Here's to wishing all my watchers a happy and safe holiday!

New carpet came today, old nails protruding from 30-year old lining. Was awake at 8:15 for the event, took hours for people to show up.

Last night, had thoughts about 'novel' again. Now that Helena is taken care of, Xenophon is the focus. Have no idea what the Fallen One could do, what his goals are. Possible world subversion? Already been done. Already had ideas concerning souls battling over a new vessel for the RPG world--wanted to use similar idea for the 'novel,' but am thinking now that I might reuse some of the RPG characters. Either way, the writing will be similar idea-wise, but want some additional ideas to change things up so people aren't reading the same thing twice.

Original thoughts were that the Fallen One was originally the ' patron' god of clan. After being corrupted somehow (belief systems, something), he was killed and needed purification. A small part of the soul remained and became the first clan Oracle. However, the Fallen One can't be purified after they try and the best they can do is divide it between two bodies. What exactly it would do once it got a new body and is fully rejoined is uncertain. In my RPG, something similar happened, except that the soul attached to the body can be used as a weapon. Said weapon can still corrupt the user and take over the body. This is where the need for new ideas come in. While one's a modern setting and the other more medieval, I need to change things up enough so it's not the same exact thing twice. Similar is okay (I'm only one person and not that creative when it comes down to it), but exactly the same is annoying.

In the RPG, the corrupt first knight's soul and memories are kept separate. If those rejoin, the body of the current bearer is overtaken and brains are mentally (psychically) damaged left and right. I want something a little different for the main bad guy in my 'novel.'

I was first thinking that the Fallen God can corrupt other souls in the ether and through that also corrupt living souls already in bodies, but that might be too powerful. Now I'm thinking along more subtle lines, but have no idea what to do. I want something that isn't too overdone (either by myself or others) and gripping to the reader.

Overtired. Overworked. Need ideas, suggestions welcome. Going to go fall over before work.

Yesterday was spent getting/wrapping Christmas gifts. Cookie making will come fairly soon, and work will be ramping the hours up accordingly within the next couple of weeks. I've run out of energy for this time of year anymore, I really have. >> I believe most of my gifts are secure, though some peoples' might be late this year due to reasons that are out of my control.

On the writing front, I have a lot of ideas. RP funtimes continue, and I realized the other day Helena, when she's written, will probably remind me of a minor RP character I have and don't plan on reusing for anything else after said RP is over. I've been writing out Helena's strengths and weaknesses, and plan to have these typed out fairly soon, along with, if I'm feeling adventurous, a small writing snippet to give people a better idea on how I plan to put those strengths/weaknesses into play. Now I'm wondering if I'm making her a little too much like the Oracle in some ways, but we'll see when the snippet-thing is typed out. Maybe because they're somewhat alike is why they don't get along at first. I'll be adding to it as I go along, so I can always tweak if it comes down to it, but I think her overall prissy behavior is what distinguishes her from him. She's used to a more comfortable, stable lifestyle (most people in the Oracle's clan don't have that), so that getting ruined for her makes Helena afraid and somewhat indignant.

Today is Sunday. This means increased pay to the hours I work. But it also means a lot of people coming in, a long shift, and the last 3 hours will be spent with nothing to do since everyone is buying for the football game (argh) and then going on their merry ways in time for dinner. I'm going to be dead by the time this shift is over, and then I'm getting extra hours this week because my manager has 'dentist appointments.' Two in a row. For the sixth time in about two months. Yeeeeah.

Yesterday's weather was snowy, sleeting, and rainy. Not a good combo.

I think that something concrete's finally come through for Helena in terms of personality. Background, I'm still tweaking and messing around with, but the long and the short of it's that she was raised in a noble household as the child to one of its many servants. Her mother, father and brother all work there. The woman who owns the place is free with her money and a little eccentric, so she treats her servants more like family (since she doesn't have much of her own that she sees often) rather than, well, servants. Because of that, Helena is a bit on the prissy side, a little OCD (because of keeping certain schedules as a servant), and not meant to be too likable at the start of the story, but she'll change later.

She is a Taker (read previous journal entry if you don't know what I'm talking about there), but has problems with how her abilities work and therefore, after the original owner's nephew takes the place over, she and her brother end up traveling together for a few years before her issues get to the point where she needs to travel back home to see into getting them fixed. However, she learns the fix isn't as easy as she'd hoped, and so needs a place to stay and a job. She takes one at the king's palace as his servant, and from there meets the Oracle.

Now I need to decide how well she knows the capital city where the palace is--the spot where she lived could have been outside of the capital city on one of the noble land holdings and so it was her first time seeing the city. Or, she could have been there before, having lived closer to it--but after political uprisings the place could be different to the point where she doesn't recognize it anymore.

I also need to give her friends. No man's an island, after all. She'll be friends with Isktyr's caretaker Istas, and I'm also thinking one or two of the other servant girls, but I haven't developed things that far yet so side characters are almost non-existent in my head as of now. And it might be awhile, too, since I'm doing something on one of 's characters and the contest entry.

Work decided to cut my days off because my only other coworker besides my manager has midterms, so that gives me less time to work on things than I'd like. I think if I accomplish the contest entry and other short for by the start of next year, I'll be doing something. But I did get a nice visual of Istas taking Helena for some kind of rudimentary weapons training since she's looking after his cousin and he's worried his cousin will be attacked while he might not be there (or something like that, it's a scene whose details I need to hash out more). He hands her a dagger. She, never having held one, looks at it, then him, and asks, 'Isn't this somewhat...barbaric?' or similar.

At least now my head has *something* in it I might be able to work with. I never said it was good. But we'll see where it goes, I'm just trying out some ideas to see how they 'fit.' I've run them past a couple people already, who said it sounded good.

Now, off to work. Again.

Before I begin, check out my previous journal featuring my friend and talented artist, . Plenty of interesting works there and in her gallery.

[link]

Moving right along, I've been filling the past couple of weeks with getting my contest entry kicked off, thinking of doing a (very) short piece concerning one of 's paintings, and need to get around to doing more RP stuff for character backgrounds and plot points. Helena has also been bugging me and I've come up with more stuff for her and her background. Not sure if it feels right in the long haul, but I guess for now I can try it and see if it 'meshes.' No matter what I come up with for her, one point (aside from being confused as all hell in regards to what she wants), she strikes me as the type to have the advantage/flaw of acting content with a situation when she isn't so as to not examine her deeper feelings/lose her mind. but I'll see where that takes me once I have this other stuff out of the way. Though, I would be remiss to say there isn't some part of my mind that wants to make her a brat in the beginning with no real empathy until it's shoved down her throat via some painful experiences...Bah, still have no idea what to do since it keeps changing in my head no sooner do I have an idea.

Contest entry is coming along somewhat well, though now I'm having a case of writer's ADD and really wanting to get started on my other idea for characters that aren't mine. Argh. Later in the week my mother's birthday is coming up and I have yet to get her a gift. More argh.

I wish I had more time to myself without constant interruptions.