#but I’ve also introduced an OC who I’ve already grown attached to | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

byorder-fanfic · 4 years

Text

The Mechanical Dragon

Summary: Marion Qing was born with a spanner with her hand, and Arthur Shelby was born with a paintbrush in his. The two spend their youth in Charlie’s Yard, with Peaky caps proud on their heads. But what happens when war tears their lives apart?

Word count: 2499

Warnings: Mentions of racism, war, amputation, mental health

Author’s Note: This is an idea I’ve had for a while, and I hope I did alright. I have lots of Peaky Blinders OC one shots like this in my drafts, so look forward for some more! If I've said anything incorrect or offensive, please correct me. Hope you enjoy xx

Marion Qing was practically born with a spanner in her balled up fist. That's what her mother always proudly said to her friends, as they all watched the toddler graduate from jigsaw puzzles to pulling apart a clock that'd stopped ticking. Ever since she could walk, she had always trotted to where sparks flew and fires burnt as blacksmiths laboured over steel benches. Ever since she could talk, she had asked question after question about the hows and whys the mechanics worked. That was how she met the Shelbys. She had found her way through Small Heath to a little Yard that was thick in craftmanship and (although she did not know at the time) stolen bits and pieces she ached to tinker away at. Suffice to say, she had ran as fast as she could when a very surprised Charlie Strong found the ten year old sat on the floor, her grey dress thick in soot as she managed to work out how to fix the gramophone that had been collecting dust. Only, as she turned back to check that she wasn't being followed, she hurtled into the chest of a very surprised teenager, Arthur Shelby Jr, who had been sketching some horses from his Uncle's stables. After explaining her predicament, he had merely laughed and walked her back to Charlie, who was holding up the gramophone with an agape mouth that turned into a coy grin when he saw the girl slowly make her way back, holding hands with his eldest nephew.

"So, how'd you like a job?" He said. Although he'd deny it every time Arthur brought it up, the grumpy man managed the smallest ghost of a smile when Marion laughed and hugged him with her thin arms.

The rest is, as they say, history. Arthur had introduced her to the rest of his family, who had been more than welcoming to her. She and Tommy were the same age, and she was the best mentor for Ada, teaching the girl how to win fights against her brothers. Polly had been sceptical at first of the small girl with a loud voice and a joking personality to rival John's, but then Marion brought her a rose twisted from metal sheets she'd found, and her heart was taken with the little girl. The Shelbys had been her top defenders, fighting boys that made lewd comments and threatening to cut off the eyes from anyone who pulled their eyelids in a taunting manner. In response, she'd break the noses of anyone who threw slurs at the brothers and nearly killed one boy who'd gotten too handsy with Ada before the rest of them could lift a finger. Marion grew up like the boys, her skinny frame filling out into lean muscle and strong arms that proved she could fend for herself. She was a part of the Shelby siblings hand me down clothes cycle, always getting Arthur's old shirts and slacks that she'd have to cuff a dozen times to fit. She was permanently covered in oil and grease, which Tommy used as an excuse to avoid her plentiful hugs. Arthur, however, didn't care if he was in his Sunday best- he was already ready to drop whatever he was doing to hold the girl in his arms, coming away with second-hand stains and a big smile. When they joined the Peaky Blinders and rose their way to the top ranks, Marion had her very own razor blade cap that John had sewn for her (a little bit of his blood dried in the seams- he had nimble fingers, but it was a tricky project) as she paraded around Small Heath, safe and happy. Charlie was practically a father to her, since hers had died long ago, teaching her everything he knew and watching her learn things herself. As he got older, he'd just sit back and watch as Arthur and Marion slid under rusting cars, laughing along to their jokes and teasing that always occurred between the three musketeers of mechanics. When his sister died, Marion made him his very own frame with a black and white photo of the late Rose Shelby in. It was before the plague of Arthur Shelby Sr settled in her eyes, like death in the baby blue irises. She was shaking as she gave it to him, the only time she had, and ever will shake. She had been expecting a nonchalant reply or a little gruff huff, but he took her in his arms and hugged her tightly, whispering a soft 'thank you' in her ear.

When the boys went to war, she worked in the factory, building munitions for them to fight with. When she wasn't working, she was at Charlie's Yard to help out with the odd bit of work, and distract herself from missing the laughs of the Shelby brothers. She helped teach Finn to write when Polly was busy with business and Ada was off organising Communist meetings, and had helped him write many letters to be sent off to France. Sometimes, she'd help Martha with the kids, but she was never any good at babysitting. Rather, she fixed cribs and built a cot mobile for baby Katie. It was the second year after they'd left when the accident happened. Well, the factory called it an accident, but Marion knew it was a product of purposeful neglect and tight funds. As a particularly experience blacksmith, she'd been given the more technical work of building bombs and other explosives. One faulty piece of machinery, probably taken from Charlie instead of properly bought from a proper shop, and the trigger was set off. Thankfully, she had thrown it before she ended up all over the walls. Unthankfully, the explosion had blown her very heavy table (that was supposed to be secured onto the floor) into her. She'd trapped her leg, shrieking so the whole of Small Heath could hear. They'd had to amputate. It wasn't too bad, though. With a little bit of wood and nails, Marion had fashioned her own prosthetic. As a woman, she was used to strapping her stockings up, so, with a piece of leather, she managed to attach the limb to a sturdy garter to keep it on. She didn't go back to the factory, which had received an earful of complaints from every Shelby woman, and a lot of strong words from a red faced Finn and a morally supportive Isaiah Jesus nodding in the background. Instead, she stayed at the betting shop, doing errands where she could and fixing horse shoes and the like.

When the boys came back, they were in for a shock. Not only was little Finn taller than they remembered and Polly wasn't drinking so much, but their Marion had lost a bloody leg!

"Why didn't you tell us?" Arthur demanded as soon as he put her back on the ground. He'd picked her up and swung her about as soon as he saw her, before he realised there was a limp block where her leg should be.

"Wanted to see your face," she shrugged nonchalantly as John less-than-subtlety gawked at it, earning a nudge in the ribs from Martha. "I'm glad I did- it's a fuckin' picture, mate!"

The rest of the boys sent off to France had a similar reaction. It was the funniest thing she had ever seen when thirteen year old Isaiah and ten year old Finn were reprimanding fully grown blokes from staring at her. They'd both been there as she whittled the wood, offering to help at every single moment. It annoyed Polly endlessly, wondering why all the enthusiasm couldn't be devoted for doing errands for the betting shop. It was all false complaints, as the boys were doing something other than worrying for the next letter, and learning some useful skills, like woodwork. The boys also helped her with her surplus of jokes on the matter.

"How'd it happen?" Danny had asked the first night back, as they all sat in the Garrison, Freddie and Tommy in the middle of some sort of dispute the rest were attempting to politely ignore.

"Ah, well, it's a tragic story." She said it loudly and theatrically, clutching her chest. She no longer wore Arthur's hand-me-downs, opting for her own softer shirts that smelt fresh and new, until she spilled whiskey and petrol on it. Isaiah and Finn gave each other knowing looks. God knows how the boys managed to convince Polly and Jeremiah to let them come along. But, with two glasses of tap water and an understandable amount of clinginess to their family who had left for years, they were hardly in any trouble.

"She barely survived," Isaiah echoed as he attempted to get even closer under his father's arm (if that was even possible), who was watching him fondly.

"She's a true hero!" Finn raised his glass like he'd seen his brothers do plenty of times before, earning a scoff and affectionate hair ruffle from Tommy, as Arthur sat back in his seat, waiting to hear more. John wasn't there, instead he was spending his first night home with Martha and the kids. He was happy to be back and more than happy to babysit every day, especially with Martha feeling under the weather recently.

"Well?" Freddie asked, resting his elbow on the back of his chair.

"It was 1916," she said solemnly. Polly and Ada shared a roll of their eyes, going unnoticed by the boys. "Business was hard, me and my ma didn't have enough money for the flat." She let her face go blank, silently praying Finn could keep his giggles in for a second longer. "So I had to get money another way."

"You sold your leg?" Tommy sounded astonished, his wide eyes believing the lie she was feeding him. Then everyone started laughing, and he rolled his eyes.

"Nah," she grinned against the rim of her glass, as the rest of them shared snicker and a sigh and cocked their eyebrows at it. "Factory had faulty parts whilst I was building some explosives, it knocked a bench onto my leg and crushed it."

"Fuck," Danny whispered, looking at her with wide eyes. The rest of them looked at her sympathetically, a look she didn't enjoy.

"Oh well," she sighed, shrugging her shoulders. "Guess I can join you idiots with one foot in the grave, hey?"

The Garrison was filled with laughter, Arthur bringing one arm around her as his booming voice carried through the room. They spent the rest of the night celebrating, instead of wallowing, something they were all thankful for.

Arthur was fascinated by it, always asking if it hurt or how did she make the joints move so well. Marion wasn't too bothered, happy to give him a distraction from his 'Flanders blues'. He was the only one she told about the phantom pains, and he confided in her about the nightmares, each holding on to the other in their struggles, each trying to help the other. When she asked him to paint it for her, he gave her the sweetest, wide-eyed look of astonishment that made her giggle.

"Are you sure?" He repeated that about a thousand times, more so when he actually set out the acrylics he got when he was younger.

"Yes, I'm sure," she'd always reply, with a roll of her eyes. The final result was beautiful. When Arthur had dragged her away from Charlie's Yard (cautious of the walking stick she'd been using whilst her leg was temporarily out of use), she felt excitement course through her, heart beating faster as she stumbled up the stairs to Arthur's little room. He'd sat her on the bed, leaving the stick on the floor as he turned around to show it off. She'd expected horses, as that was always the thing he'd draw the most. Instead, she saw red. From the ankle to the thigh, a scaly, scarlet creature coiled around the wood, intricately and painstakingly painted in a familiar fashion.

"A Chinese dragon?" Her voice was breathless. She'd grown up isolated from her culture, just like how the Shelby family had lost their Romani roots when their father forced them to settle. There were many Chinese families around Small Heath though, who spoke in Cantonese and Mandarin that she longed to understand, and wore pretty patterns that she envied. She'd told Arthur all this when they both got pissed on her eighteenth birthday, just a bit before Finn was born. That was the first time they'd kissed...and did other things, although they'd never spoken of it since she woke up alone.

"Yeah, I remember, y'know, that night..." he sounded unsure, eyes darting everywhere but in her eyes, hands twisting his cap together. "And, well, I thought it'd look pretty. So, I went to the suit shop, and asked for a pattern to copy. I wanted to make sure it wasn't...y'know, uh, offensive or nothin', but if it is, I can go over and try somethin' else, or-"

She cut off his blabbering with a rough kiss, teeth clattering and her giggles as his moustache tickled her. He hadn't had that at twenty one, but it wasn't an unwelcome addition. Her newly painted prosthetic sat between them on his bed, digging against her right knee as Arthur tried to pull her closer in his eager kiss. Thy broke apart, him blushing and her smiling. With an arched eyebrow, she pulled up her skirt (she didn't wear them a lot, but it made the process easier when she did), revealing to Arthur her knickers and the garter belt she'd fashioned after a few lessons from Polly, below the straps was the scarred stump, ending a few inches above where her knee once was. She noticed his wide eyes with a little bit of newfound shyness as she slipped the cushioned end around her scars, clasping the leather straps onto the belt with a few clicks.

"That's fuckin' amazing," Arthur whispered as she looked up at him. He started to blush again. "Listen, Mari, I...I want you to know that, when we were eighteen, right, and I...when we...well, I shouldn't have left ya." He sighed, looking down to his empty hands. His cap had fallen to their floor once his attention was diverted elsewhere, and he was attempting to replicate the twist of material with his rough hands. "I loved ya then. I love ya now. I just didn't know, still don't...how I'm supposed to be good enough for ya."

"You know," she said, admiring the dragon that flew up under her skirt (she was certain Finn and Isaiah were going to awe at the painting). "Just don't leave again, okay?"

"Okay," he breathed out, pulling her onto his lap (successfully, this time) as he kissed her again, making a silent promise to himself that he'd never let go.

#peaky blinders #peaky blinders fanfic #peaky blinders fanfiction #peaky blinders fluff #peaky blinders oc #arthur shelby #arthur shelby x oc #john shelby #tommy shelby #isaiah jesus #finn shelby #charlie strong #polly gray #ada shelby #freddie thorne #danny whiz bang #jeremiah jesus #martha shelby

29 notes · View notes

resonating-kitty · 3 years

Note

🖊

(Only if u want to 👉👈)

🖊 Post a snippet from a current WIP.

Here is a snippet from a Sir Billiam III and Butler fic that I've been working on for a bit.

It tentatively called Most Valuable at the moment but name is subject to change.

It takes place a time after the Egg is gone from the mansion, disappeared by mysterious means, and explores Sir Billiam's attachment to his most loyal servant, Butler.

There is a OC in this fic that I created, Betty, and I adore her. She is this elderly hispanic woman who is absolutely not human.

Butler had grown, not only in the way that humans do but also on Billiam. His unfathomable, unwavering loyalty was unmatched. He followed Billiam’s orders without question. Everyone else at the mansion adored him. He was certainly special, a fact that Billiam could no longer deny.

Which presented within itself a new problem.

Billiam’s rut was approaching. He could feel it. Knew the symptoms that preceded it well. Every season piglins went through a period of time - called the rut - where they would be more animalistic than normal. Nature had intended it as a means for piglins to find mates but Billiam wasn’t one to do what was intended. In fact, he wouldn’t be concerned if not for the fact that it has been many many seasons since he had one. He had a sneaking suspicion that the Egg had something to do with that and now with the Egg gone - mysteriously vanished without a trace - it seemed like things were returning to normal.

“Careful señor. If I were to catch you staring at me like that I would think you were infatuated.”

The heavily Hispanic voice snapped Billiam back to reality. He jerked, spinning on his heel. Betty, the maid, was grinning at him from the doorway to the balcony, broom in her hand. Betty was an old hispanic woman that had been serving the mansion long before Billiam acquired it.

“So you’re the new master of this mansion? Fine with me. I will tell you one thing, I came with the place and with it I will go.” She had said with a determined, confident gleam when Billiam first introduced himself as the mansion’s new owner.

Billiam initially accepted her declaration and simply decided to wait out her life - honestly she looked very old, how much longer did she have left. But that had been nearly a century ago and Betty was no different now than the day they first met. Billiam suspects that she was not human but he wasn’t bothered enough to ask.

“I was not starring Betty,” He corrected, turning his gaze away as she raised her eyebrow as if she didn’t quite believe him, “I was simply making sure that my prized horse is properly taken care of.”

“Of course señor.” Betty sounded amused. He knew he didn’t fool her for a second. He thought she would at least let him slide with that but she quipped moments later, “Though I would imagine Butler would know how to take care of Carl by now.”

Butler sighs, his eyes scanning the yard in time to see Butler gently leading Carl back into the stables. Betty was right. There was no one else allowed close to his horses. No one he trusted to take care of them. He stood there for a moment, enjoying the noises of the world around him and the almost rhythmic sweep of Betty’s broom.

“I’m going into a rut soon.”

The sweep of the broom halts. A beat of silence hangs between them. Then.

“Ah,” Betty says, “so that explains the behavior. Will you tell the boy?”

“Why?” He asks, turning to once again to meet the old maid’s eyes. Butler did not need to know about his more animalistic qualities. The only one who knew was Betty and Billiam intended to keep it that way.

“Really Billiam?” Betty sighs, as if she knew something he didn’t - and perhaps she did. “I don’t need to tell you that the rut is your instincts coming to the surface for a few days.” She was right, Billiam knew that already. “But, you and I both know that the symptoms start showing well in advance.”

“Yes, I am well aware” Annoyance bled in Billiam’s voice at her words. She knew he knew this. He’d had plenty of ruts before. “I just don’t know why this has anything to do with Butler.”

“Truly?” Betty asked, hiding a smile, “Señor, your tusks are showing.” Billiam blinked and sure enough, his tusks had pushed out. He’d bared his tusks at her with the mention of Butler. “A sign of possession among Piglins no? Also you’ve been shadowing the boy, following him everywhere. You’ve hardly let him out of your sight. I’m sure I don’t have to explain that one to you.”

Billiam stared at Betty. He thought back to the last few days, realizing with growing clarity that Betty was in fact right. He had caught himself just watching Butler from afar as he worked. He hadn’t thought anything of it because it felt right. He realizes now what it was. How stupid he had been. But what Betty was implying was absurd.

“Butler is not my mate Betty,” He insisted.

#ask game #peppsta

2 notes · View notes

sysig · 5 years

Text

The Evolution of Cory

So the digital version was pretty limited - Cory started as a digital doodle but did not end as one! So I’m going to go through how this lad

became this cutie

Beware of disgustingly long post below the cut!

So yes! Cory did start out as this very simple, unfocused design

He started out as this kind of meek, tired, RBF inside and out lad, without a story in mind

And despite how common they are nowadays, when I was making characters in 2015 and they didn’t have a story? They generally went up for sale

But he stuck pretty quickly! Despite still not having a story, he’s a mainstay who I love very much

In no small part due to how unabashedly he speaks hehe

He’s not completely shameless though haha

Being one of my very few 4th Wall OCs, Cory has a lot of opinions on contemporary media; he assigned himself to Slytherin house, and has his own taste in characters as well

He also likes LoTR even though I’m not the biggest fan haha

A lot of early doodles were trying to figure out how his design worked within itself haha

But it was also a matter of trying to find his niche as a character, something I hadn’t done before

And a good portion of that ended up being ‘’Character rating’’

He had a hidden well of love for other character designs that was, up until this point, completely untapped

But that also meant telling him no

A lot

And he was a brat about it. But he could be made to see reason, sometimes

And here’s where I named him ❤️ I was watching Hunger Games at the time, I remember because of who I named him after hehe

Once he was named, I gave him a pet. A little ferret that he named

Baroness Ameya Marina Sparkleboots (Ameya for short)

And Marina because I was listening to a lot of Marina and the Diamonds at the time and he happily adopted that part of me heh

He became highly opinionated at this point, very much like a teenager haha

"Do you have ears" still makes me laugh

I’m pretty sure my only notes for these are “Heartbreaker is in his Top 25, and the first time he saw the music video he fell over”

I did start thinking about Cory’s bigger picture around this time, and introduced him to some (adopted) friends and a basic backstory!

Cory was suddenly going to college and making friends. Still not dating, which suits him well honestly, but unabashedly loving and supporting his friends

And having impromptu makeover sessions (offscreen) that his friends just......really appreciated (Also not seen is Ra’ chasing Cory across campus for revenge lol)

After a several month hiatus of drawing Gravity Falls and a second wind of Invader ZiM, he was a little cross with me lol

But to be fair he looked better than ever! With all that Bill Cypher practice....owo;

Thus ended 2015 for Cory! First year of existence down! Into 2016

Being neck-deep into Undertale and embracing stylism to the nth degree, Cory was but a victim of artistic interpretation lol

I had also acquired my first - very shitty - white pen at the time, so he fell victim to that as well

And I promptly forgot how to draw him haha

Despite that, he hadn’t changed at heart - he was still there to give an outpouring of love to other OCs (in this case Bar, who was going through a rough time)

Luckily I remembered quickly enough what he looked like

So he was able to greet Tiny!Bar with a proper face

He also very pointedly reestablished himself as one of my main OCs at that moment, decided to stick around to see how things panned out

Quippy as ever of course, and this is where the eyebrow really solidified in design as well - it had bounced back and forth between bent and not, but it stuck for good here

And of course he was back to giving a lot of love to my other characters, and me back to telling him no

He was focused on Tiny!Bar for quite a while. To be fair, I was focused on regular Bar for quite a while too

Back to main form and looking better than ever

And bringing old friends along! (And yes, you can see his full name up there lol)

How unfair is it that Ra’ started dating before Cory? Honestly not very

Considering Cory loves her too. Enter Presca!

They’re good friends

College life sneaks up on you fast

Cory received fanart and because he can see the 4th Wall, he was able to look at it. He was very impressed

Ask and ye shall receive

More about the 4th Wall - unlike other Comfort Characters, Cory was tapped directly into my emotions, drawing style, intentions, all the rest, and if I happened to be drawing him while I was having a bad day, he’d reflect that. And it’s not comfortable for him lol, since he feels it, there being no barrier

So he tries his best to help and fix emotional problems with affirmation. What a sweet lad

If you notice, this is the same outfit as what he was modeling during the Marina and the Diamonds high - his only other main outfit, not counting the coat

Still riding that hype train lol

And still checking in to keep things lighter

Unfortunately his methods tended to towards too blunt, so I had to yet again tell him no

So he reprimanded me and I ended taking his advice a few months later hehe

He was gifted a new outfit and loved it from the get-go. I oughta draw him in it again since it’s so cute

He’s the only one allowed to call me out on style problems since he’s the only one aware they’re even happening lol

At least he ended up being happy hehe

A new OC was made around this time and I toyed around with idea of a backstory for Cory again - even until now, he still didn’t really have a concrete story

Buuuuuuuut I decided against it because it was too edgy lol

He was quickly back to appreciating my other characters instead

And back to being a model! He doesn’t like to show off very much leg heh

Knee high stockings seemed to make things better

A very tiny little Cory, not actually mad at his new classmate who’s memeing at him. Mona is another adopted cyclops who looks up to Cory and calls him Sempai because they know it’ll annoy him lol

And that’s the end of 2016! Wow! We’re almost done, I promise

It had surely been a clip since I’d drawn him yet again, so he has to roast me for the first drawing of him in a while! He is rude lol

Still though, he’s happy since I finally designed that minotaur I had offered back in 2015 lol

And that’s all of 2017! 2017 was a very digitally-focused year and I was going through a lot behind the scenes owo;

First thing into 2018 and he’s already giving me mood-stabilizing advice again haha. He was right though /u\

This one barely counts as Cory haha! I knew what he looked like while I was drawing this one, I just ended up liking the eye and wanted to draw my best Cyclops boy hehe

This was very soon after I decided to leave my main fandom where I’d had a lot of characters - some of which he’d grown attached to. Of course that’s what he’d be interested in haha

More roasting lol, I was trying to draw a comparison of a new design I was working on

I’m the text in the “boxes” - I was working on angels at the time. You’ve got to remember, it’s been like three years by this point, it’s an in-joke and not just a highly referenced and overplayed joke lol

And that brings us up to 2019! Only a few doodles so far this year, but they’re all cute hehe

He’s always called me mom, although he did check in with that this time haha

He still even acts like a child hehe

And finally up to his birthday! Happy birthday lad, I’ve loved drawing you all these years 💕

#Doodles #My OCs #Cory #OOF #Wowie that was very long #Oh also #Blood #It's quite a ways down but just be careful mm?#If you read all that four for you lol #I love my lad so I enjoyed writing it all /u\#Hasn't he blossomed beautifully #Ahh #He's always been a self-made lad #I can nudge him in certain directions but he's happiest just being himself #He's really cool hehe #I'm glad I have a comfort character like him #Also can I just say that's it's super hecking weird that he's only like 4 months older than Bar and not years #Because that's so fucking weird lol I was so much better at art by the time Bar came around #I'd gone through two whole fandoms I'm pretty sure at least

4 notes · View notes

mikotoakujin · 5 years

Text

( Muse - IC Questions )

[ Slowly going to post these onto all of my OC blogs, in honor of the fact charahub is going to die soon, and I only really used that for the questionnaire feature, I’m going to post questionnaires IC to my rp blogs. The questions were taken from here. You can do this too if you want!! Also yes, it’s IC unless there are brackets ]

1. Introduce yourself with the basics. (Name, Age, Simple description, Other relevant info.)

“Well, I’m Mikoto. I’m an angel, so I suppose that’s important. Age? Nineteen. [or currently 20 if you follow his birthdays since i made this blog] Well, I like to get out a lot and do things and talk to people. Not sure what else to say.” 2. What is your purpose or your biggest goal in life?

“Don’t have that much of a purpose other than being the next king in line whenever my father steps down. But my personal goal is to get more friends to hang out with, perhaps a lover. And also to better myself.” 3. Of all your belongings, which are most important to you? If there is a story about them, please share.

“I’d rather not share why, but my scarf is rather important to me. I never take it off, after all~! All I’ll say is that it was a gift.” 4. Who is your best friend, or the person you are closest to?

“...” [ Mikoto seems to be uncomfortable with this particular question. ] 5. Who are a few other people you know, and how do you feel about each of them specifically?

“So most of the other princes of their respective lands, some other people, and my parents? Well, I’ll just be quick then because there are a lot. Laphomet’s nice and we hang out sometimes despite being respectively demonic and angelic princes, Mochu is alright but kinda keeps to himself, got no fuckin’ idea about Monarch, mom’s a bitch, dads okay but out more often than not.”

[ your muse can also be added here if you message me KJdncdjnd.. other peoples muses have links attached. my other characters don’t. ] 6. Do you have any romantic interests, or have you in the past?

“Well... a few, but only one of them returned feelings.... then they were taken away from me...” [ He seems uncomfortable going into further detail. ] 7. What is your general outlook on life? Are you optimistic, pessimistic, or maybe just very neutral?

“Well, it honestly depends, but I’m mostly neutral about everything. I try to be more positive nowadays, but sometimes it just isn’t worth the troubles.” 8. Describe your relationship with your parents. If they're no longer alive, how did that happen? How do you feel about it?

“As I said, mom’s a bitch, dad’s a lot better but away often.” 9. What is your favorite childhood memory? Make it a happy one!

“The time me and my dad went out and got some candies and sweets...” 10. Do you have any siblings? If so, talk about them. If not, do you wish that you did?

“Having siblings would probably help my mental state. I don’t think I have any siblings but I wouldn’t be surprised if that whore of a mother has a lot more children.” 11. What are your favorite things to eat and drink?

“Well, I personally like wine. It’s nice. I prefer to eat salty things over anything else, so thats why I like chips, and fries, and all’a that.” 12. Who is somebody that you look up to?

“If I think really hard I might find an answer, but I don’t want to. So, nobody in particular.” 13. When you're alone, how do you like to spend your time? Hobbies and Interests?

“Well, I just walk around places trying to find things to do and socialize. Nothing much more than that.” 14. What is something you're really good at?

“Uh.... Maybe... rpgs and Fire Emblem / strategy games...?” 15. What is something you're really bad at?

“Knitting and sewing. Although, I want to be good at it.” 16. What is something that you're constantly working on improving?

“Personality and how calm I am.” 17. Share a memory that involves the person you are closest to.

“No thanks.” 19. What is a custom of your family or culture that you participate in?

“I dunno, we sometimes have festivals? We have the same holidays as humans, but with slightly altered names and there’s always a celebration for it no matter how small the holiday is. Dress fancy, eat food, go to parties and maybe get drunk, and participate in the festivities. We also somehow have a seasonal amusement park. It doesn’t fit into the theme of the fact that our little floating island looks like it was taken out of a medieval fantasy book, so it clashes a lot.” 20. How well educated are you? Do you speak more than one language? Are you well studied in a specific subject?

“Well, as a high royalty figure, I was basically forced to learn a bunch of languages so I can communicate with everyone - a good skill for a leader or person who travels a lot to have. Fortunately, I learned most of these languages alongside english, so it was much easier. I am still most fluent in english, though.” 21. What was your childhood like in general? Sad? Happy? All over the place? Describe it.

“Probably the last one mixed with sad. Not going into any more detail.” 22. Are you at all religious? What do you believe happens when you die?

“Well considering I’m an angel, I’m either already dead or some form of immortal. Probably. I have no fucking idea what happens when someone dies, don’t want to find out.” 23. Describe your clothing and your usual style.

“My style - at least in what I usually wear - is very hard to describe I guess? How do you describe these clothes? How.” 24. Do you have a job or attend school? If so, what is your job or what are you learning in school?

“Already been to school. Recently got out actually. Although, I’ll probably be shoved back in, except into college this time. being royalty means you have to have good education and good everything and god knows my parents are going to shove it down my throat. Although, since my “”job”” is going to be being a future leader, what the hell are they going to make me take in College...?” 25. Do you have any tattoos, markings, or scars on your body? What are they like?

“My younger - about fifteen to seventeen - year old self pondered on tattoos a lot, but ultimately decided against it. I have a lot of scars or wounds or whatever. It’s why I wear bandages. You can probably guess what they are, considering I’ve (somehow) never burnt myself or had any long lasting bruises.” 26. Is there anything about your appearance that you would like to change?

“Not in particular, no.” 27. Aside from your closest friend, who would you like to enjoy a relaxing afternoon with?

“A lover, but since I don’t have one, likely Laphomet. Actually, maybe one of the more refined princes, since Lapho would just ruin the atmosphere probably.” 28. Do you listen to or create music? Do you enjoy it?

“I’ve tried my hand at creating music, didn’t work out. I also used to play the violin, but it evolved into playing the harp as a hobby. I’m pretty decent at it. Also, my tastes in music are kinda all over the place but I like videogame osts more than anything.” 29. What is something about the world you live in that is constantly on your mind? (War, Political Unrest, etc)

“The fact that the current leader is a piece of shit. And no, not my dad. The other one. The female one.” 30. If you were to pass a homeless person in the streets, what would you do?

“So it’s not like I have high taxes to pay off or anything, I’ll just give them 100 dollars, maybe food, and be on my way.” 31. Where were you born, and where do you live now?

“Live in the same place I was born. Although, somehow the floating continent of whatever the fuck can grow for some reason, and it’s grown quite a bit since I as a kid. At least, according to my dad. Hell, at this rate maybe we’ll actually get advanced technology and buildings, and it’ll actually look like how it should for this generation!” 32. Do you prefer Spring, Summer, Autumn, or Winter? Why? “Winter. It’s cold. I like cold. Although it’s awkward because the fact that my clothes expose a lot of skin so they’re more fit to spring and summer. Thankfully, they got people to make me a winter form of my royal clothes. A fluffy coat.” 33. What is something you dream of accomplishing, but don't think you ever will?

“I mean, meeting them again is literally impossible, so yeah I don’t think i’ll be doing that.” 34. What's something that would make you really angry?

“Uh, slurs, shit-talk about my friends, stuff like that.” 35. What's something that calms you down when you're angry?

“Friends, alcohol, food. And just generally rest.” 36. Do you struggle with any physical or mental disabilities?

“I might’ve had depression somewhere in my life, probably still have it to a smaller extent. I miiight be bi-polar or some other mental disability but I haven’t gotten checked for those things, so maybe I’m just jumping the gun.” 37. What are your three best and three worst personality traits?

“Well, best? Don’t like to really brag or suck my own dick, but I guess I’m nice to my friends, rich (it’s a personality trait now), and kinda grateful?... I’m trying to be more forgiving. And the worst, well, there’s a lot but mostly possessive, obsessive, and passive-agressively, or just generally rude. Also low patience, but I try to play it off like I have high patience.” 38. Did you have any friends as a child that you are no longer in contact with?

“Stop.” 39. If you fight with weapons, what are they? If not, what weapons do you think are cool?

“Did you not notice the giant fucking scythe on my back? Well, I guess sometimes I don’t carry it, but I always have these two little daggers with blue hilts on me at all times. The little tail-cloth-thing hides it, but they’re in my pockets.” 40. Do you identify as the gender you were born with?

“Mostly. Might be demiboy. Might be nonbinary. When I was born I was technically nonbinary but I slowly I somehow grew... that, so I might be biologically male. I’m not sure.” 41. What is your sexuality? Are you treated any differently for it?

“I’m bi. Attracted to everyone more or less. I like guys or male-presenting people a little more though, girls kinda make me uncomfortable due to the biggest female-figure in my life being a bitch, probably. If anyone has an issue with it I curbstomp them.” 42. What is an accomplishment that you are proud of?

“Somehow being a good student in school I guess? It IS satisfying to get those weird grades where it’s over 100, or above an A.” 43. How did you meet your closest friend?

“.......Maybe I’ll tell you if I actually fucking knew you?” 44. How did you meet your second closest friend?

“Don’t know who I qualify as my second closest. I’d say Lapho, but it kinda depends on mood. But I met all my royalty friends cuz’ my parents when I was younger took me to a different school when we didn’t have one up here yet. All the rich and royal people went there, and the princes and princesses n shit’ were in special classes. So that’s how I found those guys.” 45. Do you have any enemies? Who are they, and why are you enemies?

“My mother. It’s pretty obvious that I hate her. Not going to tell you why; use context clues.” 46. What is something that annoys you?

“My mother as well.” 47. What is a mistake that you've made in your past? Do you regret it?

“Yeah, a lot. Kinda indirectly caused someone's death, so y’know.” [ He kinda seems on the edge a little due to this answer. ] 48. Have you traveled a lot? What was your favorite part of it? If not, where do you want to travel to?

“Yeah, I travel all around the place. Having wings and teleportation is nice, but also sucks major ass at least right now because I still at least get a headache from using teleportation [and on top of that because I’m not that skilled in it yet, it can be unstable], and I get tired quickly by flying.” 49. Are you comfortable around people? Could you befriend a stranger, if given the opportunity?

“Well, as a prince and once again as a future leader, you kinda have to know how to talk to someone even if they’re a complete stranger. So the answer is yes.” 50. Have you ever been in a life or death situation? If so, what was it?

“Few times. Usually started by the same person. Although, I’m still here, so unless by some mind-fuckery I’m actually in a coma dream or I’m a ghost, then I’ve survived all of those situations. And to make it simple, assault and abuse are the situations usually.”

51. Do you want to get married one day? What are your thoughts on children?

“Most people are surprised when I tell them this, but yeah. I really wanna get married, have some kids (probably adopted or from a surrogate mother since I prefer guys), treat them 500 times better than my mom because she can’t parent for shit, etcetera.” 52. In terms of social status, where do you stand?

“High. Once again, prince. Royalty. My dads related to or is a descendant of god or some shit, so that helps.” 53. Does anybody rely on you for something?

“Not that I know of...? I mean, one guy for some dumb scientific materials but y’know.” 54. Do you rely on anybody for something?

“I’d say I rely on my friends for happiness but I don’t know how true that is. I mean, it’s true, but I could still live without them; just very unstably.”

55. What is a cause that you fight for?

“The national ‘Children having not-shit parents movement’.” 56. Have you ever been drunk or otherwise intoxicated? If so, what is something that happened while you were?

“Well, I think I first got drunk at like, 15 or 16, and I was pretty lightweight then, so I dunno how it exactly went but I think I as stumbling around [ as you do when drunk ] and kinda subtly flirting with people. Well, just complimenting them in weird ways, really.” 57. Is there anybody you would die for?

“It’s a little bit too late for that.” 58. Think of a friend or acquaintance you haven't yet spoken of. How do you feel about them?

“..Sorrow,” He as quick to change the topic; “ALTHOUGH, I have technically spoken about that person, just haven’t mentioned names, so onto another mutual, Nova! They’re weird as all hell and live on a kingdom on top of the aurora borealis for some reason. And then there’s Somnus and Friends! (well, more like Somnus and his two guards that may or may not have relations) They’re cool. Somnus and his worlds people are dragons that are just usually in humanoid form. It’s chill.” 59. Are you competitive? Do you engage in any sports or competitions?

“I heavily dislike sports, but I do get competitive in games. Videogames or things like boardgames or drunken party games.” 60. Are you creative? If so, what do you like to create? Are you good at it?

“I’m ok at drawing, I strive for semi-realism when I do draw, and it is fun! So I might get into it more. Although, right now I’m more well-versed in writing.” 61. What are you the most afraid of in the entire world?

“Nothing really...? Actually, losing a friend. Happened once, I don’t want it to happen again.” 62. Describe, start to finish, an average day in your life.

“Uh, wake up, maybe go on the internet or play videogames, go out, drink a lot of wine and eat a lot, socialize, go to a different place or go home, go on the internet again, screw up my sleep schedule for the fifth time, sleep.” 63. Do you celebrate any holidays? If so, which is your favorite? What is your favorite memory from that holiday?

“You know most of me and my friends say this, and it isn’t really a holiday, but birthdays. Although christmas and halloween are close runner ups. Christmas because I usually spend it with my friends [ and I get a ton of presents from the weird people in town who thirst over me or generally like me ], I get some presents from my dad, I put coal in my moms pillow, and yeah. Also Halloween has some nice costumes, and I like candy.” 64. Would you prefer a peaceful nature walk or a trip to a busy city?

“Nature walk. Nature relaxes me a lot more than some loud crude city. Although the cities fine too, I’m just too used to it.” 65. Growing up, did you have any important teachers or mentors? What's the most important thing they taught you?

“My school counselor was pretty chill. She told me not to be something I’m not, and that helped me get more motivation to improve.” 66. If your parents or mentor knew everything about you today, would they be proud of you?

“If we’re still talking about my counselor, to be honest, I saw them between my in-between phase of edgy dumbass, and my phase of edgy ruse dumbass, so they’ve seen me at my worse.” 67. What is something that excites you or makes you really happy?

“When I find out someone I know is actually like... gay or trans or something? That’s always cool. Or into something I really like to ramble about or need someone to talk about with.” 69. Do you have any really important secrets, or are you generally secret free?

“Are you expecting me to say something sexual because its the sixty-ninth question? Well fine. I am not a virgin but I still consider myself so because I’ve never had romantic sex (i’ve only had sex around 3-5 times) but for a non-sexual answer, I’m mostly secret free. I’m good at keeping them, but for personal secrets, if you catch me in an emotional mood they may just slip.” 70. If you were walking on the streets and you were attacked, do you think you could fight and win?

“Definitely.” 71. Have you ever killed somebody? If so, why and how? If not, do you think you ever would?

“No, surprisingly not. Well, I did indirectly.... kind of..” 72. What is your strongest physical trait? (Fast runner, very strong, super flexible, etc)

“I’m quick, have good reflexes, and yeah I’m pretty flexible. I can do a split if I wanted.” 73. Have you ever been in love? If not, do you want to be? If so, with who, and are you still? If you aren't, how did it end?

“Yes, not answering, person isn’t here anymore. And I do want to be in a relationship or have someone I like or who is a mutual have a crush on me, as well.” 74. When you're alone and relaxing, what are you usually thinking about?

“Usually about the past or the future.” 75. Do you have a lot of responsibilities? If so, what do they include?

“Well, if you couldn’t tell from past answers, once again, being royalty is fucking annoying even though you get everything handed to you, you still have to work hard to fit into peoples expectations.” 76. Have you ever felt really guilty about something? If so, what was it?

“Youuuu know how... I’ve been talking about.. uh. Causing someones death indirectly? Yeah. That.” 77. Do you have any habits, ticks, quirks, or anything like that?

“Quite a few, I won’t list all of them but, I’m left handed, I tend to do tricks with whatever I’m holding without noticing if I’m bored or waiting for something, if I feel threatened my wings will open up a lot, if I feel sad they’ll usually scrunch up a lot more. Y’know.” 78. What complaints do you have about your best friend?

“If you mean the alive ones, none. I mean, flaws make a person who they are.” 79. What complaints do you have about your next closest friend?

“Also none.” 80. Do you have any special abilities or talents?

“Flight, teleportation, I’m slowly gaining more and more magics - courtesy of my parents, I guess - but they’re weak - my strongest magic ability right now is controlling thunder, though.” 81. Do you have any addictions or obsessions?

“Wouldn’t say I’m addicted to alcohol, but I do drink it a lot.” 82. What drives you? (Your motivation or inspiration)

“I’m motivated because of the fact I still have so much to see, improve, and learn.” 83. What do you find attractive in a person, both physically and in terms of personality?

“Clean-shaven, tall and thin, I can go for any personality really, but preferably at least is kinda nice and charming, male probably, and uh... glasses are cute. Wow I sound like a typical girl describing their dream crush, huh? Well, to be fair, I’m mostly fine with anything.” 84. What do you think a stranger's first impression of you would be?

“Depends on what my outwards personality is like at the time, but generally well-mannered if not a little bit weird at times.” 85. Are you ashamed or embarrassed about anything?

“Quite a few things. Like I said, I didn’t have genitalia at birth so that was something.” 86. Would you consider yourself to be trustworthy and honest? Would you lie if it benefited you?

“Sadly, I’m pretty good at manipulation and tactics for it, so I will lie if it benefits me or if I feel like I have to, although if I trust the person then I try to be much more honest.” 87. Has anything huge happened in your life that you feel shaped or changed the person you are today?

“The loss of my childhood friend turned me to hate and absolutely despise my mother. Even though she abused me before, I just took it and didn’t say anything, but when she did it to him it was much more personal and shocking... ah, there’s that... again.. my dumb fucking habit of overstaying my welcome with secrets I’m supposed to bottle up inside me and keep until I die. A-anyways.” [ He seemed to get emotional at the subject, but it seems like he was keeping that inside him for a while. ] 88. What are some of your short term (less than 1 yr) goals?

“Uh... bettering myself will probably take longer than a year, so, maybe taking up gardening and stuff like that. He did that. It was nice..” 89. How do you deal with stress? How do you respond to stressful situations?

“With extreme emotional backlash, usually. It depends on the current situation, level of stress, and if I’m in public or not, or if the stress was brought on by a person, but assuming the level of stress is pretty high, I’ll either become really angry, really sad, or just walk somewhere private and let out emotions there.” 90. What is something that most people don't know about you?

“I like old-timey things and vintage stuff. Like obviously more modern than medieval era, but old enough that it isn’t used much in the new generations. Also I think the way people dressed in older times was funny. Also also, history is one of my favorite classes which is odd to most people since I don’t seem like the guy to care about what happened in the past, I suppose.”

#ic #questionaire #oc questionaire #get to know the muse #abuse mentions #abuse tw #suggestive #in some parts #read more #long post

1 note · View note

fragmentsofchaldea · 7 years

Photo

Original Characters – Design to Implementation

Long post ahead. This will be pinned under the Insights tab.

I was waiting until Anishka’s promotion to upload this piece. Now that it’s live, it’s time to delve into another core concept for the Fragments Series.

Original Characters, or Original Creations depending, are a coin toss for many readers. Just like the real characters of a canon work, people can love or hate them depending on design. I am also aware the readers are mainly here because they want to see servants in a Slice of Life premise interacting with each other; This is obvious.

However, OCs are an important foundation block of this work, and I place them only as necessary.

Since the beginning, I’ve been painting the world I’ve created one brush stroke at a time. While some might like certain additions, others might find different ones appealing. Occasionally, these brush strokes are coupled with OC tints, or may be an OC tint entirely. This is necessary to help paint the staff’s point of view, since the series isn’t entirely about the servants: It’s called Fragments of Chaldea not Fragments of Servants. The world they all live in is painted accordingly to showcase a much larger picture when brought together, and the OCs are just another pillar of the community.

Remember the article about keys that unlock doors? Often enough, an interaction with an OC is the only plausible way to shed a different angle of light on a subject. In a Slice of Life, the entire system is roughly driven by individuals doing fairly mundane things one would expect from living an average (as can be for servants) life. To do it without any of the staff getting close to servants in such a confined environment would not only be unrealistic, but asinine. They’re there to help make the world feel alive and help ‘normalize’ Chaldea.

To do so, the OCs need to be designed correctly and efficiently. Overlapping among them is alright to an extent, but too many that feel the same would be just adding superfluous names and creating additional character bloat; There’s already over a hundred servants, so I’ll cut OC costs where I can. Which is why there’s a bunch of minor OCs that are just “usually there doing something mundane”, and then there’s the designed ones that fulfill their own purposes.

However, I’m careful in ensuring they’re roughly average with unique quirks that shine in given situations. They’re not going to hold their own in a fight against... well, anything really, but that was never the point of their design. I personally dislike reading about overpowered creations, especially when I’m writing a series that’s filled with canonically strong beings: Why do my OCs need to be super strong and are able to influence the canon lore conflict?

They’re not masters and don’t need to, therefore they remain average. This is a Slice of Life, not the actual storyline. There’s a reason they don’t really appear save for a few mentions in the supplements; Because they’re part of the servants’ daily lives where they belong. They’re their to make different groups of servants feel welcome and alive again. It helps humanize them further to make the world more curious and vibrant.

Take Naomi, who wound up making Medea and Vlad feel a sense of home and companionship by accident. They, who have been nothing but treated with suspicion and judgement by many, found a small sanctuary next to a tailor who just wanted to knit in her free time. Suddenly they don’t look like the evil demons so many believed them to be: They’re reminded the servants are humans with emotions too.

Then we have Tyler for instance: The most laidback staff member in Chaldea. All he does is work genuinely hard at work while looking forward to free time to play games. He treats servants like potential buddies because he’s grown accustomed to all their presences, much like the rest of the staff. He’s someone many servants come to like or dislike because of his informal attitude and relaxed state of mind.

All fill certain niches and designs, and I only introduce one when something needs to be covered in the future. There’s only a handful unless you count the masters, so the bloat was avoided. By the extensive feedback and compliments I’ve received on each of the main ones, I’m also confident to say they’ve been implemented properly. They fill their niches and provide a sense of normalized anchors to specific activities that need to be fulfilled.

“So why can’t the masters fulfill these rolls,” you might ask.

That’s the thing: They’re masters. They hold command seals and have to work with the servants to save humanity. There’s no reason a staff member needs to bond with a servant since they have no contractual obligation besides sharing the same roof. That makes the attachment that much more meaningful because it was done by choice rather than perceived necessity or proximity.

So what does the future hold in terms of OCs?

I can reassure you it will remain the same. I’ve got most of my niches covered, so the addition of any future OCs is a distant possibility; It will not be happening in Season 3. If they are introduced, they’ll likely be a minor one since I only have one more design niche for a major OC; Again, this is not coming anytime soon.

As for their own safety, I have nothing to say about that. I will simply remind all of you that the Slice of Life premise will always come first, so anything that happens in a supplement will not throw a hammer through that glass house.

Finally, the decision to make one of them a master. I knew this would probably be controversial, but thus far the feedback has been swinging far more positive than I initially thought. As stated before, everything is done with future intent, and by that I mean anywhere from next fragment to 30 or more entries down the line. Getting a new master was mentioned in Fragment 42, yet it took an entire supplement and 8 additional entries to finally occur (roughly 240,000 words). It’s far too early to judge the new master’s role, but by her previous design you can make some estimates.

That being said, don’t expect even more future masters in droves or such.

Strategic necessity and common knowledge aside, there doesn’t need to be that many masters, just like OCs. Each master, like an OC, needs a purpose and design only they can fulfill. Anishka has hers, and it will contrast with Gudao and Gabrielle’s as it’s revealed over time, just like theirs was. It all falls down to the same reply I keep having to give: Just be patient as things unfold. Rome wasn’t built in a day (unless you’re playing Civ).

6 notes · View notes