#(although i imagine no 5 dyes her hair black later down the line ;) )

[brokenhardies]

James Smith/Jane Doe in the Life on Mars series

Asher Angel as James Smith - The Child (1)

Odeya Rush as Jane Doe - The Child (2)

Sophie Cookson as Jane Smith - The Child (3)

Walker Scobel as James Smith - The Child (4)

Sophia Anne Caruso as Jane Smith - The Child (5)

Taglist

@darth-caillic​ @sterling-writes​ @ryutabas​ @reirvival​ @arrthurpendragon​ @foxesandmagic​​ (want to be added or removed? send an ask or a dm!)

[nosferatvpussy]

distorted lullabies [chapter III]

Word count: 4,976

Warnings: mentions of sexual abuse, vulgar language

Pairing: Dracula x reader

AO3 link if you prefer that format.

  My phone rang.

Moaning sleepily, I rolled over on the bed searching blindly for it on the bedside table. My fingers found the vibration’s source and grabbed it. I peeked out of one eye so I could see the screen and accept the call, without taking notice of who was calling.

“Yeah?” I answered, closing my eyes again.

“I want to know everything.”

“Diana?” 

“Who else?” said my neighbour. “You missed our breakfast so I expect it was an above average night for you.”

“You’re so nosy!” I complained but chuckled. “Was I loud?” I grimaced, expecting the worst and imagining my other neighbour’s faces at me the next time I decided to stroll down the street.

“Well, I definitely heard you but I’m literally one door away from you. And Jack and Suze are on holiday so, you don’t have to worry about them. Come outside, I’ve made us lunch.”

“‘Kay. Give me a minute and I’ll be right there.”

I sighed and, phone still in hand, attempted to get up but immediately lied down again upon feeling that I had a stiff neck. Staring at the ceiling, my mind flashed back to last night and I smacked my forehead. 

“World’s biggest hickey, indeed,” I muttered as I strained to get out of bed. “Ow, ow, ow.” 

I opened the curtains on my way to the bathroom and squinted at the uncharacteristic sunlight that streamed in. Peeking out of the window, I could see a pristine blue sky and no clouds in sight. Hopefully it would last. 

I caught my reflection on the mirror as soon as I entered the bathroom and paused. My hair was tousled and I had dark circles around my eyes. My upper lip was a bit colourless but the bottom one had an unnatural shade of violet as a reminder of my make out with the Count. A little makeup would disguise it so Diana wouldn’t have more reasons to pick on me. My hands started pulling my hair back so I could brush my teeth without it slipping into the sink but shock paralysed me.

There, on the left side of my neck I had teeth marks imbedded on my skin. If they had been just outlines that would have been fine - I had had one of those before in encounters with previous lovers - but I had punctures this time.

“He bit me,” I spoke to myself, my faint voice echoing in the bathroom. 

I leaned towards the mirror to inspect it up close. The skin around the laceration was discoloured and slightly swollen to the touch. There was no blood at all. It couldn’t have been a very deep bite because my body was already making a light scab over the wound.

“What the fuck…” 

My brain raced searching for a plausible explanation as I stared at myself. There was none. Anger replaced shock and I grabbed my phone, cycling through the contact list. I silently thanked myself for saving his new number in case I had needed to speak with him regarding his assets. I called three times to no avail. Steam was probably coming out of my ears as I typed a message to him.

 YOU FUCKING BIT ME! Expect the police to knock on your door today, you wanker. 

All of my hypothesis as to why he had done that involved some sort of mental disorder. Number one, he was just fucking crazy. Number two, he had a fetish for biting people. Number three, he suffered from delusions that he was a vampire. And every other form of variation surrounding that.

I waited a few more minutes for a reply or a call back from him but nothing happened. 

I debated whether I should clean the wound or not but if I wanted the police to get DNA so I could get a proper case built against him, it was best I didn’t wash it. Although the wound certainly didn’t look pretty, there was nothing that indicated an infection.

There was a rasp on my back door and then Diana called my name. 

“I’m going!” I yelled. 

After having used the toilet, brushed my teeth and hair, I dabbed some concealer around my eyes and put on a light shade of lipstick to cover the lip bruise Count Dracula had given me. I changed from my pajamas into an acceptable outfit, which included a red scarf tied around my neck, and went out into the back garden I shared with Diana.

Diana was not only my neighbour but also the world’s nicest landlady. Her house and mine used be conjoined which is why we shared the back yard. Years ago, when Diana’s husband died, she’d decided to separate the two houses again and rent one of them. She was still looking into splitting the garden by placing a wood fence when I moved in. We had grown so close over the years that she had given up on installing a fence and just left it the way it was. 

We took turns on making breakfast for each other every Saturday and we usually ate on a picnic table on the covered patio that sat adjacent to Diana’s backdoor. But today, Diana had set the table on the very back of the garden with a parasol shielding a round wooden table and two chairs. The bird fountain on the far left was on and birds were happily singing and chirping as they stood beneath the shooting streams of water.

The blinding sun paired with such a joyous scene made it hard for me to stay mad and I found myself beaming at Diana.

“Good morning!” she cheered.

Diana had her long hair on a plait which gave it a cool effect now that she had stopped dyeing her hair and embraced the silver. That didn’t mean she was fully accepting of aging - she had a fair amount of botox on her forehead and around her eyes. Working as a marketing director for a big cosmetics company for over 20 years will do that to any person. Plus if she looked a day over 40 it wouldn’t exactly be the best marketing strategy. 

I was the closest thing to a child to her, well, besides the 5 cats she owned. Ever since Gerard, her husband, died ten odd years ago she hadn’t experimented with dates or lovers because she thought nobody would ever live up to him. And so she lived vicariously through my love escapades.

“Morning!” 

I had barely sat down and she was already serving me a plate of spaghetti on creamy mushroom sauce, my favourite of hers. She was about to pour me a glass of white wine but I covered the glass with my hand.

“Hangover?” She winced sympathetically.

“Not the worst one but yes.” I poured myself a glass of water and gulped it down.

“So? Name, age, what does he do, how was he in bed… Go.” 

I frowned as I drank the last of my water. 

“Hm… I- I don’t think we had sex,” I said. 

Diana lowered her fork that had been on the way to her mouth and frowned back. 

“You don’t remember?”

“Well, I remember kissing him at my door. And then he-” I touched the scarf absently and put on my courtroom face before my eyes could pop out of my head.

I had blacked out. I had no memory about what had happened after he’d bitten me. I didn’t even remember putting on my pajamas. He could have done way more than just bit me. 

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

“He what?”

“Uh, he gave me a hickey but yeah I don’t remember much after that. Honestly I drank a lot of rum yesterday and I’m having a small case of amnesia right now. I’m sure it will come back to me later.” God, I fucking hoped so. 

“But you are not sure if you had sex with him?”

“99% sure I didn’t,” I conceded. “I’d be sore if I had and I’m not.”

“He could have been gentle about it.”

“Trust me, he would not have been gentle.” I forced a laugh.

That got Diana’s attention away from my blackout and she started goading for more information. The rational part of my brain placed itself on autopilot as we had lunch and talked about Count Dracula. For once I was glad about the courtroom face I had acquired over the years and the amount of insensitivity that came with it, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to keep talking without panic taking over. 

After Diana was satisfied with all the details I had given her, we moved topics to Judge Llewellyn and the wretched amount of sexism we had both experienced in our lines of work. It was a good outlet for the anger I was feeling towards Dracula. 

Two hours later we said our goodbyes and parted with a promise to go grocery shopping together the next day. 

Once in the comfort and security of my living room I realised I had lied to Diana about the bite without even noticing I’d done that. If I had, then Diana would insist in taking me to the police station and keeping me company the whole time I was there, which was a very good idea. So why had I lied? She was my friend and with how I was starting to panic, I wanted emotional support. 

But there was a tiny part of me that didn’t want anyone else to know about the bite, like it was a private and very intimate thing. As if it was a secret to be kept very safe between Count Dracula and I.

Sitting on my sofa, I flickered my eyes to the front door. I should go to the police station, yes but my body was willing myself to keep sitted and remain there. 

My phone beeped and with a glance, I knew I had to stay put.

   We’ll talk after sunset.  

____________________________________________

  The police didn’t go to his home so, he presumed she had not paid them a visit. Or, and that was also very likely, London’s police was terrible at their job. Either way, he was surprised to hear her heartbeat coming from inside the house. He had expected her to flee upon receiving his text and, oh, if she did he would find her. But now that he had gotten acquainted with her scent and marvelous taste, there was no mistake that she was inside the house, waiting for him.

He smiled, pleased that he wouldn’t have to hunt her down across London, and rang the doorbell. 

“Come in!” she shouted from the inside. 

Black eyebrows shot up on the Count’s forehead. Easy, a little too easy, even.

He turned the doorknob, pushed it open and waited. For what exactly, he wasn’t sure. Perhaps another attempt to capture him by Johnny’s Foundation or a trap by Scotland Yard but there were no other heartbeats coming from the house.

He made his way in, listening attentively for her. There were several photos of her and friends, presumably, on the walls. One of them was with… Hm, what was her name? His tongue rubbed the top of his mouth in an attempt to evoke the memories he had consumed along with her blood. Ah, Diana. Lovely woman. He might have a taste of her, too.

“There you are,” he said upon finding Y/N sitting on the living room. 

The room wasn’t particularly big but it served as a library large enough to cause envy on the best of individuals. Vinyl records were set up as decoration on the wall behind the sofa where she was sat. A stone fireplace and the TV broke the overall “vintage” look. It was hardly vintage to him but he had missed several decades that were now considered old to humans. 

She looked up at him tiredly and stood up from the sofa, stretching like a cat which caused several of her brones to crack and a moan to erupt from her throat. A corner of his mouth twitched up as a response to the sound.

“Will you give me a second so I can order food? I haven’t eaten since lunch.”

The Count stood there, nonplussed, as she grabbed her phone and started clicking its screen. He expected screaming, a slap to the face or crying, but not this. Not this at all. 

For starters, it was unusual that she had remembered having been bitten. Even more unusual that she had been able to sent him a text calling him a “wanker”. On the night before, he had meant to put her under his thrall, much like he had done to Renfield, as an experiment to see if he could bend someone as willful as her. Considering that she had successfully insulted him, it had failed and he was pleasantly surprised with that. After he received that text, he had prepared himself for a scandal. 

“Y/N.” 

A few more clicks on the screen and she looked up at him, a mix of exhaustion and anger on her eyes.

“I couldn’t move all day, did you know that? Waiting for you. I couldn’t control my body, like a fucking puppet waiting for its master to move the strings.”

“What?”

“If obeying your every command-" she stood on her tiptoes, putting her nose close to his as he instinctively leaned closer "-is part of being a vampire then I don’t bloody want it." Her voice was low, acquiring a tinge of what she probably considered threat.   

He couldn’t stop his lips from parting and his eyes from widening. She knew, she knew! 

“Oh, how have I underestimated you!” he exclaimed, a grin sprouting in his face. 

“Save it, toothy,” she said as she jammed a finger on his chest. “I’m going to have a shower and you’ll wait here so we can talk later.”

“Watch your tongue,” he warned. 

He was more amused by her anger than insulted but he wanted to put the spell he had on her to the test. Defiant eyes met his and her upper lip curled, almost like a snarl.

“I will do no such thing,” she enunciated every word carefully with a smug smile. 

He held her stare, admired that her insolence had persevered and she had no fear of him. Apparently thinking she’d won, she turned her back on him and left the room. 

Dracula barely registered the sounds of her footsteps on the upper floor and the shower running. He was too trapped in thought to take any notice of it. 

He sunk down exactly where she had been sitting, an awed smile still in his face. Usually, when he chose a person to feed on and truly enjoy their blood for a longer period of time, a spell took over them so they wouldn’t notice the bites or have any memory of the fact. They would just go about life oblivious to what was happening. It had worked on Johnny and even worked on Agatha, although it only lasted so long on her. 

It had not worked at all on Y/N. Except… She had some level of obedience to him. Not the same as Renfield’s, of course, but enough to make her immobile through all afternoon. Still it didn’t make much sense because he hadn’t ordered her to remain still and wait for him but that’s what she had done. 

Anticipation grew within him and he almost went up the stairs to question her exactly how she’d pieced together that he was a vampire. Impulsivity nearly got the better of him but the ringing doorbell kept him from bolting upstairs. 

Ah, her food was here. He had some reparations to make with her if he wanted her to be as good a bride as Johnny had been, so he stood up from the sofa and went to the door to receive the meal. The paper bag informed him that it was Thai cuisine, which he sadly hadn’t had the opportunity to try yet but in a metropolis like London it shouldn’t be too hard to find Thai blood. 

After dismissing the man who had delivered the food, Dracula brought the food to her kitchen where he found plates and cutlery. As she finished her shower and slipped out of the bathroom, he occupied himself with setting up a table on her dining room. After some searching in drawers he found linen napkins and candles. He was finishing lighting the candles placed on the center of the table when she came down the stairs. 

She stopped under the arch that led to the dining room and glared at the special decoration. Droplets of water cascaded from her hair and her skin glowed as if she had light stored behind her flesh. She had on an oversized jumper which concealed her shape but her legs were on display. They were a different shade than the rest of her skin, a little light as if they hadn't seen the sunrays in a long time, but that didn’t take away from the beauty of them. 

Dracula wondered how they would feel wrapped around him, the feel of her warm skin against his, how she would trap him with those legs while he entered her.  The blood running through her veins pumped in anger as he gazed at her. If she’d let him he could feed from a particularly delicious vein on her inner thigh. The thought of it made him hard.

“Stop that,” she said, breaking the trance. 

“Stop what?”

“Looking at me like you are deciding between fucking me or drinking me dry.”

“Why not both?” 

She winced as if his words had hurt her.

“Last night… Did we- did you do something else to me?” 

Suddenly understanding the pain that had passed her face moments ago, he shook his head. 

“No,” he responded firmly. “You were nearly unconscious. After I was done, I waited until you could stand on your own and sent you inside.”

“So you didn’t-?” She gulped and crossed her arms in front of her. 

“Rape you?” he completed and she winced again. “No. I would never. Consent is important to me in that matter.” 

He didn’t want her to be scared of him and right now, he could smell her fear. Trust, most of all, was what he wanted from her. Perhaps that would be the right ingredient when making a perfect bride.  Lucy, whom he’d met just two nights before he met Y/N, trusted in him enough to completely give herself to him, body and mind. Lucy, however, was too… malleable. Y/N’s nearly unbreakable iron-will was admirable and he was certain that because of it she’d be unparalleled as a bride. 

Having that consideration in mind, he forced himself to put his good manners aside and, instead of offering her a chair, made his way around the table and took the seat furthest from her. The crease between her eyebrows softened and she nodded to acknowledge his action, sitting down at the head of the table. She opened the food container and carefully tipped it over her plate. The strong smell of spices made his nose tingle and his mouth water - not at the food but at the taste her blood would acquire after she ate it. 

“So, enlighten me,” he leaned back, crossing his hands over his chest. “If you know what I am why would you invite me in?”

She raised a finger as she chewed on the food, eyes rolling back in pleasure. He rubbed his fingers together as an attempt to concentrate but she was determined to make it difficult to him, it seemed. 

“Quid pro quo, Clarice. You tell me things I tell you things,” she said after swallowing. Seeing the frown on his face, she waved a hand. “Film reference, forget it. But you get the meaning.” He nodded so she would continue but reminded himself to watch a film by the name of Silence of the Lambs, at least that was the title her blood provided. “I had to invite you in. My body told me to.”

“Your body?” He leaned forward, eyebrows raising as he considered it. “How-”

“No,” she interrupted. “My turn. How long do I have?”

“What?”

“Until I start wanting to rip people apart,” she said before taking another bite from her food. 

“Oh, that. I didn’t take enough blood to turn you.” 

“But you will?”

“Yes.” He smiled.

“Do I have a say in this?”

“No.”He eased himself back to rest on the chair. “You may try to run and hide but I will  find you. The outcome will be the same if you don’t run so let’s not make it harder on ourselves, shall we? This will be much more pleasurable if I have your consent.” She stabbed daggers with her eyes and opened her mouth to talk but it was his turn to raise a finger to ask for silence. “You’ve asked too many questions already. Tell me how you came to know what I am.”

“It wasn’t very hard putting it together. You are not exactly discreet,” she said in a snide tone. “At first, I thought you were insane. Although I was stuck playing statue all afternoon, I still had my phone with me and I could move my hands just fine. So I accessed our database, the law firm’s database that is, and searched for your file. I was looking for a criminal file or hospital records.”

She paused to eat some more and Count Dracula once again took a moment to appreciate this decade’s technology. A mobile phone contained a world of information just one click away. If those were around the time of Inquisition, the entire population would be burned for heresy and witchcraft.

“Imagine my surprise upon seeing you have been a client of ours since the 1890s,” she continued. “I thought that was probably a mistake, that maybe an ancestor of yours with the same name had been a client in the past. But I found a black and white photo in the file. Nobody is exactly identical to an ancestor so I was sure it had to be you.” She cleared her throat. “Then it was matter of putting 2 and 2 together… Renfield had said that you are only available after dark, so there was that. And then there was your cold skin, the bite and the apparent immortality. That’s a vampire if I’ve ever met one and, well, now I have.”

“How many people have access to that information?”

“Technically only Renfield. I was his intern when I started at the firm and I know all his passwords. That’s how I gained access...” her mouth fell open. “Is he a vampire, too? Is that why he is the only one permitted to see your files?”

The Count laughed.

“Hardly. He is a servant.”

She glowered at him.

“I don’t serve anyone,” she said in a small voice. “I felt enslaved today while I waited for you, unable to move… Please don’t do that to me.”

He had tried to do that and, though it hadn’t worked, almost regretted trying. He didn’t enjoy seeing her humiliation now or hearing the meekness in her voice. If she was anyone else it could have amused him but what he liked about her was the power and boldness she exuded. Stripping her of those would be like knocking the moon and stars out of the sky. Would anyone admire the night sky if they were not there? 

“You are not a servant and you will never be one.” He tilted his head as something occurred him. “Why did you not call the police?”

“I couldn’t bring myself to do it. My body wouldn’t obey my commands-” She straightened her shoulders and lowered her eyes for a second before meeting his again. “I didn’t want anybody to know about the bite because part of me knew that you wouldn’t want that.”

“Ah.” He nodded, finally making sense of it. “Loyalty, that was what bound you to me, then. You’re not a servant and you’re not blindly loyal to me as Renfield is, it seems. Wanker, right? That’s the name you called me.” She smiled at that. “It proves you’re not a servant, otherwise you wouldn’t even think such thing. I suspect that you are only bound to the vampire in me, which is why you couldn’t go the police. Your tie to me prevents you from revealing it to other people.”

“Like I signed an NDA where I can’t talk about you being a vampire or anything related to that,” she said, regaining some of the strength on her voice as she made sense of it. “An NDA is something two or more parties sign when-”

“I know what a non-disclosure agreement is,” he interrupted.

“Were those around in your time?” She returned her attention to the food on her plate.

“I don’t think so,” he said. She was taking everything in fairly well. He wondered how much more she would be able to digest in one sitting. “I know what it is because you do. It’s in your blood.”

Alarm made her hand move brusquely and the food on her fork dropped down to her plate.

“What?”

Small doses in the future, he decided. 

“We can talk about it later.” 

“I want to talk about it now.”

“Too bad.” His smile was taunting. “Are you planning on fleeing?”

She glared at his refusal, defying eyes as ever. He shook his head lightly to indicate that she couldn’t coerce him with that stare. At last, she turned her attention to the food.

“What’s the point if you’ll find me? Besides, I have cases open. I’m not going to abandon my clients when I’m the best chance they’ve got at winning in court.” 

The detached manner in which she spoke made him narrow his eyes. She wasn’t lying, he knew that much but humans fled, they always did. Their survival instinct was too strong not to. Count Dracula swirled his tongue inside his mouth, trying to perceive an explanation to her reaction. He got what she called her “courtroom face” but he wasn’t satisfied by it. 

“You won’t run away?”

“Now it seems that you want me to. Should I go upstairs and pack a suitcase?”

“Try doing that and you won’t make more than two steps.”

“See,” she stated as she pointed her fork at him. “That’s why there is no point in running. You’ve given me my fate and while I would very much like to dispute it, I know when it’s a losing cause.”

“You disappoint me, dear,” he muttered.

“I said it was a losing cause, not a lost one,” she said, having another bite as a smile grew on her lips.  “I’ll make you a deal.”

The Count grinned and leaned forward, placing his forearms on the table. In his experience, it didn't matter how shrewd the deal proposed was, holes were bound to be there. And a deal coming from a lawyer should be exciting.

“Go on.”

“You’ll give me time to conclude my pending cases and in the meantime I won’t take new ones. I assume I won’t be able to practise law after I’m a vampire and I don’t want to leave loose ends behind.”

“Done.” 

“I’m not done. I want to listen and learn from you. Convince me immortality is worth it from your years of experience and I’ll consent to you drinking my blood. Until then, you keep your fangs to yourself.” She paused to give him a moment to protest but he remained quiet. “You’ll only turn me when I tell you to. I die on my terms.” 

She set her cutlery down, placed her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her hands. 

“And if I can’t convince you that immortality is worth it?” He asked her.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

“When? " He chuckled. "Isn’t it arrogant to think you’ve won already?”

“I wouldn’t be a good lawyer if I wasn’t a little arrogant.” She gave him a cheeky smile. “Have we got a deal?”

Her self-assuredness was back, squaring her shoulders and making her eyes gleam. In spite of his suspicion over the deal, it made him grin. 

Jack Seward’s stolen phone rang and the Count retrieved it from his pocket to see Lucy’s face lighting up the screen. He spared Y/N a glance and caught the look of confusion on her face upon noticing that that was clearly not the phone she’d given him. 

Dracula ignored the call and not one second later he received a text from Lucy. 

  R u skipping dinner 2nite?

  Therein lied the difference between Y/N and her. Lucy did not care about anything at all except the unfathomable desire to destroy herself by any means possible. She was in love with death long before they met. Count Dracula hadn’t fully grasped Y/N intentions with that deal but he knew it had nothing to do with a desire to die. She had a practical sense to go about life, he’d noticed it when she expressed that it didn’t matter whether she was afraid to die or not. A deal was a testament to that. 

“I’m afraid I must go,” he said as he typed a message for Lucy. 

He stood up and put away his phone. Y/N tipped her head back to look at him expectantly.

“Are you declining the deal?”

“No.” He stopped next to her. “I thought we could seal it with a kiss.”

She had a second to widen her eyes before he bent down and claimed her lips. A warm hand rested on his cheek instead of pushing him away and she opened her mouth to greet him access, even if for a second. She drew back breathlessly and gazed into his eyes.

“Done,” she said softly.

And then he was gone in a blur.

 .

.

.

Taglist: @festering-queen​ @girlonfireice @mr-kisskiss-bangbang​ @thorin-smokin-shield​ @hoefordarkness​ @dreamer2381​

So sorry if I forgot to tag anyone 

[morenerdthanperson]

Character question tag

“She’s like space Lady Gaga that also knows how to throw knives and ninja stars.“

I was tagged by the wonderful @sweetcatminteareblog!

Rules: Answer the following questions for one of your characters and then tag ten people! (um... I’ll try?)

I had no idea who to pick, so I decided to have some fun and talk about a character named Helena Olwen who only gets mentioned as a historical figure in my current book, but who I know a lot about anyway x3

1) What was the first element of your OC that you remember considering (name, appearance, backstory, etc.)?

At first she was nothing but the said historical figure: a woman who led an entire planet’s rebellion and who ended up becoming its first queen. I always knew what she looked like in terms of basic appearance: she’s of asian descent, with these terrifying electric green eyes (genetic tampering for the win!) (and she’s short, which she hates). All her eccentric dressing tastes and personality quirks came later :’D

2) Did you design them with any other characters/ OCs from their universe in mind?

Yep! There is of course the fact that she was mostly responsible for crafting Ahrin’s, my protagonist’s world, and also the Olwen family are famous for their trademark electric green eyes, which come from her.

3) How did you choose their name?

I already knew her last name (I just came up with it randomly), but I wanted to establish a naming tradition for the women in the Olwen family based on hers. Princess Elina Olwen was the youngest royal family member during Ahrin’s time (unfortunately she was killed as an infant), so I worked backwards and came up with Elena, Lena/Lina, Helen/Hélène, Elen, and finally Helena. I like that her name encompasses all the other ones :)

4) In developing their backstory, what elements of the world they live in played the most influential parts?

I actually got to know her through another historical figure, Asteyr Vivar. His backstory came to me in a flash of inspiration, and as I explored more about his life I discovered more about her, too.

I don’t know much about her backstory, though. I know what she’s like as a person, and I know basic facts of what happened to her during and after the revolution, but I have no idea what prompted her to join the revolution (much less become one of its leading figures) or where her eccentric personality and tastes come from. She’ll tell me when I need to know :)

5) Is there any significance behind their hair colour?

Well, her natural hair colour is black because of her asian descent but she likes dyeing it crazy colours because she’s just a fun (and loud, in so many ways) person. 

6) Is there any significance behind their eye colour?

As I said, it’s the trademark Olwen colour. She wasn’t the first person to have it; she’s descended from some random person on Earth who decided to tamper with their eye colour genes, and although there is a degree of randomness about inherited colours (some family lines don’t have a consistent eye colour; for example mum could have purple eyes but you could be born with orange) her family line’s eye colour has remained relatively stable throughout the generations. (I suspected it mutated at some point from a gem green to the scary green it is now, though.)

7) Is there any significance behind their height?

Not beyond her being short possibly being attributed to her asian descent. She gets really salty about it, though; I feel like she’s so loud all the time just to compensate lmao

8) What (if anything) do you relate to within their character/story?

Despite her superficial craziness, she’s someone who’s actually quite serious and gets down to business when it’s needed. Basically, she knows when to be silly and when not to be, which I relate to (I’m simultaneously told I’m the silliest and most serious person by everyone know xD)

9) Are they based off you, in some way?

Nooo way, she’s too outgoing and brave and awesome! xD

10) Did you know what the OC’s sexuality would be at the time of their creation?

No idea. I know she likes guys (she marries one, and I know of at least one other crush), but she hasn’t told me if she likes girls too. I can very much imagine her experimenting with girls, though, just to see what it was like.

11) What have you found to be most difficult about creating art for your OC (any form of art: writing, drawing, edits, etc.)?

Unfortunately I haven’t been able to write much past vague historical events involving her due to my focus on the project involving Ahrin, and I haven’t had the opportunity to draw absolutely anyone, so I guess I’ve found it difficult giving her any amount of time to breathe. She’ll get her moment within two years, I reckon.

12) How far past the canon events that take place in their world have you extended their story, if at all?

Well, technically she literally just exists as a canon extension xD As I said, I don’t know anything about her backstory but do know about some things that happen after the revolution, so I guess her story is pretty far out there.

13) If you had to narrow it down to 2 things that you MUST keep in mind while working with your OC, what would those things be?

I haven’t worked with her enough to know yet, unfortunately!

14) What is something about your OC that can make you laugh?

She looks crazy. She’s like space Lady Gaga that also knows how to throw knives and ninja stars xD

15) What is something about your OC that can make you cry?

She cares about both her family and her people very deeply. Unfortunately, she has to choose between them in at least two points in her life.

16) Is there some element you regret adding to your OC or their story?

Literally what @sweetcatminteareblog said: “/Angst/ [Sh]e’s a good [girl] who deserves better but I’m a machine fuelled by the tears of my characters” xD

17) What is the most recent thing you’ve discovered about your OC?

I discovered that she has a little brother or sister while writing this post! One who shares her eyes...

18) What is your favourite fact about your OC?

She is a master knife-hurler. Like, she’s better at knives than Ahrin is at guns and that is saying something. And everyone knows it too, so they try to keep out of her bad side because otherwise she will come after them hurling knives to scare them xD

One of her sort-of boyfriends/best friend(?) also gave her a snowflake-shaped ninja star as a gift, which she keeps at her side at all times (even though she won’t admit it) and which later becomes the new symbol/seal of Odyssey (her planet), which I think is pretty epic x3 (I still have to design it, oops)

I hope you enjoyed reading about my spicy girl!

I tag @saucy-egg-merchant (I know you’re not a writer but I know you have OCs!) and some people from my dash @aureliobooks @renee-gracie @thepotatowearsprada  (nice to meet you, even if you don’t want to do this!!)

[velvetfxexo]

The Star & His First Love (pt 5)

Characters: EXO D.O./Kyungsoo + OC

Type: Fluff, a bit of angst

Length: 4.1K

Warning: Slight mention of accidents & illnesses

Whenever EXO goes on interviews and is asked about love, Doh Kyungsoo always gives the same, short, and vague answer. He only fell in love once, and he got rejected. Nothing more, nothing less.

Years later, he meets his first love, again.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 {Part 5} Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10

Part 5 - Dark, Cold, and Quiet

“Why did I forget my freaking jacket..” I mumbled to myself as a cold breeze hit me when I got out of my car. I forgot how close to the woods and mountains our old school was, making the wind colder than usual. Makes me miss the sunny California weather. 

I looked around and trees were surrounding me. It’s a rare sight compared to being in the city with a great deal of buildings around.

The driveway to the school gates still looked the same, although they added lamp posts. I managed to park my car near one. I couldn’t drive all the way to the gate itself because part of the road was being dug up and fixed. Still?

When I was in my first year of high school the road was also being dug up like this. I remembered riding a bike with Kyungsoo on our way to school. It had just stopped raining then. He was too busy talking to me that he didn’t notice he was pedaling towards a broken part of the road. Before I could warn him he fell of his bike and went straight to the edge. He wasn’t hurt, but his uniform was covered in dirt and mud when he stood up.

“Motherfucker!” he shouted.

That was the first time I heard him curse. It made me laugh so hard I also lost my balance while pedaling, and fell flat into the mud as well.

Let’s just say we both went to school looking like a mess. I can’t stop laughing at him and he kept laughing back at me as well.

I kept smiling to myself while walking, and as I neared the school I saw a man closing the gate, his back to me. When he finally turned around, I almost squealed.

“Jack!! Hey, Jack! Hey!!” I waved my hands frantically.

The man narrowed his eyes at me, and when I came closer, his face suddenly brightened. “By jove, is that really you Dana?”

“Yes!! It’s me, oh my god, how are you Jack?” I gave the man a tight hug and beamed at him. Jack was the security guard when I was in high school, from the photo I found in my room earlier. Kyungsoo and I were close to him back then. When we wanted to sneak out of school programs and activities, he would let us go without ratting us out. We were troublemakers, but Jack was very willing to go along with our antics.

“You’ve grown taller and you look elegant! Who knew the little rascal back then would grow up like this?” he chuckled, the laugh lines around his eyes looking prominent. That’s when I noticed the gray hairs peeking out from the newsboy cap he was wearing. I missed this man, he was like a father to Kyungsoo and me during high school.

“I can’t believe you’re still here! How are you and your wife?” I asked. When we graduated, he got engaged, but I had no more news after that.

“We’re doing well, and we have two kids now,” he said while taking out his wallet, showing me a photo of two cute kids who both looked about 9 years old, a boy and a girl. “They still in grade school, but they might study here when they’re in high school, of course.”

“They look lovely! The boy has your smiley eyes!”

“He looks a lot like me right? You know, he likes to cook and bake! It’s his favorite pastime!” he said while putting his wallet in his pocket, and said that his son reminded him of me when I was in high school, baking different kinds of pastries and giving most of them to him. “I told him that I was close with you when you were in high school. He couldn’t believe when I said you’re a famous chef now!”

“Come on Jack, I’m not really in that level yet!” I laughed while lightly nudging him.

“Ah, stop eating humble pie. But I’m still proud of whatever you’ve achieved. Speaking of which, you even have your face at the bulletin board of the main building!”

“My face?” I exclaimed. “Oh wait, is it related to the alumni thing?”

“Yup, you nailed it. Successful alumni from the school. You and Kyungsoo are the most famous ones from your batch, you know!” he said. I just smiled, feeling a bit timid about it. Compared to Kyungsoo, I don’t have that kind of fame. “Speaking of which how is that boy?! He’s a superstar now!” Jack asked.

“Yeah, he’s in EXO now. I just met him recently, and he looked like he was really busy.” I explained.

“It’s good to hear that you’re still seeing each other,” Jack said, giving me a knowing look. He knows that Kyungsoo and I were close, but I don’t think we told him about the confession thing. But he knows all too well something was going on between us. “You know my daughter, she loves EXO! She wouldn’t believe me when I told her that I was buddies with Kyungsoo!” he added.

“Maybe you should show her a photo or bring her here to see the alumni board!” I suggested.

“She already knows that he studied here, that’s why she wants to study here when she graduates from grade school. But I still can’t convince her I was close with Kyungsoo because I don’t have photos - I didn’t have a camera back then!”

“Oh, I have a photo of us three back at my place. I’ll bring it over to you when I come back here.” I said while smiling. Jack loved the idea, and I even offered to give a book about food and cooking tips for his son. He even asked if he could take a photo with me right now and I willingly agreed. He left his phone at home so I used mine instead and told him I’d print out the photo for him. Jack also gave me his wife’s business card - it has their home number -  so I could contact him when I get back. He looked so excited that he has proof to show his kids.

“Now, why are you here Dana? Are you going to get some documents? I’m afraid all the school staff left early because it’s Friday.” Jack explained.

“No, I was just supposed to visit really.. you know, reminisce. I haven’t returned to this place in what, five years?” I answered, leaving out the part that I was looking for something. Jack seemed to think hard before he turned to me.

“Are you planning on staying long?” he asked. “I’d like to stay with you but I have to go home in a while, my kids might be back from school soon and I don’t know what time my wife will get home today, can’t contact her ‘cause I left my mobile.”

“No, it’s okay,” I shook my head. “I’ll just come back another time.” I said, but my face must’ve looked a bit crestfallen because Jack suddenly suggested something.

“Tell you what, I’ll let you in the campus, but you have to be out before 6PM, because all the lights turn off automatically by then.” He eyed me warily, then I realized he remembered that I was afraid of the dark back in high school. He took a set of keys out of his pocket and walked back to the gate.

“Really Jack? You’ll let me in?” I asked, following him.

"It’ll be pitch black. Only one light at the field will be left open, and this gate,” he inserted a key into the gate’s lock, and I heard the latch being turned. “This gate also automatically locks at six, only I have a key to it, and I can’t lend it to you. It’s for safety reasons, I hope you understand.”

“Yes, of course. Thank you Jack, really, thank you. I can’t say thank you enough. I’ll promise I’ll be back and get that photo and book for you!” I said while entering the gate. It’s nice that the school finally improved the security by changing the gate. Back then, the gate wasn’t this tall, and burglars would just climb over. Some of them could even pick the lock or cut the chains. Jack had a hard time back then because of this, but it’s good now that the place is more secure.

“It’s nothing Dana, but please be out before 6PM. I can’t come back here immediately to check on you.” he said while closing the gate. He didn’t lock it with the key this time so I could get back out later.

“Yes, I promise, this will only be quick, I won’t take more than an hour.” I looked at my watch, it was 3PM, I still had 3 hours before six, so it won’t be a problem.

“Okay, please take care. If anything goes wrong, give me a ring, okay?” he said, making a call sign with his right hand. I nodded and waved to him, telling him to rush home. He took and rode the scooter that was parked on the side of the gate, waving to me before driving away.

Finally alone, I turned around and walked towards the main building’s hallway on the first floor. Everything was still as I remember, with some improvements like new coats of paint, new equipment, doors, and the likes. It was a bit eerie, walking down the hall like this, only my footsteps can be heard. If I was scared by ghosts, I’d be out in a flash. Luckily, I’m only scared of darkness -- I don’t know if that was more reassuring or what.

I passed by the alumni billboard and stopped when I noticed Kyungsoo’s photo. I laughed because there was like a before and after comparison. His grad photo was beside his current photo, it was probably a screenshot from a music video, and his hair was red. I didn’t know they made him change his hair color! He said he’d never dye his hair -- I can’t imagine what his reaction was when they made him do it. Hell must’ve broken loose. A short description was written under his photo: Doh Kyungsoo “EXO D.O.” always liked to join singing contests at school fairs back then.

Under his photos were mine, luckily they used a nice photo of me, one from a magazine feature. The description on mine said that I’ve always liked baking and my pastries were always sold out during school fairs. It’s sort of nice that Kyungsoo and I both pursued what we wanted.

I went to the exit at the end of the hallway, and saw the school gymnasium directly across the field. I trudged towards it, asking myself how we went from the gym to our classrooms without getting tired. The field was big, this was where school fairs and events were usually held. The wishing well was actually behind the school gym.

And surprise, the wishing well is not an actual well. It’s actually a wall with a mural behind the school gym, where students were free to write on it, and treated it like a freedom wall of some sort. The school’s art club decided to make a mural on that wall, and they painted the words, “I wish you health, but more than wealth, I wish you love” which were lyrics to a song.

We don’t know who started it, but students began writing their wishes on that wall. Some might think the hand writings ruined the mural, but it actually looked more meaningful. Students wrote their heart’s desires on the wall, as well as their wishes for other people.

Back then, they started calling it the lucky wall, because someone made up a myth that whatever wish you write on the wall will come true, but you have to write only once. I remember snorting when Kyungsoo and I found out that circulating rumor, and how a lot of them were gullible enough to believe it. We didn’t want to call it the lucky wall because we didn’t believe in the made-up myth, so we decided to call it the wishing well.

Actually, I wanted to call it the wishing wall because it made much, much more sense. But Kyungsoo wanted to be “witty” and decided to call it the wishing well, because the words on the mural were wishing you well. It made sense to me back then, so I agreed.

I know, I know, we were dorks.

Another reason why we called it the wishing well, is so that we could meet up there without getting followed. There were times we wanted to skip school events, and when we couldn’t get out of the school, we hid behind the gym. It became our secret code, “meet me at the wishing well” so none of our classmates or teachers would find out.

Again, we were dorks.

When I finally reached the back of the gym, I let out a sigh of relief. The mural and writings were still there. I was nervous earlier, thinking that they might have painted over the mural already or something. But it was still there and it was still beautiful as ever, even with the colors faded.

Kyungsoo and I always hung out at this place, sometimes he would play his guitar and sing, and I would read a book while sitting on the ground, our backs to the wall. Like I said, we didn’t believe in the lucky wall, so we never wrote anything. But it was that one time, that time he confessed to me, that I wrote something.

I looked at the wall carefully. There were many writings now, I wasn’t sure if I could still see what I wrote. I tried to find my handwriting. For the first 15 minutes, I had trouble finding it. I started reading from left to right, then back again and I couldn’t find it. I started to feel anxious, when I suddenly noticed it. A wish that wasn’t in my handwriting. I don’t know how I recognized it, but deep down, I just knew.

It was Kyungsoo’s.

I wish she could give me an answer.

I placed my hand on the wall, suddenly feeling dizzy, and suddenly remembering that day vividly.

***

Kyungsoo passed me a note during class, while the teacher wasn’t looking. Odd. Kyungsoo was never one to pass notes because he didn’t want to get scolded. I looked at him beside me, but he just looked straight ahead at the blackboard. I shrugged and opened the note. In a rushed handwriting, it read, “wishing well, bio” He wanted to meet behind the gym during biology. That was his fave subject, so whatever this is, it must be important for him to skip that class. I subtly made an “okay” sign, and Kyungsoo nodded when he saw it.

I could rate this day as the most shocking day of my life. Kyungsoo singing to me and confessing how much he likes me. He held out a rose and I took it hesitantly. I couldn’t say anything, not because I didn’t want to be his girlfriend, of course I wanted to, I’ve liked him since I became close with him. It’s just that we had other priorities, we had big dreams, and I’m not sure if now is the proper time. I said I needed time to think, so he let me. When he urged me for an answer the next day, I wrote my reply on the wall - simply because I didn’t have the guts to tell it to his face. I was also busy with one of our final projects that day that I forgot to tell him to check the wall. Then he decided to ask me again the day after that, so we went back to the wishing well.

“You already know what my answer is, Soo.”

“No I don’t.”

“Yes you do, you idiot. I like you too. But..”

“But?”

“We’re young. We have other goals, remember?”

“So I’ll ask you again next year when we graduate.”

“Sounds a bit too soon.”

“Two years?”

“How about three?”

“Three years then. I’ll ask you in three years. No go-backs.”

“Okay then, that’s a promise.”

“I’m gonna wait, you know. You better not be messing with me.”

“Was that a threat?”

“No, it’s a request, Dana. It’s a wish.”

“I know, that’s why I wrote it down.”

***

Then I remembered writing something down below Kyungsoo’s wish. I glanced below it, then I saw it, finally, I saw what I wrote.

I wish he’d ask me again in three years.

That was it.

That was finally it. I never rejected Kyungsoo when he confessed. He promised to ask me again after three years, and I agreed. We promised to be together after three years.

What happened after three years?

Why didn’t he ask me?

What the hell happened?

I tried to juggle my mind and search for the memory -- it was there, lingering. I could feel it. I tried to push aside the incoming headache; I can do this. I can remember. I’ve done it before, I’ll do it again.

But the headache was becoming too much. I walked groggily and tried my best to quicken my pace, but my head was throbbing, and my eyesight was spinning. I've only managed to reach the front of the gym when my knees buckled and I fell down. I placed my hand against the gym’s wall, I closed my eyes hard and tried to calm down but it was no use. But when I finally opened my eyes, it was like something sparked in my mind, like I saw a light at the end of the tunnel. I suddenly remembered.

Bits and pieces of the memory suddenly came to my view.

It was a rainy day. I was driving.

The road was dark, the weather was cold because of the downpour.

“I missed you.”

“I missed you too, dork.”

A bright white light.

Swerving.

Tires screeching.

A loud crashing sound.

An ear-piercing scream.

Pain.

Smoke.

Rubber.

Glass.

Red.

Lots of red.

My name, being screamed over and over again.

Crying, shouting.

Then everything went black, all over again.

The pain was too much for me to bear.

3 hours later

“So why did you call me here, all of a sudden?” Clara exclaimed, taking the latte Stiles had in his hand. He sat down calmly across from her, but she knew that he was nervous for some reason.

“Have you seen the news?”

“What news?” Clara asked. She quickly opened her phone and looked through an online news portal, but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. She looked to Stiles for help, and showed him her phone. He shook his head.

“Not on our local news, it’s on the online blogs, the entertainment sites.”

Clara knew all too well what he meant and she sighed heavily. What did D.O. get himself into this time? She found the article Stiles was probably talking about. Clara rolled her eyes when she read the headline. She expected this to happen.

EXO D.O. spotted at a hospital, again.

She quickly scanned the article. A rumor has spread that D.O. visited someone at a hospital. They left out the location. Some eye witnesses said that he was with a girl, but he left quickly. Thank goodness there were no photos, but she bit her lip when she read the last line: D.O. at a hospital with a girl seems pretty familiar, doesn’t it? What do you think, EXO-Ls?

Clara quickly reported the article and closed the site. She took a long sip from her latte. She was prepared to go through hell again, she’s been there and back, but this time it was much riskier, now that Dana’s back. She didn’t want her friend to go through that kind of ordeal.

“I think it’s time to tell her,” Stiles gently said, his eyes looking out the coffee shop’s glass window. “She can’t avoid this forever. Plus, she’s starting to remember, I think now’s the perfect timing.”

“What if she remembers the crash?” Clara asked. She suddenly remembered the aftermath of the accident. She remembered Dana’s pain, and the trauma. She remembered what happened to herself, how she got dragged into the mess. But she knew Dana had it much worse.

“If she remembers the crash, then that means she’s finally healing.”

Clara remembered the screams. Dana’s screams. The first episodes. Fainting and dizziness were nothing compared to those firsts.

“Okay, I’ll call her then. We’ll explain to her and meet up at your office. We could call D.O. too.” Clara said while tapping on her phone and calling Dana.

“That’s a good idea. It’ll be worse if the two of them keep meeting secretly as well. I know D.O. cares about her too much, but I didn’t think he would risk going to her like that.” Stiles said, talking about the time D.O. went to Dana’s breakfast bar at the wee hours of the morning. There wasn’t any article or any sighting of D.O. yet, so they must’ve avoided that storm.

“Dana isn’t answering. She must be asleep.” Clara said. She tried calling again, but the phone just kept ringing. They decided to drop by her place, but found out that she wasn’t home. Then they went to the breakfast bar, and Dana’s employees said she hasn’t come back that day.

Clara kept leaving voice mails. Stiles even tried to call several times, thinking maybe she’ll see how urgent it was when she sees Stiles calling her, but there was still no answer.

“You don’t think the two of them met up again?” Stiles asked.

Clara groaned. “They better not.”

Then she mustered up the courage and texted D.O., asking him if he’s seen Dana this afternoon. Clara knew D.O. never replied instantly, so she didn’t wait for it. She was at Stiles’ office now, thinking of places where Dana could hang out when her phone suddenly vibrated in her pocket. She almost jumped, and hurriedly took out her phone. It was Dana!

“Oh my god, where are you? We’ve been calling for---”

She stopped when she heard heavy breathing at the other line. Then crying.

“Clara--- Clara---” a shaky voice answered.

“Dana? Hello? What’s happening? Where are you?” Stiles was at his desk, and he suddenly turned to Clara, surprised at the urgency in her voice.

“Clara-- it’s dark, I can’t see anything--” Dana was crying, and her voice was shaking.

“What the--? Calm down, don’t cry, what happened? Tell me!”

“I f-fainted, my head hurt, it h-hurt so much,” Dana couldn’t talk well, she was stuttering, and her heavy breathing made Clara hard to understand her. “I can’t move, I can’t move my legs..” she cried. 

“Dana, tell me where you are!” Clara ran out to Stiles’ car, and he followed suit. He started the car instantly; they just need to know now where Dana was.

“It’s c-cold, I can’t see, I can’t breathe..” Dana was crying and her voice was shaky, and it was like she was shivering.

“Dana, where are you?! We’re coming to get you!”

“W-w-wishing well, back of the.. wishing well, back.. hurry.” Her words were beginning to slur, and Clara wanted to cry.

“Dana! Please! Tell me exactly where you are!”

But there was silence on the other line. Then a beep.

The call had ended.

“No! No!” Clara shouted. She tried calling Dana again, but it kept saying the caller cannot be reached. Her phone must’ve died. Clara cried out of panic.

“Clara, calm down. What did she say?” Stiles asked in an urgent but calm voice. Clara explained all what Dana said, and cried. Stiles was filled with dread. “We’ll try to find her, try to call anyone, ask anyone.”

The image of Dana after the accident flashed again in Clara’s mind.

Her breathing was labored, tears streamed down her face, and she kept screaming, pleading them to make the pain stop. Dana was sedated over and over, and every time she would remember anything about the car crash, the screams and the pain would start.

When Dana had a car accident three years ago, the impact was so terrible that she suffered internal bleeding in her brain. She almost didn’t survive. She was traumatized by the incident, and she temporarily had amnesia. But it mas much worse than amnesia because every time she remembers anything related to the accident, she feels pain.

They kept watch over her for the past years during her therapy to get rid of her trauma because she was at high risk for another internal bleeding in the brain.

Clara closed her eyes tight and pleaded. She didn’t want to think of the worst case scenario, but it was there.

That the internal bleeding in Dana’s brain was starting again.

✨ The Star & His First Love

🌟 Story Masterlist

[simplyoriginalcharacters]

Kit Imane

Audience: Teenagers, specifically those who are into fantasy/adventure stories

Setting: Macalgia, a parallel world of Earth where Pangaea did not break apart, magic exists, and humanity is one of six intellectual species. Thanks to five deities using their powers to immobilize Macalgia’s tectonic plates, the dimensional barrier between Earth and Macalgia have weaken. This has allowed humans in Macalgia to discover Earth a few decades before the start of the main story. Although the knowledge of Earth have been kept from the public, certain inhabitants of Macalgia used magic to take objects, such as computers, that did not exist in their world. As such, people on Macalgia can communicate with people on Earth through the Internet.

Hi! This is D with your profile review. Kit's full profile and review are under the cut.

 A civil war is threatening to break apart the only “human” country. A large number of people have lost faith in the royal family. United under the Cursed Lord, the Rebel Army needs a plan to overthrow the current king. In order to gain new ideas and technology, the Rebel Army decides to summon inhabitants of Earth. They ended up with five teenage girls, thanks to ignoring a myth of their world’s Pied Piper. (130 children from a foreign world were once summoned by the oldest goddess of Macalgia. She hoped to eventually integrate both worlds, but was eventually forced to send back the children after a year. These children kept the language, and resistance to Macalgian diseases, granted by the goddess.) This OC is one of the five foreign humans, all of whom were parts of the 130 children.

Purpose: A protagonist of an original story (that will hopefully be morally gray)

Additional Details: I am sorry if this is too long, I tried to shorten it to the basics without creating plot holes. I cut the things that are not as relevant to Kit’s central development (or to understanding the setting), so some things like the “beast pill” may sound odd. Their origin and purpose matter more to other main characters’ background/storyline, so I did not include it. Do you think that Kit is relatable/developed enough to be a main character? Also, based on Kit’s storyline, would you ever be interested in reading the story/the rest of this universe? Thank you

 Content:

Appearance: Kit is a 5’ teenager (12 at the beginning, 16 by the end of this story line) with dark brown eyes and long hair that reaches her waist. She is normally seen wearing a over-sized hoodie or coat with black dress pants. Like most people in Macalgia, Kit also carries around a weapon of choice (two swords in her case, although Kit is below-average in swordsmanship). After accepting a “beast pill,” orange and brown-striped cat ears sprout from her messy, light brown hair. Her unnaturally long, thin striped tail is usually curls like a snake around her right leg.

Personality: Kit is well-mannered, shy, and quiet, although she is not as passive as she tries to be. Given her sensitive and clingy personality, Kit is extremely attached to her friends and the people she finds interesting. She treats them the way she (subconsciously and consciously) wants to be treated, which involves being overprotected and doted on, making some feel that Kit believes they cannot protect themselves. While polite to most, Kit is also critical and distrustful of strangers, especially when they are friends of her friends due to jealousy and fear of getting tossed aside. She has really high expectations for people, particularly herself, which makes her prone to escapism, manipulation, and lying.

With her head often in the clouds, Kit is imaginative and artistically inclined. She is also very unathletic due to laziness (which partly stems from a desire to balance out her athletic best friend). Naturally playful – with a subconscious desire to unique and special – Kit tries to be unpredictable and amusing (often by imitating her favorite characters or tropes) around her friends, which often makes her come off as plain weird or geeky/nerdy.

Kit avoids looking into people’s eyes, so she keeps her head down or looks at something else while talking to other people (including friends she idolizes). She does not speak until a cue is given, whether it is silence or a command. She also tends to flinch away from strangers while staring at them with a bewildered or wary expression (a territorial glare in Kit’s mind).

Background/Story line: Kit is an undocumented immigrant who moved to the U.S. when she was a child. She loved fantasy/adventure anime and games, especially when it involves the “trapped in another world” trope. Kit wanted to be special like main characters, so she decided to change herself after feeling left out by her group of friends (which she thought only formed around her best and only friend). Her desire was to belong like everyone else. However, in an attempt to dye her hair, Kit accidentally spilled hair dye bleach onto said best friend– turning her hair white. In guilt and shame, Kit stopped instigating any conversation with all four of her friends, but was dismayed when her friends did not try hard to involve her in their conversations or activities. She wished upon a star for an adventure which could fix all of her friendships like in anime, and ended up getting one.

Trapped in Macalgia with the four friends, Kit tried to impress her friends by being genre-savvy (in both anime and undocumented immigration) but soon felt overshadowed by the couple who took all of them in (when the wife figured out they came from Earth). The couple had provided for all of their needs, and even enrolled them in a 2-year training academy to prepare them for their new world. Yet, when the whole town was killed by the Cursed Lord’s army, Kit was more bothered by her friends’ tears than the couple’s death. To her shame, Kit also knew she was even more bothered by the fact that the holy sword (which had been protected by the couple and the goal of the attack on the town) chose her best friend, not her.

In order to accept that she can never be as talented or popular as her friends even in this world, Kit praised and tried her best to support her friends at every opportunity. In order to avoid potential resentment, she also denied or downplayed any compliments to her skills in image summoning (a type of magic that materializes the summoner’s conscious thoughts as long as he/she can project and control the image in his/her mind). She hoped they would recognize and appreciate her loyalty and efforts, but when the group starts to fall apart due to conflicting goals, Kit slowly began to favor her summons because they are completely in her control.

Unwilling to give up on her friendships and ideals, however, Kit entered all of them into a fighting tournament. She convinced them with a speech about how they needed to raise funds for their goal, whether it end up being revenge for the couple or returning to Earth. While she chose the tournament because the mysterious egg prize interested her, Kit also made sure to form two teams: she and her friends on one team, her friends’ friends on the other team. When questioned, she explained that she divided them based on experiences and skill sets.

Out of everything she considered, Kit did not expect to meet up with what she believed to be her group’s arch-enemies: Cursed Lord, who turned out to be a teenager like them. Since her friends hated him at first sight, due to having caused the massacre of the town, Kit tried to feel the same way. She ended up getting lured to his side. In addition to telling her that she was special and that he wanted to become her friend, he gave her a rare “beast pill.” Lured by the promise of gaining cat ears and tail, in addition to power, Kit accepted and fell into a coma wrapped in cocoon. When she finally emerged three days later, Kit found out that her team lost an important battle through disqualification (insufficient members). She caused them to lose the first place they deserved.

Furious with herself (since she fell for the lie about the pill’s time requirement), Kit volunteered to participate in the battle royale which would determine second place. Taunted by an opponent, who told her to grow up when he noticed that she gave personalities to her image summons, Kit lost control of her new physical strengths. Drunk on the feeling of superiority, she almost killed the comrade of her opponent (who is a stranger to everyone she knew, unlike the opponent who charmed one of her friends a few days ago). Due to winning the battle royale, Kit’s team won second place, earning the egg and some funds.

When Kit found that her friends were indeed horrified with her new self, Kit thought about becoming a “solo player.” She decided against it because of the egg. It would be better if the creature could be raised and protected by her friends too. However, due to plans Kit could not agree with (handing over the egg to someone who wanted to destroy it because Kit almost killed him), she decided to escape with the egg. Since she had nowhere else to go, Kit ended up as a puppet/pet of the Cursed Lord.

After a few months in which she could only interact with her summons and the Cursed Lord, Kit decided she was fine with that – as long as she was his only “beloved pet.” Though Kit claimed she had enough of one-sided friendships, she used her summons to keep tracts of her Earthling friends. Kit was able to do this because her subconscious maintained those summons out of strong emotions (curiosity, jealousy, and/or concerns for her friends’ safety).

When the civil war finally started a year after she joined the rebels’ army, Kit submissively followed the Cursed Lord’s orders, which ranged from researching online information to slaughtering towns with summoned monsters. Soon, Kit became indifferent to the orders – retreating faraway by imagining that it was only a game, and that she would be forgiven like all those main characters in fiction. It took a in-person confrontation with one of her friends (as well as insults by said friend’s new boyfriend) to remind Kit that she is just running away from reality. Frustrated with the world to the point she could not concentrate enough to summon anything, Kit took the egg out of its incubator and hugged it to sleep. She woke up to a baby chimera licking away her tears, before biting her shoulder.

Through raising the chimera, Kit learned to accept that every creature has their flaws and virtues. As Kit became less self-centered, she started to appreciate people and relationships for what they are. She stopped idealizing the Cursed Lord as the “hero antagonist,” and stopped hoping that her friends would grow to become the “keys to ending the war.” Kit then decided to help everyone she had grown to love without choosing a side. She decided to protect all the places in which she could belong, even if it meant secretly betraying all of them.

To her delight and guilt, Kit’s complete submission and obedience had given her the Cursed Lord’s trust. With access to classified information and strings to pull, Kit decided to become a double agent. Aiding all three fractions involved in the civil war from the shadows, Kit sacrificed hundreds of strangers in order to keep all of her loved ones (now including her friends’ loved ones) alive by the end of the war.

Although she originally did not care whether the Cursed Lord live or die by the end of the war, Kit changed her mind once she found out that he was one of her online friends. Her text conversations with him caused the Cursed Lord to summon them to Macalgia. Grateful for that, Kit came to see the Cursed Lord as a friend she must protect as well.

At the end of the war, the Cursed Lord died. He was killed because of the plan Kit had ignored until she realized she cared. Although she experienced grief and a sense of failure, Kit tried to focus on being grateful that everyone else (the people she knew, even if some of them no longer desire her friendship after learning what she did for “their sake”) made it out alive. She was grateful for peace and missed her parents, but did not want to go back to Earth (where she would be powerless and unwanted by the government anyways). Kit also felt she had fought and sacrificed too much to simply give up her place in Macalgia– even when commanded to do so by its deities. Since Kit could not speak out against the deities or her friends, the most of whom wanted to return to Earth, Kit chose to secretly secure a way back to Macalgia.

Performing a forbidden magic (which she first used for another character near the beginning of the story), Kit summoned the Cursed Lord’s soul. Believing that it would play out like the classic “sharing a body” trope, with the added benefit of being able to use the Cursed Lord’s legendary weapon (which he had used to bring them to Macalgia), Kit did not realize that she would eventually lose her sense of self as her soul merges with the Cursed Lord’s in accordance to universal laws.

Although Kit had been communicating with them regularly through emails (a privilege granted by her position in the Rebel Army), Kit found herself crying as she was embraced by her parents and younger siblings – one of whom was born while she lived in Macalgia. Realizing that she missed four years worth of peace and familial memories (all in exchange for a violent, bittersweet adventure) a small part of Kit wondered if it was truly worth it.

Sidenote: I left out Kit’s impact on the other characters (both positive and negative ones) and some consequences of her actions (e.g. the impact Kit’s animal features have on her school and social life on Earth, the consequences of having a sword in a house with little kids, the strain of keeping a lot of secrets while having to live 24/7 with a male spirit, etc) since those deal more with the post-story or extra materials I might draw.

First things first, Kit's profile could benefit from some significant restructuring. There's a lot of information crammed into not a lot of categories (especially the Background/Story Line section) which makes the profile feel disorganized and meandering. Having more sections with specific coverage would make things easier to read and refer to later, as well as help the explanations and details stick in reader's minds. The SOC blog has a profile temple that provides all of the categories we usually recommend in an established order, if you'd like to reformat Kit's profile using that.

Moving on to the actual substance of the profile, I think Kit will need some serious retooling. As written she comes across as far too passive and self-defeating. She's not very proactive, and the moments of agency she does have all end up turning back on her in some unforeseen failure. While I understand the inspiration from anime-themed tropes and story choices, they don't really pan out in a way that creates much investment. Kit's over obsession with archetypes takes away any realistic perception of the circumstances she's in, and the overall reliance on them for the plot is either too simple or too convoluted to offer much interest. Even for a protagonist as young as Kit it seems very contrived. I'd suggest trimming down the reliance on tropes overall, but especially for Kit herself. Build her up as a more active character, one that is allowed to have some successes surrounding and integrated with her hardships. If all she does in the story is fail and mope about her place in-life, that doesn't really build much for the reader to get invested in (either for Kit herself or the story).

Something that I think would help in that direction is that if Kit were given something she is objectively good at. As written the only thing that Kit is particularly noteworthy at is summons and even that blows up in her face with the Curse Lord. The only other particular mention in the profile was that she carries around swords, but isn't actually skilled at using them. I don't understand why she would carry around weapons she isn't good at using – it just isn't practical. Giving Kit something in-particular that she is good at (and allowing her to use that to earn actual successes) will show that there are stakes and consequences for her actions. In addition to just making Kit's arc and progression more enjoyable and meaningful, it leaves the reader unsure of what the outcome will be (rather than assuming Kit will screw up just like all the other times she has).

On the same token, give Kit something she's competent at socially as well. As written she's an extremely passive character who doesn't really seem like a protagonist. To give an example, the first instance of Kit's social skills shown in the profile is when she accidentally spills dye on one of her friends' hair and turns it white. Her response is to shut down completely and effectively alienate herself from her group of friends over what is at best a temporary mistake (and it's not even mentioned that the other child was upset or how much it even bothered them to begin with). That trend of exceptional overreaction continues through the majority of Kit's other social instances, to the point where the anxiety and self-guilt aspects of her personality overshadow just about everything else about her. Cutting these aspects back to more reasonable levels would make Kit's presentation much more balanced, rather than frustrating and one-note. Play up her playfulness and allow Kit to actually be funny, rather than coming off as 'weird' to her friends (besides, if all they do is consider her odd/strange, why does she hang out with them in the first place?). Let other aspects of Kit's personality shine through more and show how her friends relate to them.

Speaking of Kit's friends, a Relationship section would do a lot to improve this area of the profile as well. As is, the vast majority of the mention of Kit's friends are how they either ignore her, mistrust her, or see her as a freak (due to the beast pill) or a failure (due to her mistakes). None of these are positive relationships, and does very little to making a convincing argument that Kit should sacrifice so much for people who care so little about her. Honestly, her friends come across as more vehement antagonists than the actual plot antagonist does. Give them actual relationships, likes and dislikes, and show why Kit is actually friends with these people (and why they are friends with Kit in-turn). Give them names and a bit of identity to show how they interconnect. Kit's profile should be about her primarily, but a person's relationships help define and show what kind of person they are (in addition to giving the reader more to get invested in). The same goes for Kit's family – show how Kit is connected to them, and how her parents' influence has helped shape her into the person that she is. Did they encourage her artistic side? Do they not understand her hobbies but want her to be happy with them nonetheless? Do they put a lot of expectations on her, or just let Kit do whatever she wants? There's a lot to explore here that would round out Kit's personality and make her connection to other characters more significant, it just needs to be included.

Back to the topic of Kit herself, given the nature of the story and your target audience, I'd suggest aging her and her friends up. Having her be sixteen or so and become an adult as the plot progresses would make all of the increasingly hard choices and more dire circumstances of the novel better reflect her growth. As written, Kit starting the story at twelve doesn't really give room to even expect her to succeed at any of the things she's supposed to be trying. Her age makes the failures unsurprising and the successes implausible, which curtails a lot of potential impact the story has on the reader (and gives them less room to get attached to any impact is has on Kit). Magical alternate dimension or not, Kit would still be a kid and should still have the mentality of one. That's not to say that Kit should be portrayed as unintelligent or unobservant, but it does naturally limit the things she should be able to understand, articulate, and accomplish to the point that it makes some of the other proposed aspects seem somewhat absurd. Making Kit an older teenager at the start would curtail all of these issues and give her an innate expectation of being 'more capable,' in addition to making her adaptation to Macalgia more understandable (as well as make her reactions to the events around her more tangible and nuanced, given that she'd be able to process them better).

Regarding Kit's Background/Story Line, to start off I don't think the story line should be included. It's a good thing that you've considered it and put so much work into it, but in the context of a character profile all that does is give away what's going to happen to Kit and how she'll change as the plot progresses. A profile should be 'This is who my character is' as opposed to 'This is who my character is, who they will be, and why they'll become that person.' At that point it's moved beyond the character themselves to summarizing the entire story. Cut out the story line and focus more on Kit's Background. This section doesn't have to be exhaustive, and given Kit's age (either her current age or my suggested older one) there shouldn't be all that much to it anyway. Cover any major personality shaping events, give an overview of Kit's life, and leave the background to end at where Kit starts off at the beginning of the story. That keeps the focus on her identity, doesn't give away any spoilers, trims down the length of the profile considerably, and gives readers a more solid latching on point to continue with.

All in all, while there are some neat ideas in Kit's profile I don't think she makes a very effective protagonist as is. Too much of her personality is buried under over-exaggerated negative aspects, the over-reliance on tropes negates a lot of potential for characterization/critical thinking on Kit's part (and thus actual agency in the plot), and her current progression is mostly moving from one bad decision to the next. That isn't to say that Kit can't start out her story as an imbalanced person who makes mistakes – that's actually a pretty effective character arc. Just that it shouldn't be as so extreme (and that she should learn from it, eventually). Balance out her identity, let her friends actually be her friends, and show how Kit learns from her actions rather than being forced to continually blame herself for them and I think you'll have a much more effective protagonist.

I hope this helps!

-D