The Friends We Made Along the Way (and also Nord Kandende)

*We welcomed Megan from Den of Geek to join us for a very special State of the Squadron, as we revisit the journeys of all of our favorite Alphabet Squadron characters (and also Nord Kandende). Where did they come from? Where did they go? Where did all this trauma come from, Cotton Eyed Joe?*

## Episode 163

### **A Star Wars Questions**:

**What would be your ideal Star Wars Thrupple?**

### **Highlights:**

* Do you dare me to play the banjo on the podcast?
* "I'm down for anything." Ash, Rogue Nine, completely on record.
* Music: Cotton Eyed Joe 1994.
* "Meg I just heard the phrase 'be polite to heath', what does that mean?" - Danny
* Danny's Forever Festival was the week before Solo's premier.
* "Where did you come from where did you go, where did you come from catboy Soren Keize?"
* General Fuxo Buxo Hux
* "We first meet Quell in therapy, which is a good signifier for her character arc."
* "The Thesis of Absquad is that when we finally get therapy in Star Wars it's given to the characters that need it the most but will take to it the least." - Guest Megan
* The Force is Misogynistic? Misandrist?
* No, the Force is MISANTHROPIC.
* 22:00 Kairos-Bug debate.
* Kairos was going through Carcinisation!

* "A crab is a type of insect!" Danny, dying on the Kairos-Bug hill.
* 27:00 She-Ra reference.
* Found Family Baiting.
* "I didn't come here for a good time, Alexander Freed, but I didn't come here for a REAL time!" - Rogue Leader
* Woo!
* Liana Hallik, original character, please don't steal.
* "It's really the gift that keeps on taking..." -Guest Megan
* "Take it from us, it's better to listen to music than podcasts! If you're listening to a podcast now, STOP!"
* Were there Steelpeckers? Podron divided
* "The Battle of Jakku was like giving the steelpeckers a hundred five star reviews on the same day! Food just falling from the sky like Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs!"
* Thanks for making Chass a wine drunk!
* Alexander Freed did the safe thing and weighed in on Star Wars twitter hot takes by burying his response in a novel.
* Don't record holo-messages to your ex. Even if you don't send them!
* Pacifism, it's not for everyone and it's not for every time.
* Rogue Nine is a pacifist.
* "Speaking of hating Nath Tenzent..."
* Megan's shameful secret is a Yrica/Nath fanfic.
* Saf's not-shame is a Wyl/Nath fanfic.
* People are fooled by Solo.
* Saf always loves a weird alien.
* You can reference Rebels, but only the sad parts.
* "Notice my use of the Second Person Pronouns..."
* 1:15:20 "Who is Alphabet 2 at Exegol?"
* "Chass puts more guns on the ship and then they make out" is the canon answer.
* 1:17:50 Return to Twilight Company
* 1:20:31 Spud Attack.
* Devin is a world travelling, wisdom spouting, backpacking white man with cornrows.
* They specifically say that it's not romantic, but we're still gonna see a little bit of romance.
* Vocoder? No. Red Hair? No. Father didn't drown her. Oh, you mean Palal Seedia!
* How Nord started: Blood sacrifice to a robot dressed in Imperial Robes with Papa Palpatine's face hologrammed on it.
* How Nord's going: Offered himself up as a slave to the droids for a year because Quell didn't stop him from thinking their mission to the middlelek(?) was an order from said robot dressed in Imperial Robes with Papa Palpatine's face hologrammed on it.
* "I do not understands why Star Wars keep insisting on using those shitty robots from Battlefront 2..." Ash says, referring to the Sentinels that have only shown up in the Aftermath and Alphabet Squadron books (and two issues of Shattered Empire, aka the Shara Bey comic).
* "I just need to give a blood sacrifice to someone, come on!" - Nord probably
* Nord Candeed is how we get Waru bnack in canon.
* 1:33:00 "Really? Right in front of my salad?"
* Greef is probably the most well adjusted person on the Mandalorian.
* If you hold up an Imperial helmet to your ear like a seashell you might hear our podcast.
* "You can also do that with a normal seashell." Meg

* All set for merch for the next pandemic.
* Pick up JEDI SEARCH for next season!
* TEAM SAF-SAR KUN

### **Responses to Last Week's Glistener Question:**

Which moment in the Alphabet Squadron trilogy gave you the most feels? And/Or just make us an AbSquad meme that will make us laugh.

Rogue Nine: Kanan reference.

Rogue Seven: The Who/What/Where

Rogue Six: When everyone discovers Quells secret.

Megan: That last half of Shadowfall. When the New Republic takes over the radio show.

**Glistener Responses:**

* Seth Maloney - haha depression is fun

* X-Wings in History - My emotional stick-out moments for each book are :

1. The long, slow chase through the Oridal Cluster, as the New Republic pilots coped with loss and their own certain deaths.
2. “You’re a torture droid again, aren’t you?”
3. Nath’s pilots and the 204th have their own brutal, private war over Jakku and play who-what-where as a competitive sport.

* Oaty :

1. I think we need
2. more Freed,
3. but that may just be greed
4. speaking. There’s a seed
5. of a story set in Theed
6. that may be more some people’s speed.

* Kevin - Yrica, Caern and IT-O at the end of Shadow Fall. The duel between Wyl and Keize.
* Yubsie - The conversation between Hera and Nath about what to do after the war had me yell "My HEART!" out loud
* Jay - The whole war crimes accountability conversation between Hera and Mothma at the end of the book.
* Liam - thanks to @XWnHIST i am very sad about Nath leaving Wyl behind!

* Dillon - All the times that Yrica attempts to connect with her squadmates, only to abort and flee at literally anything: rejection, acceptance, a pause one second too long.
* TomtheFanboy - This scene with Quell and IT-O really got me. The fact that he loses his sentience in his attempts to help her touch the dark side via pain is what really gets me.

**Glistening Bodhi goes to:**

Glistening Tears Falling From My Eyes to everyone who answered (mostly from Danny)

Glistening Avacado Smoothie With Boba for Dinner Leader from Saf

### **This Week's Glistener Question:**

What character growth did YOU experience over the course of the AbSquad trilogy?

Ash: Became part of Rogue Podron.

Saf: Became more like Quell.... oh no

Megan: Chasing approval less.