OC Vs A Cockroach

OC vs a Cockroach

Thanks for the Tag, @anyablackwood!

I'll answer it for Realms of Loss for this one, because I did this tag for Enchanted Illusions the last time!

Prince Archyvel of Sarythea: ????0/10 Are you kidding me?! This boy is the most spoiled person one could ever hope to meet, he's the baby brother of the King! Archyvel was raised with a silver spoon in a palace with an older brother who sheltered him every day of his life and their stepmom who was way too nice to him. If this kid sees a cockroach he's having the mental breakdown of the century - he'd scream, cry, nearly puke, and promptly run away, likely calling out to Mehri - his valet/assistant - to deal with the "revolting beast".

Mehri: 10/10 Would pick the roach up with his bare hands and gingerly lead it to the garden or somewhere far away from his prince. Is very adamant that "this little insect is just another sweet form of life that should be cherished, not hurt".

Nesrynna Alorai: 8/10 Has more important things to worry about so she doesn't bother, just walks away unless asked to do something about it. Will obliterate the roach if it gets too close to her personal space or starts to fly.

Gwain Vytris: 3/10 Hates insects, especially roaches because they feel unclean (he hates feeling/being dirty) and bring back bad memories of his childhood in the slums and forests of the Outer Cities. Usually, he won't have a breakdown or really show much of his disgust aloud, will step/jump on the thing until it's dead, or simply walk away. But if it flies and somehow gets in his hair lots of loud cursing, screaming and a lot of crying will be heard, though he'll carry on like nothing happened and stoically pretend he wasn't disturbed after the insect is dealt with.

Kassien Vann: 11/10 Somehow perfectly hits it with an arrow or drowns it with his magic, every time, he never once misses.

Adaria Vytris: 10/10 Goes full exterminator on the insect, with the wrath of a thousand suns. It won't even see her coming until it's too late. She also hates bugs, but instead of being scared/disgusted she just has a fiery hatred towards them. Will continue to stomp on the roach long after it's just goo on the floor.

Lucian Dhaeras: 8/10 Has one of his stray cats catch it and lets them play with it. If they aren't around, he is very weird about it: might set it on fire.

Drystan Earell: 10???/10 Will automatically consume its life force to fuel his magic, thus disintegrating it into ash.

Viktoras Aeravi: 7/10 Does nothing about it, just locks it in the room and makes it someone else's problem, like the little rascal he is.

Teivel: 9/10 Watches it silently from a distance and feels disgusted that a part of him - the one that was trapped in a dirty Avillorian cell for almost five years with little to no food and some days forgets he's free - even considers eating it. Feels depressed.

Delyan Sorkip: 2/10 Is the person who finds the roach Viktoras neglected to kill, usually after it crawled onto his bed at 2AM. Nearly has a heart attack, kills the roach like a normal person, and storms out of the room in tearful rage ready to start a fight with Viktoras and the Gods.

Sara Kallary: 4/10 Hates it with every fiber of her being, and even though she could probably destroy it to hell and back manages to miss it every time she tries to hit it and even if she does stomp on it the roach doesn't die. Angrily calls out to her murderous boyfriend Drystan to deal with the roach properly.

Gwynnifer: 10/10 Doesn't mind it at all and is unbothered about it. Will catch it in a jar, carefully study it and keep it alive like a pet for weeks until either: 1. it dies, 2. she sets it free, 3. she feeds it to her bonded Drakyna, who plays with it like the giant lizard-cat it is.

Tagging: @clairelsonao3, @steh-lar-uh-nuhs, @gummybugg, @meerawrites, @oh-no-another-idea, @tabswrites, @ashen-crest, @writernopal and @elshells

I'm glad you liked the question, @oh-no-another-idea! Thanks for turning it around, I'll try to answer it! (:

I am a huge fan of worldbuilding, so most of my WIPs are very high fantasy settings, lmao. I've mentioned the pantheon of gods from The Last Wrath and Tales of Wilted Flowers in a few other posts, so in this one, I'll cover the pantheon of Celestials from Realms of Loss - which happens to be a huge part of the story, because some of the MCs are half-deities and the plot vastly revolves around the return of a dead god (who is actually a demigod ascended into Godhood, but details, details...)

In Helvastte, the main continent of that WIP, the actual Old Gods are dead, having perished in a dreadful battle centuries prior, which ravaged the lands and caused the appearance of a terrible curse. So, the main deities who rule over and are worshipped in Helvastte are the Celestials, who were born of the remnant strings of magic from Ichor, the blood of the Gods, after the fall of the first pantheon.

Celestials are immortal and incredibly powerful beings, but not nearly as powerful as the Old Gods. For example, Celestials cannot create or destroy worlds, which the Old Gods could easily do, nor change the Tides of Fate, which didn't affect the Old Gods. They also aren't immune to the Forgotten Curse, because - much like them - it was created out of the Ichor spilt by the Old Gods in their battle.

But what can Celestials do in Helvastte? They hold incredible power over specific domains, such as the Storms, Chaos, or Marriage to name a few - and so, because of this, there are many demigods, some more or less powerful than others depending on their Domain. They are also magical entities and have a lot - and I mean a lot - of sway over the decisions and wars waged by the human kingdoms sworn to them. They can be patrons of some specific orders of Casters, and often sire half-deities, known as Divine Heralds, who are the magical elite of the realms - the most powerful kinds of mortals.

For example of a half-deity in the actual story, Kassien Vann was a highly trained Divine Herald of the elite royal guard, son of the Celestial of Storms, Moyrah, and a human man.

There are two rival Celestial Courts in Helvastte, which favor specific human kingdoms in their neverending war to decide who will rule what remains of the continent, as conquests are paramount for survival in a land ravaged by a curse even the Celestials aren't immune to. Some Celestials aren't a part of the Courts and are often called the Unseen.

Happy WBW, Cass!

In the world of your WIP, is there a main pantheon of deities/gods that is worshipped? Are they actual celestial beings that exist or are they figments of the people's imagination? If they exist, do they have anything to do with the magic that exists in that world?

Hello, pal, thanks for the ask! <3 Man you've managed to hit me right in the chink of my armor! As a writer who is low on world building, I don't think a single one of my WIPs has any sort of new or imaginative religions/gods. 😭

This is still a terrific question though--may I turn it around and ask YOU the same? 💛

Happy late in the day STS, Mystic!

In your opinion, what's the one totally unique thing that sets Tales of Wilted Flowers apart from all other stories?

Happy STS, Claire! Thank you so much for the Ask, @clairelsonao3!

I guess one of the most unique things in that WIP are the dark fairytale vibe that permeates the story and some worldbuilding aspects which I'm really proud of (such as):

I'm really, really happy with the lore I created regarding Ravaryn's dryads and their home, the Whispering Forests. I tried to stay true to aspects of the original dryad myths while giving my own spin to them. Plus writing the dryad culture and lore in this WIP is really different from that of the other Seelies (such as elves, vampyrs, and faeries) in the book, so it's really a delight for me!

The fact that vampyrs (vampires) in Ravaryn are just more ravenous, blood-drinking faeries, who experience human emotions and are not necessarily undead. I just find that idea rather neat.

Messing around with the "Chosen One" trope and making the villain be the actual (corrupt) chosen one and one of the heroes be a supposedly "doomed by the narrative" type of character (Caladin).

happy WBW! what are superstitions like in your wip(s)? are any of your characters particularly superstitious or particularly skeptical?

Thank you for the ask, @ashen-crest!

I'll answer this one for my medieval dark fantasy WIP, Realms of Loss!

What are superstitions like in your WIP(s)?

There certainly is a lot of superstition in the world of Realms of Loss, the continent of Helvastte, especially since it is basically a land torn by an ages-old war and a dangerous ever-spreading curse brought by the death of the Old Gods, where the survivors battle for power. In a world like that, there are bound to be a lot of myths and stories that get twisted up through time and turn into popular superstitions - some that are true, others that are just myths born out of fear and lack of information.

For example, in the Outer Cities of the citadel of Avillore (one of the main kingdoms bound in the neverending war that tears the land apart), it is a common children's superstition that leaving a window open at night invites evil spirits that will snatch their souls away to eat them.

There are many dangers in the Outer Cities, (which are the abandoned outskirts of villages beyond the protective walls of the Citadels) - the blood plague, hungry beasts from the winter forests, and actual black market merchants dubbed the Soul Traders - so this superstition about closing windows at night was likely born as a cautionary tale told by parents or older siblings wanting to keep the children safe.

Another example of superstition in Helvastte belongs to the people of Sarythea, who believe that, on the eve of the Solstice, one must knock three times on the doorframe of a new house one's been invited to and invoke the names of their Celestial Court of choice, as a way to wish protection upon oneself and the owners of the house for another prosperous year.

While the Celestial Courts and magic do exist in the realms, it is unclear whether following this superstition actually changes anything. It is likely a harmless superstition meant to keep people at ease, and it isn't clear where this habit actually started or why.

Are any of your characters particularly superstitious or particularly skeptical?

Most Superstitious - Viktoras Aeravi, the bastard son of the Watcher Lord of the Far Reach, is one of the most superstitious characters in Realms of Loss, but not in an obsessive way, rather just because tradition is everything to him and one of the pillars where he finds his personal worth. He believes strongly in the power of one's will and that following superstition is a harmless, but important, way to show he belongs in the culture he was born into (a sense of home he feels he lacks due to his bastard birth).

Particularly Skeptical - Gwain Vytris, a thief of the Guild and Adaria Vytris' older brother, has been through many hardships in the Outer Cities and spent most of his life ensuring the continued survival of his younger siblings - but going through all of this at a very young age changed him into a rather jaded, fatalistic and pragmatic person. He believes that both royalty and the Celestial Courts have abandoned them, and that being superstitious is just another way to sugarcoat this fact.

Ask Game for someone’s OC(s)

✨- How did you come up with the OC’s name?

🌼 - How old are they? (Or approximate age range)

🌺- Do they have any love interest(s)?

🍕 - What is their favorite food?

💼 - What do they do for a living?

🎹 - Do they have any hobbies?

🎯 -What do they do best?

🥊 -What do they love to do? What do they hate to do?

❤️ - What is one of your OC’s best memories?

✂️ - What is one of your OC’s worst memories?

🧊 - Is their current design the first one?

🍀 - What originally inspired the OC?

🌂 - What genre do they belong in?

💚 - What is your OC’s gender identity and sexuality?

🙌 - How many sibling does your OC have?

🍎 - What is the OC’s relationship w/their parents like?

🧠 - What do you like most about the OC?

✏️ - How often do you draw/write about the OC?

💎 - Do you ever see yourself killing off the OC?

💀 - Does your OC have any phobias?

🍩 -Who is your OC’s arch-nemesis or rival?

🎓 - How long have you had the OC?

🍥 - What age were you when you created the OC?

OC in 3 Tag!

Thanks for the Tag, @tabswrites!

Tagging (gently, with no pressure): @oh-no-another-idea, @sm-writes-chaos, @writernopal, @clairelsonao3, @rickie-the-storyteller and @steh-lar-uh-nuhs

Rules - Post three pictures that represent your OC

I chose three pictures that represent my OC Rylisan from Tales of Wilted Flowers because I've been obsessed with developing the backstory of this sad, traumatized, adorable elf boy these past few days.