7-Elevens, Hayden Christensen, & Card Grails, “Let’sGo!” In this episode of Twin Suns, John and Nelly welcome Tony from Star Wars Sith 66 to revisit Star Wars Celebration Japan and tumble headfirst into Whatnot. We talk daily about 7-Eleven runs, shopping goldmines, Celebration chaos, and the moments when the convention finally clicked. Tony shares his biggest purchases, the merch that got away, and why Chicago remains his all-time favorite Celebration. We dive deep into the galaxy of Star Wars trading cards and discuss the moment Tony went all in, quit his job, and built a career with Whatnot. We break down card lingo, talk grail cards, and legendary pulls. Not to worry, the Hayden Christensen effect is discussed; however, this time, Shin Hati & Sabine make an appearance. And the word “bodacious” is used. The force is strong with this episode!

What was it like raising a young boy when Star Wars burst into the world in 1977? Look no further than today’s holiday episode, where I sit down with my mother, and we take a walk down memory lane together. From that very first opening crawl to being pulled out of school to see Return of the Jedi on opening Friday to all the grace notes: the action-figure certificate under the Christmas tree, boxes of Topps trading cards, the vinyl LP spinning endlessly, and my unwavering insistence on wearing a Star Wars T-shirt for school picture day.

To my mother, with love. And yes—I forgive you for vacuuming up my original Luke Skywalker lightsaber.

On today’s episode, we have the absolute pleasure of welcoming Ali, aka Alderaan baby! Ali shares with us her deep love of girl power in the Star Wars Expanded Universe Novels and Comics. Plus, the source of her “Star Wars-Inspired” outfits and jewelry, that can be seen on her Instagram. We discuss Novelizations, Queen’s Shadow, Bloodlines, The High Republic, Jedi Apprentice, Aftermath, and her love for SW Lofi. And of course, we deep dive her Hayden phot op at Japan Celebration. Did we mention she read over 170 books in the last 12 months? Star Wars fans, you won’t want to miss this one!