Okay, so when I saw @yourocsbackstory‘s post about Friends’ OC Celebration Weekend, I knew I had to talk to you about @madmoonink‘s OCs from Sonnenzorn, because I love them. So much???? (I don’t remember you doing an official intro post, so I just did my own post :D)
Sonnenzorn blurb copied straight from it’s WIP page: “Unnoticed by the inhabitants of the continent of Eridan the balance of power is shifting at the dawn of a new era.A soldier and two exiled shapeshifters are fighting for their place in an increasingly hostile world while a young noble realizes that there is more to myths and legends than one might hope.The borders between good and evil are fading as he takes his destiny into his own hands triggering an avalanche of events that can’t be contained, tinting the new age crimson.In other words: They all fuck up horrendously, wander about the continent, try to get their life sorted and fuck up even more :D”
Now let me badly explain the main characters (who all I love unconditionally):
Cyrillion (or more familiarly: Murder Baby Cy): He is a mysterious (and pretty ancient??) shapeshifter, who are enemies of humans, imprisoned by one of the human rulers into a pretty horrible prison, where he is put trough a hell. He is very dysfunctional, a bit twisted and thirsty for revenge. I love him. Though he doesn't always make it easy for me.
Lauri: Protect him!!!!!! He is a Soft Boi, a shapeshifter raised in human community and also shunned by those humans. He was also imprisoned into the same dungeons as Cy. Unlike Cy, he remains kind and empathetic. But he has also gone through a lot and is traumatized and anxious. Give him a hug!!! Another!!!
Jacobi: This one is a dumb boi. He is the son of the same human ruler that imprisoned Cy. He is young, idealistic and is more interested in science than violence and power. However, don't let that fool you!!!! He is Dumb!!! But he means well and doesn't mean to mess up every other time. He needs a hug too. He has made his life pretty tough. It doesn't help when you live in a conspiring court and have a pretty disturbing father.
Alina: She is a badass soldier from a militant family. She's willing to go to pretty extremes to better her family's status (though her family doesn't deserve that, fuck them). She is capable, ruthless and self-sacrificing. She also gets shit done unlike these useless idiots. Like Jacobi, her dad is shit. I love her, she is cool.
I’ve sort of been hoarding tag games so uh... I was tagged by @feathered-quill @eternalwritingstudent @thewingwriter @emmaephemeral @el-norawrites, thanks lovelies for all the tags! 💖
This is from a short story, Viral, that I’ve been working on 💖 Since I got tagged so many times, I figured I should share more than one line, lol
I am a disease.
I am known by many names, but nonetheless I fester and replicate just beneath the surface. I am living and yet inanimate: biologists make futile attempts to shove my corners through round holes; philosophers ponder on my methods. I surpass all attempts at confinement, unseen and impossible to grasp.
“It's a virus,” they moan, cursing my name when the scans pop up pus-boil red. I am a virus: deception incarnate.
Tagging (feel free to ignore): @greenhousewriting @writerightmegpie @eternalwritingstudent @madmooninc and anyone else who would like to join in!
@madmooninc asked me to post numbers 1, 10, 16, and 20 of the WIP ask Game, so here goes!
#1 Summarize your WIP in 10 words or less: Necromancer gets life turned upside down by a hot witch
#10 How would you describe your WIP’s narrative style?: Currently trying to write in first person, which I have actually never done before! My narrator, Nicolette, is very sarcastic and more than a bit nihilistic, which is super fun for first person.
#16 What would your characters be for Halloween?: Well, one of them is an actual witch, but I feel like that’s a bit unimaginative. Probably hot policewoman? My main character, Nicolette, wouldn’t want to go out, but she would totally be a zombie with fake blood, the whole nine yards. Daisy would be a cat, like every year.
#20 Post a brief excerpt:
I tugged lightly on Mr. Govery’s arm. His footsteps shuffled along a half step behind mine, scraping on the concrete of the torn sidewalk. My house was the last on the street, at the very edge of town, with a grove of sickly trees beyond that. The streetlights were gone by now, but the moon was more than bright enough to see by. I pulled Mr. Govery off the road and onto a dirt path through the trees. A wrought iron fence stood before us on the other side of the trees, the gate hanging ajar.
“How in the world did you get out this time, Mr. Govery?” I asked softly, searching for the padlock that usually kept the gate closed. It lay in the dusty grass like a coiled black snake, wound over upon itself.
There went another fifteen bucks I didn’t have.
But something was odd about it. I turned it over in my hands. This chain hadn’t been broken like the others, but rather it had been cut. The sharp edges of the metal pricked my fingers, the cut clean and sharp under the moonlight. I tucked the chain inside my pocket and led Mr. Govery through the door.
I could tell I had a busy night ahead of me. Mr. Govery’s grave was in the new cemetery, but only I came around anymore. I had stopped bothering to refill the graves months ago, and they pockmarked the cemetery like a minefield. As I led Mr. Govery through the rows of headstones, I counted the number of caskets broken open. Too many.
Mr. Govery himself, of course, had made a wreck of his grave. He had burst through the recently repaired lid of his casket, leaving jagged strips of wood poking upward. I sighed, and nudged him onto the edge of the grave. He tottered there for a moment, and then gently slid down the slope to land feet first in his dusty casket.
“Lay down, now, and stay.” I told him. He looked at me blankly, and laid down on top of the wood.
I was tagged by the lovely @doctor-q, thanks hon! <3
1: What’s your preferred written genre? Probably fantasy? I really enjoy the process of world-building, and since I grew up reading mostly fantasy it’s all the genre that I’m most familiar with. But considering the WIPs I’ve had over the years (1 adventure, 1 scifi, 2 contemporary thrillers, 2 fantasy) the only actual consistency in genre I have is that they all have romantic subplots at some point. I don’t consider myself a romance writer, but the facts say I’m just in denial 😂
2: What’s your preferred reading genre? Okay, this one is a definite vote for fantasy. My parents are both bookworms and, as a general rule, fantasy is their preferred genre too--which explains why I read and reread Tolkien (LotR) and Feist (Riftwar Saga) a lot while growing up. I love everything about fantasy, there’s nothing that’s off the table. A lot of old fantasy has escapist elements which appeals to me, but I also love the cultural elements--basing systems off certain cultures or mythologies, or reading about completely new/fictitious cultures.
3: What’s a trope that absolutely speaks to your heart? Pyrrhic victories! Not a trope that I consume a lot of, but one I absolutely love creating. Considering I play a lot with black and gray morality in my writing, it’s unfortunately the case that the costs usually end up being higher than the reward. I also love character deaths, which contribute to pyrrhic victories too.
4: Is Science Fiction also Fantasy? Discuss. So, for me, this is like... squares and rectangles. All SciFi is Fantasy, but not all Fantasy is SciFi. In my opinion, fantasy really just means “a story set in a fictitious world”. SciFi, no matter how probable it can be at times, is set in a fictitious world. Even near-future or contemporary SciFi still involves changing an element from reality that makes the setting fictitious. But not all Fantasy is SciFi, because SciFi to me means “a story set in a fictitious world that focuses on or highlights elements of which science is a core component”. Sure, all fantasy stories will have scientific components--I’ve yet to find a story that doesn’t play by some rule of physics/chemistry/etc--but most of the time, if you’re reading a fantasy novel about dragons, the novel doesn’t go on about the anatomical structure or biological functions of the dragons, right? The scientific component is technically there, but completely ignored. A SciFi story is a fantasy novel that would/does go into those components. That’s just my two cents idk
5: What’s the synopsis of your WIP? Ahh, I’m just going to include super short mini-synopses of my two big WIPs...
For Alight in Ashes...
In a society constantly uprooted by revolution, humans have been designated as the inferior species and are beset by disease, slavery, and genocidal Hunts. Cassandra, a petty thief, is determined to prove that humans are capable of fighting back, regardless of the cost.
For Eosophobia...
Rumors of a cure for the engineered supervirus Dawn have begun to circle the forested region of Cascadia, dragging out the remnants of human civilization from hiding–and also their mutated cousins, Biotics. With competing groups desperate to get their hands on any possible cure the Columbia Gorge transforms into a battleground waiting to explode.
6: If you could speed date any literary character who would it be? Mara. Oh my god. I would marry her. I haven’t read The Empire Trilogy in years, which is my loss, because it’s fantastic and I have such a crush on the protagonist/MC, Mara. She’s such a powerful character, and I love how ambitious and resourceful and reckless she is, in a way.
7: If you were a literary character who would you be? Haha, okay, I’m totally Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. Not the “super rich” part, which is unfortunate, but the arrogant, prideful, honest part? The best-known-for-my-poorly-worded-and-soul-crushing-love-confessions part? That’s me.
8: What’s a big theme you notice in your writing? Moral subjectivity! I love bringing it up in my writing and reflecting it in my characters. I just have fun with making readers root for someone who goes against standard morality--rooting for villains, or dark anti-heroes, etc. It’s my goal to write characters that are so likeable or powerful that my readers will root for them, no matter how the odds look or what actions “need” to be taken.
9: What is a theme you hate seeing in writing? I hate “love conquers all”, which is somewhat ironic considering I’m a self-described romantic. But I’m a strong believer that love only works if you’re willing to put in the necessary work that a relationship requires. I’m tired of love being portrayed as “if it’s meant to be, it will be”. It’s not inherently a bad theme, but one that’s vastly overused.
10: What was your opinion of your last high school Literature teacher? I... honestly don’t even remember his name. He was a nice and reasonable guy as a person, and was pretty laid back for the most part. But he felt out of touch with his students--I don’t remember ever being invested in his class (to be fair, high school was all easy As for me (that’s not bragging, I went to a really shitty high school where they were just trying to pass as many of us as they could because graduation rates were atrocious. haha and then i dropped out but whatever)).
My Questions for Ya’ll
1. Do you have any writing habits or rituals?
2. If you had to be one of your characters for a day, who would you choose to be?
3. Character death, yay or nay?
4. Which tropes, if you’re aware of any, are in your WIP?
5. Favorite hero from any book/movie/etc.?
6. Favorite villain from any book/movie/etc.?
7. What’s your favorite part of the writing process?
8. If you were locked in a room with your OCs, how would you fare?
9. What scene in your WIP are you most excited about? Why?
10. If you had to use a different title for your WIP than the one you’re currently using, what would it be? If it doesn’t have a title, choose an alternative name for your MC.
Tagging (feel free to ignore): @oheoo @madmooninc @ashtrieswriting @toboldlywrite @relevy @theguildedtypewriter @dragonscanbeplantstoo and of course, anyone else who would to join in!
I was tagged by @madmooninc and @gettingitwrite, thanks lovelies! <3
1. Tell me something you love about your current WIP(s).
I love the settings of my WIPs!! Alight in Ashes takes place in Phygaret, a fantasy world based (roughly) between the real-world Balkans and India; I love using it to explore a darker version of the typical fantasy European architecture (think less castles and more “slums meets Tolkien’s Laketown/Esgaroth”) before the story moves towards the eastern edge of the region. Eosophobia takes place in the Pacific Northwest (mostly Oregon), but being post-apocalyptic the region is half reclaimed by the region’s already stunning nature--forests, mountains, rivers, woods stretching right into the ocean, “the city” (Portland) choked out by invasive ivy. In my head it’s stunning (and there’s no way I will ever do it justice on paper). Even God is Entertained by My Sins takes place in a Polish forest and derelict castle, so it’s equally picturesque and chilling.
2. Three of your characters are coming with you on a road trip. Who are they and why did you pick them?
Assuming I could pick from across WIPs, I’d take Viktor, Xyla, and Cass! They’re probably the only trio of characters that I would enjoy spending time with as a group, and we’d all get along in the “we cope with our various traumas in the same entirely stupid ways” sense. It’s probably a terrible idea to take all of them because there would be a lot of tequila between the four of us and that’s... not really a road trip appropriate drink, but that aside it would be the most amazing and hilarious trip. We’d be a wreck. Cass would refuse to stop for the night and insist on driving straight through, Xyla would demand pancakes at 3am, I would play rock music until the speakers give out (or until I was deaf, whichever came first), and Viktor would ensure the car would be completely ruined by coffee stains and fast food crumbs and cigarette ash.
They need a trio name, but I haven’t come up with one yet. I think Hangover Trio is the most apt but I think it’s missing the charm factor.
3. When you’re not writing, what are you most likely to be doing?
Either in class, crying about said classes, or playing video games :P
4. How do you name your characters?
I have two methods of naming! The first is if I strongly associate the character with something then I’ll find a related name, usually in an abstract way (eg. associated with tragic failure and bitter Gods = Cassandra; fiery martyr = Ignatius). The vast majority of my characters, however, are just names that fit the character’s culture/ethnicity and have a fitting meaning (eg. Viktor is Russian-American and afraid of failure; Jackal’s ethnicity traces back to the middle east/northern Africa (the specifics are never mentioned in the story and it literally doesn’t matter so I haven’t actually decided, but I think he’s either Israeli-American or Algerian-American?) where Jackals do populate and also because he’s an asshole, etc.)
5. Do your characters have any pets?
Not really? My characters are usually moving around too much (read: nomadic) or things near them don’t tend to survive for long. If they could, though, Amaryllis would have every pet she could get her hands on (in canon she’s very friendly to squirrels and mice) and Ajax would have a parrot that would be a complete asshole to him. Magenta would probably have a bulldog that always smelled bad and name it something inappropriate.
6. Do you have a favorite time of day to write?
I like writing through the night, so like 7:00pm-2:00am or so. Usually I have too much school stuff to dedicate all that time to writing, but I had the chance during winter break and had a couple days where I wrote 10K/day in one long session with roughly those hours (continued more towards 5am though).
7. Which of your characters would win the Most Huggable Award?
Theoretically it would be Amaryllis, but I’m more partial to Xyla or Ajax. They’re all sweethearts and romantics, and Xyla seems like she’d be good to cuddle.
8. Which of your characters would win the Most Punchable Award?
Besides all of them? Onyx, although I shouldn’t punch him because he’s just struggling to cope, but there’s no saving him. If sanity were made of glass then Onyx is nothing but sharpened dust, he’s so broken. And in the mean time, he’s such an asshole.
9. How do you decide when you’re done planning and just have to start writing?
I actually start with writing! My stories don’t really come to me as a plot or anything, usually they come to me as an assorted handful of scenes that I’m left trying to connect. So, usually, I just start writing and plan my piecemeal novel as I go.
10. Do your characters have any odd habits?
Oh, yes. My favorites are Jackal’s habit of Slav squatting instead of, ya know, just sitting on the ground like a normal human being, and Cass has a habit of literally cutting designs into the ends of her fingernails with a knife.
Tagging (feel free to ignore): @byjillianmaria @exhausted-writer-wannabe @theguildedtypewriter, and of course, anyone else who would like to join in!
I was tagged by the lovely @thewingwriter, thanks hon! <3
Rules: Tag 20 people you’d like to get to know better!
Name: Veronica
Nicknames: I used to go by as “Ronnie” or “Vero” but it’s been a while since I’ve been called either of those ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Star Sign: Aquarius sun, Taurus moon, Aries rising
Hogwarts House: Slytherin
Favorite Color: Purple/lavender, but I adore all cold colors 💙
Favorite Animal: Pandas!! But snakes make for a pretty close second
Average Hours of Sleep: 4 or 13. No in-between.
Cats or Dogs? More of a dog person, but I’m cursed unfortunately allergic to both dogs and cats D:
Favorite Fictional Character: Erik from Phantom of the Opera.
Number of Blankets I Sleep With: I sleep with just a comforter :P
Favorite Singer/Band: Seether, Shinedown, Evans Blue, Three Days Grace, Alice Cooper...
Dream Trip: I’ve always wanted to go to the Philippines and see where my mom grew up 💖
When Was This Blog Made? Two and a half months ago-ish? Early December 2017
How Many Followers? 203!!! Which is amazing, since I don’t really do anything but yell in people’s tags 😂
What Made You Decide to Make a Tumblr? Um, I’ve been on this hellsite forever (you... you don’t understand. I went to DashCon. I’ve been here forever). I wanted to start contacting other writers and even though I’d deleted my last blogs I ended up coming back here out of habit. It’s been a surprisingly great decision though, writeblr is easily the most supportive and pleasant -blr I’ve ever been apart of!
Tagging (feel free to ignore) @asablehart @madmooninc @barachan99 and anyone else who would like to join in!!
