#carmeladansen

““You seem quiet,” Serella spoke up, startling him from his thoughts.

“Do I?” He asked distantly, even as he knew it to be true. “Pray forgive me, dear one; I was thinking on tomorrow’s itinerary.”

Serella gave a thoughtful hum in that way she did when she did not quite believe him, and he prayed she did not press it for lack of knowing how to address it in the first place.

“Do you want to talk about it?” She asked, damning him with the question.

“I fear it may bore you,” Aymeric dismissed, this time calling upon the Fury to grant him succor.

And he heard the Fury laughing in his face when Serella replied, “it may well might. Tell me anyway?”

“I was wondering—“ frustration sparked in his chest at how flustered he felt, and surprised himself with how readily he fell into old habits and buckled under his own cowardice when he said, “—if I might ask after you tomorrow.”

“Oh, is that all?” Serella replied, and he had not realized she was subtly tense until her arm softened against his side. “Of course you can, dear one—provided your schedule allows?”

“I will be doing battle with a mountain of paperwork for the duration of the afternoon,” Aymeric said, already groaning at the prospect. “And would welcome your company.”

“’Tis a day ending in ‘y,’ then.” She teased, and her eyes twinkled like mirthful stars in the dark.

“Unfortunately.” He sighed again.

“Then my company you shall have, my lord, so long as it pleases.”

“Forever, then?”

For every  🌹, I’ll share a sentence from a WIP! @carmeladansen 

They had been together for so long now the thought of her no longer at his side made him ill. Who would remain to scold him in the early mornings for snoring louder than a behemoth roar? Who then would he laugh at when a pillar of smoke filled the kitchen with a failed attempt at breakfast? Who would smile at him through blood, sweat, and tears, happy to see they both survived another fight? 

“This isn’t,” Fists at his side with knuckles white from strain, he choked and stumbled on his words. “This wasn’t how it was going to end!” 

creator’s ask meme!

12: Pick your favourite creation of yours based on the colour palette

I think this one (process behind it here) bc the palette surprised me so much! I didn’t have much of an initial plan abt the palette when I started. Nol’s tunic became the color centerpiece primarily bc it was the only color available to use--and I’m really happy about that. Muting the colors rly helped to give it that calming feeling from first look, but it also helped reduced the distortion from the original pics of the church. 

29: Do you check the tags when people reblog your creations?

ngl is there anyone who doesnt skdjfhs kind of like what jil said, i will take w/e serotonin i can get. its rly easy to just reblog smth w/o tags (halone knows ive been a lot more guilty of this the past year) and no one owes anyone feedback, so i rly appreciate it when ppl comment on my writing or think my edits are cool!

36: Favourite line from a piece of writing you’ve created!

I don’t care what holy ground I stand on; he is here and mine and in my kiss; I want to ask him why his hair is not laureled by something greater than my fingers, but his sigh meets my throat and I forget, by the heat of his tongue, just what language is.

Flower and tree language prompts (closed)

Thank you for the ask @windupnamazu ! Some mentions of @whitherliliesbloom‘s characters.

Marigold: Describe a time or reason your character felt jealousy.

Laurelis hates negative feelings of any kind, especially when she thinks they’re her own fault somehow. So, while she stringently denies it and pretends it doesn’t exist -- she does feel jealousy on occasion. This was most prominent during the very beginning of ARR, before she had any sort of friends or companions. She was frequently jealous of others seeing that they seemed to already have their own friend groups or partners. Even if she made friends or acquaintances, it was usually shallow and one-sided on her part. This changed once she met Illya, however.

It would be a while before she felt especially jealous again; not until Sigfred joined their group would she begin to feel like a third wheel again. It was clear he only stuck around for Illya. Had it just been Sigfred and Laurelis, they would have long separated due to their wildly different ideals and morals. However, in the end, she fought with those emotions and won; she feels firmly at place and at ease, and even her relationship with Sigfred is significantly better due to the trials and tribulations they’ve been through together.

Nightshade: What is a painful truth your character has had to face?

She has long been a staunch believer in “people only do bad things because they have no other choice”. The thief steals to put bread on his table. The killer murders in self-defense. The sadist is cruel because no one taught him any better. These people can be fixed, they can be saved, they can be cured of their maladies if only someone offers them an olive branch and a helping hand.

Unfortunately the world isn’t really like this. It took Laurelis an extremely long time to see it. Asahi’s behaviour during Stormblood was the first twist of the key: it finally began to dawn at her that not all people are bad because of reasons out of their control. Some people are simply bad and cruel because they want to be, and nothing can ever “fix” or “cure” them because that is simply how they are. She cannot save everyone.

Xanthoriza: What’s something your character has run away from?

This is easier to answer with Arianna because, while Laurelis has poor self-esteem, she does not frequently run away from situations. Especially if others are in danger.

“We encountered some wolves on the ride from Whitebrim,” he explained, “Swiftly dealt with, yet not afore my bird was spooked and threw me.”

Alyx truly, genuinely struggled to picture him falling from a chocobo.

[ Jumbo Ask Game! - Closed!]

Answers for E’lija under the cut!!

🍋 Does your OC act petty and jealous easily? What sort of things make them feel like this and do they experience guilt for getting so worked up? How do they deal with these emotions when they get them? If your OC doesn’t feel like this often, why not?

Petty? Not exactly. But jealous, yes. Illya often feels incredibly inadequate next to others, which leads to her feeling jealous of other people’s talents and strengths. It isn’t so much about feeling upset over what others have that she doesn’t, more so a reminder of her own shortcomings. In particular, she’s often jealous at people who are more charismatic and confident than her - public speakers, diplomats. She respected Alphinaud and Y’shtola as much as she did feel jealous of how eloquent they were. She also feels jealous of people who are physically strong. 

She does feel some amount of guilt for those feelings of jealousy, and her solution is just to bottle up her feelings, much like she does with any sort of negative emotion really. But more than anything, it forces her to work on things she feels she is inadequate at. Illya overworks herself to train, practice and study. She does whatever it takes to try and overcome her weakness, with varying levels of success along the line. If she’s jealous of somebody’s strength, she exercises. If she’s jealous of their wealth, she spends the next several days planning her finances and how she could earn more than she already does. She asked for Alphinaud’s help with studying and teaching her to practice public speaking.. though she hasn’t improved much with the latter. 

🧡 Who is your OC’s favourite person? Why is this person the top of their list and have they actually met them (an idol or rolemodel or celeb can be someone’s favourite after all!).

Illya wouldn’t be able to give you a straight answer for this, because there are a lot of people that she loves and admires. But in terms of being her biggest inspiration - definitely her father. He was the one who inspired her to become an adventurer, and showed her just how big the world is beyond her little farmland. He taught her to be kind, to help others if she had the power to do so, and nurtured her curiosity and love for learning. She wouldn’t be where she was today at all if not for him. 

Oh and obligatory mention of Alphinaud.

💗 What would your OC say is their best feature? Why? What do their friends / family / lover(s) / people they know think is their best feature and why?

???? Best feature?? Illya doesn’t even think she has a good feature about her at all. She’d probably say her cooking, because that’s really the only talent she has that she’s actually proud of and not afraid of flaunting. Everyone around her knows that she has a tendency to downplay her other strengths, though. If you asked her what her best personality trait is, she’d probably struggle to give you an answer too, before reluctantly saying ‘patience’. 

I think different people have different ideas of what Illya’s best features are. A good number of her acquaintances would just tell you her strength in combat. People who have had their lives saved by her would tell you her talent for magic and healing. Friends and people she’s helped would tell you her kindness and generosity. Some of the scions would say her willpower and determination.

For Alphinaud, who thinks that there isn’t a single thing about Illya he’d change, probably understands her well enough to tell you that her capacity for love and acceptance is the best part about her. Overlooking her own unwillingness to love herself, Illya cares for others immensely and would do anything for the people she loves. She’s extremely forgiving, and very accepting of others even if they may not treat her with that same kindness. After all, it was through that love and acceptance of him, despite everything he’s done to hurt her before that motivated him to change and become better. 

“Miss Lanya... what a captivating young lady. I know precious little of her... my only knowledge mere gleanings from captured glances and mumbled rumors. Though I must say, she does seem to carry herself with a grace far beyond her seasons. She seems amiable, certainly clever. I have heard her referred to as a hard worker, driven in any endeavor she pursues. All wonderful qualities, in my mind. I would be glad of an opportunity to meet her properly.”