#technically the story ends here

[theribbajack]

"Now, the vow will be honoured, and my Lord brother's soul will return."

Radahn stans keep winning, but I personally am in Miyazaki's walls rn

[veritablenonsense]

sctir is such a good story if you're obsessed with worldbuilding Implications because yoojin is also Constantly thinking about that stuff. He's just a (previously) regular guy who has to live in this weird urban portal fantasy world so he cares about stuff like tax brackets and zoning laws and fair contract-writing and alternative uses of everyone's crazy supernatural powers. I can't count the number of times I started thinking "wait, couldn't you-" only to have it answered the next sentence. When his internal monologue mentioned dungeon resets being used for public waste disposal i practically cheered

[time-woods]

EMOTIONAL WIN ! ! the bug lets his emotions make decisions for once !

[yandere-yearnings]

do u have any writing tips dar??? Ur stories are immaculate

nonnie?? that's so sweet of you to say, thank you😭🩷 in general, a lot comes to mind bc there's so many different components to writing (i.e dialogue, characterisation, structure,, even mindset!!) so if you want to hear abt anything specific pls lmk🥺 for now tho, i've summarised a few across the subject that i think are helpful, and they will be below the cut bc i'm shit at explaining things, so i ended up writing a lot hhh

i also wanna point out that these are just things that i've personally made note of over the years from my own experiences + being friends w/ other writers, but that doesn't mean they will apply to everyone!! more than anything, i always believe that you shouldn't let other ppl dictate how you do and enjoy things, so if smth works for you and you like it, there's nothing wrong w/ that even if it contradicts an opinion you got from some rando on the internet (a.k.a. me😔💔)

Know your game

I'd like to say that in writing, there's a vein of liberty that isn't echoed in very many other creative fields; a lot of the times you can go in blind, and still make something of it because the nature of fiction is liquid — if you can imagine it, it can work. So to say, I find that nine times out of ten, room for improvement doesn't necessarily lie in the content of someone's writing, and more so its execution.

You could play a desultory game of chess without knowing all the rules, but if you wanted it to be your best match, you'd have to be aware of every move you could make, no? What you do from there then becomes a matter of choice, and choice is a landmark divider between doing something and being good at doing something. There's a difference in omissions due to lacking the technical knowledge, and omissions made because you are aware they are optimal.

Knowledge on the fundamentals of literature will always serve you, and that isn't to say you have to study all forms and contexts, but if you want to write a story, for example, it will always help to know the common elements of one. Grammar, punctuation, structure — brushing up on those things will build your toolkit, and once you've got that, you have the self-autonomy to decide what to use from it. My three favourite writers only use commas and full stops, and their works are, on all levels, spectacular. Still, if you asked them how to use a semi-colon, they'd be able to tell you.

Appreciating the basics will also tie into your creative exploration as a writer, which is a cornerstone in developing your distinctive writing style. I doubt a person in any type of craft hasn't heard a variation of know the rules before you break them, so studying until you do, inside out, remains beneficial to both new and old writers alike.

2. Have a starting point

This tip is fairly applicable to a range of different types of writing, and how one would practice it depends strongly on individual preference and styles of working. Some people like to plan things out thoroughly whilst others, including myself, like to dive in headfirst, and there's nothing wrong with either approach. The commonality between both types of writer is that regardless, they will have at least a vague idea of where to start from — a scene that they've bullet-pointed prior, a lyric that resonated with them, a mental image, an emotion or even just a single word that everything branches from. What all these details achieve is writing that has motion, because you have something of substance to piggyback you to an end point (the establishment of which is also important, but I will not be covering in this post).

3. Decide a structure

Again, this can be done both comprehensively or as simply as just having the thought to adhere to a certain method. As you gain more experience as a writer, you'll begin to understand what works best for you and create a system of your own, but starting out, there are a number of templates that have already been established by writers that you can follow, and find by researching. What matters most is that by using one — whichever it may be — you're turning your text into a story.

As an example, I'll detail two that I use regularly, in their simplest forms for the sake of brevity:

A linear narrative moves from point A to point B, and from point B to point C, etc. and all subsequent points build on the previous ones until your goal is reached. It's a system that works well for shorter pieces because it has a definite structure, like a length of spine and its individual vertebrae (and although we're talking about writing here, I think Newton's Third Law of Motion sums it up very well: every action has a reaction.)

A coalescing narrative considers all points as separate elements that may or may not always interact, but all contribute to the end point to different extremes. It's a useful template for creating depth in a piece, but due to its complexity, is better applied to longer projects.

They are visualised respectively below.

4. Iterate

If you think of your first draft as a block of clay, everything you do to it will equate to it being moulded and shaped, and if you think of your first draft as a skeleton, everything you do to it will equate to flesh being put on the bones. If you want your piece to be the best it can be, there's a sort of detachment you must have from it, where you won't have the fear of changing it until it is in the image of what you have intended. Write and rewrite, add things, take them away, make a separate copy for every edit if that makes it easier for you, but keep working it until you are happy.

Iteration doesn't just apply to drafts — chapters, paragraphs, sentences and even singular words can be given the same treatment. When you pick up the habit, the process becomes second-nature and you'll find that the first lines you put down are the ones that make it into the final piece, and that is in light of sorting through the renditions unconsciously. Additionally, you don't have to do things in one sitting; sometimes taking a break and coming back to your writing with a fresh outlook is valuable.

5. Analyse and apply

One piece of advice I always see given when someone asks how to improve their writing is to read more, and though it is — at its core — a tip worth acknowledging, it always comes across as unserviceable to me. There is nothing that reading will change for you if you are not actively practicing the things you learn, or even actively learning to begin with. So to address it as a matter of semantics, I feel it's best put as studying the writing of others, as opposed to reading.

If you have a favourite author, go over their works twice — once as a reader to identify what you like about them, and then again as a writer to identify why you like those things. To put it into context, if I read something and decided that I enjoyed how clear and easy to understand it was, I'd do a second pass to figure out the attributing qualities. Perhaps it's the use of punctuation, chosen sentence forms or even the simplicity of words used. My first tip of knowing different literary fundamentals is complementary here, because it makes the analysis and application of isolated features that much more smooth, and also means you'd be able to adapt them into your own style instead of just copying the other writer, which is what you want to avoid.

(Some writers I personally recommend studying are @ozzgin, @monstersholygrail, @aayakashii and @urprettylildoe for readability and clarity in execution, @moyazaika, @carnivorousyandeere and @purerae for characterisation and dialogue, @suiana and @unhappy-last-resort for engaging plots and concepts, and @sabotsen and @lirational for word choice.)

[redbootsindoriath]

In my work with worldbuilding for my main WIP, I had the opportunity to draw two of my protagonists all fancy for a ceremony.

[celtrist]

The giving up autonomy during the radioapple bad end makes me wonder what would happen if Alastor's curse got broken AFTER a bad end? Like, baby-trapped Alastor or forcefully transitioned Alastor, both having straight up given up, how would they even deal with recovering from that? In the baby-trapped scenario it's not like Lucifer can stop interacting with Alastor because there's a CHILD involved now, but holy shit.

I imagine there's always the sort of optional end to each bad end route that does lead back to the "good end" where the curse is lifted! But while that was always the thought, I didn't fully think about the implications of what Alastor would have to deal with from each bad end!

While there are things that Alastor and everyone would still have to deal with in the normal good end (like Alastor's paranoia), the bad end to the good end is probably soooo much worse for everyone. The only ones I think wouldn't mind what happened would be the Vees (aside from Velvette being like "ew, I was trying to go for his old ass"), Alastor's owner, and on sooome level Niffty and Husk. Niffty is pretty depraved, but in canon she doesn't seem that interested in doing that sort of stuff with Alastor so I can see her not being 100% good with her actions. Husk on the other hand I can see absolutely loving that he was the one that owned Alastor instead of the other way around, and thrilled he became an overlord again. But I don't think he'd love all the physical abuse and forced dressing that clearly had Alastor uncomfortable. Hell, I think he'd be a bit weirded out by Alastor being obedient and calling Husk "sir" with no bite, but then he'd be actually pleased with that in this AU.

I think each bad end does have something pretty bad to linger on after, though some less than others. Like all in all, the best bad ends to go to the good end with would probably be radiobelle or radiodust. While there'd definitely be aftereffects, those two endings honestly don't have anything too egregious happening like Vaggie's or Lucifer's ending (if you'd wanna go the baby-trapping route with that ending).

Vaggie would probably be WAAAYY more avoidant of Alastor post her bad end turned good end. Because I can't imagine her being able to live with the fact of knowing she's fucked over someone's life and their comfortability with their body. Potentially I could see Vaggie self-exiling herself from the Hotel and going missing just because of that. I could also see her trying to help by finding things for Alastor (de-transitioning places, therapy, and so on), but never bringing it to Alastor himself and asking others to instead. I imagine in whoever's bad end he ends up in that turns into a "good end" that Alastor would become waaaayy more paranoid and potentially skittish of that person. So he'd probably always get very quiet and fall into the "Allison" persona Vaggie gave whenever she was around. A persona that I think he'd struggle getting rid of in general because he'd been conditioned and mutilated so badly (both physically and mentally) to fit that persona.

Lucifer, if we go with the baby-trapping idea in his ending, would also be quite difficult. Because it would already be difficult with it just between Alastor and Lucifer (Lucifer's easy answer would be to just fuck off from the hotel and never step foot 100 yards from Alastor), but adding a baby to the mix would muddle things a lot! Lucifer definitely reads as the type to not care by the means of where his baby might come from. If it's his, it's his. And he'd want to have this kid TRY to have some semblance of a good life because they didn't ask to be a part of one of Lucifer's most regrettable moments of his life. I think for both Lucifer and Alastor, it would be hard to look at the kid. Because I mean, they'd be a stark reminder of what Lucifer did to Alastor and that terrible curse Alastor has had to live with for the majority of his afterlife. I'm inclined to say Alastor wouldn't like the kid, but I'm genuinely not entirely sure. My gut feeling would be that he'd absolutely hate them and want nothing to do with them when the bad end turns good. By the same token, I can see Alastor having latched onto the kid. Not as "the one good thing in his life" necessarily as much as he would be able to so much more easily pretend someone wasn't obsessed with him. As a baby, they're just a baby. As a kid, he could brush off the marriage comments as a strange kid thing (like just those kiddish proclamations where a kid will say "I'm gonna marry mom someday" but it's genuinely just from a place of innocence. I think that's more of an anime thing, but it would work in this au). At the very least, Alastor would have heavy mixed feelings about the kid if he doesn't downright hate them.

If they were a baby by the time radioapple's bad end turned into a good end, I could see Lucifer leaving WITH the child and taking care of them on their own. Especially if we do go with the idea that Alastor would want nothing to do with the kid after everything. Lucifer would probably hide their origins from them: Both on the basis of "how do you tell a person that they're a product of something so bad" and so they don't go trying to look for Alastor (potential story angst to be sure). But I think Lucifer would try to give them as normal of a life as possible. He honestly, if able to, might have them live in a completely different ring from Alastor. Maybe give them to Asmodeous and Fizz. And in the case scenario where Alastor wants to be the one to keep the child, Lucifer would back off and leave. It'd hurt not being able to see his own child, but he's not exactly gonna argue with Alastor. And I think Alastor himself would make sure his kid wouldn't go meeting Lucifer. I don't think they'd hide their origins from them when they're old enough to properly process it. It's in the scenario where the kid is already out of baby-or even toddler age there would be some issues. Because then they're put into a bind of completely ruining this one kid's life. I don't think Alastor would honestly tolerate the idea of suffering the same living space as Lucifer and still want him to leave. So even when they're older it'd still pretty much end the same: the kid either stays with Alastor or leaves with Lucifer. Except this time, I don't think Lucifer would give up the kid to Asmodeous and Fizz and instead keep raising them on his own (maybe with Lilith if that would be within reason, but that depends on where canon goes quite honestly). And if the kid is an adult, pretty easy for Lucifer to just leave then. Alastor might disown the kid as well in this instance, but that again depends on if you'd think he'd actively dislike them or does care about them.

[delicioustarong]

They feared for their lives as they hear the screams of another.

Arc I : Betrayal

Post- Movie 1

Click for better quality, my notes about this art is under the cut 👇

Finally got to show you all art about Arc 1! YAY!! This Au has 3 Arcs in total, the first one is Post Movie 1, the second one is basically a retelling of Movie 1 but with a twist, and the last arc is a combination of the second and third movie :3

I have mixed feelings about this art cause I think everything blends together but at the same time not?? It's not really my favorite (._.). I do like the concept of it though, I really want to capture the fear and I don't really think I did that well...so meh-- I might redraw this next time. Idk maybe 👀. Hope you all like it!

For context on what is happening, check this post!

Here's the sketch version:

[curlyparmesan]

Wow, How Do We Relationship? is really really good. Like really good. Love how real the characters are and how messy everything is. And so much representation. I hope the author can stick the landing in the next few weeks, because it's already so good where it is now.

[lazywriter-artist]

In the 40k au with taryn. How does their newly awoken Emperor of Mankind feel about everything? Will He on Terra be meeting taryn? Does He use His visits to the Psykana to get an unfiltered look at how the Imperium has changed in His convalescence?

Ooo! Some very insightful asks :)!!

The au itself is a wider thing I’ve been working on my blog for a good bit now, and you can actually see a bit more here on the master post!

Not so subtle plug aside however, E is rather disoriented with it all! He’s still fully back at a power level he’d prefer to be at (don’t tell him I told you—) and his empire is a lot more crumbly than he last recalled with a shit ton more rules than he recalled implementing and— is- is that a torment nexus?! No! What did he say?! No torment nexus for the little ones! No building the torment nexus!!

A fun time over all for a recovering psyker as himself! As for meeting Taryn? I don’t fully know Ù.U” it’s definitely a possibility technically! Taryn is in a prime spot to meet him! Though emps doesn’t fully know who T is to make a very personal visit, but again, never say never ^^! Psykana is probably one of his favored places to escape things for a bit after all!

Not exactly! He definitely has times where he visits spots on Terra, psykana included, to get an unfiltered look! But you wouldn’t know it’s him— hard to get an unfiltered look if you’re the head honcho appearing in the room in a beam of light ÙvU”, he much prefers using his copious shapeshifting abilities and various forms of psyker cloaking to see things a bit more eye to eye with the rest of his empire. His trips to the psykana are much more of a sort of decompression, to soothe some of the most troubled in his empire and to have a moment of peace. There’s often just a sense of calm his fellow psykers bring him especially these days, and he’s much more rare to be met with a mob of screaming cheers and annoying fan-nobles clawing for his attention =v=, a handful of excited little psykers however? Much more relaxing and nearing endearing.

Ty for the ask!!!

[attempts-of-fawnclan]

NOOO! How could the game let them both die T_T... i cant imagine the pain she is gonna be in! both of them are gone.

what? i have no possible idea what you could be talking about! the siblings are all fine and dandy :) nothing happened :) it was all just a bad dream :) go back to sleep

[jam-packed]

hiiii no one asked but pt 1 of a billion to my last unicorn au where marc is not a unicorn it will be marcnaia but not u gotta be patient im sry. anyways intro ily

about 1.3k

Casey sighs as he and Enea step carefully through the loose, winding path the forest grants them. They had been looking for a viable lake to fish at for a while, and despite the beauty of the greenwood that surrounded them, Casey knew this was not the place for them. It is far too quiet for comfort, Casey thinks, far too peaceful for him to truly enjoy—he is quite a modern man, as he considers. The trees stand tall and foreboding but plentiful and lush; the ground without leaves or brambles—not a prickle of snow has seen the ample soil beneath them—each blade of grass stands just tall enough to tickle the hairs on Enea’s naked ankles; each critter and creature they saw met them with curiosity and childlike wonder but leaving enough distance where Casey would not have to prevent Enea from taking something home; the birds sing sweet melodies into their ears, each note seeming to lead them closer and closer to where they would like to be; and Casey gets the lucky remnants of delicate and decadent speckled fur in the corners of his eyes—bright specks flitting in his vision to-and-fro.

Casey puts his hand on Enea’s shoulder, forcing his attention from the beauty enveloping them. “We must look elsewhere, Enea. This is no place for us.”

“What do you mean?” Enea’s eyes sparkle as he asks, mesmerized by the twisting leaves in the reaching branches above them, shining sparse but angelic light onto the two—kissing each curl on Enea’s head and spinning them to gold.

“There is magic here, my friend, learned slight by those that dwell in the cerval’s forest.”

“Cerval?”

“You are too young to have seen one, Enea, for the one here is lone in this world.” Casey declares, looking into the deep brush of the forest, where two bewildering moon-slit eyes follow him intently; he knows better than to stay here now. “We must think better than to fish here, lest we remove the world of any more magic.”

“Tell me of it, since I have not seen one—not heard of one,” Enea pleads with shining eyes, his boyish charm much more apparent now than even when they first met those fair months ago, in a small pub far from where the sun sets on them now. “Tell me, Casey.”

Casey hums, feeling tiny, near minuscule ants crawl up his calf with no care, and he grants them such privilege. “My great-grandmother—maybe even great-great-grandmother—told my mother, who told me, of her meetings with one. It came to her, rather than her to it—as most seem to do—and–”

“Did she capture it?” Enea’s voice trembles slightly.

“Of course not, dearest Enea. She simply sat near it, with the barest of a smile upon her lips to perhaps bring it close to her, and it did. It laid its head in her lap and licked the small sprouts of blood that flourished from her hands, healing the cuts that may have wounded her. Then it fell asleep, bringing her along with it—she only woke when she found it had gone, leaving her clothes barren of blemishes and bruises.”

“What did it look like?”

A smile floats onto Casey’s face. “Its eyes reflect the moon, and its fur is as soft as a well-loved cat’s.”

“Where did they all go, my love?”

Casey shrugs, his face flaring from the title Enea bestows him with. “Things change. There are things greater than us that haunt the Earth—it is no place for grand creatures such as he.”

There is a pregnant pause from Enea, bare of his usual thoughts and questions and mistakes in his speech that Casey finds ever so endearing. He looks around the forest for what they both come to know will be their last, the floral air kissing him sweetly. “Yes,” Enea says, determination set on his brow. He adjusts the rod and bag that lay upon his back, taking deep steps into the forest floor as if running towards the outer world beyond them. “Yes, let us fish someplace else.”

They reach the forest’s edge quickly—the blinding eyes following each move with careful precision—and Casey turns towards the poor creature, knowing its presence despite his decided lack of vision about it. He frowns as his voice cracks on his tongue, teeth clicking together reluctantly with each word.

“Do not leave here, dear wolf, for the world out here will ensure your end; keep in your forest, keep it lush and bright, with each creature protected by your grand stead—for no other can do as you do, for you are the last.” Casey can feel his eyes fill with salt and glistening pity. “I wish you luck, my friend; beware of men and girls that will only become bitter, old, and silly.”

The two take their leave, their packs full of nets, rods, bait, and gear gone along with them, and the cerval wolf’s gaze falls from them with a slow, dreary sadness. “Is it true?” He asks the forest he habits, his voice hoarse and crackling from disuse—it would frighten him if he allowed himself fear. “Am I really all that is left?”

He does not prance like the deer that follow his horrified sprint. He throws himself to the ground, twisting and crying in the dirt and gravel, biting at his tail and bowed legs for some poor sense of comfort. 

“How selfish they all are!” He growls through his mournful yelps. “My brother, my beloved brother! How could I live if he has left me, too?” The sprawling roots and sagging blades of grass hug at the poor creature’s shivering and solitary bod. The cerval drags itself up to lay by the river bed, its water akin to a mirror—clear and unwaning—if the pitiful beast had ever seen the latter to compare the two. He weeps once more, his tears mixing deep into the minute waves that come from the small waterfall nearby. He takes a drink, kissing the surface of the water with his speckled fur and padded nose, only to replenish himself of the tears he lost so he may start anew.

The heavens fall to darkness, the only light coming from the moon and stars shining through the trees’ fair leaves and branches overhead, and the heart-rending wolf has stayed in its tragic state for—to him—what felt like days. “Maybe,” he thinks out loud to the fish beneath the quivering ripples of the river beside him, “maybe I am to leave this place. What do men know? I could find them with ease, with pride. I am a great beast like no other; men tremble before me, and thunder calls my name—it would be with great ease, yes.” He swats at the brown trout taunting him from below, catching one by pulling it to the edge—where the water and soil meet in hopeful embrace—lifting it with his claws and peering at the poor thing with deep, bright, curious eyes. “Or maybe I should stay,” he concedes, pushing the rather dull trout back into the glistening waters. “I cannot really leave.” He stands to walk the river’s stream. “If I am truly the only one, I cannot leave for selfish reasons as they all have.”

He laughs to himself, “The forest will make fun, they will make me cry on return, and I will never leave again.”

“Yes,” he decides. “I will not leave. There is no possibility for it.”

[starbuck]

The way I don’t want to watch the next season of this show bc at the end is when characters start dying. And get separated from each other forever. If I just keep telling and retelling the story and never get to the end maybe I can make it so they all live and are happy... #Ishmaelcore

[thesaurus-lover]

if kuroo tetsurou, captain of team connect, JVA promotions division mastermind, king of lowering the net, does not narrate the volleyball rules monologue at the end of the anime then see you all in the next life

[alex-strike-is-transgender]

I can only think of one set of fictional twins where they both survive.

[now-that-i-saw-you]

Fandoms are so funny because you can say "I thought this character in a FICTIONAL book was poorly written and served no purpose to the plot, which means the book has some flaws" and someone will get mad at you for focusing on plot elements IN A FICTIONAL BOOK and not just about the themes of capitalism and exploitation.

[asthedeathoflight]

i keep seeing aus where nona is harrow's much younger sister or adopted daughter. but also i think nona and harrow being twins would be so funny

No you're right. And Harrow would fucking hate that which is why its funny.