Loose Threads

(Jace writes Vansen Tyree and Jaden Luka, among many others)

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

I didn't see Star Wars at all until right before Episode I came out. I was 11 at the time, and was feeling super adult because my parents had let me take the train to London on my own to stay with my sister and her boyfriend (now husband). We binged the trilogy the night before, and then Steve took me to the cinema in his rickety old car the next day. I remember almost nothing about the movie, except for how badly I needed to pee during the space battle over Naboo.

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

I absolutely love A-Wings. I don't have a huge collection of Star Wars stuff, but I do have a pair of LEGO A-Wings chilling out on a shelf beside my TV. I've also spent a lot more money than I should have on the X-Wing Miniatures game; I have an A-Wing painted up like the Ralph McQuarrie concept art, which is the paint scheme I use for Jaden Luka.

Now that A-Wings like that have appeared on Star Wars Rebels, they need to hurry up and give me a LEGO version of Jaden's fighter, damn it!

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

I think it's great that we're getting more Star Wars! I think we're all probably here because we know that there's a lot more story potential in the Star Wars universe than just the regular episodes, and it's great that Disney is on the same page with that.

I'd love to see Ewan McGregor as Obi Wan Kenobi again, because suave and sarcastic Obi Wan is the best, and if you say otherwise I will fight you.

How long have you been at SW-Fans, and why do you stay?

I think my oldest account (Inyos Aamoran) is from January 2007, something like that?

I guess I stay because of some warped form of Stockholm syndrome. Nah.... I guess it's kind of a "first love" thing? Aside from some email-based roleplaying involving the franchise that shall not be named Star Trek, Fans was the first place where I ever did any sort of creative/collaborative writing, and so the Fans way of doing things has become my brain's default setting. I've drifted away from time to time, been to other communities, and tried other things, but I usually end up drifting back, because Fans just feels "right" somehow.

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?

When I first started out, I wrote mostly Mutants Unite and a little bit of Myth stuff; Captain Untouchable and Mandan Hidatsa started out as characters for those settings before I appropriated them for other uses. I definitely enjoy the other settings (especially DC, that was a lot of fun) but I guess Star Wars wins out because there's just so much scope? Instead of a city or a world, there's a whole galaxy of space to fit your characters into, and there's so much variety and so many options that you never run out of something new and different to try.

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

Oh god, that's like asking me to pick a favourite child, and a favourite niece!

Jaden Luka is a lot of fun to write, with all his pilot metaphors and accidental flirting. He's one of my first characters too, and my AIM handle, so it's been pretty nice getting to do so much with him recently. I'm enjoying a lot of the stuff I've been doing opposite Sadie K'Vesh on Cloud City, so Vittore Montegue and Inyos Aamoran are pretty high up on the favourites list right now too.

As for other people's characters, there's far too many characters I like to pick one. I have a real soft spot for Sadie K'Vesh and Cleo Némain, and the way their voice and character seeps into the narrative. I really enjoy the "fun" characters that Charley writes, like Sheldon Esalis and Okar the Fabulous; but I also really enjoy T'yeellaa - she's the kind of character that'd be my favourite on a TV show. Jenny writes some superb political intrigue stuff - Salem Ave and Sanya Tagge especially are great for satisfying that particular craving.

And then there's Sam Porter, who I just plain adore... she will forever be the Sweet Dee of my Rickety Cricket heart.

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

The Exchange is probably the smart/cheating answer, because it overlaps and tangles in with so many of my characters and little arcs. I'm a sucker for a good "family don't end with blood" story, and some of the upcoming reveals in that are five years in the making. I will probably end up crying a lot when some of it happens. (then again, I cried watching Mighty Ducks, so that's probably not saying much)

There's my whole clone storyline as well, which has been opening up some writing opportunities that I'm really looking forward to. There's a cool yin/yang relationship between Delgado Xaanan and Chir'daki that I'm looking forward to writing (especially in terms of "how do they get to their TFA versions?", and the whole Orenth/Shen dynamic has been really interesting to write because of how blank slate they both are, and how abnormally they think about stuff.

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

Both? Is that cheating?

We had cocker spaniels when I was growing up, and my dad has had a dog more recently too; but my mum and my sisters have always had cats. I guess if I were to get a pet right now, I'd want to have a little kitten... but once I've made my millions from my first few novels and their highly popular TV and movie adaptations and have retired to a quaint little farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, I think I'd want a lazy old dog to sit around and keep me company all day.