kiaraintheforest - Tumblr blog

[kiaraintheforest]

I started a patreon page! Been thinking of starting on the platform since 2018 and after months of research I've finally landed on 3 basic tiers (might upgrade in the future). Please consider supporting me on Patreon from as little as $3 if you'd like some art every 3 months posted to your door, and E-Books of my short stories every month (signed and illustrated), plus much more! This is a huge step for my business and my dream of being a full time artist. I'd love to attend more conventions and art fairs during the year, and a steady income surrounding my art will help me achieve this. A simple reblog will also help a ton! 🌞 thank you.

Rewards summary:

Mini print every 3 months

Shoutout on my instagram and YouTube posts (9K+ followers)

E-Book of a new short story every month (signed and illustrated)

Real time painting videos/tutorials

Behind the scenes, drawing processes, sketchbook tours, references & supplies I use

+ more will be added in the future

Check it out here

[kiaraintheforest]

Storyteller Saturday! 😈

Hello, fellow writblers! A little late on STS today. To respond, reblog or tag me in a new post. If you're not tagged but wanna answer, feel free! ❤️

Do you have a way of mapping out your character arcs? If so, what's the process like? Any apps or software you use?

@tryingtimi

@jess-p-edits

@jezifster

@stormbrightwriter

@aohendo

@athenixrose

@theskeletonprior

@wingedcatgirl

@dgwriteblr

@andromeda-rising-897

@theprissythumbelina

@kiaraintheforest

@happystarfishnightmare

@thethistlegirl

@smilingpaperbag

@jessica-writes22

@whimsyqueen

[kiaraintheforest]

[kiaraintheforest]

[kiaraintheforest]

As an artist, I felt it was necessary to make that gif.

[kiaraintheforest]

a quick and scrappy writeblr intro!

I'm just getting back into the Tumblr thing after a long while away. I'm feeling things out and testing the waters, hoping I can make a comfy space in the writing and witchy corners (witchblr at @wewillbewicked ) so it seems appropriate to y'know, do that whoole introduction thing,

Fun Facts For Curious Creatures Crossing The Path:

Name: Magpie, Mags, Vale, Corbi, any variant on my username

Age: 31

Pronouns: they/them

Mixed-race POC but white passing, depending on who you ask.

Disabled, mentally ill, neurodivergent

Queer and polyam (I live with my two partners and our many, many animals)

(With The Truth In Mind) Let Me Write Lies:

I've been in fandom since I was 9 and writing fanfic since I was 11. Transitioned to almost entirely original fiction in 2018.

I've published several short stories in places such as Decoded Pride, The Needle Drops... Vol. 1, Lamplight, and some stuff coming in the next little while.

I love writing really tiny stories that are odd and a little magical

My genres of choice are anything speculative, though I lean towards fantasy and horror more than science fiction.

While I primarily write short fiction, I have longer projects brewing in the back of my head that i will sew together into bigger and better things than what lives in my brain.

I Welcome With Open Doors:

anyone 18+

Tag games like WIP/World Building Wednesday, Tunesday, Storyteler Saturday, Six Line Sunday, or any other fun writerly things

Asks

DMs

Prompts and requests

As the Stories Unfold Before You

WIP Info And Directory: Under The Rainbow - Queer, contemproary fantasy/PRN following the shenanigans of a nightclub/dungeon/waystation for the local supernatural community.

WIP Info And Directory: Mr. Death And His Black Eyed Kids - More queer contemporary fantasy following a young, sheltered girl who goes off to college, finds out about world ending cults, acquires a band of misfit students who love her, and is adopted by Death, who happens to be a professor at the college in his off hours. Oh, and there are multi-dimensional eldritch beings, some of which are bored and attending that same university.

[kiaraintheforest]

more oc asks

dream: does your OC have a driving dream or goal? what is it? how far would they go to achieve it?

no: how does your OC respond to being refused, rebuffed, or ignored? are they willing to accept ‘no’ as an answer?

danger: what’s one thing that makes your OC angry? what’s their temper like? how do they respond to people who make them mad?

need: has your OC ever experienced desperation? how has it affected them? what do they do when something they need is out of their reach?

run: what’s one relationship or experience your OC has mixed feelings about? are they good at finding joy in sad things, or vice versa?

fire: what’s one thing they’d destroy if they could, and why? would that destruction bring them any satisfaction or catharsis?

blood: what would your OC would sacrifice everything for? what does “everything” entail—their life, or something else? how far would they go?

spring: what does your OC miss most? will they ever be reunited? how would they feel about that?

dna: does your OC believe in fate or destiny? what about soulmates? is this all a coincidence?

fake: has your OC ever been lied to? what was the lie? how has it affected them?

idol: has your OC been in a position where a lot of people were looking down on (or up to) them? how do they handle the pressure of fame? of criticism?

on: what’s the greatest challenge your OC has overcome? how do they feel about it?

mic drop: what accomplishment is your OC proudest of? do they brag about it, or are they more quiet?

proof: what is your OC looking forward to? what best moments in their life are yet to come?

[kiaraintheforest]

when hayao miyazaki said that true love was two people inspiring each other to live…recognizing just how hard living is, putting one foot in front of the other every day, how easy it is to lose our passion for it…… that’s the real shit

[kiaraintheforest]

OC Favorites Tag Game

Thanks to @tryingtimi for the tag! Never done one of these things before, so I hope I do it right!

Rules: Share photos of your OC’s favourite element, time of the day, god, colour, and toy as a child. Then tag five people and change up any one of the five favourite things categories for the next round.

Because he's been on the brain...

Martin Hightower

Element: Fire Childhood Toy: Building Blocks God: Odin Time of day: Sunrise Color: Dark Cobalt Blue

Element: Fire

The lack of infrastructure and exposure to New London's heating elements means that Lower London gets pretty cold. Martin has a fireplace in his ADC Liaison office-- a nearly unheard of (overly extravagant and unnecessary) luxury in Midtown. He likes to be warm.

Childhood Toy: Building Blocks

Martin's always liked building things. More accurately, he's liked testing limits-- seeing how high and how delicate he can build something before it falls apart.

God: Odin

Back in ye olde Viking times, Odin was the God most associated with the germanic royalty and elite. Worshipping and paying tribute to Odin were said to bring wealth, status, and knowledge. Martin relates to Odin's cunning and relentless pursuit of secrets.

Time of Day: Sunrise

Martin wakes up every day to watch New London's simulated sun rise up over the edge of Midtown. In Lower London, light and warmth were so hard to come by. The sunrise reminds him of where he came from, and gives him time to reflect on how he intends to utilize his day.

Color: Dark Cobalt Blue

He's always associated himself with blue. Specifically, he identifies with darker, more vivid shades of blue. Not quite royalty, but still highly pigmented. Much of his wardrobe is in similar colors.

No pressure tag to @italiangothicwriteblr, @flowerprose, @kiaraintheforest, @aohendo, and @whimsyqueen. Favorite element, time of the day, god, color, and toy as a child. 🥰

[kiaraintheforest]

is there ANYTHING more pure than a friend sharing their wip novel or their comic idea or literally any creative project of theirs with you……NO. you made that with your own two hands and if i could eat it i would (out of love respect and admiration obviously)

[kiaraintheforest]

“i make bad art” good. make more

[kiaraintheforest]

Rank your OCs

Give an OC a number of 1-10, with

1=no, none, bad

10=yes, lots, good:

[Please feel free to explain/elaborate!]

🎪 How fun would it be to spend a day with them?

💬 How extroverted are they?

🔫 Would they be a good bodyguard?

👀 How guilty they feel and why?

💛 How well-liked are they by other characters?

👕 Fashion sense?

💥 How likely would you be to put them in charge of a disaster/high stakes situation?

⛰️ Would they be good company on a desert island?

🫂 Would they be/are they a good romantic partner?

👽 Would they be a good person for aliens to meet first? [Bonus: what impression would aliens have about humanity/their species based on them?]

😈 How chaotic are their morals?

🧸 How good are they with kids?

🧨 How feisty are they? Do they have a temper?

✨️ Do they use/believe in magic?

🎆 How seriously do they take holidays?

☁️ What shape is their mental health in?

🏠 Would they be a good roommate?

🪂 How much do they enjoy/seek out excitement?

🛠 How skilled are they? Do they have a lot of hobbies?

🔥 And obviously how hot are they, in your opinion and/or the opinions of other characters?

[kiaraintheforest]

Wip Intro: The Winding Star

(all images came from my Pinterest board, I own none of them, only the collage)

genre: high fantasy // steampunk, 1st person POV for Seleste and 3rd person POV for the few scenes that aren't from her POV

status: almost entirely planned, early drafting

aesthetic / tropes : clockwork prosthetics, suspended trains, golden sunrises, starry skies, quest for knowledge, friendship, lots of morally grey characters, government VS rebels but there are no real "bad guys", tall buildings, airships, animated masks, extravagant ballgowns and hats, hidden intentions, more friendship, vampires whose eyes change colour to match their emotions, big *ss eldritch monsters that are just randomly nice to people, complicated conflicts, ace MC, bakery aesthetic, people in power manipulating each other, mad scientists, stars, did I mention friendship ?

(it got kinda long so I put the rest of the info under the cut :)

summary:

As far as the inhabitants of Aetherham are concerned, the Winding Star has always been there; better even: the gigantic, spinning, star-shaped structure suspended in the sky emits an energy that has been used to power technology in the city for centuries, making Aetherham one of, if not the, most powerful and advanced city in the world. Seleste Risewell, 17, doesn't have the faintest idea what the Star actually is and what there is inside, just like the rest of the population; the only information about the Star is held by the city's government, the Council, whose role is also to regulate and legalise the use of the Star's energy. As mysterious as the Star is, people tend to be more concerned about the vampires hiding in the city's shadows and the threat the Council has decreed that they represent. Seleste spends her days kneading dough and sliding full trays of of bread, buns & pastries in the ovens of the Eleventh Flour bakery, which seems a pretty decent occupation to any normal customer. No-one would suspect her to be part of the rebellious organisation collecting information on the Star and planning on claiming control over it and its energy; as increasingly worrying as those rebels are becoming, all her customers know Seleste too well to think such a thing of her. And yet, at night and on her days off, Seleste, along with her long-lasting friend Byrde and the vampire Lucian, have been running errands for the leader of that very organisation, Sebastian Crogan, an eccentric noble with a clear obsession for knowledge, and more precisely for the Star and its secrets. And one night, when the trio cross paths with Louie, a sweet boy with a severe case of amnesia, they realise they are ticking closer to making significant discoveries about the Star...

main characters:

Seleste Risewell: 17, she/her, demiromantic asexual, MC; orphaned, she has very unclear memories of her childhood but knows she was taken in by the owner of the Eleventh Flour bakery until one evening when the woman disappeared and never came back; Seleste stayed hidden in the bakery for some time, until people from Sebastian's organisation came in, found her and brought her back to the Hive with them; she's come back to the bakery and has been running it as a day job ever since she was 15, beside her jobs in the organisation

Louie Sheskinger: 17, he/him, aromantic asexual; when the trio meet him when out on a mission, he has bad amnesia and cannot remember anything prior to a few days before the encounter; events in the story will trigger some of his memories. He's quite naive, pretty chaotic and innocent, very positive, sweet and soft

Byrde Burness: 18, she/her, straight; her mother is a childhood friend of Sebastian's and left with him when he went travelling around the world, and she met Byrde's father in a neighbouring country. Byrde herself was born abroad, but Sebastian and his party came back to Aetherham when she was around 8 years old, so she doesn't remember much from the travels; she's very headstrong and snarky, loves Lucian a lot, super good at playing her bad*ss-steampunk-enchanted violin

Lucian Lenville: 20, he/him, straight; he's been a vampire since he was a young child, his single mother died trying to hide him from the Council when he was twelve; he escaped with his little sister, Colleene, and hid in a community of vampires in the slums of Aetherham. He met Bethan there, and they lived in hiding until Sebastian came around and recruited some of the vampires in his organisation. Now he's been living in the Hive with Byrde, Seleste, Bethan and his little sister for a few years already

Bethan Yates: 22, he/him, bisexual vampire; he was thrown out by his parents when they discovered he was a vampire and didn't want to turn him in to the government; he ended up in the same community as Lucian and Colleene, where the two boys became friends and got recruited by Sebastian at the same time

Sebastian Crogan: 37, he/him, we don't know much about him except that he travelled a lot with his close friends & associates before coming back to Aetherham to claim his nobility title after his parents' death, and that he met Florence during said travels; he has a prosthetic arm she made for him and is the most eccentric, knowledge-obsessed guy in town. Pure chaos incarnate; he loves Florence very very much even though he doesn't openly show it. He runs the organisation to claim control over the Winding Star, but nobody knows that he's their leader

Florence Day: 34, she/her, she's a prosthetician from a neighbouring country and heck knows how she met Sebastian, let alone decide to come back with him, let alone fall in love with him. She has very strong mad-scientist vibes but she's a real voice of reason compared to her boyfriend. Her and Sebastian run the organisation together.

masterlist: to be added

taglist (lmk if you want to be +/-) : @rose-bookblood, @on-noon, @j-1173, @writeblrfantasy

[kiaraintheforest]

Some "helpful" reviews, in case anyone is on the fence about watching The Sandman:

[kiaraintheforest]

To all the writers who haven't written in a while. May the right words come to you and may they actually get written down.

[kiaraintheforest]

we go on a beautiful date in the scary woods and we both come back subtly changed in a way that scares our neighbors but endears ourselves to each other

[kiaraintheforest]

we go on a beautiful date in the scary woods and we both come back subtly changed in a way that scares our neighbors but endears ourselves to each other