#concept development

The first time Character A threatens him for control outright, Character B melts and is like “oh thank Lio-sadda! I’ll give you my crowns right fucking now, all I ask is that you only drag me to one political event a year and you let me build my new greenhouse. Oh also you have to tolerate my dogs I’m so sorry.”

Character A is very confused by this. She was not given any info on this man before their marriage. She expected him to fight back. Then she learns what he did in the military and that he wasn’t actually at any of the battles he was credited as having won.

She is also very bothered by the way he’s so apologetic about… his dogs…? She loves dogs. Why would he think he wouldn’t tolerate his dogs?

They agree that Character A will take over their district. Character B takes a background role and only appears at her side when necessary. They also agree to be friends, and they slowly learn about each other over time.

A likes dogs. She loves dogs. She will sit in B’s lab on the floor doing reports and reviewing legislation and quieting feuds, and all the while she has the runt of B’s latest litter sitting in her lap or in her sash.

B finds that, even though he doesn’t like fighting very much, he really enjoys watching his new wife/friend beat people up. She gets a lot of challenges when she officially takes the throne, including from his own family, and he takes great joy in watching her deck them.

He patches her up afterwards without a word, just a proud smile A doesn’t quite understand.

A finds that B is actually studying some very interesting things. She may not get why it’s so significant that the mossaeca has multiple species that make up its great span, but she finds herself enjoying B’s long talks about it.

B finds it nice someone actually wants to listen to him.

They find that they both like books—nonfiction and fiction alike—and bond over sharing their favorites.

They also both enjoy practicing Hellfire and learning the regional differences in each others’ katas.

They fall in love, in time. It’s not like some of the others story ideas; they don’t have a big reveal moment or a passionate kiss that denotes their change in relationship. It’s slow.

They start doing little things for each other.

A accommodates for B’s sensory overload at big events and makes time and finds ways to get him out or find a peaceful place for him to recoup.

B makes A a new knife, a new bracer, a new bookmark, a new collar for her dog.

A sets out B’s clothes—the ones he likes and that don’t bother him, thank you. B is charmed she learned the difference between the things he likes to wear and the things he has to wear.

B hides snacks in A’s office, armor, travel packs.

They defend each other in public.

They start spending more time close together in private.

One day, they both just realize that they’re sharing a bed now, that the other is too warm or too soft to let go of, and that they can’t imagine it any other way.

B says that he’s quite fond A, doesn’t she know? And A just smiles and says she fond of him as well. And they snuggle up to each other some more, and keep reading.

They never have kids.

This is because they pretty much never have sex. Maybe once in a while A will get herself off and B will chime in with a suggestion or let her mark him up a bit for her own sake, but nothing much else.

They do kiss every now and then; B gets very flustered and A swoons over it.

They hold hands a lot. B likes the pressure and A likes the contact.

A is actually pretty touch-starved when they meet, and B finds out and piles dogs onto her whenever he gets the chance. Later, when they’re closer, she sidles up next to him instead and spends his research nights wrapped around him on the couch.

They don’t fly together. B doesn’t like heights and A has too many scars for flight to be comfortable for her. They do tend to each others wings and tritar 2 forms though (neither of them can shift to tritar 3).

A steals B’s clothes. Usually stuff he’s worn recently (because he doesn’t wear things multiple times before washing them, regardless of whether or not they were "dirty"), but also stuff he doesn’t really like.

B steals her extra knives in turn, and she actually starts letting him keep a few because hey, at least he’s using them.

(She’d like to use her knives. Very frequently. But alas, one cannot stab one’s council members or rival politicians.)

(B actually sympathizes with this one.)

They love each other very, very much until the day they die.

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Rebellion-era Tartarun lesbians

a Regalian Ceretsi (Rayan) and a Tritaran warrior

Regalia = A, Tritaran = B

A is sent as a peace offering/“please don’t obliterate our kingdom” sacrifice to the Tritaran mercenaries coming for the Rayani governance in the West. She is from a smaller kingdom adjacent to the capital, and is the daughter of a Regalian concubine to the malicious king of her home city.

Her mother is enslaved, and her mother was enslaved, and so on.

She has been educated and raised as a royal concubine, so she has a sense of etiquette and poise, and can speak the language of the West-bound mercenaries.

Expects to be a Tritaran slave, and treated worse than she was in her home city (where she was a sex slave from the age of 15 onward).

B is the Captain of a company in the Tritaran mercenary force being sense towards the Rayani capital. She appears very hotheaded and rough around the edges. Her unit is the one to receive the sacrifice of A’s person, and is charged with bringing A to the Avhe’is (King-General) of the Tritarans, away from the front lines in neutral Heartland territory.

Speaks very minimal Rayani (and none of A’s home dialect). Is educated in the art of war, strategy, and statistics, but not in literature or arts.

Like, all other Tritarans of the era, B is VERY reverent of her armor and takes very good care of it and her arsenal. When A arrives, B is appalled that she wears no armor, has very little clothing at all, and carries no weapons. When she learns what A was raised and sent to be, she is even more appalled.

Is very, very gay and sees A’s pretty face, pretty hair, and pretty clothes and immediately develops a crush. She does NOT admit this, even to herself (at first).

A expects the worst, and is thus surprised when the Tritaran mercenaries treat her with greater respect than any member of the royal court. To them, she is still royalty and will be treated as such, even if she was considered a “royal whore.”

The Tritarans do not see sex work as derogatory, especially not in the case of A. But… they also don’t really understand the concept of what she’s been through, and can’t fathom that level of sexual abuse. She learns to understand this as the trip progresses.

She also learns to trust B, the commanding officer in charge of her safety and delivery to the Tritaran King-General.

B is actually the KG’s daughter. Very, very few know this, as she goes by her mother’s name in the army. A doesn’t find out until after the journey is complete, and she has a private meeting with the KG after he and B have spoken.

The KG does NOT want to marry A or add her to his small collection of cool badass wives. He likes pretty women, yes, but he prefers women who, first and foremost, are not 250 years younger than him. He kind of chuckles awkwardly when A tells him her age.

“How about you marry my daughter, who i understand you have become quite close with in recent months. She’s seven months younger than you, too (wink)"

color palette comic

NOT in-depth. Minimal dialogue, more montages, scenery = simple.

Full 11x17 pages

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I do actually really like this story and I've sort of canonized it for revolution-era Tartarus. The revolution era in which the various peoples of Tartarus rise up and demolish the systems and heirs of the Seven Heathen Mages who made the place is full of catharsis and bloodshed, and it's just always neat to add something to it. Plus, these two lovely ladies DO have designs now (I came up with the concept for this back in 2024) an I'd maybe like to make art of them? For prints and such? IDK, but I hope it's interesting to people, even if I'm not necessarily going to do anything with the concept at this point in time.

Bonus doodles from last May: