#gcs2

Tagged by the lovely @saedoeswriting

Rules: Post the fist lines for your WIPs.

(Playing with the rules a little for my own amuselment because the first book is already out so isn't a WIP)

Merry Arlan: Breaking The Curse (Guardian Cadet Series 1) first lines

"No," Commander Whitclé said flatly. "What do you mean no?" I snapped in response.

Merry Arlan: [title TBA] (Guardian Cadet Series 2) first lines

“No,” I said to Commander Whitclé. His shoulders slumped. “What do you mean no?”

Ah, just look at that narrative parallel. There are parallels galore in the Guardian Cadet Series.

Tagged by the ever amazing @emelkae(minor, tiny, tiddley almost-spoilers for Merry Arlan: Breaking The Curse. Just friend/relationship stuff, not plot-breaking stuff but if you're against anything spoiler adjacent you may want to skip this post)

Also I'm sorry this took me so long to do - t'was surprisingly challenging.

Rules: Describe your OCs as

TIME

Dawn: Lord Tellyn Smeeten - that painful instant the sun first peeks over the horizon, the way it colours the sky gentle pinks and blues despite the pain of having to adjust to a new, bright, unyielding light.

Noon: Gergorio Valencia - bright, shining and warm. Gergorio welcomes anyone in, he's a calm comfort but disorientatingly persistent. Occasionally too much, especially if you have a headache.

Dusk: Liorellion Folcs - "The Shields at the bottom of the stage glowed with a gentle silver light; it shimmered on Lior's hair and the silver sequins on xyr costume" - Merry Arlan: Breaking The Curse

Night: Colonel Kalik - secrets shared in the darkness of night are always the most precious. The way you can bare your soul outside the expectations of daylight.

RELATIONSHIP

Friend: Gergorio - "Gergorio’s endless ability to make new friends reared its head once again." - Book 2 Guardian Cadet Series

Lover: Kalik - "Only the touch of Kalik's warm hand where it had woven its way into my hair kept me from ending up in the Moon Prince's Realm." - Merry Arlan: Breaking The Curse

Ex: PT - "I'll tell you now, Arlan. Inter-Guardian relationships don't work. I've been there." - Merry Arlan: Breaking The Curse

Enemy: Cadet Aionda Manth - "Manth had decided I was a target for some reason." - Merry Arlan: Breaking The Curse

SEASON

Spring: Kitty Hughes - warmth blooms and flowers and food begin to grow. "He wore a delicate green tunic that offset the green in his hazel eyes, like whole forests full of hidden life set into his pale face." - Merry Arlan: Breaking The Curse

Summer: Lior - "A fluttering red sleeve caught my attention. Lior's hand blurred as xe waved at me, practically glowing in the late morning sunlight." - Merry Arlan: Breaking The Curse

Autumn: Kalik -

"The sun hadn't even risen yet, street lights casting eerie blue and orange glows over the street depending on their magical or fire-based means of operation.

'Here.' He held out a paper bag and silver coloured travel mug." - Merry Arlan: Breaking The Curse

Winter: Merry - "Ice blue eyes, platinum hair that shifted blue in the right lighting, pale skin. He would find an undercurrent of blue that wasn't there, since I wasn't flushed pink to dispute it" - Merry Arlan: Breaking The Curse

DESTRUCTION

Tornado: Commander Jonathan Whitclé - "Did anything come out of Commander Whitclé's office uncrinkled?" - Book 2 Guardian Cadet Series

Wildfire: Queen Kariella - okay, so Kariella is from the second book, she's the Queen of the free Elven people's. I don't want to give too much away but she's a Red Elf and a fire mage. She's passionate and strong and pretty unstoppable.

Earthquake: Kitty - you never really see the potential for anger in Kitty, he's caring and sweet, he gets caught up in projects too easily and sucks at taking care of himself unless someone reminds him that he needs to eat. When I was discussing this tag with my wife she said "Earthquake? Kitty? Are you sure?" But underneath all his sweet, soft, caring, Kitty would tear the world down if someone hurts his loved ones. And you'd never see it coming.

Tsunami: Professor Sorenson - Sorenson doesn't get as much page time as I'd like. She's a big ideas woman, and she likes things done her way. She will absolutely sweep you up in her skirt-tails and bring you along for the ride.

LANDSCAPE

Mountain: Kitty - not to be too literal, but he's from the White Cliffs, which are mountains.

Forest: Merry - deep, dark, mysterious, and if you go too far in you'll find something dangerous.

Ocean: Captain Etta Amaranth - Etta could have her own series and yet she never makes it to the page, at least not in person. She's a Wind Mage, which is very useful if you want to be a pirate. She's also the most mysterious member of the cast (like I said, she never appears on the page and is only talked about). She was the transportation that moved Merry from who she was, into the possibility of becoming Merry Arlan in the first place.

Desert: Jhoto Folcs - Jhoto is a complex woman. She has a lot of easily lifted walls surrounding her (and Lior) for protection. She has no qualms about lifting those walls, either, regardless of how close she might have once been to the person now on the other side. But she has a weakness for her exes - all of them. The mirage of water in the desert that just makes everyone else more parched since she'll let those people back in and reinforce extra walls for everyone else when she inevitably gets hurt.

Tagging: oh gosh who to tag? You if you want to do it :)

Tagged by @asher-writes ^^

My words to find are wind, missing, where, cold.

My chosen WIP is The second book in the Guardian Cadet Series

Wind

The ship rocked gently from side to side, waves sloshing against it in a way that sent melodies skittering through my brain as the surprisingly chill wind cut across deck.

Missing

"Yeah, we've been missing you" (Merry Arlan: Breaking The Curse - it doesn't appear in a non-spoilery way in GCS2)

Where

Whitclé also grabbed a plain brown paper folder from the cabinets behind him, the Guardian crest sat on the front of that one, black ink feathered around the edges where it had seeped into the paper.

Cold

“I’m not that bad,” he protested then winced. “I’m not that bad?” “First point is that I didn’t even have to say anything, you already know how bad you are. Second, you bought me a coat.” “You didn’t have one, you were cold.” “You also bought me a scarf, gloves, and a hat.”

Just me and my wife casually chatting about the book I've recently finished (read: done as much as I can to and need fresh eyes on it). I've ordered her a printed copy to make notes on and it should arrive on/around our wedding anniversary.

I know I've put in tropes my wife loves to hate (like the interrupted kiss), and I've done mean things to characters my wife loves (for plot purposes!)

She's gonna have so much fun reading it and I'm gonna have so much fun watching her read.

[ID: screenshot of messages in purple and white-grey bubbles. - purple is me, grey-white is my wife. Conversation reads

Me: it'll be a happy anniversary present for you

My wife: yay present

Me: it'll make you laugh, might make you cry, definitely make you want to slap me

[ID: screenshot of black text on a white doc. Text reads: I took the time to get dressed into some of the clothes Kalik and I had gathered from the tailor -- [make descriptions of clothes *crying face*] /end ID]

Or heart wrenching romantic moment?

Tagged by the radiant @emelkae

My words are: work, anything, jewel/gem, and drag.

And the project in question, Guardian Cadet Series book 2, Merry Arlan: [TBA] -- of course :)

Work

I trudged down the stairs from Whitcle’s office. The door to the Guardian Gym stood open, remnants of a stream of Guardians emerging from it — their workout clothes made figuring out their rank impossible, except one particular one who’s sparkling black eyes met mine.

Anything

He put his pen down and leaned his elbows on the desk, one open folder crinkling under the pressure. Was that an important pile of documents? Did anything that entered Commander Whitcle’s office come out uncrinkled?

Jewel

The Elven Queen’s braids, decorated with shining jewels, had been woven around her ruby circlet, the same colour as her eyes, enhancing the already prominent red tint in her brown skin. If I didn’t live with scarlet-haired Kitty, I would have called her hair red, but now a deep auburn seemed a more appropriate title.

Drag (oh no, it's saucy)

My fangs scraped against his lower lip, a drag I enjoyed far more than I thought I would, only made better when Kalik groaned, hands gliding across my skin, gripping and releasing.

Taggos, only if you have the time/space/botherings to (as in can be bothered): @asher-orion-writes @saedoeswriting @avrablake @cherrybombfangirlwrites and, as always, if you come across this consider yourself tagged if you're interested

The words to find: Bleed, shine, cup, heat, and key