#and say it's stupid to follow those ship name conventions and refuse to sort it correctly. not enough to make any posts beyond this one ig

[azuredrg]

lrb op is a hockey rpf blog so i really don't care about their opinions on this matter but i spend a lot of time in jp fandom spaces not like on purpose or anything twt just understands i retweet a lot of fanart and shoves more at me. anyways that being said i am exposed a lot to ppl complaining about reversing ships (such as, tagging something as topbottom but the artwork has the bottom character topping. this post is made under the assumption you understand how ship naming conventions work) and sometimes people are like i block if you reverse or i block if you like bottomtop instead of topbottom which is fine and a correct usage of block feature but it is always so... weird to me that people care this deeply about if a character tops or not to the point that it can ruin their day. honestly, it's not that big of a deal. i think both sides take it too seriously. I think most of the complaints is the misuse of ship tagging because the top/bottom order of ship names was invented because some people give too much of a shit about it. idk where i was going about this. i think it just intrigues me it's that serious to people, but i also don't think picking on them for it is the correct answer either.

[soranis-sunshadow]

My first attempt at fanfiction

I’ve had this stuck in my head ever since that interesting post about how Hordak’s brothers would react to him but not being a native speaker and being so self conscious about my writing has made me somewhat reluctant about posting it. I hope it doesn’t suck. Anyway.. here it goes...

 Constructive criticism is always welcome, just, please be gentle. It’s my first attempt at this and if you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me. Pretty please.

Through a mirror, darkly

The castle of Dryl loomed in the distance, perched on the side of a mountain, it bore witness to the new settlement that had sprouted at its base seemingly overnight. The once lonely monolith was now surrounded by scaffolds and life. Where once it had stood alone, isolated and self-sufficient, both a technical marvel and a monument to eras passed, it now had a following of dwellings in various states of construction growing all around it. It would never be alone again.

Following the war, Entrapta had invited Prime’s clones to Dryl. The offer had been made to them in the hopes that they might find a new home and a new purpose and Princess Entrapta herself was, for whatever reason, quite fond of them. Some of them had instantly accepted the offer. They had an instinctive reaction to comply with most requests. Others had accepted because Entrapta already had two of their brothers at her side, it felt natural for more to follow. Some accepted because this new direction was better than the nothing and silence that followed them every day after Prime’s demise and the abolition of the hive mind. A few reluctantly accepted because they had no other real choice. Not many other kingdoms were as willing and the ships in orbit were not pilotable without input form the hive mind. For better or worse, they were stuck on this world for the foreseeable future.

It had been a few months since the war and in the time passed, some of the clones had started manifesting unique personalities. Preferences and choices were still difficult, but individuality was budding all the same sometimes, even despite the wishes of the clones themselves. Some had been named by the locals, others have given themselves names and some still refused to be called anything other than Brother.

Yudi was one of the former. A local cat person had called him terrible and an utter disaster and despite his best efforts to make them stop, the moniker of Utter Disaster, shortened to UD  had stuck to him like thistle to clothing and just like thistle it was infuriating at the best of times. Despite his “prickly” personality, Yudi, was one of his more functional brothers. Some were still shy or lost, some were confused and some were paralyzed by all this new “choice” that had been forced upon them.

There was no time to panic, no time to wallow and no time to lick wounds. His brothers needed accommodations, supplies they needed safety and Yudi had chosen to tackle the problem head on instead of wallowing at its magnitude.

Without the hive mind, information was not as readily accessible and the better solutions to his problems were hard to find. Where once there had been thousands of voices, all working together to achieve the same goal, all in harmony, now he was left with either numbing silence or the dissonance of his own lonely thoughts. Doing things by himself was hard, but he would get better at it, he had to get better at it. His more vulnerable brothers relied on him getting better at it. Not to say that he was the only brother tackling the construction project or the long term agricultural goals or even establishing some form of production and economy for the kingdom of Dryl.

There were others here too and amongst them was his least favorite brother, the runt that had stranded them here in the first place. It didn’t help that the defect had apparently learned a thing or two in its exile and had started to put the knowledge to use leading to a sort of grudging admiration from some of his other brothers. He handled the planning of the new settlement, the logistics and even the construction itself through the use of the robotic drones. He had found a way to coordinate them through the use of some sort of neural interface but remained tight lipped on how exactly it functioned when asked about it directly. He would deny the existence of a neural link and maintain that the implant device he was utilizing was merely a long distance communicator with which he coordinated the drones. He insisted that should Yudi himself need the drones to assist with any task, he had to verbally communicate the task in explicit detail to the drones. Verbal communications was still hard. Yudi hated it and resented its necessity.

The things were clumsy and rather stupid and Yudi himself thought that he would do a far better job than the runt ever could with coordinating them.  But no, Hordak had to be difficult about it.

A bubbly voice broke him out of his thoughts.

“Greetings brother!” came from behind him, “I hope the day finds you in good spirit!”  It was Kadroh, one of the more outgoing and functional of his brothers. He had been a calming, guiding influence throughout the ordeal on all of them. It was hard to be anything but calm in his presence.

“Day, is a measurement of time, it can’t find me. It’s an abstract notion” Yudi had said without turning towards his fellow clone. “and you know I think spirits are nonsense”. He put down the electrical power panel he was working on and turned to face his sibling. “Greetings brother!”

Kadroh lets out a laugh “it’s a figure of speech brother” then smiles at him, “ I meant I hope your day is going well”

“Things could be going better, can’t concentrate on the electrical grid of this dwelling without these damn drones interrupting me when they get stuck in loops. How am I supposed to get anything done like this?”

“Peace brother, it will be done when it’s done, we are not on a schedule.” Kadroh puts a hand on his shoulder and looks at him with a disarming smile. “We are comfortable at the moment in the camp and Entrapta is almost done deactivating all of the traps in the castle.” He added enthusiastically. “Everything will be fine, no need to push yourself so hard”. He let go of his shoulder and bent down to the basket at his feet to take a package out of it. “Have you had anything to eat today, or drink?”

“I knew I kept forgetting something” he reached out for the package and took it gingerly from Kadroh’s outstretched hand.

“The locals call these sandwiches” he bent down and pulled a bottle of colored water out of the basket next. “what a silly name for a food, they have absolutely nothing to do with sand or magic, the Etherians are usually literal in their naming conventions but apparently, sandwich is one of those exceptions that proves the rule.” He chuckled and smiled broadly at him and then handed him the beverage.

“How would an exception prove a rule?” Yudi said through bites. He had been hungry. His brother seemed to have a knack for providing sustenance whenever he forgot about that bothersome need himself. Kadroh acted like a caretaker for most of them, always there to help and to listen to guide and to comfort.

“The argument states that if an exception exists or has to be stated, then this exception proves that there must be some rule to which the case is an exception to.” came from behind him in a haughty voice. How could they all have the same voice and yet sound so different? By the Light Yudi hated that particular voice.

“Greetings brother!” Kadroh piped in. “You look glum, are you feeling all right?”

“Hey defect” Yudi added with a sneering tone.

The runt regarded Yudi with a blank expression at first then raised a brow ridge and tiled his head slightly to the side. One of his ears twitched and he coughed in his hand. “Why would I not be feeling all right?” then stared with his uncanny red eyes at Kadroh.

After the abolition of the hivemind and being weaned off the amniotic fluid, the eye color of most of his brothers started changing from green to yellow. Apparently, san’s Prime’s influence, their natural eye color had been a golden yellow glow. Some had different shades, of yellow like lime, or saffron but the defect had uncanny glowing red eyes. Even the defect’s defective creation had the right colored eyes. That walking fetus may have been stunted and released from gestation before maturation but at least when it looked at you; it didn’t instill the same uncanny eeriness that the defect himself exuded.  What’s worse was that the runt insisted on highlighting the difference by painting the area around his eyes black. He was proud of being broken and that provoked Yudi even further.

“Oh, you know” Kadroh said absently “ you’ve been working yourself awfully hard brother” he shrugged "you could use a break and a sandwich” he walked between Yudi and the defect, blocking them off form each other and extending his hand towards Hordak, holding the packaged food out. “something tells me you too forgot to eat today”.

Hordak frowned at the offering. “I can’t be bothered with that now, I’m leaving tostart on the reparations project for Salineas in a few days and there are still drones that I haven’t had a chance to update to the new firmware.”

“Brother!” Kadroh said reproachfully “eating, hydrating and resting aren’t things you should be putting off” he looked at him pleadingly. “please eat this” he jerked the food towards him once more “for me?”

Hordak huffed and took the food bundle then started unpacking it. He took small bites out of it while standing and surveying the area. He eyed the electric panel that Yudi had been working on.

“Something to say?” Yudi pierced him with his golden glare.

“You are using uninsulated cables.” the runt said between bites. “The whole panel will be unstable,” he takes another small bite then swallows “prone to overheating and shorting out” he takes another bite “Perhaps I could assist you in making it more stable, it won’t take long.”

“I don’t need your help with this.”Yudi stated flatly. Oh but the defect sure had gumption!

Hordak simply blinked slowly and added. “But you do require assistance, this task is too complex to handle by yourself. A second pair of eyes might highlight minor issues you that might have gone unnoticed. The uninsulated cables are a simple mistake, it could have happened to anyone, no need to be defensive about it.”

Yudi straightened to his full height, walked around Kadroh and faced Hordak completely. “Perhaps I do need assistance, just not YOUR assistance. I don’t trust your ability to aid me in this task.” He snapped dismissively.

“Brothers!” Kadroh tried to interject in a calming tone but was interrupted.

“I’ve been stranded on this planet for decades, in the interim; I’ve handled far more complex operations than this.” Hordak said while gesturing with his hand at the buildings around them, his tone flat and gravely. He regarded his bother with half closed eyes, mimicking indifference but the slight wilting of his ears gave him away.

“Please!” Kadroh tried to squeeze in, his tone now urgent.

“As if anything you’ve done here hasn’t been failure after failure!” Yudi pressed on with gleeful mockery.

“THIS! He started in a harsh tone, then stopped and continued in a forced calm “is something that I have already successfully accomplished before, I built a whole city with nothing but my broken ship. If you weren’t so obstinate to fight me at every turn, this job would be done so much quicker.”

Yudi puffed up and, without really thinking, immediately bit back with “Prime gave you one job, defect! to die! And you couldn’t even get that right!!! Why should I trust you with anything else?” It came out sounding more like a bark than a shout.

The sound of shattered glass broke them both out of it. Kadroh was panting besides them having dropped the glasses and the drinks. He’s looking at Yudi with pleading, warm golden eyes. He tried to say something but all that came out was gasps. He opened and closed his mouth like a fish.  

Hordak lets out a feral growl, bearing his crimson teeth at them and clenches his fists, the rest of the sandwich dropped on the ground, forgotten. He too takes in a sharp breath, preparing to shout but then, all of a sudden, he stops himself, his grimace flattens to a neutral expression and he unclenches his fists. The only thing that comes out of his mouth is a tired sigh. He looks away from them “I don’t have time for this.” He then turns around completely and walks away leaving Yudi alone with Kadroh in the deafening silence that hangs around his departure for a few minutes.

“Brother! That was completely uncalled for!” Kadroh says with a reproachful tone after having calmed down. Great, now his brother is angry with him because of the defect. And Yudi thought this day was already terrible enough. Apparently there’s always room for more terrible.

“Was it?” he said to Kadroh’s face, eyeing him with squinting eyes. ”Was it really? It’s his fault we’re all in this mess, his fault Prime found this planet and didn’t glass the damn thing form orbit” he started adding faster “it’s he’s fault we’re stuck here, stranded and at the mercy of these creatures on this ridiculous planet, it’s his fault Prime got distracted at the end, and it’s his fault Prime’s DEAD! his fault we’re all alone now!”

“YES! Prime’s dead! And the universe is better for it!” Kadroh shouted at him snapping Yudi out of his rant. In a meeker voice he added “we’re better for it.” He looks away “If Hordak hadn’t done what he’d done, you wouldn’t be here to resent him for it. None of us would.”

“Brother I” Yudi tried to deflect but Kadroh interrupted him “That was cruel, brother! That was cruel and it was wrong!” he crossed his arms. “And I’m crossed with you.”

“I don’t want to fight with you brother” Yudi said, deflating. “please, forgive my outburst.”

“I’m not the one you should be apologizing to.” Kadroh added then turned around and left in a brusque pace.

[vestirkano]

CHARACTER QUESTIONNAIRE PROMPT

01. Tell us about your character’s name. Was it given to them or chosen? Does it hold any special meaning? If your character has aliases or nicknames, how did they get them and what do they mean?

CONTENT WARNING: kidnap mention ///  his real name is vaestkyrn nakos tenua. when he was kidnapped, nobody wanted to pronounce his name vaestkyrn. everybody called him by a bastardized version of it. his real name meant radiant and gentle. over time, he adopted the name vestir which resembles most closely to the zelosian name that means radiant and victory. he doesn’t actually know this fact. he did intentionally pick the surname of his mentor on the pirate crew because she was the only one who showed him kindness and warmth. possibly even more so than his parents who never came to rescue him.  

02. What is your character’s relationship to their homeworld? Do they hold fond memories of it, or do they hate it? Are they still here, and if not, do they miss it?

vestir has not gone back and refuses to go. no matter how much money may be offered, he will not return to zelos ii. despite any fond memories he may recall, there is a caustic taste left in his mouth. he holds a deep resentment towards his “big and powerful” senator parents. 

03. Describe your character’s relationship with those who raised them. Was it positive? Negative? Neutral? What sorts of ideologies were they raised with, and do they still stand by them now?

his birth parents are dead to him (his father is actually dead). they were very active in the politics scene. they were excellent economists. they wanted to reinvigorate zelos ii’s economy by pushing for less strict trade regulations but were unsuccessful in putting their foot down in other matters. their military forces were often sent to follow plans proposing by other neighboring planets’ senators to “benefit” the republic as a whole. their gaping hole in security allowed pirates to infest the planet. vestir still remembers a variety of their capitalist driven values. he doesn’t care much for their teachings about integrity and service though.

his mentor, mykana, was a middle-aged woman who wasn’t a conventional maternal figure. but she did do her best to keep vestir alive, even going so far as getting hit in vestir’s place by the captain. he did pick up his temper from her but he also retained her work ethic, selective & fierce protectiveness, and tendency to be emotionally distanced.

04. What is your character’s relationship with the Force? Is your character Force-sensitive? Whether or not they are, do they believe in it? Do they lean more towards the dark or the light or are they somewhere in between?

it’s like vestir has a chronic disease that isn’t properly diagnosed. the force tries to speak to him but he was never taught to decipher it so it feels like a pressure building in his mind. he describes it as a cross of a migraine pain and white noise that he can ignore for the most part. sometimes it’s much worse than others. if he was any more sensitive to the force, maybe on the same level as his baby brother, he might’ve gone completely lost to the pain.

05. What three word would you use to describe your character? What three words would your character use to describe themselves? What three words would someone close to them use?

i would use: stubborn, selfish, arrogant

vestir would say: strong-willed, opportunistic, handsome

he has exactly one person who’s close to him... and that person says: “late for dinner”

06. Describe your character’s aesthetic. Do they tend towards fashion or function? Do they like to accessorize? How does this extend into their own personal spaces, such as their home or their workspace?

vestir's way of dressing himself is borderline homeless chic (it is a real thing, and yes, high fashion really found a way to commodify this) and actually looking homeless. it’s almost genius the way he always looks like he has nothing valuable on him at all times. but in almost every pocket is a mf KNIFE or something. his ship looks the same way on the inside. it’s all pretty neat and modest looking, and it’s because he’s hidden stuff everywhere. 

07. What are your character’s vices? Guilty pleasures? Bad habits? Weak spots?

he’s hot tempered. his indoor voice is still him yelling. he wakes up and sits in bed, frowning for a good 30 minutes. he cuts his own hair. pick ass eater. he thinks white lies are fine. he shoplifts; not because he has to but because he can. sometimes he steals from his paying clients too. fights any mandalorian on sight.

he has a weak spot for sugar water. it’s the only thing that gets him drunk. alcohol has no effect on him so he does tend to hustle people into drinking contests. naturally money is a huge weak spot as well. 

08. Tell us about your character’s relationship with food. What are their favorites? Do they enjoy cooking? Are they adventurous? Will they eat absolutely anything or are they hard to please?

he photosynthesizes. it cuts down on expenses so that he has more money for weapons and ship parts. he does not have a refined palette but he is picky once he finds something he really likes

09. How does your character feel about engaging in relationships—romantic and / or sexual—with others? What is their history like? Do they fall in love easily? Are they constantly in and out of relationships?

um WELL. he absolutely has no interest. there were a few people who have come onto him with sexual intent in the past. he indulged them but he has this incredible way of losing interest 2 minutes into whatever activity they start engaging in. he doesn’t develop feelings easily. he doesn’t like being that close to people because he’s allergic to the spectrum of human emotions and vulnerability. so it comes as a surprise any time someone develops a crush on him. he’s self aware enough to know he always disappoints those people when they realize his cool-guy-devil-may-care attitude is just him being a genuine asshole. 

10. What is your character’s pain tolerance like? Can they hold their own in a fight, despite injury? If someone hurts them with the aim of gaining information, how much can they take before they cave?

he’s not super smart but he is tough and stubborn. he learned early on that if he shows people he’s feeling the pain, they’ll think they got control over him. he’ll grit his teeth and bleed out from biting his tongue before he admits that anybody’s got the best of him.

11. What is your character’s weapon of choice? Are they more skilled as a melee fighter or do they have more skill with ranged weapons? What’s their fighting style like? What sort of training do they have behind them?

you know how krav maga’s philosophy is really based on instinct-based movements and using “weapons of opportunity” (if there is a lolipop nearby, he will stab you in the trachea with it) to attack your opponents? that’s how he fights. he’s scrappy and his “””instincts””” are pretty sharp. when you’re a pirate who isn’t given any weapons or even told where all the nearest exits are, you start getting creative so you don’t get your ass handed to you during a raid. he is skilled with blasters but he’s more of a friend-fire on type of person.

12. Does your character have any words or catchphrases that they say frequently? Tell us about how they picked them up.

he still says “crink” a lot which is the “fuck” equivalent for outer rim pirates. but don’t get him wrong he still says fuck a lot. he has a lot of stupid yet vulgar hutt imagery that he defaults to when he’s mad. like, “DEEPTHROAT A HUTT’S TAIL” or “choke on hutt slime.” there was a gunner back in his bounty guild who had a deep bias against hutts and vestir picked up on it. at first he thought it was just funny but now he can’t stop. so he played himself

13. Tell us about a negative experience your character has had with either the Jedi or the Sith, and how this has affected their standing. Whether currently aligned or unaligned with either faction, if forced to choose, how would they side?

well the sith empire withheld his pay a few times because he didn’t do a “good enough” job so he thinks they can deepthroat a hutt’s tail. a jedi once lectured him on his life’s choices. he generally just doesn’t like the jedis because he thinks they’re pompous and doesn’t get involved nearly as much even with their holier-than-thou attitudes. if he had to choose a side, he’d choose one that offers a longer life expectancy for himself

14. How would your character react to seeing a relative or friend on the opposing side of a battle or mission?

easy. they’re getting ONE warning shot so they can get a head start and then all bets are off. 

15. Describe a memory that your character finds embarrassing.

vestir and aerith were shipwrecked on a deserted area with nobody around for miles. the temperature dropped to frigid conditions. they made an executive decision to share a bed and huddle for warmth. vestir “never cuddled anybody” kano knee’d aerith in the ass. at some point he sneezed on the back of aerith’s neck.  

16. What goals does your character hold for themself and what steps have they taken towards achieving them? How far are they willing to go to reach them? What is their be-all and end-all?

he is always surprised that he’s able to live for another year. he has no long term goal. he has no idea what that is. he stays alive out of spite honestly. his captain told him he’d never live past 15 with that mouth of his so he never stopped mouthing off at everything since then. although there is a side of him that finds a certain sense of fulfillment from keeping his travel partner safe 

17. What is the one thing your character would change about their life if they were given the chance? What other lives could they have lived as a result?

CONTENT WARNING: human trafficking //// nothing. he feels like everything helped open his eyes to all the ugly truth under the gilded illusions he used to live in. his jaded outlook and “carefree” lifestyle gives him control of his life. also if it wasn’t him, it’d be some other kid. he knows he was hard headed enough to survive this life. he made himself useful and avoided being sold off at several points while he was with the crew. others may not be as fortunate.

18. Living in such a high-conflict time, how does your character feel about doing what they must to survive? Will they hurt or kill others—either directly or indirectly—to protect themselves and / or those close to them? If so, do they regret it when all is said and done?

No ragrets. he lowkey has stole someone’s bounty after they put in all the hardwork, which is a cardinal sin in bounty hunting. but he didn’t have a way to repair the engine and make sure aerith had enough food to last the upcoming long journey. he does what he has to. if he deems it necessary, he’ll do it

19. What is the biggest problem your character is currently dealing with?

finding aerith

20. Give us 3+ headcanons of any length or subject matter.

he cannot stand pets or animals in general. same with babies, really

surprisingly, he can dance. there’s literally nobody living who knows this fact though

every once in 120 years, all the moons of zelos ii are visible at once. he actually misses the moon festivals from his childhood

bonus. Give us a list of any length telling us why our “fave is problematic.”

stop playing we don’t have time for this. but to name a few:

he would pour milk first before the cereal

doesn’t know how to whistle

“i need a new gun” “there is no why” “I SAID I NEED A NEW GUN, AERITH” “I KNOW I HAVE PLENTY” “BECAUSE I LIKE THAT ONE”

will stop smiling if you look at him and remind him he’s showing an emotion

has made aerith cry

will sell you for a single cornchip and the pocket change in someone’s pockets

blames you for farting when it was literally his fault

does not want to better himself

pretends he was listening to you then interrupts you just to hit you with a “damn that’s crazy” 

that one time (plus 40 more times) where he ran off without his teammates during a gig