Demon King Daughter is the biggest for me. We literally see Kyoka born, and there are several spans of time while she matures to 15. Now, once she hits 15, the story locks in, and the bulk of the plot happens there, but yes, we see Kyoka at baby, toddler, young-teen, mid-teen.🧵 #AwesomeCharacters
🌱 Charlie (Chelizabeth) Delta 🦊🪻@charliedeltawrites.bsky.social · 3h agoTell me more about your #AwesomeCharacters Do your characters age noticeably during the time that you write them? Are there time skips or a long progression? Or are they mostly the same age the entire time you write them? Does aging affect the story? #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
![Rieka huffed a wan laugh, and looked back down. "Nah, Jiya, I never felt led on. I'm the one being… really stupid. And selfish."
"What do you mean?"
Rieka sighed heavily, and reached up to grind one hand through her hair. "I can't either. Getting that close. I can't do it. I've got baggage I can't really ask someone to help me carry. The kind that can fuck up your whole life. There's no way to justify doing that to someone, especially someone I'd care about."
Jiya wilted with sympathy. "Wait, Rieka… I think you're--?"
Rieka cut her off with a quiet, "No. It wouldn't be right. Life's too short for the scale of my problems."
Jiya was frozen by this dark mirror. Her hypocrisy was painful in her chest. She was standing here, watching this woman ruin her own life, screaming internally that she was worthy, that life wasn't too short, that things could be figured out, while she was still angry with Mike for shoving on her boundaries and trying to convince her that Paula hadn't ruined her chance to have intimacy.
She needed to say something, to speak out, but her guilt kept her locked silent.
Rieka got her wallet out, and put cash on the counter. "The extra's a tip for you guys. I can afford it for once," she said, calm and serious.
Jiya's eyes darted over Rieka as the woman stood up, clearly about to leave. No, don't let her run away. SAY SOMETHING DAMMIT!
Rieka glanced up with a heartbreakingly gentle smile. "I hope you find your corner of peace, Jiya. Tell Mike g'night for me."
Jiya jerked. "Rieka, wait!"
She did pause, a mild pout on her lips.
Jiya leaned because it would take her too long to limp around the bar. "You deserve your corner of peace, too, Rieka. Things can… Just because the baggage is big, doesn't mean no one would be willing to help."
Rieka half-smiled, and Jiya didn't like the resignation in those yellow eyes. "It's like you said, Jiya. Different causes, but we both lost our shot at that, right? [see first reply for completed ALT text]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:g5fu2bzwnxvpj2tlbugvzgdf/bafkreibszef2shzx7sbwnig6o2ummqilsssl5jzafykx3tdi5guv554m7y)
