#andor details my beloved

[hight0wers]

hair details, bix caleen.

[someinstant]

I mean, my dude scrapes his knuckles clinging to the cliff with Melshi in episode 11, and in episode 12 he has scabs on his hands. No one ever mentions them, but-- the body remembers. This is a galaxy where shit leaves fucking marks, in more ways than one.

It's a little thing, but I love that injuries matter on Andor. Cassian gets a blaster burn in "Reckoning," and he's still dealing with it two episodes later. He binds the wound immediately afterwards on Luthen's ship, and it's cleaned, bandaged, and checked/redressed in the camp on Aldhani. The other rebels immediately notice that he's injured and worry that it'll be a liability during the mission. People ask about his arm and how he's doing.

I realize part of it is that we're looking at a ramshackle fledgling operation without access to bacta tanks for quick healing, so instead we get patch-up jobs without pain relief because they need to ration their meds. But in a galaxy where we've seen people take a lightsaber to the gut and be up and walking the next day, it's good to see a show where even something as comparatively minor as Cassian getting shot in the arm can't just be shaken off as nothing.

[colleybri]

So, any of my British based mutuals up for standing in the streets of London on April 10th hoping to catch a glimpse of our beloveds?

Just kidding. Or not. But I’m kind of old for this sort of thing.

[notasapleasure]

Opening sentence meme

Tagged by @colleybri thank you, lovely! :) I think I got tagged in this last year, and my number of fics/their variety hasn’t exactly changed much since then, but hey ho! A reminder to me - and some background for newer friends here - that I do sometimes write things that aren’t just the same Brassian smut again and again…

Nevertheless, the first 6 are all Brassian, all the time. Look, I know what I – and about three other people – like, and I’m just going to keep finding ways to bake that cake again and again until Tony Gilroy ruins my fun (lol good luck Tony, canon is whatever I feel like).

1. don’t need any help to be breakable

The trip to Morlana One had been uneventful.

Not strictly doing anything different from ‘Counting on You’, etc. (#3 below, see also #6), but specifically exploring the facet of Brassian that might exist in a world where the alibi was true, ish, only ‘helping Cassian back to his chair’ was a euphemism for punching him. Finishing this was a challenge to myself, and I did it, so I’ll carry on being smug about that I guess.

2. The world turning at his pace

It should have been a simple job.

One-shot van sex AU. No I don’t need to explain myself and I won’t.

3. Counting on You

The rain on Ferrix is heavy when it arrives.

Needed to keep scratching the itch of ‘Only ever just one night’ (below, #6), so this is the outlet I use mostly when I just need to write some Brassian filth. Theoretically working towards a ‘five times they X, one time they Y’ format. Eventually.

4. The Saga of the Coal-biter and the Skraeling

I was born the year Erik the outlaw discovered Greenland.

My beloved cuckoo-child that’s an excuse to process all those years of research while being self-indulgent about the blorbos. As if it wasn’t going to be niche enough, Brasso insisted he wanted to tell it in the first person.

5. Escape velocity

Cassian is working his way through the crowds at Cavo's.

Ok, this isn’t really the same Brassian fic as always, it’s the most wholesome thing I’ve written for the pair, which is tragically ironic given I’d just ‘met’ @r0b0tb0y and decided to inflict a birthday gift on them. I owe you tentacles, buddy.

6. Only ever just one night

There isn't really a knock at the make-shift door.

My first Andor fic! That I swore I wouldn’t write. Then swore would be a one-shot. Then spent ages imagining a sequel to that seemed like too much effort to write. So instead I wrote variations on it again and again.

7. Whumptober 2022: ‘You better start talking’

Francis Crawford was sitting outside Kings Cafe in the bright grey light of a crisp autumn day in Glasgow.

I did a whole set of Whumptober fics for my 1980’s rock band AU for The Lymond Chronicles (a series of historical novels set in the 16th century), and didn’t actually finish uploading them to ao3 (they're all over at @theartistknownaslymond), but this is the most recent one I uploaded. Game of Kings setting, Will Scott trying to get his confession.

8. Whumptober 2022: Blood-covered hands

When Francis came round, he was on his back in the middle of the floor.

Lymond band AU, prequel-era – got to account for those galley scars somehow!

9. Whumptober 2022: Forced to Kneel/’Hold them Down’

Francis' usual pre-gig routine was always disturbed when he was at a music festival.

Lymond band AU, Disorderly Knights – Francis having a bad day in a tent, no whipping posts needed!

10. Whumptober 2022: Toxic/Withdrawal

"Eurgh, Pippa I feel like shit..."

Lymond band AU where Joleta survives (an overdose rather than a stabbing in) Disorderly Knights.

Patterns

So I evidently love a short, sharp introduction. One of the only bits of writing advice I ever remember receiving was about writing a pithy first sentence so I guess that tracks - though this isn't done consciously at all.

I think I'm always trying to convey some relatively straightforward piece of setting detail and if possible smuggle in a question at the same time (why's the door makeshift, why was that guy an outlaw, how's there a story if things were uneventful). I want the reader to experience something sensory if possible - the sound of rain/crowds/a knock/a music festival, or the afternoon light in Glasgow, or the disorientation/unease of arriving in the middle of something - while also having a fairly clear picture of where we are temporally or geographically, or which characters are there and whose perspective we've got. You can't always get all that in a single sentence but I like my opener to fill as much as possible in using as few words as possible - or that's what I'd say if I was bullshitting an essay on it for a class in the morning :)

Tagging - though no pressure as I don't know how recently you might have done this or if you have time: @boatcats, @elwenyere , @faceofpoe , @r0b0tb0y , @stripedroseandsketchpads , @batri-jopa and anyone else who likes, feel free to say I tagged you!

[blinkbones]

Five 1-season series I watched recently, and why I recommend them/liked them:

Lessons in Chemistry

About the trials and tribulations of a woman who both fails and refuses to conform to the expectations of 50s-60s USA. The show is primarily character-driven and works on a rather… somewhat simplified and exagerrated mindset? It took me offguard at first, but was fine once I settled into the groove. My favorite part was, as I later found out, an addition for the show (compared to the book, which I haven’t read) → the neighbor being a black woman fighting for civil rights. There’s that one chunk that mixes the psychological/personal aspect of getting involved with the socio-political reality of asymmetrical struggles and I… loved how clever that was… I’ll be honest, in that the show is mostly a sort of drama/character exploration and the political painting part of it is secondary. But I mean, the drama is good, I bawled my eyes out a bunch of times, and it’s visually compelling. The protagonist reads somewhat as a modern woman dropped into the fifties and her relentlessness is actually refreshing. It’s a power fantasy in that sense – watching someone smart, fully confident in her own abilities, and what she’s worth, and owed… It’s nice. Just so that we’re clear – this show is the one I’m least confident pitching, because it’s odd in many ways and questionable in some – but I really enjoyed it and I won’t lie about that. I thought it was very good on the moment hahahaha

So give it a go if it intrigues you!! and come chat with me about the neighborhood subplots.

Cherry Magic (anime version)

About an unremarkable salaryman who starts being able to read others’ thoughts because he’s a 30 y/o virgin – but really, it’s actually about someone finding both love and confidence in himself. This is so, so sweet. Pretty funny, too. For all the silliness of the premise, the more profound core of the story is very nicely-wrought, it’s painted with a delicate touch and subtle hues. There are aspects of it that I think will hit harder if you are not a child anymore. I think I would have enjoyed it when I was sixteen, but probably not as much as I did being a worn-out adult, lol. I binged it while I was insomniac with dread, and it made me laugh like a teenager. It’s sincerely very fucking great and if you enjoy romances at all you’ll love it.

Scavengers’ Reign

About a handful of scattered space castaways on a beautiful, wonderful and terrifying planet. If you enjoy science-fiction for any reason whatsoever, I can only make this a very ardent recommendation. It has it all: the alien planet, the machines, the creatures, the cast of characters; but also the wonder, and the fear, never too far from one another. This show is a real underrated gem and I am very serious. For you, tumblr, my beloved freakopolis, it also has it all. I won’t say it – but it has what you want. […] This show is so beautiful. The planet’s ecosystem feels tangible and coherent and new and it’s beautiful and frightening most of the time. There’s something of the primordial awe of coming into contact with the intriguing unknown. Did I mention that this is an animated show?? It’s very good visually too.

Andor

About the birth of revolution – accross the galaxies, people getting tired of imperial abuse, and in the hero’s heart and mind. What I loved most was how grounded it was. This isn’t the usual star wars with god-elect heroes with a destiny. It’s about the sorry little bitches who look at their increasingly corrupted world and decide to try to do something about it. Or end up in there by accident. SO, so good. For that only I thought it was a banger. But then there’s everything else!! The worldbuilding (that prison!!)! The practical effects! The janky-looking tech everywhere! The gorgeous sets (the senator’s house HELLO <<33)! Heartwrenching details! An essayist! Not joking it changed my brain chemistry and there’s a bit of text I want to write down on paper for myself.

Machine

Mandatory « I’m sorry for all you bitches that don’t speak French » because I doubt it’ll get translated, or even subbed, anytime soon if at all. But god y’all are missing out. Machine is a freakishly fun take on the figure of the white woman being kickass through « kung-fu » (looked like every technique under the sun to me lol), yknow, Kill Bill-like? It’s also a very, very fun series about freaking Karl Marx and class struggle. Not joking, literally some fighting interspersed with karl marx quotes and also cycling. Again with a show that lays it on thick and, at first, it takes me off-guard, but I go with the flow and then it’s fucking fantastic. Suuuch a coup de coeur for me. Can’t think of a translation for it, but it means that it struck a chord and became a favorite of mine. Also made me realize I was less aware of where dreadlocks discourse is currently at than I thought (topic for a research afternoon for when I can catch a fucking break…) (bc the heroine has them). Et je m’en remets pas de l’influenceur gilet jaune lol, quelle pépite. Very mad that no one around me watched it.

Honorary mention: Jujutsu Kaisen s2

Total banger. You don't need me to recommend it to you.

[topsy-cryptid]

I expected to go into the Acolyte hating the broad strokes but appreciating the minor details, but this show surprised me by reversing that expectation! So, here's my review of the first two episodes.

The Broad Strokes:

The gorgeous visuals. Dare I say it? On par with Andor.

The pacing. Intrigue was set up and maintained! I'm not entirely sold on this show (see: Minor Nitpicks) but I'm still curious enough to see it through to the end.

The characters. Sol is the most likable character so far, with Osha and Jecki as close seconds. I dislike Mae, but that's just because she's a well-written villain.

White and gold color schemes my beloved. So elegant and dignified!

The premise. Most of the other Star Wars shows released this year were building upon previous shows (Bad Batch – Clone Wars :: Ahsoka – Rebels). The Acolyte is the first time the High Republic has been shown on screen, which is a tremendous undertaking. I think they did a fantastic job with the setting.

The fight scenes! Indara's fight with Mae is particularly memorable because it's so cool to see Force-enhanced battling in real life. Like, oh! Now I see what the prequels Jedi meant by "the Force is clouded"! This is what it looks like when they're at their peak!

PowerPoint transitions.

Balancing plot, action, and character moments. This is part of pacing, but it deserves it's own bullet point because this is massively hard to do.

The Minor Nitpicks:

"Our political enemies might use this against us." Tell me you didn't put any effort into political worldbuilding without telling me. What political enemies? I don't expect names, but I would like to have a broad idea of what the stakes are, especially if this is going to be an ongoing issue for the Jedi characters in this series.

Jecki was talking to Osha on the ship and even smiling, then Sol and Yord walked in, and Jecki's smile dropped, like she was doing something she wasn't supposed to. Why?

I've been getting into East Asian cinema, and going from that to The Acolyte makes it extremely obvious that these actors are Westerners. Something about the way they bow, and the way they request permission to speak. The Jedi's respect-based culture is not natural to any of these characters.

Every guy I went to high school with acted like that apothecary owner. I don't understand why Hollywood is obsessed with this character archetype, but honestly, I wouldn't mind never seeing it again.

Does Indara not know anything about tactics? Obviously Mae threw the knife at the bar owner to distract Indara. Really, Indara should have killed Mae when she had the chance, but her guilt and shock understandably stopped her. In that case, she should have changed her position on the battlefield to prioritize protecting the bar owner until Mae gave up and left.

Torbin's death had "video game player character commits suicide when their constitution gets too low" energy. It isn't insensitive to do it this way, it's just not how I would've done it. Suicide is not a foregone conclusion for poor mental health.

I'm sorry, I have to bring up the attachment discourse. The characters in The Acolyte are far too preoccupied with it. The Late Republic (prequel era) Jedi had the same rules against attachment, but they trusted each other to know what they were doing. For example, when Obi-Wan defends his former Padawan (Anakin) against Mace Windu in ROTS, Mace is skeptical but holds his tongue. When Master Sol does the same in The Acolyte, Vernestra immediately accuses him of attachment. Why? Why doesn't she trust Sol (a Jedi Master who has proven himself) to mind his own attachments?

Master Sol is moderately shocked that his former Padawan was accused of murder, and Vernestra goes, "I didn't know you still had feelings for her. :/" Not even the prequel Jedi were this critical. Yes, even Luminara.

Overall, I did like the show, and though my standards are low for it, I am excited for the next episode. I probably won't be reblogging much about it, but so far I appreciate this show as an addition to the Star Wars canon. Well, it's better than Ahsoka and Book of Boba Fett, which is good enough in my book.

[imgoingtocrash]

Hello there! It's your Rebelcaptain Secret Santa :) Hope you had a wonderfull week and that you have something great planned for the weekend. I'm probably around 1/3 into writing your gift, and I was just wondering: is there anything you absolutely DON'T want to see, any tropes that give you the ick, any characters you avoid? Also, on a completely different note: if you were to choose your top 3 favourite rebelcaptain fics, what would those be?

Oh hello!!! It's been a busy work week but that means money sooo we're going with it lol.

As for anything I don't want to see, I don't think there's anything?? I feel like my prompts were pretty vanilla so I can't imagine anything particularly shocking or appalling that you could do that would make me not want to read something. (And I love angst, so anything darker there is always encouraged rather than discouraged lmaooo)

Now asking me for my favorite fics on the other hand...I'm notorious for making detailed fic rec lists. That's dangerous.

For now, I'll do 3 all time favorites of MANY more, and 3 more recent reads (though some of them are older, because I'm back in the tag rn)

Top 3 All Time Favorites:

cassian andor nonsense + assorted nonsense timestamps by theputterer

I love this series. It's Cassian centric at first, and then it's about their relationship in the context of their pasts and I am just!!! Overflowed with love for it all of the time. I binged it when I first read it, and there are some oneshots in the verse that I come back to and re-read when I'm in a mood. (Blood Brothers, where Jyn gets to meet Cassian's Imperial brother, is a weird favorite, but I think I've re-read it like 4 times. I love that sort of 3rd person POV on a ship I just DO.)

only fools rush in by andromeda3116

I re-read this fic almost every holiday season, that's how much I love it. Fake dating trope, holiday vibes, bickering but well-meaning family that learns to come together. It's catnip to me.

Color My Cheeks by Copper_Nails (Her_Madjesty)

Another older but beloved favorite that I've re-read multiple times. One of the first fics I ever read in the fandom, and I think one of the first sex pollen fics I'd ever read. It's not just trope-y sexy fun, but the fact that it goes into the AFTER of a sex pollen event and what that means for them emotionally feels so unique and interesting. Now I'm thinking about re-reading it again. Sigh.

Definitely could give you more all-time favorite recs, but here are some more recent fics I've read:

Lost and Found by mosylu

As of today, just completed, and WOW what a journey! I left rambling, crazy comments on this fic almost every week for good reason. It was sweet, it was angsty, it was just!!!! Amazing. I'm probably going to come back to this one again down the road for sure.

Delivery Week by SleepyKalena

I've read quite a few Film/Production based fanfics over the years, but this one is for us post girlies!!! An edit bay meet-cute, bitching about color correcting/matching--truly this fic has it all and feels tailor-made to me as an editor, even if it's at an animation studio rather than live action.

spy games by skitzofreak

I'm basically reading through all of their star wars fics right now, so highly highly recommend this author as a whole. (The fact that I've apparently left kudos on some of them before and don't remember it at all is...funny.) This one is just a great, cute starter where Cassian and Jyn have an entire silent conversation in front of a bunch of recruits. So good.

Your asks remind me to send asks to MY giftee, so I'm so happy to hear from you each week! Have a wonderful week and good vibes to your writing progress! 💖

[maidenvault]

hey! so I just watched rogue one for the first time (and realised how much I actually love the Star Wars series.. it's a whole thing) and now am about to descend into the sw canon. but I thought I'd ask where the best place to start is? comics, spin offs, books etc! (for context I've watched the prequels, og trilogy but only the first of the newer movies because ugh. and I've watched a bit of the clone wars & loved it.) Any advice you have for me would be greatly appreciated!!

Hi! If you liked what you saw of Clone Wars, I'd definitely start by watching it to the end and continuing with The Bad Batch, which I think is the most consistent in quality of the animated shows and builds on things TCW did in really smart and rewarding ways. Because TCW is so long and honestly has a lot of tedious fluff in it, I've made a watchlist leaving out the skippable episodes for anyone who doesn't want to commit to getting through it all, as you really don't have to.

And if you love Rogue One, you should definitely watch Andor. Not my fave but it's as good as everyone says. Just a staggeringly good cast all around.

When it comes to the books/comics/games, I'm honestly not the best person to ask lol. I dabble in reading EU stuff and a lot of it's great, but I feel pretty strongly that SW loses a lot of its magic when it's not on the screen and the fandom takes all the deep lore a bit too seriously. Back when Timothy Zahn's original Thrawn trilogy was published we weren't supposed to ever be getting more films, so naturally it was a big deal to people that canon was expanding in this way and luckily those books were excellent. But these days the EU seems relatively non-essential, even if many would say it's better overall than it used to be, and some of it's contradicted by the movies/shows anyway. Idk, part of the appeal and identity of the classic canon to me is that everything about the world is kind of different-yet-familiar, using recognizable archetypes and all, it's really pretty simple as a story and not hard to understand. I think fans who get hung up on the supposed importance of world-building details or expanded-universe lore can lose sight of that.

This is a long way of saying it can be intimidating how much Star Wars there is, but you shouldn't be intimidated by it. There's nothing that's essential to read to be into the fandom. A lot of "canon" is little more than glorified fanfic and we can all discard the parts we don't like. Even fans who are more into the EU than I am would probably say there aren't a lot of bad places to start, and it just depends on what kind of Star Wars you want more of. I know the ongoing High Republic series is really beloved and supposed to be very consistently well-written. Lately I've really enjoyed reading Jason Aaron's Star Wars comic (set between ANH and ESB) and Kieron Gillen's Darth Vader which can be read alongside it. If you'd be interested in reading any Legends stuff (stories that are no longer canon as of the Disney era), the Thrawn trilogy is a classic of course, and the New Jedi Order series is a sprawling storyline that even some fans who like the sequel trilogy say is a better OT sequel story than those movies. You can easily google the reading order for any of those to know how to read them. If anyone wants to chime in with other recs in the notes, please do!

[lutethebodies]

Tav Tuesday Redux: Talinthe Vel, the Hidden Hand

Reviving LTB Tav Tuesdays, just this once, to do something I haven't in quite a while: building an original character! Meet Talinthe of House Vel: 

If that name sounds slightly familiar, well...let's work out why. The conceit this time is I'm making one new for BG3, instead of importing an existing older character from tabletop/5e. This is gonna be messy, so please bear with me:

I'm using BG3 to create someone who will work in that context as well as in one of my homebrew settings. I'm stealing the plot idea of Minthara surviving a crazy ordeal of exile and trauma to take over her new adopted home city from the inside. For this I need a lady drow, sure, but given that I already have one (as a PC/NPC, whom I’ve already shown) I need to distinguish this new character from not only other famous drow but also my own older OCs. I'm also pairing her up with my beloved swords bard, because her character arc was inspired by my bard's BG3 dynamic and plot arc as played with a romanced Minthara, and because Madam Baenre simply won't fit (and probably doesn't belong) in my homebrew game.

To (mostly) avoid cliché, I'm passing on Drizzt-style do-goody rangers, Viconia-style clerical melodrama, and Minthara-style mother-hating vengeance. However, that doesn't mean I can't combine smaller aspects of each (as well as some of my own) in order to make a compelling person. But this has to be a person and not a stat block. As much as I'm fascinated by the idea of a drow as a gloom stalker/assassin, that's both a clichéd powergamer build and something another of my characters can feasibly morph into, so that's out. I've yet to satisfactorily crack the code of the Fighter class in tabletop (I've made several, all unplayed), but my DEX-based builds of Minthara and Lae'zel helped me get the hang of mélee characters outside of my favorite class types (I usually go for experts: bards/rogues/rangers).

So for a gish-type build I'm leaning toward Eldritch Knight, or some combo of EK with a rogue subclass. Drow are at least a bit magical, and for homebrew I'm unburdened by the lore of Loth-sworn, so my Seldarine-like warrior can be magical for [reasons]. In 5e an EK/Rogue multiclass might be easy, RP-wise: the Rogue's mechanically underwhelming but RP-rich Mastermind subclass works well for a Moriarty-type character who wants to gain control of a city from the shadows. 

However this build is highly Multiple-Ability-Dependent (in my case, DEX/CON/INT). Happily, BG3 offers many items to help build MAD characters, so for this one I can focus on DEX/CON and use the Intellect Headband to boost INT. Alfira can also teach her how to play an instrument, so the Spider Lyre can be useful. Eldritch Knights don't need lots of INT for their spellcasting; my understanding is they should use utility cantrips (Blade Ward) and spells (Shield, Expeditious Retreat) that don't rely on the Spell Save DC.

Working with abilities/builds at the start will only get me so far, though. No build can create a character unless that character already has their own personality. So, back to piecing together this person with aspects of others and a few personal details of my own (that's always how I've made my OCs and, I'll wager, is how many authors make theirs. "Originality" doesn't figure in). From famous drow like Drizzt/Jarlaxle/Viconia/Minthara I'll swipe the "loner/exile" trope. From Drizzt and Minthara I'll take "warrior." From Viconia and Minthara I'll take "middle-aged noble." From Jarlaxle I’ll take “hidden puppet-master.” From my own homebrew world I'll take details for background/setting/etc.

Her surname "Vel" is a truncation of the drow velkyn (hidden), and also swiped from Faye Marsay's rebel spy in Andor. Her given name "Talinthe" is built on an obvious near-rhyme of Calanthe, the Witcher's Warrior Queen of Cintra. I’ve never read those books and so was introduced to Calanthe by the glorious Jodhi May, whom I've crushed on for decades, ever since she played the doomed Alice Munro in Last of the Mohicans. Talinthe is much less royal and much less doomed, but I've already decided she's a noble used to power (like Calanthe), so let's make her a second daughter (like Alice). That gives her a reason to be away from/ambivalent toward her family (maybe a bit like Vanessa Kirby's Princess Margaret).

That last bit brings me back to my other stunningly attractive female drow OC, a younger archfey warlock named Qiranna (whose 5e portrait looks sorta like a drow Vanessa Kirby), but Qiranna's BG3 appearance got too visually wrapped up in the character creator's many options. She became less herself and more "what looks coolest in the character creator and oooh also a bit Minthara because yes please." So maybe Talinthe can take on the more superficial Minthara visual aspects, plus a bit of conventional-drow topknot-discipline (which, probably not coincidentally, was part of Qiranna's original Heroforge look I made circa 2021). The look allows Talinthe to be herself and Qiranna to be herself in both 5e and BG3. They’re probably still insufficiently unique from one another, but I don’t care:

Why? Because I think I have it now: A character I want to play (as a PC in BG3 and NPC in 5e). A noble daughter who's the "spare" part of "heir and a spare," whose incorrigible youth earned her expulsion or at least distance from her family, but whose ambition and personal standards became refined with age and trauma into a single-minded, ruthless focus on attaining power and station in her own right. If she gets entangled with a washed-up Lost Singer along the way, well, so much the better for that lucky bastard. I'm sure many will think that's a whole bundle of clichés, but whatever. All my best characters are made that way, and they're good enough for me.

[potatoesandsunshine]

hiii anna:) !! for the fic ask game, 1, 18, 23, 27, 35, 38? lots of em but i know what we're about here on potatoesandsunshine dot tumblr dot com LOL

thank you abby!!! you absolutely know what we’re doing on this blog i will always talk about my fic

1. Compliment your writing!

hmmm i think i’m really good at setting! i used to have a really hard time figuring out how much description environments/scenes needed but now i think i usually strike a nice balance of details and ‘the reader can fill this in in their mind’ :) i’m really proud of this actually! 

18. What trope have you not written yet, but want to?

it has taken me so many years to even be comfortable writing a modern au... i wanna do an arranged marriage thing really bad because that’s my fav thing for a fic (‘how can they be pining when they’re married?’ nomnomnom i have eaten it before i will eat it again) and time travel is like the holy grail. someday we will have a long convoluted beau time travel cobalt soul agent au. maybe if i ever actually do my c2 rewatch :P

23. Where do you usually write?

sitting on my bed and it’s the best spot. on rare occasions i write at my desk, but usually it’s like wall->pillow 1 (has arms)->pillow 2 (vertical)->me->lap desk->notebook or computer.

27. Which fic do you think is your most adventurous?

hmmm as of right now i’d say it’s she moves through moonbeams slowly, which is all about ‘well why shouldn’t i hook up with the dragon who might kill me at any moment, she’s hot!’ but i also really went out on a limb with my andor ‘why not improve this failing marriage by adding a third member (toxic) (sexy) (doomed)’ au. luckily that seems to have found my beloved fellow sickos

35. Have you ever written a fic because you were inspired by a title?

yes but not as often as you might think! Fly, Dove! Sing, Sparrow! exists because i heard gimme gimme from thoroughly modern millie and could not get it out of my head until i used it, but that’s the only one i can think of right this moment. i’m definitely a Song Lyric Title person, but it usually happens idea first

38. Pick three of your fics and share a song to go with each

oh you know this question was made for me. i do a lot of little playlists for my fic actually and i tend to share most of them! they can be found here :) i’m gonna try not to use ones i’ve already done on those!

for like flowers and blue skies, my extremely silly elle/vivian d&d au, What Do You Want from Me Tonight? by Sidney Gish: And I'm born too tall to contort my spine into a ball / And I wanna disappear, but I'm not adequately small

for spend your days biting your own neck, the ‘what if beau got mind controlled?’ angst/fun fic, Limp by Fiona Apple: So call me crazy, hold me down / Make me cry, get off now, babyfor oh, lend a mending hand, I Don’t Feel It Anymore by William Fitzsimmons: No map can direct / How to ever make it home / We're alone, we're alone, we're alone

[lummox-exe]

hello just wanted to share the translation for this because I'm a fucking nerd an aurebesh/political theory enthusiast and I'm so fucking excited about this manifesto "Control is so desperate because it's so unnatural, tyranny r[equires]..."

pretty sure that's correct even though some of the letters are blurred. this first glimpse has me fuckin hyped to see more of it

[thegirlwholied]

retcons. they're a writing tool. they're not fundamentally a bad tool. though I greet them more often with an "ugh, retcon" than a "nice, retcon"-

and that's often because they're overwrites. sometimes carelessly so, the 'didn't pay enough attention to what came before'/'guess I changed it' route. And sometimes retcons are the 'that's not the story I want to tell now or I can do better than that' route.

Andor is doing the second type of retcon, and interestingly so, because there wasn't a whole lot there to retcon *and yet* they are managing to do that.

When Rogue One came out, Disney dropped a bunch of expanded universe material. The NEW expanded universe, because they'd already ditched the old one, to avoid conflicts; this new one could be consistent (ha, ha, ha).

In those 2016 detail books we got the facts on Cassian Andor's backstory: from the planet Fest (clearly carefully chosen for its old EU history), father killed during a protest against militarization on Imperial Academy planet Carida (another world with EU history), involved with a Separatist cell from age 6 on...

Anddd anyone who'd read those extended materials knew Andor the show was ditching that backstory within seconds of him dropping the name 'Kenari' in context that was immediately clear it was his home planet. I appreciated at least getting a nod to the backstory we had since 2016 with dropping that his 'cover story' planet was Fest. They definitely were aware and chose not to go that route. And that's OK! they have a story they want to tell, they're digging into some interesting themes and meanings and...

Well. Either way it's a retcon. A minor one that 97% of the audience will never notice or care about. And yes they're still keeping to the spirit of that key line in Rogue One-

"I've been in this fight since I was six years old"

- clearly the mining disaster on Kenari presumably happened when Cassian was six years old. So his childhood was ruined by the Empire then and he's been resisting them ever since, it's not that it renders it untrue it's just-

it's just that he's pulling a moral high ground with that line over Jyn whose life was also ruined by the Empire at eight years old and was raised as a child soldier by Saw Gerrera, a character whose very name is designed to evoke guerilla warfare...?

I mean a Cassian who's already been in prison and is scrapping by and sticking it to the Imperials all he can, drawing those character parallels between them even closer then are we, but the whole crux of that (excellently written & filmed I'm still not over it) argument hinges on Cassian's relationship with/committment to the Rebellion above all else. The show's retcon has just... shortened that relationship. By quite quite a bit.

And there is now some unintentional irony, from this retcon, if Jyn was actually (via Saw's cell) part of the Rebellion longer than Cassian.

...it's fine, it's fine, tbh watch them retcon Jyn's backstory soon enough, it's a very minor retcon and maybe future episodes will reveal Cassian has been doing more actual rebelling than it seems and... nonetheless. Ugh retcon.

[old-archivist]

Antiva Köppen Climate Map and the Nerd Deep Dive to Go With it

Hello, I'm back and I have a nerd deep dive for you. This time featuring our ever so mysterious and romantic Antiva. Homeland of our beloved Zevran and Josephine. The coffee and trade capital of Thedas, and the site of demise of the fourth Archdemon Andoral. (I'm going to bring this up later. It's a rather big thing, to me at least.)

[Image Id: A multicoloured climate map of the fictional country Antiva from Dragon Age. Right side has the colour key for the climate zones of the map.]

This is going to be a really long post so everything is going under the cut. Topics being covered are:

Climate Zones

Trade

Flora

Fauna

Climate Zones

First thing you may notice is that this map is a little different from my original projects. Well, that is because I overlooked a rather significant detail:

The Fourth Blight ended in Antiva’s bean belt/tropical zone.

So what I originally projected to be tropical savanna and tropical monsoons, even a bit of rain forest, looked like this.

[Image ID: A multicoloured map, the top portion being largely green to denote a tropical climate area. Half way down turns orange denoting a change to a more arid and desert climate.]

I was expecting a more widespread coverage given the location of the area and all the potential precipitation levels. This was also back before most of my in depth research pertaining to the popular exports of Antiva, such as coffee.

But all of what I had planned, while plausible for the area, was likely wiped out during the Fourth Blight. The official maps I was referencing as a base line, to keep this as close to canon as I could, actually make it a fair bit difficult to realize this at first glance.

[Image Id: The Bioware Official map showing Antiva and the colours of the landscape.]

I thought it was a greyish-green type landscape. Mountainous perhaps but overall the appropriate climate zone. That is until I colour picked it and realized it was the same grey colour as the Sea of Ash on the other-side of the Gamordan Peaks southwest of Orlais.

In case you aren’t familiar with it, a Blight isn’t just devastating because of the Blight itself or even the darkspawn. When a Blight hits it impacts an area’s rainfall. Despite the arrival of an Archdemon on the surface heralding unnatural dark clouds, the clouds are simply to provide shelter from the darkspawn who fear the sun.

These black storm clouds offer next to no rain, and as time wears on, the surface water in the area evaporates. So rivers run dry, the land going through a desertification process from the sudden and prolonged drought that begins killing off plant life. The deteriorating climate leads to other effects as the Blight takes hold of the weakened plant and wildlife; mutating what has managed to survive.

This leads to many unnatural deserts and arid climates in Thedas, especially in areas heavily impacted by Blights. As we see with the Western Approach in Orlais, the Silent Plains between Nevarra and Tevinter, and the entirety of the Anderfels. And from these areas we can tell just how long it takes for areas to recover if at all.

So, given the area from Rivain to the Drylands shares that greyish colour, I thought it was best to regulate it as a hot steppe area. To clarify, steppes are dry, grassy plains which usually lie between tropics and polar regions. They have distinct seasonal temperature changes, cold winters and warm summers. Steppes are characterized as being semi-arid, which means they receive 10-20 inches (25-50cm) of rain in a year. Which means they have enough to support short grasses but not really enough for trees or tall grasses to grow.

This makes them mostly border climates in terms of transitioning from say tropics to deserts or mediterranean to temperate. It’s why you’ll see most of Antiva is covered in them. Because they have multiple climates that would need these transitioning zones, as well as they are a reasonable step in the potential climate recovery of Antiva after a Blight.

Now I was tempted to leave the savanna there, because traditionally they are closer to the equator and do differ from steppes in that they have hot, wet summers and only marginally cooler, but much drier winters. They also generally run warmer than steppes. I didn’t think that there was initially much reason to completely get rid of the savanna in place of steppes, given that there would be in areas that receive a lot of off-shore precipitation. But given that most of the coastal areas became mediterranean and that there was likely a lot of loss of long time water reservoirs such as lakes, rivers, and the like from the desertification of the Blight. It felt more reasonable that without the added precipitation from the large amounts of tropical rain forests and the retreat of the monsoon zones, that would dampen the recovery - even though it would be more accelerated compared to its inland counterparts. Those areas would become steppes. Because we can see such areas in Africa where the loss of rainforests and general deforestation impacts the surrounding areas.

So, what was a tropical savanna is now a hot steppe, what does that mean in the big picture? Well, for one it impacts the local flora and fauna - which I will go into more detail later; and also impacts what Antiva has to trade. A topic that will be in the following section as well. Aside from those, it impacts some of the surrounding climates.

While the Rialto Bay has its own off-shore winds bringing precipitation, it likely isn’t a lot given that I speculate that it has a cold current running through the bay. Generally speaking you will typically see mediterranean climates along cold currents and tropical regions with warm coastal currents. This is because it is more common that there will be less precipitation being blown in from the ocean. Cooler waters don’t evaporate as quickly so there is less moisture in the air. That would make most of the precipitation in the area coming from the northern shore from the Venefication Sea. Precipitation that would be lost as it goes over the tropical region on the coast, and presumably the small mountain range that surrounds the White Spire mountain. (Because mountains aren’t land features that naturally stand alone.) So if it has to cross the White Spire Mountain range, it would then leave all the steppes on the other side in what is called a rain shadow.

A rain shadow is often on the other side of a mountain, and is the side that typically sees less rain as the clouds need to release their moisture to climb higher in elevation. Now before the Blight this would still have been the case, but less so as there was likely run off water from the peaks that helped elevate the moisture to keep the area more tropical. But since the Blight, the loss of plant life, change in soil quality, and prolonged drought, it likely reached a point that there isn’t enough to revitalize the Blighted lands or alleviate the desertification. And thus the area turned more into steppes flanking the pockets of deserts and the Mediterranean coast.

I want to take this point to remind you that I am simply an amateur with an art degree who just really finds all this interesting, so I might be falling short in some areas and I highly encourage you to look into this stuff yourself. I also encourage you to have a dialogue with me about this if you think I missed something or should revise something.

That said, I also want to reiterate that desertification isn’t just a matter of sudden decrease in rainfall. I mentioned before but I want to say it more directly, that it also pairs with the degradation of the soil. With less nutrients in the soil, the area can’t support as complex or nutrient demanding plant life - such as trees and tall grasses. This means that there is less plant matter to hold it together, which leads to less water retention in the area for when it does rain, and that leads to an increase of soil erosion.

Soil erosion means things like mudslides, landslides, and massive movements of soil on areas of inclines; such as cliffs, areas leading into valleys, and on steep river beds. This also could lead to the change of rivers, the disruption of lake beds, and then an even further spread of the desertification.

So, what is the difference between hot and cold steppes? Not much really is the simple answer. A difference in average temperatures and sometimes altitude. The difference in average temperatures impact not only local plant life, but also the type of crops that could be grown there by farmers. If you want to see some real life locations of steppes for a better idea of what the areas look like or even a better understanding of all this climate talk I recommend visiting the Köppen Climate Classification Wiki.

Another caveat that should be mentioned in all of this, is that I cannot be sure of the overall landscape in terms of hills, valleys, and the like which have their own impact on the environment. While I have made some speculation based on the multiple maps Bioware has released as well as excerpts from Tevinter Nights and other Dragon Age additional media. They are just that, speculation. Which, for these maps I wanted to keep as reasonably low as I could because DA4 is lurking in the woods and could dramatically change a lot of this. If it does, I will of course be updating things because not only would that make all of this so much better but if you haven’t noticed, I like working on these maps.

Trade: Import and Exports

So, the Fourth Blight. Big, cataclysmic event, fourth of its kind, involved most nations in Thedas, went on for 12 years, and resulted in the extinction of Griffons and decimation of lands all across Thedas but most noticeably the Anderfels.

How does this relate to Antiva aside from the changes to the land I mentioned before. Well for starters, the Fourth Blight began in Antiva and was essentially the central point for the better part of those 12 years. There was a lot of destruction not only to the land but the country itself. It saw the end of the Antivan royal family at the time, the capital fell, and it decimated the infrastructure of the nation.

Yet when it was all said and done, Antiva turned its focus to rebuilding. Those efforts were more specifically focused on rebuilding the capital, Antiva City, as well as getting their sea trade industry back up. It is a coastal country and one that relies heavily on its sea trade to prosper. With a bulk of their towns and cities lining the coast, likely ports that make up part of their large trade routes, only two towns are shown inland. Further illustrating that Antiva is meant to be a nation of sea trade.

Which makes sense, given that it seems to be inspired by both Spain and Italy. Dragon Age media has depicted this in areas such as language, food, and some aspects of culture. These influences play heavily into what we know of Antiva. Both in the characters that originate from there and the snippets of lore.

This coastal country is known for their craftsmanship, wealth, and the Antivan Crows. Their primary exports being wines, coffee, spices, leather works, and jewels - rubies, diamonds, and pearls in the Rialto Bay. All these things are fairly easy to transport by sea, most hardy for long journeys and not easily spoiled. Key to trade that cannot be easily expedited. Leaving Antiva not lacking in stable exports.

But, I want to circle back to the climate for a moment and dip into a little bit of plant talk. Remember how I was expecting a much larger tropical zone in Antiva? That was due to one of their largest exports being coffee. To be so widely known for it, it would require they were able to get a steady and substantial supply of it. Even if it was exclusive to nobility, merchants, and the rich of other nations. Even as a limited supply good. It couldn’t be so limited that it was too rare to be heard of or shared by the few who could get their hands on it.

Initially, I thought Antiva lacked enough land space. Given that, Antiva is severely lacking in tropical climates save for the northern coast past the White Spire mountain. As you can see in the map below, it is roughly 450 mi2 (724.2 km2) of tropical land. I was under the impression that it was too little to produce enough coffee for them to be known for it as an export. It should be noted that the Arlathan Forest, likely rich in resources (and coffee trees), is widely avoided by all due to rumour of it being haunted, and isn't part of Antiva but Tevinter. It is simply included in the map due to its location and it being such a large area near Antiva that I felt it would be included in their map.

[Image Id: Multicoloured climate map of the fictional country Antiva from Dragon Age with a grid overlayed. The right side has the colour key for the climate zones as well as the scaling for the grid: 1 square equals 15 miles (1 Day travel)]

In regards to this map, it should also be noted that the scaling I used is derived from the fact that Ferelden has been stated to be about the size of England, roughly 50,301 mi2 (Roughly 130,279 km2). Which consequently would make all of Thedas less than 1/4 the size of all of Europe. (It’s 0.1791 the size of Europe, just saying.)

But back to coffee. My initial thoughts for its viability as an export were wrong. For, in traditional coffee farming, you can plant 450 coffee trees in one acre, and there are 640 acres in one square mile (247 acres in one square kilometer). So 450 trees times 640 acres is 288,000 trees. Multiply that by 450 and well, you’re looking at roughly 129.6 million trees. With each tree producing roughly one pound of roast in a yield and one pound of roast can yield 48 cups of coffee… Antiva can in theory produce up to 6.22 billion cups of coffee in a year.

Needless to say, Antiva can likely produce more than enough coffee. But! For a little fun speculation, and the fact that Antiva likely doesn’t grow just coffee in that 450 mi2 (724.2 km2), then how would they meet the quota of what they would need to export coffee. Well, I looked around the real world to see if I could find a plausible explanation, and I found one in Arabic coffee.

From what I found, it is suspected that the coffee plant in the Arabian peninsula, originally came from Ethiopia - as the earliest mention of it is from a legend of an Ethiopian goat herder. From there, some historians believe it was introduced to the Arabian peninsula in 675 AD, and it is certain that it existed in Yemen monasteries in the 15th century.

So, given that Antiva’s closest neighbour is Rivain, a nation with significantly more tropical land that could facilitate a steady means of production of coffee trees. I think Antivan coffee could likely be an import to Antiva if they could not produce enough coffee for themselves and to export it. So, once the coffee beans are in Antiva, the beans are roasted and prepared in a unique way - much like Arabic coffee beans, before then being exported.

In the map below, you can see that I have a part of Thedas shaded darker, I have included the Antiva climate zone map on top as reference. The shaded area of the map is all of Thedas that would potentially fall in the world's “Bean Belt”. Meaning areas that would plausibly be able to support coffee trees given they are a tropical environment.

[Image Id: A map of the continent of Thedas from Dragon Age franchise with the coloured climate zones of Antiva filled in. A top section of the map shaded darker than the rest.]

So as you can see, Rivain isn’t the only country that Antiva could get coffee from. However, I imagine it would probably be the easiest and cheapest in terms of cost, time, and shortest distance. Also likely the most reliable as from what I can tell Tevinter likely doesn’t have enough tropical spaces to support them, Seherron is a battlefield, Par Vollen doesn’t trade with anybody, and the Anderfels is one of the worst hit countries by the Blights. The Donnarks to the north of the Anderfels might be a suitable place, as Thedas gets their chocolate from there. However, I feel it would be far too expensive of an import to justify exporting it out.

Flora

So I know I just talked about coffee, and while we did dip into the whole where it grows aspect, it was primarily for whether or not it was a reliable export and if it wasn’t how to make it so. This section is more of a “Let's talk about what grows in Antiva. What we know and what we can guess.”

So as far as what is officially stated to be available in Antiva, we have:

• Coffee

• Cord-seed (Unsure of what this is exactly aside from a spice)

• Corn

• Grapes

• Olives

• Oranges

• Passion Fruit

• Pepper (Thedosian equivalent of cayenne)

All of these have been mentioned at one point or another as being found in, come from, or are grown in Antiva. All of which make sense with the mixture of tropical and Mediterranean climates that it has. As well as the sub-tropical/humid climates. The steppes would also be understandable given the potential variety of corn they could grow among other crops like olives.

So given the array of crops that we know, here are some of the following crops, also mentioned to exist in Thedas but not specific to Antiva, that might be found or grown in the country. All of these were based not on what is possible in a modern sense but in various time periods such as medieval and pre-industrial eras.

Almonds, apple, apricots, barley, beans, clover, cocoa, cucumber, date, fig, garlic, lavender, onion, oregano, palms, parsley, pear, pomegranate, rice, rosemary, sage, sugarcane, sunflower, tea plant, tomato, turnip, walnut, wheat

These plants fall either in the Mediterranean, subtropical, temperate, or tropical climates. Some even have multiple which would lend to their variety and availability throughout all of Antiva. Most of these plants are also easily cultivated in terms of technology that we know Thedas has and by extension, what Antiva has access to. Easy, reliable crops that would provide staples and most can handle a variety in soil quality as well if they were to be used as ground cover or as a crop to help restore the soil.

Along with their ease of production and availability, most of these crops would have multiple uses. From culinary to medicinal, as well as being hardy for long exports if fermented, jarred, dried, or processed in some minor way.

Antiva truly benefits from their variety in climate zones as well as the access to potentially large swaths of farm-able land in milder climate pockets. Something that occurs more towards the south and would likely be less affected than the northern regions when it comes to the effects of the Fourth Blight. Though only marginally so, which is why I don’t think all of the tropical land that Antiva has access to is dedicated solely to coffee trees. Because not only would monoculture farming like that be unheard of in the eras we are referencing, but also it would be a poor use of land for a largely trade based economy.

I say it would be a poor use of land because they wouldn’t want to flood the market and knock their own prices down. But also it would be a severe risk in a business sense. One of the negatives of monoculture is not only the increased risk of disease as all the plants are similar, close together, and are all weak to the same pests and diseases. But also because if they were to have a bad year it would have such a severe negative impact that they wouldn’t have anything to supplement it.

Monoculture farming is a modern concept, because in the era of technology that Thedas is in, they don’t have the tools to combat it. Even in our modern world we don’t have the tools to do so, we simply slow it down. But that is a separate conversation.

When it comes to agriculture in Antiva, and by extension most of Thedas. They likely rotate their crops and practice companion planting. Intermingling crops that will help restore the soil of nutrients that another crop took. Such as planting beans or any legume after or with a demanding crop like corn. Not only do the beans replace the nitrogen in the soil, but the corn can be used as a trellis for beans and peas that climb. Therefore maximizing the production of the land and producing two healthy crops.

Another reason they would practice companion planting is that some plants can fend off the pests or disease of another crop, or utilize space that would otherwise go unused. If you plant something like corn with beets or radishes in between the rows, you can maximize the production of the land.. Beets or carrots grow deeper than corn roots go. They also mature faster than corn so by the time they’re ready to harvest the corn is reaching a height that would otherwise shade out shorter crops.

Now most of these crops are Eurocentric, which is fine, however I believe you can reasonably add more variety given that Antiva is in a sweet spot of being close to the equator but also inching out of the tropic zone in the southern half. Allowing for a much wider variety than we might see.

Some crops I personally throw into Antiva that I think would be reasonable and fun are:

Alfalfa, aloe vera, amaranth, anise, bamboo, broad bean, cactus pear, carob, chickpea, durum, eggplant, emmer, hazelnuts, lentil, liquorice, loquat, mandarin, medlar, millet, persimmon, pistachio, quince, radish, sorghum, spelt, tuna (aka prickly pear), vetch, and water chestnut.

This is to name a few, as I’m still exploring the flora of other countries such as China, India, Thailand, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh.

There are numerous varieties of eggplant for example, that differ from country and climate zone. Same with radishes and legumes in general. Antiva, Rivain, and Tevinter are countries that I feel are so rich in diverse climates and in unique locations. As we can see with the existence of things such as figs, dates, passion fruit, and other flora.

Fauna

The fauna of Antiva isn’t largely known to us. We have mentioned that this is where lions originate from, that their crest is a golden drake which implies there were a great many dragons here at one point. There is mention of birds like the kingfisher, or sea gulls, which we know how varied and colourful that species of bird is.

We can also make fair assumptions in terms of what is common throughout the rest of Thedas, such as nugs, fennecs (which are seemingly modeled after fennec foxes which are native to northern Africa.). It is also reasonable to imagine things like:

Badgers, bats, boar, cobra, deer, duck, eagles, goats, hare, hyenas, the various manner of large spiders, giants, jackals, rams, deepstalkers, wolves, wyverns, bears, brontos, lurkers, adders, quillbacks, pheonix, raytooth, scorpion, vultures, and universal rodents such as rats.

Most of the fauna that has been shared in Dragon Age, has been depicted as specific to the underground, certain regions of southern Thedas, or exist in climates that simply don’t exist in Antiva. Something I hope will change in the future.

As far as speculative creatures would go, I have a few that are on my personal docket:

Beavers, gazelle, magpies, a variety of ox, pheasant, pilot whales, quail, leopards, cheetahs, addax, camels, oryx, buffalo, ostrich, lynx, foxes, african penguins, springbok, gemsbok, pallas's cat, caracal, przewalski’s horse, argali, dhole, pangolin, and bearded vultures.

I’m hoping to explore these animals to create some uniquely Thedosian ones in the future as they aren’t as easily plug and play for Antiva as some other animals are in say Ferelden or Orlais. Still, I think there is variety to be had here and would love to see it as filled as uniquely as other areas of Thedas.

Additional Maps:

[Image ID: Canon compliant map of Antiva, with a grid overlayed. Depicts trails and cities.]

You'll notice this is on a different scale than the one I shared above. This scaling is derived from the timeline that Varric gives on how long it takes Hawke to get to Kirkwall. It does make Thedas a smidge bigger but not much haha.

[Image ID: Non-canon map of Antiva, with a grid overlayed. Depicts trails, paths, and additional towns, cities, and circles.]

So!

That's the end! I want thank you for reading through all this and would like to thank all the people who helped me with this. As soundboards, math checkers, proof readers, and simply encouraging me to do this. I hope to continue making more such projects.

A big thanks to @indymillerart for helping me name towns on my meta map. Taught me quite a bit in the process as well! To @justabrowncoatedwench for helping me sort through the math of scaling both versions that I used. The 15 mile increments as well as the 38 mile increment. There was a lot of math and double checking. I'm infinitely grateful for.

And a big thanks to @ripflemeth for tagging along on the journey of making this. For proofreading and double checking things as I went.

Another side note: If you want to help out a lore nerd, if you have any information on the interactive map from the dragon age website back in 2014, such as location details in the Free Marches and north of that. Even Orlais really, please send it my way. I ask for my mapping project and my general nerdness. You can also see this post to figure out what I’m talking about.

Want to support the maps? Buy me a ko-fi Want to have high rez versions of the map for your own purposes? Visit my shop! Questions, requests, concerns about the next blight and its impact on the natural world? Me too. Send an ask!

[notasapleasure]

AO3 wrapped 3, 18, 29 😁

Took me a little while but I got there, thanks so much for the ask! (Ao3 unwrapped questions)

Consider this my belated contribution towards Sunday sentences/fic engagement I promised I'd do...

3. What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)?

Because this question doesn't specify 'this year' I suppose I can still say part 1 of the Andor saga au, The Saga of the Coal-biter and the Skraeling. It's fpn, Brasso's pov, it's such a niche setting, it's a prequel to everything that happens in S1, it's more Brasso's growing up story than about Cassian, it's ridiculously, ridiculously niche, but it's basically a novel that I actually finished writing and I am so proud of it! I've spent most of this year working on part 2 and I'm desperate to get it finished before s2 comes out...

Link to the saga au on Ao3. Also search the tag #saga au on my blog

18. The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year?

As if I've written any other characters for years lmaooo, but this big struggle this year was writing Cassian and Brasso in the punching fic aka don't need any help to be breakable. It was such a pain to wrestle them into a position where Cassian had annoyed Brasso *just enough* to provoke a punch, but that they would both still be in the mood to fuck afterwards. I wrote and rewrote Cassian's wheedling and whining again and again, and the whole thing was a puzzle of paragraphs for months where I was shifting round each cagey sip of nog and trying to find a thread through that maintained the right balance of tension. I think it worked out ok in the end? I was so relieved to finish it I forgot to include a bit of closing dialogue I'd planned right from the start, but I think it wraps up ok anyway.

Link to punching fic on Ao3. It's affectionately called the punching fic because it's a premise @r0b0tb0y gently handed me like a small endangered mammal of 'what if their cover story happened but 'you fell and I helped you back to your chair' actually meant 'I hit you and we had sex about it''.

29. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

Is it cheating to say my favourite is one that someone else keeps mentioning? I love that the bit in the punching fic about sleep-paralysis Cassian's clenched fist and Brasso's gentle hold became a shorthand for them and their relationship to @distressednoise and I am therefore hugely proud of it:

A big, warm hand enveloped one of his fists, knuckles sliding over the skin of his torso as they forced their way between Cassian's hand and his body. The touch was careful, like Cassian was so brittle he'd break if bent too far out of position. Another hand cupped his face and Cassian imagined being able to lean into it, to be able to tremble with gratitude at the touch.

But I'm also really pleased with the (incredibly angsty) saga au prequel bits about young Cassian's life in Tollan that @distressednoise and @stripedroseandsketchpads challenged me to write. I was trying to avoid having to get too deep into the details of his past in the saga au because the level of unknowns was so daunting, but in the end it was really helpful to think about the specifics of his earliest traumas - and I do always love thinking about the contrasts between the boy Kassa and the adult Cassian, as well as what features of his personality have remained the same.

Parts 1 and 2 on tumblr.

A later snippet, set around chapter 5 of the saga au, also on tumblr.

Thanks again for the ask!! I didn't post a lot of writing this year compared to some previous years, but I have been writing away pretty consistently still. And I am always up for chatting about my beloved saga au if anyone wants to join me in the mess of my own making (aka how to tell Cassian's story via Brasso's perspective when Brasso wasn't there for huge parts of it).

[incorrectpizza]

Why 2022 will be a make it or break it year for Star Wars

Ok, so I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, especially with the Kenobi trailer finally dropping. I’m convinced that 2022 will be the year that either saves Star Wars for me or which pushes me to apathy, if not distaste, of the franchise.

While this is, of course, my personal opinion, I believe that this will be the same for many other Star Wars fans. So, hear me out. I’m going to be analyzing each of the major projects in 2022 and detailing why I think their success is so vital to the franchise. 

Putting the actual post under the cut because it got a little out of hand. 

Reblog & put your own predictions in the tags - I would love to read them!

THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT

I want to touch on TBOBF briefly because it was predominantly a 2022 release. I don’t think this show helped Star Wars as much as it could’ve. It proved to be yet another divisive piece of media; I’d say it got much more love, than, say, The Last Jedi or The Rise of Skywalker, but it also didn’t get the level of praise The Mandalorian did. And it stole some key moments that could’ve made the season premiere of that show a real banger.

OBI-WAN KENOBI

This show is arguably the most anticipated piece of Star Wars content since The Force Awakens. People have been begging for Ewan McGregor’s return to Star Wars ever since Disney bought the franchise. This show is likely to draw an outsized audience of “normies” as opposed to the other Star Wars content that’s coming out this year.

This show has an outsized level of hype and is playing with a LOT of beloved legacy characters (even more than the sequel trilogy?!) Already we have confirmed Obi-Wan, Darth Vader, Owen, Beru, and a young Luke Skywalker (albeit from a distance). There are a few others who are heavily rumored but not outright confirmed which I’ll refrain from listing here.

Obi-Wan and Darth Vader having another confrontation will almost certainly be epic, but if done sloppily it could really break lore. Same with Obi-Wan possibly interacting with Luke. 

On top of this, they are also dealing with some popular characters from outside the movies. The Inquisitors’ presence - emphasized so heavily in the very first teaser - could confuse or delight fans.

If they screw this show up, it could have a profound impact on the way people view both the Original Trilogy and the Prequel Trilogy (albeit to a lesser extent). 

To put things succinctly: Obi-Wan Kenobi is an extremely anticipated show which will likely change the way all of Star Wars is seen - for the better or worse.

ANDOR

This show isn’t as big a deal as Obi-Wan Kenobi, but it holds a unique place as the series that could most surprise Star Wars fans. In my humble opinion, Andor could be a shocking success that brings together fans of the prequels, animated shows, originals, books, comics and, of course, Rogue One. 

This slice of the timeline is full of possibilities: pretty much any character from the Prequels, Originals, or the time in between could show up. 

Perhaps the biggest question is “Will we get to see Jedi?” There haven’t been many concrete rumors about Andor, which means they could totally surprise us with some mind-blowing connections. Could Ewan McGregor have filmed an extra scene or two while he was working on Kenobi? Or maybe a younger Ahsoka Tano will show up here as Fulcrum? Kanan Jarrus hasn’t revealed his identity, but it’s entirely plausible he and/or Hera Syndulla could show up in their roles as young rebellion heroes. 

It’s not just Jedi that could show up, though. The show will deal with both the Rebellion and the underworld, opening up a world of possibilities. There’s the possibility of a clone trooper or two cameoing, or even young Boba Fett; Temeura Morrison is still very well connected with Star Wars. Maybe young Fennec Shand could make an appearance as well? We know she’s already bounty hunting by this time. A persistent fan hope is Star Wars Rebels’ Alexsandr Kallus, who would still be an Imperial agent at this time. 

Add in the odd, persistent rumors of George Lucas’s involvement, and you get a recipe for something special. 

Will Andor be a magical Neapolitan pizza with fresh tomatoes and mozzarella or a sad stale piece of cardboard covered in a dry, just-barely-tomato-esque paste and cheese that looks like it was chewed by a dog?

THE BAD BATCH

So, here’s the thing about The Bad Batch Season Two:

We know absolutely nothing about it.

Aside from the fact that it’s coming, there have been zero announcements, and few leaks or rumors, since the initial announcement of the renewal last year. The latest development? Bob Chapek actually left the show out of the list of the remaining content for 2022 during Investor Day yesterday, and Star Wars Insider changed the sidebar from “Coming Spring 2022″ to “Coming Soon”. 

Are there production woes? Could it be cancelled? Or do they just not have an easy spot to slide it into their lineup of content? We know courtesy of Michelle Ang that the show was recording lines months ago. 

This show is big for a few reasons. It’s not the most beloved Star Wars animated series by far, but it had a sizeable fandom. It’s also the only animated Star Wars on the horizon in the near future. 

Some of Star Wars’ best content has been animated. The Clone Wars and Rebels are both very well-loved. Visions had a fun breakout moment, and Resistance is severely underrated.

I worry that, if The Bad Batch doesn’t get a great second season - and a renewal for a third, if it’s been sketched out - it could be very bad news for Lucasfilm Animation and its fans. I’m thoroughly convinced that Resistance got cut short. If The Bad Batch doesn’t perform up to snuff, I’m afraid they might decide that animation isn’t worth it anymore.  With the Rebels sequel storyline moving to live action, there isn’t a very clear direction for Star Wars animation to go after The Bad Batch, and I’m afraid it could become scarce. 

LEGO STAR WARS: THE SKYWALKER SAGA

This game has been coming out for so kriffing long that Lego Star Wars fans could be extremely salty if it isn’t everything they’d hoped and dreamed. (I’m not a huge Lego fan, so this is pure speculation, but I can’t say I’d blame them.)

JEDI FALLEN ORDER 2

This is a long shot but if the Jedi Fallen Order sequel gets a killer trailer and/or a release in 2022, it could provide a lifeline to some Star Wars fans who are struggling to enjoy the other content. (I know it’s one of my most anticipated Star Wars projects).

BOOKS & COMICS

I felt weird leaving these out entirely, because they do exist, but there isn’t anything huge going on. Other than The High Republic, which I’m pretty sure everyone has either gone all-in one or abandoned by this point, we have just a handful of books that look to either enhance or cast a dark shadow over a few beloved characters. But these aren’t likely to make a huge splash, so I don’t see them making a big difference to the fandom writ large.

THE MANDALORIAN SEASON 3

I tacked this on at the last moment to remind people that we should’ve gotten a third season of The Mandalorian in 2022. If it weren’t for Disney’s firing of Gina Carano and subsequent rewrites, it likely would have premiered as scheduled in 2022. It could’ve been a fantastic banger of an ending to a year of epic Star Wars (if everything above went well and on schedule). But as things stand, it’s looking like The Mandalorian will come out in 2023 at the earliest.

[voidandradiance]

hello! from the fic writer thingy; 1, 8, 9, 17, 25, 36, 37, 41 and 42 !!!

1. What fic of yours would you recommend to someone who had never read any of your work? (In other words, what do you think is the best introduction to your fics?)

oh boy uh. for dsmp, by far, can i sleep in your house tonight or like i've never been are my strongest works. best foot forward, and all that.

for mianite, though... i love the karma series but it's a Lot, so maybe vintage misery or stars burn out. peak identity theft for both of them, tbh, but they're Good.

8. What song would make a great fic (to either write or read)?

i've done most of the Splash Potion of Brainrot ones, but left on the list are:

the plagues from prince of egypt, 100 bad days by ajr, home to me by devil and the deep blue sea, thus always to tyrants by the oh hellos, dirty by grandson :)

9. How do you find new fic to read?

i subscribe to vav on ao3. and also scroll the wilbur soot character tag with dozens of excluded tags. and also read my friends' stuff.

17. What highly specific AU do you want to read or write even though you might be the only person to appreciate it?

my batshit insane tubbo- and andor-centric vigilianitee au, my fucking beloved. put those boys in situations. someone becomes a magical girl and i'm not telling you who.

25. What other websites or resources do you use most often when you write?

i have the mental illness transcription doc, which is roughly 80 pages of transcribed mianite dialogue written out in script format, and i reference that pretty often. i've also got a folder of about 725 screenshots of mianite references, so. yknow.

36. Do you visualize what you read/write?

....sometimes? i guess? i'm really fuckin bad at it when i do, but i end up sketching out reference maps or using screenshots bc my spacial awareness is a little bit Really Bad

37. Promote one of your own “deep cut” fics (an underrated one, or one that never got as much traction as you think it deserves!). What do you like about it?

all of my mianite fics.

nahhh as far as dsmp fics go, i have to say just give me a happy middle is one that i loved and most people didn't. it was just posted at a weird time, i think? idk. food as a metaphor for love.

41. Link a fic that made you think, “Wow, I want to write like that.”

THIS ONE. THIS ONE RIGHT HERE. it was the first one of vav's ao3 fics that i read, and i lost my fucking mind. the imagery. the detail. the pacing. the quilt. OUGH i wish i could fuckin Do That with words. i dont care if yall warch mianite or not i am telling you to read the fic

42. Have you ever received a comment that particularly stood out to you for whatever reason?

the tipping point for me becoming a wilbur main was zanna zannolin's comment on save the world. so. yes. anyone who leaves long detailed comments analyzing symbolism or easter eggs or characterization, i would already die for you, but that comment specifically is one of the things that got me to start writing wilbur-centric stuff as a whole. thanks king.