#can you believe they were supposed to be a throwaway oc?

[zhongrin]

cw. gifs, jitters

🔓

𝐆𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫: 𝐀𝐜𝐭 𝐈

Trickery of Light and Shadows

Quest Started

I think

Some people were born a shadow.

Destined to always be the second best.

(Love is fleeting. Love is conditional. Love is pain.)

Destined to always be the second option.

(Love is cruel. Love is a game of logic. Love is a race.)

Destined to always be…

…. alone in the dark.

….

….

….

I dare not defy the fate bestowed upon me, for I know it would not be kind. It never was and it never will. Ice destroyed all that I held dear, yet it is that same ice I had no choice but wield.

But the lights; oh how they call upon me.

So when I see a sun so incandescent—

The brighter I wish for it to dazzle.

You are not worthy

You are not worthy

You are not

ー I am not worthy.

“What are you zoning out for? Duty calls.”

“But Lord Tartaglia, your injuries—”

“Eh, I’ll be fine,” the harbinger blinked and smiled almost knowingly, “… Or would you rather stay in Liyue?”

“What?! No! Of course not! I—”

In my clouded chase of a disillusioned future, I have ruined everything.

“There is… no place for me here.”

Not anymore.

“…. If that’s what you think. Then, I guess you’ll be going with me to Fontaine.”

“Of course. It is only right, seeing as I am your underling.”

The two pairs of boots crunched against the stone pavements leading towards Liyue Harbor’s gates. Coviello reached into their pocket, habitually checking to see if they had their Delusion - yet their fingers brushed against two folded sheets of paper. One, they recognized, but the other....

“……?”

a friend of mine gave me this for protection, but i don’t think i’ll need it, so i'm giving it to you. stay safe and drop by whenever you're in liyue. i wouldn't be opposed to hire such a capable part-timer. the patrons will miss you. — your ex-boss

.... Should I send her a letter, at the very least?

........ No.

I'm sure she's already back arrived back home safely.

𝐆𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫: 𝐀𝐜𝐭 𝐈 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞

Trickery of Light and Shadows

Quest Completed

[ To be continued(?) ]

[starlightdustings]

“Trouble always seems to follow those who avoid it”

year of the rabbit time to make some noise!!!!  Character design of the older sister of my twst oc, Marshal. More information about Blanche under the cut!

Background: Blanche was born into a socially prominent family in the Queendom of Roses. While her parents traveled the world doing charity work, Blanche was left at home with her grandfather to attend school. She never really believed her parents were doing all this work from the good of their hearts, only were doing it to show off that they were philanthropists, and these thoughts were confirmed when they publicly adopted a orphan boy named Marshal from the Shaftlands. Not wanting to let his opinion of them be tainted like hers, she doted on and cared for him with her grandfather’s help while her parents left them behind without a second glance for another trip. Getting him enrolled in school, helping him make friends, and learning that life isn’t just a fight to survive, she taught him all the things parents should while raising herself and attending a drama academy.Though tragedy struck when her parents went missing during one of their trips, and their beloved grandfather passed from the shock. Suddenly, they were were left alone so she left school to earn money to keep them afloat—completely unaware that her younger brother chose to help earn money through illegal means to ease her burdens. This persisted for years until Marshal received an enrollment letter for Night Raven College, since he adamantly demanded she do what she wants now that he’ll be gone. To get him to stop complaining, she auditioned for a drama that’d be shooting overseas. It was supposed to be an impossible throwaway, but luck was on her side and she got the role of the female lead. A year later, she’s the face of a cosmetic line, her show is popular, and she’s a magicam sweetheart, but her brother barely answers her calls anymore. Personality: The caring older sister, the perfect student, and a motherly figure. Being basically all three, she has a hard time staying still and relaxing; she needs to do something or she isn’t living up to what others expect of her. Acutely aware that she imposed that image on herself, she can’t help but feel like an imposter when all her life felt like one giant act for the outside world. She’s very loving and doting to others, but heavily critical of herself; if she doesn’t push things to perfection, it’s not good enough, but if it’s someone else they can take their time and have to be gentle on themselves so they do not burn out. The definition of ‘gifted child’ syndrome.  On the outside, she plays up caricatures of herself to fit whatever is necessary and de-masks when completely alone. She is immensely lonely, but has no intent on letting others know so she can continue ignoring it. Trivia:

 Independent from a young age, she sometimes gets stubborn about doing things herself

She and Marshal got in a fight when younger over opening a difficult jar, resulting her kicking him. She apologized a hundred times over, but he refuses to accept it because it was funny.

She personally gifted her younger brother a jade bracelet so he can be safe while they’re separated, wearing a matching one so they can always be together. She got the idea from the drama she auditioned for.

Her favorite thing to do with her brother was hold tea parties with each other, often making carrot cake for desert to pair with the tea

She mistakenly believed it was his favorite food, and he thought it was hers. Eventually, they both considered it one of their favorites because of the memories.

Despite everything she has against her parents, she still hopes they are out there and okay.

------

Thank you for reading! She’s technically not entirely a twisted wonderland oc, since she’s only a relative of an oc and doesn’t attend the schools but she’s special and I love her. I hope others will like her too!

[the-midwrite-oil]

Character Creation Tag!

I was tagged by @megxnswrites . Thank you, and I’m so sorry it took me so long to finish this! This is one of the more unique ones I’ve been tagged in!

(I’m doing this for Kesa, so fair warning that half of this may not make any sense because this story has its beginning in my mind five years ago and it’s been through countless changes since then. It’s hard to pinpoint when specific things came to me.)

1. What was the first element of your OC that you remember considering (name, appearance, backstory, etc.)?

Her backstory and station in life. Kesa has had multiple versions because the premise for this is so old (in my head, at least), but for this specific iteration, the fact that she is the daughter of a lord and destined to marry the king was the first thing to come. She even used to have a different name!

2. Did you design them with any other characters/OCs from their universe in mind?

Yep! I first started thinking about her and Nick (in the earliest, earliest versions of this, they were supposed to fall in love!). Then once I realized that Nick would be the villain, I created Egan. Brija came last, and she ultimately wasn’t very important anyway until I cut another character named Marsa.

3. How did you choose their name?

When I make fantasy names, I just...toss a bunch of sounds together into a form that sounds vaguely name-ish. Kesa was originally named Liya, until I made up the name “Kesa” as a throwaway name for a servant, and I was like, “oh my GOD this is such a better name.” Liya eventually became the name of Kesa’s deceased mother.

4. In developing their backstory, what elements of the world they live in played the most influential parts?

Plot-necessary things, like Kesa’s ancestry and social class. Someone with a different backstory could never have been the main character in the story I wanted to tell.

5. Is there any significance behind their hair colour?

Not particularly. Kesa has always had black hair to me, throughout almost every version I can remember.

6. Is there any significance behind their eye colour?

Again, not really. She just has blue eyes.

7. Is there anything significance behind their height?

I’ve never thought of her height as anything but “average.” There’s nothing special about it.

8. What (if anything) do you relate to within their character/story?

Her need for power, albeit in a lesser way (I’m not trying to maintain hold over a whole country like she is), is something I relate to very strongly. I’ve struggled a lot with feelings of powerlessness because of my own mental illness and background. (If I haven’t gotten into my past yet on this blog already, I will eventually, but basically...my life hasn’t been easy, and I haven’t always had the power to choose anything that happens to me.) Writing Kesa become powerful after being in that same mental state as I was has been incredibly cathartic and freeing. She’s been broken down and dehumanized and made to feel a similar way to how I felt, and after, she’s incredibly powerful.

9. Are they based off of you, in some way?

Like I explained above, we’ve been through a similar internal journey. But it was entirely unintentional, strangely enough. I’ve been working on this version of this story for almost two years, and I only realized a couple of months ago how close our ordeals have been to each other. I didn’t mean for us to be so similar, and I really didn’t know how to feel about the story after I realized. I’m glad I decided to keep going with it, but there was a time when I debated stopping. Everything in the story feels so much more personal now.

10. Did you know what the OC’s sexuality would be at the time of their creation?

I didn’t think about it very much. I’d say she’s heteroflexible, though. Saying she’s straight doesn’t feel totally right, but saying she's bisexual doesn’t feel right either. (I’m bi.)

11. What have you found to be most difficult about creating art for your OC (any form of art: Writing, drawing, edits etc.)?

Writing scenes where Kesa has lost control of something or is feeling particularly powerless are very hard. It’s like, “I know exactly how horrible this feels, and I’m still doing it to her.” It does make me feel guilty.

12. How far past the canon events that take place in their world have you extended their story, if at all?

I just have a vague mental image of Kesa and Egan one day and they're married and they're ruling together and they have kids and just...Kesa gets her happy ending. Mostly everyone gets a happy ending. I really hate stories that are already dark and then they end sadly.

13. If you had to narrow it down to 2 things that you MUST keep in mind while working with your OC, what would those things be?

1. Kesa’s motivation to become as personally powerful as possible. She believes that that will make it so that no one can control her ever again. 2. The things she’s been through. Her suffering. It shapes her very deeply, so when I’m going between writing earlier and later scenes (I’m editing TBK right now and jumping around a lot), I have to remember that at the very beginning, she’s still scared and weak. She’s not yet the strong, power-hungry person she becomes.

14. What is something about your OC that can make you laugh?

Kesa’s really funny when she’s happy. When she’s happy and surrounded by people that love her and she feels in control of her environment. She’s jokey and fun and she really makes me smile.

15. What is something about your OC that can make you cry?

How selfish she is sometimes. She’s been hurt so many times before that she’s learned to only look out for herself. And it’s not out of malice or anything. It’s a defense mechanism she learned from being abused. It makes me really, really sad to see her scared and weak and alone because she made a decision that only benefitted her.

16. Is there some element you regret adding to your OC or their story?

Not really. If I regretted adding something, I would just...take it out. That’s the beauty of being the writer.

17. What is the most recent thing you’ve discovered about your OC?

She has blue eyes! I have written 90k words in her head, and I had no idea what eye color she had until like...a week ago!

18.  What is your favorite fact about your OC?

How passionate she is. When she wants something, it is hers and there is nothing anyone else can do about it. 

I’m tagging (sorry if you were already tagged, and feel free to not do this, I won’t mind!): @luna-evans-writes @halrose @sarmarble @writersloth @thesteamgoth @lyntries @touchingmadness

this is not ten but...it is after midnight and I do not give a fuck lmao.