Latest Posts by wendingways - Page 2

Lately, I've been procrastinating writing a tricky bit of Fortunate's Rule wanting to draw a scene where Ahsoka has been knighted, and Anakin has taken on Starkiller as his second padawan.

This drawing began as a pencil sketch on a light day at work. (On printer paper. With a crappy eraser. It was painful.) And then I photographed the sketch, loaded the pic in Krita, and colored over it. Then found a Varykino pic to go off of for the background, since the trio seemed to require one.

I'm fairly happy with it! Really pleased with the shading on the clothes, and with Ahsoka's lekku in general. Shading Anakin's face was incredibly trying for some reason, however, and I'm not at all sure that he looks ~10 years older than in TCW.

Oh, and Krita has this cool impasto brush that made filling in the gravel on the patio so easy! There's also a nice sponge brush that made the water similarly simple.

(See below for OG sketch and pose reference credit.)

The OG sketch:

Based off of this pose reference that I found on Pinterest, by mellon_soup.

Typical day for Cody and Rex

Based on THIS post

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.

Now playing: III-X. All Tangled Up in This Mortal Coil, pt 1

In which Ahsoka meets the fam, and Obi-Wan and Ventress do a bit of reconnaissance.

20 Questions For Writers

Thank you, @sinvulkt! I saw someone else post one of these a while ago, and it looked fun, so thanks so much for the tag! 💛💛💛

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Seven. Technically eight, but one of them is part of another and just separated for logistical reasons, so it doesn't really count.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

190,105 words

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Star Wars

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Fortune's Rule, 536 kudos

Missing Pieces No More, 142

Whispers From Tomorrow, 126

Petrichor, 42

Threadbare, 30

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Most of the time! Sometimes it takes a while because busy + tired, but I enjoy it when other authors respond to my comments, so I want to respond other people's comments. :)

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Probably Threadbare. Wouldn't say it's a full-on angsty ending, because I tend to go for angsty beginnings/middles and happy endings, but it's the closest I've got.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Whispers From Tomorrow, by virtue of it being a pre-Order-66 fix-it.

8. Do you get hate on your fic?

I've gotten a little. You know how FFN can be. There was this one kinda funny one instance where somebody was silent for like 20 chapters, and then absolutely flipped their lid in a comment after I killed off a character. Not even a main character! Oops....

9. Do you write smut?

Nope.

10. Do you write crossovers?

Not as a rule, but I did start scribbling down this weird idea for Anne Shirley, from Anne of Green Gables, ending up in the GFFA during the Clone Wars via some witchery in the Haunted Wood. What gets me is how I told my brother about it, and he promptly started nagging me to write it because he wants to read it XD

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but feel free to do so if you're interested!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

No.

14. What‘s your all-time favourite ship?

Meh, not really a big shipper.

15. What’s the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

WIP I will never finish? What are you talking about?

There are no unfinished WIPS in Ba Sing Se.

Seriously, though, probably my Padmé ROTS time loop fic. I had this idea for Padmé to keep looping back to some point in ROTS after she dies. I love the idea, it's roughly outlined and I've written some snippets, and there's this one scene that I'd really like to include, but I'm just not sure how to make the time loop AU work in this scenario.

16. What’s your writing strengths?

Grammar, usage, and mechanics. And maybe angst, oddly enough. Never figured myself for an angst writer, but then I started writing Fortune's Rule, and here we are.

17. What’s your writing weaknesses?

Speed. I write slowly. I also tend to end up going down research rabbit holes that suck up my time and energy. And I have a really hard time saying no to adding more characters, which adds to the whole writing-takes-a-long-time thing.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Sure! I've enjoyed putting little bits of Mando'a and Huttese into Fortune's Rule.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Calico Captive, by Elizabeth George Speare, when I was in my early teens. Never managed to get a whole fic out of it, and what fragments I did write were terribly underdeveloped, sentimental, and shallow. But we all have to start somewhere!

20. Favourite fic you’ve ever written?

Fortune's Rule, all the way! I know it's not finished yet, but it is my precious and my problem child, and I love it to bits!

In a way, it's a very self-indulgent story, because it's got all the tropes I most adore, and it's like a puzzle, trying to figure out how to put all these different elements together in a way that's believable, and how to have characters develop to where I want them to be.

Plus, it's also given me some fun surprises, like Padmé and Ahsoka being besties, Ventress becoming Obi-Wan's confidant for a certain matter, and Piett becoming a friend/confidant/emotional support admiral for Starkiller.

And there's so much more fun stuff planned, especially as we're getting close the start of an arc I've been planning since before I started posting the fic in 2021! (There will be child hijinks. There will be pirates. There will be sand, and angst and fluff galore. And I am so kriffing excited.)

Tagging (If you're interested! I'm doing like sinvulkt and tagging some authors I've interacted with a bit on AO3; hope this isn't a nuisance to anyone! :) ) @musewrangler, @clawedandcute, @xxiamnotokay666xx

We Didn't Start the Fire, Star Wars Version

Amidala, Nute Gunray, no treaty, trade blockade Jedi guarding, desert landing, Qui-Gon's bet—oh gee Ani’s freedom, Naboo mission, death of Qui-Gon, Zabrak fission Old apprentice, new apprentice, Chancellor Sheev P.

We didn't start the fire It was always burning, since the worlds’ been turning We didn't start the fire No, we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it

Separatists, death plot, Chancellor, asks a lot Jedi, two refugees, scary mother dying dreams Missing planet, Obi, Republic’s got a clone army Tusken Raiders, Geonosis, galaxy’s in two teams

[Chorus]

First Christophsis, siege weeks long, snippy little padawan Huttling stolen, droids a’ rollin’, lineage snark Ryloth, Duchess troth, Zillo beastie, Quin Vos Mortis, two falls; Rako Hardeen arc

[Chorus]

Pong Krell, slavery, Ventress goes her own way Maul’s a crime lord, Satine Kryze, Temple bombing, ‘Soka leaves Clone chips, Fives caught on, Clovis rising, Qui-Gon Rex’s plans, crazy clan, troubles with the Martez

[Chorus]

Mandalore, Maul again, army splitting, Tano’s men Blue blades, good men die, padawan’s last goodbye Grievous coming, Sheev is gone, tell the Team to come on Skywalker homicide, half a ship’s a wild ride

[Chorus]

Anidala, nightmares, spying games, Sheevie’s snare Lots of lightning, window, arrest is a no-go Vader, Knightfall starts; Padmé, Obi, lacking smarts Strangulation, limbs gone, two new hopes are born anon

[Chorus]

Luke’s new droids, Old Ben, looks like I’m a Jedi then Prison, Tarkin, Alderaan explosion Two old men in one last duel, trash compactor’s not so cool Escape, Yavin, joining the Rebellion Death Star, exhaust port; shooting womp rats, good sport Deadly ray – blown away, what else do I have to say?

[Chorus]

Wampa fight, Echo base, Yoda’s cave’s a scary place Bespin, friend con, carbonite, poor Han Sith Lord, quick sword, Luke’s first duel, parent being really cruel Weathervaned and down a limb, lucky Leia’s saving him

[Chorus]

Jabba’s Palace, sneaking in, death-tight chain around Hutt skin Swamp returns, sister learns, fleet, flight, prisoner New apprentice, Sheev seeks one; Ani’s choice to save his son Empire fractured, ghost encore, Rebels gonna win the war!

[Chorus]

gigachad qui gon would never leave shmi in slavery. source: i said so

(commission info // kofi support!)

Midnight fluff-drawing strikes again!

I used an old picture of a WWII soldier and a kid as a reference for this one (see below). I cheated a little by using Krita to create a basic sketch directly over the photo. Then I used that sketch as a reference for the actual drawing, which I did freehand on paper and colored using alcohol marker, with the addition of colored pencil for some depth and texture.

Whispers From Tomorrow

If you value anything you see around you, any of your brethren, if you love your padawan as I know you do—tell him.

The ghost of Ben Kenobi sees fit to meddle in the past, and Obi-Wan, about to leave for Utapau to face Grievous, suddenly feels a strange certainty that all is not well with his former padawan.  Conversations ensue, secrets come to light, and his relationship with Anakin will never be the same.  But that might just be a very good thing, indeed.

A scrap of dialogue from a discarded chapter idea for Fortune's Rule---it doesn't actually work in the story for numerous reasons, but I had too much fun writing it to just discard it entirely, so here it is!

Ventress: I thought you said your contact was trustworthy! Obi-Wan: There's always a slight risk with Hondo; it's simply a matter of making the risk pay off. Ventress: This is this your idea of paying off?! Obi-Wan: Well, the Alliance has the goods. That was our objective, after all. Ventress: And WE have a Mandalorian with beskar and a flamethrower on our shebs! Obi-Wan: It's nice to break up the monotony, don't you think? Ventress: Haven't you had enough monotony-breaking lately?

The original idea was for an Obi-Wan and Ventress adventure, where they and some other Alliance forces are in the middle of a raid on a cargo transport carrying bacta from Thyferra, when they're interrupted by the arrival of Boba Fett---hired by Vader to bring in Kenobi, for personal revenge reasons and also because he has information about Padmé.

I think I oopsed, though... originally intended to have Vader contact Boba Fett in an earlier chapter, then forgot about it, didn't include it, and thus screwed up the setup for the Thyferra mission.

I'm still planning on having an Obi-Wan and Ventress adventure coming up very soon, though! A bit different from the OG idea, but the new idea also ties in better with another plot element that the OG didn't touch on.

Excited to finally post this! I made it a while ago, for last week's chapter of Fortune's Rule.

This one was done with alcohol markers (going off of a pose reference I found on Pinterest, see below), black ink, and watercolor for the background.

Pinterest

Art pose (not mine) in 2023 | Art poses, Drawing reference poses, Anime poses reference

Jul 14, 2023 - This Pin was discovered by ally ♡. Discover (and save!) your own Pins on Pinterest

I really do like you capturing that the galaxy is big and that Palpatine is of course wanting to pick every single fight that he can just cause blood suffering pain and death, spread it all around? kill jedi cant leave them to build roots anywhere but still. the not giving you the option to surrender to occupation, forcing a fight on you cause WANT the fight blood and death some of that being less capability to fight later and clean sweeps? but still galaxy is a huge place and Palps wants it all

Thank you! :)

He absolutely wants it all, and he's not going to think twice about a little violence (or a lot of violence, as the case may be) to get it! Plus, with the economic factors at play, that's just all the more reason to go full-on systemwide occupation instead of settling for diplomacy or surrender of the Jedi in the Sevret system.

And, after all, what's the point of having thousands of Star Destroyers at one's disposal if one doesn't intend to use them for a little bit of conquest every now and again? :P

On a more serious note, though, part of the reason that I made up a system outside of the Republic was that, apparently, a great many of the worlds in the GFFA were not part of the Republic, and I wanted to show how Palpatine is a threat, not only to the worlds that were formerly Republic and immediately became Empire, but also to any world with valuable resources or any world that harbors someone who could possibly be a threat to his power and his security.

And although the Jedi on Errece didn't pose much of a threat in and of themselves---allowing that ideology to survive, allowing them to exist anywhere in the galaxy and possibly go on to spread that ideology to future generations who could build up the Jedi? Who could perhaps continue the Jedi in secret, in the manner of the post-Bane Sith? He absolutely cannot allow that to happen.

(Also, just wanted to add that from a writing point of view, this chapter was pretty entertaining to scheme up because of how Palpatine thinks he's getting it all with the Sevret system. Destroy some Jedi? Check. Gain access to valuable raw materials for the Empire? Check. Humiliate his foolish apprentice? Check.)

Now playing: III-IX. Questions, pt 2

In which Vader persists in being a Sith, Ahsoka and Padmé make some surprising discoveries, and Piett and Veers have a dubious celebration.

Why Vader calls the 501st clones in Fortune's Rule by their CC/CT numbers

One of the trickier things I've had to decide for Fortune's Rule is how Vader should address the clones who are still in the Imperial 501st. Although I was tempted to have him use their names, I ended up having him call them by their CC/CT numbers. It still feels weird and clunky, but it seemed like maybe he would actually do that because Anakin would of course refer to the clones by name. So, in distancing himself from his life as Anakin Skywalker, Vader might deliberately choose to do the un-Anakin-like thing and call the clones by their numbers.

Now playing: III-VIII. Questions, pt 1

In which Piett is overwhelmed and Starkiller isn't helping, and Numa and Ahsoka have very different interactions with a raxshir on Shili.

Excited to see what happens me f w Vader, Padme and Starkiller… wondering how those 3 will end up on the same space 😇😅😅😅

Ah, I'm looking forward to getting to that point too! Suffice it to say, for now, that shenanigannery will be involved at some point, as it should (yes, thank you, Luke and Leia), and some of them will spend some time together sooner than others.

Hoping to get the next chapter out this weekend, by the way... we'll see... between words not wanting to word for the past month or more, and the chapter turning out to be something of a behemoth, it's been slow going, but I think I'm finally on the downhill!

Now playing: III-VII. Small Mercies

In which Ahsoka's faith is shaken, the Rebels head to Shili to do Rebel-y things, and Vader returns to the Executor to train Starkiller.

Productively procrastinating on writing a difficult piece of chapter by practicing with alcohol markers, and decided to draw Padmé because why not?

I used a reference, and eh... guess it kind of looks like her? Not sure why her hair came out looking weirdly 1930s/1940s-ish, or something, though. But I'm pretty happy with the drawing on the whole, especially since it was just supposed to be a practice thing, and pleased that I was able to achieve more texture than in the Vader and twins alcohol marker drawing from last week.

This was done with the Ohuhu Honolulu 104-count marker set. I like the set pretty well so far, although more cool browns would be nice, and a navy blue wouldn't be amiss.

Green background was added digitally as an afterthought, using Krita.

I'm back to playing through KotOR 2. This is based on a conversation between @for-the-love-of-starwars and I, where she suggested I draw Kreia with a mug saying "#1 bad space mom." I ended up shortening it to "No. 1 Worst Mom."

I see Kreia's relationship with Revan as something of an emotionally abusive parental figure who also can't understand why her successful, adult child wants nothing to do with her.

—

[My Ko-Fi] [Patreon]  

And yes, Luke's "blanket" is in fact Vader's cape. Love that trope!

Used Ohuhu Honolulu and Copic Sketch alcohol markers after outlining in black ink, plus Derwent Inktense blocks for the walls and floor. I like using alcohol markers, although the colors are more intense than I would prefer. Currently only have limited colors to work with, so I'm looking forward to getting some subtler shades and earth tones!

Am incredibly pleased with how the kids turned out, especially since I sketched them out late at night and without references. Turned out much better than expected.

That second drawing! 😂😂😂

When your friends have little legs and can't keep up with you.

Bonus :

Sending this your way .. about Nur and how horrific it is… tie in to your reference about Nur in Fortunes Rule and how Vader has a lot to explain and atone for when it comes to the whole torturing and entombing

Jedi esp younglings 🤯

Hey, thanks! That little bit about the entry point and the security will definitely come in handy, as I am planning to have a Nur chapter at some point down the line.

Honestly, I may have gotten myself in a bit over my head with the whole Nur thing. I didn't realise just how nasty it is when I mentioned it back in Part II, so, uh... yeah, that's going to be fun to figure out. Fortunately, it will be a while before that arc, so there's some time to figure out how to approach it.

Now playing: III-VI, The New Way of Things

In which Obi-Wan and Padmé contemplate, Shili seeks to join the Rebellion, Piett decides to befriend a homicidal child, and Vader faces his Master after the disaster that was Wrea.

Hope you get to post next chapter of fortune Rules soon after your move!

Me too! This chapter is taking so much longer than I expected! It's a bit of double whammy, because this one wasn't at all planned out in advance. After last chapter, I realised I needed to include a few things as transitions/setup for later events, so I'm having to write this one out of nowhere, while dealing with all the moving stuff. Can't wait to be done with all the chaos, can't wait to hopefully get back to writing and posting on a more regular schedule, especially as we're on the cusp of more interesting things starting to happen.

I've been trying to wrestle out some more of the current chapter this evening, actually, and your comments have been a nice bit of encouragement, so thank you! 💛😊

Wendingways' Star Wars fic recs

The vast majority of these are fix-its. Some are time travel/time loop. Most revolve around PT, TCW, and OT characters. A lot are also gen, as it turns out.

The order of the list has nothing to do with how much I enjoyed each fic, because I've enjoyed them all in different ways, for different reasons! Fics that seem to be really popular have been placed toward the bottom of each section, because I'm guessing they already appear on a lot of other rec lists. Aside from that, the order is pretty much random.

*Chapter and word counts may not be up to date. I try to go through once in a while to update the details for WIPS, but it's a lot to keep track of!

Complete multichapter fics

To Another Place & Time; G, 39.1k. Vignettes through the years in an AU where Anakin didn't fall, and Padmé lived, but Palpatine escaped and continued to pose a threat to the galaxy. Nostalgic and sad and happy and beautiful!

Finding Obi-Wan; T, 86.9k. Obi-Wan, having disappeared from the Jedi Temple, wakes up with no idea who he is or what the Force is and gets pulled into all manner of messes (yes, Hondo gets involved, of course he does), while Anakin refuses to believe he's dead and struggles to find him.

Blood and Copper Oxide; T, 36.3k. "Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader crash land on a planet that shouldn't have existed. Luke can't escape Vader and survive the planet at the same time. Darth Vader can't capture Luke and fight off the innumerable threats the planet sends his way. They might have to work together instead." Very cool story!

The Skywalker Secret; T, 39.8k. Anakin time travels back to the Clone Wars following Endor. The story is told mostly through the eyes of perplexed observers, and has an excellent ending; it's very satisfying and lovely! (Has one complete and one WIP sequel)

The Galaxy Revolves at a Million Miles a Day (Around Me); T, 55.0k. After dying on Executor during the battle of Endor, Piett finds himself

trapped in a time loop which he must break. I'm a sucker for time loops, and this is such a good one!

The Game is Not Played Alone; T, 75.1k. Obi-Wan Winter Soldier AU.

Lunches at Anakin's; T, 93.1k. After Endor, thanks to the Force's meddling, Anakin finds himself alive but stuck on Tatooine, where he ends up reluctantly mentoring a Force-sensitive girl. (Technically complete, but part of a series which is not complete.)

(Tooka)Cat Scratch Fever; not rated, 17.7k. Luke adopts a tooka which turns out to be his father, under a curse by Sidious. (I would probably rate this one as T.)

In the Tall Grass; T, 18.5k. "After a failed order 66, in which many Jedi still died but the Sith were defeated, an exiled warrior and a boy wander a distant planet and attempt to get along." This one is so cool, it has such a fairytale feel to it! And there's a sequel!

Shadows of the Future; K+, 129.3k. Obi-Wan dies on Mustafar and is sent back to TPM, where he bonds with Anakin and begins to change the future for the better.

Gut Feeling; T, 7.5k. Amusing little multichapter wherein Piett is assigned a new aide who goes by the name of Lucas Starkiller (who is clearly not Luke Skywalker, definitely not), and from there becomes embroiled in treason.

May Death Find You Alive; T, 11.0k. Anakin gets stuck in a time loop where Obi-Wan keeps dying.

Mirjahaal; T, 132.8k. Another lovely Wishful fic in the spirit of Empire Reimagined, involving favorite characters and somebody else who's a surprise!

The Exiled; T, 20.1k. "Leia has tried everything to help her baby son. She has turned to every expert on the Force she knows-- all but one. (Ben and Grandpa go camping)" (Visible to registered AO3 users only.)

Cloudy Symbols of High Romance; G, 22.1k. This one's a bit of a relict! Posted pre-AOTC, way back in 2001, it's a cool take on how Anakin and Padmé's AOTC-era reunion happened, and omg, it's so much better than AOTC. It's actually cute, and you can see why they like each other, and man does it make the knowledge of what's coming so much the worse.

Kintsugi; T, 16.7k. Quietly tragic, even though nobody dies and it's broadly a fix-it. Not a comfy fic, but one which is well done.

What Lurks in the Dark; T, 155.4k. "A simple mission to check out an abandoned weapons factory turns into a dangerous fight for survival. Trust is broken, loyalties will be tested, and dark secrets are brought to light. Because sooner or later, the truth always comes out."

All the Universe's a Stage; G, 19.9k. A Piett and Luke adventure!

The Beauty in the Beast; T, 46.1k. "When the Force decides it's had enough of Darth Vader and wants Anakin Skywalker back, it dumps his long-lost teenage son on his doorstep with an ultimatum: unless Vader renounces the Sith and turns back to the Light within three months, Luke will die."

Sibling Revelry; T, 24.9k. "After Bespin and before Endor, Darth Vader is shocked to discover that Luke and Leia are twins. Especially since Imperial Intelligence just told him that Organa and Skywalker are, erm, a tad closer than previously suspected..." A hilarious comedy of misunderstandings!

The Sith Who Brought Life Day; G, 13.3k. A rather entertaining take on how Vader found out who blew up the Death Star.

This Life of Ours; T, 53.9k. "On the run from the empire and the remaining Jedi alike, Vader must come to terms with his past and his future, all the while learning to care for the boy that is his only connection to his life as Anakin Skywalker." (Visible to registered AO3 users only.)

Teach the Padawan. Save the Galaxy.; series, T, 387.4k. 4 books complete, but the series itself is not complete. Ben Kenobi goes back in time and becomes Obi-Wan's master instead of Qui-Gon.

Legacy; G, 175.5k. Post-ROTJ Luke and Leia time travel to the Clone Wars.

The Sleepover to Restore the Republic; T, 77.2k. This many Skywalkers, clones, and associated friends, relatives, and coworkers were never intended to be thrown together, and when they are, boy oh boy. Gloriously chaotic and funny.

there but for the grace of god; T, 49.2k. Young Luke winds up time traveling to the Clone Wars, where he causes both confusion and conversations that will lead to a brighter future for the TCW crew and the galaxy in general.

Precipice; M, 231.7k. "An AU in which Anakin Skywalker does not follow Mace Windu and the others to Palpatine’s office after they leave to arrest the Chancellor. As a result, he doesn’t get that final push over the edge, and doesn’t Fall." Padmé and Anakin each raise a twin and work to bring Palpatine down.

Oneshots

Negative Static Stability; G, 8.1k. Vader and Leia meet when Leia is 5; lessons on the workings of ships ensue, along with some good old Artoo scheming. Adorable!

Bioethically Speaking, Mr. Sheev; T, 10.5k. The bureaucratic fallout and potential PR nightmare that result when a grad student follows up on some... interesting records from the Grand Imperial Medical Facility.

To Cross Paths and Stars; G, 4.8k. "A rebel and a Sith Lord walk into an ancient temple. Though neither of them knows it, they have history with each other--the kind that shakes galaxies and unmakes plans."

Palpatine's Greatest Hits II: Imperial Boogaloo; T, 1.3k. Just Palpatine being salty. It's very fun! "Fortress Dramaticus" has got to be one of my favorite bits, coupled with Palpatine's ongoing disgust at its lack of shields and certain people's inability to learn certain lessons. And his disgust at Vader's Kenobi obsession. Okay, the whole thing is great. Go read it!

Dust to Dust; T, 4.7k. "Darth Vader goes back in time. The Galaxy is saved; he is not."

Amelioration; T, 8.2k. "A recently liberated Vader attempts to ameliorate the future by changing the past." A different sort of angle, and an interesting fic!

The Horrendous Space Kablooie; T, 6.2k. "9 year old Anakin wakes up on the Executor. Chaos ensues." Well worth reading! Can't say more because I don't want to spoil anything.

The Agony of Tarkin; G, 4.8k. "An extra in the Imperial Opera Company discovers he has been assigned the role of Darth Vader in its upcoming production of The Agony of Tarkin." Another hilarious fic in the vein of The Sith Who Brought Life Day and Accountant Non-Heroes of the Republic.

Accountant Non-Heroes of the Republic; G, 7.0k. "Palpatine makes a choice to hide his fiscal manoeuvres in the Financial Department. The Financial Department takes advantage of this lack of transparency to do whatever they want. This saved the Republic." It's always fun to watch Palpatine shoot himself in the foot, and all the better when it comes completely out of left field.

This Inconsolable Light; M, 37.1k. "The Empire falls and Ahsoka has nowhere and everywhere to go. (Or: Ahsoka offers to train Luke and Leia but the past is a hard thing to leave behind.)"

Out of Step; T, 4.9k. Nice little oneshot with post OT-era Obi-Wan and Anakin stuck into their TPM-era selves.

FIVE HUNDRED AND ONE THING THE MEMBERS OF THE 501ST LEGION OF THE GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC ARE NOT ALLOWED TO DO; T, 4.9k. A hilarious list composed by General Kenobi. I laugh myself silly every time I read this. (Visible to registered AO3 users only.)

501 MORE THINGS THE 501ST ARE NOT ALLOWED TO DO; T, 3.4k. A sequel to the 501st list fic, also very funny, although it only has about 250 entries, not 501. (Visible to registered AO3 users only.) Listed with oneshots because the extant 250 entries can be read as a complete list.

Force of the Will; G, 11.1k. "Mace dies. Mace wakes up. Mace wakes up the morning Anakin Skywalker walks into the Temple. Mace is not doing this again."

Where Have We Come?; T, 2.0k. "The first time was one of the hardest and the easiest. Obi-Wan loses at Mustafar, but instead of dying he wakes up at the dawn of the last day of the republic, doomed to repeat the worst day of his life, over and over again." Time loop!

you drew stars around my scars (but now i'm bleeding); not rated, 1.1k. Post-Twilight of the Apprentice, Ahsoka and Anakin. I'd rate G or T. (Visible to registered AO3 users only.)

still dancing with your ghosts (sleeping with your memories); M, 1.1k. "Everyone knows about the Massacre, and how no Jedi made it out alive. The Jedi refuse to let anyone forget." I do not cry easily at fics. This one made me cry.

Holiday Special; G, 8.3k. "For about a year Aphra has worked as the former Darth Vader's aide-de-camp, 24-hour caregiver, and partner in crime. Now she's tasked with the greatest challenge yet: successfully navigating a nice holiday dinner with his kids."

The Trick is to Keep Breathing; T, 3.5k. "She's older now, and so is he. Far older now. She wonders: will he have lost any power with his age? Will he be shorter, weaker? An old man on a ventilator? It's hard to imagine that he won't still be dangerous. But then, that's exactly what she's counting on."

Kintsukuroi; NR, 6.5k. "how Snoke's overestimation of his abilities leads to a new path for the Skywalker clan."

PRojects IN Controlled Environments, version Sith; G, 5.2k. "The overworked project manager on the redesign of the Imperial Lambda-class shuttle gets surprisingly competent feedback from an unknown official on Coruscant. She promptly decides that anyone bored enough to do a technical review of their own free will should be found proper employment for their own good."

Tuning up your TIE-Fighter to prove you’re better than the bastard currently running the TIE-Fighter Program for fun and profit; G, 7.1K. "As a rule, Vader didn't really do anything with his social media account, but then the rant of some kid from Tatooine about the inefficiency of TIE Fighters began trending, the pilots and engineers on the Devastator started fixing their ships and Vader got invested."

Series

Take it from the top and try again; G-T, 191.0k, 2 works complete + 1 WIP. Post-ROTS Obi-Wan time travels to the prequel era.

Empire Reimagined; G-T, 388.4k, 10 works complete. A saga of Luke, Vader/Anakin, Piett, Veers, and Leia covering from ESB-era to post-ROTJ. Epic friendships abound!

Mythology; M, 41.0k, 2 complete. "In a universe where Darth Vader uncovered his lost twins and raised them in the heart of the Empire, Luke more-or-less accidentally instigates the most painful family reunion the galaxy has ever seen."

Puppet Kings; T-M, 18.8k, all complete. Really nicely done, dark oneshot trilogy about Luke, Vader, & Co. I'm not usually one for horror and tragedy, but I read the first fic in the series and didn't want to stop!

In the Midst of Darkness Lays a Sleeping Light; T, 26.0k, 3 complete + 2 WIP. Wherein Palpatine turns Vader into a dragon. (It goes great for both of them. Totally.) Angsty and enjoyable, and an interesting exploration of dehumanization/rehumanization.

Don't Look Back; M, 712.7k, 3 complete + 1 WIP. Leia gets sent back to AOTC-era, and omg is she a force to be reckoned with! Very detailed, very political series.

Multichapter fics that are incomplete but still appear to be alive as of now

Brave Young Men; T, 27.4k. Toward the end of the Clone Wars, Anakin is sent back to the time shortly after Qui-Gon's death. This gives him a new perspective on several very important matters.

Turning Point; T, 23.8k. After Vader dies on the second Death Star, he's sent back in time to the year 69 BBY, on Naboo, where he picks up an unfortunate barnacle in the person of the teenage Sheev Palpatine. Quite entertaining, and I can't wait to see where it goes!

The Good He Seeks; T, 70.1k. "After killing the Emperor, Darth Vader agreed to serve the fledgling New Republic and destroy the last true-believers of the Empire he had once helped create. But he's living on borrowed time." Though I do enjoy pure fix-its, there's just something that really gets me about fics that are fix-it-ish, but life is messy, the characters are messy, there are no easy answers or perfect solutions, and every positive development really feels earned. So far, this is one of those fics, and I'm loving it!

Pools of Sorrow, Waves of Joy; M, 86.5k. "Ahsoka finds herself stuck below the Sith temple on Malachor along with an injured Darth Vader. Now they will have to put their differences aside and work together if they want to survive."

Spy Wars; T, 142.1k. Another screwball comedy by the author of The Sleepover to Restore the Republic, wherein Palpatine's identity as a Sith Lord is figured out much sooner, leading to covert hijinks, comedic misunderstandings, and general chaos of the best variety.

Nameless, on the Edge of Nowhere; M, 152.8k. Vader survives ROTJ, but both he and Luke made it out of the second Death Star via random hyperspace jumps in separate ships. After getting by for a time, the not-fully-Sith-but-not-fully-redeemed Vader ends up with the Rebellion, where Leia becomes his handler. Slow build, and a really rewarding read thus far! (Also, I love the OCs in this one; they all feel very natural and vivid, and like people in their own right.)

Multichapter fics/series for those okay with living on the edge (inconsistent updates, long hiatus, or abandoned)

Headaches; T, 31.2K. "When Luke overhears his aunt and uncle arguing, he follows old Ben to Daiyu. Skywalker shenanigans ensues." Oh my goodness, the pure child chaos that is in this fic, it's an excellent time. Hasn't updated in almost a year, but what's there is so good!

Balance on the knife edge; T, 136.6k. After dying on Malachor, Ahsoka time travels back to Mortis, during the Clone Wars.

The Thunder Answered Back; M, 13.1k. "Count Dooku survives his duel with Anakin Skywalker only to wake up as a captive in the Jedi Temple on the evening of Order 66 and the siege. Betrayed, maimed, and surrounded by slaughter on every side, he must choose his path forward - and choose it quickly. RotS AU." Featuring Jocasta Nu.

Synchronous; G, 67.9k. "It's the usual time-entangling fiasco: 'Find the disturbance. Rectify the wrong. Fix the anomaly. Bring balance to the past so the Force may be balanced in the future.' There is a slight miscalculation, however, and Luke Skywalker finds himself in the Clone Wars while having to masquerade in the body of his late father Anakin Skywalker. Leia and Han aren't so helpful either."

To Set Up a Sith; T, 35.2k. "Teenage Luke tries to help his unwitting Sith father make a friend, with a little help from his ghost mom and the Force." Interesting story with fun and sweet bits, and I'm super curious about how it will turn out if it's ever finished!

like a lazy ocean hugs the shore; T, 10.7k. After Vader kills him, Fox gets stuck in a time loop around the time when Fives is killed.

Living Every Day; T, 82.9k. "When Satine Kryze survives her encounter with Darth Maul, it changes the galaxy. But even more than that, it changes the lives of Obi-Wan Kenobi and the Skywalker family."

Dancing with Ghosts in Your Garden; T, 979.3k. Star Wars PT and TCW characters, but in a Hogwarts setting. It works surprisingly well! There's a little more teenage romance than is my personal preference, but it's a cool AU and quite long if you're looking for a fun, imaginative fic to absolutely bury yourself in for a while. (And it looks like Ahsoka might finally be entering during the next year of the fic!!)

What We've Become; T, 82.0K. "Darth Vader and Ahsoka’s fight on Malachor takes a different path, and Ahsoka actually is able to save her master. Or rather, she’s able to convince him to save himself. Diverges from canon in the last few minutes of Twilight of the Apprentice and goes increasingly AU from there."

better late than never; G, 41.4k. Ahsoka wins at Malachor, Vader redemption fic.

Madhouse Promenade; T, 13.0k. "In a bid to save his new apprentice's life, Darth Sidious siphoned the life force from Padmé Amidala, ultimately killing her. Ten years later, after finding out the truth, Darth Vader finds himself haunted by her ghost, and Padmé finds herself face-to-face with what her husband has become."

Hard Reset; T, 33.4k. "Anakin Skywalker wakes up to his worst nightmare, and he doesn't even know all of it yet." Aka Vader gets amnesia, and Anakin is confused about everything. (Visible to registered AO3 users only.)

The Ghosts on Coruscant; T, 143.6k. After surviving Mustafar and living as a rebel for eight years, Padmé is captured by the Empire, and Vader finds out.

Of Queens, Knights, and Pawns; T, 616.6k. ST-era Leia time travels back to ANH.

Old Man Luke; M, 109.4. ST-era Luke and Leia time travel to the Clone Wars.

Comics (all wips)

Dark Chasm; T, 21 chapters. "On Bespin, the truth is revealed, and Vader bids for Luke to join him. Luke looks down into the dark chasm and makes a choice."

Imperial Babysitters; T, 17 chapters. Cute comic/art series with Luke being raised by Vader, Piett, and Veers.

Our New Hope; T, 57 chapters. "After Ahsoka Tano discovers 12-year-old Luke Skywalker on Tatooine, she takes him under her wing and around the Galaxy. Meanwhile, Darth Vader has found Bail Organa's force-sensitive daughter and has started training her as a Junior Inquisitor. A chance encounter between the twins brings their worlds together."

The Tinies; G, 76 chapters. Cute comic with Vader and Padmé raising Luke and Leia.

"Wrongful Death"

Finally sketched out the scene that pops into my head every day on my commute!

There's this billboard on the way to where I work, advertising an attorney who deals with wrongful death cases, and every time I pass that billboard, I see this poor, bewildered attorney looking on as Padmé, Satine, Fives, and a whole lot of other clones and Jedi pack into his office, shouting and jostling and trying to get him to take their case. It's been months since the billboard first went up, but I finally managed to remember it when I was at home, with access to art stuff, and in a sketchy mood!

Characters keep getting ideas and running with them.

So, uh, Piett and Starkiller... yeah, this was definitely not the plan when I first decided to include those characters in Fortune's Rule. (Heck, they weren't originally supposed to be in the fic at all, but then neither was at least half of the story that's happened thus far, so....)

They were supposed to have pretty separate parts in the story, and they were both going to be much more minor than they're turning out. Until Piett apparently decided Starkiller needs a friend. And he's definitely not wrong, so who am I to say no?

The unfortunate thing here is that now I'm going to have to figure out how the heck Vader is going to deal with the news that his admiral and his apprentice are in cahoots behind his back.

*looks sternly at characters*

Do you see how much extra work you are making for me? Now, behave!

(This seems to have become a recurring theme in the writing of this story. Ahsoka and Padmé weren't originally going to have as close a relationship as they do, but then they decided to take the reins for just one chapter, and look how that turned out.)

Now playing: III-V. In the Wake of Fate

In which our heroes (and not-so-heroic individual) deal with the fallout of the Wrea mission.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, a Senator survived. A Jedi did not forsake society. Two siblings were never separated. Nor were two Commanders. And a Rogue found comrades.

The Empire has risen, but the embers of the Republic yet glow in the hearts of the just. The stage is set for rebellion, and both within the Rebel Alliance and outside of it, many fates shall interweave, for the luck of the Disaster Lineage and its associates has ever flowed in a peculiar current. And if that current is stirred, from time to time, by the enterprising Pirate… well, not for nothing has it been said that Fortune rules life.

Aka, Padmé lives. The fractured Chaos Clan begins to reunite. Tarkin suffers a raging case of Hondo-induced identity theft. Vader dials the wrong number and ends up connecting to the commlink of a Rebel agent called Revenant. Add in some youngling hijinks, and all of this is slowly building to a massive headache for one Sheev Palpatine.

AI in Quora, and in fandom spaces?

I just have to ask. Why does Quora have an AI tool now for some questions?

Isn't the whole point of Quora... you know... asking people things? Getting people's input?

And yet, browsing around through Star Wars stuff on Quora last night, I found this:

Like... how is this helpful, O Great AI Bot Writing Helpful Answers?

It's a subjective question to begin with, so why would an AI be offering information on it? It seems like a question to debate, not a question to answer. And the Quora answers from people, of course, were

And the idea of trying to have a nerdy discussion with ChatGPT is just... weird, like there's no interest or fascination or theorizing, you know? Just this clinical-sounding summary. ChatGPT doesn't care about the characters, or the stories, or the worldbuilding, or any of that. It probably just scraped through the opinions of people who do care, and then spat out a soulless regurgitation.

[Or, heck, who knows. Maybe ChatGPT took one look at the opinionated discussions and was like, "oh hell no. i'm not touching that with a ten-foot pole. make your own moral decisions, you stupid squishy human."]

Seriously, though. AIs in fandom stuff? Weird. Fandom stuff is so oriented around people and opinions and connection, and AI... eh... until AIs reach the point of, say, Artoo & Co., it just doesn't seem like a great fit.

Been doing a little sketching to try out some new pens and markers!

I discovered that Pentel makes this cool pen called the Hybrid Technica, which has a ballpoint but uses flat black ink (like that used in Pigma Micron pens) instead of the typical, kinda shiny, oilier-looking ballpoint ink. It's fun, because I enjoy the feel of sketching with a ballpoint pen, but also like the look of the Micron ink!

Also tried out a larger Micron pen for a more graphic look, also fun. I'd only ever used the 005, 01, and 05 before, but decided to see what a 12 would be like, and it's a very different look!

My mom passed off some grey Copic Sketch markers to me, too, so I messed around with using those for shading.

"Luke and Leia have begun to find Tatooine a trifle boring...." This is the Pentel ballpoint, with Copic shading. Trying for a more Ernest Shepard-like style. I'd like to do a collection of several drawings of the twins for an upcoming chapter, all ink sketches like this, on a single piece of paper, depicting their escapades.

Also Pentel ballpoint. Supposed to be Katooni and her ysalamir, but I was working from very vague memory, so it's very inaccurate. As for the lovely little bit of FOILing... I have this habit of reaching for whatever paper is nearest when I need to jot something down. Old sketchbooks from high school? Random bits of algebra here and there. Journals from college? Snippets of biology research notes. It's kind of fun to flip back through years later, almost like a mini time capsule.

Micron 12 with Copic shading.

(Just one question. Why are they all looking off to the left???)