#if you see a typo don't tell me bc i'll be embarrassed but i don't feel like proofreading rn asdfgh

[quietlyblooms]

the graveyard shift | modern fantasy i

as night settles in and the streets become quiet, one shop remains open at the end of the street. it is nondescript and sports a forgettable name; indeed, one might overlook it despite being the one building that shines in the dark, but if you're curious enough to walk through those doors one evening, you'll be bombarded by the smell of herbs and oils. you'll notice shelves and tables full of books, teas, ointments, crystals, candles and trinkets -- even paintings. truly the shop appears to nearly burst with the plethora of items it holds, and in the far corner, a blonde peers at you from over her shoulder.

chiyoko hisakawa. ah, just the woman you needed to see.

if you need a spell, chiyo is the witch for the job. within reason. there are some strict rules, like no resurrecting the dead and no love spells. there are some magics that simply should not be dabbled in, but a quick spell to erase an hour of memory? a little charm to protect you from harm? all you need to do is answer a simple question.

quiet night, isn't it? yes, if the wind weren't howling.

the young witch stops reorganizing a bookshelf, beckoning you over to the front counter instead. she rifles under it for a moment, and to your surprise -- and admittedly disappointment -- she places a single sheet of paper upon the counter for you to look over. a grin spreads across her pretty face. she definitely noticed your pout.

" did you expect a spell book like in the movies? we don't always need that thing, y'know. now, " she pauses to gesture towards the list of spells, charms, and services available, watching you with kind if not laughing eyes.

" what can the hisakawa's do for you? "

additional details

chiyo mostly runs the shop at night to accommodate nocturnal and emergency customers. during the day, her father runs the shop while her mother still teaches at the local high school.

chiyo herself still writes and illustrates her manga, utilizing the slow hours at the shop to get it done. she's currently on break, even if she's still trying to work on her series. i may change this detail if it ends up feeling too busy.

the hisakawa's have a reputation for being witches, though they will laugh and deny it to the general public. only those close to them or those of the supernatural community are aware of the truth.

the hisakawa's have also been a staple of the supernatural community for years, and because of this, they're well-loved and respected. which kinda makes up for their human peers misunderstanding them over the generations :' )))

chiyo has a touch of the sight, often having visions in her sleep or as she's drawing/painting. she doesn't share this with anyone outside her family. she hates it tbh :// asdf

her familiar is jun, a japanese mastiff who can sense the intentions of people and is most always by her side. if you wish chiyo harm, he will know.

this verse is a precursor to the events of bad moon rising in which chiyo becomes a vampire.

[suddencolds]

🌸 🥀 🥳💡 for the ask meme, from w1ngxd!

AHHH thank you for the ask, Wing!!!! These were so much fun to answer :D ❤️

🌸 - Are there any sneeze related tropes you prefer to write?

Yes!! I like contagion in pretty much any form 🫣 I love emotional tension (someone reluctant/embarrassed to admit that they have a cold, someone falling ill at an inopportune time, someone afraid to show vulnerability or unwilling to contradict their spotless public image, etc.)—i.e. the hurt part of the hurt/comfort—so long as there's at least a bit of comfort at the end. <3

I like when caretakers are extremely perceptive (/ can pick up on the smallest of tells), but I also like when colds are extremely obvious 🫣 I like when the character who's ill is more concerned about the other character catching it than they are themself. If it's the right kind of character, I like making their life super inconvenient in public bc of a cold/allergies (though I rarely ever write an external party noticing/commenting). And from an h/c perspective, I like when a character who's just feeling awful and finally works up the courage to reach for help/comfort, only to have it readily given to them tenfold 🥰

🥀 - What helps you motivate yourself to write when you’re in a slump? Any advice? Do you wait it out?

If I'm not happy with a scene, I open a new word doc and try to write it again from scratch. Dealing with a blank slate feels better for me than trudging through editing something I'm already not happy with :')

And if I'm feeling really terrible about a draft—to the extent that I don't want to work on it at all, I leave it and go work on something else! I think for the current yvverse series I'm working on, I know I'll get back to it eventually (because it's very important to me), so I feel less nervous about leaving it to sit.

🥳 - Do you read your writing after you’ve posted it?

I do! But not immediately after. I'm actually guilty of posting stuff that has typos I don't catch until a couple days later, when I can work up the courage to give it a quick skim 😭

Facing my work when it's newly written/posted I think is like a can of worms for me. I'm very critical of my own work haha. There's a special kind of relief (and perhaps, closure) for me that comes with putting it out into the world and walking away from it.

💡 - Do you find it easier to write ideas that come to you naturally or prompts requested by others?

I love receiving prompts!! I have a severe lack of ideas 😭 I feel like I could take an idea and run with it, but after I've written like the 2-3 things I'm itching to write for a new fandom, I often find myself at a loss for new ideas, barring external inspiration.

I also like receiving prompts even when I'm guilty of never getting to write them—it's fun to see what other people want to read :') I think when I wrote for a fandom (Gens//hin) I got a lot more prompts, but now that I write mostly OC fic, I haven't gotten any prompts in like a year (maybe also because I haven't explicitly asked for any? Consider this blanket permission to anyone reading this haha)

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