#suspense writers

[authortoberecognized]

WRITER’S FORUM  MYSTERY WRITING

WEBSITES HELPFUL TO WRITERS This is a series of posts which, I think, will be beneficial to writers. But first, I would like to include my usual warning about using websites. Whenever you check a website you are, in my opinion and I talk from experience, being put on a list for sale. So, expect the possibility of being bombarded by ads from companies you, perhaps, have never heard of and have…

[going2hell4everythingbutbeingbi]

btw if you write a teen character with any kind of powers they better do some dumb shit with those powers or I'm unsuspending my disbelief

[suspensefulpen]

Anything Else?

TW: Noncon Drugging, Chain Restraints, Sadistic Whumper

Whumper smiled to himself as Whumpee struggled to focus their gaze. Their eyes refused to stay opened and on Whumper.

Not only were they tired from the past couple of hours of straight taunting, they were tired from whatever Whumper had injected them with. After getting the idea from a friend, he decided to try it out on Whumpee. He was very pleased with the results.

“So, what was all that you were saying earlier?” He asked with a knowing grin. “You said you were going to hit me, stab me, strangle me, get me back. Anything else you plan on doing?”

Whumpee’s lips didn’t move to form a response. Only a small exhale could be heard. The chains attached to their wrists and ankles holding them down to the bed didn’t rattle. He could see their eyes slowly starting to shut. Grabbing their chin, he forced their head up. “I’m talking to you Whumpee.”

Their eyes opened more before slowly closing. He hummed. “I thought you had things to say Whumpee. Why’re you so quiet now?”

Whumper yanked on one chain, forcing their glassy eyes to briefly lock with his. This was something he could get used to seeing. He smirked.

“You look so much better like this. You think I enjoy you thrashing around all the time? Nah, I don’t. I like you better this way.” He hummed. “Too incoherent to talk or even open your eyes. I wish I could keep you like this forever…”

His smirk fell as a thought occurred to him.

[autism-alley]

hi originally posted this at the end of a long thread of back and forth, here’s the og post if you want full context but i feel like this needs to be its own post especially bc i keep seeing this argument being made—the argument that the kids (in this case it was annabeth) SHOULD just know the monsters are monsters and who they are and how to defeat them before ever encountering them, that it’s a problem if they don’t.

the problem is not if 12 year olds should recognize a trap when they see one, even if they’re smart 12 year olds, and if that’s realistic. that is entirely beside the point.

the problem is rick riordan wrote a book series whose formula is bringing myths to the modern age and he’s not sticking true to that in the show—percy jackson and the olympians’ Shtick is taking these classic, ancient threats and giving them a new face. these traps work because these kids are not walking into a cave marked with Get Out and getting ambushed by monsters—the monsters are disguised as harmless mortal human beings, in harmless mortal human being places (for the most part) and i think we—and more importantly, the show—are all forgetting the mist, the magic involved here. it’s not just that medusa is a “creepy lady with her eyes covered” it’s that there is ancient magic at work here, magic that, like the systems of abuse pjo exists to criticize, has been evolving and continuing its malevolence for millennia. it’s formulaic, that’s the point. it’s the same trap you’ve learned about all your childhood, the same trap a thousand children before you learned all their childhoods, and still, it works. you fall into the trap. because that’s how generational abuse works. it’s a trap. it isn’t enough to learn monsters exist, what they look like from a second hand story that originated thousands of years ago. if you want to escape alive, you have to adapt as quickly as they do, recognize their face, and ultimately, beyond any individual trap, the game itself has to change. real, generational change.

so. the problem is rick riordan wrote a series with a formula for action that perfectly captures the overarching, systemic conflicts he was commentating on, and then threw that formula out in the show because it was “unrealistic”. i don’t give a damn about realism when it works to the detriment of the story. this is a story about generational abuse, yes, but it’s told through ‘a tale as old as time’ and that’s why it works so fucking well. and when it comes to basic storytelling, if your characters know the threat before they even walk in and you do practically nothing to then make up for the stakes you have removed, that’s a flaw. now you’ve lost the entertainment value for your audience, on top of also lessening your themes.

something else that is so. honestly soul-crushing as a writer and a creative, is that to me this is reflective of the way we are now afraid to tell earnest stories. stories where we care not for listening to the people who want to pick apart fictional, mythical, fantasy stories for not being “realistic” instead of aligning with our target audience who acknowledges reality is not what makes a story. think of your favorite movie, show, book, comic, what have you—has the reason for your favoritism ever been because it is the most reasonable, the most grounded, the most practical out of any you’ve seen? or is it because of the emotion? the way it speaks to you, to your life and the person you are? the journey it takes you on? is the percy jackson and the olympians book series so good because it’s inherently realistic?

the secret to storytelling is, very simply, focus on your story. everything else is secondary. if it’s written well, it doesn’t matter to me that the characters walk into a trap that, to the audience, is obviously a trap. because i can understand how the characters don’t know it, and how the story falls apart if the narrative just tells the characters it’s a trap from the jump. that’s what dramatic irony is—first used in greek tragedies! this is literally a tale as old as time in every sense except for the end—where it’s happy. and it’s not earned if we don’t first see, over and over, the status quo as a tragic trap.

it’s not about if annabeth (or the other kids) is “smart enough” to not walk into a trap, or about if she’s just too prideful to not walk into what she knows is a trap (or any reason that could apply to the other characters), it’s that annabeth, at the end of the day, is a character. she is a storytelling tool for the messages of the narrative. that doesn’t make her any lesser. in fact ignoring it reduces her, because it reduces what she represents. it’s about how rick riordan, or whoever else at disney, has fumbled the storytelling bag so ridiculously hard that they can’t take the simple, effective formula outlined from start to finish (by good ol 2009 rick himself) and adapt it to the screen without answering the most unimportant, derailing, anti-story questions.

[delayedstrawberry]

Dracule Mihawks Unknown Visitor

Summary: Dracule Mihawk is a man of many secrets, so naturally, he greeted Zoro and Perona with silence when they asked about his unusual mood during their unannounced visit to his Castle on Kuraigana Island. However, it all starts to make sense once a stranger appears unexpectedly at the door. Fandom: One Piece Relationships: Mihawk x Reader, Mihawk x Female OC Characters: Dracule Mihawk, Female Reader Zoro and Perona Notes: Hello♡ This is just a silly and slightly romantic little idea I came up with, so I had to get it out of my system. I posted this Fanfic on my AO3 as well (DelayedStrawberry) I hope you enjoy reading!

˚✩ ⋆｡˚ ✩Dracule Mihawks Unknown Visitor ˚✩ ⋆｡˚ ✩

Mihawk sits on his usual throne chair in the tea room, holding the newspaper in his hands as he lazily reads through it. There’s a fresh cup of tea by his side, and a book to keep him occupied later on. He’s wearing his frilly white shirt today, alongside his long black pants, his black boots and a cross necklace. The air around the castle seems calm and undisturbed, except for the loud voices of Zoro and Perona talking in the living room down the hall. Thankfully Mihawk has the door shut, and told them to shut the living room door too. They’re visiting for around two weeks against Mihawk's will, so he’s got one week left of them making a mess of the place. The pair decided to come unannounced again. This is what, the third time this year? What a bother.

Mihawk sighs, the fluttering of the newspaper being heard throughout the room as he shifts in his seat. They’re still too loud. But no matter…they made him some rice and vegetable soup in the morning so he can’t get too angry. Granted, they did an awful job on it, but he can’t deny they still tried their best.

“Aw come on Zoro, hold still.” Perona whines in a frustrated tone as Zoro sits between her legs.

“I’m trying! But you keep tugging on my hair…I’m not some statue!” Zoro spits back, changing his seating position for the hundredth time.

Perona has somehow convinced Zoro to let her braid his hair. He’s grown it out pretty long over the summer and she’s been bugging him about it for weeks, so she’s got him trapped between her legs as she sits on the couch.

“Pfft not trying hard enough. I thought you were some strong swordsman, you can handle my hands in your hair, right?” Perona tugs another piece of his hair, giggling as she does so.

“That’s it! I’ve had enough!” Zoro suddenly stands up and knocks Perona over backwards on the couch, a breathless gasp escaping her. He promptly runs his fingers through his hair to get rid of the braids, but manages to tangle his hair instead.

“That was like an hour's work!” Perona whines, crossing her arms over her chest as she sinks into the couch with a pout.

“Dammit, what did you do to it…it’s getting tangled.” Zoro murmurs as he continues to try and get the braids out.

“Why do you ALWAYS have to be like this?? I was nearly done.” She whines, the pout on her face growing deeper.

“I don’t care. And I don’t want your grubby hands in my hair anyway!” Zoro retorts, his voice rising.

Perona gasps. “Grubby??? How DARE you insinuate-”

Zoro cuts her off. “I’m not insinuating, I’m stating a damn fact. You’re just an annoying grubby girl who can’t seem to begin to imagine what diseases live under HER fingernails!”. His hands are furiously running through his hair to get rid of the braids, but miserably failing.

“Oh yeah? Well, your mouth is a disease!” Perona’s voice gets slightly louder, and she sits up straighter on the couch as she looks up at him.

“Oh how original of you.” He rolls his eyes, crossing his arms and looking off to the side.

“How about we ask Mihawk what he thinks?? I’m sure he’ll agree with me!” Perona says with conviction, a small smile on her face.

“He would agree with a bag of rocks before he would agree with you!” Zoro laughs loudly, stepping back closer to the couch to loom over Perona with a half grin.

“N-NO!” Perona stutters out, her smile dropping, knowing Zoro's right.

“Then we agree. You’re grubby.” Zoro says as he leans down and gets close to Peronas face.

“We do NOT agree! Ugh this isn’t fair!” She looks back into Zoro's eyes with a stubborn expression.

Zoro's voice rises as his frustration comes back with a crash. “Not fair??…Not FAIR?? You messed up my damn hair! It’s gonna take days for it to look good again!”

“It never looked good in the first place so I don’t know why you’re so worried!” Perona shouts, getting up in his face even more.

“Says the pink haired FREAK!” Zoro shouts back.

“Your hair is GREE-” Zoro cuts her off by quickly clamping a hand over her mouth.

“God, quiet down! Mihawks’ already been in a bad enough mood lately, don’t make it worse.” Zoro says in a hushed tone, saying it as if he wasn’t also shouting.

Perona grumbles under his hand, but then they hear something. It sounds like footsteps, but not the demanding ones of Mihawk…but the softer and lighter kind, and they’re coming from outside the castle. The two slowly turn their heads simultaneously towards the sound of them, their eyes growing wider.

Perona prys Zoros’ hand off of her mouth, both of them still trying to listen.

“Who’s that…?” Perona whispers, her ears straining to hear who’s footsteps they are.

“I don’t know.” Zoro whispers back. “It seems to be coming from outside.”

“An intruder??” Perona whispers, a bit of alarm in her voice.

Zoro shrugs as Perona gets off of the couch, quickly floating across the living room to the window. She peers through it and Zoro goes to stand behind her. However, due to the distance and the angle, they can’t see who it is. Perona huffs and floats out of the living room door to go towards the front entrance of the castle. Zoros’ eyebrows shoot up. There’s been a warning from Mihawk about how there’s been a gang of pirates in the nearby seas causing unusual trouble lately, and told them to be careful.

“Wait for me, you’ll get yourself killed!” Zoro shouts after her. He sighs and straightens up, walking after Perona who’s already halfway down the hallway.

Zoro stumbles a bit as he leaves the living room, his hand now occupied with his tangled hair as he tries to follow Perona as fast as he can.

The two walk through the castle halls and various rooms with gothic furniture and colours, although Zoro is more distracted by trying to fix his messy green strands.

“Dammit.” He curses under his breath, stumbling into a chair.

Perona rolls her eyes and grabs Zoros’ hand, yanking it out of his tangled locks. “You’re gonna get lost again if you keep thinking of your stupid hair.” She says in an annoyed tone. Zoro just protests under his breath, and the two of them walk to the main entrance of the castle.

The main entrance of Mihawks’ castle is quite the large area, with an even larger door. The floor is covered in dark green shiny diamond tiles, and the 3 metre door is dark brown with a vintage golden handle. The footsteps seem to be coming towards the entryway, so Zoro pulls his swords out just in case, and Peronas’ heart pounds a little faster.

“What if they’re here to kill Mihawk??” Perona whispers, looking up at Zoro.

“I could take them…” Zoro mutters.

Perona pauses for a second. “Yeah, that’s what you said about Mihawk.”

Zoro glares at her, clearly unamused.

The footsteps come even closer to the door, still sounding soft and light. Zoro and Perona tense up.

“It couldn’t be a guest, right? Mihawk never has guests. The old man barely has friends.” Zoro whispers.

“Mhmm. And we weren’t told of any guests, he would tell us!” Perona whispers in a whiny voice.

The footsteps are heard even closer, it sounds like they’re on the steps which lead up to the front door.

“Perona! Fix my hair, right now.” Zoro whispers, his voice laced with panic.

She quietly giggles and grabs his head so that she can properly take the braids out, the braids he so wonderfully tangled. Zoro keeps his eyes on the front door, the footsteps coming even closer.

“There bossy-I mean mossy. Your hair should be fine now.” Perona grins. Zoro gives her a half glare but decides to leave her comment until later. They both look at the entrance way, the footsteps even closer now and the air full of nerves. Zoro and Perona look at each other in anticipation before silently stepping towards the door.

The footsteps are heard right outside, and without a second thought Zoro flings the door open and raises his swords.

A loud scream is heard and papers fly everywhere as the person falls to the ground in fright. Zoros’ eyes widen…fuck. It’s just a postman.

“Oh g-god don’t kill me! P-please! I-I was sent here b-by the marines t-to give a letter to M-Mihawk! The birds aren’t in s-service at the moment! Mihawk k-knew I was coming I s-swear! I t-told them I wasn’t u-up for the job! This p-place is so-.” The poor postman rambles, frantically trying to pick up all the letters he dropped. Zoro rubs his temple and puts his swords away, he bends down to help the shaking man.

“Uhh sorry about that…we thought you were…” Zoro trails off.

“An intruder trying to kill Mihawk!” Perona exclaims loudly as she floats up behind Zoro, her hands on her hips and her lips pursed.

The young postman nervously smiles, stuffing a handful of letters into his bag. “Nope…h-hah…”

Zoro helps with putting the last papers in the mans’ bag, and gets handed a letter as they both stand up. “T-this is for Mihawk. It’s f-from the marines.” The postman says nervously, sweating and trembling slightly.

Zoro nods and clears his throat, waving the letter around slightly. “Yeah okay, we’ll give this to him. Thanks.”

The postman nods then starts to hurry off back down the stairs. Zoro grimaces slightly and sighs, then Perona speaks up.

“Pshh. Why would you do that, Zoro!? You pulled your swords out on an innocent man! How rude.” She puts her nose in the air and crosses her arms, floating away from him and back into the castle.

“WHA-!” Zoro stammers with a start, his head quickly turning towards her. He groans and shuts the door behind him and starts walking back into the castle too, muttering under his breath about how she’s the one who put the idea in his head that it was an intruder.

“You can’t just be swinging those swords around, you’ll take some innocent persons’ eyes out, you know.” Perona continues to talk as they cross the entrance way.

Zoro sighs heavily. “So much for an exciting day, guess we’ll go and…”

“Braid your hair again?” Perona turns around to look at him, a huge flashy grin on her face.

“No! I was gonna say we’ll go and get something to eat.” Zoro furrows his brow.

“Zoroooooooo!” She whines.

Zoro shakes his head in disbelief, and walks out of the castle's entrance down a hallway. Perona floats after him, a huge pout on her face.

As they enter the large kitchen, Zoro looks at the letter in his hand intended for Mihawk, and decides to put it on the kitchen counter for now.

The two settle down on the stools with food from this mornings’ breakfast, and they silently wonder why Mihawk didn’t eat it all…maybe he wasn’t hungry, he’s been in a pretty bad mood lately. At least, more than usual. They did try to pester him about it, but Mihawk likes to keep things to himself.

Stillness washes over the room as the two eat for about an hour, not bothering to talk to each other. Perona’s still pouty and Zoro wants some peace for once.

Just before they finish eating…they hear more footsteps coming from the outside of the castle. Lighter than what they heard the postman make.

Zoro furrows his brow, slamming his chopsticks onto the table as he looks up. “What the hell?”

Perona tilts her head, her mouth full of food. “Postman again?”

“No…these sound different…I don’t like it.” Zoro stands up and begins to walk back towards the front door, a bit of fire in his eyes. What’s the chances of this happening twice in one day? Perona starts feeling a bit uneasy, and quickly floats behind Zoro to keep close to him.

They get to the entrance way of the castle again, and begin to listen. These footsteps aren’t like the postmans’. These sounded more calculated, or like they had more of a purpose. Perona instinctively clutches Zoros’ arm tightly, wrapping her own arm around his.

“Okay, this one REALLY feels like an intruder.” Perona whispers, her hold tightening on Zoro.

“Yeah these sound a bit…strange.” Zoro whispers back, narrowing his eyes at the door.

The footsteps seem to be hurrying a bit, and they quickly hear them going up the steps to the front door. Zoro and Perona step back slightly, not wanting to redo their last encounter with a stranger, and going for a more hands off approach for this one.

Someone's unknown footsteps walk right up to the entrance. The door slowly opens, shit. They didn’t lock it after they encountered the postman. Zoros’ eyes widen, his breath catching in his throat and his heart pounding. Perona hides behind Zoro, continuing to keep her own arm securely and tightly around his, her heart going a million beats per second.

As the door slowly opens, someone on the other side mutters about how the damn thing shouldn’t be so heavy. They seem to struggle to get it open, the door actually shutting again before opening for the second time. The two look at each other with puzzled expressions, but still on guard.

The door finally opens, and a woman they don’t recognise steps inside. Her eyes land on the two but she doesn’t flinch, she gives off an air of confidence which is slightly intimidating. Zoro seems to relax at the sight of this woman but he keeps his guard up, while Perona tenses up even more as her intuition suggests this woman is bad news.

Zoro clears his throat, keeping his distance from her and speaking in a firm voice. “What’s your name?”

“y/n. Who are you two?” She says with a light smile as she looks over the two, noting their tense bodies and narrowed eyes.

Zoro looks the woman over, noting her put together demeanour. “I’m Zoro, and this is Perona.”

Perona doesn’t like this one bit, she knows that a pretty and innocent smile can hide all sorts of danger. So she speaks to y/n in a cold tone. “You’re here to harm Mihawk, aren’t you?”

y/n looks slightly puzzled but stays calm.”Who said I was here to hurt him?”

Zoro and Perona glance at each other for a moment, not liking her response in the slightest. It seems like she’s dancing around their question.

“Well…y/n, you’re clearly in the castle without Mihawks’ permission. Of course we would think that’s what you’re here to do.” Zoro says sternly, his eyes narrowing even more and his hand going to the hilt of his sword, feeling protective over Mihawk.

“Oh, well…I’m-”But before y/n can respond, Perona cuts her off.

“Don’t say another word! I know a liar when I see one, so whatever you have to say we don’t believe you!” Perona bristles, her tone challenging. Zoro gives Perona a look portraying that he wants her to calm down, but she doesn’t care. Her heart’s set on y/n being an intruder.

“I can assure-” y/n begins, but gets cut off by Perona again.

“We know Mihawk never has guests, and we’ve never heard of you before! And it would be too much of a coincidence if both strangers who’ve shown up are innocent! So get your small butt out of here and go back to where you came from, woman.” She says firmly, untangling her arms from Zoro and crossing them over her chest instead.

Zoro shakes his head in disbelief with how Perona is behaving, but he’s still very much on edge by this mystery woman, there’s definitely a better way to handle this. But despite Zoros’ concern, he knows Perona is just as protective of Mihawk as he is, it just comes across a little differently.

“You know what, I don’t have time for this.” y/n sighs, then begins walking past the two and heading across the entrance way, clearly intending to head deeper into the castle.

Zoro and Perona feel a wave of concern wash over them, so they follow after her. Perona floats pretty quickly behind y/n, while Zoro strides behind them with his hand still on the hilt of his sword.

“Hey, woman! Where do you think you’re going? We weren’t done talking to you!” Perona calls after her, catching up to y/n pretty quickly as they all go down the long hallway.

“You were the one doing most of the talking, and insulting.” y/n says aloofly as she continues to walk. Perona only gets more angry at her response.

“Who do you think you are?? You’re the one who’s here without anyone's permission.” Perona scowls.

“We can’t let you waltz in here unannounced to see Mihawk!” Zoro barks from behind them, his anger flaring up as y/n doesn’t seem to have any intent to stop walking.

y/n sighs to herself, clearly fed up with the two, the air around them tense. “I tried telling you why I’m here, but you kept cutting me off. So why should I even bother.” She says as she opens some doors to walk through one of the spare rooms.

“Because we don’t trust you. Whatever you say, it'll be a lie, so you're not allowed anywhere near him!” Perona says loudly, her voice full of frustration. y/n furrows her brow but doesn’t stop moving.

“I’m getting a headache.” y/n says as she pushes through some more doors, going through yet another big room.

“Yeah right. Try having 2 unannounced people turn up today.” Zoro huffs, his glare on the back of y/n’s head.

Perona nods, her grumpiness growing as she agrees with Zoro. “You say you’re getting a headache, but we’ve stressed out twice already in the past hour!”

As y/n pushes through another set of doors, they get into the long dimly lit hallway that leads to Mihawks’ throne room. Zoro and Perona get even more on edge, what the hell does she want with him?

“You can’t just walk around the house like you own the place!” Perona says angrily with a hint of redness growing on her cheeks, following y/n at her heels. Zoros’ frustration builds as well, noting that y/n isn’t even replying to them anymore and clearly going towards Mihawk.

“y/n! You can’t just go into Mihawks’ throne room uninvited!” Zoro calls out, bringing out one of his swords in case things get ugly.

“Watch me.” y/n says calmly, looking straight ahead as they begin to approach the door.

“Goddammit y/n! Do you have a death wish or something?” Zoros’ voice gets a little frantic, and Peronas’ heart beats quicker than it was already.

“Mihawks gonna kill us if we’re the reason he gets killed.” Perona whispers to Zoro, getting a nod out of him as he takes a deep breath to brace himself for the inevitable.

The 3 reach the door leading into Mihawks’ throne room. Zoro and Perona exchange a glance, then without any hesitation y/n opens it and walks inside.

Inside the throne room Mihawk sits there with a book in hand and the newspaper off to the side, his teacup is empty and he’s got his usual stoic expression. When the 3 walk in he looks up, a hint of curiosity on his face. His gaze immediately falls onto y/n, and his eyes grow wide alongside his pupils dilating. His hands lose grip of the book he was reading and it falls onto the ground with a soft thud.

Perona points at y/n. “We told-” Before she could speak she yelps in pain, Zoro nudging her ribs with his elbow to shut her up, knowing Mihawk can surely handle the situation from here.

“Y-y/n?” Mihawk says breathlessly, his heart beating wildly in his chest and his eyes still wide.

She swallows, her breathing becoming a little shallow as her heart races just the same. “They let me leave early.”

Mihawk keeps looking at her, and says in a breathless voice as he absorbs her words. “You’re back…early…” He can’t believe his eyes.

Zoro and Peronas’ anger makes way for the overwhelming confusion they feel as they look over the interaction, Zoro puts his sword away but keeps his guard up.

“Mihawk…you know her?” Zoro asks quietly, his voice full of confusion and slight concern.

Mihawk doesn’t take his eyes off of y/n, and struggles to speak as he replies in a horse whisper. “Yes…I know her.”

y/n walks closer to Mihawk as he stands up from his throne. His eyes set on her, not even seeming to register Zoro and Perona anymore. Mihawk stands still as he watches her approach, not able to move a muscle from the shock and disbelief.

As they’re only centermeres apart, Mihawk brings up his hand to cup y/ns’ face and gently runs his thumb over her cheek. y/n puts her hand around his wrist as he touches her, gently caressing his arm with her own thumb. He looks down at her and his face visibly softens, and so does hers as she looks up at him.

“They let you come home early…” Mihawk murmurs, swimming in a wave of emotions as he looks at her, it’s almost overwhelming.

y/n nods her head slowly, closing her eyes for a moment as she takes in the feel of his hand on her face. Mihawk then grabs her waist and pulls her against him, moving his other hand from her face to her waist as well and holding her tightly in his arms. y/n puts her arms around his neck firmly, leaning her face against his chest as Mihawk buries his face into the crook of her neck and taking a deep breath as he breathes her in.

Zoro and Perona look stunned, they’re completely speechless and wide eyed as they look on, their mouths open from shock.

“Is it just me…or is Mihawk acting really weird right now? And what did he mean by home? Do you think they’re-” Perona whispers to Zoro.

“I…I don’t know…but he’s acting weird alright.” Zoro whispers, mulling over the scene before them.

Mihawk holds y/n close to him, closing his eyes as he feels her body against his and the smell of her in his nostrils. They stay like this for about a minute or two in silence, just being in each other's arms and breathing the other in. In this moment, they’re just two people who have been apart for far too long.

“They should know, darling.” Mihawk murmurs hazily to y/n after a few minutes of silence, smiling lightly as he glances over at the two who look gobsmacked. He feels quite amused by how shocked they look, but refrains from laughing.

“Yeah they should, my love.” y/n murmurs back just as hazily, looking at them as well.

Mihawk kisses her neck lightly and then turns his gaze to Zoro and Perona, shifting his body so that only one arm is around her waist. Zoro and Perona wait nervously, and straighten up when Mihawk looks at them.

Mihawk lightly smiles, his haziness still prominent. “Zoro, Perona…this is y/n. She’s-” He takes a short breath, looking at y/n for a moment before looking back at the pair. “...my wife.”

Zoros’ eyes widen even further, if that’s even possible, and he opens his mouth to say something but nothing comes out. Perona on the other hand, her face goes pale. She told this woman some awful things, even telling her she can’t walk around the house like she owned the place…when she did in fact, own the place.

“Oh my god y/n, I’m so SO sorry! I spoke to you so harshly…I thought you were an intruder and some liar!” Perona says frantically, floating up to y/n with a panicked expression. Mihawk narrows his eyes on Perona, ingesting this new information.

y/n smiles faintly and gently puts a hand on Peronas shoulder. “I understand you were just trying to protect Mihawk.” She speaks softly, knowing that Perona seems genuinely apologetic.

“Don’t speak to her like that again.” Mihawk sternly warns as y/n squeezes her shoulder, sending a shiver down Peronas spine causing her to frantically nod her head.

Perona heavily breathes out and floats back to Zoro, her cheeks red with embarrassment as she hides her face in her hands. Zoro stands still looking between the two, his brow furrowed and you can practically see the cogs turning in his head.

“You’ve been MARRIED this whole time? Why the hell haven’t we heard of her?” Zoro says in a defeated tone, scratching his head from nerves as the information sinks into him further.

“Because I’m a big name in this world, so when we got together many years ago I decided I don’t want y/n to potentially suffer the consequences that come with it. If everyone found out she’s my partner, there’s no telling what sort of people could go after her.” Mihawk says with a tough expression, his hand tightening around her waist instinctively. Perona just nods her head slowly, while Zoro still looks confused. “She’s precious to me, and I don’t want anything happening to her.”

Zoro feels respect washing over his heart, and also a lot of understanding. But he’s still finding it hard to process all of this, and can’t help but ask a little further.

“How is that even possible…” Zoro breathes out.

“We just don’t go flaunting it about, we’ve found it ensures our peace and her safety.” Mihawk replies softly, a hint of vulnerability within his words. “However, we didn’t say NO ONE knows about our marriage.” Mihawk says as he smirks lightly and feels a rush of pride run through his veins, him and y/n sharing a knowing look.

Zoros’ eyes widen again, looking between them once more. “Who else knows?”

“The other warlords, Shanks, some of the top marines, my family, Luffy…” y/n explains calmly, leaning against Mihawk a bit more.

Zoro looks flabbergasted. “LUFFY??” Perona also whips her head between the two as the information that Luffy, out of all people, know about them.

“Yeah he saw us at a restaurant a while back, and we told him to keep it a secret.” y/n says with a light smirk, squeezing Mihawks’ side lightly.

Zoro tuts and looks away, crossing his arms. This is all too weird for him.

Perona then speaks up, breaking her own silence. “How long have you two been married then?”

Mihawk smiles, feeling another rush of pride going through his veins. “Almost 7 years now.”

“Mhmm, almost.” y/n smiles, her head resting on his arm.

Zoro and Perona look gobsmacked again. They can’t help but gawk at the couple, and still have a hard time coming to terms that THE Dracule Mihawk has a wife, and for 7 years? Mihawk sighs as he looks at their faces, deciding to clear things up a bit more.

“She’s the best thing that ever happened to me and I want her to be safe, so I don’t feel the need to announce my personal life to everyone, unless it’s necessary. So I expect you two won’t go off and talk about this. Am I clear?” Mihawk looks between the two with his piercing hawkeye gaze, speaking in his scarily stern voice.

“Yeah…of course.” Zoro manages to say, tensing up at the sternness of Mihawks’ voice.

“I won’t tell a soul, living or dead.” Perona says as she nods her head quickly, her hands scrunching up her dress from the stress of being under Mihawks’ gaze.

“Good, now…you two, out. We need some alone time. We’ll answer more of your questions you’re sure to have, later.” Mihawk says in a firm voice, carrying a hint of impatience.

“Okay okay we’ll go…” Perona breathes, floating out of the throne room. Zoro just nods and follows after her, shutting the door behind them. Once they’re out of the room they can hear Zoro speak to Perona in a hushed voice. “By the way, I haven’t forgotten about how you called me bossy earlier!”

Mihawk sighs in relief and takes y/ns’ hand, sitting back down on his throne and bringing her down with him. He brings her into his lap and she sits sideways so that she’s cradled by Mihawks’ strong arms. He looks over her features, taking her in silently for a moment. Before he leans down and gently connects their lips in a soft and tender kiss, y/ns’ hand going to the side of his neck as she closes her eyes.

After a few moments, they pull back.

“I missed you…” Mihawk murmurs against her lips, pressing their foreheads together, their eyes still closed.

“I missed you too…” y/n murmurs back, breathing in his scent again.

Mihawk opens his warm honey eyes, and talks in a slightly concerned tone. “So, darling. Why did you come back early? You weren’t due to come back for another 2 months, not that I’m complaining, but did something happen?”

y/n shakes her head. “Nothing happened, I just missed you…3 months away from you took a toll on me, again. So they said it was alright for me to leave.”

He hums in acknowledgement, closing his eyes again. “I don’t like when you’re gone, I don’t like when your side of the bed is cold every night.”

It’s y/ns’ turn to sigh, tears sting her eyes slightly. “I know, darling. I don’t think I can do it anymore, I can’t keep leaving for months when I’d rather be here, with you.”

Mihawk holds her a little tighter as she says that, his face full of pain and longing. “I don’t think I can handle it either, y/n, I struggle when you’re gone. I want you to be here with me, where I can keep you safe.”

“I think…I’m gonna quit the job.” y/n says abruptly as she opens her eyes, her face portraying her longing and slight nervousness.

His eyes open in shock, widening as he takes in the information. “Really? Darling-” He says breathlessly, his arms tightening around her even more than before.

“Really. I’ll call them in the morning to tell them I’m done.” She says softly as she brings her hand up to caress his cheek.

“I thought…you were going to hold out a little longer.” Mihawk murmurs, his eyes searching hers. This feels like a lot of information she’s suddenly dumping on him.

“I know, I know…but I just…can’t. It’s unbearable. I know my job will get upset with me, but as long as I’m with you, I don’t care.” y/n murmurs back, nuzzling his nose with her own.

“Okay…good.” Mihawk says as he takes a shaky breath and smiling lightly, his eyes never leaving her face.

“You know…you dropped your book on the ground earlier, Dracule.” She mutters a little teasingly, a grin growing on her face.

“Oh be quiet, I was distracted…” Mihawk mutters as a slight blush of pink spreads over his cheeks, but he can’t help smiling down at her and running his fingers through her hair.

y/n giggles warmly, and brings Mihawk into another gentle kiss. His hand going under her shirt to her back, so he can feel her soft skin for the first time in months, and her thumb caresses the growing warmth on his face.

For the rest of the day, evening and night. The two spend their time in each other's arms and talking about y/ns’ journey out at sea. Zoro and Perona have decided to be quiet for once, and keep their distance so as to not disturb them. Mihawk and y/n go to bed that night curled up as close as they can get, feeling content and happy as they doze off to sleep.

Notes: This is my first Fanfic, so I kept it relatively short! This is also the first time I'm posting it to Tumblr, and I'm new here so I'll see how it goes <3 i hope everyone has a good day/night♡

[writing-to-survive]

#193

"Is this not considered kidnapping?"

"You came willing, saying—and I quote—'I call shotgun.'"

"Which I didn't get."

[thepedanticbohemian]

My writing has been compared to Stephen King, Thomas Harris, Dean Koontz, and Peter Straub. Why? Because I'm unafraid to go there when it comes to disturbing imagery. Gory details don't scare me, though they will likely scare my readers. Sort of the point, really. lol

[lord-of-the-prompts]

HORROR/THRILLER/SUSPENSEFUL STORY SETTINGS AND PLOT IDEAS:

[Feel free to use any prompt that shouts out to you! I would very much appreciate a tag if you post a story that was inspired by a prompt of mine! Happy writing everyone!]

A

amusement park (where the ride breaks down with everyone trapped on them, and there is a killer loose in the park…)

art gallery (where paintings trap visitors inside the frame and force them relive the scene the painting was based on...)

aquarium (where the protagonist gets trapped inside one of the shark tanks...)

B

basement (where the basement floods, there’s no way out, and there’s something weird swimming in the water…)

blood bank (where a blood bank is run by a vampire cult…)

board game cafe (where a group of teenagers are forced to play a game of snakes and ladders in real life, with real snakes and real ladders…)

bunker (where the captor holds his victim hostage in an old bunker and convinces the girl that he is protecting her from a world apocalypse…)

C

car (where a taxi driver picks up the wrong person and fears he may never live to tell the tale…)

castle (where the gargoyles come to life and attack the royal family…)

circus (where everyone who is hypnotized by the magician turns into a member of his unholy cult…)

D

desert (where a group of travellers are swept away by a sand storm and wake up in a haunted oasis…)

dungeon (where the visitors pay to torture subjects and the subjects are paid to be tortured…)

F

farmhouse (where the scarecrow comes to life and attempts to create a new body for himself with the farming family’s bodies…)

forest (where a lone hiker is caught in a bear trap in the woods and unable to escape, the bear is close by…)

G

graveyard (where the dead buried at the local cemetery come back to life and all the living people in the town die, except for you…)

H

haunted house (where a house manages to kill anyone who enters it…)

hotel (where the concierge is a vampire with a thirst for his visitors’ blood…)

house (where the family home falls into a sinkhole that leads straight to hell…)

I

island (where a new species of insect is discovered, and when the travellers get bitten, they start mutating into bugs…)

J

jungle (where a group of explorers start disappearing one by one during a rescue mission deep in the jungle…)

L

library (where the ghost of character killed off in a series haunts anyone who reads the book…)

M

military base (where a group of soldiers end up face to face against their canines who have somehow turned into werewolves…)

O

opera house (where the killer murders the musicians with their instruments...)

operating theatre (where an unwilling subject wakes up part way through the operation and is unable to move no matter how hard they try...)

P

prison (where the inmates are released from their cells and the officers are locked up in their place, leaving them at the complete mercy of the prisoners…)

psychiatric ward (where patients are forced to fight to the death in padded cells…)

pyramid (where archeologists discover an ancient tomb and unleash an ancient curse…)

R

railroad (where a cowboy spends his final hours repenting his sins as he lays tied to a railroad track…)

research centre (where the subjects loose the ability to either see, hear, or speak…)

S

sewer (where a family takes cover in the sewers when a nuclear missile is headed towards the city…)

shipwreck (where divers explore an ancient shipwreck, but the pirates are very much still alive and do not take well trespassers…)

space (where there is an explosion on ship leaving the crew without enough oxygen, there are only four extra tanks left, but there are six people…)

submarine (where there's an unknown killer aboard and no way to escape the deep ocean...)

T

tavern (where a knight is seduced and kidnapped by a handmaid who plans on avenging he sisters murder in the most heartless of ways…)

U

underwater (where evil merpeople kidnap scuba divers...)

university (where a group of students engineers create an artificial intelligence that goes rogue and attempts to create a real life body out of human remains…)

V

virtual reality (where virtual reality becomes a true reality, and to escape, 10 players have to survive all levels of the game, but after every level, the loser dies…)

Z

zoo (where the animals turn into zombies and attack their abusers…)

[agent-44mc]

*gets comfy in pink bed, lights lavender candle, opens pink laptop, sees my Taylor Swift wallpaper, opens google docs, smiles* ah yes, where were we? Oh right, murder! The fun part!

[authortoberecognized]

WRITER’S FORUM  SUSPENSE WRITING

WEBSITES HELPFUL TO WRITERS This is a series of posts which, I think, will be beneficial to writers. But first, I would like to include my usual warning about using websites. Whenever you check a website you are, in my opinion and I talk from experience, being put on a list for sale. So, expect the possibility of being bombarded by ads from companies you, perhaps, have never heard of and have…

[theodimasbabygirl]

I do have to say I'm a touch disappointed with the killer/reveal in S4. Marshall was the most obvious suspect but him being the only killer (despite the fact that Sazz was snooping around a building conspiracy) feels so...dull? Marshall is easily the most pathetic killer in the entire series (and this is coming from someone who haaaated last season's killers) and I ended the finale going "that's it?".

[suspensefulpen]

Take Away

TW: Captivity, Implied Kidnapping, Possessive Whumper

Whumper hummed softly with a smile as tears streamed down Whumpee’s cheeks.

“You’re so pretty when you cry. You know that?” He asked gently.

“I want to go home.” They said firmly for the nth time since they’d been there.

He leaned closer, slightly invading their space. “You are home Darling.”

“No I'm not! I was happy at home until you took me away!” They snapped.

“Were you really? You had so much to worry about when you weren’t here with me. You had too much to worry about. A pretty face like yours doesn’t need any stress lines to ruin it.” His hand came up to caress their face, wiping the tears. “You’ll see. You’ll realize how much better it is here with me rather than out there on your own. And you’ll thank me for it.”

“I’m not thanking you for anything! You took everything! You took my life away from me!”

He hummed, smile faltering. “I haven’t taken away your life. But I know a bunch of very bad people who would.”

[xpastelsweetsx]

Okay so fun fact for IB theatre (a class I’m in) you write a 12 page proposal on how you would produce, design, block, and essentially execute an entire show and I was og gonna do cabaret but honestly… after everything that’s happened as of late with AI and SAG-aftra and such how would we feel abt a 12 page paper on a production of newsies set in modern times?? Like everything’s the same it’s just… now

[writing-to-survive]

#220

The main character knew they were going to die. It took them some time, but they soon learned to accept their fate. They didn't tell anyone, thinking no one knew. But someone did. The main character's worst enemy knew about their dying fate. And their enemy, for some reason, wasn't at all as accepting.

[saintvainglorious]

alicent's whole life has revolved around keeping her children alive, even and especially at the cost of their own happiness. everything she's ever done, everything she's ever sacrificed - her body, her freedom, her dignity - has been to that end. so her decision in the finale is a pretty stunning reversal.

if you're gonna make alicent suddenly overcome the sunk cost fallacy and decide that she's willing to sacrifice the kids she destroyed her life for to attain personal freedom at long last - an idea that I do actually find quite compelling!!! no one else on this show deserves to be monstrously selfish more than alicent!!! - you have GOT to build up to that shit more. getting fired from the small council cannot POSSIBLY be the thing that convinces alicent "i'm done w this shit i'm gonna sacrifice my sons and escape my ongoing self-destruction". one frolic in the woods CANNOT convince me she's ready to abandon it all. alicent's woodland adventures were not nearly cool enough to be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

this is not a character arc y'all. this is a "hey wouldn't it be cool if alicent and rhaenerya thematically switched places" coming up in the writer's room and then the writers tossing it in the last two episodes rather than working towards that endpoint throughout the entire season. It's not just a stretch, it's a slap in the face.

[soaps-mohawk]

Do you ever discuss your fics with someone? I'm writing a fic right now but can't completely do it without another brain to storm with

Oh absolutely. I have a couple people I discuss things with. One (a fellow writer) already knows pretty much everything that's going to happen through to the end of the fic, so we tend to discuss things the most. Either when I'm feeling stuck or when I need to think out loud...or in text lmao, or if I'm unsure of the flow or order of events in a chapter. We discuss lots of things lol. It is really helpful though, having someone to spitball ideas with and discuss things.