Chat corner 66: Revan

[annathecrow]

Welcome to this week’s chat corner!

Optional prompt

This week’s topic is the novel “The Old Republic: Revan”. Which is a bit niche, as it is based on the Knights of the Old Republic game and the The Old Republic MMO, but from what I’ve seen around fandom, it’s a book people have Opinions about.

So, are you one of those people? Or is this a Legends area that doesn’t interest you?

 

Comments

[annathecrow]

Dark Side post! Still a thing!

(Poor baby Obi-Wan is now a patron of these comments, that icon just fits too well. Tangent though, that whole "cut the Sith down in anger is good and works" thing gives me Many Questions re:Force philosophy lore. Lucas, Lucas, if you only were consistent about your Space Christian Pantheism...)

[annathecrow]

I ATEN'T DED!

Sorry that I've been a bit absent from around here lately, or if I owe someone a reply. First there was some Life Bulshit, and now I'm taking part in Battleship and it's eating all my time. (Slept 3 hours tonight trying to finish a fic, just to give you an idea XD)

It's very possible that nobody's in fact noticed anything, but I've been worried about it, so here :D

OH, ALSO! If you have any Star Wars fic/art prompts you'd like to throw at people without committing to an exchange, here's your chance! All you need to do is "sign-up" for the Battleship2022 Prompts collection on AO3, and pick combinations of fandom+ship+tag. You're not required to create anything, it's all just so we have something to write that people would like to get. I can't promise you the prompt will be filled, but given the sheer amount of fic produced during this game there's a solid chance it might.

Also also, if you want to know more about Battleship, or an invite link to the Discord server to take a look and see us flail, just ask! I'm happy to pull more people into this insanity XD

[extrapenguin]

Ooh, I wasn't sure how Battleship worked, but I think I can toss a bunch of KOTOR/SWTOR/TCW prompts into the prompts form later today... Remind me if I haven't turned up by tomorrow.

Edit: Added! \o/

[annathecrow]

Thanks! I saw them and I'm keeping an eye on them 👀️

[extrapenguin]

I have not read the book. Based on everything I have heard, I do not want to read the book. Karpyshyn is apparently exceedingly fond of the word "primal" and the treatment of literally every woman is terrible. (Like, come on, Bastila as a nagging housewife? WTF.) The dissing/snarky liveblogging that a few people did on a discord server I was on was entertaining.

[annathecrow]

"Bastila as a nagging housewife" --- whaaaat. "nagging" I would buy, she does get a bit pushy in the game, but "housewife"? That girl would never. Even after the canonical stint as a Darksider. Council seat or bust!

I would love reading that liveblog. Snarky watchalongs/readalongs are my favorite thing.

oh lol, now that I think about it, I think reading Cleolinda's Star Wars liveblogs is what ultimately landed me in SW fandom...

[extrapenguin]

She was also extremely jealous of Meetra for ... existing in Revan's vicinity while female. And Meetra gets fridged. It is extremely bad. I've since left the server (interacting with everyone else, I felt simultaneously both approximately 90 years old and like I was back in middle school being side-eyed for not getting any of the social interaction; I decided everyone would have more fun if I said my goodbyes) but the ragging on the Revan novel, complete with posts of judicious excerpts, was definitely a highlight.

[kittywhite]

I've read it. Once. Never Again.
Words cannot adequately describe my hatred for it.
It's utterly terrible, especially if you like KOTOR2 better like I do.
They totally butchered The Exile to prop up Gary Stu Revan and whilst I hate Bastila so so so much that I wish I just could have left her to die on Taris, she got a totally crap deal too.

This book fully cemented my hatred for the overrated character that is Revan. Karma hit him like a tonne of bricks at the end of the book and he totally deserved it, pity he had to take The Exile down with him too. His story started of as a cautionary tale about "doing what had to be done" and where that takes you but each revision and revelation leads me to be less and less sympathetic towards him.
A controversial opinion of mine but in my eyes, Revan was never actually redeemed, forgetting what you've done doesn't change anything. He very quickly goes back to his old ways in SWTOR, you bust him out of Force Jail and right away he's off finding ancient technology to commit mass murder with again. Great.

So yeah it's a crap book and not worth your time. If you want to read some Old Republic books that are actually good then read Deceived and Annihilation.
Skip Fatal Alliance, it's not infuriating like Revan, just boring.

[annathecrow]

oh, woof. I already suspected this book was not something I'd enjoy, but it sounds even worse than I thought.

"Revan was never actually redeemed" -- you know what, you have a point! And I say that as a big Revan stan. If someone looks at the Light Side Revan KOTOR route and sees a heroic turn back from the Dark Side, they're completely missing the point. Because yeah, Revan did nothing for that!

What KOTOR is about, at least for me, is identity. Facing the fact that Past You was unquestionably evil and trying to figure out what that makes you. Are you even still Revan? And even if you say you aren't, does that mean you get to walk away from all the things you have done?

And like, my prefered Revan is Light Side Revan precisely because they still have to struggle with the Dark Side after the story ends. I especially like the idea that they start getting their memory back and that's when they redeem themself, memory by bloody memory, realizing they did some horrible shit and saying "yes, but no more". Trying to make amends, hoping for forgiveness and not getting it (because they don't deserve forgiveness just because they said "my bad"), and. And.

(Sorry for getting my Revan feels all over this reply, I thought you might find it entertaining despite that.)

[kittywhite]

Revan absolutely needed to get their memory fully back in KOTOR and the fact they didn't will forever be one of my biggest complaints against the game. I actually sat there and yelled at my computer the first playthrough "Stuff my power, I want my memory back!!!"
Ideally, you'd have a timeskip of sorts after the truth was revealed too because it comes too far into the game and makes everything afterwards just feel rushed.
They might have fixed this in the remake but as it's indefinitely on hiatus now we may never know...