Theme 08: Erjin - Week 2

Seems like I lose track of a lot of things lately... Blog included. Though I do use the weekend to spend time with bf since he's at home then, and yesterday was partial-cleaning time XD and tomorrow I've got a job interview, and no idea what to expect of it. Just wish I didn't have to take the train, since it's gonna make me lose some time waiting for it... but I'll have Pokémon Go to keep me company. Yay mobile data. << XD

This week, going to share one of those random writings that set an entire part of the story in motion. As I mentioned in week 1, Erjin was created so I'd have a book-person in the world itself from whom to learn, and that eventually evolved into actual stor-setting events I never saw coming. There are five older writings based on a single once-journal entry, and I pick the one I aptly dubbed 'Because it demanded to be written out'. The scene is set with Erjin being asked out by a Honorary, which is basically the equivalent of military in Malmernian terms, and after a rather tumultuous evening at the tavern, the young Honorary walks Erjin home...

Theme 08: Erjin - Week 1

New month, new theme! ... Well, kinda XD new theme begins early.

It's being a struggle to keep up with all my social activities, but I'm slowly getting there, one comment at a time. The next step is to send out a few applications, and then finally delve into the first chapter of the digital painting course... So looking forward to that.

Without further ado, presenting the next theme...

Erjin

I had no pics. Hence, 3-min quick doodle <<

Who is Erjin?

Librarian extraordinaire and occasional book destroyer, Erjin works at the Great Library of Malmern as an information gatherer. What does that entail? Well, she is one of several whose job it is to read and cross-check facts and information to discover more about the world they are living in. Erjin has a keen mind; very clumsy when it comes to physical activities (like walking), but very astute when it comes to comprehending ideas and creating links between them.

She hails from the main agricultural town in Malmernian (=the country), north of Malmern: Telli. In her eyes a small-minded, closed community she's only too happy to have left behind. She didn't belong there anyway, as she'd been adopted by a rather kind person who rued the day she accepted to take this handicapped child into her family. No one in Telli misses Erjin, and Erjin misses no one. Malmern is her home now, a complex and fascinating home that isn't without its dangers...

Erjin and the novel

Erjin is an interesting case. Back when I didn't quite know what to do with my website (which is still in the works (2017 edit to new website)), I had a couple of blogs. One was just a regular one, which I eventually deleted after deciding to go a different way; the second blog came with a revamp of the site, and for the occasion I created Erjin as the writer of said journal. The idea was to look at the world through her eyes and write bits and pieces of information she'd come upon. The idea was sound; the production, not so much... as I realized, after a few months, that I wouldn't be able to keep it up due to lacking certainty what I wrote was also accurate. So, I stopped the blog, but not before having written a few entries that led to larger writings, and eventually to important scenes that inspired a part of the novel. In French we say: rien que ça :p

And so Erjin made herself a spot into the novel. She's definitely going to appear: I'm going to need her for information and relations' sake, to set in motion what will likely be the dawn of comprehension of what's going on in the world (again: rien que ça (which basically translates as a sarcastic 'oh yeah, only that')).

The other reason is that I love that character. She's pretty recent compared to others like Devon or Aneskia, but she's already managed to make herself comfortable in my brain and to exist. She's the kind of character any story needs: comic relief through insecurity and devotion. She's a very kind individual, much like Aneskia, however Erjin struggles with this kindness because there are people you just don't want to be kind to. She's very insecure because of her handicap and her clumsiness (which is a handicap too), but she tries, nonetheless... a bit like me ;) but far worse. I can hold a hammer: she'd just slam the wall and/or break a nearby lamp.

So, this all said: Erjin is a fun character. Looking forward to writing her into the story. ... That's gonna be tons of fun. XD

Theme 07: Nadieja - Week 4

As the heat has finally arrived, so has my brain melted into a puddle of nameless goo... Slept like crap yesterday, leading to a zombie day. Didn't sleep all too well last night either, but at least my brain's somewhat awake. Thus, it's posting time <<

And let it be known I currently feel as though I'll never amount to anything or be able to get my stories done and all that negative crap and dear god negative cycle again. It's the heat and tiredness. And the world being a steaming pile of crap. Especially our government. These are the days I really wonder what I'm doing here. And realize I'm just in a bad phase and it'll pass because always it does. Just sucks while in the middle of it e.e

Ahem. So today we have the last part of Nadieja's theme. I don't really know which way to go for next week's theme; so, this week's post will not relate to whomever I happen to choose for next week. I'm slowly running out of novel-related characters, which I guess is a good thing :) so, afterwards, we'll see where we go. For now, enjoy a little scene taken from the other side of Nadieja's life.

(disclaimer: this writing's old and needs an edit. Just so you know. <<)

Theme 07: Nadieja - Week 3

Had a hard time finding myself this week. Today, still, I wonder who I am and where I'm going. Where I'll be allowed to go.

But don't we have our lives in our hands?

So, week three: origin story! :D

Nadieja's Origin Story

To explain her origin, I'll have to start at the origin story of a few other characters.

I've had the Syrilae village for a long time - some 15 years, I'd wager. Back then it was just a place I'd created because it sounded cool to have a village of elves with cool ears be surrounded by crystal trees (because it was different and COOL << XD). There was even a Dragon there at some point because I had the simple explanation for the Syrilae ears that they were, y'know, like a Dragon wing evolution of sorts (and Dragons are COOL-- okay I'll stop << XD). The base of this creation was Kassandra, because I'd been figuring out her history and it ended up involving this race, this place, and characters that are still around to this day - some having changed very little (except they died XD). The fact is, I'd made the place to fit her history, a few characters for fun's sake, and that was enough back then.

And then, in those roleplay days, certain characters ended up in the village and got taken care of by yet other characters - these characters of mine being a couple, a Syrilae man named Giounai and his plump elven woman Martha. Martha especially took great care of this lost character... and from there, and other events I discovered having taking place in the village, I figured out even more about Giounai and Martha - who, at some point, left the village and ended up in a then-unnamed city which would, upon overhaul, become the town of Desri - one of three large towns that surround the Malmernian capital, Malmern (whether the country's name or the city's came first, I have no idea). In the roleplay days we had the lost character one day reunite with Martha and Giounai, and a few more characters had joined the fray for then-plot's sake...On my side, one of those characters was Nadieja.

In those days she was still called Nadiya, because of a French singer I loved at the time. I changed it during the Overhaul because I figured, hey, if ever I want to publish writings, I can't have her named after a real person (but then I do have a character named Zool whose name I took straight from Ghostbusters... I never changed it because I'm not allowed to <<). So, in the logic of the region, I switched it to Nadieja (nah-dee-eh-*flem*a), and that's when she truly begun to take life. In the roleplay days I had created her as a friend for Giounai after Martha passed, and this remained, even stronger than before. I had always envisioned Nadieja being an influential woman in Malmern, and this expanded during the Overhaul as I determined exactly who Lord Ashin was, and what being his sole heir truly entailed.

So Nadieja had been created way back when sort of out of the blue, and she's grown in personality ever since - mostly after writing the long-gone blog of Erjin, through which I discovered not only more about the world, but about the story I wanted to tell. Random blogs that led to specific scenes, themselves to events that changed Malmern and made me realize I was going to take the story there. So, Nadieja didn't really have a purpose at the time of creation beyond being a useful gear in the roleplay machine of yore; now she's become an invaluable element whose choices will directly affect TAoS in sometimes indirect ways, but fully known to me. Most notably, she has saved a life whose knowledge will be invaluable in its own right...

I have to say I'm really fond of Nadieja. Over the years she has become a strong character, despite flaws - the flaws making her more tangible and relatable, in my opinion. She's the prime example of someone who starts life without any hope for the future, and ends up becoming far more than ever they dared believe or dream. In that respect, I'd like to be more like her... If anything, she's made me learn to love the colour orange. XD

And that is all for Nadieja for this week :)

Theme 07: Nadieja - Week 2

Feeling pretty happy today. Though job offers suck right now, I'm in the process of trying to find some relevant volunteering jobs. Keeping busy with life.

... and I just got a call from my best friend asking if she could come over (11:32 AM, started this blog two minutes ago). She needs to talk. It's weird, because I'd thought about sending her a message this weekend saying that if she ever needed to talk, she's welcome here... And I didn't, because I didn't know how it'd look. Life works in mysterious ways - but what is a friend who can't even make time for a friend in need?

So, I'll keep this one short (thankfully it's copy/paste-day << XD). A little bit about Nadieja's professional life, and a subtle wink to side-events I may one day share... once they are well re-written... :)

Theme 07: Nadieja - Week 1

This week has been somewhat of a rollercoaster. It's had deep lows, exciting highs, and after a great night's sleep only perturbed by a end-of-the-world dream ' (wherein, again, my parents' apartment building collapsed into the ground, but at least not through it entirely this time), life has resumed basically as it was last week. A bit better though.

Most notably, the issues I'd mentioned with my writer friend have been smoothed out - they got worse though before improving XD so much so I had to consider the reality that the friendship wouldn't recover. But, some explanations and clarifications (and, I must say on my part, some righteous anger <<) later, I feel as though the friend I've known and cared about is back. It makes me very happy. I prefer to move on in the same direction rather than having to take different roads.

The other notable event is that I applied for a job two days ago, went on an interview yesterday morning and got hired, then by the end of the day got unhired because I want to have a kid. See, this is something women shouldn't mention when they apply for a job; I didn't, as she didn't ask and in my situation (=not certain I can have kids) I deem it irrelevant, but as this was a store where I'd made purchases to boost fertility, the information got to her ears and she regretfully, apologetically, had to cancel my tryout. And I understood. I had an amazingly good interview, we got along super well, I even finished her sentences... but based on projections (that if I get pregnant at my age there could be complications and so forth), she didn't want to take the risk. Rather, couldn't afford to take it, as there's a lot of learning to do in thsi job, and it may all be for naught if indeed I get pregnant and indeed have complications... On my part, I'd feel guilty to have forced to get hired anyway and then indeed get complications. What I take away from this event is that my resumé now has the intended effect: I strongly emphasized my desire to help people, and that's basically what attracted her attention. And I hope to have shown her there are still motivated, positive people in this world... I think that's something she needed to know right now.

As I said: helping people. In a very broad, all-encompassing way XD

And that's basically my eventful week. Also had to go to the unemployment office (which went well, save she gave me one job offer that doesn't interest me in the least and is an hour away from here by foot+tramway!), went for groceries and ended up talking for an hour with an ex-colleague, and had heavy insomnia for three days. Today I feel rested and eager to return to my own endeavours.

And thus I move on to the next theme. I had a bit of difficulty picking one, as there are more characters I'd like to talk about but that I can't pick for the sake of keeping the story a bit vague for a while longer ;), so I eventually settled for:

Nadieja

Again, nothing better at hand than a sketch ;.;

Who is Nadieja?

Nadieja is the adoptive daughter of one of the Lords of the City of Malmern, Lord Gregoir Ashin. AT his death she inherited all of his possessions and his title, making Nadieja one of the most influential people in all of Malmern. She is the face of justice and diplomacy, and also the thorn in the other Lords' sides.

Before being Lady Nadieja, she was Nilja - an uneducated peasant child born to parents who abandoned her. Her past is riddled with wrong choices and bad decisions that led to an unwanted pregnancy and being arrested for theft and accessory to murder. Only her pregnancy saved her life, and after her pregnancy, it is the benevolence of Lord Ashin that secured for her a future she never would have dared dream or hope for.

So Nadieja hardened, learned of the world and the City she lives in, and became a force to be reckoned with. She strives every day to banish injustice and crime from Malmern; her past has granted her psychological insights that one day led her to make a decision that would change her life, and that of Malmernian's citizens...

Nadieja and the Novel

Her exact role to play isn't defined yet - she may just only make cameo appearances. The story will take Aneskia and Nalyn to Malmern, where they will discover more about the threats looming on the horizon - threats that Nadieja will have gotten wind of, though not as in-depth as she'd want. Depending on certain events that may or may not happen, Nadieja may get herself involved into understanding just how great the threat is.

She wrote herself naturally into this story once I realized I'd have to take it to Malmern. I've had her since my roleplay days, and she always struck me as an interesting and complex woman: head-strong, unyielding, yet also compassionate and, in some ways, flawed - her greatest flaw being the irrational terror she feels towards her twin daughters Hali and Amin (as a note: twins are very rare on this world, so I suspect there being some rumours/superstitions regarding twins that are based on potentially religious beliefs... Yes, there's still a lot to discover, even for me XD).

More importantly, her thirst for justice, actions she has taken in a past that relates to TAoS, made her an invaluable addition to the story. How and when I've yet to determine, but she'll be there, and she'll be important. She says so herself << XD

Theme 06: Kooga - Week 4

Boy am I gonna be glad when July rolls around o.- allergies have been killing my brain. I just want to crawl into a hole and hibernate for a while. Feeling very tired, very... meh-I-dun-care-about-anything. Been having a hard time keeping up with everything. It's one of those periods of time where doing anything seems like a huge chore (yes, I do think I'm chronically depressed XD might just be the weather that's still got to realize it's summer already). Anyway: feeling meh. Chances are I'll disappear on Twilight Princess for a while since I feel like I'd enjoy that, but not before at least making my weekly post. I've still got a lot to do this week, which I'll get to gradually.

So, week 4. I honestly don't know what else to say about Kooga XD I've basically said everything. I haven't decided yet which character will be next week's theme... I have so many headpeople, yet I don't know which would be interesting to talk about.

For now, I shall leave you with a cute moment, because I like to show Kooga's good side :)