Happy New Year!! Hope You Made It Through Grad School Applications! Looking Forward To That Crazy Call

More art for the Vaderkin Creative Exchange 2024!

From @sinvulkt ‘s prompt “Vader being kidnapped by someone, not happy at all and loudly complaining”

This was pretty fun, i wonder what kind of hijinks these four can get into on Sakaar >:)

Bonus:

Wonder how disappointed Rex would be to hear that the 501st is now called “Vader’s Fist”

This is so cool!! A library is talking about fanfic on their website! Not only that, but they're publicly promoting both reading and writing fanfic! And they actually include links to fandoms on AO3 and FFN!

This has officially made my day.

New Haven Free Public Library

What is fanfiction and is it worth reading? | New Haven Free Public Library

By Rose Simpson, Community Technology Librarian Maybe you’ve been in a situation like this before: you just finished a popular young adult n

BBWHY

Random two o'clock a.m. thought of the day:

Just why. Why is the BBY system still such a thing in SW. Why is there apparently no standard calendar system that does not reference a date far in the future of the prequels? And how the heck has this remained the state of things for over 20 years now?

Just saying, it's particularly heinous when you're writing a fic where the Battle of Yavin will never even happen.

Fun Star Wars name stuff!

Snips

We all know the derivation of Ahsoka's nickname as the snippy padawan, but the word snip can also refer to "an impertinent or saucy girl," as well as a white or light marking. Ahsoka's nickname fits her in so many ways!

Palpatine

Take out the second P, and you end up with palatine, which can be an adjective or a noun, the definitions of which include "possessing royal privileges" and "a feudal lord having sovereign power within his domains." Yep, sounds about right.

Where the heck the name Sheev comes from, I have no idea, except that it's vaguely similar to shiv, and the pointy end of a shiv is absolutely what he deserves. (Ooh, or maybe it's because he shivs the Republic in the back?)

(Definitions from Merriam-Webster online.)

The way Vader speaks differently from Anakin, not just accent but diction, makes me wonder how the heck he picked that up. Did Palpatine decide, "You must speak properly and menacingly, my disappointingly casual apprentice"?

Or, oh geez, did Vader actually start voluntarily looking up higher-level vocabulary and practicing stiff, formal sentence construction, just so he could avoid sounding like Anakin?

Well, he's nothing if not extra.

When Obi-Wan inevitably finds out about this voluntary study in the Force ghost afterlife, he really wishes he were sufficiently corporeal to bang his head on the wall, because how many years did he spend trying to help Anakin with linguistic skills, and now he decides they're actually useful?

Knight Tano art

Illustration for Fortune's Rule, done in watercolor (mostly Daniel Smith, which I adore for the saturated colors), and then enhanced using the Google Photos editor pop setting. (OG version shown below.)

I like the softer OG version, but the vividness of the enhanced version seems more appropriate for Ahsoka. Less passive, maybe. Something about the OG reminds me weirdly of a Victorian maiden. I think it has to do with the structure of the tunic/dress/thing? (Very vaguely reminiscent of the late 1870s/1880s natural form era dress style?) And maybe the downcast eyes and quiet expression? And I think the higher contrast and brighter colors of the enhanced version help to counteract that effect.

I didn't do a pencil sketch, just started by putting down paint. This piece felt truly middle-schoolerish at first (and, okay, throughout most of the process), but I was pleasantly surprised by how much it [eventually] improved! The strictly-profile view added to the awkward, amateurish feeling, even though I actually wanted to do that view, but I think it worked out fairly well in the end. Her arms turned out a bit too short (or her torso is too long), but I'm super pleased with the shading, especially on the tunic/dress/thing!

Click below to see the progression!

A Tale of Three Antivirus Programs

Aka, I somehow have three different antivirus programs vying for the privilege of protecting my computer? My laptop: *fan running loudly nonstop because it's probably been... a month? since I last restarted it.* Me: Oh, you poor thing! *restarts it.* My antivirus software, next time I open my laptop: Hey, so we're going to need you to restart your device so we can install this new update. Me: Well, should have thought of this sooner, Bitdefender, because I literally just did that, and it is not happening again until things get buggy. See ya' next month. Note: Chances are that Bitdefender will do the same exact thing next time I restart. Even if I restart on a weekly basis instead of monthly, it does this. It's like anytime I decide to restart, it wants to update. Why. Bitdefender, when my laptop connects to wifi: This is your home network, yes? Me: No. Bitdefender next time the laptop connects to that same wifi: This is your work network, yes? Me: No. Bitdefender, third time connecting to that wifi: This is your home network, yes? Me: *facepalm*  why are you like this. Also Bitdefender: OMG you're on an unprotected network, turn on your VPN! The network: *is private, password-protected* The VPN: *is an extra, offered by Bitdefender, which I don't subscribe to* Me: *is suspicious that this is just a ploy to pull in more money* The OTHER antivirus software that my computer came with, and still hangs out occasionally, just to be a pest (yes, McAfee, looking at you): Hi!  Turn on web protection! Me: Are you seriously trying to get me to use two antivirus programs at once?  Do you really think that's a good idea?  Or even remotely necessary? The THIRD??? antivirus software, which my computer also came with:  *shyly knocks on the door, by which I mean pops up a humble little notification when I first turn the computer on*  Hey, would you... maybe... like to... consider turning on Microsoft Defender? Me: *wishes I could post a "No thanks" sticky note on my OS like I can on my front door* Go away. To be fair, I could probably uninstall the McAfee thing.  But at the same time, it's kind of funny having these three competing programs, even if what they're competing for seems to be the title of Most Irritating Hypervigilent Software.

Star Wars science questions

A couple of questions that my biology major brain won't let go of this morning:

Okay, so I hate the midichlorian explanation and generally try to forget about it, but... if we say that midichlorians do exist, then... they're living organisms in one's bloodstream, yes? So, is there ever something akin to an autoimmune disorder, where the immune system tries to destroy the midichlorians? A person could theoretically lose Force sensitivity.

Force suppressants. How do they work? Are there drugs which target different pathways, or just one drug with a specific target? Do they have side effects? Have they been tested for toxicity? Is it known they are non-carcinogenic? How the heck would you carry out drug testing? Ask a group of Force sensitives if they'd be willing to test the efficacy of this thing that would take away their power—oh, that'll work real well.

Are there therapeutic applications for Force suppressants? Like, what if darksiders were put on suppressants? If it cuts off their connection to the Force, couldn't that, probably mixed with psychological/psychiatric interventions, provide a way to help them sort of reset and step away from the dark side? (And yeah, that's an ethical kettle of fish, right there. Drugging of individuals without consent, but considering that said individuals could be incredibly damaging to the galactic population if left untreated....)

Are there changes in midichlorian gene expression/physiology following dark side use? Are there drugs which could be used to reverse these effects, and would that in turn have any effect on the state of the Force user?

Any thoughts? Suggestions? Cool sw science questions to share?

Not sure if this has been asked or not, but how would canon Luke and Leia react to meeting your au versions of them?

omg I'VE BEEN WANTING TO MAKE AN INTO THE LUKE-AND-LEIA-VERSE FOR AGES thank you for kicking me into doing it

(donation doodles! // tip jar)

Now playing: III-XI. All Tangled Up in This Mortal Coil, pt 2

In which Obi-Wan and Ventress have a tete-a-tete or two, Obi-Wan gives Ventress a lot of sympathy for Commander Cody, and Vader is Having a Day.