Loose Threads

(Andrew writes Reverend Solomon, Kale, Akasha Khan, among others)

When did you first see a Star Wars movie, and what movie was it?

I grew up watching Star Trek - both the Original Series reruns and new episodes of The Next Generation. Star Wars was always the other sci-fi franchise, the one with weird names and furry aliens and ginormous, ugly ships (sorry, Millennium Falcon). There was even a time I thought Babylon 5 was a Star Wars spin-off because I mistook the Star Furies for updated X-wings. I occasionally saw bits of the movies when they played on TV, but it wasn't until my parents picked up a VHS box set of The Definitive Collection that my older brothers and I had the chance to watch the trilogy from beginning to end. What do you know - it was better than I thought!

Do you have any sort of Star Wars merchandise collection, and if so, what is your favorite piece?

I used to collect the MicroMachines miniatures for both Star Trek and Star Wars, which made possible all the cross-franchise starship battles I knew I'd never get to see on screen. The ones that aren't broken are still in storage somewhere in the basement. But of all the Star Wars merchandise I've ever owned, the John Williams soundtracks made the biggest impression. The first CD I ever owned was a best-of compilation from the whole trilogy, and I just about wore it out before I got the special edition two-CD albums for each movie.

Are you excited about Disney making Star Wars Anthology movies? Who do you want a spin-off movie about?

I'm excited about the prospect of exploring new sectors of the Star Wars universe, as we've always done here on Fans/TheHolo.Net. The new trilogy is going to be under tremendous pressure to tell a grand sweeping saga to rival the original, whereas the anthology movies should have a freer hand to pick a new facet of the galaxy we haven't seen before and run with it. I'd love to see some experimentation with genre and narrative style - a young Han Solo movie could be a crime drama/heist, while a movie about Rogue Squadron could be everything the Wing Commander movie should've been. One thing I'm not keen on is a movie about Boba Fett. His entire character is that he wears a mask and looks menacing. That's all he needs to be. It's going to be hard to take him seriously as a protagonist knowing that his on-screen fate is to be accidentally knocked into the Sarlacc's maw by a blind Han Solo.

How long have you been at TheHolo.Net, and why do you stay?

I've been here since 2004, when Mitch twisted my arm and convinced me to try out this Star Wars roleplay scene. All I knew was the movies, so I was utterly lost when it came to ANYTHING from the expanded universe - and then there were also vampires, and Lord of the Rings characters, and at least two different kinds of werewolves. It was a strange and confusing place. But I've become thoroughly invested in our strange little storytelling community and continue to be blown away by the quality and sincerity of the writing here. I've grown prodigiously as a writer during my time here and have built what I consider to be meaningful friendships, even if I've never met the other person face-to-face. This is still a weird and confusing place, but it's home now, and if I leave, I'll never get to find out what happens to Solomon and Akasha and all the others!

Do you stick mainly with Star Wars RPing, or have you branched out to some of the general RPing scenarios? Which do you prefer, if you have a preference?

I've had characters in Mutants Unite, Myth, Gotham, Star Trek (of course!), and Skyrim. Of the general RP scenarios, I've invested most heavily in Mutants, and it's not even close. Star Wars and Mutants had a see-saw relationship on the forums for a while, and there were times I felt my Star Wars characters were stuck in neutral while my Mutants characters were thriving. The Los Santos setting in Mutants is particularly near to my heart, even though half of what we planned never actually made it to the boards. It was a nicely self-contained biosphere full of conflicts on many different scales, and it enabled us to tell deeply personal stories about characters on all sides and the lengths they'd go to in order to protect the ones they care about. I like to think that kind of location-based storytelling has served as a model for the Star Wars settings that are enjoying so much success now, such as Ossus and Jovan Station.

Who is your favorite character you write on the boards? Who is your favorite that someone else writes?

You want me to choose just one? Good grief... right now my favorite is probably Akasha Khan, because of the complex web of loyalties she's created that are now pulling her in multiple directions. She's clever and Machiavellian and manipulative, but also not quite certain she knows what she's doing. I've really enjoyed bouncing her off the other strong personalities that inhabit Ossus. As for other people, there are just so many fantastic and exciting characters to choose from! But let's go with MA7-3A, better known as Matea, the misfit nurse droid who's just too human for her own good, with a mysterious past that's sure to catch up with her... I've had a blast planning out story arcs with Matea's author and can't wait to see them unfold!

What RPing story arc do you most want to do, or current one you’d like to complete?

Wow, talk about a segue... as I said, there are big plans in store for Matea (and my cybernetic droid mechanic, Suriyesh Rajinaathra) that I'm greatly looking forward to developing, but I don't want to spoil anything on that front. There's also Akasha's sudden and inevitable betrayal of the Jedi Order, which will usher in a new phase for her character as a sort of Darth Maul operative/assassin for Eleutheria. My biggest regret there is that with Dee's absence, I won't be able to make good on the arc we had developed between Akasha and her roommate, Kala'ndryl Ryj, which would have ended in a powerful and emotional duel that cemented Akasha's path to the Dark Side.

Are you a dog person, or a cat person? (this is v. important)

I'm not a cat person, but I write several of them! Seriously, I had both growing up, and love both of them. Life would feel empty without one or the other. So can't we all just get along?