#post-script

Summary: Poindexter, your deed is in the safe -- Wendy can open it for you -- don't worry about the mortgage, that's been paid off. Sorry about messing your life up again. Bye. PS - the milk is about to go bad, so you should use that up.

Runa Cover of [post-script] from Deemo and Voez [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Zq8FxpkieU]

Thanks for tagging me, @pens-swords-stuff <3 

Since I’m writing for Post-Script at present, I thought I’d muster up the creativity to write some stuff about Alistair in his original ‘verse.

1) What was the first element of your OC that you remember considering (name, appearance, backstory, etc.?)

 So, Alistair was first designed for one of the first roleplays I ever joined – a vampire one, naturally – and though it was about five years ago now that he was made, I definitely decided on concept first. That original version is a bit embarrassing, but when I remade him at first for For Queen and Country, I wanted him to be a smooth-talking businessman, a well-known figure in his local community, but in a ‘big fish, small pond’ kind of way.

The result was a vampire who’s lived for centuries, but instead of running for parliament or anything like that, he owns most of the rental properties in the area and spends all his time on petty, low-level politics. Like, Facebook-group level drama.

Obviously when reworking him for Post-Script (a Harry Potter AU written with @pens-swords-stuff) he kept some of that, and understanding politics remains a large part of his character there. But I’ll be focusing on For Queen and Country for this ask game.

2) Did you design them with any other characters/OCs from their universe in mind?

I will be the first to admit that I brainstorm everything about my characters with @pens-swords-stuff. In Alistair’s case, the journalist Blake is a huge part of his story (and vice versa!).

3) How did you choose their name?

I liked the name Alistair, and it just seemed to fit. His surname changed once or twice before settling on Queen. No relation to the title of the work For Queen and Country, just a happy little accident.

Additionally, I also decided later on that he would have Anglicized his name after a few centuries, so his birth name would have been Alasdair. Surnaming in Scotland actually took place later than in the rest of the UK, so he wouldn’t have been given one at birth. Instead, I figured he adopted the surname Macqueen in the 17th or 18th century during a foray into clan politics and Anglicized it upon moving to London.

 Plus, it’s fun when vampires who knew him in the early days still call him by his old name.

 4) In developing their backstory, what elements of the world they live in played the most influential parts?

So the rough idea of For Queen and Country is that the Other (supernatural creatures) exist in secret, but their society gets blown wide open shortly before the story begins thanks to social media, bad luck, and a touch of conspiracy.

 5) Is there any significance behind their hair colour?

Nope. (Dirty blonde).

 6) Is there any significance behind their eye colour?

Nope. (Brown).

 7) Is there any significance behind their height?

Not particularly – he’s about average height (5’9”).

8) What (if anything) do you relate to within their character/story?

It’s pretty hard for me to relate to Alistair. He’s a capitalist, semi-ambitious, from an entirely different time period, and is just at home in a city, in the limelight, in any social situation. At times this makes him very hard to write for. 

 9) Are they based off of you, in some way?

I mean, he’s from Scotland. I think when writing his off-handed jokes (of which there are a lot) they’re not too dissimilar from my own sense of humour. Maybe a little less crude.

 10) Did you know what the OC’s sexuality would be at the time of their creation?

Oh, for sure – Alistair has always been and will always be bisexual.

 11) What have you found to be most difficult about creating art for your OC (any form of art: Writing, drawing, edits, etc.)?

Hi my name’s McHaggis, I’m 20 and I can’t fuckin’ draw.

 12) How far past the canon events that take place in their world have you extended their story, if at all?

 Not that far to be honest. I have reimagined him for several different settings and universes, though.

 13) If you had to narrow it down to 2 things that you MUST keep in mind while working with your OC, what would those things be?

 1. He has a minor obsession with money, or rather, not being poor himself, hence why he continues to seek out financial opportunities and has safeguards upon safeguards even though he’s pretty loaded. Call it childhood trauma: he lived and died as a pauper on the streets, and he has a very good memory.

2. I don’t want him to be apathetic about anything, especially life. Living for so long, it seems like it would get boring, but I think vampires (and Alistair in particular) perceive the world and the passage of time differently, so to him there are still infinite opportunities out there, and if he must do something he’s done before, it’s strongly nostalgic rather than repetitive.

14) What is something about your OC that can make you laugh?

 Vampire jokes, my dudes. Classic.

15) What is something about your OC can make you cry?

I don’t think there’s anything about Alistair that would make me cry.

Half-vampires (dhampires) exist in this universe, but they tend to have a lifespan of about 35 years. Alistair has been a father before, to a suitably angsty conclusion each time.

 16) Is there some element you regret adding to your OC or their story?

 I definitely regret making him such an old-ass vampire when I have to research history and what he would have been doing in a certain century.

 17) What is the most recent thing you’ve discovered about your OC?

He has a sister now - Vanessa! Found family rather than blood relatives, but still. It filled a gap in his overall character for close friends and family, as I wondered for a time if he wouldn’t have any of those.

 18) What is your favourite fact about your OC?

Ooh, a toughie. Probably the fact that he has no angst whatsoever about being a vampire, but neither does he think it’s anything special - it’s not a curse or a gift, it’s just no big deal. He’d be happy to offer it to anyone he’s sort-of friends with and would like to stick around for more than a few decades.

Also, he had a glam rock phase.

UHHHH some tags! I just chose some folks whose writing I’d like to know better, feel free to do or not do at your leisure (apologies if this ain’t your jam, or if you’ve been tagged in it many times before)~

based from the mv “Sora e” https://youtu.be/si2r6aXTz8U

Thanks for the tag @kit-tells-a-story!!

I was most recently writing for Post-Script, which is a story told through letters, so this is a section from the latest one (with a little bit of exposition cut out):

A friend of mine who works there suggested the name, actually. Not directly, of course, but Bishop is the culmination of his advice: something memorable, something simple, something not easily connected to my real identity. When I told him what I picked, he had this look on his face that said, ‘Really, a chess piece? Deep as a puddle, you are.’ Come to think of it, that might be a direct quote.

I’m glad that someone appreciates it, though.

[...]

Sincerely, Bishop

Tagging: @autofoebia, @hell-yeah-writing, @inkovert, @kenny-d-juice, @agent-me and anyone else who sees this~ Feel free to do or do not there is no try as I know this tag game gets around the block a few times.

so I made another MV