#i had so much fun with this one roselyn you have no idea

[uniquevocashark]

👕 give me the tshirt igraine

Igraine and her novelty shirt collection

[rhymeswithchronic]

SO I've mentioned several times now that What This World Has to Offer, as we know it now, is a rewrite of a story I wrote in middle school. But I was thinking about all the things that have changed between then and now and thought it'd be fun to share some of it with you guys! So here we are! Things that are brand new to this story, and things that have been fixed! First things first, the main characters. Of course, the main five characters of What This World Has to Offer! We've got some things to discuss about these particular blorbos. First off, Wilson. In the original draft, honestly, everything about Wilson kind of fell off after Wilbur was introduced. I'm not even joking, I basically threw him aside entirely. I had no backstory or development really planned for him, and some really weird hoop jumping in order to excuse his behavior as the story went on. He fell so far from relevancy that I rarely even considered him when thinking about the group. It was pretty much exclusively Webber, Wilbur, and WX-78. Speaking of Wilbur, why on earth did I choose him? The one character in the entire game with no personality traits or quirks, no story, no concept, really nothing except for the fact that he can vaguely say 'banana'. I was writing WTWHTO when Shipwrecked came out and I really wanted to add one of the characters to the story. I had never really planned on having five characters, and honestly the characters in SW I just felt didn't fit well. So, I, as a normal fanfiction writer, took the character I could have full creative control over. On top of that, I loved the idea of including each of the 'weird' characters from each section of the game, as well as the game's main character (Wilson). WX-78 represents Vanilla. Webber represents Reign of Giants. Naturally, Wilbur represents Shipwrecked. When originally writing WTWHTO, I didn't really have any backstory for Wilbur either. Instead, after I was finished, I started working on The One True Heir, a backstory for Wilbur that was made up on the spot. In the rewrite, I got to explore this backstory so much more considering it... actually existed. You know. Better than the original. I got the name Roselyn, Wilbur's mate, from the character Rosaline from Romeo and Juliet (which we were reading in English at the time) and Elizabeth, Wilbur's daughter, was named after my at-the-time best friend of the same name. Now for WX-78. At the time, I didn't realize people actually headcanoned that they held a soft spot for Webber. Somehow, it was just how their character grew as the story went on. Their relationship with Webber was left a bit more ambiguous, described simply as 'best friends', but as I got older I realized there were times it sounded almost queer-baity, so I decided to emphasize their bond as distinctly brotherly. I was posting exclusively to Fanfiction.net, which didn't have tags, so there wasn't any real way to say to the audience that shipping was not intended. If people wanna ship them, that's up to y'all, but it's not the story's intention. I am much happier with how they see each other in this version, and I feel it is more accurate to how I originally intended it to be. When I first started writing it, I did not intend to write Webber out of character. I simply... didn't know how to write characters that were soft and sweet. At this point, that boy's his own character lol Which leaves the fifth character- Nick!

[tommymaddox]

"Look, you are my baby sister, I do not need to be hearing about any form of 'fun adventure's you're having with Cage." Tommy may be the eldest sibling with much life experience he preferred Cordelia to never have, but he was sometimes the immature one. Cordelia could have all the sex she wants, he just didn't want to ever think about it ever again. He'll stare into the sun to bleach the thought of his brain if he could. "No sex is worth staying in this place," Tommy stood his ground, sure Cage didn't have some wonder-dick that would give enough reason for the months she'd lingered. Hopefully, she'll land a house soon and everyone can breathe a sigh of relief.

"Exploit my freedom; I'll happily take her. Just give me a week to get over jetlag and run some errands. I'll need to go get my accounting sorted..." Tommy was going to need to sort his taxes out, having already paid some of his income to the Australian Government he needed to figure out what would be paid to the US Government. The joys of working overseas. Still, it was worth it.

The wounded look on Tommy's face when he is reminded he's lucky Roselyn still remembers him is as honest as he could be. The idea of being lost to his niece was painful when she had so much of his heart. "You wouldn't forget your Uncle Tommy now would you?" He asks his niece, tickling her sides as he did. "Do you want to have a sleep over with Uncle Tommy soon?" Roselyn is easy to pull onto his lap, he holds on to her as he talks with Cordelia. "Pizza and wings?" he suggests. "I don't think I need the keys anymore, I got all I need right here." He squeezes Roselyn whilst looking at his sister, his words never truer.

When he held his hands up, to her, that was a strong win for the younger blonde. Older brother admitting defeat essentially, yep, she'd definitely take that as a win. After all, they might have had each other to rely on but didn't mean that typical sibling bond wasn't there where it was easy to tease and poke fun at each other. At the end of the day at least they had each other, which was more than some people out in the world -- she knew that, despite them being ostracized from the Browning family. Honestly, it had taken her years to realize, they were better off because they didn't want to repeat those same mistakes.

Giving him a side-eye when he said it wouldn't be the first time, she knew he was talking about his days drinking. It wasn't something to forget, but she also had learned that people coped in multiple ways, and some did it better than others.

This time she rolled her eyes, "I'm not saying I want to know about your sex life, but we're also adults, I'm not oblivious, Thomas." Using his name again, "And if I lived with you it would definitely cramp your style, or my style, thank you. I don't really feel like bringing Cage over to your place would make for a fun adventure either." She quipped, "Grow up Tommy, we're adults." It wasn't like she was ever going to ask for details but there was a part of being honest. "Though now that you tell me that I have you back on speed dial to be a babysitter for her if you're all baby proofed up. Even if her babysitter loves her to pieces." Which was true but she was going to be a senior, she deserved to enjoy all those things as much as possible.

"So big isn't she? Growing like a weed every single day." Which was true, she really was. The little girl squealed upon really figuring out it was her uncle. "Just be happy she remembers you." Grinning over at him because she knew that Tommy would hate the idea of his niece forgetting him. "Alright, I haven't started dinner yet but since you're here do you want to do a takeout night, we can order in, catch up? Then you can have your keys."

[erinhime83]

Since it’s been a day and my muse has shifted back into being interested in this story again (seriously, yesterday it did not want anything to do with WfS, which was annoying, because all I could think about Friday was potential details about the third, fourth, and fifth books. Nothing concrete – I have a plot for the third, and possibly for the fourth, but the fifth is just minor stuff right now), I figure it’s about time I do some sort of reflection on this damn thing. It’s not going to be very long (I think), because I’ve forgotten most of what I wanted to say about this because of course I have.

I had realized that I needed to do with story back when I was redoing ISoF, since this is the only story I’ve ever not won a NaNo with. Even though I didn’t finish the first version of ISoF, I still managed to get my 50,000 words in.  Here, I got something like 17,000 or 26,000, not sure. I had attempted to work on it right after I found out I was pregnant, and I got all depressed because I thought I couldn’t be creative anymore.  But in all honesty, this was actually a good thing, because the story I had was all shades of not going to work very well.  Which is sort of why I struggled with it to begin with.

I’m not sure why I didn’t think to try it sooner, other than my muse was on different stories before this. So when it somehow shifted to WfS to the point where I decided to tweek the first book a little, I instantly knew I had to attempt July camp with it.  And seriously, attempt.  Like, I got it in my head earlier that I should try to go back to how I used to be with writing, popping out book after book, and I wanted to see if I could do it in a NaNo month, since the schedule I had used for November with the girls was still in place.  And it worked!  It really worked!

RIiighht up until Covid decided to shut everything down and I absolutely panicked to the point where I couldn’t write anymore.  It didn’t help that I was plantsing the book, using the basic outline I had but also making it up as I went along.  I, like, lost steam right at the end there, so yeah.  I might have been able to continue with it if I had an idea of what I was doing.

And the same could be said about my April Camp attempt.  Sure, I had my tooth issue that made it impossible to write and then, since I had lost a couple of days, I just couldn’t continue.  Because I had no idea where I wanted to go with it (I have since figured it out potentially, and considering I do really want to get into the new Cosmic Dreamers, I may finish that one soonish). So even though I could have finished it later, I haven’t yet.

I did go into this one nervous as hell that something would happen and I wouldn’t be able to finish again.  Except this time, I did have a full outline, I wasn’t plantsing it, so I might have been able to finish it regardless.  But no. This time it went to @callistochan87.  So…I guess we gotta keep an eye on @anijeltaventry in November. Or if I want to write again.  (I feel bad being grateful that it was her and not me this time, and I feel like I might be able to since it was a crazy easy fix, she wasn’t in immense pain, and it sounds like her vision might not be completely damaged?  I hope).

In any case, its sort of funny how tweeking just a couple of thing from my original idea completely changed what I had planned, but also changed my view on this one.  Like I said, the original idea I had was garbage, and I never fully finished the outline because I couldn’t make it work very well.  I was bound and determined to bring the other Volturnians from the crossover story into this one, and once I determined it was simply not possible, everything fell into place.  I mean, just like the whole thing with Techna.  I want Techna to be a thing, but she doesn’t do much.  She’s really not useful in the story.  So when I did away from her, again, everything just fell into place.  More so than taking out the Volturnians.

And taking out the Volturnians was made possibly simply by creating Alan.  See, one of the reasons why my muse was on WfS in the first place was because I wanted to watch a couple DC films.  Death of Superman and Reign of the Supermen are my favorite, since they focus on the Lois/Superman relationship, and obviously I am all about that.  And one of my favorite aspects of the new animate universes is that they always have Hal Jordan and Barry Allen be, like, BFFs IRL before the Justice League is formed.  So I was like, I should do that.  I should create a speedster character, and then have him be BFFs with Specter.

Except originally, Specter was an alien.  That’s actually why he looks so opposite of Greg, with the pale skin, pale hair, and pale eyes.  His species was supposed to be the anti-Volturnians.  Also, the idea behind Spectrum was that they were all blind, and were able to ‘see’ thanks to the bracelets, but they could only ‘see’ basic colors.  So if something was kinda red, they’d see it as straight red, that’s sort of thing.  Oh, and Specter was supposed to be the villain. 

Yep, what was supposed to happen was that he himself was going to arrest Greg for being a Volturnian on Earth.  And then Lane would convince Roselyn to take her to Volturnas to get him back.  And Miles was supposed to end up with Roselyn’s half-brother.  Yep. 

But giving Jordan a human BFF made me decide to make him human as well, and I think it works out so much better!  I mean, I didn’t know anything about Spectrum until I was literally writing about it, but now I had this world-building thing that I can expand on for the next book, so yay!  I was actually going to make it so he was blinded by the accident, but I sort of liked the idea of him being born blind, so the suddenly seeing thing would be more of a shock.  Plus, if he had been blinded, then really, he could just always use his powers and never tell anyone he was blind.  So...yeah.

(Also, I still love their names.  Like, literally, I named Jordan what I did because Green Lantern’s last name could be a first name.  Which is why it’s Jordan Halstrom.  So I had to do the same with Alan.  Alan Barnett instead of Barry Allen.  Also, the name Speedy comes from Green Arrow’s sidekick, which I always thought was a better name for Kid Flash then, you know, Kid Flash.)

Looking at what I had originally planned and how much I ended up like Livianus, I realize that I could have had Miles end up with him instead of Jordan.  I mean, I’m sort of mad at myself for deciding to make the rainbow superhero gay, but I randomly picked him instead of Alan. Which I think makes more sense. Alan is fricking nineteen.  Miles might be only twenty-three, but I think the press would have an absolute field day with that. At least with Jordan, there’s only a three year age gap there. >.<

Let’s see, I’m not sure if there’s really anything else to mention.  I mean, I sort of had fun at the beginning of the book, because it really looks like it’s going in a completely different direction than it took. But the thing is, when I was first planning WfS, I had two storylines I could have one with.  The first one is the one I wrote, where Greg is a superhero and blah blah blah.  The second storyline involved Greg being taken back to Volturnas when he was a teenager, and returning when they invade, and reuniting with Lane then.  And then he and Lane attempting to stop the invasion and stuff.

And I guess after doing WfS, I realized I could still use some of the ideas of the second storyline. Like where Greg is taken back to Volturnas and Lane sneaks on the ship to go back with him, and her becoming one of his concubines.  Sort of. So that’s where the whole plot of WCBH came into play.  But as a result of the first act, I know what I want to do with the third yet-to-be-named book. 

And also a Specter and Speedy prequel, and I’m like, damn, am I going to have time for all these books? Yeesh.  Like, the prequel will be weird because Lane and Greg wouldn’t be in it, Miles will be mentioned, and, oh yeah, it’ll be told from a guy perspective. >.<  But I still want to do it someday!  *cries*

I did like how there was only one day where I had to play catch up, which is actually unusual for me.  I always look at my days off when I’m not feeling writing a chapter and go ‘well, it’s easy to write a twofer or a chapter and a half those days!’, like I give myself an easy out.  BUT thanks to convincing @callistochan87 to review the chapter after she read it, it motivated me to not only put a chapter out, but having it done before she got on so she could have a chance to read it.  Which I severely miss.  I was seriously sad on Friday night knowing that was the last time she was going to do it. Unless she, like, decides not to write in November.  Then I could look forward to that then.  But I doubt it.  ;_;

I think the worst thing that came out of all this was, despite not thinking about it ALL DAY YESTERDAY, my muse decided last night to give me breakthrough with my idea of rewriting WfS where Greg didn’t ghost everyone when he decided to become Ultro.  Like, I love the idea, and I was struggling to make certain parts make sense, but now I really want to do it.  And the even worst bit is the back that my breakthrough makes it really stupidly easy just to go back, rewrite the first couple of chapters, and then just edit the rest of it.  So, like, now I really, really want to do it!  And I might! Because it means I don’t have to rewrite the series and be really annoyed that I can’t have Miles and Jordan together already.  :D

So yeah, that’s where I’m at at the moment.  Fun times with the muse.  Bleh.

Still, I know I’ll look back on this book and be happy with it (except for the fact that I’d have to go back and tweek some things thanks to the rewrite of WfS).  There were some things I struggled with, some ideas that I thought were stupid but had to use to move the plot forward.  But that’s the best thing about first drafts!  I can rework it all later to make more sense.  I’m so happy that I’ve gotten this one under wraps! It only took over three years to do. XD

Thank you so much, @callistochan87, not for taking one for the team, but rather motivating me to write this and keep going with it.  I know you think you didn’t do much, but just the fact that you were reading it helped so, so much, and that’s pretty true for all my stories!  So I’ll always thank you for that.  :D

I probably missed some things I wanted to say.  I always do, it seems.  ^^;

[talkfastromance4]

sunshine

So, this is a little epilogue I guess to Earthshine. Just a little something. Baby fever is something I can never shake and picturing Ashton with babies makes my heart melt. Read Earthshine here: one and two

Summary: dad!ash has doubts about himself when it comes to his newborn. mentions of smut, nothing too graphic but it’s mainly fluff. enjoy lovies :)

“Everyone, this is Roselyn Ann Irwin,” Ashton introduces their baby to her three uncles who are staring wide eyed at the tiny bundle in Ashton’s large arms.

You’re gazing up at him with a sleepy smile, your heart overflowing with love. Your favorite person was holding the newest favorite person in your life.

“She’s so small,” Calum says in a hushed tone. His eyes are wide as he gazes down at his niece. “Are they always this tiny?”

“She’s the perfectly normal sized for a newborn,” you defend then smile up at Ashton. “Besides, her daddy is a giant so no wonder she looks dwarfish.”

Ashton shoots you an amused grin as he rocks Roselyn slightly.

“You can hold her if you want,” he says to Calum who just nods silently.

Ashton carefully exchanges his little girl into his best friends’ arms, reminding him to watch her head. Michael and Luke crowd around him and look at her small round face.

Ashton sits next to you on the bed taking your hand in his and bringing it to his mouth for a tender kiss. You smile up at him happily and nuzzle into his shoulder watching your daughter tug at the heartstrings of their friends.

“She’s got my finger!” Michael exclaims.

Roselyn lets out a small cry at the loud noise, Calum and Luke’s eyes widen and shush Michael. Luke swats his shoulder but she’s silent again.

“Our daughter’s only a few hours old and she’s already got three men wrapped around her tiny finger,” you smile.

“She gets that from her mama,” Ashton presses a kiss to the top of your head.

You scrunch your nose up at him before turning your attention back to the happy moment before you. Nine months you’ve waited to meet your baby and now here she is. A real living bundle of joy that is half you and half Ashton.

**

“Come on Rosie,” Ashton sighs tiredly. He’s holding Rosie against his shoulder swaying from side to side at two in the morning trying to get her to fall back asleep. It’s been a month since they brought her home and she’s not sleeping throughout the night yet. “Go to sleep for, daddy. Please?”

Ashton was exhausted. He loved being a dad but he hated how tiring it was. During the day it was great, but come nighttime Rosie would be up around 3-4 times a night.

“Honey, give her to me,” you say your voice still thick with sleep.

Ashton turns around to see you holding your arms out, a cardigan wrapped around your body.

“Baby you should be sleeping, I’ve got this.”

“No, you don’t. I’ve been up since you got up half an hour ago. She hasn’t stopped crying and I know you’re more exhausted than I am.” You hold out your arms taking Rosie from him. She whimpers in your ear and you hush her gently before going to sit in the rocking chair near the window.

Ashton watches you open your cardigan and nestle Rosie against your bosom, you wrap the cardigan around her and begin to rock. Her tiny body is still shaking from crying but then you begin to hum and rub small circles into her back.

In moments, Rosie’s cries have quieted and Ashton stares in amazement at his wife. How did she do that?

“How’d you do that?” he asks in astonishment.

“She likes to listen to my heartbeat,” you kiss the top of her warm fuzzy head.

“I’m terrible at this,” he runs his fingers through his hair in distress. “I’ve wanted a family for forever and I can’t even put my baby back to sleep.”

“Hey, you aren’t terrible at this. Babies are very sensitive and she can probably tell that you’re super tired. You’re the best, Ashton. Go back to bed, I’ll be there in a minute,” you tell him gently and watch him shuffle back to your room.

You waited a few minutes to make sure Rosie was asleep again before placing her back in her crib. You pad back to your room and see Ashton is staring up at the ceiling, his left arm tucked behind his head, his jaw working soundlessly. You slip the cardigan off throwing it to the chair in the corner.

You climb onto his lap and lay across the length of his body, your finger traces designs in his t-shirt.

“She doesn’t like me,” he says quietly, his gaze still at the ceiling.

“She loves you, you’re her dad.”

“She cries whenever I hold her.”

“You’re thinking too much. You need to relax, even I can feel the stress radiating off you. Hey,” you sit up and hold his face in your hands forcing him to look at you. “Want me to help you relax?” you don’t even give him a second to respond before you’re palming him through his cotton pajama bottoms.

He moans into your kiss, his body going completely lax at your touch.

“You need to be quiet,” you murmur circling your thumb over the outline of the tip of his dick through the fabric. His breath hitches in response and he squeezes onto your waist. “Can’t wake Rosie again.”

In one swift movement, he flips you onto your back and you’re trapped underneath his body.

“You’re the vocal one, babe,” he grins and presses his mouth below your jaw.

**

The next day you weren’t going to be home until later because your sister wanted to go bridesmaid shopping for her wedding. You were excited to get out of the house but at the same time felt like you couldn’t leave because of the motherly pull you had to Rosie. Obviously she’d be fine because Ashton would be with her, but your heart ached at the mere thought of leaving her side. (hooray for post pregnancy hormones).

“What if she cries and you’re not back yet?” Ashton asks nearly frantic. Rosie was in her rock ‘n play, her tiny fingers playing with the dangling mobiles above her.

“Honey, you’ll be fine. Try singing to her, she seemed to like that when she was still in the womb,” you touch his cheek affectionately. “I have to go. I’ll be back after dinner.” You lean on your tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek.

“Have fun, love you,” he says watching you go to the door.

“Love you too,” you throw a smile over your shoulder before leaving.

With his hands on his hips, he turns on the spot to face his daughter, her petite feet squirming in her onesie. His expression softens whenever he looks at Rosie and it’s like his love for her grows more and more by the second.

“Well Rosie-posy,” he sighs sitting cross legged on the floor in front of her, “it’s just you and me, sweetheart. Go easy on your daddy, hm?” he traces the her small brows delicately with the tip of his finger.

The rest of the afternoon went smoothly, but when it came to feeding time that’s when Rosie became fussy. Ashton had already fed her the correct amount of ounces, he’d changed her diaper and burped her. He rocks her gently in his arms while he cleans up his spilled milk on the counter.

“Shh, shh, no more tears, baby,” he hushes softly but Rosie still whines and cries. Panic begins to set in but then he has an idea and heads upstairs to her nursery. “Let’s try what mama does, yeah?”

He turns on the spinning night light that shows lit up moons and stars on the walls and ceiling then repositions the rocking chair so he can stretch his legs. He settles into the chair, adjusting Rosie onto his chest. Her small body shakes from crying and he rubs her back gently while pressing soft kisses to the top of her head and begins to rock.

A song pops into Ashton’s head so he starts to hum it quietly. Rosie’s shrill cries lower an octave and he begins to sing a bit louder.

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine

You make me happy when skies are gray

You’ll never know dear, how much I love you,

Please don’t take my sunshine away.

 The other night, dear as I lay sleeping

I dreamt I held you in my arms

When I awoke dear, I was mistaken

So I hung my head and cried. . .

 He sang the song three more times, well until Rosie’s cries had officially quieted and she nestled closer into his chest. He smiles and continues to rock his baby girl, the song still being hummed when you came home and found them.

“Was she crying?” you whisper brushing your fingers in his hair.

“Yeah, but I think I found my way of calming her down.”

“What’s that?”

“She does like when I sing to her,” he smiles.

“Any specific song?”

“You are my sunshine,” he presses his lips to Rosie’s head then says more quietly to her, “my only sunshine.”

[safrona-shadowsun]

Borrowed this neat little list from @ask-iraiel.

01. Oldest OC: This would be the departed @lady-handhour, who started off as a human (Gilnean) Warlock character in Vanilla WoW, and my very first heavily Rp’d character. She is now a banshee that is bound to the Ghostlands and surprisingly is still fun and interesting for me to write after all these years. 

02. Newest OC: @wraithsongs is my newest character, a Dark Ranger. I haven’t written very much for her or introduced her to RP, her blog just merely aesthetics now, so I haven’t done a lot of advertising, but she will be getting some stand alone stories very soon.

03: Favorite OC: A hard question, as I like something about each character I was inspired to create and develop. My favorite to write for and develop has been @echoesofthelight lately, I think, though who I end up writing/rping for is really influenced on my daily mood and the interest shown in a character by others.

 04 Favorite OC Design: I really love sketching out my more supernatural-looking characters, and of them @gravekeeper-anna has been the most fun to play around with. Though she recently had a more darkly whimsical look to her, she’s recently going through some revisions to her design, and its been an interesting challenge to try to put together what she looks like now as I take my group’s Rp contributions into consideration. (Truly some amazing writing occurred and I love the people that support my little forsaken lady so much. )

05 Main Reason for Making OC’s: Rolling a character and developing an OC are two very different things for me, and usually an OC comes out of an idea that haunts me or one that is built through a bridge of stories on one of my already existing characters. Inspiration is a very large motivator for me, and I usually can’t go on playing a toon I create unless they really come alive for me in my mind.

06. Describe Your Character Creating Process: This is probably intertwined a lot with the answer for number 5...it all starts with being inspired by something, being haunted by a concept for days or weeks that I can’t shake. Usually I’ll start writing some the concept, sketch out things for myself, and then I’ll share my ideas with an Rp friend I trust to see if it sounds...well, sound. Then if I’m lucky and confident with my idea, I can see it flourish into stories and Rp, and maybe even more grounded art.

07: Character Ships: The word ‘ship’ has a few meanings for me, as they can mean different types of relationships continuously written with a regular rp partner that for me, revolve around character exploration and development. I currently have a romantically-inclined ‘ship’ between Safrona here and @thefirstperished. On @echoesofthelight I tend to do a lot of character developing with @renwyck’s writer, a platonic relationship. And @roselyn-ravenblade has a mentor/mentee relationtionship with @asharinhun, and she also has a fine friendship building with @natereising. 

08: My favorite OC ship has been what has developed between Safrona and @thefirstperished. It was something that was organically Rp’d and a little unexpected, but has been very satisfying. There is a rich intimate exploration into both of our very not normal characters that always pulls me right in and keeps me and Saf both on our toes, or sinking in a sea of feels or even snickering to myself. Throw in there that I just admire The First as an amazingly written character in his own right, I’m just always looking forward to see this deeply bonded relationship develop however the way it does. 

09. Weirdest OC: I think the majority of my characters have a little ‘weirdness’ to them, and that is what makes them enjoyable for me to write. I think the weirdest concept I have is my Forsaken Monk at @danseindeath which is possibly too off kilter to even legitimately RP. I love her twisted, violent aesthetic though, so I keep her blog around. That’s where the most disturbing of my inspiration goes, likely.

10. Villains? @danseindeath was supposed to be the most villainous of my roster, but not sure anymore, as I’m not actively writing that character. I honestly have trouble writing a clear hero, or a clear villain. I usually play with moralities, dancing in a grey area. There is always a reason for the things one does. I suppose right now @lady-handhour is my most ‘lawful evil’ of my characters, but on the whole, most consider undead and their motivations to be ‘evil’.

11. Would you consider yourself nice to your OCS? I didn’t used to be. I think I liked writing tragic characters much too much. Many of my characters don’t have great orgins, and some characters, by the gods, did I put them through the wringer. But I’m coming to a point that some of these characters I’ve written for so long falling into pitfall after pitfall of ruin (some ten years rl in running) deserve some positive development for once, or having things work in their favor.

12. An OC you’ve killed (if you havent killed anyone, who would you kill?) Most recently I tried to permanently retire @gravekeeper-anna after the assault on Lordaeron by the Alliance after Teldrassil’s burning with her execution, but some dear writer friends weren’t having that at all, so she is returning, slowly but surely. :) A grateful nod must go to @sanguinesorceress, @duraxxor, @silvertonguedaggermaw and @nixalegos for inspiring her recreation. 

13. Are any of your OC’s parents? Safrona has had terrible luck being a parent, but she can remember some semblence of what it felt to have a child, somehow. As can @lady-handhour. @gravekeeper-anna is the a motherly guardian to the Lost of Lordaeron in a way, but right now, it is @wraithsongs that has had a child survive her, and sadly, it probably breaks her brain. Maybe one day one of my characters will get to have a healthy parent-child relationship, who knows?

14. Are there any OC’s you find yourself neglecting? I find I’m neglecting @delaurac a lot mostly because his story has fell flat on its face for me and I think I’ve fallen into making him a punching bag, and I probably don’t want to go that route again with ANOTHER character. Just lack of steady inspiration for me when it comes to Quint.

15. An OC that is difficult to write/draw/rp: That would be Saraj the Ethereal. I have always, always wanted an Ethereal character, but he falls into all those categories of being a highly intelligent, centuries? old entity that I just don’t have enough lore on to a point that I don’t know if I can ever deeply write him, while also being very hard to draw as a space mummy, and being someone that just shows up as cameos for the Courier. I dearly love this character though.

16: Tallest/Shortest OC: Shortest: @roselyn-handhour, tallest is Safrona’s Shivarra, that I sometimes bring in as an IC interation.

17: Oldest and Youngest OCs: Youngest OC is @roselyn-ravenblade in her early-mid twenties and the oldest is Saraj who is...who knows how old Ethereals are.

18: Do you dislike any of your OCs? Well. I wouldn’t ever want to meet @danseindeath in real life, but the idea of her intrigued my horror-appreciating brain.

19: Have you ever made a self-insert? I think there are aspects we identify with or that intrigue us as writers that we put into characters to make them relatable to us and therefore inspire us to write, but I stayed away for a long time from really putting big chunks of my personality into my characters. They were for a long time art that I released into the world, subjects that I subjected to stories, environs, and the impact of other characters on their existences. That changed a little with @roselyn-ravenblade, as I just started writing her half the time with my own reactions in a social environment. And its made her feel more of a real character to me as an effect, and its all kinda amusing.

20: An OC regret: I regret sometimes letting myself get too carried with making characters. I feel like I sometimes don’t have the brain to keep up with them all. Its often a feeling that makes me want to shelf a character, or retire them, but I never can pick who. And then I just feel like I’m giving up on one of my creations.

21: An OC you didn’t expect to be popular: I honestly did not expect Safrona to be so popular. She is a courier. There should have been nothing very interesting about that. She was my very first Tumblr account though, and she’s been around for a time here, and I was fairly active in having her interact with people. Am still a little stunned at the follower count she has, and moreover that it isn't dropping. I don't feel she is as popular with people now despite all this, just an old account and characterization I haven't shelved. This of course does not wither my massive love and gratitude for those that have written with Saf, ever liked her posts or reblogged, complimented and supported this character somehow. Just still pleasantly surprised.

22: An OC you didn’t expect to love: Many years ago, there was this gnomish warlock I knew in Vanilla Wow that really grew on me that I cant even remember the name of. He completely stuttered through his every word consistently, and while reading his text may have been annoying to some, I just appreciated the time he put into his characterization so much and how well he was rp'd with anyone and everyone that any group rp function we ever had felt a little empty if he was not attending. He is probably the reason for near automatically loving gnome rpers when I see/read about them. Strangely, I never really had a good gnome character that I could think of rping myself.

[the-writerly-night-owl]

The Significance of a Garden

Desire and Decorum/Ernest x MC 

Summary: Ernest Sinclaire realizes that his happiest moments happened in a garden. 

Authors Note: For day 5 of the choices March Challenge. Tomorrow is TE and I think you’ll be happy with that. Then TRR on the eighth. Enjoy! 

Tag list: @flyawayboo  @cosigottahavefaith  @am-i-invisible777@countrymusicandncis-blog @fluffy-cat-whisper @melodyofgraves @symonde @paisleylovergirl  @mariamulroney @queen-among-writers

Ernest Sinclaire had a long day as he entered Ledford Park. He wanted to find Clara and the children and sit down for a hot meal. Perhaps Clara would join him in his study tonight, he thought, with a smile. They could catch up after all.  

“Where’s Mrs. Sinclaire?” he asked his butler. The man told him that she and the children were outside around the back playing. Ernest furrowed his brow hoping to hear that Vincent was at least learning his sums.

Ernest headed toward the back of the house the garden in full view. The scent of difference fragrances and the sight of the flowers just made him smile. He could remember helping his grandmother sometimes outside. The memory of meeting Clara for the first time came back to him.

“Tolerable,” he said his gaze lingering a little longer than necessary. She had mentioned that she was the person he nearly ran over in Grover. The feeling of intrigue washed over him as they started to walk across the gardens at Edgewater. The way she flirted was surprising to say the least, he had no idea what to say most of the time. He was right to admit that he didn’t know what to make of her. Ernest thought that she would have been a woman trying to climb the social ladder. Or interested in him for his money. Instead she seemed very genuine as she reached out wanting to hold his hand. He was almost willing to let her but stopped himself before they could take it too far.

His eyes snapped up and out of the thought. Looking back they had come a long way from ever calling her tolerable. He treasured that moment where they had locked eyes for the first time. While it wasn’t the greatest meeting it was the start of their love story.

Ernest heard shrieks of laughter not too far away and picked up the pace. It had been a tiring day and he just wanted to hug and kiss his family. He could remember kissing for the first time like it was yesterday.

Finally, Ernest caught up to his wife and children. The sun was shining high in the sky and children played in the back yard of Ledford Park. Four-year-old Vincent Sinclaire chased after his mother as Clara pretended to be slow on purpose. Ernie running in the opposite direction not sure what to do really. Clara put a hand on her swelling stomach as she stopped taking in a breath. She was due to give birth next month and she ran like it was no big deal.  

“Alright children,” said Clara going to scoop up her youngest son. “It’s almost time for your father to come back and we want you to be presentable.”

She took Vincent’s hand and turned only to find him standing. Clara looked breath taking in the midafternoon light. Her bonnet loose around her neck, dark hair flowing in the breeze, and the white dress hanging off her body perfectly. She had a toddler in her arms, a child hugging her legs, and a swelling figure. It was the perfect sight, everything he could ever want right in front of him. Clara’s eyes sparkled as her free hand reached out for his.

“You’re back too early,” she said teasingly pouting slightly. “Supper will be ready soon.”

“Good evening father,” said Vincent happily. “We had so much fun today, mother played with us. I learned how to…”

“Well why don’t you tell me at dinner,” said Ernest, his eyes flicking to Clara who looked pleased with herself.

“You need your nap,” said Clara reminding him and Vincent nodded.

It was quiet as Ernest picked him up. It was hard to believe that he was this old already. He could remember Clara telling him that she was with child for the first time. Right here in this very garden next to the flower beds.

The sun was starting to set as Ernest Sinclaire held his wife close to him. Her head resting on his shoulder holding hands as the sun was starting to set. The garden in full bloom around them but he could only stare at her.

“Ernest,” she said softly taking his hands and intertwined them with her own. “I have something very important to tell you, very very important. I’m not sure if I should tell you right now though.”

“Clara,” he said a little alarmed. “What’s wrong?”

She smiled mysteriously taking one of his hands and used hers to touch her. His palm moving from her arm to the area just above her stomach. “I saw the doctor this afternoon while you were out and… I’m having a child Ernest. We’re going to be parents.”

His body froze unable to believe it. His palm pressed against the fabric covering her swelling baby bump. To have a baby so soon? His heart swelled with pride. A baby! Concern grew in him remembering how Roselyn died but reminded himself that Clara was stronger much stronger. The logical part of him wanted a son but a daughter made his heart sing.

Clara’s eyes grew wide as Ernest lifted her up and twirled her around. Lips met lips unable to help it excitement coursed through him unable to think of anything else. She was going to have his baby and that was the best part of his life.  

“Ernest are you okay?” asked Clara rubbing his shoulder softly. “You just randomly stopped.”

Confused he realized that his feet did in fact stop moving. Vincent was pulling at his jacket trying to keep him alert. Ernest shook his head looking around the garden area. He could think of simpler times with his mother and grandmother come back to him. Marie and Lydia Sinclaire’s faces popped up in his mind that Ernest could just smile to himself.

“Yes, I’m fine,” he said putting Vincent down. “Although there is something I want to show you.”

“Okay,” he said brightly.

Ernest lead the small family to the bench not that much of a walk away. Taking in the scent he sat down and motioned for Vincent to listen.

“You know it was right here where your mother told me she was having you,” said Ernest seriously. “I remember it being one of the happiest days of my life. I knew that you were going to be born and I couldn’t wait.”

“Really?” asked Vincent almost shyly, his brown eyes wide.

“Really and I stopped because I remembered that moment and how happy I was. Vincent, I want you to remember that I love you no matter what. Even if you don’t think I do, I will and the same for all your siblings, understand.”

“Understood,” he said a bit mesmerized as he looked around at the flower beds. “Can we get food now?”

“Of course,” he said picking him up and kissed his head. 

Finally heading inside Ledford together. Clara stood close to him as his hand brushed against her stomach softly. He could feel the baby’s kick at the touch. Garden’s were important to him, it was where everything fell into place for him. Ernest could only hope that more was to follow. His hand slipped into Clara’s perfectly with Vincent running ahead. There really was something significant about a garden.

[endless-vall]

Prompt 23 & 36, please.

Hi anon! thank you for requesting! I chose Liam x MC, I hope this is fine with you 😘 Thank youFavorite momentsSummery: Liam’s favorite moments are always the moments he and Mc have to themselves, when the eyes of the court and the press doesn’t prick into them.When his brother, Leo, drops off their niece without prior notice, they share another one of those moments.*Written from Liam’s POV*Author’s note:  This was so fun, since I had the creative freedom to choose which pairing I’d like to use those prompts on. Thank you!I loved the possibility to do a (kindof) crossover from my fav couples from roe and trr :D I hope you’ll like that!@thatocladyplayschoices I hope you’ll like this too, this is a light & fluffy piece ^^ Pairings: Liam x Mc, Leo x Kelly (ROE’s mc)-Liam and Mc were still getting used to being a married couple. They were married for six months now, and while MC wasn’t raised at court, or prepared for that her entire life, as some people have, she’d been a natural. Even Bertrand said that, during their wedding, when giving them his regards in person. “She was a delight to sponsor” “Maxwell did an outstanding job” and “She brought hope for the entire court” were just few of the things he’d let slip when talking to them, but Mc wore a proud, slightly teary-eyed smile and pulled him into a hug afterwards.“This, for an example, wasn’t queenly-appropriate behavior” He had to remain his judging, grumpy self, but the smile on his face and the hand around her back - returning her gesture - told them otherwise.She was still her stubborn, cheery, and righteous self, but she’s also been a wonderful queen. All those traits only made her a better, more generous ruler, alongside with Liam.Liam loved it when Mc eyes sparkled after every time they’d pass a law that helped those in need.And they’ve faced harder decisions, together, too. No matter what they’ve had to face, they always pulled through. While the photos scandal shook them at their core and almost broke them apart, it also taught them a lesson. If they managed to overcome that obstacle, they could do anything, as long as they’re together.“Your love makes me stronger.” Liam had told Mc. And each time they’ve faced a new hard decision, she’d squeeze his hand, reminding him and reassuring him they could do it.They both had busy schedules, and were pre-occupied with many things, each had his duties to attend to, and so Mc suggested they’d make a promise; every other weekend was a date night, and they’d have an entire day to themselves. They made it as much as it was possible.Those were still his favorite moments together, when the eyes of the noble families and the press weren’t all directed at them.Liam finished off a busy day at the office, after countless meetings and political discussions, and headed for their bed chambers. He knew it was supposed to be date night, and the exhaustion vanished off him right over, filling him with excitement instead.It was only when he reached their room, only to find it – unfortunately – empty, that he had thought to check his cell phone for any text messages or notifications.There was, one unexpected text message waiting for him there.Sorry, bro. She’ll be in the garden ;) – Leo.That was strange, Liam thought to himself, while changing from his royal attire to something more comfortable, while still keeping it appropriate for outside of the bedroom.He got out into the palace’s garden, searching for Mc and scanning the garden.He finally found her, and started making his way towards her, while Mc didn’t notice his presence. She was too busy playing along with the 4 year-old angel who happened to be their favorite (and only) niece.The sun was starting to set, coloring the sky in a pinkish color, and it made both of them glow in the dim light, making the scene unfolding in front of him to even more lovely.Mc was wearing a simply white sundress, and her hair was tied up in a slightly messy bun, it was obvious a certain 4 year old was tempering with it earlier today, but she still looked just as beautiful as ever.This seemed like it would join the list of his favorite moment, too.“So this is where my two favorite girls have disappeared to.” Liam amusingly commented when he reached them, making Mc jump in her place, and wrap him in her embrace, and the little girl giggle. “Liammm!” their niece jumped up as well, and hugged his leg. Mc broke their hug apart long enough to let her pick her up, and then returned and hugged Roselyn from the other side, planting a big kiss on her cheek. She was named after her grandmother, from her mother’s side.“So, is little Rosie ready to go to bed yet?” Liam wasn’t even bothered his brother leaving them on babysitter duty, not ever. “Nuh-uh!” She protested. “Mc promised I could play a little longer today!” She used those puppy-eyes of hers, and Liam was sold. “I did promise that,” Mc confessed, popping her head behind Rosie, and both of them looked at him with those big, hopeful eyes.“Okay, okay, you know I can’t say no to that face. That’s unfair!” He joked, putting Rosie down. The little girl didn’t waver, running back to her toys and continuing what seemed to be a fight between a knight and a dragon. Liam chuckled at the sight, and felt Mc leaning against him. He instinctively wrapped a hand over her waist, holding her close.“Leo and Kelly dropped her off today afternoon. I finished off early and thought I’d rather spend time with her instead of a assigning her a nanny, though they’re great and she loves them too. She especially loves Bastien, even though he insist he’s not her nanny. They said they had some urgent business, and were in the neighborhood, they should be back tomorrow.” Mc updated him. Liam chuckled when Bastien was mentioned, memories of the last visit of Leo, his wife and Rosie, when Rosie decided to ride his back, and his ‘upset’ reaction, even though everybody knew he loved it.“I also wanted to send you a message, but I knew you were in the middle of meeting, and afterwards I must’ve trailed off.” She blushed.“It’s okay, Leo told me to go looking for you in the garden.” Liam kissed her cheek, thinking that Mc would make a great mother. She absolutely adored Rosie, but then again, Mc always loved kids. Liam got a wave of excitement wash over him, when the thought of having their own kids came to his mind. He couldn’t hind his smile, and Mc sent him a questioning look, still wearing a smile.He sat on the porch, watching Rosie continue her play, and motioned Mc to sit beside him. She sat and instantly lean into his touch, and he hummed happily.“I was just thinking how good you are with Rosie.” Liam started, placing a hand over Mc cheek, and stroking it lightly.“Well, you’re not so bad yourself,” She returned at him, with a satisfied tone.He was glad she thought that, she always seemed to know how to get Rosie’s attention better than him.“And I’ve just thought… about having our own kids one day.” Liam admitted, looking into her eyes. There was some kind of blissfulness in her eyes and the way her lips curled up into a wide smile, with something additional hiding behind it.“Just one day?” Before Liam could ask why she looked at him like that, she replied.“W-What…” He stuttered for a moment, trying to understand what she was meaning.“The reason I finished early today was that I needed to take a test.” She explained. “One day might be closer than you’d think.” She added. Liam’s eyes shot wide open in surprise. “Are you saying?-“ He caressed her face with both hands, waiting for her to say it out loud.“I’m pregnant.” She confirmed it, smiling excitedly at him.Liam almost felt tears of joy forming in his eyes, when he pulled her into a long, passionate kiss.“Ewww!” They pulled apart when they heard Rosie commenting, and burst into laughter with her.“I’m so happy.” He told her, when they both caught their breath.“Me too.” She said, stroking his cheek. He pulled her into a hug, holding her tightly against him. “You have no idea how happy you make me. With you, I always feel like the luckiest man in the world.” He whispered into her ear.It was getting late, Liam helped Rosie gather her toys, and Mc lifted the yawning, sleepy-headed girl in her arms. They accompanied her to her room, which was right next to theirs. A nanny already prepared it earlier today, so they only had to tuck her in.“Did the knight beat the dragon?” Liam questioned Rosie before she made it to her bed.“Nope. But don’t worry, the princess was there and she saved the day!” She excitedly told him about the princess defending the knight, and how it all ended with them being friends. Liam nodded at the delightful story, and Mc stood proudly beside.Rosie fell asleep immediately when she lied on her pillow, and they slipped out of her room before she’d notice.They entered their room afterwards. The moment they closed the door behind them, Liam’s lips were on Mc’s, and his hands were on her waist, holding her close.“Liam,” She breathed out. “I love you so much.” She pulled at his shirt, until he helped her and pulled it off. “Me too.” He rested his forehead against hers. Afterwards, they changed into their sleepwear, and fell asleep curled into each other. Liam drifted away into a blissful sleep, with Mc’s in his arms. This was defiantly getting in his list of favorite moment. Actually, it just shot up to the head of the list.

[imakethecard]

Lorado set review

Lorado is a Weird West set made by shadowcentaur. It's probably the best custom set I’ve ever seen.

Seeing it makes me want to be involved with it somehow, so here’s a review of it.

(Incidentally, my recent card posts have all been aimed at Lorado. Gonna make a masterpost when I regain access to MSE.)

The Good

Lorado looks really good. The art is great across the board, and has so much unity that you’d think it was assembled by an art director with a style guide.

Straight and Loaded, two of the new mechanics, are great. Reflex and Warband are pretty cool too, although not quite as inspiring.

Although I haven’t drafted the set, it feels like a good draft set. I can think of plenty of different ways a deck could take shape in this environment, and the process of assembling something from these cards looks like a lot of fun.

Almost every card is well-designed and balanced. Pick a random card from Lorado; it’s a design someone can be proud of.

The flavour is interesting and cohesive, making Lorado seem like a real plane. It feels both familiar and new, like a top-down set should.

The reprints in Lorado are well-chosen, and feel perfectly natural alongside the new cards.

The Bad

This section should probably be called “the less good”, because none of this stuff is major. But I’ve got a naming convention to stick to. Gonna go into more detail about these than I did about the good points, because I figure they’re more useful to shadowcentaur.

Take these as polite suggestions, not complaints.

I’m not quite sure what to make of the native tribes in Lorado. I couldn’t tell you whether a random card belongs to the Hyastee, the Makade, or whichever other tribe. And without checking the guide, I couldn’t tell you what distinguishes the tribes from each other. I appreciate the effort to avoid “this is the red tribe, this is the blue tribe” but I think some on-the-nose explanatory flavour text saying “tribe X is Y” would make for a better set.

Some of the themes and mechanics in Lorado feel underdeveloped for Constructed. Inevitable to some extent for a Limited-focused design like this one, but I still think it’s a shame that there’s no gun that I’d want to play in Constructed, no real chance of a Standard livestock tribal deck, and so on.

Some of the coolest bits of Lorado’s setting don’t really show up in the cards. I was really hoping to see Vivian Alston and the soul-buying crossroads demons, but they’re both absent. Farajo’s actions in the story are unclear, none of the native spirit animal gods get cards, and even though cowboys on pegasi and the zombie bandits of the Pine Gulch gang show up in the art they don’t show up as cards.

On a related note, I think Ace Holden’s story consumes too much flavour text space. I applaud the decision to focus on a smaller story, but I think the set misses some of the benefits of that decision by overexplaining the small story.

The guide says that Lorado is a frontier, and that there are more densely populated areas elsewhere. I’m not sure that’s the way to go; Lorado as depicted in the cards feels like a standalone place. Between reading the set and reading the guide, I assumed that the “non-natives” were just a tribe with less respect for tradition, better technology, and a correspondingly higher population than the others.

I’m not sure about the uncommon dual lands. I don’t see much reason to punish greedy manabases, and I’m just generally not big on them design-wise.

A few of the things I was expecting to see in a Wild West set aren’t present. First and foremost, fighting. I really expected some kind of pistols-at-dawn fight card, but there isn’t one. Would’ve also expected a coin-flipping subtheme, though that might just be me.

The Ugly

I have exactly one real complaint about Lorado: the mythic slot is a real letdown. I’ll go through it card by card, so this section will be longer than it deserves to be.

Embodiment of Innovation is pretty random. Without looking at the design commentary or the guide, I would have no idea what it had to do with anything. My fix would be to make it legendary, rename it “The Horse Twins” and put something the flavour text of another card about how the Horse Twins represent innovation.

Empty Night is fine. Don’t know that it needs to be mythic, though.

Expedition Corps feels out of place. It’s not like the set has a big land-sacrifice theme. Ramunap Excavator felt a lot more fitting.

Farajo is very cool but I think he might be broken in Constructed. That -X ability is brutal, especially with enchantment-based removal.

I really don’t like Fort Redemption Ranger. He feels entirely un-white; white is supposed to be the worst colour at getting huge. And he’s the opposite of a renown lord because he works best with creatures that don’t have renown.

Gale Hannity and Gamble are solid.

Malastrix is terribly weak. She should really have haste, to keep her from being totally worthless against removal, and to give her something to do before you have mana for her ability. 

I actually really like Roselyn and her viola. Music as a red theme needs more love.

I almost love Royal Flush. Thing is, I don’t think it should be black. The “sharing a colour” restriction kind of pigeonholes it in monoblack, and I see no reason not to let every colour in on the fun. It works flavourwise as an artifact, so why not make it a 1-mana artifact that’s all colours?

The Titans are my least favourite part of the set. The punny name on the red one is neat, but the 3-card cycle feels wrong and I don’t like the cards themselves. It’s galling to me that some of the biggest bombs in the set have nothing to do with the Wild West, American myth, or the set’s new mechanics. Plus the red one seems blue mechanically and the blue one seems generally unfun.

Twisted Outlaw is fine.

I really think the set could be better, particularly for Constructed, if you cut the Titans (or at least the green and blue ones), Fort Redemption Ranger, and maybe Expedition Corps. The space could be used for bomby cards that are integrated more closely into the set’s themes, like a really scary gun, a payoff for livestock in Standard, or a Vivian Alston card. 

Huh. Not sure I like how long the negative bits got, but I guess that’s what happens when you try to make suggestions. In case anyone reading this forgot; the set is very very good.

Next post, I’ll go through Lorado and talk about some individual cards that aren’t mythic.

[swagtactician]

18. My BROtp Vaike and Chrom

18.“This is without a doubt the stupidest plan you’ve ever had. Of courseI’m in.”

Vaike and Chrom as BROS, as requestedHints of Vaike/Miriel and Chrom/Village Maiden because I’m a self pandering toad

words: 771

this was actually a lot of fun to write. I hope it doesn't seem rushed.

Vaike’s smile had won him overfaster than anything. It stretched across his face and his chubby cheeks andmade Chrom want to tell him yes to anything he wanted. It was a mistake, butVaike had such a way with his limited vocabulary, and Chrom gave in everysingle time. After the seventh time raiding the kitchen, Vaike’s idea, Chromstill hadn’t learned his lesson. When Vaike got that smile, he should stop listening.He should say no, with as much fervor as he could muster, and walk away whenVaike tried to convince him.

But, somehow, Chrom sat down withhis chin in his hands, eyes wide, and listened to the plan Vaike laid out likeit was some kind of story book adventure.

“They been harassing the ladies inthe next town over, so we swoop in, beat’em up, and just think of the reward!”maybe a bit overboard, but Vaike was smiling. He’d just hit his thirteenthbirthday, and was feeling a little over zealous. But god, did Chrom like theidea of being heroic.

“Hey, you could even get falchion!We’d be the baddest guys in town!” Vaike struck a pose, just to make the point.

Chrom was smiling, “This is withouta doubt the stupidest plan you’ve ever had.”

“Yeaaah?” Vaike spread out hisarms.

“Of course, I’m in!” Chrom jumpedup.

That was his first mistake, Chromthought later. His second mistake had definitely been taking the sword. His third?Following Vaike out to the village on some clammy, cloudy day like this was thebest time to fight off some hooligans. Probably just boys their age trying tohave a good time, and Chrom knew the commoners had a different idea of what funwas. Which is why he had spent so much time with Vaike anyway. It was fun, funenough, but now they were walking straight into a fight. If not to mention thefirst time they’d had to trek back fifteen minutes because Vaike forgot hisaxe.

Now, the fourth mistake, wasactually facing the boys. Chrom held the sword a little tighter than he meantto, like he actually meant to attack. He wondered vaguely how they even made itthis far, and why it had started raining at this exact moment.

“Well look who it is, someone whothinks they have some sort of say in what goes on here. Aren’t you from thepalace, kid?” they were bigger than Chrom was expecting, and he gulped. Vaikedefinitely didn’t look scared.

“Yeah, some rich little noble boycome to tell us how to play,” another one laughed. Chrom realized his clothesgave him away pretty fast. Maybe Vaike should’ve mentioned that, but he hadn’t.Maybe Chrom should’ve bring smart enough to realize the error of his ways. Buthe wasn’t.

“We heard you were messing around,”Vaike butt in before Chrom could, and he seemed to be stepping forward. Chromwas ready to cower, and he had the superior weapon.

“Eh, and so what? You think you cando something about it little man?”

The kids came first, and ithappened a blur from there. Vaike jumped out in front of Chrom to guard himfrom the blow, laughing at his own superiority. Chrom had to stand up forhimself too, and made his move. It was a feeble strike, and Vaike backed him upwith a stronger one. A terrifying yell. That was all it took for the boys torun away, fearful of whatever would come next.

The village roared their joy, and thelittle girl Roselyn stepped out from behind a counter to smile. She smiled atVaike, of course, her blonde hair a mess and freckles dotted all over her hair.But Vaike shook his head, hands up.

“Prince Chrom there did all thework, milady,” he played at it, and Chrom met her violet eyes—

“That is not how that happened!”Chrom bellowed out, but he was laughing. His stomach hurt, and he swore thiswas all the training he needed for the week.

“Shush! Ya can’t let ol’mini mebelieve that,” Vaike protested, slapping Chrom in the shoulder. Chrom doubledover, like usual, but he was still laughing.

Laurent, of all, rolled his eyes, “LikeI would’ve believed that story anyway, Father.”

“You are absolutely no fun,” Vaikeprotested, but still, laughing. Laurent couldn’t hide a chuckle. And offsomewhere behind the campfire, Lucina was smiling too.

“So that’s how you met Mother,” shebutted in.

Chrom’s face was red when he turnedto meet Lucina. Her little face dotted in freckles.

[hunnybadgerv]

OC Face Claims

I was tagged by @sephiratales​ for the OC’s faceclaims. This is going to be interesting. Not all of them have face claims. So I’ll try.

Thank you for tagging me. This was a fun distraction.

And before I get into this really long post, I’d love to tag @ofmanynames, @thetwobosses, and @ladyamesindy (though I know LadyA might not see this).

Furia: I created Furia first then moved backwards to find a face claim for her. I’m not sure who this is but this one really captures Furia’s style and so much more in one image.

Though the face that I do know that also reminds me of Furia is Natali Danish. There’s a sweet playfulness as well as a very sultry nature to Natali that matches Furia to a tee. She’s got great expressive eyes, and a smile that makes you wonder what she’s thinking. And in some cases her style even aligns with the boss.

Nyx Shepard: I tend to make my characters first, then sometimes happen upon a faceclaim. After a bit of a search the closest I feel I can find (and I’m not 100% married to it) is Cadice Swanepoel. Nyx is “too pretty to be a soldier,” or so she’s been told. It never phased her or kept her working her butt off for what she wanted. She’s used to not being taken seriously.

Cyna Mahariel: During this exercise I managed to find someone I think captures Cyna Mahariel to a tee--Roselyn Sánchez. A great combination of beauty and ferociousness. Though clearly, she lacks Cyna’s scars. But she’s got that same air of mysteriousness as well, and this shot just screamed Cyna to me when I saw it.

Min: My Drgaonborn rogue, Brynjolf’s old flame, and enchantress born of an elven woman and a warrior father came to be after some struggles to determine her look. She was born with silver hair, shocking her parents and the locals. I developed her after seeing this image, and sadly, even after searching multiple times I still don’t know who she is (though it is attributed to @starrynight-sky26, but the link to the specific post is “no longer found”).

Remy McGinnis: Similarly Remy came first, then her FC. Even so, she’s tough to classify for me, but awhile back I settled on Scarlett Johannson. I know there are a few bosses that also use that claim, so I tend just to keep to Remy’s screen caps -- usually. Remy’s got a sweet face, that counters her build.

Feign Shepard: Falling into sync with the others ... Feign is Feign, but I think if I were to pick someone for a face claim for her it would be Deepika Paukone. They both have great mouths and eyes, though Deepika’s are darker than Feign’s. Their bone structure is quite similar.

Rhys Trevelyan: The idea for Rhys was actually based on a piece of concept art by Stephan Alekseev. It’s really a great piece.

And I really think Nick Bateman captures the essence of him--that mix of serious and playful that makes Rhys even more irresistible than he thinks he is. Rhys was always a looker, at least until an incident left him with a horrendous scar and only one good eye. It doesn’t preclude him from the use of his bow, though it forced him to become at least as adept with blades. He covers the scar typically, at least as much of it as he can, for the comfort of others. 

Tala Darzi: This is one character whose faceclaim, or more accurately hair style claim I had before I rolled her. I happened to get luck that Cher Lloyd also happened to have a similar look as I imagined Tala to have. 

Boss Cinq: This is where I break type. I based Cinq off of Shemar Moore from the start. Cinq is beautiful and knows it. He puts a lot of work into maintaining his physique and is comfortable sharing it with anyone who wants to see it. 

Devine: My cathar smuggler doesn’t really have a face claim beyond herself as created in the CC of SWTOR. So here she is in all her loveliness. She’s a consummate flirt, though her heart is loyal.

Boss Ravi: Falls back into my normal type ... I’ve had her in my head, but managed to find a spot on face claim for her in Priyanka Chopra. They even have a similar build. Ravi’s a stunner, with the looks of her mother. She’s got a smile and an air about her that could stop a rhino (namely Johnny) in his tracked.

Marcelaine: She’s a character for 7th Sea, and I imagined her as this sweet faced, dedicated warrior. She’s a powerful and gifted fighter--trained her whole life to be a knight. And managed to avoid most temptations, though she still rather lost her heart to the knight of her order that mentored her. Despite this, as any good knight would she’s never acted on her. Emma Watson, I think captures her best, especially in this shot.

Laerke: One of the Dragonborns that I write (though I haven’t posted any of Laerke’s fic yet). Mainly because I’m still squaring away her backstory. The moment I saw Katheryn Winnick as Lagertha in Vikings I knew I’d found Laerke. There’s a softness and a fire to Winnick, especially in this role that really reminds of Laerke, who is a young woman trying to carve out her own niche in life when she gets this otherworldly call toward a destiny she is not certain is her own.

Boss Wei Sheng Liu: Maybe it’s a male boss thing. I chose Nicholas Tse as Wei Sheng’s face claim after an exhaustive search, and long before I ever rolled him. Of course, I also wrote Liu before I played him. I chose Tse because I wanted someone with a young face, but eyes that could hold a harshness to them, and he’s got a very serious look.

Aderyn Hawke: This lovely mage has also proven a hard one to peg. The lone red head in the group. I didn’t realize she was the only one. I used to write a lot of redheads, and only just realized that she’s the only one that stuck. Though again I find myself with an attribution issue. I have no idea who her faceclaim is. She just struck me--there’s a softness to her, but also a strength that seemed to capture Aderyn’s spirit.

Evia Dolciati: Yet another hinted at, but fiction never seen character. Evia is an assassin I wrote when I was completely and irrevocably obsessed with Assassin’s Creed, which could happen again at any moment given the correct impetus. She’s a trained courtesan in Venice who I’ve been writing for ... years and years. But a few years ago I happened across the film Dangerous Beauty and there were quite a few similarities between Veronica and Evia, namely their sharp tongue and clever wit. So it should be no surprise that I would chose Catherine McCormack in the role of Veronica Franco as Evia’s face claim.

[beckygomez-news]

Becky G on Hosting 2018 Latin AMAs with 'Greatest Friend' Leslie Grace (Exclusive)

Becky G is surrounded by her girls while hosting the 2018 Latin American Music Awards on Thursday.

ET's Denny Directo spoke with the "Sin Pijama" singer on the red carpet ahead of the awards show at the Dolby Theatre, where she gushed over making history as she hosted alongside four other women: Aracely Arambula, Leslie Grace, Gloria Trevi and Roselyn Sanchez.

"Talk about, like, dreams coming true! We have Gloria, we have Aracely, we have Roselyn... you look at their careers and everything they've accomplished, and then you've got me and my girl Leslie, you know, we're yougins in the game. We got a nice resume too, but we're still learning," she said. "And that chemistry is just so awesome. I mean, we've had so much fun in the last couple days preparing, talking about outfit changes, hair, makeup ideas, me and Leslie and performing, so we're going to have a good time."

Becky and Leslie, who collaborated on their hit, "Díganle," have been close for years. For Becky, it's particularly special to watch their careers grow together. "What more could you ask for in this career?" she asked. "I feel like it's so easy as an artist to feel lonely. Although you're on stage in front of thousands of people, it's like you always go back to your lonely hotel room, and you're always like, 'Man, wouldn't it be nice if there was somebody in this world who understood what I was going through?'"

"Leslie, I have always felt that we were cut from the same cloth, you know, speaking from like a personal side of things -- our perspectives on life and family. And then, you look at our careers, and it's awesome," she gushed. "She's, like, one of my greatest friends."

The 21-year-old singer couldn't tease too much of their Latin AMAs performance, but one thing's for sure: It'll be full of fierce outfits!

"Don't tell the producers this, alright. I might get in trouble, but I have so many, like, outfit options that I still haven't decided and, like, I'm trying to make, like, two-minute outfit changes happen tonight," she said, promising "eight or nine" outfit changes. "I'm going to make the most out of it."

And before taking the stage, Becky G has a pre-show routine to calm her nerves -- a shot of tequila!

"I mean, that's just ritual," she joked. "I feel like there's a part of me that doesn't [get nervous]. I get butterflies, I get excited. But I also feel like there's a couple seconds right before you walk on stage where you think to yourself, what the hell am I doing here? How did I get here?"

"But it's like, without that feeling, I almost feel like you might as well quit. You have to have that, you know what I mean?" she said. "It's awesome."

(source)

[safrona-shadowsun]

9.) Why were you drawn to each one of your characters? 2.) If you HAD to choose, who’s your favorite muse?

9.) Why were you drawn to each one of your characters? {I am not sure with Safrona, what drew me exactly to create her. She was actually something of an evolution in story with epiphanies of ideas coming to life in her, some I actually followed through with. I think my desire to play a Warlock with redemptive qualities was a big inspiration, but she is much more than just that theme. She is a frequent ‘muse’ in my mind, a layered character that is very interesting for me to figure out even as I Rp her. She has such an involved history that never really comes to light, but seeing how everything she has, is and starts to become and collide together is..like watching art being made. Isn’t always meant to be beautiful, but it makes me feel things. I will always be drawn to her concept, I think.}

{Saraj the Ethereal…is an Ethereal. And I love them. That’s the draw entirely. I don’t think I will ever be able to write him as intelligent and witty and amazing as he should be, but I’m certainly drawn.

{ With Roselyn, the draw is probably because she is a character that I can relate most to, especially in personality and interest. My main desire in creating her was being able to use her as a funneling point for histories I have on a back log concerning the name ‘Handhour’, and letting her tell their story through her discoveries. She is the most ‘human’ of my characters, and she is somewhat therapeutic for me to write sometimes, because everytime I write with her it is full of feeling, even as awkward as she can be. }

{ The Gravekeep’s draw is she is just very fun for me to write, when I get there for her. She always gets a little smile out of me when I write her. As one of my oldest characters that was kind of gutted and left for dead, I just couldn’t let her go completely. I think I will always be drawn a bit to the concept of Undeath and the Undead, and she is a lighter look at that for me I go back to often. }

{ Echo is a singer, and a Mender, and the combining of both song and healing has always sort of been a draw I wanted to explore. I haven’t written anything on her in years, but she is an aesthetic that I love. }

{Suspiria was my draw to the strange, the dark, my love for horror genre and creature creation, to twisting conventional philosophy. I haven’t completely figured her out enough to be compelling enough for me to Rp regularly, but she is this very striking concept I can’t completely ever forget.}

{Quint was…heh, an idea, really. I haven’t written on him in a little while, but I suppose I wanted to try my hand at playing a male character that was a believable, but I lost my way a bit on him. I think mostly.}

{I have two other concepts on the backburner that have blogs but are not very complete, but they are my draw to the Nightborne and the Zandalari races. I’ll likely wait for BFA to inspire me more before fully realizing those characters. } 

2.) If you HAD to choose, who’s your favorite muse?

Of all…? Safrona is right now, mostly because she is such an easy character to interact with and to throw people at. She’s my most developed character and she is the easiest to write for me, is easy to be placed in game events, and I really enjoy exploring the depths of her character when given the chance. There is still so much to be told through her, I don’t think I can ever run out of steam with the Courier.

Thank you, @caladhel-iarian!