Happy new year, @ravenclawnerd! Iâm your secret santa for the 7KPP exchange. :D
I wanted half of your present to be for the childhood friends timeline because itâs so cute! And also because I am a marshmallow. I hope you like it!
Day Two: Hobbies || Worldbuilding and Day Three: Ambitions & Dreams || Fashion
Please full-view! :D
Mostly for Worldbuilding and Fashion, but honestly? This was also REALLY AMBITIOUS and I may have bit off more than I can chew (Iâm working on doing the whole cast please pray for me).
Best Friends Squad and two members of our Isle team because I donât even have a sketch prepared for Ria yet, I play favorites and am terrible.
Banner created by @heartofbucky with the absolutely gorgeous art of Katyia by @teaandinanity!
Hello all, and welcome to the revival of the 7KPP Positivity/Appreciation Week!
In light of the new alpha build being released (and a rather nasty anon that Aly received), we thought itâd be nice to spread some love for this game! So, weâve come up with a list of prompts to share writing/art/edits for.
When: Between May 5th and May 11th!
Where: Post on tumblr (and elsewhere is fine too but weâll be organizing on tumblr)
The prompts are as follows!
Day 1 - Introduction || Favorites
Day 2 - Hobbies || Worldbuilding
Day 3 - Ambitions & Dreams || Fashion
Day 4 - Letters || Learning
Day 5 - A Day of Friendships || A Romance for the Ages
Day 6 - The Road Not Taken || Alternate Universes
Day 7 - Happily Ever After??? (Angst || Fluff)
Feel free to use the tag â7KPP Week 2019â and/or @ this blog, and weâll do our best to reblog everything!
Please feel free to send an ask/DM me if you have any questions! I hope this gives everyone enough time to prepare! We look forward to seeing everyoneâs submissions!
Now I just want to get married and do all the stuff normal folks do: build a secret bunker in the suburbs, get a neck tattoo, raise a pet bison. Why are you cringing?
Questions on the delegatesâ heights had been asked thrice so far which made me curious on their heights. I discussed with some people about it before and we were no where near a conclusion.
And so I tried to use the sprites as a gauge. None except Ana has been edited (Ana was actually a tol haha). May this help artists and writers!
Bigger and clear picture on imgur. and a PSD
A big thanks to these resources used:
Sprites by coma-babana
Height Template
FYI Aly had a rough idea about the Delegatesâ heights (Â and more details on Anaâs, Jarrodâs, Clarmontâs).
nightshadengale replied to your post âday five (family)â
I was terribly amused by the series of assumptions that the Countess made about Delphine at the beginning--and I love Delphine here, cunning and capable but still with some inexperienced/vulnerable edges poking through. Had fun speculating on which of those bits of vulnerability were real and which might be calculated--it'd be fascinating to see the same interactions from Delphine's perspective.
itâs definitely an encounter i plan to come back to! from my side of things iâd say itâs partly real vulnerability and partly juno maybe being a bit condescending on her end, haha. iâm glad that you enjoyed it!
ellebeebee reblogged your post and added:
I can tell this was a work with a lot of effort behind it; itâs rich in meaningful details and grounded reality, and every detail is considered and necessary. Â I really liked it. Â I loved the construction of the money problems that surround the widow, and I really liked these relations of hers. Â Theyâre great characters who have a life of their own.
đł thatâs definitely a huge compliment from someone whose writing is as gorgeous as yours is! thank you so much!
awayandlaughing replied to your post âday five (family)â
You say you're not happy with it - but it really is very well done. This is a fascinating time in any Widow's life, and you've given a really solid glimpse into that, her family, the birth of her reputation and Revaire politics with it all feeling smooth and narrative, as opposed to feeling like exposition. Very well done! Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
teaandinanity reblogged your post âday five (family)â
oh WOW, this is amazing and I would read a whole novel of it, I love it,
this is a piece iâve been working on for a super long time, and 7kpp week finally gives me an excuse to post it!
âThe Dowager Baroness of Namaire to see you, my lady.â
Countess Juno de Vradola glanced up from her mending, her expression sharp. She had been quite absorbed, before Erik had interrupted. Only her silver thimble had prevented her from plunging her needle straight into her hand. âMy husband stopped taking appointments at half past three,â she said, delicately picking at a stitch. âIf this Dowager Baroness' petition was so terribly important, she should have come first thing this morning, like everyone else.â
âI am aware, my lady.â Erik cleared his throat apologetically, an extra layer of deference on top of his usual opaque courtesy. âBut the lady did request to see you, specifically.â
Juno sighed. It was hardly a novel tactic. Occasionally those who were unsuccessful with her husband, usually the old or recently bereaved, would come to her instead, attempting to win her sympathy by dint of their shared womanhood. She had little patience for sentimental appeals; if there was any case to be made to the Crown, her husband would have found it in the first meeting. Still, the sooner she saw this woman, the sooner she could be dismissed. âVery well, then. Let's hear what the old crone has to say.â Juno waved the footman away, setting aside her workbasket with an air of resignation.
Erik nodded briskly and, within the next moment, returned leading a figure â generously proportioned, exquisitely tailored, incarnadine from head to toe â drawing up her veil to reveal a startlingly young face, with rouged cheeks and a painted mouth curving upward in what might have been amusement.
âI did hope to avoid surprising you, Auntie,â said the Dowager Baroness of Namaire. âIt rather sounded as though you were expecting someone else.â
Juno's lips parted involuntarily as she took the girl in, struggling, for a split second, to match a name to a face. It was her side of the family â the masses of copper-coloured hair would be evidence enough in any court â but the features were rounder, softer, even against the starkness of mourning red. One of Geoffrey's girls, then. And this had to be his eldest; however many children he and his little Arlish girl had by now, this was the only one who looked old enough to be out of the schoolroom. It began with a D â Daphne, no, wait â
âDelphine,â Juno declared, rising from her seat to clasp her niece's hands in her own. âOh, my dear, I am sorry. Do come in, please, sit.â They made their way over to the settee in a sussurus of skirts as Erik retreated, Juno noting how carefully the other woman arranged the folds of her gown and veil as she settled in beside her. The last time they had seen each other had been the summer Enid's daughter was married. She could hardly have been older than ten at the time, little Della Villiers, sunburnt and miserable, festooned with more Wellish lace than the bride. Now here she was, a woman grown, sporting her mourning crimson like the latest creation of a celebrated modiste. Dowager Baroness, indeed. Time was a funny thing.
âYou've given me rather a shock, I'm afraid,â said Juno, adjusting her own skirts. âI wasn't even aware you were in town.â
âWeren't you?â Delphine squinted at her quizzically, her pretty brow furrowing. âI posted a letter before I left the country. It should have arrived by now, I'm sure of it.â
âNamaire is a long ways west of the capital, isn't it?â
âNot so very far.â Delphine shifted in her seat, gathering her veil into her lap to keep it from trailing on the floor. âBut as it happens, I sent it from home.â
âI see.â Juno considered it imprudent to mention the household policy of immediately disposing of all mail received from Villiers Court, unopened. One of Geoffrey's wheedling entreaties for just a small loan, Juno, I'll repay this one with interest, I swear was very much like another. âOf course it's only natural that you should want to be with your family, considering the circumstances.â Della's pleasant expression faltered; Juno gave her a reassuring smile. âHas it been long, my dear?â
âFour months, now,â she replied, gaze slipping down to her folded hands. Delphine wore a signet ring on her right hand, heavy and ungainly amidst more delicate mourning pieces, almost certainly the crest of Namaire. It was too big for her; she had to adjust it where it had slipped down to the knuckle. âHonestly, I think I would have gone nearly anywhere, if it got me out of that house.â She chuckled apologetically at her own candour, not yet confident enough to pass off truth as dry witticism. Perhaps not so grown as all that, then. The twinge of sympathy it evoked in Juno was not altogether welcome.
âI suppose there are worse places to be in the winter.â Provided, of course, that they had finally fixed the roof in the east wing. That went back to Juno's time, and she frankly doubted Geoffrey had seen fit to attend to it in the intervening years. âAnd I'm sure you hadn't been home for positively ages,â she continued, innocently. âIt must have been a comfort to see your parents again, see how they're faring - â
âOh, they're in fine fettle.â If there was a note of the ironical in her niece's airy tone, if her smile was something more akin to a grimace, Juno was more than willing to remain silent. âPapa bought another horse last week, so Mamma finally has her pair of matched greys.â The corner of her red mouth tugged upward. âShe's over the moon.â
âI'd imagine, yes.â This, frankly, demonstrated a degree of cunning on Geoffrey's part of which Juno had not previously suspected him capable. Begging in person was one thing - though almost certainly beneath his dignity as a gentleman, and gods knew they'd had to cling to every scrap of dignity even before Papa had died â but the thing about her brother was that once you knew him, he was terribly easy to say no to. No one who mattered could possibly condemn her for turning him away. His freshly widowed daughter, on the other hand, barely one and twenty, who had made the long journey into town to seek an audience with her own flesh and blood... Juno braced herself against the back of the settee, briefly closing her eyes. There was nothing for it, now. Time to succumb to the inevitable. âWell, you'll forgive me, I'm sure, for not having my books to hand,â she said, making to rise from her seat. âI'd be happy to write you a promissory note, of course, though you may have to wait until I've gone over - â
âOh, that really won't be necessary - â
âNonsense, my dear, just allow me - â
âAuntie Juno, I mean it won't be necessary.â The hardest features of the hand that had seized her own were the bands of those rings, but in her eyes, in the set of her jaw, there was something of iron. âIt's been taken care of. Not just the horse,â Delphine added, drawing back. âAll of it. Every last creditor, out of pocket.â She smiled, holding her chin up high, like a child trying to be brave. âI saw to it myself.â
âWell,â Juno managed at last. âHow perfectly marvelous for you.â
The courtesy went unacknowledged; her answering smile was distracted, perfunctory, as her eyes drifted to the half-open window, with its view of the street below, the well-appointed townhouses across the square. When she finally spoke again it was with the air of a much-rehearsed deposition â carefully dispassionate, delivered half in one breath.
âHis lordship â that is to say, my husband â was not possessed of a robust constitution,â Delphine began. âI knew when we first married that the future of the succession would be uncertain. He - we had hoped, in the beginning, but as his condition declined - â
âYou're absolutely certain?â inquired Juno, turning to face her niece fully. âThe quickening can be delayed, you know, on a woman's first time - â
âI'm certain.â Her tone suggested this was a line of questioning better left alone, and so Juno abstained. âIt wouldn't have definitively settled anything, anyhow. In the verified absence of a prospective male heir, all lands left in trust to a royal vassal - â
âRevert to the ownership of the Crown. I'm aware,â Juno cut in. She'd spent the better part of twenty years reading over Anastas' shoulder; every minute change made to the inheritance code she had witnessed firsthand.
âAnd all future revenue generated thereby, until such a time...â Delphine trailed off into a sigh, reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose. âI've no idea how one can be expected to keep an estate running with no money coming in. I've been relying on Roland's private assets, but it's so much less consistent, and if Papa insists on buying thoroughbreds every month - â
âWhat assets are those?â
âWhat â oh, what you'd expect, really. Stocks and bonds, mills and vineyards - all outside the boundaries of the barony, naturally. I own half a diamond mine on the Corvali border,â she added, confidentially, as though she couldn't believe her luck and felt guilty for having it in the first place. âHonestly, I had no idea about any of this until...â A shadow crossed over her expression, quickly chased off by a smile, quick, bright, unconvincing. âBut everything seems to be in order, at least. I've been in constant contact with my steward. I'm sure he's long tired of hearing from me.â
âI must say, I wouldn't be the first person to ask, but I should hardly see reason to worry this early,â said Juno. âAt this point you must have enough to keep the wolf from the door - â
âWolves come back, Auntie Juno.â Again one of those sad, resigned smiles, the waif gazing out from behind the woman's painted mask. âI need to think of the future. My future, and theirs, once I'm settled.â
âAnd just where is it that you plan to settle?â
Delphine opened her mouth and immediately shut it again; a sharp rap at the doorframe pulled both of their attention westward, towards Erik and the swirl of activity behind him, cloaks being taken, house-slippers fetched, the low murmur of servants' voices.
âMy lady, His Lordship - â
âShe knows who I am, Erik,â said Anastas, handing off his gloves to his valet without looking him in the eye. Juno could hardly help but puff up with pride as her niece took him in with cautious interest; the breadth of his shoulders accentuated by his blue velvet frock-coat, his pale, Northern good looks â paler than even she or Della were â yet undiminished by age. âBut she finds me at a disadvantage.â
âI believe that was for our guest's benefit, darling,â Juno said lightly. âDelphine, may I introduce my husband, Count Anastas de Vradola, of the Office of the Royal High Steward.â She laid a hand on the younger woman's arm to keep her from rising to her feet as Anastas bent obediently over her hand, kissing the too-large signet, offering his own to permit her to do the same. âMy niece â Delphine, Dowager Baroness of Namaire. Geoffrey's girl,â she added, meeting his gaze as the light of recognition settled into his eyes.
âDo I have you to blame, then?â Delphine had returned to the studied easy manner of before, one arched eyebrow punctuating the question.
âDelphine was just telling me about all the trouble she's been having with the escheat,â added Juno by way of explanation, eliciting a chuckle from Anastas as he leaned over to retrieve his snuffbox from an ornate end table.
âAbove and beyond the line of duty,â he sighed, âas always. Delphine - if I may call you Delphine - you will quickly find that there is no civil servant in this city more dedicated than my wife. I wonder some days why I pay my secretary at all.â
âIf your secretary was forced to handle the aftermath of your housecalls during his afternoon tea, I fear no amount of compensation to could keep him in the office.â
âWhich is why I rely on you, of course. Your devotion canât be bought.â Anastas finished his snuff with one last ragged inhale and tucked the box into his coat. âShe never asked to have my work follow her home, you know. I daresay even a country landlord is entitled to break his bread in peace.â
âI find that the work of caring for others is never truly done,â Delphine replied evenly.
Anastasâ lips twitched in bemusement. âSpoken like a true chatelaine,â he observed. âVery well said, very well said indeed.â He glanced to Juno. âShall I tell Cook weâre to have three for dinner, my dear?â
âI really shouldn't put you to any trouble,â Della said, making to hastily move to her feet.
âOh, nonsense,â said Juno warmly, squeezing the other womanâs arm. âThe house has felt so terribly empty since Felix left for university, and no one else is in town yet so early in the season.â
âYouâd be doing us a favour, really,â Anastas added.
âYou must stay, Delphine, I simply insist upon it.â
âWell,â Delphine said. âIf you insist.â
There had been a certain amount of grumbling on behalf of the kitchens, a degree of cajoling to be done, but ultimately one extra head was only one extra head, and what remained of the winterâs wild boar could easily be stretched to serve three. Anastas, a mere two weeks in the city after a hunting party at the lodge of the Royal High Steward himself, dominated the conversation with a sort of indolent good humour, and Delphine, to her credit, was engaging company, with a surprisingly acerbic wit and an uncanny knowledge of all the best places to laugh at Junoâs court anecdotes. The evening ended on a high note, on a flurry of promises - to meet at the theatre, to let Juno see what could be done about the state of the late Namaireâs townhouse, to do this again soon, by all means, you know the boys havenât seen you in ages. It was a better end to an afternoonâs interruption than Juno could had hoped for. Anastas, however, had doubts.
âSheâs charming, Iâll grant you that,â he said to his reflection in the mirror, moustache and goatee dripping into the washbasin; he always performed his evening ablutions in front of her, out of some peculiar masculine vanity. Juno was sprawled across the bed, half-reading, half toying with the ribbons of her bed-jacket. âThough she clearly learned her history from penny romances, if she learned it at all. Princess Katiya, and all that populist nonsense - â
âThe young love a folk hero, darling, it canât be helped.â
âItâs false,â he said, firmly, reaching for a towel, âand dangerous. One must wonder at the quality of her education, growing up in such a place.â
âI doubt it was a priority of her fatherâs, no,â murmured Juno. It certainly hadnât been her fatherâs. Isidor Villiers had encouraged his children to do as they liked, and in Geoffreyâs case that had mostly been drinking and three-card brag.
âItâs a pity,â he commiserated, angling his jaw in the mirror, examining the length of the bristle there. âI very much doubt sheâs all fluff, though, if she managed to hook old Namaire. Not a moment too soon.â
âOld?â Juno sat up against the pillows. âI thought there was a son.â
âWas,â Anastas replied. âThe du Namaire boy was something of a firebrand, if I remember correctly, was supposedly promised to some old-blooded girl or other a few years back until he went and got himself killed. I suppose Namaire the Elder must have been a widower.â
âShe did say his health was bad.â
âAnd no inconvenient nephews in the line of succession. What a stroke of luck for poor Delphine, eh? An ambitious young woman shackled to her familyâs debts, a husband old and infirm with no one left to mourn him - â
âYou make it sound so terribly sordid,â Juno protested. âFrom what she said he was on the verge of keeling over anyhow, I doubt very much she had to resort to - â
âMurder?â
âAnastas...â
âIt was your thought, not mine,â he said, but he replaced the towel on the nightstand and made his way towards the bed, hair falling into his face. The trail of a single rivulet of water was still visible against his bare neck, and Juno ran her thumb across it, thoughtfully cupping his jaw in her hand.
âI do agree with you,â he said. âI donât think sheâs dangerous. At least not yet. But you werenât terribly dangerous when I first met you, were you?â Juno fixed him with an imperious gaze, and Anastas shamelessly shifted closer to her, one brow cocked.
The mods at the 7KPP tumblr will like to extend a cordial invitation to all members of the Adorable Army to a prestigious, annual event at the Vail Isle: 7KPP Week, 2018.
This event is taking place across a span of 7 days, from 14 February (Windday) to 20 February (Waterday). Delegates are required to complete one or more days of the following creative challenges issued to them:
Is it possible to know what counties the secret backgrounds are associated without being in spoiler territory? I ask because I'm a perfectionist who likes to plan out the potential pairings for each MC. I really hope the answer is yes. D:
Thatâs pretty much spoiler territory.Â
But I can give you some hints instead :)
-One of the secret backgrounds is from the obvious place.
-None of the backgrounds are from Skalt
-One of the secret backgrounds involves being adopted. but maybe not the one you might expect
jumping on the seven kingdoms: the princess problem hype train with my dollmaker contributions! pictured is my first baby, lady anouk of jiyel, on the left doing a little light reading on the subject of, you know, herbalism, why do you think she looks worried, what would she have to be worried about, donât be absurd; on the right much happier, as future princess-consort of skalt, fondly gazing at the âletter openerâ gifted to her by her gf
more mcs! faiza of corval, in her welcome feast dress, not particularly sold on this whole âno weaponsâ policy; delphine of revaire, my merry widow, hanging out in the gardens, as one does.
taking advantage of only having my desktop (+ a functional mouse) to do some welcome feast outfits! anouk of jiyel and faiza of corval; delphine of revaire and zinaida of hise; meredith of wellin and prudence of arland.
from left to right: anouk of jiyel, bringing a knife letter opener to a gunfight scholarly debate; prudence of arland (with one sad variation); delphine of revaire (two variations, one in mourning and one at the summit, probably making her zarad face); and aleida of corval, who takes princess katiya as her idol and is going to bring about a new era of peace and prosperity if it kills her, which it very well might. (tragically i could not recreate faizaâs very short hair in this dollmaker so have a queen-of-revaire flash-forward)