update, and a lot of original fic babbling

[luciazephyr]

Hi. /waves

Still alive. Still dealing. Haven't moved yet, but it really is just a matter of time. Mum's looking into getting a lawyer and doing the whole surrender house in lieu of deed thing. So. There's that. Thanks much to everyone for the kind words and especially for the advice. It's been a huge help.


I've sadly not been writing. I'm still hovering right below critical mass for my stress level and am just trying to keep calm and carry on. I do feel rather guilty about not having written anything, especially since I promised the end of the MoC hiatus. I can only say that I'll get to it as soon as I can.


Mass Effect 3 is dropping in two days. I'm going to be at the midnight release. So. Pumped. You have no idea, guys. The ME series is among the most important media I've ever seen. I know ME3 is going to disappoint in some areas (what they're doing with EDI has me furious) but the sheer scale, the level of execution, the ambition, and the way they've crafted a story that spans the universe but still feels so personal? BioWare, I am impressed. Don't fuck this up.


I haven't been writing, but I have been thinking. I've been chewing over my origific in my head a lot lately, fleshing out the characters. I mentioned before that I was leaning on the tarot imagery for some inspiration in the story. Still true, but in a much broader sense. I've been reading Rachel Pollack's 78 Degrees of Wisdom and it's been invaluable food for thought.

So, for the curious, here's a basic rundown of my main cast, as I see them so far.


Alistair Treharne, Scholar
Mental casting: Misha Collins

Polyvore clothing template (shut up, I was bored and sick): A mix of formal and professorial. Carries a wand. Wears an honest-to-god cape when its cold out.

What I know about Alistair: Oh god. Alistair. My grumpy, solitary, perpetually annoyed magus.

Alistair's job is this: Learn. Goddamn. Everything. And he's been doing it for a few hundred years. He is a keeper of knowledge and when something big and nasty threatens the populace, he is one of the people who may be called to singlehandedly take care of it. He was raised and trained at a very young age at the Treharne Institute (see: his surname-- the last name from his birth was struck from the records). He understood the innate way the triumvirate of power, agency, and knowledge work better than most mortals by the time he hit puberty.

He expands his knowledge and sits on his power until it is needed. He only uses magic when his quiet way of life is threatened (or to make his tea kettle heat up faster). Scholars are not meant to use magic until necessary; it's seen as foolish and wasteful. (See note below on How Magic Works in this universe for more on the why.)

Al has a big house. It's filled with books of lore and his own journals, as Scholars are obligated to write down their findings so their knowledge can be passed onto their successor. He has an old, old car in his yard, though he's not allowed to drive, having had his license revoked in every state he's resided in. The car's called Elzabeth the Second. Elzabeth the First is a horse that still lives in his garage, watching TV and lazing about. Alistair's had her for a rather long time.

Outside Elzabeth, Alistair is alone without being lonely. He keeps to himself, does his work, and when he must venture out he wears a forget-me pendant that blurs the memory of anyone he interacts with so no one gets familiar with him.

Nothing but his duties interests him in the long term. He's not adventurous. He doesn't do relationships, and is a virgin with zero shame on the matter. It's not until impossible Tracy stumbles into his life that he gives anything outside his little world any attention.

Tracy Richards, the impossible woman
Mental Casting: Tracie Thoms

Polyvore clothing template: Warm foresty greens and browns. Jeans, tees, a satchel-- nothing stands out as interesting.

What I know about Tracy: Every character serves a purpose and every character has their own voice. Tracy needs more bolstering in the voice department, but I'm working on that.

As a device, Tracy is already set in stone: she is the most extreme example of a Badass Normal, in that she is exceptional and amazing because her normality. There is nothing strange about her. She is completely and utterly lacking in magical talent and potential. She is the only creature in air, sea, or land that is so. And as magic is conductive, she is immune to magic completely. Which makes her impossible and fascinating to Alistair.

Tracy comes from a family of doctors (father is a GP who runs a practice in the suburbs, mother is a surgeon who works at the hospital). She was going to become one herself until she crossed paths with Alistair. Upon witnessing him dispatch some manner of creature, she needed to find him and spent over a year trying to hunt him down. She had it in her head he was some sort of demon slayer; when it turned out he gave zero fucks about anything that didn't interrupt his work, she was disappointed.

She eventually succeeded in meeting Alistair. Being swept into the world of magic hasn't affected her as much as it should've; magic cannot resonate with her, so none of it impresses her, not Alistair, not Jonquil, not the Lord of the Hunt. To her, it's about as interesting as medical school was.

But when she become aware of the things that go bump in the night, she wants to help others protect themselves from them. And if she has to drag Alistair kicking and screaming to help her, she will.

The hardest thing to nail down about her is her personality, because the entire concept of her is middle-of-the-road. She's clever without being too smart. She's strong-willed without being stubborn. She's spiritual without being religious. She's curious, but only to a fault. Magic, and by extension life in this universe hinges on power, agency, and knowledge. Every being has an unequal amount of each. Tracy has all three in equal amounts. Or is it that she has none at all? When imbalances are the keystone of any being, does it make a difference?


Donovan, bastard son of the Lord of the Hunt
Mental Casting: For the moment, Michael Fassbender.

Polyvore clothing template: A flashy earring, worn boots, a helmet with tinted visor, and a Moto Guzzi.

What I know about Donovan: The opposite of Tracy- I know about his personality, but not his role. Hell, even his name is very much subject to change in the future.

The initial concept was a knight in shining armor on a white steed. Except not a noble knight, but a cool, crafty warrior who'll fight as soon for sport than for profit or cause. Except not in shining armor, but a leather jacket, though the creature that hide came from probably can't be found outside the Lord of the Hunt's lands. Except not a white steed, because motorcycles are faster. So, nothing like a knight in shining armor except in function: every once in a while, he does an act of kindness and saves the day. Mostly because it annoys Alistair.

Donovan is old, even older than Alistair. He's seen a lot of blood, and has gotten plenty on his own hands. He's not a bad guy, but not a good guy. He appreciates skill and joie de vivre. Very much an existentialist, his main philosophy is that nothing we do matters, so all that matters is what we do. His only constraint on his own actions is that he not wake up the next day with an ounce of shame.

So he's content being hired muscle. Assassin, bodyguard, thief-- anything you want, if you can pay he will probably do it. There's a need to hunt in his blood, and taking on such jobs helps quiet that.

When he meets Alistair and Tracy, he saves their lives, knowing a Scholar would want to do away with someone like him, but would be bound to repay a debt first. Once he has Alistair indebted to him, he never lets Al pay it off. In fact, he compounds it when he can, and never asks for anything in return. It's good fun to see Alistair twitch, and one of the few things Donovan hasn't experienced in his long life is the company of a Scholar. Might as well take his chances while he can.

Worth noting I keep typing "she" instead of "he" here. Been toying with the idea of a more gender fluid Donovan.

Jonquil, medium
Mental casting: Erm. A mix of Anjulie, Deepika Padukone, and Felicia Porter.

Polyvore clothing template: Ass-kicking boots, bold colors, beads, and The Sunglasses.

What I know about Jonquil: Mediums are a special brand of magus. It's one of the only magical fields that you have to be born into. Rumor says that mediums are scionic, and only a certain blend of mortal and immortal blood gives them their sight, but only the Scholars would know for sure as the mediums refuse to say.

Jonquil's the latest in a long line of mediums, and something of an iconoclast, even among mediums. Most of her kind find their work through careful research and deep ties in the spiritual community (both religious houses and spirits themselves), piecing clues together and finding errant ghosts to banish. On the other hand, Jonquil's a product of her generation. She has a Craiglist account, a Twitter, and is eternally connected to her phone. She only takes on bothersome ghosts so she can collect commission and is not above prodding restless ghosts into causing a ruckus if it'll make her paid. A bit of a protection racket, but what police officer would believe it?

She wears a pair of special sunglasses at all times. Her perception of ghostly presence is visual, and she can see the auras or every human around her. Working in a large city means she is constantly surrounded by bright, radiant lights that cause dehabilitating migraines. The sunglasses protect her, dimming the lights, but leaving her effectively blind. (I'm aware such a character needs to be handled carefully and plan to do much research before even attempting to write her in a serious context.) Her ghost and best friend, Liv, aids her in getting around.

Jonquil is a mix of gregarious and solitary. She's sharp, borderline acerbic, and extremely self-centered-- not in the sense that she feels herself superior, but in such a way that every interaction she has with others serves a purpose. If you don't entertain her, aren't a good source of information, or cannot further her cause in any way, she may as well stay home and watch some movies with Liv. Liv, the ghost she will not send, is her closest friend, but also is useful to her, whether by guiding her, keeping her schedule, or whatever other task she gives him.

Jonquil's ghost, Olivier, better known as Liv
Mental casting: Arthur Darvill

Polyvore clothing template: Lots of washed out colors and functionality. Carries a book to keep track of Jonquil's appointments.

What I know about Liv: He is Jonquil's shadow, and her eyes when she cannot see. Call him a seeing-eye ghost or call him too attached to his medium to move on like a good departed soul. He's heard it all, every reason he should move on from Jonquil's people and every reason he should wreck havoc from his fellow ghosts.

None of it registers with him. Maybe he's gone a bit mad from isolation. Whoever he once was, he died long ago in an old movie theatre and barely noticed. He remained, haunting, watching decades of films, wondering why no one noticed him and why he never had to pay for his tickets. After some time, he stopped wondering anything at all.

It was only when Jonquil saw him that he remembered he existed. His memories of a human life were lost long ago, not even a name remaining. He remembered more about actors than himself; Jonquil dubbed him Olivier, or Liv, after Sir Lawrence.

Liv tends to be friendly to anyone who can see him, is bemused that anyone can. He knows a lot about films and little about anything else, and considering he's a ghost he quite enjoys sleeping, though whether his slumber is genuine or artifice is anyone's guess.


A note about magic:

I'm still sussing out the system of magic in my head, but I have a few basic tenets figured out so far.

1. Power. Knowledge. Agency. Foundation of all life and, by extension, all magic. Normal humans tend to have a lot of agency with little power to bad it up and no knowledge to use it. Magus have more knowledge and power, so can use magic in a concentrated manner. Immortal beings like the Lord of the Hunt would have a ton of power and knowledge with little agency, as magic is more who they are than something they do.

2. Scholars' and their magic stores. Something from the Magician analysis in Pollack's book gave me this idea. Magic can build in a person, much like static electricity can. It can build and build and build. Usually, we discharge it before it gets too harmful; we can feel the tension, and we ground that energy and pass it back into the world. Scholars though, they aren't meant to do that. They're meant to hold onto their power until it's needed. This isn't a very pleasant experience and is part of why Alistair is so fucking grumpy.

Deeper in the story, when Tracy's got Alistair being proactive and doing things, it may lead to a point where Alistair needs to pull out the big magical gun to save the day but finds he can't because he's been using his talents too often. Whoops.

3. Scholars and why they are important. Alistair explains to Tracy that magic is like an unmapped landscape. People who use certain types of magic understand their 'area' of the landscape better than others. Magus who live by the alchemic lake know the waystones around it and where the water is too deep. Ectomancers know their forest is thick and dark and easy to be lost in, but can find their way regardless. No one knows how to traverse every paths, but most know the ones they travel the most. They know the tools needed for their crafts and explore their immediate vicinity until they are experts.

Scholars, though, know old trails long overtaken by the undergrowth. They walk roads without markers, through rough terrain that would kill any other magus. They keep the old, almost-forgotten ways so when they are needed, they are not wholly lost.



jfc, that was a lot of writing. hope it was somewhat interesting. bedtime now.