#i mean it's maul sooooooo

[leeleebee]

Combining two of my favorite things to talk about: Star Wars and queerness! These are my thoughts, but I would LOVE to hear yours. PLEASE TELL ME.

Note: I identify as bi, and am non-binary. For me bi means attracted to all genders and lack there of, so that is how I am using it here!

Clone Wars:

Obiwan - Bi. Obiwan is definitely bi. His love for Satine was real and valid and he would have left his entire life and creed behind for her. But that flirtatious energy doesn't just happen. That is Bi Chaos. Pure and good.

Anakin - Painfully straight. I'm sorry. He just is.

Ahsoka - baby gay. She definitely gay. She doesn't identify as lesbian, she uses the label 'Gay' and if you want to fight her on that she will win.

Cody - Organized Gay. You know them when you see them. They are just to the code organized, thorough, results driven, and GAAAAAAY. Sweet Cody.

Rex - Ace: homo-romantic. and very affectionate. You will always be touching in the same bed from chin to toes. You will wake up in a tangle of limbs.

Padme - Heterosexual but bi-romantic.

Fives - Says he's straight, but he will kiss anyone, anywhere.

Echo - Bi baby. Please someone cuddle him.

Maul - lol I can’t. Probably gay.

Rebels:

Zeb - Sooooooo bi! like really just the most bisexual.

Kallus - Gay, but didn't realize it until Zeb.

Sabine - lesbian! Enough said.

Kanan - I can’t think about his sexuality. He’s dad. But probably straight. The most in love with Hera.

Hera - straight I think? Space mom I don’t know!

Ezra - pure chaos bisexual. Has a lot of crushes.

So a lot of bi energy in these sweet babes! Maybe I’m just projecting 😅

[shadowsong26fic]

Coming Attractions!

First Monday of the month, woohoo!

(And also kind of a NaNo roundup post because that was last month, after all…)

NaNo:

Sooooo I didn’t finish, lol. Not that I was…super expecting to, exactly, but I was hopeful! I think I just missed too many days in a row and lost all my momentum.

In terms of my goals, I was hoping to write:

1. 20-25k on Precipice 2. 20-25k on our faces like a mirror 3. 10-20k on Other Projects. 4. 50-70k total

In terms of what I actually accomplished:

1. 9,241 on Precipice (Sooooooo....about half of what I’d hoped, a little less. But I still got a fair amount done/prepped for upcoming chapters, plus a couple chapters actually posted, even while doing other stuff, so...go me!) 2. 9,043 on our faces like a mirror (Again, a bit less than half of what I’d hoped for, but I got enough done for the story/etc. to take a real Shape in my head. ...ish. See the specific OFLAM stuff later on in the post...) 3. 10,601 on Other Projects (Hey, I actually met this goal! ...barely, but still! Mostly thanks to the Nikita/Rebels crossover, lol...) 4. 28,885 total

Original Fiction:

I got a decent chunk of a big backstory piece for Lux done (in the form of a “then” and “now” set of scenes/vignettes for the five Archangels)--that being said, I’m not sure I actually like what I have there, lol. I know more or less what I need to cover, but the details are fiddly. Also not sure whether I should refer to Lux by her current name, for consistency’s sake, or use a different name (either Lightbringer or just Lucifer) since she does technically reshape her name after being released when the main Apocalypse storyline kicks off…also debating whether Lux should be/present as female way back when--angels don’t really do gender the way humans do in this ‘verse, but the closest human term for Lux would be genderfluid, sooooo IDK. Also also, for the ‘Now’ part…ehhh, I’m not sure I should have this be the first thing I post involving Trixie…but I’ll keep poking at it and see what comes out.

(I’d also planned to work on the big Kesshare character study saturation for The Farglass Cycle this month, and maybe go back to my untitled first-contact story, but neither of those happened, lol.)

Precipice:

We’re in the home stretch! Kinda. So to speak. Probably three to four more chapters in Arc Seven, which I’m hoping-fingers-crossed I’ll finish by the end of the calendar year??? (But given how much other stuff I hope to work on (see Other Fanfic Projects for more details…)

At that point--and I know I’ve said this before, and I’ll probably put it in an A/N in the next chapter or so, but following the end of Milestones, I’m planning to break off into a second/sequel fic, working title Protectors. This is at least in part because length (over 200k wtf I was anticipating 50-75k, maybe 100k, for these seven arcs @.@), but also was sort of planned even without the Length issue, due to some thematic/structure shifts following a six-year timeskip. Which, if you do the math, you can probably figure out where that’ll land us and why I might be structuring it this way…

Anyway, I’ve increasingly realized that there’s some stuff I should probably set up that I’ll need for later arcs in Part 2 involving some Rebels characters, more with the Last Batch, plus a Sith Apprentice who needs to turn up and die (although the gap between Infernalis and the next apprentice I actually care about/have a name and some kind of Plot for is only about four years in my mental timeline, so maybe there isn’t an active Apprentice in that period*…hmmmmm…), some background about the Hands, etc. But I feel like it’s all a little too disjointed for an entire additional arc. So, Arc 7.5, tentatively titled Preludes, is also going to be a thing XD I don’t think I’ll have a fixed schedule for that vs. the main storyline--and, honestly, it’ll probably work more like a collection of one-shots taking place during the timeskip than a proper Arc, but a little more Relevant than stuff that goes in Bonus Content, if that makes sense? It’ll probably be posted alongside at least arcs 8 and 9. Which, incidentally, take place more or less back-to-back and cover a fairly short period of time, but there is A Lot of plot/setup that goes into them. Like. If I tried to do it all as one arc, it’d be at least twice as long as any of the other arcs I’ve done, possibly including Arc Four--certainly over twenty chapters, I think--plus there’s a good (and by good I mean Horrible) place where I can split the arcs, so…we’ll see how that goes.

(…still not sure what to do with Maul, lol. He may just be Sir Darth Not-Appearing-In-This-Fic, or he might turn up in arc 10/11/13, which are the sort of vaguest of the next seven arcs which make up Protectors, in terms of how much I have planned out…)

(*On a semi-related note, I’ve been asked about Inquisitors a couple times in comments lately, and…well, I’ll probably mention this when I reply to the commenter in question, but I figured I’d set it out here as well, in case anyone else was wondering the same thing but doesn’t read other peoples’ comments. Like I’m pretty sure I mentioned at the start, when I plotted out** the bulk of this fic, I hadn’t seen Rebels yet. I’ve since decided to integrate a few characters/plot points (Kallus and Zeb will feature prominently in a subplot in arcs 13 and 14, for example), but, as a rule, characters and plot points from Rebels haven’t been taken into account unless I Really Like Them and/or they’re a good way to fill in a plot hole in a later arc, as with Kallus and Zeb. So, for example, when I include Thrawn, I’m writing more towards Legends!Thrawn in terms of personality, though the two have blended a bit in my head and I do reference specific events in Disney!Thrawn’s personal timeline; and b) more relevantly, I hadn’t made any plans to include Inquisitors, and that…hasn’t really changed. So, I might have them in Preludes, but they almost certainly won’t show up on-page/be super-relevant in the main arcs of the fic, sorry :/ )

(**Loooool I say “Plotted Out” like I’m the kind of author with a Master Plan or at least an outline. But I did have a general idea of the Major Plot Points going in, such as when Rex and Ahsoka would turn up, Luke’s storyline with Lavinia, how many Apprentices I would need to make them work, etc., and I’ve had parts of Arcs 8, 9, and 14 written for like at least two years now, so I know more or less where I’m going--though they’ll be edited once I have more of the connective tissue in place, in case I’ve accidentally Jossed myself…or I change my mind, which is becoming A Possibility with a major event set to happen in Arc 14, so…we’ll see.)

Aaaaaanyway. Exciting times ahead, I hope!

Other Fanfic:

This month, I finally posted another AU outline, woohoo! …I mean, it was a super-niche Nikita/Rebels crossover with a handful of OCs thrown in but who’s counting XD (I do actually intend to finish Let’s Go Steal a Crossover and update the Ventress one at some point but…yeah).

I also put out a Kallus one-shot that I think turned out really well. May do more of those at some point, who knows…

I made some significant progress on our faces like a mirror, as mentioned above! But now I’m waffling a little bit over structure. Basically, the fic covers Bo-Katan’s backstory from the time Satine becomes Duchess, through the Civil War, and eventually leads to Bo’s eventual break with her sister to join Death Watch. It comes in two pretty distinct halves--what I call the Fugitive arc in my notes, which covers the Civil War, and the Breakdown arc, which is everything after her return to Sundari.

So, my original plan was--prologue covering at least part of the final Epic Screaming Match that leads to Bo’s departure; jump back to the Fugitive Arc; and then follow through until we catch up to the prologue, with a coda/epilogue with her and Pre Viszla. The problem is, there’s…really not a lot to connect the two halves??

I’ve got a couple options on what to do about this, but I’m not sure which would be best.

Option One: Keep the structure as-is and just let it be episodic.

Option Two: Keep the structure as-is and find some way to connect the two halves (i.e., a recurring antagonist; I do have an idea of who this could be, but the problem is, it takes away a good chunk of the focus from Bo and Satine’s relationship for the Breakdown Arc…which I don’t really want to do.)

Option Three: Remove the framing device and focus on the Breakdown Arc, and include the Fugitive Arc as flashbacks, since the Breakdown Arc can’t really stand on its own. (The main issue I have with this one is that, if I want to actually write out future chunks of Bo’s life later--meaning, her time with Death Watch, and getting her from TCW to Rebels--I won’t have these flashbacks and I don’t want to change the structure too radically for any eventual sequels? Also, I’m not sure how I feel about a flashback structure for this fic in general…)

Option Four: Remove the framing device and focus on the Fugitive Arc, ending the story with Bo’s return to Sundari. (Two issues with this one--I really do want to go into the Breakdown Arc; that’s where my interest in this story started. Also, due to the constraints of setting and so on, Bo interacts with…like…two canon characters over the course of the Fugitive Arc? And while I don’t really have a problem writing a story that’s essentially a Backstory Epic for a tertiary character, populated by about 90% OCs, I’m not sure anyone actually wants to read that, except as the lead-in to the Breakdown Arc??? But maybe I’m overthinking…)

…so, yeah. Any thoughts/opinions on which option would be Best? (I may make a separate post asking the same question later, but figured I’d lay it all out here, too!)

Also, I’m working on a Secret Santa project, and probably not going to use OFLAM for SWBB, which means I need to come up with and write a different plotline of some kind, so back to the drawing board on that one…

Also also, I do genuinely plan to get Distaff off hiatus At Some Point, especially since I’ve gotten some new comments/responses lately…but given how much else I have on my plate, writing-wise, that probably won’t happen until next year, alas.

Anyway, the long and short of it is--lots of writing planned for this month! Now let’s see how much I actually get done XD

What about the rest of you? What’ve y’all been up to/what do you have planned for next month?

[shadowsong26fic]

Random crossover headcanon/notes

So, I’m reading the latest Heralds of Valdemar book (because I love that series, and I really like Mags (the protagonist of the last several books) and it’s out or has been for a while and my lovely roommate brought it home from the library for me <3)

Anyway. Reading this book. And, as you may know if you’ve been following this blog, I have been trapped in the black hole that is Star Wars for the past year or so. And, as happens when I read a Valdemar book, thaaaaaat means a crossover/fusion!

I am seriously indebted to my roommates for letting me bounce ideas off of them and helping me fill in some of the gaps here.

Obi-Wan, naturally, is a Herald. About sixteen when Our Story begins. Already Too Old For This Shit. Gifts are Mindspeech, Empathy, and Fetching. Some extremely unreliable Foresight as well.

His Companion may or may not be Qui-Gon.

Qui-Gon may or may not be his father. And dead.

Both of these facts may actually be the case. Yay awkward reincarnation?

Alternatively, Yoda is his Companion?

Possibly his second after Qui-Gon died?

IDK, I haven’t figured that part out yet.

The important thing is, he is still very much Obi-Wan.

Padme! Padme is also a Herald, because the plot demands it—she is the Heir/Queen. Fourteen when Our Story begins. Pretty sure her only Gift is Mindspeech, but that remains to be settled.

Sabe is her Companion, of course.

She was Chosen when she was about twelve.

She is the actual trufax Queen now (ish—too young and still a Trainee; more on that later).

·  Poor, poor Bail.

Bail is the son of a Councillor and grew up in Haven/at court

He’s eighteen when Our Story begins.

He’s friends with Padme. She’s like his little sister.

He tried to rein in her enthusiasm

(this doesn’t work very well)

(especially since Sabe only encourages her half the time)

He grew up being more or less groomed to take over his mother’s Council seat.

Six months ago, he became Queen’s Own.

He got rushed through all the training he didn’t have (which wasn’t much, mostly Gift stuff and bonding with Taver/Rolan/whichever) and was just officially put into full Whites.

IDK what his Gift(s) is/are.

He and Obi-Wan are bros.

There may or may not be a pretty young Healer with enchanting dark eyes he’s mooning over.

(there totally is)

Some backstory!

Six months ago, due to some unspecified tragedy (possibly a war) Padme’s parent(s) and the previous Monarch’s Own were killed.

Councilor Sheev Palpatine rose to the occasion, was named the Lord Regent because who else could be more trustworthy, and has kept the Kingdom stable during the uncertain time of the Queen’s minority.

(he will, of course, retreat with grace when the regency is over and Padme is of age/has her Whites)

(he’s just laying groundwork now)

(he plays the long game)

(he’s probably planning to repeat this process with Padme’s child)

(something like that)

That’s where things stand when Anakin turns up on the scene.

First off, Anakin does much better as a Herald than as a Jedi.

For one thing, having a Companion helps.

For another, he doesn’t have to cut all ties to his mom.

Etc., etc.

Ahsoka is his Companion.

She’s just barely old/mature enough to Choose and flounces out of Haven to go track down her Skyguy.

(meaning about ten, if I remember Valdemar canon correctly)

(she and Anakin grow up together)

(it will be adorable)

Anakin is nine, lives on the Border with his mom and Watto.

He’s, like, a tiny gladiator or something.

So ‘Soka turns up and is all ‘Hi!’

And he’s all ‘Hi!’

‘Guess what you’re a Herald now.’

‘Yay!’

‘Come on, we’re going to Haven.’

‘YAY! …wait, Mom?’

‘...uh…screw it, I can carry you both!’

(Shmi has no idea what to do with this but is somewhat alarmed)

(she and her son have been kidnapped by a horse that Ani swears is talking to him)

(Watto might still come after them and kill them)

(It’s okay Shmi everything will work out just hold tight)

Anakin, like Vanyel, has ALL OF THE GIFTS.

(unlike Vanyel, he at least acquired them naturally, not under p. much the worst possible circumstances)

(also his Healing, like, barely works, but it does exist)

He turns up in Haven all earnest and excited and eager and NO IDEA HOW TO HUMAN PROPERLY.

Because, y’know, he was a slave

And a tiny gladiator

Obi-Wan facepalms and takes the poor kid under his wing.

(wait, when did I adopt a small child?)

Anywho, at some point, Anakin gets brought to Alberich for weapons training, as you do.

(shut up timelines means nothing)

And he mentions ‘but I already know how to do this stuff’

And Alberich and Obi-Wan are like ‘what’

And he says ‘oh, yeah, Watto used to make me fight people so he and the other masters could gamble on it.’

And they’re like ‘WHAT’

‘I was really good! I even won my last fight!’

��…kay let’s go see the Queen and Council because uhhhhhhhhhhh’

And then he meets Padme.

They’re lifebonded, of course.

But! He can grow into it and have a better grasp on how normal people, y’know, date and stuff.

So everything will go much better.

Just in general Heralds are much better at this sort of thing than Jedi are.

Anakin being a Herald solves SO MANY PROBLEMS GUYS

Uhhhhhhh, I don’t really know what happens next. Anakin’s a field Herald for a while (and he’s very good at it) until he and Padme actually get married.

He is not actually crowned King because ahahahahaha even with therapy and a better support system and a Companion and all the things that make him much more successful as a Herald than he ever was as a Jedi…no.

His title is Prince Consort

Leia is their daughter.

Luke is her Companion.

Palpatine attempts to do his Thing at some point

Possibly before Luke shows up

The goal seems to be ‘kill Padme, get named Regent again, only this time don’t leave when the Queen comes of age’

Especially because he’s banking on building the whole relationship with Anakin

And then when Anakin shuts down after Padme’s death, who else will he turn to?

Of course this won’t work in this timeline for several reasons

(most of those reasons are Ahsoka)

(and Mindhealers)

(so Anakin is much less vulnerable to Palpatine than in canon)

(especially since Anakin isn’t cut off from Shmi)

(and Shmi doesn’t die)

(also the Heralds are…better…about issues like Anakin’s than the Jedi are)

(also also Valdemar has much better defenses against this sort of thing than the Galactic Republic does sorry)

Not sure where Han and Lando fit in.

And Chewie

And the droids

Han possibly gets Chosen at some point because lol.

He is not super thrilled by this.

Also not sure about the rest of the Council, Dooku, Maul, Tarkin, Mothma, Ackbar, etc….

Most of this is focused on the prequel folks because I have to figure out how that all resolves before I send Herald Leia out into the world.

…REX HOW COULD I FORGET ABOUT REX.

ETA: After discussing with one of my roommates, Rex will fill Alberich’s role as detailed above. May or may not be a Herald, have not yet decided.

Cody is around too; he’s Rex’s twin. Head of the Palace Guard.

Possibly also Fives and Tup?

Dooku is doing Something, and will eventually maim Anakin, which leads to Anakin being reassigned to Haven.

Anakin and Padme are already married at this point.

Only select members of the Heraldic Circle know.

(and Shmi)

(Anakin suggested reading Palpatine in but Padme talked him out of it)

(they wanted to be married Just In Case a) something happened to him, or b) someone tried to shove a treaty marriage down her throat; but they knew that as soon as their marriage was public, he’d be stuck in Haven and he was too useful in the field)

After Anakin recovers, he and Padme marry publicly.

He’s probably the Weaponsmaster’s Second after that.

(this is very confusing for visiting dignitaries)

I’ll probably add more if I come up with more, sooooooo....IDK watch this space?