#those creatures are so silly and easy to draw!!! why so shape!!! love them!!!

[autizmotbh]

my lil rw sketch page!!! playin with my bestie @b1ttersweet-dreams me im gabriel skin and loxi as v1!!!

[erandir]

The Old Ways of the Gods - Chapter 1

While we’re all trapped inside, I thought I might post the first chapter of an original novel I’ve been working on. Because it suddenly became thematically relevant. This is a first draft.  Summary:  Life in the temple is all that Malta has ever known, priestesses his only family. But as he approaches adulthood after years of seclusion from the outside world, Malta cannot help but wonder what lies beyond the temple walls.

Amber is new to the priesthood, and full of the same curiosity that has begun to plague Malta's mind. Together, they hatch a plan to sneak outside the temple's grounds. A glimpse at the world beyond is all they seek, enough to quench the thirst for knowledge. 

But like a drug, one glimpse is never enough.

-----

Rain pattered softly against the window panes. Malta watched the drops draw rivulets of shadow and light on the fogged glass, finding pictures and shapes in them the same way he did clouds. Beyond, the world was grey from sky to ground. Dark clouds hung heavy over the lonely gardens, bereft of people in this weather. The rain had turned the earthen paths between the trees to dark mud, branches hung heavy under the weight dipping down to the floor as though the whole tree were attempting to lay down to rest. 

The misty air was almost enough to obscure the high walls that bordered Malta's life. Grey stone, dyed black by water, looming above the tops of the garden's demurely manicured trees. 

"The weather has dulled your mood today.” The woman at his side spoke softly. "You are distracted."

Heaving a sigh, Malta turned his gaze away from the window and to the book laid open on his knees. In stark contrast to the gloom of the outside world, his room was warm and bright. A fire burned contentedly in the fireplace on the far wall and half a dozen orbs of magelight hovered at the ceiling to light the space as brightly as though the sun was shining. An effort to keep him cheerful on such a dour day. 

“Your ears give you away,” the woman said, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth, when he did not immediately reply.

“Oh,” Malta gasped, cheeks warming. On instinct, his hands moved up to cover the length of them, but then he stopped himself. Only children covered their ears to hide their emotions, and he was not a child. Not any longer. No, he would turn 50 this autumn, and be officially recognized as an adult. He needed to learn to better control his tells. "I suppose I am not in the mood for reading today.” Besides, he had read this book at least three times before, as he had read every other book in the temple library.

 "Is there some other entertainment I might provide?" the woman asked. His attendant for today was a young woman scarcely older than himself, with almond eyes and pale skin. Like all of her order she wore a plain linen shift with a high collar and wide sleeves, and a cloth tied about her hair. A single ebony curl had escaped beside her left ear, betraying her newness and tying it. Malta did not point it out.

"You are newly sworn, are you not?" he asked out of curiosity. “We were introduced only a few days ago."

“Yes,” the woman confirmed.

“It is so unusual for me to meet anyone new,” Malta mused. 

“Have you lived in the temple long?” he asked, then realized he might be overstepping his bounds, “If you are comfortable speaking of such things, of course.”

After an uncertain pause, she answered, “Since I was a child. It is all I can recall.”

“Then we are alike,” Malta declared, smiling. “To have known only this place our whole lives.” But his smile faded soon. "But now you will be able to see the outside, just like all of the others," he said, turning his gaze once more to the view beyond his window panes. "I confess that I am jealous."

The woman’s eyes widened in surprise. An unusual color - golden brown. That would be her name, in his mind, Amber. "Whatever would you have to be jealous of?" Amber asked. "You are the Mother's Chosen Son. That is an incredible blessing."

"I know," Malta sighed. Or so he had been told his entire life. "And I am not ungrateful, but I have known nothing but the inside of this temple for my whole life. At times it grows mundane, and I wonder how such a life can truly be worthwhile."

"Are you doubting your Choosing?" Amber asked, voice dipping so that they could not be overheard by anyone passing through the hall outside.

"No, not at all," Malta was quick to assure her. "I only wonder... " he paused to collect his thoughts. "I meet no one other than the Devoted, and I know nothing of the world outside the temple. I sit here in comfort and leisure while the rest of you go out and do her work, but I know almost nothing of what that entails."

Amber's considered his words. He had never dared to voice this particular doubt to any of the other Devoted. They had ensured, when he was a stir-crazy child, that he knew his place well, and knew better than to question. But he had never before met a Devoted close to his own age. He had never met someone who shared his ignorance about the world. Maybe that was why he dared open up to her. 

After a long moment of thought Amber sighed. The headscarf slipped back from her forehead and this time she noticed, hurrying to pull it back into place before more of her dark hair was revealed to her charge. "I believe I understand your meaning," she said carefully as she tucked each stray lock back beneath its covering. "You wish to bring the Mother's teachings to the world by helping those in need, but you do not know what they might need."

"Precisely," Malta breathed a sigh of relief that she understood and did not grow angry with him for any sign of doubt, the way some others did.

"But I do not believe you are meant to help people in any physical way," Amber explained.

That was a new revelation for Malta. All his life he had been told that he was Chosen to embody the teachings of the Mother, her compassion, her mercy, her innocence, and her willingness to care equally for all people and creatures of the world, regardless of their circumstances.

"What I was taught," Amber continued in the face of Malta’s shock and confusion, "Since my training began, is that you are a symbol. The Chosen Children of the Mother embody her essence. They are the purest form of the Mother's love, and they exist to show us all the purity of heart and spirit that we strive for."

Malta frowned and looked down again at the book in his lap, long forgotten during this conversation. "No, that cannot be correct," he said, voice barely a whisper.

"I apologize," Amber said quickly. She reached out a hand toward Malta, but stopped before touching him as though not certain it would be welcomed. "I spoke out of turn and I have distressed you. Forgive me."

"No," Malta shook his head. "I mean... Do not apologize," he corrected himself. "You have done nothing but what I asked of you. If you spoke out of turn it was my fault, and I should be the one apologizing."

"Well," Amber said with uncertainty, and then a very shy smile crossed her face. "I suppose we forgive each other, then."

"Yes," Malta smiled in agreement. "And let us talk of more pleasant things. Perhaps you were correct, that the weather has dulled my mood, to be asking you such silly questions about the outside world." He spoke, but found the words tasted like ash on his tongue. It was impossible for him to not be curious about what was beyond the temple grounds, and yet he was not permitted to ask. He was told to love and care for all beings of the world, but permitted to know nothing about them. And now this revelation, surely something that was meant to be kept from him.

All his life, Malta had thought that when he was old enough, when the Matriarch deemed him ready and worthy, he would venture beyond the walls of the temple to bring the Mother's light to the people of the world. Had he thought wrong?

He knew that his isolation in the temple was to keep his mind unsullied by the evils of the world. He was not to develop prejudices against anyone or be influenced by any teachings other than the Mother's. He knew only vaguely of the other gods. He could name them, and their purposes in the world, but knew nothing of their specific teachings. This had never mattered to him before. 

Again Malta turned his gaze out the window and looked down into the garden. It was still raining, still grey. The clouds that weighed heavy in the sky seemed to have taken up residence in his mind as well.

What was beyond those walls? How cruel was the world that he need be protected from it so entirely?

"Are you hungry?" Amber asked, pulling Malta back out of his thoughts. She must have caught him staring out the window again. At his age, his teachings were over, and it was the Devoted's task only to see to his needs and entertain him through his monotonous days. Entertain him so thoughts such as this did not plague his mind.

"I suppose it is nearly time for noon meal, is it not?" Malta asked. He flipped shut the book he had long since stopped reading without bothering to mark the page. Then he swung his legs off the window seat and stood, stretching slightly and tucking a stray lock of hair behind a pointed ear. "Shall we see what today's cooks have for us?"

"A fine thought," Amber replied, relieved. 

He had caused her trouble today, on her first day minding him. For that he felt some small amount of guilt. It was never his intention to give his caretakers trouble, but it was impossible for him not to occasionally seek something new in his life. The day-to-day of the temple grew boring after so long. The Devoted rotated their tasks, but for Malta there was no such relief. Each day was the same, differentiated only by the face of his companion, the weather outside his window, and the day's meals. And by now even that small change had grown dull and predictable. 

With easy strides Malta crossed the room to place his book back in its place on the shelf. The library's shelves were high and filled with tomes, but they were all the same. Tales of the Mother's deeds, explorations of Her teachings, histories of their society and the workings of the natural world. There were no tales of people outside this temple's walls, of the unpledged members of society. There were no tales of people who lacked the virtues that the Mother embodied. But he was certain that such people must exist. He had been told so, by his teachers. It was those that he was meant to save.

"I hope Rosie is working in the kitchen today," Malta commented absently. "She always makes my favorites."

"Who?" Amber asked, uncomprehending.

Malta flushed in embarrassment as he realized his slip up. "Forgive me," he said sheepishly. "I know you are not allowed names after you become Devoted, but I needed some way to differentiate you in my own mind. Rosie is an older woman whose cheeks are always red, so that is how I think of her. I know it is improper of me, please do not inform the Matriarch."

Amber looked as though she was not certain whether to be amused or scandalized. Then, she turned her face away from him, looking down to the ground somewhat sheepishly. "I confess the same thing has troubled me in the past," she admitted quietly. "I think your solution is not against the teachings, although I am certain the Matriarch would say you should not define us by our physical appearance. I will not tell, I swear."

Malta breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you," he said earnestly.

"If I may be so bold as to ask, for what trait have you identified me?" Amber asked shyly. "Or have you not decided yet?"

She would be the first person he ever gave a name to aloud. Although she was the first one to know that this habit of his had not been broken in childhood. "Your eyes," he told her. "They are an unusual color. Amber."

"Amber," the Devoted woman repeated. Then a small smile crossed her lips. "I like it."

[lampd-intheface]

sanders sides as witches

me: please... write what the people want... my lizard brain: witch au. now.

they all coincidentally live in the same apartment building? mostly becos there’s a ley line right through the building so there’s a lot of magical energy there

the rent is cheap too so that kinda helps

their apartment complex is in a more rural place so there’s a lot of trees and parks and stuff around them too

alongside being witches, the five of them are also just students at a nearby college

i mean, witchcraft brings in the bucks but witches have to have a plan b in this modern world, you kno???

becos they live on top of a ley line, a lot of supernatural trouble comes their way and so they just kind of try to deal with it a much as possible

patton, logan and roman know each other since they’ve been childhood friends and their families have been friends too

virgil and desmond (deceit) are kind of soloing right now which is a surprise becos they’re also helping with the supernatural disasters

i guess just so far??? virgil or desmond will like do something to help with a fae problem or with some wandering lycanthropes while patton/logan/roman had been planning on doing something???

patton: did you... do something about that one problem we talked about?

roman: no... i thought logan did?

logan: it was certainly not me

and it just never occured to the three that there were two other witches there

patton/roman/logan know virgil and desmond

it’s kind of hard to live in the same apartment building and not know each other

but they don’t know that the two are witches

virgil and desmond are kind of aware that patton/logan/roman exists and they kind of know that there’s something magical about them? but they’re not so much aware that each other exists?

which is weird becos virgil and desmond used to be childhood friends that just drfted apart becos of a stupid fight

to virgil’s knowledge, desmond is out in the world doing something

and to desmod’s knowledge, virgil goes to the same college but like... lives... somewhere else?

logan 

a very intellectual witch

he has floor to ceiling bookcases just filled with tomes and scrolls and spellbooks

when he’s in his room, books are hovering everywhere. he’ll waggle a finger and a book gently flies off of a shelf and into the space in front of him. sometimes there are multiple??? books??? at the same time??? in front of him??? and the books’ pages are flipping by themselves???

king of multitasking. he’ll be reading while writing while listening to music? he’ll be going through roman’s notes on a book while reading said book? or he’ll be researching through three or four different books at the same time? his multitasking skills are a type of magic all on its own

all of his books he gets from book sales or antique shops or like estate sales (where old houses’ contents are sold for a low price becos the owners can’t afford the estate anymore). logan kind of makes it a hobby to collect as much accurate magical literature as possible

roman and patton obviously tag along whenever they can, especially to the really fancy estate sales

his favorite kind of witchcraft is arithmancy (the practice of magic using numbers) and astrology (the practice of magic using celestial bodies). the arithmancy is becos he’s really good at it. the astrology is because he just. really loves. stars??? and the night sky??? and space???

like i said, childhood friends with roman and patton. so, patton and roman will oftentimes go to logan if they don’t know something not just becos logan is very intelligent but also becos logan’s room is basically a library of magic?

patton: hey logan--

logan, already levitating a book towards patton: i believe you’re looking for this book?

often, logan will also be found on the rooftop of the apartment building just stargazing and he’ll sometimes bump into virgil when he’s up there. as far as logan knows, virgil is just another student at the college he attends and both of them are just super into stars

he’s very good at spells on knowledge (gaining it or finding it or anything of the sort) 

roman

roman is a very musical kind of witch

he has a lot of instruments in his room, most of which play themselves at times when roman can’t be in more than one place. roman will be playing the violin and his electric piano will be playing at the same exact time, accompanying him

patton, happily: *hears an entire orchestra through the walls* that silly ol’ goober is up to his musical shinanigans again!

logan, slightly irritated: *hears an entire orchestra through the walls* roman...

he has milions of scented candles in his room and he never really lights them unless necessary? he just loves smelling them. the candles he uses for rituals and stuff are usually unscented but they’re in fun shapes (like flowers!) because why not? 

idk he just has a lot of candles around???

he has the kind of voice that’s perfect for spells??? he’s super good at enunciation and just volume and his voice is so pleasant!!! it also kind of helps that he knows a lot of languages (french, italian, spanish, latin) and he’s on his way to learning more

roman has always had a fascination with the way words work and the power behind words. a lot of his spells are spoken and they end up very strong and sturdy

he could literally and metaphorically talk himself out of any situation

whenever logan needs help translating something, usually it’s in latin so roman helps with that a lot. it’s really nice when the two of them are just chilling together quietly, roman translating things while logan reads

roman also loves using magic to levitate, animate and even project things! people can’t physically touch his projections tho (which makes patton sad whenever roman projects a cute lil animal he can’t pet) 

his specialties are incantations and spells that require any drawing of any sort (like runes and spell circles)

patton

whenever anyone needs a potion or some sort of concoction, they go to patton. need a treat for a fae? need some sort of potion for divining? just plain ol’ hungry? patton’s got you covered

his room is very messy but his kitchen is practically immaculate (in a sort of homey comfortable type of way). 

everything is sorted in all of the cupboards (which are overflowing and almost won’t close), the stoves are taken care of, his pots and pans and cauldrons are spotless

he prides himself in the large assortment of glass bottles and containers he owns. he tries to keep all of them clean but, sometimes, he’ll use one and then put it somewhere (not in the sink) and he’ll forget to wash it

it’s difficult for patton to get ingredients but some of it he just grows on his own. it’s not a perfect system but it’s decent. he can do the easy ones like rosemary, basil or mint. anything harder than that and he struggles with it a little. if he can’t grow it, he’ll find it somewhere else

he’s the type to buy those lil potted herbs at wholefoods or whatever and try to grow it but he only has a 50% successful growth rate and he always feels bad when the herbs end up dying

patton enjoys a lot of different magic but nothing gets him happier than mixing and cooking things up! logan and roman don’t understand it but patton just really loves it!

patton’s also a powerful empath so he’s very emotionally intelligent and can really strongly sense how people feel. he’s very good at comforting people too and cheering them up

he doesn’t force them to cheer up with a spell or anything. usually, he just listens and, really, sometimes, that’s all people need.

patton, when someone is upset: my friend distress senses are tingling!

unfortunately, being a powerful empath also means that, when the emotion is strong enough, he doesn’t just sense it. he feels it too. but he’s very good at sensing which emotions are his and which emotions he’s just getting from other people

patton’s specialties are obviously in cooking and in brewing (potions, concoctions, etc)

virgil

virgil is a very quiet witch

he keeps to himself a lot and just does what he needs to do without really asking for anybody else’s help. he’s self sufficient (though it doesn’t mean he’s happy)

virgil loves growing things. he has huge wire shelves in front of all his windows for all of his plants so they can get all the nice sunlight they need!

he’ll grow basically anything he’ll need for everyday potions and spells as well as succulents! he just loves all of his beautiful wonderful succulents! every single one of his plants has a name too!

virgil totally talks to his plants whenever he’s taking care of them and it’ll be just little things like how his day is going or things that are happening around him or how he’s really sorry when he’s pruning them

it’s very rare for a plant to die on him and, when that happens, virgil always knows that there’s something wrong (usually magic related)

virgil has a spell that’s basically a ball of light for those long winter months where his plants won’t get enough sun

herbology aside, virgil is also very talented when it comes to divination

he has a lot of decks of different kinds of cards and a bag of stones with runes on them. he can also read tea leaves and stars 

the reason virgil is alone often is because he believes he’s cursed. he brings bad luck to a lot of people he cares about and nobody ever believes anything he says about the future

that’s the reason he and desmond had a falling out. virgil was always so worried about bringing desmond bad luck that he ended up pushing desmond away

his specialties really are mostly divination (specifically cartomancy or divination using cards) and growing plants

desmond

very talented when it comes to creatures

he’s extremely intelligent and deals with the fae very well. he knows the fae court like the back of his hand and he knows the rules of the fae too

it kind of helps that he’s pretty much just as trickster-y as the fae

he’s very good at riddles too which he kind of has to be because the fae love riddles and rhymes 

desmond runs out of milk and honey on an almost daily basis and he has ingredients for fae porrige at all times just in case. sometimes, he’ll leave his window open and just leave a bowl of something on the window sill

he’ll make his own butter or cream (since the fae don’t really like industrially produced butter/cream) and he tries to buy organic milk and foods. he’s not too picky about it when he’s the one who’s going to eat it

he has two or three bird feeders but only one of them is really for birds. the others are for whatever flying creature wants a quick snack

you know he has a protective ring around the entire apartment building and that he wears iron rings just in case because, yes, he may be friends with the fae but he knows them well enough to know he should never put his guard down

he has two pet snakes (which he’s lovingl named flotsam and jetsam) and a fire salamander. he doesn’t call his fire salamander a pet becos he feels they have a mutually beneficial relationship. 

also there’s a brownie living in his apartment and they’re very good friends (but sometimes desmond will do stupid things and his brownie will get upset)

desmond has a pot he grows lavander in and he has named it virgil (after his dear friend virgil). he cast a spell on the plant so, if virgil is in danger or is hurt, that the plant will start wilting. it’s desmond’s way of keeping tabs on virgil

his specialties really mostly on the fae and how to deal with magical creatures

[leswansong]

(Late) Ladynoir July: When Tomorrow Comes

Day Seven: Lucky Charm

[ A03 ]

Word Count: 5K+

AN: What's this? A new Chapter less than a week than the last? Hope you guys enjoy this speedy update!

            Marinette groaned at the pounding headache she had awoken too, her eyes struggled to focus on something within her darkened room. Light slowly floated into the room, her eyes slowly started to focus on the small little dust particles that drifted through the rays of sunlight, she struggled to recall what had happened the night before, she cursed herself for drinking so much the night before so that she couldn’t remember that night. Marinette groaned again and shakily pulled herself out of bed and stumbled over to one of her windows to pull the curtain open, a decision she regretted instantly as the light caused her headache to grow ten times worse. She let out a yelp at the sudden pain drawing a concerned red Kwami towards her, she waved the small creature away and muttered something along the lines of ‘I'm fine’ to her before heading over to her small dressing table to get ready for the day.

            She stared at her reflection in the small, somewhat cloudy mirror, she had forgotten to remove the very little amount of makeup she had put on the night before to help blend her mask to her face better, at least she had remembered to take that off as it was sitting on the small table in front of her but the rest of the clothes she had gone out in still clung to her thin frame. She sighed to herself and started to brush her extremely matted hair, slowly she started to pull away at the large amount of knots that had managed to form in her hair overnight causing her to wince slightly from the sharp pains of her hairbrush pulling at them but it had to be done.

            She gently put down the wooden, horse-hair brush down on the table at turned around at the room, even though it was dark, she could still see the mess around her. It felt a little strange for her to be the only person in the room, she looked around at the remnants of Alya’s sisters visit on the floor around her, she was going to miss them but last night had provided the perfect cover for them to slip out as the guards attention were on the hundreds of people celebrating in the streets and not on the small suspicious family sneaking their way out of the gates. Alya was going to be back in a few weeks, her aunt was going to meet her halfway to pick up the younger girls so Alya could return to Paris. Marinette didn’t know why her best friend wanted to return to Paris, Marinette wanted nothing more than to escape it, she hated the constant fighting in the streets below her window that she could still hear but she knew that she couldn’t, she had a duty to the citizens to stop Hawkmoth and Chat to help him in stopping him.

            Marinette sighed and started picking up the small toys that had been left behind, a doll here, a small stuffed animal she had made them several years ago there and a few of their wooden blocks. She picked them all up and placed them in a small wicker basket leaving room for the addition of the view items of clothing they had left behind as well as the two skirts she hadn’t had the time to finish for them, she hoped that she would be able to send it to them but such a large item would prove difficult for her but it was something that she would like to do. She inspected the small doll she had picked up and smiled, she remembered making it for Ella for Christmas when she herself was fourteen. Marinette placed it in the basket with all the others before she pushed it towards a nearby wall.

            She picked up another basket and headed down the steps below, today was washing day, she probably had hundreds of baskets waiting for her downstairs, all of them had to be hand washed and hung out to dry before she got to work on mending any new tears in the fabric. She walked down the last few steps and let out a defeated sigh at the sight of the twenty-plus baskets in the entry hall, reluctantly she pulled up her sleeves and picked up another basket before heading to the small laundry room to get to work.

-x-

            He descended the large steps quickly and down the large hallway towards the tall green trees and purple and blue flowers as well as the large brown coffin that he had regretfully placed her within… He paused in front of her and placed his hand upon her casket, his wedding ring let out a muted ring against it and he let out a sigh before moving away from it, he had a job to do.

            His high priced shoes he was wearing echoed in the large open room, it reminded him how alone he was in his own home, the white butterflies around him were his only company. He raised his finger and one landed atop it, he couldn’t feel the delicate creatures weight but he knew it was there. It spread its wings and returned to the kaleidoscope of butterflies floating around him. He headed into the centre of the room, the early morning light was twisted into light purples and blue on the floor around him. Gabriel’s eyes narrowed at the large stained glass window, its frames were in the shape of a butterfly, it had been his wife's idea, the thought of her brought a smile to his face.

            He knew what he was about to do, his first ten Akuma’s had failed but then again, he wasn’t exactly trying, he just needed to know how the cat and bug worked and he now knew that. They were inexperienced with their Miraculous but the Cat, going by Chat Noir, was a skilled swordsman, he had years of training under their belt, Gabriel needed to see just how skilled this… boy was. He knew exactly what Akuma to send out today to test the boy’s skill and hopefully, the Akuma will be more skilled than the Cat eared hero, once Chat Noir was defeated his unskilled partner should be easy to take down, he would squish her like the annoying little bug she was.

            He looked down at the locket in his hand, it was his own lucky charm, the small painted portraits of his wife and son sat within; they were the reason he was doing this and he was going to bring them back. this silly revolution had taken almost everything from him but he wasn’t going to let it take them, not while he still had the Miraculous. He was going to do everything he could to bring his family back to him and restore order to France, the people were going to stay in their respective classes just as they always had been.

            He pulled the small box out of his pocket and opened it to reveal the pointy winged butterfly Miraculous, he carefully pinned it to his shirt and waited. The wave of emotions that washed over him were… awful, many were happy and hopeful, some were downhearted and sad, none of which were particularly strong for his desired Akuma. He needed a different emotion, one that was strong and full of uncontrollable rage, one that wanted to destroy everything around them. He closed his eyes and searched the sea of people, he tried once again searching for his son in that large ocean, he searched in the hope that he would find him and bring him home, so that his boy would be safe by his side but there was no sign of him, if he was still alive he must be out of his reach, a hopeful thought.

            He turned his search elsewhere to a stronger emotion that was only just emerging, they were perfect, he had never sent his Akuma after a person feeling disappointment and humiliation before he hoped that this one would prove… useful. A sinister smile tugged at his lips as he called one of the many silk white-winged butterflies down to him, he imbued it full of all negative information it needed for it to turn into the perfect Akuma, before sending it off into the streets of Paris in search of its perfect victim. He waited patiently in the large dark room for the black butterfly to find its target, he bit back the laugh that threatened to erupt out of his throat, today was going to be a great day…

-x-

            Ladybug, she was a wonderful ray of sunlight and it was very hard to focus on the rather annoyed Akuma when she was around. Her bright bluebell eyes that were able to bring life to the darkest of souls, and her hair that was darker than those souls. She was brave, intelligent, heroic, then again that last one was kinda part of the job but more than anything, she was perfect even with all her flaws. The way she had stood up to Hawkmoth when he tried to turn the very scared and confused Parisians around them against them was what originally drew him to her but that soon evolved into something more, he knew he was in love with her, her irresistible laugh just everything about her.

            He tried not to stare at her as she ran across the rooftops in front of him, he hadn’t meant to take his eyes off the Akuma but he couldn’t stop himself from greeting his Lady when she arrived, now they had to try and track down Darkblade before he got what he wanted. What that was, Adrien didn’t know, he had been a little too busy matching his old fencing instructor blade for blade. He wondered what his old teacher had done to deserve his fate, although it had been years since he had seen the slim man, he found it odd and a little hard to believe that the man that he had never seen angry or even a little bit upset had been Akumatized, something had to have caused the calm man to turn but what?

            Monsieur D’Argencourt was highly skilled and Adrien enjoyed his time with the older man, the task of trying to beat the better, stronger swordsmen was a thrilling one, each time he would learn something new from him, something that would help aid him in the next time he would face the older man only for the swordsmen to pull something else out of his bag of tricks for Adrien to learn. It kept what would normally be a boring lesson interesting and it helped him prepare for when he faced an actual fight against someone more skilled than he was. Adrien had been rather disappointed that he hadn’t been able to finish his lessons with him but he kept practising every day until the day came that he would return to the large gymnasium but he had accepted years ago that it would never happen.

            Slowly Adrien came to a stop behind Ladybug, she was inspecting something on her yo-yo as he took a few steps towards the edge of the roof, the heartbreaking sight slowly came to view. His eyes struggled to locate something to look at, the hoards of citizens that had been turned into Darkblade's loyal knights stood in the small square in front of Notre Dame and the bumpy roads leading up to the feared Palais De Justice. They stood shoulder to shoulder with their tall, heavy, green bladed axes reaching proudly towards the blue sky above them; a twinge of regret washed over him at the sight and his leather cat ears atop his head droop as well. Ladybug slowly approached the edge of the rooftop beside him, he felt Ladybug grow increasingly more and more upset beside him as she took in the sight of the square, making him feel even worse. He wanted nothing more than to crawl into the deepest darkest hole to hide his shame.

            She let out a sigh before returning to sneaking across the rooftops, she had noticed that Darkblade wasn’t among the countless turned Parisians in the street below. He silently followed a few paces behind her, he didn’t dare ask or beg her for her forgiveness yet, not until the threat had been defeated.

            They headed towards the direction the knights were facing, Palais De Justice, an old home to the former Kings and Queens of France and the new home of the feared Tribunal, even he hoped he would never meet the people who governed it, they oversaw the sentencing of the people who would meet the sharpened blade of the guillotine. Once they had decided your fate there was no way to escape it, you were going to die, maybe it was before you even saw the tall wooden platform that the dreaded blade sat atop but there was no escaping it, your fate was sealed. Adrien didn’t know how many people he had grown up seeing at parties had faced the Tribunal, he hoped it wasn’t a high number and hoped it was the low low number of zero but he wouldn’t bet his life on it.

            They slowly approached a small church that sat outside the grand building, Ladybug threw her yo-yo towards one of the peaks of the bell towers and swung herself towards the small rocky roof beside it. He followed her and landed silently on the uneven tiles, behind her. From the rooftop, the taller bell towers of the Sainte-Chapelle loomed tall into the sky, his eyes followed the even taller spire into the blue sky where a dark cloud was starting to form, they were definitely in the right place.

            “So…” he trailed off, “How do you want to do this?”

            His eyes narrowed and he scanned the large, closed steel gates. The people who were normally camped out in front of those gates watching were strangely missing leaving the area silent without their demanding cries.

            “Where would you say he gets his powers from?” Ladybug asked, she too was scanning the empty courtyards.

            He frowned to ponder her question, “His… His sword, I guess…” he replied sounding a little unsure.

            She nodded in response, “We need to get to it then, if it is where he gets his powers is of course then its most likely the transformed Item,” she explained.

            He nodded his head before turning to look at her, he took a deep breath and let the word soup flow out of his mouth. “Ladybug… I’m sorry, I- I shouldn’t have let him out of my sight, none of this would have-”

            She smiled sweetly at him causing him to stop in his tracks. “Don’t be Chaton.” she whispered, his heart leapt at the new nickname, she continued, “I might have been a little upset that he got away from you but I know you didn’t let him.” She placed her hand on his shoulder in support and his feelings of guilt slowly melted away at the slightest sign of affection.“So? You ready?” she asked, drawing his attention back from the small daydream that had started to play inside his head. He looked over and noticed her yo-yo was swinging rapidly beside her as she prepared to throw it towards the chapel’s bell towers.

            He nodded and watched her yo-yo launch across the large gap, it wrapped itself around the strong brickwork and Ladybug gave it one sharp tug before swinging across, leaving him to follow her like the lost kitten he was, he was so in love with that girl...

-x-

            Marinette landed awkwardly on the chapel roof, she spread her arms out to try and balance herself out, her eyes looked up at the steadily growing void black clouds above her, she did not doubt that it would soon cover and all of France by the rate it was growing. She felt her hands shake slightly from the fear slowly rising with her, she had no idea what this Akuma wanted or what his powers were. From the brief overview she had gotten when she arrived, he was skilled with the long greatsword Hawkmoth had gifted him and had almost beaten her incredibly skilled partner in a one on one fight although she knew that Chat would never admit to that.

            Her eyes scanned the rooftops, they were covered in the green, axe-wielding knights that had been turned but she saw no sign of the red, sword-wielding one they were looking for. She frowned and turned towards her partner as he landed beside her, he too was confused as to where the Akuma had gone, the only option was that the Akuma had headed into the building. She dreaded the thought of searching all of the rooms and corridors below her for it, she sighed and continued across the tall pointy rooftops in search of Darkblade but of course, there was no sign of the dreaded knight.

            Slowly she started to lose hope of ever finding the Akuma, she had run back and forth across the rooftop several times looking for the metal-clad Akuma so many times she was starting to grow dizzy at all the turning. She froze in place and looked up towards the sky, the growing black cloud was still growing, her eyes followed it off into the horizon, the familiar blue was gone, it had been completely replaced by the horrible black void above her head. Marinette wanted nothing more than to give up at that moment, Hawkmoth knew that he had the upper hand with his Akuma hiding from the two heroes and Darkblade was showing his true power. Marinette didn’t know what would happen with the large black void above her but it was something bad, she didn’t want to see Darkblade's goal fulfilled but she was helpless in stopping him. She slowly she started to feel herself cry and she felt herself drop to her knees. She struggled to keep the tears back, now wasn’t the time for crying, she had to focus on the task in front of her.

            Chat moved to stand beside her, his clawed glove rested on her shoulder giving her some hope to cling to.

            “Its okay Bug… We’ll find him, I promise, we just need to look at this with a fresh set of eyes,” he explained.

            She nodded, “Yeah… Just… Where could he be?”

            “Maybe in the building below,” he offered with a shrug.

            She smiled and nodded again, “We won’t find him in time, that cloud… I don’t know what will happen when it reaches across France but I- I really don’t want to find out…”

            He nodded, “Maybe I… Should…” He raised his hand indicating that he was referring to his power.

            She frowned, “Maybe… But you know-”

            “It’ll take a lot out of you, yeah, that's why I haven’t done it yet.”

            She sent him a small but sad smile.

            Sending out the cure took a lot out of her even when it was a small amount of damage, she had at first tried to hide it from Chat, she didn’t want him to worry but soon it started to take her toll on her. The large wind and storm damage Stormy Weather had caused had started Chat’s suspicions as he watched her limp away from the fight when he hadn’t seen her get hurt during the fight and the next Akuma, The Bard, she couldn’t remember their Akumatized name only that they were an upset popular street performer had been her ultimate undoing, everyone had been reverted back to the way they had been previously and there wasn’t going to be a repeat of the story she heard when she was younger where people had danced themselves to death but the sheer number of people the bard had turned was too much for her, she had collapsed after the cure had done its job and couldn’t bring her weak legs together long enough for her to stand so she had been forced to admit to Chat what was really going on.

            They were now really careful on what they destroyed and a building would certainly be one of the things that would push their luck.

            Chat held his hands down to her to pull her to her feet, she gladly took them and with one sharp and skill full tug, her feet were once again standing atop the roof tiles.

            “So Bugaboo? Ready to search inside?”

            She closed her eyes as a soft breeze brush against her face, “Yeah Chat lets go.”

-x-

            Marinette looked down at her Lucky Charm, she had no idea what to do with the sabre, she knew Chat would but he was currently engaged in a sword fight against the Akuma they were trying to defeat. Her eyes frantically searched the room looking for something, anything to use against the steel-clad Akuma before they landed back on the heavy sword in her hands, she sighed as she considered the stupid thought that crossed her mind before closing her eyes and accepting her fate. Her eyes reopened and she raised the heavy sword, she had no idea how to hold it or even wield it but she needed a distraction so Chat could either snatch the sword or use his ability on it, whatever worked, they just needed the sword destroyed.

            “Darkblade!” she yelled drawing the Akuma’s attention, “I challenge you to a duel,” her voice was a little shaky towards the end of her sentence but she tried to stay strong.

            The Akuma turned sharply towards her and smirked, “I accept,” he hissed back before charging at her.

            The Akuma was clearly extremely skilled, Marinette was constantly trying to defend herself from his fast attacks, he was pushing her closer and closer towards the unsteady roof tiles near the edge of the roof, she was losing ground quickly, he was pushing her back two steps with every swing of his greatsword; she had no idea how she was managing to parry his strikes but she was. Her eyes frantically looked around for her partner, he was slowly sneaking up beside the distracted Akuma, she pulled her eyes off of him as quickly as she could but Darkblade had noticed. He turned his head towards her partner causing the Cat to freeze, Marinette saw her opening and quickly wrapped her yo-yo around the blade, she had seen what the sword did with one touch and she didn’t want to join the hundreds of people around her. With the yo-yo wrapped tightly around the giant blade she stomped her foot down on the loosely hanging string pulling the sword from the Knights had and sending it to the floor where it broke into a thousand little pieces, the black butterfly rose from the ashes like a phoenix.

Marinette let the Akuma float up into the sky above her a little bit before she threw her yo-yo to catch it, an action she had repeated so many times already that it was starting to burn itself into her brain. Her yo-yo sprang open releasing the purified white butterfly into the cloud above her. Her eyes returned to the now kneeling Akuma, his Akumatized form had disappeared leaving a tall, thin as well as confused man with a moustache in its place. She sent him a saddened smile before helping him to his feet, he hung his head in shame and started towards the guards that were going to help him off the roof and would assist in helping him escape the mob that would try and kill him once they found out who had been the one to cause so much damage.

            Chat walked up beside her and looked down at the sabre in her hands, she spotted a smirk form across his lips out of the corner of her eyes, “You know... I could teach you how to use that, it might be useful in a fight,” he offered.

            She too looked down at the spotted hilted and silver bladed weapon, “Maybe one day…” she replied.

            He nodded and she let out a sigh, “I don’t know how much it's going to take out of me…” her voice trailed off.

            “I know bug… I’m here..”

            She smiled and nodded before taking a few short steps towards the edge of the rooftop, she liked watching the small little bugs working their way across the city fixing the damage that had been caused even if she hated the feeling of her slowly growing weaker and weaker from it. She took a deep breath and called the words, releasing the large swarm of small little bugs over the city, she felt its effects almost instantly and her legs wanted to collapse underneath her, the words of encouragement Tikki had told her replayed in her head, her body will get used to it, in time, she just needed… time…

-x-

            Slowly he moved to stand beside her, the small ribbons in her hair floated gently in the wind, the hundreds and thousands of Ladybugs worked their way through the streets, a lot of people had been turned, more than they had seen, he was concerned as his partner was slowly growing slightly weaker beside him and slowly she started to sneak over closer to him so she could use him as support and so she didn’t look weak in front of anyone. A crowd of people gathered underneath them shouting their praises towards the two heroes, he smiled down towards them and waved but Ladybug didn’t, she did smile at them but her eyes were fixed on the horizon, towards the large and what seemed like an endless forest of trees.

            “Ladybug?” he called, snapping her out of her spell, “Are you okay?”

            “Do you-” she cut herself off and shook her head, “nevermind…” she muttered.

            His smile dropped slightly and he stopped waving at the crowd below to turn towards her, “What is it Bug?”

            Her own smile dropped, “Do you ever wish that this…” she trailed off, “I don’t know how to explain what I’m trying to say… But, the fighting among the people, the constant squabbling over every little thing, do you ever wish that it would all end.”

            He frowned, “Honestly, I- I-” a sigh escaped his lips, “I don’t even know why there… was a revolution…” his voice got quieter and quieter with each word, resulting in her asking him to repeat himself in a louder voice. Reluctantly he did and in a much clearer voice, “I don’t even know why the Revolution is even happening…”

            His eyes met the floor and he waited for her to laugh at him, he had tried to find out what had caused the king to lose his head, why his home had been stormed. He knew the Tribunal had control of who was going to face the blade but he didn’t know why they were going to meet that fate. Stray newspapers weren’t all that helpful, they only held a small part of the full story, and he had yet to find someone to fully explain to the very sheltered him what had happened to the world he had known.

            But Ladybug didn’t, he watched her face turn into one of sadness then one full of concern. Silently she grabbed ahold of his wrist and pulled him away from the large and still growing crowd below them, he followed without question, he didn’t know where they were going but soon he realised that they were heading towards those large green forests. She pulled his baton from his back and handed it to him, he knew they would be going quite far because she waited for him to bend his legs for her to jump onto his back, something that she didn’t do often but something he didn’t mind, especially because he now knew what calling the cure did to her, he was surprised that she had been able to go so far without collapsing but he definitely didn’t want to push her to that. He waited a few seconds for her to get comfortable before he extended his baton. They moved slowly at first as it took them several short strides to build up the momentum that they needed to make a speedy getaway, but soon the wind was rushing past their ears as they moved past the last several buildings before they vaulted over the wall and into the trees.

            Adrien continued on a little bit further before they came to a stop. He helped Ladybug across to one of the large tree limbs for her to stand on before he clambered onto the branch after her where she pulled him down to sit on the branch next to her. They watched the trees sway side to side slightly from the soft breeze, the leaves rustled against each other blocking out most of the loud sounds from the busy city just a few short leaps away. Adrien had forgotten how quiet the world was, living in Paris for so long had certainly taken its toll, visits to the family summer home had completely disappeared when the Revolution had started, he missed that place, the large lake, the birds and the annual hunt he would go on, everything he considered normal.

            Ladybug let out another sigh, "How have you…”

            “My father, he locked me inside the house when my mother… that was a few years before… but it got worse when the fighting started, I wasn’t allowed to even go out to the garden…” he trailed off and he realised that he had said too much.

            He was surprised at how much information she had managed to wiggle out of in such a short amount of time, the night before she had paid for drink after drink for the two of them, each time he got slightly drunker and got him to offer up more and more information. He thought he was smart with how he was able to wiggle information out of her but she was proving to be a god at it.

            “So…” she trailed off, “How much do you know about what happened?”

            He shrugged, “All the recent stuff… about a week or so before the first Akuma but nothing else.”

            “Really?” she replied sounding surprised, “I guess I have a lot to fill you in with then…”

            Adrien didn’t like the sound of that, he wondered just how much he had been stopped from seeing throughout the years. He adjusted how he was sitting and prepared for the history lesson she was about to give him.

            “So…” she started while biting back a yawn, the cure was really starting to get to her, “It all started with…”

Made for @ladynoirjuly2019

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[everly-kindred]

Eve’s Diary - Entry #43

Synopsis: The first week back at school has come and gone, and Eve collects her thoughts on strange dualities. 

Words: 1,132

Date: 11th of January, 2027

Dear Diary, 

A week seems both a long time and an incredibly short one, especially when so much has happened in only seven days. Time is such an odd thing to perceive. I don’t know if I’ll ever wrap my mind around it. 

I rode the train back with Ruby, Marigold, Aures, Talula, Casey, and a few other students. We shared a car and had sweets. Ruby and I played this game where we both take turns adding to a drawing, and made this… frog thing with wings and a lantern hanging from his forehead, and wellies?

And then we got back to school and had dinner. It was such a tearing feeling of both returning home, and leaving home at the same time.

We didn’t actually have a feast with speeches and stuff until Sunday, when the Deputy Headmistress told us there had been some attacks. Apparently someone has been targeting animagi, and I honestly cannot fathom why. Who wouldn’t want to be able to turn into some sort of creature at will? I know I desperately want to, but that type of magic is far too advanced for a little firstie like me.

Anyways, she said a former student was amongst those attacked. I read an article about the attacks, and… Well, that Hufflepuff girl, Aisling Jones, was attacked at King’s Cross Station, at Platform 9 ¾. She’s been so kind to me, I wish I could visit her somehow… She is one of five people attacked now. Apparently, the villain wears full plate armor.

We had Defense Against the Dark Arts with Vikander. I sat in the front row with Aures, and this skeleton of a baby dragon came down. It started acting like it was going to chop Aures’ head clean off between its jaws, so I hit it with a book… And found out it was only being playful, so I felt really really really bad about hitting it. But, I didn’t want it to hurt Aures! I apologised, though, and the dragon doesn’t seem worse for wear. His name is Jeremy, apparently. What an… odd and rather boring name for such a fantastic creature, I’d say. 

There was this Hufflepuff girl in the back who kept talking out and arguing with the professor, so she lost us points, which was a little annoying. Speaking of, I should probably practice more for quidditch, but it’s been snowing nonstop. I… Don’t want to let Nate and them down again, so I’m determined to get better. 

We had a discussion about if dragons should be considered dark creatures. Some people said they think they should be, because they can harm humans, which I thought was silly. Dragons just try to survive like any other creature! Dementors and Boggarts and creatures like that take pleasure in suffering, but dragons… they’re just like really big, super duper dangerous animals. That are really intelligent and hoard treasure. 

It ended up begging the question, though - are humans, witch, wizard, and muggle alike, the darkest creatures of all? We kill and cause harm and steal every single day, all over the world. Not even just in a criminal sense, but in a practical one, too. Slaying creatures for potions ingredients and such, for example. We use. But I like to think - I like to hope, anyways - that we give back what we take in some way or another.

Bobby and I had a little chat in the dungeons. He shared this gummy snake with me that hissed and tasted like raspberries. I found it a little bit easier to eat than chocolate frogs - I still can’t get over the way those things move, and the way in which you get them to stop moving.

It’ll be his birthday soon, so I told him we could make him a cake. He wants to make sticky toffee pudding, so sticky toffee pudding he shall have! 

In artificer club, we started making wands! Bonnie had us carving out the shape from blocks of wood, and we have little cabinets where we can keep our things in. I started trying to carve my wand into looking a little like a berry branch, since that was the first idea to pop into my head. To look how I imagined my first wand might look. 

In charms class with Crawford, she had us pair up to practice Flipendo. I managed to duck a Flipendo Talula had sent my way - she was my partner - but I couldn’t manage a single one against her. She said she felt a little push, but I don’t know if that was true or if she was saying that to cheer me up. Practice makes perfect, I suppose. I had tried to do alohomora to lift her sleeve and mess up her wand movements, but I didn’t have any luck there either.

Speaking of Tal, in divinations, her and that Slytherin girl Ruby is friends with - Octavia Dechants - got into some sort of row in front of the professor. They had a lot of not so nice things to say to each other, which made me a bit sad. 

We had to practice something called oculomancy which is when you divine by gazing into someone’s eyes. Grey eyes like mine apparently mean I’m prudent, practical, and I have strong moral strength. I don’t know how accurate all the eye color correspondences are, if it’s like horoscopes or what, but… I suppose I can hope I do have strong moral strength. I don’t think I’m very practical, though, and I don’t know what it means to be prudent. 

Caitlin had sat with me but we had run out of time before we could practice with each other, so I promised we could be partners next time. I like her, she’s always nice to me. 

Today we had magical theory and sort of brushed up on the three elements of a spellcaster and wands and such. I love that Professor Reuter always has tea for us! This time I had jasmine with just a bit of honey. Anyways, I find his class especially fascinating as they require a lot of deep thinking but they’re still cosy and oddly very relaxing. It was a good class to end the week with, for sure.

Tonight is the full wolf moon. I hope that if there are any werewolves in the castle - and I know there’s at least one, Persephone Vitrac - they have an easy time tonight. I’ve been trying to read more about them so I can get a better understanding of them, and it seems like they suffer a lot. 

Anyways, it’s late and I’m very sleepy. I think I’m going to get something to drink and go to bed, maybe read if I can’t sleep. 

Much love, Everly

About the Character: Everlina Rosemary Kindred is an imaginative Hufflepuff attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She keeps up with her magical journey through a series of diary entries, dream journals, and tarot readings, all documented for future reflection. Her diary is a small glimpse into her enchanted life, and her adventure into the wizarding world and all its splendors. If you’d like more information about Eve, visit her wiki page. 

About the Author: My name is Katherine! I am a 21-year-old Hufflepuff & Pukwudgie from Louisville, Kentucky. This page is my creative journey into the magical world, through the lenses of Second Life. Here I post diary entries, dream journals, and tarot readings all from my character’s perspective. If you’d like more information about me, visit my Flickr! 

[trashboatprince]

I know I have fifty million fics to work on, but this idea came to mind and I just had to write it up. It’s involved in the little series I have for the whole Alice/Susie thing with Alice saving the studio, this is just after they first met. If you wanna read that, there is a fanfic for it through Susie’s POV I wrote up on ao3.

Ships: Alice/Susie

On with the fic!

--

Alice was quiet as she followed after the taller woman, who carried her along with the old rope that was wrapped around her hands and wrists. She pouted a little, trying to undo them, but as the damsel of the series, rope knots were… knot her specialty, haha. Okay, she couldn’t help herself, she was also a comedian, and a great one at that.

Her large eyes looked around the old, wooden halls they passed through, seeing posters for all sorts of Bendy cartoons, majority of them starred her, or included her as part of the cast. Alice had even spotted cutouts of herself, several she knew were promotional material for some big shorts, others were the generic one of her standing on a cloud.

Oooh! There was even a pile of plush toys of her in a corner as they took a sharp turn.

“Where are we going, miss?” Alice asked, finally breaking the silence since she was dropped (rather rudely, if she might add) to the floor from the trap she had stupidly stepped on. The other turned her head to look at the toon, a golden eye staring down at her, swimming in a sea of black.

“We’re going to a very special room of mine, only angels allowed.” Her voice was lovely, much like Alice’s own, but the little angel knew that it wasn’t her own. Sure, yes, it seemed to be overlapped by another, but Alice wasn’t stupid.

Toons knew the people that worked on them, that were behind their creation, it was practically imprinted in their ink.

‘Do you really think I’ll be the perfect voice for her? I don’t feel like I’m worthy of someone so perfect.’

This pretty angel before her had a much different voice, a sweet one that could make birds sing with her if she sang them a song. Not that the voice she had was anything terrible, in fact, it was just as lovely, but sometimes… you can’t beat an original, right?

One last hall and they came to a door, marked in ink. Alice frowned at all the markings, seals of protection, from demonic creatures. It made her swallow loudly, poor Bendy would be hurt if he ever got close to these…

The other angel opened the door and allowed Alice in with a curt nod, a sly smile on those black-painted lips. Alice thanked her as she stepped inside, surprised to see that it was a rather clean room, much different from the many stained and damaged ones around the studio. It was set up like a little home, with whatever material this lady could find, which was a lot of Alice content.

Alice couldn’t hide the smile on her face when she realized this is where the giant plushes of herself had gone from the toy factory. “So, what did you need me for? I mean, aside from adding me to your lovely collection, hehehe.” She winked at her savior-captor, who seemed to be a bit startled by the reaction.

But that lasted a moment, she was quick to recover as she stepped to the door, looking down at Alice when she closed it. “I think you answered your own question there, my dear.” She smirked, locking the door.

This seemed like a dangerous situation, but the toon didn’t seem threatened as she looked at the other angel.

Now that she wasn’t upside down, Alice could actually look at her. This other Alice was tall, her outfit was similar to Alice’s own, though there was much more black involved. Though, Alice really enjoyed the little addition of the bow on the back of the dress.

Her face showed scars on the left side, her eyes were gold but the left was black as well, and there was a slash at her throat. The other’s horns were longer, sharper, and her halo was damaged. She even seemed to have two extra beauty marks, just under that left eye of hers. Oh, she knew those little marks anywhere.

‘Can you give her a beauty mark? Under her eye? I-It doesn’t have to be like mine…!’

Alice couldn’t help but feel a bit of heat come to her face, wow, so it really was her after all. Her first voice actress, and her influencer, Susie.

Golly, what happened to such a lovely lady to have her change so much. Imitation is the highest form of flattery, but Alice would have liked for Susie to be, well, herself. Not that she minds Susie wanting to be more like her, but…

“What happened to you, Susie?”

Alice immediately regretted the innocent question, the glare she was given looked like it could slice her open. Susie stared at her before stepping closer, her heels loudly clicking in such a quiet room.

“What… did you say, little angel?” There was a strain to her voice and Alice shivered, her halo shaking above her head.

“I-I was… I was just asking what happened to you, Su-” The hitch of the other’s breath, the horrible, burning stare, made Alice speak quickly. “Alice! What happened to you, Alice! I mean, your poor halo, it’s all bent outta shape, let me help you…!” She reached up with her bound hands and Susie stepped back, glowering.

“Look,” the taller angel started, “if you want to keep that pretty head of yours on that lovely neck, you’d be wise to never say that name to me or around me. She’s long gone, there is no Susie here, there is just me, Alice Angel.”

Once Alice nodded her head rapidly in understand, Susie relaxed, her smirk returning. “Good, you’re such a smart girl under that halo.” She gave it a small flick, the sound of a bell rang through the room, like something from a cartoon. “As for your questions… a terrible machine and a man did this to me. I was offered something wonderful, and all I got was this. But that’s easy to fix, I just need the right parts. And I’ll have you help me out, my dear.”

Gently, Susie guided Alice to the couch in the room, sitting her down on it. “Will you help make me a beautiful angel again?”

‘Even though she’s fallen, is she still a perfect angel? She is? That’s wonderful!’

“I… suppose so, but I don’t see why I’m needed.” Alice spoke, blinking. “You’re already beautiful as it is.”

Once again, she caught the taller woman off-guard. Alice smiled at the hint of color to the other’s cheeks before she yelped at the hand that pushed her face back as few inches. “Flattery will get you nowhere here, girly.”

“Oh, but I think it did. I mean, I’m already in your private chambers, doll.” Alice grinned before planting a kiss on the palm of Susie’s hand, which was suddenly pulled back. The other’s eyes were wide as she looked between her hand and Alice, who just smiled sweetly at her.

Susie stepped back, stammering a little to herself, before moving back towards the angel, working on untying the rope around her hands. “J-Just stay there. I need to go check on my other traps, don’t get into anything while I’m away, and don’t leave. You can’t escape me; I have eyes everywhere.”

“And they’re currently on me!” Alice giggled and got a look from Susie, making her close her mouth. She was still smiling though, even when Susie stepped away, leaving the room with an axe. Once she was alone, Alice sighed, leaning back against the couch.

She closed her eyes, breathing in deeply through her nose before pausing, sniffing. The couch smells interesting. She sniffed it again, it was… sweet, but there was something else included in it.

The old blanket and pillow at one end told her that this was Susie’s bed here, so of course it smells like her.

It smells so lovely, like honey! Alice remembered in her creation, when she was being ‘brought to life’ on pen and paper, of Susie’s voice. She was talking to the artist who designed her, Henry, giving him ideas. Sure, a lot of them were silly and didn’t really seem like plot heavy things, just more like ideas for Susie to enjoy herself.

But there was one interesting one she remembered, Alice’s personal scent.

‘I’d like to believe she smells like honey and milk.’ Susie mumbled, looking embarrassed as she sat next to Henry Stein, the artist pausing in his inking of one of his headshots for Alice Angel.

‘Honey and milk?’ He asked, clearly amused and curious. ‘Any reason why?’

‘Well… from what I remember from my old Sunday school days, God was from the land of milk and honey, so Heaven, right? And Alice is from there, so wouldn’t she smell like that? Such a sweet, homey, safe scent…’ Susie smiled softly, looking at the drawings.

‘Makes sense. Heh, yeah, she can have that as her perfume or somethin’.’

Honey, that’s what Alice was smell, but there was another scent that had her worried. Ashes, she smelled the scent of burnt ashes mixed with such a sweet aroma.

Such a scent was associated with death.

She remembered the slash across Susie’s throat… oh dear, what happened to her since she was replaced? Whatever it was, it made her an angel that wore a perfume of sweet death.

END

--

Ten points to whoever gets my really obscure reference about honey and ashes.

And yes, Alice was totally flirting cause she is very aware of Susie’s crush, which isn’t to say that she’s not crushing herself. Also, this whole fanfic is self-indulgent, but then again, I’ve noticed a lot of content for this ship is and that’s beautiful.

As for the beauty mark comment, my headcanon for Susie is that she has two under her left eye. And this is pre-canon Malice design, so her face isn’t quite… Ink Demon-damaged as it is, she’s pretty close to being perfect, but he messes everything up for her later on.

Thanks for reading!

[asleeg]

no man is rich enough to buy back his past (1/2)

[read on ao3]

[a b-day fic for @roswyrm ]

It wasn't until he saw Zolf again, the sobs already rising up in the back of his throat, that Hamid understood how much he had missed his best friend.

Because that was what Zolf was, at the end of all things. Bertie never had been, had proven that over and over again, and Sasha was brilliant and loyal, but Zolf had been… special. Zolf had been the one he cared about so intensely it inspired him to scream and cry and do all the things his family had tried to train out of him. It was Zolf that had held him the darkness, Zolf who had saved him from himself, Zolf who had inspired him to lead. Zolf was his best friend.

And Hamid was a mass of tears shaped something like a halfling.

Grizzop and Azu both looked worried-- Well, Azu looked worried. Grizzop looked like he thought Hamid had finally lost it. Hamid couldn't blame them. He didn't know what Sasha had told them, but he could never bring himself to talk about Zolf with them. It felt wrong, somehow. The early days, when they were still working on the name, was something so precious to him, and words couldn't explain it. Especially not to the people who had replaced Zolf and Bertie, thereby changing the entire dynamic.

Sasha, though, knew Hamid at his absolute worst, and the tears didn't phase her at all. After she greeted Zolf (Lowkey as always, like Zolf was catching up with them after lagging behind to catch up on some paperwork. Why did that thought rip a sob out of Hamid's throat?), she faded to the back of their group, looking between Zolf and Hamid with a wide, expectant grin. She had planned this surprise, Hamid realised, but was too distracted to be offended.

Zolf had always been the one to carry the full brunt of Hamid's emotional outlash, but he'd never smiled like that about it. His smile was soft, almost fond, and Hamid could feel his organs quaking at the way the emotion echoed in Zolf's clear, blue eyes.

"Well," Zolf said, and, oh god. Hamid had forgotten how deep and lovely Zolf's voice was, oh god, he was sobbing even harder now. He was so happy. "I guess some things never change."

"Shut up," Hamid said. And then, quickly, "No, wait, I didn't.... Don't leave."

Zolf's brow furrowed, but his smile didn't fade-- Just turned a bit sad at the edges, the happiness wilting. Hamid felt the loneliness in his chest start building again. "I'm not going anywhere, Hamid."

If anything, Hamid cried harder.

"Sorry," Grizzop said, in his usual 'I'm not trying to be incredibly rude, but I unfortunately will be' voice. "Who are you?"

"It's Zolf," Hamid sobbed. "It's.... Zolf."

Azu looked confused. "What is a Zolf?"

"I'm a Zolf. Zolf Smith, in fact. Founder of..." Zolf paused. "Sorry, what was it you were calling it now? Right, sorry. LOLOMG."

"Ah, right," Grizzop said. "The cleric they left in Prague."

Hamid wailed.

"Does Hamid not like Zolf?" Azu 'whispered' to Sasha, and Hamid is so used to her particular brand of obtuse that it almost doesn't register. It's not until he sees the worry flit into Zolf's eyes that he sucks in a breath so sharp that it burns all the way down to his toes. Hamid can't let Zolf think that he doesn't want this, can't let Zolf think that he belongs anywhere other than here.

Sasha beats him to it, though, with a snort. "Hamid likes Zolf plenty. He's just a prat about it, sometimes."

The tears almost stop when Hamid draws himself up into full height, prepared to be affronted, but Zolf ruins all composure by coming to his rescue. "Stop it, Sasha. You know how Hamid can get when he's hungry; A couple dire lobsters and he'll be right as rain."

"I'm right here," Hamid wibbles, but it doesn't come out as the protest he intends it. It's more a statement: I'm right here, Zolf. I'm right here, pay attention to me. Then again, he's not sure if he wants Zolf to notice the teary, snotty mess he must be at the moment.

"Wow," Grizzop says. "I can't believe you used to be weirder than you are now."

"Grizzop," Azu scolds, but before she can continue (and embarrass Hamid further by discussing every schmoopy, ridiculous emotion written across his face), Hamid interrupts.

"No, you're all right," Hamid said. He took a deep breath, tries not to notice that the fondness is creeping back into the edges of Zolf's smile. "We should all get dinner. Zolf, you've... It would mean a lot to us, if you would meet the new team."

"I'd love to."

The easy agreement almost threw Hamid off, and certainly made him suspicious. Nothing with Zolf had ever been easy, from beginning to end. His sudden agreeableness was something Hamid hadn't expected or even wanted. Or, maybe, Zolf's growth didn't dissolve in the face of an old friend like Hamid's tended to.

"Perfect," Hamid said. He, and the rest of the group, were pretending that fresh tears weren't gathering in the corner of his eyes. "I'll go freshen up, and meet you all in the dining room. Yes?"

The team agrees easily enough, even if Sasha hesitates, but Zolf lingers for a moment. The doubt is clear in his eyes. After all, Hamid has never needed time or a bathroom to get himself stage ready.

"I just... need a moment," Hamid said, and Zolf nodded.

"'Course," he said, "it's a lot. You've been through a lot."

"Well," Hamid joked, "You seem to be handling it fine."

Zolf laughed, a low, rusty sound. It was different, now, like a record covered in dust. When was the last time Hamid had heard Zolf laugh? Before Prague, obviously, but... Before Paris? Before Dover? He couldn't remember.

"Do I? I don't feel fine."

Hamid winced. "Zolf," he said, softly. "You don't have to stay if you don't want to."

The look that crosses Zolf's face must be a look that all religious figures learn, at one point in their lives. It's a mix of "oh, look at this stupid beast, how I pity it," mixed with, "look at this abhorrent creature, how it disgusts me." Hamid had seen it in the eyes of many a priestess in his childhood, and Grizzop and Azu had both conquered halves of it. Zolf was the only one who had managed, so far, to also make it seem fond, as if Hamid's slight was somehow endearing. It always unsettled him, threw him off whatever self-destructive spiral he'd been ready to fling himself into.

Honestly, Hamid wishes he'd known Zolf at University.

"Of course I'm staying," Zolf says. He starts off after Sasha and the rest, and Hamid still isn't used to the fluidity of Zolf motions now that he's got two (magic) legs again. It's unfair, how much the new stability in his shoulders shows off how broad and strong they are. The last thing Hamid needs is even more reasons to miss him when he's gone. "I need to make sure the new recruits are taking care of you better than the last two idiots, don't I?"

And then he just... leaves, like that sentence couldn't be broken down into a thousand meanings, a million messages that Hamid could spend the next six hours dissecting. It's enough to paralyze Hamid, leaving him stuck stock-still in the hotel lobby until a well-meaning conceirge comes and pokes him along. Hamid trudges to the bathroom, replaying the conversation over to himself. It feels more like a daydream than a memory, like one of those silly fantasies he used to have, all prince charming and being swept off his feet. Although, it's less about the adventures than it used to be.

Once upon a time, Hamid wanted princes and princesses. He wanted grand adventures and crowns, to achieve great deeds that could be shown as brazenly as the medals on his chest. Reality worked that out of him quickly enough. After everything in London, Hamid had learned that no one was coming to save him. Paris taught him that grand adventures and great deeds were sometimes things you didn't want to show. Sometimes they were things you wanted to forget about long enough to sleep. But it was okay: Hamid had picked up new dreams. Dreams of him and Zolf, of Sasha and Bertie, all four of them a happy little family in the face of certain death. It had been a dream born from an almost.

Prague took that dream from him, too.

Hamid relished in the sting of cold water against his face, dripping down his neck. It made the world feel a little more real, a little less like the memory of those old daydreams. Seeing Zolf had led him back to that intense longing for a home-- But, no, that had been the fourth lesson, the one that Cairo taught him. Hamid didn't know how to be the new him around someone who still had his hands around the tenderest parts of Hamid's heart.

When he opened his eyes, they were molten and draconic, the tips of teeth peeking out over his lips.

They would have to figure it out together.

[rpgmgames]

April’s Featured Game: Folkloria

DEVELOPER(S): folkloriarpg ENGINE: RPGMaker MV GENRE: Adventure, RPG SUMMARY: Folkloria is a lighthearthed turn-based RPG set on a floating island inhabited by mythological creatures. You play as Weaver, a young and unassuming griffin determined to rescue his family from the clutches of Dr. Zeralidius, a shady businessperson from the world below the clouds who plans to modernize the peaceful island.

Our Interview With The Dev Team Below The Cut!

Introduce yourself! *Oi! I'm Domino, a wannabe artist. I've been drawing all my life, a passion I inherited from my father, but only recently I decided to publish my work online. Through the years I have tinkered with basically all iterations of RPG Maker, making silly short games with my friends before attempting to develop something full-fledged.

What is your project about? What inspired you to create your game initially? *Domino: Folkloria is a very simple, cartoony turn-based RPG which spices things up with timed hits, counters and a variety of partners. The game takes place on a floating island inhabited by anthropomorphized mythological creatures. The protagonist of the story is Weaver, a child griffin determined to rescue his family from the clutches of Dr. Zeralidius, a shady businessperson from the civilized world who wants to forcefully modernize the island. Along the way he will meet new allies like Lauper, a thousand-year old phoenix who needs his help to drive Zeralidius out of the island, and Akinai, a kitsune merchant who will supply them with the best items she has to offer. I still haven't shown all the party members, but among them are a buff minotaur lady, a shy but frightening wendigo and a sculptor gorgon. 

What inspired me to make a game was the indie scene in general. I have always dreamt of being a game developer since I was a kid, and when indie games first started becoming really popular I thought to myself "Hey, I could probably do that!". The folklore theme of the game was decided completely at random. When I first created the character of Weaver with my friends years ago, we wanted to make a traditional 2D platformer. We came up with a griffin character since being part lion and part bird he could fly, run fast and use its claws to attack. That decision alone basically shaped up the rest of the setting, and I started populating the game's world with different mythological creatures.

How long have you been working on your project? *Domino:  The game in its actual state was started at the end of 2015, but the basic setting and characters (specifically Weaver, the protagonist and Zeralidius, the villain) were conceived as far back as 2012. I didn't pay much attention to it during the following years since I was working on another unrelated project with some friends, but after things fell out with them I decided to revisit the concept and flesh it out.

Did any other games or media influence aspects of your project? *Domino: Of course! If it wasn't obvious enough, the game is heavily influenced by Nintendo RPGs, especially the Paper Mario series. I always loved the simplistic approach towards the RPG formula those games have, and I also adore turn based combat with timed button presses. I think it keeps the player engaged. Graphically, Mother 3 was a big inspiration. The art style of that game just resonates so well with me, with that colorful palette and the black outlines that make the sprites stand out so much.

Have you come across any challenges during development? How have you overcome or worked around them? *Domino: The biggest challenge was overcoming the limitations of the engine itself. I chose RPG Maker because it's very easy to pick up, as I'm mainly an artist and I don't know anything about coding. But as time passed, I noticed that even when using countless scripts I couldn't achieve the battle system I had in mind for my game, which required timed button presses and numerous character animations. So one day I decided to try making the battle system from scratch, using only common events and script calls, and it worked smoothly. In the end it felt extremely satisfying to see something like that work as intended, and by experimenting with script calls and variables I at least learned something about coding.

Have any aspects of your project changed over time? How does your current project differ from your initial concept? *Domino: Like I said before, the game was initially conceived as a 2D platformer. Then, when I picked up the project again years later, I envisioned it as a bare-bones boss rush RPG with Weaver as the sole playable character. As I started adding more features like partners and equipment, I felt those would be wasted in a boss-only game and I finally decided to include random enemies. Since then the game hasn't changed much, but to this day I always find myself revisiting minor stuff like the design of some NPCs (and I should seriously stop doing that!).

What was your team like at the beginning? How did people join the team? If you don’t have a team, do you wish you had one or do you prefer working alone? *Domino: I prefer to work alone, as I am very picky about how characters and gameplay aspects are handled, but I still enjoy receiving feedback. I have a very close friend who doesn't actively work on the game, but always tell me what I'm doing right or wrong, and I find his help invaluable. So far I'm doing well one-man-armying the project, I will have to find a composer sooner or later though, since making music is the only thing I can't realistically do by myself.

What is the best part of developing the game? *Domino: Animating the character sprites and seeing them interact in battles is incredibly satisfying to me. Being an artist at heart I'd say spriting in general is my favorite aspect of game development. Another thing I absolutely adore is worldbuilding, researching the mythical beasts from all around the world and trying to incorporate them in the game by giving them my own spin.

Do you find yourself playing other RPG Maker games to see what you can do with the engine, or do you prefer to do your own thing? *Domino: I haven't played many RPG Maker games, but I did enjoy LISA the Painful and OneShot immensely. I was impressed by how far these two games in particular pushed the RPG Maker engine to its limit.

Which character in your game do you relate to the most and why? (Alternatively: Who is your favorite character and why?) *Domino: Self-inserting isn't something I like to do in games, so this is a hard question for me, but I think I can relate with Weaver, he mostly keeps to himself but he's always willing to help his friends and family.

Looking back now, is there anything that regret/wish you had done differently? *Domino: Yes, I regret not having started working on this project earlier and wasting too much time during the planning phase.

Once you finish your project, do you plan to explore the game’s universe and characters further in subsequent projects, or leave it as-is? *Domino: Absolutely! I would definitely love to expand the game's lore further through comics and other side projects.

What do you look most forward to upon/after release? *Domino: The sense of accomplishment of having completed and released a game! But deep down, the thing I'd love the most is having fans of my work and seeing my characters drawn by other artists.

Is there something you’re afraid of concerning the development or the release of your game? *Domino: The whole marketing part scares me. I really don't know how to promote my game, so getting it noticed is going to be pretty tough for me.

Do you have any advice for upcoming devs? *Domino: Oh man I am bad at this. I'd say... when starting, keep the scope of your game small. Make something that you, as a player, would enjoy playing. Don't try to follow trends and, most importantly, value every bit of constructive criticism, but remember that you can't always please everyone!

Question from last month’s featured dev @plueschkatzeart: How do you keep yourself motivated?  *Domino: Sharing my progress on the blog for everyone to see is what keeps me motivated. Since I set myself the goal of posting at least once a week I've become more productive than ever. Of course, the positive response I receive from my followers also help. Another thing that encourages me to keep working on my game is seeing other developers succeed; that gives me hope and drives me to do my best!

We mods would like to thank Domino for agreeing to our interview! We believe that featuring the developer and their creative process is just as important as featuring the final product. Hopefully this Q&A segment has been an entertaining and insightful experience for everyone involved!

Remember to check out Folkloria if you haven’t already! See you next month! 

- Mods Gold & Platinum

[ladyblob]

Our Knights

My grandmother collected bells. Some small, some big, a rainbow of shapes and colours. During summer, when I used to visit, we would spend entire afternoons tying them in strings, adorning the front porch for a party only we knew was happening.

I still remember sitting outside, feet dangling from the swing, huge slices of watermelon on my lap. A gentle breeze would play the bells for us, in a tune that was somehow always familiar and always new.

Her garden was filled to the brim with flowers, berries, spices, trees, and of course bells.

<<Why do you put up so many Nana?>> I would ask, fruit juice dribbling down my chin.

<<To keep out the fairies, dear>> She would answer, reaching into her pocket for her faithful handkerchief, <<every queen needs her knights, don't you think?>>

I didn't know what she meant then, but I believed her regardless.

As the years passed, our trips to see Nana became shorter, rushed, and ultimately forgotten. She would send letters from time to time, old-fashioned reminders of days spent in the garden.

We got the news the day it happened. Memories of her hands, of her smile, every little moment came rushing in. It felt unreal, like one of her stories. But it was real. My parents didn't want the house to fall to ruin, and because of my insistence they allowed me to take care of it during the summer. I packed almost all of my closet into my bags, and off I went.

The journey was usually short, but it somehow felt longer without her there. I was in no rush to arrive only to find her missing, after all. But as time went by, the roads became familiar, and the house became visible, peaking ever so slightly over the hills.

The first thing I noticed was the strings of bells. There were almost five times as many as I'd remembered. Some were broken in places, others were rusted from enduring the elements all those years. I let myself in and put down my things, careful not to disturb the dust for a reason I couldn't quite put to words.

Every little aspect of the house seemed to be designed to remind me of her, or of a moment we had spent there together. I could feel my lungs tighten, and walked back out into the garden.

It was silly, really, but I must have spent a few hours retying bells and taking down broken ones to glue back together. I picked up quite a few off the ground, wondering how they had escaped their nots. Once I was done I felt a little silly, shuffling back inside after one last whiff at the flowers. I found some tools to fix "the fallen", as she would call them, and lay them on the table to set.

As I climbed the stairs to what would be my room, I found more strings zigzagging all the way across the ceiling. They looked really lovely inside as well. I had not expected sleep to come as easy as it had. There was something about the old house than soothed me. I took my time getting downstairs for breakfast, not wanting to have to clear the table of the bells. It turned out I didn't have to.

I could recognise the heads of the creatures in front of me as the little shiny orbs I had been fixing. What I could not recognize were the small, armoured bodies that now stood beneath them. As if they had heard my thoughts, their heads turned in unison, jingling almost melodically. One of them inched forward, making it to the very edge of the table. It waved a gauntlet at me.

For a moment I saw them, and then the ceiling, and then blackness, followed by a thud that only later did I recognize as me hitting the floor. When I came to, they were spread around me, some lightly poking me with the softer ends of their spears, while others kept their distance.

I sat up slowly. The one at the edge of the table was still where I'd left it, and jiggled it's head toward the door. Still a bit dizzy, I made my way outside, hearing small jingles as they followed. The one from the table took longer, eventually making its way to the front of the lines they had formed in front of me, like a shrunken battalion.The little one in front rocked its head first to the left, then to the right, and the rest stood at attention, all facing me.

I understood then, what she had meant.

Thanks for reading! This was based on a drawing by the wonderful @tea-bone-steak (http://tea-bone-steak.tumblr.com/post/175898418013/bell-knights-concept-art), which inspired me to write a lil somethin’. Hope you enjoy it :D

[garp19-jennicornall-blog]

Research proposal statement

Why do we tell stories to children? The importance of children’s books and how to keep them relevant.  

I have always loved books ever since I can remember. I have so many memories of my parents reading to me and putting on silly voices. The beautiful illustrations transported me to a different world allowing me to believe that I could be or do whatever I wanted. A world where animals wear waistcoats, twits played tricks, shooting stars, Scottish landscapes, naughty siblings and families with weird and wonderful pet animals. I learnt so much from these stories, they helped me get through bad times and made me learn about myself and the world around me. For instance, books from the likes of Beatrix Potter, Mairi Hedderwick, Julia Donaldson, Raymond Briggs. I have been interested in the children book industry for a while and thought this would be a perfect opportunity for me to learn more about it. Looking at the children book industry will help my personal practice, informing me how it works, and how it can relate to the position I am in. I will be looking into the origin of reading and children’s books by looking into folklore and how it shaped the industry that is today from the likes of Vladimir Propp. I will be looking at why its important children read and how we can encourage reading to be a part of a child’s routine. I will be going to local independent children’s bookshops to see how they encourage children to read and to look at their displays and workshops. I will look at the publishing industry and their policy on ethics over profits. I will also be looking at trends in books, to see what people are buying and why. I think this would be interesting to see the variety of books that exist and how it is evolving. For example for International Women’s Day the increase in books about strong female leads. Have they been there all the time or hidden at the back of the shelves? I also will be looking at illustrators and how children’s illustrations have changed with the use of digital illustration alongside traditional. This will be of interest to teachers, parents and people who want to get into the industry. This will help them understand how books and illustrations are still important and how they can be kept that way. They can see modern books that are on offer that can teach their children about our growing world and promoting equality.

Children are introduced to new worlds with books, they can meet new people from the present and past and they can really affect their lives. It sparks their imagination, develops thought provoking and critical thinking and helps them develop empathy. Reading allows children to have skills they will need for their future to help them thrive at school, work and life. (Cowell, 2018) Reading for pleasure is also important for mental health as well as economic success research states. ‘One in eight disadvantaged children in the UK do not own a single book of their own, and primary school libraries have closed across the nation.’ Another factor for why children are not reading is because of parents not having time to read with their child. ‘19% of parents struggle to find energy at the end of the day’ also 16% said their child prefers to do other things. Another struggle some parents find is not feeling comfortable in bookshops, with feeling overwhelmed by the variety of books. However, 61% of parents are concerned about how much screen time children are having. (Flood, 2018)

An interview between Quentin Blake and Lauren Child shows the way they draw and write for both adults and children. Child says how she treasures Blake’s comment about how young children can read a book even if they can’t actually read. ‘Whether I’m doing an adult book for The Folio Society or a book for a five- year old, it’s the same job and you should take it equally seriously.’ Child wants to address a similar method by speaking to both adults and children. ‘I think there is a misunderstanding about writers and illustrator for children. As if they don’t take their work as seriously as those who write and illustrate for adults. When actually it’s the same, the same thought process and integrity. It’s easy to feel you are there to be some kind of children’s entertainer at festivals for example.’ (Williams, 2017) The world of picture books owes much to John Burningham. His ‘visual poetry’ pushed boundaries of how much can be left unsaid. ‘He always treated the reader’s imagination with the utmost respect, whatever the reader’s age might be.’ He was able to communicate to children in their language ‘and in his understand of the mutually exclusive worlds of childhood and adulthood. (Salisbury, 2019)

During my research I am planning to look at themes in children’s books, looking at trends in books and why. I have broadly looked into how children’s books help and teach children about ‘difficult issues.’ Difficult meaning the effort to be able to deal and understand. (Dictionary, 2019) I have investigated why books like this need to exist for children and how it can help them. ‘All children deserve to be listened to: to have the chance to talk about their worst fears, their hopes and their dreams. (Edge, 2015) I have also explored what is suitable for children. How far can children’s books push the boundaries of what children should know and in what way. (Styles, 2012) I then started to investigate different topics that could be considered as ‘difficult’ or ‘taboo’; Such as equality, LGBT, death, illness, elderly, family and love.

In the lead up to international women’s day, I found lots of displays and books about women. I started to do research into equality, and how it’s presented in children’s books. Still in todays modern world, when an author reveals the gender of a creature it was 73% more likely to be male than female. Male creatures are also more likely to be shown as strong and dangerous and compared to animals like tigers and dragons. Whereas women are shown as more small and sensitive creatures such as birds and butterflies. Although there are new picture books with strong female characters, they didn’t make the bestseller list. However, illustrators and authors understand the importance of equality and it is slowly changing. However, parents are still buying books they know and trust from their childhood. Which aren’t perhaps promoting equality. (Ferguson, 2018)

I found a project called ‘No Outsiders’ in which UK primary schoolteachers looked at ways of addressing sexual equality in primary schools. It’s important to get the balance into how to educate children about sexuality for them to understand that everyone is different. The idea of the project was to prevent homophobia. In order to do this it would require talking about gender, sexuality and diversity openly in school. However, there was parents who protested against this causing a school to temporarily withdraw from the project. The aim of this project was to reduce bullying, which parents (Love, 2019)  supported. However they were saying ‘our child is coming home and talking about same- sex relationships when we haven’t even talked about heterosexual relationships with them yet.’ A woman said that her 10 year old daughter came home from school after reading a couple of these books and said ‘We can’t have these books in the house, people might think we’re gay or something.’ The woman then stated how she realized in that moment that her daughter was already being ‘bombarded with peer pressure.’ ‘She had already realized and made her mind up that gay is bad and we can’t go there. If at this age they’re already saying that we can’t accept people for their life choices, then we have to start educating them earlier.’ A project teacher gave her own interpretation of homosexuality and did a story called ‘If I had 100 mummies.’ A girl responded by putting her hand up and said she had two mummies. ‘We framed it that she is the luckiest one to have two mummies, because we’d all like 100 kisses at bedtime and 100 ice creams if we went out to play.’ This empowered the child’s parents, as they came in and said how pleased they were that this was being addressed and their situation being framed as the norm. (DePalma, 2016)

Another aspect I have researched is about illustrators and how they are treated in the industry. This is something I want to look more into especially for children’s illustrators. An illustrator surveyed 1261 illustrators about their pay, workload and contracts. He found that most illustrators are based at home while only 11% share studios. Illustrators found that the most work they got was from the publishing industry with 24% and editorial work with 19%, closely followed by prints and exhibitions at 18% and 16% from advertising. Most of their work came from self-promotion 33% and repeat clients 30%. Social media is a big impact with it helping 21% of the illustrators, agents however only bringing 9%. Instagram was the most important social media source for those surveyed. It is an easy way for illustrators to get their work out there and for a large amount of people to see at a click of a finger. However there is still some way to go. 69% felt they could not earn a suitable amount to live sustainably just from illustration and have had to have side jobs. (Brewer, 2018)

The children book industry is a big area to research. I want to find out things that are going to be relevant to my practice and potential future in the industry. I want to look at illustrators and how they’ve entered the industry. I will be doing research into whether they have an agent or if they are freelance. Comparing this to international illustrators such as Sweden and Norway who have wages whereas many illustrators in the UK tend to work freelance. Why is this? How do freelance illustrators find work? I want to look into whether having an agent is needed and look at well-known illustrators and their journey in children’s books. I am planning to look at different agents and their clients seeing how successful they have been. Has social media been a big impact on the illustration industry? How has it helped illustrators and impacted their lives mentally. I also would like to look into techniques illustrators use. Looking at traditional illustration such as Beatrix Potter compared to digital illustration such as Jim Field who uses digital techniques in his work. Is the change with advanced technology good for the industry or bad? Why do people choose to draw digitally and does it have the same effect as using traditional methods.

Another area to look into would be in the publishing industry. Looking at the type of books they sell and what they promote, for example around international women’s day there were displays in every bookshop and in chains such as Waterstones. Yet where are these books on a normal day? I want to look further into who decides the market focus is right and how can it be changed to promote equality and issues such as LGBT, race, diversity and so on. Another research point would be to look at certain publishing houses such as Penguin, reviewing the books they have on offer for children, I want to see the trends in books they sell and doing an analysis on what’s popular and why. It might also be interesting looking at the type of books children read at school and how they involve books in education. Another area I want to look in is the increase in EBooks and Audio books. With the increase in young children using tablets are they likely to use these than read an actual book or be read to. What is this doing to children, what are the benefits?

I have found some books that I feel will be helpful for my research and the understanding of the children book industry. For instance How to be an Illustrator by Darrel Rees. I have already read some of this book before but I think it will give me a good insight into the illustration industry. Other books I am planning on reading are: Illustration: What’s the point? By Mouni Feddag and Becoming a Successful Illustrator by Derek Brazell. Books that are more specific to the children’s book industry are: How to Write a Children’s Picture Book and Get it Published by Andrea Shavick; Illustrating Children’s Books- Creating Pictures for Publication by Martin Salinsbury; Drawn from the Archive: Hidden Histories of Illustration by Seven stories Press; Little Big Books: Illustration for Children's Picture Books by Robert Klanten and 100 Great Children's Picture books by Martin Salisbury and Illustrating Children's books by Martin Ursell.

I am planning on doing some primary research over the holidays. I have a few ideas of what I could possibly do, but this will likely change once I have done more research on my subject. Also the type of questions and focus may change slightly with more knowledge and understanding of my subject. One idea I had would be doing an interview with an independent children’s bookshop owner. I am planning to visit some over the summer and there is a few local book shops dedicated to just children’s novels. I would want to ask the owner about their opinion on the industry, to find out are people still buying books like they used to. Do they hold any workshops, book readings/ signings, if so do many people attend? I would ask about their ethics over profits and the type of books they sell and why. Another possibility would be to do an online questionnaire asking friends and family about their experience with children’s books. Over the summer I want to visit as many independent book shops as I can. While doing some research I discovered some local ones The Childrens Bookshop in Hay- On- Wye and Booka Bookshop in Oswestry. I am also hoping to go to London and bookshops I would like to go to are Chiltern Bookshops in Gerrad’s Cross, Foyes in Charing Cross, The Owl Bookshop Kentish Town, Kew Bookshop, London Review Bookshop in Bloomsbury and Daunt Books in Marylebone. I would also like to go in some museums and galleries such as The Cartoon Museum, The House of Illustration, House of MinaLima, Chris Beetles Gallery and Marianne North Gallery in Kew gardens.

References

Ben_the_illustrator. (2018/2019) Illustrator's Survey [online] Available at: https://bentheillustrator.com/illustrators-survey [Accessed: 15/04/19]

Brewer, J. (2018) This illustrator surveyed 1261 illustrators about pay, workload, clients, contracts and more [online] Available at: https://www.itsnicethat.com/news/ben-the-illustrator-illustration-survey-2017-160118 [Accessed: 19/04/19]

Briggs, R. (1994) The Bear [online] Available at: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/299935/the-bear/9780141374079.html [Accessed: 25/04/19]

Cowell, C. (2018) If we want our children to thrive, teaching them to read is not enough – they must learn to enjoy it.  [online], Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/children-reading-for-pleasure-learning-to-read-a8666611.html [Accessed: 16/02/18]

DePalma, R. (2016) Gay Penguins, Sissy Ducklings ... and Beyond? Exploring Gender and Sexuality Diversity through Children's Literature. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 37 (6), 828-845.

Dictionary, O. (2019) Difficult [online] Available at: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/difficult [Accessed: 01/04/19]

Edge, C. (2015) How Can Stories Help Children Explore Difficult Subjects? [online] Available at: http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/blog/teachers-librarians/2015/11/how-can-stories-help-children-explore-difficult-subjects [Accessed: 25/02/19]

Ferguson, D. (2018) Must monsters always be male? Huge gender bias revealed in children’s books.  [online], Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jan/21/childrens-books-sexism-monster-in-your-kids-book-is-male [Accessed: 07/03/19]

Flood, A. (2018) Only half of pre-school children being read to daily, UK study finds.  [online], Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/feb/21/only-half-of-pre-school-children-being-read-to-daily-study-finds [Accessed: 18/04/19]

Hedderwick, M. (1986) Katie Morag And The Tiresome Ted [online] Available at: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/1000937/katie-morag-and-the-tiresome-ted/9781849410953.html

Love, J. (2019) Julián Is a Mermaid [online] Available at: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/567578/julian-is-a-mermaid-by-jessica-love/9780763690458/ [Accessed: 26/03/19]

McKee, D. (1968) Elmer [online] Available at: https://www.waterstones.com/book/elmer/david-mckee/9781842707319 [Accessed: 25/04/19]

Potter, B. About Beatrix Potter [online] Available at: https://www.peterrabbit.com/about-beatrix-potter/ [Accessed: 25/04/19]

Salisbury, M. (2019) John Burningham Obituary [online], Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jan/07/john-burningham-obituary [Accessed: 18/04/19]

Sethi, A. (2018) Browse a bookshop: Moon Lane Books, south London.  [online], Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/oct/07/browse-a-bookshop-moon-lane-books-london [Accessed: 20/04/19]

Styles, M.S.a.M. (2012) Children's Picturebooks The art of visual storytelling. London: Laurence King.

Williams, S. (2017) 'Drawing is the most important thing there is': Quentin Blake talks to Lauren Child.  [online], Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/authors/drawing-important-thing-quentin-blake-talks-lauren-child/ [Accessed: 18/02/19]

Youtube. (2011) Ladybird Classic Me Books App | Interactive Picture Book [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4h1EYwDg8lU [Accessed: 15/04/19]

[schmugisby]

20 Character Design Questions!!!

 🕸 1. Who’s the oldest character of yours that you still use?

Oh, that would be Skarlet. I’ve created her in 2014 and she is still, like, the main character of my OC series. She’s beauty, she’s grace, she’ll kick you in the face.

 ⭐️ 2. Who’s the oldest character of yours, defunct or not?

Probably Rober, but now his name is James. He is Skarlet’s father. I created him as a joke, actually, but he started to become so much more. Now he is very secondary because I’ve started to keep more focus on my teens OCs. But he’s still alive, people.

 💡 3. Has creating a character ever made you realize something about yourself?

Yes. Actually, it wasn’t really when I created her, but Rose made me realize a few things about myself. She tended to follow her friends, not having an own opinion, and focusing on her dream (something I don’t quite do, but moving on). When they completely let her down, she realizes that she needs her alone time. That didn’t happen to me, but in any cases, it was building THIS lil story that I noticed how, sometimes, I’m way to attached to people. I want to be more independent, maybe someday, I think.

 🦋 4. Any minor characters that have either taken over or branched off into their own stories?

John, oh my God, John. I made him “inspired” by an old friend of mine, he was… well, a dick. John was at first a total jerk, one of those lifeless fags who spend their whole day in the computer, writing shitty sexists speeches, 0 friends. He was supposed to be a web friend of Craig’s/Mark’s childhood best friend, but, as I created him, I started to attach to him and understand him. Man, he is my SON after all, I can’t just let him be a total dork 100% of times! So… that’s when I gave him a story, a will to live, problems, guilty pleasures… That’s when he really became John. Now he is one of my favs, and I regret nothing, he is super hot & indian tho.

 🐲 5. Do you prefer to make human, animal, monster, or _____ characters? Why?

Human characters. Because, well, I don’t have enough creativity. JK, but I don’t know. Sometimes I turn my human characters into /FANTASTIC CREATURES/ in my AUs!! But, like, nothing that hasn’t already been done before. Mermaids, centaurs and even… wizards? Idk, some gay shit, don’t judge me.

  🎨 6. When creating a character, do you come up with the visual concept or the written concept first?

Visual concept. I think the big majority of my characters started with a silly drawing. Some of them I created only to be another character’s partner, but they became SOOOO much more than that. Like Mark. I created him to be Terry’s BF only, now he is much wider than she is, that’s kinda… sad? Anyways, they don’t even end up together, so that’s just how things went, pals.

  📌 7. Do you have characters that you know you’ll never use, but can’t bear to get rid of/recycle?

Yes!! I have a mahou shoujo series, actually. There are some big personalities in there, however I don’t embrace their story very much… I like to draw my girls, but talking ‘bout their story… no, I don’t think I’m ever going to write about them, I’ve got no patience for anime girls, yo.

 💖 8. Is there a character that embodies your good traits, or traits you wish you had?

That character surely is Jeff. He has curly brown hair, really slick body, amazing personality and the best friends in the world (no, wait, I have this one as well <3 ). I’m too shy to express myself the way he does it, he is truly passionate for life even with all the shit he went through. However, just like me, he cares very much about the people he loves and shows it to them constantly, hugging them and doing other kinds of embarrassing stuff. He screams a lot, though, another thing we have in common AND I don’t think that’s bad at all.

 🖤 9. Is there a character that embodies your bad traits? Several characters? Which ones and what traits?

Hey look, Rose again. I tend to be really… dumb when the subject is LOVE. I fall so hard for people sometimes that I totally ignore all the bad things that person has in their personality. I usually put my /CRUSH/ over a pedestal and treat him like a God, fuck, I just wanted to be like those tumblr girls who don’t give a shit. I’m really perverted when it comes to men and so does Rose. She’s a weirdo, I’m a weirdo and we fall for pretty faces, that’s the truth.

 ♨️ 10. Is there a character that explores your interests or fetishes (orrrr is that just all of you characters)?

FUCK THIS QUESTION IS SO GOOD, Daphne is EXACTLY THAT character. She is one dominant mommy and REALLY confident, something I wish I was. She has literally my dream man as a boyfriend, they’re really kinky and sweeeet, so proud of my babies. There are some big taboos around Daphne, but I’m not going to talk about this right now. She also has a BODY GOAL body shape, big thighs, thin waist, regular sized boobs… She’s my queen and I’m gay bitch SLAY.  

 ✒️ 11. If you have characters that embody certain traits of yours—good or bad—has writing them changed how you view those traits? Has it affected you in any way?

Hoe literally the same question 3 times in a row are u fucking kidding me I’m not answering to this

 💭 12.   Do you fantasize about being any of your characters, or are you more detached? 

Yes, man. I think it would be very good to be any of them, to be true. But… some of them have crippling depression, anxiety, borderline syndrome… pedophilia fetishes… schizophrenia… Okay, I fucked with them big time, happy? I like being me, dude, I just wanted to make out with some of them sometime.

  🎵 13. Do you create playlists for your characters? 

No!! But I’m working on it. There are several songs who remind me of my characters, creating playlists would be pretty neat, but I need time, SO MUCH TIME.

  🎇 14. When writing for specific characters, is there anything you have to do to get into the right mindset?

Oh, it don’t really fits for “writing” but, when I’m drawing concepts I like to listen to music that reminds me of them!! It helps, I think?

  🌻 15. Which character is your guilty pleasure?

I know I’ve already mentioned him here before, but who cares right? Mark is one handsome mother fucker. Although he’s violent, fearless and mostly emotionless? But also REALLY emotional? He’s confusing. I love drawing him, drawing his little cheek mark, his messy hair and sloppy glasses. I’d love to have him as a talk bud. All kinds of bad things happen to him like he’s cursed… maybe… maybe I would like to give him a hug.

  🌩 16. Is there a character of yours who’s a real struggle to write/draw? Why do you think that is?

Almost all of them. I struggle hard when drawing Nath’s/Jeff’s/Terry’s/Stella’s hair and there are some characters like Craig who don’t even have a FUCKING HAIR CONCEPT, HIS HAIR IS ABSTRACT, YOU GUYS. My biggest problems are with their hair, actually, I don’t have any other BIG problems. Just body anatomy, but I’m working on it.

 🔑 17. Which character is the easiest to draw/write?

Scott is definitely the easiest to draw, his hair is short and his bangs are also short. His head is round and simple, and there are freckles all over his pinky face. However, he is not that easy to write about. I sometimes struggle with writing in my characters voices, because some of them are REALLY DIFFERENT from me. So… it is not easy for me to write about any of them.

 💎 18. Is there anything you really wish you could do, character-design-wise, that you feel is outside your current skillset? A concept that you wish you could pull off but are uncertain about?

There are MANY types of concepts that I wish I could be more skillful to draw. I enjoy drawing monster characters, but none of them became a OC. Maybe one day I’ll be able to pull one off. Right now, I’m just gonna chill.

 🏆 19. What’s more important to you: visual design, unique personality, a trendy character aesthetic, etc? If you’re not sure, then what’s the first thing you usually nail down in a character? 

I usually pay my first attention to the a e s t h e t i c of a character, so that should be it? Not only in appearance ways, also in personality, likes and deslikes and even kinks. I think they are all important when the CREATIVITY FAIRY comes, you know? So… I even try to see if one new character of mine doesn’t look so much like some older one, I would hate to have people hating on me because I can’t do diversity, fuck.

 🎬 20. Do you ever plan to do anything (comic, animation, etc) with your characters? Or are you just happy to have them?

No man, I’m way too lazy to do stuff like this lol. I’m happy with them right now, but who knows? The future is uncertain. Have a good day.