#nar tag

!!! thank you!!! 

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okay, so, as the name of this ask implies, they do worship the Great Tree to some extent! it’s considered to be a higher power, and also the protector of the Land of Monsters!

the legend goes that one day, the Great Tree sprouted, and when it sprouted, the Land of Monsters came into being; a place monsters could go to hide away from humans, where they would be safe from harm, and protected forever more.

the very first monster to come into the land was a Bordeaux - who would soon become the first King of Monsters, and create the Royal Family.

ahhhhh this is a good one!!! it ties in with this prompt I did too!

thank you!!

so here’s the first one, for Culraes, who is one of my absolute favorite oc’s in @writings-of-a-narwhal‘s collection!

so I wanna talk about @writings-of-a-narwhal first because, honestly, I might not still be in this community! she was the person that welcomed me in, helped show me the ropes of the community, and has been relentless in her love, support, and enthusiasm. I know that, without a doubt, I can always count on Elle to scream with me about characters, stories, and vague wip ideas.

AND YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE?

SHE HAS SUPER COOL STORIES!!!

okay, so, right off the bat, she’s got Broken Thrones which is this incredible fantasy story, complete with a cast of characters that i ADORE. Amary? Culraes? Rosar? incredible. every time she makes a change to the plot, all i can think is, holy wow, that’s such a great idea.

but you know what? it’s not just that one wip!!! this girl has such a collection of incredibly cool, super creative stories!!! including a really great au of Broken Thrones that’s all about murder cats!!! that’s right!!! it’s a warrior style au!!! and i love it!!! i love watching these characters lives unfold in such a cool, wild way!!!

there’s a Beauty And The Beast retelling, there’s a story about a neato racoon girl, there’s a multi-verse that connects so many of these amazing stories and worlds!!!! she’s got sirens! she’s got deserts! she’s got magic! and dragons! and just!!!! so much!!!!

this is something I had a really hard time with, for a really long time! but...you know, I try to make it happen in a way that seems real?

first, I have to figure out what the character wants, more than anything. for the Groundhog Day kids, it’s often for their loved one to be happy. that’s generally what the angst gets centered around - losing them, watching them get hurt, fighting with them, that sort of thing.

but the end goal is subverting it.

if what they want more than anything is peace for their people, that’s what they get. they might lose a brother, an arm, and be cursed with nightmares for the rest of their lives, but their people have peace. or they get to retire with their loved one.

more than anything, Bolte wants Red to be safe. so even though a good portion of the story is based around a whole lot of Bolte-angst, I know that Red never dies for good, and that when the war is over, Red gets to live in a home with a soft bed, and good food. 

Lime goes through Hell and back in The Business. but he still gets his happy ending, because the people closest to him don’t die. they aren’t all in one piece, but they don’t die.

in HTWWL, Dallas wants Charlie to come home alive. that’s his happy ending: getting his brother back. as long as Charlie returns to Perfection alive, it doesn’t matter what horrors take place between the two situations. it’s still a happy ending.

if you can identify what that character wants more than anything else, and then give it to them, it doesn’t matter what else happens. they’re still going to be happy.

AAAAAHHHHHH THIS IS SUCH AN INCREDIBLE COMPLIMENT

like!!!!!! I am living!!!! and so pleased with this thought you’ve given me!!!!!! thank you so much, friend!!!!!

also here!!!! my secrets, all composed in a very short list!!!!! 

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*be self indulgent. everything you’re worried about being over done or too much or too out there? do it anyway. give your characters eyes that are two different colors and cat ears and sharp teeth and anything that’s ever made you pause and go “is this too much” just do it. 

*take personality into account with clothing, even more than you take their jobs into account. is that cape of Locke’s practical? no. but it fits his personality, so he gets to wear a pretty gold cape on top of his more practical work clothes. Wick is a flashy, big, bold personality so he wears tons of jewelry and bright colors even though looking more stately would help his work better.

*people have blemishes and scars and acne and big bushy eye brows. people have clear skin and wear makeup even during their work outs and always keep their nails painted. let their design reflect their personality, because whatever design you’re thinking might be too much? yeah, someone out there really looks that way.

*even if you never use these outfits in the story, figuring out a character’s “alternate wardrobe” (winter wear, bathing suit, pj’s, fancy clothes) is a ton of fun and might even give you ideas for how to incorporate more of their personality into the designs you DO use in your story.

*teeth! teeth are something I really love thinking about! crooked teeth, braces, front teeth that over lap, missing teeth, big tusk-like teeth! there’s so much personality in the design of a character’s teeth, even just for writing purposes! I love using the phrases “gap toothed smile” and “smiles, all crooked teeth and dimples” because! it just tells you so much about that character!

*you like red hair? you like curly hair? you like long hair? doesn’t matter how many characters get that color or hair style in a story. it’s now the most popular hair style for that region, the most common hair color in the kingdom. 

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I spent a really long time designing characters I thought were “proper”  and “professional” looking or weren’t “too much” or “too unbelievable”. and I ended up disliking all of them. it wasn’t until I started designing characters based around things I liked that my designs actually started to look different from each other and stand out as neat, memorable things.

@writings-of-a-narwhal mentioned fantasy westerns, so here are some fantasy western prompts

share the fun! please send a prompt in to whoever you reblog this from!

1. everyone doubts that the dwarf sheriff can do anything to help the dying town

2. a centaur outlaw has a love/hate relationship with the Morally Ambiguous elf blacksmith

3. a siren runs the local bar and doesn’t approve of the sheriff bringing his business here

4. a gang of vicious outlaws must help the sheriff stop a rampaging dragon

5. the witch can heal but only between dusk and dawn

6. the sheriff makes a deal with a demon to save the town

7. a trickster god plays deputy to a centaur sheriff

8. cat folk and mouse folk battle it out at high noon

9. a faerie gets drunk on cactus juice

ahhhhh I mean it!!! these asks are just!!! such an amazing thing to see any time, but it’s so especially good tonight! thank you so so much for all these lovely words!!!