shadowsong26fic

[shadowsong26fic]

tfw you find yourself putting Way too much effort into ironing out the timeline for one half of a crossover you're not even sure you want to write

pretty much exactly what it says on the tin, lol.

this is for a leverage crossover, with two thirds of what i have vaguely planned taking place pre-series and dealing with eliot's timeline. setting aside the somewhat expansion-pack-ness of his past, this is the relevant bits of what i know/have guessed based on what i remember, what i found by skimming wikipedia, etc.

based on christian kane's age, eliot is born around 1973 (assumption/guess on my part)

he enlists in the military at eighteen, which would be 1991/right around desert storm (explicit canon in terms of his age; date based on my above assumption)

he spends some number of years in the military (possibly as many as ten; according to wiki, something he says to nate in the last dam job, which aired/presumably takes place in 2011, implies he left the military ten years ago? not sure how i feel about that)

according to wiki details, he works for PMCs for some uncertain amount of time

in 2005, he was in serbia briefly (based on his intro sequence in the nigerian job); this is also when the rashomon job takes place

so basically, assuming that ten-year military stint is accurate (which, again, i'm not sure about), that means there's ~7 years between leaving the military and joining the team where he:

works for PMCs

establishes his reputation as a freelance retrieval specialist

works for moreau

what i'm mainly interested in is timelining the moreau years. i think it's Extremely unlikely, just based on the context surrounding the flashbacks, that he was working for moreau during the rashomon job. i also think it's more likely than not that he's been independent for at least a year by the time he meets up with the team. if the ten-year timeline is accurate, and the PMC work is accurate (which i think is plausible), that leaves us with two potential timeframes, both of which are ~2 years

option one: eliot worked for moreau sometime between 2002 and 2004 (possibly as late as early 2005), recruited from whatever PMC he was working with

option two: eliot worked for moreau for no more than two years sometime after the rashomon job in 2005, cutting ties no later than 2007

for the purposes of the crossover i'm (maybe) writing, either option technically works, but option one works a little better. i also think it makes slightly more sense for who eliot is as a person in season one? in that it seems likelier that he's 3-4 years out from working for moreau rather than just one. (and now that i think about it there may or may not have been some implications/context surrounding the guy who sends him in after the dagger that supports him having Just left moreau at that point as well? since that was the same season, after all. but i could be completely making that up lol)

so yeah, i am leaning towards option 1 (possibly shortening that ten-year military period, especially since there's...A Lot to pack into those seven years if we don't) but does anyone know for sure/have a strong opinion?

[shadowsong26fic]

Author: shadowsong26

Rating: PG-13

Fandom: BSG

Characters: Gaius Baltar, Aurelia Baltar

Warnings: References to abuse/coercion; discussion of coercion; oblique discussion of forced marriage, within the context of selkie mythology.

Summary: When Gaius is eleven, he learns about his second skin.

Disclaimer: All characters are the property of their respective creators.

Notes: Another installment in the Selkie AU. Aurelia is the name I've given to Baltar's mother.

Every year, right around his birthday, Mum would take him down to the river.

Never on the actual day, of course, but always close. She’d find a time when Dad wasn’t around--gone into town and left her to mind the farm, or off mending fences on the other side of the property, or any number of things--and then she’d find him, and off they’d go.

Dad never knew about these walks to the water’s edge. It was something for just the two of them.

It wasn’t a particularly long walk, even when he was a small child and she'd had to carry him off and on. They’d get there, the sun would be shining--she always picked a sunny day--and then Mum would nudge him into the water to swim. He couldn’t recall her or anyone else actually teaching him how to swim, but somehow, he’d known. By the time he was old enough to remember, he was as comfortable in the water as he was on solid ground.

As for Mum, she’d take off her shoes and socks, pile them neatly on the bank, and stand right at the edge of the water, letting it almost but not quite wash over her feet. He didn’t notice it then, but there was something soft and hollow behind her smile while she watched him splash and play.

And for years, nothing else happened. They would spend their afternoon together, in the golden sunlight reflected off this slow-moving bend of the Euclid, and then go home and say nothing about it until the next time.

The year he turned eleven was different.

It had been a difficult one. Watching endless videos of actors and politicians, watching the way their mouths moved, trying to correct his accent. Dreaming of another future than the one his father wanted for him--a better, brighter one. Even if it meant leaving the Euclid and his mother and everything he’d ever known behind.

He was more aware, too, of those hollow places behind his mother’s eyes, but her smile when she came to fetch him to the river was bright as the sun.

As she often was, until they actually reached the banks.

He pretended he didn’t see it--not that she would have admitted that she was sad anyway--and went into the water.

Everything was simpler there. Cleaner. Clearer. All he had to do was swim, feel the texture of the water on his skin; the river welcomed him, wrapped itself around him like a blanket; he felt lighter and heavier all at once.

Which was--strange. That had never happened before.

The analytical part of his mind noted that, was vaguely alarmed, but the rest of him was bound up in that peculiar sensation. Suddenly hydrodynamic, suddenly shifting direction and turning under the water easily, even with much less movement from his hands, a more limited range of motion from his legs--

He surfaced close to shore, and found his mother on the bank, but this was strange, too; even more strange; like the colors had leached out of her and the world around her.

“Mum?” he said, or tried to, but a sound that was and was not his voice, but certainly nothing like a word, came out instead.

“Easy, love,” she called, and there was pride and pain and so much else he couldn’t decipher in her voice.

But it was her voice, and she loved him, and even if it wasn’t quite so golden, the sun was still shining on the Euclid.

That steadied the frantic beating of his heart. A little bit, anyway.

He made his way over to her, dragged himself up onto the bank. She reached out a hand--it was shaking, just a little, was she frightened? Did he frighten her?--and rested it gently on his head.

It felt familiar, but so different--the sensation of his mother’s hand on his head, closer and rawer, the texture of her palm and fingertips tripping against surface nerves in an altered network, no longer cushioned by his hair.

“Easy, love,” she repeated. “It’s all right, Gaius. You’re all right.”

He leaned his head into her strange-familiar touch, and breathed in and out.

The world smelled different, too.

“It’s about will,” she said, after a moment. “You can will it, love. Close your eyes, and will yourself back, and sit up straight, yeah? You can do it. I know you can.”

He did as she said, closed his eyes, kept breathing. There was an odd, prickling sensation, running from her hand on his scalp all the way down his back and limbs; the warm weight of the water slid off him.

Cautiously, he opened one eye, and then the other.

Mum was back to normal, the world was back to normal, and he was curled up on something sleek and grey-brown that hadn’t been on the shore before.

His second skin.

He sat up straighter, slid off of it, picked it up with wondering hands. It was smooth, heavy, soft. Warm.

His.

Mum smiled at him, the hollows behind her eyes deeper than they had been before, and kissed his forehead.

“Mum?” he said, not sure how to--not even sure what the question should be, let alone how to ask it.

“You’re a child of the river, love,” she said. “It’s as much your home as the earth around it. As long as you have your skin, the river will welcome you home. So, keep it safe, yeah? Guard it, closer than your heart.”

“I will,” he promised, hugging the skin to his chest.

Tomorrow, of course, he’d start to wonder what this might mean for the future he dreamed about, the one he’d already started building for himself, in endless hours mimicking politicians and actors on a screen.

Was he only a child of the River Euclid, or would the rivers on Caprica want him, too?

But that was for tomorrow.

Today, he slipped the skin--his skin--back on, practiced willing himself back out of it; practiced swimming in both his skins, weighed and measured the differences and learned all he could about this other side of him.

Because he knew Mum wouldn’t--or couldn’t--answer any of his questions. When she put her shoes back on, and they walked back to the house under the setting sun, it would be the last they spoke of it until next year.

So he made the most of the time he had, watching his mother watching him, soaking up as much knowledge as he could, and for a moment, under the golden sun of a day not far from his eleventh birthday, he let the river call him home.

[shadowsong26fic]

Coming Attractions

First Monday of the month (and year) so, here we go!

And also throwing in an Open Question Night, as usual--my askbox is always open, but tonight I'll be keeping an eye on it. Anything I've posted about here or on AO3 is fair game. I do take prompts, but no promises on how quickly I'll fill them, lol.

This past year was a pretty slow year for me, writing-wise, so I'm not going to so much do a retrospective, haha (though I will check back on my resolutions from last year, of which I think I met zero).

But some things (outside of Formal Resolutions, which are coming below) that I'm planning to work on this coming year:

BSG

The Other Battlestar--I really really would like to get started posting it finally. I know I've been talking about it for like...two or three years now, since I started falling back into this fandom properly, lol.

Selkie AU/Backup Plans AU--I did some foundation stuff for these in Year of the OTP back in 2023, and I like them, and someday I'd like to revisit them (maybe for GBB? IDK; Backup Plans is probably out of scope, but maybe I could do something in the Selkie AU)

GBB--or alternatively I'll come back to Percussive Maintenance or The Blood of Angry Men, lol. We'll see.

Star Wars

SWBB is taking a hiatus this year, but even if it wasn't, I wouldn't be participating. I might do some one-shots, especially if that ends up being one of my matched fandoms for pod_together, and I really would like to get back into Precipice/Protectors at long last. Again, we'll see.

Les Mis

Picking up P&J and getting to Provenance; and actually getting enough down on Acheron to start posting. Those are my goals here, haha.

Original Fic

No real specific plans here, other than trying to post at least one thing to RF each month.

Other Fandoms

Well, the new WoT season is coming out in March, we'll see if it awakens anything in me (whether the BSG crossover I have partially sketched out, or some of the stuff with Taim and Logain I had in my head way back in the day...

Also at some point I will sit down and watch Castlevania: Nocturne; I'm not sure if I'll actually like it as much as the original series, but it'll probably get me back into working on Incinctus.

Also also, I do plan to do pod_together again this year, whether it's AtLA again or something else, we'll see. I don't have any current plans to revisit one of my longform fics that I have partially plotted out but it could happen.

And there's always the possibility that something new I stumble into will awaken something in me, but. These are much lower priority than the above.

Last, putting this in this section since it covers a few areas--I may or may not try to finish the 2023 Year of the OTP list, or start the 2025 one? Haven't decided yet. If I do start the 2025 list, IDK if it'll be five ships again, lol...that was a lot.

Okay, I think that covers things! Time for Resolutions, haha

2024 Goals:

Get back into Precipice; post at least three chapters of Protectors and at least one Preludes one-shot. [Nope]

Write at least 10k of origfic content. [Nope]

Participate in at least two challenges/exchanges. This one I actually did! SWBB (which was like pulling teeth all the way through) and pod_together, plus I was a beta and ran GBB.

Start posting The Other Battlestar; complete P&J; and start or post at least one other non-challenge fic project. [nope]

Complete the Year of the OTP fills. [nope]

Bonus Goal: Write at least one holiday fic (Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Halloween, New Year’s, etc.) and post on the appropriate day [nope] Bonus Goal #2: Update origfic archives [nope] Bonus Goal #3: Post at least one AU Outline. [well I did start writing one? but never finished/posted it, haha...]

2025 Goals

(much smaller and simpler than last year; trying to ease back into things after a fallow year)

Post at least one orgific piece to Rainbowfic each month

Write and post at least one fanfic (or chapter of a longfic) each month

Participate in at least two challenges/exchanges.

Bonus Goal: Write at least one holiday fic (Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Halloween, New Year’s, etc.) and post on the appropriate day Bonus Goal #2: Update origfic archives Bonus Goal #3: Post at least one AU Outline.

ETA:

FULLY unrelated to writing but. I got my own doggo this fall! Her name is Ruby and she's perfect and I love her. And dog tax:

[shadowsong26fic]

book emoji

Acheron! I haven't blathered about Acheron in a while and I think it's relevant to your interests, lol.

Les Mis Groundhog Day AU, which is just. A lot of fun to come up with different Situations to put Javert through during this however-many-hours-it-actually-is, lol. (I think it should be like 36-48 based on actual history; the show timeline is like one night, I have no idea what the book timeline is?)

Anyway, here are some of the planned loops (in no particular order):

He murders Enjolras as soon as he gets to the barricade. He’s like “maybe I am supposed to save as many of these idiot children as I can; also at least I know this day will be Very Short.” He feels the impact of four bullets before he dies.

He finally snaps and just wordvomits his feelings at Valjean in a very shouty way before storming off.

He just Doesn’t Want To Deal, he stays in his apartment.

He goes to talk to Cosette instead of going to the barricade.

Valjean’s Concerns lead him into going into Dad Mode. Javert’s brain short circuits a little. [this one is labeled as 'a loop for tigerkat24' in my notes lol]

And then one where he stays to fight; dies with Valjean holding his hand, and it goes something like this:

Valjean: Even if I could get clear, I don’t think I could get you to help in time. ::but he sits by him and takes his hand:: Javert: wtf Valjean: No man should have to die alone. Javert: Not even a man you hate? Valjean: I don’t hate you. There was a time, perhaps, but that was…long ago. I was a different man then. You’ve only ever done your duty. How could I hate or blame you for that? [probably some more dialogue; possibly he makes the ‘it’s fine, this is better than drowning; drowning is a terrible way to die, I don’t recommend it;’ though probably that gets saved for the final loop. And Valjean has Concerns but also. Like. Homeboy is dying I will not judge his morbid thoughts.] Javert: …why are you here? Valjean: One of these boys is in love with my daughter, and she with him, I think. Javert: ::considers this for a moment:: …these children are all mad fools. Are you sure you want that for your child? Valjean: I am sure I love her enough to give him a chance to prove himself.

And then some narration about ‘everything seems so clear in this moment’ and he starts to say Valjean’s name—and then finds himself facing his reflection in the window again and FUCK.

[the next loop also has him staying home. he knows it won't free him but.]

...anyway, it's gonna be fun! For me, anyway.

Send me a book!

[shadowsong26fic]

📒

All right, cool, an excuse to ramble a bit about The Other Battlestar XD

i swear i am really working on it and it will be posted Someday...

This being the one where Baltar ends up on Pegasus instead of Galactica after the attack. Which is...basically the plot. Nice and easy to summarize, lol. The fic, as currently planned, covers the six months before the two battlestars reconnect (and through the end of Resurrection Ship) but with things skewed just a little bit. Obviously.

And there's a few fun things to work with:

Building the people that I'm adding to the Pegasus crew. Including a Four, because I kind of love the Fours and I want to. (And also he can do some important plotty things later). And also a Marine officer who grew up with Baltar on Aerilon, because why not throw in some character/backstory shenanigans while I'm here.

So while obviously things were skewed, I am trying to keep this closer to an In Spite Of A Nail AU on the Galactica side of things? So, filling in the gap Baltar leaves with two OCs, one to do the science and one to do the politics.

I have a whole list in my notes covering everything up through Pegasus-the-episode, grouping episodes under "I Absolutely need to rewrite this at least in part (e.g., Litmus, Colonial Day)"; "I don't Need to but I Could/Should/Want to (e.g., 33, Tigh Me Up Tigh Me Down)"; and "frak it, I'm just gonna handwave it. (e.g., Hand of God)"

Figuring out the little details I didn't even think of as I go along--such as why Helo stays behind in the miniseries, what kind of role the guy filling in for Baltar's politics storylines (Kimble) is going to play during the Kobol arc, etc. (this is probably part of why it's taking so long to actually start putting out, lol. plus figuring out how much time I want to spend introducing OCs/doing other Setup stuff in the miniseries section...)

Basically, what I have right now on the Galactica side is mostly a bunch of notes about the stuff that I absolutely need to change/cover, figuring out how to get the two people splitting Baltar's canon role into their respective positions, trying not to get distracted by how the election would play out since that is Out Of Scope For This Project but then again if I ever do decide to push past my current plans, then I need to put some effort into figuring out how Zarek and Kimble play off each other before we get there so......yeah.

(Plus working out how Cavil and Shelly decide to approach the science-storyline replacement)

And then on the Pegasus side, I do have a general outline of what I need/want to get done, and Razor gave me some helpful timeline/structure markers, but given how I want certain things to line up, I've got a fairly wide timeline space where I don't really have many guideposts for what could/should go on.

(Also I figured out a while ago that Baltar probably has a brevet commission as an officer because Cain is not going to have any civilians on her ship/doesn't want any ambiguity in terms of authority/chain of command/etc. and it is the funniest fucking thing to me)

It also probably doesn't help that I write out of order, so I have a couple of very key scenes written that I'm pleased with....but I absolutely cannot share because they are Massive Spoilers, lol.

But...okay, there's this scene I posted here a couple months ago (featuring Daphne Reed, Senior Medical Officer on Pegasus) just after Pegasus stumbles across the civilian ships Cain intends to strip for parts/personnel.

And then I also have a few random snippets of dialogue, like this one that I'm not sure exactly where it'll fit in--now that I'm thinking about it, it might make sense to move it to later, where I have that big chunk of white space to fill in...

After more than two decades, the accent fit him like a second skin; he could maintain it drunk, half-asleep, or in a haze of post-coital bliss. Letting it drop was…odd. Uncomfortable. Strange and familiar all at once. “I didn’t forget anything,” he said, feeling the rough consonants of his childhood scrape across his throat. “I just moved on with my life.”

...so, yeah! There was a disorganized ramble about this massive passion project that is taking a million years and will probably be like. 200k words before it's done XD

Send me a book!

[shadowsong26fic]

Hey, here's a fun new game. Put "📓" or some other version of a book emoji into my inbox and I'll explain the plot of a fanfiction that I haven't written but daydream about.

[shadowsong26fic]

Fanfic Writers: Director’s Cut

Reblog this if you want readers to come into your ask box and ask for the “director’s commentary” on a particular story, section of a story, or set of lines. 

Or, send in a ⭐star⭐  to have the author select a section they’ve been dying to talk about!

[shadowsong26fic]

30 Color Prompts

Red 1. "You're bleeding." 2. "I'm so fucking pissed." 3. "They're so hot." 4. "Don't come any closer." 5. "I want you to kiss me right now."

Orange 1. "Here, I brought you juice." 2. "You're so brave." 3. "I can't wait." 4. "Don't look down." 5. "Please, stop."

Yellow 1. "I can't believe I just did that." 2. "I can't breathe." 3. "Do you see the way out?" 4. "I think I broke my leg." 5. "I can't move."

Green 1. "I feel like I'm going to throw up." 2. "You're safe here, I promise." 3. "Is this okay?" 4. "They can't look at you like that." 5. "I trust you with my life.

Blue 1. "Why are you crying?" 2. "I'm sorry for everything." 3. "Did you take your medication?" 4. "Will you hold my hand?" 5. "I don't know why I feel like this."

Purple 1. "You know you're my best friend, right?" 2. "I'm so alone, all the time. 3. "I don't know how to repay you." 4. "I've never met anyone like you." 5. "Will you sing for me?"

[shadowsong26fic]

Coming Attractions (of sorts)

I know I basically haven't been keeping up with these this year--it's been kind of a slow writing year in general for me, which is part of it.

And normally at this time of year, I'm setting a number and picking a set of projects to work on for a fake/cheat NaNo but given the whole...AI-nonsense implosion that went on there...

Yeah, not happening.

But I do want to get back into more writing, because I miss it, even if it's been hard this year. So behind the cut is a bit of rambling about the following long-range projects I'm hoping to get more into as time goes on:

The Other Battlestar (BSG)

Papa and J----, August '34 (Les Mis)

Precipice

A handful of other miscellaneous AUs (mostly BSG)

My three main origfic projects (The Farglass Cycle/Feredar; Lux; Untitled Intrigues Story)

And also, as long as we're here, let's go ahead and do an Open Question Night! My askbox is always open, but I'll be keeping a semi-active eye on it and responding tonight. Anything I've written/posted about here or on AO3 is fair game. I do take prompts, but no promises on when I'll fill them, haha.

The Other Battlestar

So this is an AU that I technically started building the first time I was in the fandom, so like...twelveish years ago now? Haha.

The premise, essentially, is Baltar ends up on Pegasus instead of Galactica. Which means a lot of gaps to fill in, both in terms of getting the fleet into roughly the same position when everyone reconnects, and also, even with Razor filling in some gaps, there's a fair bit of 'how do I fill those six months' on the Pegasus side of things.

There are a few OCs involved in filling in those gaps--splitting Baltar's canon shenanigans across two people, one to do the Politics and one to do the Science. Politics is Vance Kimball; movie star/philanthropist, went to university with...I'm blanking on his name; Roslin's original VP pick; anyway the two of them were at an alumni event and got off Caprica together along with the Science person, who is admittedly the most self-indulgent part of this fic but I've decided to stop feeling guilty about my pleasures and honestly what is fandom for if not self-indulgence lol.

Also adding a few people on the Pegasus side of things--there's a Marine officer who grew up with Baltar on Aerilon; Daphne Reed who is the senior medical officer (Cottle's counterpart); and a Four with the civilian fleet who gets drafted to work under Reed.

I did also figure out how to keep Helo on Caprica so he can meet Athena, because they are important to me and see above about self-indulgence, and Fleet!Cavil and Vera (Tough!Six/Hooker!Six/Punk-rock!Six/whatever the cool kids are calling her these days) are probably going to show up once or twice.

So, yeah, the holdup here is...figuring out the best way to balance all the different threads, how much I actively need to rewrite vs. how much I can handwave, and so on. Even if I stop at the end of the Pegasus arc (which is my current plan; I have some vague ideas for where the second half of S2 and beginning of S3 might go but no Active plans at this point), I'm guessing this will end up being like. 150k? It will not be short, anyway. But it's been in my head for a long time and I'm very fond of it.

2. Papa and J----, August '34

So this (and its companion piece, Provenance) is something I was having a lot of fun with and just. Need to get back to, haha. It's outsider POV, an art history grad student named Ari doing some Research into a previously-undiscovered painting by Cosette (who is a moderately well-known painter). Obviously this is a post-canon AU where both Valjean and Javert survived the summer of 1832. I left off with Ari about to go to Europe to continue working there, going into museum collections and archives to try and a) identify J; and b) put a name to 'Papa,' now that we have his face. Anyway, I do plan to get back to this, just...again, slow year, haha.

3. Precipice

I will not quit this fic until/unless I entirely quit the Star Wars fandom which doesn't seem to be happening anytime soon (even if it's back-burnered a bit). So, yeah, even if it's been...::checks notes:: three years since I updated, I haven't forgotten this, it's too big a part of my SW fandom life for me to do that.

(For those who don't know, it's a 'the Republic falls but Anakin doesn't' AU, we've just reached about the timeframe of ANH where I left off)

4. Other Miscellaneous AUs

Just kind of rapid-firing--

The Selkie AU and Backup Plans AU I started with the Year of the OTP project back in 2023. They could go interesting places, and I want to explore them some more.

Acheron is another Les Mis fic, Groundhog Day loop for Javert, fun times.

Percussive Maintenance is the one where D'Anna accidentally unlocks Sam's memories what with all the concussing when they're trapped in the parking garage during Downloaded. It involves a lot of Sam talking to Philosopher!Cavil; I still need to decide whether or not I want to involve/reference the girls from Caprica-the-TV-series. I had a general outline going from Sam regaining his memories up through when they get back to the Fleet that I was hoping to do for GBB this year, but I didn't get enough into it to make it happen. Maybe I will moving forward.

Someday I'd like to get back to Serenissima (which was a Baroque/Renaissance Venice BSG AU)

I have some BSG crossovers floating around that I'd like to actively work on At Some Point (mostly Star Wars, though some of the self-indulgent Stargate crossover stuff I've done in RPs with a friend of mine is always percolating in the back of my head, lol; also the Wheel of Time stuff I started noodling with back when I watched S2 of that series is still interesting--maybe when S3 comes out or when I start my reread of that series)

Someday I'd like to get back to the Avatar Zuko fic or a couple other AtLA AUs I started working back when the fandom renaissance really picked up.

5. Original Works

The Farglass Cycle/Feredar is a fairly typical swords-and-sorcery type fantasy world; it's one of my oldest/longest-running projects and just sort of always a constant in the background of my writing universe.

Lux is the Apocalypse in SPACE. I think a lot of what I've written lately has focused more on the Horsemen than the original two main characters, lol (which would be Lux (Lucifer) and her human love interest Mariko). I still need to get around to fully explaining who Trixie Milton is, among other things.

Untitled Intrigues Story is technically a fantasy because it takes place on a made-up map. The pope/High Priest has sent his two sons as envoys to two rival kingdoms to try and prevent them from going to war, each of them ends up tangled up in the internal politics in different ways, and it's mostly about that. There's also some Politicking going on within the higher ranks of the church (this world is kind of modeled after late-Renaissance Europe soooo), which I find a lot of fun when it's. y'know. fictional.

...yeah, I think that about sums things up, haha. I'm not making any promises for when any of this is coming out, just...these are the sort of uppermost things in my mind for what I want to get more into working on in the next few weeks/months/through the end of the year and beyond.

[shadowsong26fic]

Reblog if you're okay with receiving asks for backstory info on any/all of your fics.

If not all, specify which ones in the tags.

[shadowsong26fic]

Quick TOB snippet

((for context: The Other Battlestar is an AU where Baltar ends up on Pegasus instead of Galactica. Daphne Reed is an OC, and the senior medical officer on Pegasus, meaning she's Cottle's Pegasus counterpart. This is, obviously, a very rough draft/sketch but I'm fond of it and trying to boost my activity/other people's interest in this AU which will hopefully get me to actually posting it like I've been planning for like. two/three years now? Lol))

Reed was unsurprised by the substance of the orders she'd been passed. The civilian ships they'd stumbled upon were to be stripped, both for supplies and parts and to replace personnel Pegasus had lost since the attack.

Being forwarded a list of the seven people on those ships in any kind of medical profession was a little less unsurprising, until she thought about it. The implication was clear--the ship needed more people, with useful skills, and there were few people more useful in wartime than competent medics. But there were only so many resources to go around. And Cain and Fisk didn't have the knowledge or experience to whittle down the list to the absolute necessities.

Which made it Reed's problem.

All right. Let's get this over with.

Maryam Adair; nurse Leona Fox; nurse Alexis Hunter; oncologist Lucas Nyall; nurse Simon O'Neill; pediatrician Tobias Richter; nurse Elina Wey; dentist

The nurses, she'd take. All four of them. Even at the best of times, a good nurse was worth their weight in gold. True, Reed had no way of knowing if these four were good nurses, but she was willing to take that chance.

As for the others...

No surgeons, no emergency medicine specialists, no anesthetists--gods, she would [universe-appropriate 'sell her soul' metaphor] for a halfway-decent anesthetist.

Beggars can't be choosers, I suppose.

Dr. Hunter was a name she knew. Brilliant, by all accounts, but focused entirely on research and first-stage clinical trials for the past decade or more. Reed had read the journal articles, and Hunter's work was solid.

But it also meant at least a decade since Hunter had done any real patient work.

On the other hand, an MD was an MD, and even if it had been a while, Hunter did have applicable training.

...I don't know.

The pediatrician, at least, was an easy call to make. He was actively practicing medicine, with direct patient contact--even if his patient population was pretty far removed from the crew of an active battlestar in wartime--and based on his age, only a few years out from his residency. It wouldn't take too much to get him up to speed. Hopefully.

As for the dentist...

On the one hand, depending on what exactly her practice looked like, there was a decent chance she knew her way around needles and scalpels and moderately-invasive procedures at least as well as O'Neill would. Just on a highly specialized basis. And serious facial wounds were messy. Having some kind of expert in that area of the body on hand wasn't a bad idea. Besides, despite what the civilian medical establishment seemed to think, treatment for dental issues was not a luxury; they could have serious complications.

On the other hand, how much of that was Reed trying to talk herself into finding a dentist useful in an active war zone? Because, yes, all of that was true, but given the situation and the implied priorities in Cain's orders, how much did any of that actually matter?

Of course, Reed thought, once we strip those ships, I know what will happen to the people we leave behind. A quick and violent death, if they're lucky. Slow starvation or suffocation if they're not. If I take Wey and Hunter, I can spare them that.

Then again--if either of them was travelling with family, Cain sure as hell wouldn't take any non-useful civilians onto her ship. If she took Wey and Hunter, if they had spouses or children with them, they might well prefer the certain death.

Frak. How the hell am I supposed to choose?

[apart from the Obvious; the actual names on the list are subject to change, lol.]

[shadowsong26fic]

Coming Attractions!

Yes, yes, I know it's Tuesday not Monday but shhh.

It's been a while since I've done one of these, but in theory the first Monday of the month I do a little update post--what I'm working on, what's coming further along, just general rambling.

And it also usually aligns with an Open Question Night. My askbox is always open, but tonight I'll be at least semi-actively keeping an eye on it. Questions about any fandom I've written about here or on AO3 is fair game; questions about writing in general; questions about my original stuff...I do take prompts but no promises on how quickly I will fill them.

Okay, here we go!

A fairly short one this month--mostly because I did a kind of half-update a couple weeks ago and there's not much new since then, haha.

Star Wars:

Okay technically I'm not actively working on anything in this fandom at the moment, beyond I haven't left it so Precipice is still lurking in the background. And I do need to catch up on my Year of the OTP list from last year that I got about halfway through, so I have six more one-shots to put out at some point. Hoping to get at least one or two this month? We'll see.

Battlestar Galactica:

Iiiiii ended up outlining both of my ideas for check-in #1 because I am still Indecisive, lol. I have next week off work, so I'll see which one actually starts shaping up into being Workable before story details deadline at which point I'm Committed, lol.

(Option 1, for reference, is Percussive Maintenance, which is Sam getting his memories back due to all the head trauma in Downloaded. Option 2 is The Blood of Angry Men (possibly to be stylized all lower-case), which is a Zarek backstory/character-study piece.)

(And then The Other Battlestar is this Giant Project where Baltar ends up on Pegasus instead of Galactica)

Also need to get back to Year of the OTP for this fandom; and I really want to start posting The Other Battlestar (which may or may not get retitled? I'm not thrilled with that as a title but I haven't come up with anything better sooooo).

Other Fandoms:

Working on some AtLA stuff for pod_together, which I'm excited for. I have a lot of fun with this event usually, and it's nice to come back to one of my forever fandoms.

I'm also working on a SPN AU Outline and I'm mad about it lol.

I have been watching season 2 of Interview With the Vampire and while it is reigniting my fondness for this fandom (and my favorite murder kitten/poor little meow meow Armand. Who is kiiiiiind of getting an Adaptational Villain Upgrade but in a way that is much closer to his book personality than the way the musical did it. Don't get me wrong, I adore the musical and that version of Armand is a lot of fun, but.) ...anyway, I don't have any plans to actually Write for this fandom. At this point. We'll see.

...yeah, pretty short one this month, lol. Like I said, next week I have off so I'm hoping to get a lot done for, in particular/in order of priority:

GBB

pod_together

TOB

Year of the OTP backfill

Precipice

Other Fun Stuff, especially origfic stuff if I get around to it and/or AU Outlines (either the SPN one or a couple of BSG crossovers that I've got kicking around that might work better that way)

...so, yeah! That's me this month. What about you guys? What are you working on/what's on your minds?

[shadowsong26fic]

sup

So it's been a while since I posted anything here (other than reblogging a couple memes/etc.) So, uh, mini catch-up ahead of next month's Coming Attractions, I guess? Since I don't think I've done one of those since like...February...lol.

To be fair, there hasn't been a whole lot going on. I did finish my SWBB project, with podfic from the lovely @kittonafoxgirl! It's a fun little AU; Padme's ship went somewhere Not Tatooine during TPM and therefore Anakin never joined the Jedi Order. Now, about halfway through the Clone Wars, Ahsoka runs into Anakin in a black market hub, and Shenanigans ensue as they immediately Bond and get dragged into foiling a Nefarious Plot.

Possibly some interesting stuff would happen later on in this timeline if I ever get back to it, but we'll see given how many other SW projects I have that I'm (in my own head) overdue on lol...

And I'm signed up to do pod_together again this year (with a much smaller list of fandoms to be partnered on, haha. I mean, keeping my much larger laundry list in mind once I'm matched because who knows where things will go from there, but I think this is a better approach for me for this year, especially since the past couple years have been slower for me on the writing front.

I'm writing for Galactica Big Bang this year as well! Check-in #1 for that is Friday, so I'm noodling on that. of course instead of giving me anything i need for that my brain is feeding me something Entirely unrelated in an Entirely different fandom; there will probably be an au outline just to get it out of my head at some point in the next week or so lol

...and yeah, I guess that's where things stand with me! More details on upcoming projects and a proper Coming Attractions post next month, on the first Monday as usual.

And for now, since I'm around and working on GBB or that other thing that won't leave me alone...let's do an Open Question Night!

Usual rules apply--any fic or fandom I've posted about here is fair game, as are general writing questions, stuff about my original fic is always welcome <3

What's on your mind?

[shadowsong26fic]

If you are a fan fic writer and you're alright with people making fan art of your fic, reblog this 💚

[shadowsong26fic]

“May I please draw your OC?”

Reblog this message if you encourage anyone that wants to draw your OC to do so.  No need to ask for permission in advance.

Go for it.  Draw my OC.  If you want, I’ll even give you reference posts.  Go to town on it.

You are welcome to draw my OC and surprise me with the result.  Seriously.  In fact, I encourage it.  I will proudly display whatever it is you submit to me regarding my OC.  There is a chance that I will squeal about it for several days.

Even if you feel you aren’t good at whatever artistic adventure it is you do, please feel free to submit it to me.  I want to see what you have done.

[shadowsong26fic]

Flowery OC Asks

Rules: send in an OC and a question <3

-

Sunflower - What name(s) were you originally thinking of calling your OC?

Rose - What is your OC's favourite form of self-care?

Lilac - Does your OC have a comfort item? If so, what is it?

Orchid - What is your OC's biggest fear?

Snapdragon - What is your OC's most used phrase?

Daisy - What inspired you to create your OC?

Lily - What is your OC's love language?

Poppy - How is your OC around strangers?

Violet - Do a voice claim for your OC

Tulip - If you could say/do one thing to your OC, what would you say/do?

Sweet pea - What colour are your OC's eyes?

Jasmine - If your OC had a tumblr blog, what would their URL be?

Dandelion - Does your OC get overwhelmed easily?

Marigold - Describe your OC in three words or less

Daffodil - Is your OC likeable?

Petunia - When was the last time your OC cried?

Buttercup - Does your OC have any odd quirks/habits?

Lavender - How does your OC cope with loud noises?

Snowdrop - What is something your OC loves, and what is something they hate?

Winterberry - Use one or more photos that encapsulates your OC's clothing style.

Wisteria - Does your OC have a skill they'd like to learn? What is stopping them?

[shadowsong26fic]

List of OCs:

Feel free to ask for more than one!

Ask Game for someone’s OC(s)

✨- How did you come up with the OC’s name?

🌼 - How old are they? (Or approximate age range)

🌺- Do they have any love interest(s)?

🍕 - What is their favorite food?

💼 - What do they do for a living?

🎹 - Do they have any hobbies?

🎯 -What do they do best?

🥊 -What do they love to do? What do they hate to do?

❤️ - What is one of your OC’s best memories?

✂️ - What is one of your OC’s worst memories?

🧊 - Is their current design the first one?

🍀 - What originally inspired the OC?

🌂 - What genre do they belong in?

💚 - What is your OC’s gender identity and sexuality?

🙌 - How many sibling does your OC have?

🍎 - What is the OC’s relationship w/their parents like?

🧠 - What do you like most about the OC?

✏️ - How often do you draw/write about the OC?

💎 - Do you ever see yourself killing off the OC?

💀 - Does your OC have any phobias?

🍩 -Who is your OC’s arch-nemesis or rival?

🎓 - How long have you had the OC?

🍥 - What age were you when you created the OC?