#idk i wanted to draw the knights carrying their charges

[kayzis]

princess carry, prince carry

[firaknight]

Follow up of Adeleines opinions on the helpers :) (stuff in parenthesis is the ability they have)

Blade Knight (Sword): 7/10 Mysterious little dude:

He’s cool! He’s kinda hard to understand at times (he’s got a thick accent, idk what kind), but he’s very nice! He’s got a lot of standards when it comes to swordsmanship and is very strong! He’s working on showing Adeleine the proper stances for sword fighting (it’s possible for her to emulate that style with her paintbrush, minus the cutting ability of a real sword).

Chilly (Ice): 9/10 Snowed Man!!

Snowed man friend!!!! He’s very serious about things but he’s a good friend! Only problem is he has to stick around Adeleines Ice Dragon drawing to prevent the poor guy from melting (they’re working on finding an eternal ice that won’t melt so he can stay cold!). He likes to make snow cones!!! (Which are hella good btw)

Bio spark (Ninja): 8/10 Speedy!!!

One of the fastest helpers around! They’re speedy, sneaky, and all around a mysterious little dude! They have a habit of showing up so quietly that nobody notices for a good couple minutes before they’re just like “I wasn’t even hiding I’ve been standing here this whole time.” Overall, odd but kind little friend!

Birdon (Wing): 7/10 Soft birdie!!!

They’re just a little birdie!!! Birdons probably the most carefree helper out of the bunch, and they like relaxing really high up (much to Adeleines dismay). They tend to make stuff out of the feathers they shed (and they shed very often), so they’re always giving friends bracelets, headgear, jewelry, and such made out of their feathers. Adeleine actually has a coat lined with their feathers and it’s SUPER warm! They’re a little strange (and Kawasaki keeps trying to cook them [see: Star Allies title screen skits]) but they’re a wonderful buddy!

Wester (Whip): 9/10 Yeehaw man!!!!

Dude is legit just a very small cowboy. He cannot help his smallness... He’s agile and absolutely has an accent when he talks. He’s a little chaotic, but has a good heart. Probably taught Adeleine how to mount and ride a grizzo just for fun. She’s got a cowboy hat he made for her!

Plugg (Plasma): 10/10 Old friend!

She’s known Plugg since Crystal Shards! The two are good friends and Plugg likes to paint with her! He’s got some... interesting ways of painting (sticking his entire face into paint and then running facedown on the canvas), but he’s a lovely friend! He likes to run around a lot tho, probably because he’s constantly generating electricity and needs to burn it off so it doesn’t overload him. Will absolutely charge electrical devices without a second thought.

Como (Spider): 6/10 Spider...

While they’re similar to Taranza, they have a lot more spider tendencies, and therefore kinda scared Adeleine. She’s tolerable of them (more so than Susie), but tries to keep her distance. They’re helpful and are very very very sweet!!! They just tend to do creepy spider things and it freaks her out...

Bugzzy (Suplex): 7/10 Massive bug dude

He’s like... huge. Closer to, if not taller, than Adeleines height. He has very sharp pincers on the front of his face, and they can be painful when used, so he either wraps them in bandaging or puts rubber caps over them! That way he can grab and hold friends without harm! He’s oddly cuddly and likes to carry people around (not neccisarily throwing them) in his pincers. Overall, big doofus bug who has lots of love.

Broom Hatter (Clean): 8/10 Clean freak

Literally cannot handle dirty shit. At all. Has the urge to clean everything. Perks are that they keep the base everyone hangs out in super duper clean! Adeleines taught them to draw and it helps them not want to compulsively clean everything. They make really pretty art!

Poppy Bros Jr. (Bomb): 9/10 Funky lad!

He’s got an older brother of the same name (Poppy Bros Sr.) and he’s a boss in training! One day he hopes to be just as good as his brother! Dude is ultra high energy (which is why he’s always hopping around) and tends to be a little obnoxious. They can’t entirely help it, they’re just energetic! They’ve taught Adeleine how to yeet explosives and she’s genuinely good at it!

Rocky (Stone): 7/10 He is literally just a rock

Sentient rock! He’s a little slow and can’t really talk, but he’s a buddy! He likes to just turn into his stone form and just sit like that. It’s comfy and feels like home to him. Will not hesitate to use himself as a step or a seat for someone if needed. He also gives everyone hes friends with a special rock! Adeleines has marbling to it and looks absolutely beautiful!

Waddle Doo (Beam): 8/10 Funky little man!

He’s got only one eye and therefore has poor eyesight. You’d think one eye would be better, but nope! He wears essentially one huge contact lens to help! They’re buddies with Parasol Dee and Bandee!!! Doo is on the calmer side of the group, and tends to not be so insanely high strung. He’s still a little anxious, but he’s better at covering it than the other. He hangs out with Wester sometimes (whip-like attack squad)

Chef Kawasaki (Cook): 2/10 Hes creepy and I don’t like him.

He has this weird... unsettling energy about him. He’s tried to cook both Coo and Birdon more than once and she genuinely doesn’t like being around him. He makes good food, which has stopped him from being a 0/10 in her book, but thats it. He’s only there because Kirby thought he’d be a nice addition and everyone knows that if Kawasaki crosses the line he will get booted on the spot. (Kirby has standards too!)

Gim (Yo-yo): 7/10 Hes just a robot huh.

He’s kinda strange, and doesn’t appear to have a lot of feeling, but Gims really nice! He likes to show people all the tricks he can do with his yo-yo (which is surprisingly a lot) and gives all his friends a yo-to so they can do the tricks along with him (Adeleines is teal with red and black stripes. It’s also got a couple paint splotches on it that we’re added on purpose).

Burning Leo (Fire): 8/10 Toasty heater child!

They’re small and warm!!! All the time!!! They like to be held and snuggle up to cold stuff because it’s the same feeling as snuggling up to warm stuff for humans. REEEEAAALLLYYY wants to hug Chilly but there is the very real possibility that Chilly will literally melt so he holds off from that. Adeleine tends to be cold and likes to hold Leo like a hot water bottle. He’s learned how to make his head fire harmless so people can hold him and not get burned!!

Driblee (Water): 9/10 Oh my god they’re adorable!

Sothisispartiallyjustmebecauseilovethewaterabilityimsorry They’re a little lizard mermaid! They adore swimming more than you’d think and hold pool parties!! They hang around Chilly because their water tends to be on the colder side and Chilly can use them to reform melted bits of Adeleine can’t get Ice Dragon to do it. They’re actually made entirely out of water! They can literally transform back into water by going into water. This also means that they can conform to spaces not meant for them like bottles and containers. They like to make drinks for people since the water they use for attacking is some of the cleanest water out there! (It also tastes super fucking good)

Bonkers (Hammer): 7/10 Kinda scary...

He’s big, taller than Adeleine (especially if he stands fully upright), and has an intimidating look, but he’s all bark and no bite! Dude is literally just a ball of sunshine! He likes to carry people around and will 100% shield someone from attacks (he’s sturdy!!!). He’s helping Adeleine with her strength because she’s fragile and a little scrawny and he’s all muscle (shes gotten a lot better!). Shes got her own lightweight hammer he lets her use so she can get a little stronger!

Sir Kibble (Cutter): 9/10 Smol knight!

He cannot help his size... but he’s tough! He also has no fucking braincells and does not think but he’s a good boy! He likes to headbutt people but his helmet poses a problem (it literally has a blade attached to it) so he puts a padded pool noodle over it to protect others (the padding is so the noodle doesn’t get chopped from the blade itself when force is applied). He’s just a little dude with no thoughts... head empy...

NESP (ESP): 4/10 They talk too much and know stuff about me that I never told them.

Strange and not very cool :( They have a tendency to read other people’s minds because they purposefully don’t tune their thoughts out and therefore know a lot of stuff they really shouldn’t. They also don’t know how to keep their mouth shut. Thankfully they’re just funky from psychic power and on a good day they’re kinda nice to be around!

Vividria (Artist): 10/10 THATS MY ADOPTED SISTER!!

They’re siblings. Drawcia adopted Adeleine as one of her own and that makes Vividria her sis! They paint together and Vividria kinda sticks up for Adeleine in more dicey fights because of Adeleines low HP. They’re the bestest of friends and are super cool with one another! She’s still growing and is one day gonna reach Drawcias size!! (If we put it into normal heights [Adeleine being 5’3” and Kirby being 1’8”] Drawcia is over double Kirby’s height. Probably closer to 3-4 feet)

Parasol Waddle Dee (Parasol): 9/10 Oh my god they’re just a smol friend...

Dee is literally almost as high strung and anxious as Bandee but they’re so sweet!! They like rain!! They also give parasols to all their friends! (Adeleines is teal with paint splotches!) They tend to nap a lot and will totally join cuddle piles. On hot days they’ll utilize the chumbrella as a big shade for everyone in the nap pile. Just a squishy little dee!!!!!

Knuckle Joe (Fighter): 10/10 Hes super supportive and nice!

He saw how fragile Adeleine was and said “aight so I may not be a master but I’m gonna teach this kid how to fight” and didn’t wait for any objections. Once a week he goes out into the forest with Adeleine and shows her how to fight like him! Physical combat is important!!! She can’t fire off energy blasts or deal lightning speed punches, but she’s getting there! He’s ultra supportive of everyone and loved to teach people stuff!!! He care about everyone!!!!

Beetley (Beetle): 8/10 Why is he so angy!!

Always grumpy. He says it’s because he keeps losing to Bugzzy but it’s just because he’s super small and gets picked up like a burger all the time (if you didn’t wanna be held like a burger don’t be burger shaped idiot). Isn’t aggressive but will headbutt people with the blunt end of his horn when he’s being extra grouchy. Adeleine likes picking him up because he gets all stiff like a ferret (when you pick them up and they stick their feet’s up all stiff).

Jammerjab (Staff): 9/10 Funky but fun!

Was originally really wary of them because of the whole Void Termina thing and their assosciation with the bad guys wasn’t a good thing but they’re super cool! They’re graceful and like to stand on their staff a lot. They also help the smaller helpers get stuff up high (they themselves are small but their staff can extend a lot so they can use that for extra height). They let Adeleine use their staff and she’s not that good at it (she always whacks herself in the face while trying to use it) but it’s a nice gesture! They know a lot about the Jambastion and like to tell people all the wacky secrets it holds (like how Hyness has an entire room full of just robes that all look the exact fucking same or how theres a specific set of hallways that move and change to get trespassers lost in them). Honestly a fun little guy to be around

[thestarminstrel]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 💖💓💛💞💖💗💓💝💖💗💛💞💗 L O O K. A T. T H E Y Y Y Y HOLY FUCK I LOVE THIS SO MUCH LIKE HOLY SHIT I L I V E FOR PRINCE/KNIGHT AUS AKDHKDHFKF LIKE HOLY FUCK?!? I LOVE FUCKIMG EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS!!!!!

just gonna start with eugene bc HOH MY GOD HE! HE HE HE H E!!!!! look at he winkin <333 and smilin <333 and leaning against the wall <33333333 like eugene just has a face made to smile and gah <3 his smile here is so good. like it's gotta be subdued a bit bc he *is* at work ig but he's happy to see his prince <3 and his eyebrows!! so short and lovely and ugh <3 eugene's eyebrows are arguably some of my most favorite things in fence and i got like 0 justification in it. i 200% deserve to be made fun of it but fuck you i'm right. and the way it adds to the wink? *kisses fingers* eugene's winks are so darling bc if his eyebrows and i simply adore how they're captured here <3 and his NOSE!!! FUCK do i love his nose <33 eugene just has a good face okay? also his hair!! so messy and tousled <3 i love how he just shows up to duty like that -- i bet it drives jesse insane at first having such a "filthy messy bodyguard at all times!!!!!" but CLEARLY he ends up loving it (and eugene uwu). idk man you draw hair güüd. okay but eugene's fucking UNIFORM?! DUDE!!! DUDE I LOVE IT SO MUCH AND JUST AJDHKDHFIFNFJ okay okay first off the colors? holy CRAP does eugene look good in black and i love the nods to canon with the yellow!! that collar is just ✨️magnifique✨️. second off just the design??? holy fuck. i love eugene's in vests. like an unHOLY amount (that and the fucking grandpa pant strappies -- he pulls them off for some fucking reasom and ik this is out on the internet forever but i really hope it's just you who reads this KSHDKFJ). and the boots and the double swords?! i LOVE the idea of eugene double weilding holy shit!! like the strength to do that is incredible (which we know he stronk af) and now we know why he was put in charge of the night shift uwu. he would look so good training with them (and it distracts jesse whenever he passes by the training courtyard. esp eugene's smile when he catches jesse staring). dude with your permission i Need to draw this now. like asap. i do not kid when i telk you how much i love this.

and now, my favorite brat: his majesty prince jesse motherfucking coste. he just looks so darling with his blond hair and blue eyes all the time but i LOVE how sapphire they are in your style <33 it's such a popping color choice and i'm obsessed with it???? i need More of it akhdkf. and his stupid bangs -- bro they look GREAT! they're just the right amount of tousled for the night but also just the right amount of jesse was expecting eugene uwu. also his smile? idk how else to describe it but he looks happy to see eugene but like? proud as a peacock sjhdkd. he just clearly is so happy that eugene likes him so much <33 and like damn i can see why with that shirt KSHFKJF eugene would absolutely enjoy the view that shirts gives j u s t saying. jesse is so shameless and he always gets what he wants LMFAO <3 and again i LOVE the nod to canon with orange!!! also his high waisted pantssss aaaaaaa they're so goodddd i love jesse in them <333 also his shoesss amazingg <3 i love again that he's like. artfully prepared for eugene's visit. undressed enough to appear to be casual but it's orchaestrated in the best way possible. jesse just wants to look good for his knight and who can blame him <3

and can i just say how utterly delightful the whole scenario is in general??? like i already love prince jesse sm but them staying up late together?? qwq i'm sure eugene has carried jesse to bed so many many times <33 maybe softly brushed back a lock of hair too,,,, and gave jessea good night kiss on the forehead,,,,,,, like ofc they fell in love akhdkf late night conversations are the best place to do that js. poor jesse tho being so tired all the time <3 eventually eugene lets himself guard jesse from inside his room tho and maybe THEN the dumbass gets more sleep ajdjkdf. god this au is just. so much serotonin to me <3 maybe eugene brings homemade eton messes from time to time akfjkf

dude i love this so so so much 💛💛💛💛💛 it's just. so so so cute and I LOVE the art you did <333 it's so precious and darling and i will now think about this au once a day-- tysm for the wonderful wonderful gift 💛💛💛💛

Hello and happy holidays and happy new year @thestarminstrel !!!!!!

Surprise! I am your secret santa this year hehe, SO I chose to do a lil prince Jesse and knight Eugene for you! Jesse never gets sleep because he just Has to flirt with and hang out with his knight during his night shift, and also they fall in love <3 

[grimoireoffolkloreandfairytales]

Perrault’s sleeping beauty is so good

1. Good fairy who saves dayplans on being last. The old one arrives on dinner and is muttering whole time so good one guesses what happens and decides to be last to give gift-she is genre savvy one. Or just knows she would have acted same way. SO SHE HIDES BEHIND CURTAIN, Flawless  disguise because forgotten fairy is Old and just wants to curse somebody.

2. Beauty is troll who after Prince comes into her room basically tells him ‘’what took you so long, do you know how long I have been waiting’’ with teasing smile.

3. Prince is stuttering mess who goes from kneeling before her sleeping form to launching cheesy awkward compliments.

4. She likes it and they talk for 4 hours until lady in waiting goes to tell them to get down because lunch is ready.

5. Beauty is much smoother talker because fairy gave her good dreams and apparently beauty got everything explained in them and probably spent decades preparing herself for day prince arrives.

6. Prince has to make big effort not to tell princess she dresses like his great-grandma. But she is beautiful, of course.

7. Everybody resumes their jobs after waking up.

8. Fairy apparently went around and touched everybody, even flies with her wand to put people to sleep and nobody stopped her? So either people really loved princess or fairy is martial artist who puts Flash at shame with her speed.

9. Also, she is responsible for thorns and briars around castle. Fairy godmothers are scariest creatures of fairy tale bunch. Think fae who almost completely get how humans work and are willing to exploit that to protect their charges.

10. King and queen are off for holiday while princess is in castle on fateful day and after she pricks finger they have to leave to rule kingdom (are her and prince relatives? Not that it would be weird for royals but given difficulties they had with conceiving one kid I think they just handed off duties to best friends which is much less icky).

11.Also they tried everything to get kid. Doctors, healers, pilgrimages, magic wells, name it nothing helped.

12. They conceived after queen got prophecy she will have daughter under year from FROG.

13. While bathing in lake. She is queen and she can’t get hot water but has to go to lake? What do poor do? Or she just has kink idk.

14.Also old fairy didn’t get invited because everybody thought she was dead.

15. Because she spent fifty years in some tower. Which sounds like good lifestyle to me and also what is 5 decades to a fairy? Some thought she may be enchanted which is valid I guess?

16. She arrives on dinner before gift giving but after christening and actually accepts explanation. She also shakes from spite while giving her gift.

17. She gets mad because other fairies got golden plates, goblets, forks and knives made of pure gold and decorated with rubies, diamonds and emeralds. AND THEY GOT BOX TO CARRY DINING SET IN. And of course box was gold and jewels too. But because old fairy was late they didn’t have box for her (even if king ordered one brought, but servants commisoned only seven) and she got best china which is nice but really pales in comparison.

18. Old fairy is lost for rest of tale. Old woman who keeps spinning wheel is just an lonely granny whom everybody forgot and lives up in tower and didn’t know about wheels because she is half-dead. Once princess pricks her finger she freaks out. She didn’t even know they had princess. Imagine finding out that information after you apparently murdered her.

19.King and queen carry princess to another tower and put her on bed of gold and silver. Their girl may be cursed but God help them if she doesn’t look great while she is at it.

20. Last fairy is brought news by means of dwarf in seven league boots who comes to tell her what happened. No idea what he was doing before or where he came from.

21. Fairy arrives from fairy land in FIERY CHARIOT DRAWN BY DRAGONS. Also kingdom is called Matakin and twelve thousand miles away from Princess’s.

22. King’s first action once he gets from shock is to rush and offer her hand to get out. Your daughter may be cursed and there may be dragons in your courtyard but he learnt lesson how you properly treat fairy godmother: with best manners ever.

23. Fairy puts everybody to sleep because she is aware princess will be afraid once  she wakes up in so different world ( fairy recognizing humans may be shocked by how world changed? and considering century long time? see what I meant by understanding humans). Plus this way princess has entirely loyal castle to defend her.

24. There is no dust or spiderwebs. She puts everybody to sleep. Fishes, rabbits, birds... and given she touched everybody with wand I just imagine fairy diving and catching spiders.

25. She puts fires to sleep aka extinguishes them. Don’t worry, they come back once everybody is awake so cooking can resume. Also princess has spaniel named Mopsey which slept by her side.

26. Given that food didn’t spoil and rot, that is either effect of time lock fairy put on castle... or she got all bacterias under spell too. Hey, she is dedicated, not out of character. And apparently she did everything in moment because ‘’ Fairies are not long in doing their business. ‘’ Eat your heart out Barry Allen.

27. In hundred years people tell so many stories about castle: it’s haunted, witches meet there each Friday, canniball ogre who is somehow capable of surviving thorns drags children back to castle...

28. In end only an old man remembers story because his dad told it to him 50 years ago.

29. Prince wants to go in because he desires adventure.

30. Princess got in mess because she was bored and explored castle so I would say they are good match.

31. Thorn hedge lets him pass but nobody else. Also it has tress bushes and every sort of plant life willing to protect princess.

32. Castle is creepy but hilarious? Because there is deadly silence but everybody is obviously asleep, even ones standing straight.

33. There is no creepy kiss. Hundred years just pass and magic ends.

34. There is creepiness from prince’s point of vies: princess’s beauty borders on divine, and upon sight of her he trembles and falls to his knees and when she awakens tries to explain that he loves her more than himself, and given this beauty is work of fairies I’m sure he is honest. Like, I’m sure they work it out and really fall in love and get to know each other but still...

35. It is interesting how we went from  prince being so awestruck that he trembles, kneels and would probably jump from window if she asked (and also being completely cute and awkward) to prince fighting his way through briars, killing enemies and kissing her while she sleeps. There is unhealthy focus on beauty and bit of objectification here but it is drastic change.

36. It seems to me that this version of prince isn’t as masculine and traditionally heroic knight as some others are.

37. Meanwhile everybody was dying of hunger. Because they weren’t in love.

38. Everybody is playing haunting music that’s been out of fashion hundred years.

39. They get married and chief lady of honor...draws curtains? What does that mean?

40. And prince is half ogre, but that is story for another time.

In short, this story is great and I need faithfull adaptation of it. Please give me my curious trollling princess and her cute, adorable husband who can go on for hours talking together and scarily competent slightly crazy fairy godmother

[epidaleacalamita]

today is a shuedledoodle double feature day, because i’ve been really doing a whole lotta nothing the past week and wound up putting a lot of my free time towards drawing badly

i’d say these two might be up there as the closest i’ve gotten to making a symmetrical character design. using a mouse for tracing the patterning on the red one’s mail caused my right hand to fall off but its back now. also i finally drew a proper knight for the first time in a long while so theres that. i was kinda going for like a bascinet style helmet but i didnt look at a picture of a bascinet even once while i drew it so idk how well it turned out

i know little to nothing about anything so i have no idea how viable it would actually be to affix a shield to your forearm. but even if it’s actually stupid i probably won’t change it cos guess what? im stupid too!! im dumb as shit!!!!!! hell yea

there’s probably a Red Bull Gives You Wings joke to be made here but im lazy so just pretend i made one. pretending it was funny is optional

tennebere (1st pic) is a mysterious gal whose talents include disappearing (temporarily), making other people disappear (not always temporarily), and leaning against a wall with her arms crossed while her employers entertain guests. she fights with a pair of swords that’re like, magical shadow constructs? or something? god it’s so hard to actually go in-depth about how magic works ugh. the sickle is mainly for catching and parrying attacks, while the cut-and-thrust sword is for actually attacking. though she sometimes swings both of them when she’s feeling frisky.

despite her magical proficiency being all “turn into your shadow, turn your shadow into swords, blah blah blah shadows hhhhh” she’s not a gloomy person, and will gladly carry a conversation with anyone who approaches her off-duty. unfortunately not many people do approach her. probably because she looks a little intimidating.

her past is mostly unknown, but sources say that the second time lord alvret returned from the low roads he’d been carrying a still-breathing body that was unnervingly tall and thin and also “falling into its own shadow,” whatever that means. tennebere herself is not very forthcoming on how her condition was stabilized or what she was doing in the low roads in the first place, but whatever alvret did was enough for her to swear her loyalty to him. she serves as a sort of watcher, melding with the shadows and invisibly sweeping the streets of ixerin with her watchful gaze for anything out of the ordinary. of course, now that armies are arriving on their shores she finds herself moving further and further afield, infiltrating and disrupting their assaults by getting rid of crucial documents, supplies, and when it’s necessary, personnel. she doesn’t much like killing, but sometimes you know she had to do it to em it’s gotta be done.

elloise (2nd pic) is the daughter of lord alvret and younger sister to crovi. she’s apparently completely magicless, which is a rarity in their world. despite this, she’s determined to make the best of herself. she was originally being taught by her father about how to be a good leader so she could take over in her stead (crovi was and still is not interested in anything to do with other people, so he wasn’t an option.) but now with the whole invasion thing she demanded that she be taught military leadership instead, so alvret handed her off to his chief strategist, who taught her extensively about how to command an army before he got captured and presumably killed while directing an operation out on the front. in the aftermath, succession caused a shift in the chain of command and opened up a spot for elloise to be placed in charge of a small company.

she took to the role like a natural, and easily earned the respect of her underlings. her extensive knowledge allowed her to pull off their missions without mess or casualties. as a token of appreciation, alvret had crovi forge a set of equipment specially for her, which she gratefully accepted. (tennebere helped with the cloth parts, as crovi was inexperienced with anything past metalwork.)

the spear’s broad head allows for its use in slashing attacks, which goes well with her ability to swing it with both hands thanks to the shield-bracer. the banner helps disorient enemies as she swings the spear around, especially with the silvery cloth that tends to reflect the light harshly.

elloise and tennebere are close friends, and spend their shared free time hanging out, shooting the breeze, and occasionally sparring. (each of them thinks they might, like, like the other but they’re both dancing around the subject for now. maybe when there’s not a war going on?)

okay i had to do some extra cropping if i didnt want to cut off a bit of the top of tenny’s head when i displayed them like that and the sizes got messed up so heres them side by side for a sense of scale

[winterscribe]

Alright. Gotta do it. been thinking about it for a few days. My shitty half plotted will never be written better than the trash we got sequel trilogy AU.

First ok, First. Don’t make Ben Solo go Dark ok. Like i get the original EU had one of Han and Leia’s 3 kids go dark but like. NO. OK. Just Imagine with me for a moment-

Ben Solo, Son of Leia Organa and Grandson of Anakin Skywalker, two of the most snarling rage filled people in the galaxy even if they took that rage and used it in polar opposite ways. Ben Solo who inherited that rage, that Skywalker fight with the Dark Side and Won. Maybe he’s a bit greyer than a traditional Jedi, greyer than his Uncle Luke who is a brilliant supernova of Light, Love an Compassion, but Ben didn’t fall. The love of his family, the support and compassion and understanding they give him keep him in the light and he is the Jedi his Grandfather could have been, the Jedi his Mother could have been. (Leia is afraid. Leia Hates. Tarkin and the Emperor are long dead but she still Hates the men that killed Alderaan. Leia met Darth Vader. Leia stood and watched her world burn with his hand on her shoulder. Leia doesn’t trust herself and so won’t let Luke train her because she’s afraid of Darth Vader and the hate inside her that makes him too easy to understand. But Ben never met Vader and so isn’t as afraid of what he could become.)

How much better would that have been ok? Like finally, finally a Skywalker filled with anger but tempered by compassion a Jedi who understands intimately the struggle with the dark yet has the strength and the support and the courage not to fall. Ben Solo could have been a great character damnit!

Ok and no don’t destroy the whole fucking New Republic damnit, the point of a sequel isn’t to destroy any progress and accomplishment in the original it’s to build on it mother fucker! And look what happened when they tried to draw out the “goodbye” to the legend’s of the Original Trio- Carrie died, and didn’t get the honor she deserved! Not to mention it doesn’t make sense. The first movie should have been about All Three of Them and it should have been about one last glory before they passed the damn torch!

Ok So, you have the First Order, this evil militia on the Outer Rim, desperate to bring back the Glory of the Empire. You have the New Republic, unconcerned with an Outer Rim threat (because since when did the Republic care about the Outer Rim) There’s too many core worlds that are still struggling to rebuild from the oppression of the Empire why should they bother wasting resources on something that doesn’t even pose a serious threat?

Ok, so the First Order wants to deal a crippling blow that will make the New Republic take them serious, devastate moral, and echo the victories of the great Empire right? So they target New Alderaan.

Backstory-

Leia is still in charge of the Resistance. The New Republic may not care but Leia knows intimately what a small determined military force can do. Let them slander her, call her a bloodthirsty tyrant like her father who won’t be satisfied until the whole galaxy follows her. She knows whats right. There are children being taken, villages being slaughtered, there is something Wrong and she will make it Right. Han and Luke right beside her Well figuratively - Han is gone a lot shaking down criminal contacts, undercover half the time because nobody expects someone so Scrufy looking to be an exahlted war hero. He’s trying to find the trail, trying to get her the proof she needs to make the Republic listen to her. and Luke-

Luke is busy running a New Order, and nearly half of his students were traumatized from life under the Empire. The younger ones are healthier but some of them were rescued from planets that are still not under the New Republic and a lot of those are traumatized too. Luke is a freeborn son of a slave, he’s never not going to be part of some freedom trail or another as long as there are still slavers. He and his knights were the first ones to cross paths with the First Order. The Knights of Ren are are a formidable group of dark siders and they like to snatch up force sensitives and twist them to the dark like the emperor did with his inquisitors. Luke and his knights cross blades with them a lot.

Main story-

Poe can still get caught, but this time the map he’s looking for is to Starkiller itself. or he gets caught talking to a spy who tells them about the planned attack on Alderaan idk but either way Poe is still caught and Finn still saves him and they still crash on Jakku and get still get Rey involved. The rest of the movie is about everyone coming together, Luke and Han and Leia and Ben Solo and Rey and Finn, the New Jedi Order, the Resistance and a band of Smugglers. But mostly a desperate plan to save New Alderaan and a last burst of glory for the OT. 

Once it’s over and New Alderaan is saved, the old guard finally has the proof they need. They use their political weight as war hero’s and go to shake the New Republic. Maybe Luke was seriously injured, and Leia and Han are tired. They keep fighting but there’s more than one way to fight and they’re getting to old to be on the front lines. They hand the front lines to Ben Solo, their hope and their Legacy. He turns to his right hand and best friend Poe Dameron and the two force sensitives he’s now devoted to.

Thats pretty much what I got, though I’m thinking a lot of the Knights of Ren are traumatized brainwashed kids and the New Order Knights help some of them back to the light (Mostly cuz I love the contrast between the Old Order and the New Order, between there is no path to redemption and there is always a path back) also Storm Trooper Rebellion. thats a big thing like the biggest thing. 

Just. there were so many ways to do the sequel trilogy better and i’m very upset ok.

[reprehensiblewombat]

Cardinal Court... Cast? (idk, suffering writer’s block atm)

Please tell me I’m not the only person who casts actors to play their characters in their stories...

I’m blocked so I’m just writing out the actors who play my characters in my mind, because... well, I’m blocked. (Tbh, characters are SO much easier to create than Plot... for me, at least. You wanna know how I’ve been writing this thing? I have 10 POV characters. I roll a 10 sided die to figure out whose POV I’m writing this chapter in. Then I ask myself “What’s an interesting thing that can happen to this person? And, if you’re thinking to yourself “that sounds like a mess” you’re correct.) 

In order of... no order.

Warning: some of these don’t actually make sense. 

Frank Grillo is in my head playing the General of the South (in charge of Shaebina’s land forces) He’s an Asshole with a Sad Backstory that Doesn’t Quite Make Up for his Assholery but Maybe He Can Be Redeemed Under the Right Circumstances. 

This casting doesn’t actually make sense, because there aren’t really any white people in this story? Idk why my brain cast him. I don’t describe South as looking like this. (I blame @ozhawkauthor, because it’s her fault that Frank Grillo’s face is the one I associate with Asshole Who Maybe Can Be Redeemed Under the Right Circumstances. But still... whitewashing my own story is kind of an asshole move on par with South’s in-character assholery. If anyone has any more fitting face suggestions, I’m all ears.) 

It’s entirely because of this mental casting that the General of the South boxes.

(POV character #8 ) 

Diego Luna plays Ziyad Ara Asad, and, again the nationality is wrong, but he’s basically reprising his role in Rogue One, (Rebel Willing to Die for His Cause) so I understand why my brain did this. Still not cool. (Again, I am open to suggestions.) Part of the Old Witch’s rebellion.

Lupita Nyong’o is Baruti Aran Nebankh, playing Secretary Hiding Badassery Behind Fear. She was not in my plans but I have this sneaking suspicion that she’s going to play a much bigger part than I originally thought. You know... she’s one of those characters. 

Anthony Mackie is playing the Admiral of the West, (the Navy’s version of South) who is An Actual Cinnamon Roll But On The Bad Guy’s Side For Reasons, and also is super gay for one of the primary protagonists. He was supposed to be in love with a different protagonist, but they looked at each other he was like “I’m actually gay.” And she was like “Yeah, me too.” 

And I was like... Yeah, actually. This is 200% better. 

(POV Character #4)

Laurence Fishburne is playing King Ptei, primary antagonist and King with Absolute Power and Is Therefore Totally Corrupt Because That is How I Write People in Power but This King Actually Has Redeeming Features. Now, those redeeming features are not enough to actually redeem him. Ha. Let’s not get too carried away. But he does care, deeply and genuinely, for his family. 

And also I like Laurence Fishburne, so that’ll help keep me from writing Ptei as too evil. 

Djimon Hounsou is the General of the North, but imagine him with gnarly facial disfigurement. (It was a birth defect... or so he’s been told.) He normally wears a mask so he doesn’t put Ptei’s courtiers off their lunch. He’s a Stale Cinnamon Roll Been in this World Too Long Too Cynical. He’s in charge of all the magic users in the king’s armies, and I haven’t really done enough worldbuilding to really work out how magic works yet, but I’ll... get... to... it? (Give me a break, I’m pantsing here.) 

(POV Character #1)

Gina Torres is playing Jendayi Aran Salama, another one of those characters, just poppin’ up outta nowhere with a mischievous smile like “Hello. I’m here to drastically change your plans.” 

She, like Baruti, is a badass. Like Baruti, she is also associated with South. (What is it with him that inspires all these unexpected characters demanding arcs?) Unlike Baruti, she is not hiding her badassery. She’s a colonel in South’s army, one of his favorite officers. He is not easily impressed, but Jendayi is damned impressive. 

Catherine Zeta Jones is the only character who is white in canon. Elbira i Matan is a noblewoman from another country, and is staying indefinitely in King Ptei’s court. Why is she there? Where do her loyalties lie? Can you trust her? You don’t know. And neither do I, to be honest. She is one of two femme fatales in this story. (Who do it on purpose. There’s a third woman unintentionally putting people in compromising positions, but she does not realize that’s what she’s doing.)

Ciara is playing the other (intentional) femme fatale. Sama Aran Yamina is beautiful, brilliant, and ruthless. But whether or not you can trust her isn’t really up for debate. You can. She fights for what she believes is right. She is the One Who Does Bad Things For Good Reasons. Leading the Old Witch’s rebellion against Ptei. (Is the Old Witch. Shhhh. Don’t tell anyone.)

(POV Character #10)

Oded Fehr is Saqr, a man affiliated with Sama and her cause. He’s a badass... in specific situations. In all other situations, he’s a dumbass. Bisexual disaster. An absolute delight to write. Almost all the other character have gigantic sticks up their butts because this is Serious Business. He’s one of the few having fun and taking the time to smell roses. (Known as the Black Knight, and/or The Knight of Black Eve... it’s a Vasilisa reference.) 

(POV Character #7) 

Idris Elba is Aroeris Ara Ounephes, another absolute disaster. Brilliant mathematician. Science is Serious Business, and everything else is hilarious. Team Dad Despite or Because of Own Daddy Issues. Is 100% going to make out with the General of the North at some point, but is unaware of this. Math/magic fusions are his jam. Lives double life, by day nutty hermit noble too distracted by his weird numbers to attend court. By night, an integral part of of the Old Witch’s rebellion, her Red Knight. (Or Knight of Red Noon.) 

(POV Character #6)

Mike Colter as the General of the East. In charge of intelligence gathering for Ptei. Secretly a giant softie. Not a good trait to have in a spymaster, so this is a HUGE secret. One of the guys being accidentally manipulated but the unintentional femme fatale. His life is hard because he can tell she’s not doing it on purpose, but, damn the gods, it’s working and he thought he was immune to this. 

(POV Character #3) 

Daniel Dae Kim as Siraj Ara Halawa (again, the nationality doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but I’m considering rewriting it so it does. He’s just... so pretty...) He’s the one with the largest stick up his butt, but if you get around that, he’s a pretty sweet guy. Part of the Old Witch’s rebellion, her White Knight, or the Knight of White Dawn. He’s the one West took one look at and went “I’m gay.” They meet on the battlefield and West can’t help but flirt with the guy. He feels bad about it later, because his men died fighting the rebels, and here West is, their supposed leader, flirting with the enemy. And enjoying it.

Siraj enjoys the flirting as well, and feels just as guilty about it later, for the same reasons. He does not flirt back though. Instead, he tries to Sincerely and Seriously convince the Admiral of the West of his point of view. ‘Cause he respects the guy.

(POV Character #9) 

Janelle Monae as Jawla Aran Rima, a member of the Old Witch’s Rebellion. She was captured by Ptei’s soldiers. The rebellion was able to get her back, but not before she suffered two great losses. She has sworn never to be a victim again. If they come for her again, she will not be taken alive. The Old Witch is moving to slowly to suit her tastes, so she is taking matters into her own hands. She will burn down Ptei and all who stand with him. 

She was originally supposed to be a cameo character but then, refused to go away quietly.

Aban Aran Subh, the accidental femme fatale. She’s not doing it on purpose, she swears. Sweet girl. Incredible really good at math. Was the first person Aroeris decided was his kid. She generally inspires people to want to protect her and take care of her. She is generally annoyed by this. After all, she is an adult who can do better math than pretty much everyone who isn’t Aroeris and doesn’t need to be coddled. Excellent example of “demons run when a good woman goes to war.” 

(POV Character #2)

Kerry Washington plays Razin Aran Subh, Aban’s older half-sister. Has no chill. Also that character who responded to West’s “I’m gay” with a “me too.” Abrasive nerd. Likes to steal Aroeris’s books. Her intelligence is not applied to math or magic, but stuff like ethics and game theory. Don’t play chess against her. (Or do. She’ll be teaching you how to play as she beats you.) She crafted the principals on which the Old Witch’s rebellion is founded. Often takes a lot of time to make decisions because she’s thinking carefully about every possible action and reaction. Probably too much in her own head. Draws lines in the sand she refuses to cross. Believes that, as long as she does not cross those lines, she is a Good Person. Will cross every single line at a sprint without looking back for her sister. 

(POV Character #5)