#hope beyond

[siarven]

hiya! i see that you have three wips that youre working on? if i could get a one/three sentence description of all three thatd be great :D (one or three, your choice. or maybe both! up to you.)

First of all I swear I’m not ignoring you, tumblr keeps forgetting to tell me that I got asks and I also wasn’t online for almost two weeks (except a bit on my phone and I have no idea how to answer asks on there??) but yeah I accidentally looked in here and ?!?!?! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH I’M SO SORRY, AND THANKS FOR ASKING :’D <333

Thank you so much for being interested in my dumb wips ;W; I also just noticed you sent me another asks weeks ago, AHHH I will answer that after this one x’D I am so sorry, thank you for bearing with me skdfjhskdf

ANYWAYS

Yesss, I have 3 wips! :D <333

The first and oldest one is called Dream’s Shadow (it went through a few title changes though) and the current horrible/dumb tagline is “boy’s should’ve-been-fatal-but-somehow-wasn’t accident drags him and his 2 sisters into an ancient conflict that could change the future of everyone forever”.

It’s dark epic fantasy, set in another world, but also hopepunk (so while it gets dark and there’s some (eye) body horror and monsters and stuff the tone isn’t bleak and hopeless and all that...) . It’s set in another world and is the first in a series where the scope escalates with every book (this one has a fairly small scope, “saving Ben” more or less :D)

Basically Ben (16) is in a coma, wakes as a ghost a few days later and needs to find out how to get back, if he even can, or wants to, and nobody knows what happened including him. His little sister Ava (8) has to keep their dysfunctional family together in his absence, she feels like she’s failing, and she can also see gods (well, entities...) in her dreams now, which is never a good sign. Their other sister, Elinor (14) gets involved in all of it, too, but explaining all that is a bit complicated. XD If you’re interested in the worldbuilding and more about that, though, I recently made a comic sans power point! :D

I also finished the 3rd draft a few weeks ago and it’s now going through some editing and then I will probably actually start betaing?? which is insane?????? I’ve been rewriting that thing off and on since NaNo 2014, what the heck, we’re actually getting somewhere now?! (It has basically nothing in common with draft 1 except 2 names and 2 plot points at this point. XD)

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My second WIP is Like Dragons of Old!

A feral, winged orphan girl and a librarian's daughter are raised by an immortal and a phoenix in chicken form among the towering stacks of a sentient, endless library. Shenangians, adventures, and heartbreak ensue.

It’s also set in another world, also dark epic fantasy, and a trilogy (heh, I can’t do short things...) and also hopepunk because that’s very important <3 It takes place over ~10 years (every book will) so the main characters grow up over the course of the story and it ends when they’re in their ~40s :D It’s basically a slow burn with the main problem that over the course of the trilogy Timbre and Selandri end up getting separated and meet again, years later, as leaders on different sides of a pretty huge conflict :’D I love my babies so much ahhh The first one is still very lighthearted though. For the most part. :3

(It also has a comic sans thingy here)

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The third WIP is called Hope Beyond

It’s a bit different from the other two, because it’s a multimedia story and has 3 different POVs in 3 different styles each that will start to overlap as the characters develop and grow closer.

There’s Alia, who’s basically a child (... it’s complicated), who has limited perspective comic panels as her chapters (so it’s very much how she sees the world, with a ton of magical creatures, magical realism style), then there’s Morgan, her older adoptive sister (who planned on being a book-hoarding crazy cat lady and is 30, she has 3rd person novel narration) and Phaedra, a one-legged war veteran who’s their next door neighbour (who keeps a diary for therapy).

Basically the story is the 3 of them working through their various traumas and grief and rage together, helping each other cope, and growing as people. So, very much a found family story :D I don’t even know how to describe the plot because the setup explanation alone always escalated very badly, buuut I have an intro post for it here <3

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Soooo.... thank you so much for asking, I’m sorry this escalated so badly (it always does lmao) and that I only responded now :’D

Thank you so much for your interest <333

[siarven]

INKTOBER DAY 10 - Pattern

my other inktober art | about hope beyond

Half dream and half creature, Morpheus is Alia’s Dream Guide, mentoring, helping and protecting her when her dreams turn bad. 

He’s there for her when she gets sucked into the depths of her nightmares, helping her realize that it’s just a dream and guiding her back to the better parts of her mind. 

He is a bit apart from all the other Guardian creatures, and she usually only encounters him in her dreams. If she sees him when she’s awake, he’s usually just a shadow, disappearing when she looks at him directly. 

@writingwordsanddrawingpictures @kittensartswriting @afragilestrongsoul @ettawritesnstudies

[siarven]

INKTOBER DAY 04 - (Brain) Freeze

my other inktober art | about hope beyond

I wanted to write another small short story thing tonight but then I sat down and thought up cat names (with the help of @romenna and @raiswanson <333 ) for Morgan’s cats and I love them so much, so I will share that with you instead XD They really reflect her purrsonality very well x)

Morgan is a proud crazy cat lady, and is currently owned by five rescued cats:

Purrseus, usually just called Purrcy. He is the bastard up there, and Morgan is 120% certain that he’s very much at the top of the “likely to plan world domination” list. This is the precise moment that he knows how he will bring it about, by the way: through ice cream!!! [dramatic gasp]

Schrödinger. A black and white cat who loves hiding under the bed, and especially in cardboard boxes. What else is there to say? Hmm, she’s the second-youngest and loves play-attacking the others, especially from hiding places where she’s invisible until she strikes. Morgan still feels like she managed to put her entire essence into her name. 

Thunderpaw. She’s the youngest and was named by Alia. Enough said. White, very long, fluffy fur. She’s mostly just cute and loves to cuddle with Alia. Or play. Or sleep. Alia is sure that she can see her creatures, too. Morgan is half-certain that the two of them somehow bonded, even if she’s not sure how that would’ve worked. 

Catastrophe, often just lovingly referred to as “CAT!!!!!”. He loves stealing food, and is Very Good at breaking into any room, any drawer, and any cabinet if it contains any. Morgan thought about naming him Houdini because he’s also very good at breaking out of things if there’s no food there, but Catastrophe fit so much better. He is black from his whiskers to the tip of his tail. 

Blacky. Blacky is the oldest of the five, the grandma, so to say. She mostly sleeps, and loves to sleep on people. Especially when you need to leave. (She has a superpower that helps her determine when it’s the least fitting, Morgan is sure of it.) But she purrs so loudly and had such a miserable life before Morgan saved her, so she can never say no. Blacky is a calico, with a white, orange darkish grey-brown coat. Morgan is very pleased with this name, especially because Catastrophe is the black one. 

Inktober tags: @writingwordsanddrawingpictures​ @kittensartswriting​ @afragilestrongsoul​ @ettawritesnstudies​

[siarven]

INKTOBER DAY 06 - Husky

my other inktober art | about hope beyond

1300 words.

The frost has painted flowers on Alia‘s window when she wakes up, and they glow like molten gold in the bright sunlight. 

Despite how pretty they are, Alia can feel the restless energy in her bones, making her fingers twitch with a need to move, to run, to play. 

She knows that it‘s late enough. Maybe not for Morgan, but Morgan isn‘t Alia‘s only (person) friend. There’s also Phaedra, and she’s is a morning bird, too! 

At least that‘s what she said when Alia asked, a few weeks back. Alia is pretty sure that she was lying, though. After all, her window goes in the direction of Phaedra‘s house and sometimes when she wakes from her nightfrights when it’s dark outside, the light in Phaedra‘s window is still on and she‘s pacing, or sitting on her bed, huddled in her blankets. Sometimes, Alia blinks her light a few times until Phaedra finally looks over. She isn’t sure if that helps but she knows that it makes her feel less alone, so maybe it does the same for Phaedra? 

They‘ve never talked about it during the day.

The rest is below the cut, as is the tag list :3

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It‘s cold outside the bed, and Alia dresses quickly, in several layers of warm, cozy things. And a scarf. Morgan loves scarfs, and Alia loves them, too. It‘s something they have in common. 

Then she carefully opens her door, making sure that it doesn‘t creak, and makes her way downstairs (avoiding the Bad Steps). 

She drinks a glass of orange juice, puts some more dry food out for the cats (they‘re already complaining loudly but Morgan is the one who gives them wet food, and Morgan won‘t be up for another hour or two, so it‘s better than nothing). She also pours a tiny amount of watered down milk on a saucer for Mighty One. Morgan might be irritated by that but Alia’s done it enough times by now that she probably won’t even mention it. 

Then, finally, Alia unlocks the front door with her very own, shiny key, putting it in her pocket. The neighbours here are all very nice and she knows that nobody else locks their doors... but Morgan grew up in the city, and she‘s probably going to need a while until she stops doing it, if it ever happens.

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The husky greets her in front of Phaedra’s door, pushing against her leg, almost making her stumble. She laughs, kneeling next to him, and starts rubbing his belly when he flops over. His fur is thick and deep and so soft, so soft...

“Alia?”

She looks up. Phaedra looks down at her with amusement (but also a faint, underlying concern) written all over her face. Alia laughs.

“I‘ve made a new friend!”, she says. “His name is ... something cold? I think?” She concentrates, frowning. “Ice?... Frost.. hmm...”

“—Winter?”, Phaedra asks. Her voice is tiny, almost not there at all.

Alia‘s smile slips, and she nods. Can feel her heart thudding in her chest. Here it is; the day has come. She knows it‘ll be worth it. Still, now that the moment is here, she‘s daunted by the task in front of her.

Phaedra, for her part, just stops moving. Even the small motions, like breathing or blinking, ... stop.

“Winter?”, Phaedra repeats. Her voice is brittle as ice, and so quiet that the word almost doesn’t reach Alia. 

She suppresses the fluttering in her heart and smiles faintly at Phaedra. “Yeah. I‘ve seen him around before. He‘s a very good boy. Maybe even the best one.”

Winter rolls to the side and gets back up, wagging his tail so strongly that it moves his entire butt. Then he howls in both pain and triumph (Alia can feel it reverberate in her very soul, and it makes her want to cry and sing at the same time), running around Phaedra and Alia in circles. She can feel that he wants to get closer but that he’s also... afraid of it.

“Is he… a dog?”, Phaedra asks. She knows the truth already. Has known it from the moment Alia let her guess his name. 

Still, Alia nods, slowly pushing herself back up on her feet. She‘s only a bit shorter than Phaedra. It feels wrong, to be this tall. Very wrong. Not relevant. “He‘s a husky”, she says very softly, trying to suppress the tears that are suddenly welling up in her eyes. 

You have done very well, Rhisíl whispers at the back of her thoughts, voice creaking like leaves and bark and branches. Her nose tingles, but she holds the tears back nonetheless. 

“I had a husky named Winter when I was a child”, Phaedra says. Her voice is far away, both from Alia and from herself. Distanced. Almost lost, but not quite. 

Phaedra has gone to the past, to a place that hurts, but also a place that‘s filled with love and longing.

Sometimes Alia wishes that she had such a place, but now is not the time for thoughts like that. There are good moments there, true, but the other ones outweigh them one to ten. Easier to suppress. Especially now. 

“He‘s watched over you”, Alia hears herself say. Her voice sounds like hers, but also not. It‘s as far away as Phaedra, in a place she will never be able to reach. “He‘s always been with you.” He just needed a bit of love, to grow, to take shape again. 

A tear rolls down Phaedra‘s cheek and she blinks, once, twice. More tears come. She collapses to the ground, grasping her elbows with her hands, burying her face in her arms. Winter approaches carefully, starts licking her arm. Alia doesn‘t want to look at him, because she can feel the Change. They always change when she finally acknowledges their Truth. She doesn‘t know why. The world is far away, bright and beautiful, and her heart aches with love, but also with the sads. 

Winter‘s face looks just like it did before, but the rest of him doesn‘t. His fur is matted, dark and slick. He‘s trailing long, thin ribbons behind him. Two of his legs are dark and strange.  Bone sticks out here and there, and his soul glows brightly from within his ribcage. Some of the bones are black, but others aren’t. Their placement is strange, as if there are two different dimensions to him at the same time, one with the bones on the outside, one with them on the inside, and sometimes they mingle.

He‘s still beautiful, though, and his entire being glows with the eternal love he will forever hold for Phaedra.

Alia blinks away a tear and smiles sadly. 

“He just wants to let you know that he loves you very much”, she says. Phaedra looks at her, with lost eyes full of tears and pain, but when she smiles it‘s the most beautiful thing Alia‘s ever seen.

“Thank you”, she says. Her voice only cracks a little, near the end. Alia smiles and even if there are tears in the way, she knows that Phaedra doesn‘t mind. She sits down next to her, and Phaedra puts an arm around her shoulder.

A brave step, Rhisíl whispers. You‘ve done well, little one. Pain hurts, but sometimes the right pain can heal, too. 

Alia doesn‘t reply. She can feel him circling high above, high above the clouds. Winter dances around them, trailing shadows behind himself, and Alia knows she‘s done the right thing. 

She isn’t sure if it’ll change anything between herself and Phaedra, but even if it does… it was worth it.

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@writingwordsanddrawingpictures​ @kittensartswriting​ @afragilestrongsoul​ @ettawritesnstudies​

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I’m uploading yesterday’s art this late because there was an electrical issue at home yesterday. If we hadn’t caught it, the whole house could’ve burned down o_o so I drew my inktober art with a flashlight, because we put out all the electronics except for the fridge, and hoped that it would survive the night... (the emergency electrician couldn’t access the problem are because the company we get our electricity from has “safety measures” in place which he couldn’t get around. And they weren’t open because it was Sunday. Yaay.)

I’m mostly happy with how it turned out, even if there are a few things I would’ve preffered to end up differently XD

Hope you like him :3

[siarven]

INKTOBER DAY 11 - Snow

my other inktober art | about hope beyond

The One Who Makes It Snow, also known as Snowmaker. 

Snowmaker is a huge, ethereal snow leopard whose coat is made up of a billion snowflakes, which get shed and then drift off to float down to the world of the living -- a gift to bring something soft and white when it’s cold and dark outside, to cushion the world until it’s ready to cast off winter and reawaken to new life.

Since Alia is a storyteller at heart, this is how she explains snow to Morgan and Phaedra during their first winter. <3 Snowmaker is one of the many creatures that exist in her spirit world. 

@writingwordsanddrawingpictures @kittensartswriting @afragilestrongsoul @ettawritesnstudies

[siarven]

INKTOBER DAY 05 - Build

my other inktober art | about hope beyond

If you don’t have wings yourself you will have to build some from the material available to you!

Alia but how Morgan sees her, for once :3 (With her physical, “actual” age, not the way Alia sees herself/how old she is, mentally).

It’s also the first inktober art this year I’ve drawn with my trusty nib pen! I missed it :’)) 

Inktober tags: @writingwordsanddrawingpictures​​ @kittensartswriting​​ @afragilestrongsoul​ @ettawritesnstudies

[siarven]

INKTOBER DAY 09 - Swing

my other inktober art | about hope beyond

A sleeping Schrödinger, and 2 friendshaped babbies <3

@writingwordsanddrawingpictures @kittensartswriting @afragilestrongsoul @ettawritesnstudies

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