#I remember the endeavor of collecting sources for carmen

[outeremissary]

🌹 for Carmen, 🍁 for Marcus, and 🌳 for Balthazar?

From this prompt list. Thanks for the ask!

🌹 Where in the world does your OC feel most at home? Is there any reason why? If it’s not the place they were born, where were they born? Is there a certain somebody that makes them feel at home where ever they may be? What does home mean to them?

Carmen has moved between a lot of places, so this is something that has changed a lot over the years. At this point she can reorient herself fairly easily on the most home-y location in anywhere she's spent more than two weeks. Currently, it's the keep in Drezen (if it has a name I've forgotten it sorry Wrath gamers). It's a place that's relatively stable, and it's where she lives. Her quarters are usually peaceful, thankfully. Despite the circumstances, it feels like a place of calm in the storm, and it's where all hopes of retaking the rest of the Worldwound are rooted.

Carmen was raised a fairly remote part of northern Andoran around the Darkmoon Vale. Although Andoran is generally fairly stable, there are still a large number of poor rural settlements where people keep to themselves and live mostly for subsistence. Northern Andoran also lacks the kind of pleasant Mediterranean climate that southern Andoran has. It was a fine place for people whose ambitions never went far from home, but it left something to be desired for more adventurous spirits. The region was also known to struggle greatly

If there's anyone who makes Carmen feel at home, it's her trusty steed, June. June has survived a lot of battles alongside Carmen and Carmen is deeply attached to her. If no one else is reliable, at least June is. And June is a terribly good listener and a calm presence. At the heart of Carmen's vision of peace is a world where June never again sees battle. But for now, having such a steadfast companion can make anywhere have the stability and tranquility to feel like home.

🍁 Where does your OC go when they need to have some time to themself? Would they ever have their own “comfort corner” filled with all the things they like? Do they have a favourite spot outside that feels like its theirs and theirs alone?

Marcus doesn't have a high level of comfort in public places- they make him feel very exposed. For peace, he retreats to his room. His parents aren't the type to enter without knocking and at this point the sole servant only visits twice a week to do some cursory cleaning and grocery shopping. The house is too large for its three permanent occupants, and it's quiet. It's easy to count on solitude.

Aside from his room, there's one other space that's been significantly adapted to his needs. The estate still has its library- a modestly sized one for a well to do family, and slowly going bare as the most valuable and least valued books are given up in times of need- and Marcus has long had a favorite space within it. There are two bay windows within that library with little cushioned benches running along the outside of the bay to provide the spectacle of a balcony with the comforts of a cozy, indoor library space. The one closer to the heart in the east wall has always been Marcus's favorite. When he was young, he reorganized nearby shelves to make space for him to store a small number of things- once favorite toys, then textbooks, now reference books for work- and a small chest near the bay also contains a number of heavy, comfortable blankets and extra throw pillows for cold nights. Without a desk it's not an ideal place to do work, but it is very calming, and he finds himself there when he needs to soothe his nerves. The view over the neighborhood is spectacular, and the windows are tall enough to see what stars are visible in the city very clearly.

As for favorite spots outside: there's nowhere he'd think of. There's a small garden attached to the estate, but he has no special love for it. And there's his desk at work, but that's hardly a soothing place.

🌳 What is your OC’s favourite way to relax after a stressful day? Do they have a favourite book to curl up with? A hobby? Or do they have a nice bubble bath and have an early night to bed?

Answered here!

There's a bonus Carmen answer under the cut- I think that on that one it really shows that I never found a clean adaptation for Carmen's backstory and it winds up being pretty thin, so I wanted to give an answer for Greyhawk, the tabletop setting she was originally played in.

🌹 Where in the world does your OC feel most at home? Is there any reason why? If it’s not the place they were born, where were they born? Is there a certain somebody that makes them feel at home where ever they may be? What does home mean to them?

Although Carmen still tries to keep in touch with her family, she'd never describe her home village as the place she feels most at home. She never quite fit in as a kid, and years under the Order of the Golden Rose have given her a perspective on the world that's alien from that of anyone in her tiny rural home. The Grey Keep is where she feels most at home. It's the keep she was attached to ever since she was a page, and it's still where the bulk of her social connections are. Her comrades are like family to her. She loves the bustle of life in the keep and the town below, and thanks to the Golden Rose's presence the surrounding lands have always been safe and prosperous. The gentle hills of the hinterlands also provide excellent riding for June. It's a comfort to always return to the keep and reconnect with old friends or watch new trainees scurrying about- she feels a soft sense of nostalgia watching the young do things she can remember. Life feels like an unbroken cycle: always the same complaints about the swordmaster being too exacting, the same excitement as a day off approaches, the same superstitious pre-exam whispers underneath the portrait of the founder... The predictable rhythms are comforting.

But as for where she was born: Carmen was born and raised for ten years in a nameless Flan village under the shadow of the Yatil Mountains in Perrenland. Although the tyranny of the witch queen Yggwilv didn't touch that isolated place directly, the memory of her rule hangs heavy over the region anyway. The monsters who once served her fled to the margins of the land when she was deposed and still haunt the forests and hills. The villagers had always been superstitious and the forest had always been dangerous, but Carmen grew up in an age where the terrors of the wild were much starker than they had been in centuries. Her family and neighbors were all deeply superstitious, and the land was littered with shrines to the gods of the Old Kerk begging for protection wherever there might be a lapse. Especially common was the sign of Berei's wheat sheath: hope that the goddess would protect the hearth and make prosperous the land. People in that village tended to be close minded and feared that which lay outside well traveled grounds. They kept to themselves and worried about community members who strayed from the familiar- not without reason, as annual attacks by monsters and wolves showed. It was a place that wasn't without joy, but which offered very little opportunity for those born in it who had dispositions not suited to farming, trapping, and husbandry.

For Carmen, home means a place of peace and purpose. It's where one has connections and comes together with the people they consider their family. A place that's home feels safe. It provides stability that one can fall back on when life is turbulent. Home is reliable and steady and offers a sense of belonging. There's not a single person that she would say makes a place feel like home, although she feels some consolation from her new mount, June- having traveled across the Flanaess on an unusual solo journey, the slightly skittish horse is her closest connection to home when letters will take weeks to travel in one direction (if they make it to the recipient at all).

[spaceorphan18]

99 Perspectives on a Single Love Story #81

A/N: The Story of Kurt and Blaine told through the eyes of everyone else but them. Each chapter is a different perspective in the ongoing tale of their love story.

I started something like this a while back - and now I’m taking the idea and really running with it. Each chapter is a ficlet of a different character at a different point in Kurt and Blaine’s life - documenting their love story. This starts in Audition, and each chapter will be paired with a different episode until reaching Dreams Come True.

[Ao3]

***

Carmen Tibideaux (Bash) 

Carmen Tibideaux is sitting in her office, going over her schedule and sipping tea as the lush sound of Bellini’s Opera Norma plays in the background. She is in the middle of her office hours, but since it’s a Friday evening, most students don’t show up, which gives her time to do many of the menial tasks she’s put off the rest of the week before going home for the weekend.

There is a knock on the door, and not wholly unexpectedly, Blaine Anderson enters. He is a bit timid as he enters, nervously fidgeting with his hands. Carmen doesn’t look up as he approaches the desk, but can tell he’s apprehensive towards her still. She finds it remarkable that such a bold and energetic performer is so held back as a person. Most of her students have personalities to match their stage presence. Blaine is almost the opposite. It’s refreshing, but also concerning. How is he going to hold his own when the real world starts really shoving?

“What can I do for you, Mr. Anderson?” she asks, her deep voice penetrating the silence. “Have you come to reschedule your solo?”

“Um, yes, I should do that while I’m here,” Blaine replies. Carmen looks up to see that he is somewhat in a daze. His face is pale, his eyes are red, and there’s a shakiness in his voice that’s more than nerves. Carmen relaxes in her seat. She knows a real source of emotion compared to a fake one, and something has this boy troubled. “I need to tell you about Kurt....”

“Yes, I know your fiance, Mr. Hummel,” Carmen says. For professional reasons, she keeps her distance from personally getting involved in the students’ personal lives. But she keeps an ear to the ground - and is aware of most of the going-ons at the school. She thinks, fondly, of how hard Mr. Hummel had to work to get into this school. She remembers how hard he pushed to have Mr. Anderson join him. Mr. Anderson did not have to work as hard to pass her test of an audition -- but she wonders, still, if this place is the right fit.

“He, um, he…” Blaine stumbles to get any kind of coherent thought out. She waits patiently for him to collect his thoughts. “A couple of nights ago, Kurt was walking home and these guys… attacked him.” He takes a deep breath in, and releases slowly. He shifts in his seat uncomfortably. “He’s still in the hospital. They say he’ll be alright, and in a few days he’ll be coming home. But, it’s going to take longer for him to heal.” There’s sadness and worry on his face, but a distinct, simmering anger beneath it. She can tell the depths of his emotion but keeping them buried is not necessarily a good thing. However, she doesn’t think it’s her place to comment.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” she replies. She’s not known for her compassion but that doesn’t mean she isn’t empathetic. She grabs a pad of paper and writes a few notes down. “Of course, he’ll miss some school. I’ll make sure to let his teachers know, and he’ll have to make things up when he is feeling better.”

“I can make sure to collect his homework so that he doesn’t fall behind,” Blaine adds quickly.

“Yes, of course,” she nods. “Please let him know that NYADA is allowing him to take as much time as he needs to recover.”

“Thank you,” Blaine says, breathlessly. He looks as though a weight has been lifted. She understands how much Mr. Hummel means to him, and recognizes how much of himself he is putting into that relationship. She only hopes that he is able to put that same amount of passion into his own endeavors. It’s not good for a person, especially a young person, to invest so much in someone else.

“Mr. Anderson,” she continues, flipping through her planner. “Do you need another week for your solo then? I am happy to give you more time if you need it.”

He gives her an odd look, confused by her offer. “No,” he says, looking down and shaking his head. “No, I want to be able to sing.”

Ah. So that’s where the emotion goes. She can’t help but be intrigued by the nature of the performance he’ll give.

“Well, then let’s do next Tuesday during class.”

He nods slowly, and gets up, but instead of leaving, he comes around the desk to give her a hug. It startles her at first -- the students don’t touch her, let alone hug her. But Blaine’s embrace is comfort more himself than her. Still, she pats his arm gently and cracks a smile.

Blaine leaves, closing the door behind him. Carmen sits back in her chair, and sips on her tea, reflecting.

Mr. Hummel is lucky to have someone who cares about him so much.