
He held his breath, waiting for the inevitable scorn. To his surprise, Zistalmu merely snorted.
“Wise words, Your Venerante. I’d love to see you pitch them to the Syndicure. Now.” He took off his travelling gloves, pushing past Thurfian and into the house. “What refreshments does your quaint little abode offer? It took ages to get here you know…”
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Welp, here we are.
Title: Buried in Ice
Characters: Ronan, Ba'kif and others
Chapters: 27/28
Summary: Ronan adjusts to life with the Chiss when a sudden revelation leads him to realize that his fate is not as firmly in his hands as he'd thought it was.
___
“No.”
It was a single word. But the effect was worse than a slap. Slowly, the shock fluttered down to the pit of Ronan’s stomach before curdling and rising up again, this time as anger.
Months. He’d spent months in this place. He’d tolerated the chiss’ sneers and xenophobia, he’d toiled diligently away at Ba’kif’s Bureau, he’d been away while the Empire literally threatened to crumble in on itself. He’d abandoned his life. He’d nearly been assassinated. And all Ba’kif could offer him was a single ‘no’?
He felt the burn of his anger creep up his throat as he readied himself to lash out when the old general raised a hand in that familiar way of his.
“Or rather not yet,” Ba’kif amended in a soothing tone, motioning for Ronan to sit back down. Ronan sucked in a few harsh breaths, not even realizing that he’d gone to get up from his chair. “I’m afraid the Syndicure won’t stand for such an organization.”
The mass of anger in him twisted this way and that but he managed to push it down long enough to listen to what Ba’kif was saying.
“Then what do you mean not yet?” he barked. Not yet? They had every reason to ride the wave of their recent success. That’s why Ronan had pitched this thing to begin with. Ildavo was the starting point around which they could start building if anything was to come out of this idea and there was no guarantee he would still want to do business with them if they put him on the backburner for too long.
“I’m saying that right now we have nothing to persuade them with,” Ba’kif said. “We need proof that a concept like this has merit. Both in terms of gathering and implanting information. And that you can be trusted enough to spearhead it.” Ronan opened his mouth to reply before Ba’kif cut him off firmly. “Think about it, what do we have so far? Something we can use.”
He frowned and reclined back into his seat.
“We have the Eishi’s information on the radioactive dust,” he said.
“Good. If we can successfully implement that, we have evidence that gathering intelligence from friendly agents is viable.”
Ronan followed along with Ba’kif’s logic. So they had information from Ildavo’s people, now they had to find a way to plant some, and there was also the matter of proving his loyalty…
He blinked. Did Ba’kif mean…?
He looked up to see that the chiss’ expression had taken on a hard edge.
“Thrawn once told Ar’alani something,” Ba’kif said quietly. “Something to convince her to get you on board the Steadfast. Judging by your reaction, you’ve already figured it out.”
Ronan released a breath. Oddly enough, the realization left him calmer than he’d been at any point since entering Ba’kif’s office that morning.
“Yes, I think I have.”
“You seem relatively unfazed.”
He thought about it and gave a small huff.
“It’s what I would have done.”
It’s what Director Krennic would have done for sure at least, Ronan thought with a bittersweet sense of nostalgia. Planting Tarkin’s spies with misinformation had been the name of the game since the day he’d been promoted to his rank. Even if it constituted the smallest share of his combined duties.
So yes, Ronan was very much familiar with the tactic.
“Fair enough,” Ba’kif said carefully. He didn’t seem convinced and looked like Ronan would get up and bolt any moment. “I need you to understand that if we’re to do this, the risk involved would be far greater than anything you’ve undertaken for us so far,” he added sternly.
Ronan considered the words. Risk. Normally he would be averse to it, if he could afford it. Working on Stardust hadn’t been without its risks though those had been more in the realm of the political and the hazards related to working on such a massive construction site. But risk was still risk and he wouldn’t be half as far as he was today without it.
“Not just the risk,” he said. “We’ll also need a good deal of sand to throw in people’s eyes. This will only work if it’s believable enough to the right parties.”
Ba’kif was quiet for a moment, contemplating him. Then his lips twitched and Ronan saw a gleam appear in his eyes under the red glow that was already there.
“Then we have a lot of work to do.”
In hindsight, Ronan was still in disbelief that the whole thing had played out as well as it had, he decided as he wiped the dust off his sleeve, feeling the steady vibrations of the Steadfast through the bulkhead at his back. The cell’s only amenity was a metal bench at the far wall that reminded him of his accommodations after Rhoar but he was still grateful for something to sit on.
“You could have told us, sir,” Ar’alani said sullenly from her place against the wall on his left, her arms crossed over her chest and Vanto standing next to her, looking just as sullen.
“I could have, yes,” Ba’kif confirmed from beside the entry hatch. In the dim light of the cell, his white uniform with its gold insignia looked even more out of place than the pout on Ar’alani’s face. “But if there’s one thing Thrawn has taught me –”
“It’s that a genuine response makes for the best ruse, yes,” she finished tartly. Ronan thought he saw Vanto’s face crumple into a grimace as though responding to a distant memory. “And the alien?”
“The Eishi? He was in on it, of course.” Ba’kif said. Quite gleefully so too, Ronan thought. Same for Rhiuh’vek. He watched Vanto scowl and mutter something about fancy acting skills before going back to his sulking.
“I still think you should have told us.” Ar’alani shook her head. “If we’d known you were on board, we’d have been much more careful. We can’t afford to put you in harm’s way like that.”
Ba’kif gave her a stern, almost patronizing look. “I didn’t join the fleet to stay out of harm’s way, Admiral. And besides, my men had already established that the Grysks’ ship was well within the Steadfast’s and your capabilities to handle.”
Ar’alani grimaced. Fleetingly, Ronan thought it was comforting to know he wasn’t the only one whose sanity was put to the test by Ba’kif’s scheming.
“In any case, I needed to be close at hand in case things went awry. I couldn’t risk losing track of the battle or being unable to reach you if they jammed your comms.”
Ar’alani raised a sharp eyebrow. “So you asked your techs to modify my ship?”
“Your ship.” Ba’kif held up a finger. “But also a ship of my fleet,” he reminded her with a smile. Ar’alani grumbled something under her breath.
“The only thing I still don’t understand is what the Mitth had to do with any of this,” Vanto joined in from beside her.
At that, Ba’kif’s smile faded into something darker. “We were simply offered a helping hand when our plan was threatened by intervention.” He shrugged. “That’s all I can say on that. I’m sure you’ll all learn the ugly details soon enough.”
Ronan watched Ar’alani sigh and push herself off the wall. “Probably too soon. I think that’s all the answers I can handle for now.”
With that, she turned and marched out of the cell, Vanto following behind her and leaving Ronan and Ba’kif on their own. Ronan leaned back into the bulkhead at his back. There was a dull throb in his shoulder where his sleeve had been torn but the exhaustion coursing through his body was of the gratified sort.
“You know,” he said to Ba’kif, eyeing his sleeve again. “Your men could have been more civil. I made a show of surrendering and all and they still dragged me here like a sack of dirt.”
Ba’kif watched him from the other side of the cell, the same contentment showing in the slant of his shoulders.
“If they were truly apprehending a traitor, they would have been even less polite about it,” he said with a small shrug. “I know we prepared for this but I feel the need to remind you that you’ll have to remain in a high security facility for the time being. Until this whole thing is over.”
Ronan snorted. “My memory is quite intact, General. I’m able to bear any discomfort necessary if it serves a higher purpose.”
“One wouldn’t think so immediately but I believe you.”
Ronan narrowed his eyes. “What is that supposed to mean?”
The chiss had the audacity to chuckle.
“You managed to tell them everything?”
“Yes. And some of the useless scraps we agreed on.”
“Good. In that case, perhaps this calls for a celebration.”
Ronan frowned and opened his mouth to ask but Ba’kif was already turning and leaning into the small niche craved into the bulkhead next to the hatch. The one that had been built there by his techs to create a blind spot for the cell’s cams and was equipped with a questis attached directly to the ship’s bridge computer. And, as it so happened, the main reason the Steadfast had been whisked off to a resupply dock on Naporar besides allowing Ba’kif to slip on board unnoticed.
Ronan watched him rummage around for a bit and felt his mouth drop open as he pulled back.
“You’re serious?” He gaped as Ba’kif unwrapped the bottle of wine – an expensive vintage by the looks of it – and the two glasses it had been packed with.
“Don’t be so quick to turn me down,” Ba’kif admonished as he removed the sealant wrap from the top of the bottle. “I went through quite the trouble to get this on board.”
Ronan felt lips move as he swallowed his protests. It wasn’t that their success didn’t warrant a celebration. Or that he hadn’t gone through hell to achieve it – his fingers still tingled with the dread and adrenaline of facing the Grysks up close – but the idea still made him squirm.
“It’s just,” he fumbled. “Shouldn’t we wait for the battle to pass to celebrate?”
“Perhaps we can celebrate then as well. But I can think of a few reasons why we can do so now.” One of Ba’kif’s gloved fingers pointed up.
“Firstly, we’ve been putting it off.” He counted off and Ronan’s mind automatically flashed back to the day they’d arrested his assassin and the small exchange he’d had with the general. “Secondly, you’ve done a good job, regardless of the outcome. And thirdly, you won’t be seeing much of this during your detention on Csilla.”
That made Ronan wince. Alright, he supposed that was fair.
“I can also think of a fourth reason. You managed to get out of this alive.”
“That’s still not funny.”
Tentatively, he accepted one of the glasses from Ba’kif, holding it out while the chiss poured a small amount of wine in it. The liquid was fragrant and richly colored and Ronan eyed it thoughtfully while Ba’kif moved to pour his own share.
“And you’re sure I’ve told them what I was supposed to tell them?” he asked at length, raising his eyes from the wine to Ba’kif. “That I haven’t told them anything they can use against you.”
“Do you have a reason for it?”
“Do you have a reason to trust me?”
Ba’kif held his stare for a while, almost like a challenge, before something in his expression softened.
“Some would argue I don’t. But I choose to do so nonetheless,” he said.
Ronan’s breath hitched and he felt himself still. The feeling of contentment in his chest swelled, shifted and settled into something more solid and steadying, and for the first time since coming to the Ascendancy he recognized it as something familiar. He curled his hands around the glass, fingers still unsteady from the Grysks’ interrogation.
“Thank you.”
They took turns sipping at their wine and making small talk. After a while, Ba’kif let out a quiet chuckle that had Ronan glancing in his direction.
“I’m merely thinking that Thrawn managed to get the better of us once again,” the chiss said, twirling the wine in his glass. The hum of the ship’s engines was barely perceptible indicating that they’d jumped to hyperspace and the only other sound was the occasional thrum of the guards’ footsteps outside.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m referring to your recruitment. Did you know that we never had clear instructions on what to do with you when he first sent you to us?”
Ronan thought back to his own talk with Thrawn, to the one he’d had with Vanto and finally to what Ba’kif had told him about Ar’alani. “All I know is that he gave anyone who asked a different version.” He shrugged.
“And yet, he managed to be right in all of them.” Ba’kif pointed at him with the hand holding his wine. “He gave Vanto what he needed to hear, he gave Admiral Ar’alani an alternative, he gave you a compliment.” A pause in which the corner of his mouth twitched up. “And he gave me a mystery. And he didn’t lie once.”
Ronan’s own mouth twisted into a scowl. He went to argue the point then broke off and felt the familiar old irritation raise its head.
“I can’t put into words how frustrating it is to deal with this man,” he growled through his teeth.
Ba’kif threw his head back and laughed.
___
“You’re sure I can’t get you anything, Your Venerante?”
Thurfian stared at the near distance, focusing on the outline of the window at the far end of his office. Thivik’s voice was tentative, a tendril of sympathy sneaking into his tone that wasn’t usually there. Thurfian glanced at the old man. It was rare for his aide to drop his impeccable professionalism and Thurfian felt a stab of irony at what had finally brought it on.
“No, thank you, Thivik. You’re dismissed.”
The aide hovered in the doorway another moment before slumping away with a look of pity. The hand at Thurfian’s brow pressed slightly before releasing. He considered the bowl of fruit on the table but found no appetite for it.
You got yourself here, a voice in his mind reminded sarcastically. With a dry swallow, he found himself thinking back to the conversation that had summarily sealed his fate.
“You’re saying that they’re not actually planning to let him go?” Ba’kif’s eyes burned into him. Thurfian shook his head. His voice was steady but his hands were clammy with sweat.
“They only gave the appearance of agreeing to it. They knew that if they opposed or halted it outright you might try to do it behind their backs or find some roundabout way to make it happen. This is their best chance to catch you off guard.”
Ba’kif scowled behind his desk.
He and Thrawn had certainly used that tactic plenty of times before, Thurfian mused. Giving Thrawn surface orders that appeased the Syndicure only for news of some miraculous battle or discovery to descend on them weeks later. It would hardly do if the Syndicure hadn’t learned their lesson after all those years.
“I’m obligated to tell you that you won’t be able to escape the consequences if you do this,” Ba’kif warned. “You will be seen as an accomplice.”
Thurfian swallowed the bile that rose up his throat. It wasn’t too late to turn back. But he knew he wasn’t going to.
“And I’m obligated to remind you that the future of the Ascendancy comes before that of any individual family,” he said. “I am also perfectly aware of the fact that in times of war, an experienced General is far more valuable to us than a single Patriarch.”
Ba’kif contemplated him for what felt like an eternity. Then gave the smallest of nods. “I see.”
Thurfian wanted to laugh looking back at it. Even now it felt like insanity. He was only stopped by a shuffling at the hatch as Thivik slipped back into the room. His expression was grim.
“They’re here, Your Venerante,” he said quietly and Thurfian made an effort not to let the despair show on his face. Pushing himself off the couch, he tried to smooth the wrinkles in his robe. He’d taken off his symbols of office to save himself the shame of being stripped of them and his shoulders felt strangely light without them.
“Let’s get this over with,” he said, rising to his feet.
“If I may, would you like to take a call before you go? I’m sure they’ll permit it.”
His exasperation found its way into his voice. “Tell Zistalmu I don’t want to hear his rebukes.”
“It’s not him, Your Venerante. It’s from Supreme General Ba’kif.”
He paused at that, caught off guard for a moment. Was there anything else Ba’kif wanted from him? Or had something in their plan already gone awry? Thurfian swallowed his dread. “Very well… put him through.”
Thivik had already left by the time Ba’kif’s image resolved on the screen, his image grainy but clear as though experiencing some form of long-distance interference.
“I’m calling to tell you that everything went smoothly,” he said. “With some luck, this whole operation will meet with resounding success.”
Thurfian gave a stiff nod from his place on the couch, taking pains not to show his relief. “I should hope for it. And the Syndicure?”
“They haven’t managed to find any proof to incriminate us.” Ba’kif shrugged. “As far as they’re aware, we were caught unawares and the Secretary improvised. They’ve nothing to point to any for foul play or prior planning.”
They had no proof of foul play, Thurfian echoed in his mind, yet they couldn’t forgive Thurfian for going against them. At the very least he would take the fall on his own. Had his actions led to the ruin of the entire family, he would have had to live with the stain of it forever.
“That’s good to hear.” He nodded. “Would that be all, General?”
“Actually, I was also hoping to ask you something,” Ba’kif said in that deliberately casual tone of his that always preceded something Thurfian didn’t like. “Why did you do it?”
The question was a barb and Thurfian swallowed through the unwillingness suddenly clogging his throat. Officers colluding with their enemies. High-ranking officials engaging in double dealings with alien criminals. Foreign agents proving to be more reliable than their own people.
“I’ve lost more faith in our people in recent years than I care to admit,” he said quietly, too tired to disguise the truth for once.
“I wouldn’t go that far, Your Venerante. The chiss have not lost their honor because of the actions of a few.”
“Can we really claim to have that honor if so many have betrayed it?”
“Does a family live in disgrace because of the actions of a single member?” Ba’kif said. “Or does it strive to rehabilitate them and repair its honor if their redemption is not possible?”
Thurfian frowned to himself. In most cases, a family would simply cast off those that stained its reputation. Everything that Ba’kif was suggesting went against the established practices of their people. Which, Thurfian supposed, spoke volumes of what he thought of them.
Either way it was clear that the disgraced in that example was not Thrawn. Nor did it refer to the recent betrayal that had cost Thurfian his position. And yet despite it all, there Ba’kif was, advocating for acceptance and forgiveness.
“I thought you of all people would be happy to see me banished from my post,” he said with a sneer.
“I don’t think an error of judgement warrants contempt.” Ba’kif stared back intently. “Only the willingness to perpetuate it when the chance to correct oneself is available.”
Thurfian felt another wave of cynicism. All these metaphors were bringing back his headache.
“Thank you for your honesty, General.”
“Of course, Your Venerante. Would Your Venerante permit me to say that what you’ve done requires a great deal of strength. And that few would have the will to do it.”
Thurfian smiled wryly. What a lovely way to describe political suicide.
“Say that when we’ve won, General.” The screen flickered as he reached forward to cut the connection.
___
The breeze coming in from the open hatch was refreshing and Ronan wrapped his robe tighter around himself, enjoying the feel of it on his face. For as long as he could, anyway. The shuttle that had ferried him down to Csilla was quiet as he waited for his guards to come and fetch him and take him to his cell – an unfortunate downside to their plan that he would have to endure for the sake of appearances.
Despite himself, he found his mind drifting back to his conversation with Ba’kif as he turned away from the hatch. If Ba’kif was right, then Thrawn really had managed to pull off another stroke of tactical genius. It was ludicrous to contemplate that this had all been orchestrated but nothing was ever really impossible with Thrawn.
“Secretary Lyron?”
He all but jumped out of his skin at the sound. Turning around sharply, he blinked in the direction of the hatch where an elderly chiss stood smiling at him, a gold pin bearing an unfamiliar crest on the lapel of his jacket and his grayed hair styled in the cut of an Aristocra. Ronan stared at the man.
He looked no more impressive than a mid-ranking administrator but his eyes had a keen quality to them that couldn’t fool Ronan.
“Would you mind if we spoke for a moment?” the chiss said in that same soft voice that Ronan was pretty sure was a facade.
Ronan stared at him for a few more seconds then at the rest of the shuttle, conspicuously devoid of any bystanders, before letting out a huff and gesturing at the bench across from him. “Go ahead. You’d be surprised how often this happens to me.”
The man chuckled and came forward, taking a seat opposite Ronan. His robes rustled as he arranged them around his feet.
“I really doubt there’s anything that could surprise us.” He smiled.
Hi! I hope the start of the new school year wasn’t too much of a bumpy ride and you are alright!
My request or question is: you have drawn Chiss traditional robes only ever on male individuals. Do you think men and women wear the same types of robes or is there an extra design for women? (As there is with most of our human-traditional clothes)
Maybe if you have thoughts on those you could sketch those ideas. Alternatively: Ar‘alani in some clothing of your guide-to-Chiss-fashion?(she is a queen, I am convinced she will rock those fabrics)
Regardless, I wish you all the best fighting Ceasar and may your hellions go easy on you!
apologies for the mid quality sketches but the school year is in fact kicking my ass lol. not in a bad way but in a tiring one nonetheless. fun fact, I did try to add a female illustration to the guide but didn't like the look of it at the time and scrapped it. another fun fact, the illustration was meant to be of Nana, Zistalmu's wife
on to a more boring fact perhaps, but I actually imagine that clothing conventions, at least among Syndics, are completely genderless. the chiss seem to have reached a point of almost complete gender equality, there's a myriad of high ranking female officers that nobody bats an eye at and female patriarchs as far back as thousands of years ago (vis. Thomoro the tragic)
incidentally, I lowkey love the fact that female patriarchs are still called 'patriarchs' assuming the title has the same male connotation as it does in English. it speaks of a society that reached a point where women could hold the same positions as men, shrugged and carried on as if nothing had happened. which makes me think the same happened with their clothing, with women adopting what had traditionally been male garb up to that point
that said, I do think some minor modifications would've been necessary to accommodate a female figure. like a built-in support garment similar to stays or a loose corset, sewn into the underwear robe, strings to pull in excess fabric around the waist in underrobes and the use of darts and various other structuring techniques
outrewrap robes are supposed to be cinched but jackets can be loose so that would depend on the wearer's preference. hair would be just the same as in my headcanons, long hair doesn't have any gendered meaning but is instead associated with aristocracy and high social status
all that said, you're absolutely right that there probably were differences in the distant past. the fact that the head of a family is still called a 'patriarch' is proof of some kind of gender disparity. though that seems to be a remnant from a time thousands of years ago which begs the question if the modern version of their robes even existed that far back... I'll have to think about that
thank you for the awesome ask, I was actually the most excited about this one but ended up running out of energy to give it proper justice lol
I know we said we would stop this, but since you haven’t held up your part, I have no intention to stick to mine. So: I’m sorry for the late reply. I have seen your post and really enjoyed it, so I wanted to commit myself to an answer. It has been the semi-stressful weekend before a stressful week so I only ever found time to reply this afternoon. But I guess this is just what September does to teachers and students alike.
I personally too imagined that there couldn’t be too much of a difference between womens and mens clothing since in the Ascendancy neither a patriarchy nor a matriarchy seems to exist. When writing the books Zahn really gave me the feeling that gender doesn’t matter to the Chiss and he also managed to make it look so natural and not forced at all. In order to make our minds, that are for the most part programmed to acknowledge men as the „superior“ gender (NOT my opinion, I am a feminist and proud women with every breath I take – but that doesn’t make it less of a reality - but enough of our real-world dilemma) a lot of writers feel the need to give their female characters super-powers or any other kind of magical advantage in order for us to see that they can hold themselves up against men. Which is ridiculous! Women don’t have to be witches or goddesses in order to be on par with or even overpower their male counterparts. They can do this by simply being women! (Sorry if I rant a bit about this, I work in a male-dominated profession and was already fed up with sexism at the age of 7 so this is a bit of a trigger for me).
This is why Zahns characters are so easy to love. Because he writes men and women as equals, without ever having to point it out. It is that natural! His characters, no matter the gender, age or standing have their flaws and strengths. Not one of his female characters is a Mary Sue – Ziinda, Roscu and even Ar´alani (who is as close to perfection as one can get. Noooo – I am not a delusional simp) make mistakes, have fears and worries. But they are also strong, and competent and show affection. Especially the last thing is too often taken away from female characters in order to make them look “stronger”. Which is bullshit, one doesn’t have to be ruthless in order to be strong - at the same time does showing affection not make you weaker.
And even the other way around. Not one of the male characters has to be forcefully displayed as weaker, just so that the women can shine brighter. They too are powerful, respectable and confident in their own way. They are still in positions of power, still have the upper hand - but so are women. And it is never addressed as being anything but normal. And I love it! I dare say it is one of the reasons I fell in love with the Ascendancy and Thrawn: books.
About the male connotation of the word „patriarch“ I would go as far back as the rumored origins of the Chiss species. That being that they were once human but evolved over millennia. With our patriarchal structures the term could even go as far back as this and is still used today. Only that over the years, with more and more women in that position, it is now fully neutral. (In a way how English did, with only a few gendered terms remaining, eg. waiter/waitress, emperor/empress - but I guess you are the expert on that here)
Back to the clothing: female cuts in regards to their specific body-shape only makes sense but I still love that other than that, they are the same for all people of their position. This way (other than our human clothes) it really shows that it is their position and standing that is important, not their gender.
Wow, this got longer than I expected it to but since you not only followed my request but also fed us with this awesome theory I wanted to answer it properly.
Wish you all the best for your stressful job (but at least it’s the „good“ kind of stress??? If something like that actually exists???) and thank you for your insights in this topic!
PS: if that really is Nana, she kind of catches my image I had for her in mind. She looks regal, but with a smile that looks like perfected forced-friendliness. Yet it could crack into an arrogant, judgmental face in a heartbeat. That’s probably why she wasn’t a Caretaker for long.
listen I think we should just cut our losses and do as our hearts apparently desire, i.e. apologize to our hearts' content. I'll go next: apologies for how late this reply is, I hope your week has been less stressful and I fully agree with you about September. the school year is marching resolutely on and I pray it has mercy on both of us
'Zahn really gave me the feeling that gender doesn’t matter to the Chiss and he also managed to make it look so natural and not forced at all' absolutely yes! there isn't a single instance of anyone raising an eyebrow at a woman in power or ascribing any of their mistakes or flaws to their gender which I couldn't be happier about. as a fellow feminist, you'll only find me in agreement with all of your points because again, you're absolutely right
'women need to be this, women need to be that' okay but how about we just make them people??? for god's sake. making male characters weaker to highlight women is just plain offensive, are you telling me that women can't be on par with men or surpass them in some aspect without artificially weakening men? thanks, that really helps
but yes, the best way to write women is to just write people. in my experience they tend to be more emotionally intelligent than men but that's neither a rule nor something that should be infantilized, heaped together with other qualities on principle or become the sole personality trait of a woman. not to mention that in an alien society that doesn't differentiate between gender roles, that difference might not even exist to begin with. anyway, as you can probably tell I'm getting carried away here lol
I'll be honest, imo (and that's just my opinion, people are free to disagree) Zahn's early attempts at writing female characters are either underwhelming or questionable but he really nailed it in the Ascendancy trilogy. you're the second or even third person to mention that the 'patriarch' remnant could be related to the chiss' origins and I'm really digging the idea!
I'd say English has some ways to go until it reaches proper neutrality, too many gendered terms that still retain negative and positive connotations respectively when it comes to women and men. one thing it does have going for it is the fact that English nouns aren't gendered in the grammatical sense which makes things easier. my language does have that and it's been interesting to trace the journey of some professions with inherently male gendered nouns (like doctor, architect, headmaster etc. i.e. most male dominated fields) adopting female suffixes only for our society to decide that gendering stuff is lame and circling all the way back to using the original male form. which is kind of like what we hypothesize happened with the chiss 'patriarch'
anyway strike two for me for getting carried away again
that is indeed Nana, with some slight deviations from my original design. you've captured her description down to a t. my personal headcanon is that she got involved in some kind of scandal and took up a caretaker post just to escape from the public eye for a while. needless to say it was unpleasant for both her and her skywalker charges. nowadays she's back to being a socialite who takes an active role in furthering her husband's career because nothing says power couple like two equally ambitious snobs (affectionate)
Not to be 'that guy' but I only recently connected the dots and wanted to share. I came across a post mentioning Thrawn and Thurfian's first meeting and I was reminded that I also used to think Thrawn was pretty young at the time. A preteen or something.
Well, having read the books a second time it turns out he was in his late teens at the very least. I didn't realize it on my first readthrough because these three scenes are scattered between three separate memory chapters and two books but Thrawn's first meeting with Thurfian, then Thalias and finally Thrass happen immediately after one another.
The one that's most telling is his meeting with Thalias who's thirteen at the time. Not only does she describe Thrawn as a 'young man' and 'grown-up' but he's also tall enough at that point that he needs to get down to one knee to be eye-level with her.
Then there's Thrass who also refers to him as a 'younger man' and 'young man'. The only one who refers to him as a 'boy' and a 'kid' is Thurfian but I imagine that's because he's older than Thrass and has a slightly supercilious attitude towards Thrawn.
With all that said, if Chiss age functions like human age, for Thrawn to be perceived as a young man by two separate strangers while still being seen as a boy by an older adult, he would be around the sixteen or seventeen mark. As someone who interacts with teens as part of my job, I'd say seventeen is a safer bet.
IMO, Thrawn is 17-18ish at the time of those first three memories scenes where he meets Thurf, Thalias and Thrass. I picture the school where Thurfian recruited him from to be like a high school/secondary school, and Taharim to be like Annapolis/equivalent naval academy. So at the time Thurf recruits him, I assume Thrawn is about 18.
Okay so the meeting with young Thalias and the kneeling scene… I always found that moment where Thrawn knelt to talk to her to be so weird. Idk about all y’all, but when I was a 13 year old girl, I’d have found it massively condescending if a young man, say aged 17-23ish, knelt down to talk to me. You could of course make the argument that Chiss teens don’t age like humans, but I don’t think that’s the case. For example, I think Che’ri circa LE would’ve been pretty offended if anyone knelt to talk to her and she was ten.
But I digress. Back to Thalias. I think it’s simply a case where sometimes authors/editors forget what’s an appropriate way to treat a child/teen of a certain age. Like I’ve read some books where a toddler acts super precocious, or where a teen acts like an eight year old. And it makes me think… “did the author ever meet a kid who’s ___ years old?” No shade to TZahn, but when Thrawn kneels down to talk to Thalias, it might be a case where nobody caught it in the editing process to say, “hey, this is a bit weird.” Even if Thrawn is 20 in that scene, it would still be odd.
IIRC, there was also a line somewhere in one of the books that says navigators are smaller/shorter than their peers on average, so maybe Thrawn thought Thalias was younger than she actually was. Even still, I like to chalk that one up to bad editing.
As for Thurfian referring to Thrawn as “boy”… well, I think that’s A) because he’s quite a bit older and sometimes older folks see teens/young adults as “kids” no matter their age or accomplishments, and B) because he’s a bit of a dick. And as for Thrass, I think the opposite is true. He is a lot more respectful towards Thrawn, so he’d see him as a “young man.” I imagine Thrass has between 5-10 years on Thrawn.
TLDR: I think Thrawn is 18 in those scenes, and that the kneeling should’ve been scrapped in the rough draft. Sorry for rambling!
lol okay, I can't believe I didn't catch this but you're right. I currently teach a class of kids around that age and if I keeled down in front of any of them they would probably ask me if I was okay. 5-6 would be the age where you could probably get away with it without being seen as weird
I guess Zahn really wanted a moment where Thrawn is 'not like other adults' though I think he already achieved that by the way Thrawn talks to Thalias. I guess we could make up some chiss cultural norm to wave it away (like the importance of talking to someone at eye-level?) or maybe skywalkers are just so far removed from a normal environment that they wouldn't see anything socially awkward about the gesture
but yeah, none of this was indicated and it's probably just a case of lumping preteens in with kids, who are incidentally also very different at different stages of their growth. no shade to Zahn, I was similarly completely unaware of the nuances before I started my job
Hi! I hope the start of the new school year wasn’t too much of a bumpy ride and you are alright!
My request or question is: you have drawn Chiss traditional robes only ever on male individuals. Do you think men and women wear the same types of robes or is there an extra design for women? (As there is with most of our human-traditional clothes)
Maybe if you have thoughts on those you could sketch those ideas. Alternatively: Ar‘alani in some clothing of your guide-to-Chiss-fashion?(she is a queen, I am convinced she will rock those fabrics)
Regardless, I wish you all the best fighting Ceasar and may your hellions go easy on you!
apologies for the mid quality sketches but the school year is in fact kicking my ass lol. not in a bad way but in a tiring one nonetheless. fun fact, I did try to add a female illustration to the guide but didn't like the look of it at the time and scrapped it. another fun fact, the illustration was meant to be of Nana, Zistalmu's wife
on to a more boring fact perhaps, but I actually imagine that clothing conventions, at least among Syndics, are completely genderless. the chiss seem to have reached a point of almost complete gender equality, there's a myriad of high ranking female officers that nobody bats an eye at and female patriarchs as far back as thousands of years ago (vis. Thomoro the tragic)
incidentally, I lowkey love the fact that female patriarchs are still called 'patriarchs' assuming the title has the same male connotation as it does in English. it speaks of a society that reached a point where women could hold the same positions as men, shrugged and carried on as if nothing had happened. which makes me think the same happened with their clothing, with women adopting what had traditionally been male garb up to that point
that said, I do think some minor modifications would've been necessary to accommodate a female figure. like a built-in support garment similar to stays or a loose corset, sewn into the underwear robe, strings to pull in excess fabric around the waist in underrobes and the use of darts and various other structuring techniques
outrewrap robes are supposed to be cinched but jackets can be loose so that would depend on the wearer's preference. hair would be just the same as in my headcanons, long hair doesn't have any gendered meaning but is instead associated with aristocracy and high social status
all that said, you're absolutely right that there probably were differences in the distant past. the fact that the head of a family is still called a 'patriarch' is proof of some kind of gender disparity. though that seems to be a remnant from a time thousands of years ago which begs the question if the modern version of their robes even existed that far back... I'll have to think about that
thank you for the awesome ask, I was actually the most excited about this one but ended up running out of energy to give it proper justice lol
Isn't the word patriarch an English/ basic translation of the Cheunh word for that status which may not be as gendered. It seems canon that the only time that female Chiss step back a bit is around giving birth and early stages of nursing. A possible headcanon is that the genders are as mixed in sports as in politics. It is canon that they use sparring as a means of courtship. Although culture is important they are aware of their dangerous position at the edge of the galaxy.
it very well may be a gendered term resulting from translation but I wonder if Zahn wouldn't have just come up with a genderless term if that were the case, just like he came up with the term syndicure
anyway, I'm probably overthinking this but I like the idea of language reflecting their cultural past! so I'll roll with that interpretation
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