Does Having Star Wars: Heir to the Empire Action Figures Make Them More Real? Mara Jade is Still My Favorite Character

Maybe I've been romanticizing the Star Wars Extended Universe, the one Disney removed from canon, more than I should.  In truth it's been quite a while since I've read any of it.  They hold in my mind happy memories.  The question is if I was to reread these EU books would I have the same feelings?  Would I see them in a different light?

It's no secret that the new Star Wars Trilogy has created quite the divide.  Those who love certain movies.  Those who don't.  I'm in the Force Awakens is too much like A New Hope, Last Jedi detoured and killed off way too many elements, and The Rise of Skywalker is... (spoiler in my last blog post), camp, but the short of it is I'm not a huge fan of Disney Star Wars.  Many love it.  Many love aspects of it.  Watching the fall out of this last movie and seeing all the various reactions and opinions has been interesting.  I'm honestly surprised at how many people love The Rise of Skywalker, but to each their own.  If we all loved the same things life would be boring.

After watching The Rise of Skywalker I now want to reread the Star Wars EU, what are now "Legends," books, and also read some of the stuff I missed.  There's a lot I haven't read.  From what I've heard it's a bit of a mess.  Too many authors contributing here and there, adding bits at random while claiming their corner of the Universe.  At some point next year I'm going to reread the Thrawn trilogy.  Ah!  But you know what's sad?  I needed to clear out some room and donated some of my Star Wars books.  And there were others that were so worn the first several pages fell off.  So I have to buy books again, so getting through aspects of the Star Wars EU will take some time.  And I have other books to read and listen to as well.

Still, whatever I think of the Thrawn trilogy the next go through, I do love the characters.  Thrawn and Mara Jade are awesome.  Thrawn is once again canon.  Mara Jade isn't, and I'm pretty sure if Disney gets their hands on her they'll ruin her.  You know, thinking of Mara Jade's character arc, Ben Solo could have gone down the same path, dealing with his past while moving towards the future.  Maybe subconsciously that's why I'm having issues with certain Rise of Skywalker decisions.  Ben could have been a Mara Jade type.  He could have been so interesting.  I've always struggled with Ben Solo's character arc because it didn't make sense.  His fleeing thanks to Luke wanting to kill him is so out of character on Luke's part, I've struggled with Ben's development.  Thank you Timothy Zahn for creating really interesting characters.

For now I want aspects of the EU to still be true.  They were for a good portion of my life.  Just because Disney drops big bucks and changes things doesn't mean I have to accept their reality.  My imagination can have it's own reality.  And in my mind Mara Jade and Luke totally got together.  (Disney... don't go there.  Just don't.  But if they do, I'm super stubborn and can accept what I wish.)

But after all is said and done, I have the action figures, and having the action figures of characters I grew up loving makes them more real to me. 

Just a Girl Being a Nerd: Gundam Wing

 Have you seen something when you were younger that you really, really wanted, but couldn't get?  And, for whatever reason, wanting it never left your mind?  Heh, not sure what you're thinking, but for me this happens with silly, little things.  In the late 90's I was a huge Gundam Wing fan.  It's still my favorite anime, though it's been awhile since I've seen this Gundam show.

I didn't collect too many things from the series.  My brothers got the Gundam models.  I wanted Wing Zero, but never got around to buying one.  One day, around 2002 or 2003, I was wearing a Gundam Wing t-shirt I bought at a Dark Horse comic store on Universal CityWalk at Universal Studios Hollywood--that's a mouthful--while at Walmart.  This Japanese guy did a double take while I was shopping the produce area and kept staring at me.  Was he surprised an American was wearing a Gundam Wing shirt?  Or that a girl was?  I wore that shirt out.  It was a thing of beauty.

Sometime in the early 2000's I found a set of Gundam Wing character figures.  I wanted it so bad!  But didn't have the money and had to pass.  Now and then, later on, I checked Ebay, and for years I couldn't find it for sale.  Then a few years ago I noticed this set starting to pop up, but still I couldn't splurge.  Then, last week, I found it for $30 with free shipping.  I had to do it!  And now it's sitting on a shelf.

The box is damaged.  There's sun bleaching.  This set has probably seen a few things, or not while collecting dust in a box.  Still, I had to momentarily take the figures out to examine.  For now I'll display them in the box.

The nerdy girl in me is happy to have these Gundam Wing figures.