Space Opera Playlists

⋆⁺₊✧ Space Opera Playlists ✧₊⁺⋆

(thanks @i-can-even-burn-salad for inspiring me with your ask lol)

Character Aesthetic Playlist - Marcus Kallihan (Enchanted Illusions)

"His hands and guns were drenched in enough blood to haunt lifetimes. To Marcus, this never mattered, and never will - as long as each polluted drop gets him closer to his sweet revenge, he'll keep pulling the trigger."

Russian Roullete - Charlie Who ?

You Can Run - Adam Jones

Running - NF

Laplace's Angel (Hurt People? Hurt People!) - Will Wood

99 Problems - Hugo

I'm Dangerous - The Everlove

Sarcasm - Get Scared

Take Me to Church - Hozier

Twisted - MISSIO

Popular Monster - Falling In Reverse

Hey Brother - Jakob Samuel

Killing Butterflies - Lewis Blissett

Fighter - The Score

Birthday Cake - Dylan Conrique

Mind Is a Prison - Alec Benjamin

Monster - Startset

Winter Nano 2023 @crowandmoonwriting

Last Line Tag ❄

Thanks for tagging me @spiced-wine-fic!

Here's my last few lines, from OCW:

Blood. That was the first priority. What to do about all this blood? 

I'm tagging (no pressure!): @sam-glade, @mysticstarlightduck, @writernopal, @moonluringfrost, @elshells

Happy STS! I'm asking about friendships and platonic relationships today, and I remember reading a snippet you posted about Evangeline and Ambrose from Enchanted Illusions. You mentioned they become best friends when Ambrose clumsily tries to steal an artifact from her mansion. Without being too spoilery, how did you decide to have them meet this way? Why did they become friends? What else do you like about their dynamic?

Happy (Late) Storyteller Saturday! I hope you don't mind my answering this a day late, I got a bit caught up on writing one of my WIPs! I love these questions.

Without being too spoilery, how did you decide to have them meet this way?

The main reason was that this was the most organic way I could think of to have these two characters from vastly different backgrounds meet, but also, there's an actual plot-related reason for this. Without exposing too much of the story - the person who hired Ambrose to steal that artifact also happens to be a serious enemy of Evangeline's family (it's worth noting that Ambrose didn't know this, he didn't even really know the person who hired him), and this unexpected connection between the duo allows Evangeline to discover a complicated conspiracy/assassination plot against her father, and allows Ambrose to finally get the chance to prove his skills as they kinda set out to ensure that conspiracy doesn't happen.

Why did they become friends?

Well, they're both incredibly intelligent but awkward cinnamon rolls with very specific interests/hobbies (who also happen to be similar). Evangeline wants a way to experience something more than her sightly suffocating noble life and Ambrose wants the chance to be the adventurer he always dreamt of being, but also pay a complicated debt. Evie wants to defeat her family's enemies before it is too late, Ambrose needs to pay his debt to the Hemlock Society (who also happen to be those enemies of hers) before they kill him (the very reason he accepted to try and steal a priceless artifact from one of the richest families in their city). At first, it's more of a "we are stuck in the same mess, so we might as well help each other", but it slowly turns into a real - and quite frankly wholesome -friendship.

What else do you like about their dynamic?

I think they match really well, as while their interests and hobbies are similar, their personalities couldn't be more different. This kinda makes for really great banter material! Evangeline is reckless and oftentimes impulsive, most of her ideas and plans being spontaneous or downright improvised, and who never really learned the concept of consequences or that planning is a thing - the personification of flying by the seat of her pants with feral confidence. Meanwhile, Ambrose is an anxious lil bean who prefers to plan every step of the way before he does something and second-guesses his decisions at least thrice before acting. So it leads to some situations where Evangeline is like "Let's do this! (has the worst, most dangerous idea on the planet which somehow works out)" and Ambrose is like "This is going to go wrong in so many different ways, please don't ..."

Character Aesthetic Playlist - Agatha Greenwoods (Enchanted Illusions)

"She was going to follow this trail of secrets until they led her to the answers she sought, this she was certain. They had always told her she was just like her father - so here's to hoping she can be just as stubborn as he'd been."

Houdini - Aviva

Middle Finger - Bohnes

This is Me - Keala Settle, The Greatest Showman

Home - Machine Gun Kelly, X Ambassadors & Bebe Rexha 

Something Wild - Lindsey Stirling

Start a War - Klergy, Valerie Broussard

Goodbye - Ramsey

On My Father's Wings - cover by Brittany J. Smith

No Time To Die - Billie Eilish

Hands Up - City Wolf

Invisible - Zara Larsson

The Beginning of the End - Klergy, Valerie Broussard

How Does a Moment Last Forever - Celine Dion

Speechless - Naomi Scott

Two Birds On a Wire - Regina Spektor

The Nights - Avicii

Winter Nano 2023 @crowandmoonwriting

Happy STS!

Which OC has been taking over your mind recently? What excites you about them?

~ @tabswrites

Happy Storyteller Saturday! Thank you so much for the ask, @tabswrites!

Which OC has been taking over your mind recently? What excites you about them?

Cailean Telkerly from Enchanted Illusions, Ahren Ellara from Tales of Wilted Flowers, and Adaria Vytris from Realms of Loss. Lemme explain (:

CAILEAN TELKERLY -

Cailean is one of my favorite characters in that book, being the rogue with a heart of gold archetype that I really, really love in fiction! Since I've been working on his POV backstory a lot lately, I've gotten to know his history a lot better, which only made me love this character even more. I'm excited about quite a lot of things about him, from his intricate past to his personality. He is a classy and witty con man/thief who specializes in stealing from the nobility and overall big targets. To make a very long story short, he agrees to help one of the protagonists (Agatha) because he believes using this partnership will get him rich (and because they have a common enemy), but ends up really falling in love with her in the process (which complicates and screws up his "this partnership is strictly business" plan quite a lot), which leads to a very much "star-crossed lovers" situation sometimes. Plus, he is really adorable in personality, because even though he is a petty criminal, he is also a really good person deep down beneath the opportunistic exterior he carefully crafted throughout the years - and is someone very charmingly sarcastic at that. Writing the growth of his relationship with Agatha, from strangers to partners/friends to lovers, is really, really rewarding, especially given their vastly different worldviews and experiences (and how much they fall in love with each other).

AHREN ELLARA -

I really like writing about Ahren because of his complexity, and his character arc in the first book - which goes from a hesitant good character to a morally grey character, as he ends up doing the wrong things for good reasons (as he was led to believe he had no other choice). He's a really tragic character and a good example of how a chaotic environment and constant pressure can change even the most resilient of people. Ahren had everything, and in the matter of one fateful night, he lost it all. He would do anything to restore his family name and keep his cousin safe, even if it takes making not-so-great choices and morally convoluted deals. The impact of the losses he suffered and the hardships he endured turned Ahren into someone slightly bitter and paranoid, certain that everyone was "out to get him" and that he had to be ruthless before the world has the chance to be ruthless to him - having a "the world was never fair to me, why should I be?" mindset. He is a good person and tried with every fiber of his being to remain so, but eventually, it all becomes too much for him to handle alone, which defines a turning point for his character in Book 1. Overall, a very compelling POV that has taken over a lot of my mind these days!

ADARIA VYTRIS -

There's something I really like about her backstory and motivations throughout the book, they feel very specific and genuine to her. I love writing about underdog characters who beat the odds and decide to take a stand about a system that has wronged them. Adaria is also incredibly loyal and protective of her family, which is the whole reason she embarks on this journey in the first place - to save her siblings. Her relationship with them is also a huge part of why I love her backstory so much! Adaria is a very hopeful character, preferring to believe that one day the future will be brighter - and she will fight to make sure that happens. The odds were always against her - she was just another street kid from the freezing outer cities, probably destined to starve or vanish, like so many before her, but she wanted more than that world could give her, she wanted to be more. To live, not just survive. She decided to challenge her destiny, with what tools she was given and will do whatever it takes to ensure this future for herself and those she loves. Another thing I really like about her is her friendship with Kassien Vann, a knight from Sarythea tasked with protecting a weapon she sets out to steal - their relationship goes from rivals to hesitant allies and finally friends, I really like it!