#beebee-76

The approach of both revealing the perpetrator + the use of multiple POV are huge draws for me. I love different character perspectives not only in the same story, but juxtaposed in the same chapter!

That’s all you get for now, but it brings to mind that I need to start taking notes 🧐

Thank you so much for this note @beebee-76! I'm looking forward to our interview, but it's awesome to hear you are enjoying @deathcoach! It's pretty rare that I write dual POVs, much less multiple, but it had to work for this story, so 🥳🥂!

I think I actually only wrote dual POV in Infectious, now that I think about it, fic-wise. But Death Coach definitely is its own animal, and I'm psyched it's inspiring questions (and notes!).

The Asker’s Studio™️ is in session!

The other day, we were discussing that the latest batch of prompts that took up residence in my head did not pan out (after I passed them on to you)

It got me to thinking about the whole concept of prompts in general.

As one of the laziest writers on this platform, I will offer that without prompts, my time is whiled away making up prompts for others, rather than trying to conjure original ideas for myself. I require them to produce content (I actually have an active WIP for the first time in 5 months)

Writers are constantly soliciting for prompts and successfully bringing them to fruition.

Does this need/desire for prompts translate the same way for an artist? Do they offer a inspiration or do they create restraints?

When I offer a prompt to a fellow writer, there is usually the open-ended stipulation that the prompt is merely an idea. I like the author to keep in mind that this is a very general concept, they are free to run with it in any direction. Do you feel this freedom as an artist?

I very much look forward to your answer!

Thank you for your time!

First of all, thank you so much @beebee-76, that once again I am the subject of The Asker’s Studio™️ 🥰

I was so happy to read that you have a wip again and you are writing something! 

So about your question:

Do they (prompts) offer a inspiration or do they create restraints?

Well... for me, they are restraints, but in a good way! 

Nowadays, I often have minimal time to draw. And sometimes I have this... IDK what to call, but with me, the case is this nowadays: as my free time is limited, when I have one or two hours just for myself (I mean to create anything), sometimes I'm unable to do anything because I can't decide what I want to do! (does this makes any sense?...)

And if a prompt came to me in a situation like that, suddenly, I don't need to think about what I should do. I know that there is somebody out there with an idea, and the best thing I can do to make them happy is to work on that - so that makes me happy after all.

But there is the bad part - sometimes I can't make it happen. I'm a human, after all. In most cases, my skills are not good enough to create the requested image. I usually recognize that after twenty minutes, and then I stop working on them. 

Maybe that's selfish. But I don't want to make a half job or do work I'm not proud of. And now, I recognize where I fail, and I don't go there. 

And again. because I don't have that much free time, sadly I must select as well. I would love to make everybody idea's, but I can't. 

The request poll I make on my discord is a fun way to select and reduce those ideas - so I don't drown in them 🤭 I got too many ideas myself 🤭 

(BTW, if I knew English better... I would love to write and take prompts as a writer. But it's so hard for me to write a story in English, and I need someone else who put hard work into my stuff to be readable to others, so... that's a bummer. But if it would be my mother language... I would be unstoppable 🤭 Thankfully, everybody speaks in the language of art 🤭🥰)

Have you read all three books? Would they appeal to someone who normally travels the Star Wars route? (I can hear about 20 other unread books giving me the stink eye right now 🤣)

Love to read your opinion. Thanks!

Hahaha I have indeed read all three books and I'm currently reading them all over again while I wait with zero patience for the fourth and final book to come out 😆 (should be early 2023).

Honestly, I loved them even more than I expected to. I started the first one because I read anything and everything Sanderson puts out, and then he went and wrote a spacefighting pewpewpew book, and it was so damn good 😍 Great story, great worldbuilding, great characters, well-written as always. If you happen to be a fast reader anyway, your other unread books probably won't even be waiting that long 😂

As you know, my goal is to be respectful and treat my artists kindly, so fear not and…

Let’s Talk About Monsters!

Even though I am 8? Chapters into your fic, I still cannot get the monster scene outta my noggin! I have serious questions.

When I started to read the description of the tentacles 🦑 grabbing Eli, the first thing that came to mind was 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. (Recently re-watched) I had the same anxiety reading your chapter as I did watching the squid scene. I thought our boy was done for…

My questions are:

1. What was the inspiration for your alien? (as it departs greatly from the commonly seen “humanoid” style)

2. Do you have a solid image - a sketch/photo - of what your alien looks like?

3. Bonus question: can we expect an encore performance by aforementioned alien?

I very much look forward to this new chapter & I thank you kindly for indulging me (4.5 sleep a night allows for a LOT of indulging in the wee hours)

Omg I finally have some time to answer this amazing question! Thank you @beebee-76 for the considerate ask, you’re too cool to be talking to me.

I love monsters, always have and always will. It’s one of my favourite aspects of Star Wars are the aliens and monsters. Literally any media with a good monster and I’m sold 100%

Question 1: I think at the time I started writing my fic, last summer, I had just  rewatched Prometheus - the film from the Alien franchise. So monsters were heavily on my mind and I knew I wanted one in my fic. I love Prometheus and all the films in that cinematic universe and how horrific the alien is. You can’t reason with it, it’s answers to no one but its own primal drives, which I think gives a real sense of doom when you’re trapped. I just loved the feral nature of the movie and wanted to try and recreate that.

So I definitely think I had this is mind when trying to describe what Eli and Thrawn discovered. 

But obviously with some key difference in that my monster has this extendable tail / tendril that seeps toxic ooze and I definitely imagined it to be incredibly larger and taller. I added these in because it creates great tension and it is scary to know that even if a door is open just a crack, the monster can still find a way to get to you and have its way with you.

I also love scenes where the protagonist is being dragged away by the monster and can’t save themselves. Again, I think it creates a sense of helplessness and high drama haha. 

Question 2: I can’t draw to save my life sadly but like I said, the Alien films were very inspirational for the physicality. 

Question 3: Alas! I wish it were so but sadly I’m on the straight and narrow with my fic now as it’s mainly set in the Rebels timeline. But who knows, my redraft that I’m posting is completely different to the original draft I wrote over the summer - so much so that a lot of what I originally wrote is now no longer viable to the fic. 

Maybe I could add in another monster or the same one, we’ll have to see...

I’m definitely up for writing other fics with monsters and my two other WIPs do actually have monsters in them. But I’m very far off from posting those if I ever do. 

At the same time, I consider Alliances to be Zahn’s gift to the fertile minds of the fan fic authors of Thrawn Fandom. It is basically the Thrawn repository of What If’s.

Welcome back to the Asker’s Studio™️, Mouse, it’s been a while.

In your fic Uneasy Alliance, you do exactly this: you explore a stream of consciousness that Zahn comes so close to developing, but instead, drops it…at your feet. He suggests an attraction of Padme to Thrawn at every turn, but never allows it to surface. You, my friend do the heavy-lifting for us.

A brief summary for those of you unfamiliar with the fic:

This fic draws VERY heavily on the actual scenes and dialogue in the book Thrawn: Alliances.

100% of Anakin's actions and dialogue are directly lifted, I made up absolutely nothing where he is concerned except in description and perception. Perhaps 80% of Padmé's and Thrawn's dialogue and actions are directly from the book, with slightly more liberties (necessarily) taken.

The story is built around Padmé's introspection and reactions, and I have added detail and dialogue to already existing scenes where they were alone and Zahn didn't tell us what they were up to... with the aim of making the scenario as possible as...possible. This could have happened in the book, so if you ship it, I get why!

This summary does not do justice to the passages and the sensual overload that is Padme’s Thrawn (as we see him through her eyes) or the just plain too-hot-handle moment when the the hormones finally seize control:

Defiant, Padmé lunged for his mouth, lips biting and tugging at his, daring him to stop her. With a growl, Thrawn slammed her hard to the wall, drawing a grunt from her throat. One knee drove between hers, his thigh shoving and pressing against her crotch. Instead of stopping her this time, Thrawn’s kiss turned savage.

Okay, now that I have everyone’s attention, let’s get to it!

I discovered this fic quite accidentally when another Tumblr post was lamenting one of my many complaints about Alliances: how could Padme not be attracted to Thrawn?!

Our lamentations were answered with a simple paste of this fic address. All was good in the universe 😁

So, let’s talk about Alliances, this fic, and revisions in general.

Did you read Alliances as I, and come away with the same unsatiated feeling that I did?

There were many avenues one could have explored with this book (a bane & a boon it was) What made you decide on the Thrawn/Padme theme?

This was an unusual approach for fic: it was almost line and verse accuracy to the original text! In your notes, you specify that this format was quite intentional. Do I interpret correctly that this was done to emphasize that, indeed, Zahn was suggesting the same thing all along: there was chemistry between Thrawn & Padme?

As I thought about it, perhaps the same scenario could be explored with Thrawn/Thalias? (I’m not a huge fan of Ascendancy Thrawn, so maybe leave that 🤣)

Finally, was it harder to write this fic with the stricter format hugging so close to the actual text of the book?

In conclusion, I vote that we replace the original Alliances your version, because it was such a more satisfying meal.

It’s been too long, Mouse, I hope to have you as a guest more frequently (when I finish this move 😖)

Dear @beebee-76! 

This is a fabulous ask and a wonderful break from the holiday prep for me this morning.  Thank you first of all as always for reading my stories.  We have a lot in common (this was already known) and obviously that now extends to our opinions on Thrawn:  Alliances.  And it’s always a pleasure to be featured on the Asker’s Studio™️ 😊

So let’s jump to it 😊  And thank you again for the very kind words about my fic.  It’s fabulous that you loved it so much and it inspired this ask.

Did you read Alliances as I, and come away with the same unsatiated feeling that I did?

I know I still have an unanswered ask from you in my inbox about the differences between “the Thrawns” as in Rebels Thrawn, Ascendancy Thrawn, The Thrawn Trilogy Thrawn, and what I would call 2017 Thrawn.  Someday I will have the mental fortitude to tackle all that, but let it be known that Thrawn:  Alliances really disappointed me when it came out.  It was, as I said earlier, unforgivably boring, or as you say up above “a hot mess.”  Hard agree there.  I thought all the bits with Padme were just excruciatingly slow, and saw the entire story as squandered opportunity and a waste of time.  After 2017 Thrawn, who is my favorite Thrawn, to call this followup a letdown is an enormous understatement.

There were many avenues one could have explored with this book (a bane & a boon it was) What made you decide on the Thrawn/Padme theme?

I don’t write gen fic really, I’m all about my men (Luke and Thrawn) getting with the ladies.  And I’m always open to exactly who those lucky women may be…Rare pairs are a fun place to play for finding new partners.  I used to participate more frequently in fic exchanges, and naturally one of my faves is the Star Wars Rare Pairs, as often the requests there fired the imagination.  Some of my favorite stories started because of prompts there, including my Aesthetics series and my Luke/Guri fic, which wasn’t an assignment got, I but the ship haunted me until I wrote it for the requester anyway.

Another rare pairing on the list was Padme/Thrawn.  I found this intriguing (although I wasn’t ultimately assigned it) because they do actually meet in nu!canon… I read a few frustrated fans’ comments (like the tumblr post that I responded to) about how Padme would never choose Anakin over Thrawn, and why didn’t she just get on Thrawn’s ship and leave behind her loser husband at the end, etc. and I thought hmmm….maybe maybe maybe…

Whenever I write a fic I try to make it as plausible as possible.  I find spots for missing scenes (like in my Luke Skywalker/Mon Mothma fic) where we know people were in the same place at the same time, or find a canon-divergent way to set a story in a believable timeline (like Luke/Sabine or even Thrawn/Sabine).  So I went to my copy of Alliances with nothing more than this goal:  find a spot in the book where Thrawn/Padme could happen, or find something—a hint, a clue of a future opportunity for Thrawn/Padme to happen.  I’m not a fan of cheating in real life or in fic, so the latter option was my preference at the time.  A Padme Lives AU, perhaps, where Chiss envoy Thrawn comes to rock her world after her husband is out of the picture. 

In short, I had no idea what I was going to write, but was looking for openings.

And boy, the openings I found.  As you righteously point out, when you are LOOKING for it, you realize that Zahn has basically already written the fic between the lines.  He gives us SO many opportunities to read an attraction, while also helpfully making Anakin the most annoying, unsympathetic, and immature he’s ever been.  Zahn keeps separating them—Anakin going off his way and Thrawn and Padme having another adventure together.  Sometimes he tells us what they were up to, sometimes he doesn’t.  Imagine my eyes growing comically wider as I scanned the text and realized I didn’t have to write a missing scene, I just had to tell you what happened when Zahn didn’t.

This was an unusual approach for fic: it was almost line and verse accuracy to the original text! In your notes, you specify that this format was quite intentional. Do I interpret correctly that this was done to emphasize that, indeed, Zahn was suggesting the same thing all along: there was chemistry between Thrawn & Padme?

You do interpret correctly.  Instead of my original concept, I decided to simply remix the novel, filling in those blanks and using Padme’s pregnancy (which is not at all mentioned or implied in the book) as an excuse for her oversexed response to the handsome alien that is repeatedly shoved in her direction.  (Much as I am not a real believer in the Padme/Anakin chemistry, I didn’t really want to make Padme an unfaithful hussy, so the prenatal hormones were a convenient way to abet her reactions.)

I think Zahn has progressively fallen more and more in love with his blue man, to the point where Thrawn has gone from Villain to Antihero to straight up Hero in some of the newer books (which is why I find him less and less interesting to be honest).  It’s clear in Alliances that he wants Thrawn to outshine Anakin in every way.  I couldn’t believe Disney let him get away with it.  Anakin’s decisions are wrong, Thrawn is always right—even Padme sees this and acknowledges it in the text.  Anakin isn’t as smart/rational/creative/cool etc.  Zahn gets to hold up Thrawn as capable, honorable, resourceful.  All things Padme recognizes.  He even has Anakin confront her at one point with the “now you’re taking his side”.

In order to achieve this—and let’s be clear, I’m not a huge Anakin fan—I think Zahn did some serious character bashing/warping of Anakin in the book.  After working so hard to find his wife, do I think right away he would send her off with a guy he barely knew to retrieve his lightsaber?  Hell no I don’t.  I think the “real” Anakin would be more jealous, more possessive, and more cautious than this version.  Zahn’s Anakin is stubborn when it suits the story, and relents just as conveniently.  In my fic, Padme has quite a bit of introspection about this—WHY is her husband sending her off with this stranger so often?  She was in mortal danger, he came to save her, but is more concerned with destroying shit and having some weird revenge against no one in particular than overseeing her personal safety. 

Sorry Zahn, your motives are super transparent here.

…was it harder to write this fic with the stricter format hugging so close to the actual text of the book?

It was the opposite!  I loved uncovering this story from the clues in the novel.  It didn’t take long to write at all, once I got started.  I scanned the book, identified the key scenes I could use to make Padme/Thrawn happen, and the bones of the fic was done in about a day.  The research/rereading took longer than the writing, I think.  I found out in the meantime that one of my talented artists friends @sometimesartmostlychaos, was a low-key Padme/Thrawn shipper, so the story was a gift to her upon its completion.

Zahn’s version of Anakin allowed my fic to take shape, as you mention, using total accuracy to the text, dialogue, and repeated separations he inflicts upon the newlyweds.  While I don’t 100% buy it (more reasons why the novel just was an overall mess), I certainly see what Zahn was doing, and what he was doing was making Thrawn better in all aspects than Anakin.  How could a smart woman like Padme NOT notice, particularly when she’s having so many traumatic experiences? 

I compounded it with hormones to serve my own nefarious purposes, but as I said in the author’s note, I didn’t really have to do a lot of work to get there.  Zahn laid it all out and I just had to massage the attraction from latent to overt.  It was a super fun exercise and I absolutely enjoyed it.  Making it better, making it INTERESTING, if I do say so myself.

As I thought about it, perhaps the same scenario could be explored with Thrawn/Thalias? (I’m not a huge fan of Ascendancy Thrawn, so maybe leave that 🤣)

I too am not a huge fan of Ascendancy Thrawn (understatement, I kind of hate him) see above about how the more perfect and heroic he gets the less interesting I think he is… I don’t care at all about these new books although I read them out of a completist sense of obligation…I don’t know.  I loved Outbound Flight Thrass… and Aralani was cool and all (not anymore though ugh) but Thalias is SO ANNOYING and always has been, I’m sorry.  She has this hero worship thing going on with Thrawn and it’s sort of icky and not inspiring for smut.  And clearly Zahn is trying to use her to swat away the slash fanfic but it’s not working.  I mean…he LITERALLY SHIPPED THEM in a shipping container overnight I can’t even…

In general, I find Thrawn’s solicitude towards Thalias contrived, I don’t like daddy!Thrawn to Cheri (god really?! That’s the name we’re going with?!), and I should probably just stop there.  But in brief, I’m not the person to write Thalias/Thrawn.  If I did, it would be super dark, not this let’s drink hot cocoa and eat cheese platters playing cards in a little shipping container.  Maybe have him be like “oh you think you want this?! Muwahahah evil laugh proceeds to wreck her completely in every sense” ah what a digression.

In conclusion, I vote that we replace the original Alliances your version, because it was such a more satisfying meal.

I adore you for voting this way, and am humbled by that assessment!  I have threatened at times to remix my remix, in essence write a “what if” where Padme jumps on Thrawn’s ship last minute instead of just wistfully watching its departure.  I probably will never write it, but I think it could be done and done well.  Thrawn in this case would be the hardest to twist (he was, as  you see in my story, under no illusions about what was going on with those wacky humans), but in fanfic all things are possible.  Which is why we love it!

Thank you again so much for this ask @beebee-76!  I am grateful for the chance to explain my process for this fic.  Never wrote anything like it before but absolutely loved the chance and the writing exercise and ESPECIALLY the reactions of readers who, like us, saw the plausibility and enjoyed what I did with it.

Please tell me more about the process:

Is there a set procedure? Do you “pass the notebook” back and forth, alternating paragraphs? Do you discuss the outcome ahead of time? How. Does. This. Work?

I have collaborated musically, however, our tasks have boundaries set by ability, ie, one composed the music, whilst another penned the lyrics.

I am really interested in how the machinations work when the artists are side-by-side - so to speak - in that they share the same talent.

Than you in advance for your time (and patience)

So I've been having a lot fun mulling this over in the back of my mind since you sent it, thank you!! 😍

I'd say the way it works has been different every time, depending who I'm collaborating with! I think mainly I've worked with @draculard, @revakah, @jewelliffer, and @confuzing. (I'm tagging you all so you can tell me off if I get any of this wrong 🤣)

In the series drac and I did together, the collaboration started by getting over-excited and coming up with a ludicrous number of related ideas together, and we wound up alternating who wrote out the individual fics for the most part, instead of writing each one together. Then we'd essentially beta each other's installment, and give the occasional suggestion if one of us got stuck anywhere. I suspect that's because (at least where our areas of interest overlap), we probably do share fairly similar writing strengths and styles - so we would just each write something and the other would pretty much go "YES PERFECTION I have no input."

Working with rev is different again - rev comes up with fantastic ideas (and improves mine drastically), we rant at one another about it all to build up the basic ideas into something fic-sized together, and then we throw scenes in a document and I'll eventually go do the sticking-words-and-scenes-together thing while flagrantly abusing punctuation. Then rev fixes and polishes everything up as needed for the final product.

Collaborating with jewell and Zs on a few things had a huge impact on my ability (and confidence) around doing longer, plot- or action- driven fics! They're both great at coming up with the story and writing out the plotty stuff, so for those collaborations we generally would split the writing along plot vs. smut scenes - that is, they wrote an actual story and then I rolled around in it and got the nice story all filthy 😈

What can I say?

It started with the Putting on a Show collaboration with @draculard and it may be the end of me, as I seemed to have tripped and fallen into a fleece-lined rabbit hole with From Fire to Ice. (I would tag your collaborator, but I don’t know their handle) I am currently in a holding pattern: refusing to read chapter 8 like an insolent child prolonging night chores to avoid bed🤣 I don’t want this damn thing to end😢

I few burning questions have developed in the interim, as I forestall the eventual end of the fic. Please indulge me if you will😊

I am amazed at how perfectly accurate y’all capture what I consider to be one of the greatest losses to Star Wars canon, Nightswan. As I read, it ignited an internal debate as to whether it is more difficult to resurrect a deceased character and breathe life into him, or is it actually more freedom to develop a character without the constraints of canon? Building a bit on this query: what IS the prep that one experiences when developing a character far beyond his canon life? Are there perimeters pre-set for personality? (like a profile) or do you just sit down and let the fingers do the walking?

Obviously, I could be overthinking the process, if so, feel free to gently nudge me off the edge back into my fleece-lined rabbit hole🤣🤣

Sorry this sat in the ask box for so long!! It's @jewelliffer who wrote Ice to Fire with me 😁

That's all something I never really thought about directly 🤔 There's certainly a lot of freedom in taking a less-developed character and building them out from the small hints of their personality and backstory we do get in canon, regardless of whether the character has a canon death or just.. isn't around much. I can come up with my own take on who that character is and where they come from, without worrying about contradictions with canon material or making them wildly OOC with what can be reasonably expected based on canon. So I guess instead of putting the work in to make them feel properly in-character, it takes different work to make them feel like a fully-fledged character in their own right, rather than an enigmatic supporting character we don't know much about.

I know with Nightswan in particular, for me personally, just including him in multiple fics is probably what helped me develop most of my own take on his personality? I'm sure my earliest Nightswan fics have a relatively less well-developed, less deep character for him, for that very reason. Contrast that with my most recent (I think?) version of Nightswan: the AU - Canon Divergence Nevil in Inflection Point. In that one, I developed my own backstory and personality for him to the point that he's very nearly an OC inspired by canon Nightswan. But it was necessary to make the story work since he's even more a 'main character' of that fic than Thrawn himself 😂 And I would bet that a lot of my Nevil personality there was strongly influenced by jewell's development of him for our nightthrawn fic!

Of all the parings that have been suggested for Thrawn, Nightswan is my #1 choice, as I believe that he was both a worthy adversary & an intriguing candidate for a lover. It is not much of a leap to believe that these two could become infatuated with each other, so I was sorry that we lost Nightswan…

Oh, wait: I just discovered a Thrawn/Swan fic that you wrote in which Nightswan survived ☺️

Anyhow, I just wanted to say that I was happy that characters whom I enjoy have been well written by you & I look forward to reading this new discovery 👍🏽👍🏽