civetwrites

[civetwrites]

Soulmate AUs

Because I have no control over myself anymore and had to write these. Soulmate AUs for my OCs Grace, Alex (plus bonus Thomas), and Emma (with bonus Ramsay). This got a bit out of hand so I'll put it under a cut.

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[civetwrites]

10 Sentence thing

((We had to do a 10 sentence short story thing in creative writing tonight, starting with a 10 word sentence and knocking a word off each time. It's 55 words total and was actually rather difficult. This is what I wrote.))

His wings burned as he fell into hell for her. She was bloody and broken, but she was his. Not rescuing her was not an option anymore. He had failed her once, never again. Her soul was singing to hmm. Please help me, it said. How could he not? He was hers. Her guardian. Hers.

[civetwrites]

30 Day Drabbles; Day 3: Restless, Grace

((Didn't stick to this one well, oops. Vaguely related to a thing my RP partner hornswaggler/Sarah wrote))

The skin crawled on the back of her neck. She knew she was being followed, honestly it was hard not to notice the undercover cop car that had been slowly cruising along with her for the past three blocks. She wanted to pull out her phone, tell her brother to run while he could still get out, but no, if she called they could find him. Her getting caught was one thing, her brother was another. She had to keep moving, but she was running out of places to go. She couldn’t go back to the hotel, Hunter was still holled up there and no way in hell was she going to bring the cops right to his doorstep. She felt her hands sweating, her grip on the rifle case slipping in her hands.

She kept walking for another ten minutes, looking everywhere, anywhere, for an escape. A couple of back alleys looked appealing, but she wasn't sure she was allowed to be in them and there was no way in hell she was going to give the cops a reason to take her in. What she needed to do was drop the rifle case off somewhere safe and then hide, but they'd never been to the city before, and she hadn't had enough time to figure out a few hidey holes before they had gone off to do the job. And that was where it had gone wrong. The target hadn't been that hard to kill, a little annoying considering that his best friend happened to be a cop, but the shot had come easy and he had died, just like all of the others. But the second the body had hit the pavement the calls had been sent out, and the police had swarmed. Hunter had been at a safe distance, but Grace...

Whatever deity existed must have been smiling on her because up ahead were one way streets, where it would be much harder for the cops to follow. Luck don’t fail me now. She thought  as she turned, taking a road where the cops could not follow. Glancing up was out of the question, but she wanted to know their reactions. Would they cause a scene and chase her down, or would they leave her alone. Luck was with her, they left her alone, and she was not one to miss an opportunity. Grace darted down street after street, taking back alleys when possible, and underpasses when the opportunity presented itself. Hours later than the scheduled time she arrived at their skeevy motel room. When she pulled the door open she was greeted with a knife to the face.

When her brother’s grey eyes met hers it was with a sigh of relief from both of them. Hunter dropped the knife and pulled her into a bear hug. Neither of them had to say anything, they knew what had happened, and that they had to leave, but she would be damned if she wasn’t going to enjoy the brief reprieve that was her brother’s arms.

[civetwrites]

30 Day Drabbles; Day 2: Accusation, Emma

((New OC i'm working with, don't know too much about either of them yet)) Watching him over the grainy security camera footage was more amusing than she would have thought. Ramsay, for all his talk, was actually quite squirrely on missions. His hands twitched with what she assumed was nervousness, that's why she had always messed with her hair when she had still been in the field. "Get it together Ramsay, it's just a briefcase, no need to be nervous." She said, her voice soothing. "You've done this a million times, just make the swap and get out." "I know, dammit Emma." He hissed. "I've never had to deal with fucking ex-KGB before, excuse me if I'm a bit keyed up. It's not like you've ever had to deal with people as scary as these guys before. You get to sit in your cushy little office back in Lyon and go out for coffee and scones whenever you want. I'm stuck in fucking Moscow trying not to get killed just so Interpol can maybe get some intel on someone that's not even that high up on the watch list." "Well if I'm so useless I guess you can handle this on your own." She snapped, cutting off the call. She watched him swear over the video, and was half considering turning that off as well, but no. As much of an arrogant ass as Ramsay was, he was her responsibility and she at least needed to keep an eye on him.

[civetwrites]

30 Day Drabbles; Day 1: Beginnings, Gabe

(((Alright quick note, these are going to be posted with the title format above, with the day, and then the narrator. Not doing breaks because these are short)))

The first time he sees her she's only three years old. He was still relatively new to the whole guardian angel thing, he'd only ever watched over three humans before her, and none were ever quite so young as she was. He'd been assigned to her when one of the higher powers found out she had magic. She was going to be important, the told him, she was going to shape the war with the demons and the fallen. But looking down at her, bundled up in what seemed like an excessive amount of blankets, well it was hard to imagine something so small and fragile being so influential.

"Alexia Caroline James." He said, invisible, watching. "One day you are going to change the world."  For a brief moment he let himself become visible to her. Most humans screamed when he popped into existence like that, but not this one. She sat up on her little bed and stared, little blue eyes bright with curiosity. He felt a smile spread across his face, he was going to like this one.

[civetwrites]

I swear I remember I own this blog, really. I'm doing a 30 day drabble thing with my own OCs that I'm going to start posting today. 

[civetwrites]

Situation ideas for your characters

I was reading articles on time this morning (nothing like drinking coffee and reading about scientists bickering) and found an article on how people have different perceptions of time.

I can’t find the article any more but it spoke about how time seems to slow down when you’re doing something you don’t like and it quickly speeds up when you’re enjoying yourself. This is so true. I feel like a minute lasts an hour when I’m doing something I wouldn’t do but boy does time speeds up when I’m on Tumblr. 

It got me thinking about using this perception on time on role plays. I think it’s important to have a healthy balance of both times. Some events should be unwelcomed by your characters because it makes them uncomfortable but you should balance it out with situations they would enjoy. So, here are some ideas for different situation ideas. Mix it up and have fun with your characters. 

Uncomfortable situations that slows down the perception of time

Socially Awkward Situations

Socially Awkward Situations

20 Socially Awkward Situations

A Giant List Of Common Social Fears

“Fun” situations that speeds up the perception of time

99 Fun Things to Do in an Elevator

47 Cheap, Fun Things to Do This Weekend

101 Fun Things for Teens to Do This Summer

Fun Things to Do With Friends Actvities Idea List

100 Things to Do During a Money Free Weekend

Here are some more ideas on things that your character might enjoy doing as well.

Things to do before you die

50 things to do before you die

100 things to do before you die

Bucket List: 225 Things to Do Before You Die

What’s on Your Bucket List? 101 Things To Do Before You Die

[civetwrites]

1. Don’t go out to lunch. 2. Don’t go online until lunch. 3. Don’t start writing your novel until you know your characters very, very well. What they’d do if they saw somebody shoplifting. What they were like at school. What shoes they wear. Spend days – weeks, months – being them until they thicken up and start to breathe. VS Pritchett said, “There’s no such thing as plot, only characters.” Once you know them well they’ll lead you into their stories. If you start too soon you won’t have a clue what they’re going to do and all is chaos. 4. However hopeless and inadequate you feel, leave that self behind. Psych yourself up until you’re confident that the world will be interested in what happens to your characters. Confidence is key. 5. Don’t “write”. “Writing” is about showing off, or imitating other writers. “Writing” mistakes solemnity for seriousness. Just write. Have courage, be truthful, be true to your characters. 6. Don’t be daunted. Writing a novel is a huge adventure; when it’s going well it’s more fun than fun. When it stutters to a halt put it aside. Go for a swim, go for a walk, take a week off. Don’t panic or be afraid; you and your characters are in it together. Trust them to come to your rescue. Of course it’s a long haul, but you always knew that, didn’t you? 7. If a character stubbornly refuses to come alive, switch to the first person. Suddenly they’ll be speaking to you. Later you can change it back again if you need to. 8. I have to know the ending before I can begin. Map out as much as you need but don’t over-plot or you can constrict your characters. Let them change it as they go along. 9. You don’t have to know the ending. 10. In other words, you don’t have to listen to anyone’s advice. There are no rules to break. That’s the pleasure of it. Read The Paris Review interviews with writers – everyone has their own methods and if a novel is truly alive it will break all their rules too. 11. Discover the times when you’re most creative – mornings, nights, afternoons – and clear the time to work then. Many writers find the mornings are best, and the afternoons are only good for editorial corrections, or getting the washing done. Others can only work through the night, drunk. 12. Sort out your priorities. Don’t clean your home, other than as a displacement activity. There won’t be time. You’ll probably neglect your friends too, and even your personal hygiene. If you have children, however, try to keep them fed.

Deborah Moggach’s rules for writing. Complement with rule sets from Henry Miller, Margaret Atwood, Neil Gaiman, Helen Dunmore, Zadie Smith, Kurt Vonnegut, David Ogilvy, and John Steinbeck, and wash down with the essential collected wisdom of famous writers. (via explore-blog)

[civetwrites]

Hello I am not actually dead, just been writing too much fanfic. Whoops.

Here’s a quick little drabble dealing with one of my older OCs and her experiences in hell. Based off of the Argument part of [this]

She felt the blood drain from her face at the mention of hell. It had been years, but the memories she had of hell were still the most vivid ones she possessed. She could no longer recall her mother’s smile, or the name of the cat that had been her pet as a child. Gone were the faces of the boy that had been her first kiss and of the childhood friend from down the street. Where once happy memories had rested in her head, were now memories of hell. The fire licking at her face, the thorns digging into her wrists and throat, the deafening silence as she screamed wordlessly, the feel of hot blood soaking into the skin of her hands. And the feel of her own magic burning her throat.

  In hell things had been horrible, it was hell after all, but she had endured the torture and fought back at every chance she got, but then they had taken her magic and used it against her. That was what had broken her and made her torturer’s lips curl into a dark smile. Her magic was her life force, a purely, inherently good thing. It was something that couldn’t harm anyone, not directly. But they had taken it, and used it to break her. They had burned her lungs, flayed her skin and carved her like a roast, all with her own magic, with her own damn life force.

  So while the new intern’s mention of hell had been merely a figure of speech, she felt herself wanting to toss him into a wall. The rest of the team had learned very quickly not to mention certain things, but the intern was, well new, and hadn’t had the chance to learn yet. Before she could open her mouth to chastise him Thomas spoke up.

  “Look, Adam, if you are going to start helping us, there are some things you have to learn not to mention, hell is one of them. We also do not joke about faeries, dog crates, or halloween, understood?”

  Alex almost felt bad for the kid with the look Thomas was giving him, but if the vampire managed to scare him into never mentioning those topics again, surely a little fear wouldn’t harm him.

[civetwrites]

Requested by thevoicesarentallbad.

[civetwrites]

More NaNo Advice

Instead of flooding you with individual links to these tips, why not have a little masterpost instead? 

How to Write a Novel in a Month

9 Reasons to Consider NaNoWriMo

12 Reasons to Ignore the Naysayers: Do NaNo

To NaNo or Not To NaNo

25 Things You Should Know About NaNoWriMo

7 NaNo Resources

11 Ways to Prepare for NaNo

NaNoWriMo: The Pitfalls and How to Deftly Avoid them

[civetwrites]

So I just saved Katrina and Leander's name urls. If their series ever gets published I will laugh and drink in the tears of frustrated fans wanting a canon url.

[civetwrites]

Wow, I never realized how much I changed my characters and how many things I forgot about between the time I stared Walker and the time I started  it's sequel. 

Leander originally had green eyes (now blue)

and was very tan (now is white passing POC)

Doc was quiet and huffy (this has to deal with changing the character to be more like my uncle who was killed right before I started writing)

Katrina's colors were pale blue and forest green (now brown and green)

Katrina was 5'8''+

Only one type of religion in magical world (now every species has their own for the most part)

The portals made noises when people came through them 

Katrina was queasy about blood (hahaha, but I might keep this and show her getting over it.)

Katrina was raped as a youngish kid (I might still keep this, since it actually explains a lot about how I was writing her. Subconsciousness memory I guess)

Leander's world consisted of lords and shit (now I just use the governing people as the elite)

I totally forgot about the rose key thing that I intended to be a thing

Katrina was only working at the library to pay off a debt (no really true, but I still need to think of a good reason)

And just

so

much 

more

And that wasn't even finding the full version. OTL That's what camp!nano will be for I guess.

[civetwrites]

Re-reading my (vastly incomplete) first draft of Walker and just cackling at how perfect Leander was even then. And how sweet and innocent everyone is.

[civetwrites]

Quick little scene of Katrina and Leander towards the beginning of their relationship when she's still really insecure and they aren't blatantly flirty. The prompt was 'restless' but it ended up being more anxious, but whatevs

Katrina toyed with the lace edging of her sleeve, her heart pounding in her chest. Leander was still up in his room getting ready and spirits only knew what was taking him so long. The longer he took the more anxious she got. This was the first time she was to accompany him anywhere in his world, and the prospect of being seen and judged by all of his high society friends terrified her.

“Will they like me Hamish?” She asked the small butler. “Will he like me?” It pained her to be so vulnerable, but Hamish was a good man and a nice person.

“I’m sure Mr. Leander will love you my dear, he is quite fond of you.” He gave her a small smile. “You know, he’s never brought another lady with him to any social gathering, he’s always preferred to go by himself.”

That made Katrina frown a little bit, but it eased some of her anxiety. “But,” she had tried to use a strong voice but it faltered and “What if I’m not good enough,” came out as barely a whisper.

Hamish was about to tell her something when she heard footsteps on the stairs. When she looked up Leander is there smiling that stupid smile full of cocksure arrogance. He’d dressed himself in clothes even nicer than his usual ones. His coat and pants are both made of some fine material she doesn’t know the name of and are a dark grey. The vest he wears is grey as well, but a lighter shade of it and the shirt underneath is the red of summer roses. Suddenly she feels very unworthy in her well used dress.

He’s standing in front of her then, holding out a hand to help her from the chair. She doesn’t fail to notice his eyes raking over her, and she feels a slight blush creep up her face.

“You look lovely Katrina. Much better than that red dress you wear for work, green is a good color for you.”

Katrina felt a grin tug at the corners of her mouth as she looked down and blushed some more. “Thank you Leander, you look nice as well. Shall we leave now?”

“We shall.” He said, offering up his arm.

[civetwrites]

Characters, physical description mode!

Tossing under the cut because LOOOOONNNNNNNGGG

Katrina Alexandra Thorne

Age: 19 at beginning of book one, 21 by the end of book 2

Height: 5'6'' ish? pretty average.

Build: Sturdy, not thin or fat, lots of muscle

Eyes: Mossy green, so darker and greyish

Hair: Red/coppery close to that one redhead chick on teen wolf. Falls about to elbows when loose but usually in braid. Curls somewhere between Merida and Ygritte

Extra: She's on the paler side, but freckles EVERYWHERE. Roundish cheeks but pointed nose and chin. White scars (from whipping) on the back of her neck. Holds self as if always ready to either spring into action or run away.

Leander Henry James

Age: 21 at start, 23 at the finish

Height: 6'0'' or somewhere in the vicinity

Build: Lean as all getout, reminiscent of cross country runners or cyclists

Eyes: Sapphires True blue or close too it. On the lighter end

Hair: Dark brown, about 2 or 3 inches long, curls at very end. Has a very nice widows peak. 

Extra: Skin is white but not quite. Great grandmother was a POC of vaguely middle eastern/indian variety, he retains some of the facial structure. Lots of scars in non-visible places, but huge ass bite mark scar (as in from a big animal with a mouth like a salamander's) on his left calf. Keeps clean shaven most of the time. Carries himself like the cocky nobleman he is.

Genevieve Maryanne (Harrington) Green

Age: 22-25 throughout series

Height: Slightly taller than Katrina, like 5'7'', 5'8'' or so.

Build: Averageish bordering on lean. I see her having the vague build of a softball player.

Eyes: Dark brown

Hair: About the same color as Leander's so dark brown. Mass of super tight curls ala River Song, pretty much the same length too

Extra: Hate using food, but vagely milk chocolate colored skin. Face is much sharper than Katrina's but her features are more rounded (sharp face, round features in other words, IDK how to phrase things).  She is a HBIC and everyone around her knows it.

Abel Marcus Green

Age: Of an age with Genny

Height: 6'6''ish

Build: The dude is a blacksmith, figure it out.

Eyes: Black/Dark brown

Hair: Black/Uber dark brown, straight about 1 1/2 or 2 inches long.

Extra: He looks vaguely from the middle east, so semi darker skin. Keeps perpetual scruff on his face. He is always smiling and is a teddy bear. Eyes and smile are the most expressive parts of him.

[civetwrites]

I've been re-reading all that I wrote for NaNo, and for the most part I'm okay with it. After it hit 25k there was a drop in quality, but that's to be expected since that's when I started panicking. I'll be going back and editing and finishing that story up, now that I can look at it realistically. I know it will be good for me to get back in the habit of writing.