#50+ tags and tumblr nopes out

[jetii]

Event Horizon

Chapter Twenty-Five: Reformation

Chapter WC: 6,691

A/N: half this chapter and part of the next somehow got deleted and i crashed out but umm here's the rest. shorter chapter this week and next, then i promise we'll see our man and more 🙏

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter | Join the Taglist | Masterlist

Kamino, 21 BBY

Rex was right, of course.

Today is a big day.

Your shuttle touches down on the planet's surface, and the door opens to a blast of cold, wet air, the sound of the waves crashing against the platforms reaching your ears. You pull up the hood of your cloak and step onto the landing platform, your boots sliding on the wet duracreet, and a shiver runs through you. It's cold. And damp. And miserable. Exactly as you remember it.

You walk toward the entrance, your feet making a slapping sound against the duracreet, and you can't help but think about the last time you were here. Not too far from where you're walking, you had fought side-by-side with many of the clones that are about to become your men. And somewhere in the waters just beyond the edge of the platform, the bodies of hundreds of droids lay scattered across the ocean floor, their metal corpses slowly deteriorating into rust.

It's not a pleasant thought.

But it does bring a smile to your face.

You enter the facility, and the temperature-controlled warmth of the building immediately washes over you. The inside is much like the outside, utilitarian and austere. White walls, white floors, troopers in white armor marching past. It's a stark contrast to the chaos that's been the past few weeks of your life, and you would be grateful for the calm if it all wasn't so damn unsettling.

Water splatters onto the floor as you pull down your hood and wring out your hair, the sound of the droplets echoing through the cavernous space. The troopers that are passing by pause and turn, their heads tilting in your direction. You nod in acknowledgement, and they offer a polite salute, a brief, sharp movement of their arms, before continuing on their way.

In their wake, you see two figures approaching, and you let out a quiet sigh. One you recognize instantly, and the other, a Kaminoan, gives you a blank look that you can only interpret as distaste. Her eyes flicker to the puddle forming at your feet, and you resist the urge to scowl.

You had a feeling this meeting was going to be awkward.

"General Anathorn," Taun We says, her voice as stiff and cold as the air around her. "Welcome back."

You offer a small, polite smile and extend your hand, but the Kaminoan doesn't take it. Instead, she folds her long, slender fingers together and rests her hands in front of her, a detached, aloof expression on her face. It takes everything in you not to roll your eyes, and you instead turn your attention to Shaak-Ti, who's watching the exchange with a look of barely-veiled amusement.

"It's nice to see you again," she says, and the warmth in her tone is a welcome relief. She inclines her head in greeting, and you do the same, your smile turning genuine. "Congratulations again on your promotion."

You bite the inside of your cheek, unsure of how exactly to feel about that particular topic, and you're saved from having to answer as the Kaminoan lets out a small cough.

"If you will follow me," Taun We says, her voice laced with annoyance. "We have much to discuss."

You fall into step beside Shaak-Ti, Taun We walking on her other side, the two of them speaking in low voices. You tune them out, taking the opportunity to study your surroundings. You wouldn't know that the clone army had nearly been decimated here a mere month ago. The place is immaculate, not a single sign of battle anywhere. 

Even the scars that had covered the exterior of the building were gone, repaired and painted over. An effort to retain the illusion of safety. A facade to hide the truth.

It's hard not to feel a bit envious.

The three of you step into a hall with glass panels on either side, giving you an unfettered view of the large room below. The walls are lined with glass tanks, each one containing a clone in the earliest stage of development. They float in the liquid, their limbs barely formed, their bodies curled up in a fetal position. 

You can't help but wonder how many of these infants are destined for the front lines and how many will never even see the inside of a starfighter. It's a sobering thought, and you tear your gaze away, forcing yourself to focus on Taun We's voice as her head turns, her white on black eyes meeting yours.

"The facilities have been updated since your last visit," she tells you, as if the last time you were on planet, you were sightseeing. "There have been several upgrades to the training rooms and the medical bays, and we've increased the number of security measures, as per the Chancellor's orders."

You give a slight nod, unsure of how to respond, and she continues, her tone shifting slightly.

"There's also a new simulation," she says. "One based on a recent campaign."

The words make you freeze, and you turn toward her, your eyes narrowing.

"Which campaign?" you ask. The corners of her mouth lift.

"Felucia," she answers, her gaze moving back to the hall. You bite the inside of your cheek harder this time, your fingers curling into fists, and Taun We lets out a soft, satisfied sigh, a hint of pleasure in her voice. "I understand it was quite...memorable."

Your eyes drift to the side as a group of cadets walks by, and you take a deep breath, pushing down the anger and frustration threatening to rise. It shouldn't surprise you that the Kaminoans and their trainers would pick a failed mission as a learning experience. That they would use it as a means to teach the clones about their limitations, about the cost of failure.

The truth is, the loss on Felucia wasn't your fault. Not entirely. The situation had been a clusterfuck from the start. Between the weather, the terrain, and the sheer number of Separatist forces, it had been impossible to maintain control. You had done the best you could, given the circumstances, and the fact that most of the 212th and the 501st had survived was a miracle. The fact that Rex survived was a miracle.

But the Kaminoans and the trainers would see it differently. To them, the mission was a failure, and you were a Jedi who shouldn't have nearly given her life for a singular clone. You have no doubt they're using it as a way to drive home the need for a clone to follow orders, regardless of the situation.

You grit your teeth and swallow the retort on the tip of your tongue, knowing that any argument would be futile. This is their world. Their creation. Their playground. You are just a guest here, making a mess and leaving stains that are difficult to clean up.

Taun We's voice continues, a drone in the background, and the anger fades, replaced by a sudden rush of weariness. This was a mistake. You shouldn't have come here. You should've tried harder to find another option. Another way. Anything.

The group of cadets stumbles as the one leading the pack meets your gaze and stops dead in his tracks. His eyes are wide, his jaw hanging open, and he's staring at you as if you're a mythical creature come to life. You tilt your head and smile, giving him a small, friendly wave.

The gesture snaps him out of his daze, and he nudges the boy beside him, pointing in your direction. His friend's head turns, and he too stares, his eyes bulging out of his head. Slowly, the cadets behind them look up, and one by one, the group turns, the whole squad watching you, their gazes locked on your face.

You give another smile, and the lead cadet raises his hand, returning the gesture. There's a moment of hesitation, a pause, and a flurry of hands follow, each cadet saluting you, the gesture stiff and awkward, but earnest.

The sight is enough to pull you from your thoughts, and a smile spreads across your face, a small, amused laugh escaping your lips. 

They're young, barely ten standard years old, their features still round and soft, their bodies not yet grown. But there's a spark in their eyes, a gleam of intelligence, a sense of humor and curiosity. They're cute. Like oversized tooka kittens.

Taun We turns, her eyes landing on the group. The sudden movement is enough to break the spell, and the cadets snap back to attention, their shoulders straightening, their hands falling to their sides. They're down the hall and around the corner before she has a chance to speak. You try to hide your grin, but it's difficult.

The Kaminoan lets out an annoyed huff, her eyes focused on the next set of cadets coming down the hall.

"I would ask that you refrain from interrupting the cadets' training," she says, her voice cool and detached. "It is imperative that they remain focused, and the distraction will only lead to mistakes and delays."

"My apologies," you say, struggling to keep the sarcasm from your tone. "I didn't mean to get in the way."

She doesn't reply. You let the silence hang between the two of you until Shaak-Ti's eyes find yours, and she gives a slight shake of her head, a hint of a smile playing on her lips.

"This way," she says, and you fall back into step with her.

You make your way deeper into the facility, the conversation turning to more mundane matters, like the weather, the state of the war, and the progress of the new armor that will soon be standard issue for the clones. By the time you arrive at the conference room, you're practically bouncing off the walls, torn between turning tail and running back to your shuttle or begging for the tour to end so you can get your men and get out.

"Your new brigade is waiting for you in hangar bay six," Taun We informs you as the three of you step into the room. "Your commander will be along shortly."

You let out a sigh of relief, grateful to be away from her. She gives a curt nod and sweeps out of the room, her long white gown billowing behind her. You turn to Shaak-Ti, and the two of you share a look.

"I think she likes me," you say, and then, unable to stop yourself from adding the extra bit of sarcasm, add, "What a warm welcome."

Shaak-Ti merely gives you a polite smile, giving nothing away. You've known her for a while, and you've learned to read her better than most, but the Jedi Master can be as impenetrable as stone. Still, you have the feeling she agrees with you.

She looks you over, her gaze lingering on your face, and after a moment, her smile softens. The look in her eyes is familiar. It's the same look that Yaddle used to give you. A look of kindness and warmth. Of pride and approval.

"What is it?" you ask warily.

She hesitates, and for a moment, you're convinced she's going to say something that will send your already fragile mood spiraling. Instead, she reaches out and places a hand on your shoulder, her grip gentle but firm.

"I sense a change in you," she says, her voice low, her gaze locked onto yours. "You seem...different."

The words catch you off guard, and your eyes widen, a nervous feeling twisting in the pit of your stomach.

Different.

A month ago, a day ago, even, that word would have set off a wave of panic. It would have been a reminder of what happened, the memory of what you'd seen, the realization of how close you'd come to disaster. It would have sent you spiraling down the same path you'd been on before, the same path that led you here.

Now, however, the word holds a different meaning. It's not an accusation or a condemnation. It's not an indication of weakness or a mark of shame. It's a sign of growth, of maturity, of healing. 

And for the first time since you've known her, Shaak-Ti's gaze doesn't fill you with dread. Her words don't bring back the memories of the Council's betrayal, the pain of their dismissal, the guilt of Yaddle's death. Instead, it's as if a cloud has lifted, allowing you to see her for who she is, and not the person you have come to resent.

"It has been a long month," you reply, the words coming out softer than you had intended. Shaak-Ti hums in agreement.

"I am sorry for what happened," she says. Her grip tightens, and her eyes flicker away, the shame and guilt visible on her face. "I had hoped the Council would have listened to you. That we would have shown more compassion, this time and the last. But it is no excuse. You deserved better. You deserved a chance to grieve."

You're silent, unsure of how to respond. You've heard the apology before, from Obi-Wan and the other masters, but none of them had meant it. They had said the words out of obligation, not understanding the weight and depth of what they were saying. They hadn't understood what it had meant, what it had done.

But Shaak-Ti does. And she knows it.

The truth is, there's a part of you that still hates her. She took your master's seat on the Council, she was one of the voices that condemned you, and she's been a member of the Order long enough to know that their treatment of you was wrong. That they had failed you.

But the more rational part of you understands that it wasn't personal. It wasn't her decision, and the Council's actions were in the best interest of the Order. As much as it hurts, as much as it infuriates you, as much as it makes you want to scream, you can't fault her. Not anymore. Not after everything that's happened.

So instead, you reach up and place your hand over hers, a small, grateful smile on your face.

"Thank you," you tell her. Her eyes return to yours, a surprised look on her face. "For the apology, and for the support. It means a lot."

"Of course," she says, and the corners of her mouth lift. "And I am glad to see you are finally taking our advice."

Her words cause your shoulders to stiffen, a surge of defensiveness bubbling up. But the look on her face stops you short, and a wry smile tugs at the corner of her lips.

"That was a joke," she clarifies, and you snort, a surprised laugh escaping your lips.

"Right."

"I see the past few weeks have been good for you," she says. Her eyes twinkle, the expression on her face one of amusement and pride. "Your encounter with Count Dooku must have been...illuminating."

Your face heats up, and you duck your head, an embarrassed flush creeping up your neck. You had told Obi-Wan the bare bones of what happened, and he, in turn, had passed the information onto the Council. After a great deal of questioning, of course. And no small amount of suspicion. But they had decided to take you at your word, and that was all that mattered.

Or at least, that was what you told yourself.

You knew that the Council, or a few of the members at the very least, were suspicious. You also knew it would come back to haunt you eventually, but for now, you were content to ignore it. At least until after you had your first mission with your new men under your belt.

"Uh, yeah," you mutter, clearing your throat. "It was definitely an eye-opening experience."

"You've always had a knack for finding trouble," Shaak-Ti chuckles.

"Trouble finds me," you correct, and her chuckle turns into a laugh.

"Regardless," she says. "I am glad to see you are finally moving forward. And not just in regards to the Council."

Her words cause your heart to skip a beat, and a knot forms in the pit of your stomach, the butterflies fluttering inside. You try to play it off, but the blush on your cheeks gives you away, and the knowing look on her face tells you that she's well aware of the effect her words are having.

She seems to stop short of mentioning Obi-Wan directly, and for that, you're grateful. The idea of talking to her about how the two of you had decided to distance yourself from each other is almost as uncomfortable as the thought of discussing the nature of your relationship with Rex.

You'd spoken to Obi-Wan at length during the aftermath of Dooku's offer, the two of you going through the whole conversation, the Council meeting, the decision to put your friendship on hold. He had been sympathetic and supportive, and while there was a hint of disappointment in his eyes, he seemed content to accept the new status quo. Or at least, appear that way.

As for the matter of Rex, neither of you had brought it up. Not once. You had declared the topic strictly off-limits, and while the air between the two of you had cleared, there was still a lingering sense of awkwardness and discomfort. You had decided that the best thing to do was to avoid the issue entirely. At least for now.

"Yes, well," you say, shifting from one foot to the other, trying desperately to steer the conversation away from anything resembling feelings. "There's still a lot I have to learn."

"And there's a lot you can teach," Shaak-Ti replies, her tone encouraging. "Your experiences have given you a unique perspective, one that is often overlooked. A valuable asset. And the men will benefit from your newfound optimism. I have no doubt you will lead them well."

The words are unexpected, and you're not sure how to respond. You hadn't exactly expected a pep talk, especially from someone like Shaak-Ti. But as much as it confuses and surprises you, there's also a sense of gratitude and relief.

"Thank you," you say. "That means a lot, coming from you."

"It is the truth. I have always believed in your potential. As did Yaddle."

Her eyes flick down to your belt, and they settle on the second lightsaber hanging there. It had taken a great deal of courage and self-reflection to decide to place it the clip where your shoto had once hung this morning, and it had taken even more courage and self-reflection not to immediately remove it again. 

It still felt odd and unnatural, but somehow, it also felt right. As if the weight of the weapon was exactly what you needed to bring you into balance.

"She would be proud of the Jedi you have become," Shaak-Ti continues, and you let out a humorless laugh.

"I'm not sure about that," you mumble. "But I'm trying."

She opens her mouth to reply, but the sound of the door sliding open cuts her off, and the two of you turn to see a tall, broad-shouldered clone stride through. He's wearing armor you've never seen before, a new design that's sleeker and more streamlined than the usual. His helmet is the most noticeable difference, the lack of fin and rounder, smoother silhouette a stark contrast to the familiar T-shaped visor. 

There's a flurry of activity in the hallway behind him, and the door closes, cutting off the commotion. The trooper takes a deep breath, the movement causing his chestplate to expand, and his feet snap together, his hand raising to his head in a crisp, formal salute.

"General," he says stiffly.

You blink, taken aback by the formality, the lack of a nickname or any sort of personal acknowledgement. You're not used to such a cold greeting, and you wonder if maybe there's been a mistake. Maybe you've mistaken him for someone else, or perhaps he's got the wrong room.

You feel a thread of amusement tug at the back of your mind, and the realization dawns on you. Of course. He's putting on a show, drawing out the reveal, making the entrance more dramatic than necessary.

You let out a huff, struggling to suppress a smile, and you give him a curt nod, playing along.

"You remember Commander Booker," Shaak-Ti says, turning toward the commander, a hint of a smile on her face.

He's still standing in the same spot, stiff as a board, and you can't help but feel a little guilty. The man had been waiting outside, listening for his cue, and you'd given him nothing. He deserves a reaction at the very least, and you offer him a smile, hoping it's enough.

"How could I forget?" you ask. "It's been a while."

"It has, sir," he agrees, his hand lowering to his side. "But the memories are still fresh. Especially the ones where you nearly got me killed."

You let out a bark of laughter, the comment catching you off guard, and Shaak-Ti shakes her head, a disapproving frown on her face. Booker's shoulders, however, are shaking with silent laughter.

He takes a step forward and pulls his helmet off, revealing a familiar set of dark brown eyes, a crooked nose, and messy hair. It's only been a few weeks since you've seen him, but he looks older, somehow, stronger and more confident

The helmet goes onto the table with a thud, and he runs a hand over his hair, pushing it back into a more controlled style. The smile on his face fades, and he takes a deep breath, his expression shifting into something more serious.

"Good to see you again, sir," he says, and the warmth and sincerity in his voice is a welcome relief. "I've been looking forward to this for a while now."

You let out a quiet snort and move forward, holding out your hand. "Likewise."

"You look good," he says as he accepts your handshake, his hand clasping your forearm. "For someone who's been through hell."

"Heard about that, did you?" you ask with a grimace.

"Just the highlights," he replies, shrugging. "I hear it was pretty bad."

"It wasn't pretty," you confirm. You release his arm, and he nods, his expression solemn.

"I'm sorry."

The words take you aback, and the shock must be visible on your face, because he continues, a serious, determined look in his eye.

"I'll make sure we inspect the ship thoroughly before we leave," he says. "I don't want anything like that happening again. Ever."

You manage a small, grateful smile, touched by the sincerity. The memory of the explosion, the fight, the aftermath, is still raw, and it's a wound that's barely healed. To have someone acknowledge it and offer to do something about it is more comforting than you'd expected.

"Appreciate it," you tell him. "And thank you."

Booker nods, his gaze moving over your shoulder. His eyes meet Shaak-Ti's, and he straightens, his expression hardening.

"I trust everything is in order, Commander?" she asks, and he gives a sharp nod.

"Yes, General," he replies, his tone formal and clipped. "The men are ready and waiting."

"Very good," she says. With a slight incline of her head, she turns to you. "It was a pleasure speaking with you. I wish you the best of luck in your new command."

"Thank you," you tell her. "For everything."

"May the Force be with you," she says, a warm, knowing look on her face. With that, she strides past you and heads towards the door. She pauses at the threshold, and turns back to Booker. "Please escort your general to the hangar bay. She has much to prepare for."

He gives a curt nod, and the two of you watch as the door slides shut, leaving the two of you alone. For a moment, you stand in silence, taking each other in. Then, Booker smiles, the corners of his eyes crinkling.

"So," he drawls. "What do you think of the new look?"

You let out a soft laugh, studying him. He seems taller than before, though you're not sure if it's the armor or just his natural build. The armor is lighter, the plates smaller, and the helmet is sleek and smooth.

It's a subtle shift, but you can see the difference in the way he's standing. There's a lightness, a speediness, a fluidity to the new armor that the previous one lacked. And while it still looks a bit bulky and cumbersome, it's a far cry from the clunky, clumsy appearance it had before.

"I like it," you say. You give him an appraising look and cross your arms, tilting your head to the side. "It's a bit more...elegant."

Booker lets out a loud laugh, the sound echoing off the walls. He shakes his head and leans over, plucking his helmet off the table and turning it around in his hands.

"Elegant, huh? I don't know about that." He looks up, his eyes finding yours, a mischievous gleam in his gaze. "But I'll tell you one thing. It's a hell of a lot easier to see out of. Not to mention move."

"Is that so?" you ask. He grins.

"We've already seen a decrease in troopers tripping over their own feet. And that's just the first day."

He holds the helmet out to you, and you take it, your hands wrapping around the edges. It's lighter than you had expected, the material smooth and cool to the touch. You study it, admiring the details, the sleek lines and sharp edges.

"It's a prototype," he tells you. "Not officially released yet, but the boys and I have been testing it out."

You give a noncommittal hum and flip the helmet over, studying the inner workings. It's not the most high-tech piece of equipment, but it's still a vast improvement from the original. You feel a small amount of relief that the GAR was finally listening to the clones and making some upgrades. It's about damn time.

"I, uh, didn't want to paint it yet," Booker says, and the slight hesitation in his tone causes you to look back up. "Wasn't sure what color you wanted to go with."

You find yourself staring at him, unsure of how to respond. The idea of choosing the colors for the brigade hadn't remotely crossed your mind. To be honest, you had forgotten that was something you were supposed to do. It seemed so trivial, so superficial. So insignificant compared to everything else that needed to be done.

But the look on his face, the anticipation, the excitement, is enough to remind you that this is important. To him, at least. And to the other men. 

You may not care about the color of your armor, but they do. They want to stand out, to be noticed, to be distinguished. And if choosing the colors is the first step in showing them that you care, that you respect their individuality, it's the least you can do.

You give him a warm smile and hand the helmet back. "Well, I'm sure we can come up with something."

"We can workshop it, if you want," he offers. "Once we're underway. Give the men a chance to put their opinions forward. See what they like."

The offer is unexpected, and you're touched by the thoughtfulness. You had been planning on making the choice yourself, but now that he's brought it up, the idea of including the other clones in the process seems far more fitting. And more than a little relieving. You've lived most of your life in white and beige robes, and the last thing you want is to subject the men to a similar fate.

"I like that," you tell him, and his smile widens.

"I'll let the boys know," he says. He tucks the helmet under his arm and moves towards the door. "I'm sure they're already thinking of ideas."

You follow him out the doors and into the hallway, and the two of you walk side-by-side, the conversation turning to the men, their training, their readiness for the fight ahead. Booker has already gotten a head start, having spent the past couple weeks drilling the new recruits. According to him, the boys are "ready for anything."

The pride and enthusiasm in his voice makes it difficult to question him, so you don't. You just let him talk, taking advantage of the distraction his presence provides. Tomorrow, you'll no doubt have a long list of things to worry about. But for now, you can just focus on getting through today.

"And they're ready to meet you," he continues. He flashes you a smile, the corners of his eyes crinkling in amusement. "They've been waiting for weeks."

"Really?" you ask, surprised. "Why?"

Booker stops, and he turns to you, an incredulous look on his face.

"Uh, because you're a hero, sir," he replies, as if the answer should be apparent.

You let out a snort, amused by the comment. "That's a bit of an exaggeration."

Booker gives you a look, his eyes narrowing slightly, and the air between the two of you shifts. His posture becomes stiffer, his gaze more serious. You swallow the lump in your throat, feeling a slight sense of trepidation.

"No, sir, it's not," he says, his tone clipped and formal. "Not to me, and certainly not to my brothers."

You let out a quiet breath, the knot in your stomach tightening. You had been hoping to avoid this topic, at least for a few days. But it seems as if Booker isn't willing to wait.

"They remember what happened," he continues, his voice low, his eyes locking onto yours. "They saw what you did. They watched you throw yourself into the line of fire. They saw you save our lives."

He steps closer, and you take a step back, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. You had done what any decent person would do during the battle here. You had been trying to keep everyone alive, not play the part of the hero. And while you can appreciate the sentiment, you also know that the men have a tendency to make a bigger deal out of things than necessary. Especially Booker.

"They've been waiting for you since they heard the news," he says. His tone is soft, but his words are firm, unyielding. "They're excited. They want to meet you."

You give a small nod, unsure of how to respond. This is a new side of him, one you've never seen before. The man in front of you is different than the one you knew, and the sudden change is unnerving. It makes you feel like you're on unfamiliar ground. Like you're being judged.

Booker stares at you, his eyes searching your face, his gaze intense and penetrating. For a moment, neither of you speak, and you're unsure of what to do. If you should speak. If you should try to explain. If you should simply accept the praise.

After what feels like an eternity, his expression changes, the seriousness fading. A slow, easy grin spreads across his face, and he reaches up and squeezes your shoulder.

"I get it," he says. "But trust me, they're not looking at you like some kind of legend. They're just happy to have a general who cares."

You open your mouth, the denial on the tip of your tongue, but Booker cuts you off, giving your shoulder another squeeze.

"Just trust me on this," he says, his gaze softening. His grin widens, and he releases his hold. "The men are going to love you."

"Okay," you relent, the word coming out as a sigh. "I'll take your word for it."

The truth is, you're not convinced the men will even want anything to do with you. But if you're going to be their general, you need to set a good example. That means showing confidence, and that means believing in yourself, even if you don't. And if the men are ready, willing, and eager to fight for you, it's the least you can do to give them the same.

After another long look, Booker gives you a nod, and the two of you start down the hall once more. You're relieved the conversation is over, but you can't help the nagging feeling in the back of your mind. Something is bothering him. And judging by the look on his face, it has something to do with you.

You keep the conversation centered around the troops and what's expected of you in the coming days. As soon as everyone is loaded into your new Venator, the Oracle, you'll be following the 501st to Bothawui, where you'll rendezvous with the 212th and the rest of the fleet. From there, the plan is to hit Separatist outposts, supply lines, and bases, anywhere that needs your attention. And according to the Senate, that's just about everywhere.

The war is in full swing, and it's going to be a while before things begin to settle.

By the time you reach the doors to the platform overlooking the hangar bay, the sun has begun to dip below the horizon, pockets of warm, golden light seeping through the clouds. The sky is a brilliant mix of red and orange and gold, the colors shimmering off the clouds and the ocean, the whole world outside the window bathed in the dying rays of the setting sun.

As beautiful as it is, however, it also brings with it the realization that the time has come. There's no running from it now.

Booker steps aside, his hand resting on the keypad. He gives you a slight nod, and you take a deep breath, letting the calm of the Force settle over you. It's now or never.

"Ready, sir?" he asks, and you let out a small laugh.

"As I'll ever be."

"You're gonna be fine," he tells you, his tone confident. "They're going to love you. Just wait and see."

You give him a slight smile, hoping that's the case.

He pushes a button on the panel, and the doors slide open. The sound of hundreds of voices fills the air as you step through, your eyes sweeping over the mass of soldiers gathered below. It's a sea of white armor, rows and rows stretching and curving in all directions. They're packed in tightly, forming neat, orderly lines, the perfect picture of discipline and obedience.

They're ready for their commander, and you know it's only a matter of moments before they find out exactly who that is.

The thought is enough to send your stomach into knots. You're not used to being the center of attention, and the prospect of speaking in front of so many is unsettling. Especially since they'll be judging every word, every gesture, every movement.

You try to keep your nerves under control, focusing on the Force, on your training, on anything and everything except the fear. You have nothing to worry about. It's just a few words, and it's not as if the entire future of the Republic depends on them. No pressure.

As you step closer to the edge of the platform, you notice a few soldiers turn, their heads snapping up. You can see their gazes following you as you make your way to the railing, and as soon as you stop, the whole group comes to attention, the sound of boots hitting the floor filling the air.

There's a hush that falls over the room, and a shiver runs down your spine, a flutter in your stomach. You can't see their eyes, but the feeling in the Force is unmistakable. Excitement. Anticipation. Pride.

It's almost enough to knock the breath out of you.

For a moment, all you can do is stand there, overwhelmed by the sheer intensity of the emotions washing over you. It's as if a wave has crashed over the crowd, the energy rising, cresting, and breaking against the wall of the platform. You've never felt anything like it before, and it takes a great deal of effort to stay upright. To remain in control. To not collapse under the weight of it.

Booker comes to your rescue, stepping forward and raising his hand.

"Alright, men," he says, his voice ringing through the hangar. "Listen up! Our new general has arrived!"

His words are enough to snap you out of your daze, and you straighten, forcing the feelings aside. You take a deep breath, gathering your courage. This is it. No more delaying. No more stalling. It's now or never.

With one final glance at Booker, you take a step forward and raise your voice, hoping it's loud enough to carry.

"Thank you," you begin. Your voice carries through the room, and the men below go still, their attention completely focused on you. "Welcome to the 419th. I won't waste time. I know that, for some of you, this is the first time you've stepped foot off Kamino. For others, it's your first time seeing a real battle. But whatever your experience, whatever your history, we are all here for the same purpose. To serve the Republic. To bring justice and peace to the people of the galaxy. And I am honored to lead you."

The words come out stronger than you expected, and the feeling is surreal. You had been terrified that the moment would be filled with stutters and mistakes, but it's not. In fact, you barely feel nervous at all. The men below are listening to you, their focus completely on your words.

"We have a difficult task ahead of us, but no one of us is fighting alone. Every member of this brigade is important. Every life is precious. And every man is irreplaceable," you continue, a rush of confidence filling you. "Whatever challenges we face, whatever trials we must endure, we will face them together. We will overcome them together. And we will defeat the Separatists, together."

A murmur spreads through the men, and you glance at Booker, who's giving you a slight nod. His eyes are shining with pride, and the sight is enough to fill your chest with warmth. You turn back to the troops, a smile spreading across your face. And as the words leave your mouth, you find yourself actually meaning them. Actually believing them.

Because this time, things are different.

This time, you're going to win.

You're going to prove everyone wrong.

"Today marks the beginning of a new chapter in our lives," you say. "Today, we embark on a journey that will shape the future of the Republic. Today, we show the galaxy that the clone troopers are the heroes the Republic needs.

"And from this day forward, I will be standing beside you. In victory, and defeat, and whatever else may come."

The words are barely out of your mouth before the room erupts, a cheer echoing through the air. The noise is deafening, the sound rattling the floor beneath your feet. And the feeling is indescribable.

“Told you, sir!”

Booker claps a hand on your shoulder, shaking you slightly, and he's practically vibrating with excitement. You turn, and the smile on his face is enough to bring tears to your eyes. You're not sure how long it takes before the noise finally dies down, but by the time it does, you're grinning like an idiot.

You stand there, letting the moment wash over you, taking in the feeling. For the first time since Geonosis, you finally feel ready. You finally feel prepared. You finally feel like the leader these men need.

Most importantly, you finally feel like yourself again. And no matter what happens, you won't let these men down.

"Alright," you say, your voice barely audible above the noise. "Let's get started."

taglist: @baddest-batchers @lolwey @chocolatewastelandtriumph @hobbititties @mere-bear

@thegreatpipster @tentakelspektakel @notslaybabes @aynavaano @floofyroro

@ayyyy-le-simp @mali-777 @schrodingersraven @megmegalodondon @dangraccoon

@heavenseed76 @dreamie411 @sukithebean @bimboshaggy @bunny7567

@lostqueenofegypt @9902sgirl @jedi-dreea @salaminus @heidnspeak

@ghostymarni @gottalovehistory @mrcaptainrex @burningnerdchild @yoitsjay

@callsign-denmark @julli-bee @moonychicky @captn-trex @feral-ferrule

@webslinger-holland @marchingviolist @cw80831 @chaicilatte @somewhere-on-kamino

@sensitive-shark @kashasenpai @kkdrawsdecently @isaidonyourknees @awkwardwookie

@sugarrush-blush @lunaastars @capricornrabies @champagnejaig @silly-starfish

@veralii @chubbyhedgehog @lordofthenerds97 @meshlajetii

@heaven1207 @808tsuika @aanncummings @lugiastark @maniacalbooper

[the-terror-rarepair-month]

Did you miss Rarepair Week last year? Well, I @p0rchc0ll4ps3 and @theremustbeabear bring you Rarepair Month 2025, which is basically the same as a weeklong fest but monthlong instead! Hoping to encourage more fics, longer fics, more art, etc!

This is an all-fanworks-invited month to celebrate Terror ships with under 50 tagged fics on Ao3 as of February the 1st, 2025! This year's theme is "The Way It Goes, Goes Differently with Each Cycle of the Sun."

This is an 18+ event! All participants must be 18+ to participate. No exceptions!

Starting on February 1st, 2025 you can post your fics to the Ao3 Collection HERE or your fanworks to Tumblr or Twitter or whatever Social Media with the tag #trpm25 (but I'll only be able to reblog the Tumblr ones). (also idgaf if you make anything beforehand so long as it's posted after February 1st).

Join our general Terror Discord HERE! We have a channel for the event.

Additionally, feel free to request pairings through this Google Forms link HERE (one request per submission; please don't request the same pair more than once per person. everyone can see you. we'll shame you). This form sends responses to a Google Sheets HERE. Feel free to check the out the stats for the requested pairings (there's a chart on the far right, scroll right)! Please ignore the animals (you'll know when you see them on the sheet), they're load-bearing and I'm afraid things will break if I remove them.

FAQ:

Are you affiliated with Terror Rarepair Week of Years past? --Nope! Just excited to take on the mantle. (And I did check if I was allowed to take it up before starting this!)

What counts as a rarepair? --The pair (or more) must have less than 50 tagged works under the Terror (2018) tag on Ao3 as of February 1, 2025. The pairing MUST BE the main part of the fanwork.

What counts as a ship? --Two or more characters get together. Throuples and beyond count!

Can the ship be platonic? --Absolutely! Both Romantic (/) and Platonic (&) ship pairings are allowed.

Is there a word limit? --Nope! However little or much as you like. We do challenge you to write 1k or more, however!

Can I do art? --Absolutely, MOST welcome. Any type of fanwork is acceptable!!

Must I follow the prompts? --Nope! Prompts are just there to inspire you. Any part of the prompt [Location (sub-location); 3 different options provided] is allowed to be used!

Does it have to be during canon? --Nope! Post-canon, during-canon, AU, anything goes!

Can I mix this with other events? --Absolutely! You can mix this with any other event co-occurring during the month of February so long as that event allows mixing as well.

Can I do OC x Canon; or Crossover x Canon? --Preferably not! I'd like to keep the fanworks to within the general Terror pool.

Can I do RPF of the actors? Or RPF of the real people the show was based off? --Sure, why not. Go for it. It's within the general Terror pool!

Can I submit throuples (3 in a ship) to the request form? --Absolutely! Anything from 2 or more counts. Poly is totally cool!

Is the form required to be filled out? --Nope! You can do whatever you want forever; the form just gives everyone an idea of what's going on.

Can I submit NSFW to the request form? --Yep! But remember, all the prompts will be in one place; there's no separation of SFW and NSFW, and there's no content warnings. Your prompts will be public!

My ship is already on the request form! --Submit whatever your heart desires. The form and its subsequent chart helps track how popular a desired rarepair may be!!

I can only submit one ship to the request form! --You can fill the form out multiple times; but only 1 pairing per submission per person! PLEASE don't submit a ship more than once per person, that's cheating, and we'll hunt you down for it.

Must I follow / pick only from the requests form? --Nope! The requests form is just there for fun to give you an idea of what ships people have been thinking of / a fun challenge if you want to try something different! You're not assigned anything.

Okay that's all, enjoy!

Prompt transcription below the cut.

Week 1 (Jan. 31–Feb. 6): KING WILLIAM ISLAND (On the Shale) Won't Be Coming Home — Wish You Were Here — It All Goes Dark

Week 2 (Feb. 7–Feb. 13): HMS TERROR & EREBUS (In the Water) Shared Interests — Stolen Glances — Fate

Week 3 (Feb. 14–Feb. 20): CARNIVALE (On the Ice) Rescue — Finding You Again — Home

Week 4 (Feb. 21–Feb. 28) LONDON (In Our Dreams) Can't Sleep — Seeking Warmth — The Sky Alight

[percy-and-rachel-events]

Perachel Bingo Week F.A.Q.

Q: What is Perachel?

A: It's the romantic relationship between Percy Jackson and Rachel Elizabeth Dare.

Q: I prefer to make fanworks of them as friends. Is that allowed?

A: Absolutely! Just make sure that Percy & Rachel's friendship is the focus of the fanwork.

Q: When is the event?

A: It's seven days long! July 28th, 2024 to August 3rd, 2024.

Q: How does a bingo week work?

A: I have provided prompts, link here. For everyday you participate, you create one work based on one of the prompts on that list! Totally up to you which ones to choose. You must use a different prompt everyday, no repeats.

Q: Do I have to participate everyday and make 7 works?

A: Absolutely not!! However many works you want to make is fine! If you just want to do one, that's great! If you want to do all 7 that's amazing!

A: ...For the one insane (/affectionate) friend who said they wanted to do all 12... you are one of a kind. Please take care and don't burn out. The point is to have fun, not to stress!

Q: What if I don't finish in time?

A: I will leave the ao3 collection open and continue reblogging fanworks on tumblr until August 10th.

Q: Where is the ao3 collection? How do I add my fanwork?

A: Its right here. To add your work to the collection, when you're about to post it to ao3, scroll to Associations -> "Post to Collections/Challenges" and type in: Perachel_Bingo2024 as shown below.

Q: I want you to reblog the works I made for this event! Why didn't you?

A: I want to reblog them! Just make sure you follow the regulations on content.

Q: What are the regulations on content?

1. The focus of the fanwork must be on Percy and Rachel. 2. No Percy Jackson or Rachel Elizabeth Dare bashing. This is a hard rule that will be enforced. If I see bashing, I will remove the works from the ao3 collection and I will not reblog it here. 3. NSFW content is allowed, however it must be appropriately tagged here and on ao3. Additionally on tumblr all nsfw content must be hidden under a "read-more" to be reblogged on his account. That is another hard rule. This event is open for all ages, and I hope to provide a safe space for everyone.

Q: What does Rachel or Percy bashing mean?

A: Bashing for this event will be defined as inventing qualities etc. to hate on the characters [Percy or Rachel] and not giving them any redeeming qualities to balance it out.

Q: Does that mean I can't write any tragic stories where they die/suffer?

A: Tragic stories and sad endings are absolutely allowed!! I just don't want Percy or Rachel to be morally demonized. As long as you steer clear of that, you're good!

Q: How do I insert a "read-more" on laptop and mobile?

A: On laptop web, when you start a new line you'll see these icons (in the pic below). Click the grey one on the far right, with the squiggly line instead the two straight horizontal lines. The "read-more" should pop up immediately!

A: On mobile, type :readmore: . No spaces, just the colons plus the letters. It won't pop up immediately; but it should show up when you save as draft, queue or post.

Q: What kind of fanworks can I make?

A: Anything! Fanfics, fanart, moodboards, poems, playlists etc. If it's made/complied by you and complies with tumblr and ao3's rules, then you can submit it!

Q: Is there a minimum or maximum wordcount for fanfics?

A: Nope! Want to challenge yourself and write a 50 word mini fic? Go for it! Your one-shot spiraled into a novella? Please share, I'd love to read it!

Q: You didn't choose the 12 most popular prompts from the poll results!

A: Nope! 4-5 prompts were already chosen, regardless of the poll! The other 7-8 were determined by the most popular poll results. That's the perk of running the event, I get to decide everything :)

Q: I have more questions that aren't answered here.

A: My inbox is open. Feel free to ask! :)

[voxofthevoid]

Tropes Game

Tagged by @cursedvibes. Thanks, man! This looks fun, and I loved reading your responses <3

Rules

How much do these tropes affect your decision to click on a fic?

-10 -> very dissuaded

0 -> don’t care either way

10 ->  very enticed

nope -> if it’s a hard no and you’d never click on a fic with that tag or or you even have the tag blocked or you’d insta click out of the fic if it wasn’t tagged.

Bonus points for explaining the rating and whether it’s conditional.

Trope List

Age gap:   7/10

Age gap alone isn’t a selling point for me, especially since there’s a world of difference between, say, 30/40, 20/30, 15/25, 50/500, etc. But if I get into a ship that has an age gap, especially a le problematique one, I will lean into it full tilt, as you can currently see with goyuu. There’s a lot of fun, often fucked-up, things to be done with differing life experiences and maturity levels, and that’s usually interesting to explore. From the reading end, it depends on the individual ship and also how the specific fic approaches it.

Codependency   10/10

Hell to the fuck yeah! I prefer unhealthy relationships over healthy ones (...in fiction, Tumblr), and codependency tends to add a fun flavor. I’m picky about it when reading. I default to it when writing.

Enemies to lovers   10/10

Good stuff, and I’ll never say no to some violent hate sex. I don’t have many ships like this though; it’s mostly something I read. Or make AUs of.

Enemies with benefits   6/10

Fun concept, depends on the execution. I’d prefer that it become enemies to lovers in the end, however.

Fake dating/relationship   -7/10

It’s not an instaquit, and I have read and enjoyed fics with this premise, but the trope itself is something that I’m not a fan of. Mostly because it tends to follow a certain romcom formula that I’m not a fan of.

Found family   -5/10

I’ll read it, and as a theme, it’s fine, but for one, what I often see described as found family is...not. It’s friendship—and that’s my preference anyway. Friends who support and love each other, without the label of family attached. This is a heavily personal preference, obviously.

Friends to lovers   7/10

It’s good; it can be fun. The way friendship evolves into a romantic and/or sexual relationship can also be quite interesting and emotionally fulfilling.

Friends with benefits   7/10

As a central relationship, I’d prefer that it become friends to lovers eventually. The execution matters again because too romcomy, and I get turned off. Throw in some emotional fuckery, and I’m sold. It’s also one of my go-to flavors for minor/background/past relationships when writing. Friends who fuck without strings is a fun concept.

Hurt/comfort   8/10

A solid concept, and depending on the execution, it can range from pleasant to devastating (in a good way).

Love triangle   -10/10

A “proper” love triangle is something I find about as compelling as stale vomit. It’s not an instant nope because I like the sort that evolves into poly—either triads or V-style poly (that is, A/B and C/B, with A and C as metamours). When reading, I prefer the former, and when writing, I prefer the latter.

Mistaken/hidden identity   10/10

Sign me the fuck up. Identity porn is almost as good as actual porn.

Monster fu… relationship   10/10 (100/10)

I have "Monsterfuckers Inc.” as a semi-frequently used fic tag on Ao3. I’ll let you guess just how into this I am. I’m into it for the freaky sex, but typical relationship development is always a plus.

Obsession, possessiveness, etc   10/10

Unhealthy relationships my beloved.

Opposites (like grumpy×sunshine, etc)    0/10

Fine in theory, but whether I’m into it depends on the execution. I don’t think I write it much.

Poly   7/10

JJK is the first time I’ve written (and planning to write more) poly relationships, but I’ve read and enjoyed quite a few in previous fandoms. Again, execution matters, but the concept is fun.

pregnancy   nope/10

Major squick, and it seems to be becoming more and more of one these days. Ironically, I’m very into breeding kink and monster-style impregnation (eggpreg, insta-birth-type monster offspring etc.). It’s realistic pregnancy (and the mpreg equivalent of realistic pregnancy) that puts me off.

Second chance   0/10

Rated it neutral because this can be either 10/10 or -10/10 for me depending on how it’s handled. No middle ground lol.

Sex to feelings   10/10

Been there done that. Love the concept, can go rabid over it if done right. I certainly like writing it.

Slowburn   6/10

I’ve read and enjoyed plenty of slowburn fics, but it’s not a formula I’m a fan of. When I write it, it always tends to be the “sex to feelings” sort.

Soulmates   0/10

Another case of either 10/10 or -10/10. The easiest way to get me into it is to play into the horror/angst aspects. “People who fate decreed as belonging to each other” doesn’t appeal much to me.

Tagging (no pressure) @thelionshoarde @actualalligator @stilllostinthedaydream and @sorrythatwasamistake @joeys-piano and anyone else who wants to do it

[thetragicallynerdy]

20 Questions for fic writers

I got tagged by @zombiethingy, thanks so much for the tag pal!!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

50!! I just hit 50 with my last kinktober fill, it's neat haha. Halfway to 100 XD

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

728,567. I write... a lot lmao. I would love to hit 900K by the end of the year - I've got an 150K+ fic that's unposted in it's entirety that I'd like to finish by then, we'll see if it happens!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

OFMD, UnDeadwood, Critical Role (Campaign 1), and Leverage. Mostly OFMD and UnDeadwood, though!

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

but don't you shake alone (Leverage, 817 kudos, blows my mind every time)

In Which Mr Sharpe Is In Need Of A Rescue (UnDeadwood, 252 kudos, my first fic ever written!)

i like to call myself wound (but i will answer to knife) (OFMD, 221 kudos)

every bit as feral (UnDeadwood, 178 kudos)

for my life, still ahead, pity me (CR 1, 167 kudos)

And looking at this list, I now realize that all of my top kudos'd fics are whump fics XD

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Sure do!! I can take a while to respond because of the Executive Dysfunction but I try to always respond.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Hmmm. Either something from the UnDeadwood whumptober collection (I can't think of one, because I wrote them 3 years ago, but some were damn sad), or the weight of another unearned victory.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Oooh that's tough! I dunno, I tend to like writing if not happy endings at least hopeful endings. Three that stand out are 1) i will stay, if you dare, 2) i found love where it wasn't supposed to be and 3) Ask Me Anything OFMD SMAU - because they all start out or get super sad (bad breakup, character death, and character death midway respectively) and end super happy.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not on ao3, but I've gotten anon hate on tumblr for the ships I write after posting fic snippets!

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes lmao. It is the majority of what I write right now. As for what kind - ehhh that's hard to say! I write a lot of different stuff! But mainly: smut featuring Jim from OFMD or Clayton from UnDeadwood. I write a lot of trans/nonbinary smut for both characters.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Nah, not really my thing!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my awareness? Honestly I'm not a big enough fic writer/don't write for popular enough ships/fandoms to really be worried about it.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Sure have! Three published, and another few in the works. I really enjoy co-writing, it's always a fun experience.

@askmeanythingofmd (ao3: ask me anything ofmd) with @yerbamansa

a grave softer than your end with @eldritchjackalope

i found love where it wasn't supposed to be with @lovewithagirl

@lovewithagirl and I are also currently co-writing a really long sad Jim/Ed post s1 fic, and have a few other ideas we're messing around with really casually! We co-write together pretty often <3

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Oh this is a tough question haha! That I write for: Jim/Olu and Jim/Ed or some combo of poly ships with them (OFMD), Clayton/Aly/Matthew, Clay/Aly, Clay/Matthew (UnDeadwood).

Other faves include Arthur/Eames (Inception), Parker/Elliot/Hardison (Leverage), and I'm blanking on any others lmao. But those are the big ones!

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Oh man, so many. I have a lot of WIPs that get abandoned tbh. The big ones are both for UnDeadwood - The Lighthouse AU and The Nemesis AU. Both sitting at pretty high word counts (50 and 90K respectively). I'd love to finish both, but not sure it'll happen. Maybe someday, though!

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think I'm good at adding in details? Specifically details around what characters are thinking/feeling/experiencing. Or at least I try to be lol. I find writing dialogue pretty easy, and I think I'm decent at smut and whump writing.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Worldbuilding my beloathed lmao. I find it really boring, so basically never do it.

Detailed settings are also pretty hard for me to write - I don't picture places in my head easily at all, so I basically do as little work as possible with it. Which is something I'd like to work on, because I really enjoy very place/space heavy writing.

Also conciseness XD I am a wordy bastard, and always write way too much lmaooo.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I've done it using google translate, I try to keep it pretty minimal because I don't actually speak any other languages and I know it's not going to be very accurate.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

UnDeadwood my beloved <3

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Ooh, that's really tough. I've gotta go with i threw stones at the stars but the whole sky fell - it holds a really special place in my heart. (If we're talking smut, then probably we both go down together XD) For unpublished stuff, the long sad fic I'm co-writing with @lovewithagirl is probably my favourite thing I'm currently writing.

---

Thanks so much for the tag, this was a lot of fun!! Neat to look back, too.

I'm gonna tag (but only if you feel like it friends!) @yerbamansa, @dragonmuse, @yourlocal-charlatan, and @alfalfairy.

If you didn't get tagged but see this and want to do it, consider yourself tagged!!

[the-bus-called-graveyard-8]

I figured out why my gif tag is missing posts. It has to be one of the first 20 tags on the post. I thought that rule was just for searching all of tumblr, but nope it's for individual blogs too. So once again, thanks a lot tumblr. If I want to put 50 hyper-specific tags on my posts for my own sorting purposes, I should be able to 😑

[a-romantics-guide-to-life]

AHH THANK YOU FOR TAGGING ME!!

so fun fact ya'll is actually, i was on ao3 YEARS before I even found tumblr so i just wanna say that most of my old fics are like YEARS old cause even before I got on to ao3, I used to write in like old notebooks (but like, who hasn't) so even then, some of the things I wrote were from middle school years!

anyway on with the show ; )

20 Questions for Fic Writers

How many works do you have on ao3?

So right now, I have six fics but, I am probably going to upload my new works on there as I post them here! I will also say that two of the fics were like theories I had on old fandoms I was a part of so those aren't really fics. (I think I may make a new acc for my new fics only because I like actually hate my old fics)

What's your total ao3 word count?

My total word count is 14,979 (I haven't updated these fics since 8th grade lmaoo)

What fandoms do you write for?

So before, I was a HUGE My Hero Academia fan so I mainly wrote for that fandom as well as Bungou Stray Dogs and Hunter x Hunter during middle school.

At the moment, TBOSAS, Billy the Kid (2022), Harry Potter (will forever love this series), and White Collar.

Top five fics by kudos:

They go

me and my husband (hxh)

redemption (multi-fandom) and promise (mha) are tied

WAIT WHATTT (this was just a reaction to something that happened in the manga lol)

heather (mha)

and yet another theory fic I had for a fan series

yea it was bad, middle school me was a little craazy

Do you respond to comments?

YES! I LOVE COMMENTS AND REBLOGS! It makes me so happy when people share their thoughts and I just appreciate the support so much so thank you!

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

So, most of my old works, I never finished lol but Heather was based on the song by Conan Gray so that was probably would have been my angstiest fic if i had ever finished it! But in terms of fics I have actually finished, there have been like 0 angsty endings cause I just love the characters so much that I literally can't.

Planned endings however, there are several so be on the look out!

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

So officially, Promise which was a Hawks x Dabi fanfic that I wrote in 7th grade on ao3. Of course, I have MANY wips so those aren't done yet but I write mostly happy endings so maybe I'll do this again in the future? WE SHALL SEE

Do you get hate on fics?

No only because I haven't posted many of my fanfictions because I write mainly for myself. For me, writing is more of a hobby and something I love rather than something I wanna post for others but ofc I have started to share my works with other lovely beans in my fandoms so, I do really hope you enjoy and if you don't, you can leave!

Do you write smut?

Nope, I tried once and I just can't not because it wasn't good, it's just really uncomfortable for me. I will imply it but outright describing the act is something I don't see myself doing anytime in the near future.

Craziest crossover:

I haven't written a crossover fic before so, N/A? I do however love AU's so those I definitely have lots of silly ones like Harry Potter characters but they are at a Universal theme park and similar stuff.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I 'm aware, no.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope, again, most of my fics are still unfinished and private so, this hasn't happened yet but to me, this is a really big honor so I would probably start bawling my eye out if anyone ever asked in the future.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have! Although, we also never finished it, me and the lovely @justab00knerd started a Bungou Stray Dogs fanfic so that was silly. I don't know if I would co-write a fic again tho.

All time favourite ship?

Me x Tom Blyth/Tom Blyth Characters (i am like 50% joking cause HAVE YOU SEEN THAT MAN)

But like Character X Character, I still love Dabi x Hawks (MHA), Dazai X Chuuya (BSD), SherLiam (YuuMori), and Neal Caffrey X Sara Ellis (White Collar)! (again, most of these ships are from middle school LMAOO)

What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

me and my husband but only because it was i realized I like actually disliked the character I wrote it for!

What are your writing strengths?

I think that

Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

YES! I love learning new languages and like slang terms and curse words! I am actually bilingual, I speak both English and Tagalog (National Language of the Philippines) but I am also learning Italian, Japanese and I took two years of Spanish!

I actually started this original story and one of my main characters was Italian and so he always curses in Italian and I just loved learning curse words like cazzo and testa di cazzo, it was always so funny when I got to write him interacting with his brothers cause the names they called eachother was actual comedy GOLD!

First fandom you wrote in?

Probably My Hero just because that what started my spiral into writing fanfiction cause that was the thing I loved when I was introduced to fanfiction so....

Favourite fic you've written?

I LOVE THIS QUESTION!! So, that I have posted, my favorite is I Wonder aka the one of the only fics I have posted here on tumblr. Not posted, it's called Fish Cheeks and I wrote it during the pandemic based on one of my own personal experiences and, every time I reread it I just cry cause, I love it! It was also a Chrollo X reader and I just love him still.

tagging some of my fav people here!! GO CHECK THEM OUT

@francixoxoxo (ALSO HAPPY BIRTHDAY FRANCI!!) @milliesfishes (i did reblog but STILL CHECK THEM OUT, LOVE LOVE LOVE HER!!) @runningfrom2am @justab00knerd

20 Questions for Fic Writers

(idk who to tag who originally came up with the questions but I found them through @the-likesofus and was curious ab my other writer moots answers so <3)

How many works do you have on ao3?

2 but I'm hoping to repost a bunch of my fics on here to there soon!

What's your total ao3 word count?

92,519

What fandoms do you write for?

At the moment I write for TBOSAS and Billy the Kid (2022)

Top five fics by kudos:

Only have 2 fics on AO3 currently but

1. I Once Believed Love Would Be Black and White, But It's Golden

and

2. Pray You Catch Me

Do you respond to comments?

Always!! I love, love receiving comments and I know how scary it can be sometimes to leave them, so I want to show my appreciation <3

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Well...𝓻𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓵𝓮𝓯𝓽 𝓶𝓮 rn but I have one coming out tomorrow that's also Billy the Kid and the ending is pretty...it's pretty angsty

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I try really hard to keep my endings happy because the nature of both fandoms I write for is inherently tragic but personally the one that warms my heart the most is either 𝓤𝓷𝓭𝓸𝓾𝓫𝓽𝓪𝓫𝓵𝓮 cause it's the end of the series or 𝓸𝓻𝓭𝓲𝓷𝓪𝓻𝔂 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼

Do you get hate on fics?

I've been very lucky to receive mostly positive feedback on my work- the closest I've gotten to hate was someone commenting on how I didn't include in the TWs that my Reader would be mentioned as thin and blue eyed (which I felt SO bad about and they were very kind about the whole situation- sometimes I don't catch that stuff in editing)

Do you write smut?

I do not purely because I'm a Christian girl (don't hate me) but that doesn't mean I judge others for doing so at all like y'all get freaky go nuts <3

Craziest crossover:

I've never done a crossover fic but that could change

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge, no, thankfully

Have you ever had a fic translated?

I don't think so

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I haven't technically. The closest I've come is when Franci and me have done mermaid au stuff but that was completely her idea and her credit, she just let me write for it <3

All time favourite ship?

It's hard to say (anyone I write for x me lmao)

What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

tbh once I deem something a wip there's no stopping me until I finish it. Having drafts lowkey stresses me out (in a good way) I've finished almost everything I've started, the only exceptions being things that were either a) had no plot point at all besides the ship or b) my hyperfixation fizzled and I lost passion

What are your writing strengths?

I feel like I'm good at angst honestly, and the other thing I feel like I consistently do well is in the plot points of my stories. Honestly my self awareness isn't that great though so I could possibly be talking out of my ass

Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

I've done it briefly before because Billy canonically speaks Spanish but I am not a fluent speaker in any language except English so I'd be a little cautious doing it lol

First fandom you wrote in?

The very first fandom I ever wrote in was Riverdale

Favourite fic you've written?

I'm still so proud of Pray You Catch me, but another one I love is Inamorata just cause it was so fun to write. But honestly I adore all my fics and though I'll always be self-critical they mean a lot to me because my followers have liked them so much <3

Tagging!

@francixoxoxo @runningfrom2am @a-romantics-guide-to-life @fictional-at-heart

also if you're a writer and you see this you're tagged <3

[pleasant-boi]

hm, what I am going to say is going to sound extremely mean but...if you’re an author maybe complaining about the amount comments you get all the time and constantly whining about how your work isn’t good enough and you only get negative comments, ignoring all the positive ones, is maybe the reason you aren’t getting more of them

[powdermelonkeg]

Hello,

I'm sorry for the question but I'd like to know for your 50/50 poll if that is actually something Tumblr users have achieved or if you can modify polls to always show 50/50

Cause damn i voted randomly and I couldn't see the options at all, can you revote on a poll?

Gonna answer these in reverse order:

Nope, you can't revote on a poll. Once it's cast, it's cast, no takebacks.

I can't modify the polls whatsoever after they're posted. Like, at all. Can't even add tags to them, change the title, etc; that's put in place on purpose so that people can't change what the poll's supposed to be voting for mid-vote. (It's actually a little frustrating because I can only use polls if they're submitted to me, and if I accidentally set them for 24 hours instead of a week, I have to delete the poll and use up a new one) On the 50/50—that happened completely by chance! I've had two polls that very much toe the 50/50 line, this blank one and this snail one.

In the case of the snails, people were motivated to balance them. The title gave a clear goal: "They’re trying to tie so they can share the 1st place medal." Towards the beginning, it was unbalanced pretty wildly, then as more and more people blindly voted for whichever they thought was in the losing spot, it evened out to 50/50, and each "wrong" vote that skewed it wouldn't be enough to shift it a full percentage.

Think of it this way. If I hold out my hands, and one hand has two grains of rice, and the other has five, it's pretty easy to see that the hand that has 5 grains has more rice. If you have, instead, two BAGS of rice, whether or not one or the other has 3 extra grains doesn't really matter anymore, because the weight and space they take up gets lost among the rest.

The snail vote actually skews ever-so-slightly towards the bottom snail. You can see this on mobile, because mobile shows fractions of a percent in the actual bar measure—the bottom snail is a few pixels ahead. But it's just that: fractions of a percent. Tumblr likes whole numbers, so it rounded 50.003% (not the actual number, just a guess) down to 50%, and 49.997% up to 50%, making them appear even.

The reason I bring up the motivation part is because, whenever the snail poll DID skew a full percent, everyone started to tag it to let people ahead know about it. "Bottom snail is at 51%! Everyone vote top snail!" And I assume their followers listened to that advice. If you read through the notes of that post, you can see that in action.

The blank post is doing this COMPLETELY organically. Since neither option actually contains anything, there's a negligible amount of bias towards one particular answer. YOU might think of pressing the bottom answer first because you felt like it, but the NEXT person might just click the first answer they see, and so on. There's no reason why one blank option should be favored over the other, so it isn't.

As of typing this, the blank poll is at nearly 18k votes; I'm sure it sways one way or another by fractions of a percent, just like the snail poll. But because the bias towards either answer is basically nonexistent, the vast majority of people split into 50/50 again.

It's literally a coin flip. A coin has two faces with equal chances of landing, no matter which one you feel obligated to call.

[onbeinganangel]

least read fics ✨

i was tagged by @danpuff-ao3 and @sweet-s0rr0w (see their posts here, and here, respectively, and go read those unloved hidden gems pls and thanks) to share my 5 least read fics on ao3, by either hits or kudos. this game was going around for National Author's Day and, as per usual, i'm so late it's not even fashionable anymore. ooopsies. thank you for the tags, pals!

while i think both hits and kudos are very flawed statistics i decided to go with hits for this one. my least read five, from the very bottom up are:

2020 Microfics [1100 words, 22 drarry microfics, rated E, warnings vary]

A collection of microfics written for Drarry Microfic's 2020 prompts.

a little too good to be true [800 words, ginsy, rated T, no warnings]

For a date that had started with Pansy surreptitiously pulling her phone out and texting Draco, in all caps, “You told me it was someone I didn’t know, you actual ballbag” the blind date had gone surprisingly well. It helped that Pansy accidentally blurted out what Draco had told her as soon as she laid eyes on Ginny, and Ginny laughed and replied with a “Well, Harry said, and I quote ‘She’s really lovely, give her a chance,’ so here I am.”

do it again [750 words, drarry, rated T, no warnings]

Luna,

I’m sorry. I know it’s the second time we’ve had to reschedule this interview. Work has been mental today and Ron got punched in the face. (He’s fine, it was kind of funny.) Draco will be mardy so if you have any of those hibiscus biscuits of yours with the lemon icing that you could spare, send him home with a few. I’ll owe you.

Tell him I’m really sorry and I’ll see you both at the Gala tonight.

H x

overture [115 words, drarry, rated T, no warnings]

In which Harry tells Draco all about his life.

2021 Microfics [5050 words, 95 drarry microfics, rated E, warnings vary]

A collection of microfics written for Drarry Microfic's 2021 prompts.

i accidentally rambled on (who's suprised? not me) about stats and about quality and about hits vs. kudos and all that nonsense so i'm putting the rest of this post under a cut. before that though, i'm going to link you to what is my 6th fic with the least amount of hits, because i am honestly appalled that it ranks 6th, as it's one of my favourite things i have ever written.

the underdog, the honourable mention, the but-mari-that's-not-in-the-rules:

Liturgia Horarum [1500, drarry, rated M, no warnings]

From morning melodies to evening encores, a day in the life through the soundtrack of routine.

and now, for my thoughts:

except for that last minute mention, the actual bottom 5 doesn't really surprise me at all. we have both sets of microfics, 2020's and 2021's and I think we all agree short form (especially extremely short form like micros) does much better on tumblr, plus the fact that they're all under the same work on ao3 despite it not being a cohesive story isn't super helpful. they're mostly there for archival purposes, and mostly for me. i do love having them all in the same place, and it does help me personally when i lose perspective. sometimes i open it just so i can tell myself "look at that, you wrote all those 50 word wee fuckers in numerous genres and styles, and tropes and ideas, all of them about the same two guys" lmao as a reader, i would much prefer to come across microfics and drabbles on tumblr than crammed into one work on ao3, so that makes sense to me.

the other three are T rated, short, and on top of that one of them is femslash too! (truly the holy trifecta of nopes, let's be honest there). so, really. this is unsurprising all around.

it's interesting though, because i'm a curious cat, and i couldn't help compare this to my stats by kudos — do keep in mind i never open my statistics page so looking at it to make this post was really cool! i notice that while i understand why none of these have more hits, they're pieces i quite like, personally. they're nowhere near my favourite things i've ever written, but they're stuff i think it's decent. i think they're alright.

on the other side of that though, are my kudos. when i sort by kudos, both sets of microfics are still on that bottom 5, which again, makes sense. BUT very different fics join those at the bottom of the list. interestingly, the other three fics are quite possibly my least favourite things i've written, the ones i keep on ao3 for the sake of archival but secretly pray no one ever reads! they are a lot higher hit-wise than the ones on the list above (E rated, generally quite porny though the writing/tropes/pairings are rather questionable), but they're at the bottom kudos-wise, which is a fun revelation! maybe it means my own judgement isn't that clouded and that readers and i agree when stuff is a bit... you know, shit. LOL

i find it really fun to look at this kind of thing. i do think the whole point of the game was sharing our less-loved stuff in way of reccommending it/getting it more love, and i ended up just analysing the statistics page. i do enjoy all of these, and none of them are shit, but if you were gonna pick any, for the love of god, read Liturgia Horarum.

can't think of who to tag, but if you haven't done it and you have read all my stupid rambling, you should do it and tag me on it so i can look, thank you <3

[jenniferdiazisatransgirl]

Tom, you know something, I am now mad.

Addressed at @marcodiazappreciation:

So Tom hasn’t attacked the fact you are paralysed or neurodivergent. While people have been explaining the trans Marco theory to you and/or why what you are doing is shitty, you have then brought into the conversation that you are paralysed and neurodivergent. A quote from one of your posts;

“Am I stupid because I’m autistic? No.

Am I less of a person because I’m paralysed? No.”

Someone told you that you have a worm in your brain. I don’t think this person would have any knowledge of you being neurodivergent, yet your response was, “I have autism. Does that count.”

When criticised you seem to fall back on your disability and neurodivergence as a way to garner sympathy. I haven’t seen a single person comment on the fact your have a disability and the fact you are neurodivergent other than yourself. And I will admit I have commented on it, but only in saying that the subject in question has nothing to do with those points that you seem to randomly bring up.

And you know, I was going to let this lie however you have now come at one of my friends. So lets highlight the sort of person you are. And bare in mind, this is just this time round. I have done this whole song and dance with @marcodiazappreciation before on multiple occasions:

- Last week I noticed @marcodiazappreciation comment on one of my posts attacking one of my followers and the trans Marco theory. I then looked at their blog to see they were once again back to attacking the trans Marco theory. I have previously been very patient and nice with @marcodiazappreciation and decided I am now done. I blocked them and did this reblog to their post:

- I left it there and thought, this is finally the end to it all but the next day they have found one of my side blogs and are messaging me on there. I now block them on both my side blogs.

- You’d think it would be the end here wouldn’t you. But oh no, it wasn’t. You may notice at the bottom I said some resolution was made between me and @marcodiazappreciation. How did that happen you maybe asking given I blocked her everywhere? She had her brother make me a $50 (£39.05) donation on Paypal with a message. So once again circumventing the fact I had blocked her.

Her brother told me how she hopes I’m not mad at her and that she has deleted her Tumblr to avoid her triggers. I naturally at this point checked her Tumblr to see if it was still there. Still active but no new posts so I gave the benefit of the doubt, maybe she is taking a break.

Nope. Posted another attack at the trans Marco theory less than 24 hours after that Paypal donation. Also in that Paypal donation gave me her email, saying I could email her if I wanted. I somehow feel this was away to get my email address out of me.

I refused to email them saying I think I would be triggering for her. After all, she repeatedly attacks the trans Marco tag and those who follow trans Marco.

I was gonna write about this pattern of behaviour but decided against it. If she wants to continue doing this shit, whatever. I won’t waste my energy no more.

Now she doesn’t have access to me though, she is still going after my friends. Supposedly deleted her Tumblr but is going after my friends still.

Hmmmm. I wasn’t mad before but I am now.

EDIT: Just to clarify, I know @marcodiazappreciation isn’t just going after me but the trans Marco tag in general. My point is, she claimed to have deleted her Tumblr and to be avoiding the topics that trigger her. She previously told me the theory causes her trauma.

Her Tumblr is still active though and she is still attacking the theory and my friends in the theory, indicating that her deleting her Tumblr and avoiding the topics that trigger her was an outright lie.

First, Breastforce claimed that their entire interest in this started from Marco in a dress from St. O's. The person asking about Marco in a dress was trying to bait Adam into saying something about the theory.

Most people who repeat the theory do it because of the dress, not the "dysphoria" (which is actually body dysmorphic, involving obsessive focus on a perceived flaw in appearance.)

I know that you're not going to believe any of this. It's upsetting to see you misgender anything, especially when I've been misgendered so many times in the last 6 years. Also your comments about my physical state don't help, making a joke out of it is cruel which is how I interpreted it.

And being transphobic is another jump to conclusion that doesn't make either of us look.good. I'm not transphobic. I'm transgender and have had years of reflection on iit. Calling me transphobic is like a punch in the gut.

As far as Daron, all she said was that she always intended Marco to be the type of guy who wasn't hung up on doing some things that are typically feminine without any concerns for his masculinity. It seems from an experience she had when she was young with her best friend who was male. When I asked her if Marco was going to grow up and be a good male role model, she said yes. Twice she did.

I won't deny I love the character a lot. I won't deny that some of the crew liked that some people saw themselves in Marco. But even if you look at the storyboard that everyone points to, it was a doll of a persona Marco already distanced himself from except for a royalty payment of $650. It was a capitalist business deal and nothing more. That's all the merch was ever about. A way to give Marco spending money during adventures. It wasn't about some secret "he's going as a she" behind everyone's back. It was all about the money. If Marco really cared about it on the level you theorize, he wouldn't have taken money out of the profits and would have done it in the best interests of the girls.

In conclusion I see this is misgendering. While it is a fictional character, some of the ways you've interacted with me have also been along the same lines, about me being transphobic and making light of my physical problems which is hitting below the belt.

Hi. I've been nice to you thus far. I've argued with you on your level, I've met your points on good faith. I've countered every argument you've given me with relative politeness considering how you've harassed me and my community, or ignored you when i was tired of said harassment. But now?

Get fucked, mate.

Where the fuck do you get off with this? Where do you see the moral high ground attacking trans people - OTHER trans people! - for finding identity with a character in a cartoon, in a community on tumblr. How childish are you that you cannot fathom other people having different interpretations of the source material. How petty and small-mided and hateful can you possibly be that you see trans people finding joy and community in a fictional character on tumblr and decide that it's hateful. How puritanical is your mindset that you cannot stand the idea of other people existing outside of your point of view.

Jen has said that she's not angry at you but I fucking am. Grow the fuck up you petulant, whinging, tantrum-throwing child. Flinging baseless accusations - I've never talked about your physical state, I barely know what it is beyond you being physically disabled in some way, which I found out after the majority of my interactions with you. I'm sorry, but you do not get to use your own problems as justifications for bullying and attacking others. You do not get to play the victim when it is you going after people apropos of nothing. It is you sending hate to fan artists just minding their own business, it is you going into our tags to complain about how we enjoy and interpret media.

And no, I don't fucking stalk you so I didn't know you were trans. Congratu-fucking-lations asshole! Looks like trans people can be just as toxic as the cis! Thanks for taking one for the team! And I'm sowwy that it's huwwrtful but your harassment and condemnation of the theory fucking stinks of transphobia. If you just disliked the theory, that's fine - I know plenty of polite and nice and non-transphobic people who don't think it's correct - people like Adam McArthur who would be appalled at your harassment at people over different interpretations of his character. Dozens of other tumblr users dislike the theory and they don't fall into your emotionally manipulative bullshit. That's a you specific problem.

(and while we're on the cast/crew topic: Daron Nefcy would be appalled at your use of her words as a gotcha for your bullshit cyber bullying. they mean nothing other than her affirming your interpretation of the character)

Your preposition is fundamentally flawed, you base your entire judgement of this theory on the fact that the idea started when a trans woman related to a character in a way you didn't think was valid. Your idea that somehow feminine men are underrepresented in fiction is completely ridiculous. But to go the fuck off about how even being perceived as a trans woman is dangerous to cishet men and then land on the conclusion that the problem is trans women? That's fucking transphobic.

But fine. You're trans so you can't be transphobic. You must of course have a ready list for canonical trans women for us to have flocked to back in 2016 when the theory was popular! Actually, I managed to find four examples (off the top of my head) of major characters in children's cartoons, the genre we're talking about. So you must be able to find the same! No? What about that same list from today? C'mon! If feminine men are so underrepresented compared to trans women, there must be more of them today at least! Fine we'll make it easy - it doesn't have to be a children's cartoon! Show me any western cartoon from any point in history where there was a trans woman as a major character. She doesn't even have to be the main character! Just a part of the reoccurring cast.

Show. Me. One.

But somehow those poor cis men are the ones victimized by us mean trans people.

I'm so fucking sorry you feel personally victimized by (other) trans people seeking representation. I'm so fucking sorry you are so badly triggered by (other) trans people (many of whom have dysphoria) identifying dysphoria in a work of fiction. But--newsflash asshole!--you don't get to bring your problems into a public space and harass people about them. You are the one in the wrong here, but your head is too far up your own arse to even dream about treating other people like actual human beings.

So, yeah. You're an immature, transphobic, bullying piece of shit and I want you to stay the fuck away from me, my friends, and my fucking tags.

[upstartgeek]

I posted 3,025 times in 2022

356 posts created (12%)

2,669 posts reblogged (88%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@upstartgeek

@kucka-g

@transnashton

@goupii

@simptasia

I tagged 1,070 of my posts in 2022

#the batman spoilers - 13 posts

#blood// - 6 posts

#ted raimi - 4 posts

#youtube - 3 posts

#nope spoilers - 3 posts

#gonna treat him like a lemonhead...take that analogy as you will - 2 posts

#gore// - 2 posts

#holy shit?! - 2 posts

#gif warning - 2 posts

#my dude is exhausted. let him rest. they can fuck later maybe but something tells me he's not okay - 2 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#baz lurhman has successfully recreated the phenomenon of your friend hyperposting about their white boy and you gaining a white boy by proxy

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

the cut from this cardboard cat, who is VISIBLY NOT Bubblegum, to the real alive Bubblegum had me crying laughing

she's a star

40 notes - Posted February 11, 2022

#4

we need a harkrill fic that fits in the post-starro-fight They Have To Share A Motel Room trope but instead of being a setup for things to get ~sexy~ abner just passes out so hard boomer thinks he's dead

49 notes - Posted January 28, 2022

#3

the foundation match/blending in that csi clip should be punishable by death

50 notes - Posted February 18, 2022

#2

much debate over whether david dastmalchian has always had that little ned-flanders-lookin butt or if that's a recent development

53 notes - Posted February 16, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

nobody move nobody MOVE

105 notes - Posted October 15, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[firecraker-art-lounge]

I posted 61 times in 2022

That's 6 more posts than 2021!

57 posts created (93%)

4 posts reblogged (7%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@helthehatter

@pixie-mask

@hah-studios

@katrinthecat

I tagged 58 of my posts in 2022

Only 5% of my posts had no tags

#the bad guys - 34 posts

#dreamworks - 30 posts

#mr wolf - 23 posts

#diane foxington - 20 posts

#mr snake - 16 posts

#mr piranha - 15 posts

#mr shark - 15 posts

#mr wolf x diane foxington - 14 posts

#ms tarantula - 14 posts

#axel and nyanmi - 11 posts

Longest Tag: 32 characters

#mandy’s my favorite of the girls

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

They give off this dynamic, don’t they?

43 notes - Posted February 14, 2022

#4

See the full post

44 notes - Posted May 9, 2022

#3

My first animatic, technically…

Featuring The Bad Guys and @katrinthecat’s OCs.

Katrin wearing a pretty dress.

Diane and Lori are both proud of Katrin for brining out her feminine wiles.

Shark has fallen madly in love with her.

And Snake is 31 flavors of nope and confused.

48 notes - Posted April 15, 2022

#2

A big ol’ tribute to both @katrinthecat and The Bad Guys movie.

Saw it yesterday and I absolutely loved it!

The first is based on the beginning of how this motley little crew became a large found-family.

Next is Wolf telling his son a fairytale bedtime story loosely based on true events.

50 notes - Posted April 23, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

A photo Wolf and Diane’s wedding day with the whole Bad Guy crew, even kitty.

Based on a fanfic I am currently writing.

69 notes - Posted April 28, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[mx-t4t0]

I posted 13,046 times in 2022

That's 9,291 more posts than 2021!

1,373 posts created (11%)

11,673 posts reblogged (89%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@/hiveswap

@/xeneric-shrooms

@/dxzyslive

@/aropride

@/noping-out-of-art

I tagged 5,735 of my posts in 2022

#tato speaks - 592 posts

#liveblogging - 354 posts

#mutuals my beloveds - 108 posts

#art - 62 posts

#suggestive - 58 posts

#drawing - 58 posts

#mcc liveblog - 53 posts

#digital art - 51 posts

#digital drawing - 50 posts

#current events - 35 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#combinations of words already exist anyways and most applications for ai writing are actually useful (like uhh better translation softwares)

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

huge L for the quackcicle community unless you love lovers to enemies in which case it's a huge W

84 notes - Posted September 11, 2022

#4

oh my fucking gods.

99 notes - Posted April 3, 2022

#3

i'll be completely honest here guys i don't fucking know what happened but uh. i think i did photorealism on accident.

this was just supposed to be a quick study for me to figure out how the fuck opals work (specifically black opals) and then it turned out to be one of the most penis slaying pieces i've done this year. whoopsies <3 at least it looks dope

Check my linktree to see all of my stuff!

See the full post

122 notes - Posted December 2, 2022

#2

i love that jimmy complained about being called a toy and everyone ran with it in their s2 designs. like yeah that man is made of yarn and porcelain have you seen him. when he walks he makes the same noise as calcite i think. little scrunkly scrimblo ball-jointed meow meow.

129 notes - Posted August 2, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

love that romo aro as a label can fit both aros who don't want romance for themselves but like the general idea of it, but also aros who do want romance for themselves, maybe even experience romantic attraction, but just in A Fundamentally Different Way. romo aro experiences are beautiful

161 notes - Posted July 19, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[ectogeo-rebubbles]

Thanks for the tag, @sapphosewrites (back in like May or something but I didn’t finish replying to it then) and @misty-feathers (today)! <3 Also, wow I haven’t done this particular ask game in like 3 years???? It feels like it was more recent than that lmao.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

93 (+ 8 that are anonymous bc no one really needs to look at my extremely old homestuck fic/art/whatever, lmao)

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

212,675. Hell yeahhhh, I can’t believe I’ve passed 200k!!!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

DS9.

4. Top 5 Fics By Kudos

the spy who married me

latent attraction

vicarious

the spy who came in from the cold

save tonight (tomorrow I’ll be gone)

5. Do you respond to comments?

I try to! I’ve gotten worse at that lately, though. Like, I get in a cycle sometimes where I feel bad for not replying to every comment, and then that makes replying to the backlog of comments even more daunting. I love getting comments, though, and I love replying to comments too, it’s so much fun interacting with my readers, and mutually inspiring each other (and so I really don’t get why it also can feel so hard to do sometimes lol).

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

This question was hard last time I answered it because I didn’t have many fics with angsty enough endings to qualify, but now I’ve been on a whumpier kick and I have too many to choose from. XD

Like… Hmm. A Professional Interest and nightmare are both very much hurt/no comfort, but they are told from the POV of the one doing the hurting, so maybe not those bc that feels like a different category?

I think my answer has to be the world will never take my heart. That fic is about “heroic” self-sacrificing behaviors being functionally no different from self-destructive ones, and showing the capacity for this kind of self-destructive selflessness in both Garak and Bashir. And then, instead of either of them improving at all in this regard, the fic ends with them each doubling down on their self-sacrificial tendencies. <3 To me that makes for a very deliciously bleak ending (even though the circumstances they’re in are temporary).

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

the next thirty, because it’s set 30 years after Garak and Julian’s first meeting, and it’s about how they are still just as in love (and in lust) with each other as ever. Old, married Garashir, my beloved!!! <3

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Nope! (Well, not since the dark days of well-meaning - but nevertheless devastating - “concrit” on ff.net.)

9. Do you write smut?

HELL YEAH!!!! ^_^ <3 Over 50% of my fics now are E- or M-rated, hehehehe. I feel like this is a big change from the last time I answered this question, which was BEFORE I’d specifically worked on developing my smut writing skills because I NEEDED so, I lied, I cheated to contain sex scenes that I personally would actually want to reread. XD

10. Craziest crossover

I don’t have any crossover fics on ao3 and tbh I’m unwilling to talk about the cringe that’s on my teenaged ff.net account (as in the account itself is old enough to be a teenager, AND as in I was a teen back when I was posting there lmao). But I did have one crossover fic there (under a different username. this was so long ago). You’ll just have to imagine it, I guess.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope. People are welcome to translate or podfic my fics! :)

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Hmmm. Sort of? I have sort of co-written two fics (The Inherent Homoeroticism of Citizenship Paperwork and Whisper a Dangerous Secret) where sapphose threw out a small snippet on tumblr and then, with permission, I took it and ran with it because I felt compelled to expand upon the idea. I also wrote a follow up (Honesty Cums Easy) to one of @cemetrygatess' fics (You Make My Dreams (Cum True)), and I'm working on a fic set within the universe of one of dreamerdrop's series (Abscess 'Verse).... But does any of that count as co-writing? XD

I also wrote an installment in a round robin one time. (I’ve also done a round robin in DMs with some friends for funsies, but then I was the one who accidentally killed that by never writing the next part of it. 😭) Again, is that co-writing?

I’ve also made specific plans to co-author some fics before, but that’s never quite worked out. I think I agree to these collabs easily and enthusiastically, but then when it comes down to working on them I get too self-critical of my own writing (or of my own writing SCHEDULE, which is chaos and nonsense bc I am fully beholden to the whims of adhd lol), and I don’t want to let my potential co-authors down, and then it fizzles. So yeah, seems like I am more successful with ambushing other people’s fics with continuations than with co-writing in other ways??? XD Maybe/hopefully that will change someday?

14. All time favorite ship?

Garashir. <3

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I really don’t like this question. I started drafting a reply to this set of questions back in May this year, and my response to this question was about how I felt despair that I will likely never ever finish my soulmate wip..... which is currently, in December, the WIP that I am feeling the most excited about and closest to posting. So like what the fuck ever, I refuse to take part in predicting my own failure!!!! Things just take time! lol

16. What are your writing strengths?

Exploring interesting character dynamics. Plotting a fic out. Creating tension. Writing weird alien smut, maybe? Writing utterly ridiculous premises with juuuust enough nods to canon that people are like “ohhhh this is insane but you somehow made it believable???” ^_^ Or maybe these are just all the things I want to be good at.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Dialogue (I have def been improving at it, but making conversations flow well and seem realistic and actually sound like the characters is still def the hardest part of writing for me). Coming up with titles. Also, maintaining a consistent writing schedule/staying focused on a single WIP until it is done, hahahahahaha.

18. Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

My answer from last time (3 years ago) was “No thoughts, head empty, star trek brand Universal Translator on…” and yeah that still applies. TBH I mostly feel like this is an out of the blue question among the rest of this list??? My thoughts are it’s usually not necessary, but like obviously It Depends???????

19. Favorite fic you've written?

my answer from May: This changes on a frequent basis but right now I’m really feeling nothing to hide. The structure of interleaving flashbacks and a conversation about the events of the flashbacks worked just soooo well, it made the pacing so snappy. And also while writing it I felt like I’d unlocked a secret cheat code to writing dialogue because I didn’t need to connect all the dialogue up into one coherent block, I could just put a flashback whenever I couldn’t think what one of them would say next lmaoooooo, and it somehow worked SO WELL.

my answer from right now: you’re a criminal as long as you’re mine. Look, I just think Garak and Sisko should messily hook up in the early seasons, that’s all. ^_^ <3 I also really like thinking about what kinds of things Sisko asks of Garak and what Garak is willing to do for him and how early that all starts (like, Second Skin as a very distant precursor to ITPM).

20. What's something you want to write someday?

This is hard bc if I WANT to write it then I almost certainly have already made a wip document for it and STARTED writing it. XD I guess I really want to COMPLETE a multichapter garashir fic in the horror genre someday. (Come through for me, Sub Rosa sloanshir+garashir wip, aka “I Will Possess Your Heart” 🥰💕💖)

~

No pressure tagging @dreamerdrop , @hellostuffedtiger, and literally anyone who wants to do this!

20 fanfic questions

originally tagged by @el-dritchknight! Thanks for the tag!

No pressure tagging: @misty-feathers, @elemental-queen-writes, anyone else who wants to.

How many works do you have on ao3? 16

2. What's your total ao3 word count?  38,490

3. What fandoms do you write for? Deep Space 9 and Sun Haven

4. Top five fics by kudos: 

Best Face Forward

I’m Glad it’s You

Zipped up

It’s a… Deal

Awake

5. Do you respond to comments? Yes

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? The Perek Flower & The Meya Lily It’s not finished because I’m still working on things in the middle. But I have the ending planned.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Over the Moon and Back Series Same deal as above. Not finished but the ending’s planned

8. Do you get hate on fics? no(t yet)

9. Do you write smut? Yes >:)

10. Craziest crossover? I haven’t done any yet :(

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? No(t that I know of)

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? No

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? No, but I’d be down to. It sounds fun.

14. All-time favorite ship? Garak x my oc (Mara)

15. What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I am committed to finishing TPF&TML and Over the Moon and Back, but the Kinktober series I started last year looks like it’s going to go unfinished unfortunately. 

16. What are your writing strengths? Dialogue

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Transitions and expanding on my ideas. I always struggled to meet the page count in college.

18. Thoughts on dialogue in another language? I always say you can do whatever you want forever. *lowers glasses* is there discourse on this? I’m not in the loop. 

19. Favorite fic you've written? The Perek Flower & The Meya Lily It’s my baby

20. What's something you want to write someday? Hmm… I’d like to write an original fiction work, but I fear I wouldn’t do any of my ideas justice.

[i-draws-dinosaurs]

Alright it's Tumblrfy Wrapped time I'm gonna do a commentary to make it marginally less boring

I posted 370 times in 2021

80 posts created (22%), 290 posts reblogged (78%). For every post I created, I reblogged 3.6 posts.

[I legitimately could not have guessed this I don't keep track of it but like hey, 80 original posts is not bad!]

I added 425 tags in 2021

#paleoart - 56 posts

#palaeontology - 53 posts

#paleontology - 53 posts

#palaeoart - 52 posts

#palaeoblr - 50 posts

#my art - 44 posts

#dinosaurs - 43 posts

#digital art - 31 posts

#dinosaur - 22 posts

#star wars - 21 posts

Longest Tag: 114 characters

#i feel very strongly about this issue but i absolutely understand the feelings behind wanting extinct species back

[Self care is not wanting to check the notes on the mammoth cloning post]

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

I will never again achieve the level of Raw Power I had as a 10 year old child trying to convince an Actual Palaeontologist that a fake dinosaur I made up was actually real and he’d “just never heard of it”

1857 notes • Posted 2021-03-12 04:22:22 GMT

[Absolutely iconic of childhood me, please read this post to see an absolutely hilarious masterpiece of a powerpoint presentation by child Tas full of misremembered facts and outright falsehoods]

#4

See the full post

2295 notes • Posted 2021-10-18 05:45:09 GMT

[Did not expect people to vibe so hard with this one!! It took off on tumblr and Instagram so like there's the middle of your venn diagram of what those two have in common. Still not gonna make another one though cause that was a Task to research]

#3

David Armsby’s ‘Old Buck’: A Review

So by now most of you are probably aware of the short film Old Buck by David Armsby (AKA Dead Sound) that came out today and has singlehanded become one of the best pieces of dinosaur media I have ever seen in my life. I haven’t really done a review-format-type-thing before but this really make me want to give it a shot. So, in advance, my short review is that this film is absolutely incredible, and you should all go and watch it a million times over like I have. Now, to say that in a much more long-winded way!

See the full post

2934 notes • Posted 2021-09-10 11:59:06 GMT

[Genuinely super proud of this one and I'm still absolutely in love with the Dinosauria series! The third episode dropped recently and you should absolutely go watch it! I've got a review for that one in the works too]

#2

Important Science News Update

A new pterosaur has just been described!! It’s called Kunpengopterus, it’s from the Jurassic of China, and it has,,,

Opposable thumbs??? 

[official release artwork by Chuang Zhao]

See the full post

3062 notes • Posted 2021-04-15 01:30:56 GMT

[Oh hey this is the one post on this list that I totally forgot that I made, still absolutely love this little guy! A clarification though, the genus Kunpengopterus existed before this year and the news here is about a new species of that genus called Kunpengopterus antipollicatus]

#1

We give a lot of grief to dinosaurs with dumb boring names like Australotitan or even dumber stupid names like Thanos. But I think it’s time to point some appreciation towards dinosaur names that are just, so good, man. 

Like, take Galeamopus. Pretty standard-sounding Latin name there but nope, turns out the authors were on some insane 4th-dimensional chess nonsense with this name.

See the full post

4525 notes • Posted 2021-08-17 09:00:55 GMT

[Galeamopus post my beloved. I'm so proud of this one and so pleased that it resonated with everyone!! If you haven't read this one before please check it out, it's genuinely one of my favourite posts that I've ever made and it being in the top spot this year makes me really happy!]

[Thank so much for another wonderful year on tumblr everyone! I've had some great moments and it's been so great to hear from all of you and to see the excitement that you have for learning and palaeontology and science in general!]

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →