Sure, but why waste even a minimal amount of work if that work could be turned into a profit? Because you know that no matter which companion wins, there are those who would be willing to pay real dollars to get the other one (if only to say they have both), so by not making the other one available for purchase, they'd basically be throwing away money. And we all know BioWare likes to find excuses for people to send them money.

It strikes me as ridiculous to go through all the necessary work to prepare a companion for release (design, writing, voice acting, animation, coding, etc) as would be necessary for both characters (since they have no way of predicting which one will win, and so must have both ready by the end of the event) and not use that work by making the other companion available in some way at some point in the future.

www.behindthename.com I always start with a character concept - just a general idea of rough personality traits - and pick a couple names that fit. If you go to 'tools' there's lists of name themes, and you can search names by meaning. Then, I moosh a couple of those root names together, playing around until I get something that's both pleasing and star-wars-y enough to feel 'right.' (I only wish we could have spaces - I'd love a way to have two separate 'chunks' of name, without attaching them together with apostrophes. That's a thing I'd prefer to keep reserved for my Twi'leks, since, you know.... that's a thing they do.)

I like your series concept! Inspires me to do a bit more with my strongholds.

I don't remember, but it was honestly probably something really dumb like falling off the edge of something. Though, from the looks of things, heights appear to be the most deadly thing in the galaxy!

I reeeeeeally wish my female bounty hunter could romance Mako. All the chemistry is there! Yet, thwarted! Seriously, it's almost Xena and Gabriella levels of lady action power couple.

Yeah I was really not quick enough on the escape key. Basically I just sat there going 'wait, WHAT?!' for a while.

This is also my first MMO, and there's been a learning curve, but I think I've got the hang of it. Some things that have helped me: 1. Expanded quick bars. I really like having at least 3 quick bars up. For me, the best layout is one to the left, one to the right, and two down front & center. No, I don't fill every single slot, but the space lets me sort out abilities into their "situational usefulness.". For example, I put my healing abilities, plus a few med-packs in one spot. In that same general area, I put any buffs. For my Jedi Shadow, I have a stealth spot where I put my stealth ability, and the abilities that correspond with it. In my main bar front & center (the one that's automatically hot keyed to numbers) I put the stuff I use most frequently. I find it comfortable to keep one hand on the mouse and one hand on the keyboard, so I usually use #s 1, 2, & 3, because I don't have to reach far from my movement keys to get to them. Therefore, in the slots corresponding to those numbers, I put the stuff that I use the most frequently. For my Jedi, it's lightsaber stuff. For my bounty hunter, it's blaster stuff. I try to keep the stuff I use most often in a more accessible spot, and in more out of the way areas (top corners of my screen, for me) I put non-combat abilities, like travel stuff (quick travel, speeder piloting) , etc 2. Basically the key is to know what your abilities do, and what situations to use them in. As others have said, a good way to practice is to go to lower level areas and pick a few fights. Draw them out; dont go for the kill right away. Take the time to use your abilities to really see what they can do. If you're having difficulty keeping track at pace, you can test out your abilities on practice targets, which are in most larger cities (although they may be tucked away; sometimes you have to look for them). If the lower level mobs are dying too quickly, or you want to practice a boss fight, you can try soloing a 2+ heroic on a low-level planet. 3. (and this is important) It's ok to die!!!. The biggest learning curve that I had to deal with was my instinctual aversion to death built up by single player video games. The great thing about an MMO is that your toon can die and it's ok. You don't loose a life, you're not out anything. You just pop back over to the nearest medical droid (where you get a chance to sell off any unwanted spoils of war, btw) and get back to it. If you're a subscriber, you can summon a medical probe and pop back right where you were (although you'll want to move off to a safe spot to finish healing yourself, of course). Sometimes letting a critter kill you is the quickest way to get where you're going. You might be in a remote spot and the quest turn in is near a medical droid, but the nearest quick travel point is far away, and the route from where you are to where you need to be is long/full of critters/annoying. Sometimes it's easiest to just walk off a cliff or let a critter kill you and pop back up right near where you need to be. It's ok! 4. Also, healing companions are awesome.

Yeah, I'm aware that most of my problem with the dialogue is down to my own individual perception of it. Basically, I just wish there was a romance filter that you could toggle on/off, the way there is with dark/light side options, so that those of us who want to know in advance which conversational choices "further the romance" can toggle it on, and those who want a bit more spontaneity and a more natural and surprising conversational flow can toggle it off.

Well hey, it's here, if you wanna read it

I just really thought that was why the marked "flirt" options existed in the first place - to give you control over your character's general actions and attitudes, and therefore control over a branching storyline. If every choice is going to get you to the same place, then I don't see what the point is. I feel like there's no point in labeling [flirt] options if they're not going to label ALL choices lead down that path. It could be something you have the option to toggle on/off like light side/dark side points for the sake of folks that want to be surprised by where the story takes them. It's just that half and half labeling seems pointless. To Euphrosyne

I'm new to the game, on my first play-through with several classes, and I simply don't have the wherewithal to read through this entire thread at the moment. My apologies! I did want to pop in here and toss my two cents in, for what it's worth. The character's I'm having the most cognitive dissonance with are my (female) Jedi Consular and my (female) Bounty Hunter. The Jedi, because It irritated me to the point that I couldn't continue playing until a wrote myself a fix-it fic to purge my lingering negativity toward the character. The Bounty Hunter is frustrating because mine is bi, and I feel like there's so much chemistry between her and Mako and Basically, I'm bi, and it frustrates me that it's assumed and aggressively pressed towards me that not only are all of my characters going to be straight and any romance they have is going to be a heterosexual one, but ALSO that they are definitely going to want that romance what do you mean you didn't want that romance you're going to have the romance here have it. It does give me motivation to write, though, so...... *shrug*

Yeah, that's what I figured. I was hoping my google-fu had simply failed me, or someone had a text file stashed away somewhere or something (you never know! geeks can be weird/awesome about that kind of thing!). I just went ahead and wrote the scene based on the videos and my memory of how the scene went down. Leveling a character, while not particularly hard, is more effort that I was willing to go to for this particular fic. Thanks for the reply!

Title: In Which Boundaries are Discussed Link: link Author: Sugarmaple Class: Jedi Consular (female) speaking with Tharan Cedrax Blurb: A continuation of the female Jedi Consular scene with Tharan, "Message in a Bottle." Essentially, what happens if the game thinks you did the deed, but actually you ended up actually talking about things.

A continuation of the female Jedi Consular scene with Tharan, "Message in a Bottle." A bit of backstory: while playing, I accidentally chose conversation options that I perceived as neutral, but which resulted in a "fade to black" implied sex scene situation, which I did not appreciate. How was I to know asking after his romantic relationship with another woman would apparently be an aphrodisiac? Human males are odd. In any case, the Jedi I'm playing simply would not have had sex with him, so I wrote this "deleted scene" to take place during that fade to black. I kept it in the first person with minimal physical cues, so you could imagine any Consular. The one I envisioned while writing is Ariyeh, a slim, delicate - looking Cathar with close-cropped grey hair, blue eyes, and snow-leopard looking fur patterns. I mainly wrote this for myself, as a fix-it fic, but I'm posting it here in case anybody else ran into the same peculiarity. We begin with Tharan propositioning me yet again………… I pursed my lips, willing down the frustration, before replying. “Why do you do that, Tharan?” I asked. “Do what?” His puzzlement was evident to me, hidden behind a practiced grin as he spread his hands wide. “Compliment you? You must know your own beauty, my Jedi. I’d just like to get to know it… a bit better.” I sighed and scrubbed my fingers through my hair, allowing myself that uncharacteristic show of frustration. “That. The flirting, the….” struggling to find a way to describe it, I finally landed on “…the performance. I know you’re interested in me, but I also know you know that I’m not interested in you. Why keep up the pursuit?” His grin faded as I spoke into something softer, more rueful, quiet. Genuine. “Perhaps I’m living in hope?” He ventured, then chuckled quietly to himself. All at once the last scraps of facade fluttered away and he dropped down on the bench in a tired, graceless sprawl. I felt more fondness for him in that moment than I had in the entire time we’d been acquainted thus far. I lowered myself delicately onto the bench next to him - not too close, within arm’s reach and no closer - mindful of the delicate balance of personal space. Too far and the conversation might become stilted and impersonal; too close and he might misconstrue my proximity as an unintended sign of affection, or an unvoiced threat, both of which would undermine my purposes with this conversation. “Tharan,” I ventured. “Have I ever reciprocated or encouraged your advances?” “Not as such,” He replied, gazing quietly at what I presume was nothing in particular. “And have I ever given you reason to believe that such advances were welcome or accepted?” “Well you never said anything,” He protested, glancing at me sidelong. “I’m saying something now.” I told him firmly, catching his gaze and holding it. “Tharan Cedrax, I do not want to have sex with you. I do not desire a romantic relationship of any kind.” There was a flash of hurt in his eyes before he covered it with that ubiquitous mask that was, in that moment, completely odious to me. “Well, Jedi! Glad we got that cleared up! - ” He clapped his hands sharply and gathered himself to stand, but I stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. “Wait, please,” I requested. “I’m not done.” “Of course there’s more.” He chuckled, falsely bright, with a smile that didn’t properly reach his eyes. “What else, Jedi, I really want to know.” I paused, considering my next words carefully. Buying time, I said slowly, “You’re in pain.” This was the wrong thing to say. His mouth twisted in irritation and he rolled his eyes. “More of that Jedi mysticism, huh? Little bit of mind reading? Feeling my energy through the Force? Well my darling Jedi, you really didn’t need to bother with that. It doesn’t take a mind reader to know that someone freshly rejected is going to be a little irritable.” “That ‘Jedi mysticism’ is who I am, Tharan. I know it doesn’t appeal to you, but I’ve been Force sensitive my whole life. I’ve been living by the Jedi code since I was a child. To ask me to break that code for the sake of an unconnected fling-!” “Is that the problem?” He asked heatedly “‘Unconnected?’ Do you think I don’t value you?” “I think you don’t respect the core principles of my beliefs, no, but that’s not the point that I’m trying to make. Jedi do not court passion. Passion leads to fear, and mistrust, and jealousy, and hate. Passion leads to the dark side.” Tharan scoffed. “So negative! Passion is life, joy, excitement! Isn’t worrying about what might go wrong giving into fear, too? Besides which, I never understood how your order can expect you to go against your biology like that. Doesn’t frustration lead to irritation lead to the dark side? Surely it’s positively dangerous to be so pent up!” He smirked, but not unkindly. I saw the hurt easing out from behind his mask, so I let it be. “I’m not pent up, Tharan.” I replied dryly. “We learn to control and regulate our bodily functions in our training. I can purge poison from my body, heal my body’s wounds, and survive for hours without breathing. Managing my libido is hardly a challenge.” I hesitated, then added, “Not that there’s much to manage, in any case.” He lifted his brows. “What do you mean, ‘not much to manage’? Surely being a Jedi doesn’t change you that much.” “Not that I would know the difference, but no, I’ve never really felt that physical urge. I know most do and have to manage it, because we were taught quite extensively, but I’ve never really had to put much of that training to use.” For some reason unknown to me, his eyes lit up. His whole expression cleared as though some dawning revelation had enlightened him. “Oh! You’re asexual! Why didn’t you just say so in the first place? Darling, we could have saved so much time and avoided so much confusion!” “I was hardly confused,” I commented wryly. “And as I never had any intention on acting upon any urges I might have felt anyway, it seemed irrelevant.” Still, it was clear that I’d finally succeeded in dissuading a would-be lover and salvaging a friendship, so I relaxed, and curled myself more casually onto the bench. Tharan, true to form, was naturally an expert in asexuality, having met several such individuals over the course of his career. He nattered on, telling an involved story about a charming Nautolan with whom he’d had an elaborate (yet chaste) courtly love affair, and I allowed myself to relax and simply enjoy the story for a time. “… and that was the last I heard from him.” He wound down, trailing off thoughtfully. “Still, I can’t help but wonder, don’t you ever get lonely?” I blinked in surprise at the question. “How could I? I have you.” I can’t really recall ever wanting for company. My childhood was a distant memory of warmth and happiness, with a wealth of children my own age to play with at the temple. Then came training, with my master on hand, and other padawans all around, and then a madcap race through the galaxy with Qyzen at my side, and now Tharan and Holiday and a somewhat persnickety droid. I was never alone if I didn’t want to be. The people on my ship had become - dare I admit - a family. It was flirting dangerously with the spirit of the Order’s prohibition on family units and love in the personal, rather than the general, but I felt confident that I could maintain the objectivity necessary to keep my judgement clear. Perhaps that confidence would be my undoing, perhaps not. “You are my friend.” I told him. “You, and Qyzen and Holiday- You’re each dear to me. I hope you understand that. I’m not lonely, because I have almost all of the people I care most about in the galaxy right here.” And then, the most amazing thing happened - Tharan actually blushed. As I marveled at the wholly unexpected sight of worldly, cosmopolitan Tharan Cedrax blushing like a youngling, I almost missed his question: “So you don’t feel there’s anything missing from your life?” “Physical contact, perhaps,” I answered offhand, still distracted by the puzzle of the blush. Surely people have told him he’s important before. Holiday at least, certainly? Surely he’s had a friend? “Jedi aren’t particularly tactile, and everyone else seems to take it as an advance that I didn’t intend.” Clearing his throat, he spread one arm across the back of the bench. “Well then, my Jedi,” he said, “Consider this a formal invitation to completely platonic and non-sexual physical contact at at any time” He looked at me meaningfully, and gestured broadly at himself. I scrutinized him for a moment, and when I detected no ulterior motive or hidden reluctance, resettled myself against his side. He was warm and solid, and I allowed myself a moment to simply appreciate how good it felt to have the living, breathing body of another person pressed against my own. For all that he would have scoffed at the notion, the Force sang in him, in the beat of his heart and the rush of his blood and the air in his lungs. His very cells resonated with it, and I closed my eyes and leaned my head against his firm shoulder and gloried in that pure, crystalline joy that tied me to him, and us both to the rest of the universe. Endearingly oblivious, he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and launched into a story about a group of Nemoidian investment bankers, a lone Chiss bounty hunter, and a particularly gifted Ugnaught inventor. And it was good.