#this is what made creating star wars ocs so fun and this is what makes creating characters in the forgotten realms setting so so fun

[moinsbienquekaworu]

I love worlds with specific rules and tonnes of lore building blocks so I can make my own little guys and put them there. Give me the dollhouse and a dollmaker and let me customise a few things

[sunnymainecoonx]

(Ahem, 2 minutes future Sunny speaking) context is, simply put, Dream momentarily forgot about everything that went wrong. But, he doesn't have to dwell into that anymore, not when the (literally pointless)war is over.

Headcanon time lessgo!! Dream never got into any hobbies because of his job as a guardian but there is one thing he knows how to do and that's making flower crowns :3 and since it's connected to childhood memories he tends to forget how cruel the world is. Luckily though, war is over ;3 so he can finally rest!!.... At least in this timeline.(Sunny, shush, stop, YOU NEED TO STOP YOU F—) and since we're talking about flowers..(we are?) I'm also gonna mention I see Dream as a big flower nerd :3(stop doing that face) and it's even more fun out in the multiverse 'cause god are there so many flowers!! He also likes to see what kind of absurd flowers he can make fit together :3(Sunny, what did I just say)

Also, let me introduce y'all to my "crying you a river" style! Created by my literal tears :3(....) I suffer from life crisis whenever art styles and this one is just a silly and simple funker. I'm gonna lend this art style to... Dreamtale Sunny! Yeah, he exists apparently... I usually make or have OCs that I use to represent different styles- which is one way to hide who I am ig...

Anyways— @cakesmelons I'm picking the star Sanses because this was already being made(here u go bessie) TwT I just— I need to break my hands wait I meant

....anyways. I have to give credits to Roxy(creator of Slash) because my thoughts while I came up with this was inspired by that one comic where Dream literally forgot his brother was dead :3(Sunny I hope you die)(...please don't—)

[dystopicjumpsuit]

DJ's Follower Celebration!!!

Hi friends! I recently hit a follower milestone that absolutely blew my mind; I never really expected anyone to be particularly interested in my work, let alone this many of you. I am constantly blown away by your talent, insight, and creativity. I'm so grateful for every single one of you, and I want to celebrate YOU!

With that in mind, I'm going to be opening requests to create Datafiles like the one I made for Cerra for your Star Wars OCs. I've created three different versions: a Grand Army of the Republic Personnel Datafile, a Jedi Archive Member Record Datafile, and an ISB Suspect Datafile. Here are some examples of what they look like:

Transcripts in alt text.

Here's what you need to do to participate:

Submit an Ask with your OC's name and the artwork you'd like me to use. The artwork should have either a plain or a transparent background, and the filesize needs to be smaller than 25MB.

Fill out this form to tell me what information you'd like included in your OC's datafile.

Reblog this post to spread the word so other folks can participate, too.

That's it! Detailed rules are below the cut:

Rules:

Since this is intended to celebrate my followers, this event is only open to folks who follow me. I will be checking.

Each blog can submit a maximum of two requests.

Once I've created the Datafile, I'll answer your Ask with the PNG and the transcript. Feel free to share and repost them elsewhere, but it would be lovely if you could give me credit; I worked hard on these!

Requests will be filled in the order in which they are received; please be patient as it takes time to create the Datafiles.

I will not begin working on a request until I receive BOTH the Tumblr Ask AND the info form response.

By submitting your OC info, you agree to allow me to edit the text if necessary to fit in the template without consulting you ahead of time.

If you use a Picrew or similar to create your OC artwork, please include the link in your ask to credit the creator. By submitting artwork, you affirm that you have a right to share and transform/edit the artwork, and that you are giving me permission to share/edit the artwork as well.

Don't submit inappropriate images, please. I'm a delicate kriffing flower.

Do not submit hateful content.

I reserve the right to ignore a request for any reason.

Tips for success:

Keep it succinct; it's fine to use truncated, abrupt sentences. Sometimes they make it sound more official, and remember, I have limited space in the templates. I'll do my best to accommodate what you submit, but I might need to edit the text to fit (see Rule 6).

Think about whether the organization creating the Datafile would know/care to include the information. Examples of things to include: injuries sustained in battle (particularly if they were severe/debilitating); special/unusual Force abilities; an explanation of why a Jedi padawan switched masters; outstanding warrants. Examples of things that might be less relevant: petty crimes that the ISB wouldn't necessarily investigate (keeping in mind that they're more like the FBI/CIA/NSA than the local PD); minor injuries sustained outside of combat (like a black eye from a barfight at 79's); favorite snack when they were a youngling in the Jedi temple creche (unless they're STILL a youngling in the Jedi temple creche).

Remember that the ISB stands for Imperial Security Bureau, so they wouldn't have a file during the Clone Wars. Similarly, the Jedi Archive and GAR records wouldn't reference the ISB Datafile (though ISB certainly could have access to Jedi and GAR records).

Think about the perspective of the person creating the record; if it's ISB, they might accuse your OC of a serious crime that they didn't commit (or exaggerate a minor crime to look more severe than it actually was) for the sake of propaganda.

Have fun with it! "Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking" is a fantastic trope for a reason!

Thank you all so very much for being such a lovely, welcoming group! I can't wait to celebrate with you!

I used these picrews to create the OC artwork for the examples: GAR; ISB; Jedi Archive.

Ragu list:

@secondaryrealm @sev-on-kamino spicy-clones @wings-and-beskar @523rdrebel @merkitty49 @anxiouspineapple99 @sinfulsalutations @arcsimper5 @starrylothcat @clio3kantarella @cloneloverrrrr @goblininawig @ladytano420 @arctrooper69 @wolffegirlsunite @sunshinesdaydream @mandos-mind-trick @littlemissmanga @stunkbiggu @starqueensthings @clonemedickix @marierg @idontgetanysleep @moonlightwarriorqueen @dudewhynotthis @sleepycreativewriter @tcwmatchmakingau @littlemissbshine @multi-fan-dom-madness @heavenseed76 @wizardofrozz @bobaprint @sweetcream-coldfoam @banksys-rat @skellymom @pickleprickle @trixie2023 @mythical-illustrator @dickarchivist @cw80831 @kimiheartblade @meredithroseg @flyiingsly

[masterjedilenawrites]

🌙 Master Jedi Lena's 2024 Blog Stats 🌙

Soo I kinda sorta love data (a girl after Tech's own heart? 😅) Last year I did a deep-dive into my posts from that year, and now I've done it again for 2024! I have no expectations of anyone reading and/or caring about this. I'm just making this post for my own curiosity 😇

✨ Number of Posts: 101 (-40% from 2023)

Drabbles: 30

Fic Chapters: 1

Headcanons: 34

Images: 1

One shots: 12

Polls: 33

Rec Lists: 4

Thoughts/Misc: 5

✨ Words written: 44,676 (-46% from 2023)

Longest: Handcuffed (4,802 words)

Shortest: "Should've brought more explosives" (44 words)

✨ Poll votes: 10,524 (+63% from 2023)

✨ Replies: 89 (+41% from 2023)

✨ Reblogs: 1,456 (+32% from 2023)

✨ Likes: 3,257 (-24% from 2023)

✨ Month with the most posts: February - 29 posts (same month as 2023 and with +1 more post!)

✨ Month with the least posts: September - 1 post (that tracks, I got hit with a bad bout of depression that month)

✨ Top 5 posts by notes:

"Like this post if you're a Star Wars writer" misc post (426 notes)

How many canon Star Wars movies/shows have you seen? poll (372 notes)

Favorite Star Wars Character - Gs poll (180 notes)

Favorite Star Wars Character: Winners of the A-K Polls poll (175 notes)

Favorite Star Wars Character - Ns and Os poll (169 notes)

✨ Milestones:

Feb 14: 3 year blog anniversary 🥉

Mar 13: 5,000 reblogs 💞

✨ Misc Stats:

48% were requests, 47% were my inspiration, and 6% were prompts (events and "OC Sundays").

5 NSFW posts (1 more than 2023).

In July, I started to intentionally read/reblog a lot more, resulting in an 80% decrease in my own posts.

One interesting takeaway I have in comparing the years is that while the amount I wrote/posted decreased (almost halved), the amount of interaction I received in replies and reblogs increased (about a third). Overall notes were still lower due to decreased likes, but I received more meaningful notes across fewer posts... that's pretty awesome!

✨ Personal Favorites:

Take Me Out one shot/fic exchange... This was a story concept I had in mind for a long time and finally got an opportunity to breathe it to life with a fic exchange event. I just love it so much.

Ready or Not one shot... I feel kinda sappy over this fic. It's a little different in tone, and it's one of the few endings I've written that I actually love (I struggle to end one shots, IDK why).

Drabbles... I wrote more short stories and blurbs this year, and they were a lot of fun! Especially The Presence of Absence, made myself cry on that one.

Virgin!reader choose-your-own-one shot... Writing three smutty one shots all at once was a tough challenge. I'm proud of the work I put into filling this prompt, even if the stories didn't get much love from others.

My reading challenge... Seeing so many complaints from the lack of interaction on people's writings got me thinking about my own role in the fandom. It didn't feel right for me to bemoan low reblogs on my stories when I myself never bothered to reblog from others. So I created a little system and got to reading! As a result, I feel more connected to a community and cherish the comments I do get rather than the ones I don't.

And with that, I say au revoir to 2024 and bonne année to 2025 ☀️ I have some lofty ideas for what I want to do with my blog this year. If I can just keep a handle on my depression this time around. 🤞

[idv-harmonic-melody]

Welcome to my world!

Headers by @/animatedglittergraphics-n-more

°✿ Need my help? ✿°

The Singer's external traits (TBA)

Current event: Killernight Disco

Main Rules!

Obviously no NSFW, although the mod is +18, i want this blog to be completely SFW. Flirting and suggestive jokes are fine, but please use your common sense when sending anything here!

T*RFS, l0licons, pr*shippers, prom4ps or any type of weirdo is not allowed in this blog, although i do not think any will interact, i want to make sure to say that none of them are welcome in here!

Again with the obvious, but homophobia, racism, ableism and any other type of prejudice is also not allowed

This blog will contain A LOT of headcanons, and some of them might not align with what is mostly popular in the fandom, so if you do not agree with anything i say here, please just leave and do not try to create conflict.

Other rules and more information about the blog

This is a crossover blog between HSR and IDV, with Robin receiving the role of a survivor with the support role, her title is "The Singer"

Due to the nature of this blog, it might contain spoilers for Honkai Star Rail, all of them will be marked with the "HSR Spoilers" tag!

Magical anons, oc x canon, aus, crossovers and other askblogs for both IDV and HSR muses are not only allowed to interact but also encouraged! I would love to interact with all of you!

This blog will have some darker themes such as attempted murder, talks about isolation, wars and others, so please proceed with caution

Answers might take between days and weeks to come as the mun is a bit busy and sometimes deals with demotivation, so please do not feel anxious incase i don't answer you in the same day!

The blog will be mainly text-based, with some doodles coming with answers sometimes

Overall, just have fun! Any questions can be made via both the askbox and my dms!

[fruit-salad-ship]

I don’t understand why anyone had a problem with the Rome AU? It’s. It’s fiction. It’s not meant to be historically accurate, that was never the point. What, y’all gonna start coming after every period romance written ever?

I adored Rome AU. It was one of my favorites. It doesn’t have to be anywhere close to accurate, it just has to be fun for you to create. So create more of it if it makes you happy. You deserve that 💖

I would love to, it had a very specific energy, but I got a lot of people correcting me about little details. It puts me off creating anything to do with it despite loving it so much, because I’m just here having fun but people are mad about idk, a dye colour, or some tiny detail about how a social norm was written about or something. Now I hate history, I failed it, every test I ever took I failed horribly, it was my one true subject I just didn’t click with, so having to essentially research a bunch of history stuff before enjoying a mindless hobby topic that’s more about OCs than the setting kind of just sucks! Like a lot!! my adhd hates it haha, I can’t read a sentence without reading it 3-4 times. I just don’t read well, and when I say this people suggest audio books or YouTube videos; no one seems to understand that I truly, and I mean this from the bottom of my heart, I truly cannot focus on historical content. It’s all very important and interesting but just not something I can consume and enjoy? I’m too stupid for it haha!

BUT. I really do miss it, I made the Star Wars AU a reflection of it to escape the history buffs that heckle in the tags, but somehow it doesn’t have the same energy, close but somethings missing.

Either way it IS fiction, I was going to throw some of the old gods and monsters in to try to pull it away from the history aspect, but it was too late by that point, and no doubt someone would have had issues with that too.

Defo one of the greats, I love big wet dog peach who just needs love and patience and gentleness. There was real charm to plum and her calm power, and grey the biggest sweetheart of them all. Idk. Guess it’s done for sadly, but GOD, miss it so much. Just finished with being expected to research something I just want to enjoy for he fun of it yknow? My brain can’t do it hah

I love that it was one of your favs, I hear it a lot, and love that briefly it brought some joy to others!

[kandyrezi]

Kcalb + Wodahs [thesis]

Still working on some fics, but in the meanwhile, I had this post in my drafts for so long and I forgot about it entirely, so I thought I might as well edit and post it now.

I was going to discuss the “Kurotsuno & Sullivan’s relation to Kcalb” theory first, but I got finished with this one a lot faster, so I’ll be posting the former one at a later date. This headcanon post concerns Wodahs & Kcalb + their relation to one another.

This is just for fun, so I apologize for any potential inaccuracies - if that’s the case, then I implore people to point them out so I can try and fix any inconsistencies there might be. This is quite short, but there’s always a lot to talk about.

I want to first start off by not focusing on either Kcalb or Wodahs, but on other characters far distant from TGG to give a bit more context and background behind my theory. Namely, this image here is quite intriguing.

Ivlis, Rosaliya, & Reficul are labeled as, “Manufactured by God” - that is, they were created by the God of the world they (used to) reside in.

Two appear to be missing from this picture, leaving out Satanick & Kcalb, but they obviously had to appear somehow. They did not materialize out of thin air by nothingness - we've seen previously, as an example, Siralos created Ivlis (& Igls) from flames, Meikai was created from a star by Satanick. So, if their corresponding Gods did not make them out of something, then where did they come from?

Speaking out of materializing out of thin air, All of the Gods ALSO had to “appear” somehow, as they are not clearly the highest deities in DSPverse, considering Vicers, Justim, Photon, Nortkele, Reminiscences are all above them in terms of ranking and categorizing, although it's largely unknown what they are supposed to represent (in the grander scheme) or even what species they are. They could also similarly just be cosmic deities, but higher-ranking than the gods we currently know most about.

It is likely, as one of many possibilities, that either Justim or Vicers created them. Judging by the image below - by how Justim is in focus and standing in front of all the other gods - I’m inclined to think they are the one who created all the Gods, at the very least, since they have been stated to be “God of Gods” - yet Vicers has never been called “Devil of Devils”, which would make sense if Vicers only created two of them (Satanick and Kcalb), as the rest of the devils were created by their own corresponding Gods.

Justim: *gestures behind them* these r my ocs! ^ u ^

(Not really related as such, but Photon and Nortkele are fairly obvious in a sense what they’re supposed to represent (it’s pretty much spelled out in their names), but that leaves Reminiscences… so, maybe they (she?) are a personification of “Matter” while their dark counterpart is a personification of “Antimatter”? Either way, they’re supposed to represent at least something floating around in space? An atom? A neutron? We’ll have to wait patiently for a while longer for another clue.)

Anyway, back to Vicers.

“The power to bestow life and the power to take it all away.”

So, Vicers can both create and destroy, it seems like. If he really did make Kcalb, he could have bestowed the latter with his destruction powers.

Vicers & Justim’s relationship seems quite complex, they’ve been inconsistently described as several things ( “can���t stand eachother, can’t live without one another either” / “used to have a big fight in the past”, and now “lovers” ), all these facebook relationship statues could be spread out within a specific span of time; maybe they started off as friends, then got into a conflict with one another, almost started (or did start) a war, then they made up, but it was still quite tense between them. At long last, they settled their differences and then became friends again, eventually lovers.

Wodahs could similarly have been created by either Vicers or Justim (or they could have created them together, as sort of a peace treaty and proof that two opposite beings can co-exist together, but I am more inclined towards only Vicers having manufactured Kcalb, as well as Wodahs.)

EDIT: Future!me has come to edit this wall of text before posting, having now read some of the more recent information from one of DSP's drawing livestreams. "Did Etihw create Wodahs?" question was answered with an uncertain: "You can say yes AND no to that." well, that kinda throws the "Vicers created Wodahs" theory out the window, doesn't it?

So, what if Etihw gave life to something that originally belonged Kcalb? Like a feather from a crow?

Characters of different species can be “blood siblings” as we’ve seen (Igls Unth is an angel, Ivlis is a demon, but they’re still technically 'siblings' created by the same god, if you see them as such), so could Kcalb & Wodahs be the same? It might be more appropriate to refer to them as half-siblings in this case.

Reficul & Sol / Ivlis & Igls Unth “Devil and the Head Angel” - both duos are considered blood siblings, so why couldn’t Wodahs & Kcalb be considered the same? (granted, Reficul used to be an angel, so using her is kind of a flimsier example.)

I personally can’t get behind either 1) “Kcalb used to be an angel” or 2) “Wodahs used to be a demon” theories, because

1) For Kcalb to have been angel, he would have to have been created by Etihw in the first place, but that’s clearly (as we saw in the previous point) not the case.

2) Wodahs has been an angel since he was a young babey;

and a FALLEN angel, no less? Gray wings in DSP’s universe are associated with damnation by god... hmm…

We’ve seen angels turn into demons, but never a demon turning into an angel. The concept of "redemption for your sins" doesn’t appear to exist with Gods & their angels. Once you’ve turned into a demon, there is no "reversing" that effect or gaining back the status as an angel. It’s the same with biblical/mythological concept of angels/demons (as all fallen angels automatically become demons, but never in reverse).

Since all angels are typically created by Gods, Wodahs could possibly be an outlier and considered not a true angel, but a “farce” in a sense he was created out of something that originally belonged to a Devil, hence why his wings have been gray since he was a child.

He’s also quite brutal in some instances in TGG in contrast to most angels; he keeps bullying/purposefully reminding Kcalb about his missing eye (instead of just letting go of the past), chokes out Grora and almost breaks her leg when she messed up his flowerbeds, and his GGT!self was seen trying to drunkenly molest GGT!Grora in one of the omakes...)

But, maybe in the past things were different with someone like Etihw (who is generally considered an anomaly amongst the other gods), who was willing to give Wodahs actual pure white wings and halo when he left Kcalb to go over to Etihw’s side during the war (thus is the reason Kcalb took his eye for betraying him in the first place).

He still shows more loyalty to Kcalb in the game over Etihw despite everything, which reaffirms my theory of him not having a very close relation to Etihw post-war.

Curious to hear anyone else's thoughts on this!

[jedimasterbailey]

filoni stans just don't quit huh?

"people are mad sabine has force powers because it's badly hidden misogyny-"

oh here we go again as if many people haven't already explained in depth how she's been character assassinated.

heads up everyone, if we don't like filoni's stupid ass decisions and contrived writing it must always be because of sexism, racism and whichever excuse stans use to deflect criticism. this is what happens when we spoil their fun. some of them are sounding like last jedi stans who screamed misogyny and racism when fans rightfully pointed out the badly written script, the way kylo almost took over rey's story and the way poc were mistreated. love how they yell sexism while glossing over how filoni made ahsoka's importance all about a man in this show.

sabine was already a good character in rebels without needing to be force sensitive. she had her own cultural identity as a mandalorian. guess none of that matters now, she gets to follow a rote padawan story that makes no sense for her and wasn't even properly developed. all because filoni is far up his own ass about his special mando jedi ocs while disrespecting established jedi characters. good lord, i'm glad this season is over.

NO THEY DO NOT ANON!!!! And that’s the thing that drives me crazy about Feloni Stan’s is I think his project promote bad behavior. There is so much racism and sexism in these projects that everyone is more than happy to turn a blind eye too. I, on the other hand, cannot condone any of it and I refuse to make excuses for it and I will say exactly what’s on my mind even if others are afraid to because this is ridiculous. There are so many talented writers and minds out there who can continue the Star Wars legacy without going low and create inspiring content that can generate hope in future generations to come but nope we’re still gonna keep ignorant people in high places and produce more crap.

And yes Sabine should have stayed true to who she was. There was no need for this Jedi nonsense.

[alinktoana]

30 day no fanart challenge

this is the meat of the challenge: no fanart for 30 days (oh wow lol) 1. drawing categories/prompts instead of IP: it can be *anything*, it can be food, hobbies/professions, folklore/mythology. eg: actual taiko drums instead of taiko no tatsujin characters, cute dinosaurs instead of yoshi, cool hedgehogs instead sonic (lol) 2. IF i happen to wanna draw fanart, it's gotta be at least 100 years old (anything before 1924) eg: drawing fanart of John Tenniel's Alice (1865) and not disney Alice (1951), Albert Lynch's Joan of Arc (1903) and not Clone High Joan (2002). ps: im not sure about famous people yet, but i think ill go with the same idea that theyd have to have been dead before 1924.

here's some stuff ive drawn with that in mind, even though i hadnt stablished the challenge yet lol

why a no fanart challenge? well well well, if this isnt another post artist alley eulogy lol

here's some background feelings: after having helped promote 2 japanese food festivals and tabled on both its artist alley's, and knowing myself, and having grown up in the age of comic/book to film adaptations and the rebootprequelsequelmagaddon, it's really hard for me not to fanart, even though i trashtalk hollywood all the time for not taking risks and doing original stuff, lo and behold, i do the same. who am i to judge _anything_ when i watched all three star wars sequels in theaters and crushed on kylux for years, i was kneedeep into hannigram, i gave money to the barbenheimer industrial complex. how can i blame RGG for not letting kiryu go when i _cried legit tears of joy_ when pirate majima was announced? (granted, it's not as bad as the kiryu situation lol but this is about ma$cots, not me lol)

i love a lot of characters, a lot of stories, im always jumping from show to show, game to game, and coming back to them. but i wanna go beyond my love for other people's art and be in love with my own, now that im at a better skill and mental state. it might not resonate as much, specially at the japanese festivals im a part of, but i wanna try. and im gonna start slow, i *am* going to draw japanese food, japanese animals, and create my tiny little scenes and see what comes up. i love stickers with every fiber of my being lol so ill always have in mind that ill draw stuff that i would wanna stick on my own sketchbooks and journals. but i need to do this, at least for 30 days. who knows what will happen later, you know? a friend of mine once said that colored pencils are like sugar, and graphite pencils are like veggies. and i feel like fanart and not-fanart is the same. we love fanart, but it's not healthy to only draw fanart... also i love people who delve into IP OCs and stuff, it always seems a lot of fun. i could try that, but i think ill cut my fanart ties cold turkey and then i can figure something out, i dont know lol i could go back to d&d character sheets lol another side note: i went to film school bc i loved watching movies. i wanted to tell stories, but i had no idea how, and i didnt think i had the talent for drawing. i started studying japanese and bullet journaling, bc i had the urge to draw, and those were the mediums that were close enough to drawing i felt i could try. and then hannibal happened, i had a roommate who was learning to watercolor, and i was like, screw it, let me draw hannigram bc i love them lol ive had the opportunity to make some movies, but logistically and creatively, they never felt as good as having the spark of inspiration, sketching, linearting, painting, printing and selling these tiny ass stickers. there is some control freakness in that, sure lol but there's also a need to build confidence in my own abilities, which sadly i didnt have a space for in movie sets... anyway, ill always mourn not having spent my teens drawing, but im making my kid self proud now <3 also i might post my new stickers at some point, i still havent made a pinned post lol but someday, you know so yeah, if anyone's reading this, ty lol TLDR: if you draw, write, sculpt, whatever, anything, and you tend to do fanart, ask yourself if you're fanarting a bit too much, if there's a way of turning your love for these characters/worlds into something different and more you.

[braveclementine]

Chapter 24

Warnings: None

Copyright: I do not own any Marvel characters or locations. However, I do own my OC: Elizabeth Y/L/N (created so you don't get Y/N and Y/S/N consistently mixed up. I do not condone any copying of this.

YOU STOOD, LOOKING OVER THE BALCONY at the warriors training on Asgard. Sif was down there, a sword in her hand. She was fighting against Elizabeth, who had a sword in her hand as well. There were several dozen people in the room, perhaps somewhere between 80 and 100. Most were fighting in pairs, sometimes three or four, but all of them were fighting with swords.

Thor was down there as well, fighting with a red bearded man that you had been introduced to as Volstagg. Hogun and Fandral were down there as well, but Loki was nowhere to be found. You wondered if Loki ever joined them, or what he did when he was here.

Sif knocked the sword out of Elizabeth's hands, knocking her feet out from underneath you younger sister and she fell flat on her back. Elizabeth surrendered as Sif put the tip of the sword at her throat.

Then Sif smiled, helping her to her feet. Elizabeth asked her something and Sif showed her something on the sword.

Of course, it wasn't just Asgardians down there either. Natasha and Clint were down there as well, fighting with another Asgardian who seemed to matched against them well, which was a surprise considering Nat's superior fighting.

You had never been one for fighting. At least, not since you and Elizabeth had been young. Sometimes the two of you had wrestled or fought with sticks like they were Star Wars sabers, but not after. . . not after. . .

"Hello my dear, may I accompany you?" A soft voice asked from your right. You jumped a little and turned to see that the Queen of Asgard stood there. She was wearing a beautiful gown made of sky blue silk and her hair was littered with pearls.

"Y-Yes of course, your majesty." You said quickly, going to move back from the balcony, but she held up a hand and joined you there, overlooking the warriors. None of them looked up or noticed that their Queen had come to oversee their practice.

"Now, now, none of this 'your majesty' stuff." Queen Frigga scolded gently. "You're to be my daughter in law after all. You may just call me Frigga."

You smiled at that thought and then asked, "Do you come to oversee their training often?"

"Who said I was here for them?" the Queen asked gently. "Perhaps I wanted to talk to you."

"Oh." You stated, clearly surprised and then blushed deeper.

Frigga smiled deeper. "I do not like to come and oversee their training. As much as I enjoy watching them train, they restrain themselves when they realize I'm here. I prefer it when they act naturally so sometimes, I make myself invisible. Now come, let's sit."

She took your hand and you were surprised by the feel of hers. Her fingers, long and slender, and her hands mostly soft though there actually callouses right below where the fingers started.

The two of you sat on a stone bench, though it was not uncomfortable, but intricate. Though there was no back to the bench, you saw how straight the Queen sat and mimicked her posture, realizing just how much you were used to slouching.

"Why did you decide to come and watch?" the Queen asked softly. "I know you do not care for violence or weapons. I cannot imagine that you took pleasure in watching them fight. But you must have had a reason."

You thought about it and said. "I suppose no real reason at all. I have mostly been wandering the castle and-"

"I think you do have a reason." The Queen said and glancing over at you and you looked down at your feet.

"I wanted to check on Elizabeth." You chewed on your bottom lip. "But she seems fine."

Frigga was quiet and said nothing for a moment. You could hear laughter from down below, which sounded a lot like Clint. You wondered what it would be like, just for a moment, to fight with a sword. It wasn't going to be to the death, it might even be fun.

It conjured up images of you and Elizabeth, standing up on the fence. The beams were usually triangular shaped, with the edge facing upwards on the top row, but there were some posts that were flat. The two of you would stand on them, would try and get the other person to fall as you fought with plastic swords or sticks.

Elizabeth was usually better with the balance than you were, so she usually won on the front that you fell off. But if you were fighting on the ground, she was more defensive than offensive and you usually won instead as she hit less. A smile started to creep up on your lips. When was the last time the two of you had really played together? Done something fun together? Something the both of you thought was fun?

You nearly jumped when Frigga placed a soft hand on your arm. "Just because you pick up a sword does not make you a warrior, Y/N. Just because Elizabeth can hold her own against Sif for a few moments of time does not make her a warrior either. So I will ask you now, are you jealous of your sister?"

You were startled at the question. It had been the last thing you thought the Queen would ask you, considering that she'd been talking about swords and warriors only moments before.

"I- why would I be jealous of her?" You asked incredulously. You had everything. You had the exact life you wanted, living with your soulmates in a large city and it didn't hurt that they were rich and famous either. You were off the farm, you were beautiful and funny and everyone on the team loved you. You had amazing, close friends that helped you out when you needed them and you had the love and affection from your mother and father. You could sing and dance, you could draw and paint, you could even write stories so descriptive that people seemed to fall into them and told you they felt as if they were really in the story. Not to mention, you were the first born. You could get married first, you would inherit the farm when your father passed away, and you would have everything till the day you died.

Elizabeth had none of that. Or at least, not most of it.

Frigga gazed at you thoughtfully. There was no judgement in the look. Nothing that agreed with your rhetorical question, yet also nothing that said she disagreed with it. It was only as though she was thinking about the question herself.

And then she asked, "Would you believe that your sister was jealous of you?"

You blinked once more. You had never really thought about it like that. Elizabeth was good looking and extremely smart. If she didn't love the farm so much she could've probably gone on to be a doctor or a teacher. She couldn't dance, but she moved with a grace equal to it. She loved to read and she could ride a horse better than anyone you'd ever met. She made friends easily even if she didn't keep them, and she could fit in anywhere she was with whoever she was with. She was extremely loving, non judgmental, more open than anyone you knew. She had her morals and she stood by them solidly, never swayed by anything to change them.

And so you had then asked, more confused than before, "Why would she be jealous of me?"

Frigga smiled then. It was a soft smile, filled with love and you were suddenly vividly aware that though Thor had not made preparations (to your knowledge) about marriage, she clearly did think of you as her daughter.

She took your hand, smoothing circles on the back of it. "Sometimes, there are things we do not want to see, or perhaps we cannot see them. There is no criticism here, I only want to point something out. You do not believe you are jealous of Elizabeth, because you believe you have everything you'd ever want. But if that were the case, then you would know that Elizabeth was jealous of you, because then she cannot have everything. But if you are not jealous of her and she is not jealous of you, then where does that leave you?"

Her words were like a puzzle to you, like the answer was right there, like the key to unlocking all knowledge was right there, but you could not grasp it.

Frigga leaned forward, embracing you tightly and said. "I know you wish to spar with your sister again. Do not hold yourself back. Remember, a warrior does not always mean being a fighter, and a fighter is not always labelled by a sword."

She stood up, walking away with a grace that reminded you greatly of Elizabeth. You stood up once more, looking over the balcony. Elizabeth was taking a break, sitting on one of the benches, watching as Natasha and Sif sparred. They both moved with a deadly beat, though neither was close to beating the other.

You turned and walked away. You knew what you wanted to do.

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ

"ARE YOU GOING TO SULK IN HERE THE entire time?" Frigga's soft voice echoed through the dim library. A purple-pink glow erupting from her fingers as it moved through the library to turn the lights brighter.

"I am not sulking." Loki replied, hunched in his favorite chair to read.

"You would not have to squint like that if you kept the lights lit you know." Frigga said warmly and lovingly as she came to sit on the arm of the chair.

Loki snorted and shut the book, looking up at his mother. "I've missed you mother."

"I know my darling." Frigga said, reaching out and touching his black hair. He put his head in her lap, letting her hold him like a little child. "Have you told the both of them?"

"Only Y/N. I could never find a time to tell her sister." Loki murmured. "I don't know how. I don't know what to do."

Frigga gently pushed his long black hair from his face. "I want you to know, whatever you choose, whatever they choose, I still love you. I know that's not enough, I know that's not the same, but I do love you."

Loki didn't move his face from her dress, but he smiled nevertheless, feeling the unconditional love radiate throughout him.

"Don't worry." Frigga said, pulling back and kissing his forehead. "Everything will work out the way that it should."

And as she left, Loki wondered about the look in her eyes, for it was a look that he knew well.

It was a look, of mischief.

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ

YOU PICKED UP THE SWORD IN YOUR HAND. It was an unfamiliar weight, but comfortable. You'd chosen the smallest one first and it had felt weird but this next one, which was slightly larger was better.

The grip was fantastic as you walked over to Elizabeth and she looked up when she saw you coming, her eyes curious as she took in the fact you had a blade in your hand.

"Wanna battle?" You asked playfully.

Elizabeth grinned, "Sure." She got up and you saw that the sword she was using was a lighter colour, closer to the shade of the knives Loki had given her. There were emeralds in the hilt of the sword as well and you knew then Loki had probably given it to her.

"Have you seen any beams that we can fight on?" You asked, looking around.

"You remembered." Elizabeth said softly and you looked back at her. She was smiling again, a softer, warmer smile. "I thought you'd forgotten."

You shook your head. "I remember a lot of it Ellie. Now, c'mon. Let's go find a plank to stand on."

Elizabeth followed you as the two of you skirted the outskirts of the battlefield. There were planks farther away, that weren't being used at the moment.

"I'm probably rusty." Elizabeth admitted as she hoisted herself up on the plank, looking down at her feet before raising her sword. "But you're still going down."

You grinned, "We'll see about that."

The plank was smooth under your feet and slightly wider than the fence posts out on the farm. But probably even more than Elizabeth, you were also out of touch. Not to mention, these were real swords.

"We don't have armor." You pointed out.

Elizabeth grinned, "Light taps only then."

Elizabeth went for the first lunge and you lifted the sword, the clash of metal upon metal sending vibrations up your arm. You thrusted off and she grinned as she took a step back.

You lunged this time and she tilted her sword to the side, catching the blade and there was an unusual maneuver that you'd never seen her use before and you had to hold tighter as the sword was nearly ripped from your grasp.

"Sif teach you that move?" You asked.

She looked slightly surprised. "Yes."

"I was watching." You said, motioning up to the balcony and when she turned to look, you went for her leg.

She leaped backwards, landing on only one foot on the plank, nearly falling off. "Oi! You scoundrel." She said in a fake pirate accent that almost made you start laughing.

You grinned, gesturing for her to come at you. "I thought you were supposed to better on planks."

She smiled, shifting forwards a little. "You cannot goad me now. I've learned the art of patience."

But she attacked anyways in a series of blows until you were backing up to the very edge of the plank. With another thrust, she attempted to knock you off, but you pushed back a little. You pushed again and she tumbled sideways. She didn't go down without a fight though, yanking the blade so that you were brought out underneath your feet and the both of you fell to the floor.

Well, Elizabeth hit the floor with a soft cry, sword clattering out of her hand, skidding across the tile. You found yourself in a pair of strong arms and looked up to see Bucky had caught you, putting you back down on your feet.

"You alright doll?" Bucky asked you.

"Yeah, I'm fine." You said cheerfully, reaching up to kiss him. "Thanks for catching me."

"Anytime." Bucky grinned, kissing you back.

You turned to see Elizabeth picking herself up off the floor as Loki ran across the room, warriors turning to watch him run by. "Are you alright?" He asked, picking up her sword. "That was one nasty fall."

"I'm alright." Elizabeth said, brushing it off. "It's nothing new really."

You felt a sudden stab of guilt as she turned to look at you. "Good fight. You've gotten better."

There was none of her usual warmth though and she turned back to Loki, "Can you help me back to my room. I can't remember how to get there."

"Of course." Loki said, nodding to you and Bucky as a sign of him leaving and the two of them walked away.

You looked up at Bucky who was no longer looking at you. You just shook your head and said nothing.

"You should go back to your room too." Bucky said. "One of the Queen's handmaids actually told me to tell you and your sister that the Queen wants you both to rest up before the ball tonight."

"There's a ball?" You asked in surprise, feelings of guilt and thoughts of summers ago melting away. Thor had told you about the balls on Asgard, but you hadn't thought you'd be able to go to one. Not so soon anyways.

"Apparently so." Bucky said, looking happy about it. "But I think you have like handmaids waiting for you to help you get ready? I'm not sure."

"Thanks again Bucky." You said, kissing his cheek and heading off towards your bedroom.

⬅️➡️

[warsamongthestars]

You might be wondering why I have such a fit about TBB (and still do!--its a raging coal fire that hasn't stopped since S2 finale, and just kinda, reignites. Alot. )

[ And if you're not wondering, well I'm talking to myself anyway. I'm typing into the magic box with the funny pictures made of light and there's nobody I'm actually on conversing with in my compooter room anyway. ]

[ so i might as well continue to talk to myself, like the mad media person in all the tv shows, and maybe, one of the incorporeal beings of the magic picture box gets either entertained or pissed off enough. either way, screaming into the void ]

Let's talk about story impact.

I'mma say that a story has a beginning, middle and end. It has talking things called characters, and a general story structure called plot. the fiction it exists in called a fictional world building. the beats it writes to called pacing, and its quickening or slowing often matches the scene it wants (like a heart beat).

THat's the sum story.

What the fuck am I on about again with TBB.

Well, imagine that you have the Story sum above, and there's multiple now. Like, hundreds to thousands, all running on a specific world build, sharing the character of the story, as well as the story of the characters. Created all over the course of decades.

Repetition with positive results is going to have favorable impact. Effort given into a creative work is going to be recognized, even if you don't really like the work.

That's the sum logic.

So what the fuck am I on about again with TBB.

Well, let's take an actual example so that I'm not off topic.

Darth Vader is a very significant character to Star Wars. Star Wars is the story and series of stories that have had decades of work. Its a Space Western Opera (because Sci-Fi generally requires actual thought based Sciences attached--thus the magic in space bits aren't Sci-Fi; you're free to add that thoughtfulness though ).

And Darth Vader was one of the characters repeatedly used, and given significance due to in-story reactions and in-story information, as well as unique costuming, and taking 3 actors to do.

Mixing that with consistent character writing that develops as we learn of the character, and whom we additionally watch develop as the story around him changes; with dashes of world-building used also consistently, mixed with high end emotional-cues by the Music performed...

Creates a character that is very important to the series. Enough so, that to see him, is to immediately think "Star Wars".

And Star Wars is culturally historical. More so than the things it was based off of (and potentially ripped from), such as Dune, Valerian, and Metropolis--the only thing that survived that ripping was the Fist Full of Dollars Trilogy.

And its had Decades. As in, your Grand'rents intimately know Star Wars too. Its painted unironically on things, instead of being made fun of for being a Dune Rip Off but with DnD Magic.

But gods damn it, what does this have to do with THE BAD BATCH?

Well have you ever heard of a Fanfic OC?

You know the ones. The super special awesome totally original donut steel characters that a fan writer of a series will make up, in order to either experience the world or save the day or something.

( I know its more complicated than that, I'll get there )

The point is, is that a character in a well known series that spans decades, requires build up so that even the most stubborn of the audience accepts it.

A series that's big enough and large enough and expansive enough, requires itself to turn its characters into mini stories themselves. Because a big world is complicated, and gets complicated as it grows.

Example-- Ahsoka Tano required 3 years before she became intimately accepted as Anakin Motherfucking Skywalker's apprentice.

Because that kind of position is the donut-steel OC position. She wasn't in the films thus she didn't have an impact on Vader.

( I would even make the argument that Prequel Anakin still doesn't make that huge of an impact on Star Wars Vader. )

( Much the prequels ran into the same "donut steel" argument. )

A different example-- Captain Rex.

Captain Rex did not run into the same issues. Why? Because he slotted with a known position that was needed to complete the Clone Wars parts of the Prequel Sagas. After all, there was Commander Cody for Obi-Wan, there was Commander Bly for Aayla, and so on.

Captain Rex had the backing of the concept of the Clone Wars behind him, which does include from the Original Trilogy, as that's where the concept came from first.

As a character, he had to be a little nuts in order to keep up with Anakin, and a little on the hard order side, in order to live up additionally to Vader.

There was years of build up, and he was expected.

[ Its almost as if you have to know your audience and the history behind a story, to make impact--and that if you're coming in out of the blue, you need more prep and build up, in order to have the same amount of impact ]

[ And once that impact is given, we can flow with the story, and even retroactively enjoy the parts it took to make impact. ]

[ Adopt a new story teller's telling, into a story told by someone else, to make a better story ]

BUT WHAT ABOUT--

Ah ah ah, Don't worry. Build up and Impact, remember?

So, what is exactly my issue with the TBB series.

Its that these mother fuckers had 4 episodes in less than 1 month before their series.

The Bad Batch series is a series of high impact with low reaction. Good music, good animation, set in a known world--but the characters themselves do not have the build up to have impact on anything.

The series itself should have been giving them that build up, and instead, it actually stripped them on impact they initially had.

On a character sheet, the Bad Batch as characters are good. I give them positive review as a "let's go hog wild on the clone concept" They are the limit you can push the star wars clone wars concept before you have to pull back and say "You just wanted you add your fanfic into Star Wars, didn't you?"

( Just as the Prequels made Anakin out to be the limit of the Jedi, rather than just OG Vader's "I turned evil fuck you". )

A long adventure to learn about these characters, just as we learned about Ahsoka and by extension, Rex, would've been required to allow the build up to have the impact that they were clearly introduced to have.

Cos they have a strong introduction... through the eyes of someone else.

We have a series that put them through strafes, when we really didn't know anything about the characters. Even in their TCWs Arc, there wasn't enough about them from their POV that we could summarize a character that would last a series like theirs.

You can't tell me there's a character arc or achetype that TBB didn't invent in order to impose upon characters that do little and aren't allowed to grow from it--or was taken as a side-character role in name any Star Trek episode.

The TBB's high impact story is the going from the Prequel Saga into THe Original Trilogy, from the point of view of the Clone Wars. Its a singificant connecting element of watching the Republic become the Empire. The "Dark Times" as Obiwan "Ben" Kenobi put it, in 1977's Star Wars.

The BBs themselves only had 4 episodes, and they were already pushing disbelief, as they were the limit of the Clone Wars "Clone" Concept, stretched to the last possible point (Cos anywhere beyond that, and we'd be getting into Super Hero territory), and introduced in the Final Season--so all impact they could've had, was already gone from the start because there was no time.

The only way that the current TBB series would've impacted as its era demands, after decades of Star Wars, would be to give it to either Commander Cody (Who was in the Films) or Captain Rex, who was the main Clone of the Clone Wars.

And the only way that the the Bad Batch as characters, could've possibly survived that high impact, is if they had those years behind them--and they don't, they had less than 1 month.

So the Bad Batch as Characters require their own series that lacks high plot impact, in order to survive as characters...

And the Bad Batch show, as a High IMpact Show, requires actual impactul characters to run.

... Do you see the issue now? Or at least one of them?

( I would have gladly accepted a slow paced Bad Batch show that allowed the Bad Batch characters growth, that's what I wanted out of them--I wanted to get to know them. )

( But the current TBB show does not allow that. Story writers can say all the shit they want, but let me remind, if it was important--it'd be in the story itself, it'd be apart of the build up and impact. )

( And there is no impact, and no build up. If I were to put Hunter right next to Vader, he would mean fuck all. )

( And that's one reason I'm so fucking mad about all this. )

[gyokujyn]

Get To Know Me Tag Game

Tagged by @blackwood4stucky - Aspen, thank you for the tag, but I am breaking all the rules and changing most of the some questions to really get to know me (and hopefully you)! Pretend I tagged you at the bottom, too, cause it won't let me tag you twice!

1. How did you get your nickname (or url)?

I don't really have a nickname, but my url is the first long term OC I used to RP back in the day. I see a lot of hate for RPing OCs these days, but when the internet still screamed at you before you could logon, almost everyone RPed OCs--in fact it was looked down on to RP an existing character or an OC that was related to an existing character. Gyoku Jynnae was a Star Trek OC, but I also RPed Star Wars, D&D, and a few others in AOL chat rooms, forums/message boards, and email. I keep the name in case I ever run into anyone from that time in my life because some of those people helped keep me alive and I'll never forget it.

2. What's the last thing that made you cry?

Therapy yesterday. I'm trying to be less allergic to feelings. Go me.

3. What's your latest guilty pleasure?

I generally don't feel guilty about the things that bring me pleasure, lol, but I'm a little embarrassed that I realized my Stucky playlist on Spotify has long since exceeded 200 songs (sitting pretty close to 230 rn) so I created, I shit you not, a spreadsheet to help me most effectively split it into more specific lists for various timeframes or feelings and I am really enjoying listening to all the songs and organizing it.

4. What sports do you play/have you played?

I never did organized sports, but I did regularly get dropped in the wilderness with a map and a compass for "fun" when I was in high school--does that count?

5. What are your pet peeves?

I hate the sound of chewing/lip smacking/swallowing. I probably have misophonia because it makes me want to vault the table and punch someone.

6. What is the first thing you notice about people?

Hair and hands, usually. Eye contact is not my forte, so I am way more likely to remember someone by their shoes or something than by their face.

7. What is your eye color?

Hazel. I have a ring of brown around my pupil, then a ring of green outside of that like some kind of ridiculous YA novel.

8. What super specific trope or genre is your kryptonite?

Not sure how super specific this is, but I love psychological horror and body horror. I love the kinds of stories and movies where I walk away thinking I'm moving on with my life and then days later, something happens and my heart is pounding and I'm thinking about it again. I love horror that lives under your skin and in the back of your mind until it grips you out of nowhere.

9. What is your superpower?

I am very observant of details, which might be a superpower, but it usually feels like my villain origin story. It makes me good at reading people, but terrible at finishing projects because all I see are the faults and I get overwhelmed and it never gets finished.

10. Which fictional world would you be happy to call home?

You remember that late-aughts Bruce Willis movie where everyone plugs into an interface that lets them leave their bodies at home and navigate the world in an idealized, customizable body with no pain? Yeah, me, neither. I don't think about being able to have a pain-free body that reflects my personal image of myself everyday. Not at all.

11. What are your hobbies?

Reading, creating art, and video games. Between kids and COVID, my other hobby, tabletop RPG, is on a long term hiatus.

12. Do you have any pets?

We've recently lost a dog and a cat, so we're down to 1 cat and about 27,000 fish (not really, but we do have 8 running fish tanks, 3 of which are each over 50 gallons, so, like, there's a lot of fish).

13. What is your biggest toxic trait?

Oh, man, when I am in a relationship with someone, I want to be the center of their fucking universe. Which is weird because I am not monogamous and I am my wife's number one wing man, but it's not about jealousy. I want to know that I can trust my partner to have my back. That they're thinking about me. That they want me. I want to be wanted desperately. I will and have broken up with partners who weren't bad people or a bad match for me, they just weren't as mad about me as I wanted them to be. I feel like a narcissist typing this out, but it's the truth.

14. Is there anything you're afraid you won't accomplish?

I don't know that this is really an accomplishment, but I always wanted to have lots of kids and I always wanted to foster and adopt some of my kids. I knew kids growing up that needed safe homes and never got them (I probably was one, but I was afraid to get into the system, so I just kept my head down and dealt with it) and I always wanted to be the safe place I never had. But, it's expensive. Not the kids--I know kids are expensive (I already have 2). I don't understand why fostering and adopting is so expensive.

15. What's number one on your bucket list?

I want to go back to school to become a teacher, but I'm really finding it daunting right now.

Tags: I'm just tagging a dozen recentish mutuals that I don't know so well, yet... no pressure, but I'd love to get to know you better! @winterscrump @basnatural @eloquentreverie @vellicore @milarca @the-kestrels-feather @iceandironbars @sarahowritesostucky @natashadied4oursins @thepiper0fhameln @hypnxrchy @shurisbedroom If I didn't tag you, but you want to play, please feel free to jump in and tag me anyway!

[deafblindshorty]

Just finished watching American Dragon: Jake Long to commemorate the 20th anniversary (which isn't for a few weeks, but I couldn't wait!)

ADJL was a HUGE part of my life back in the day. The ADJL Fan Forum was the very first message board I ever joined and the first fandom community I joined, and the very first fanfiction I posted on FanFiction.net was an ADJL fanfiction.

The ADJLFF was a wild bunch of people. We had so much fun making OCs and creating fanfiction and fanart, coming up with theories, playing games, chatting, roleplaying...

Sigh. Fond memories.

My own OCs were Leah Bension. She was called a Supernatural (I completely made that title up. And I didn't realize there was a show called Supernatural) with healing, telepathy, and telekinesis (I didn't realize I basically made her a Jedi. I'm surprised no one called me out on that. lol). I originally made her Rose's long-lost twin, but then I realized it might be a little Mary-Sue-ish (Yeah, yeah, I know- Oh, but her superpowers aren't?), so I just made her Rose's best friend. Irony of ironies, Rose does indeed have a twin!

Another one was an actual dragon: Benjiro (Kind of regretting that name, though. Long story.) Kishi- the Japanese Dragon (Ironically, there is a Japanese Dragon on the dragon council, but it's female). He is from Bethesda, MD; his dad's job transferred the family to NYC. He became Leah's boyfriend.

One more was Michelle, a witch with a personal vendetta against the Dark Dragon, for the DD killed her family. She became friends with Jake and his friends.

I made two or three more who were loosely based on the characters from Avatar: The Last Airbender: Kate, Tibby, and Aaron.

The other OCs my friends made from what I can remember are Kellan, a.k.a. IronHand (he had a metal hand which he can use to control metal objects), also a member of the Huntsclan and Rose's best friend; Cat, Raffi, Ari, Kevin, Liam (who somehow made an annoying clone I can't remember the name of now), Travis (the Dark Dragon's son and Leah's first boyfriend), Brandon (Michelle's boyfriend, and the Floridian Dragon (Who knew Jake's mom's side of the family actually lived in Florida?! Another freakish coincedence.), Veronika, and Ashleigh, an alchemist with a curse (kind of a FullMetalAlchemist thing).

Yep. Those were the days!

Anyway, about the show itself, I didn't realize there were quite a few Star Wars references (and Harry Potter references) there were. Holy shit.

And speaking of Star Wars, when I saw The Force Awakens for the first time, and Finn was telling Rey he was taken by the First Order when he was a baby, I got Rose being kidnapped by the Huntsclan flashbacks!

And Star Wars Resistance came along. Kaz, Tam, and Neeku low-key reminded me of Jake, Trixie, and Spud! And there's Torra, the child prodigy with buns (pigtails in Haley's case), and Synara with a similar hairstyle as Huntsgirl, who left the pirates.

TL:DR ADJL was a big part of my life and continued to be even when I left the fandom.

[griseldabanks]

Hmm, nobody sent any asks in....

What’s something new that you tried in a fic this year? How did it turn out and would you do it again?

In one of my Hank & Connor pieces I wrote for Let Me Count the Ways, I did something I've always secretly wanted to do, and actually censored profanity beyond skirting around it with things like "he cursed" or whatever XD Because it was a dialogue-only fic, I couldn't do that, but I also couldn't think of a way to have Hank not swear, because he was really angry in that scene. So I gave Connor a profanity filter :P I don't know if I'll have occasion to do so again, because it's a very specific situation, but I'd love to try something like that again. Much more creative than writing someone swearing up a blue streak.

2. How many fics did you work on this year? (They don’t have to be finished or published!)

If you count the things I've written for Tumblr, I think the number would be 19.

3. What’s something you learned about yourself as a writer?

Unfortunately, I've realized I'm not quite as good at taking constructive criticism as I've always tried to be. Especially not at night when I'm tired. But at least that also goes hand-in-hand with more maturity (I think), as I remind myself to take a step back and try not to take things so personally late at night, and maybe revisit them in the morning.

4. What piece of media inspired you the most?

I guess it depends on what exactly you mean by "inspired." If you're talking direct inspiration, then I'll have to gesture vaguely to the Captain America movies as usual, because watching those and listening to their soundtracks are always what I use to really get me going for my main WIP and remind me why I'm doing this.

But for just general inspiration that makes me want to be creative and write from the heart...I think I might actually say TMNT: Mutant Mayhem. It was just so well done, so unique, so full of heart and laughter and realism (which is especially surprising, considering it's about mutant turtles! XD). It's just popping with life and color and heart, and I want to create something with that much love poured into it.

5. What fandom(s) did you write for this year?

Captain America/MCU, Detroit: Become Human, FMA, Harry Potter, Jak and Daxter, LotR, No.6, Sherlock, and Star Wars

6. What ship(s) captured your heart?

STARON STARON STARON ALWAYS AND FOREVER STARON <3 Also Sam Wilson and the OC I created for him :3

7. What character(s) captured your heart?

Steve and Bucky as always <3 Also my darling OC Jake; I'm so proud of you, my son! T^T Ed and Al, Frodo and Sam, John and Sherlock, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, and the new additions of Hank and Connor, will always hold my heart even though I don't spend as much time with them.

8. Did you write for a new fandom or ship this year?

Quite a few, actually! Courtesy of my Let Me Count the Ways ask game, I've now written my first fics for LotR (crazy, right?), Detroit: Become Human, Jak and Daxter, and No.6. It's also crazy that this year marks the first time I've ever written my favorite Star Wars character, Obi-Wan, even though I picked him as my favorite when I was eight years old @_@

9. What fic meant the most to you to write?

My Captain America fic Take Me In. It's my main WIP right now, and I actually finished the first draft this year! I've been working on this baby for five years, so this is EVERYTHING to me :')

10. What fic made you feel the happiest to work on?

TMI definitely gave me the most joy to write, but a lot of the time, it wasn't exactly fun :/ Maybe the happiest I felt was when I wrote the Obi-Wan & Qui-Gon piece for Let Me Count the Ways, because it flowed so easily and so well, even it was (bizarrely) the first time I ever wrote them. And I got to make them tell each other straight out that they love each other, hehehe :P

11. What fic was the most satisfying to finish writing?

TMI, obviously. It's not quite done or ready to post yet, but it's sitting there on my hard drive in a mostly complete form, sitting proudly as the longest thing I've ever written in my life...and maybe the best thing too? I can't wait to share this with the world! <3

12. What fic was the most difficult to write? Did you finish it?

I'm realizing most of these questions can be answered with TMI ^^' It has been very difficult to write, especially when I get into technical matters where I don't really know what I'm doing, even after all my research. I've also dealt with some massive burnout that makes writing feel like pulling teeth sometimes. But! I did finish it! I need to look back on this achievement every time the writing isn't flowing, to remind myself that if I could do that, I can do anything.

13. What fic was the easiest to write?

Hmm...probably one of my MCU prompts for Let Me Count the Ways. I'm so used to writing the FoxholeBros by this point, I have a pretty good idea of what they'll do or say in any given situation. Either that, or the Ed & Hughes Let Me Count the Ways one, because I could whip both characters out of my back pocket super easily.

14. What were your shortest and longest fics this year?

Pretty sure my dialogue-only Hank & Connor fic for Let Me Count the Ways was the shortest, at 610 words. The longest...heehee...TMI, at 386,363 words >:D

15. Rec a fic you wrote or posted in 2023

Here, have the one new fic I posted to AO3 this year, the most recent chapter of my FMA genderbender, The Other Side of the Coin. This chapter depicts the first meeting of Roy Mustang and the Elric sisters, as he tries to recruit two young girls to join the military and try to get their bodies back. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Hawkeye has a conversation with Winston Rockbell.

16. What were you go-to writing songs?

I have various playlists for whatever fandom I'm writing - usually the soundtrack, and depending on how much of a blorbo I'm writing, I might also have a playlist of songs specific to that character too. My go-to song for inspiring me to write TMI in particular is "Everything" by Lifehouse.

17. What were your go-to writing snacks?

I don't normally snack while writing, but anymore I almost can't write without a cup of tea.

18. What was the hardest fic to title?

Um...how about everything I've written for Let Me Count the Ways? ^^' I still haven't decided for sure what I'm going to do with titles once I get around to posting them on AO3.

19. Share your favorite opening line

"It was a beautiful April morning when Rose Gamgee's life changed forever."

From Rosie Runs to Rivendell, which I posted an early version of here but nowhere else yet.

20. Share your favorite ending line

"Bucky turned to share a smile with him, and Steve could see that all was quiet on the Western front."

From TMI...a;ldkgjsd;klfjdsklgfsdkflj I'm so glad I could make this line work :')

21. Share your favorite piece of dialogue

Hnnnnnnggggg if I try to pick something from TMI, we'll be here all day, so I'm just going to take that off the table. Please assume my real answer is something from that whopper. Instead, have this line I'm stupidly proud of from my first Hank & Connor fic:

“And the half-naked androids pole-dancing right in front of you had nothing to do with it.”

22. Share an excerpt from your favorite scene

I'm gonna have to veto TMI again for this, for the same reason. Besides, all my favorite scenes from TMI are chock-full of spoilers I don't want to give away, so yeah. Here, why don't we go with this moment from my Obi-Wan & Qui-Gon fic I'm quite fond of:

Qui-Gon was almost at the door by the time Obi-Wan realized he was leaving. Apparently, he'd said what he'd come here to say. “Master, wait!” Obi-Wan sprang to his feet. Pausing with his hand on the door, Qui-Gon looked over his shoulder. Nervously, Obi-Wan swallowed hard. He'd never said this to anyone, but when he instinctively reached out to the Force, it rang with the chimes of a hundred golden bells in his heart, and he knew it was the right thing to say. “I love you too, Qui-Gon. I always have. Even then.” Even when he was angry and hurt. Even when they were shouting at each other. Even when Qui-Gon left him on a war-torn planet. Even when their connection in the Force frayed and snapped, and it seemed pointless to hope they could regain even a fraction of what they'd once had.

23. Share the final version of a sentence or paragraph you struggled with. What about it was challenging? Are you happy with how it turned out?

I hemmed and hawed over this question for a long time before I remembered this paragraph from my Nezumi & Shion fic:

When Shion draped a blanket over him and tucked it gently around him, Nezumi never saw it coming. For a moment, he lay there, eyes closed, unmoving. But he couldn't ignore the soft scent of the worn fabric. A smell that reminded him of a stormy night. Laughter. A warm hand in his. Inexplicable, unbelievable, bewildering...acceptance.

The main problem with it stemmed from me writing a whole scene and forgetting what the dialogue prompt was, and then I had to go back and include it somewhere. So it took some work to make sure this paragraph went from being the end to transitioning into the bit of dialogue that started this whole thing -_-

24. What's something that surprised you while you were working on a fic? Did it change the story?

Ooof, this is a little spoilery, but it's the main one that's coming to mind. Suffice to say, originally I wrote a suicide attempt in one of my fics. Only after writing the whole scene, which had been planned from the beginning, did I realize I actually didn't want the scene to be about suicide at all. That had always been the plan, and it would make sense, but suddenly it became clear that much more interesting character development could come about otherwise.

25. What did you use to write? (e.g. writing programs, paper & pen, etc.)

I use OpenOffice for all of my story writing.

26. If you had to choose one, what was THE most satisfying writing moment of your year?

Hands down, writing the last scene of TMI and then showing it to my betas ^_^

27. Did you do anything special to celebrate finishing a fic?

After finishing TMI, I spent two weeks on vacation with my betas, and we got a cake to celebrate! ^_^

28. How did you recharge between fics?

I've been taking a break from any sort of scheduled or pressured writing since finishing TMI. We're getting close to the end of two months off, and I can see that it was exactly what I needed, because I was seriously burnt out. Hopefully I'll be ready to get back to work in another week and a half or so.

29. If this were an awards show, who would you thank?

*sniffle* I'd like to thank my besties, @rainintheevening and @sergeanttomycaptain, for having my back this whole year and encouraging me through to the end of the biggest writing project I've ever undertaken. I couldn't have done it without you!

30. What’s something that you want to write in 2024?

The actual end of TMI lol Well, I definitely want to write more Let Me Count the Ways. There will need to be something FMA to write for FMA Day. And I really hope I can start posting TMI and work on writing Take Me Beyond, its companion fic. I should probably also think about poking at some of my older fics I've been neglecting for too long.

fic writer asks

What’s something new that you tried in a fic this year? How did it turn out and would you do it again?

How many fics did you work on this year? (They don’t have to be finished or published!)

What’s something you learned about yourself as a writer?

What piece of media inspired you the most?

What fandom(s) did you write for this year?

What ship(s) captured your heart?

What character(s) captured your heart?

Did you write for a new fandom or ship this year?

What fic meant the most to you to write?

What fic made you feel the happiest to work on?

What fic was the most satisfying to finish writing?

What fic was the most difficult to write? Did you finish it?

What fic was the easiest to write?

What were your shortest and longest fics this year?

Rec a fic you wrote or posted in 2023

What were you go-to writing songs?

What were your go-to writing snacks?

What was the hardest fic to title?

Share your favorite opening line

Share your favorite ending line

Share your favorite piece of dialogue

Share an excerpt from your favorite scene

Share the final version of a sentence or paragraph you struggled with. What about it was challenging? Are you happy with how it turned out?

What's something that surprised you while you were working on a fic? Did it change the story?

What did you use to write? (e.g. writing programs, paper & pen, etc.)

If you had to choose one, what was THE most satisfying writing moment of your year?

Did you do anything special to celebrate finishing a fic?

How did you recharge between fics?

If this were an awards show, who would you thank?

What’s something that you want to write in 2024?

[starcrossedjedis]

Anon’s calling Sun/Mira a Mary Sue purely because she’s traditionally pretty and apparently “doesn’t have depth” when my girl Star literally has a power that would have drawn so many OP’d and Mary Sue accusations if this were fandom like ten years ago (😬). I can smell your subtle misogyny, love.

ANYWAYS, this is a daily reminder that I adore Sun/Mira in all her iterations, and a thank you I never really gave you for inspiring me to watch OPLA and create Star! Hope you’re having a good day!! 🩷

Anon sounds like a dude complaining that Star Wars sucks now, because "there's too many girl jedi 😡" I can't even take them seriously.

And leaving aside the fact that none of those bottom feeders seem to know the original meaning of Mary Sue to begin with - so what if an OC is a little bit of a Mary Sue? Isn't this whole thing supposed to be about fun?

Am I really supposed to make a character for a world where everyone is either a complete freak of nature or at the very least has big titties, a sixpack or both and is packed with really cool superpowers and go "okay, remember to pace yourself, we don't wanna be too out there with this world that has a protagonist who can stop cannon balls with his tummy ☝️"

Also, I'm over people acting like you have to chose between a character being pretty (but shallow/stupid/mean) or them being smart and interesting (but ugly/plain). Someone needs to drag their ass into the year 2023.

All that being said, it's obvious that they were just looking to piss me off and don't know shit about Mira/Sun to begin with. I mean... Okay, maybe she does flaunt herself at Shanks for a bit, but only because he decided to be difficult 🤣

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS ASK IT MADE ME VERY HAPPY ❤️ and I am so glad if I had any part in Star's conception, because I love her ☺️

[sinisterexaggerator]

Do I obliterate your ask by sending all these or — Ah, what the heck. You're one of my favorite writers. Might as well go big or go home LOL!

3 4 5 10 13 16 22 28 29 32 38 39

Oh shit, OK.

3. Writing ritual. I do not have one.

4. I answered this one earlier.

5. I also do not have any writing superstitions.

10. Hm, has a piece of writing haunted me? Not really. I mean, I am moved in the moment by stuff, but my ADHD brain probably forgets over time, no matter how amazing it was. As far as my own writing haunting me, sure. My unfinished WIPs are screaming at me to finish. LOL.

13. A difficult subject matter to write about. Hmm. Probably my own personal history and past, but I don't plan to write a memoir or anything. Something that is easy appears to be angst and smut. I am good at creating drama and situations, and pretty decent at the sexy stuff too, I think.

16. Weirdest thing I have ever used as a bookmark: Idk, a lighter maybe? But only temporarily.

22. How organized am I with my writing? Not too organized. Bare minimum so I don't drive myself crazy. I used to have all my writing all over my desktop taking up space, word docs half finished, all in little rows. Then I made a couple of folders. Now I have a folder for all my multiple-chapter fics that contain the document itself with the writing in it, and anything I have bothered to write or create in relation to that work. Another I have for headcanons, one for finished fics, and one for WIPs and to-dos, and even misc things, like lists of names for OCs I kind of like that I've never used. Of course *THE FIC* of the hour is loose on the desktop and I can stare at the little icon until I am persuaded to open it. I back-up everything on a cloud, but when it comes to writing itself I've only made an outline ONE TIME and it's because it's my "Magnum Opus" and basically an entire series unto itself, so it needs a lot of planning and I have a LOT of thoughts about it. As far as tools, I just use Microsoft Word and notepad for notes. Idk, I am a basic bitch. ;D

28. Most delightful character I have ever written for? Hmm. Probably Shriv Suurgav, just because he is husband material and a good boy all around.

29. I draw my inspiration from canon but then my own brain I guess, and sometimes discussions with friends that I suddenly very much need to elaborate on because it's just too good to pass up. My ADHD is good in a way because my brain is constantly jumping from scenario to scenario and "what ifs" and it makes it so I have toooooo many ideas and not enough time to write them all. I like to browse Wookieepedia too and see what's there in regards to canon/legends and then take that and let it inspire me. Give me two lines about an insignificant man in a Star Wars RPG and I can make him into an OC. That's what happened with Kayson from Stars Above. And even one of the guys in the sabacc scene. He was a real weapon's shop owner in Tatooine as listed on a roleplaying game but that was all the info. I made the rest up. ;D

32. Answered this one already, too.

38. I am a perfectionist to the point every minor fucking detail must line up and make sense or I will not be happy. Like, later on if I find out something in canon contradicts something I wrote I will be LEGIT MAD to the point I'd be tempted to change it. LOL. I also hate when canon CONTRADICTS ITSELF. I research the hell out of stuff to make sure the timeline matches up, to practice proper characterization, to know the specific name of an object within the Star Wars universe, and I must, MUST describe things in explicit detail and paint a picture or I just don't want to do it. I can't just write smut usually, for instance. THERE HAS TO BE A SET UP! It has. to. make. sense. And yeah, that part is fun for me.

39. What keeps me writing is the fact I have fun with it, and people like you who talk me up! Feedback goes a long way. If others enjoy it, I enjoy that I made them happy in some capacity, if only for a few moments. If no one cared, I would probably think it's not worth it and my writing must be shit, haha.