My Mood Is Balanced Somewhere Between "I Should Write Until Three Am So I Can Sleep A Good Four Hours"

OC questions

60 questions that can be made into an OC ask game, or you can just fill everything out yourself to get to know your character a little better :)

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[1] What first impression do they typically make? Are they likeable from the get go, or take time to grow on people?

[2] How does their social personality differ from how they act when they’re alone?

[3] What emotion is the hardest for them to deal with?

[4] How physically and emotionally affectionate they are?

[5] Are they good at keeping secrets?

[6] How direct are they in conversations, do they speak in hints and riddles or bluntly say what they think?

[7] Are they a good liar, and what would they probably lie about?

[8] How open they are about their true feelings, both positive and negative?

[9] What is their love language?

[10] How quickly do they fall for someone?

[11] What are small things that make them happy?

[12] How high is their self-esteem?

[13] What kind of sense of humor do they have, if any?

[14] What does it take to make them laugh, and what does their laugh sound like?

[15] How do they act around people they don't like?

[16] Do they easily rely on others to help them out, or prefer doing everything themselves?

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[17] What is their biggest struggle that no one around them is able to understand or believe?

[18] Do they ever have to hide their identity and for what reason?

[19] If they could change one thing about their past, what would they change?

[20] When they’re sad or upset, do they need company or some time alone?

[21] When they’re sick, would they want others to visit and take care of them, or they would rather prefer not to be seen at not their best?

[22] Do they have nightmares, and if yes, when did they start and what are they usually about?

[23] What was the worst, the darkest period of their life that they have been through?

[24] How hard it is for them to not allow their emotions to cloud their judgement?

[25] Do they have fears and phobias, and if they do, do they usually keep it to themselves or talk about it openly?

[26] Do they have any physical or mental ilness, how do they handle it and how open they are about it?

[27] Do they have any scars, how did they get them and how do they feel about them?

[28] What is something that they will never be able to forgive?

[29] How do they deal with loss, stress and anger?

[30] What are their most healthy and most unhealthy coping mechanisms?

[31] How hard it is for them to own up to their mistakes and wrongdoings?

[32] Is there something they've done in the past that they deeply regret till this day?

[33] What are one of their fondest and most treasured memories?

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[34] Do they have vices they don't want others to know about?

[35] Do they like their own appearance, and what do they do, if anything, to alter it in any way?

[36] Do they own items that have sentimental value?

[37] How would they spend a lazy day when they have nothing specific to do?

[38] What do they usually do or where do they go when they need to feel comfortable and safe?

[39] What is their sleeping habits and favorite sleeping position, either alone and with someone?

[40] How picky they are with food, do they have specific dietary requirements based on their health or culture?

[41] What’s their usual morning routine?

[42] What is their idea of a perfect friendly hangout and/or romantic date?

[43] Do they enjoy flirting or being flirted with?

[44] On a party, where would you find them?

[45] For an event, would they dress like they typically do, or go all out?

[46] Would they rather dress to look attractive or to feel comfortable, and what would they never wear?

[47] Do they drink alcohol, and if they do, how much and how often?

[48] Are they, or were they at some point in their life, a part of any subculture?

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[49] Do they possess any unexpected skill or knowledge that surprises others, and otherwise, what is something anyone would assume they know or can do, but in fact they don’t?

[50] What are they really good and really bad at?

[51] How good are they with money?

[52] Do they speak any other languages aside from their own?

[53] Do they like to sing and how confident they are with their singing?

[54] Do they like giving gifts, and how good are they at picking good gifts?

[55] How long does it take for them to make a new place feel like home, and what do they need for it?

[56] How would they react to hearing a dirty joke?

[57] What was the most stupid or dangerous thing they have ever done?

[58] In the situation where they had to choose, would they rather stay loyal to their morals or to people they love?

[59] What would they want to be remembered for?

[60] If they were to commit a crime, what kind of crime would it most likely be?

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some of these question were written myself, some are the courtesy of my friend, and some were brought from my questionnaires in my old fandom. if you use them, please reblog or link back to this post

Late Seven Sentence Sunday

Tagged by: @illarian-rambling

Rules: Post seven sentences from what you've been working on

Before I post the sentences, I am going to apologize for the late response (Seriously, two days? I must be lazy-). The real reason is that I never got the notification or accidentally cleared it before I could notice. I'll do better next time. Or turn it into fourteen sentence Sunday. Who knows.

Also these seven sentences are not the ones directly after the ones for my last post. Just from a random point. (Though I should have done seven sentences of lore because I was last working on lore for this story/book thing-)

"Father of the Underworld, I thank you. I will be traveling for a while and won't be able to pray during that time, but I ask that you protect me on my journey beyond my Clan just as you have during my life with my Clan," Hades lowers her head, feeling the usual chill of the Underworld that she gets when she prays to her personal god. "I need to take this shrine apart for now, but I will rebuild it in my new home. Thank you for your protection, Lord Hades."

She raises her head as the chill fades, her eyes settling on the amulet that hangs from her shrine. It symbolizes her connection to her personal god with a pendent of a bident with Cerberus' three heads resting between the prongs and a narcissus flower resting atop the center head, a blending of three symbols that represent Hades.

Just as I did last week, I am not tagging people because I am still new to this.

Better than what I imagine the requirements of invoking anti-Dark-God magic are. (Who would want to recite a whole incantation in a different language while pouring your blood on the ground and hoping you have enough magic power to not fail and or die that could very easily be stopped by even a second of hesitation- I'd fail.)

Magic system

How many WIPs

And

Challenges you have faced with your WIPs

Thank you for the ask <333

There's an essay incoming, beware

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How Many WIPs?

I have no less than four novel-intended wips (Flamebearer, A Healing for the Birds, Soulswapped and the Lady's Lament), plus a few shorter works (The Disappearance of Charimone Eschredaine, [Succession of the Underground*] and [The Assassin's Promise*]) and a developing anthology of certain characters' backstories (This Blood-Stained Charcuterie)

*Placeholders; I've no clue what to call them yet

Challenges Faced With WIPs

A Healing for the Birds:

The main challenge with this is dealing with all the plot threads. One thing that has remained consistent even after all the changes since the first ever iteration of this wip (it used to be called Seafarer, then Obsidian Sapphires, and now this), is there being loads of plot threads. The difference is now those plot threads are more centred around the Allaitri Chalice and the political chaos of it being unearthed.

Up until recently, I wasn't sure what the core of the story was, but now I know. It centres around familiar ties and the things that people do in the name of love. (Sounds a bit corny out of context, though lol)

Flamebearer

I put this one on hold because I know it's going to be complex due to the heavy political themes in this. Unlike A Healing for the Birds, where the political situation is a little bit lighter and more petty, in a sense, the political scene is very charged here. There's a lot of resentment pointed towards the royal family due to things like Serrantine trying to rejoin Selade or the legacy of the Twenty-Year Winter, leading to unrest, death, grief, a lot more sombre and complex issues to deal with. I hope to be more confident in my writing so I can do Flamebearer justice, I find people seem to really like the premise and starting ideas, its associated Flash Friday pieces do quite well 😅

Soulswapped

Again, another wip put on ice to focus on the bird wip. I do want to get back to this at some stage, I have some vague ideas for how I want it to play out. I don't envision it to be as long as the two above, because its concept (the main character has to fight her way out of jail and the court it's in) is more constrained. There's nowhere near the amount of plot strings here. (The darker intrigue happens around the end/slightly thereafter 👀)

The Lady's Lament

I do not have experience writing contemporary stuff, which I think is what made it hard to start it. The concept's there, easy enough, but it's just actually sitting down and planning it that's the main thing.

Another challenge that is unique for this one to an extent, is the presence of Gaeilge here. The book is intended to be an ode to Irish culture, and if I was to complete it, I do intend for there to be a Gaeilge translation.

This Blood-Stained Charcuterie

One word: timeline. The setting for this collection has thousands of years worth of history, and so the challenge is figuring out who killed who and when. And not to mention all the stuff going on in the background, some of it is more influential than others.

The Magic System

Basically, it's based on the idea of magic being a biological substance present in the world. Most living things have a tolerance for it, but not all living things can actively use it.

Even then, there's two broad categories; faerie creatures, whom rely on simpler magic like moving things or simple tricks, and then the faeries/Carithaikh [start with one fae/one human parent, subsequent generations by any combination that isn't two faeries; these people can also be dubbed as witches], who can perform magic in a wide variety of ways.

Most people are born with an affinity to an element (such as fire, plant, water/ice, air, light, shadow, blood, lightning, dust, rock, metal, etc), which is then honed as the person gets older. It is also possible to learn certain elements, but some are harder than others, going on into near-impossible (e.g, it's hard to learn fire if one doesn't have an affinity for it [the genes of those who do are adapted to prevent burns and manage the heat more efficiently], but water is fairly easy to learn).

Another aspect that some people have but is much less common, are skill-based abilities. Shapeshifting and teleporting are the most common ones, but there's also a select few who can weave souls or see/interact with the domain of the spirits. Those last two are about one or few in a generation. (And interestingly, in Helinda there's no records of anyone who can interact with the spirit world, likely because Helindians burn their dead!)

But sometimes you'll get people with bespoke abilities. Some are merely unusual powers, such as purple fire, wood manipulation, blending with the shadows etc.

Others, are actual divine elements. They manifest as fire, light or water, and usage of then can have catastrophic effects. If the user doesn't die after using divine magic, it can cause things such as blindness, burns, nerve damage/neuropathy, constant dehydration, reduced magical abilities/stamina, chronic fatigue and/or other symptoms.

If the user has a part of a deity's soul entwined with them, then the effects are mitigated to an extent. (It occurs frequently with Fate's reprisals [her element is blue fire])

And then, there's also the external systems. These rely on the magic of the world instead of/as well as the user's. Things like runes, languages, diagrams, items, gestures and/or other tangible things are used for them.

These systems vary from place to place and between cultures, they're like programming languages in a sense. Each system has strengths and weaknesses.

For instance, Helinda's five-pointed star is great if you are a) in Helinda [or Morilaste]** b) looking to do things like a locating or summoning* spell, as well as anything relating to Helindian geography. It's great with maps!

However, it's not great for highly complex spells with lots of rules. That's where Seldaika's system shines. It has a four-pointed star, but the main mode of it is its language. It's a spell language, the grammar and vocabularly are tailor-made to support spells. Intention is also important, which is an aid in differentiating normal speech from a spell. Gestures also come into play, as do wands (syrchels), which are used as social indicators and statements of magical intent as well as to apply runes.

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*summoning items is perfectly fine, as long as it's not someone else's item. Summoning people/spirits is illegal under Helindian law

**there's a decent amount of lore underpinning the reason for this phenomenon

—

I'm going to end it here, I hope you enjoyed it :D

Ya know, a tie is unhelpful. Alas, I continue to ponder-

*book flies from off screen*

What shall I d-

*book makes firm bonk against face, the cover reading "this is a lie"*

...

Ouch.

I am in a weird state. I want to do three different things for my current story. Each requires different levels of thought and different processes in general.

Which sounds fine. Just do them one at a time, right?

Wrong.

I want to do these three things all at once. I lack the number of brains and arms for that. And lack the laptop amount for that. I can't write on two different tabs at once on the same laptop. I also can't write in a notebook and type on a computer at the same time.

And none of the three things involve writing the actual story. I have the better part of two chapters written. I'm just trying to get lore and settings written out so I can reference these things.

My brain is just absurdly all over the place.

To explain the different processes thing

-I write my lore related things in a notebook. A notebook that is strangely perfectly themed for the story I am writing. Some setting things get mentioned, but they aren't the focus of the notebook. Plot things also go here. Except I don't write outlines for plot things. I know what I want to happen and don't plan things. Yes, it becomes a discombobulated mess.

-I do character profiles on my laptop. It is very easy to reference while writing. Just flip between tabs. Obviously, I could also write my lore on my laptop, but I personally like having the lore in a notebook because I can make myself a table of contents and use plastic tabs to note the themes of certain parts for the story.

-I am thinking of having more general worldbuilding that is unrelated to lore be done on my laptop. Yes, this is my admission that I don't do worldbuilding often. I just have ideas and write them out with no planning. But I realize that that process won't work as easily for the type of story I am currently writing.

So for this poll, world building would be mostly settings, linguistic things, ecosystem things, and other things that would fall under this category aside from lore.

Lore would be the history of the world, mythological/religious things, and get into detail on the God-named and unnamed and their differences.

Character profiles would, as one could guess, would be character information compiled into a headache-inducing mess, especially since I don't actually have locations fully made (some exist but are unnamed, others are named and maybe exist as a concept without specifics, and others are vague ideas without names or specifics)

You'd think with that idea in mind, I would want to world build more, but I... I want to do all of these things at once

I wanted those to be alphabetical. I am a chaos gremlin.

ELLIPSUS MY BELOVED :>

Hey writers,

What are some great websites you've found that you can write on them like google docs without the worry of ai training?

I want to steer away from docs but the only other thing I can think of is using drafts here on tumblr to save my work and I really don't want to do that. And I don't have money to pay for word processors.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

Reblog if you stand against order, civilization, and goodness itself

My current story is being rewritten for the... I have no idea what number it is. My favorite part of writing this story is when the main character is just pronouns. Her original version took many, many paragraphs to get her name in. I have personal symbolism for doing this, and I can explain this later if anyone is curious.

For example, if I rewrite this story how it currently is, it takes two whole chapters to get her name. If it were up to me, she'd never be named. She'd just exist as pronouns. This would be intentionally done. Not because she doesn't have a name, but because that is how her narration is.

reblog if you’re a writer who’s very terrible at responding to comments from your readers, but has read them all and loves and appreciates each and every single one of them very dearly

From the behind the scenes game:

❗"how many WIPs do you have?"

🖊️"how does your magic system work?"

Thanks for the ask!

Currently, I have one primary WIP (Temporarily titled Stars Of The Sky) and in the upper end of twenty that I sometimes return to and add on to, but those are primarily fanfiction, aside from one.

I do have a secondary WIP that I return to, which has more of a magic system than my current primary, which is the one that I will talk about for the magic system.

In the world of Sightless, the WIP that I have a planned magic system for, people are born with a set amount of magic power. Everyone has some amount of it, but not everyone is given the same amount, and no one can increase the amount. Most people barely have enough to enchant an item, which is the majority of the populace. The next level are those who can enchant items but can't cast a spell. Then are those who can cast spells.

One can increase how efficient they are with their magic power through repeated use, but for those who cannot use it at all, as in, those who can't even enchant items, this route is not possible. Of course, there are limits to the use.

The first stage of magic overuse is blindness. For those with higher healing factors, this goes away, but for most mages, this is the end of their vision. This doesn't mean the permanently blind cannot cast magic at all, but they would be relegated to being healers and farming spells. The stage beyond blindness, if a mage ignores the blindness, is heart attacks. For the more resilient mages, or those with healers nearby, they live. For most, they don't.

There are exceptions to the rules, but not for reasons most would expect.

The main character, for example, wasn't born in the world with this magic system, but she has quite the large magic power pool. She is also fairly resistant to the drawbacks of magic overuse due to having quite the fast healing rate without magic. She's also one of few whose occupation doesn't match her magic pool, as she's a guard/blacksmith, not a mage. Guards and blacksmiths tend to fall in the enchant but not cast spell range, and she can fairly easily cast spells without giving it much thought.

Her twin brother, Astro, works as a merchant, but he has a relatively good magic pool, falling in the enchant but no spells range, and he has less reason to use magic than his sister.

Their adoptive brother completely lacks magic power. Which is unheard of.

As for magic types, there are quite a few. Enchants and spells have the same types, but the range of effect is limited for enchants.

There are

Cultivation spells, which increase yield in harvest and mining

Fire, which has everything to do with fire (including fireballs)

Water, which is everything to do with water, but not ice

Steam, which occurs when mages or enchanters use both fire and water spells/enchants at the same time

Ice, which is everything to do with ice, including different shapes and temperatures

Holy, which includes healing, undo curses, and light

Dark, which includes poison, curses, and darkness

Holy and dark also include incantations for either banishing the presence of dark gods or evoking a dark god

Earth, which works with rock and soil

Location, which involves teleportation, locating, and gravity related things.

And many others.

There can be blending, as noted with steam, but one has to be careful not to mix the wrong elements because things can go wrong. Extremely wrong.

Yeah, Sightless has a lot just in the magic. That is ignoring the possible classification of powers as magic, in which case... That would be too much to get into.

Hope that satisfies any curiosity. Might add a magic system to my current WIP, but I haven't yet.

Humanity is falling... Falling...

Fallen.

Invaded, perhaps, but this isn't the cause. Aliens and monsters came years later, decades after the last normal human breathed their last sigh. Yes, normalcy... a concept many created, just like the concept of equality.

You see, I am the last human. I am eternal. Not by choice, of course, but curses are interesting. To never die until you find love... but to never feel until your final moments... two separate curses that clash entirely. This clash brought upon me my immortality.

I have long forgotten my name, my age, my family... and I have long ceased to feel. Emotions... feelings... all concepts pointless to hold on to. Aliens speak a language foreign to me, and monsters can not pierce my immortality. A shame... I don't keep a standard journal, as paper was lost decades ago, along with humanity. My humanity was gone before that.

What is there to do, you may wonder... Nothing. Drawing, perhaps, but there's nothing to draw on now. Trees have overtaken buildings, and they regenerate damage. A sad truth, you may note. The Earth grew stronger when humans fell. Back in 2023... after the pandemic... it was brought up, Global Warming, but not a focus.

Humans would be around if they weren't so greedy.

- Selene Power, Accursed, 3059