#gasalea: the book keeper

[daughter-of-inklings]

Since we got there in the book and she's finally made an appearance in the chapter, I went and redrew my favorite murder deer:

Fable ₊˚⊹♡

A doe, with such unnaturally white fur that it seemed to be glowing against the darkness of the trees, which threatened to swallow it whole if it stopped moving. It thrashed like a demon, as if it had a fire in its veins, its kicks grazing past the boys around it almost.. purposely. As if it meant to just scare them, not hit. If it connected, Rosely suspected it’d break bone. It appeared to be stuck, one of its hooves caught on a piece of the loose wiring. It froze for a moment, its ears perking up in Rosely's direction. The breath went from her lungs as it turned its head towards them, as if it’d felt Rosely staring. Its eyes had no pupils, only a greyed out milk color that consumed the entire of its visible eyeball.  Blind magick deer. That was new.

#ink's scribbles #ink's art #writeblr #fantasy writeblr #fantasy writing #writing #writers on tumblr #fantasy novel #book art #book illustration #animal companion #concept art #my art #character concept #peryton #<- hunt down and eat humans #im sure that one showing up in a grocery store parking lot wont cause any problems at all #getting kidnapped by the fae any% speedrun #gasalea: the book keeper #rosely aragorn castillo #fable #murder deer

[daughter-of-inklings]

An underrated pro of making your protagonist bilingual is that, if you can't remember the English thing-

neither can she;

#ink’s scribbles #writeblr #fantasy writeblr #fantasy writing #writing #writers on tumblr #fantasy novel #bilingual #spanish #spanish writing #gasalea: the book keeper #rosely aragorn castillo #pros of having your fantasy protagonist reverse isekai'ed to florida: #1. she speaks spanish so you have to think less #2. ???? #i probably will have to go back through and make it a more obvious and recurring thing to give the gringos a bit of a harder time #but for now this works

[daughter-of-inklings]

Your soulmate meets your crush and they hate each other (NaNo excerpt):

She paused for a moment, “… is the dragon okay?” “Saying the word ‘dragon’ over and over again will not make the reality of the situation go away,” Gabrielle snarled under her breath, crossing her arms over her chest.  She looked more.. agitated than usual. Her ears were pinned back, and her pupils like pin needles, her tail occasionally thudding against the wall behind her as it flicked about. Though Rosely couldn’t tell if it was the improvised crash, that she’d been seen in this world by someone other than Rosely and the thought of being perceived made her nervous, or if she simply didn’t like Sieve. At the thought, she raised her head and scowled at Rosely. “Right— sorry, Miss… ?” “Princess Gabrielle Deornu, of the [name] kingdom. Almighty and Ferocious Beast, as my father before me; descendant of the original Royal Faerytales.”  Sieve blinked slowly, looking to Rosely for confirmation. The latter nodded, and Sieve bowed somewhat awkwardly in Gabrielle’s direction.  “Apologies, Your… Royal Beastiness. I’m sure you’d have rather… crashed your dragon—” “Biscuit’s technically my dragon here, I think.” “I’m sure you’d have rather crashed Biscuit—” Sieve reared her head around, snapping to look directly at Rosely. “Rosely, that sounds INSANE.”  Gabrielle glared down her nose at Sieve, continuing her patrol of the room by circling closer around them. Keeping a close eye on Rosely and the scrapes along her face and arms. Though she’d tried to grab and shield her with her own body, it seemed she’d still neared the brunt of the hit.  “Do you realize how insane you sound right now? There’s a dragon outside, and he’s your dog? Your therapy dog? And this— thing is here too, glaring at me in my own store? It’s got hooves—” “She.” “She’s got hooves, Rosely! And fangs, and a tail, and horns, a-and teeth that could rip me to shreds!” “She wouldn’t rip you to shreds.” “She would.” ** I would.

#ink's scribbles #writeblr #fantasy writeblr #fantasy writing #writing #writers on tumblr #fantasy novel #fantasy book #novel excerpt #novel wip #writing wip #fairytale wip #fairy tale retelling #fairytales #gasalea: the book keeper #nanowrimo 2023 #nanowrimo #playin with the idea of how to convey different people's thoughts and so gabrielle's are marked by **

[daughter-of-inklings]

Weird side effect of finding your soulmate— they can now hear your thoughts. Which is bad if you’re checking out their mom by accident:

Even worse, they can break the 4th wall by interacting with your "thoughts":

In the most basic of explanations, my faerytale retelling is a book that knows it's a book. It is a tangible book, written by the protagonist so that it's subject to edits happening "in real time" in the book. Because the book is (mostly) told in Rosely's perspective- i.e. through her thoughts- and Gabrielle can interact with Rosely's "thoughts", she can now just... interact with the text/ story itself, and the 4th wall doesn't apply or exist to her.

#ink’s scribbles #writeblr #fantasy writeblr #fantasy writing #writing #writers on tumblr #fantasy novel #novel excerpt #novel concept #fantasy book #fairytale wip #fairytales #fairy tale retelling #gasalea: the book keeper #im having the time of my life #although this is also very very VERY much subject to change in later drafts as i find a balance between gabrielle getting to see everything #and rosely managing to keep her outta her head and outta her editing #think of it like you're writing and your partner is looking over your shoulder reacting to you manuscript #it scares the shit outta you

[daughter-of-inklings]

More NaNoWriMo excerpts because ya girl is having a Time™️ being a fantasy protagonist:

Her eyes fell on the last lines written organically after the kidnapping– A never-ending winter has set in, overtaking the kingdom. With heavy hearts, the people will endure.  The kingdom had been in a never-ending snowstorm for the last 22 years, and without quite knowing what compelled her hand to do so, Rosely flipped to the last blank page in the book. Almost mindlessly, she ran a hand over the paper, willing the words from her mind into existence. It didn’t matter that this wasn’t her book, the letters and words obeyed all the same, filling in with her own flavor of handwriting— half cursive-half print, rather small and slanted to the right.  And after decades of endless winter, the kingdom experienced its first spring. The snow melted away to flowers, and all manners of animals returned to the forests. Life returned to normal, with the cold as nothing more than a distant memory.  She held the book to the light suspended above her head, admiring her work. They carved themselves into the paper, glowing for a brief moment before cementing themselves onto the page. The joy of it was short lived as a dull sensation began in her left eye. It began at the very center of her eyeball, stretching along it in pricks and lashes, as if someone were cutting precise cuts along the membrane with a scalpel. The book dropped from her hand as she clasped it over her eye, drawing away with blood. It dripped down her cheek and down the side of her neck, staining the white of the nightgown. And as the letters carved themselves into the book, each settling onto the page until the glow was gone from them, something carved itself inside her eye– a cut for every letter that she’d written, making a shape of something inside her eye. She stumbled to the glass case and, blinking through the blood, squinted and winced and poked at her eye, holding it open. Watching in horror as the intricate petals of a rose carved themselves into her iris, the pupil of her eye as the center. 

#ink's scribbles #writeblr #fantasy writeblr #fantasy writing #writing #writers on tumblr #fantasy novel #novel wip #novel excerpt #fairytale wip #fairy tale retelling #fairytales #gasalea: the book keeper #based on this one picture i have saved from 2012 that i carry around everywhere because it looks dope as hell #anyways enjoy my girl's suffering #and thank cas for triggering the plot #they picked the eye rosely was gonna suffer in

[daughter-of-inklings]

We are 3.5k words into NaNoWriMo and it is kicking my ass ( and + work), but here are my current project’s main animal companions in place of snippets:

Biscuit and Raven.

#ink’s scribbles #ink’s art #writeblr #fantasy writeblr #fantasy writing #fantasy novel #book art #book characters #animal companions #book illustration #my art #character concept #gasalea: the book keeper #biscuit #raven #raven is a crow btw #she’s named raven because she loves to cause problems #nanowrimo 2023 #nanowrimo

[daughter-of-inklings]

pov: Rosely getting kidnapped by the fae (nanowrimo snippet--)

And then, on the other end, looming and towering over everything else in the room, was a giant, antique mirror. The borders seemed to be made of brass, an old washed away gold color, fashioned into a series of vines with roses. If she looked at it long enough, it seemed to almost… move, so that the roses swayed in an unseen wind, and bloomed or closed in a hypnotizing dance. But the mirror itself did not function as the others did; it had no reflection. The glass was void of anything at all, as if it’d been painted black from one end to the other. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been staring into it, she found that she couldn’t very well pry herself away easily. She heard… whispers, the longer she looked at it. And when she managed to look around the room, she found little beady eyes peering back at her– all along the bedside, the ceiling, the walls– crawling out from the very woodwork; whispering. She couldn’t hear what they said- a word, chanted over and over in their whispers- but she certainly felt it; danger! They chanted; danger!  She jolted upright in bed, grabbing the bedsheets and yanking them to her chest. Her breathing ragged- sharp and quick. Her gaze swept over the room–no more eyes, and no whispers. Her ears rang, heart beating loud in her chest.

#ink's scribbles #writeblr #fantasy writeblr #fantasy writing #writing #writers on tumblr #novel excerpt #fantasy novel #fairytale wip #fairy tale retelling #novel wip #gasalea: the book keeper #rosely: *having the scariest encounter of her life #the maid who just came to check on her: miss are you okay? don't be afraid #rosely almost at her 2nd panic attack: ma'am this the scariest moment of my life #she'll be fine probably #nanowrimo #nanowrimo 2023

[daughter-of-inklings]

First Line ✧･ﾟ: *

Thank you @worldofthraeia for the tag! I hadn't seen it until today, oops-- ᨐฅ my bad.

Rules—Share a first line from your WIP, be it the first line of the WIP, a chapter, a character’s intro dialogue, or even the first line from your most recent writing session.

They're relatively short, so I'll be sharing the first lines from each of my WIPs!

The Lost of Princess of Yggdrasil:

Keep her safe for us. I’m sorry.

The Book Keeper:

Nobody ever smiled like that at a huntsman, much less children.

Evermore:

For mother. 

Tagging (gently): @thesoftestofpetals, @scribe-cas, @digital-chance, @crowandmoonwriting, @macabremoons , @fayeiswriting, @genderqueer-deity, and anyone else who sees this and wants to participate! It's an open tag. :3

#ink's scribbles #writer games #tag games #writeblr #fantasy writeblr #fantasy writing #writing #writers on tumblr #fantasy novel #uvodell: the lost princess #gasalea: the book keeper #evermore #first line #first line tag

[daughter-of-inklings]

Crawling out of my self-made NaNo Hell to bring an excerpt from tonight's writing:

“Calm down, whifling. Fable here comes and goes as she pleases, picking up whatever or whoever suits her interest. You’re not the first human she’s dragged through the border, you certainly won’t be the last. What trick did she use this time? Ol’ bleeding wing? Lost baby fawn out by the roads?”  “… This.. she uhm, her hoof was caught on a bit of iron fencing, burning straight through her calf. She… I’m sorry; it’s not the first time she’s done this? What… W-What happened to the other humans?” Wolf shrugged their shoulders, something clouding their stare as they glanced back to the knights. “They… Hm. They weren’t taken by faefolk, if that’s your concern. ‘Bout as much as I figure and ‘ve heard, the knights took them to meet the queen and she got them sorted.” “Sorted… or sorted?” “Where do you live, whifling?” Oh.

#ink's scribbles #writeblr #fantasy writeblr #fantasy writing #writing #writers on tumblr #fantasy novel #ink’s scribbles #fairytales #fairy tale retelling #novel wip #novel excerpt #draft 2 baby here we gooooo #technically like 3 but the other one got lost so draft 2! #gasalea: the book keeper #back by my own demand: our lovely murder deer <3 #nanowrimo 2023 #nanowrimo

[daughter-of-inklings]

Sometimes, I indulge in the thought that it's not as obvious as I think what books I've read that have found their way into my writing. And then I read it-

#and it's not subtle at all #ink's scribbles #writeblr #fantasy writeblr #fantasy writing #writing #writers on tumblr #fantasy novel #fairytale wip #gasalea: the book keeper #novel excerpt #'lie' 'lie better' did i have a twilight phase in middle school? no #my 20s though? apparently #i've been reading midnight sun and working on the faerytale retelling #a mistake #twilight #<- i guess

[daughter-of-inklings]

Introducing Rosely (Aragorn) Castillo, one of the characters of all time-

-in her faerytale fantasy adventure dumbassery:

#ink’s scribbles #writeblr #fantasy writeblr #fantasy writing #writing #writers on tumblr #fantasy novel #novel excerpt #novel wip #fairytale wip #fairy tale retelling #gasalea: the book keeper #nanowrimo 2023 #nanowrimo #rosely aragorn castillo #this is all chapter like 4 btw #she got re-kidnapped back to the faery realm

[daughter-of-inklings]

WIP Intro : The Book Keeper ☆.｡.:*

♥ genre: fantasy, adventure, faerytale retelling

♥  tropes:

faerytale retellings, like all of them, lost princess, found family, child soldier, childhood friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, morally grey antagonist, dragons (!!!)

♥ status: drafting

♥ type: book 1 of a trilogy

♥ themes:

the weight & consequences of choice, exploring duty v. free-will, healing and growing from trauma, chosen family is as important as blood family, eugenics (portrayed negatively), fate as agency

♥ synopsis:

Book Keepers have been around since time immemorial, created by the gods to act as historians over the worlds they’d created, guarding over their stories from the shadows. The title is passed through blood, the rules to follow simple: 

Let the story stay its predetermined course.

Do not intervene or interact with either story or characters.

Maintain order, at all costs.

Death is inevitable for some, victories assured for others, confining them to their fates for the sake of balance and tradition. The nobility have grown negligent and slack, knowing their children will suffer no curse that cannot be broken, no torment that a kiss or sentient animal cannot undo. The residents have grown hopeless and complacent, constricted to playing backdrop in others’ lives and providing all that is needed of them.

There came a time, however, when the Keeper was lost to the carelessness of the bloodlines, leaving the stories to their own. Stolen from their crib underneath the crown’s nose, the newborn Keeper-to-be disappeared without a trace, nowhere to be found. Bewildered, the characters sought to create their new free-willed paths free of restraints only to find that every choice made led to the same place again, again, and again. Without the Keeper’s magick to change their fates, all remained as before, any hope gone as more and more characters failed to find them. 

Almost two decades passed before word of a new Keeper reached them. A mysterious child from beyond the forest not yet aware of the powers she possesses. Young, without the slightest idea of her role; the only hope they have. 

♥ associated tag on this blog : #gasalea the book keeper , #gasalea

#ink's scribbles #writeblr #fantasy writeblr #wip intro #my writing #fantasy writing #writing #fantasy wip #high fantasy wip #fairytale retelling #fairytale wip #wip: the book keeper