Holy crap, those are awesome. I may not be able to match Jokrik in Star Wars nerdiness, but it was a huge part of my life growing up.
Like most kids, I grew up loving dinosaurs. I had an encyclopedic knowledge of dinosaurs, their Latin names, what they ate, what they looked like, and so on. At some point of my childhood, that transferred to Star Wars. I was a voracious reader and the Star Wars books became my thing to read. I read every Star Wars book my library had, then I checked them out again to read them and re-immerse myself in the story lines. I fell in awe of Thrawn, came to love Mara Jade, felt sympathy for Boba Fett, and just got lost in the universe. I would fall asleep reading the Star Wars The Essential Guide to books, absorbing the universe and the lore. I still have all the guide to books from my childhood:
I fell in love with the visuals of the movies and would them again and again on VHS, even if they were the awful Special Edition. While everyone was arguing about who shot first, I decried the overuse of CG special effects, the remaking of Jabba, the addition of the silly exploding ring, and the all around over the top effects that were added that ruined the immersive experience. I remember watching
Ewoks - The Battle for Endor whenever it was on TV and renting it from Blockbuster. I had already been amused by the Ewoks in Return of the Jedi, but Wicket won my heart. It was nothing amazing, but I still fell in love with it. Then the biggest disappointment of my life came with Star Wars Episode 1. Somehow I convinced my mom to take a 6th grade or teenage me to go see it on opening day. I was thrilled because it was Star Wars, something that was an integral part of my identity growing up. Then came the bumbling battle droids and Jar Jar Binks. I still loved Star Wars, but, gradually, George Lucas was chipping away at the awe that I had built for it.
At some point in grade school, I discovered the Star Wars CCG. I scrimped and I saved to go out and buy the cards. I rarely got to play with them since not many people played the game, but I still have all my cards in two shoe boxes to this day. Some of the highlights:
Once a month, after saving up my allowance and doing random chores to earn more money, I would hop on my bike, ride down the hill from my house, and buy as many packs as I could afford. I remember the amazingly generous comic store owner who would see the disappointment in my face when, on occasion, I'd have to put back a pack because I was a little short and give me the packs at a $0.50 or so loss. I nerded out over them so much that I did a hobby report in 6th grade on my Star Wars CCG cards. I remember writing to Decipher to get more information about the game and they sent me back a massive packet of information, handwritten notes, and just all around awesomeness. I know I have that note somewhere still.
That nerdiness stayed with me throughout college and grad school. If I had to take a flight, it was a Star Wars book I would take with me. I still check out the Star Wars books from my library whenever new ones come in. My friends in grad school noticed, hence why one of them drew this little caricature:
And I got this bigass First Order Trooper for my birthday this year (Ewok Pez Dispenser for scale):
Anyways, that's just a small bit of my Star Wars nerdiness. Your KeyWok would just be another piece of that huge long geeked out history for me.
Obligatory creepy Wicket gif:
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