Writer, artist, crafter. Not spoiler free. USA, Millenial Stories/head canons can be found under #my writing Thoughts, musings, and responses are under #hounds speaks
This is just a quick list of the finished fics I’ve posted here and on AO3. Check under the #hounds speaks and #my writing tags for essays, criticisms, meta analysis, and general thoughts. Analyses and criticisms for movies and shows are under the cut.
Mudhorn divider by @thecutestgrotto
Banner and all other dividers courtesy of @saradika-graphics unless otherwise stated
Action figure blog: @ar-pic-ulated
The Mandalorian
• Geroya: Worldbuilding with the Mandalorian and the children of the Nevarro covert, set pre-show and leading into Season 1.
• Fate Sometimes Steps In: Fennec Shand’s perspective in the void between life and death.
• Gaa’tayl: Set pre-show, Paz Vizsla leads the search for three children in danger on Nevarro.
• Stranded In the Desert: A missing/added scene to the beginning of “The Passenger” with Mando and the kid.
• Nightfall: An alternate take on the child’s escape with Kelleran Beq during Order 66.
• The Exodus: The third act of “The Sin” from the covert’s perspective, retconning the later idea that only Paz Vizsla and the Armorer escaped Nevarro.
• The Oldest Profession: Pre-show character study of Mando on a hunt, needing to find a room for the night.
• Temporal Chalice AU: Potential time travel/history rewritten smorgasbord.
• The Concept of Names: Character study. Mando’s relationships with others as shown by what he calls them.
• Mando takes a job with a stranger
• Toro Calican Lives AU: Toro Calican makes a different choice and sets his life on a different path.
• Flashpoint AU: What if the Mandalorian never gave the child to the Client?
The Clone Wars
Aay’han
Original clone trooper story: Captain Manukura
Chapter 1: Remains to Be Seen
Chapter 2: TBA
Rogue One
Soldier, Princess, Farm Boy, Spy
Comparing and contrasting four heroes of the Rebellion in an AU where the Rogue One squad survives Scarif.
Chapter 1: Disparity
Chapter 2: TBA
• Sins of the Father (TBA)
The Bad Batch
• Untitled: Riyo Chuchi and Echo one-shot set in the years between TBB and ANH.
• My Brother’s Keeper: Clone Force 99 stumbles onto a nexus of the Force and wakes up to find they’ve swapped bodies with one another.
• Deserters: What if Mayday survived the outpost?
Original Trilogy
• Bar Talk: Lando and Luke talk shop a short time after Return of the Jedi.
Prequel Trilogy
• Amidala the Resilient: An AU of Amidala confronting Anakin at the end of Revenge of the Sith.
• Spooky/angsty Padme Lives AU
• Redrafting The Phantom Menace
Sequel Trilogy
• An alternate universe with the same characters in a completely different story (action figure blog, adventure movie pitch)
• The Last Jedi AU: Paige lives, Poe abides by the letter of the law, Rose and Finn pull a jailbreak, and somebody finds a mysterious crystal
Crossovers, Fusions, and Retellings
The Princess Bride
The Sabersmith’s Son
The Colossus of Kashyyyk
The Man In Black
• A Prospect/Mandalorian crossover scene
Analyses, Criticisms, and Elevator Pitches
The Mandalorian
• Theory about Mando’s parents
• Mando lets Karga live, “The Sin”
• Peli Motto’s intuition
• Character analysis: Toro Calican
• Theory about Boba Fett’s original connection to Fennec Shand
• World-building: The covert on Nevarro
• Script analysis: Gor Koresh, and Mando’s justified violence
• Loose story threads: Minor changes to “The Passenger”
• Further details on potential themes “The Passenger” episode could have had (In a reblog for Stranded In the Desert)
• Character analysis of Mando: Protective vs Worrisome
• Strengthening characters: Cara Dune and Carson Teva, criticism of “The Siege”
• Peli Motto’s regard of Boba Fett
• Wasted Potential: Jack Black on Plazir 15
• Analyzing Mando’s fighting style — “The Prisoner”
• Analyzing Mando’s motivations: Criticism of “The Heiress”
Reblog with Character Analysis on Bo-Katan
• Analyzing Mando’s fighting style and motivations, Mando’s lack of agency as a character and being sidelined as a protagonist — Criticism of “The Heiress” and “The Rescue”
• Inconsistencies and weak world-building regarding where Mandalorians should live, Season 3
• Criticism of Bo-Katan being praised/focused on instead of Mando, Season 3
• Criticism of the writers’ usage of Bo-Katan’s character, end of Season 3
• Criticism of Mando settling down, end of Season 3
• Comparing and contrasting Din Djarin to Aragorn and Éomer of LotR
• Proposal for a different Season 2 and show outline to fix pacing, character development, and plot
• Director’s commentary for the writing process for Nightfall
• Character analysis concerning the topic of Mando’s “side quests”
• Character analysis: Mando and Ranzar Malk’s crew
• Character analysis: Mando’s choices regarding his relationships with others
• Revising Carson Teva’s character
• Criticism of Ahsoka Tano’s Character and “The Jedi” episode of Season 2
• Mandalorian culture regarding the Armorer and the forge
• Mand’alor the Reluctant (brief analysis of how Din as Mand’alor could have been set up)
• Minor change to “The Tragedy” to make Mando’s choices stronger (plus bonus wings AU thought)
Reblog with further criticism to pacing and Cara Dune’s scene
• “Jedi healer” snake-oil salesman
• “Strong Female Character”: Criticism of the show’s writing regarding Bo-Katan’s character and longterm TV show story planning
• Vizsla’s animosity towards Mando
• What word describes a parent who loses a child? (AU)
• General headcanon list for Din Djarin
• Mand’alor the Reluctant: A challenger for the sword
• Mand’alor the Reluctant: Getting rid of the sword (at least temporarily)
The Book of Boba Fett
• De-aged Boba Fett scenario
• The Marketability of Star Wars Merchandise: Production design and its ties to storytelling
• Kill Your Darlings: “The Gathering Storm”
• Grogu’s regard of Luke
• “Fountain of Aging” scenario spitballing a de-aged AU post-TBoBF.
• Criticism of Boba Fett parading Fennec Shand around out in public
• Criticism of TBoBF’s writing: Lack of character objectives and focus, too many side characters, and “surprise” antagonists with no prior buildup or introduction
• Criticism of Boba and Din’s fight scene: Bad character choices
• Mando and Boba Fett body swap idea
• What If… Jaina Solo and Boba Fett met sooner? (Legends mashup)
Original Trilogy
• Spitballing a Bail Organa lives AU
• Making Princess Leia’s character arc stronger
Prequel Trilogy
• Character Revision for Anakin Skywalker
• Further criticism and character revision for Anakin Skywalker
• Duel of Fates fight choreography criticism
• AU where Kenobi runs into Count Dooku on Kamino in AotC
Sequel Trilogy
• Criticism and revision of Han, Leia, Luke, and Ben Solo’s characters and Kylo Ren’s origin
• Criticism of plot twists and characters and how they could have been used better (The Force Awakens/sequel trilogy AU pitch)
Andor
• Racial disparity in who gets to live: Criticism of Andor with suggested changes
• Short character analysis: Davo Sculdun
• Luthen’s ruthlessness and Cassian’s potential response
The Acolyte
• Criticisms and Suggested Changes Part 1
• Osha’s vision of Mae
The Bad Batch
• S1E : Rampage criticism/idea pitch
• Who’d be the funniest person for the rest of the crew to find out has an ex-wife they’ve never mentioned? (Crack)
• Rebellion era Echo/Riyo Chuchi pitch
• Character analysis: Crosshair
• Character analysis: Crosshair pt 2
• Wrecker’s defense of Echo against Cid’s antagonism
the “ignore that Lisa Frank nod in the periphery” tag took me OUT XD
Lol thank you. There’s a chapter of Call Sign that may or may not make it in where they all get turned into animals for a couple of days and Noc gets changed into a black jaguar with a splash of colorful rosettes on one shoulder because he in human form has very colorful tattoos on the back of that same shoulder
Your artstyle is like your gut microbiome in the way its everything you consume and like and it also has all your bacteria up in it. Thats probably how that works
some of my favourite tidbits from the Visual Guide (so far)…
The Armorer’s species is unknown
Toro is from Coruscant and he’s 24 years old (so far, he’s the only character with a stated age… besides Grogu, of course)
Peli nicknamed Dr Mandible (because the actual pronunciation of his name requires pheromones that not every species can produce on demand). She has a weekly sabaac game with him.
Koska got her armour from her mother 🥹
One of the covert Mandos is a double leg amputee and he wears heavy beskar cuisses to protect his “mechno-legs”
Right in the foreword, they’re referred to as “Din and Grogu”
Cara’s hair is dyed
Morak is actually in Wild Space (I don’t know why but I just love the fact that the planet where Din shows his face for the first time in over twenty years is really isolated and in the middle of nowhere)
Paz was born on Concordia
Glavis (the artificial ring world) is in the Core (actually I hate this one. I’m keeping it in the Outer Rim)
Xi’an and Qin are twins and their homeworld is definitely Ryloth
Qin was wearing work gloves from Karthon, so he definitely spent some time at the same chop fields Mayfeld would later wind up in.
They use “Din” when referring to Din Djarin. I cross referenced and other characters like Greef and Peli have their first names used independently too.
to be honest i think there’s a large number of people who conflate the very real and widespread phenomenon that women tend to be written off as just mothers or love interests in order to diminish their importance in a given story with the fact that a huge reason they’re sent to narrative purgatory in this way is BECAUSE the labels of “mother” and “girlfriend/wife” are systematically devalued and seen as inherently inferior because they’re terms that have been associated with ownership and/or control over women. like the amount of people who’ve told me that a certain female character is uninteresting or badly written because she happened to have a kid or be a man’s girlfriend or sister just to find out she was actually fleshed out very well and carried significant narrative importance frustrates me soo bad. there’s a huge problem with how those roles (specifically “wife” and “mother”) are systematically devalued and yet also perpetuated as the only viable options for women to achieve their societal roles in the patriarchy but acknowledging the devaluation of those labels to begin with is an important discussion in itself.
Summary: A look at Grogu’s developing skills and personality over the years.
Though it took several years of trial and error, Din and Grogu slowly built up systems of communication between them. It started with sign language, and then after a time spent with another Force-user who taught Grogu the basics of connecting with another’s mind through meditation and proximity, Grogu began to develop the ability to speak to Din through his thoughts. It was a skill, Din was told, that Jedi were trained in at the temple where Grogu was being raised as a young child, but that Grogu was probably too young to have been taught much of it before the night of the attack on the temple where he was saved by one of the masters escorting people to safety. Dredging up those memories became another obstacle for the two of them, but with Grogu’s skills developing and Din learning to open up to him it was one they could start overcoming together.
Grogu continued to develop his skills in healing as well as the years went on. Din frequently told him he wasn’t obligated to help people at his age, especially at a detriment to himself, but Grogu made it quite clear that it was something he wanted to do because he felt people’s pain so deeply that he was compelled to help out of compassion and care for others. At his age and stature there were very few things he could do for other people, he’d said, but this was one area where he had the talent and means to do some material good that others couldn’t provide. How could he justify not helping those in need?
As time progressed, Grogu studied physical means of healing too in order to better understand the bodies and systems of each of the beings whose paths they crossed, and as their cadre of connections and friends and allies grew, the types of needs he saw expanded and required other forms of healing that Grogu was unable to attend to with the Force: on a mission to Nar Shadaa, Fennec Shand was injured and out of commission longer than she might have been, had they had the access to someone with a more complex understanding of cybernetics.
Though she recovered well with Fett’s aid once they were back on Tatooine, it troubled Grogu to know that there was an area of healing and physical care that was a complete blind spot to him. Din may have been able to teach him the basics of repairing mechanical and electrical systems, but cybernetics were much, much different, and how they were incorporated into an organic body puzzled and troubled Grogu. There was something in cybernetic systems that just didn’t translate when he tried to study them, some disconnect between what he saw and sensed and understood, and it was frustrating not knowing what he didn’t know. He didn’t even know where to start or what questions to ask, and it was only after several months of frustration and discussions between them that a lightbulb went off and Grogu told Din he knew exactly who they should go to.
It took a considerable amount of time (not to say the least of a few favors) for the three of them to arrange a meeting, their lives as busy and fraught with peril as they were, but Grogu and Din were finally able to meet with the Jedi they’d briefly crossed paths with all those years ago; Luke Skywalker, a busy man and largely self-trained Jedi himself, had the kind of teacher’s patience, understanding of the Force, and experience caring for his own cybernetic prosthesis that made him ideal for Grogu to finally get a starting point. Luke may not have been a healer the way Grogu was, but being able to marry the understanding of the Force with the incorporation of inorganic medical components gave Grogu the opportunity to begin filling in the blanks for what he was missing. The Mandalorian remained nearby, watchful and curious as his ward followed the Jedi’s teachings.
Understanding that Grogu could use a mentor who understood him in ways very few others could, even if Grogu didn’t feel called to be a Jedi the way Luke was, Luke gave the Mandalorian and child the means to contact him so if there were ever any questions, they could reach out for help and further advice. Grogu still cared about people and wanted to help in what ways he could, and his aptitude for connecting with the Force had not faded with age. They made new contacts, did more research, and Grogu was able to continue refining his skills, bridging the two sides of learning together as he did.
The Mandalorian was getting on in years, but still felt relatively comfortable continuing to work. He had begun to suspect that the boy may have had something to do with that; he’d discovered early on after the start of their journeys together that the child had a habit of tending to Din’s injuries when he was asleep and couldn’t stop the boy from taking care of him. He’d made it clear to Grogu that he didn’t have to heal him (especially when it came at the expense of overexertion), but whether the child hadn’t understood at the time or he simply wasn’t going to do what Din told him to, Din didn’t know. It was a mild point of contention between them once they were finally able to communicate properly, but Grogu had made it clear that even if he were to try, Din wouldn’t be able to stop him anyway, and that he should accept help when it was offered because people like being able to help others. That wasn’t a characteristic only humans felt.
Even so, Din still felt considerably more spry for his age than he knew he should have been, all things considered. His memory and skills were still sharp. He was almost as active as he had been in his thirties and forties, and his stamina hadn’t waned how it should have with his advancing age and choice of profession. His eyesight hadn’t faded, he didn’t have any considerable ailments, and his joints were in remarkably— unrealistically— good shape.
Understanding and accepting change and loss are not lessons exclusive to the Jedi’s way of life.
When Din tried to broach the topic of the child’s care for his wellbeing, Grogu would change the subject or handwave the discussion away, evading Din’s efforts to address the inevitable. It was unfortunate that it took a sharp word and subsequent heated argument for the two of them to finally address the topic of whatever small amount of time they had left together, but Din insisted that they address it now before it was addressed for them and Grogu didn’t have a choice but to contend with the grief that loss brings with it, and contend with it alone.
I know what grief is, he’d told his father. You are not the first one I will have lost, and I will have the rest of my life to deal with it. Please don’t muddy the time we do have together.
They compromised after that, Din agreeing not to bring it up as often as long as Grogu didn’t heal him when it was unnecessary and he could recover fine with regular means. Grogu didn’t like it, but Din was happy to see him studying more as a result, honing his technique and repertoire of skills.
That being said, Din did not like Grogu suggesting technical reinforcements.
The Mandalorian and his ward were in hyperspace. The extraction job they had taken at the behest of a friend had nearly cost Din an arm; it was only by luck (or the will of the Force) that Grogu was nearby to halt Din’s adversary and keep it from being completely severed.
Grogu sat on the table in front of his father, carefully tending to the layers of injury Din had sustained. Din insisted he practice more of the traditional methods since he had the time and opportunity; Grogu had given what Din had come to understand was his equivalent of a sharp look, but dutifully went about tending the wounds, briefly using the Force again to ensure he’d stopped the worst of the bleeding.
The Mandalorian saw his boy turn to notate something in the small datapad beside him; Din largely couldn’t read most of it, but he’d started to see patterns in what notes were pulled up when Grogu took them down with him. There was one column that deepened the wrinkles beginning to line his face: he’d seen enough to know what theoretical solutions Grogu was looking at, given Din’s most-often encountered injuries, and the droidlike diagrams of different body systems and prosthetics soured his stomach.
“I don’t need them,” he murmured. “I have lasted this long without them, and I don’t want them.”
Grogu’s look of concentration deepened to disapproval. He finished cutting away Din’s sleeve and methodically cleaned his arm, clearing the way for him to work.
I may not always be able to heal you. What happens if we are apart?
“I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it, come what may.”
They are a tool, Grogu said.
“Maybe, but they’re not for me,” Din said. “I’ll manage.”
You don’t have to, Grogu replied. There may come a time you have no choice.
“I won’t accept them.”
The boy looked up at him, disapproving. He stood on the table to tap three times on Din’s helmet. You may not be awake when someone comes to help. Hit your head often, you do.
Din grumbled something indistinct, flexing his hand. The boy sat back down, hand hovering over the now-clean open wound as he focused his energy on reversing the damage. Stubborn.
“I know.”
Take better care.
“I’ll try.”
Do. I do not like when you are hurt.
“… I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have to worry about me.”
I will, always.
“You don’t—”
Grogu smacked his arm twice. I will. Always.
Din smiled crookedly, gently resting his hand on the boy as he worked. “Stubborn.”
I follow your example.
Grogu sat back, finishing with the closure. He looked up at the Mandalorian, wide brown eyes solemn and thoughtful. He thought of how many years he’d had with his father, but he knew no matter how many there were, it would never be enough.
Grogu reached up to rest his hand on the edge of Din’s helmet, and Din removed it to set it aside. The boy stood up on the tips of his toes to reach Din’s face and bring it down to his, pressing his forehead to Din’s as Din rested his hand on Grogu’s back.
And I would like to follow that example a while longer.
The thing about a good character flaw is that it has to be the same thing as their greatest strength just turned up too high. the person who loves deeply and therefore controls. the person who sees everything and therefore trusts nothing. the person who is so loyal they lose themselves. there are no clean villains and no clean heroes and once you understand that in fiction you can't unsee it in people. everyone is just their best quality at the wrong volume.
Star Wars: Rogue One - Chirrut & Baze #1 by Stephanie Phillips and Kieran McKeown. Cover by David Marquez and Laura Martin. Variant cover by Aka. Out in August.
"CELEBRATING TEN YEARS OF ROGUE ONE!
A STRIKE AGAINST THE EMPIRE… BUT AT WHAT COST?
BAZE MALBUS and CHIRRUT ÎMWE attempt a covert mission to sabotage a KYBER mine that has been overtaken by IMPERIAL forces.
But when something unexpected stands between them and their objective, the mission becomes far more complicated than they expected.
To succeed, faith will be tested and an impossible choice must be made!"
I'm only gonna bring this up now because IDK I just thought of it but quick PSA, with how popular early internet aesthetics are getting again, PLEASE remember to include seizure warnings when applicable. This is extremely important.
As someone who grew up in the early eye-strain geocities days of the internet where blinkies, blingees, cranked bright contrast/saturation, and stamps/flashing avatars were EVERYWHERE, just keep in mind how incredibly unsafe it was back then for those of us with epilepsy.
I distinctly remember there being SO FEW websites that were safe for me to use/interact with because of that, and don't even get me started on errors and pop-ups. You can have all the fun you want bringing back the aesthetics that you enjoy, but please don't bring back all the rampant ableism from that era along with it. Ok quick PSA done :]
