Crossworlds - Blog

I Wrote a Christmas Song

12/1/2022

Well it’s four pm and the sun’s going down
And it’s rainin’ but there’s no snow on the ground
Isn’t this the most wonderful time of the year?
So let’s light some candles and turn up the heat
It may be frightful out there, but inside it’s sweet
There’s nowhere I’d rather be than here

Yes I like presents, and silver and gold
But you warm my heart up in the deepest cold
No one else makes my spirit feel so bright
So all these Christmas things can be accessories
A frame for the picture of you and me
A pretty font on the page, fancy curtains on stage
And our love story in the spotlight

To me the true meaning of Christmas is clear
It’s getting time off so we can get out of here
Baby, don’t they know it’s cold outside?
So as another day comes to an end
I’ll drive you home, and we’ll pretend
We’re just out taking the sleigh for a ride

Yes I like presents, and silver and gold
But you warm my heart up in the deepest cold
No one else makes my spirit feel so bright
So all these Christmas things can be accessories
A frame for the picture of you and me
A pretty font on the page, fancy curtains on stage
And our love story in the spotlight

You fill my heart up
With love, and joy, and laughter
You are all I want
For Christmas, and every day after

Yes I like presents, and silver and gold
But you warm my heart up in the deepest cold
No one else makes my spirit feel so bright
So all these Christmas things can be accessories
A frame for the picture of you and me
A pretty font on the page, fancy curtains on stage
And our love story in the spotlight

Gift Focus of the Month: Communication

9/19/2022

The Lady Illusion gave us a set of twelve
Twelve children, twelve months, and twelve gifts as well
Inner and outer vision, levitation
Fire, water, transformation
Glowing, healing, communication
Singers, dancers, model makers

We’re taking an in-depth look at one gift every month, and this month’s gift is communication.

From Rose’s notebook:

Communicators tend to be calm people, but unlike those with the water gift, they aren’t usually shy, and certainly won’t let anyone walk all over them. Animals can understand them due to a quality in their voice, and while children have to learn to use this quality, most older communicators simply speak with it all the time.

This little pic of the month features one of the Mansion's communicators, Jordan. And I really enjoyed drawing Eva, (and she's his girlfriend), so she's gonna be featured again, I guess. But for those new to the series, she is not a gifted communicator. I just don't have any good pictures of Jordan alone (and you don't have to say "or at all," I KNOW).

The gifted can learn to speak with and understand nearly all types of animals and creatures. Personality wise, they are honest, empathetic, outdoorsy and in tune with nature. They are good mediators, though they don’t always enjoy it. Some can get frustrated with the fact that others don’t have strong communication skills (in their human relationships), because it’s so natural and normal to them.

Communicators have a wide variety of career paths open to them. Many of them prefer working with animals, in nature, or with children, but they are quite versatile and can fit in anywhere.

This gift has a strange flipside. Communicators can also fully disrupt communication. Most people don't go near their gift's opposite side unless it's absolutely necessary, as the magic feels so unnatural. Communicators, especially, often won't even think about their gift having a flipside. However, communication's chaotic flipside has been very useful in battle, to confuse enemies to the point of debilitation.

The gift's high level is debated. Some say it's communication with nature itself--a connection that gets deeper the more you listen, study, and meditate. Others say it's control over animals. Some say it could go either direction, depending on one's alignment.

Communication has the strongest connections with both dancing and singing. Inner-vision is arguably connected as well, but as far as the “circle of gifts” theory goes, it’s dancing and singing.

Communication is often symbolized by lips, or by a mirror.

Fun Fact About the Twelve Gifts

In the Early Days, the idea of “gifts” was unheard of for many years. Most people had “round” magic with no prominent gifts. Those who shaped the world, like Claire and Dimitri, had stronger magic than most. While people may have had magical strengths and preferences, there were no clear gifts until a few generations after their time (or right at the end of Claire’s, like November). Gifts became more common as time went on. As the world changed, so did the way it distributed magic.

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Just a thing I wrote one anxious day...

9/12/2022

Childhood does not prepare us for the real world
Do as your told, now that’s a good girl
Don’t talk to strangers, or better yet
Don’t talk at all, that’s as good as it gets
Sit and listen and let me fill your head
You’re not ready to choose for yourself, they said
How many times did I hear in school,
“Stop talking, sit down, and follow the rules”?
Yet then they wonder why we don’t succeed
Out in the world when it’s our turn to lead
I’m terrified ‘cause I never learned how
Praised to avoid things I gotta do now
I’m supposed to talk to strangers every day
It’s no wonder I don’t know the right things to say
Praised for sitting quietly like a good girl
I’m a hopeless case, out in the real world
I’m so far behind, I’m coming in last
I was the best behaved kid in my class

Anyone else already had it with this month?

Gift Focus of the Month: Healing

8/15/2022

The Lady Illusion gave us a set of twelve
Twelve children, twelve months, and twelve gifts as well
Inner and outer vision, levitation
Fire, water, transformation
Glowing, healing, communication
Singers, dancers, model makers

There’s another gift to learn about every month, and this month’s focus is healing.

From Rose’s notebook:

When people say there are two sides to magic, they most commonly reference the healer’s gift. They can heal and hurt. Healers usually start school at a very young age, because most of them are born with the gift, and their mother’s can feel it before they’re born.

Well, that’s barely an intro… Okay, let’s get into it for real.

Most children in the magical world have long and carefree childhoods, while gifted healers have a long and difficult path of schooling. There are many different currents of magic used for different injuries, and to relieve pain. The pain-relieving current is usually the healer’s earliest natural magic, the one that reveals itself at the moment of gift discovery. Other currents take more studying to develop. They also need to study self-healing, which is more difficult than healing others (though, probably easer to practice). Schooling will also teach young healers how to make potions and products (like healing crystals) to cure and treat various ailments.

Late-blooming healers (like Hannah) are uncommon. As Rose mentioned above, most mothers will feel their child’s magic in the womb (which often times makes for easier pregnancies). But whether the gifted child was born with healing magic, or it developed later, part of growing up often involves something called the “young healer’s curse.” This refers to the excessive risk taking of child healers. Though self-healing is more difficult, the knowledge that it’s possible creates an attitude of invincibility. Not all healers go through this, but it’s a common phase.

While basic gifts allow for a wide range of career paths, healers are expected to pick a job that makes use of their gift. Not all healers work in hospitals or traditional doctor roles. If a healer specializes in potion making, they can work in shops, selling products, or manufacturing their own. This is considered one of the easiest career paths for healers to take. They can also work as midwives, or with families, young children, or at schools. Some serve in a “school nurse” roll, and others work as teachers. Healers are also encouraged to join Summer’s Angels, as the need for them is always high. Even those in the easier career paths can be called on in times of need, so it’s important for healers to study every aspect of their gift.

This is the part of the blog where I usually add pictures... So, here's an old one of Hannah (despite the fact she doesn't want me using it because she's "not really a healer"), from a drawing phase where I couldn't help giving everyone HUGE eyes. And no hands, because "wah, too hard!" I suppose the rest is pretty, though. And next to her is Alexis, a healer in Summer's Angels, reaching out to take your hand (which was, let me tell you, a complete NIGHTMARE to draw). I'll say it again, I'm an author, not an artist!

The flipside of healing is, of course, hurting. Healers can cause injuries and pain if they tap into the other side of their gift.

The high level of healing is debated, but most agree it's any time of permanent physical changes. For example, healers skilled enough to regrow lost limbs are considered successful in tapping into the gift's high level.

Healing is most closely connected to transformation and the water gift. It is often symbolized by an open hand.

Fun Fact About the Twelve Gifts

Before a child’s magic is fully developed, it is possible for someone else to “fix” their gift. This is extremely taboo, but it has been done, especially by Southern royalty. Gifted healers can, while pregnant, alter their baby’s magic to force it into the gift of their choosing. The royal family in the South is made up entirely of gifted healers due to gift fixing. In the case of any fixed gift, the gifted will be exceptional at their ability, but limited to that ability alone, and unable to access any other type of magic, even at the most basic level. It’s essentially gathering up all the magic a child has, and compressing it into one thing. For this reason, it’s widely considered to be an abomination, and is rarely even spoken about in most of the world.

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Gift Focus Post of the Month: Glowing

7/18/2022

We’re taking a close look at the twelve gifts, starting with the twins’ gifts, and then making our way through the poem:

The Lady Illusion gave us a set of twelve
Twelve children, twelve months, and twelve gifts as well
Inner and outer vision, levitation
Fire, water, transformation
Glowing, healing, communication
Singers, dancers, model makers

July’s featured gift is... Glowing. Here’s a little from Rose’s journal about the gift:

The glow can be all different colors, or change colors. Every Ambrosi has a natural red glow. For everyone else, the red glow requires extra effort, whether they have the gift or not. The glow is also used quite often in everyday life, just for light. It’s considered one of the magical basics, along with outer vision and levitation.

The glow is another gift valued by June’s warriors, because it’s used so often for both everyday purposes, and used in fighting. While those with the fire gift tend to come with reckless personalities, those with the glowing gift don’t have as many strong stereotypes associated with it. Some say the stereotypical personality traits of the gifted are optimistic, responsible, and potentially deceptive, but these aren’t as widely accepted as traits of other gifts.

Glowing is considered a “round” gift, meaning it doesn’t have a direct flipside. The high level is generally thought to be controlling light on a wider scale. Some say the flipside is “creating” darkness. This is done through illusions based on controlling light, which is where the “deceptive” personality stereotype comes in.

Glowing is most closely connected to levitation and fire. It’s often symbolized by a candle, lantern, or firefly.

Eva is multitalented, and gifted with both dancing and the glow.

Ellie and Savannah using the glow on their journey to the Center of Magic.

Fun fact about the twelve gifts:

Each gift is said to have a high level and a flipside. Both are difficult to achieve, because in some cases, the high level is said to be unattainable (for example, no levitator has been able to fly), and in all cases, the flipside feels unnatural (like, when the twins use theirs for the first time in The Mansion’s Family). Because of this difficulty, some people discount the idea of high levels and flipsides, and don’t believe either actually exist. “Flipside” is also an oversimplification, because while it’s common to hear “there are two sides to magic,” that’s more a figure of speech than an accurate reflection of how magic works. Magic is multifaceted and complex. In some cases, gifts have clear flipsides (like healing). Others, like the glow, are considered “round,” with no obvious flipside, only theorization.

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It's Ellie and Savannah's birthday.

6/21/2022

So, I was trying to write a recap for The Mansion's Twins. Like, trying really hard. And it was just impossibly difficult until... Well, I might have written a rap recap. So... Only because today is a special day for my twins, I'm gonna share this ridiculous thing. I mean, if you really want to read it. Ready to get weird?

Seriously, clicking ahead is entering into a contract to deal with me. Are you willing to accept those terms?

Gift Focus of the Month: Transformation

6/10/2022

We’re taking a close look at the twelve gifts, starting with the twins’ gifts, and then making our way through the poem:

The Lady Illusion gave us a set of twelve
Twelve children, twelve months, and twelve gifts as well
Inner and outer vision, levitation
Fire, water, transformation
Glowing, healing, communication
Singers, dancers, model maker

The gift of the month for June is… Transformation. Let’s see what Rose wrote about this gift.

One of the rarer gifts. It includes both transformation of objects and creating disguises.

The high level of this gift is self-transformation that actually lasts, which is widely thought to be a myth. Even temporary self-transformation is difficult, as it requires you to constantly maintain the magic in order to keep the disguise.

People with the transformation gift are often very smart and crafty. People think those with the gift join June’s army because they make good spies, but trying to do that is actually very dangerous and rarely succeeds because it’s so difficult to maintain the magic. People with the gift join June’s army because they have sharp minds, and can help make plans. They can also improve and duplicate weapons.

Like inner-vision, there are some negative stereotypes about people with this gift. Many people don’t think the gifted are trustworthy, not only because of exaggerated ideas about the gift's high-level potential, but just because of the gifted can be perceived as flakey. I mean, if you were gifted, wouldn’t you change up your room every day? Change your hair? Your clothes? The experimental nature of the gifted, and their inconsistencies, can put people off. However, their far more likely to just be fun, outgoing, and adventurous than deceptive. But those who do abuse the gift can cause a lot of damage, so the negative stereotypes persist.

I usually like to feature a character with my "gift of the month" with a picture of them, but yikes, I just don't have a single good picture of Jerome. Like, he's impossible to draw. I can't even draw women all that well, and men are way more difficult. SO, because clay is sometimes used to symbolize transformation, I thought I'd share this lovely picture of my faceless clay figures. Jerome and family. THIS is why those with transformation get a bad reputation.

The high level of this gift is self-transformation that lasts, which is widely thought to be a myth. Sure, you can change your hair, but those types of alterations hardly ever last more than a day. Transforming yourself into a completely different person typically wouldn’t last more than a few minutes, at best. In order to truly trick someone, the gifted would need to be exceptional.

As for a flipside, this is an odd one. It’s fixing things. Not “fix” as in repair, but as in make permanent. This could be used for things like finishing the work of inexperienced model makers—a strong model maker could make their work “stick” by themselves, but the finishing touch of someone with transformation could always make the end product stronger.

Transformation is most closely connected to outer-vision and healing, and it’s often symbolized by a butterfly.

Fun fact about the twelve gifts

A wedding in the magical world is called a “Gifts of Gifts” ceremony. The couple will ask twelve of their friends and family to represent each gift. Each of the gifted (or stand-ins for the gifted) present the couple with a symbol of each gift, and recite a blessing to match. For example, “For dancing, I present these slippers. May these currents keep you moving.” And, “For transformation, I present this clay. May these currents help you grow with each other.” There are traditional presents for each gift, but many families choose to personalize. Marriage in the magical world isn’t very common—perhaps because a full Gifts of Gifts ceremony is a bit complicated to put together. It’s considered bad luck to do a Gifts of Gifts ceremony without all twelve gifts represented. They say it leads to unbalanced magic in your relationship, and we all know how dangerous that is.

Gift Focus of the Month: Water

5/29/2022

We’re taking a close look at the twelve gifts, starting with the twins’ gifts, and then making our way through the poem:

The Lady Illusion gave us a set of twelve
Twelve children, twelve months, and twelve gifts as well
Inner and outer vision, levitation
Fire, water, transformation
Glowing, healing, communication
Singers, dancers, model makers

This month's gift focus is water! Here's a page from Rose's journal on the gift:

People with the water gift can conjure and control water, though simply controlling it is much easier. It’s helpful for June’s army because the Ambrosi’s fight with fire too, not to mention her own people who can control fire can get a bit reckless at times. It’s also helpful when they’re traveling, and need to cross a river (or find an underwater Palace). They can freeze water, or stay under it for long periods of time. There aren’t as many with the water gift in June’s army as there are with the fire gift, because people who control water tend to be much calmer, and much less likely to want to fight. They’re easygoing people, but they often don’t stand up for themselves as much as they should, and can be very shy.

Both fire and water are unique because they are the only two gifts that are each other’s flipside. The high level of both gifts is controlling the weather.

Okay, Claire is multitalented, so this isn't the best example of the gift itself--just it's high level. But I have ZERO good pictures of Nikki! She's very difficult to draw, and this picture is actually kinda okay for me. Again, I'm an author, NOT an artist!

Water is closely connected to healing and levitation. It is often symbolized by a bottle, glass, or drop.

Fun Fact About the Twelve Gifts

Children will usually discover their gifts before age ten. That’s when the word “ungifted” will start to be used, usually by parents and teachers trying to preach acceptance, or their peers, often with less wholesome intentions. However, late discovery is still possible, and kids aren’t “officially” ungifted until puberty.

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Gift Focus of the Month: Fire

4/18/2022

We’re taking a close look at the twelve gifts, starting with the twins’ gifts, and then making our way through the poem:

The Lady Illusion gave us a set of twelve
Twelve children, twelve months, and twelve gifts as well
Inner and outer vision, levitation
Fire, water, transformation
Glowing, healing, communication
Singers, dancers, model makers

This month’s gift focus is… FIRE! Let’s see what Rose wrote in her notebook about this gift.

People who can conjure and control fire tend to be loud and wild. They would make good leaders if they weren’t also reckless and stubborn. They can make good warriors, and many of June’s army have the fire gift. They’re bold—some would say brave, and others would say crazy. I say both. Like Shane. He’s pretty much exactly what the fire gift is.

Both fire and water are unique because they are the only two gifts that are each other’s flipside. The high level of both gifts is controlling the weather.

Fire is most closely connected to both glowing and dancing. It is often symbolized by a flame or a candle.

Fun Fact About the Twelve Gifts

The moment of gift discovery is an explosion of exceptionally strong magic. In that moment, young children can do things naturally that grown adults would struggle with. Once the newly discovered gift stabilizes, it won’t be quite so powerful. It will always be more natural than other types of magic, but will still require practice to master.

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Coming soon!

Gift Focus of the Month: Inner-Vision

3/5/2022

We’re taking a close look at the twelve gifts, starting with the twins’ gifts, and then making our way through the poem:

The Lady Illusion gave us a set of twelve
Twelve children, twelve months, and twelve gifts as well
Inner and outer vision, levitation
Fire, water, transformation
Glowing, healing, communication
Singers, dancers, model makers

Well, it’s a new month, so onward we go to inner-vision. Here’s an intro to the gift from Rose’s notebook:

When people say “the vision-gift,” this is usually what they mean. If they have outer vision, they’ll specify that, even though outer vision is more common. Inner vision is about looking into people, and seeing their thoughts and feelings. In order to read people, they need to look them in the eyes. While the gifted make useful spies, in polite company, you always ask before looking at someone with you gift.

An old drawing of Helen, my lovely villain with vision.

Inner-vision is pretty rare, and has some other unique features. Not only can the gifted discover people’s secrets, they can also see through disguises, and beyond curses, and other magic-induced physical changes. June was once in love with a man with vision, who saw her as the woman she would be if she had never been cursed.

Personality wise, the gifted are quite insightful, and often very kind and empathetic. But the negative stereotypes are still very prevalent, because people don’t like their privacy invaded. I do feature a villain with inner-vision across the series, and all those negative stereotypes certainly apply to her...

The “flipside” of this gift is magical guards. For both levitation and outer-vision, the other side of the gift feels somewhat unnatural, but accessible without a great deal of study. This is pretty common across the board for flipsides. Those with inner-vision are used to seeing more of people than those without the gift, so naturally, they themselves become more open and honest with others. Learning to use magical guards, and keep their own thoughts private, can feel unnatural at first, but most adults with vision grow accustomed to it.

As for the high level, this is where things get a bit weird. My past self was vehemently opposed to anyone having any sort of “future vision” because she thought it was, to put it simply, the dumbest thing ever. Using future vision in fiction is often difficult for writers to get right, and frustrating for readers. Like, okay, he could tell the future HERE, but not before? What exactly are the conditions? Is it a possible and ever changing future, or is the future fixed? And if it’s REALLY fixed, why are you trying to change it? I didn’t want to go there, I just really, really did not.

Anyway... The high level of inner-vision is future vision. I should remind you, most people can’t access their gift’s high level. Like, to the point where some people think “high levels” are a myth. With inner-vision, the gifted are still tapping into the same gift, just on a deeper level. So, they’re essentially using their collective knowledge of the people involved in a situation to predict the decisions they’ll make, thereby telling the “future.” It’s not like they get premonitions or crap like that.

For example… Helen. Helen is my favorite villain of Crossworlds and she’s gifted with inner-vision. Um, minor spoilers ahead for The Mansion’s Family…

Helen didn’t “know” Dece was pregnant by seeing a “vision” of the future. By looking into Dece’s eyes, she could read her previous intentions—her desire for a child, her relationship, etc. She simply put the pieces together.

Julian did something like this too. When Aidan came to the Mansion, June wanted Hannah to take care of him, “inspiring” her to start using her gift. Julian was rather opposed to this whole idea. He knows June’s done some less-than-ethical things in the past. He also knows Hannah doesn’t see herself as a gifted healer, and simply taking care of a cured Northern man isn’t going to change that. Julian is suspicious of June because he thinks this is just the beginning of her plan. Enlisting Hannah’s help is innocent enough—she already enjoys being a caretaker (caregiver? Anyone else think it’s weird that those words mean the same thing?). But Julian knows that’s just the first step down this path, and it gets darker further on. He might not know exactly where it’s going, but he knows it doesn't feel right.

Some think that’s all there is to the “high level” of this gift, it’s just using that deep insightfulness to predict what will happen next. Others believe the high level is more magical, like, you actually do get a flash of the future once you’ve obtained enough knowledge, and that’s how you know you’ve accessed it.

Phew… That was a lot. Let’s wrap this up.

Inner-vision is closely connected to outer-vision and model making. It is often symbolized by a mirror or an eye.

Fun Fact About the Twelve Gifts:

Being away from magic (for example, living in the non-magical world) can delay gift discovery. Living in the non-magical world will suppress all magical abilities, and it takes about ten years for them to develop again.

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(coming soon!)