stop trying to make every single drawing a magnum opus. you cannot unleash your art ult until you charge it up with a bunch of shitty little doodles first.
idk which OC owner needs to hear this but it's time to retcon/retool/overhaul that OC's trait without explanation or justification that you've been wanting to. you're allowed to and you can do it
Having a bad drawing day when it's your own OCs is humiliating. "What do you mean you can't draw them, you invented them" Don't know what to tell you. Soft serve machine's broken
Ohh I’d love to ask! What were all the companions like as children? (If an age range makes it’s easier) ahhh 9-14?
Aeran. Pre-Spire: Quiet and very hesitant of doing the wrong thing, but had a wide-eyed curiosity about the world around him. Smarter than people gave him credit, but he tried to downplay that. Post-Spire: Loud, mischievous, starting swearing much earlier than expected and Varyn wasn't entirely sure where he picked up all those cuss words (side-eyeing Sero).
Alexia. Shy, reserved, didn't make friends easily. Preferred books to people. Made a little fire sprite out of conjured magic when she was 12 and talked to it like a friend, only to have it snuffed out by a Guild instructor.
Ren. Very protective of Raven and Ves. Willing to get his hands dirty for them and not think too much about it. Best thief in the Narrows, but no one ever caught him or knew who he was. Found it very funny.
Calla. Rambunctious and curious. Always trailing after her sister Cerys. Ravenous for information, eager to test the limits herself rather than be told. The kind of kid likely to put their hand on a hot stove after being told not to just to see what happens for themself.
Melchior. [REDACTED]
Nelani. Eager to test her limits, especially with flight. Liable to adventure off to all the wrong places. Desperately wanted to leave Aos.
Felix. Angry at his parents for splitting up. Angry at Athana (now his step-mother) for inserting herself into a situation she knew nothing about. Angry at how limited his magical skill was and feeling like it was the cause of his parents splitting up (not true). Angry at feeling like he was stupid and talked down to for it. Being 12 and feeling like the whole world is out to get him.
thought i would try the micro fic challenge :) (micro…for me) prompts from here. for mirren lore purposes, clio is her…almost.
First meeting
Autumn 1245
Mirren avoided the crowd of patrons inside The Fallen Feather, seating herself at a table near the wall. Before she could completely settle in—make sure she was facing an exit, just in case, push her packs out of the way, take a minute just to rest after all the traveling she’d done to reach Vestra—a shadow fell over her table.
She looked up into a pair of golden eyes, a darker shade than her own, framed by the matching spirals of an aeda’s crest.
“I’ve never seen you in my tavern before,” they said, extending a hand. “You can call me Clio.”
Mirren took their hand in her own and braced herself for the inevitable flinch, the look of disgust that would cross their face as they felt their magic drain under her touch. When their grip held firm, she blinked, her own grip tightening reflexively in surprise.
They tilted their head, dark brown curls sweeping across their shoulders. Mirren caught a flash of golden wings over their shoulder, a feathered sunrise on the horizon. Clio smiled, teasing, as if they knew they had caught her off-guard.
She recovered as neatly as she could, dropping their hand and saying, “Mirren. I’m just passing through.”
Clio’s smile grew sharper, their eyes sweeping over her. “Too bad. I like newcomers, they never know when I’m overcharging.” They winked at her, and their smile melded into something friendlier. “I’ll bring you something to eat.”
Mirren flexed her fingers as they turned away, shaking off the ghost of Clio’s touch, but their firm, unflinching grasp had left her unmoored, a hit she didn’t quite know how to roll with. Unfamiliar, after years of being able to adapt to any change in the wind, but not unwelcome.
Sensitive
“And that,” Clio said with a smirk, “is why I can’t go back to Tol Covere.”
Mirren laughed for what felt like the hundredth time that night. Happy, warm, and leaning loose-limbed in her seat, she said, “I can’t go back there either.”
“Oh?” Clio said, their interest piqued as a tiny shot of terror ran through Mirren. “I sense a story there.”
She felt that same old self-preservation instinct rise within her, telling her not to talk about her family, that it would only bring old hurts to the surface. It wasn’t worth thinking about, let alone talking about.
“My family lives there,” she said. She caught herself fiddling with the coin she wore on a chain around her neck when Clio’s eyes darted down to her fingers, and made herself stop. “We…don’t get along.”
Clio nodded and an ache grew inside Mirren at the patient way they watched her, chin resting in the palm of their hand, expression warm and welcoming. She suddenly, desperately, wanted to know how it would feel to share part of herself with someone—not just with someone, but with Clio.
The feeling almost won out over her desire to keep her history close to her chest, but she wasn’t ready quite yet. Clio didn’t prod, just shifted forward in their chair and pushed the last piece of bread towards Mirren as they launched into another story about rowdy patrons.
It was the quiet understanding of their gesture that made Mirren think, Not now, but someday.
Travel
“If I could go anywhere…,” Clio trailed off absently, turning the bowl in their hands as they washed it. They handed the bowl off to Mirren for drying and said, “Aos.”
“An Aeda city? Creative,” Mirren teased, scrunching her nose when Clio flicked water in her face.
“Where would you go then, oh world-weary traveler? Let me guess: Calantha?”
“No. I don’t know—someday, maybe.” Mirren accepted the next dish from Clio, her gaze drifting off as she thought. “I used to dream of having my own ship. I wanted to go everywhere, just pick a point on the horizon and set sail.”
“Captain Mirren Sero,” Clio said in a faux ponderous tone. They bumped Mirren with their hip. “You should do it.”
“Right,” Mirren said sarcastically. “A ship and a crew costs more crowns than I’ll ever see in my life.”
“So you’ll steal one, and head for Mathara. You have a face that inspires trouble. The pirates will love that.”
Clio patted her on the cheek with a soapy hand, and Mirren flushed. Clio turned back to the cutlery in their hand, but they kept talking. “I’ll write you letters, so everyone knows you have someone somewhere thinking of you. And you had better write back, so I can pretend I have a mysterious lover at sea, who returns to me every time her ship docks nearby.”
Their voice was light, easy enough to write off as a joke. Mirren said, “Mysterious, huh?”
Clio smiled. “A little embellishment. I’m not sure what’s so mysterious about someone from Tol Covere wanting to captain a ship.”
Mirren tossed her towel in Clio’s face, and the two of them descended into laughter.
Romance
Summer, 1247
When Clio leaned in, it wasn’t the kiss that surprised Mirren. It was that she found herself meeting them halfway, hands sliding behind their neck, lips curving into a smile when they pulled back.
Now, sitting alone at the bar while Clio tended to tonight’s meal with the other cooks, Mirren was caught halfway between terror and a warm, unfamiliar stirring in her chest.
She could let herself want this, couldn’t she? Never-mind the churning of her gut, telling her it wasn’t too late to escape. Never-mind that the idea of letting Clio know her the way they already did made her stomach twist. She could stay. She could want to stay.
Clio emerged from the kitchen, a smile lighting up their face when they saw her. They almost looked relieved to find her there, and that look alone made her want to both flee and kiss them again.
“This came for you,” they said, holding something out to her. “I’m surprised it made it here.”
Mirren took it from them, only realizing it was a letter once she had it in her hands. She smiled as she recognized the handwriting. It had been a long time since she’d heard from Grandmaster Sero.
stormborns
blakekathryn
gracieabrams
prguitarman
andulkaphoto
kianamaiart
