#swtor flash fiction

[confettininjabean]

Fantasy flash fiction prompts: ⏳🌳 An ancient sentient tree

Darius gave a heavy tired sigh as he settled on the shaded ground under a large tree of some sort of willow variety. He tested his rifle on his thighs, rested his head back against the trunk and closed his eyes.

Just a moment's reprieve and he would be-

A deep giggle broke out, somehow shaking the trunk of the great tree and the ground. Royal blue eyes flew open as Darius jumped to his feet, rifle at the ready.

"Oho, my apologies," a deep voice said. "I'm a bit ticklish"

Darius stared at the tree for a moment, not comprehending where the voice was coming from. Even as he watched the bark of the trunk shuffle and seamlessly change revealing a kind weathered face of an old man.

The tree winked.

[shortfictionweeklychallenge]

Searching...

So many prompts to choose from. What can we find in the archive today?

A Punny Story: Often derided as the lowest form of wit, some of our most respected writers --like Shakespeare and Alfred Hitchcock--adored puns.  Making and understanding puns requires a large vocabulary, a vital thing for writers.   This week’s challenge: write a pun story; a story that exists for the sole purpose of setting up a pun.  See this TVTropes link for some examples (click at your own risk), a wonderful music related one here by Peter Schickele (the story begins at 4:48, but the intro is totally worth it).  

Sadly, puns rarely translate well outside their native language.  Regardless, if your story ends in a non-English pun, please include both the original and a translation/explanation.

[rangerslayer-97]

The Eternal Alliance Council

So I got inspired listening to original compositions by the YouTuber Thriplerex and some of the OG compositions he did for OC SWTOR characters if their characters were an Operations boss battle, even a Flashpoint perhaps. My stupid creative brain went into overdrive.

Of course, I do have an AU in my head if the Eternal Fleet and the Gravestone weren't lost, my Guardian main truly became corrupted by power as Empress of the Eternal Alliance (went DS ending for KOTET). So, if my characters were an operation or flashpoint (albeit, a lengthy one), this is how the order of facing the Eternal Alliance Council would go (see undercut). Now, it's a bit on the incomplete side having not done all the 8 classes. Here we go regardless of what my stupid brain thought up of. If I complete more classes, I'll make an updated version.

All my characters are from the Darth Malgus server. The post is designed for a fictional Operation.

For those who like the solo-story flashpoints, I'll do a separate post for that. Curse my stupid ass brain for this 😑

1. Captain Alexest 'Alex' Baliss, Eternal Alliance Overseer of Logistics

Background: Captain Alexest is a smuggler, and an illegitimate child of House Baliss, separated at birth from her twin. One of the most feared crime lords in the galaxy after using the pirate fleet Voidwolf gathered. She had the fleet ordered to pillage and burn shipyards of both the Republic and Empire indiscriminately. Having made Port Nowhere her base of operations, Alex continued to expand her underworld empire and consolidated a hoard of wealth. Upon the arrival of the Eternal Empire, Alex moved her operations to a more hidden location. When contacted by Hylo Viz, Alex was offered a place within The Alliance and found her twin sister. Alex's contacts within the Underworld proved crucial for the resistance's growth.

Abilities: Cover, Thermal Grenade, Quickdraw, Penetrating Rounds, and more. See more abilities of the Sharpshooter if Alex were at max level (currently Lv 69).

Tips: Captain Alex is at her deadliest when she is in cover, making her most agile and nimble of the Eternal Alliance Council. Hopping cover to cover, able to blind the party temporarily with her flash grenades, the best way to handle Alex is to keep her out of cover as much as possible. Without cover, she is vulnerable, but beware, she still has tricks up her sleeves. Smugglers are always tricky and resourceful combatants.

Battle Phase(s): None. Straight through battle. Get Alex from 100% HP to 0%.

Health Points: varies depending on difficulty & whether using 8 or 16-player teams - Story Mode (SM), Veteran (Hard) Mode (VM/HM), Master (Nightmare) Mode (MM/NiM).

SM: 2.3mil (8-player)/4.6mil (16-player)

VM/HM: 4.2mil (8-player)/8.4mil (16-player)

MM/NiM: 5mil (8-player)/10mil (16-player)

~~~~~

2. Bounter Hunters Kateake 'Kat' Baliss-Cadera & Torian Cadera, Eternal Alliance Elite Bodyguards

Background: Bounty Hunter Kateake, the Grand Champion of the Hunt, is the younger half-sister of Violcrik and Alex Baliss, also born out of wedlock. Kat spent six years with her sister before the Jedi found Violcrik. Kat fled into Imperial Space at 16 and began making a living collecting bounties. Later got married to Torian Cadera. Kat reunited with her sister on Darvaniss and joined the Alliance with Torian. Despite her small stature, Kateake is a capable combatant with Torian's expertise and became the trusted bodyguard to Empress Violcrik.

Abilities: Missile Blast, Sweeping Blasters, Death From Above, Rail Shot, Priming Shot, Blazing Bolts, and more. See more abilities of the Arsenal Mercenary with Kateake at max level (is lv 75).

Tips: Kateake is capable of several AOEs and her missile attacks cause debuffs and knockbacks. For Death From Above, stay clear of the area of effect. Also capable of self-healing being a DwH, interrupts are vital if you are quick enough. Beware of Torian’s Line of Sight (LoS) attacks.

Battle Phase(s): Three-stage battle.

Phase 1: Kateake herself. Get Kat down to 75% HP.

Phase 2: Kat will leave the arena for Torian to enter. Fight Torian until he is 75% HP.

Phase 3: Fight both Kat and Torian. Get them from 75% to 0% HP. Divide and conquer is the best method. Killing Kat or Torian first will send one or the other into an enraged state. The enrage buff will grant either Kat or Torian an additional 50% ranged damage (Torian only) or 50% ranged damage and burning damage ticks for a further 15 seconds (Kat only).

Health Points: varies depending on difficulty & whether using 8 or 16-player teams - Story Mode (SM), Veteran (Hard) Mode (VM/HM), Master (Nightmare) Mode (MM/NiM).

SM: Kateake - 2.5mil; Torian - 2.2mil (8-player)/Kateake - 5mil; Torian - 4.4mil (16-player)

VM/HM: Kateake - 4.5mil; Torian - 4.2mil (8-player)/Kateake - 9mil; Torian - 8.4mil (16-player)

MM/NiM: Kateake - 5.5mil; Torian - 5.2mil (8-player)/Kateake - 11mil; Torian - 10.4mil (16-player)

~~~~~

3. Empress Violcrik Baliss & Dark Advisor Lana Beniko

Background: The Hero of Tython. The Hero of the Republic. Battle Master. Outlander. Commander. Empress. Violcrik Baliss went by many titles over her life. The illegitimate child of House Baliss, older twin sister of Alexest and older half-sister of Mandalorian Kateake. Knight Violcrik was once the Jedi Order's most skilled lightsaber combatant; aggressive and passionate in her preferred combat form, Form V: Shien/Djem So. Being a survivor of the Sacking of Coruscant and a former member of Black Sun gave Violcrik a tough outer shell. Her way of handling situations always ended up in bodies laying on the floor and often disagreed with the Jedi Council. Over time, Violcrik delved deeper into the Dark Side, drawing on its power. Though she draws on the Dark Side, Violcrik continuously denies she has fallen.

Abilities: Vigilance Thrust, Blade Barrage, Overhead Slash, Blade Storm, and more. See more abilities of the Vigilance Guardian with Violcrik at max level (is Lv 75).

Tips: Fight fire with fire. Violcrik is an aggressive combatant, only more dangerous if she has her enrage buff. If Violcrik fights aggressively, fight back the same way. To avoid the Phase 4 battle, risk facing Violcrik with the enrage buff. When Violcrik calls in the mobs after Lana falls, deal with them quickly or you'll have a very chaotic arena.

Battle Phase(s): Violcrik would be a 4-stage boss battle (3-stage, under specific conditions).

Phase 1: Violcrik herself. Get Violcrik from 100% to 75% HP.

Phase 2: Violcrik will exit the arena to recover, allowing her advisor Lana Beniko to take over. Bring Lana's HP to 50%.

Phase 3: Violcrik will return to the arena at full health. Must fight both Violcrik and Lana at the same time. The team must split in two. WARNING: killing Lana will send Violcrik into an enraged state. This buff will add an additional 50% melee and Force damage. It also keeps Violcrik from exiting the arena at 50% to recover HP. She will summon Alliance Trooper mobs.

Phase 4 (if applicable): If Violcrik is brought once more to 50% HP before Lana falls, she will leave the arena to recover HP. If Lana falls in this stage and not in Stage 3, Violcrik will return one more time at full HP (without the enrage buff). She will have 1 additional DS ability: Force Choke replacing Force Statis. Bring Violcrik's HP from 100% to 0%. To avoid a Phase 4 battle, risking the enrage buff is usually the better option. Still expect Alliance mobs to be summoned.

Health Points: varies depending on difficulty & whether using 8 or 16-player teams - Story Mode (SM), Veteran (Hard) Mode (VM/HM), Master (Nightmare) Mode (MM/NiM).

SM: Violcrik - 6.5mil; Lana - 6.2mil (8-player)/Violcrik - 13mil; Lana - 12.4mil (16-player)

VM/HM: Violcrik - 7.5mil; Lana - 7.2mil (8-player)/Violcrik - 15mil; Lana - 14.4mil (16-player)

MM/NiM: Violcrik - 8.5mil; Lana - 8.2mil (8-player)/Violcrik - 17mil; Lana - 16.4mil (16-player)

[coppermarigolds]

2019 Writing Year in Review

I didn’t write a whole lot this year in terms of word count (story of my life), but I branched out and tried a couple of new things that I think are worth recounting! I’m going to steal the format used by @theherocomplex. 

What I Wrote

Fanfic

Not...much. Heh. Basically all I did this year in terms of fanfic were a handful of prompt fics here on Tumblr, and my Yuletide fic:

Yuletide 2019: The Hour of the Wolf, The Ritual

Tumblr prompt ficlets: five Legend of Korra, and one each for Mass Effect, The Umbrella Academy, and SWTOR.

Original Fiction

Status Red - my ongoing original speculative novel. I completed the first draft of it in late 2018, after having worked on it off and on for...about four years? So this year was about trying to revise/rewrite it into something, well, coherent. Success on that front was mixed. As of right now, I’ve decided to put it on the back burner and let it marinate while I work on other projects. I definitely do not plan to abandon it, but the rumblings I’ve heard about the market for Young Adult sci-fi are not encouraging, to say the least. My main options are to change the characters’ ages and revise it into an adult novel, or to keep it YA, but strip out a lot of the more sci-fi elements (e.g., space travel) and try to pass it off as a contemporary near-future novel with speculative elements. 

Untitled mystery/ghost story novel - this is the book I started in October 2019, complete with a trip to Wyoming over Halloween weekend to research the setting. I didn’t get quite as much written on this story as I would have liked, but I’m pretty pleased both with what I have so far, and with my plan for the rest of it.

“Seeds” - a short (about 7,000 words) gender-swapped Hades and Persephone reimagining set in post-apocalyptic Carlsbad Caverns National Park. I wrote it for a contest, which it did not win, then submitted it to a handful of journals and received a handful of rejections. I may revise it and try sending it out again in 2020, but I’m equally content to just let it stand as is. 

In July, I entered a four-round flash fiction challenge run by NYC Midnight. In each round, writers were divided into groups, assigned a genre, location, and object, then given 48 hours to write a story under 1000 words incorporating all the assigned elements. It was hard, but a lot of fun! I actually earned the top score in my group in rounds one and two, but then crashed and burned in round three and didn’t advance to the final round. That was a bummer, but I was still super proud of myself for earning first place in the previous two rounds. The three stories I wrote were:

“Turn Your Eyes Away” - my assignment was drama, set in a foreclosed house, incorporating a prosthetic. 

“Misconception” - this was the tricky one. My assignment was political satire--my worst nightmare--set in a safehouse, incorporating a potato. Getting the top score for this story might have been my proudest writing moment of the year, given how much I hated the genre. 

“Til Death Do Us Start” - this assignment was horror, set at a dress rehearsal, incorporating a microphone. Yes, for some reason I scored well on poli sat, but struck out on horror, one of my favorite genres. That’s the way the cookie crumbles I guess!

Year-End Questions

Number of Words Written? I didn’t keep track. I could go back and add it all up, but one way I’ve been growing as a writer is to accept that my pace and my process are my own, and that there’s nothing to be gained in stressing over word count or comparing my productivity to other people’s. 

Number of Smut Scenes? Don’t think there were any! Not surprising, since I’m not much of a smut writer in the first place. 

New Things I Tried This Year? The big one was entering the NYC Midnight challenge. I’d never done anything like that before, and I’m proud of my effort. Signing up to not only write stories in under 48 hours, but also have them read and judged by total strangers, was nervewracking, but a good exercise!

The other big one was beginning a brand-new novel in a genre (ghost story) I’ve consumed plenty of, but never actually written before. I have high hopes for this one, and I’m hoping it’ll be easier on me than Status Red, especially since there are fewer moving parts to keep in the air. 

And finally, this isn’t really a new thing, but my other big writing accomplishment of the year was finally finishing my creative writing certificate via UCLA’s continuing-education program.

Favorite Thing I Wrote This Year? The ghost story novel-in-progress. Now if I could just think of a good working title. 

Favorite Fics I Read This Year? I didn’t read as much fanfic as I would have liked this year (though on the plus side, I did read 40 novels), but here are a few that stood out:

What Once was Given by StopTalkingAtMe - my Yuletide gift this year! It’s also from The Ritual, and takes a deep dive into the lore and history of the monster and its worshipers. It’s gorgeously written and I loved it.

Fresh by halfeatenmoon - this is a post-canon fic for Night in the Woods, a new fandom for me this year, and is basically just what I wanted for the long-suffering, unfortunate yet persistent character of Bea.

Mundane Fears by ConvenientAlias - fic for The Luminous Dead, one of the best novels I read this year. It’s post-canon so I don’t really want to say much for fear of spoilers if anyone wants to read the book (and you should!), but suffice it to say I found it a very satisfying coda.

Shapes (and Other Unidentified Flying Objects) by jibberjabber13 - another Night in the Woods fic that sees the game’s protagonist, Mae, finally getting the mental health help she deserves. This fic was downright therapeutic for me as well!

Goals for 2020

Basically just one big one: finish the ghost story novel, polish it up, and send it out to agents. Getting something to query-able status has been my goal ever since I first began trying my hand at original writing, but for so long I concentrated all my efforts on Status Red, and that story refuses to be wrangled for the moment. But they always say that it’s highly unlikely you’ll get anywhere with your first novel, anyway. I have a good feeling about the second, so far. We’ll see if it pays off.

A secondary goal: to finally finish my Rogue One multi-chapter fic. Yes, the one I’ve had languishing for at least...a year and a half now? I’m afraid to even look at it to see how long it’s been. I still get the occasional comment on it asking “is this ever going to be finished?” and I really really want to. It’s just gotten to the place where it’s been so long since I looked at it that I’m almost afraid to pick it up again. But I’ll always adore Jyn and Cassian, and they deserve better than to be left hanging. So hopefully 2020 will be the year for that as well!

[theonlyconstantinlife]

@ravenclawsomeotaku​ tagged me in a thing

rules: answer 85 questions, tag 20 people except that the last four questions are missing for some reason and I can’t think of 20 people now so, as usual, if you wanna do this consider yourself tagged

the last:

1. drink: ice water with lime 2. phone call: honestly I can’t even remember 3. text message: @paljonmeluatyhjasta​ 4. song you listened to: Animals - Runaground, which is an excellent cover, go check it out 5. time you cried: sometime within last week, I was writing something very sad and made myself cry (so good writing I guess?)

6. dated someone twice: nope 7. kissed someone and regretted it: all the times I kissed my ex 8. been cheated on: not that I know of 9. lost someone special: yeah, a few 10. been depressed: lol I’m chronically depressed, sometimes I’m just not symptomatic 11. gotten drunk and thrown up: I never drink that much, partially because I have a phobia about throwing up

3 favorite colors:

12. black 13. purple 14. grey 

in the last year have you:

15. made new friends: hmm... I’m trying remember when I started talking to one person, I’m so bad with time, so... maybe? 16. fallen out of love: no. I barely ever do. 17. laughed until you cried: I think so 18. found out someone was talking about you: lowkey? I mean, I already kind of knew they must be, I just got confirmation, but it wasn’t a huge deal 19. met someone who changed you: not dramatically at least  20. found out who your friends are: srsly nothing has happened to me for a year 21. kissed someone on your facebook list: lol nope

general:

22. how many of your facebook friends do you know in real life: all of them, or at least I have, I don’t friend random people 23. do you have any pets: sadly no 24. do you want to change your name: well I already have, but I would totally be down for changing my name again by marrying someone with a cooler surname

25. what did you do for your last birthday: had pizza and cake and watched movies with friends

26. what time did you wake up: listen I accidentally didn’t wake up from my nap and slept all the way to 3:30 am so then I got up. RIP my sleep schedule 27. what were you doing at midnight last night: see previous answer 28. name something you can’t wait for: getting my life in order so I don’t have to constantly stressed and anxious 29. when was the last time you saw your mom: Christmas

30. what are you listening to right now: The Flash soundtrack  31. have you ever talked to a person named tom: no, but I’ve talked to people with the Finnish version of that name, does that count? 32. something that is getting on your nerves: my own executive dysfunction  33. most visited website: tumblr and youtube probably 34. hair color: dyed platinum; my real hair color is a deeply guarded secret 35. long or short hair: I mean I prefer long hair for myself, but currently it’s only down to my shoulders 36. do you have a crush on someone: do fictional people count? Because Dr. Wells *hearteyes* Although I’ve also developed a crush on Tom Cavanagh himself, so 37. what do you like about yourself: um... I’m beautiful when I put in the effort to be, and I swear I’m actually smart, and funny in the right company, and I’m a good writer and artist 38. piercings: ears 39. blood type: AB+. Meaning I can take everyone’s blood but basically no-one can use mine, bwahhahhaa 40. nickname: some guildies in SWtOR like to call me Jen, but other than that no 41. relationship: very unhappily single 42. zodiac: virgo 43. pronouns: she/her 44. favorite tv show: Currently The Flash, but Fringe and Legend of Korra are some of my faves too 45. tattoos: the four elements from AtLA on my right shin 46. right or left handed: right 47. surgery: let’s see... breast reduction, wisdom teeth, and idk what they did when dislocated both my left wrist bones but they put me under so I’m counting that 48. sport: lifting, taekwon-do, and running (from zombies) 49. vacation: I’ve only been to London once and Russia a few times 50. pair of trainers: Adidas Climacools for running, I need a new pair, my shins are killing me 

more general:

51. eating: just finished a bag of sour candy 52. drinking: nothing but damn I need some water now 53. i’m about to: write fanfic 54. waiting for: me to get my shit together tbh 55. want: see previous answer 56. get married: hopefully some day or my life has been for nothing 57. career: well I was supposed to become a linguist/computer sciences nerd but university didn’t work for me, so now I have some new plans. Don’t wanna say anything before I know whether they’ll work out

which is better:

58. hugs or kisses: both 59. lips or eyes: eyes 60. shorter or taller: taller than me, but not like, WAY taller. I’ve been on dates with some REALLY tall guys even though I don’t even like really tall people, and it’s kinda awkward imo 61. older or younger: *laughing crying* have you been to my blog like, ever? (spoiler alert: much older, tyvm) 62. nice arms or nice stomach: arms, but I mean, they’re more often visible so I feel like that’s not a fair contest 63. hookup or relationship: relationship, I don’t do hookups 64. troublemaker or hesitant: neither? I find most troublemaker types annoying, but overt hesitancy isn’t attractive either. 

have you ever:

65. kissed a stranger: no 66. drank hard liquor: yes, but mainly because I liked the liquor, not to get drunk  67. lost glasses/contact lenses: I’ve been using contacts for so long I’ve dropped a few on the floor while putting them on and never seen them again, but glasses no 68. turned someone down: yeah 69. sex on the first date: no 70. had your heart broken: that’s like a cornerstone of my Tragic Backstory 71. been arrested: ...not really but kinda? 72. cried when someone died: yes 73. fallen for a friend: nah, I keep my friends and crushes separate

do you believe in:

74. yourself: I kinda have to or I would’ve already pressed quit 75. miracles: I want to, but I can’t 76. love at first sight: I believe in chemistry which can and often does manifest really quickly if it exists, but that’s not love, more like... potential love? Like knowing that I could some day look at this person like all the stars were in their eyes 77. santa claus: lol no 78. kiss on the first date: not unless I go crazy. I mean other people can do what they want, but I have Rules for myself 79. angels: of death maybe

other:

80. eye color: dark green 81. movie: fave movie is still Zhang Yimou’s Hero

[theshijlegacy]

RULES: TAG FOLLOWERS YOU WANT TO GET TO KNOW BETTER.

Name: [redacted]

Nicknames: [redacted]

Gender: Female

Star Sign: Virgo

Height: 5′10″

Sexual Orientation: hetero

Hogwarts House: Ravenclaw

Favorite color: bright blue, like Windex

Favorite Animal: Domestic? dog.  Wild?  giraffes or penguins I guess

Average hours of sleep: 6-7

Cat or Dog Person: more of a dog person but not 100% opposed to cats

Favorite Fictional Characters: Oh god I could go on all day... this changes constantly depending on what I’ve recently watched/read/etc.  But for now: the Lone Gunmen, Nathan Stark (Eureka), Lt. Shea (Rescue Me), Ari Adamian (Graceland), Takeshi Kovacs (Altered Carbon novels), Sonchai Jitpleecheep (royal Thai detective novels), Fitz (Agents of SHIELD), Cisco (The Flash), Kinsey Millhone (alphabet detective novels), everyone on Legends of Tomorrow

Number of Blankets I Sleep With: 1-2

Favorite Singer/Band: Foo Fighters

Dream Trip: A multi-month, worldwide jaunt to all the places I want to go: all 50 U.S. states (got 20 done so far!), a few Caribbean islands, lots of places in Canada, Antarctica, Argentina, Japan (for the 2nd time, went there in ‘09), Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Egypt, Morocco, basically all of Europe

Dream Job: Forensic pathologist, civil engineer, chemical engineer.. hell if I know anymore

Favorite food: pizza!

First Fandom: X-Files.  Spent many many hours hanging around alt.tv.x-files

When was this blog created?: Early 2013-ish.  Posted a few things, left it for a while and came back in Feb 2015.

Current Number of Followers: 246, some might not even be porn bots!

When did your blog reach its peak?: hopefully not yet :P   But I’m always amused when some random silly post gets a ton of notes

What made you decide to make a Tumblr?: I‘d bookmarked a bunch of SWTOR Tumblrs and had been “following” them for a while, and realized I had a shitton of screenshots that I could share with the world.

Tagging whoever wants to!