#also this is ultimately a hobby and is supposed to be FUN. ive been trying to not stress about it.

[neonun-au]

hi mads!! your writing is amazing 🥹 i think you’re really good at describing a story’s setting in a way that creates a vivid image of the scene but nothing too wordy that i would get bored as a reader. i want to start writing too (as someone starting in my late 20’s, it’s a bit.. lol) but when i do it, it’s either lacking or just too plain boring whenever i describe where the characters are or what they’re doing. do you have any tips?

thank you ! i appreciate that haha creating an image is sort of my main goal in writing. imagery and emotion, ultimately. so im glad that it is sort of paying off for at least some people haha

first of all !! nothing wrong with starting to write at any age. there is no wrong or right time to come to a hobby or an interest. murakami didnt start writing at all until he was 29, and he's not the only one. obvs this is fanfic and not like...literature, but i think maybe that just makes it more fun. and the process and act itself is ultimately the same. its all writing.

i have a few more concrete tips, i suppose ! for me it is incredibly important to make the writing have purpose. your words are meant to be conveying something. a feeling, an emotion, a deeper understanding of the setting or character or plot. figure out what youre trying to say, and then go from there. it helps to tie things into sensory experiences.

what are the characters feeling (like...touch wise). is the sweater theyre wearing wool (rough and scratchy) and cloying at their skin? does it give a feeling of suffocation? or is it loose and breezy, like silk or a light linen? like air lifting the fabric into the air.

what can they see and how does it tie into what youre trying to say? words all have different connotations. the light is either blinding or its bathing you in yellow. maybe theyre the same in actuality, but in feeling and emotion theyre very different.

what can they hear, taste, smell?

those are all things that tie me back into scenes and ground me as a reader and a writer in the story. i prefer a very evocative sort of style. very much show vs tell (though you do sometimes have to tell, especially if its just a short fic). flowery, but not so much that it drowns the writing and the purpose of what youre trying to say. that then throws off the pacing and distracts the reader.

ultimately, it really does just come down to time and practise and patience. ive been writing literally since the second grade (with some huge gaps in between but writing and literature has always been a love of mine), so you have to give yourself time to learn to write in more nuanced ways. it doesnt really come naturally for most people. it is a skill, not an innate talent.

reading a lot from people whose writing you admire is also a hugely important way to learn ! reading more critically, seeing how their words weave together to create the story and the feelings within the story. on the flipside, reading writing from people whose style you dont like is also good ! you can do the opposite. sort of pick it apart and figure out exactly what it is in their writing that doesnt resonate for you.

this is a lot of rambling, but really its very helpful to read, other peoples work and your own! and dont be afraid to write things that you maybe dont think are that great. not everything is going to be great, or even good. i would say i actively dislike or am highly critical of at least 60-70% of my writing LOL but you have to write those in order to finally get to the good stuff. the good news is, this is just fanfiction. its all for fun. were not being paid and we get to just sort of play around with the prose as we see fit !

just try something, hope for the best, and if it doesnt work out then youve still learned something simply by the act of writing it !

[orcelito]

Chapter 16 of discacc was by far my least favorite chapter to write bc of several reasons & thus every time I reach it in my rereads I'm like "ughhh do I have to" bc rereading it just reminds me of that lol

Last reread tho I remember being like "ykno what this is actually pretty good" so maybe it won't be so bad

[kiwi-astrology]

Sun in the Composite Chart

The sun in a composite chart represents the ego of the connection. What is your guys goal together? Why does this connection exist?

->The composite chart works for all relationships (family members, platonic, romantic, work related, etc.). While there is potential with the energy, remember it is created mutually with time!

(ALSO! These are just my mere interpretations and observations as I have been researching/reading various com. charts of people I know!)

Aries: Aries sun in the composite chart is all about the thrill. This relationship exists because of the youthful energy you both possess when together. Your goal together is to seek fun and feel like a child again. I have noticed that this placement is found in a lot of younger siblings (with big families) or casual friends. This is a very lighthearted placement. There may be a tendency for the energy to burn out once the spontaneity ends.

Taurus: Taurus sun in the composite is all about comfort. This relationship exists to remind the parties to slow down and appreciate life. There is a very fond connection between the two, as well as mutual support. This tends to be a long lasting energy, even if people depart. These connections can become sensual as well.

Gemini: Gemini sun in the composite is all about friendship. This relationship exists because of the recognition each party has for the others quirkiness. Even in romantic relationships, this connection will be light and playful. There’s a lot of mental stimulation and exploration in these connections.

Cancer: Cancer sun in the composite is all about reassurance. This relationship exists so that both people know they have someone to protect them. There is a strong sense of comfort in cancer sun composites. The involved parties are very fond of each other and want to endlessly support each other.

Leo: Leo sun in the composite is all about the highest self. This relationship exists to boost the confidence of both individuals. With a Leo sun in the composite, the energy created is an illumination of the ego. Both people want to hype each other up and encourage growth. They want the best for each other.

Virgo: Virgo sun in the composite is all about lessons. This relationship exists to allow both parties to learn something new from each other. Ive noticed that there tends to be a comfortable distance between the two parties as they analyze each other. Nevertheless, they find the other intriguing and a topic worth exploring.

Libra: Libra sun in the composite is all about romance. This relationship exists to invite beauty and love into both parties lives. This is an ideal placement for romantic relationships, but it brings a sweetness to any connection. No matter what, both parties will always try to see the goodness in each other. They tend to be very flirty with their energy.

Scorpio: Scorpio sun in the composite is all about insight. This relationship exists to probe into the hidden areas of each other and heal. There is a raw vulnerability of Scorpio sun in the composite that brings comfort to the unknown. These people tend to share many secrets, but can sometimes keep things from each other on purpose. This occurs if one feels ‘taken advantaged’ of due to the inability to conceal darkness in these connections.

Sagittarius: Sagittarius sun in the composite is all about expansion. This relationship exists to remind the people of everything they overlook in their own life. The energy created appreciates the vibrancy of creation and new experiences. These people love to travel and try new things together. It’s an endless journey between the two.

Capricorn: Capricorn sun in the composite is all about ambition. This relationship exists to reach success and complete desired goals. These people create an energy of purpose that seeks to accomplish. This placement is very binding until both people feel that they have reached the desired goal. There are certain expectations in these relationships as they hold each other to a high standard.

Aquarius: Aquarius sun in the composite is all about acceptance. This relationship exists to express individuality and fully accept each other. There is a lot of zesty energy and the two may love to innovate/create together. There is rarely harsh judgement but rather encouragement to pursue grand visions.

Pisces: Pisces sun in the composite is all about healing. This relationship exists to ascend the parties into higher awareness. The people involved gain deeper understandings of themselves because of the other person. It’s like seeing right through any facade and nurturing the forgotten wounds. I have noticed, however, these relationships sometimes end with one person wronging or taking advantage of the other.

In the houses!

Composite sun in the first house deals with individuality. Appreciation for the others goals and egos is emphasized. Seldom do the parties attempt to change the other. This placement can sometimes indicate one person inspiring the other to create a stronger identity for themselves (if that makes sense lol).

Composite sun in the second house deals with security. There is a lot of power for one person to influence the other persons self-worth. The energy is steady and everlasting, as both people feel comfortable early on in the connection. The people involved can really raise (or hurt) each other’s self-esteem/confidence!

Composite sun in the third house deals with youth. Similar to Gemini sun in the composite, this placement is great for friendships. There’s a lot of communication and humor involved. These people don’t take each other seriously, but in the best way. I also find this placement indicates that the people involved begin to steal each other’s lingo/hobbies, it’s so cute.

Composite sun in the fourth house deals with family. This could indicate people that become apart of your family or who feel like family. Typically, these people care immensely for each other and the connection feels natural. The fourth house is the deepest part of life, so there is a chance to really open deep wounds (in a good or bad way).

Composite sun in the fifth house deals with creativity. The connections are great for working together on creative projects, or for creating fun memories. I’ve found that sometimes there’s comparison in the connection about clashing talents/egos. I’ve also found that the people appreciate the others talent. This placement reveals itself differently in all charts.

Composite sun in the sixth house deals with routine. It could be common for people to have composite sun in the sixth house to regularly see each other and work with each other. One thing I have noticed is a tendency for one person to put themselves above the other. It could also indicate one person helping another with mental or physical health.

Composite sun in the seventh house deals with lovers and enemies. This is such a powerful placement that manifests in such extreme ways. These people can almost feel like they’re supposed to be in a relationship. The people involved understand the others power and ultimately want to work with them or against them.

Composite sun in the eighth house deals with karma. There could be unexplainable reasons why you guys stay in a connection together, but you do nonetheless. This placement may indicate inheriting money from each other or feeling obligated to help one another. The people involved are probably fairly vulnerable with each other.

Composite sun in the ninth house deals with experience. The two will definitely learn a lot from each other, but especially through physical experiences! They will probably ask a lot of questions within the connection and have a goal of expanding their mind. A lot of teacher-student energy created. One person may try to get the other to do a lot of new things out of their comfort zone.

Composite sun in the tenth house deals with accomplishment. This placement is common in a lot of public/famous couples. Your guys connection will be hard to keep secret, and could involve a lot of other people. Being together may manifest an energy that boosts your own image or success. You guys may create a lot of grandiose goals together.

Composite sun in the eleventh house deals with awareness. This placement may bring many new thoughts or wishes into the pair’s life that they disregarded before. This is the one placement I couldn’t find a lot of physical examples for, which was interesting. However, expect growth with the energy of this connection and a newfound appreciation for humane and hopeful things.

Composite sun in the twelfth house deals with the subconscious. This is personally my favorite placement for the sun (in platonic & romantic relationships). A spiritual and everlasting bond ties the two together. This allows for intense healing and revaluations for both people involved. These two people tend to understand each other in a way others can’t, which is very powerful and intimidating. For the brightest planet that surrounds the ego to be placed in the darkest house that rejects ego is very symbolic and intriguing to me. This placement is definitely unforgettable. I’ve found that this placement in celebrity couples leads to a private relationship, but successful.

I hope these were insightful! I think using composite charts to see how certain relationships can work out (work, siblings, parents, friends, etc.) is really interesting! I’m not 100% good with this type of chart yet, but I have been doing a lot of research :)

[bunnykass]

INARIZAKI AS FEELING IVE HAD WITH GUYS IN HIGH SCHOOL

this was supposed to be funny but became very reflective and sorta emotional for me. therapeutic tho😌

TW: mentions of underage n*des, cursing, grammar and spell errors

KITA - the senior in my law class freshman year.

He was country, would wear cowboy boots to class and levi’s (i live in texas). He was a eagle scout. very sweet boy. always brought coffee in those cups to class,and he drove a range rover. i’d share sunflower seeds with him all the time and id make fun of him cause instead of breaking the shell and eating the inside, he’d just eat the shit whole. but like i said he was 18 and I was 14. more of crush we never really did anything, one time though he did argue with me on snapchat about immigration and the annexation of hawaii. He had a brother who was a freshman, and in the beginning of the second seamstress I would flirt with him but again me and never did anything.

OMINI - my freshman english teacher

(tw mentions of sexual assault, grooming, teacher-student relationship)

LMAOO. i had just gotten really into lolita (gross🤮) and so I would literally talk to older guys on the internet (one time i met up with marine even though I was like 15) ANYWAY, so when I started his class i was like damn we about to have a ezra and aria shit. he was super nice to “pretty girls” and “pretty boys” what I mean by that if you weren’t the beauty standard, he was kinda a dick to you. one time he pissed me off though cause he lost a assignment, made me re-do it but only gave me a 70, and i lost interest in him after that. he also accused me of defamation of character because i found his mugshot and was showing everyone.btw he was accused of SEXUAL ASSUALT??? but apparently the mugshot was fake or wasn’t him i don’t remember. he never counted me late or absent tho

ARAN - my best friend

been friends with this kid sense 8th grade. He was in love with this girl though that was leading him on all though out middle school but i really had a crush on him by the time high school started he had gotten over her. when we were freshmen’s he told the whole football team I was a whore cause i wouldn’t send him nudes (i know this sounds bad but i promise it wasn’t plus this was 3-4 years ago) so we didn’t talk to each other till summer going into sophomore year. me and him are still friends and we literally hang out almost every weekend, i love him and he’s loves me. he’s very thing i’d want in a boyfriend but because we’ve been friends for so long doing intimate things with each other like sex seems weird. While we both wish we could be in a relationship we both realstically know it wouldn’t work :(. <3

GINJIMA - my freshmen boyfriend

had fallen in love with me when like school started but like my best friend aran said, i was whoreing’ (not really tho cause i’m still a virgin) so when he asked me to homecoming I was like no. but eventually through out the school year me and him got closer we had like 3 classes together, 2 of them were back to back so we were jus cute like that. my first legit relationship, he was nerdy as hell and the biggest fucking dork. my freshmen year I was what the yt would call a hot cheeto girl and i weighed a lot more back then and he was 6’2-skinny white boy so we fucking looked like glora and melman from madagascar. were like discord moderator and daddy’s kitten shit. he was funny but he was really mean to me and because i was very insecure at the time i lacked setting boundary’s so i’d just take it. he also bought me a roku which i still have today, he was always buying me shit, and i taught him how to take dick pics. he was the first guy that didn’t just like me for my fat tits but i felt like the only way i could keep him around was by oversexualizing myself which ultimate let to him breaking up with me :( honestly no hard feelings though we were both like 15. him an his current girlfriend are so cute, and me and him are cool.

this is a conversation we had a few weeks ago.

SUNA - my yubo boys

my take away from being in highschool is guys do not give a shit about what you look like or how you’re built, unless they’re insecure, and also self-worth. I got on yubo my sophomore year and had it till my junior year. if you don’t know what yubo is its essentially a teen dating app. now i never went to meet these guys irl i have friends who did... and i just want to stay ted bundy would’ve had a field day with these hoes but would engage in online sexting. which ig is illegals cause i was still under 18. at this point in my life i was just so insecure and seeking male validation that i was throwing ass for people over the internet to people i would never meet. this isn’t one person either this is a collective of i don’t even know how many boys. i feel sick thinking about this but i cant take it back and i just have to encourage my sister and potentially future daughters about this.

Miya twins - my tower moments

these two, like the miya twins are very similare but different. I consider them both tower moments because after them two i change completely how i viewed myself and life. if you aren’t familer with tarot the tower card represents sudden and necessary changes usually the situation tends to me negatives and the outcome following is good. these two are also my most recent compared to the other and i’m still dealing with them today which is why i wanted to give a lil intro. idk if yall believe in astrology but those two have gemini in there big 3 and idk i feel like that has a lot to do with our situationship

OSAMU- my theater teachers son

so technically majority of our relationship was middle school but it carried into high school.he was so mean to me up until 8th grade like i said he was my theater teachers son, and he hated her class. at that time his family had so many issues and i think he didn’t have a outlet. my brother had died around the same time so i too was going through shit. while our issues weren’t the same he definitely confined in me a lot and trusted me with so many things, i don’t think a boy/guy ever just laid everything on me like that and it wasn’t in a “be my therapist” kinda way. he fucked up though, we were in musical theater behind the stage in a closet. his mom was just a couple feet away in the audiences teaching class. me and him were talking per usual, and without a warning he put his tongue down in my mouth. and tried putting his hand down my bra. i was so fucking scared i had never been touched like that. it was my first kiss and i didn’t even tell him he could do that to me. i obviously stopped taking to him after that until the summer going into freshman year when we started sending nudes back snd forth. i don’t like to blame people for my problems but i think i began to hyper sexualize myself because of him. when i wouldn’t send him shit he’d block me, ive finally outgrown him as i now my self worth know occasionally i’ll unblock him and hang out with him for fun but it’s nothing serious. he’s stuck on me like tic though and always bring up the fact he kissed me once in 8th grade 🙄

ATSUMU - my “twinflame”

he was a year older then me and i met him on snap chat that should’ve been a red flag. we started by sending nudes but eventually we started to develop feelings however as soon as things got serious he’d pull out. when his relations with other girls wouldn’t work out he’d always come back to me during that time together he’d love bomb me. take me on dates make out with each other in front of hobby lobbies on sunday, my happiness started to depend on if he talked to me or not and this went on forever. by the time quaratine happened he blocked me because he got a girlfriend? idk if that’s why he blocked me but i assumed that eventually he unblocked me because pussy that good. i gave this man so much power over my life that when i took it back i truly learned by self worth. i will never tell this man this but because of all the shit he pulled on me i’m actually confident. i don’t regret meeting him. occasionally he does try to pull his shit on me and i play along with him. i think the reason i can’t let my gemini boys go is because i’m too scared for a relationship but i know that no matter what they’re both their for fun 😌.

[blooddrinkingbartender]

Bound Blood | Vampyr Verse Profiles

A list of profiles for Bill, Antonio and Azrael’s Vampyr verse, ‘Bound Blood’ below. Be aware for examples of Vampiric powers you can get in the game below, as long as species names for the vampires in the game, it could be spoiler-y if you’re trying to go in completely blind. It’s also a very long post. 

Fun fact: These guys actually started out as Vampyr characters; all three of them. 

Bill

Name: Lord William Godolphin IV (will tell you it’s Bill Goodwin)

Nicknames: Monster, Leech, Blood Drinker.

Age: Physically 31, is 747 in reality. 

Birthday: 7th December 1171 (Star sign: Sagittarius)

Gender: Cis Male (he/him/his pronouns)

Sexual Orientation: Pansexual.

Species: Shadow Ekon 

Ethnicity: White

Current Residence: East End/Docks area, London. 

Former Residence: Boston, United States. 

Nationality: English, specifically, he used to be from Cornwall. 

Mother: Glanna Godolphin (deceased)

Father: William Godolphin III (deceased)

Siblings: None

Height: 6′3"

Weight: 200lbs

Body Type: Mesomorph/Muscular 

Hair: Red

Eyes: Grey - ‘Stage 3′ 

Languages: English, Cornish, French, German, and Latin.

Distinguishing features: He has major burn scars on the right side of his abdomen, chest, part of his right arm, and just above his butt. A hunter managed to set him on fire. Luckily, before it could kill him, he managed to put himself out. That Hunter paid with her life.

Hobbies and Interests: Instruments (currently knows how to play the accordion, the ocarina, the lyre, the harmonica in particular), dancing, exploration, space.

Suffers mental problems as a result of his long life, the fact his maker constantly pushed his will onto him (until said maker died), and the things he’s seen. The most common he experiences is catatonic states, which happen between three months and a year, and can last between hours and days. He calls these ‘episodes’.

The most common symptoms of a coming episode (referenced above) are that he becomes quiet and withdrawn, unwilling to engage in conversation. He has trouble focusing on and remembering what’s been said, he also starts talking to people that aren’t there, mumbling, and he stops making sense. He’ll become distracted, staring off into space, forgetting what year it is, where he is, and even who he is. He also starts to forget what modern things is, which is a symptom he recognises, because he knows he’s supposed to recognise what something is.

He has a birthmark on the back of his left hand that’s shaped like a crescent. He often jokes that it’s because one of his ancestors was a werewolf. 

Occupation: Currently helps out in the Turquoise Turtle, the bar he’s staying at.

Personality: He’s confident, cheerful, and always ready to put on a show, if not a bit mischievous and eccentric. He’s pretty much out to just have fun and enjoy his unlife. He loves to perform and entertain an appreciative audience. 

He can be very loud and passionate. However, he lacks tact and can sometimes be a bit full-on. His nature can definitely clash with other people. That said, if you become his friend, he will defend you to the death, along with your honour. He will gladly take on anyone who would hurt you.

He also has a bit of a heroic streak in him, trying to defend what he feels is the innocent. Basically, he will tear through a group of skals if they’re threatening a human without even thinking about it.

Skills and powers - Vampyr exclusive: 

Mesmerism - Level 20

-Aggressive-

Claws - Level 3 (Upper Branch)

Shadow Mist - Level 4 (Lower Branch)

-Passive-

Body Condition - Level 4 (200 Health)

Physical Prowess - Level 4 (60% Endurance)

Blood Capacity - Level 6 (30% Blood)

Big Thirst - Level 3 (60% Blood)

Hard Biting - Level 3 (300% Damage)

-Tactical-

Autophagy - Level 3 (Lower Branch)

Jump - Level 2 (Upper Branch)

-Ultimate-

Abyss - Level 3

Basic Backstory: William Godolphin Jr (also known as William Godolphin IV) was born to William Godolphin Sr (AKA William Godolphin the III), a nobleman and Glanna Godolphin, a blacksmith’s daughter. He is the only surviving child of eleven and was the named heir to his father’s estate. 

However, his maker had other plans. Bill was one day heading home from a hike outside. He was suddenly bitten from behind and without realising, fed the attacker’s blood. The attacker fled and even though he felt weak and sick from the draining he endured, he was still determined to get home. Unfortunately, a man (mesmerised by his maker) attacked him and killed him with a crossbow. 

When nightfall came, he woke up to said man burying him. He rose from his makeshift grave, attacked him, and drank his blood. It didn’t really sink in until he tried to eat a normal meal and found himself vomiting it up right after, and when he realised he couldn’t go out in the sun. He came to realise that he wasn’t the man he was anymore. 

He managed to keep his condition a secret from his family and his servants, all the while trying to resist his maker’s control over him. His maker wanted to use him as some kind of ‘agent of chaos’ while he did all he could not to. He failed to realise he was being controlled. He simply believed he was battling with his own vampiric nature and that he was acting of his own will the whole time. 

After his parents died, he dismissed the servants, putting in a good word for them so they could find work elsewhere, sold his house, faked his death, and left. He still battled with his maker’s control the whole time. He eventually got the attention of The Brotherhood of Saint Paul’s Stole, after his maker was killed. He was monitored from a distance, but he was more relieved that he was no longer feeling the urge to do evil things. 

He soon met a member of the Brotherhood in person after going to Greece to stop a rogue Vulkod. He eventually moved to the United States, travelling around. In the late 1850s, he eventually settled down in Roxbury. He was content to stay off blood. While he started looking more like a corpse to vampires and mortals who could see through the glamour, he simply looked like an old man to his neighbours. 

During the very late 1880s, his neighbour Cassandra Anderson (who he dubbed Queen Bitch of Bitchland) gave birth again. Her last seven children either died soon after birth or were miscarried. She showed a distaste to her new son, especially after he grew old enough to start walking and talking. Bill eventually gave him a name (Russell) and grew attached to him like a father would his own son, helping to raise him alongside his neighbours Robert and Freyde. 

Russell was eventually sent out to fight out on the western front, and Bill decided to kill Cassandra due to her abusive behaviour towards Russell. He claimed she died of old age. 

Eventually, he was overjoyed to find out Russell survived and would be coming home. Much to his dismay though, he found Russell wasn’t on the ship. He managed to find out four people had beaten him up and thrown him off the boat on the way home. He hunted them down and drained them of their blood. To untrained mortals, he looked to be in his thirties again, while to trained mortals and vampires, he stopped looking like a walking corpse. He then found an article about an American soldier washing up on London’s docks. 

He immediately made his way there, hoping to find him. On arriving, he soon found out that Russell had moved on from the shelter that he had been staying at, but currently doesn’t know where he is. He’s determined to find him again, no matter what. He rented a room in the Turquoise Turtle as a home base for the time being, occasionally offering to help the local bartender, Tom Watts out during the evenings, or even other places that need a nightly worker.

Azrael

Name: Leofric Lawford (will tell you it’s Asher Raelle)

Nicknames: Azrael, Angel, Hunter. Silver Knight. Grave Digger. Immortal Huntsman. 

Age: Physically 35, is really 1051.

Birthday: 10th April 867 (Star sign: Aries)

Gender: Cis Male (he/him/his pronouns)

Sexual Orientation: Bisexual.

Species: Blood Ekon/Nemrod 

Ethnicity: White

Current Residence: London.

Former Residence: Nomadic.

Nationality: English.

Height: 6'5"

Weight: 240lbs

Body Type: Mesomorph/Muscular 

Hair: Brown, shoulder length.

Eyes: Brown - ‘Stage 1′ 

Languages: English, and a lot of basic words and phrases in other languages, like French and German.

Distinguishing features: He has many many scars from his days of battling. The most notable at the bite marks on his throat. They will never heal. 

He has a slight beard. It’s not as full as Bill’s, but it’s definitely fuller than basic stubble. 

Carries a pair of sickles inside of his coat, the blades are dusted with orichalcum. 

 He doesn’t smile very often. If you see him do it, take a picture; you’ll never see it again in your life otherwise.

He has never drank human blood in his entire existence as a vampire (and has vowed to ‘end himself’ if he does), and it shows in his eyes, which still look entirely human. He also wears a cross and has used it against vampires. 

He has dyslexia. It wasn’t identified until 1881, and then not coined until 1887, so he’s been suffering in silence about it. He also has some slight shortsightedness, but makes up for that with his other powers.

He also cannot be identified by other Ekons due to his status as a nimrod.

Hobbies and Interests: Reading, raising butterflies (he has raised 230 to full adulthood since becoming a vampire) plants and botany (he also researches how to better weaponise them against vampires, such as by using sachets of herbs to cloak himself, or make oils and decoctions for better damage output), photography, history, and surprisingly, painting. 

Occupation: Herbalist is his ‘official’ job. Everything else changes.

Personality: As Leofric Lawford, he was rather stoic, and guarded, but still kind, brave and benevolent as a knight. However, the more heroic side of him was buried after he became a vampire. 

As Azrael, he is still brave, stoic, and still somewhat good, but now he is also cold, guarded, and quite judgmental to those around him.

Despite killing other vampires (depending on their eyes and other traits that tell him if they’ve killed people), he has a soft spot for humans, animals and even non-feral Skals, rescuing them and treating them with a distant sort of kindness. He also gives any vampires he deemed ‘evil’ enough a burial after he has killed him, earning him his nickname of ‘Grave Digger’. 

He also prefers to be fair in a fight, giving his opponents a fair chance to defend themselves and fight back. That said, he believes underhanded tactics can be a tool to use only when necessary. 

Skills and powers - Vampyr exclusive:

Mesmerise - Level 13

-Defensive-

Blood Barrier - Level 3 (Lower Branch) 

Coagulation - Level 4 (Upper Branch)

-Aggressive-

Blood Spear - Level 1 (Upper Branch)

Claws - Level 3

-Passive-

Autophagy - Level 4 (Lower Branch)

Body Condition - Level 5

Physical Prowess - Level 5

Blood Capacity - Level 3

Big Thirst - Level 3

Hard Biting - Level 3

Fast Regeneration - Level 4

-Tactical- 

Spring - Level 4 (Upper Branch)

-Ultimate- 

Blood Cauldron - Level 2

Basic Backstory: Azrael was born in an older time. He was a brave, benevolent and chivalrous knight (not officially, but was considered one) who worked alone, helping the poor, the weak, and the defenceless from those who may threaten them. He was even known as The Silver Knight.

He was suddenly killed and turned by a vampire (that was terrorising the village he lived in at the time) after he was wounded during a battle with said vampire. However, this just fueled by his rage towards the creature. He spent a long while biding his time and training his skills and sustaining himself on feral skals, animals, and other weaker Ekons until he felt that he was powerful enough to challenge his maker again. He killed his maker that time, but he was left unsatisfied by the revenge. 

He decided that he needed to hunt more of them. Over the time he spent, he came to realise that most of the vampires he met were sadistic murderers or feral beasts. He spent a long also hunting for a particularly dangerous Ekon. William Godolphin; who was now known as Bill Goodwin. 

They eventually met and battled. Despite being younger than him and just a Shadow Ekon, Bill managed to narrowly escape him with his life (a rarity among the Ekons he encounters). But that simply made Leofric more determined to find him again and finish the job. 

He saw an opportunity in Bill’s adopted son, Russell, finding himself in London. On realising that Bill would soon follow, he realised this would be a good chance to kill him once and for all. But he might just change his tune, because something sinister seems to be brewing in London; something he’s seen before, something awfully familiar.

Antonio

Name: Antonio Lombardi

Nicknames: Charlatan, Lord Enigma, Booker.

Age: 38 

Birthday: 8th August 1880 (Star sign: Leo)

Gender: Trans Male (he/him/his pronouns)

Sexual Orientation: Homosexual.

Species: Human

Ethnicity: White

Current Residence: West End, London.

Former Residence: Manchester, England.

Nationality: Italian-English (Italian Father, English Mother.)

Mother: Gertrude Giordano

Father: Benito Giordano 

Siblings: Emily Giordano (older sister) and Sophia Giordano (younger sister)

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 170lbs

Body Type: Ectomorph

Hair: Black, shoulder length and slightly curly.

Eyes: Green

Languages: English, French, and Italian. 

Distinguishing features: A benign mole underneath his left eye, and a slash scar across his cheek. He covers the scar with makeup.

Due to scoliosis, his chest and back are slightly tilted to the side. This isn’t easy to see unless his shirt is off. It does cause him pain and also makes it harder for him to walk longer distances. He is considering surgery for the scoliosis, but he knows there are risks. 

He uses a cane to get around. He actually owns three canes; one has a sword hidden inside of it, another is extendable, and the last is a normal cane. He weaponised them after a mugger attacked him, causing the scar on his face. 

He’s a smoker. He always has a lighter and some cigarettes on him. He also has a wind-up pocket watch which has a green fish, a red fish, and a yellow fish among a reef on the face which his main prop in his stage hypnosis acts.

He has habits of nodding his head, rhythmically tapping his foot or hand against the floor or the table, blinking at the same time as whoever he is speaking to, and gesturing with his hands while he talks. 

He also has projective synaesthesia (known as ‘coloured hearing’ at the time) seeing certain colours and shapes whenever he hears certain noises ‘connected’ to them. He also experiences smells on rarer occasions. This also allows him to ‘see’ when a vampire is applying mesmerism, whether to him or someone else.

Hobbies and Interests: His magic skills. He has dabbled in sleight of hand, misdirection, and mentalism (including stage hypnosis), and he is very good at those too. He has also dabbled in Escapology, and is able to get out of most rope bindings, straightjackets, and pick locks. He also likes to read, cook, practise his tricks, and tend to plants.

Mesmerise Resist Level: 5

Occupation: An Administrator for a library during the day, and a Stage Magician during certain evenings. Secretly works as an undercover agent for Priwen, using his shows and library work to pretend to be a normal guy, when he’s really taking note of Ekons in the West End and then sending Priwen’s front liners after them. He also handles a lot of their paperwork. 

Personality: While he’s on stage, Antonio speaks with confidence, authority, and even some glee. 

Off-stage, he’s quiet, jaded, and very cynical. He prefers to just be left alone for the most part. He doesn’t have much faith in humanity. 

That said, he isn’t a complete asshole. He secretly has a lot of compassion and empathy for other people. He performs at orphanages and hospitals for free and donates a portion of his earnings to charity. If you can break past the guarded shell, you have someone a bit on the nicer side.

Basic Backstory: Antonio was born in August of 1880 to an Italian Father (Benito) and an English Mother (Getrude). They were loving, but distant and stern. He often found himself entertaining or at least occupying his own mind with various tasks. He also grew up in a strictly religious household, which he found himself hating as he grew older. 

He found himself interested in magic tricks and illusions after one of his neighbours showed him a few. He started to teach himself when he was in teens and became very good at it, especially as he grew older. He also realised he was gay, much to his dismay. Even now, he keeps that firmly under wraps.

Eventually, at the age of 17, he had a falling out with his parents over his lack of religious belief. He went on a tirade on how their beliefs are, in his words ‘a big steaming pile of shit’. After being told his synesthesia and his gender identity were a sign that he was possessed by the devil and he punched his father for it, he was essentially kicked out. 

Uncaring about that, he changed his name and went to England to make a name for himself, remembering his mother’s stories of when she lived there. He started very small at first. He was able to find a place to stay in Manchester. He worked as much as he could and performed his magic on the side. He was eventually invited to bars to perform and that got him attention and more money. 

When he turned twenty, symptoms of scoliosis started to become prominent, coming with pain and finding it harder to walk or run for longer distances. Luckily, this didn’t affect his magic shows too badly. It also exempted him from fighting in the war, despite the fact that he wanted to go out and fight. 

He also witnessed and was traumatised by a vampire killing someone else while he was hiding. He tries to tell himself it didn’t happen, or at least it didn’t happen the way he remembers, but he knows it did. 

At the age of thirty, he made his way to London and found himself a place to stay, where he officially became known as Lord Enigma when performing on certain nights. He works as a librarian (administrative work) during the day, 

The only real comfort he had when the war broke out and he couldn’t go was that ‘at least I can still entertain people who also have to stay here’, as well as do a few other jobs to help the war effort. 

After an encounter with an Ekon who decided to mess with him, using mesmerism to force him to temporarily forget his own, his fear of vampires turned into a bubbling hatred. On hearing about Priwen’s efforts, he wasted no time being recruited as a covert agent and general paperwork handler. He wants nothing more than to see every vampire in London wiped out, and he’ll be proud to say he was a big part of that.

[actionfigurebullshit]

I Spent All Day Working On This - New Collaborations and Documentation

Hours of a Saturday spent trying to adhere to a nebulous and completely imagined aesthetic, for a scene for a video which probably won’t be on screen for more than two seconds... and it’s still not quite right! Maybe it was this illustration which made me decide I needed to blog about this new project of mine.

I spoke to an old acquaintance of mine about Jane’s death a couple weeks ago. I stated that I wasn’t sure I’d be making videos anymore in light of the fact so much of what I’ve done over the past several years, as far as video making goes, was supporting Jane’s projects, which unlike my own, were actually produced and finished.

This acquaintance has known about my film making interest since I was a teenager- maybe he didn’t like the idea of me giving it up, or maybe he simply saw an opportunity for his creative outlet and my own to cross paths. He has a band, and wanted me to select one of their songs to use in a music video. Ultimately, he chose this one for me, and I was unsure about it at first because the idea I dreamed up would have been outside of my scope of illustration and animation skills- think of the gruesomeness of Garbage Pail Kids, but animated, organs pulsating, twitching, spurting. Eventually, I started thinking about 8 bit viscera- NES games like Lifeforce where so many levels feature “organic” themes to it

What I ended up envisioning was the suggestion of a NES style video game, which explains the wildly inexplicable events that take place in the video. Imagine a Dr. Mario style playing field, except the “jar” is a stomach, and the “pills” are candy, now throw in some Arkanoid style brick breaking, side scrolling space shooting, and worlds that look like something from Sim City, Final Fantasy IV, and the Game Over screens from Tetris, depending on your height off the ground, and you get... this.

I want to treat this new collaboration like an audition, so I want to aim high, work hard, and stay positive. That being said, it can be very daunting. Like Action Figure Bullshit, I can’t help but think to myself “I can’t do this!” and “What the hell am I doing!? I’m heading straight for disaster!”. Those thoughts are distracting, but it’s nice to have somewhere to vent. In the AFB notebook, many pages had some variant of “I don’t know what the hell I’m doing!” written in the margins. Since I want to extend that positivity to my new notebook devoted to this project, I’ll have to dump the negativity somewhere else... why not here?

It seems strange for me to start writing about making a music video when this is supposed to be a blog for my action figure bullshit... project..., but there’s actually quite a bit of overlap, if not in content, then in execution. Like I said, I have a notebook for this project. By coincidence, it has a black cover, too. To be cute, I could say it’s black like VHS tape... I might go with that, too, especially since I have an unofficial, sort of subconscious color coding system with these ordinary 70 sheet spiral notebooks. Colors such as Green, Purple, and Blue are reserved for other productions, for instance... and if only I could find a School Bus Yellow-Orange notebook again...

So, it’s the same thing as with AFB. I have scenes in my head that go along with the imagery. Even if I feel like “it’s too much” to animate or similarly outside of my range of abilities and resources, I still write it out and draw it out. I find that video production- at least from my perspective of someone who does it as a hobby and uses old and/or shitty programs to do it, the journey through the project is likely more significant than the finished result, meaning that a big reason I feel like I can’t do something is because I can’t see the end point, but I can’t see the end point because it hasn’t been defined yet. How many times does an idea morph along the way, with each new day, each new page, each new second of video? I can’t see the end result because all the in between steps haven’t been put in place yet.

Or to put it another way, I try to replace “I can’t do this.” with “I can’t do this yet.”, which satisfies that need inside of me to be negative and put myself down, but also puts in a qualifier that makes this doubt both okay and filed away so I can continue to forge ahead. So far, I’ve head to hit any significant block. If there’s a challenge to an idea or scene, a solution is never too far away.

Did you see that word, CHALLENGE? It’s another one of those things you might read in a self help book- struggles should be seen as challenges to overcome, puzzles to solve, not obstacles to avoid, sign posts telling you to turn back.

So here’s what’s going on:

I have a song, which I’ll call “Track #4″. It’s about 150 seconds long (and I say this instead of 2 minutes, 30 seconds for a reason), with maybe an additional 30 seconds of footage to bookend the music. Those bookends are well defined and could be filmed today (they’re the only live action bits in the video so far). As for the main part with the music, over a third of that, 56 seconds, has virtually every single second illustrated and described in a loose storyboard kind of format. The rest is in my head, but still needs to be documented. I’m a big believer in the “write it out” idea- these notebooks have helped me take that to an admittedly eccentric level, but I have success with it, and fun, too! Isn’t that weird? That there would be, not only fun, but a feeling like the notebook is as much a part of the project as the video.

Once I’m done drawing out every scene for this fever dream, I’ll then move on to what I guess you could call “sprites” because so much of this, I want to look like something in the vein of Parodius, Dr. Mario, all those trippy-ass games which I have so much nostalgia for. Actually animating this is a scary idea, because I feel like it will be a failure on my part if I don’t get the 8 bit aesthetic down. It’s not a requirement, and “The Journey” through this project could lead me to an acceptable alternative-- I shouldn’t get ahead of myself, though. This is what can trip me up. I’m worrying about how to animate little candies and blood vessels and Moai heads when my focus should be on documenting what I imagine for the video, let the rest come later!

Still, sometimes creativity strikes in such a way, you can’t help but work on a part that’s further down the road, possibly down a road you’ll never travel- such as this screen, but that’s part of the bookend, which is so separated from the rest of the video, it’s almost like a different video, like a framing device, and one that’s a lot less complicated than the main course.

One final thing- and one which gives more reason to blog about this on the AFB blog- I might use AFB characters in one particular scene.

Picture the game over screen from TETRIS, specifically the “B-Type” game. Clear 25 lines on Level 9, Height 5, and you see various NES characters on a multi-tiered platform celebrating your victory. Now picture this as a building that’s not too far away from the “action” of the video, and these characters are looking on... when suddenly, an Arkanoid type capsule (similar, but legally distinct! Actually, it would look more like the paddle from Alleyway) appears and abducts some of the characters and takes them on a wild ride into this weird semi-organic machine with a terrible sweet tooth.

Those characters: Greta, Trent, and Douglas. I’d love to have a little nod to AFB, and I’d love to animate some “bridge lurch” if they come under attack from something. We’ll see.

If I keep blogging about this video, I’ll go into more details, such as why looking at the video in terms of a pile of seconds is extremely important.