Dainnr

A digital painting of my newest darling, Dáinnr. =3 She's working her way up in my favorites list very quickly.

Boda--as a dude

Just a bit of genderbend. Angrboda, Loki's first wife, as a dude.

Those darn shapeshifters. :P

Odin

Odin's color scheme and general appearance.

Character Design Practice

Another post! 'Cause I'm too lazy to edit! =D

So these are twelve chars (not all of them mine) who I've drawn, and I needed to test my character design abilities, see how different I could make them look.

1. Caesar (Sparkly Viking Vampire Aliens)
2. Loki (If you don't know my Loki, you're new. Go look through the blog. He's from my series Ninth Twilight, by the by.)
3. Thor (Ninth Twilight)
4. Odin (Ninth Twilight)
5. Brandy (Sparkly Viking Vampire Aliens)
6. Azos (All That Is Gold; Rayle's story)
7. Sixes (Deep Six; by Midnight Aster)
8. Fenris (Ninth Twilight)
9. Jorgi (Ninth Twilight)
10. Boda (Ninth Twilight)
11. Gilan (Ranger's Apprentice, John Flanagan)
12. Odin, genderbent. (Ninth Twilight)

Aret (fondly referred to as jotunbunny)

Meet Aret Hakonsson, one of the few jotun survivors of Ragnarok. He's young and very easy-going, with his flaw being that he has trouble committing to things and making decisions. He also has issues with his magic; it's weak enough to combine with Kvasiran runes, but even then he struggles with channeling it anywhere useful. His one strength is that he can shift quickly and easily into a rabbit.

I didn't say that it was a useful strength.

He usually goes around as a bunny and changes back to jotun only to communicate with people. He finds people are more likely to carry him around rather than making him walk when he's a rabbit, which is good for his lazy streak.

When he's a bunny, he has silky smooth fur that's ice cold to the touch, but when you stroke him it slides past your fingers, slick and soft, so you really don't mind. Just don't snuggle up to him as a bunny. (You can clearly see I have a very active imagination, active enough to be able to pet a bunny that's not really there. o.O)

He also looks roughly like that when he's a bunny.

He belongs to a story inspired by the idea that the world is cyclical: each time Ragnarok happens, the worlds are born anew, until they meet their apocalypse and the cycle starts over. After Ragnarok, the Norse end of the world in my story, Sigyn, wife of Loki, is devastated by his death. But wise Mimir, a rime jotun who is so ancient he has seen Ragnarok happen twice, tells her not to fear: Loki will be reborn with the rest of the Nine Worlds in a new body and she simply has to find him. So she does, and along the way she meets Aret. It's quite a fun idea.

Thus has been Quill's random character/story update.

Random piece of art (characters/authors/the fourth wall)

The prose drunk!Odin-sober!Loki will be a while longer in coming since I looked at it again today and decided it was awful.

So have a random piece of art.

The two on the couch are me and Ninja respectively. The people behind it are, from left to right, Thor, Loki, Gilan, Hela, Essence, and Velvet. (Velv is the one in the pink hair, the order gets a bit confused towards the right.) I didn't fully color them because, well, they're not real. XD And the notebooks in Ninja and my hands are actual notebooks that we both own.

Those in green are Ninja's chars, those in red are mine.

Thor: Fifteen years old, struggling with being the son of a woman from a race despised by those of his home planet, likes hammers, bad with words, generally adorkable.

Loki: ...Gosh. How does one sum up Loki? Sarcastic, hiding a broken soul, the one who stands alone, elf, jotun, aesir, everyone, nobody, powerful, powerless, loyal, betrayed, promises, truth, lies.

That made no sense at all, but every single one applies to him, despite the many contradictions. XD

Gilan: Cheerful, optimistic, witty, clever, swordsman, Ranger, bowman. Responsible, moral,

Hela: Half-born, one half that drives men to seek glorious battle, one half that shows the grave and rot, lonely, kind, masked, hurting for affection, scared to look for it, scared of rejection, regal, Queen of the Dead.

Essence: Scared. Scared of everything, gets drunk on oranges, terrified of circles, of shadows, of so many things. Clinging to Whyspr, the only one who keeps him sane. Hating himself for needing her.

Velvet: The Beast in a Beauty and the Beast story, has ink for blood, living alone, locked in a mansion far away, hurting physically, hurting emotionally. Gothic, dark, paints with her own blood and finds it beautiful.

Well, I fail at summing characters up in a few (sensible) words, but here you go. 

Swimming

I think this was kind of an excuse to draw Loki shirtless, but hey, he is engaged to an Irish mermaid. They've got to get in the water sometimes. ^_^

  Same for Thor and Issy. XP

Loki's Loves, Part One--Angrboda

 I feel like doing a few pieces on the major women in my character Loki's life. Probably a three-parter--his canon wives Angrboda and Sigyn and his non-canon love Sloan (belonging to AlienRiddle~ from the OYAN forums). We'll go in chronological order, so without further ado...

Angrboda

Blue-skinned, dark-haired, with a lot of power and a personality to match, Angrboda was Loki's first love. They met in Jotunheim, land of the ice Jotnar, when Loki ran afoul of her wolf pack and Boda saw fit to rescue him.

"Sorry about the wolves."

"No, it's fine, almost getting mauled was high on my list of priorities." 

Boda was a shapeshifter with extraordinary control over her regular magic. The widow of a warlord, she ruled a small but powerful territory of her own. When her husband died she took over, fighting off all who challenged her right to the throne.

"You're a woman!"

"I'm your warlord."

In Jotunheim, where your right to rule is determined by if you can defeat everyone who thinks they have a right to rule, Angrboda was something of a legend. Her territory, though small, was one that most did not reckon with unless they wanted to be slain in their sleep by Angrboda herself or one of her personal guard.

"They call her Ymir's Daughter because of her legendary strength of magic. They say she rules with an iron fist and woe betide anyone who dares to cross her."

Her rule was ruthless. She employed every tactic necessary to keep her throne. She thought that no one else could do it as well as she, and she wanted her people to be safe and protected. Indeed, anyone who wore her brand counted themselves fortunate and prosperous, for Angrboda made sure that they had everything they might need, obtaining it through magic or trade or force.

"You're my people. I'll always protect you even if it means I must slaughter the rest of Jotunheim to do it."

When she found a red-haired Aesir lying on her doorstep with her beta wolf trying to protect him from the other wolves until she came, Angrboda took him in and made sure he was well. Having an As in her debt, especially one known to be the blood brother of Odin himself, could prove to be profitable.

"You're awfully far from home, son of Laufey."

"I am the son of Farbauti. That makes me in my home world, wouldn't you say?" 

It proved to be more than just profitable when Loki continued to come see her just for the heck of it, they fell in love, and eventually married.

"Back again, Loki? You may as well start calling my castle home, you come so often."

"I think I'll do just that. Will you marry me, Angrboda?"

Three children they had: Fenrisulfr the Swamp Wolf, a wolf shifter with a temper; Jormungand the Serpent, a clever snake-shifter; and Hela the death Kvasiran, their youngest and only daughter.

"She's a Death Kvasiran. That's unlucky."

"No. She's lucky, because she's just as beautiful as her mother is."

Decades of human time they spent together, but for an Aesir and a Jotun it was perhaps only two 'years'. That was when Odin found out and sent Thor and Tyr--the gods of thunder and war--to take the little family to him.

"She is a frost Jotun, Loki. Have you forgotten you are an As and your allegiance lies with Asgard?"

"Have you forgotten what manner of creature I am, brother!?"

The children were banished, or bound in Fenrisulfr's case. Angrboda was killed, and Loki's first romance end.

Boda's dark hair pooled around her, sticky with the spreading circle of deep, sickening red, and Tyr stayed looking at her for a moment with dark eyes before leaving the body there for the thralls to dispose of and striding away.

Saminique Taro

Saminique clicked the button on the little cylinder and watched a burst of fire light up the room. The young woman stared in the sudden light, her brown hair falling out of its neat bun. “That’s--that’s Tech!”

“Sure is.” He lit one of the torches on the wall, pocketed his flamethrower again. “There’s no other way to survive down here.”

“But it’s against the law.” Big brown eyes stared accusingly at him.

He looked at her sideways. “And condemning my men to die because I couldn’t go against the law is against my conscience.”

She folded her arms, looking stubborn. “But you know what happened with the Technofall.”

“The Technofall was electric. We run these things on steam.” He raised the torch, gazed down the tunnel. Almost to the place where his Tech-rats made their home. “Ask us no questions and we’ll tell you no lies, miss.”

She fell silent. He was glad of it. He wasn’t used to talking, and he preferred the silence, broken only by the dripping of water down the stone walls and the crackle of the torch.

“They called you the Death Sailor,” she said. “I can’t imagine that’s really your name.”

The name startled him at first. Then he laughed humorlessly. “It’s nothing but a cruel title. Don’t say it again--I’d rather leave that part of my past behind me.”

“Then…what should I call you?”

“My name is Saminique Taro.” He paused at the opening to the tunnel leading to his home. “You can call me Saminique.”

 ----------

His name is Saminique. He's thirty-four years old, with long dark hair pulled back in a ponytail, a defined jaw, long nose crooked from being broken many times, tan skin, and a mechanical finger.

He's chivalrous and noble. He would never hurt a woman for any reason after what the Society did to his two sisters.

He's a ruthless killer who's killed more than his entire gang of scum put together.

He's quiet, and gentlemanly, but he has a wide arsenal of oaths and slang from his time as an assassin and a Tech-rat.

He's a steampunk assassin from the future and I love him to bits. Just wish I could figure out his dialogue.

On Characters

Since I started really developing my characters, I've stopped being lonely (though I wasn't very lonely before).

Because y'see, when your characters have become real, when you know them well, they come alive.

Not quite literally, but just as well as. I have a posse of several who hang around me: Rayle, Loki, Kos, Leif, Shalizar. Occasionally Hela, Truman, and others pop up for a moment. They talk to me, and I talk back. Loki offers snarky commentary on life. Leif hangs around and ridicules me. Rayle attempts to break the fourth wall and steal things from me.

They aren't really there, I know, but if I look hard enough, I can see them. I know them inside and out, and I know that in a particular situation they would be standing there and looking like so and when I talk to them, I know them well enough to know their response so that they can talk to me.

Maybe because it's also that every one of them has a piece of me at their core. Kos is my quiet, capable side. Loki is my snarky devil-may-care side. Rayle is my kleptomaniacal side (I steal things of no value from my family constantly, and I've actually forgotten I was holding things and walked out of stores with them. o.O). Shalizar is my apathetic who-cares side. I know me, and I know them.

It's not quite the same as having real friends.

But there's something magical about talking to them.

And have a dose of writing.

ASGARD AND OLYMPUS, CHAPTER THREE

The rest of the Æsir clear out, presumably to get ready for their turn on the battlefield. Hela notices a lot of Valkyries saddling their horses to follow Odin (it is a Valkyrie’s job to bring fallen warriors back to Valhalla, so they have to be on hand for a battle).

She idly (and not a little morbidly) considers what might happen to one of the Æsir, should they die in battle. Will they be taken by the Valkyries back to Valhalla to fight every day and drink themselves silly every night until Ragnarok, the end of the world? Or will they be left to wander in Helheim, her own realm, until the same date?

Neither fate seems particularly fitting for an Ás, and Hela decides that this line of thinking is entirely too morbid for a fine summer afternoon like this one. In an effort to make conversation with the Olympian still standing beside her, she says the first thing that comes into her head.

“The Æsir are eager to show the Olympians what real warriors are like…”

Hela feels this comment is random and yet relevant at the same time, and wishes she could turn back time to make a more intelligent comment that’s all the way relevant without the additional randomness.

Abderus grimaces. “They can’t win whatever battle they’re fighting if they’re too busy showing off.”

Hela nods. This threat (and what an abstract thing to call it; the name implies something so vague, so unknown, it hardly inspires fear or a desire to act) is likely more serious than the Æsir think it will be, judging from Thor’s over-eager expression and Odin’s speech.

Ares storms past them from out of the forest, muttering to himself. Hela catches a few scattered words: “Bloody Æsir…leaving me behind…how do you work a rainbow anyways…” and has to smother a giggle. Abderus (miraculously) to keep a straight face, and the minute Ares has absorbed himself yelling at Heimdallr the Gatekeeper, Hela lets herself laugh.

(Nobody is taking this seriously enough, not even her.)

-------------------------

“Ten pounds of silver says Ares comes back with more injuries from Thor than from dragons,” Loki says with a grin.

“Ah ah ah. Ten pounds says Thor comes back with more injuries from Ares!” Hermes grins back, flipping a silver coin into the air.

“You’re betting over this?” Hela sighs.

They ignore her. “Not a chance, Featherfoot. Ares won’t be able to touch Thor.”

“I had no idea you had such a high opinion of Thor and his prowess!”

“More like a healthy respect based on all the times he’s clocked me.” Loki smirks.

“I smell a story, probably ending in you getting the short end of the stick.”

“I hate to brag…but I do believe I’ve gotten into more disagreements with Thor than the rest of the Æsir combined.”

Oh, Ás. Hela brings her palm to her face. (She really should have expected this sort of thing, but it’s still ridiculous.) Really, nobody is taking these battles seriously, at all.

“I’ll be out with Jormungand, Father,” she says over their argument (she’s no longer really listening but she thinks Hermes is trying to make a case for Freya having quite a few disagreements with Thor under her belt).

Loki glances at her from his seat on a bench against the wall. Hermes is sitting on a stool about a foot away from him, playing with coins. “You need to tell me where you’re going all the time? That’s new.”

She rolls her eyes; technically yes, he’s right, she’s centuries old and she no longer needs her dad’s permission to go somewhere, but… “I was under the impression it’s polite to keep your host informed of where their guest is. But of course I could stop.” Hela shrugs.

“You do as you like, your Majesty,” Loki grins.

“Oh, stop it. You have got to be the most…” She’s not sure which adjective to use to describe Loki. Infuriating? Immature?

He answers her before she can decide. “God of Mischief, Hela. See you later.”

“See you.” She pauses at the door and says, “I bet you both twenty pounds of silver they come home equally injured.”

Hela hears fresh debate over this break out as she leaves and tries not to sigh. Trickster gods.

----------------------------

Thor trounced the Jotuns in Midgard, easily. There are still unexplained scorch marks in Russia from when Thor used Mjollnir to call down lightning and incinerate the bodies. The god of thunder fought alone on Midgard, while the rest of the Æsir scattered in groups of four or five across the Nine Worlds to root out the groups of monsters. Heimdallr finally relented and allowed Ares to take the Bifrost to join Thor. Ares came back with a broken arm and a myriad of bruises, Thor with a gash in his side and random cuts and bruises. Hela collected her dues from Loki and Hermes with a slightly smug, “I told you so,” and left them to bother Ares and Thor about where exactly they got those injuries.

Now she hovers in the corner of Gladsheim as Æsir file in and take seats on the benches against the wall. Odin himself is back, reclining in his throne, with Hermes standing next to him. She notes that less than half of the normal council are here; she sees that silent, strong Vidur is missing; bright Freyr of the field; and Ullr and Ali the archers. Heimdallr, Thor, Tyr, Njord, Baldur, Forseti, Bragi, and Odur remain, as well as, of course, the Allfather.

Loki saunters in fashionably late just as Odin begins talking.

“Heil, blood brother,” he says to Odin as he takes a seat next to Thor. The thunder god glares at him (Thor hasn’t quite forgiven him for the snide comments on having no self-control and for the teasing about having turned on a teammate, Ares).

Loki grins at Thor and turns his gaze on Odin, who sighs. “Greetings, blood brother. If we are all assembled now…let us begin,” the Allfather says.

A collective nod from the Æsir. Hela leans against the wall in the corner, playing with one of the brooches fastening her dress.

“This is more serious than a simple strike from the monsters,” Odin begins. “The Jotuns on Midgard were a distraction, keeping Thor from joining the rest of us in what we assumed would be a simple battle. We have lost my sons Vidur, Ullr, Ali, and Freyr.” He pauses, and the Æsir lower their heads in a moment of respect for those fallen. Hela wonders if they are dead or only-- “They were only captured,” the Allfather continues.

“Who’s behind it all?” Loki interrupts. “We all love the sound of your voice, brother, but cut to the point.”

Odin shoots him a glare, as do most of the rest of the Æsir, and Hela struggles to hide a laugh. Hermes turns to the side, hiding his face. “I don’t know,” Odin admits. “But these aren’t random attacks. This was a carefully orchestrated plan… a plan to take our next strongest after Thor, Vidur; and the others. They’re weakening us.” He gives Thor a pointed glance. “And fighting amongst our allies, the Olympians, is not helpful.”

Thor protests at once. “Ares is a cocky braggart! He deserved every hammer blow!”

“You were saying about those injuries being from dragons?” Loki smirks.

Oh, Ás, this meeting is not going to end well. Hela turns her face to the wall to hide her inadvertent grin.

“I did not say my injuries were inflicted by Ares,” Thor grumps.

“Oh, and you expect us to believe Ares let you hammer him without fighting back.”

Forseti breaks in before they go any farther. “Let us not dwell on past mistakes, Loki, Thor. Not in the middle of what appears to be shaping up to be a war.”

Loki subsides into silence at once, with a smirk. He won’t push this, not when there are bigger sarcastic comments to make.

“…Yes. As I was saying, this was a planned attack. We must work together,” Odin says. His one eye glints dangerously, as if daring the Æsir to refuse to be polite to the Olympians. “We will continue to squash threats as they come up. Be on your guard; after this battle, we know they are trying to take gods captive.”

Hela knows the Æsir will have little more patience for a longer speech, and that Odin is more or less finished. She turns towards the door and sneaks out as Loki drawls, “So what about the losses of the Olympians?”

She turns to circle the hall and go around the door and sees a pair of curly-haired, toga-clad teens listening at a window.
Autolycus and Abderus.

Hela can’t help but laugh at them. After all, Odin would let them in if they wanted to listen without subterfuge; it’s not as if this is a meeting full of secret plans. If it were they wouldn’t be able to listen at all.

Abderus whirls guiltily. His brother turns at a more leisurely pace and grins at her. “Hello there, Hela.”

“You don’t have to sneak around if you want to see what’s happening,” she says, tilting her head with a smile.

“Ah…we don’t?” Abderus looks guilty and rather annoyed at this piece of news.

“You think Odin would make it possible for a pair of Olympian teens to listen at his windows if he cared whether they heard?”

“He doesn’t like us very much, though,” Autolycus says lamely. Hela decides that it was his idea to listen at the window; he seems the type to engage in such pursuits. His brother is much more honest.

She shrugs. “He doesn’t like me either.” He killed my mother, imprisoned my brothers; the only reason I am not still a captive in Asgard was because becoming queen of the dead was seen as a punishment, an exile, rather than a reward and an honor…

Typically when she tells some poor fool fragments of her tragic past (though does ‘he doesn’t like me either’ count as a fragment of a past?), the poor fool says, “Oh, that’s too bad…I’m sorry” and sometimes inquires further.

Abderus looks vaguely uncomfortable. Autolycus doesn’t apologize or inquire further. Instead he flashes her a grin the size of Yggdrasil. “I like you.”

Hela is taken aback. “Um…thank you.” (It’d be lying to say she likes Autolycus; she barely knows him and besides, he’s an Olympian and one of the five people who wrecked her happy visit to Asgard.)

“You’re different,” he goes on. “Most of the Æsir would probably agree and shoot me a glare that said they don’t like me either.”

“Well, you have been stealing random things from random people,” Abderus mutters.

“Have not. The items stolen weren’t random at all,” Autolycus protests.

“…What did you take?” Hela asks, out of horrified curiosity and a fear for Autolycus’ life.

“Oh, just daggers and jewelry and stuff. Freya had a really pretty necklace but she keeps too close an eye on it; keeps reaching up to touch it.” Autolycus shrugs with a cocky smirk on his face. “Does it matter?”

“If you like your head where it belongs,” Hela says.

Autolycus pauses, eyeing her as if wondering if she’s serious or not. “You’re…”

“Quite serious,” Hela says.

“Well…” Autolycus looks down. “You Norse are freakin’ insane. Who kills people over a few trinkets!?”

Abderus laughs, seemingly despite himself. “The Norse, of course.” Hela giggles at the inadvertent rhyme. “And stealing is probably not the best thing to do when you’re a guest.”

“Well, no,” Autolycus concedes. “All right. I suppose I’ll return all the stuff. I didn’t really mean to keep it anyways.”

“Of course you didn’t, brother,” Abderus says. Hela turns to go, not interested in watching them be brotherly friends. She has better things to do, and sometimes she really doesn’t want to see others be such close friends because she really has no friends at all.

She makes it a few feet away before she hears footsteps behind her and then Abderus’ voice, saying, “Hela, would you introduce me to your brothers? I have not officially met them yet.”

Hela turns around, looking at him with disbelief. He really wants me to introduce him to people? Or is he just being polite? From what she’s seen of Abderus, the two options seem equally likely. “Fen won’t appreciate seeing you.”

“Um.” Abderus looks slightly uncomfortable. “Yeah, about him. I met him and he nearly chewed my face off. Admittedly he was a wolf at the time, but…I think we’ve met.”

Oh. Well. That would certainly put a damper on a relationship. “So… Jormungand…” Come to think of it, where was Jorgi…

He nods. Hela decides she has nothing better to do. “Okay.”

Beautiful People - Hela and Abderus

Basically, Beautiful People is a blog that posts ten questions for people to answer about their characters every month, found here. I decided to try it out, maybe do it for some of my charries. (Also, this gives me something to fill in the weeks I may not have a chapter for you guys. XD)

So here we are with Hela Lokidottir and Abderus from Asgard and Olympus. Usually these questions are only for one character, but since the questionnaire I chose to start with was the one-year edition of Beautiful People, this one asks you to use two characters and includes five extras on the relationship between the two characters you chose. Without further ado, let us begin.

1. Do they believe in anything that most people think is impossible?
Hela: How about the existence of nine separate worlds, magic, dwarves, elves, and…someone like me. -lowers gaze self-consciously-
Abderus: We’re considered to be the impossible…so…I believe that answers the question.
(Hela's left half is black, blue, and dead, and the two of them are more or less demigods, which explains their odd answer.)

2. Are they strong, or the "damsel/knight in distress" sort?
Hela: I’m not the type to refuse help if I need it… -not sure how to answer this question without seeming vain-
Abderus: She’s strong. If she’s ever in distress she does her best to fix it herself before she allows someone else to help her.
Hela: He’s the exact same way. Let’s move on.

3. Do they have a special place? (e.g. a corner in his/her bedroom, under a tree...)
Hela: No, I don’t.
Abderus: I don't think I would tell this random person asking the questions if I did have a place.

4. What occupation do they have, or plan on having?
Hela: I am the Queen of the Norse Dead. -sigh-
Abderus: Getting killed in the climax of the story kind of kills dreams. Previously I was the companion of Heracles, though.

5. Describe their current place of residence.
Hela: I’m currently staying in Asgard, visiting my father and brothers. =)
Abderus: Same, only I came with my father to deliver a message.

6. Explain their last crisis. How had they changed when they came out of it?
Me: They had to save the world; by the end of it Hela was even more quiet than previously, though more confident in her abilities. And Abderus was dead.

7. If they could drive any kind of car they wanted, what would it be?
Hela: Drive…a car? O.o I have no need for a car…
Abderus: I haven’t been keeping up too much with Earth technology…a fast car, maybe.

8. How do they deal with change?
Hela: I dislike change and unexpected conflict, but if I must deal with it, I choose the quickest and easiest path to make the change a comfortable one.
Abderus: I roll with whatever has been thrown at me.

9. If they had to amputate one body part, which one would they choose?
Hela: My dead left leg; I have gotten along well enough with a limp for centuries, it wouldn’t be so difficult to adjust to a prosthetic leg or cane.
Abderus: That’s tough. I think I’d choose something relatively minor, such as … Uh. I could handle losing a hand, maybe. Or a foot? It depends on how well they could fix me up afterwards…

10. What would their favorite be at the local coffee shop?
Hela: Hot chocolate, although I would likely let it cool before drinking; my Jotun blood won’t let me drink it any hotter.
Abderus: Uh…coffee is coffee, right? o.0

The extra questions:
1. How did they meet?
Hela: I bumped into him my first day back in Asgard.
Abderus: And I asked if she was all right.

2. How do these two deal with conflict?
Hela: I’m flexible. I’m a daughter of Loki. I am the Queen of the Unchanging Dead. I find the best way to deal with it and do it. The important thing is that the conflict vanishes.
Abderus: Uh…I let myself panic a little and then I just go with the flow, more or less…

3. Do they have a special song, phrase, item, or place?
Hela: …No…to all of them. For both of us.

4. What kind of things do they like to do together?
Abderus: Not get killed. -apologetic grin-
Hela; He died before there was a lot of time for leisure…

5. Describe their relationship as a whole in 3 words, or less.
A borderline romance.