#i mean it's not an event but it is interactive so xD

[redbullgirly]

Hi, how are you? I saw your requests are open so can you please write a social media au where charles leclerc is dating a singer similar to Taylor and Travis's relationship and just the internet reactions to it the rest is up to you, thank you 🫶🏻

sabrina carpenter as face claims if you're okay with it

HEART ON TOUR [CL16 smau]

Charles Leclerc x singer!reader

Masterlist

Summary: Everybody wants to attend Y/N's world tour and that clearly includes the Ferrari star driver, Charles Leclerc. Though when at a concert, he doesn't get the chance to speak with the famous singer and ask her out, and then gets asked about it in an interview, he isn't shy to admit what his intentions were. Maybe that'll bring Y/N's attention to him... and it definitely will bring the fan's attention. Soon enough, rumors about the couple dating start running around.

Warnings: I worked on this for like 8 hours straight so it's very much possible there are some mistakes or spelling errors I didn't even notice after all that time XD.

Author's Note: Here you go Anon, hope you'll like it! I used Sabrina Carpenter as face claim because let's be honest, she has great photos for this type of social media au and is a singer as well. I made this more like a story of how Y/N and Charles started dating and the fans reaction to that and also somehow tried to replicate Taylor's and Travis' way of meeting, some events and timelines, but to match it with Formula 1 world. Thanks for the request and enjoy! :)

yourusername posted on instagram

liked by arianagrande, charles_leclerc, blakelively and 7,230,197 others

yourusername It's always great to be home, even if you're on a world tour!🇺🇸 Thank you LA for having me, singing in the rain with me and creating special atmosphere I'll remember my whole life!❤️‍🔥 And now Rio de Janeiro is waiting as the next stop of my Heart On Tour!✨🎤

view all 15,492 comments

user1 NO ONE looks that good in the rain except her

arianagrande perfect💋

liked by the author

user2 the concert was so good y'all don't understand now I can't live without knowing I'll see her sing again 😭💔

user3 MOTHER IS MOTHERING

user4 Real angel right here 🤍

taylorswift Nothing screams girl power more than you honey!❤️‍🔥

yourusername thx sm taylor!!! you're literally my biggest inspo ever, love youu 🥰

user5 I love how they're fighting for the most successful and profitable tour ever but still support each other!

user6 omg stop it this is so sweet🥹

user7 The tabloids that constantly try to pit them against each other should be embarrassed XD

user8 STOOOOP NOT MY TWO PARENTS INTERACTING!!!

user9 taylor swift & y/n y/l/n... the best celebrity duo ever😻

user10 ur literally the people‘s pop princess

charles_leclerc Great concert!😍

user11 ARIANA WHAT R U DOING HERE

user12 lol user11 the fact that Ariana herself is under this post as well 😭

user13 not charles trying to shoot his shot with your queen

user14 Why is my fav f1 driver randomly commenting under Y/N's post?!🤠

user15 waiiittt does this mean he's been at the concert???

user16 omg NO WAYYYY🫢

user17 guys I think he was trying to flirt w her and you kinda ruined it💀

liked by charles_leclerc

user17 what the hell-

user18 you left a whole country speechless💗

user19 More like the whole world!!!

spotify WOW 🤩

user20 I wanna be Y/N so baaad

victoriassecret If you ever retire from singing, come and be our angel!💘

user21 so who's here just to first handedly look at charle's sus comment? admit it🤨

user22 meeee

user23 I thought I'm the only one 😭

user24 well when you put it like that user21...

user25 I wish I could repost comments on ig 😃

user26 🫢🫢

user27 Yeah me too guys

user28 honestly i'm not even ashamed🤷‍♀️

user29 Models are lucky you’re not a model

user30 FR

user31 BRASIL IS WAITING FOR YOU 🇧🇷❤️

user32 i seriously dont get the hype she has 🖕

user33 Then go away lol

user34 I can sense the formula one side of twitter is going to eat this upppp

user35 It's so funny how the crazy fan girls can get hyped over one comment... like be fr yn is a world famous singer ofc charles knows about her and can be her fan 🙄

user36 yeah plus I think she said herself she knows him too and is f1 fan bc she watched it with her dad or smth

user37 OMG they're each other's fans?!🥺 Idgaf about being crazy fan girly if it means we'll get this romance story!!!

user38 UR STYLIST DESERVES A RAISE 'CAUSE DAAAMN😘

user39 maybe i'm broke now but this concert was worth the money

twitter

interview with Charles

twitter

instagram direct messages between Y/N and Charles

charles_leclerc posted on instagram

liked by pierregasly, arthur_leclerc, yourusername, shawnmendes and 2,590,231 others

charles_leclerc Good days off. ❤️

view all 4,385 comments

user1 no way a woman made it to his babygirl filter instagram feed😧

user2 it's not a woman anymore... it's THE woman

user3 Uhmm...who is that girl?? In the second picture??

user4 I have a feeling that it's Y/N Y/L/N 🤭

user4 No way oh my god?!

user5 calm down guys it isn't confirmed or anything😑

carlossainz55 You are giving everybody a headache mate

liked by the author and yourusername

user6 you tell him carlito!!!!!

user7 OMG look at who liked his comment😃

user8 WAKE UP NEW PHOTOS OF CHARLES DROPPED 🗣🗣

user9 ehm charlie honey... who is that???🧐

user10 Y/N Y/N Y/N Y/N Y/N Y/N Y/N Y/N Y/N Y/N Y/NNNN

user11 Manifesting in real life lmao

user12 whats hapeningggggg

user13 he isn't single anymore 💔💔

user14 but it's y/n ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹

user15 I hope so 😔❤️‍🩹

user16 What a way to start my day

user17 i literally spat out my morning coffee

user18 this is such a random soft launch help😭

user19 You see, I know that blonde hair from somewhere... 😏

user20 DAMN

user21 sorry not sorry but that's clearly y/n in the third pic🤷‍♀️

user22 💯💯💯🥇🏆

scuderiaferrari Let's rock the next Grand Prix!❤️‍🔥

liked by the author

charles_leclerc ❤️‍🔥

user23 ADMIN TELL US WHAT YOU KNOW RN

user24 interesting choice of emoji that's associated with y/n and the heart on tour 🥸🥸

user23 SUS

user24 Hard smash

user25 i love that even while soft launching he can't let go of the aesthetic filter he uses for his whole ig💀

joris__trouche lol true

user25 ohhh hi joris😭

user26 Idk who she is and tbh idgaf 'cause she's hooot 🥵😩

twitter

yourusername posted on instagram

liked by charlec_leclerc, f1, emilia_clarke, pascale.leclerc.355 and 8,016,555 others

tagged: scuderiaferrari

yourusername cruising down the street in my red car, feeling the wind whisper secrets, oh so far. 💄🎸🏎

view all 19,120 comments

user1 i never knew i needed ferrari coded y/n to live till we got her 😩

yourusername me neither babes

user1 oh my god what does that meeaaannn???!!!

user2 pop princess is living the dream so happy for you and all of your success

scuderiaferrari Everybody is a Ferrari fan ❤️

yourusername ofc!!🫡

user3 Yes we are... just pls stop giving us depression

user4 ohhh the caption screams NEW SONG

user5 right?! it's giving ✨lyrics✨

user6 let's pray for a release soon

user7 🙏🙏🙏

charles_leclerc Red suits you ❤️

liked by the author

user8 omg

yourusername wonder why ❤️

user8 OMG

user9 i dont want to be delusional... but c'mmon they gotta be dating

user10 THIS FEEL LIKE A HISTORICAL MOMENT YALL🤭

user11 ...so we're not talking about how the gp ended (or started) for charles, right?🥲

user12 idk what you're talking about🥲

user13 formation lap? naaaah it didn't happen🥲

user14 um so like you’re actually perfect

spotify you are GLOWING 🤩

user15 mommy- sorry... mommy-sorry... MOTHER

lilymhe my girl crush strikes again

liked by the author

user16 she's just like us xd

user17 I can't blame you Lily😌

user18 PLS I'M BEGGING YOU TELL US IF UR DATING CHARLES OR NOT

user19 Yall think she's real?😍

user20 congrats on dating our babygirl driver y/n!

user20 (delulu is the solulu if you're wondering)

user21 Does Charles' mom in the likes mean something??🤔

user22 i bet he talks about y/n at home 😏

user23 you two are making me too obsessed with this couple that isn't even couple and their family relationships

user22 isn't couple YET!

user24 That's the thinking I like user22 😂

user25 ICONIC❤️‍🔥

twitter

yourusername posted on instagram

liked by maxverstappen1, sophiet, charles_leclerc, kellypiquet and 11,920,374 others

tagged: charles_leclerc

yourusername secret's out i guess... love u with my whole heart and i'll be forever glad you went to my concert!💝

speaking of music, he's also my muse y'all so be prepared for new album coming soon 😚

view all 20,199 comments

user1 AAGGHAHGDGADGASDHJGAD

user2 only acceptable reaction

user1 I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF I'M MORE EXCITED ABOUT THEM DATING OR Y/N MAKING NEW ALBUM TBH

user2 again, only acceptable reaction

charles_leclerc Proud of you mi amor!😘

liked by the author

yourusername and i'm proud of you too honey 🥹🫶

user3 they're so sweet I caaaaan't

user4 FINALLY!!!! big congrats to you both

arthur_leclerc How did he even get you to date him?😆

yourusername let's say your big bro can be charming when he wants to... 😌

arthur_leclerc Okay NO NEED for details😅

yourusername xdd

user5 MY ROMAN EMPIRE

user6 everybody's roman empire im afraid😍

user7 how can you both be so damn hot?!

carlossainz55 Does this mean free tickets? 😏

yourusername we'll se about that

landonorris pls y/n

danielricciardo hiiii y/n

alex_albon think of my gf y/n

yourusername okay okay you convinced me

maxverstappen1 I bet it was Alex's comment that convinced you

yourusername ...no need to expose me like that max emilian ☹️

user8 they're the IT couple

user9 Look at how cute Charlie looks in the 5th photo🥰

user10 OMG YEEES

user11 hey am I the only one who's instagram is glitching and not working???

user12 loool Y/N and Charles broke the internet😭

user13 Yeah and they took it too literally 'cause my ig is acting weird as well 💀

user15 look at my fav couple 😻

user16 I hope she'll bring him luck in the next f1 season

scuderiaferrari Everybody is an Y/N fan ❤️

liked by the author

charles_leclerc 🫡

user17 FACTS!!!

user18 mommy and daddy right there

user19 idgaf about her and Charles THE QUEEN IS WORKING ON MORE SONGS YEEEES

f1 Welcome to the family Y/N! 🫶

liked by the author and charles_leclerc

user20 she's the best wag ever 💕

user21 THE MOMENT I WAITED FOR IS HERE

user22 I'm looking at the third photo respectfully 🤭

user23 i love this soft side of Charles omg🥺

user24 righttt? he should post photos like this as well, its better than those professional ones on his profile

user25 Totally agree with this

user26 my jaw dropped but I'm happy about it

user27 idk but charles & y/n definitely won my heart

user28 😍😍

user29 NEW ALBUUUUM

user30 Y/N Y/L/N you'll be forever famous!❤️‍🔥

BONUS

Enchanted Wheels by Y/N Y/L/N (lyrics):

Cruising down the street in my red car,

Feeling the wind whisper secrets, oh so far.

Monaco lights, they dance in the night,

As I search for a love that feels so right.

In this city so bright, I'm lost in the haze,

But I know deep inside, I'll find my soul's maze.

I'm chasing dreams, like chasing the moon,

In this journey, I'll find my love soon.

Enchanted wheels taking me away,

Through the starlit skies, where love will stay.

In the magic of Monaco, my heart takes flight,

Hoping destiny guides me to my soulmate tonight.

Driving through the streets, past midnight's hour,

Looking for heartbeats that give me the power.

In every stranger's eyes, I see fleeting sparks,

But I won't settle for less, only love from the heart.

Monaco's captivating, but love's the real deal,

I won't let go until my heart can finally heal.

The city's alive with endless possibilities,

Somewhere out here, there's a love meant for me.

Enchanted wheels taking me away,

Through the starlit skies, where love will stay.

In the magic of Monaco, my heart takes flight,

Hoping destiny guides me to my soulmate tonight.

I've been searching high and low,

Through the crowds, I hope you'll show.

I believe in fate, destiny's plan,

Perhaps you're just one turn away, my soul's lifeline.

Enchanted wheels taking me away,

Through the starlit skies, where love will stay.

In the magic of Monaco, my heart takes flight,

Hoping destiny guides me to my soulmate tonight.

With every passing mile, my hope grows stronger,

In this journey for love, I won't wait any longer.

Enchanted wheels, lead me to my greatest win,

In Monaco, I'll find my soulmate, love from within.

THE END

Author's Note: Wow, this took m longer than expected (and the worst part was finding that one picture that somehow matches Charles' instagram filter), but I'm really satisfied with the result. Hope you liked this social media au and once again, I'll be grateful for likes, comments, reblogs, follows and every other way of showing your support. Also a little disclaimer: I didn't write the whole song, just a part of it and then helped myself with AI because I'm not really good in songwriting. Though I'm still curious if you liked the bonus, so let me know. Good night! :)

[rayroseu]

source

Well, as expected there'll be a Book 7 update on May lol

BUT the interesting thing is, the special SSR for this chapter is a Savanaclaw Rook Hunt!!!

Yk referring to the fact that he wasn't originally from Pomefiore, he just transferred there becaise of Vil---I wonder if the next dream we'll travel unto is Rook's??? Or Vil??

I mean, it can be Vil as well, since he does have Malleus magic in him when Malleus cured his aging bcs of the Underworld and he has memories of Savanaclaw Rook, and there are instances on Book 7 where the special SSR isnt necessarily the dreamer (Like Cerberus Ortho SSR).

I believe he can be a candidate of Silver's UM condition that the dreamer must "be special to Silver", I know thats pretty vague, BUT they do have the connection of having both light void magic 👀

I know its obvious Book 7's plot outline is they'll be travelling in dreams of people, so the fact Rook is next, means Savanaclaw might get the spotlight this time, I do remember there was a rumor that Leona will be important for Book 7???

I wonder if the last dorm that we will travel unto is Ramshackle, like we've been theorizing lolol Because Ramshackle is always the place that Malleus resorts to "once he's been back down to a corner"

YES I'M STILL WISHING FOR YUU INVOLVEMENT AJDGJAHGJA BOOK 7 ENDING IS FAR and I will not lose hope for my real favorite dorm 😤😤🙌🙌🙌😭😭🙏🙏🙏 if savanaclaw can get plot significance on Book 7, then FREAKING RAMSHACKLE CAN DO IT IN THE FUTURE!!!!

SSR: Idia, Vil, and Malleus SR: Trey and Ruggie, R: Ace and Jamil

WAHHHH The third TSUMTSUM event😭😭🙏🙏🙏💖💖💖💚💞💕💞

ALSOOO THERES AN SSR MALLEUS DRACONIA FOR THIS TSUM TSUM EVENT‼️‼️‼️‼️😭😭😭

All it took is for one year.... one year for him to have an SSR card event 😭😭😭🙏💞💖💕 I feel like my dead husband just came back to life HAHDHAHA

Ace getting the R cars again lolol he's truly the event card staple now HSHHASHA

THEY'LL FINALLY BE COMPLETED 😭😭💞💖💞💕💞💕🙏🙏✨✨✨

I know theres no Yuu in Tsum tsum event 💔💔💔😭😭😭 and theres not even Grim on this event 💔💔💔😭😭😭 STILL!!!! STILL I HOPE YUU ENCOUNTERS MALLEUS TSUM 😭😭😭

Or not, just please make sure this event has plentiful wholesome Diasomnia interaction, I miss them being sweet to each other 😭😭🙏💕

In book 7, theyre often taunting Malleus or beating the other person up to cheer up from their dream (Sebek theraphy for Silver lmao) KDJAJFJA

ALSO WAIT.... am i going crazy or is there no TSUM TSUM SILVER IN THIS?????😭😭😭 I dont remember Silver getting a Tsum Card yet.... IS HE WITH GRIM????😳😳

NAHHH dont tell me we're getting tsum tsum Silver with Tsum Grim, Tsum Crowley and Tsum Mickey(?) XDDD

But its a pretty cute image that Diasomnia will be seaeching for Tsum Silver only to found he's at Ramshackle... KDJSKJSJ I still remember that TSUMTSUM pic where they ate ice shavings at ramshackle sofa!!(I cant find the pic of it now 😭💔)

edit: LMAO im blind, Tsum Silver is one of the SR cards for these XD

[cheesecake801]

I'm soft for Volkner + Flint + Pokemon interactions. If you wanna hear some my thoughts/headcanons/rambling about them you can check that out under cut

Raichu is an absolute cutie, a sunshine on earth and nothing can convince me otherwise

May I show you this.

It. Lives. In. My. Head. Just look at them !!! Can't believe the anime blessed me like that !

So yeah, I think Raichu and Flint are very close ! Raichu would rush to Flint everytime he comes over at Volkner's place haha ! I think Raichu also gets along with everyone in Flint's team ! I think Raichu can be kinda clingy in the way that he likes climbing on Volkner and Flint haha, and so one day I checked how much he weights and boy, 30kg sure is a lot alskdkzkd, he may be heavy but that's not stopping him

Electivire really likes Flint too, I'll probably share more about that one day ! The thing is, he's got beef with Magmortar. They've known each other for very long and yet still bicker haha

Jolteon and Flareon are the opposite, they go along suuuuper well ! I think they would look at their trainers with puppie eyes when it's time for them to separate, they can't get enough of playing with each other.

Luxray's just sleeping in any case, better not bother him XD

• About the sketch of Flint taking a picture of Volkner and Raichu :

-The idea came to me after that one event in pokemas when Lear and Gholdengo came out with Lear wanting to be sent like 100 photos representing the link between trainers and their partner or something

-I like to think Volkner got a real soft spot for Raichu haha (well also his other mons and electrik types in general to be fair) so he can be very affectionate with him, I don't think anyone would get to see too much of that in public but if it's just Flint here it wouldn't matter much XD

-I don't think Flint would often take random pics of Volkner like that but he probably thought this is like a perfect moment to take a pic for Lear's event. I mean look at how sweet him and Raichu look together ! Such a nice exemple of a close bond between trainer and pokemon !

-Unfortunately I also like to think that Volkner doesn't like much having photos taken of him without warning haha. Kinda comes from that one pokespe moment where you see Shauntal got a pic of him but he's hiding his face haha !

-I think he'd be fine with photos depending on the situation tho, like if I remember correctly he was in a photo in his new year event in pokemas and he seemed super chill with that ! I think he likes it with friends or when he is in a good mood XD But most certainly not an unprepared one like that ansksk

That's enough rambling for now, thanks if you read all that XD I like talking about them a lot even when repeating myself (pretty sure I already mentionned some of that stuff before akskskdkd but it was a long time ago so it's fine)

[kymsys]

(okay i was going about my day yesterday but i really couldn't get the merman au out of my head😭😭 i just imagine for a while somehow geto managed to sneak satoru into the palace and then it's a whole ordeal trying to hide him. panicked geto and oblivious gojo and really for all that image is stuck in my head i still have yet to write a proper interaction w them but!! it's not proofread so sorry if there are mistakes and it's a bit scattered but i had to get this one scene out that was brewing in my mind so🥺 ignore this if you want❗️❗️)

--

From the mezzanine, everyone looked like ants. Suguru had to squint to make out familiar faces in the crowd, and even then, the only person he could identify was a distant aunt of his that he had never really liked. Usually, he'd have been able to pick apart anyone of significance; he'd have known their name, their title, their interests. 

Suguru would've known, he always memorises the details before public events — he spends days in his room at a time, talking into the mirror and telling his reflection things about these people who he has never met. Perhaps, lately, he'd been busy with Satoru.

Suguru smiled. He didn't feel as guilty as he thought he would.

A hand clapped on his back, and he jolted. Shoko beside him, cocking a brow. “What's got you looking like a dumbass?” Her voice was flat, eyes busy scanning the crowd and Suguru knew who she was looking for.

He cleared his throat. He couldn't really tell her that he was keeping a siren in the little pond in his private garden — well, it wasn't exactly little, but that information held no relevance anyway. Shoko was his dear friend, and he knew she would always support him, but he had to keep Satoru a secret, more for her sake. Suguru bit his lip in thought. If only Satoru didn't have such a strong taste for human flesh.

“Is meat more nutritious than fish?”

“What?”

“Nevermind.” Suguru winced at the look he was being sent. He didn't mean to blurt the question out, but he'd been thinking about it for days. The salmon that he'd been feeding Satoru probably wasn't enough to sustain a creature his size — especially when he was so active — which would mean he burnt through a lot of calories very quickly. “Utahime is on the balcony,” Suguru pointed in the general direction, giving Shoko a pat on the shoulder, “good luck.”

From his peripheral vision, he could see Shoko roll her eyes as he walked away, but she muttered a small 'thanks' before she turned to find the other woman. He was glad she finally had someone to open up to other than him — he saw how happy Shoko was with Utahime, and with the burden of inheriting the throne giving her sleepless nights, it was all Suguru could want for his closest friend.

He turned his attention back to the winding flight of stairs before him. Now, to find some meat.

KINGGGGGGGGGGGG (can i call you like that??)!!!! ♥ GAHHH IM SO HONOURED AND HAPPY, you actually wrote MORE??? bless you, this is truely amazing, this has me by my throat. thank you so fucking much, i love it!! <3 WHY THE FUCK WOULD I EVER IGNORE THIS, are u out of your mind. i LOVEEEE the way suguru keeps thinking about his little "pet" gojo and what would probably be the best food for him! like indeed he is a massive creature, he will probably need...a lot?? but also at the same time i can imagine that he is maybe not that....needy. isnt that a thing with lots of sharks or deep sea fish that they eat very little, just because its so hard to get by food? so their organism is evolved to survive on very little food and thrive nonetheless. MAYBE suguru just thinks gojo is in need of lots of food, but actually gojo just likes to eat bc he enjoys the food, but doesnt neccessarily need it?(he is also a mystical creature, so in that sense anything is possible really xD) I ALSO LOVE HOW SUGURU JUST RANDOMLY ASKS SHOKO ABOUT NUTRITIONS AND SHOKO IS JUST LIKE WHAT, i adore that ; u ; <3 AND OMG gojo lives in a pond in his private garden??? HOW CUTE!! so that makes me wonder (pls indulge with me) why would he bring this technically "monster" into his home? generally i would think maybe that a creature like that needs its space and would need their freedom? so MAYBEEEEE smth has happened? maybe gojo got hurt, maybe even when he was caught in the fishernet situation? MAYBE suguru needs to take care of him until he gets better and maybe gojo, the curious creepy creature that he is, enjoys the change of environment and the new feeling of being cared for?? its exciting for both! what do you think ?? 👉👈 maybe you had a different idea?? im so excited to hear your thoughts!! AND AGAIN THANK YOU, i love it SO much, i feel so lucky that you actually like it so much that you wanna write about it T___T ♥

EVERYONE LOOK !!!!!!!!

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

There's something I don't understand in Julian's route SPOILER ALERT

When Julian was force fed a plague beetle and got locked in the dungeon to find a cure. Why did he have asra's magic book with him? He doesn't belive in magic and he didn't get visions of the hanged man until he was almost dying. How did he know asra's book had information about the visions he saw before he even got them? I might have misunderstood the whole thing but if not I really would like to read ur opinion of this!

Hi friend! Here's my main guess, and a disclaimer XD

When it comes to the Arcana timeline and lore, truthfully, there's so many inconsistencies and revisions that it's not exactly the kind of plot I'd try to hold any water with. That's without the added complication of six different routes with two endings each, giving us 12 different canons for one story, and a main character written so vaguely that they could be almost any reader. Personally, I find it charming, but for people who like a watertight plot and intricate world building, it can get (understandably!) very frustrating.

To answer your question though, Julian having a magic book in his office starts to make a little more sense in the context of two key parts of his character journey: 1, the Julian we meet in the prologue is also missing memories, and 2, Julian's prejudice against magic doesn't go as far as claiming it isn't real, rather, he belittles it in an attempt to be less afraid of it.

Julian doesn't yet remember the events leading up to the masquerade when the magic book is found in his office - which means he also doesn't necessarily remember the extent to which he was involved with Asra and their search to bring MC back. The book itself, with the mark of magic on it, is implied to have information on it about Patron deals. Asra would have used to it come up with their plan to bring MC back, which means Julian likely wouldn't have been able to take it until Asra was done with it.

This also means that Julian would have been around Asra for some time at that point (long enough to form the close friendship between them and Nadia) and would have seen enough of Asra's magic research to know that it was real, powerful, and effective - and maybe an approach to curing the plague that he'd been avoiding. With source of the plague being Lucio's deals with the Devil (and others), Julian already had many of the puzzle pieces he needed to solve it and both the intelligence and drive to push through.

While the early-route Julian without his memories wouldn't go near magic and would call it silly, late-route Julian with his memories would absolutely borrow a magic book if he had reason to believe it held answers about the plague. Personally, I think that if he'd had the time to do so, Julian would have figured it out eventually on his own without contracting the plague and the near-death experience that let him interact with the Hanged Man. Being infected and confined accelerated the process by removing any other priorities he would've had and opening him to receiving help from a Patron.

The question it leaves me asking, though, is why Lucio felt the need to forcefully infect and imprison his top doctor when he already had everything in place to get a new body. Is it a testament to how cruel and twisted he could get pre-ghost form? Or was it at someone else's request, much like Aisha and Salim's imprisonment seventeen years earlier?

[shenzaibird-art]

A Discussion of Soulmagic

Verloren presented his research notes to his latest visitor as he described the process of pulling magic directly from a creature's soul instead of just the physical body, a concept that none had attempted before him. He had been explaining the exact same thing to several different people lately and more often than not he was met with disdain and skepticism. He was so tired of all these mages who seemingly couldn't embrace new ideas telling him that this was too complicated and irregular to be worth it. But he did not mind what they thought about his work and continued to discuss it with others when he had the chance, trying to find more folks who could have interesting ideas for his consideration. Verloren had heard about Hyden's impressive magic skills, and how he was particularly interested in darker magics. Would he be able to see the true potential of soulmagic?

Hyden belongs to @chocodile! Just borrowing him for a sec haha

Long stupid excessive ramblings below :'D

I was working on this for a long time. Kinda had it planned for a few years actually, before I even redesigned Verloren and got obsessed with him! They're both evil mages who caused chaotic historical events and then eventually faced The Consequences and lost their powers, so I felt like there was a lot of room for crossovers hehe. I started actually working on this in December and totally thought I'd finish in January but... oh well I guess that didn't happen xD

Unfortunately, all this time spent working on this pic has allowed me to come up with a fuckton of headcanon about it, and I could not rest without spilling all of it in an obnoxiously long wall of text.

So, if I were to steal Hyden and adapt him into my setting, I think he would be a Grand Augur of Necromagic from a kingdom neighbor to Houndsdagger. Augur is a word I stole because it looks cool, but in my setting it basically means a mage that works for the kingdom and does magic research. A Grand Augur is a higher rank than an augur, typically has earned the title through their experience, but also usually they're nobles or important people. They get a seat at the royal council of magic and stuff. So yeah I think that would fit him kinda. And necromagic because it allows for some of the most powerful crafts... and because it's typically the most potentially evil of the magics lol

This probably would take place when Verloren's work with soulmagic was starting to attract private clients looking for dark powerful magics, so Hyden might have heard the rumors about a mage in Houndsdagger who could make magic from souls (of animals but also of people obviously). At first, he might have thought it was nonsense like witchcraft (non-standard magic that a lot of people consider superstition) but maybe he might have grown a bit interested once he learned that this was apparently some extremely powerful form of magic. So on the next opportunity he had to visit Houndsdagger, Hyden decided to check it out and meet this Augur Verloren.

I think this interaction could go well, but it could also go really bad.

Verloren is known for being difficult to work with and straight up hostile at times. He's very quick to judge and will not work with you if he decides that he dislikes you for any reason, so the way that Hyden approaches him would matter a lot. Some things about Verloren that I think would influence Hyden's opinions of him:

- Verloren is just an augur, and augurs typically serve under Grand Augurs, so Hyden is technically above him, although he doesn't exactly have any authority over him since he's from a different kingdom. - Verloren is also not noble or anything like that, AND he's from Vykrest. The Vykrest are a bit more animal-like in some of their ways (like growling, biting, running on all fours at times), which makes people from outside think they're somewhat uncivilized or primitive. Doesn't help their image that they're typically wary of outsiders, with some of their cities restricted to their kind alone. - Verloren also usually appears kinda arrogant, like in a "I don't have time for you" sorta way, which pisses off a lot of people who think that he should bow down to them.

But I think if Hyden is interested in what he has to offer, he would be wise enough to treat him well no matter what he actually thinks of him. And unless the other person is being actually rude to him, Verloren enjoys talking about his work and showing what he's capable of even if he doesn't like them. (It's the part of working with/for someone he hates that he won't do.)

Verloren's work is very complex and his notes and diagrams might seem to make no sense, so Hyden might be skeptical at first, but he'd probably change his mind after some demonstrations of soulmagic's power. I think he would be especially interested when Verloren gets to the part about the Triangle Workyn of Ravenbone, a craft that could permanently increase one's magic ability.

So at this point, if the conversation was going well, they might try to make a deal. Verloren offered his soulmagic services for a cost, but he was very picky about what that cost would be. He was not interested in wealth and instead he would ask his potential client what they could offer that would be really worth his time. Hyden probably would have some interesting magic knowledge to share... or maybe he would offer Ambroys' blood. I have some thoughts about what this would mean in my setting but I guess I can spare you of those ramblings and leave for some other time since it's not directly related to this pic anyway.

Aside from that payment, there would be the materials required for the craft, and for the Triangle Workyn of Ravenbone that included three victims, with their souls bound to their skulls (the process that allows you to use a soul in magic), who should be made to kill each other in order. Verloren would provide the soul-bind spells but Hyden would have to find victims and handle the killings on his own (which I think he'd be pretty capable of doing.) So once Hyden had all the required materials, they'd meet again to do the Triangle Workyn of Ravenbone on him. If everything went right, congratulations! Hyden can now output a lot more magic at once, making all of his spells stronger. Also, his bones are black now (that's what the Ravenbone in the name is about), and possibly a bit stronger too.

Overall, I think they would get along ok, but not exactly amazingly. More of a "I guess I can deal with this guy" sort of thing despite obviously having some shared interests. They'd probably have pretty good conversations about magic, but that alone.

But what if their conversation actually didn't go so nice? If Verloren refused to work with Hyden, how would he react? How would he feel about this random lowly wild-dog of a person having some unbelievably powerful magic rivaling his own and not being able to get it for himself? During Verloren's time as an augur, he gathered several enemies who'd plot his demise and attempt to have him killed and steal his work, and I think maybe Hyden might have been one of those. Eventually, some of his most influential enemies end up convincing the king of Houndsdagger to have Verloren exiled, and maybe Hyden could have been involved. It turned out to be a terrible idea however.

Ahhhh there would be more, but I think it might already be enough and maybe I should shut up...

Sorry I guess I fanfic'd too hard about our evil mages coexisting :'D

[nightwonder7]

I run an IDV x reader writing blog and I wanted to ask, since you're someone I look up to, for tips regarding portraying the characters.

Oh gosh, I'm really flattered! ;A; It truly means a lot to hear that! O////////O I try my best to learn about the characters and their lore and use that to portray them in my work to the best of my ability. Of course, I'm by no means perfect, and I'm probably wrong about some things. I'll slip in my own interpretation and headcanons every now and then. Even exaggerate for comedic effect.

But enough rambling, onto the question! The best tip I can really give is to read up on lore; everything from B-day letters to deductions to diaries to trailers to descriptions on skins, accessories and stories; every piece of information gives a bit of insight to a character, and together they can create a picture (albeit not always complete. That's where headcanons and theories come in to fill in the blanks). I find even events can tell a bit more about a character. Just soak it all up. The Wiki has been my best friend in learning IDV lore, even though I've heard it might not have all the info there is, but you can come a long way with it.

Analyses and theories people put out can also give great insight and provide different points of view. They have been really helpful for me in learning more about the characters, especially with trailers since I find them to be a little too poetic for me to understand sometimes ghfjdskgfds it's also good if you have someone to discuss these matters with.

Of course, the more invested you are in a character, the easier it is to learn about them. It is totally okay to stick with only a very few you like; the most important thing is that you're having fun! And you can always ask friends who are invested in other characters to help you out writing those. From my experience, they're usually happy to talk about their blorbos. Combined we are experts XD

And once you've gathered information, use it to answer questions like "What would they do in such and such situation?", "Do they prefer X, Y or Z?", "How would they interact with this character under these circumstances?" etc etc. Depending on what you're writing. Often times for me, however, my brain just comes up with scenarios by itself fdshjfgdsj

Gosh, this got a lot longer than I expected pfff But yeah, this is how I go about portraying characters; read about them and then apply what I've learned. I hope this helps! And like I said, the most important thing is to have fun with it, so don't worry about not writing a character perfectly. Every interpretation is different, and that's totally fine!

[chrysanthemumgames]

I’ve been apart of the Choice/Hosted games community for years and I just want to say that your story is in my top 3!

I was literally just saying to myself that I would like an IF that really had characters that had a full life outside your character that interacts with you naturally and isn’t so heavy on the constant stats check, and I got my prays answered and MORE.

First time I played, easily I knew I was going after Hades. I played 3 other times and went after Pyri Charon and Hermes (I will be playing it again for the more Olympus type choices). But TRUST it was hard cause your girl kept wanting to go back to Hades XD.

You’re a wonderful writer and I am invested and patiently waiting for the sequel! May I ask for a few suggestions?

- Character tracking: I love that it’s not stats heavy but I think it would be great for the MC to have journal of some sort in the stats page to keep track of characters and how the MC feels about them as certain events take place. There were a lot of characters to keep track of and it was hard to remember the ones I needed to remember.

- MC Traits: I love how you kept the traits simple *chef’s kiss* but during my play throughs, I definitely tried to be extremely different and subtly different. It didn’t feel like there was a distinct diversity of negative or positive consequences for your flaws. Sometimes it felt like there were and other times I wasn’t sure if I triggered one or not. (I was playing with tone indicators off so maybe that’s why I didn’t really see a difference.) Ya girl just wants a super clumsily MC that everyone wants go catch or be annoyed with cause she’s so clumsily ahaha! Which leads me to my last suggestion~

- Character development: PACING *triple chef’s kiss* its the main reason I kept running back for more ahahaha! (Hades just fully accept me as your wife already T^T) My suggestion for this is that it did feel like the Underworld Pals were too nice. I loved that they are but I would definitely like to see them have flaws that make it reasonable for your MC to dislike them. I legitimately was having a hard time being mean to them because none of them felt like they deserved it.

Thank you so much for giving us such a wonderful experience with this story. There is so much to love and I’m excited to see it expand. Also there are probably others but for the most part you are the only author that actually took the time to add the knowledge of protective hairstyles in your book. You are truly heaven sent. Thank you, now Imma go back and be mean to the my man Hades TT-TT cause I gotta see all versions of this amazing book!

Hiya, and thanks for the ask.

I'll take the suggestions under advisement, but fair warning: I'm probably not going to be doing anything to make the characters less 'nice.' They all do have flaws, and perhaps some of those will be getting a little more airtime in the sequel, so to speak, but I have no interest in changing their core personalities. I consider the fact that they are generally kind and understanding to be a feature of the work rather than a bug, so to speak.

It's not everyone's cup of tea, and I understand that, but I wanted to write a story about fundamentally kind people, and that's what I did.

Adding more opportunities for traits and flaws to be relevant is definitely on my list for the next game, and the character codex/journal/tracker is a suggestion I've gotten before and would like to implement in an update. I appreciate the suggestions!

[swordfright]

https://www.tumblr.com/swordfright/756502816281018368/what-do-you-think-is-your-most-controversial-dsmp?source=share

I remember sending this to a bunch of dsmp blogs (starting with elmhat I think ?) bc I like when people share ideas/opinions who diverge from the main consensus because I find it the most efficient way for people to stick to canon and not fanon since people can have different interpretations of event

And it was super interesting to see the one about the experimentation being after prison rather than before (loved the two LN and Q ones too but as you said they were a bit more common. Would love to see your take on c!slime though now)

(And I wouldn't have a problem with you giving unpopular opinion about the fandom either but to be clear I was not trying to start anything with my first question, I just like seeing uncommon takes)

Don't worry lol I didn't assume you were trying to start shit. Ok, so c!Slime is pretty interesting in that he's the closest thing we have to an NPC in what is otherwise a roleplay, which implies certain things about how he can be used in the narrative.

A little bit of quick background: I spent a LOT of time as a kid doing RP online (it was an original story set in the Death Note universe and it happened on a website that went bankrupt in like 2017 and no longer exists lmfao don't worry about it) and idk what RP etiquette is like in other communities, but in the community I was a part of, it was sort of frowned upon for players to outsource heavy plot/character development material to NPCs. It was allowed and people did it, but it was seen as sort of a cop-out. The underlying idea being that if you're gonna bother to do RP, your character's most important interactions should be with other PCs, in part because it helps build/strengthen the RP community and in part because it better entrenches your character's storyline in the storylines of other PCs, which in turn encourages other players to keep RPing and keeps the story going. Again, creating NPCs was very common, but players were discouraged from having entire arcs or character trajectories be highly dependent on NPCs. It was seen as sort of a cheap, low-effort way of progressing your character's development without having to coordinate plot beats with other players, and doing it too often was seen as sort of antithetical to what RP is trying to achieve as a form of gaming-storytelling. To me, c!Slime is a classic example of when an RPer outsources a little too much narrative weight onto an NPC.

First of all, I wanna clarify that it's kinda difficult to define what an NPC is or isn't on this server, but I'd say c!Slime is more of an NPC because even though he's played by a CC with some degree of improv, we know that cc!Quackity specifically wrote c!Slime's character to fulfill a narrative role and asked cc!Slime to play that character - as opposed to alternate characters played by CCs of their own accord (Sam Nook, Dream XD, Sam Bucket, Mexican Dream, etc.) So, for example, I don't see Sam Bucket as an NPC but I do see c!Slime as an NPC. c!Slime wasn't an original creation on the part of the player, he's a narrative tool (which is fine, but it does mean that what he can and can't do in the story is limited to what cc!Q needed him to do.)

There are some things I think the addition of c!Slime did accomplish. For one, Q's interactions with him provide a platform for more introspective character work on Q's part. And while I that character work could've been done by having Q interact with a PC instead, I do think Slime is better positioned to act as an apprentice figure because he had almost no lore prior to Las Nevadas and didn't enter the story with baggage or ties to any other major characters. He's a blank slate, which makes him really easy to use as a narrative device. Q voices thoughts and ideas to Slime that he can't voice to other characters (usually because it would be OOC for him to do so, or wouldn't make sense in context), which means that Slime is sort of a vehicle for delivering Q characterization to the audience.

This is all fine and I think a lot of it was done fairly well. I like cc!Slime's acting and I think the character is a fun addition to the LN crew. That said, I don't think the payoff was great. Slime being an NPC really undermined what I assume cc!Q was going for with End of Las Nevadas, in large part because he doesn't have well-established relationships with other characters. Aside from Q, Slime basically only ever interacts with Tommy, Foolish and Ranboo, and even those interactions are limited to a really tiny handful of streams. Punz capturing and manipulating him, Slime helping c!Dream confront Quackity...all that stuff could have been a lot more interesting if it had more time to marinate. Like, I love the IDEA of Slime and c!Dream interacting, but we don't really get any meaningful interactions between them outside of Slime's function as a storytelling tool. He's there when he needs to be, and only ever when he needs to be.

For instance, I would've loved to see what Slime thinks about Q's slime army. It's really weird to model your mindlessly obedient slave army after your friend. That was a weird ass thing for Q to do, and it would've been cool to see Slime react to that. But because he's more NPC than PC, and because highly scripted lore like the LN series doesn't really encourage deviation, we never get to find that out. Slime doesn't ever really get to be his own character, which in the end kinda undermines a lot of the character development he triggers for c!Quackity because at the end of the day, it's really transparent that Slime only exists to be a prop. It's a kind of one-sided relationship that's unique to RP.

I think End of Las Nevadas was weak for other reasons too, but uhhhh yeah the Slime stuff bothered me a bit. Would've liked to see him do more. And he disappears after pushing Q off the ledge and, to my knowledge, we never see him again! If he had been more PC and less storytelling tool, presumably other characters would've had opportunities to react to Slime's role in the events of that stream, or notice that he's missing/back again/missing. But instead, he's able to just vanish from the story after he's fulfilled his role because that's all he was ever supposed to do.

[justsome-di]

Hi! Wanted to let you know that I really love your take on Nano and the evolution of it through time. I also quit the whole thing for the same reasons around 2016 after two years. I was curious: what are your expectations for a healthy writing community? I've seen that a lot of people want different things and conflict happen because nobody really talks about it. The most people are willing to say is the obvious don't be an asshole (although obviously that doesn't stop some), but I rarely see people say things like "I don't want to share my writing but I do want to share the efforts of it" or "I want to talk about every details of my stories and brainstorm with others" and things like that. So what are your thoughts on it? P.S. I started following you and then I found out you're also into MDZS XD Love that!

Hi!!

When I think of a healthy writing community, I think about two 12-year-olds sharing their grand story ideas and their original characters that are master-level wizards at age 19 or famous detectives at 15 and the two 12-year-olds gush over each other's ideas and draw their characters and help each other come up with names and ideas and titles.

I think writing communities really thrive when people are encouraged to share their ideas and can get a positive response. There's times to critique works and times to just hype people up--and I think people really do not know the difference.

I've noticed a few, consistent issues:

Competition: I think some writers get competitive over how fast they write, how much, how often, etc. And I've been in some Discord servers when a person is suddenly getting praise or recognition, and you can tell there's tension. Suddenly people stop talking and log off. There's a lot of battle of the egos.

Different skill levels in one space: this is a big issue, though it's not anyone's fault. I've noticed that some writers in some servers are well-experienced with great writing and then other writers are beginners. It's not a big deal, really, but it does hamper feedback. Beginner writers get discouraged and overwhelmed when well-experienced writers offer more detailed critiques. And likewise, experienced writers probably aren't getting super in-depth critiques they need. Not to say people are unsupportive, but it's just not the most productive set up!

Selfishness: I'm not sure if that's the best way to phrase it, but I've noticed that often people will share their writing in servers but not interact with other's writings.

These are pretty limited to Discord which imo isn't a productive space for large writing groups anyway. But unfortunately when a lot of people move to Discord, it's hard to find a sense of community on tumblr or other sites.

But I can't just bitch and not offer suggestions so:

Keep online communities alive. We can't limit ourselves to Discord servers. Post your writing. Engage with other blogs. Reblog. Reply. Send in asks. If you're reading something someone wrote, let them know. Say something in the tags or send in an ask.

Be a hype man: We should encourage each other to continue writing--not everyone is looking for critiques all the time

Know your place: I've seen way too many people shit on ideas for events or special blogs. If you see something that you don't like, just leave it be. If you're not interested in something, it's not for you. Let the micro-communities do their thing and find their people. You do not need to be involved in every facet of the general writing community.

Post. Your. Writing. Or post stuff about your writing. It's hard to find other writers when they don't share! I can't hype up your story if I don't know about it!

I often see a lot of suggestions get vague. Like you said--"Don't be an asshole." Okay. Great. But what does that mean? And how does it get enforced in moderated communities like servers? What if the mods of the servers are assholes?

Or I see "support each other!" Okay, but we need an actual game plan for getting early-2010s level of community back. We need to bring back ask memes and character memes and ask culture. Because people back then weren't just twiddling their thumbs waiting for an interaction, there was effort put into all of it. People were designing games and events and taking time to engage with each other.

I don't think people understand that healthy communities need to be nurtured and inclusive. And this is definitely glamorizing the internet of 10-15 years ago. There's always been bullying and toxic people. But I think we could definitely build on what used to be and make something that's mature and welcoming to everyone.

I'm hoping with NaNo on their steady decline through the past couple of years really encourages people to rekindle other online communities. I think a lot of people have been nostalgic over the past few days, and a lot of people have taken the initiative to coordinate their own events. It's starting to bring back some of the unconditional support that used to exist.

(I love mdzs so much omggg and I'm reading through tgcf too and I aaaahhhh I'm very normal about it)

[elitadream]

Hey Elita!

I'm so sorry for reaching out a bit late. I really hope you're feeling a bit better <3<3<3. Sending you all the love and hugs your way <3<3<3

I have been thinking about some bonding time between Mario and Toadsworth (since Toadsworth would probably be Mario's father in law at some point xD). I like to hc that after the events of the galaxy event, Mario becomes quite interested in astronomy. Toadsworth acutally knows a lot about it and catches on on Mario's interest. So they would sit together, star gaze together and Toadsworth would teach Mario the things he knows.

(I don't know if this makes sense but I just wanted some bonding time with those two :) )

Thank you very much for the support! 💕 My overall state has been improving and I feel a bit lighter today, which is good.^^🌱

OMG YES MARIO AND TOADSWORTH BONDING FTW!!! 🤩👌Astronomy is such a good idea for a common interest, I could very well see them spending time together in the castle's observatory and conversing privately at night when all the other citizens (and the princess) would be asleep; talking about life, duty, future aspirations and family. 🌌 The same way Luigi and Peach would primarily bond over their immense affection for Mario, Toadsworth and Mario would bond over their devoted love for Peach, and the two would thus develop a very fond relationship. 💖

There was this fun scene I wanted to draw a while back, in which Mario meets Toadsworth for the first time. The man would be terrified at the thought of being introduced to the princess' trusted steward and very wise mentor (and beloved father figure); wanting to make a good first impression above all else and somehow let him know that he means absolutely no harm whatsoever to Her Highness Peach Toadstool.

After a formal interview upon which the old toad would take notice of Mario's fumbling but unequivocal benignity - as well as obvious nervousness -, he would give him a friendly smile and say: "My boy, I have no doubt that someone who knows how to maintain such a sumptuous mustache is as judicious as they are deft, and will do most finely around the castle. What do you say?"

That would be very effective in breaking the ice. Delighted by the offer, Mario would promptly return the compliment, and the exchange would rapidly turn quite jovial. Slightly worried by the prolonged duration of the meeting, Peach would enter Toadsworth's office only to find him engrossed in a lively conversation with her new friend about facial hair, and she would quietly leave again without being seen; very pleased to see them getting along so well. 🤭

The thought of them instantly taking a liking to each other is one that I really like, and I'd love to eventually make another piece where they're seen directly interacting with one another. ^_^

[tom-cobalt]

OOC. Hi I am @thefcguy , and this is my DC OC roleplay blog.

(Like @vicenovirtues ; @jacynbrakegrayson : @therealrickeygrayson ; @movntaindrew , @vvultur3 and so on, so 4th, there are many out there XD).

Mostly, I roleplay as my OC Tom, but, uh, it's kind of different than the majority.

Cause, this blog is directedly connected to the canon story (although the blog isn't actually canon on the story).

As soon as a chapter/episode/issue is finished, I will act as if Tom has just finished the adventure of said chapter.

Which means that, before the story starts, you guys will get to see some pre-events of season 1. Which means the day to day life of Tom in the lab.

The Blog's title will probably change as the story progresses.

Some things about Tom before you guys flood the inbox:

THE ACTUAL STORY AND RELEVANT POSTS IS ON THE BLOG @thehopesquadhq

The fact he is Bruce's youngest in the AU is something he wants to hide. He has severe family issues and want to forget about them. Again, you guys can tease and ask about his family, but, he will stay with his mouse closed.

A lot of the stuff he writes in the beginning is about the lab which is pretty messed up. So, be careful, there is gore, kids being tortured, and experiments that are anything but moral.

I have no canon explanation to how Tom is being able of posting into a multiversal internet, when he can't even post in the regular internet, cause the lab doesn't allow prodigies to have accounts on social media to expose the organization there. Let's all pretend it's magic, Uncle Grandpa, OC magic, or whatever.

At this point of the story, Tom's outfit isn't either of the ones in the fixed post. I still haven't done his wardrobe, so, his Green Light Lab uniform isn't available for you guys to see.

If any other roleplaying blog, OC or not, wants to interact, I am open to it, but, remember, I don't have time for complex storylines.

It would probably be like just Tom confused on how he can talk to family members of other universes, OCs of other AUs/timelines, and all his nephews and nieces.

I have this "Tom's journal" thing that is sort of canon, because, Tom is writting them in the story, but, he is writting them in a doc, not a social media.

Well, I guess that's it, so let's just write Tom's introduction.

______________________________________________________________

Hello, my name is Tom Cobalt (Cobalt isn't my surname, it's my ranking codename, but, before I turn 18, it kind of is my surname inside the lab, until it becomes my only name) and, I am a... reluctantly ... Green Light Prodigy! He he... he... he... *frowns*.

Honestly, my mental health is going down the drain, and, I need to let these feelings out. Anyway possible.

If you guys want to know more about the hell... I mean, my life at the lab, I am all ears.

It's mostly me venting, though, I am tired...

Well, Tom signing out, I guess.

[xelilow04]

NOTE: I have so much to say about the Poetry Gala Event because I enjoyed it so much. It's going to be lengthy but feel free to read me rambling haha.

I don't mean to be dramatic but... Chongyun enthusiasts, WE WON! I'm so happy that he was able to show up so much in this event! Like he actually got lines and so much screentime!! I know he always appears in Lantern Rite, but this just hits different. Did you see how fast he was talking and the way he did his little jump after having those chili peppers? XD Also the way he was giving Xingqiu some sass at the at the end of the story? Show him, Chongyun!

And I never thought I would be able to see two of my favorite characters in the same frame! This is going to keep me fed until the next Lantern Rite haha.

On a similar note, this event was just as good as last year's goofy Lantern Rite! I will never stop talking about how much I love it when characters from different nations are able to meet each other, like the whole Xingqiu/Mika/Noelle interaction was really sweet! (But the way Xingqiu told them to just not get caught when sneaking away from home XD He's such a bad influence haha)

AND THIS. The way Zhongli and Venti were looking at the children, it really solidifies the fact they they're retired. Don't mind me crying over here 🥺

I didn't expect the event to dive a bit into Diona's lore, so that was really cool!! Also really glad that learning about Oceanids and their power kind of helped Chongyun come to terms with his yang energy. (I shall now wait patiently for some lore drop on Chongyun.)

The whole story was just so nice. And the MUSIC for Callirhoe's story was the final cherry on top 👌

[chil-aglia]

would you ever join a TMNT competition? I saw one that was like an TMNTOC competition one and of course there’s the TMNTAU’s as well. I personally think your OC’s would be awesome in those kinds of events!

I mean, I would love to join those kind of things, they look so fun! The thing is I’m still new to tumblr and all that, and I have no clue how to join in on those events. Do I get invited? Do people suggest me and I’m just thrown in??? Like bro, I got no clue. ALSO, I’m introverted af— I don’t know how to interact with people without being cringe or straight up stupid XD. IM ALSO SELF CONSCIOUS OF MY ART, great at writing, but art gets me shaking if I show it off. Especially since I’m only just slowly getting back into drawing after like 4 (or more) years of not doing it.

But anyways, yeah, I’d love to join those kinds of competitions, I just don’t know how

[darksideofthemamon]

God in Hellblazer vs Lucifer comics

I have a lot of thoughts on the angel characters from Hellblazer/Sandman/Lucifer (basically the DC/Vertigo comics era). I've had them for a long time but I guess I'm only getting to writing about it now. I have a whole essay to write about Remiel from Sandman, but for now, this should do as a warm up.

Though Hellblazer and Sandman are supposed to be in the same universe, it gets really messy with different writers and storylines going in different directions, more so when you include Sandman's spin-offs, like the Lucifer comics and its sequels.

I think one of the most glaring differences is their portrayal of God. God seems... so much nicer in the Lucifer comics (both the Mike Carey (2000) and Holly Black (2016) runs).

And I think a lot of this is caused by the themes of each story.

Hellblazer has some really strong political themes going on, so much that I can't possibly analyze them all. What I do know is that gods/angels/etc in the story tend to represent people in power and privilege. So for example, look at what John says to the archangel Gabriel in the bottom right panel: "You're the ones that make the frigging rules for us, and you don't even understand us!"

In effect, God, as well as the heavenly hosts, tend to be portrayed as jerks.

The Lucifer comics take a different approach. The story's themes tend to gear more towards family, identity, and free will. The protagonist is a really headstrong guy who wants to be free of his omniscient, omnipotent, dad. In his words (upper right panel): "This face is mine. This scar-- is mine. You may not have them. Not without my permission."

Because of the "messed up family" angle, God tends to come off as more well-meaning, but flawed.

Reading the comics together and considering them in the same universe can get jarring when God is so patient with Lucifer, but so damn harsh towards The First of the Fallen and Gabriel.

(and yes I know the Lucifer spin-offs aren't or are dubiously canon, but for this analysis, just consider them canon)

When Lucifer rebels and causes a whole war, God gives him a domain to rule over in order to give His son what he wants: to be away from Him. (top panels)

But when First of the Fallen and Gabriel even step a toe out of line? They get cast out of Heaven in painful, soul-crushing ways. (bottom panels)

And I guess it just ends up coming off as if God has some pretty massive favoritism towards Lucifer?? XD Like wow the Morningstar gets so much leeway, but FOTF and Gabriel get tossed out so fast??

In the end though, it doesn't bother me. I think the dynamic can even enhance the story in fascinating ways.

The story where these 2 portrayals get reconciled is through Gabriel's character in the Lucifer (2016) run by Holly Black.

Gabriel in this run shares a backstory with his Hellblazer self, and though the specific events leading to his Fall were only briefly touched upon, his treatment and relationship with his Father retains those themes of free will and identity, while also portraying God as harsh and tyrannical.

When a God that turned evil tries to take away his free will, Gabriel cries "Get out of my head! I was beyond your mercy before. Now I am beyond your reach."

God tossed him out so mercilessly the first time, so why does He get to control him now?

Gabriel in Hellblazer is a proud snob who views things through a very self-righteous black-and-white lens. It's revealed however, that his Father's strict rules and harsh punishments have left him anxious, guilty, and afraid (especially following an eye-opening interaction with John Constantine).

When he opens up about his problems to Julie (actually a succubus named Ellie) in Hellblazer, she says: "Look at you. What did he do to make you feel so scared and guilty?"

When it's revealed in Lucifer (2016) that Gabriel killed God, Lucifer says: "Our Father turned His back on you. And you were so angry. You've been angry for so long."

The Lucifer (2016) comic manages to show God through the lighter lens while also acknowledging his harsh treatment of Gabriel.

And we see this in Gabriel's character. In Hellblazer he's nervously looking over his own shoulder, in Lucifer (2016) he's proudly passion's fool.

And while we're talking about Gabriel, his self-actualization arc is one of the main reasons I love Holly Black's run despite its flaws!

I love how they continued his story from Hellblazer. There's a story about a guy living under his strict father's thumb who fell from grace when he was cast out, then got back up with the help of family and friends who support him. It says something that by the end of the story, he no longer works for Heaven but instead for Hell, serving under Mazikeen who acknowledged him at his lowest. He also gains his wings and heart back-- the former from Lucifer and the latter from Raphael, his brothers.

That's all I have to say XD. This was just supposed to be an observation but I ended up talking about Gabriel lol

[ghostinthegallery]

Hey there!! I really enjoyed your insight the other day about how writing a serial differs from a plotted-out-and-written-in-advance novel! As someone who's just dipping my toes into posting as I write, any chance you could give some advice or tips you've learned about that style of writing specifically? 💚

(from @inquisitor-gayfax)

Why yes! I'd love to (thank you for giving me the excuse XD)

The main thing I have realized is that experience with traditional, "complete on arrival" novels is actually super helpful for serial writing. The principles of character writing, world building, and all that still apply, but even more importantly the beats you want your story to hit are all pretty much the same. You want that into, the inciting incident, the midpoint turn, etc. Those are all vital to keeping your story on track. Especially as serials are prone to meandering. It is so easy to get lost and lose sight of the forest for the trees. For me, always checking with myself that I am hitting or actively working towards those major beats helps to keep me on track.

Also note that one big thing will be different is the length. Serials tend to get much longer and thus the beats are stretched out. The length is because each chapter essentially functions as a short story in and of itself. It has to be a satisfying reading experience on its own as well as in the context of the larger work. This oftentimes means fleshing things out more than you otherwise would and bam, longer work. (not necessarily as long as I often go! but the tendency is there). FWIW, I find editing these chapters as I got to be much easier than editing a whole novel. I do miss being able to move big chunks and scenes around (cut and paste, my beloved), but it is worth the tradeoff to me.

The nature of the chapters functioning as short stories (minus a definitive ending of course) is probably going to be the biggest difference if you are someone who writes the entire thing ahead of time and then posts chapter by chapter, as opposed to posting as you write or posting with a backlog but not a finished novel.

Now, the other biggest difference if you are posting as you go is that you will not have the chance to revise the entire story the way you do with a traditional novel. You cannot go back and change things, add foreshadowing or a character beat or anything. Once you publish that chapter, the events are set in stone.

I actually enjoy this! It is a fun challenge to work with what I have established. But...I also cheat. I have a tendency to drop little things here and there that could be hints at larger plot points or things that are setting up things later on, but they are vague enough that I am not fully locked into anything.

The secret is that your readers are unlikely to remember a small detail in chapter 3 that didn't really go anywhere. But they will remember that detail in chapter 4 that got paid off in chapter 35 and you will look like a super genius (I am 99% sure Eiichiro Oda, possibly the greatest serial fantasy writer/artist of all time has done this writing One Piece, alongside his legit 5-D chess long game reveals)

To call myself out, here is an interaction from chapter 5 of The Silence & the Storm (poster child of fics that got too long)

Before he turned to go, he placed a hand on Anrakyr’s shoulder. Anrakyr tried to shake him off, but his grip was as strong as his bulky build would imply. Through an interstitial message he said, “If you ever wish to hear of Pyrrhia, you need only ask. Perhaps you still have friends there? Perhaps not. But would you not like to know?” “What are you—” Zultanekh broke the connection. He started back down the corridor, and Anrakyr had to choose whether to chase him, or remain with this stranger.

I had no idea what had actually happened on Pyrrhia when I wrote that. I just knew I wanted to address Anrakyr's backstory and why he left his home planet, so I left myself that set up figuring I would pay it off later. And then in chapter 48 we got this:

“Do you remember back when the mot was called,” Anrakyr said. “You told me that if I wished to know about Pyrrhia I need only ask. That I might still have friends there. Was that true?” “Would I lie about such a thing? Never,” Zultanekh replied, surprisingly softly. “Did my own wanderings take me to Pyrrhia? Yes, they did. An unlucky clash with some orks left this ship in need of repairs—although make no mistake the orks were far worse off! Space debris after we were done with them.” Anrakyr flashed a glyph of impatience.  “In any case,” Zultanekh continued. “We landed, declaring our intentions to repair and leave. Had we heard rumors of lost Pyrrhia? We had, however the planet itself was quite…orderly. Calm.”

The conversation goes on as Zultanekh describes more of what he saw because 33 chapters later I, the author, now know what happened and can start giving that pay off. Sometimes I will get really lucky and find something I didn't intend as foreshadowing but that happens to work! Those are good days.

Now this is a risky strategy. You can limit your options when you do this, and you have to make the pay off make sense given whatever you set up. I've definitely wished for the power to go back and edit some of my vague hints in the past. But that is the challenge! True you could actually be good at planning and meticulously plant all your little seeds and reveals. Or you can be me, a creature of vibes and chaos.

Speaking of vibes, I think it is important to talk about the audience. And how they will influence you. When you present a finished story, that is it. It is done. The audience can talk about the story all they want, but it cannot retroactively influence how you wrote the book. With serial writing 99% of the time readers will be able to comment. And I think we writers have to be very careful about how we let that affect our writing.

The Game of Thrones writing team apparently at some point decided that "fooling the audience" and being unpredictable was more important than telling a good story, so they changed plot points when too many audience members predicted certain outcomes. This is bad. However, sometimes audience feedback is good! I personally unlocked a whole subplot because a commenter asked about a character I had included totally at random. It was a filler name! I did not realize this character was in a game, but realizing that gave me incredible stuff to work with. I'm glad I listened to them! Not to mention the incredible kindness and support that has kept me going through some rough patches in my life. By that same token, negative comments can feel awful. I have not found that to be an issue in my corner of the 40k fandom, but it is absolutely a consideration in other spaces (especially outside of fanfic) so just be aware.

I hope that answered your question! Probably too much, but as we have firmly established, I am verbose ☺️