#leyla is definitely one of those characters that will be in my heart forever and ever

[evtoine]

i'm looking more closely at my fc for leyla and tiefling head 6 is actually so close, even down the the lip shape... lowkey considering trying to figure out how to use it for half elf leyla too

so leyla was originally a tiefling at the start of the campaign she's from, also a druid. so i was like. what if i made tiefling leyla druid!

for reference, here is my favorite commission i've ever gotten of her, i feel like it really captures who she is as a person

her faceclaim is josefine frida petterson, here they are side by side:

to me these look so similar! i mean, i do still love half-elf leyla, so much. but i'm probably going to play tiefla soon. it feels so much like her! only problem: they don't have her subclass, and i'm not a huge fan of how druid runs. so i might play her as... something else..... a knowledge cleric or an ancients paladin might be fun.

anyways here are some of the gifs that helped me to decide what leyla looked like, and had a large impact on her mannerisms and movement at the table 💕

[ginjointsintheworld]

“maybe lauren will have some relationships in between that she could be perfectly content with but it won't be as.... what's the word i'm looking for.... transcendent? which for a character who has gone through so much pain and obstacles, been hit by life so many times that getting up has felt insurmountable, it seems cruel to give her a love that doesn't inspire emotions as fierce as with leyla and say that's good enough” oh this is good. and exactly what i was thinking too. im one of those people who can multi ship so if well written, ill be on board for lauren’s next relationship but what she has with leyla is SO transcendent(and with such little material in the beginning!)that a it’s true, ill always think‘what if?’ ultimately the goal is for both her and leyla to be happy and loved and if leyla leaves and lauren finds that happiness with someone else, that’s fine. id just hope that the writers don’t weigh that relationship down with unnecessary angst too. regular relationship issues, yes. super dramatic, unexpected hits to both characters, no. like if lauren goes through all this and does lose leyla, then her next relationship being a smooth ride is the bare minimum they could give her.

"i'm one of those people who can multi ship so if well written"

god that must be such a nice, peaceful life anon. i am very much NOT a person who can multi ship. once a ship becomes an OTP for me that's it. those bitches bonded for life in my heart. even if it takes 902849 seasons and real life years for them to end up together. i'll reject canon if i have to idc idc 😭 and i've definitely paid more than my fair share in emotional suffering for it >_>

it's kind of a concern for me at this point that the writers view lauren as their forever punching bag which is awful for people who love her character. like. at some point suffering is just suffering and it's not productive and it doesn't yield growth and it's not enlightening. i genuinely hope that's not the direction they take with her so as a leyren shipper, yeah if they're meant to be just a chapter then that would suck cactus and EYE will be personally rejecting that notion but for the love of god don't let lauren build a goddamn vacation home at rock bottom.

[secondsofhappiness]

Hello!

*peers out from under a rock*

I suppose you could say I’m back from my little jaunt away. I’ve dropped back in at times but I have missed a lot and, in a way, it was a good thing to stay away. I was a little poorly and also very busy with life and yet I still missed you all, my favourite bunch of angst obsessed ranty intelligent silly hilarious kind and insightful weirdos ❤️

Said with a lot of love.

Safe to say, a lot had happened on the show - good and (hahahaha) bad.

So, summary!

I am so chill about everything it’s actually rather ridiculous and I am enjoying so much about the show at the moment and still vehement in my dislike of The Whites (always except Chrissie - and we need a chat about her wild outfits of late because on one hand they’re hideous but on the other they remind me of the 80s and Kim Tate and because of that I kind of love them. Fluted sleeves are ALWAYS a good thing). I continue to loathe 👒 and the sheer shambles that is her character but as before, I choose to laugh because Christ at this point what more can you do?!

I am firmly in love with Lydia and so thrilled I can’t even say that she was kept on. Pairing her with Sam has been a joy and their lovely weird little bird call induced friendship/romance is adorable. Lydia tries to rock a front fringe like I have all my life (by this point it’s a massive part of my identity) and I feel like that alone gives us a kinship ;) I love her. End of.

I continue to love Faith Dingle with the power of a million suns. She’s ridiculous but she’s also well meaning and fun and dramatic and wears the most brilliant ensemble outfits in these gloriously clashing colours. So yes, THOSE TWO are a confirmation that ED and Iain can write beautiful, interesting characters that you root for. Sadly, the other one with all the blinking and weird smirks and confusing bloody motives didn’t get that treatment.

I continue to miss Leyla, Nicola (oh god her scenes with Rhona. Still smiling about them and her calling Jimmy “her idiot”!), Jacob, Chas, my little love Liv etc but I thought the exposure they gave Ness with Rhona’s frankly stunning and painful storyline was genius. Those scenes were wildly powerful and I was so impressed. I have also adored Eric being used more. Pollard is so dear to me and he broke my heart recently. What a vital storyline.

I have loathed every second of every White scene of late (except for a lot of Chrissie and obv Leyla throwing money in Lachlan’s face. My QUEEN) but the fact that I know Lawrence snuffs it at some point in a potential White induced blood bath makes me WAY happier than I should. I’m clearly an awful person. Keep it going ED. If I can’t have my fire, I’ll settle for a shot gun…

Then we have last night. Oh god how I cherish Maxine’s writing. I remember so many scenes of hers that are genuinely precious and last night was an hour full of them. That was a lesson to any screen writer in how to write a storyline (or part of one) out of the ashes. She is so overwhelmingly good at writing human being, heart and warmth even if those humans are flawed and complex. Where Rob and Aaron are concerned, I have always said that their charm and USP is always that they’re two broken, flawed, difficult and damaged men who want happiness and comfort and have found it in each other. The potential for truly excellent character driven story telling from those two character is vast and many of the writers miss that, especially in the midst of that hideous bloody nightmare baby drama section… these character are too wonderful and fascinating for empty plot. I hope the show has learned that and learns from Maxine because she gets it. Not only that, but all the characters. Watching Adam and Moira reunite and have actual time and space on screen to talk and emote… gorgeous. Not to mention that Maxine does justice to quirky plots so well and I SEE YOUR LINK WITH LYDIA AND LAUREL. Lydia entering as a kooky character, a CLEANER no less and ends up living with Laurel. That’s no mistake. It’s joyful and what Laurel’s character needs. Safe to say I could rant about Maxine and her loveliness for days. Seriously, how do we buy her something nice?! I haven’t even got the room for my chat about Danny and Ryan because how wonderful was that acting? Ryan especially. Danny is consistently just bloody great but Ryan is killing it of late, especially as his face actually CRUMPLED last night and broke me. Ryan has stuck with the “little boy Rob” thing and I am so pleased. Those moments of true vulnerability for a character like Rob are precious and absolutely nailed by Ryan, especially as the past week has really felt focused on Rob and his growth. Who’d have thought, eh?

All in all, I have genuinely missed you lot. I am so grateful for the lovely messages and kindness some of you have sent me. I have been so touched by some of the messages I’ve received and I’m so sorry if I’ve taken a while to reply, life has been a bit hectic. I am forever amused by so much of your daftness though. I miss taking the mick out of stuff with you all and I feel like from next week we’re going to need that so I volunteer myself as a teeny tiny part of that and I’m creeping back into business off the back of Maxine’s insane talent and that masterclass in character driven storytelling ready to laugh at all the madness and love these characters again. It’s what we do best, right?

Only positivity (as it always was until all THAT) from here on out and some definite snark but if you can put up with that and my many musings on how to eject The Whites from the village and have Dog take refuge with my beloved Alfie (do you know how worried I was about him?!?!?) then I can settle back in no problem 😉❤️