New ref sheet finished for a very old OC! Compass was the first ever clone OC I created and I’ve been neglecting him for far too long, so it feels great to finally have a proper ref (and minor redesign) done. Also, I feel my art has improved an unbelievable amount from when I first drew him!
This guy's from a Bad Batch AU, where an additional experimental clone survives to adulthood (Nala Se's line about "five are all that remain" implies that there were others that failed and only the canon Batch made it through the experiments), I know such AUs have been done to death but hush
His old art, as well as his ✨lore✨, is visible on his TH page here if anyone cares
In honor of the return of The Great British Bake Off this week, I wanted to share my OC, Malan, who inspired my ficlet "Fruta" and who will feature prominently in The Great Galactic Bake Off.
She may have lost The Great Galactic Bake Off, but she won hearts across the galaxy, including one very big one on a remote, tropical oceanic planet. Art by me 🩵
More details about Malan below the cut, including a bikini version of this artwork, and a link to a bonus NSFW version of Wrecker's morning view.
Overview
Birth year/age: 47BBY (28 at end of the Clone Wars; 30 at time of the Great Galactic Bake Off)
Species: Keshiri
Gender ID/pronouns: she/her
Orientation: bi/pan, demisexual
Home planet: Kesh
Current location: Pabu
Occupation: Baker
Alignment: Neutral Good
Family: estranged
Born on the Wild Space planet of Kesh, Malan left home and traveled to the Core Worlds in search of work as soon as she reached adulthood. She attended the University of Coruscant on a scholarship, graduated with honors, and went on to find a prestigious job that she despised. She developed a passion for baking when she spent Life Day with her uni flatmate’s family and learned how to make Wookiee-Ookies.
From that point forward, she threw herself into her baking hobby to escape the stress and boredom of her work. She often fantasized about opening a little bakeshop by the sea, but there were two major obstacles to that dream. First, the bakery market was dominated by droids. Second, there was no kriffing sea on Coruscant.
Thus, she spent her days at a boring but steady job, and her nights were spent researching and practicing ever more fantastical and advanced techniques and recipes. Her coworkers were the lucky recipients of almost daily baked treats, but her passion remained a hobby. Until, one day, a casting call was sent out for a new competition series on HoloNet News: The Great Galactic Bake Off.
Personality
Bubbly, warm, and friendly. Generous and loyal to a fault. Her head is often in the clouds, but she has a surprisingly practical bent when she puts her mind to something. People often assume she’s naive or airheaded until she blindsides them with a shockingly dirty joke. She feels very deeply but presents a happy-go-lucky facade even when things go sideways for her. Despite her seemingly open and amiable nature, she has a tendency to downplay her personal interests as a way of making herself more palatable to a Galaxy that has not always welcomed her enthusiasm.
Uncensored AO3 version here (ft. different background because I can't stop won't stop).
CC-1313 I Formerly Commander Jenot of Battalion 331st (destroyed)
Currently leading Special Cloneforce Hellhounds
Backstory
Upbringing
CC-1313 was raised and trained to eventually become a Clone Comander for the GAR. The majority of his childhood years were spend with his batch brothers and fellow soon to be Commanders Fox and Wolffe to which he remained a close bond of brotherhood even after the tragedy of Toydaria and his fall into absolute disloyalty of the GAR and the Republic. During this time he still used the name Jenot.
Tragedy of Toydaria
Jenot and the 331st served under Pong Krell for the first few months of the war. Even though the 331st was a very skilled and sturdy battillion it suffered great loses under the reckless and uncaring lead of the Jedi General. Shrinking it down to half it's size in the span of only three months.
While still unshaken in his loyality to the GAR and the Republic Jenot couldn't help to develop doubts and distrust in his supiriours. Struggeling a lot to keep his ranks together and his men motivated.
Eventually the separatist launched a grand attack on Toydaria and even though Pong Krell was well aware that he hadn't the capacity to stand against it he still gave the order to engage - although not leading his men himself but calling in the Jedi Knight Uros Io who at this point just recently rejoined the Jedi Order and lacked any practical expirience on the battlefield. Even though General Io was an extremly skilled Jedi, she was of no use as a General in a dire situation like this. And even though she realised her short comings and let Jenot take charge it was apparent that with lacking men and gear this battle was one that couldn't be won.
They managed to hold the line for three weeks before the overpowering seperatist forces started to push them back. Jenot watched his men die like flies and was aware that it would be a shared fate. Being pushed back to the capital the last remaining men of the 331st were killed by an airstrike. A fate Jenot almost shared but escaped due to General Io keeping him alive long enough for the arriving reinforcements to evacuate them.
Recovery on Kamino
For his recovery Ghoul and a handful severly damaged other clones of his battilion were shipped to Kamino while General Io - who suffered from great injuries herself - was treated back at the Jedi Temple. Due to a missunderstanding only Jenot was actually treated on Kamino. His recovery the only one prioritised while the rest of his men were utilised as test subjects for kaminoan expiriments - all of them lethal.
Unable to move or talk or respond in any way Jenot had to wittness the rest of his loyal battilion perish and listening to the staff in charge festered an untamable rage and hatred for the GAR, the Jedi and the Republic. His trust and loyalty shattering for ever, turning him into the man he soon would become. Even though his life was spared due to General Io, he began to nurse a life long hatred of her. Blaming her orders for the inhumane deaths of his men.
During his time in recovery Jenot developed a habit of sneaking out of the medical wing in which he was treated. Seeking silent corners for himself where he could watch the see outside rage. It was in one of those fateful nights he found himself in the company of three clone cadets who had caught rumor about "dead clone walking" - a ghoul risen from the battlefield.
Jenot, unable to overcome his anger and pain- decided to show those unsuspecting kids the reality of war and the reality of what it meant to be a clone: being property and being exploited.
Little did he know that those three exact cadets would become his new squad only two years later.
Embracing the crude name whisperd behind his back, he decided to let Jenot die and embraced the man he had been beaten into - Ghoul.
A Dead Clone Walking
Even with the loss of his arm, fingers, hearing and lower face Ghoul recoverd exeptionally swift. Making no secret out of his newfound hatred for the GAR supiriors in charge intended to get him decommissioned. Plans that fell short due to General Io convincing the Jedi Order to extent protection over the clone commander.
And while Ghoul proved himself to be difficult to work with he was also exceptionally skilled. The decision was made that he would operate solo, taking on special tasks that where considered suicide missions. Whether he failed or not was relativley not important. If he succeeded the Republic had intel, if not they had one pesky clone less to worry about. While getting accostumed to his new prosthetics and regaining back his former strength Ghoul was shortly tasked with overseeing the training of Cloneforce 99. His battlefield expirience deemed highly valuable and wanted to be taught to the expirimental unit to better their chances of success later.
After Kamino
Ghoul spend his time with achiving the impossible. Retrieving whatever was asked off him. He was well aware that the missions picked out for him were exclusively lethal ones. Yet he returned every single time to spite the GAR. To make a point. He was avidence of what the war was actually. The ugly shadow of the Republic. And he wasn't to be silenced. During this time his mind spiraled deeper and deeper into rage. His opinions became borderline traiterous and he walked a very fine line of getting caught for them. It was also the time he dettached himself from the idea of clone brotherhood. Getting rejected in the truth he had lived by fellow soldiers and shuned out, being nothing but a ghost story for them Ghoul grew resentful. Usual loyalty and empathy clones reserved for eachothers died out in Ghoul. Isolating himself even further from others, going as far as questioning if the men he called his actual brothers saw him still as an equal - Saw Ghoul as an equal - or if they only tolerated him because of what they once had.
Becoming Human again
Being pressured by Wolffe to join him for a drink at the 79's Ghoul met Odessa, a Twilek bartender and refugee from Ryloth. Having no interest in making "friends" Ghoul didn't spare Odessa much mind, just as everybody else. But fate brought both of them back together over and over again, causing a presumed dead side of Ghoul to seek out connection again. Slowly falling in love with the gentle, bubbly Twilek back on Coruscant. Giving him an actual reason to come back. A newfound motivation to keep fighting. Not for the GAR, not for the Republic but for her. Falling helplessly in love with her.
Asking her for her hand only a year after only to almost die on a mission and going mission for months afterwards. Leaving a pregnat Odessa behind, unbeknown to him. Though luckily being offered the chance to return due to the unyielding loyalty of his new unit. His Hellhounds - Wizard, 2020 and Fang - who had accompinied him during the mission and kept searching for him after being seperated and eventually succeeding in tracking him down and bringing him back. Greatly injured but alive.
Order 66 and the aftermath
During Order 66 Ghoul was still recovering from his injuries. Allowing himself to spend some time with his wife and newborn child. It didn't take him long that with the fall of the Republic the time of clones was also limted. While during the Republic he had imunity granted due to the Jedi he was defenseless under this new Imperium. Determined to keep his family save Ghoul deserted and escaped the Imperiums graps just in time.
Settling on a small, unimportant planet in the outer rim where he and Odessa build a live for themselves. Around two years after the fall of the Republic, awaiting a second a child Ghoul was visited by Rex, Echo and an old friend Howzer. The three seeked support in their cause to save clones. Ghoul, while initially unwilling to help feeling resentful over the treatment he had reviced over telling the truth even before Order 66 still, eventually agreed to help after Howzer explained that his Hellhounds had fallen victim to the Imperium aswell and were held captive.
Though never fully part of Rex's and Echos clone rebellion, Ghoul often found himself helping out.
With the years passing Ghoul and Odessa had another two kids - teh youngest seemingly sensitive to the Force. Doing what he was best at, Ghoul spend his time building a Guild for Bounty Hunters. Most of them other clones but also his oldest son and daughter. Though the latter eventual leaving the family business to travel the universe alone.
Trivia
Jenot is the polish word for Raccon dog.
Ghoul is deaf and requires hearing aids. Odessa taught him Ryl sign language. He's fluent in basic sign language and Ryl sign language
Ghoul due to his lack of a real tongue can't taste regular food. Odessa makes him super spicy protein bars that he can take onto mission with him.
The tattoo on his right arm is Odessas Lekku pattern. He got it before he asked her to marry him.
Ghoul killed a stalker of Odessa without ever telling her. It also sparked his friendship with Halo - who was an accidental wittness and helped him dispose of the body.
Ghoul is the middle brother of the Vulpus Trio- Fox, Ghoul, Wolffe
His favorite colour is azure blue. It reminds him of Odessas eyes
The order of his children is Vahan, Tarkona, Reyk and Rha
Ghoul can understand Ryl but is very rocky when it comes to speaking it. His kids love to tease him with it.
His favorite drink is Oryxxian Catsblood. An alcoholic beverage that leaves a nice warm burn in his throat despite his prostethics
Ghoul was very proud of his beard and its one of the things he misses dearly since his injury.
Vahan and Tarkona are characterwise carbon copies of Ghoul, while Reyk and Rha resemble Odessa
Odessa is @therisingdarkness character. Their kids as well as the Hellhounds are our shared effort
If you want to know more about Ghoul and Odessa check out these amazing fic of her
A while back, there was this trend going around where people talked about six characters or so that inspired their OCs and I always wanted to take a crack at it, so here we are!
Each of these characters have served as inspirations for my OC one way or another (before, during, and after the creation of said OC) and this post is going to dive in a little to that because I have spent way too much time thinking about them and developing them without actually talking about them as an individual. Additionally, I’ll talk about their initial development and how I went about creating them because I put way more effort than I think is really necessary, aha…
Deep dive under the cut!
Initial Inspirations:
Tay was born out of the idea of "Let's give Crosshair a boyfriend" because I thought it would do him some good (this was during S3 when Cross was going through it) AND because I needed to see more queer pairings of clones and OCs (especially with Crosshair because like,, just look at him)
The way I see it, a partner for Crosshair either had to be 1) an incredibly gentle and caring soul who would easily melt his heart or something OR 2) just as much of a menace and a snarky bastard as he is so that he could keep up with Crosshair
I decided on going the second route because that sounded a lot more fun and thus the cocky, smug Tay who doesn't back down from a challenge and loves to tease and snark was born
But above all, I knew Crosshair's partner would have to be someone who's gone through similar life experiences to be able to understand him and connect with him on a level that others can't
So eventually Tay turned into someone whose childhood was stolen from him and was forced to grow up super fast in an extremely competitive environment that would literally kill you if you didn't perform at your absolute best - I don't know when or why I came up with the idea of him being a gladiator, but it ended up sticking and working out well
On top of that, he has his time spent with the Empire too so they can connect over that as well
Add in a dash of loyalty and BOOM. A suitable partner for Crosshair!
Samson (The Bible):
This was not intentional but one day it suddenly hit me that Tay's story and lore nearly paralleled Samson's
If you don't know, Samson is a bible story about this super strong dude with long hair (the source of his strength) who falls prey to a woman named Delilah who seduces him into telling her the source of his strength - he gives in and (I think) she cuts his hair, so when enemies attack, Samson is weakened and unable to protect his people <- (this is the long story made short)
With Tay, I had it so that Black Sun buys his freedom - wanting him to work for them as a mercenary - but they convince Tay into getting on board the idea with the help of one of their own: A Falleen who is the Delilah to Tay's Samson
As a gladiator, Tay is also essentially pimped out - she meets with him one night and charms him, convinces him to join Black Sun, making all kinds of promises, and they keep their little dynamic going once he's "freed"
She doesn't actually hold much attachments to him though, but Tay is under her influence because Falleen's can project pheromones to attract mates and that's essentially how she's made him fall for her
HOWEVER - When Tay betrays Black Sun and starts working for the Empire (giving away their secrets to them and whatnot) she's sent after him to learn about his weaknesses so that Black Sun can get back at him
Eventually she learns about his feelings towards Crosshair and about his surrogate mother, Nay'eli, and they become targets - Crosshair is spared though because by that time he's on Barton IV, but the same can't be said for his mother...
Oh! And in a modern AU Tay would have super long hair too
Jayce Talis (Arcane):
Halfway through watching Arcane, I realized how similar Jayce was to Tay - essentially I saw it as being: Jayce is who Tay would've been if Tay grew up on Champala and not in a gladiatorial arena.
Once I finished Arcane I literally made a Venn Diagram comparing the two to each other because there were so many parallels (see below)
Tay was pretty developed by the time I finished watching Arcane though, but the inspiration I did take from Jayce's character to implement into Tay's story was the "Accidentally/Indirectly killing a kid incident"
Jayce indirectly causes Isha's death and accidentally causes Renni's son's death - Tay indirectly causes the death of his mentee in the arena, thinking she's ready for matches when she isn't (which of course haunts him and is another underlying reason why he's afraid of fatherhood)
Fiyero Tigelaar (Wicked: The Musical):
Handsome, dark skinned airhead (affectionate)
Acts like life is all chill - 'dances' through life - doesn't dwell on the negative to avoid feeling any sort of pain
However, that in turn makes him seem a little careless, mindless, and a bit cocky but he's actually a sweet guy who's pretty loyal when it comes down to it
Is with someone at the start of the story, eventually realizes that's not the person he want to be with and they want to be with someone else instead like Fiyero experiences
Tay doesn't get turned into a scarecrow or anything though
Joaquin Mondragon (The Book of Life):
Joaquin, I think, was one character I had in mind when I was coming up with Tay because they just have that 'himbo' vibe about them
I think I was thinking about Book of Life and then thinking about Joaquin that led me to the idea of Tay being a gladiator - because of the bull fighting and all that
Bit of a pompous, cocky bastard who is easily admired by most and feels like it's warranted - Joaquin because he's the 'hero' of the town and Tay because he's the 'champion' of the arena
At the end of things they realize that there's better things to fight for than just glory and recognition
Finnick Odair (The Hunger Games):
I rewatched The Hunger Games recently and had like "Oh shit" moment when Finnick showed up because I was like "That's Tay."
They use tridents, they're good at swimming, they've been in arenas and came out victors, and they have a maternal figure who looks out for them but ultimately dies in an arena - those are like some really basic similarities between the two
There's also the prostitution bit!
Finnick, after the Games, being forced into prostitution by President Snow because he was a "desirable" Victor at 16 - Tay being forced into prostitution by Osika Kirske, the owner of the arena, because he's a desirable champion at 17
Finnick at least used it to his advantage and got secrets out of it but Tay'kaa wasn't really in a position to really ask for anything in return and he was a little desperate for a touch that wasn't violent
But I'm not cruel enough to off Tay when he's just about to get a happy ending though - he gets to have his partner, his kid, and peace at the end of his story
Aladdin (Aladdin):
Aladdin was one of the characters I originally drew inspiration from when coming up with Tay because I just love characters like him - scruffy little street rats with hearts of gold
A "Diamond in the Rough" so they say
Now that I think about it - originally I had planned for Tay to have his own "Abu" in the form of a BD-1 droid and I don't know why I never actually drew or talked about it before 😭
I didn't write it down, I think is why the idea slipped my mind, so now I'll totally remember to implement that into his lore from this point on
Fun Fact! In a modern AU, this movie would've been Tay's bi-awakening. He had mad crushes on both Aladdin and Jasmine growing up.
Additional Inspirations:
For Tay, there's this like theme about a loss of culture/assimilation that I associated heavily with the results of Manifest Destiny and the effects it had on Native people
Tay was taken from his home and therefore lost that culture because he was put into a totally different world and forced to assimilate or face severe consequences (like death)
For most of his life he thinks that his parents abandoned him or sold him off when in actuality he was essentially kidnapped and taken away from them
For his story, I also was inspired by the concept of Ouroboros - that cycle, a never-ending one, that can symbolize death and rebirth or eternity
Tay repeats this cycle of being, essentially, a slave to some large group/organization - first a gladiator in The Cauldron, then a mercenary with Black Sun, and then a soldier with the Empire - a never-ending cycle of not being truly free, yet he's "reborn" every single time
Tay's also one of those characters with a lot of dog symbolism tied to him - especially fighting dogs
He's not a violent person by nature - Chagrians are known to be peaceful folk - but he was put in cages and chains, and was forced to fight if he wanted to survive
Additional Links:
💫 Find out more about my OCs here!
💀 The Batch
🛡️ Jung-Myn Yun's 6 Inspirations
⚕️ Viram Cossa's 6 Inspirations
🌟 Khea Nultez's 6 Inspirations
Cobalt, Fives and Crosshair are all avid motorcycle owners, Cobalt rescued a used one from being scrapped when he was 16 and repaired it himself, Fives bought his after saving a few paychecks from his first part-time job and 99, Shaak ti and the others all bought Crosshair his as a graduation present when he graduated from school
Nala Se and the batch's father (I ain't spoiling that reveal) weren't married, it was purely an arrangement solely meant to benefit Nala Se and her...research
Every 4th of July they all gather at Cut and Suu's ranch and have a barbecue inviting close friends and family members such as 99 and Shaak ti, Rex, Cody, 17, the Skywalkers, Shep, Lyana, Phee and others
Wrecker is the one who mainly cooks the meat (that man does not mess around with the grill), but also enjoys playing with the kids
Every evening after the barbecue everyone heads down to the beach for the annual fireworks display
As a child 99 and Shaak ti regularly took the boys to the beach where they'd celebrate at the 4th of July at the carnival's regularly thrown at the beach, more than a few times this has ended up with the boys getting stomach aches from eating too much sugar...it's the same story in the future even after they've become adults, only now it's THEIR kids getting the stomach aches
Batcher is a staffordshire bull terrier and she was found abandoned on the side of the road by Crosshair on his way home from work one night...to this day Hunter has NEVER seen Crosshair look as murderous as he did during Batcher's checkup at the vet (seriously, he looked BLOODTHIRSTY)
Everyone loves Batcher (as they should) but no one more than Crosshair, he's always spoiling her with lots of treats and toys
Batcher became Crosshair's service dog after she was adopted
Multiple members of the family suffer from some sort of mental health issue, to name a few...Miles, Omega and Crosshair all suffer from anxiety and depression due to their less than ideal pasts, Maria and Maverick suffer from severe guilt due to not being able to protect Miles' from their family's scorn, Tech is autistic and also a chronic workaholic...and also a severe perfectionist (it was worse when he was a kid, but it's still bad even as an adut)
Cobalt's blue eyes are inherited from Nala Se and are near identical, only differing a bit in shape...there was a brief time not long after their adoption that Crosshair actually was actively lasing out at Cobalt for his blue eyes as they were a trigger for his trauma...this was eventually resolved rather quickly as it was greatly upsetting both boys
At first after being adopted by Cobalt and Martha and entering school Miles' mental health was an absolute mess, he'd constantly do nothing but read or study for school (not even interacting with other kids), constantly study late into the night and fall asleep at his desk...or not sleep at all (which resulted in him actually falling asleep in class more than once)
Miles once went missing for three days after failing a test at school...by now his issues with his inferioty complex had begun spiralling out of control...he would have probably done something really stupid like leave town had Crosshair not discovered him and (after a very emotional talk) brought him home...this incident was the final nail in the coffin for getting Miles in therapy, this actually became a very odd bonding moment for Miles and Crosshair (though Crosshair threatened if Miles that if he ever did anything as stupid as that again, he'd drag him home kicking and screaming)
Wrecker is easily the best cook in the family, followed by Echo, then Cobalt
Crosshair, Tech, Trix and Fives are decent cooks...Hunter CAN'T cook to save his life and is only allowed to do the dishes
Hunter is prone to severe migraines when he gets too overstimulated, they aren't as bad as they were when he was a kid, but on bad days can still be overwhelming
Crosshair takes Omega, Boba, Jacen and Maria for Starbucks whenever he's the one who picks them up, and when he's the one who has to pick up James, Miles and Maverick he takes them for ice cream (because despite his tough guy reputation, he loves to SPOIL those kids)
When Crosshair picks up the kids Batcher is often there (this once caused an incident when Batcher was still a puppy and she jumped out the car, and all the kids wanted to pet her...safe to say she LOVED the attention)
Crosshair was incredibly nervous about coming out to 99 and Shaak ti (cause 99 and Shaak ti were obviously born during the time that sort of thing was frowned up)
When Omega was nervous about coming out to Hunter, Crosshair was actually her biggest supporter (not wanting her to have the same nerves he did)
Crosshair likes to act all tough and grumpy, but in reality he's a massive softie
Wrecker has vertigo, hence why he's afraid of heights
Wrecker works for the police as a bomb disposal expert (that's also how he got his scars and how his eye got damaged)
