#ch: livia corvi

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Romantic Snippet Tag

Tagged by: @cherrybombfangirlwrites

Tagging: @faithfire @rose-bookblood @bloodlessheirbyjacques @memento-morri-writes and @ink-fireplace-coffee

This is from Draft 1 of TTH!

Livia was combing her fingers through Nova’s dark curls as she talked, and Nova moved as well as she could to rest her head on Livia’s chest. A new, comforting warmth spread through Nova–she would savor every moment like this. In the midst of all the suffering, she could allow herself time to be held by someone who she feared more with each passing day she was falling in love with.

“What happened?” Nova gestured to the cut in her stomach, where a thick, black substance was still trickling out.

“You contracted Dolori. It’s a magical disease, it must have got to you through the Sesolo’s tentacle. It’s rare, but sometimes, after a close encounter with a creature, their powers can seep into the skin. If it’s not treated immediately, it builds up in the body, and eventually the poison becomes too much to take. I didn’t have the necessary tools to extract it, so I just had to let the fluid out.” Livia gestured to the ooze that was accumulating on the floor.

“Thank you.” Nova was definitely halfway in love. To have someone so loyal they would not only break into a prison for her, but do impromptu surgery after finding her near-death from a rare infection. “It’s a good thing you read, I wouldn’t have known what to do.”

“That month I spent a few years ago studying strange diseases in history paid off.” Livia laughed. Then, she raised her hand to Nova’s mouth, wiping away some of the blood. Nova cursed herself that even in this situation, she felt a warm stirring at the touch.

“What happened here?”

“‘S not my blood.” Nova gave herself mental praise for managing to form words, when her thoughts were entirely consumed by their closeness. “My brother’s.”

Livia cocked her head, silently urging Nova to go on. “I needed to escape. I was weak, but I managed to bite him. Took a finger.”

Rather than recoil in disgust, Livia leaned down and pressed a kiss to Nova’s blood-stained lips. Nova was still a bit weak, but hooked one of her arms around Livia’s neck, kissing back with equal fervor. The desire, the awe that flowed through her veins when they were together was the strongest thing she had ever felt. Sitting here, having cheated death once again, she decided that whatever happened, she wouldn’t lose it.

In that moment, she knew. She would risk the stake to have this for as long as she could.

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Guilt, mistake, and secret!

Hey! Thanks for the ask!

I'll do Nova and Livia

guilt: What is your OC guilty about? How do they handle their guilt? Do they try to avoid guilt, or do they accept it?

Nova: She blames herself for what ended up happening to her family. If she wasn't around, then there would have been no reason for Southern soldiers to go looking for them in the first place, and Sebastiano wouldn't have died. She handles the guilt by trying to do things to "make up" for it, which usually consists of telling Cloelia and Adrasteia that she's fine when they ask even when she's really not.

In the "guilt surrounding her family" vein, she feels guilty about the risk she's taking with Livia. She knows how hard it would be for Cloelia and Attilio if she was publicly outed and humiliated, but she's doing something so dangerous anyway. She mostly tries not to think about her guilt here, because she knows the only way to alleviate it is a break up and she can't do that.

Livia: Okay so what's funny about her is she's done many terrible things. She's destroyed people's lives, bred unethical animal hybrids, managed a not-totally-monarch-approved spy ring--that kind of thing. And she doesn't feel bad for any of it. But what she really feels guilty about is the fact that she sent Glauco on a spy mission and he was immediately found out and captured. She thinks that she should've planned better, that he trusted her and she let this happen. In general, she feels the most guilt when something happens to someone who depends on her/she has power over, because she feels she has a duty to protect them. She processes guilt by throwing herself completely into work so it won't happen again.

mistake: What's the worst mistake your OC ever made? What led to them making it? Have they been able to fix it? How have they moved on?

Nova: I'd say her biggest mistake at this point in the timeline is either the accidental murder she committed when she was 15, or when she went digging through Ottavio's room and exposed everyone to mind control ink. The ink happened because they were looking for evidence to link Ottavio to a spy in the north, and the murder happened when someone threatened her and her magic exploded. Both of these are still pretty big problems for her at this point in the story.

Livia: Trusting Orsina. It wasn't her fault, Orsina was a family friend and her childhood mentor, but it was still a massive fuck-up. The consequences are so far-reaching that "fixing it" isn't really a possibility, and it really messed with her already nonexistent ability to trust people.

secret: What's one secret your OC never wants anyone to know about them?

Nova: Well. Putting aside the obvious--she doesn't want people to know just how much she loves and misses her brother, and thinks he can be rehabilitated. She tries so hard to apply justice fairly, but she's deeply emotional and forgiving when she really cares about someone, even if she shouldn't be.

Livia: This one's more surface level but--the fact that she's an atheist. Religion and the pantheon is very important in Circian culture, and it would do a lot of damage to her reputation if they found out she didn't care about/obey auspices or omens.

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The most important part of Livia’s development to me is that we start to see her turn away from the idea of magic being evil before it’s even hinted she knows about Nova.

Like she’s a bitch and she’s chaotic neutral and she’s do anything to restore her family’s honor and she’s ruined some lives. But at her core she doesn’t hate people who don’t deserve it. One major theme of her character is that she’s only hated by other nobles, her servants and the common people love her because she’s kind to them.

Anyone remember that episode of Merlin where Arthur was like “yeah dad okay I know magic bad but also….does curing your dying father really mean you created the plague that’s killed thousands? Idk it just seems like your math isn’t mathing” That’s what I’m going for

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7

Ooooh this is a good one

Her brother's life was in her hands.

He sat in a cell, convicted of treason, and she was to decided if he lived or died.

There were those at court who believed she would surely like to see him dead, after what she had endured. Those who believed fratricide was unthinkable, even for a princess.

Then there was her family, all with their own opinions that had one thing in common: begging her to spare him.

As her indecision stretched into its second week, Racquella came to see her again.

"You can't kill him, Nova. He's your brother, and a good man, just misguided..."

She couldn't stand to listen to it anymore. Everyone who was supposed to stand by her defending him, begging her not to take well-deserved revenge.

She lost her temper.

"Do you think I deserved it all?" she screamed in her aunt's face. "Is that it? Should I spare his life because he was right all along?"

Racquella reared back as if slapped, and Nova felt guilty immediately, for taking out her anger on a grieving mother who had already lost her husband. But she couldn't stop, and tears streamed down her face.

"You were there! You saw what he did! How would your dead husband feel about you defending his killer?"

"He didn't know what would happen!" Racquella yelled back, defensive now. "It got out of hand--"

"What did he expect? He had a little fun knowing it could get me killed, but you want me to forgive and forget! I'm done."

"You cannot kill him." Racquella begged again.

Nova's face was still coated in tears. Her whole body was shaking with barely concealed anger, her throat completely raw from the screaming.

A hand wrapped around her waist, and suddenly Livia was taking charge of the situation. She wrapped Nova in her arms and turned a protective glare on Racquella. "You think your opinion matters here? You gave birth to a traitor, and you're here begging for his pathetic life. Count yourself lucky you aren't sitting in the cells with him. It's hardly her job to pardon murderers. Now leave."

In that moment, she was terrifying, eyes blazing with a fury that would cause the most vile criminals to crumble before her and confess.

Racquella was seemingly unafraid, however. She simply straightened her back and spit at Livia's feet.

"How dare you speak to me like that?"

"That was a warning, because I respect you. Disrespect her again and you'll suffer the full consequences." In a rapid shift from the stony cool voice, she suddenly hollered "now GO!"

"Your Grace." Racquella swept into a mock curtsey before hurrying away.

Once she was gone, Nova's resolve crumbled and she collapsed into Livia's arms, sobbing anew.

"I don't think I'm strong enough to forgive him," she rasped out against Livia's shoulder.

"Then you shouldn't."

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Happy Tiny Scene Sunday!

Fire, Blood & Bones

@bloodlessheirbyjacques >:3

Hey! Thanks for the prompt!

This is set some point during Book 2--it's one of the magic reveal ideas I've been toying with

TW for gore

It had all come crashing down.

Nova was ashamed at herself, how she was reacting. She could run, retreat back into the woods until everyone at court forgot her name, yet she was slumped on her bed, wailing like the world was ending.

Her world was, anyway.

She could only imagine how disappointed Adrasteia would be when she heard how Nova had shattered their precarious peace. The king had been on the receiving end of an assassin's curse, pronounced certain to die. She couldn't watch the man who had shown her so much kindness perish like that, not when she could save him.

She revealed her magic. Resigned herself to her fate as Livia watched her whisper the incantation that mended Enrico's bones, lifted the enchantment he was under. Livia's relief at her uncle's recover was completely dwarfed by her shock at Nova's revelation.

As it ought to be. Nova always knew the day Livia learned the truth would be her last.

She knew it was pathetic to whimper and beg, but she wondered if their previous bond could convince Livia not to use the pyre.

The door to her chamber opened, and Nova couldn't even bring herself to stand up.

"I heard," Adrasteia said as she stepped inside.

Nova couldn't meet her eye. Someone who had done so much for her, worked so hard, and she had disappointed her.

But there was only care in her friend's eyes as she wrapped her arms around Nova.

"You did what you needed to do. You saved a life. There's no world in which you would do anything different, and that's the reason we all work so hard for you."

Nova was sobbing into her shoulder.

"I don't know what's going to happen to me, but I need you to promise me something. Don't concern yourself with loyalty to me, when I'm gone. Say whatever you need to say, do whatever you need to do, but keep yourself safe. My memory is the least important thing."

"No!" Adrasteia's silver eyes were alight with anger. "Fuck that. I'm not selling you out for something as trivial as comfort!"

"I'll be dead!"

"You don't know that!" Angry tears were streaming down Adrasteia's face. "They may do nothing!"

It was a hollow reassurance, and they both knew it.

"Yes, I do." Nova whispered. "Fire."

She could smell the flames. She had dreamt of the stake before, many times, but that couldn't prepare her for the real thing.

"I'll do everything I can. Enrico will too! This isn't happening without a fight--"

They were interrupted by a knock on the door.

Livia stood there, blood splattered across her white dress and weaved in her golden curls. Nova was so focused on how beautiful she looked, she almost missed what Livia was carrying.

In her fist, she gripped the severed head of Nero Trapani. His evil eyes now unseeing, usually perfect hair now messed.

"I brought you something." Livia looked at Nova. Nova would never get used to the warm, heady feeling that came with being on the receiving end of all of Livia's passion and determination.

"What..." Nova stammered.

"You didn't feel safe telling me the truth, clearly. I wanted to rectify that. Nero and his faction threaten your safety, so I handled him."

Maybe Nova should have been horrified, but all she felt was a rush of love and appreciation as she dove into Livia's arms to kiss her, not caring as Nero's blood got all over them both.

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Happy WBW! What part of your world would your protagonist (& others if you want) change? Aaaand go! ♥️

Hey! Thanks for the ask!

Nova would change the marriage laws--even at times when magic wasn't banned, sorcerers still couldn't marry nobles. She would change the whole anti-magic system if she could, but honestly if she could only alter one law she cares the most about being able to marry Livia legally.

Livia would change the religious rules--she doesn't believe in omens or bad luck like most Circians, and she gets annoyed when her plans are stalled for something stupid

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CoM Character Intro: Livia

Full Name: Livia Corvi

Title: Contessa di Firanza, Heir to the Duca de Mutina, Heir to the Marchese d’Alesseria

Character Traits: Manipulative, mercurial, untrusting, devoted, honest, perceptive

19 years old + she/her + lesbian

Physical Description: 5’7”, wavy blonde hair, Roman nose, violet eyes, narrow hips

Faceclaim: Holliday Granger

Theme Song: The Family Jewels—MARINA

City of Marble Taglist: (Interact here or message to be added/message to be removed): @theprissythumbelina @writeblrfantasy @bittenthehand @pertinax--loculos  @terrisredrose @calicojackofficial @evethenovicewriter @houndmouthed @faithfire @ceph-the-writing-spook @rose-bookblood​ @pinespittinink @aohendo @flowerprose @perasperaadastrawriting @marrowwife @jessica-writes22 @lockejhaven @mr-writes @dreamywritingdragon @tc-doherty @did-i-do-this-write @inkingfireplace​​@ryns-ramblings​ @wildswrites​

Longer description under the cut!

—Daughter of Rodrigo Corvi, heir to the ancient House of Capello, and nephew of the former Rex, and Agrippina Serpico, heir to a prominent regnal house

—Her parent’s marriage caused unrest, and the richer and more powerful Southern empire tried to prevent the union of three important northern families

--Grandmother is Calpurnia Capello, leader of an anti-magic movement in the north

--It was dangerous to be a child of Northern nobles, with the South growing in power and wanting to forget where they came from

—The North has been in a steady state of decline since the war, and for most of Livia’s lifetime, it has been a mess of factions

--Her great-uncle’s husband is Imperatore Enrico, who caused the war, so she carries the taint of being related to him as well

--At a young age, took an interest in politics and tactics. 

--Her family’s station and the unrest at court left her unable to trust, and she disliked most of the other children of her generation.

--Her greatest rival in her younger years was Giacinta Giordano, and she was thrilled when Giacinta was exiled

--When she was 15, Orsina Gentilini, Enrico’s heir, introduced Livia to her method of defending her position against enemies: the post. She once said “a letter can make anything seem real”

--Orsina had told her the story of Leonora Alfonsi. In her telling, Leonora wanted to steal Orsina’s throne for the South, and so Orsina forged a confession letter. Since Leonora married a southern noble soon after, Orsina claims that her actions were justified.

--Calpurnia brought her eldest granddaughter with her to the sorcery trial she headed

--By the time she was 18, doing anything necessary to survive at court, especially against Nero Trapani’s growing faction to oppose the Imperatore

--Enrico brings the court south for a summit, and while there she decides to explore. She’s heard that Leonora’s daughter was locked up, and wanted to find out if Orsina had been right.

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6 and 27 for Novellia and Livia 👀

Hi Zac!! Thanks for the ask!

6. How do they make up/apologize after an argument?

They're both the kind of people to make up by doing something/fixing whatever the problem is rather than continue to talk about it. A side effects of that is that they rarely have long chats about their fights, so things crop up again.

27. How do they say “I love you” non-verbally?

Livia gets super involved/focused on the things Nova's stressed about--she'll come in like "I spent the night in the library and did some research about that thing you mentioned!".

Also, the fact that she puts herself on the line for Nova/defends her to her family when she doesn't like many people.

Nova's really impulsive and stubborn, so the fact that she listens to Livia/takes her advice a lot is her most obvious non verbal "I love you".

She's also risked magic exposure a few times to settle Livia's grudges with people.

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Happy OTP Tuesday! For the OTP of your choice: Where do they see themselves in 10 years? How do they inspire each other to have hope for a future? Also because I can, who realized it was Love first?

Hey! Thanks for the ask! I'll do Nova and Livia because this question is perfect for them.

Nova’s never really had a 10 year plan, just living from day to day. She couldn’t make plans because she had to stay hidden, and then after the story starts she’s living in constant danger.

Livia’s been being readied to take a more active role in her family/at court, so in 10 years or so she sees herself going head to head with the other factions and helping to run the country.

Livia’s most of the reason that Nova starts to make an effort to protect herself/become less impulsive. She gives her something to care about.

Nova shows Livia that there’s more out there than power and standing. She gets her to think about love with no strings attached for the first time.

As for who knew it was love first—I’m gonna say Livia, partly because Nova was trying not to acknowledge it. But Livia finally had someone she could talk to, who she could tell things that even her family didn’t know (like that ghost she saw that time) and she fell fast and hard

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Joy! I'm back for more! For any OCs of your choice:

🤥 LYING - are they good liars? do they have tells to show they're lying?

👻 GHOST - do they believe in ghosts? what are their "ghostly experiences", if any?

💥 COLLISON - what emotions do they have trouble dealing with?

<333

Hey! Thanks for the ask!

I’ll do Livia and Martino

LYING

Livia: She’s an amazing liar. She can come up with a cover story on the spot, and to people who don’t know her very well, she doesn’t have a tell. Eventually Nova’s able to catch on to the tiniest hints that she’s lying—usually, it’s when something sounds practiced.

Martino: He can tell a pre prepared lie, but he can’t make things up with no warning. His tell is usually the fact that he gets nervous, or that his story is inconsistent.

GHOSTS:

Livia: She believes in ghosts. The Circian aristocracy has a fear of ghosts, because they think of them as magical/consider them an extension of sorcerers. But when she was 15 she briefly saw Arnoldo’s ghost and he told her to go hunting through the archives.

Martino: Absolutely. Bellamagnan religion loves ghosts, and someone’s ghost appearing/coming to you in a dream is considered incredibly important to listen to. He saw Odoacre’s ghost once, basically just to tell him how he died.

COLLISON

Livia: Jealousy. Her initial reaction to situations is usually “manipulate to get what she wants”, and she has a hard time distinguishing between when its warranted and when she has a personal stake

Martino: Guilt. He beats himself up over everything, even when it was objectively the right thing to do. He has a hard time accepting forgiveness—he always wants to atone more

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Happy WBW, fantasy friend!

Do your characters have a goal in your series?

Hey! Thanks for the ask!

I’ll do my 4 mains

Novellia—She’s really just trying not to die, and to keep the people she cares about safe. What she really wants is to escape, save her sister, and go home. Around the end of the first book, she realizes that’s not really possible after what she’s seen, and reluctantly tags along for the court intrigue.

Livia—She wants to restore her country to its former glory, and bring her family’s faction to the top of the court. When we meet her, she’s trying to figure out who the spy is who has been sabotaging them.

Adrasteia—Tracking down and killing the nobles who killed her family. She goes with Nova to Veia because she suspects they had something to do with it. There’s also her side goal—keep Nova from getting herself killed. She lost her family to the Southern regime, and she won’t lose her best friend.

Cloelia—Revenge on Ottavio, and rehabilitating Orianna. She’s the one who thinks that Ori is able to be brought back, and never gives up on her like Nova does

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24, 29, 30 for the ship ask game, and you pick the ship bc I don't know anything about your ships yet!

Hi! Thanks for the ask!

I'll do Novellia and Livia because they're the main ship

24. How do their personalities affect their relationship? Do their characteristics compliment each other, or clash often?

They're both incredibly loyal when they've deemed someone worthy of their trust, which can cause problems when they disagree on whether or not someone is a good guy. Nova's got a bad habit of giving people too many second chances, where if you mess up with Livia you're out of her life forever. This actually makes them perfect for each other, because Nova can talk Livia down and Livia can get Nova to stand up for herself.

29. Describe their nighttime routine.

Nova's a workaholic, especially by the time we get to Book 2. She'll stay up going over and over whatever she's thinking about that day.

Livia comes to bed and immediately joins in with whatever Nova's doing. They get no sleep

30. What are their respective love languages? Do their love languages work well together?

Nova's is words of affirmation, because she really needs people to confirm their feelings verbally before she understands, and Livia's is quality time, because after a lifetime of people who were nice to her because they wanted something, words have lost all their meaning and she needs actions.

It takes them a while to figure this out, but once they realize the other one needs the exact opposite thing they actually work well. Livia's a big believer in saying what you mean, and Nova loves just sitting with someone and not necessarily doing anything!

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🧠🥵

Hey! Thanks for the ask!

I'll do Livia

🥵 : Is your OC perceived as physically attractive to others? Is it at first glance or is it something that takes more time to reach fruition?

She's not perceived as unattractive, but it doesn't come at first glance either. Her sister is considered the great beauty of their family, while with Livia you have to talk to her more first. She doesn't really care about her physical appearance--she'll brush her hair and wear nice clothes, but she considers her body just the place where her brain lives.

🧠 : What is your OC’s most mentally attractive attribute?

Her ability to convert anyone to her point of view. She's insanely manipulative (affectionate), and knows how to talk to people.

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daffodil & buttercup for nova & livia!

Daffodil - Is your OC likeable?

Nova: Generally yes, at least in the first book. As long as you aren’t rude to her first, she’s kind to people and happy to help them where she can. She also gives off a “pathetic stray cat” vibe that sort of makes everyone want to protect her. (One of the running jokes is Feronia always thinking Nova’s using enchantment on people because she can’t conceive of…just being a likeable, charismatic person that others want to be around)

Livia: No. A big part of her character is that she doesn’t have friends, she’s closed off and cold. She has no patience for people who annoy her and is generally not kind to new people. But this only applies to other nobles/people above her in the social hierarchy. The ordinary people love her

Buttercup: Does your OC have any odd quirks/habits

Nova: She has lots of magic related quirks—clawing at her arms if she’s emotional and her magic is trying to bust out, needing to be alone after a particularly long/painful power use

Livia: Her weird habit is getting really interested in a random topic and then spending weeks researching it. Once it was the biology of dragons, the next week the political history of the islands..that kind of thing

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Friday Kiss Tag Game

Tagged by @bloodlessheirbyjacques and @aninkwellofnectar.  Thanks for the tags!

Rules: Post a kiss between your OCs for Friday. Can be as light as a peck or as intense as a makeout. Can be platonic, romantic, or familial. As long as a kiss occurs, it’s fair game!

Tagging: @memento-morri-writes @flowerprose @the-void-writes @whimsyqueen and @evethenovicewriter

TW for intense kissing.

“Nova, do you have any idea how dangerous this is? I want you to be happy, truly I do, but please think this through!”

Her sister’s words echoed in Novellia’s head. She was starting to get a sinking feeling that Cloelia might be right.

She thanked the heavens every day that she’d been rescued from Invernino, brought to the reantica court by the Imperatore himself. It was a stroke of luck most people in her position could never dream of.

But Nova knew how quickly it could all come crashing down. Being invited into the halls of power had the unfortunate complication of hearing what the nobles said to each other. 

They weren’t violent, like Lombardo had been at Invernino. But they made it clear that magic was not to be trusted, even if it wasn’t illegal in the North.

���And a shame that it isn’t,” Nova remembered one of the Ducas saying, “That’s the one thing Vecellio got right.”

Her life was good-great, even-right now, but one slip up, exposing her powers to the wrong person, and it would all be lost.

It was a mistake she had made before.

Maybe she should leave, quit while she was ahead.

“Sweetheart? Are you awake?” Nova heard a soft knock on the door, followed by Livia walking in as quietly as possible so as not to disturb her.

Small as it was, the sweet gesture filled Nova’s heart with a mixture of love and sorrow. She knew herself, and knew she’d never have the strength to give this up, no matter the cost.

“I’m awake,” Nova turned around and whispered as she felt Livia crawl into bed.

One of Livia’s hands was cupping Nova’s face, the other on her hip as she leaned over and kissed her. Nova brought her hands up to Livia’s neck, kissing back as she did.

As Livia’s hand slid under her nightgown, Nova felt one thing with more clarity than ever: She’d risk the stake to have this for as long as she could.

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I know medium to slow burn romances are typically regarded as the most realistic, but I lack self control and it’s looking like my romantic leads are having a whirlwind, u-haul relationship.

Send help