nikolaraftis

[nikolaraftis]

Character Playlists For Our Protagonists

So, for many years, I've had a lot of playlists dedicated to the series and its separate books. Even, at one point, a Zeronimo playlist based on the ship. But now I bring you two separate playlists for Zena and Geronimo. (There's some interesting song choices in there, I know, but sometimes musicals and movie soundtracks just have an essence that really fits an OC.)

As always: if this is your art and you hold issue with my using it, please contact me and I will take it down.

[nikolaraftis]

Character Profile: Kamali Wynn

Artist unknown.

Name, age, gender: Kamali Wynn, 22, female

Physical appearance; how the character feels about their physical appearance: average height, only a little taller than Zena, with black and gold box braids, and dark eyes. Sepia brown skin. When she is introduced to the reader in the book, she is missing an eyeball. Likes to wear hoodies, sneakers, and opal earrings Zena bought for her 18th birthday. Has a watch from her dad that she wears too. Often would be found with headphones around her neck. Religiously paints her nails. Generally, Kamali quite likes her appearance.

Race, class, ethnicity: human, middle class, Ethiopian and Welsh

Childhood experience – family relationships, friends and key figures, lifestyle, education, activities and interests

Family relationships: her parents are Cain and Lulit Wynn, her little sister is Makeda (11).

Friends: best friends with Zena, has programming friends unnamed.

Key figures: her grandmother, Aisha, who has always stressed a focus on study and independence, knowing yourself before you give your life to a man.

Lifestyle: comfortable.

Education: graduated with a high school diploma, in her final year of studying game programming and design.

Activities/hobbies: programming, playing videogames, sketching, badminton.

Interests: video games, coding, character design, music, arts, competitive games (NOT chess “that’s Zena’s thing” but she’ll relent and play games with her as a fun pastime)

Attitudes and moral beliefs: too kind for her own good. Everyone deserves respect and she will do what the law says is right as well as what she has been raised on.

Current relationships ��� parents, siblings, romantic partners, friends, children, etc.: close and loving relationship with both parents, good relationship with Makeda, currently has a boyfriend (Liam) but she’s not sure she feels attracted to him and dated him out of pity, very close friends with Zena.

Religious background and current religious beliefs: her family has a religious background in some vein of Christianity, but Kamali has rejected religion.

Occupation; relationship to boss and coworkers: student of game programming and design, in her final year. Quite friendly with classmates and teachers.

Main aspects of personality – introvert/extrovert, pessimist/optimist, thinking/feeling, etc.: Kamali is somewhat of an extrovert, deriving energy from being around other people. At heart, she is an optimist, yet more of a thinker than a feeling person at the same time – but she is still an overall softie.

What are they proud of? Ashamed of?: Kamali is proud of her ability to make friends and her general skills. She is ashamed of what she perceives as her own weakness, vulnerability, and inability to feel/act as strong as Zena.

State of health: generally, very healthy, though the cardio-fitness could probably be better.

Fears: rabbits, the dark, clowns, bondage, dogs, losing her family.

Sense of humour: Kamali’s sense of humour is mostly silly, goofy things.

Core characteristic: at her core, Kamali is gentle. This is challenged by The Horrors.

Inherent contradiction: her emotional nature yet logical thinking, which frequently contradict each other, but can also work in harmony.

Favourites: purple, winter, rainy days, doro wat (spicy chicken stew), PC gaming (BG3 game tied with League), Monster energy drinks, roses, late nights

Dislikes: dogs, rabbits, chickpeas, waking up early, hay-fever, tea

[nikolaraftis]

Character Profile: Geronimo

Artist unknown.

Name, age, gender: Hieronymos “Geronimo” Sotiriou alias Jerome, 24 (immortal), male

Physical appearance; how the character feels about their physical appearance: fair skin with gold undertones, copper jaw-length wavy hair, pale Verdigris green eyes, Grecian nose and sharp jaw, tall and hunched stature, lithe figure, a scar running across his nose, more scars litter his body, impassive face, always wears an heirloom gold necklace with a compass star on it from his mother; he is absolutely beautiful yet he feels ugly and unsightly since he has not seen his own reflection for a while, though he used to feel that he was good-looking. Clothing: button-up shirts and a variety of waistcoats with suitable trousers and boots underneath. Wears suspenders under waistcoats. He won’t admit it, but for formal events, he will wear a men’s corset underneath his attire. Over top he wears a grey trench coat (casual) or overcoat (formal), but he starts the story in an Inverness cape that is quickly ruined.

Race, class, ethnicity: human, middle class, Mundus Rimor.

Childhood experience – family relationships, friends and key figures, lifestyle, education, activities and interests

Family relationships: all of Geronimo’s family are dead. His father, Konstantin Sotiriou, died before he was born, and his mother, Helen, raised him until she died when he was 16 from pneumonia. He had no extended family and was taken in by the Moralises until he reached adulthood.

Friends: Thaddeus Moralis was his best friend, and he was good friends with Echo whom he knew since he was a boy (and Echo’s name was Barbatos back then). He still knows Echo, but the two do not talk much anymore. Geronimo has since befriended Ryota Kurniawan who comes into the city to trade at the farmer’s market, and he’s agreed to bring groceries every month. Jezzabelle is another immortal whom Geronimo has known for a while, though they are not particularly close.

Key figures: Peregrina is the goddess of Mundus Rimor, and Geronimo is her champion. When Mercer attempted to steal from her pyramid of stars, Geronimo killed him, and returned the stars, and so was granted a wish in return. He wished for immortality, and he received it – but with some unforeseen twists.

Lifestyle: disabled, not very well maintained, he is pretty much completely blind and can only see faint lights/shadow. Though he has his own ways of getting about and living, his house tends to be a depression nest mess.

Education: Geronimo attended the Trouvaille Academy and learned many subjects, though much of his literary knowledge is now behind by 200 years.

Activities/hobbies: ceramics, weapon wielding, listening to the radio, animal care.

Interests: music, sculpting and ceramics, history, art (specifically really into textured paintings), animals.

Attitudes and moral beliefs: Geronimo’s attitude is cautiously ambitious and perfectionistic. His moral beliefs centre around what does right by the most people, but also what keeps him alive.

Current relationships – parents, siblings, romantic partners, friends, children, etc.: no parental relationships, no siblings, no current romantic partners, few friends, no children.

Religious background and current religious beliefs: not a particularly religious background, he just worshipped Peregrina, Hermes, and other gods like most Mundus Rimor until immortality began to weigh too heavy on him.

Occupation; relationship to boss and coworkers: retired self-employed detective and adventurer.

Main aspects of personality – introvert/extrovert, pessimist/optimist, thinking/feeling, etc.: Geronimo is an introvert, recovering pessimist, thinks more than he feels and yet he feels a lot – just keeps it bottled up until it leaks out in the only avenues possible.

What are they proud of? Ashamed of?: Geronimo has only ever been proud of his knowledge and skill, and he is ashamed of his failures and cowardice.

State of health: Geronimo’s health is perfect (except mentally).

Fears: death, sickness, forgetting, being lost, going deaf, claustrophobia, wolves/werewolves, never waking up.

Sense of humour: surprising, teasing, wry.

Core characteristic: representing the moon in his moodiness, the swells between calm and wild, his close but misunderstood connection to humanity and other creatures, he’s mysterious, cool, and has a subtle kind of friendship/familiarity. The moon also relates to his ‘sleeping’ curse (the twist to his immortality). His core characteristic is his self-preservation.

Inherent contradiction: Geronimo’s inherent contradiction of character is his fear of death and desire to bring an end to his life – since he does not register it as wanting a change in his life. He is stagnant because of his fear.

Favourites: jade green, pomegranates, Barn owls, spring, thyme tea, cold baths, duels (swords) (sport), sun showers, midnight.

Dislikes: dark chocolate, dancing, honeyed tea, coffee, itchiness, coughing.

[nikolaraftis]

Character Profile: Zena Moralis

Art by Cory Godbey (2015)

Name, age, gender: Zenaida “Zena” Philomena Moralis, 22, female

Physical appearance; how the character feels about their physical appearance: dark brown eyes and long curly hair, sickly olive skin – freckled, Grecian nose and handsome features, short but confident stature, leanly muscled, naturally dark under-eyes, acne scars, resting sad face, wears hoop earrings religiously despite the risk, always cuts her nails short but paints them black; likes her appearance though believes it is not something that would attract other people or is considered conventionally attractive. Clothing: Loose shirts and high-waisted trousers made for freedom of movement, with belts to match her jewellery, and combat boots, along with cloaks or a hoodie/coat, depending on where she just came from. This is her default. Sometimes she’ll wear loose trousers and armoured tops with armbands and bracers. For more formal occasions, she wears elegant, eye-catching gowns that would make magpies envious.

Race, class, ethnicity: human, middle class, Greek/Mundus Rimorian.

Childhood experience – family relationships, friends and key figures, lifestyle, education, activities and interests

Family relationships: Zena lives with her absentee father, Eamon Moralis, and her sister, Phoebe. She knows no other family, save for Evangeline Clemenza, the woman who is allegedly hers and Phoebe's runaway mother.

Friends: Kamali Wynn is Zena’s best friend from childhood, and she also meets Florence Escoffier almost a month before the novel's beginning and the two are fast friends.

Key figures: Cain Wynn and Lulit Wynn, parents of Kamali and their youngest daughter, Makeda. Cain and Lulit frequently babysat Zena and were there for her in ways that Eamon was not.

Lifestyle: limited by arthritis and a strict father, at least until he started disappearing for long periods of time. She stays active to keep her body going and blow off frustrated steam.

Education: received a full education with a high school diploma, is currently enrolled in her final year of law at university.

Activities/hobbies: reading, writing (fan fiction), sketching, tennis.

Interests: novels, gardening, 1 v 1 or 2 v 2 sports (including chess), arts, and video games.

Attitudes and moral beliefs: Zena believes in justice, which she measures by her own moral code that she has constructed growing up. She dislikes authority, but not to the level of being an anarchist. Murder is not okay. Mostly though, she believes in having the freedom to live how you want.

Current relationships – parents, siblings, romantic partners, friends, children, etc.: Eamon is the only semi-present parent who Zena is on rocky terms with since she hates him but is reluctantly attached to him despite this, she's very close with her sister Phoebe and her best friend Kamali, and she has no romantic partner currently but has a bad habit of falling in love with everyone.

Religious background and current religious beliefs: Zena does not believe in a higher power.

Occupation; relationship to boss and coworkers: full-time university student; does not mind most of her professors, and is divided in her feelings about her classmates.

Main aspects of personality – introvert/extrovert, pessimist/optimist, thinking/feeling, etc.: Zena is at heart an introvert, an absurdist and cynic, who wars between her thoughts and feelings but is ultimately ruled by the former. She falls in love too easily despite how often she’ll claim she’s “not afraid to be alone”, because she craves deeper connection and to feel secure. Zena also has a bad habit of self-sacrificing that comes from disregarding her own life.

What are they proud of? Ashamed of?: Zena is proud of her own stubbornness and determination, as well as her humour, but she is ashamed of her insecurities (feeling lonely, unstable, not strong enough, not quite smart enough, not pretty enough – not enough for anyone, a failure, someone to be left behind).

State of health: she is generally healthy, aside from the arthritis, but she tends to catch colds often. She is strong but not very much so.

Fears: abandonment (particularly when Eamon ��gave up” on her), needles/injections, drowning, claustrophobia, losing herself, failing.

Sense of humour: sarcastic, dry, silly, and occasionally dark.

Core characteristic: represented by the sun in her intensity, warmth, passion, and yet removed nature (the moon is closer to the earth than the sun), her fiery anger and occasional harshness. Her core characteristic is a sense of justice; it's what drives and guides her.

Inherent contradiction: craving connection with people but holding them at arm’s length because she’s afraid of abandonment, of failing them.

Favourites: orange (flavour/food/colour), bears, summer, Earl Grey tea, hot showers, martial arts (sport), thunderstorms, sunrise.

Dislikes: green tea, liars, swimming, sharks, injustice, losing.

[nikolaraftis]

Backstreet's back?

Hello, dear friends, enemies, and those still in neutral territory. This blog has changed since you likely last saw it. Let me reintroduce myself:

I am Nikola Raftis, and you are welcome to stay here with me on my journey as I write the Moralis series. You can expect progress snippets, one shots of my own original characters that I use as warm-up exercises, art, general updates, and probably a smidgeon of chaos.

All questions you may think to send in are also welcome. I love to talk about my work. I will also do topic/prompt requests for my original characters.

Eventually, I will pin a different introductory post; this one is temporary while everyone adjusts to the changes in this blog.

In the meantime: enjoy!

[nikolaraftis]

Long time, no see

So, I have been defeated by my hubris. I was Icarus flying too close to the sun. I thought I could totally do a whole draft of the first novel by the 10th of January if I just worked hard enough! (Spoiler alert: no. Just... no.)

Okay, we're scrapping the challenge because I held myself to an unrealistic expectation considering it often takes me 12 months to complete a draft of a novel-length work. The new goal is by Christmas of 2024, but I don't have enough material to do weekly updates at the moment, so I'm thinking of doing monthly check-ins instead.

Zena Moralis and Geronimo will return.

[nikolaraftis]

70ish days

Going on a bit of a break for the next three weeks. I may write in the meantime, but I will not be posting.

See you all on the other side. In the meantime, have a small snippet of a scene:

'Zena half-expected conveniently lit torches down in these tunnels, but instead she found the light seemed to just be a gas lamp mounted to the wall. They continued down some corridors, but not all. That’s when she noticed the rusting signs too.

“Wait… are we underneath the streets of Taaffeit?” she said suddenly, a little louder than intended.

Geronimo sent a sharp look in her vague direction. “Yes, now keep your voice down. Do you know somewhere we can go?” Zena could not believe her luck. “Follow my lead,” she whispered.'

[nikolaraftis]

78 days

Finally! An actual progress report. We've reached a little over 7,000 words. It's not a whole lot, but time is freeing up. Once I get a long-time-running side project completed, I'll have a lot more mental space to dedicate to the Moralis series.

No special goodies this time around, unfortunately. I don't want to include anything spoilery.

[nikolaraftis]

Less than 83 days or something idk

Update: next to no progress. But things should be picking up soon since my time is freeing up (to a degree and only for specific periods) in preparation for December and the last month or so stretch of my deadline. I know 100% that I cannot write an entire novel in that time, but I think a decent portion of Bones Of A God can be drafted.

Send something motivational this week, I could use it.

[nikolaraftis]

The hair colour and waviness, as well as the colour of the eyes, and the freckles in general remind me of very, very early designs of Zena Moralis (yes, she and Geronimo basically swapped quite a few physical traits, which I find both funny and interesting).

brain boyfriend 🥰

[nikolaraftis]

90(ish?) days

Late once again, but the wordcount has budged by a few hundred. Still have not quite reached anything substantial.

All I have to offer is this fun fact: there is a mafia family of werewolves. I promise it's not as weird as it sounds... I think. Their HQ is in the Raining City, formally known as Taaffeite.

[nikolaraftis]

Sometimes being productive and working on your original series is not writing, but delivering a lecture for several hours about it to an audience that happens to be sitting in the loungeroom with you that is actively participating by asking questions for further information and context, which leads you down deeper rambles to explain the main ramble, and it helps you figure things out that you were previously lost or undecided upon.

That was all one sentence. I apologise. (Not really, I don't care.)

[nikolaraftis]

99 days

Still very little progress. I've mostly been outlining in a bit more detail rather than writing because I want to make sure I don't wind up too lost for direction.

Time for colour palette associations!

Zena Moralis: blood red, navy blue, gold, jade green, black (it counts).

Geronimo: dusty orange, verdigris green, bronze, silver, sky blue.

Kamali Wynn: lavender purple, dawn muted blue, yellow, soft pink, deep red.

[nikolaraftis]

How do you find juggling multiple projects? Is it helpful to be able to bounce back and forth?

Thank you for the ask <3

Juggling multiple projects is very challenging. At times, I find it quite useful, because the switch up is often what I need to stay productive on both pieces of work, however, it gets more difficult when I have 2+ projects at once (not to mention university studies). Recently, it's been more problem than help, and that's why I started this deadline challenge because it means I have to prioritise Bones Of A God and focus on that more, but the past couple weeks have been full of assignments and what I really needed was a break from one creative project by flexing those muscles on something else/in another way.

It doesn't remove the guilt though that I go through in working on something I feel I should not be working on. Guilt and often the following procrastination tends to throw a spanner in all works. This feels like a learning curve for me, and I think I'll figure it out eventually. I do better focusing on one creative project because it spends longer in my mind and makes it easier to write, but trying to split that between studies makes it difficult and leads to the sort of burn out that requires me to do something low-stakes and low-effort.

So, I would say juggling two projects in particular can be very helpful in some circumstances, but that I also think discipline is required to avoid falling down the rabbit hole of too many shallow ideas forming and focusing on those instead of the main goal.

[nikolaraftis]

106 days

Believe it or not, but I barely added anything substantial to the wordcount. It has been a ride this past week, and I've taken a break to write some lower stakes works.

I have no back up content this week either, so, instead I turn it to you: send in some asks and I'll answer them to the best of my ability! Can be about anything.

[nikolaraftis]

Oblivious!Zeronimo be like—

Echo: are you two together?

Geronimo & Zena: no.

Echo: then why are you holding hands?

Geronimo: it was an accident.

🥺 They hold hands on accident, it's whatever. Doesn't mean anything.

Also! I want to take this opportunity to mention: Geronimo and Zena definitely have Something Going On, but Zena actually has multiple love interests throughout the series. Guess, if you can, or just ask questions!

[nikolaraftis]

113 days

This is a day late, I apologise, yesterday was a bit hectic. We left off with 4,700 words and currently the count sits at 6,100. Decent progress was made, not just in the main writing but also to the outline and planning, which I've had to tweak and refer back to so I can continue the story coherently. As usual, here's a snippet to celebrate:

'Geronimo was incredulous—and definitely overcome by strange shivering. “You broke into my house, stabbed me, threw a cushion at me, and clearly, you’ve been stalking me too! Now you’re asking if I’m fine?”

“Technically, I asked if you were okay. You do make a fair point though.”'