User:MPK

Welcome to the userpage of MPK, the Starkiller, the Free Man.

Information
Current status: Inactive

Still want to know about me? Fine. I'm known here as MPK, and my real name is none of your business. I live in the United States of America, and like most other people here, my gender is male. If you want to know more about me, just drop me a wire.

Regarding My Articles
There is a certain number of articles made by me on this site, the vast majority of them representing a portion of the incomplete Dark Order Continuity. Until further notice, those articles are to be considered out-of-date and therefore not entirely representative of my true, great, grand vision. -MPK, Free Man  14:04, December 29, 2011 (UTC)

Dramatic Readings

 * Star Wars: The Real Empire, Part 1
 * Star Wars: The Real Empire, Part 2
 * Star Wars: The Real Empire, Part 3
 * Star Wars: The Real Empire, Part 4
 * Star Wars: The Real Empire, Part 5
 * Star Wars: The Real Empire, Part 6
 * Star Wars: The Real Empire, Part 7 (Finale)

Index of SWFanon Users
"Sanity is not statistical."

- Winston Smith, Nineteen Eighty-Four


 * (In no particular order)

CurrentBigThing (Lawful Good): Looks like evil, behaves like good. You decide what to make of him.

Unit 8311 (Neutral Neutral): Younit EightThreeOneOne is a pretty cool guy. He fightz 4 mother Rushha and doesnt afraid of anything.

Squishy Vic (Lawful Good): He has manners, a badass name, and a cool hat, so he can be trusted.

Atarumaster88 (Chaotic Evil): The one who chews broken bottles and kills rats with his teeth.

Drewton (Neutral Good): I haven't talked to him much, and despite his improbably large collection of action figures, I can't think of any particular reason to dislike him.

Brandon Rhea (Neutral Evil): Though he is polite, Brandon is a demonic crow in sheep's clothing.

Solus (Chaotic Neutral): Probably the nicest person here, and the most enthusiastic, almost to the point of questionable mental stability.

Kathkira (Neutral Good): Kind of like Solus, but without the craziness.

Medal Case
"Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever."

- Napoleon Bonaparte

Fanfics I've Written

 * River -
 * Through Glass -
 * Legends of the Jedi: Burning Bright -
 * Legends of the Jedi: The Beast of Rutan -
 * Legends of the Jedi: Your Weapon, Your Life -

Star Wars Books I Recommend In No Particular Order: From One Nerd to a Nerd Community
 by Matthew Stover: I personally consider this the best book in the entire franchise, and probably the only book in it which I would seriously say is a great novel in its own right - mind you, it's not a classic of literature history or anything like that, but what it is is a book that stands on its own, a great story that doesn't rely on the rest of the EU in any respect. It gives excellent looks into the major characters' personalities and what they are as people, and even though I actually liked the movie, I have to agree that this book does a better job at telling its story. Its overall quality is several times better than any of the other movies' novelizations, and I personally think Stover should be commissioned to rewrite the other five.

' by Paul S. Kemp: Speaking as a guy who played ' and was sorely disappointed with its story and characterizations, I was very interested in this book when I first heard of it. Previously an uninteresting, completely blank slate of a character, is given his own personality and personal struggles in this adventure, and he is treated with no small amount of care. The other protagonists of the story aren't shirked, though - a supporting protagonist, Relin Druur, is a Jedi Master from the past who is grieving for the loss of his apprentices and facing his own inner demons, and his internal conflict and character development is masterfully presented. And shockingly enough, the inclusion of time travel in this Star Wars book does not break the story at all - and I seriously thought that it might. Overall, Crosscurrent is a very compelling story, epic but not so thickly-tied into the rest of the EU that it is stifled.

 by Sean Williams: I hadn't really made up my mind about what I thought of the story of TFU until I had read this book. While I was never quite as outraged as the majority of the community on the ramifications that the game had on the rest of the canon, I did see how the - in my opinion - overall well-written story was somewhat frustrated by its confinement to the cutscenes of a game. So it was a pleasant surprise that the novelization was able to tell the story so much better. Although the prose can occasionally feel lacking when it comes to fight scenes, the character of Starkiller and the sort of disposition and mind that the events of his life would produce is much more polished than the game was able to show, and even his relationship with Juno was handled better than I expected it to be. I'm still not sure what to make of the sequel, though.

 by Matthew Stover: Using a few paragraphs from a sourcebook about the as a jumping-off point, this book has the feel of a classic adventure with Luke and the gang fighting the Empire. Furthermore, the main antagonist of the book is exceedingly well-written - most people, myself included, probably expected to just be another dark-sider who's out to kill Luke and Leia because they're Jedi and so on, but Stover gave him a unique plan and fleshed out his character by making him a proponent of a different take on the nature of the Force, which makes the book a breath of sweet, fresh air when compared to much of the rest of the EU.

' by Paul S. Kemp: You might not know this, but the level of enthusiasm I have for this ' project that Lucasarts has got going was next to nothing. Still, I decided to give this book a try, having previously read Crosscurrent and expecting a decent read. I was surprised at what I found. The book follows three main characters whose paths are about to intersect - a smuggler trying to get money to support his daughter, the Sith Lord Darth Malgus seen in the TOR cinematic trailers, and a Jedi Knight gone rogue to avenge her fallen master. To my surprise, Kemp's book was able to present the character of Malgus in a light that will not be found many other places in regards to Sith characters - he is unexpectedly presented as growing increasingly disillusioned with the direction that the Sith Empire is going, what with the Emperor strangely suing for peace with the Republic, so his conflict is about genuinely differing ideologies rather than a simple power-grab that Sith are commonly associated with. He also struggles with his status as a Sith and simultaneously having a lover - the Twi'lek seen in the game's Deceived trailer - and while clearly a villain, he is written as a very original and dynamic character, an outstanding example for any fanfic writers who want to know what a "humanized" Sith ought to be written like. Not to say that the other characters are given less attention, though. The smuggler and the Jedi in particular have their own internal conflicts and they are just as fleshed-out. The story takes a number of individuals introduced in The Old Republic who were arguably throw-away characters who were originally created as shallow mishmashes of familiar established ones, and makes them into their own.

 by Paul S. Kemp: Having enjoyed the hell out of Crosscurrent and Deceived, I was very excited when I heard about this sequel to the former. I bloody well read the whole damn book in one day and wasn't disappointed. The book continues Jaden's adventures, as he and his smuggler buddies and, the former of whom Jaden is training as a Jedi, go chasing after a bunch of crazy Sith-Jedi clones who escaped at the end of the previous book. Like Crosscurrent, this book impressed me with its intriguing character development, legitimate suspense, and inclusion of well-thought-out bad guy characters who aren't Sith - not to mention several downright brilliant plot twists. In addition to Jaden (who in this story is given a greater backstory to complement the personality he was imbued with in Crosscurrent) and the gang, the story also follows Soldier, one of the Sith-Jedi clones. Under the guidance of one of their own, a religious zealot named Seer, the clones are searching for some eldritch entity called "Mother", hoping that it will cure their accelerating clone madness and illness. Soldier himself, as the only one who does not believe Seer or suffer from the cloning illness, is the odd man out in the group, and his own story - concerning doubt and purpose - mirrors some of Jaden's own. All this said, however, I don't think Riptide is better than Crosscurrent. There are a number of plot points that to my knowledge are never quite explained (such as where a few characters actually came from), and there is one instance where a character uses a Force power that I don't think should exist. Still, it's a damn good book, and like its predecessor did with time travel, it takes the tired old idea of Jedi clones and makes it work.

 by Drew Karpyshyn: The fangirl and fanboy idiots of the KotOR fandom seem to almost universally revile this book, and it's easy to see why - but I'll get to that presently. Revan is separated into 3 parts: the first begins a few years after the events of KotOR I and details the events that lead to Revan's departure from known space. The second begins shortly after TSL and follows (the now-canon name of the Exile) as she goes off after him with T3-M4. As they go along with their journeys, however, we also follow the path of a Sith Lord named Scourge, who with the Sith in the Unknown Regions, begins with missions in the service of a member of the Dark Council before he finds himself becoming increasingly involved in a conspiracy to kill the Emperor. The third part of the book is where the stories of these three protagonists intersect and climaxes with their confrontation with the Dark Lord. Unable to totally deafen myself to the fanwuss backlash, I was uneasy going into this story, for many said it was like "a bad fanfic". Of course, the truth of the matter turned out to be very different, and I was reminded that the ones who accuse this of being bad fanfic material are the last people who should be considered fit to be the judge of such things. So I can state for the record that The Old Republic: Revan is not like a bad fanfic. What it is is a novel, written by a guy who writes novels and who actually knows something about writing; what it is is a story that finally lets us see Revan and get to know him and what he cares about in his life. Additionally, his reputation as a deadly fighter and skilled, clever manipulator (which up to this point were entirely informed attributes) are confirmed, but kept within realistic boundaries. Overall: this book isn't for you if you want to see a major role for every single party member from the games - being an actual writer, Drew obviously decided not to waste narrative time with characters who in the end would only slow things down, and to my delight, Carth "Whiny Shitbag" Onasi never even gets a mention. This book isn't for you if you want a reference to something specific from the games every few sentences that is perfectly accurate - granted, there are quite a few references that are either simplified or just wrong when we consider what we know from the games, but I for one am willing to let most of them slide because it's still an actual good story. This book is for you if you want a well-structured story with real drama, real characterization, minimal time-wasting bullshit, minimal fan service, skillful use of dramatic irony and other literary devices, and I dare say, a satisfactory and fitting conclusion to the story of the hero of KotOR I. The only weak link in this book that I saw was Meetra, who didn't seem to get as much character development as Revan and Scourge, but the strength of the other two's make up for it. Overall, ignore the whiners - this novel does justice.

 by Sean Stewart: This book is simultaneously moving, captivating, somewhat chilling, and at certain intervals hysterical. My experience was somewhat marred from the fact that I've only been able to listen to the abridged audiobook version, but even that impressed me. Asajj Ventress is imbued with a legitimately deadly reputation, the "original character" Jedi protagonists follow well-crafted personal journeys, and the portrayal of the central conflict between Yoda and Dooku as they both try to turn each other is nothing short of masterful. This makes for a fine addition to the Star Wars canon.

 by Sean Williams: You would never guess it from the extremely uninspiring spiel on the dust jacket, but this book has a great cast of interesting characters and a surprisingly original plot.

 by James Luceno

 by James Luceno

 by James Luceno: While not surpassing the Episode III Novelization as I had hoped, this is one of my favorites, filling in a lot of previously unknown history about Palpatine and Plagueis and their backstories to at least satisfactory degrees. Luceno does an excellent job at exploring the evolution and ideals of the Banite Sith Order and the relationship between Palpatine and Plagueis, as well as giving clarity to the backstories of Dooku, Sifo-Dyas, and others in addition to the book's main duo. Moreover, it's refreshing to be able to see Palpatine's machinations unfolding from his side for a change. Perhaps most impressive, however, is that he was smart enough to avoid shackling himself to the dozens of assumptions that fans had cemented in their minds about what had transpired between Palpatine and his mysterious master - one of which was that his recounting of the "Legend of Darth Plagueis the Wise" to Anakin was completely truthful. This book succeeded at both intriguing me and surprising me with the directions its plot goes in.

Star Wars Fanfics That I Don't Hate With The Burning Fiery Passion of a Thousand Suns, In No Particular Order
Whispers of Betrayal by Quiller of fanfic.theforce.net: Apparently written back in 2001, this story is one of many, many fanfics produced by people as their own ideas of what Episode III would/should turn out to be. Set during the early days of the Empire, it concerns a pre-Mustafar Darth Vader as he searches for Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padme, who are in hiding. Surprisingly well-done, WoB places heavy focus on how Vader is being consumed by his hatred for Obi-Wan, his need to have his wife back, and his refusal to accept that the latter has rejected him after his turn to evil. He is shown walking down a bloody path through Jedi and non-Jedi alike, his perceptions further and further twisted by Palpatine's machinations. WoB is actually the second part of a trilogy, but this doesn't make it difficult to read on its own, and I personally prefer it that way. I simply couldn't get myself engaged in the other two; they seem to focus on what Obi-Wan, Padme, and their allies are up to during this time, but I found them paling in comparison to the fleshing out of Anakin's fall and his apprenticeship to the Emperor. Overall, WoB itself is an engrossing but not too heavy read, representing the best of its kind.

A Marine Went to Jedi Camp by Goodwood of SWFanon: A fine piece of work, detailing the Jedi training of Laera Reyolé, the central character of the series introduced in the much shorter Star Wars: Death and Life. AMW2JC, while telling its own story with original characters, succeeds at keeping itself grounded in the "world" of KotOR, and I found it to be a remarkable improvement on Death and Life, which I thought had too little happening in it. Overall the series seems pretty solid and I should get around to reading the rest of it.

Does Not Want To Die by Solatium of fanfic.theforce.net: A short but engaging piece, showing the murder of the Jedi younglings from Darth Vader's perspective. Far better than it sounds.

Gnarltree by Persephone_Kore of fanfic.theforce.net: Detailing the origin of the dark-side taint of the cave of Dagobah, this story carries a certain sense of history, and like my own story River has been said to, feels to me like it sort of embodies a core part of the whole "Light vs Dark" aspect of the Star Wars mythos.

Star Wars: Saber Battalion by Goodwood of SWFanon: Just about everything I said about the previous entry in the series applies here, except more so. I might get around to coming up with more to say, but cannot be arsed at this time.

Imparting by Nom Inal of fanfic.theforce.net: Somewhere out in space, there's a planet that's basically the same thing as Ba'ku from Star Trek with an ancient Jedi Master living on it, and as some kind of tradition, every Jedi Master in the Yoda-Dooku-Qui-Gon-Kenobi-Anakin dynasty takes their Padawan there to learn wisdom and to carry fertilizer around. Yet, somehow, it's better than it sounds.

The White Room by Nemesis of fanfic.theforce.net: A short story in which Darth Vader goes back to Kamino to kill a clone of himself made by the Emperor that is no longer needed. Relatively stupid premise and the author's occasional failure to understand Star Wars tech aside (Jedi clones isn't supposed to work even decades later in, why didn't Palpatine keep the clone, you don't open a door by shooting it with an ion cannon, etc), it does provide an engrossing character piece in Vader and the clone argue back and forth about his actions, and it really makes you feel for the clone's plight - and not, by my estimation, in the exploitative wangsty way that you usually get from most people who try to write these characters. It reminds me of Kemp's Jaden Korr novels, in that it proves that Jedi clones are a concept that it is possible to do well.

Forgotten Flowers by GrandAdmiralV of fanfic.theforce.net: 'nother short story in which we see the execution of Order 66 from the perspective of just some random person whose planet is being fought over during the Clone Wars. I'm a bit of a sucker for stories where serious shit happens and the reader knows what it all means, but the narrator doesn't.

Quotes from IRC


	Xim sleeps with his user page is just an OCD compulsion to try to come back and that's shitty living conditions and foreign "occupation" of the Carib-galaxy user?

	Xim sleeps with the earth's gravitational pull in the same time.

 Xim sleeps with Charlie Sheen. He sounds like a national pasttime for the site revolves around destruction and chaos and one we should switch to the superior might of two hours.

 Xim sleeps with the fucking page, Wikia.

 Except she wouldn't mind if I dare not stoop so low.

 Xim sleeps with his SWF talk page message on Ataru's scratchpad: http://www.laclassicestates.com/

 Xim sleeps with his ghostly redemption from /his/ POV. And include his netherworld meeting with Condoleeza Rice

 Xim sleeps with his fuck-off Sith magic and dark betrayal and genocide is just too much about these home-wreckers, and the like.

 Xim sleeps with his parents, mentor, and crew members, who are touched by the time to read a bit of tension there.


 * 	"Comfort/friendship/angst" - few compound words can make me want to stick a gun in my mouth like that one.
 * 	:p
 * 	I don't blame you.
 * 	Hurt/comfort is just as bad.
 * <TrakNar>	Obi-torture.
 * <Goodwood>	Both of those may as well be Friends with Benefits
 * <Karohalva>	"Hey, it's alright," he said. "I'm here for you. I'm your friend."
 * <Karohalva>	"But I feel so much...ANGST!" she shouted.
 * <Goodwood>	And then he stuck his penis in her vagina.
 * <Freeman_MPK>	And then John was a zombie.
 * <Karohalva>	"Well, fine," he said, "be like that, bitch," and shot her in the head.
 * <Goodwood>	XD
 * <Solus|Cheese>	XD

<Ataru> Nobody appreciates an elementary commentary on plasma physics these days.

<Karohalva>	"Hey, Revan." <Karohalva>	"Yeah?" <Karohalva>	"I see you have a vagina."

<Karo|dead> It's like a home delivery service for your nerd rage, Freeman.

Other Brilliant Quotes
"Well, I'm sort of in a hurry to get over to Malachor because Kreia wants to destroy the Force and threatened to kill herself and me via our Force-bond if I don't go after her, but I have plenty of time to listen to the three-hour story of your raging, neurotic sexual frustrations about Saul, your son, and Revan."

- The to

"[I] would like to state for the record that as [I am] not in possession of a vagina [I am] thus in no position to comment upon its self-stimulation. However, [I have] observed that throughout literature the concept of "taste" is closely interwoven with the practice of verbal inhibition and physical ambiguity. This fails on both accounts."

- Karo, regarding a hideous KotOR fanfic

"I am thinking of geometry. Of squares and circles."

- ponders a complicated problem

"I have a theory that the Maw Installation was really just Tarkin's euphemism for Daala's vagina."

- Karo

"Canon apparently. Who am I to argue with the incredible writing of KotOR II."

- Atarumaster88