Finneas flattened himself against the wall and motioned for Petra to join him. Whoever it was was coming from around the corner, and they wouldn’t have enough time to run back and duck for cover before the person caught them. Resigned to a confrontation, Finneas clenched his fists as a shadow appeared from the intersecting hall, growing longer and longer, and as it finally turned the corner Finneas found himself face to face with—
He wasn’t sure exactly what he was face to face with.
It was a person, a young person, that much he knew for certain, but everything else about them was ambiguous. They wore a loose-fitting tracksuit made from grey fabric with a greenish tint that hung off their lean, bony frame, blurring any distinguishing features their body might have. Their hair was shaved close to their scalp. But it was their eyes that unsettled Finneas the most— bottomless pools of inky black set against a pale, hollow face; a face with no expression, eyes with no life.
The arrival examined Finneas and Petra with an eerie kind of curiosity, scanning them with those soulless eyes of theirs. Their piercing gaze sent goosebumps down Finneas’ spine. He was too confused to move, yet strangely fascinated, unable to tear his eyes away from the unsettling sight.
The person flung out their arm. A vine shot out of their hand and wrapped itself around Finneas’ throat.
THE SIXTH LIFE OF GENEVIEVE WARD ➝ a wip by kingswriting
genevieve ward is starting to lose track of the years. after all, how does one keep track of time when it never seems to actually run out? her mind is littered with the skeletons of the ones she’s loved, the ones she will love in the future. her heart aches with the utmost loss of self that comes with being alive for centuries. she’s seen herself be her best, but more than that, she’s seen herself become a monster that she doesn’t recognize. how does one give meaning to their life when their life can see no end?
ask to be added to the tag list!
status: brainstorming/outlining
genre: na gothic romance/fantasy
trigger warnings: physical abuse in romantic relationships, character death
themes: this is just one big soulmate au, found family, pining, protecting those you love even when they don’t really deserve it, a heck of a redemption arc, questioning your own humanity/morality, dual timelines!!
summary:
genevieve ward is a vampire who has drifted up and down the east coast of america for the last two centuries. she’s loved, she’s ached, she’s killed, she’s hurt more people than she can count on every finger. and she’s growing weary; weary of a life that has robbed her of every stitch of humanity left in her unbreathing body. most of the people she’s loved in her life are dead, and more often than not, she wishes she were as well.
dylan soto is a thirty year old detective who is relocating to atlanta, georgia to take on a case that threatens to be the worst atlanta has seen. deep in the throes of an existential crisis, nothing can prepare dylan for what she’s going to see in atlanta. but her desire to find meaning in her life outweighs her anxiety.
genevieve and dylan become intertwined in ways that neither of them are prepared for; the case is a little closer to home than genevieve ever imagined it could be. it doesn’t help that the detective on the case is someone who looks so achingly familiar - she’s seen those eyes before. she’s woken up next to them, she’s peered into them as the very life drained from them. she knows dylan, even though dylan has never seen her a day in her life.
the sixth life of genevieve ward tells the stories of both genevieve and dylan; genevieve’s story from the moment she was turned into a vampire, and dylan’s story as she solves the murders that have shaken the city of atlanta. but their stories are much more involved with each other than one might think.
themes & features. ― self-love / self-acceptance ; guilt and loss ; found-family ; religion / faith ; colonialism / classism / racism ; characters of color ; lgbt+
warnings. ― death ; blood
status. ― first(ish) draft
Synopsis.
The country of Paravida and the Republic of Asvenir have a long and intricate history. Once a Paravidian territory, meant to isolate non-magic users, Asvenir has since gained independence, and an delicate peace has fallen between the two nations. But the Paravidian Empire treasures magic users — known as Casters — above all else, and this turbulent peace is threatened when Asvenir leans into its identity as an anti-magic nation and begins executing Casters.
Eladriel is a Saintborn; an aristocrat with ancient and powerful magic few others possess. After unprecedented circumstances leaves her eldest sister Castless, it becomes Eladriel’s duty to take her sister’s place as heir of the family and devote herself to the Church, and the goddess to which she owes her powers. As an apostle of the All-Mother, an ancient deity hidden beneath the earth, Eladriel is tasked with rescuing her Casting brothers and sisters from death at the hands of a nation that opposes and fears their power. But Eladriel’s own Cast is beginning to fade, though no one knows why. Without it, she risks losing not just her faith, but the only world she’s ever known.
Alongside Marisol — one of the Asveni refugees fleeing the country, after a desperate mistake exposes her powers and gets her labeled a fugitive — Eladriel seeks to gain favor of the All-Mother, and the High Priestess who serves her, in hopes of reversing whatever ailment is draining her of her Cast. But the two women’s paths become intertwined when they return to Paravida, and discover it isn’t the wondrous safe-haven they thought it’d be.
As the nation she once called home becomes increasingly hostile and unfamiliar, Eladriel must work with Marisol to stop a war of fear and faith from tearing their two nations apart.
Characters ;
Eladriel. ― 20 ; Saintborn / Earthcaster
The youngest priestess within the Church of the All-Mother, Eladriel is determined to rise within its ranks as quick as possible, both to prove herself and restore her family name. But now she’s losing her Cast, for unknown reasons, and must figure out to gain back her powers before she loses everything she’s worked so hard to gain.
Marisol. ― 21 ; Bloodcaster
Growing up in Asvenir, Marisol knew nothing about magic other than it was dangerous, unnatural, and she was disgusting for possessing it. After upending the peace in her small village and being exposed as a Caster, Marisol escapes to Paravida, where she must learn to control the power she’s hated all her life.
Adin. ― 24 ; Castless
A servant to Eladriel’s family, and a companion to her since childhood. When Eladriel is sent on a mission to Paravida, Adin is sent alongside her as a personal guard. Adin’s family has been working for the Eladriel’s for generations―though his patience for the Saintborn is wearing thin, and his dedication and loyalty is questionable, at best.
Unai. ― 17 ; Bloodcaster
As a young Undercaster growing up in the capitol of Paravida, Unai is well-aware of the hypocrisies of the Paravidian government, and the unjust treatment of those with Casts the Church has deemed contrary to their ideals. They are outspoken and passionate about fighting for their people, and willing to do whatever they must to protect them. They are thrilled when they meets Marisol and are given the opportunity to teach her to use her bloodcaster magic.
Otelle. ― 24 ; Saintborn Castless
Eladriel’s estranged sister, and former priestess of the All-Mother’s church. Otelle was disowned from her Saintborn family when her Cast vanished, and her status as a priestess was stripped from her. However she still works within the church as an assistant. Otelle does whatever she can to aid individuals often disregarded by the church. Though she still mourns the loss of her Cast, and would do anything to get it back.
Ines. ― 19 ; Saintborn / Windcaster
A childhood friend of Eladriel’s, and a priestess-in-training. Much like Eladriel, Ines is wholly dedicated to the church, and aims to one day be High Priestess of the nation. But, centuries after the War of Descent, Saintborn Windcasters are a rare and dying breed, and Ines’ family would rather she devote herself to raising their numbers.
Taglist under the cut [ ask / dm / reply to be added! ]
practice makes perfect, but writing the same thing every day doesn’t always count.
let me clarify this: if you really want to improve your writing, focus on the things you want to improve. take that out of your writing and only do that. for me, i’ve always been bad at dialogue. so i’ve started writing in the form of a play script.
an example of something bad you probably unconcsiously do: i hate worldbuilding. very much. i used to just put it off, focus on character interactions instead. this is the issue: i wrote a lot, but it was always the same thing.
there came a point where i just couldn’t keep going if i didn’t know important parts of my world. so lately i’ve been working on magic systems, and i’m actually starting to like them. next step is the government. i’m going to keep going from there.
tldr: stop putting off writing the parts you’re not good at, and start focusing on improving that aspect of your writing specifically, and things will start to improve.
i'd love to follow more int'l writeblrs that arent based in the US! i'd love to hear about more wips set in different countries! rb this if you're a non-US writeblr and tell me about ur wips!
Gore, violence, body horror, mentions of death, occult, vomiting, paranoia, possible triggering content for body dysmorphia, passing mentions of child neglect. Please let me know if there is ever something I need to add. Horror is meant to be spooky, not triggering.
Themes and Tropes
Found family, trust no one, southern gothic horror, psychological horror, misremembered past, platonic love
Summary
I had hoped my past would have the decency to leave me alone. I spent most of my adult life burying my past, and any spare moments were spent trying to forget. So when I received a letter that seems to have been written by me, to me, from 20 years ago, I’m not impressed. The last thing I wanted to so was unearth my messy history, but when your 11 year old self is begging for help it’s hard to ignore.
Characters
Lilith Rivera: 31, she/her, Private Eye
Carrie Torrance: 30, she/her, Horror Writer
Please send me an ask or message if you are interested in being tagged.
[Infomercial voice] HEY YOU! Do you like Genghis Khan by Miike Snow? Have you ever watched Les Mis and wished Valjean and Javert were GAY? Well, I’ve got the product for you!!
CRAQUELURE follows THE DETECTIVE as she pursues the ever-elusive ART THIEF. Will she catch the crook, or will she find something...more?
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This project will ideally be a short film. That’s right--not a novel, not a short story, an animated short film. For those who don’t know, I studied animation in university, where my thesis project was a short film. I definitely have the ability to animate and produce a short 3~5-minute film. The question is will I be resilience enough to see it through to the end.
The project will also ideally be a music video. That’s right--I’m going to try to write and record a song (I’m losing my confidence as I type this). I’ve tried envisioning CRAQUELURE in a regular scripted format, but the level of drama and ridiculousness I’m envisioning works best in a music video--no dialogue, just visual storytelling. I’ve always had a love for music videos that have a mini movie plot, and I want to try my own hand at it.
Inspirations:
GENGHIS KHAN - Miike Snow
HOUDINI - Foster The People
DON’T STOP - Foster The People
I’m currently working on a shot list / script, and will hopefully have some updates and character designs soon!
If you’re interested to be on the taglist, updates will likely be put either on my art blog @emieclat and my instagram, given the visual nature of the project, but will be reblogged onto this here blog with the taglist.
