Mobile Friendly WIP Link Aussie millennial. She/Her. Posts about my WIP and OC’s, random writing related things and occasionally Australian specific stuff plus anything else that takes my fancy. Happy to be tagged in games.
Cursed to die on her 25th birthday, Bethany is doing everything in her power to try and prevent that from happening - when she’s not out partying, working at one of several nearby bars or getting into dangerous situations that would kill anyone else just for laughs.
Those in the know think she isn’t taking her curse seriously, but she is - it’s why she ran away from home at 17, and why she’s trying to have as much fun as she possibly can, because if she can’t break her curse in time she at least wants to ensure she had the opportunity to live. Something she couldn’t do while living with her over-protective parents.
With one week to go Bethany is in a literal fight for her life, something which is complicated by all the people insisting on getting involved. Like Blake, the tall dark and handsome jerkface who insists he’s there to kidnap her but seems more interested in annoying her instead; Marcus and Imogen, a young couple who aren’t afraid of a fight and insist they’re incapable of lying; and Kenneth, a seemingly friendly but kind of creepy older man who works for an organisation intent on wiping out all magic.
She may not know who she can trust or if she can survive, but she’s not going to give up. Now if only she could stay focused on the task at hand.
The human equivalent of a dumpster fire, Bethany lives in a condemned pig-sty of an apartment, eats like crap, drinks too much, and tends to do whatever and whoever takes her fancy. It helps that her curse has made her completely invulnerable in the lead up to her birthday, protecting her from all external and self inflicted harm. People assume she’s a party girl and nothing more, but behind her smile and ditzy persona is a sharp mind, one that’s good at maths, research, logic puzzles and problem solving.
Blake is capable of finding whatever or whoever he’s looking for, regardless of where his target is located, due to a psychic ability he’s had since birth. Despite this he doesn’t believe magic is real, instead justifying his ability as a mix of research, talent, and pure luck. He’s working for an unnamed employer, one that has him using his skills for illegal activities, and may not be doing so by choice. Despite this he’s trying to do everything he can to help Bethany, as if he can find out why his boss wants her - something they’re refusing to share - he may not have to kidnap her at all.
Imogen Martin [Moodboard]
The only person who can compete with Bethany in the lack-of-fear stakes, Imogen takes everything that happens in her stride. Only two things seem to bother her - that Blake is involved, as she’s pretty sure she knows who he works for, and the anti-lying curse her and Marcus recently gained. Because of this curse she doesn’t talk much, and when she does she’s blunt to the point of being rude, and takes advantage of the loopholes the curse offers, such as lying by omission. She’s surprisingly well informed on magic and is definitely hiding something.
Marcus Martin [Moodboard]
The brains of the pair, Marcus is more comfortable talking in the confines of the anti-lying curse than Imogen is, though he’s also not afraid of a fight. He knows more about what’s going on than he’s letting on, and may not have Bethany’s best interests at heart.
Faith Kowalczyka [Moodboard]
Bethany’s best friend, Faith is a tiny force to be reckoned with. She has an energy level only Bethany has a chance of keeping up with, and listening to her speak you’d think she didn’t need to breathe. Faith is positive she’s psychic, even though she has no magic of her own and doesn’t know magic exists, and her obsession with magical conspiracy theories has left her full of information that may actually be accurate.
Kenneth Hull
As part of the Order of Humanity, Kenneth is dedicated to their cause of removing all magic from the world and is willing to do whatever it takes. He’s skilled at identifying and capturing those with magic, but has taken a special interest in Bethany and her curse despite the fact she seems to have no power of her own. He’s also a hypocrite, hiding a gaslighting style power that allows him to manipulate people as he pleases.
Katrina Lisson [Moodboard]
Faith’s new housemate. She’s talkative and bubbly, and one of the few people capable of keeping up with Faith, only despite Faith’s best efforts she rarely talks about anything personal about herself. Like why she doesn’t like to be touched, or what the large diamond and circle brand on her inner forearm means.
Henry Norton III & Eliza Norton
Bethany’s parents. They’ve done everything they can to keep Bethany safe, something which ground to a halt when Bethany insisted on running away. The only reason they haven’t reported her missing is because she’s stayed in regular contact with them, but they’re desperately begging her to come home.
Joshua Wong
A powerful man in his own right, Joshua oversees the running of the bulk of the Norton empire on behalf of Henry and Eliza, allowing them to focus on their own pet projects. He’s a regular fixture in the Norton household and Bethany thinks of him as an uncle.
Evan & Luka
The two men assigned to help Blake kidnap Bethany. Evan is an antagonistic asshole with a heat-based power, and Luka tends to keep to himself.
Murphy
Kenneth’s right hand woman. Her loyalty to Kenneth is as strong as her hatred of magic.
Regent
Head of Sovereign, Blake’s boss, and the one who most likely wants Bethany dead. According to rumours they’re immortal.
ORGANISATIONS:
Sovereign [As explained by Bethany, circa Book 2]
A secret society of magic users. Some have powers, some have access to source magic but all share the same goal, which is bringing in a new world order where magic rules. They’re willing to do whatever it takes to achieve this, including killing and manipulating those with magic who won’t stand with them.
The Order of Humanity
An organisation dedicated to wiping all magic off the face of the earth. They’ll do this by any means necessary, including capturing and weaponizing those with magic they find useful, and killing off those who don’t.
DMI
More secretive than Sovereign, DMI fight to ensure those with magic are left alone to live their lives free of fear. They also advocate for magic to stay in the shadows, as they fear what the world will become if the truth is exposed. They’re also willing to let one person die for the sake of the many, if that’s what it takes to keep everyone safe.
HELLO! I just saw you on my dash and HI. I hope you're doing well. ^_^ Missed seeing you, would love to know what you're up to, hit me up if you wish to talk etc etc. All the good vibes and best wishes. <3
Hey! I wasn’t sure if anyone I knew was still around!
Im on from time to time, just for a scroll - I have a six year old now so between her and my job I dont get a lot of free time. But its great to hear from you 💖
i do not “delete sentences” when they start “hindering the plot” i COPY PASTE THEM into a SEPARATE DOC made just for keeping all my USELESS LINES that i will also NEVER USE so therefore i should JUST DELETE THEM but i DONT because id FEEL BAD if i did
I have put Iocaine powder in one of these two goblets. You choose, then we both drink.
If you choose the more popular option you are poisoned, and must log off and do something you are putting off. If you choose otherwise, you may reblog and keep scrolling!
A pair from a currently discarded WIP about pixie investigators
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Holly let out a squeal as she bounded from one display case to another, pressing her nose up against the glass and staring down.
“Pine!!” she turned, pointing, “Pine lookit! Look at all the food!!!”
Pine frowned. It wasn’t really food so much as sugar and syrup or food coloring pressed into funny shapes. But they had just finished up a case and had a bit of extra money, and this is where Holly had wanted to spend it.
At a human candy store.
Pine shifted to get a better look at a pair of humans that gave them an odd look before continuing on their way; Pine hated coming down here. They had to hide their ears and press their wings under piles of clothing, Holly usually needing to bind hers to her torso because of how much they’d flutter when she got excited.
After all was said and done, the pair looked like nothing more than human children instead of adult pixies.
But Holly was happy, and that made Pine happy. She bounced up and down as she flitted between cases, grabbing up bags or pre-packaged goodies and Pine sighed, knowing the sticky mess that was bound to happen whenever sweets met Holly’s thick curly brown hair. But again, so long as she was happy. She was the one that brought in the clients, after all, with her chipper demeanor offsetting Pine’s often sour one.
Pine waited until she had completed her hunt, bags upon bags balanced precariously in her arms. Pine went to go pay, making up a story about how the one parent was lucky the other parent let them go shopping for a present, one Pine had well rehearsed at this point as she handed over the money. The pair left and walked out of the store, Holly brimming with joy.
“I can’t believe humans actually eat all this stuff!” she crowed, hopping and jumping around.
“People,” Pine corrected. “You mean people.” Holly had a tendency to forget her terminology at times, but never seemed to be upset when Pine corrected her.
“Right,” she beamed, “people. People eat all this stuff!!”
“And you’re about to eat it all when we get back,” Pine said. “Because one bite of that stuff makes me sick.”
Holly gave her a mischievous smile and leaned over, giving Pine a peck on the cheek. “Thanks for coming with me.”
Pine smiled and let that be her answer.
The pair walked well out of the way of foot traffic, into the parkinglot where there seemed to be less and less humans until there were none around. Then they stripped off the outer layer of clothing, just enough to let their wings breathe and flapped a few times before taking off back home.
One very rough draft of the possible new opener for Lies in the Lilies, written while I’m meant to be sleeping.
Definitely needs work, but I feel like there’s something good here.
***
They say that when you die, your whole life flashes before your eyes. Which I never really believe. You live your life, not knowing how lucky you are if you have a long one, and then you die.
But as I lay here, stuck in the eternal instant between life and death, I realise that they saying is true. Your whole life does flash before your eyes. And trust me; with the knowledge of hindsight, it can really suck the second time around.
I can see the betrayal now. I can see how I was betrayed; how I betrayed. And worst of all, I can see that there was nothing I could have done to avoid this moment. I always always meant to die this day.
My birthday and death day in one. How poetic, how…cliche. Like I’m some sort of fairytale princess.
The rectangular object my hand found didn’t feel like a book. Pulling it out revealed it was a picture frame, a smashed one at that, and when I brushed the shards of glass away I let out a gasp.
The picture was of Harrison.
With a twenty year age gap between us, I always saw him as being old in my memories, like a younger-but-not-by-much brunette version of our Dad, but the fresh-faced man in the picture reminded me of how young he’d actually been. My age now, most likely, and smiling like his whole future was ahead of him, instead of a gunshot to the chest on a cold July night.
The woman next to him was a younger, more alive version of Zia, her arm wrapped around his waist as they both smiled at the camera, and my blood boiled at the sight of it. How dare she have this on display, after everything she’d done to my family. I pulled the picture out of the frame, ready to tear it in half so that she was no longer standing with him, but instead I stopped. Because there was another photo in the frame. One of me and Mum.
I took it out too. I was young in it, maybe two or three, and I was beaming at the camera while holding a pristine Boris bear tight to my chest, the same one that was in my apartment, squished and battered and threadbare from years of cuddles. Mum barely looked any different: neat as a pin and as poised as ever.
I wiped my face, my anger having brought on tears, then tucked the picture into my back pocket. There were more important things to focus on than the photo, as upsetting as it was. But I still took a moment to remove Zia from Harrison’s picture, setting fire to her half and watching it burn until it was nothing more than ash on my hand.
modern social media should stop offering "sync with your phone contacts to follow them" options and start offering "block all your phone contacts so they never see your account" options
