MoTF update: art and new characters
Nov. 2nd, 2006 10:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tsuru_sanToday I partook in that rare joy known as the mental health day. However instead of goofing off, I decided to actually be productive, and I got much finished for MoTF as well as history homework. w00t!
Roger Bordon and the Merrington Family
While not as prestigious as some families, the Merringtons were fairly well off. However, when Alric was born, his father and grandfather—through foolishness and gambling—had already squandered much of the family fortune. Alric joined the army when he was very young, and he was determined to restore his family name as well as buy back the family's small estate outside London. When he was twenty-one, he married a young teacher, Magnolia, and the two were very much in love. With her help, Alric did indeed manage to regain some of his family's former position and land as well as reestablish connections with other "good" families.
Their entire financial situation was still on shaky ground though, and when Alric died fighting in the New World, Magnolia did not have a way to continue paying off the debts that remained, and she and her ten year old son, Nathaniel, faced eviction. Much to Nathaniel and his mother's surprise, none of Alric's so-called "friends" made any attempt to help them.
It was then that Roger Bordon stepped in. A wealthy aristocrat who bought his way into the army, Bordon was mediocre soldier but a very shrewd politician who wielded much clout in the army. A longtime friend of Alric, they met when Bordon joined the army and what had at first been a useful social connection turned into a very warm friendship.
General Bordon was the one who brought the news of Alric's death, and when he found out about the Merringtons' financial troubles, he got the creditors off Magnolia's back until she was able to find a good position as a governess. At first she tried to refuse Roger's assistance, embarrassedly telling him she had no way to repay him. He brushed her protests aside saying, "Should I ever perish on the battlefield and if my wife and children were left alone and in need of aid, I would want someone to help them."
When Nathaniel enters the army, Bordon also decides to keep an eye on him although he doesn't seem even half so reckless as his father. Near the end of the story though, Nathaniel faces a court martial—possibly even a hanging if he's found guilty of espionage. However, General Bordon—one of the few who thinks Nathaniel is actually innocent—arranges to have the charges dropped.
Nathaniel standing in the shadow of his father's grave. As soon as I read that quote, I thought of Nate. Although Nathaniel's kind of cold as well as sad. XD
Finally I have some Jean-Marie/André! The top colored pic would be pre-MoTF when Jean-Marie and André first realize they are falling for each other and are still trying to ignore it. The bottom sequence was fun too. OMSB, André's hair is teh EBIL.
Next time, a setting post.
Roger Bordon and the Merrington Family
While not as prestigious as some families, the Merringtons were fairly well off. However, when Alric was born, his father and grandfather—through foolishness and gambling—had already squandered much of the family fortune. Alric joined the army when he was very young, and he was determined to restore his family name as well as buy back the family's small estate outside London. When he was twenty-one, he married a young teacher, Magnolia, and the two were very much in love. With her help, Alric did indeed manage to regain some of his family's former position and land as well as reestablish connections with other "good" families.
Their entire financial situation was still on shaky ground though, and when Alric died fighting in the New World, Magnolia did not have a way to continue paying off the debts that remained, and she and her ten year old son, Nathaniel, faced eviction. Much to Nathaniel and his mother's surprise, none of Alric's so-called "friends" made any attempt to help them.
It was then that Roger Bordon stepped in. A wealthy aristocrat who bought his way into the army, Bordon was mediocre soldier but a very shrewd politician who wielded much clout in the army. A longtime friend of Alric, they met when Bordon joined the army and what had at first been a useful social connection turned into a very warm friendship.
General Bordon was the one who brought the news of Alric's death, and when he found out about the Merringtons' financial troubles, he got the creditors off Magnolia's back until she was able to find a good position as a governess. At first she tried to refuse Roger's assistance, embarrassedly telling him she had no way to repay him. He brushed her protests aside saying, "Should I ever perish on the battlefield and if my wife and children were left alone and in need of aid, I would want someone to help them."
When Nathaniel enters the army, Bordon also decides to keep an eye on him although he doesn't seem even half so reckless as his father. Near the end of the story though, Nathaniel faces a court martial—possibly even a hanging if he's found guilty of espionage. However, General Bordon—one of the few who thinks Nathaniel is actually innocent—arranges to have the charges dropped.
Nathaniel standing in the shadow of his father's grave. As soon as I read that quote, I thought of Nate. Although Nathaniel's kind of cold as well as sad. XD
Finally I have some Jean-Marie/André! The top colored pic would be pre-MoTF when Jean-Marie and André first realize they are falling for each other and are still trying to ignore it. The bottom sequence was fun too. OMSB, André's hair is teh EBIL.
Next time, a setting post.
no subject
Date: 2006-11-03 02:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-11-03 10:35 pm (UTC)They are so beautiful...
Thank you very much! After Nathaniel and Dimitri, Jean-Marie and André are my fav chars; I'm hoping to do a few short comics on their history at some point. I really like them, and unfortunately they barely show up together at all in MoTF.
you don't perhaps have time for another commission perhaps?
Actually, cherie, you've picked the perfect time to request something from me. My high school is doing some teacher workshops next week so I'll only have half a day of school on Wednesday and then Thursday and Friday I have completely off. *grins gleefully* So what did you have in mind?
no subject
Date: 2006-11-03 11:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-11-04 01:16 am (UTC)*grin* Yes, I know. I still recall your comment to the Jean-Marie/Dimitri crack!art. XD
Got your e-mail, cherie, and it sounds lovely; I shall do my best. *salute*
no subject
Date: 2006-11-04 03:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-11-05 07:56 pm (UTC)Yup! And so are the rest of us... *grin*
I've already begun some of the sketching, and I can tell I'm going to have a lot of fun with this. ^^
no subject
Date: 2006-11-05 10:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-11-03 05:12 pm (UTC)May I suggest a couple of things about rank? With Benjamin Aldridge, if he joined the RN when he was 13 and he's now 59, would he still necessarily be a midshipman? (since it was the lowest commissioned rank...) And while Alric Merrington could certainly be Colonel of the 47th, the regimental system didn't actually allow for staff officer ranks like "General," "Brigadier," "Lieutenant-General" etc. Instead the individual was appointed to the rank for a particular expedition (ie. Wolfe was appointed Major-General for Quebec in 1759). So, General Bordon would simply be a general without any regimental distinction. Though (to make matters more confusing), men appointed to 'generalships' were commonly colonels themselves (to use Wolfe again, he was Colonel of the 67th before he left for Louisbourg in 1758).
I love the idea of Bordon as the important social connection for the Merringtons! Everybody relied on patronage in the 18th century and it's brilliant to see this coming out in MoTF. Thanks for the update - I can't wait for more.
no subject
Date: 2006-11-04 12:47 am (UTC)And the pictures are lovely. :D Will there be more coming on those characters? (And I love how Jean-Marie's nose makes a shadow on Andre's cheek. Random again.)
no subject
Date: 2006-11-05 09:05 pm (UTC)Thank you very much! Yes, especially Bordon; even though he doesn't show up that much in the story, he plays a big part. (Thank you! I love this pair. *grins* I'm hoping to eventually do a few short comics on their backstory.)
no subject
Date: 2006-11-05 10:13 pm (UTC)Hmm, you have a good point on Aldridge; maybe I'll bump him up to lieutenant. As for Bordon, I'm still trying to decide just what his position is so I really appreciate your input! Alric's rank doesn't matter too much since he's long dead before the story even starts. (Btw, I got a short list of books from my history teacher about the British army which I've started reading, but I was also wondering if there is anything you would recommend.)
I love the idea of Bordon as the important social connection for the Merringtons!
That was the original reason Alric became accquainted with him, and patronage figured strongly in Alric's plans for restoring the Merrington family's former glory. Nathaniel on the other despises patronage and dependence and thinks he can make it all on his own. By the end of the story though, he gets a much needed two-by-four from reality.
no subject
Date: 2006-11-05 06:13 pm (UTC)Brava!!!!
=^..^=
no subject
Date: 2006-11-05 10:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-11-06 01:22 am (UTC)slashablecharming cast! (*GIGGLE* Jean-Marie/André! *GIGGLE*) ;DAnd the picture of Nate standing in the shadow of his father's grave! FANTASTIC! :D
Keep up the great work!!!
no subject
Date: 2006-11-06 11:42 am (UTC)Thank you! Poor dear has his issues...