Ask The Beholding Writer

This is an ask blog for my OCs for The Magnus Archives. Here, I’ll post up content for these characters (mostly in the form of short stories, but some art too) and answer questions about them. I’ve been working with these characters for a while, and I finally get to share some of their stories based from the Whumptober prompts. It’ll take a bit to get all the profiles up, so please be patient during that process.

As for questions: make sure you specify who the question is for (can be multiple).

LATE - Whumptober Day 23 prompt: What's a Whumpee Gotta do to Get Some Sleep Around Here? - Exhaustion 

Summary: Taelyn has a deadline they need to meet, and has spent the last few days trying to make it. 

Preview:    Taelyn stared blankly at the word document in front of them. They know they need to put something down as the final paragraph. And at this point, anything would be better than nothing. However, the 65th hour of their writing vigil has been starting to get to them. Their head rests in their right hand, eyelids drooping on their own accord, making the words swim in front of them in their vision. Brian was going to kill them… but like, what did he matter anyway? He was an asshole.     “Why are you still up?” comes Astra’s voice from a distance behind Taelyn. She has a hand on her hearing aid, turning it up to a respectable volume.     “I have a deadline and I need to finish this up,” Taelyn groans, turning back to their work. It is just one more sentence.     “…same deadline as yesterday?” they ask the writer.    “Yes. Last day of it. Has to be in Brian’s mailbox before he wakes up.”    “He’s going to notice the time stamp, isn’t he?”   “You think he cares that much?” Taelyn rolls their eyes, and closes their eyes. “He’s not a school teacher. As long as it’s there in the morning…” They wave a hand carelessly in the air.   Astra gives Taelyn a blank stare. She’s the kind of person who knows when something is a bad idea, but doesn’t really know how to address it. “Don’t fall in,” Astra eventually says, heading off to do whatever they’re going to do.

Summary: It's Christmas time, the time of year people go and spend time with their families. It's only natural to also visit those who have moved on as well. Taelyn visits their parents and gets the only closure they can from the dead. Preview: Taelyn plops themself on the couch next to their partner as Wyatt and Diane “discuss” what movie they want to watch. Moira looks at their interaction with humor, putting an arm around Taelyn when they sit down. Taelyn leans into the touch, curling up more around the mug of peppermint tea they have made. “So this is normal?” Moira asks quietly, amusement evident in their voice.  

“This is normal,” Taelyn says with a sigh, “This is also why we don’t play board games. They get… a little too competitive with it.”   

“What about a game of chance, like War?”  

Taelyn sips their tea. “Doesn’t matter. Dad got Mario Party one year, just to have something for the family to do together…” Taelyn grimaces, “It did not end well.”

Whumptober Day 19: "Broken Hearts" - Grief, Survivor's Guilt, Mourning Loved One 

Summary: The day of Kitty's mother's funeral arrives, and that means seeing family. 

Whumptober Day 18: "Panic! At The Disco" - Panic Attack Originally, I think the story was going to line up more with the prompt, and then the following story happened.

Summary: Edmond meets a philosopher in training. 

Whumptober Day 17: "I Did Not See That Coming" - Blackmail 

Summary: Taelyn gets blackmailed and has no idea why. 

Whumptober Day 16: "A Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day" - hallucinations 

Summary: Kitty is trapped in a music box; Taelyn goes in to save her from her from her untimely demise. 

Whumptober Day 15: "Into the Unknown" - Possession, Science gone Wrong

As a note, the science gone wrong is more due to the nature of what is going on. Notes on it at the end of the story.

Summary: Moira, while enjoying a day off wandering the carnival, finds a new and interesting act.

Preview: Moira plays around with a sewing needle they “borrowed” from their mother as they walk around Boston Commons, taking in the sights of the carnival come to town. Not that the city of Boston is ever without some sort of entertainment, however magicians can always use a break and take some inspiration from those who are also a part of the craft. Though, the more recent trend in the current days are escape tricks. And yes, Moira does use the word tricks, because that’s all any of them are. Elaborate tricks, because nearly all of them use a curtain or the actual escape attempt is hidden from plain view. Moira flicks the sewing needle up in the air, and it disappears before landing down. This makes the young magician grin. What are petty tricks when they can use real magic?     A certain sign catches Moira’s eye. “Lady Ulra, Mystic of the Spider”. On the poster is a woman wearing a black dress, gorgeously donned with silver trimmings. She wears a veil, and in her hand is a silver pocket watch. Intriguing. The tent itself isn’t that impressive, just another dot on the backdrop of the commons. This peaks Moira’s interest all the more. Most people are very flashy and want people to notice their act. This is rather quiet. Passive.

Whumptober Day 14: Is Something Burning? - fire 

Summary: Kitty finds a mysterious figure in the middle of the forest. 

Preview: Kitty plays around with the ring she found earlier that day as she sits in the near pitch black darkness, only illuminated by the flashlight she brought with her. She likes the feel of it in her hand; it’s a weighty thing. It’s too big for her to wear yet, but maybe in a few years, when she grows up a little. She has no idea what the words are, but they feel important. She is reminded of her grandmother on her mother’s side, the words feel like her.     She couldn’t sleep, and she didn’t want to be in the cabin anymore. She wanted to explore a bit, but she didn’t get far because of how dark it is in the forest. So, Kitty will settle being outside. The night is warm, but not in any uncomfortable way. It certainly is a lot cooler from what it was during the daytime. Looking up through the trees, certain stars peek through. All is calm, except for a feeling Kitty cannot explain.

Whumptober Day 13: “Breathe In, Breathe Out”

For this prompt, I used the title as inspiration more than the suggestions.

Summary: Wyatt has an encounter in the middle of the forest.

Preview: There is a secret sort of path to the local mall that the Haywood kids used to use all the time. It’s through the forest, and over the Charles river, but it’s a lot quicker and more exciting than waiting for their parents to drive them over there. The path was safe enough, so long as they watched their footing and went slow on the bridge over the river. It certainly wasn’t an official thing, and Taelyn had slipped in there more than once, but no real harm ever came to the three Haywood kids. The river wasn’t as perilous as the ocean can be, and they all knew how to swim well.    Over the past several years, Wyatt had gotten into the habit of petty shoplifting. Never anything major: cheap chap-stick, a Wonderball, those colorful shiny rocks that natural museums have. He wasn’t in it for the items themselves; he did it for the thrill of just doing so. He used to just do it back in their hometown of Truro, with the local shops there because it was fun (though Taelyn would make sure he returned the stuff). When they moved to Watertown, Wyatt had avoided his favorite past time. Bigger place, bigger punishments. However, with Taelyn gone… well, he needed something fun to do.    Today’s shoplifted item is a hand-sized metallic lunch-box filled with food shaped erasers. It was in a prime location, and everyone was busy with more important sales, considering it was the holiday season. The snow crunched under his feet as he ran through the path. He was lucky it was snowing, just in case someone tried to track him down. But really, who cared about something so small?

Whumptober Day 12: "I Think I've Broken Something" - broken trust 

Summary: After years of cat and mouse, Diane and Wyatt finally talk out their feelings. 

Whumptober Day 11: “Psych 101″ - struggling

This one is more of a creative liberty day based on the title.

Summary: Edmond is yeeted into the Vast. 

Whumptober Day 9: “For the Greater Good” - take me instead

Guess who cannot read and got days wrong? But that’s ok! No time like the present

Summary: Kitty finds out why her mother has kept a music box secret for all her life. 

Preview: There is a music box that Kitty’s mother has always had in her possession. It is a handheld objects, easily done so within two hands. It is an ornately decorated thing: a wooden box painted black and ordained with gold out-linings. Kitty has always believed that at one point, there were jewels that decorated the outside of it as well, due to the odd gaps in the gold decoration.     Kitty’s mother never talks about the music box, and often keeps it hidden somewhere in the her bedroom. Kitty has always been curious as to what is inside it. It has to be something important, if her mother tries to keep it secret. There is only one thing that has kept her from ever going through with opening it, and it is the ominous feeling that the box radiates. Something isn’t right with it. 

Whumptober Day 10: “They Look So Pretty When They Bleed” - blood loss

Summary: Diane has been cooped up for too long so her fellow hunters take her out on a hunting day trip. 

Whumptober Day 8: “Where Did Everybody Go?” - isolation

Summary: Taelyn contemplates their life, and is taken by the Lonely. 

Preview: Despite it being the middle of August, it has been a chilly morning, with a fog outside covering the whole city. None of the news broadcasts that Taelyn has heard have talked about it, or even acknowledged it. It is supposed to be a hot day, in the high nineties. Could have fooled Taelyn. 

Whumptober Day 7: “I’ve Got You” - support

Summary: Matthew finds Edmond in a precarious state; Edmond isn't fully human anymore.