#wren lofthouse

Apricity

Thanks

2. How long was the process before the character reached its final version? (or a version that would be clearly recognizable as the character?)

For Wren this happened fairly quickly into the first draft.

Shrike eluded me for a while.

Before his name was Shrike he was a very generic knight, as handsome as he was strong and as callous as he was thick, loyal to his queen and unable to fathom her betrayal. Writing this felt both wildly inauthentic and also like he would be too stupid to survive in the fae realms for five minutes (let alone five centuries).

Fixing his name helped fix his personality for reasons eluded below.

Additionally, letting him be a weird sideways trickster and an outcast in fae society in addition to a strong and stoic warrior gave him a lot more breathing room to become a three-dimensional character. And because Wren is already very prickly, Shrike grew softer. (The story was not working at all without that vital contrast.)

5. How did you choose their name and why? Was it simply based on vibes or is there any specific meaning behind the name? Are the reasons behind their name different in- and out of universe?

Shrike was originally named Wren. This was as confusing as it sounds. It did not fit him at all and I struggled to figure out who the hell he was.

Wren's name was originally [clerk]. It remained so until I realized that the name "Wren" suited a Victorian man just as well as any fae. Moreover, calling him Wren fit his small-yet-spiky personality very well. It also told me what he looked like; brown hair, freckles, sharp little beak.

With Wren now named Wren, it seemed fitting to keep on with the bird theme, so Shrike became Shrike. This gave me his appearance (masked, silver-and-grey) as well as his modus operandi (dwelling in thorns, victory through impalement). His personality became an inverse of the bird. Shrikes look like any other songbird but are in actuality ferocious predators who feast on lizards, small mammals, and their fellow passerines. Shrike the Butcher of Blackthorn, meanwhile, looks like a vicious killer (and in many ways he is) while having a secret soft core that he carefully hides from the world.

8. What is the origin of their personality? And let's be honest - how much of it is projecting?

Personality origins are well-trod by now, I think.

Shrike's personality was difficult for me to grasp at first but after I changed his name to Shrike the pieces fell into place. Projection only insomuch as the widow's walk post is autobiographical.

Chibi Wren Lofthouse, bad-ass mode. From @nothwell ‘s upcoming Oak King Holly King, which I beta read. Because I wanted to draw freckles, and Wren has so very many.

May I have this dance?

I’m beta reading Sebastian Nothwell’s next novel, Oak King Holly King, and very much enjoying it - I mean, it’s Victorian England, but with fae and super queer, so it really sells itself, you know? There’s this scene where one of the main characters asks the other to dance, and it was such a great visual in my head that I had to draw it, even though nobody will know what it is since the book is still in beta. Sigh. 

Not sure when OKHK will be out, but you don’t have to wait to experience the angsty, tender goodness of @nothwell - he’s got 4 books out already, and all were really good. Hold Fast (queer/kinky/Victorian) is my personal favourite.