kaylinalexanderbooks - Tumblr blog

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

OC in three

Thanks to @i-can-even-burn-salad here, @illarian-rambling here, and @faeriecinna here!

Rules: find three pictures that fit the vibe of your OC! Remember to cite your sources and include image IDs for accessibility

George Baxter (TSP)

[image IDs in alt text]

Other OC in three: Lexi, Maddie, Ash, Gwen, Noelle, Rose, Kelsey, Robbie, Akash, Jedi, Carmen, Carla

Other George: OC questionnaire

Source 1 | Source 2 | Source 3

Tagging @talesofsorrowandofruin @writeintrees @autumnalwalker @awritingcaitlin @steh-lar-uh-nuhs @stesierra @leahnardo-da-veggie @herrmannhalsteadproduction @mysticstarlightduck @willtheweaver @willowiswriting @pluttskutt + anyone who wants to hop on!

TSP intro

TSP tag list (ask to be +/-): @thepeculiarbird @illarian-rambling @televisionjester @finchwrites

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Obviously ignore this if you want but I saw you mention that you recently got published (congrats!!!) and I had a question. I'm still far out from that, but I know how to write and can research how to publish but I don't know how to market. Not only am I autistic and not charismatic, I want to solely use my pen name and distance my writing from my face because of my professional life. Do you know how to actually get people who might like your book to notice that it exists as an indie author with no previous following? Thank you if you have any advice!

Hello Moshke!

Thank you so much for the congratulations! It's taken longer than I expected but the realisation that I'm published is finally beginning to sink in! It's very surreal ^_^

I honestly don't know if I'm the right person to give advice on marketing as, at the moment, my book's been out just over a month and I feel like I'm stumbling around in the dark, but I wanted to give your ask due consideration and, despite my hesitation, I think I still have some tips that could hopefully help.

The reason I think I might have at least some relevant tidbits is that I'm also writing under a penname and most people don't seem to realise that.

Now, in my case, it's not about privacy it's just that don't like my given name enough to see it on book covers :D So I don't mind talking about it, but marketing your book under a penname isn't that much different to how you would market the book under your legal name.

Tip No. 1

Establish your pen name as a functional pseudonym now. Don't wait until you're ready to publish.

So, this stage was a little backwards for me. I come from the age of internet use where you did not give your real name online, under any circumstances, so I've always used various "online names".

By the time I decided that I was going to use "Arista Holmes" to publish under, anyone who knew me online already knew me as Ari. Even my best friend offline will sometimes call me Ari when we're chatting, so it had become as much an actual nickname as an online pseudonym.

But that's exactly what I'm getting at. I'm not pretending to be "Arista Holmes", I am Ari. A writer in her 30's based in the south east of England. The same way I'm Josie to my mum, or Jo-jo to my Godmother.

Tip No. 2

Don't think about it as marketing your book, but as creating an author "brand".

I'm using "Brand" here in the absence of a better term, because I absolutely hate thinking about this as a "brand", but what I mean is think of your Penname as something people will google search.

In fact, Google search your pen name.

As I mentioned, I'd been using "Arista Holmes" online for a while, and I had accounts all over the place that I didn't necessarily want coming up when people looked up my books.

(I will deny spending my youth on Neopets, it's just TOO embarrassing!) 

But jokes aside; Google your pen name. See what comes up. Scroll through all 20, 30, 50 pages of google. Some asshole looking for some embarrassing post from your teen years won't stop at page five, and neither should you.

Shut down any accounts you find, or if you want to keep them, change the username to something else. The only non-publishing related account linked to Arista Holmes now is my AO3. I figure it's still writing, so no harm in leaving that one up.

Tip No. 3

Set up social media accounts now; Be as consistent as possible across all platforms.

Now, and I want to put this in big bold letters:

Having accounts on all the socials does not mean you will be active on all of them.

Or use them at all, in fact.

Having accounts on Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, Twitter, Tiktok, Youtube, etc etc etc, just means that if, by some miracle, you make it big and draw in fans you'll also inevitably draw trolls and by making the account with your pen name; it stops them claiming that username and pretending to be you.

It's a form of pre-emptive protection.

On that note; Be consistent across your accounts. Use the same profile picture, use the same header or banner, use the same colour scheme, use the same "About Me/About Author" description, and (as much as possible) use the same username format.

That last one won't be possible on all platforms. Some of them don't like periods/full stops. Some don't like underscores, but try to be as consistent as possible.

For example my account on here is author.a.holmes, most other places I'm aristaholmes. I'd change it, but at this point, I don't want to break all my links.

Tip No. 4

Author Pictures Are Not Required.

I'm adding this point here because I mentioned profile pictures in the previous tip. Author Pictures Are Not Required.

Don't get me wrong, they're often highly encouraged, and I can't deny that they give a humanising effect to the author, but that doesn't mean you actually have to show your face.

I've chosen to put my face on my "About The Author" page in the back of my book, but that's a personal choice. You don't have to add one at all! It's only more recently that I've seen fiction author photos in the back of books.

Until about... 15 years ago? Ish? I wouldn't have expected to see an author photo unless the book was non-fiction.

If you want to add a picture of you, but don't feel comfortable or can't because of real world problems, consider an artist's caricature instead. Go one step further than a pen-name and give yourself a pen-picture! Jenna Moreci uses an artist's interpretation as her profile picture/logo, and Lemony Snicket only had pictures of the back of his head for ages.

If you do decide to commission an artist though, do explain to them that it will be included in your books, that you'll be selling, as they will probably want to add a commercial licence price to the artwork; But if you explain why you're having the caricature done I imagine most artists would be very reasonable about it.

***

That's all my tips for setting up and marketing yourself, as the author, under a pen name... but I can already hear the voices in my head muttering that I've not really touched on how to get people to find you once you've set up the pen name, and the socials, and your website etc.

And it's because I personally think that if you're writing under a pen name you need to establish it as an entity in its own right before beginning to try marketing it.

So, moving on…

Tip No. 5

Find your place on the great, wide, interwebs...

I mentioned I'd been online as Arista Holmes for about 8-10 years prior to deciding to publish under this name, but once I did decide to publish I went and made all my author socials (just like I mentioned in Tip No. 3)

That was in 2020 and it was part experimentation, and part letting people find me. I knew I wasn't going to be able to keep up with multiple social media's, and I also knew I didn't WANT to, so I made the socials and I started posting on each platform and figuring out which platforms I liked. Which ones were easy to use, and which ones got me the most engagement with other people.

For me, this turned out to be Tumblr and Instagram. Twitter and Facebook are like graveyards for me, and Tiktok is only a little better, but your mileage may vary.

I cross post consistently with Tumblr, Instagram, because those are the places I get the most engagement... but I also maintain a blog on my website and any big pieces of news (such as asking for ARC readers, or publishing my book) gets posted across ALL platforms because, well, I live in hope that one day my tiktok will go viral lol.

But honestly, the multiple socials literally eat up so much of the time I could spend writing; I highly recommend picking two, three at most, and focusing on them.

But what do you post? I can almost hear you yelling <3

Tip No. 6

How to market when you're shy/introverted/not-charismatic/or any other thing you feel is holding you back.

You're going to want to throw something at me but lean on your strengths. It sounds so simple, and I know it's not, I'm sorry, but here's what I mean by that.

When I was still experimenting with all the socials to find the ones I liked, I stumbled across an image. I want to say it was here on tumblr but, honestly, I don't remember and at the time I was neck deep in every marketing and promotional blog or article I could find trying to figure this shit out.

It was called "The Periodic Table of Content Marketing".

I don't know why this helped me wrap my head around marketing, but it did.

I read over each of the types of marketing and I started getting idea's.

Ebooks... I'd heard about people doing reader magnets for newsletter lists.

Interviews... I've seen authors on podcasts. I'd seen people on tumblr interviewing their characters. I could do that.

Trends... What are popular tropes if not trends of the moment?

And I suddenly realised that this silly little graph was all the different types of marketing I could do, broken down simply, and laid out neatly, and I could pick and choose not only the bits I was comfortable doing, but the bits that I was confident with.

I'm never going to put my face on a tiktok video and lipsync to popular songs, but I could write a 12,000 words short story prequel to my series and make it exclusive to newsletter subscribers.

That was something I could do, because it leaned on my strengths; My writing.

Because I haven't said it yet, but two years ago I'd have described myself very similarly to you.

I'm not charismatic. While I'm not autistic, I am painfully introverted. I have severe social anxiety. I'm not funny, I can't talk with strangers casually or easily. Talking about my book more than once a week feels like I'm bragging or being pushy... But I can write.

So I started looking for opportunities to share my writing, and let it... not speak for itself, but let my words draw in the audience. It still took a bit of pushing on my part, I would look for tag games where the user had left an "Open Tag" and I'd hop on those and share some words.

This is part of the reason Tumblr is one of my favourite places to network with writers and readers, because the tag games let me share and tease content without having to push through my social anxiety all that hard.

It's a slower, organic, audience growth but it's definitely my preference.

The content I shared on here, produced to play tag games, I quickly realised that I could copy it onto a pretty image in canva, and share it on instagram easier than I could condense a paragraph into the twitter character limit, or make it look appealing on Facebook's janky system.

And the more writing I shared, the more people commented and followed. And the more they commented and followed, the easier it was to talk to them. And then I started getting asks. That was nerve wracking and sometimes they'll still sit there a couple of months before I can make myself answer them.

(Sorry Sleepy and Avra, if you're reading this! I'll reply soon, I promise!)

Have I gone off topic here? I kind of feel like I have but also... not really.

If you feel like your writing is your strength, lean on it. Let it do the heavy lifting for you. Show your hand with your words.

By the time I set up my mailing list and offered 'Whatever Happened To Madeline Hail?' for free, I got 12 people to sign up straight away. I don't know if that's a lot, but it was at least eight more than I was expecting.

When my book launched, I received 14 reviews, and sold 20 copies the first month. Again, I don't know if this is a lot, but it was a whole hecking lot more than I'd hoped for.

I don't know if I'm good at marketing, and maybe someone will reblog and reply to this with better advice, or tear apart what I've said, and if they do great! I really hope it helps you or someone else down the reblog chain because, as I said at the start, I'm really just stumbling around in the dark and hoping I somehow get it all to work out lol

But I do just have one more piece of advice, that isn't really my advice...

Tip No. 7

Fake it until you make it.

You're a writer. The beauty of the internet is that we have time to stop, and think about the words we're writing in response to someone.

I'm a shy, introvert, who doesn't know when to shut up when she gets started talking about writing (Or at least that's what it looks like based on the length of this post...)

But 99% of people I speak to online don't know I'm an introvert. They don't know that after sending an email I have to go back to bed for a few hours to recover my energy, or that I can't answer a phone without feeling nauseous for the rest of the day and it's because when I'm online I'm Arista Holmes, and I can write my responses in the same way I write my characters.

I'm not saying I'm not being me, I am, but I'm also being given the time and space to be the confident me I want to be, rather than the nervous wreck I actually am.

Write your socials, and market your book, as the you that you’d write if you were dropped into one of your own books.

Fake it until you make it.

Handy Resource List For Marketing:

Periodic Table of Content Marketing

Jenna Moreci's Youtube - I take her writing advice with a huge chunk of salt, but her marketing advice is top notch.

Bethany Atazedah Youtube - Co-wrote a Marketing For Authors Non-fiction series, but a lot of her youtube videos contain good, free, advice too.

Self-Publishing With Dale - If you want to market effectively, keeping on top of the current trends and changes in the market is important. Self Publishing with Dale is the best way I've found to do that; He really has his fingers on the pulse of the Self Publishing Market, and even if you're not publishing yet, checking out some of his videos can teach you loads about what to do, but more importantly, what NOT to do.

Michael Anderle's 20Bookto50k system - I didn't mention it as a tip but the BEST form of marketing a book is to write the next book. Michael Anderle talks about his theory that is you have 20 books published, your backlist of royalty income should net you around $50k a year. The hour and a half talk changed my whole marketing outlook and is why I'm focussed on a slow grown, more organically sourced, audience rather thank paid advertising.

Abbie Emmons Youtube - I'm not sure I should include Abbie in a list of marketing resources as she's often more about the writing side of the craft, but her videos have been invaluable to me, so she's just worth checking out in general.

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

OC in Three

I was tagged by @kaylinalexanderbooks over here!

The rules are to find three pictures that fit the aesthetic of your OC, but make sure you cite your sources, even if you are the one that photographed or even drew the pictures yourself!

I will be tagging @sender-paulson, @dyrewrites, @aether-wasteland-s, and the author who is to shy to ask to be tagged!

The following is for Girl Friday from The Lowlies and might be a bit disturbing or even off-putting so I will be placing it under a read more!

X | X & X | X

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Character Quote tag

Or Personality Through Quotes Tag, or Character Voice Tag, or Characterization Through Quotes, I'm not entirely sure what this tag is called

Tagged by @illarian-rambling thank you!

Rules: Make up a quote from your character following your prompt!

My prompt: A quote about death

Your prompt: A quote about a pet/animals

--------------------------------------------------------

Nicolette: Death is a transformation, that's all. The last transformation, and the one we all share. I don't really believe people fear death. I think they fear change, and they fear losing. They avoid it so they don't have to think about it. And because they don't think about it, they get more afraid. People would fear death less if they knew it better.

Alyss: Nonsense and nothingness, peaceful and passing. I imagine. Like sleeping without nightmares or dreams. I know it plenty well enough to hate and miss it. The before isn't pretty. But after, well, you don't care much at all, do you? That's the nice thing about being dead.

Tagging @amaiguri @kaylinalexanderbooks @awritingcaitlin and @winterandwords

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Personality Through Quotes Tag

I was tagged by @illarian-rambling (here)! Thank you so much (:

MY PROMPT WAS: "A quote about siblings"

YOUR PROMPT IS: "A quote about their relationship with money (in the past and nowadays)"

I'll go with the main cast of "Of Starlight and Beasts" for this one!

Corah: "Oh I wish I had siblings! I've always wondered what that would be like - I mean, I've seen enough siblings around that I have a rough idea, but that's always such an individual experience. It would've been cool to have someone my age, other than just regular friends, around at all times. Though I'm sure we'd have driven Dad crazy with our antics if that was the case - I was chaotic enough on my own (giggles)."

Arammys: "The bond between siblings is among one of the strongest there is, and often one of the purest. At least that's what I...think - in my intuition, I mean. I haven't had any progress in recalling my memories, so I can't speak of my own experiences with siblings - if I had any at all - yet. But something tells me that my intuition might be right, at least in my case. At least I hope so and I want to remember whoever they were, or are."

Eidan - "I didn't have any siblings or parents, but my older cousin fit both of those roles perfectly throughout my childhood - he was the closest thing I've ever had to a true family. We didn't have much - we often had nothing at all - but we had each other, and he always kept me safe, and was always there for me when I needed him the most, even if we sometimes annoyed each other to no end. And though he was not my brother by birth he was by choice - and I just wish I had known how lucky I was before it was all too late."

Masen - "You know, having siblings ain't what it's cracked up to be. Especially if you have a twin. Yeah, it's all loyalty and mushiness until they've got something else they want to achieve - and that something's more important than you. Then they stab you in the back when you least expect it and run off with the people with the money into a perfect new world where you're not invited - Yeah. (shrugs awkwardly) I realize this got a bit too specific, my bad."

Kyran - "What even is there to say? You're born, and so are they, you grow up trusting one another until they start hanging out with shady people and become someone you barely recognize, and then you annoy the hell out of each other and don't speak for the next five years. Oh, and then they blame you for leaving them when they were the ones who made that mess to begin with -"

Elias - "(Without a drop of emotion in his voice) My siblings are the reason I truly believe I will have gone fully grey before 30. I'm almost certain they're trying to make it a competition. I do not know where I went wrong with my life but here we all are. Now pass me the rum."

Tomasa - "I don't have any siblings, Gods know Ma had enough trouble keeping me in line when I was a little ankle biter. But I've been told having 'em is like flipping a coin. You are either best friends for life or want to kill each other. Sometimes both, from what my friends tell me, ha! I don't really fancy having any siblings of my own, if I'm being honest - but having someone I could prank 24/7 does sound really tempting. I guess Arammys will have to do (laughs, already plotting her next prank on the poor, unsuspecting mage)"

Nimwen - "I've learned your true siblings aren't always those you're bound to by blood. They may be, sure, but not always! Sometimes, the strongest family bonds are those we choose, bonds nurtured like a small weed that grows into a mighty tree - and I know that to be one of the most important truths of life. "

Rin - "I never really cared for that. That's just another word - and that's it, a word. Most bonds are a fantasy made to comfort the hearts of the common folk from the harsh truth. Real people are fickle, they don't care for you when they've got no use for what you have to offer. My Nest surely didn't. (There's a moment of pause and a sense of sorrow behind his eyes before he shakes it off with a sly smirk, hiding it) But who cares for that sentimental junk. Besides, gold's a much more reliable company, don't you think?"

Leora - "Family is the most important thing in the world - by blood or by choice it matters not as long as the sentiment is there and it is pure. I would do anything for my siblings and I know they would do anything for me. I know this all too well. Where we come from, you learn to make your actions and your words count - you never know what tomorrow might hold and you must cherish those you hold dear, always, because they can be taken from you. At least, that's my perspective."

Florynce - "Mine have been dead for many years now. I remember all of their names." (You think she's about to say something else about them, but despite the sorrowful look in her eyes she changes the subject so jarringly you almost feel whiplash) "But I don't wanna talk about that. Do you want to see this cool bug I found? It's glowing."

Tagging: @mk-writes-stuff, @eccaiia, @the-ellia-west, @memento-morri-writes, @little-peril-stories, @littleladymab, @kaylinalexanderbooks, @talesofsorrowandofruin @doublegoblin @oh-no-another-idea @cowboybrunch @ybotter @thepeculiarbird @crowandmoonwriting @your-absent-father @rickie-the-storyteller @jasperygrace @jay-avian @saltysupercomputer @winterandwords @autumnalwalker and OPEN TAG

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Out of context line

Thanks to @gracehosborn here and @badluck990 here!

From School of the Legends Year One

“Really? From France?” “Where else? He’s French.”

I can't wait to get back to SOTL

Tagging @talesofsorrowandofruin @illarian-rambling @theprissythumbelina @thepeculiarbird @eccaiia @dyrewrites @leahnardo-da-veggie @winterandwords + anyone else!

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Character voice tag

Shoutout @phoenixradiant for the tag

My line is: Really? That’s all?

Characters from A Feather in the Forest

———————————————————————

Fen: …I was expecting more.

Playa: Seriously? That’s all?

Opal: That was underwhelming to say the least.

Lord Halley: *assumes the posture* Pathetic.

Reed: That’s all they want us to do? Phew

Dirge: This is too good to be true. The higher-ups only want us to do that? (Whispers quietly :What a relief)

———————————————————————

Tagging @winglesswriter @corinneglass @eccaiia @mk-writes-stuff @kaylinalexanderbooks @illarian-rambling @somethingclevermahogony @smudged-red-ink @talesofsorrowandofruin and open tag for those who want to jump in.

Your line is: This is not the day I die.

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Character Voice Tag!

Thank you so much for the tag, @willtheweaver (here)! I'll go with the main cast from Of Starlight and Beasts for this one (:

MY LINE WAS: "You want me to eat that?"

YOUR LINE IS: "One could say I've failed this task successfully"

Corah: "Oh. Oh hells no. I don't know what that is but I'm not eating it, that looks foul and I don't even want to know where you've found it, for the sake of my sanity"

Arammys: "I'm sorry in advance if I sound rude, but what the frick is that? Huh? You're telling me that thing can be eaten? I may not remember much but even I feel like we'd better stay away from that."

Eidan: (slowly pulls out a sword, as if daring you to try his patience) "You come any closer to me with whatever that thing is one more time and I swear to all the Gods I don't believe in that I will take you to the same plane of existence as your ancestors. Good. Glad to know we're on the same page."

Masen: "Oh Gods, what in the unholy fuck is that? (actually gags) No I'm not eating that!!! Whatever it is - I don't even think we should be in the same mile radius as that thing!"

Kyran: "No. The answer is 'no' and it will keep being 'no' until all of the the stars explode, thank you very much, because whatever that 'food' is, it looks more hazardous than a plague ridden mice nest."

Maryon: "Excuse me, I don't think I heard you correctly - are you suggesting you want me to eat that? I think poison ivy would be less disgusting to eat than whatever that 'delicacy' is."

Nimwen: "I know you mean well, dear, but suggesting you want me to get a taste of that is one surefire way to make me question our friendship."

Leora: "... Uh. No. Thank you very much. I would rather just starve, than eat that. Ever."

Rin: (has already started eating the thing before anyone even suggested it as an option. finishes it in five seconds and wipes off his hands) "Huh. It wasn't half bad. I had tastier bugs though. Not a favorite, but could be much worse."

Tomasa: "Friend, I'm not sure about you, but that thing right there ain't edible, alright? I don't care what it looks like - I've eaten some pretty crazy stuff in my dragon form, but that right there is too much even for me."

Elias: "I don't know what that is and I frankly don't want to know. It looks like something that would come out of a dead kraken, and that's putting it nicely. No, of course I'm not going to eat that!!! What were you thinking?!"

Florynce: "Is that what you guys eat in the capital nowadays? (turns her head and giggles) You people are getting weirder by the day, even I'm not that crazy!"

Tagging (gently): @mk-writes-stuff, @eccaiia, @the-ellia-west, @memento-morri-writes, @little-peril-stories, @littleladymab, @kaylinalexanderbooks, @talesofsorrowandofruin @doublegoblin @oh-no-another-idea @cowboybrunch @ybotter @thepeculiarbird @crowandmoonwriting @your-absent-father @rickie-the-storyteller @jasperygrace @jay-avian @saltysupercomputer @winterandwords @autumnalwalker and OPEN TAG

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

😊 What can make your OC smile even when they’re feeling down? What cheers them up and makes everything feel better for them? Is your OC generally a happy person and do they enjoy making others smile? What about your OC makes others happy?

Let's go with Ivander, because as my designated narrative punching bag, I gotta prove he's happy at least some of the time

Ivander generally is never having a great time, but hanging out with his friend Ceyrel always cheers him up. They gossip and tell jokes and make bets. Sometimes, when he's too out of it to leave his apartment, she comes over and makes food for him. Even though he'd never admit it, seeing her is always the highlight of his day. He also really likes doing paperwork for some goddamn reason. He finds it relaxing.

Another thing that cheers him up is his apartment itself. Ivander grew up in a very controlling household and was never able to have his own things, much less decorate how he wished. Even when he feels like shit, he relishes having a place that's all his own to feel like shit in.

As for if he's a generally happy person, no, he's not. He has this radial effect that makes everyone more annoyed and aggressive towards him, and only Ceyrel and Mashal are immune because Ceyrel thinks his hater behavior is funny and Mashal sees the best in everybody. He's just a generally unpleasant person to be around unless you dig past that catty shell, under which you might find some startlingly selfless sincerity.

Thanks for the ask!

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Yep!

OC Questionnaire

Rules: Answer the questions as your OCs

Thanks so much for the tags @mk-writes-stuff and @illarian-rambling!

How much would you need to be paid to dress up in a ridiculous costume and go about your day for an entire day?

Rousseau: "I don't believe any article of clothing could be considered ridiculous. Some consider the way I dress, sharply and professionally every day, to be ridiculous. If you hold an open mind, no outfit is ridiculous, but I personally am not extremely pressed for money."

Birdie: "Like twenty bucks. What? Twenty bucks is twenty bucks, and I like cosplay and dressing up for Halloween and stuff anyway, dressing in a ridiculous costume is just another form of that, isn't it?"

Fury: "I wouldn't do it under any circumstances. The Sisterhood provides everything that good servants, such as myself, need. I don't live in a world where money is required."

Cutthroat: "Like a million dollars? Why would I want to look ridiculous? I want to be taken seriously."

Mickie: "I dunno, like a few hundred? A thousand, maybe? I'd do it for money, but I wouldn't like it."

Do you do anything in your day-to-day you’d like to stop? Why haven’t you?

Rousseau: "Sometimes I wish I could stop putting on makeup every morning, but I am... too... shall we say, plain? Without any. So I haven't stopped, and I'm not so sure I could ignoring that."

Birdie: "Doom-scrolling. Please. I need to stop, I waste so much time doing that instead of productive things, and then I feel bad afterwards. That and not letting myself make friendships, but the second one doesn't affect my day-to-day so much as fucking doom-scrolling does."

Fury: "Crying. Every day. But... that is as the Sisterhood wants me, to be as empathetic and deep-feeling as this, and if that is their wish, then I shall oblige!"

Cutthroat: "I'd like to stop overthinking everything so much, and over-analyzing things, and reading too deeply into everything, but that's just the mindset I have and I don't think I can change it."

Mickie: "I wish... don't tell anyone I said this, especially not that bastard (said with distaste or love depending on where we are in the book lol, the bastard is Rousseau), but... I wish I didn't have to put up so many defenses and not let myself enjoy things because I think I don't deserve happiness, or... I feel like I have to always be on edge and be vigilant and all that, and... I don't. But I just can't wrap my head around being any other way, or allowing myself to do things that make me happy, but I... can't. It's whatever, though, it's not that big of a deal, I'm chill this way."

What’s your most prized possession?

Rousseau: "My radio and microphone, without a doubt. Birdie got them for me for my first Christmas on Earth, and... *tears up a little bit and clears throat* well, obviously it meant a lot."

Birdie: "Well, my most prized person is definitely Rousseau, but considering a person a possession is fucked up, so my most prized possession... I don't really have one? Oh, shit, uh yeah, my dad got me several different animal books for Christmas one year, I don't remember how old I was, like nine maybe? But they were these different books about different animals, like one is a book about all the breeds of dogs, and one is all the breeds of cats, and I just... really love those, that was a really thoughtful gift. Probably the most thoughtful he ever gave me."

Fury: "Definitely not a dumbass teddy bear if that's what you were implying *looks at Mr. Shnookums and mouths 'I'm sorry.'* My... knife! Yes, my knife, for sure!"

Cutthroat: "My camera, Fury got it for me."

Mickie: "My good binder, we all have one, the one that's most comfortable. Oh, also noise-cancelling headphones, I'd be dead without them."

Have you ever been a victim of miscommunication?

Rousseau: "I believe everyone has, it's just part of life, but I can't think of any specific moment in particular."

Birdie: "Oh definitely, all the time, like one time Rousseau and I were planning on getting an ice-cream cake from Dairy Queen, and Rousseau was talking about me picking it up and I don't remember exactly what he said, but apparently he wanted me to pick it up the next day but I thought he wanted me to pick it up that night. Not a big deal, but a miscommunication for sure."

Fury: "Certainly. The Sisterhood, as much as I adore them, are not the best at communicating clearly and concisely. That's part of the reason why I kill so much is just to make sure I always have a fresh corpse ready for them."

Cutthroat: "Yes, more than I'd like. I think I'm just bad at understanding people..."

Mickie: "Sometimes, everyone has, so probably like a normal amount?"

Are you more artistic, scientific, or both?

Rousseau: "I know it's not an option, but neither, really. The arts are good, and so is science. I would almost be tempted to say I'm more scientific, but I'm a firm believer that there are things that can't be explained by science, I've got firsthand experience of some of those things. So, I choose neither."

Birdie: "Artistic, I guess? I'm not scientific, for sure, because there are so many things that science can't explain, so I guess art it is."

Fury: "Artistic, definitely. I'm a huge fan of every art that exists."

Cutthroat: "Scientific. I find comfort in the numbers and facts and statistics it offers."

Mickie: "I dunno, both? I'm not particularly artsy, I like music... or, I did, and science is okay but I don't have a special connection to it, either."

How much could someone pay you to assassinate a person you know nothing about?

Rousseau: "Once again, I am not particularly pressed for money, and I do not enjoy harming others, so I don't believe there is an amount you could pay me that would make me perform such a heinous act."

Birdie: "If I agree do I get to know more about them? Because I'll kill a bad person for like several hundred dollars, but I don't think I could kill any good person for any amount of money."

Fury: "Nothing. I do it for free on a normal basis."

Cutthroat: "Money isn't everything, I don't need a lot, but it sure would take a lot for me to hurt someone. And still I don't think I would do it, I accidentally stepped on the back of someone's shoe like a week ago and I still haven't stopped thinking about and feeling guilty, and that didn't even hurt them, just inconvenienced them. I'm just too empathetic."

Mickie: *dramatic-ass sigh* "I guess... like a million dollars. Because no matter if they were good or bad, killing someone would rightfully haunt me for the rest of my days."

What I learned from this questionnaire is that my characters are very not money-driven lol, they don't care, they aren't people and it's apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic Earth rn, bartering is where it's at.

Anyway, tagging @kaylinalexanderbooks @avocado-frog @spideronthesun and anyone else who wants to hop in! <3

Your questions are:

Do you believe in the paranormal?

What oddly-specific T-shirt would you wear?

Do you usually cry at sad moments or happy moments or both?

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

This is such an unlikely pairing and I LOVE IT

OC interaction

Thanks to @mysticstarlightduck here and @illarian-rambling here!

Rules: describe an OC and then how they would interact with the OC of the person who tagged you!

The descriptions added up and now it's long. Under the cut!

Mystic's OC 1:

Nimwen is an 18 year old girl who has spent most of her life (since she was 8) travelling through the uncharted forests of a region popularly called "the wilds", with her adoptive brother Scarlet and their little band of misfits. They live on the outskirts of society, since their kingdom has been so dilligently outcasting them, but they don't seem to mind it. All in all, Nimwen is an awkward, overly anxious, often paranoid but incredibly sweet girl, though she rarely lets strangers get too close to her. She embodies the energy of a skittish deer that will bolt at the nearest sign of danger, even if its a false alarm, though she has very good reasons to be that way - her father was wrongfully executed for treason, and the people of the kingdom didn't exactly give her much reason to trust them after what they did, so yeah. She's very in touch with nature and other people's feelings though she somehow seems very much oblivious to her own. She prefers to avoid confrontation, and will only fight if that's the absolute last resort in a life or death situation. She loves very deeply and makes strong bonds once you get to know her properly.

Mystic's OC 2:

Renn is a young man in his late teens (his exact age hasn't been specified yet, but he's suspected to be around 16-19) with a penchant for dark humor and a love for all that's mysterious and slightly macabre. He has a very strong vibe that is reminiscent of those early 2000s goth/emo kids, minus the angst - just the aesthetics and the sometimes deeply philosophical existential crisis - despite his fantasy medieval setting. He is a rule breaker and likes to question authorities at every chance he gets, and is also very savvy about the true inner workings of their seemingly perfect kingdom. It is implied that he has some kind of secret he is keeping hidden at all costs, and that implication would be true, but its not what most people would assume. While the townsfolk mostly label him as this unhinged/"crazy" reject who is always causing trouble and is up to no good, he is actually a really sweet kid that just had some truly fucked up stuff happen in his past. He is a loyal friend and values honesty and integrity above all else, even if it means he'll have to go down fighting for what he believes in. Despite all of this intensity, he just wants someone to truly understand him and have a pure friendship towards him. He is also implied to be gifted in some kind of magic, though it isn't specified which, and that he has knowlege of "forbidden arts".

Katie's OC:

Ivander Montane is a 30 year old corrupt detective from the trade city of Unity. He has blue blood and double-pointed ears, wears fancy suits, and walks with a cane. His estranged family runs the banks of Unity, however he left them years ago, and in doing so, broke a divine contract, which left him cursed to slowly and painfully be transmuted into mist over the course of many years. Personality-wise, he's kind of a privileged shithead. He's got the catty attitude and love of gossip of a middle school girl, and can insult your outfit just as acutely. He doesn't have a sincere bone in his body and is afraid of any form of intimacy. However, deep down, he really just wants a friend and to not be in pain anymore. Show him the slightest hint of compassion and he will crumble. His hobbies include being a hater, fashion, and marksmanship (he's a crack shot with a rune rifle). All in all, he's got the snark of a drag queen, the heart of a lonely noir detective, and a body that's been through a cheese grater.

My OC:

Maddie is an 11-year-old girl who is quiet, curious, and a bit of a risk-taker. She's generally well-liked but isn't sure why people like her. She fidgets and squirms and likes to remain active, especially with her hands. She's a STEM kid through and through, loving each letter in the acronym. Maddie takes things apart, such as pens, to see how they work and eventually joins her school's robotics club. She believes in direct fairness - will match your tone with her - and gets a little upset if she is misunderstood, which is often, since she thinks she's straightforward. Her honesty leads to her being nosy, as she believes everyone should be open. Maddie is an animal shapeshifter, and enjoys the physical sensation of morphing as well as pushing her limits a little too much. She's a gamer who prefers consuls with buttons and enjoys old sci-fi shows and modern cartoons. Despite not quite understanding emotions, she does try to be there for the people she cares about, and usually tries to defuse a serious situation with a little joke.

Maddie + Nimwen:

Maddie likes adventure and risk, so I think she would be interested in hearing Nimwen traveling through uncharted forest for a decade. Her sibling is much more comfortable staying in, well, her comfort zone, so the idea of two siblings doing this would be a little foreign to Maddie. Being overly anxious and sweet would remind Maddie of her sister, but Lexi is a lot more outgoing. She wouldn't really understand Nimwen being skittish, but maybe Maddie's more adventurous nature would rub off on her. She may be a little caught off-guard by Maddie's shapeshifting. Nimwen being in touch with nature combined with Maddie's animal morphing will be interesting. Maybe Ninwen's knowledge of animals can help Maddie understand them more, since she's more of a hands-on person and is functioning based on reading up on animals - something she can only tolerate knowing she'll shapeshift later. Nimwen could also give Maddie more emotional advice, though it would take a while for Maddie to understand why Nimwen wants to talk with her. Maddie is a little over-eager to fight, so Nimwen may have to hold her back, or Maddie may try to get Nimwen to fight with her. I think this would be a fun little sister-esque dynamic!

Renn + Maddie:

Maddie is best friends with an emo/goth leaning person, so I feel like Renn is familiar territory. Maddie also likes breaking rules for the thrill and questioning authority, so I think they'd be an unstoppable force. Maddie is nosy, though, so I think she'd be a little too curious about Renn's secrets and business. They're both honest, Maddie almost blunt, so I feel like they'd get along. She'd also be curious about his own magic, and would probably show off her powers. I think Maddie would be a little weirded out if Renn wants to be friends with her - and since they seem to understand each other, that may be possible, though not sure how he'd feel about her being a kid - but I think in the end they'd be an unstoppable duo.

Ivander + Maddie:

Now this is an unlikely pairing. Maddie's nosy nature would probably get on his nerves. She'd be curious about the cane, why he's always in pain, etc and may ask too many questions and not pick up on how he doesn't want to answer them. She would probably though recognize his shitheaddedness and would just match his attitude with her fairness policy. Maddie has an odd fashion choice - bright and colorful with mismatched patterns, but I don't think she'd be that hurt by any insults, just confused. And of course would get him back. Maddie is a nice and kind person but isn't good about empathizing, and if Ivander doesn't show her compassion, she won't show it either. They'd annoy each other, and honestly they may have fun doing it. At least Maddie will find it very exciting to poke at his patience.

To describe OCs to pair with Maddie --

@monstrouswrites @mrbexwrites @elsie-writes @steh-lar-uh-nuhs @stesierra @sarandipitywrites @sarahlizziewrites @mk-writes-stuff @jezifster @jessicagailwrites @leahnardo-da-veggie @pb-dot @ohnomybreadsticks + anyone else!

TSP intro

TSP tag list (ask to be +/-): @thepeculiarbird @illarian-rambling @televisionjester @finchwrites - y'all can hop on if you want!

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

5 lines tag game!

I was tagged by @cowboybrunch for this one, (here) thanks for the tag! I'll go with my WIP "Of Starlight and Beasts" for this one.

Your lines are: a line about fear, an adorable line, a line about taste, a line with an argument and a sarcastic/funny line.

_____

A line about clothes: (context: Nimwen's scarf helps her keep herself grounded after she and Corah are trapped in a cave after some misguided decisions, and they know next to nothing about each other . At this point in the story, Nim still thought they were enemies - and due to her less than ideal past experiences with knights, she was terrified, despite Corah trying to convince her otherwise.)

Silence seemed to eat at her, closing in the trapped, suffocating space of the small cave even more, but she still refused to answer, or even make eye contact with the other girl - Corah, she reminded herself, as an afterthought. A knight 'trying to help', she scoffed. What a stupid notion.

Nimwen's fingers numbly fiddled with the fraying edges of her soft red scarf, twisting and twirling the material, as if in an effort to focus on something else other than a swirl of emotions she was faced with right now. They'd be out of here soon - and that would be the end of it, surely.

This one knight seemed well-meaning, Nim figured. Trusting would be a risk that could pay off. Still, her thoughts could not help but wander years away, to sights of the executioner's blade, the sickening squelch of iron against bone, blood splashed at her feet and gown drenching the fine cloth as she was dragged away into the muted crowd, armored figures - the same radiant symbol on their chest plates - clanking to remove his headless body from the square. She closed her eyes and breathed.

The scarf. Her hand wrapped around it. She was still alive, she was still here - and the past was in the past. Scarlet would be here soon, and all they had to do was wait. And hope all knights were not like the ones in the square.

A funny line

"If that thing ate us, do you think we'd have a slow and painful death digested by the acids in its stomach as our skin melts off and our brains become jelly or would we just get torn apart limb from limb by its teeth first? I bet it's the first one." Masen tilts his head sideways, peeking beyond the rock at the giant, slithering serpent in the snowy chasm below.

The group turns their heads to him in unison, with a varied mix of equally uncomfortable expressions. Corah broke the silence, still whispering.

"I have a better question. Why are you like this?"

Before Masen could answer, his twin piped up, deadpan voice dripping sarcasm "Now you all know what I had to deal with. But can we get off this rocky death trap before the snake decides to make brother dearest's daydreams into a reality?"

A line with fighting (Argument, not physical)

Eidan's hand trembled, and he closed it into a fist to hide it. His eyes pierced the nobleman's, seeing a mockery he knew all too well. "You have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh yeah, enlighten me then, 'little hero'." The man sneered, looking around the crowded room as if expecting applause or confirmation, as the others erupted into whispers. "Or should I say, disgraceful nephew of a traitor?"

Eidan opened his mouth, then closed it. There it was, he noticed, the familiar burn of humiliation threatening to silence him, again. He knew this guy knew this too, if his seemingly victorious smirk was anything to go by.

There were laughs, and loud, barely hushed gasps. He urged to silence him, to scream and rage at the slight to his only honorable family's name, but couldn't find the words to speak. His heart wanted to claw its way out of his chest and stop right there.

But finally, the last second, from the corner of his eye, he met Maryon's eyes amidst the crowd. He remembered their conversation, if barely, and managed to mumble out an answer.

"Trust me, I would." He started, at first shaky but slowly gaining confidence. "But not like this. You're not entitled to my past. Plus, now that I think of it, I guess your head is far too deep up your own arse to understand anything either way, you craven excuse for a lord."

"You impudent wretch -!"

The man moved to strike him, and Eidan didn't back away. Thankuly the great hall doors swung open, and a familiar figure clad in golden robes strode in. "You will stop, Lord Berwyl, if you value your neck." She ordered, and half of her personal guards already had their spears turned to the nobleman, who lowered his hand, albeit begrudgingly.

A line I'm proud of

"What is this place?" Corah looked around, brows furrowed. Her hand still rested idly at the handle of her sword - she'd never seen a city like this in any of their travels. It seemed at the same time lively and homely but also ghostly, like something lost in time, never to be found again.

Maryon turned towards her as she started to speak, but continued walking. "This is underworld of a dead city that is fighting to be revived." She said, plainly. And that was a very accurate description.

All around them, the city - carved into the ground below what once was a beautiful sunlit kingdom - held traces of a past long since gone, but never quite buried or forgotten. Vast statues whose fine details had long since been brushed off by time peeked through makeshift buildings built out of old driftwood. Cramped marketplaces stood in what once was a city square. To the side, she could see the outline of an old temple repurposed as improvised and crowded house of healing. The past and the present, old and new, something of what was forgotten but never quite left.

Corah felt torn - at the same time, this was the hopeful reminder of what simple folk could accomplish by just working together, despite all hardships, but it was also a testament to the wounds her kingdom had accidentally inflicted on others through its inaction in the past. When Idraven fell into the curse and wars, her kingdom stood and watched - and the thought filled her with an anger she never thought she'd feel towards her kingdom's own royalty.

"If we want to venture further into the Crimson Queen's domain this is only the beginning. We need to find whoever runs this place, and quickly" Kyran spoke, suddenly standing at her side. Corah blinked.

She was about to say something in agreement, when Arammys' voice piped up from somewhere behind them. Corah realized that, in this underground's bustling maze, they hadn't paid enough attention as to where they were going.

"...I have a feeling it won't take much longer. Um, guys?"

When she whirled around, she understood what he meant. They didn't need to find the one in charge, because she had already found them. And whoever this young woman was, she didn't seem too happy to find out trespassers from another land had just discovered the hidden entrance to her city. Neither did the five heavily armed guards standing beside this woman, with crossbows aimed at Corah and the others, ready to shoot at a moments notice.

Corah looked at her friends, all frozen in place - their lives hanging in the balance of a stranger's decision. As Corah raised up her hands, in what she hoped was a placating gesture, the young woman stepped forward, though her soldiers remained at the ready.

"I believe there explanations in order, wouldn't you agree?" The young woman spoke. Now that she was closer, Corah could see that she wasn't much older than any of them, though her eyes look as icy as the storms of the Frosts, and her presence was as imposing as that of any battle worn general. Corah maintained her gaze. "You will follow me to my fortress, and there we shall decide your fate. Choose your words carefully - for they might weigh on whether or not I decide to kill any of you. It's a mercy I haven't already."

With that, she turned away and gestured for her soldiers, who moved in unison towards the gathered group, not so gently urging them to start walking in the chosen direction.

"Name's Leora Tallin, and no one gets into my city without my explicit permission. Consider yourselves 'unwelcome', for the time being. Shall we?"

Tagging (gently, no pressure): @agirlandherquill, @kaylinalexanderbooks, @littleladymab, @little-peril-stories, @illarian-rambling, @elshells, @winterandwords, @writernopal, @moonandris, @eccaiia, @i-can-even-burn-salad, @clairelsonao3, @thepeculiarbird, @steh-lar-uh-nuhs, @ybotter, @aalinaaaaaa, @autumnalwalker, @oh-no-another-idea, @cowboybrunch and OPEN TAG

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

[image IDs:

Image 1: black and white photo of hour glass with black sand, most in the top half

Image 2: unmade bed with dark blue pinstripe comforter and pillows with a single Apple laptop on the mattress

Image 3: black T-shirt with a colorful mushroom pattern

/end ID]

Bex seems like a fun character! I love comic reliefs with dark pasts hehe

OC in 3

Rules: Find three pictures that fit the vibe of your OC!

Thanks so much for the tag @kaylinalexanderbooks (x2) and @somethingclevermahogony! For this one I'm going to do one of my favorites from the main 5 in Project H.A, Bex!

I haven't really talked about Bex before, but she's your classic kinda funny/comic relief/always cracking jokes character that's actually got a really dark traumatic event in her life.

Gently tagging @fadingrealm @clearcloudlesssky @mundanemoongirl and whoever else wants to join! <3

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

That's awesome! Tag games have definitely helped me too!

OC Questionnaire

Rules: Answer the questions as your OCs

Thanks so much for the tags @mk-writes-stuff and @illarian-rambling!

How much would you need to be paid to dress up in a ridiculous costume and go about your day for an entire day?

Rousseau: "I don't believe any article of clothing could be considered ridiculous. Some consider the way I dress, sharply and professionally every day, to be ridiculous. If you hold an open mind, no outfit is ridiculous, but I personally am not extremely pressed for money."

Birdie: "Like twenty bucks. What? Twenty bucks is twenty bucks, and I like cosplay and dressing up for Halloween and stuff anyway, dressing in a ridiculous costume is just another form of that, isn't it?"

Fury: "I wouldn't do it under any circumstances. The Sisterhood provides everything that good servants, such as myself, need. I don't live in a world where money is required."

Cutthroat: "Like a million dollars? Why would I want to look ridiculous? I want to be taken seriously."

Mickie: "I dunno, like a few hundred? A thousand, maybe? I'd do it for money, but I wouldn't like it."

Do you do anything in your day-to-day you’d like to stop? Why haven’t you?

Rousseau: "Sometimes I wish I could stop putting on makeup every morning, but I am... too... shall we say, plain? Without any. So I haven't stopped, and I'm not so sure I could ignoring that."

Birdie: "Doom-scrolling. Please. I need to stop, I waste so much time doing that instead of productive things, and then I feel bad afterwards. That and not letting myself make friendships, but the second one doesn't affect my day-to-day so much as fucking doom-scrolling does."

Fury: "Crying. Every day. But... that is as the Sisterhood wants me, to be as empathetic and deep-feeling as this, and if that is their wish, then I shall oblige!"

Cutthroat: "I'd like to stop overthinking everything so much, and over-analyzing things, and reading too deeply into everything, but that's just the mindset I have and I don't think I can change it."

Mickie: "I wish... don't tell anyone I said this, especially not that bastard (said with distaste or love depending on where we are in the book lol, the bastard is Rousseau), but... I wish I didn't have to put up so many defenses and not let myself enjoy things because I think I don't deserve happiness, or... I feel like I have to always be on edge and be vigilant and all that, and... I don't. But I just can't wrap my head around being any other way, or allowing myself to do things that make me happy, but I... can't. It's whatever, though, it's not that big of a deal, I'm chill this way."

What’s your most prized possession?

Rousseau: "My radio and microphone, without a doubt. Birdie got them for me for my first Christmas on Earth, and... *tears up a little bit and clears throat* well, obviously it meant a lot."

Birdie: "Well, my most prized person is definitely Rousseau, but considering a person a possession is fucked up, so my most prized possession... I don't really have one? Oh, shit, uh yeah, my dad got me several different animal books for Christmas one year, I don't remember how old I was, like nine maybe? But they were these different books about different animals, like one is a book about all the breeds of dogs, and one is all the breeds of cats, and I just... really love those, that was a really thoughtful gift. Probably the most thoughtful he ever gave me."

Fury: "Definitely not a dumbass teddy bear if that's what you were implying *looks at Mr. Shnookums and mouths 'I'm sorry.'* My... knife! Yes, my knife, for sure!"

Cutthroat: "My camera, Fury got it for me."

Mickie: "My good binder, we all have one, the one that's most comfortable. Oh, also noise-cancelling headphones, I'd be dead without them."

Have you ever been a victim of miscommunication?

Rousseau: "I believe everyone has, it's just part of life, but I can't think of any specific moment in particular."

Birdie: "Oh definitely, all the time, like one time Rousseau and I were planning on getting an ice-cream cake from Dairy Queen, and Rousseau was talking about me picking it up and I don't remember exactly what he said, but apparently he wanted me to pick it up the next day but I thought he wanted me to pick it up that night. Not a big deal, but a miscommunication for sure."

Fury: "Certainly. The Sisterhood, as much as I adore them, are not the best at communicating clearly and concisely. That's part of the reason why I kill so much is just to make sure I always have a fresh corpse ready for them."

Cutthroat: "Yes, more than I'd like. I think I'm just bad at understanding people..."

Mickie: "Sometimes, everyone has, so probably like a normal amount?"

Are you more artistic, scientific, or both?

Rousseau: "I know it's not an option, but neither, really. The arts are good, and so is science. I would almost be tempted to say I'm more scientific, but I'm a firm believer that there are things that can't be explained by science, I've got firsthand experience of some of those things. So, I choose neither."

Birdie: "Artistic, I guess? I'm not scientific, for sure, because there are so many things that science can't explain, so I guess art it is."

Fury: "Artistic, definitely. I'm a huge fan of every art that exists."

Cutthroat: "Scientific. I find comfort in the numbers and facts and statistics it offers."

Mickie: "I dunno, both? I'm not particularly artsy, I like music... or, I did, and science is okay but I don't have a special connection to it, either."

How much could someone pay you to assassinate a person you know nothing about?

Rousseau: "Once again, I am not particularly pressed for money, and I do not enjoy harming others, so I don't believe there is an amount you could pay me that would make me perform such a heinous act."

Birdie: "If I agree do I get to know more about them? Because I'll kill a bad person for like several hundred dollars, but I don't think I could kill any good person for any amount of money."

Fury: "Nothing. I do it for free on a normal basis."

Cutthroat: "Money isn't everything, I don't need a lot, but it sure would take a lot for me to hurt someone. And still I don't think I would do it, I accidentally stepped on the back of someone's shoe like a week ago and I still haven't stopped thinking about and feeling guilty, and that didn't even hurt them, just inconvenienced them. I'm just too empathetic."

Mickie: *dramatic-ass sigh* "I guess... like a million dollars. Because no matter if they were good or bad, killing someone would rightfully haunt me for the rest of my days."

What I learned from this questionnaire is that my characters are very not money-driven lol, they don't care, they aren't people and it's apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic Earth rn, bartering is where it's at.

Anyway, tagging @kaylinalexanderbooks @avocado-frog @spideronthesun and anyone else who wants to hop in! <3

Your questions are:

Do you believe in the paranormal?

What oddly-specific T-shirt would you wear?

Do you usually cry at sad moments or happy moments or both?

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

OC interaction

Thanks to @mysticstarlightduck here and @illarian-rambling here!

Rules: describe an OC and then how they would interact with the OC of the person who tagged you!

The descriptions added up and now it's long. Under the cut!

Mystic's OC 1:

Nimwen is an 18 year old girl who has spent most of her life (since she was 8) travelling through the uncharted forests of a region popularly called "the wilds", with her adoptive brother Scarlet and their little band of misfits. They live on the outskirts of society, since their kingdom has been so dilligently outcasting them, but they don't seem to mind it. All in all, Nimwen is an awkward, overly anxious, often paranoid but incredibly sweet girl, though she rarely lets strangers get too close to her. She embodies the energy of a skittish deer that will bolt at the nearest sign of danger, even if its a false alarm, though she has very good reasons to be that way - her father was wrongfully executed for treason, and the people of the kingdom didn't exactly give her much reason to trust them after what they did, so yeah. She's very in touch with nature and other people's feelings though she somehow seems very much oblivious to her own. She prefers to avoid confrontation, and will only fight if that's the absolute last resort in a life or death situation. She loves very deeply and makes strong bonds once you get to know her properly.

Mystic's OC 2:

Renn is a young man in his late teens (his exact age hasn't been specified yet, but he's suspected to be around 16-19) with a penchant for dark humor and a love for all that's mysterious and slightly macabre. He has a very strong vibe that is reminiscent of those early 2000s goth/emo kids, minus the angst - just the aesthetics and the sometimes deeply philosophical existential crisis - despite his fantasy medieval setting. He is a rule breaker and likes to question authorities at every chance he gets, and is also very savvy about the true inner workings of their seemingly perfect kingdom. It is implied that he has some kind of secret he is keeping hidden at all costs, and that implication would be true, but its not what most people would assume. While the townsfolk mostly label him as this unhinged/"crazy" reject who is always causing trouble and is up to no good, he is actually a really sweet kid that just had some truly fucked up stuff happen in his past. He is a loyal friend and values honesty and integrity above all else, even if it means he'll have to go down fighting for what he believes in. Despite all of this intensity, he just wants someone to truly understand him and have a pure friendship towards him. He is also implied to be gifted in some kind of magic, though it isn't specified which, and that he has knowlege of "forbidden arts".

Katie's OC:

Ivander Montane is a 30 year old corrupt detective from the trade city of Unity. He has blue blood and double-pointed ears, wears fancy suits, and walks with a cane. His estranged family runs the banks of Unity, however he left them years ago, and in doing so, broke a divine contract, which left him cursed to slowly and painfully be transmuted into mist over the course of many years. Personality-wise, he's kind of a privileged shithead. He's got the catty attitude and love of gossip of a middle school girl, and can insult your outfit just as acutely. He doesn't have a sincere bone in his body and is afraid of any form of intimacy. However, deep down, he really just wants a friend and to not be in pain anymore. Show him the slightest hint of compassion and he will crumble. His hobbies include being a hater, fashion, and marksmanship (he's a crack shot with a rune rifle). All in all, he's got the snark of a drag queen, the heart of a lonely noir detective, and a body that's been through a cheese grater.

My OC:

Maddie is an 11-year-old girl who is quiet, curious, and a bit of a risk-taker. She's generally well-liked but isn't sure why people like her. She fidgets and squirms and likes to remain active, especially with her hands. She's a STEM kid through and through, loving each letter in the acronym. Maddie takes things apart, such as pens, to see how they work and eventually joins her school's robotics club. She believes in direct fairness - will match your tone with her - and gets a little upset if she is misunderstood, which is often, since she thinks she's straightforward. Her honesty leads to her being nosy, as she believes everyone should be open. Maddie is an animal shapeshifter, and enjoys the physical sensation of morphing as well as pushing her limits a little too much. She's a gamer who prefers consuls with buttons and enjoys old sci-fi shows and modern cartoons. Despite not quite understanding emotions, she does try to be there for the people she cares about, and usually tries to defuse a serious situation with a little joke.

Maddie + Nimwen:

Maddie likes adventure and risk, so I think she would be interested in hearing Nimwen traveling through uncharted forest for a decade. Her sibling is much more comfortable staying in, well, her comfort zone, so the idea of two siblings doing this would be a little foreign to Maddie. Being overly anxious and sweet would remind Maddie of her sister, but Lexi is a lot more outgoing. She wouldn't really understand Nimwen being skittish, but maybe Maddie's more adventurous nature would rub off on her. She may be a little caught off-guard by Maddie's shapeshifting. Nimwen being in touch with nature combined with Maddie's animal morphing will be interesting. Maybe Ninwen's knowledge of animals can help Maddie understand them more, since she's more of a hands-on person and is functioning based on reading up on animals - something she can only tolerate knowing she'll shapeshift later. Nimwen could also give Maddie more emotional advice, though it would take a while for Maddie to understand why Nimwen wants to talk with her. Maddie is a little over-eager to fight, so Nimwen may have to hold her back, or Maddie may try to get Nimwen to fight with her. I think this would be a fun little sister-esque dynamic!

Renn + Maddie:

Maddie is best friends with an emo/goth leaning person, so I feel like Renn is familiar territory. Maddie also likes breaking rules for the thrill and questioning authority, so I think they'd be an unstoppable force. Maddie is nosy, though, so I think she'd be a little too curious about Renn's secrets and business. They're both honest, Maddie almost blunt, so I feel like they'd get along. She'd also be curious about his own magic, and would probably show off her powers. I think Maddie would be a little weirded out if Renn wants to be friends with her - and since they seem to understand each other, that may be possible, though not sure how he'd feel about her being a kid - but I think in the end they'd be an unstoppable duo.

Ivander + Maddie:

Now this is an unlikely pairing. Maddie's nosy nature would probably get on his nerves. She'd be curious about the cane, why he's always in pain, etc and may ask too many questions and not pick up on how he doesn't want to answer them. She would probably though recognize his shitheaddedness and would just match his attitude with her fairness policy. Maddie has an odd fashion choice - bright and colorful with mismatched patterns, but I don't think she'd be that hurt by any insults, just confused. And of course would get him back. Maddie is a nice and kind person but isn't good about empathizing, and if Ivander doesn't show her compassion, she won't show it either. They'd annoy each other, and honestly they may have fun doing it. At least Maddie will find it very exciting to poke at his patience.

To describe OCs to pair with Maddie --

@monstrouswrites @mrbexwrites @elsie-writes @steh-lar-uh-nuhs @stesierra @sarandipitywrites @sarahlizziewrites @mk-writes-stuff @jezifster @jessicagailwrites @leahnardo-da-veggie @pb-dot @ohnomybreadsticks + anyone else!

TSP intro

TSP tag list (ask to be +/-): @thepeculiarbird @illarian-rambling @televisionjester @finchwrites - y'all can hop on if you want!

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Find the Word

Thanks @kaylinalexanderbooks for the tag!

My words: intense, devote, sign, bare

Your words: forgive, sombre (somber), swift, instinct(ive)

I'm not sure who to tag, so for now if you see this and want to hop in go ahead! I'll try to think of some tags later today or early tmr. ❤

From what I understand, I have to go through my WIPs and find said words. Unfortunately, I don't have "devote" anywhere (or even devoted), so I will only have three for this one. :\

Continue reading for:

Akita being shot in the shoulder (^ TW: guns, but also kind of not)

Dusk waking up alone in a frozen wasteland

Lukas trying to bandage an injured man (^ TW: mention of injuries such as loose organs)

Intense [Frequency: Hellfire]

With one clean shot, the gunman managed to hit Akita in his left shoulder. The sudden surge of adrenaline subdued the pain enough to keep Akita standing. But shortly after, a new pain emerged.  Spreading outward from the wound was a seeping, burning pain as the gunman’s infernal power began to bleed into him. Akita fell to the ground shortly after the pain appeared, writhing uncontrollably on the ground. “Sorry about that, but some people still stand after getting shot,” the gunman said while casually advancing towards Akita, “so… what’s your deal?” Akita twisted in pain, unable to restrain any part of himself. All that came out of his mouth were short attacks for breath and intense screams of agony. “Ah, right, you can’t say much while in pain…” the gunman remarked before binding Akita’s hands with rope and removing his fiendish ability from him.

Sign [Frequency: Forsaken]

In a frozen wasteland, a man lay on the snow, unconscious. He wore nothing but rags; scraps of cloth that could barely be considered clothes.  Any traveller would have thought he was dead. But there was not a single sign of hypothermia on him. His fingers, toes, ears, and nose were all their normal pale colour, without a hint of frostbite. Not even a tinge of red. He was breathing too, as if he was sleeping. But as more flakes of snow sprinkled across his face, he slowly began to wake. (This one's a smidge shorter than the others since I've posted this before as a separate post)

Bare [Frequency: Wounded Reflection]

“I’ll try to bandage you up to the best of my ability, but I don’t think I can take you back fast enough. I’ll get Kai to take you back, or call for more help.” With that, Lukas carefully took the man to a drier part of the forest. As far away from the rain and mud as they could get in this storm. There, he took out his medical kit and began to wrap bandages around the man’s stomach. He wasn’t trained to be a medic but was given the bare minimum for first aid treatment. He had a little knowledge of how to bandage someone, but not to the extent of someone in Vesa’s subdivision. He stuffed the wound with bandages to clog the bleeding and keep the man’s organs in place. Then he used the rest of his bandages wrapping around the man’s torso. It wasn’t the best, but it stopped his bleeding and would hold for at least until he got back to Mistfell.

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Last Line Tag

Brought to you by; @sunset-a-story @writingrosesonneptune and @rachaellawrites (here here and here)

I am tagging @angie-j-kay @kaylinalexanderbooks and @addicted2coke-theothercoke

We're counting this as three lines, you may fight me about it.

She smiled, easing, all of her visibly smoothing and sang back, “The cuttings are in desperate need of practice tending to fleshy things. So each of your men were partnered with those they found agreeable and taken to nests such as this. Save one, who beds alone. All are safe.” “I do not care for the manner in which you speak that word,” Lucient’s anger spilled ragged and his grip on my hand tightened enough to numb, “speak plain.” “No need, little predator, for you may see for yourself,” the tree said too sweetly, tilting her head, studying his rage, “we are in a copse of nests. Your men are, what was it you said,” she looked to me, smiling, “a hop, skip and a scream away?”