Jeran Campanella, a longtime flat-Earth advocate, publicly admitted he had been wrong to deny the 24-hour Antarctic Sun. Another participant, Austin Whitsitt, accepted the observation but said he still did not think it proved a globe, showing the trip changed some views more than others.
After some writer's block and typically quite late, I finally finished @summer-of-clones Week 6. This is a follow-up to my previous fic from Week 3, and is part 2 of my 3 part Blyla No Order 66 AU.
I hope the mention of Post-War near the end of the fic qualifies for the prompt. Part 3 comes Week 10.
Gonna try to write the Week 7 Beach Day prompt on time this time. Let's see how that works. May integrate sibling comfort in there too. Omega being a big sister to younger kids, mainly Jek, Shaeeah, and/or the Tantiss Kids.
So. You got into Star Wars. You want to write a fic. But what the kriff is a midichlorian? Where even is the Outer Rim? Do you need to read Bossk’s entire Wookieepedia page before you can write that Din and Grogu fluff oneshot?*
Well, I’ve been where you are, pal. So I thought I might compile a few of the most common terms and whatnot to hopefully help you out.
Note: This is far from comprehensive, and if any veteran Star Wars fic-readers/writers spot a major mistake, let me know. And if you wish to add or expound, go ahead!
A Few Common Terms and Items
Some Common Expletives
Some nasty things to call people who have irked or wronged you
Weird Phrases
Configuration of the Galaxy
Hyperspace
Timeline Crash Course
Common Languages
Alien Species
1. A Few Common Terms and Items…
Refresher = bathroom/restroom/lavatory/toilet
E.g. “I need to use the refresher” = “I need to use the toilet.” “I’ll be in the refresher” = “I’ll be in the bathroom.”
Note: “toilet” has been used in canon (thank you, Andor) but, in starships, they’re more likely to call it a “vacc-tube” or simply “vac/vacc”
Caf = coffee
Note: from what I’ve gathered over the years, ”caf” is a bit of an umbrella term which includes artificial drinks with a resemblance to coffee, all the way to what is made from genuine space coffee beans.
Droid = robot, android; covers everything from space roombas to humanoid, talking robots
Blasters = pewpew guns
Slugthrowers = actual guns
Duracrete = concrete
Transparisteel = glass, usually the tougher, reinforced glass used in starship viewports
Flimsi = paper
Note: “paper” has been used in canon so don’t sweat over this one too much.
Plastoid = plastic
Note: “Plastoid” is a bit of an umbrella term for plastic-like substances. Things like Tupperware containers to Stormtrooper armour are described as plastoid.
Datapad = an electronic device, like an iPad but usually not as versatile; limited storage, tends to hold just documents and files; some have extra capabilities like a laptop computer, some have hologram emitters
Note: no hard-and-fast on these devices. You can make them iPads if you want, but do keep in mind the 1970’s origin of the universe and the limited abilities of the futuristic tech will make a lot more sense
Speeder = hover car
Speederbike = hover motorcycle
HoloNet = internet, news network
Bacta = a cure-all medical substance, can come in liquid, gel, patches, tablets—anything the situation requires. You can bob about in a tank of it, or lie in a pod; you can even ingest it. How fast it works, how much it heals—all up to the writer’s discretion.
Midichlorians = micro-organisms found in blood. Have enough of them, you’ll be Force-sensitive (able to use the Force). You’ll sometimes see this referred to as a person’s “M-count” in universe.
3. Some nasty things to call people who have irked or wronged you…
Skank. Skud. Skug. Skughole. Sleemo. Bantha fodder. Nerf-herder. Womp-rat (note: can be used affectionately).
4. Weird Phrases
“If that isn’t the quakta calling the stifling slimy” = “If that isn’t the kettle calling the pot black.” I.e. “Look who’s talking?” “You can’t talk; you’re just as bad.”
“A real skank in the skud pie” = “thorn in the side” “pebble in the shoe” “spanner in the works” I.e. a problem in the plan; something that may not seem like a problem right now but will inevitably become one later.
5. Configuration of the Galaxy
Think of the Galaxy Far, Far Away (GFFA) as a big fried egg (no, seriously, this is most often how it’s depicted). The yolk in the middle is the Deep Core and Core, the centre of the galaxy (and the worlds therein tend to act like it). Here’s where you’ve got Coruscant (the big city planet, most shown in the Prequels, the Clone Wars cartoon, and Andor). The Core worlds tend to have the strongest political presence of the day (Republic, Empire, or New Republic, depending on where you are in the timeline).
Inner and Mid Rims are left a little more to themselves but still work closely with the Core.
The Outer Rim is basically supposed to be the wild frontier. Most worlds out here are either self-governing or ruled by some crime family or the other (most common one you’ll hear of is the Hutts, who have a whole sector to themselves literally called Hutt Space). Some worlds have aligned themselves with the Republic or Empire, either by choice, through manipulation, or out of desperation. The Mandalorian Sector is in the Outer Rim.
Wild Space is the term for systems and worlds beyond the edge of the Outer Rim where no one really knows what’s on the other side; in contrast, the Unknown Regions are somewhat mapped but unexplored.
6. Hyperspace
Hyperspace travel time is largely left to the speed of plot (i.e. the trip takes as long as you want or need it to take for the story you’re telling). Travel between neighbouring planets can take just a handful of minutes; travel from the Core to, say, the Outer Rim should take a number of days but canon tends to make it just a few hours, sometimes even just minutes. What I’m saying is: no one should get on your case for having someone fly from Corellia (Core) to Tatooine (Outer Rim) in under an hour (if they do, they can take it up with Mr Lucas and that Coruscant to Mustafar trip which took like twenty minutes).
However, it is supposed to be that you can slash travel time if your destination lies along an established hyperspace route (basically a space highway).
Some notes…
Small ships (like single-man crafts) tend not to have hyperdrives (engines that enable you to travel through hyperspace)
You can’t track a ship while it’s in hyperspace (unless you planted a super sophisticated tracker on it before it jumped… or you’re writing in the Sequels era where they can do anything they want now)
You can change course while in hyperspace but if you’re piggy-backing on someone else, you don’t want to just detach at random while in hyperspace. You could very well appear in the heart of a sun and you won’t enjoy the experience.
You can call someone while in hyperspace and it never even buffers… unless they’re confessing their love at long last or revealing the name of your presumed dead parent
7. Timeline Crash Course
Oh boy. Okay. Not gonna get super into this, but some basics to get you on your feet…
There’s BBY and ABY (much like our BCE and CE). BBY = Before the Battle of Yavin. ABY = After the Battle of Yavin.
32 BBY — The Phantom Menace
22 BBY — Attack of the Clones (start of the Clone Wars)
19 BBY — Revenge of the Sith (fall of Old Republic, rise of the Empire)
0 ABY — A New Hope (the Battle of Yavin is the one where Luke takes out the first Death Star)
4 ABY — Return of the Jedi (fall of the Empire)
9 ABY — The Mandalorian
8. Common Languages
Basic = the universal language
Huttese = a very common language, mostly spoken in the Outer Rim
Mando’a = the Mandalorians’ language
Shyriiwook = the Wookiees’ language
Binary = the droid language (all those beeps and boops)
9.Common Alien Species
Twi’leks
The aliens that look almost completely like humans but with head-tails and a whole rainbow range of skin colours.
Rodians
Even if you haven’t seen A New Hope, you’ve probably heard of Greedo. Big, bug-like eyes, fish-like snouts, and diddly-bobs all over their heads. Can be a range of skin colours, but green is the most common.
Zabraks
Darth Maul. Basically humans with a bunch of horns all over their heads (and two hearts, but that practically never comes up).
Devaronians
Not to be confused with Zabraks, these guys look totally human but only have two big horns. They’re pretty tough—immune to most poisons, alcohol, fire, you name it.
Weequays
Hondo Ohnaka. Basically human but with really leathery skin (which is immune to blasterfire. Neat.)
Gotals
A mix between a human and a goat. I’m not even kidding.
Ithorians
The hammerhead guys. They got two mouths, usually talk in warbles and use translator gizmos (but some can speak Basic).
A final word…
Don’t worry. Seriously. You don’t have to have read and watched every shred of Star Wars material to begin writing a Star Wars fic. I dare say the majority of Star Wars fanfiction writers haven’t seen all of Star Wars. It’s an enormous franchise with material stacking up for nigh on half a century now!
Even if you’ve just seen one episode of one show, if that story and those characters have captured you and inspired something, run with it. Write it! Enjoy it! And, if you wish, share it—someone out there will love it too! ☺️
Sincerely, Autumn 🍁
*no. no you do not need to read Bossk’s entire Wookieepedia page before writing your Din and Grogu fluff oneshot.
These are interesting to look into for my upcoming sw fanfics, thanks for sharing @autumnwoodsdreamer 😁 My friend, @genericficerblog would like to see this post.
Be careful answering private messages. Some user bae-rian (who probably deleted his account) contacted me claiming he "accidentally reported my account" and then sent an image that was allegedly a screenshot of an email he received from Tumblr support but there were a few thing wrong with it.
It was an obvious scam. Unfortunately I didn't think to save the "screenshot" before bae-rian deleted his account and vanished from my DMs but here were the red flags.
"Tumblr is taking action" - Tumblr does nothing about the fraud, abuse, scams, and hate on its platforms. Tumblr does not take action even when Tumblr's own accounts are being impersonated.
"the reported user is the subject of numerous reports, will not be notified of these reports, and their account has been queued for deletion" - why would Tumblr Support share this much information with one random person who reported?
"if the reported user wants to dispute they can use the contact information below: [link to discord and whatsapp]" - Tumblr is not going to tell you to go to a different social media platform to contact them. Immediate tell of a scam. Massive red flag. More importantly why would they provide the reporter with details on how the reported user should dispute the claims if they aren't even going to tell the reported user about it? Think about that for a second... Does that make any sense? No!
If you worked somewhere and reported your coworker for harassment, would HR tell you to go tell the bully they're being fired and give you (and you alone) instructions for how the bully can appeal that firing decision? Why on earth would they do that? Obvious scam.
Guess what I did? Reported the user for spam.
Did I get an email from Tumblr telling me they were going to delete the guy? No.
Why? Refer to point one: Tumblr does absolutely nothing about the fraud, abuse, scams, and hate on its platforms.
recently saw ppl discuss whether they put their medicines in a kitchen cabinet or a bathroom cabinet and i was shocked by the fact that many ppl said kitchen cabinet. so now i need you to reblog this and say where you keep yours
tonight, because i’m an angsty fuck who started out reading whumps on wattpad, i cannot stop thinking about the permanent physical and mental aftermath of the show finale of bad batch. like oh my god these poor guys got fucked up so bad, they had to retire after that shit
like, wrecker?? poor bastard was electrocuted so much he definitely has permanent damage. he’s got fucked up nerve damage now, you can’t tell me otherwise. he’s gonna have muscle spasms when he’s overdoing it because of that. and now he’s got chronic pain on TOP of chronic pain. like jesus christ he got TOSSED AROUND in that finale are you kidding me (for angst purposes i love it tho lol). he gets tired more easily now and he hates it. sometimes has a bit of heart troubles. his aftermath is mostly physical, but he’s definitely got some PTSD after that. anytime he ever sees an electric spark of something it scares him a little.
hunter’s hearing probably is just. super fucked now. like eventually his super senses got the best of him, there’s now way his eardrums weren’t blown out at some point. and he’s got even worse PSTD now. any rain, and he’s back there again poor guy. doesn’t even remind him of kamino anymore, just tantiss and that horror show. i think he’s more mentally fucked up about that whole thing than he is physically.
crosshair. lost a hand. and already had so much trauma from tantiss BEFORE their rescue mission. poor guy’s gonna have so many mental problems after this lol. batcher is officially becoming his service animal. he still gets phantom pain in that hand, even when it’s not there. sometimes the shaking spreads to his arm. he cannot ever bear to be alone anymore, he’s clingy as fuck for a LONG time after that.
echo is the only one who seemed less fucked up by all that. that was almost another tuesday for him lol. he’s literally been through worse. and we know he probably doesn’t retire. but when his gears start getting tight and he needs a break (or when rex forces him to take one) he goes back to pabu for some healing time with his brothers.
omega? complex ptsd for sure. also very very clingy after tantiss. girl got separated so many times, and as much as she craves independence, she also panics if she’s alone too long. poor girl is gonna have severe anxiety now. and survivors guilt, oh boy. she grows up and manages to cope very well with her trauma, but i bet that survivors guilt it part of the reason she later on joined the rebels as an adult.
The younger ones (Sami and Eva) especially CLINGY.
Not to Hunter, but to their big sister, Omega.
Now back to Omega.
She's got a lot more than that. At least partly owing to the fact she's now dealing with everything that happened around Tantiss in addition to having remembered everything the Kaminoans did to her before she joined the Batch.
Medical related stuff? Forget it. She can't handle anything medical related for a while atfter Tantiss.
-seriously from california to new mexico is terrifying like it’s eight straight hours of pale red desert and the sky is so large that everything, even your car, even your hands, looks like a tenuously small and fragile diorama placed on an endless pale red table and left there to dissolve.
-a gas station that for some reason has large dinosaurs made out of scrap metal. they are 1000% awesome. sometimes they move. take a million pictures.
-a fruit stand that sells the best fruit you have ever eaten. later you won’t quite remember which fruit. strawberries, maybe? peaches?
-small black birds, subtly different in every state. some have gold eyes and some are a little iridescent and some are black from beak to toes. the sparrows they compete with for crumbs look exactly the same wherever you go.
-a completely empty rest stop. no one eats at the concrete tables. no one plays in the tiny strip of grass or gravel. you will find a small and beautiful stone.
-a hawaii license plate, somewhere around ohio. i still don’t know how they get the cars across the ocean. i don’t know why anyone would leave hawaii for ohio. i don’t know why anyone lives in ohio.
-an incredibly weird duck. you had no idea ducks could look so incredibly weird, and you wish you were still ignorant of how incredibly weird ducks can, apparently, look.
-a small folksy roadside waystation that sells fudge and incredibly tacky statues of eagles and wolves and cowboys. if you like fudge, eat the fudge from here.
-a lizard doing pushups. if you are particularly fortunate: many lizards doing pushups.
-approximately one gajillion starbucks shops. don’t bother counting them. it will make you angry.
-a storm somewhere around oklahoma, if you’re lucky. the clouds tower up in fantastic fluffy castles miles and miles into the air and are painted pink and gold and purple and the sky turns a dozen impossible shades of blue and when the rain comes down over your car it sounds like the world is ending.
-weird burrs will stick to your legs. you’ll flick them out of the car eighty or eight hundred miles from where their parent plant was grown, and not be sure whether you should wish the little hitchikers well or not.
-a dog wearing sunglasses with his head hanging out of a car window. this will be the high point of the trip.
-the world’s most depressing restaurant. you will know it when you wind up there and have to eat the terrible food, and listen to the terrible music, and look at all the listless waiters and want to tell them get in my car, for god’s sake get in, i’ll take you out of whatever crapsack little town this is that you can’t get out of on your own. but you won’t say that because it’s rude. maybe they have family here. maybe they even like it here.
-a painting of a sailboat in a motel located at least a hundred miles from any significant body of water.
-several genuinely hilarious postcards. buy them.
-a cat that will not let you pet it. this will be the low point of the trip.
-corn. so much corn you will get scared. who the fuck is going to eat all this corn?
-a small stream in some small woods and the light will come down perfectly and the water will be beautiful and the grass will be beautiful and there will be flowers maybe or the leaves of the trees are starting to turn gold and there are birds chirping and it will be so perfect you will want to stand there and stay forever and live in this little magical painting off the side of the highway and be some kind of highway druid. but instead, you’ll get bored after a while, and get back in the car.
