thewardenofwinter

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Cause of my insomnia number one:

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was gonna make a post about The Character but then i looked at my dash for 5 seconds and it would appear that everyone is also having the same experience so

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Give No Quarter: The Marauder's Mutiny (UPDATE 2025)

“Every pyrate's path ends at the same destination: The Gallows.”

“You trap yourself on a wooden tub for weeks on end and risk death every day from a noose around your neck, sickness, and starvation… for what? Fortune? Fame? For the sake of rebellion?” “Because the moment you hoist that black flag in the air— you don’t belong to no one but yourself.  You need not heel to any king, nor government, nor God. On this ship, when every day you decide between your fellow crewmates' lives, your captain's orders, or your own skin: you are God.”

Give No Quarter: The Marauder's Mutiny is the first installment in the Gold, Glory, and Gunpowder series. Set in 1753, this thrilling tale inspired by the true history of pirates follows the charismatic rogue Adam Bonny, son of the late Anne Bonny and Calico Jack, and Circe, a mysterious woman with more secrets than even she is aware of, in their escapades across the high seas.

Join these two unlikely allies in their ventures through merriment, misery, and magic. Meet some friendly (and not so friendly) faces, pillage and plunder to your heart’s content, and sharpen your cutlasses: for their story is just about to begin.

GENRE: fantasy fiction, historical fiction, adventure fiction

WORD COUNT: 160k

STATUS: Drafting

POV: Dual POV, first person

Logline: Set in a post-golden age world, an infamous captured pirate and an imprisoned sorceress from the days of antiquity team up together— one to make a name for himself and the other to scrub her name from history. 

PLOT:

—ADAM BONNY

CHARMING, TRICKY, AND DEVILISHLY HANDSOME CAPTAIN ADAM BONNY has gotten himself into yet another sticky situation: one that doesn't just come at the cost of his life this time. A failed promise, an ambush, a stolen map, and a mutiny among their faction leave Adam and his allies in the hands of the French, captured inside of their fort and awaiting a noose around their neck in two weeks' time. But unlike his brothers at arms who’ve all but given up on the prospect of their freedom after all this time, Adam has never been one to give up easily: for better or for worse.

Just as they walk to the gallows, a lifeline appears before Adam in the form of a mysterious woman who promises his escape in exchange for hers as well. She’s terrifyingly beautiful, callously cruel, and her wit is as sharp as the knife she holds to his throat. She poses a bargain that he can’t refuse, though he has no intention of completing his half, only focused on completing his own goals. While in prison Adam learns that their capture was no mere coincidence: one of their own men sold them out for a reason that they do not know.

Once he and his friends have escaped their respective situations, Adam is left with one goal: to take out James Kruger for his crimes against their faction. But this plan is jeopardised when he learns that one of Kruger's men has come aboard his ship with the intention to kill him first. With no other option, he turns back to the very woman who assisted his escape in the first place. He's hesitant to let a woman aboard, let alone one who has tried to kill him half a dozen times, but Circe might just be the exact person he needs aboard his ship to snuff out the traitor that threatens to bring down their pirate faction once and for all.

— CIRCE

TIME IS RUNNING OUT: she can feel it. For the last thousand years, Circe has been shackled to a deceitful man who has tricked her and bound her to his side through a failed bargain and trickery. But in a week's time, Bjorn de Jager— her captor— is selling her off like cattle to some nobleman for coin, where she will once again be forced to extend the life of another greedy man. 

Desperate for her freedom, Circe joins forces with Adam Bonny in an attempt to free herself once and for all. His carelessness, greed, and rash nature make her wary of trusting him, but her desperation and lack of time leave her no choice but to entrust her daring escape in the hands of this scoundrel who’s been rumoured to have escaped the grips of death herself. 

But her problems do not end with de Jager, as now many men are aware of her immortality and gifts and are on the hunt to recapture her for themselves: one of these men being James Kruger himself. Adam, though in search of the same man, refuses to let Circe aboard his ship on the prospect of her femininity. After the two successfully concoct another escape plan,  Adam offers her a deal which she cannot refuse: passage aboard his ship in exchange for her finding the conspirator among his men. To do so, she must hide in plain sight amongst the very rogues and charlatans responsible for her capture in the first place.

links:

Book Playlist // Circe Playlist // Adam Playlist

Circe Pinterest Board // Adam Pinterest Board

NO  PAIN, NO  GAIN, NO  QUARTER

NOTE: This work of fiction borrows from reality and is not meant to be completely historically accurate. Pirates by and large were not good people; being outlaws of the sea who stole and plundered to their heart's content. While some were only traders, smugglers, and picaroons— most were violent racists and debauchers who sold men and assaulted women as they pleased. 

Taking this into account, some characters within this book and series do follow history more closely than others and as such may do and say offensive things that I do not condone personally, but in keeping with history, I have chosen to include for my reasons or to portray the non-romantic side of piracy.

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Writeblr (re) Introduction | Morana Warrin

it's been a while since i posted on here due to family issues and houselessness, but now that I have a stable job and a place to live I have been trying to bet back into my writing so I figured I'd throw myself back into the ring and re-introduce my projects!!

Quick About Me:

▸My name is Morana, I go by they/them pronouns and I have been writing since I was 9 years old. One day I hope to publish some of this junk but for now I will stick to posting my bs on the interwebs.

▸I love anything 90s and early 2000s related, be it movies or music or any other media and you'll find lots of inspiration in my work. I'm also a huge metal head, my favorite bands are Tool and Queens of the Stone age >:) My favorite movies are The Crow and Pan's Labyrinth. I'm also a gamer but I pretty much only play assassin's creed games and diablo so please don't ask me about anything else lmao

▸I also dabble in a bit of art and graphic design that you will probaaabbblllyyy be seeing quite a bit of on here so look out for that as well!

▸ Current Projects

(check TWs please and thank you)

The Resurrectioners

You only live twice.

(TW: Mentions of s*icide)

After the deaths of her two sisters in a car crash, twenty-seven-year-old Samara Dombroski decides that her life is no longer worth living and makes a successful attempt at her own life. Only there's one problem:

She doesn’t stay dead for very long.

An indeterminate amount of time later, Samara wakes up in a strange, vast estate plagued by visions of the past that she can’t control. She learns that this place is run by a man known only as The Resurrectionist, a necromancer armed with a group of assassins possessing strange abilities called Resurrectioners, an eclectic group of individuals who all share her story: people who found death by their own hand or by some other tragic means.

Now a resurrectioner herself, Samara must repay the debt of her second chance at life to The Resurrectionist by disposing of cadavers for him: violent, ghoulish beings that result from misused necromancy who feast on flesh and bone. Once she has killed enough to satisfy The Resurrectionist, she will be released from the estate she is trapped in and free to live the rest of her life.

Genre: dark fantasy, thriller

Give No Quarter: The Marauder's Mutiny

No Pain— No Gain—No Quarter

After a run-in with the lawmen that leaves pirate captain Adam Bonny and his colleagues captured with their map stolen, Adam will do just about anything to get his hands back on that precious parchment and break his friends out of their chains. In a brash effort to escape, Adam joins forces with the mysterious Circe in return for her freedom as well. Circe, though distrusting of Adam, is left with no other choice but to ally herself with the deceptive rogue because she too is running out of time to free herself from the shackles of her captor.

But their problems don't just end in their escape. A mutiny among Adam's faction comes to light that could cost many men their lives, and Circe's chance for revenge behind those responsible for her imprisonment is beginning to slip through her fingers. Hellbent on revenge at any cost, both Adam and Circe throw themselves overboard into each other's worlds, unsure of whether they will sink or swim.

Genre: adventure Fiction, fantasy

Scorched Earth

Set in the fictional kingdom of Horistram, a realm long divided between the Ignaria 'fire folk' of the north and the Terrenish ‘mud men’ of the east, a power struggle begins as rebellions brew all across the continent of Mar.

It’s been almost two decades since The Long Burning has ended and King Elaric I, better known as The Scorched King, has brought the two realms into a semblance of peace for the first time in nine hundred years: although peace for the Terrenish does not mean peace for the Ignaria, who still face active discrimination and violence at the hands of their upperclassman. Due to most of the royal line perishing during The Violet Night, the king has summoned noblemen from across the world to compete for the hand of his eldest daughter.

Cinere de Vapos, ward of the Thothe household, is instructed by her adopted father to bring her two charges to the castle to complete. But Cinere has more than marriage on her mind as she is sucked into the world of politics and court dealings. Cinere, who is half Igniarian, has lived her life being shunned by both groups and in fear that she will be discovered as a firestarter and forced to work in the underground. On top of her fear of being snuffed out,  it seems the more time she spends in the city of Horistram, the more sinister secrets she uncovers and years to solve.

But tension is on the rise in the castle as rebels begin to reform after their defeat, and their eyes are set on the castle once again and their intentions clear: repaying the king for the murder of their leader.

Genre: Fantasy Fiction  

▸ LINKS

pinterest // spotify // instagram

I am, of course, still working on my other projects buttttt these 3 have taken over my life at the moment. Thank you for reading!

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Give No Quarter: The Marauder's Mutiny| Novel Introduction

“Every pyrate's path ends at the same destination: The Gallows.”

“You trap yourself on a wooden tub for weeks on end and risk death every day from a noose around your neck, sickness, and starvation… for what? Fortune? Fame? For the sake of rebellion?”  “Because the moment you hoist that black flag in the air— you don’t belong to no one but yourself.  You need not heel to any king, nor government, nor God. On this ship, when every day you decide between your fellow crewmates' lives, your captain's orders, or your own skin: you are God.”

Give No Quarter: The Marauder's Mutiny is the first installment in the Gold, Gods, and Gunpowder series. Set in 1773, this thrilling tale inspired by the true history of pirates follows the charismatic rogue Adam Bonny, grandson of the late Anne Bonny and Calico Jack, and Circe, a mysterious woman with more secrets than even she is aware of, in their escapades across the high seas.

Join these two unlikely allies in their ventures through merriment, misery, and magic. Meet some friendly (and not so friendly) faces, pillage and plunder to your heart’s content, and sharpen your cutlasses: for their story is just about to begin.

GENRE: fantasy fiction, historical fiction, adventure fiction

WORD COUNT: 150k

STATUS: final edits

POV: Dual POV, first person

SYNOPSIS:

After a run-in with the lawmen that leaves pirate captain Adam Bonny and his colleagues captured with their map stolen, Adam will do just about anything to get his hands back on that precious parchment and break his friends out of their chains. In a brash effort to escape, Adam joins forces with the mysterious Circe in return for her freedom as well. Circe, though mistrusting of Adam, is left with no other choice but to ally herself with the deceptive rogue because she too is running out of time to free herself from the shackles of her captor.

But their problems don't just end in their escape. A mutiny among Adam's faction comes to light that could cost many men their lives, and Circe's chance for answers behind her imprisonment is beginning to slip through her fingers. Hellbent on revenge at any cost, both Adam and Circe throw themselves overboard into each other's worlds, unsure of whether they will sink or swim.

PLOT:

—ADAM BONNY

CHARMING, TRICKY, AND DEVLISHLY HANDSOME CAPTAIN ADAM BONNY has gotten himself into yet another sticky situation: one that doesn't just come at the cost of his life this time. A failed promise, an ambush, a stolen map, and a mutiny among their faction leave Adam and his allies in the hands of the French, captured inside of their fort and awaiting a noose around their neck in two weeks' time. But unlike his brothers at arms who’ve all but given up on the prospect of their freedom after all this time, Adam has never been one to give up easily: for better or for worse.

Just as they walk to the gallows, a lifeline appears before Adam in the form of a mysterious woman who promises his escape in exchange for hers as well. She’s terrifyingly beautiful, callously cruel, and her wit is as sharp as the knife she holds to his throat. She poses a bargain that he can’t refuse, though he has no intention of completing his half, only focused on completing his own goals. While in prison Adam learns that their capture was no mere coincidence: one of their own men sold them out for a reason that they do not know.

Once he and his friends have escaped their respective situations, Adam is left with one goal: to take out James Kruger for his crimes against their faction. But this plan is jeopardised when he learns that one of Kruger's men has come aboard his ship with the intention to kill him first. With no other option, he turns back to the very woman who assisted his escape in the first place. He's hesitant to let a woman aboard, let alone one who has tried to kill him half a dozen times, but Circe might just be the exact person he needs aboard his ship to snuff out the traitor that threatens to bring down their pirate faction once and for all.

— CIRCE

TIME IS RUNNING OUT FOR CIRCE, AND HER DESIRE FOR FREEDOM AND REVENGE GROWS WITH EVERY PASSING DAY. For her entire life she has been locked in the cage her mother dared to call home with no contact with the outside world. But now her mother is dead and for the past three years, Circe has been dragged along by Sebastian de Jager under the guise that he will protect her from a powerful force she does not understand.

But no more will she roam. In three weeks' time, she is to be sent back to the island she once called home to rot until her dying days, but the prospect of avenging her mother has festered in her mind to the point of recklessness. With only the stories her mother has fed her for her entire life and a singular name, Circe dives headfirst into a brash escape plan that involves finding an old ledger to lead her to one of the men involved in her mother's capture. But instead of finding the answers she needs, she comes across a pirate in the process of concocting his own scheme as well. His carelessness, greed, and rash nature make her wary of trusting him, but her desperation and lack of time leave her no choice but to entrust her daring escape in the hands of this scoundrel who’s been rumoured to have escaped the grips of death herself. 

Once freed from the shackles of de Jager, Circe has been left alone in a world she does not understand with no allies or means to continue her revenge plot. She knows only of one man that might lead her to her answers: James Kruger, who possesses an old relic that will assist her in her goals. Adam, though in search of the same man, refuses to let Circe aboard his ship on the prospect of her femininity.

After the two successfully concoct another escape plan, Adam offers her a deal which she cannot refuse: passage aboard his ship in exchange for her finding the conspirator among his men. To do so, she must hide in plain sight amongst the very rogues and charlatans responsible for her mother's capture in the first place.

links:

Book Playlist // Circe Playlist // Adam Playlist

Circe Pinterest Board // Adam Pinterest Board

NOTE: This is a work of FICTION inspired by real-life events and is NOT meant to be an accurate retelling of history. While I do fancy myself a bit of a pirate historian, I also prefer fantastical retellings over plain Jane history and thus wrote one myself. There are plenty of factual pirate books that you can check out to learn the real lives of these high-seas robbers, but this is not one of them.

I was debating on whether or not to share my magnum opus with Tumblr, as I am currently looking to be published with this one, but I am just too dang passionate about pirates and my little bastards to not share them with the world. This story is very near and dear to my heart, I hope you enjoy this WIP post and other things that I will post about it. If any of you would like to read any excerpts or see any character sheets, feel free to comment/ask I might post some snippets. Also, I just want to say before anyone asks because I get this question a lot, this first book does not have any romance in it. Later installments do feature romance, but this first book is purely an action/adventure between two unlikely companions of the opposite gender.

— M. Warrin

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foreshadowing done well makes me go feral like there’s NOTHING better than getting to the end a book or an important storyline moment and realising that the author laced information so intricately into their writing that weren’t noticeable upon first read but when you read back sections they’re light giant red flags like wow writing is amazing

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I couldn’t reboot it for some reason

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errrmmm what the sigma⁉️

It's been like a year since I last posted on here 🥺👉👈I was going to make a comeback around Halloween but a bunch of other stuff happened and tbh i forgor

A little explanation for my extended absence below the cut:

(tw: brief mentions of homelessness and drug abuse)

My life has been absolutely hectic since early last year: suffering with houselessness, the joys of unemployment for me and my partner, family issues among a myriad of other things that come with the aforementioned.

Good news though, i made it to 20 last month 🥳never thought i'd make it this far lol. I'm moving in with my fiancé next month and finally getting out of my best friend's closet i've been living in for the past 8 months lol. i've also (mostly) cut off my addict father/mother and a majority of my toxic blood relatives and have replaced them meticulously with some amazing people I have grown close with this past year.

i didn't write for almost 7 months after November of last year and I hadn't drawn much either, but now that everything is starting to finally subside and settle into place, i've been writing a lot more. I have pretty much all the same projects I've been working on, so nothing new to share sadly 😔 i've been stalking many of you still through the ether. i won't be doing any tags or anything for a while whilst I acquire my footing once more but I will be wandering around aimlessly until then.

anyways, thank y'all for reading! hope everyone had a good holiday season.

[thewardenofwinter]

BEING SOOO LONANCORE IRL RN (I’m making hot chocolate mix from scratch)

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You’re like the sun | Changing States

I wasn’t going to post this here because it felt rough but actually it’s so cute! Jeremiah asks Harrison to come over when there’s a blackout under the pretence that he needs to borrow his lighter for candles & now he’s crying bc he’s in love:

"What happened?" His thumb ironed at Jeremiah’s tears that'd continued to fall and he wrapped his arm tighter around his shoulders, then leaned forward and kissed his temple, his lips still on his forehead as he said, “Oh, what’s happened?” He began to rock them, a gentle sway, then linked their legs together as if to close the grief in their distance. He skimmed his fingers along the back of their hands, and Jeremiah clung to him then, his inhale a lightheaded jitter.

“I lied to you,” he whispered, although it’s not what he meant to say. He wasn’t upset, he knew that, but his body had identified something before he’d had a chance to, a feeling so large it felt like it could break him. Love.

“Yeah?”

“My lighter’s not broken.”

And then a laugh. The sound was twinkly, and for a second, Jeremiah almost thought it’d made the candle flames around them dance. Jeremiah turned to face him now, confused.

But he was smiling, all his teeth winking when he said, “Lie to me whenever you want,” and pecked Jeremiah on the cheek over and over again, enmeshing him.

Jeremiah tried to explain himself, that he hadn’t wanted to be in the dark alone, how large it felt, how he now felt guilty for tricking him into venturing into the night himself, how he hadn’t thought of how selfish the ask was, to beckon someone into the dark when he himself couldn't handle it and how he hadn’t meant to even bring up the lie or the lighter, how he couldn’t explain the feeling in his chest without using the word love.

But then: a coo above him, a gentle shush and a chin crooking against his shoulder, a voice saying not to worry, a voice saying he’d cross this city at midnight if Jeremiah ever called, a voice that said he could never be afraid of the dark knowing Jeremiah was inside of it, a voice that went soft, so close it was like he'd become him, whispering “You’re like the sun.”

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Edgy/misc OC ask meme ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

Send me a number and an OC, and I'll answer.

What memory would your OC rather just forget?

What's something about your OC that people wouldn't expect just from looking at them?

What is your OC's fatal flaw? Are they aware of this flaw?

When scared, does your OC fight, flee, freeze or fawn?

How far is your OC willing to go to get what they want?

How easily could your OC be convinced to do something that goes against their moral compass?

What's one way your OC has changed since you first came up with them?

Would your OC ostensibly be able to get away with murder?

Do you have a specific lyric or quote which you associate with your OC?

What's an AU that would be interesting to explore with your OC?

What is your OC's weapon of choice? Have they ever actually used it?

Is your OC self-destructive? In what ways?

If you met your OC, would the two of you get along?

How does your OC want to be seen by other characters?

Does your OC have a faceclaim? If so, who?

What is your OC's pain tolerance like?

What is the worst thing you have put your OC through story-wise?

Is your OC more cold and detached or up close and personal?

How does your OC behave when enraged?

Does your OC have a tendency to get jealous? If so, how does this manifest?

Does your OC have any illnesses or disorders? How do they handle it?

What character alignment would you consider your OC to be?

What emotion is the hardest for your OC to process? How about express?

What is an alternative life path your OC might have gone down? How different would their life be if they'd made those decisions?

What is your favorite thing about your OC?

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'boots of resist frost' yeah they're just boots

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Lovely-eyed, Death-touched

Say my name And every colour illuminates We are shining And we will never be afraid again

Circe, my beloved. Her birthday is fast approaching so here's some more recent art of her! This is what she looks like at the start of the book! No tattoos, no piercings, and long beautiful hair. Much changes as the series goes on, but I will always have a soft spot for this era of her looks <3

[thewardenofwinter]

hhhrrgrrrgg... can't stop listening to Metal: Hellsinger soundtrack... must scrounge coins to purchase...

[thewardenofwinter]

Lovely-eyed, Death-touched

Say my name And every colour illuminates We are shining And we will never be afraid again

Circe, my beloved. Her birthday is fast approaching so here's some more recent art of her! This is what she looks like at the start of the book! No tattoos, no piercings, and long beautiful hair. Much changes as the series goes on, but I will always have a soft spot for this era of her looks <3

[thewardenofwinter]

Going to sleep<<<< Creating fake Castlevania model sheets of your OC’s