#inkfrastructure-asks

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Description Game! This character is a warrior born in a dark place. They are friends with a dwarf, the dwarf's human daughter, & a halfling that can't seem to avoid trouble. They wield two enchanted scimitars and a few strange spells. They're very determined, dedicated to protecting life, and proving most people are more than their race's reputation. They also have a powerful familiar companion.

Okay so I clearly have not read this book, but whatever it is, I want to read it!!

When I read “Friends with a dwarf,” my brain screamed “Legolas!” 

Of course, .5 seconds later the dwarf’s human daughter threw that guess off. 

Also, I thought this might be in reference to The Witcher because of the two swords and limited spells thing. Obviously not Geralt, though. :D.

I don’t think I have a good answer. You win this time, cookie! 

Also, please tell me what series this is so I can read it! :)

Everyone, drop a description of your fav book character in my ask box and I’ll guess who it is (without googling it).

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Description Game: She is a traitor and a thief with mysterious powers normally held by the nobility. Using those powers and the connections of the truly unusual leader of her band of thieves, her job is to infiltrate the nobility and overthrow an empire.

Your favorite character is Vin from Mistborn??

(there were maybe more accurate images, but this one is sooo cute!)Everyone, drop a description of your fav book character in my ask box and I’ll guess who it is (without googling it).

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a drop of ink a grain of sand can you touch the skies? you betts i can

I absolutely love this! You’ve captured me and my blog perfectly in this one little verse. 

Thank you

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For the book title meme: The Winter Prince

The winter Prince is about a prince (obviously) who runs away from his obligations at the worst possible time. As winter begins to settle in he must learn to survive and figure out how to help all of the defenseless animals and children he happens to find along the way.As winter continues at an unnaturally long pace, our dear Prince realizes that something evil is afoot. After a series of struggles, he returns to his kingdom with a small army of dependents following after him. Upon returning to his castle, he discovers that it is his own uncle who has extended the winter magically in hopes that it would kill the Prince.Using all of the skills and powers that he developed during his time away, the winter Prince takes on his uncle in a icy battle. With the help of all people the Prince aided along the way he defeats his evil uncle and takes back his kingdom, vowing to protect everyone under his domain.

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Happy STS! What was your OCs biggest failure?

Nate’s biggest failure happens in Whisper Code, so spoilers. ;)

His second greatest failure happened when he was fifteen. He and Audry were just getting started and they’d had a few successful cases. He was high on the ability to get away with helping people and his overconfidence led to three people being arrested, and one of them being executed on national television.

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Ok, you said to send a description of our favorite character. My favorite character could be considered evil, she started a war and refused to sing a peace treaty, twice. She is also not a human, and is always compared to her sister, even by her mother saying "why can'y you be like you're sister". She loved exploring and making maps.

I thought long and hard about this one and still couldn’t come up with anything. 

Like, I couldn’t even think of a halfway match...

Please tell me, my curiosity is killing me!

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happy late STS! what is your main OCs fondest childhood memory?

Hi! Thank you for asking! This is my first STS and it took me a while to get around to it.After Nate took Audry under his wing, there is one particular memory that sticks with him. 

Things were not always as easy between the two of them as they are when we first meet them in Trade Secrets. They didn't trust each other and Audry was always going off on her own. 

One day she had been gone for over four hours when she raced into the abandoned building they were living in and locked the door behind her. Before Nate could even ask what was going on, she thrust a pile of prepackaged Twinkies and other desserts into his hands and started to cry.

When he asked what was wrong she started sobbing about how she had hacked one of the food dispensers to give her all of those treats, but she'd seen someone watching her, and so she had been wandering the city for the past two hours trying to make sure that she didn't lead anybody back to their home. 

Despite the fact that Audrey was so upset and there was still a risk that she hadn't lost the person who might've been following her, Nate was still ecstatic because she had come to him with the truth and she had called that place their home for the first time. They were becoming a family and they would get through anything that life through them as long as they stuck together.

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What are your characters' Achilles Heels? (greatest flaws) | Are your characters based on anybody in real life, whether it be someone you know personally or a celebrity? | Where did you get inspiration for your story?

My Character’s Achilles Heels: 

Nate: He’s a sucker for someone in need, to the point of sacrificing himself.

Cooper: Panic Action. He’ll go to extremes to bring life back into balance 

Audry: Her faith in humanity despite all the tragedy she’s seen.

Nate is based on a conglomeration of people, including Stiles from Teenwolf, Sherlock Holmes, and Eureka’s Zane Donovan (i did not realize they shared a surname until much later). Cooper is based on a character I created when I was 15, whose name was Conner, and who didn’t start with any celebrity basis. 

Audry didn’t have a celebrity basis either, but I just watched The Order and Alyssa comes reall close to looking exactly how I imagined her. 

The inspiration for The Donovan Chronicles started with a combination of a few things. The first was my desire to have more gay crime fiction and queer noir. The second was my own internal running commentary about the financial and governmental systems of America. Then came the conversation around North Korea and their limits during the Olympics.  Also every OTP I’ve ever had inspires me to write Nate/Cooper. 

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Trick or treat 👻

You got heads (and i finally got my assignment done so I can do this now!)Here’s a snippet from The Donovan Chronicles: Whisper Code Chapter 1

                                                          ∞

It was more noise than I'd made all dayand it still wasn't enough. I wanted to throw something just to hear it break.I wanted to scream just to hear my own voice again. Just to make sure I stillcould. 

I knew better than to try. 

Along withthe threat of death that hung over me like Damascus's blade if I spoke the truth, therewere also the King family mourning rituals to consider. A simple line of code activatedin my chip ensured that I would maintain my six months of silence. One smallword could have me flat on my back, the jolt of electricity to my Pons Varolii incapacitating me in the worstway. 

There were people out there who hadattempted to remove their chips, or jerked back at the wrong time during a chipalteration procedure, and the resulting damage to that section of their brain leftthem to a fate more terrible than death. I shuddered at the thought of being lockedinside my own body with only the ability to blink. Kept alive for up to twenty yearswithout a say in my own well-being and housed in cesspools of filth andpoverty. 

It was enough to keep me quiet. I wouldn’t risk even the smallest ofsounds if there was even a chance of ending up like that. 

Send me an ask with Trick or Treat and I’ll flip a coin to decide if I give you a snippet or a writing challenge!

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Nate Donovan has never gone a day in his life without smoke in his lungs and a lie on his lips.

The secret to his success has always been his refusal to get involved in his client’s lives. Yet, when a handsome and troubled young man arrives on his stoop cloaked in lies and desperation he can’t bring himself to turn the stranger away.

As the truth unravels around him, Nate finds his resolve to keep his client at arm’s length unraveling as well. One errant comment will drag them both into a web of conspiracy and misinformation spanning decades, and as he breaks every rule of his trade to keep Cooper Hall alive, Nate may find that the truth is far more dangerous than any lie he’s ever told.

This is going to be the main post I use to link people to everything they need to know about Trade Secrets. Block Trade Secrets Masterpost if you get sick of seeing it. 

The inspirations for this story are many and varied, but some of the few that are easy to pick up on are: BBC Sherlock queerbaiting had me salty. This is my version of aloof detective meets spiraling cutie and everything falls apart around them. 

I won’t tell you they get a happily ever after, but they will end up together. No queerbaiting or buried gays. 

Other inspirations for this story are the current political climate in America, the fake news movement, a specific Riverdale noir style fanfic, a specific Johnlock fanfic (who are we kidding, like 30 of these), and my co-worker who originally inspired the parts of Nate Donovan that aren’t explicitly Sherlock Holmsian. 

My Main Boys:

Nathan Donovan: 

Bisexual Detective type.

Knows you better than you know yourself

Grump with a heart of gold

Nicest Asshole

Cooper Hall:

Sanctuary Socialite knee deep in trouble

Always exactly where he shouldn’t be

go ahead, underestimate him

They’re both stubborn and it’s complicated. 

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