The 10th Trial: SHARDS OF REBELLION - POSTED!

[YAK_Chewie]

Great chapter, Chewie! I'm on the edge of my see to see what happens next! As always, the set, customs, writing, everything is mind-blowingly good!

Thanks as always Choi - before the next chapter can be posted, I have way more prep work to do than I'd like... whole new planets/worlds to make... so many ideas, so little time... but I will get there... just going to be a little while.

:wink:

 

[Lance Quazar]

Well, it's been SEVERAL months now and, even though we talked a lot about this chapter before you posted it, I never did give official comments on the final version.

I have been waiting for YEARS for the Anakin storyline to come back again and you did a marvelous, fantastic job. That's what's great about having such an incredible, history-making run like you've had. You have so much to draw from with telling your stories, so much rich history of your own creation that you can make these kinds of fantastic , deep-cut callbacks.

And it works marvelously. It's absurd to think a suspected Rebel would ever receive mercy from Darth Vader, but it totally, beautifully works. And your dialogue just sings. I always thought you did a great job using established characters (when they appear) like Dooku and Palpatine, but you've done really great work with Vader so far, as well, nailing the voice and characterization.

I do like how you have used existing characters only in a limited, realistic way. No gratuitous cameos that draw attention to themselves (as Star Wars itself often does!) Just very realistic incorporation of established characters only when its appropriate and meaningful to do so.

Heck, I really like "Star Wars Rebels" and they do a similarly good job with a tricky situation. It's absurd to think those characters would be able to defeat or even really hold their own against Vader and they DON'T. They are totally outclassed.

So, in the same vein, Rykrof would never be able to be ever get one over on Vader, so his release here is brilliantly done. Heck, all the other Jedi characters we've seen get their asses handed to them by Vader.

I wonder if that's how Kala will eventually go. It'll be great to find out....some day!

But speaking of the rich history of this incredible series, another great thing you do is have the characters evolve over time. Obviously, Gere started out as Ryrkof's friend and partner and is now his most sinister foe. On the other hand, Traedon started out as a selfish mercenary who now has become a hero. It's wonderful that you even call that out in the story.

Through it all, Freelo remains lovable Freelo, though. And I just love the running joke with Freelo's droid. I hope he finds himself in a suitable humiliating situation as his body is rebuilt from "scrap."

I'm very glad to see you're dealing with the early days of the rebellion, which I think is a great place for this series to go.

I was a little frustrated - but only at first - that Rykrof's first post-prequel story was the zombie story, since I really wanted to see him interacting with the nascent rebellion.

But I am actually preferring this take enormously. Rykrof isn't actually a founding member of the rebellion, he really isn't even a part of it, he's just a guy who has come into peripheral contact with it, but still has his own, more pressing and personal agenda.

It's much more interesting to chart what, I can only assume, will be his eventual joining. But, in the current storyline, that could be years away! It's a very fascinating progression. Not at all the obvious, straightforward choice, something more oblique and much more interesting.

That said, and I think we may have discussed this, I think you have a great opportunity for a time jump in your story. With Rykrof going to a remote prison world, who knows how long he'll be there? Years, even. He could come out with his son a young adult, with only a dim memory of his father.

We might even buy that Alyssa could have married Gere, out of desperation and fear, having believed Rykrof to be dead. And Rykrof could be a "Count of Monte Cristo"-esque character, turned hard and jaded by years of imprisonment.

So many fascinating ways the story could take off from there! (it would also put you closer to the timeline of the classic movies, which would be cool. I'd love to see the events of the Star Wars movies told from Rykrof's perspective, just as we saw the prequel/Clone Wars through his eyes, too.)

Technical credits here are always, always top notch. The photography is stunning, the images with Vader are damn works of art.

Thanks, as always, for your wonderful work and another terrific chapter that promises only more awesomeness to come!!

 

[UKHistory]

ENLOE! ENLOE! ENLOE! WE want some Enloe. No pressure Chewie. I just reread the latest chapter and I anxiously await the next chapter.

A belated Happy Memorial Day to the Yakface crowd.

 

[YAK_Chewie]

ENLOE! ENLOE! ENLOE! WE want some Enloe. No pressure Chewie. I just reread the latest chapter and I anxiously await the next chapter.

A belated Happy Memorial Day to the Yakface crowd.

Thanks - I have a big chapter coming. No pics have been taken yet though.

I'm still in the diorama phase - having to create two all new planets for this... and don't want to take any short cuts... thank you for checking up on me!

:wink:

 

[Choi]

It's great to hear you've got some big plans coming down the pipe! I can't wait to see what happens next!

 

[YAK_Chewie]

Thanks Choi! I'm probably about 2 weeks out from snapping a few previews.

The timeline is also going to take a bit of a leap forward. Things haven't gone so well for Rykrof since being "spared" by Vader.

:wink:

 

[YAK_Chewie]

Well, it's been SEVERAL months now and, even though we talked a lot about this chapter before you posted it, I never did give official comments on the final version.

No worries bud, I'm slow to even reply to feedback these days!

I have been waiting for YEARS for the Anakin storyline to come back again and you did a marvelous, fantastic job. That's what's great about having such an incredible, history-making run like you've had. You have so much to draw from with telling your stories, so much rich history of your own creation that you can make these kinds of fantastic , deep-cut callbacks.

And it works marvelously. It's absurd to think a suspected Rebel would ever receive mercy from Darth Vader, but it totally, beautifully works. And your dialogue just sings. I always thought you did a great job using established characters (when they appear) like Dooku and Palpatine, but you've done really great work with Vader so far, as well, nailing the voice and characterization.

Thanks, and yeah I've been wanting to user the Anakin-Padme-Rykrof connection from yesteryear for a long time... hell, at least 5 years! I know most people who take the time to read would probably have no idea of the significance, but in a long running TV series I think that things like that can certainly be good.

I am glad you think it worked out!

I do like how you have used existing characters only in a limited, realistic way. No gratuitous cameos that draw attention to themselves (as Star Wars itself often does!) Just very realistic incorporation of established characters only when its appropriate and meaningful to do so.

Heck, I really like "Star Wars Rebels" and they do a similarly good job with a tricky situation. It's absurd to think those characters would be able to defeat or even really hold their own against Vader and they DON'T. They are totally outclassed.

Yeah, I don't see the need to over-use characters that we already know. It's not like I can change an established character's fate, so I've never tried to bother. And I don't want to make it too convenient either for a Han Solo, Panaka, Bossk, etc. show up. That's really the joy of customizing too, making new characters altogether.

So, in the same vein, Rykrof would never be able to be ever get one over on Vader, so his release here is brilliantly done. Heck, all the other Jedi characters we've seen get their asses handed to them by Vader.

I wonder if that's how Kala will eventually go. It'll be great to find out....some day!

Right --- Vader could destroy Rykrof with little effort. And anyone else that faces Vader, one on one, should get their asses handed to them too. In my view, only two people we ever know of were more than Vader could handle... Kenobi on Mustafar, and Luke on the second Death Star... which Vader was set up, by instruction, to not beat Luke. So I always felt that Vader could have taken Luke down, if we really was determined to. His love for his son took over, rather than hate. Luke exhibited hate, while Vader did not.

But speaking of the rich history of this incredible series, another great thing you do is have the characters evolve over time. Obviously, Gere started out as Ryrkof's friend and partner and is now his most sinister foe. On the other hand, Traedon started out as a selfish mercenary who now has become a hero. It's wonderful that you even call that out in the story.

Through it all, Freelo remains lovable Freelo, though. And I just love the running joke with Freelo's droid. I hope he finds himself in a suitable humiliating situation as his body is rebuilt from "scrap."

Yeah - Tylin and Traedon - two very different characters. They are now essentially what the other used to be.

Freelo and the droid will be back too, but in the next chapter (as you've already seen), things have moved forward and the focus is on Rykrof for a while.

I'm very glad to see you're dealing with the early days of the rebellion, which I think is a great place for this series to go.

I was a little frustrated - but only at first - that Rykrof's first post-prequel story was the zombie story, since I really wanted to see him interacting with the nascent rebellion.

But I am actually preferring this take enormously. Rykrof isn't actually a founding member of the rebellion, he really isn't even a part of it, he's just a guy who has come into peripheral contact with it, but still has his own, more pressing and personal agenda.

It's much more interesting to chart what, I can only assume, will be his eventual joining. But, in the current storyline, that could be years away! It's a very fascinating progression. Not at all the obvious, straightforward choice, something more oblique and much more interesting.

Yeah, I understand the frustration with the undead twist, but I think it worked out well enough as the "relic" was all part of a larger story as an excuse to pull Rykrof out of the shadows (plus the zombie theme helped satisfy my son's wanting for a zombie story - which I loved doing!).

That said, and I think we may have discussed this, I think you have a great opportunity for a time jump in your story. With Rykrof going to a remote prison world, who knows how long he'll be there? Years, even. He could come out with his son a young adult, with only a dim memory of his father.

Yes, it's years away before Rykrof will ever officially be a rebel. And the next chapter does move forward in time some as it really fits in well, I think, with the story.

We might even buy that Alyssa could have married Gere, out of desperation and fear, having believed Rykrof to be dead. And Rykrof could be a "Count of Monte Cristo"-esque character, turned hard and jaded by years of imprisonment.

So many fascinating ways the story could take off from there! (it would also put you closer to the timeline of the classic movies, which would be cool. I'd love to see the events of the Star Wars movies told from Rykrof's perspective, just as we saw the prequel/Clone Wars through his eyes, too.)

Hopefully, the current "theme" for the new life Rykrof is living works out!

We will see some of the events of the classic trilogy from Rykrof's perspective, but I also really want to ensure that I still tell his own life story.

Technical credits here are always, always top notch. The photography is stunning, the images with Vader are damn works of art.

Thanks, as always, for your wonderful work and another terrific chapter that promises only more awesomeness to come!!

Much appreciated, so very happy that after all these years you have continued to be supportive and offer advice. Thank you!!

:wink:

 

[YAK_Chewie]

Boom! Another chapter has been restored!