Author Answers (November) (Patreon)

General

It is already down into the low 70s in Texas and I'm a miserable whiny freezing blob. 😭 Which of the ROs are human furnaces and which of them are veritable ice cubes?

I'm the same here in AZ! 😂I'm using a thick fuzzy blanket indoors, but it's not even 60 yet outside...

Blade: his core body temperature runs warmer than average (mostly due to arma), but his hands are usually cold!

Trouble: he runs like a furnace, and doubly so when he sleeps; he throws off in enough heat to power a small engine!

Tallys: she runs quite cool; not exactly cold, but pleasantly cool to the touch!

Shery: it varies; she usually feels cold and wears sweaters, but actually touching her, she could be quite warm or cold, it just depends!

Riel: he's ice-cold all the time; Trouble jokes that he has "hands like the dead," which Riel was very offended by. He does not seem to have a good temperature regulating system and always feels cold to the touch!

Chase: he's about average, sometimes warmer than usual, but he's usually not noticeably warm or cold

Red: he's the same as Chase, about average most of the time, though his hands are always reliably warm!

Ayla: she runs like a furnace, almost like she has a fever, and is always great to warm up with!

Briony: she usually runs quite warm; not as hot as Trouble or Ayla, but perfect cuddling temperature, and her hands are always warm. She usually complains of rooms being too warm rather than the other way around, though!

Lavinet: she's quite cool, like Tallys, and her hands are usually soft and cool. She prefers thick shawls and wraps to keep herself insulated!

What makes each RO's voice crack? 💗

Blade: his voice rarely cracks, but when it does, it's out of surprised embarrassment!

Trouble: his voice cracks quite often, which he's learned to ignore (he used to be embarrassed by it, but now doesn't care as much); really any strong emotion will do, from anger to embarrassment to surprise to arousal to just feeling overwhelmed, lol

Tallys: her voice never cracks, unless she's singing and her throat is dry!

Shery: her voice has never cracked in her life

Riel: his voice cracked in adolescence, but not as an adult

Chase: I don't think his voice cracks ever, unless he's quite sick, in which case, no one would be around to hear it anyway! 😂

Red: his voice usually doesn't crack, but he pitches it noticeably lower when he's flirting, lol

Ayla: her voice doesn't crack so much as erupts out of her in indignant squawks, usually when she's indignant or outraged

Briony: her voice cracks when she's wailing and sobbing dramatically (not "real" crying, but like when she's having a bad day and something really mundane pushed her over the edge and she just needs to let all the feelings out)

Lavinet: her voice has never cracked in her life!

Hello Lena, hope you’re doing well! My question: In a new brand relation, how would the ROs react to MC about to leave for a mission and at the last moment, MC turns to them and yells across the yard “BYE BABE, I LOVE YOU!” and blows them a kiss for everyone around to witness.

Blade: coughs and nods awkwardly, tries to exit the situation as fast as possible

Trouble: *cups his hands around his mouth* "BYE BABE I LOVE YOU TOO!" *waves cheerfully*

Tallys: nods and waves with a smile

Shery: surprised but pleased: "o-oh! I l-love you too!" *waves back*

Riel: inclines his head in dignified silence, but his eyebrow twitches in slight annoyance. "Come home safely," he says archly, probably not loudly enough for MC to hear.

Chase: *blows a bunch of kisses back* "BYEEEEEEEEEEEEEE"

Red: smiles and waves cheerfully. "I love you, too!"

Ayla: scowls and looks away. "Oh gods..." she mutters while hunching her shoulders and scuffing the ground, totally embarrassed but just a little bit pleased.

Briony: *scream of joy* "I LOVE YOU TOO!!! COME HOME SAFELY! MWAH!" *jumping up and down out of excitement, like isn't MC just so cute? ❤️*

Lavinet: Oh, this has been decided? She's called babe now? She nods and blows them a kiss, but she's going to revisit this nickname when they get back...

Hi Lena! I would like to know who the best wrestler out of the group?

Hi anon! I think Trouble would be the best wrestler out of the group: he has the most experience in actual wrestling and grappling and is a pretty tough street-fighter, so I think he'd win most bouts against the others! Blade and Briony beat him in terms of raw strength, but Briony would get unseated or pinned more easily than Trouble would, and Blade would hate wrestling as a "sloppy" method of fighting, so I think Trouble would beat them both (at least for the first several matches until they started to figure out his techniques). Ayla is also a very strong contender, but only because she immediately goes no-holds-barred dirty fighting, like privates-grabbing, kneeing,  biting... the works, and she never gives up and is also strong AF! But in just plain old wrestling, I think Trouble wins!

Hey! Lets say the MC likes to do some underground fighting (like the hand to hand, people shouting, drinking and betting all aroud kind, you know) when they have some time off (and they are good at it!), what do the ROs think of that? do they bet on the MC, tell them to stop, join the fights too, watch,...? And also, Thank you for your hard work and amazing story!!

Thank you for your kind words! I'm assuming this question is if the ROs in question are romantically interested in MC, but even just platonic friends would have fairly similar reactions (just without the turn-on parts)! 

Blade: this would frankly be a turn-on for him, though he'd also be privately worried about MC's wellbeing and health, and he'd definitely intercede and caution them to lay off if they were getting injured frequently (especially to the point where it affected their work performance, or posed the risk of affecting their work performance). If they were really good at it and rarely got injured, he'd be generally supportive and would come watch or give them pointers or help them train/spar in preparation for their bouts; but if the two of them were in a relationship, I don't think it's something he'd want to necessarily continue into old age--just the idea of MC putting themself at risk unnecessarily would start to stress him out more over time. But he'd generally still be supportive unless they were regularly getting the shit beat out of them, at which point it would become a bone of contention!

Trouble: this would be a HUGE turn-on for him and he would definitely be MC's fighting buddy and would join up with them in tournaments, or would act as their makeshift coach/sparring partner if they wanted! He'd be there for every match, and would take them drinking in celebration afterward! It's pretty much like reliving his youth, so he'd be excited!

Tallys: I don't think she'd be super impressed--like, she might find it hot the first few times, but ultimately she thinks street-fighting is kind of uncomfortable and barbaric, and she doesn't like the crowds and jeering and gambling and violence. She'd show up to watch MC if they asked, but she wouldn't be super gung-ho about it!

Shery: she'd be MC's enthusiastic cheerleader at first and would show up to watch every match, even if the violence makes her pretty uncomfortable and she has to watch through her hands; she'd just be happy to support MC in something they enjoyed! But over time, it would start to wear on her and she would become more anxious and worried, seeing the brutalities and injuries that inevitably occur in the sport. In a relationship, I don't think she'd ever give MC an ultimatum; she'd just raise her concerns, but would still keep supporting MC if they made efforts to put her concerns to rest. The only time I think she'd really not be okay with it is if they had a young child and MC was regularly getting injured; she'd probably put her foot down then. 

Riel: he's not a fan. Like, good for MC and they're free to do whatever they want--he's not going to judge them or stop them--but it's not something he understands, enjoys, or is remotely interested in. He'd turn up to watch a match if it was really important to MC (like they explicitly said it would mean a lot for him to be there), but if it's just a casual hobby for them, he would just leave it at that. Like he'd ask about it from time to time ("How's the street-fighting going?") or listen to them talk about it, but he's not showing up every night to watch them punch people or be punched. 

Chase: he's intrigued, and he'd definitely be placing bets on MC, but it doesn't hold any more appeal for him than, say, MC being a singer or acrobat in their spare time. He likes that they like the energy of the crowds, adrenaline and excitement and performance (because he does too), and they could bond over that, but he's not inherently more interested in street-fighting than he would be in any other hobby that was high-octane or thrill-seeking.  

Red: he'd think it was cool, and the buck would pretty much stop there! He'd attend a few matches out of curiosity, but it's nothing something he super understands or can really get into. As long as MC's happy, he's happy, and he's glad they have something they enjoy. He'd raise concerns if they were getting injured a lot, but otherwise it's sort of like, they do their thing, he does his, and they support each other!

Ayla: she'd be super into this, and it would be a big turn-on for her. She'd be up in the stands, bawling encouragements and screaming "CHOKE HIM! BITE HIS EAR!" every bout and would become known as a regular in the stands. She might be interested in partaking herself if MC really persuaded her and there was a lot of cash to be won, but otherwise she's cool supporting them as an enthusiastic spectator!

Briony: she'd also be super into this, and it would be a huge turn-on for her. She would 100% become MC's street-fighting partner or would join the tournaments herself--it's pretty much just like her days as a gladiator, only without the slavery! She'd be all for it. 

Lavinet: she'd think it was attractive/a turn-on at first, and then she'd actually go to a match and probably would be like "Once was enough." After that, she'd be generally supportive and interested, same as any other hobby, but not compelled to attend every match or anything--just the important ones like the final round of a tournament, or something. I think she'd want MC to stop if they ever had kids, though, or probably once they got married! She doesn't want a spouse who's had their teeth punched out if she can help it... 

Hello! What are the ROS hobbies? What do they do on their free time? (And no training doesn't count)

This has sort of been asked and answered before, but I'm going to elaborate a lot more here!

Blade: damn, you nailed him with that 'no training' thing, pretty much all of his free time (which is scarce to start with) involves training or practicing his sword forms (which is sort of like a mix between memorized techniques and meditation--kind of like yoga or tai chi). If those don't count: he enjoys a cup of tea or khav from time to time (seriously, he has stupid little free time), sometimes reads poetry or historical books (though he's fallen off of this since becoming Commander), and he would enjoy gardening if he had the time for it. I also think he would enjoy going for long walks in the city or long hikes, and I could totally see him being a surprisingly skilled blacksmith or pottery-maker (!), but he hasn't reached the stage in his life where this has occurred to him yet, lol. 

Trouble: he's into boxing, which I think is slightly different from 'training,' and enjoys working out and sometimes dabbling in his old street-fighting rings when he has the time and inclination. He also loves mechanical tinkering and is often hunched over some new contraption or the other to try to look at its insides and figure out how it works, and is quite into the idea of certain technological wonders like airships (and explosives); this also segues into him spending a lot of time maintaining, upgrading, and cleaning his guns. He also whittles and does occasional leather-working (though he's not great at either yet)! He's also a big reader and enjoys adventure and detective novels, though he dabbles in a lot of genres. And IDK if this counts as a hobby, but he does do silly things like arm-wrestle, play card games, shoot the shit with recruits, or go out drinking with his buddies in his free time (this also sometimes leads to fighting, which somewhat ties into the first hobby). 

Tallys: like many Elves who have literal centuries to perfect their crafts, she has a diverse array of hobbies! She just doesn't talk about them a lot, so people are always surprised to find out the sheer amount of stuff she's just quietly getting done. She's definitely into botany and herbalism and mixing together tinctures and her own homemade medicines. She'd garden in the Shepherds' courtyard if she had the time. She's an expert at blending tea and has tried her hand at making scents and perfumes! She likes to go on long walks and nature hikes and enjoys foraging and picking wild plants. She plays the tifin (a kind of Elvish flute) and a few other instruments, enjoys singing (always privately), is a big reader (mostly of historical novels and sometimes epic romances, occasionally poetry), and secretly enjoys fine art and rare liquor. She's adept at Elvish calligraphy and scarf-dancing, has been known to cook from time to time, likes visiting the Autarch's menagerie in her free time, and is thinking about taking up soapmaking! In older age, when she's more settled down, I could totally see her keeping a gorgeous garden and fish pond. 

Shery: her biggest and most notable hobbies are reading (usually sweet or spicy romance novels) and exploring the Vaults in the Shepherds' compound. However, she's also a huge baker and loves making and baking confections (she doesn't like cooking as much because people are usually waiting on the food, whereas she can take her time with leisurely baking), and is getting more intricate with decorating them; she also enjoys needlework from time to time and likes crocheting, embroidery, and sewing. She loves collecting rare teas as well as cute dishware, and she has been known to do puzzles or puzzle books from time to time. She also journals in her free time, and I could see her getting into book restoration or bookbinding one day!

Riel: God, what doesn't he do in his "free time"? His two big things outside of running the Merchants Guild (and helping to run the Shepherds) are his interest in history and his interest in inventions; if he's not doing one, he's usually doing the other. He writes under a multitude of academic personas and publishes multiple historical treatises every year, attempting to either chronicle or give his opinions on significant political and economic events; and when he's not writing or researching history, he also tinkers with inventions in his spare time and is currently working on a long-range communicator and a working recording device. He's also somewhere in the middle of earning his medical degree--for fun! (He already has five other ones.) He occasionally contributes to psychological literature and body language analysis papers under other pseudonyms (another area of interest for him), and sometimes delivers lectures at the University in his spare time. He also enjoys going to the opera, playing chess and dreadnoughts (sometimes he attends tournaments, but he had to stop because he was starting to get politely semi-banned), fine dining, and especially candy and sweets! He's an amateur architect, but never does anything with his blueprints. He plays the plinith and sometimes composes his own operas in his head. And he also pays a lot of attention to selecting his wardrobe and is interested in watch-making, though he hasn't done anything with it yet!

Chase: honestly, most of his free time is devoted to stealing people's shit or planning and preparing to steal people's shit, lol. If that doesn't count, he often frequents the city's bars, restaurants, theaters, and casinos to mingle and scope out the night life and rub shoulders with both Haven's crooks and princes. He loves to eat and sample different foods at different restaurants, and he also likes to shop when he feels inclined! He also spends a lot of time pranking and harassing people around the compound, usually out of boredom... Mostly, I wouldn't say he has any set hobbies (outside of practicing his lock-picking and other such thievery skills): he gets bored so easily, can't sit still, and has such a short attention span that it's more about what grabs his notice and is the flavor of the day. He's a classic thrill-seeker, so he'll just join in on what sounds fun on the fly, without any prior planning or routine, so his life is more chaotic than thinking "now that I have free time, I'm going to practice my woodcarving this weekend!" One time he tried to get into knot-tying and got bored in less than a minute. His free time is usually taken up by stuff like randomly eavesdropping and spying on people; following them and getting involved in their hijinks for no other reason than that he's nosy; breaking into houses for fun; infiltrating parties he's not been invited to (usually for the free food, but sometimes to rob); treasure-hunting; running away from people who want to kill him; hanging out on rooftops and pretending to almost fall to startle people; etc. Around the compound, he's usually the one organizing card games, impromptu drinking nights, parties, bets, or dares, so a lot of his free time is also taken up by that! (Also, if we're counting this, at least some of his free time also includes sleeping around and dating people. But maybe that's not what you had in mind, lol). 

Red: Ignoring what we already know about him and the really obvious aspects of his personality (magic, magical research, reading, Worldwalkers, archaeology and exploring ruins, being an academic...), his "normal" hobbies include horseback riding and, less commonly, hiking: he likes exploring the land around him and getting a lay of the territory. He also likes turning these into picnics! He sometimes enjoys swimming and is an enthusiastic amateur stargazer (or stellarist, in the terminology of Blest). When he was in school and would get stressed out, he dabbled in paper-folding (whatever the Blest equivalent of origami is) and sometimes absently does it to this day. This is also super nerdy and he would die if anyone knew it, but when he was a kid he was an enthusiastic birdwatcher and kept a whole journal of birds he saw, so he still kind of gets excited when he sees a rare bird he recognizes. He also enjoys playing chess/dreadnoughts/logic games with Riel, socializing with people in general (usually involves going out for a meal and chatting for hours), and MAYBE catching a play once a month. But really, like 90% of his free time is taken up by reading, research, arcane work, and academic exploration; and taking care of his owl and dashing off hurried letters to his sisters.

Ayla: her hobbies are thoroughly outdoorsy and physical, and almost always involve going for a run; going on extremely long hikes/camping trips; mountain-climbing and other types of climbing; riding, usually on her ahfuri; or sometimes even flying around, if she can get away with it. She has been known to occasionally frequent gambling dens and is a fearsome card-player as well as a nigh-unbeatable arm-wrestler. She's also excellent at darts! She's pretty good at logic games and sometimes falls into playing them with others, but usually doesn't have the patience. She enjoys music and dancing and the general air of festivals and bars, but rarely lets anyone see her do so unless drunk (she's great at drinking games). She'd be an excellent hunter if she was inclined to eat meat. She's recently gotten into foraging, especially for mushrooms and truffles, though no one but Tallys is aware of this yet. Someone suggested she try kite-flying, but she hated it and shredded the kite to bits. Although she's currently quite wary of the water, she's actually a powerful swimmer and would be an excellent scuba-diver or surfer, if either of those things existed in Blest. 

Briony: outside of training and physical exercise, fighting, magical practice, and maintaining her weapons, she really enjoys trying out all kinds of hobbies, since they're all pretty much new to her and she doesn't know what she'll like until she tries it! So far she's really fallen in love with painting, as it's been a great outlet for her to explore and record her experiences, feelings, and memories, and she's starting to get into sketching; she's also trying to journal as a way of preserving and possibly jogging her memories, but she enjoys this a lot less, though she's trying to be diligent about it. She likes the idea of baking and cooking, especially the part that involves sharing her creations with others and making them happy, but is horrible at it. She loves reading and researching spellcraft, reads voraciously, and will pick up pretty much anything aside from dusty biographies and essays. She also loves caring for and riding her ahfuri and finds it tremendously bracing. She shows surprising talent in flower-arranging and pressed flower craft, as well as learning "circus arts" from Chase, which involves tumbling, acrobatics, and fire-breathing (she sucks juggling and is only decent at sleight-of-hand, though). She loves dancing and spends a lot of her time being social, spending time at bars and restaurants and festivals and parties, and would love to travel more as a hobby. She's quite good at picking up other languages, so this factors into her desire to travel. She could get into street-fighting alongside Trouble and make a shit-ton of money on it, and has expressed some interest, but it's not at the top of her list at the moment. She also used to be very talented in sailing and swimming, but doesn't remember this!

Lavinet: most of her free time is spent socializing and "politicking"--so doing the things nobles do to maintain their status, visibility, presence, and power in their local surroundings. For Lavinet, this involves attending a lot of gatherings, social clubs, parlor nights, balls, galas, and parties with her fellow aristocracy, being seen dining in the finest of restaurants with the savviest of dinner partners, and attending hot and relevant events like the theater (which she thoroughly enjoys) and art showings (which she usually doesn't). When she's not doing all of this, she's exchanging letters with relevant penpals, shopping, keeping abreast of the latest trends, and working with her designers to keep her wardrobe and rooms updated and to her liking. She also loves horseback riding and diligently takes her stallion, Avonis, for a ride every single day. She enjoys organizing impromptu events for her friends like brunches or afternoon teas, and when she has the time, she enjoys garden walks, picnics, lawn games, reading books (usually romance novels), and enjoying fine confections and sweetmeats (her guilty pleasure). She is well-versed in most "finishing" arts like embroidery, playing the aplanea, singing, flower-arranging, wine-tasting, calligraphy, painting, and much more, but usually doesn't actually employ them because she finds them a bit boring. 

Halek: I think this one's pretty obvious at this point: his biggest hobby is cooking! It consumes most of his free time, whether he's reading new recipe books or food travelogues, shopping for or sourcing ingredients, or practicing the cooking itself. He's extremely good at it and has an excellent palate. Aside from that, his other most time-consuming hobby is napping, LOL. Aside from that, I think he'd like to try his hand at gardening; he takes care of his elk and occasionally goes for rides; sometimes he reads (aside from the travelogues, he enjoys what essentially amounts to Blest comic books); and sometimes he plucks away at a tsirai in his room, which is essentially a kind of wonky fantasy Blest guitar (he's not amazing at it, though, but better than Chase). He's sort of interested in learning more esoteric hobbies like tea ceremonies or drink mixing but has not yet embarked on this yet. (And this is random, but it occurred to me that if he were in a modern AU, he'd be weirdly good at those videos where people mix different paint and you have to predict what color it's going to turn out to be. IDK why I know that, but I know he'd be great at that.)

I've been thinking about this and I was wondering; How does each race age? Like, we know the Hunters have a shorter lifespans than Norms and Norms shorter than Kets, etc., but, like, is a Hunter at the age of 40 the same as a Mage at the age of 40? What does a 120 year old Ket look and act like? Would it be the same as a Mage since that have the same approximate lifespan? We know Tallys is older and has a young face, so what's elf aging like?

I actually talked about some of their aging and how it works here! 

Basically, if we're using Norms as a benchmark, Norms age pretty much as average humans do: 0-12 is childhood, 13-19 is adolescence, 20s are young adulthood, 30s to 40s are like "the prime of life", late 40s to 50s are "middle age", 65+ is starting to get into grandparent/elder age. Average Norm lifespans (especially in the lower class) usually end at around 75-80, but it's not super unusual to live to around 100: it's just more common among the upper class (it's slightly more common than it is for us, I think; the average Norm probably knows at least one person, friend, or relative who lived to 100, which I don't know if the same is true for us, at least in my circles). 

Hunter aging is exactly the same as Norm aging: a 20-year-old Hunter looks exactly the same as a 20-year-old Norm, and vice-versa. Their lives just end abruptly in their 50s, so you never see a Hunter "elder" in the form of like a wrinkled 80-year-old woman or a half-bent, shuffling old man; the oldest you see are like 50-year-olds and sometimes 60-looking-year-olds, and then that's it. But their developmental stages mirror a Norm's (or a human's) pretty much exactly other than that! 

Elf aging is super confusing to everyone but Elves themselves, and it's not really helpful to compare their development to that of others, because it seems 'inconsistent' when held up to something like Norm aging. Rather than a straightforward line chart like this:

Elf aging is all over the place and has a lot of plateaus, since their aging slows down drastically when they reach adulthood and the prime of their life!

Essentially, Elf babies and Elf children are super weird. It takes Elf babies only a little bit longer to achieve the same milestones as Norm babies; so say if a Norm baby is old enough to walk at 12 months, an Elf baby is old enough to walk at 24 months. They age a bit slower, but not like an insane amount. Then, as children, it slows down just a little more: whereas it takes just one year for a Norm child to go from (developmentally) 5 to 6 years, it takes an Elf child two. Put another way, say an Elf baby and a Norm baby are born on the same day. In 20 years, the Norm baby will be developmentally 20; the Elf baby will be 10. 

In their tween/teenage years, aging slows down even more drastically. So a 50-year-old Elf is developmentally only about 15-16 years old. A 100-year-old Elf is about 18 or 19 (Cybele). A 200-year-old Elf is in their early to mid-20s (Tallys). 

From that point, aging 'plateaus', and Elves essentially stay perpetually in their youth/the prime of their life for a very long time. At 200 years, they're roughly in their twenties. At 300 years, they're in their mid twenties to late twenties, maybe early thirties. At 400-500 years, they're still in their thirties. At 600 years, they're progressing into their forties, but reallllly slowly. This continues essentially in perpetuity; it might even be that the older they get, the more slowly they age!

For intents and purposes, Mages and Ket age pretty much the same as each other, with some slight differences; and their development is a bit different than that of the Elves or the Norms. Their aging process and development is pretty much the same as Norms until they hit their young adulthood/twenties and thirties, with a few slight differences (Ket reach adolescence and physical maturity a teensy bit earlier, like a 12-year-old Ket might look closer to a 15-year-old Norm, and then they stay that way a bit longer). At their twenties/thirties the aging slows down really drastically, so they stay in the "prime of their lives"/peak of their health for decades. Then, in old age or towards the ends of their lifespans, their aging accelerates again towards a more "normal" rate. So a 120-year-old Mage is going to look like an 80-year-old Norm--but a 60-year-old Ket is probably closer to a 40-year-old Norm! So Blade's going to stay looking in his thirties until he's like 55-60, and he's going to stay looking in his forties until he's like 80. Once they hit 100, that's when it starts to accelerate again towards a more normal rate, and they begin to age into elders more rapidly. 

I hope that makes sense! 

Hello, loving the new character page! I noticed that some characters have different Tarot cards than the previous character page. Does that mean that you've changed your mind on what Major Arcana represents them best, or has the design simply changed? If so, what are the characters' new Major Arcana? (Sorry, I've gotten super into tarot recently and I find them fascinating!)

Hi there, thank you for your kind words about the new character page, I'm very happy with how it looks and am so thrilled you like it, too! And great eye for detail, I wasn't expecting anyone to notice that change! I think I changed Chase, Blade, and Croelle's card designs if I'm remembering correctly--this is not actually to reflect new major arcana, but simply because the old designs were not very conducive to being centered nicely, or I just didn't like them as much. For example, here's Blade's old card:

As you can see, the circles in the--horsey--do not quite line up with the middle of the card, which sort of bugged me. And here's the new design:

While the scales are not really suitable for Blade's "chariot" arcana, I think they not only represent him better, but they also look a bit nicer in terms of the visuals and getting things centered. That was my reasoning for the other card changes, too! I hope that makes sense!

how rich would Lavinet be in real world terms

Rich enough for her family to own a penthouse in Manhattan, a few vacation homes, and allow her to attend a private and prestigious school for the wealthy elite and an Ivy League university with ease; but not so rich that her name would be plastered everywhere on buildings (like a Vanderbilt or a Rockefeller) and she wouldn't be regularly taking helicopters or private jets or renting out whole islands for vacations on a whim. I hope that's a good enough example??

So we know how Blade would respond to MC being kidnapped. How about Trouble? 👀

He'd be totally frantic and irrational, focused on getting MC back no matter what and visiting unholy revenge on the people who kidnapped them. He'd basically be out of his mind with fear and rage, and it would be very hard for anyone to calm him down or make him see reason; he'd basically be out-of-control until they got MC back!

Spoilers

If you could describe each RO’s endgame romance in one sentence what would it be?

I already described their romances in one sentence and in three words here: I don't really differentiate between their "endgame" romance and overall romance, but I can give it a shot?

Blade: passionate but tortured, trying to hold himself back and dancing around the issue

Trouble: sweet and excited, like things are finally right with the world and nothing can go wrong

Tallys: panicked and full of longing, being afraid of growing feelings and doing irrational things to navigate them

Shery: shy and uncertain, like she can't believe her luck and is afraid she'll wake up and the dream will vanish at any second 

Riel: awkward and unsure, like holding a beautiful piece of glass and afraid it's going to shatter with any wrong move

Chase: tumultuous and angst-ridden, navigating deep-seated issues, asking for forgiveness, and finally achieving acceptance 

Red: comfortable and steady, like it was always meant to be or has always been this way, with lots of communication and maturity

Ayla: skittish and wary, like handling a wild animal liable to bolt at any given excuse

Briony: powerful and dramatic, with lots of sudden twists and turns and trying to ride out the storm together

Lavinet: committed and determined, resolving to face all the coming obstacles together

Oo, so, I know the festival will most likely move because it's more fun to pre-relationship flirt in the swamp, but will lots of Feels still happen in Ch 7?

And.....will MC & Trouble get dragged under the swamp water?!? (Code diver, saw your tidbit.)

I think the same amount of feels that were present for the girls in Chapter 6 (if applicable) will be available for the boys in Chapter 7! I try to keep it even. So potential for sharing a room? ✅ Other opportunities for flirting, cuddling, or protectiveness? About equal, once all is said and done! There's room for a little bit more potential angst for the boys in Chapter 7, but that's evened out by the more pronounced sexual tension (or literally having sex, in Tallys's case) that you could potentially share with the girls in Chapter 6! I hope that makes sense!

And no, no getting dragged under the water for right now... I forgot I left that snippet in there! That was an excerpt from an earlier novel that I was looking at for inspiration, to get me in the mood for writing the swamp! 😅 Feel free to disregard!

what’s one endgame spoiler you’re willing to drop on us

In certain routes, Croelle will be responsible for saving someone's life, if you've earned his allegiance. 👀

How do Kato and Ari feel about Chase and his, uh, dalliances? Kato especially, since he was there for Saya's betrayal. What are they thinking if Chase starts catching feelings for the MC and is, well, himself about it?

Good question! Kato and Chase's relationship is pretty complex in comparison to more straightforward lieutenant-leader relationships (like Riel and Aerin). Kato was there with Chase for pretty much all of it, so his feelings on Chase's dalliances are really mixed... It's mostly a combination of exasperation and sympathy? Like, he's sort of hassled and exasperated every time Chase hooks up with "another one," because it usually means Kato has to deal with the inevitable fallout (angry exes storming into the hideout looking for Chase while he's crawling out the window, Kato having to be like "uh... he's dead" while jilted lovers are demanding to know where he is, that kind of thing)--so basically whenever Chase introduces a new love interest, Kato's whole body seizes up with dread and he's like oh God, not again as his mind flashes forward to all of the chaos he's going to be put through in the near future while maintaining a somewhat polite demeanor? But at the same time, he gets it better than most, so his exasperation is tempered with more patience and understanding than, say, Ari. Like, ultimately, he wants Chase to be happy, but "knows" that this is basically impossible at this point, given he knows firsthand what Chase has been through and what happened with Saya--so while Chase's dalliances cause him no end of trouble, he's ultimately more tolerant of them and he feels like his leader deserves some small measure of contentment, even for a little while! So he's kind of a mix between groaning but also generally supportive?

When Chase and MC start hooking up, Kato has absolutely no reason to believe that their relationship is going to be any different from any of Chase's other previous trainwrecks, so he really doesn't think much of it, aside from worrying that it might mess up relations between the Thieves Guild and the Shepherds when things inevitably fall apart. There's a moment where he gets optimistic and is like "Hey, MC is the Hero of Haven, maybe this is the one time things actually work out??" and starts to get more interested and hopeful, especially since Chase never "dallies" with coworkers or people he works with in close proximity/friends... and then Chase starts doing his Chase Thing and then Kato's like, "ah no this is going to be a disaster just like all the others :)" and just quietly gears up for what's coming...

Ari is a little bit harder on Chase than Kato: she's heard whispers and pared-down summaries of what happened with Saya from the others, but in her mind it's sort of like "Yeah that really sucks, but I feel bad for the poor saps you keep suckering in and then bailing on..." So she's more sympathetic (in her own way) towards Chase's "heartbrokens" than she is towards Chase and thinks he's a typical scoundrel, a real dog... That's sort of why she tries to low-key warn MC not to get hoodwinked by Chase if she senses some chemistry between them in Chapter 2; she's trying to be a bro, for all the good it does her! She doesn't really let Chase get away with anything and is always chewing him out for the way he treats his lovers, not that it ever has any effect... And in her mind, poor MC is just another in a long line of marks... Pity, because she respects MC more than a lot of his romantic interests!

NSFW

which of the male love interest would let a female MC peg them?

I've definitely answered this one before, but I'll answer it again for posterity (and because I can't find my previous answer): Blade would probably try it once with lots and lots of persuasion, but I don't think he'd like it, and he'd probably be more comfortable with tongue than anything else. Trouble and Red (and Halek) would be into it! Chase would allow it if he was in a certain mood, but it wouldn't be his preference and something he did mostly for MC's enjoyment, not his own. 

how do the guys take care of morning wood

Blade: depends on his mood, he either ignores it and goes about his business until it goes away, or he takes care of it, but with a slight air of annoyance or impatience, like it's an inconvenient biological need he has to fulfill 

Trouble: kind of depends on his mood, if MC's the source of the morning wood, he sort of groans into his pillow and tries to ignore it because he feels guilty and embarrassed about it, if it's just a regular thing then he'll take care of it in his morning shower and then go about his business!

Chase: he takes it as a sign that he needs to get laid--he usually doesn't do anything about it right then, but makes it a point to go out at that night and find a willing partner, if the circumstances are favorable for that sort of thing

Riel: he rarely experiences this, and when he does, he sort of just disdainfully ignores it, like he chooses when he wants to indulge in certain activities, he is not governed by his body!

Red: he often ignores it--getting morning wood for him isn't exactly an indicator that he's horny, it's just sort of random and there, and he's not a fan of touching himself unless he's actually in the mood for it!

Halek: always takes care of it, he knows if he doesn't, it's a recipe for disaster (aka a wet dream) the next time he falls asleep!

can we get some nsfw facts about blade and chase !

Blade: knowing that MC smells like him or is wearing his clothes or has her hair mussed because of him (or has had his cum on her) really turns him on and has him ready to go for round 2 (or 3, or 4) right away, causing some very steady feedback loops!

Chase: he's into sensory play and likes to blindfold his lovers, tie them up with silk or soft velvet, and tease them with feathers, crops, and all manner of whatever toy he feels like using. He'd also be into shibari and would be very into the idea of hosting a party while knowing his partner is tied up in the bedroom, ready and waiting for him while all of their guests mill around!

There was a question all the way back about how the main Ros would usually initiate sexy times or how you know they were feeling kinky, I would like to know how the Hunter twins, Croelle and Gladius do it as well! Thank you!

Halek gets all touchy-feely, like coming up behind MC and wrapping his arms around their waist, kissing their neck, basically just getting very amorous and affectionate!

Naolin is a little bit more subtle about it and is usually more complimentary or verbally flirtatious (which for him amounts to "You look incredible today") or maybe wining and dining them, doing things to set the mood without outright making a move.

Croelle gets a little bit more antagonistic (sort of in his own teasing way, though on the outside it could look outright argumentative), hoping to provoke the kind of intensity that leads to him just slamming MC up against a wall.

Gladius is really upfront and blunt about it; typically he's hooking up with fellow soldiers so it's just kind of like an invitation to meet in his room later and they can take it or leave it!

Hi Lena 💙 this is rather a silly NSFW question and honestly apologies in advance: tis the season, so how would the ROs fair with No Nut November whilst in a relationship with MC? And to up the ante…. it’s anything goes as far as teasing and riling MC/RO up in order to get them to break. Who are our Masters of Their Domains among the Shepherds?

Blade: he breaks after two weeks, he tried to uphold his pride and indignity but he ultimately shatters and hauls MC into their room...

Trouble: he breaks after like 3 days lol, he'll take having amazing sex with MC over a dumb challenge any day and will gladly eat his shame

Tallys: she's Horny, but when her pride is on the line, her self-control is supreme... she treats MC a bit frostily because she's mad that they're teasing her and trying to make her life harder, though!

Shery: she lasts a few weeks, but it's really sad and she gets more distressed and frazzled over time until MC has to like give her permission to break it because she's just like 😩She could easily make it the whole month if MC wasn't teasing her, though!

Riel: he smirks at MC, like 'you're trying to break me? your hubris. pathetic.' He's cool as ice...

Chase: he surprisingly has a strong sense of self-control when it comes to winning challenges, but he's super whiny and bummed out about it to be annoying. Like "ughhhh you're killing me, why are we even doing this!!!" But then when MC's actually trying to get him to break, he gets really serious and no-nonsense about it, and teases them right back! He doesn't break no matter what, and gets really creative with his retaliations and cruelties!

Red: he can make it, but is it really worth it? He'll power through if MC promises him like a nice reward for successfully doing the challenge, but the whole time he's jumpy and skittish and like 'what have I gotten myself into' 😅

Ayla: she gets increasingly angrier and more sexually frustrated over time and takes out her frustrations by snapping at MC, like "STAY AWAY FROM ME. I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO PULL. TEMPTER. SIREN!" She probably breaks after a while, but her retaliation is super passionate angry sex, almost punishment for making her lose lol

Briony: the lure of the forbidden just makes her hornier, so she either breaks within a week and is begging and pleading with MC to just end her misery the whole time before pulling herself away with an indignant wail, or she's cheating and definitely touching herself to relieve the tension... no self-control! She definitely fails...

Lavinet: she stays cool and clear-headed and lasts the whole month; like was it even a question? Tsk.