#they might end up just being written as the vibes and posted with what I’ve tried but got no further

[inklings-sprint]

Brainstorm With Me!

(Thoughts and opinions welcome)

I have two stories that both have excellent vibes but not much else going for them currently. Aka I don’t know currently how to turn the vibes into actual story.

Characters? Three for the one story, maybe five for the other, but beyond that I know nothing about the characters in the grand scheme. For the Space Bards one of the three characters plays something like a mandolin or maybe a hurdy-gurdy, something stringed. (Though maybe I’m really thinking of a lute… I just like the name of mandolin better because lute sounds near identical to Flute, though they’re completely different instruments. I did used to play the flute.…) But beyond that the characters are these hazy beings I know must be there but don’t know who they are or what their personalities are. What their names might be or what they look like.

Though for my other story VCCS, I’m starting to wonder if it might also have some almost Jack and the Beanstalk vibes which might help if the main/lead character is a Jack type figure… hmmm…. I might actually have something there… vaguely…

For the space bards (Team Lewis) I have considered doing their story in poem form of sorts. I had this rather complex idea that each individual bard tells their part of the story in differing poem styles to a degree. Like one would be doing an A B C D A B C D rhyming pattern, another doing an A A A A pattern and so on, but I’m not sure that I actually want to continue with that. I vaguely feel like the theme comfort the sorrowful would work best for this one, that these bards travel the great distances of space to bring people comfort through their performances of music and stories.

VCCS is actually originally my Team Chesterton technology idea. VCCS stands for Vector Climate Control System, which is supposed to help control the climate of the world. Originally it was going to be this brand new thing that would rather quickly show its failings and make a mess of things due to politics. Now I’m kind of thinking that this story happens after the System is shut down, but is causing trouble, so a group of people have to travel to the part that’s causing the issues to properly shut it down. I’m thinking steam punk dystopian, with some climbing which would give the Jack and the Beanstalk vibes. Not quite sure which of the themes would fit in with it, but that’s what I’ve got currently.

My new Team Chesterton idea is much simpler and would actually tie into Tales Of A Frozen Sailor, but wouldn’t directly tie into the time travel aspect at all, and instead would focus on Jessica teaching Erik how to sail. It would be a very easy little one shot, it would just be the matter of writing it.

I already have my ideas and stories formed for Team Tolkien and mostly written out, so they’re fine and both might actually get posted if I land on Team Tolkien. (Though they both might get posted later anyways.)

[gazetto-no-ki]

2024.12.05 Ruki IG stories:

(1) Feel free to ask questions or chat every once in a while 👽🔥

(2) Ruki Update. The sample stickers are so cute, I had to stick one on. Might edit them and release them someday. 🤲

(3) Ruki Update, Part 2. Surrounded by the best staff, we had a great photoshoot. 👏 This story is a long one, so I’ll post about it in the future. 📨📮

(4) Look forward to lots of things in December, too! 🔥

On Twitter: "Just now, I opened up my Instagram stories for some questions and casual chat after a long time. Let me hear what you think 👨‍🚀��"

1) Q: What kind of work have you been doing lately?

A: I’ve been working on music production, next year’s tour merchandise, and things beyond that. I’ve also been continuously working on NIL since summer. Right now, I feel like staying active rather than resting brings more fruitful results, and above all, it keeps my mind feeling healthy. 🍁

2) Q: Have you been anywhere on a walk recently?

A: In the second half of this year, I’ve often taken the time to visit various places.🚶 There were many memorable spots, so I’ll make another post about them before the year ends. 📨📮

3) Q: Have you been to any art museums recently?

A: There’s one I want to go to, but it hasn’t started yet. It’s something I’m really looking forward to.🖼️ If you have any recommendations, let me know 🙌

4) Q: Do you ever feel like you have the “professional disease”?

[Background image is from Chainsaw Man manga chapter 180 and reads "Uh-oh. It's almost time. This is it. I'm losing it. I'm going crazy, so you can disappear now"]

A: Pretty much my whole life.

5) Q: Do you think you'll get another pup?

A: No, I can't. I still haven't been able to throw away his bed. One of my goals is to completely change the interior of my house next year.

6) Q: Thank you for the story mentioning letters. You even included Hong Kong—thank you so much. It made me really happy.

A: I’m truly happy and grateful to receive letters from all over the world. I spent hours reading them. Please feel free to send more! 📮

7) Q: I'm looking forward to the new NIL products ♪ What will they be?

A: This year, I couldn’t switch out my wardrobe with the seasons, so I made items I want to wear right now. I also didn’t get a chance to change my interior decor, so I created things that can easily change the atmosphere and vibe of a home. Additionally, I wanted to capture "my current self," in a tangible way, so I completely shifted my mindset during the design process. It ended up being meaningful for me personally, and I felt happiness in being able to preserve it in this form. This was my 11th production overall. I’ll share more about it in a post later! 📮

8) Q: Thanks to my husband, I’ve become completely hooked ♡ I recently joined HERESY, and in March, I’ll be attending my first live show.

A: Just about a month and a half left until I get to see you all. Please tell everyone I look forward to seeing you in March😎

9) Q: What’s your current motivation for living?

A: You guys. This will never change, so don’t make me say it over and over again. 🤝🙆‍♂️

10) Q: It’s hard to recognize the moments when your heart regains its strength, isn’t it? But just breathing makes everyone amazing and a genius.

A: Even if you know it in your head, we’re not robots, it’s natural for emotions to have ups and downs. 🤝 There are no numbers written on your face telling you how much energy you have today, your age, your weight, or anything like that. That’s why I hope you don’t worry too much about what other people think and instead cherish the time you spend enjoying the things you love. This year, I’ve felt that it’s important to prioritize that for myself as well. Let’s make the most of the remaining month together and have wonderful days ahead. 🍁

On Twitter:

"I answered a few questions, but why do I keep getting asked about my favorite miso soup and oden ingredients? 🍲"

"Thank you for sharing what you're working hard on or what you're struggling to overcome. I’ll find time to respond to all of them and I plan to save it in my highlights."

"It's about time I get back to work 👨‍🚀"

11) Q: Ruki-san, let's go for a Harley ride lol

A: Rather than that, let's make glasses together again lol 🤝 inari_tsuchiya

12) Q: How do you deal with people whose personalities don’t align with yours?

A: Looking back, I’ve somehow managed to climb to a position where I don’t have to interact with such people. Even so, when I must engage with people in those environments, I try to respect them, thinking they probably have many sides I don’t know about. But I still keep a certain distance and avoid getting too close. Also, to put it simply, I don’t have the time to think about people I don’t get along with.

13) Q: I’m moving at a snail’s pace, but once I’m mentally ready, I will definitely go to another live show.

A: I’ll always be waiting for you. I’ve also received a lot of messages asking, “When is the world tour?” That’s definitely something I want to make happen in the near future. Come see me, because I’ll be coming to see you too🏃

[writing-for-life]

WHAT DO YOU MEAN DREAM'S HAIR USED TO BE WHITE!! oh my god. i just saw your post about killala and i have now perished. thanks for breaking my heart.

but also hi!! i'm relatively new to the fandom and it's a great place to be. i haven't finished reading all the comics yet but i'm curious to know:

what do you think are the main differences between TV!Dream and Comics!Dream? i've heard so many people claiming that he is incapable of changing, for instance, and though the show does convey his overall rigidity pretty well, i'm not getting the vibe that he's immutable.

also!! it's clear that he feels a lot. which is always funny to me when the corinthian is like yo, try this and maybe you'll feel something for a change but like. he does!!! or i get the impression that he does. he probably feels too much if anything?? all of it simmering just beneath the surface, barely contained. how would you personally analyze his relationship with his own emotions?

i hope all of this is coherent enough for you to answer lmao, i saw your post about enjoying being asked sandman questions two seconds after i woke up and barged into your inbox. hope you have a lovely day!

Thanks so much for the ask, and welcome if you’re new(ish) to the fandom! 🤗

I’m sorry I broke your heart—much more heartbreak to come I fear if you haven’t read the comics yet, so I’ll try to keep this as spoiler-free as possible.

I am one of those people who believes the differences between comics!Dream and show!Dream are actually not as big as they are made out to be where it matters, and you will definitely find people who disagree. At the end of the day, we all read it through our own lens and will never be fully objective about it.

The main difference I see is that they filed off the rough edges of the comics a bit to make a new audience sympathise more. It’s very hard to do that with a character who is basically in full arsehole mode for most of the first 40 issues or so, and even then only slowly begins to come out of it (although we can obviously see glimmers of what lies below the surface at the beginning of the comics, too, but it’s far more subtle than in the show). I’ve worked in musical theatre for a over decade of my life and understand a bit about bringing the written word to stage/screen, and some things simply don’t translate well from book to stage/screen, and you have to change it. So my personal opinion is we get a more sympathetic Morpheus and certain changes so the audience can do exactly that—sympathise off the bat. You will lose an audience pretty quickly if they don’t care about the protagonist and the universe he moves in, and you can’t be as nuanced about it as you can be in a written work. We’re talking about streaming services thinking about profits here, even if people don’t want to hear it.

Also: The more you sympathise with a character, the deeper the emotional investment and the more you feel, even if it hurts.

Having said this, I don’t think Morpheus is incapable of change, and I never got where that idea comes from. His biggest flaw is that he believes he cannot change (and even he has moments when he admits he might have). In the introduction to Endless Nights, Neil Gaiman says that he was once asked to describe The Sandman in twenty-five words or less, and famously, it was this (you might have heard it):

“The Lord of Dreams learns that one must change or die, and makes his decision.”

And I think some people might have wrongly taken that for an either/or thing. I don’t want to say too much at this point because I don’t know how much you know (if you’d like spoilers or already know how it ends, let me know, I’ll happily expand on it). Only so much:

He is capable of change, also in the comics. Very obviously so. But just like he denies he has his own story (which also isn’t true), he denies he can change. Or at least he thinks he perhaps cannot change enough (it’s actually hard to write about this without giving everything away, help! 🙈).

As for his feelings: He does feel, but again, it is something he pushes down and will deny himself. Until it bursts to the surface and breaks through, and when that happens, it’s usually with, well, let’s say varying results, and that’s putting it mildly. Personally, I’d say he has problems relating to his feelings, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel. Quite the opposite in my view. He holds the collective unconscious—all unprocessed feelings and whatever else floats around in that collective mess, and it’s exactly what he says to the Corinthian in that famous scene: he needs to keep a lid on it and keep that lid firmly closed so all of it doesn’t consume him. But that also means denying himself the feelings that are linked to his own personhood (if you want to call it that). There’s Dream of the Endless, and then there’s Morpheus. And while they’re one and the same and inseparable, Morpheus is also the “point of view”. The character, the person, if you will. And deep down, he craves that personhood so badly. Out of all the Endless, he is the only one who basically collects names because they mean having something beyond his function, which is also mirrored in what he tells Death in “The Sound of her Wings”: he wants something more. He is the only one whose realm is populated with sentient beings (yes, I know Despair has rats, but I think you get my drift). He is desperately lonely and struggles with it. He seeks connection yet denies it to himself. That’s not someone who doesn’t feel.

I don’t know if this answers your questions at all—I was doing the wild “spoiler-free” dance 🤣 But please let me know if you want me to go a bit deeper, I love talking about this stuff.

You can also have a look at my metas if you haven’t already. The headers pretty much explain what they’re about and what spoiler-level to expect, but none of them are truly spoiler-free I guess:

Again, thanks so much for encroaching on my inbox, and feel free to follow up if anything was left unanswered.

@dreamaturgy ask answered

[fumifooms]

was not expecting how head over heels i'd fall for marchil- i stg there's something they put in the sauce like goddamn! and i've loved seeing your posts analyzing their dynamic, really helped articulate what i was feeling. i was wondering if you had any fic recs, or any recommendations for ships with a similar vibe? i'm hungry for them...

I know right, marchil gripped me in a chokehold out of nowhere and still hasn’t let go… The sauce was designed by the demon for me to get addicted specifically. It’s been too long since I haven’t written fic for them. I’m still chipping away at my Marcille & Chil arc analysis I know I always mention it and I started the draft in January but I SWEARRR… Season 1 is ending next week :/ On the upside I’ll probably be more focused. After that analysis, which is only analyzing in depth like one aspect/half of their intertwined arc btw so who knows there might be a part 2 one day, I kept thinking it’d prob be my last marchil analysis but let’s be real, probably not. Every week I find something new to point out about them aah…… Dungeon food, ahh, dungeon food…

Fanfic rec wise, well first I have my own marchil fics, to which I mostly recommend Grind Me Down Sweetly, and then feel free to browse my marchil bookmarks for what seems good! I don’t know what your tastes are but Shroomyystar makes super good angst (and smut), my favorite being 'Til our fingers decompose, keep my hand in yours about Marcille getting deathly sick and the dilemma to confess or to not confess, incredibly haunting piece of bittersweet but soul-crushing angst AND character study. Like wow! Chilchuck I need to throw you in a river. I want you beside me is cute bedsharing banter. From me to you makes my head spin and makes me shake my screen. And- *gets dragged off before I can mention more* Meanwhile on the flipside, Anita_Amai (the first ao3 marchil writer, still going strong 👏👏) is especially great at offering short and sweet pieces, the tone is usually light and comedic and it always makes me smile and giggle, gives me fluff attacks, the fics always a strong good scene or theme idea too. Just browse and pick any, it’s a good time. There’s soo many more. Honestly I recommend just diving into the ao3 tag and start reading. You can start by kudos and read the highest ones first to dip your toes and get the community classics one out. Early on there was a recurring anon writer who did great bittersweet domestic confession stuff like this one, lifespan angst oughh... Wherever you are now thank you for all your work 😭💖 A lot of new marchil writers are starting to post too! A csm asaden fanfic writer legend just joined the tag so marchil will probably finally get some multi-chaptered fanfics haha~ But yess there’s unrequited angst, there’s self-sabotaging angst, there’s domestic fluff, there’s falling in love and bantery fluff, bunch of good stuff <3

As to ships with similar vibes: The closest I’ve seen so far is honestly weirdly close, it’s the protagonists from a romance comedy josei called Dame na watashi ni koishite kudasai or Please love useless me! I don’t want to spoil but there’s even the guy needing to move on from a doomed love + emotional distance issues and the gal slowly invading his personal life/social circle and my god… They were coworkers, he was rude, he’s a workaholic, he’s reliable, she’s sunshine and needs to get some reality checks... The banter. THE BANTER. He represses and she copes by simping for fictional characters. He made, like, a mutual aid community for ex-gangsters. They dress up in silly costumes sometimes. They’re weeeird about each other in an unlabelable way before dating in a way (in a fun marchil in canon way). It’s so funny she’s cracking open his convoluted personal drama like her morning newspapers. There’s more there’s so much more. Give up on your dreams, make money, love loses 🔥🔥 It’s honestly just a great fun read, it’s such a mood. Haven’t read the sequel yet but there’s one so really if it hooks you you’ll be fed well and for a while. The greatest bits are too spoilery but here, have the vibe.

Howl’s Moving Castle, specifically the book, and there’s a ton of themes and narratives that are so fitting for them that I couldn’t possibly all list, I already made a post on it here if you’re interested in all the details and similarities and my AU thoughts haha.

Teen Titans 2003 the show, Beast Boy x Starfire. THAT’S RIGHT I’M A BBSTAR, BAM! 💥🫶 Jokester that’s dependable x sweet and idealistic but strong and protective. Short gremlin and tall beauty. Friends-coworkers to lovers. Very soft fluffy slice of life ship I like it a lot, and I wrote a fic for it hehe. Might do more one day, I have a bunch of prompts written down and a series I really wanted to get to sob.

I almost forgot to mention Shrek. It’s SO FUNNY how well it goes sometimes… Chil Shrek, Laios Donkey, Marcille Fiona. I want to say Mickbell could be Farquaad but even Mick doesn’t deserve this slander… Shrek 2 fear that he’s not prince charming enough for her oughh. Laios getting to be a horse good for him good for him. Winged Lion singing I need a hero. Someone stop me.

There’s also zenmiyo from Touge Oni but no one reads that </3 I gotta get to my review/lore analysis about that manga it’s sooo good a fave read of mine from last year. Like it’s so fucking good. It keeps just ramping up and getting more crazily good. Scrolling through some pages rn and it’s a unique blend of comedy, philosophy and awe-inspiring visuals and creativity. Well, sort of like late Dunmeshi actually. If it had a fandom any bigger I’d be all over it constantly. And I’d also recommend Harahara Sensei / Timebomb Teacher if it had any english translation, one of my fave mangas also. It’s about mafia, and a goody two shoes willing to go through a corruption arc to save her sister x stern rude mafioso who’s there bc he’s poor and on a revenge mission, never had any other option growing up etc etc. Ok he’s not that Chilchuck but the dynamic does have that "grow up and see the world for what it is, a shithole. It’s been hell for me" vs "ok you have a point. But also have you considered not sacrificing your humanity and emotions in a self-destructive pursuit" (not that she’s in the position to talk lmaoo) like ohh my goood him throwing his popsicle stick in the fire that she lit over a corpse, it haunts me.

From the marchil Discord it’s also fun to notice ships some of us share… Csm asaden, some combination of LotR elf x short guy, fair amount of dunmeshi ships overlap too. Haven’t found the overall common thread quite yet and I’m forgetting many that have come up but lol some off the top of my head.

[endofradio]

END OF THE WORLD

WARNINGS: a bit of gore, sylvie gets her ass beat by frank, also this deserves a warning just for being an emotional rollercoaster of a oneshot, also some blood vomiting’s gonna be happening here

NOTES: i’ve been on a bit of a writing spree. anyways, i’ve written multiple drafts of the future vampire frank scene for my fragments of fear fic, but i think this one might just be the main one. look, i am VERY indecisive. i am not responsible for any emotional damage this brings.

ALSO!!! sylvie will be referred to by “ava” in this oneshot. that was the alias given to her by lambert (i’ll have to mention that in her character bio that i posted on here i think i forgot to do that LMAO).

to make the reading experience a little more immersive or whatever, i occasionally included some gifs that visually represent the vibes of this oneshot i guess. i might start doing that when i post oneshots n stuff on here 😁

SUMMARY: the only surviving rat pack members, frank, sylvie, and joey stumble upon lambert in their mission to take down abigail. unfortunately, frank gives in to his lust for power and allows for lambert, who is now a vampire, to turn him. everything goes downhill from there.

WORD COUNT: 4,614 (jesus christ idk what’s possessing me)

TAGS: @shawsfinalgirl @blackwolfstabs @reclaimedbythesea @creelmalfoylaufeyson69 @atcarpenter

likes, reblogs, and comments all appreciated!

————————————————————————

“What the fuck…?” Frank narrowed his eyes as he carefully took a step forward. He, Sylvie, and Joey had reached the storage room, only to find a man standing there with his back turned. Frank and Joey both recognized the man instantly — it had to be Lambert.

“Okay, what the fuck is happening, motherfucker?” Frank hissed, tightly gripping the wooden stake that was in his hand. The man turned around, and that was when Frank and Joey’s suspicions were confirmed. It was, in fact, Lambert. Even worse, Lambert was clearly now a vampire, too. His eyes were a piercing blue, and instead of teeth… he had fangs.

“Woah, what the fuck!” Frank exclaimed, quickly backing away. “What the fuck— he’s one of them!”

Joey pointed her gun at Lambert. “You set us up, didn’t you?” She asked, her dark eyes narrowing. “Take one step towards us, and I will shoot you.”

Lambert was unfazed by Joey’s threat, the smirk he momentarily had now fading. “That gun’s not going to do anything, I’m afraid. You can try, though, if you’re really that stupid.”

“Gladly.” Joey hissed. She fired her gun at Lambert, a bullet flying towards his forehead. To her dismay, he didn’t react. He wiped the blood from the “wound” to reveal that it had already healed.

“See?” Lambert smirked. “I told you that nothing would happen.”

“What the… hell…?” Joey attempted to shoot at Lambert a second time, but once again… nothing happened. Realizing he was at an advantage, Lambert took a step towards Joey, reaching to grab her by the neck and pinning her against the nearest wall. She looked at Frank with an expression that read, “do something!”

Noticing Joey’s worried expression, Sylvie looked up at Frank. “The stake,” she harshly whispered, “use it!”

However, Frank didn’t do anything. In fact, he ignored Sylvie, his gaze fixated on Lambert. Lambert took notice of the stake that was in his hand, his smirk growing. “I’ll make an offer.”

Frank raised an eyebrow, continuing to keep a firm grip on the stake. “The fuck do you mean?” He bitterly asked. “What kind of fuckin’ offer?”

“I know you well, Frank. You’d just love to kill that girl, wouldn’t you?”

Frank scoffed. “No fuckin’ shit!” He hissed.

“Trust me, I want her dead just as much as you do.”

Frank took a step closer towards Lambert. “The fuck are you tryin’ to say?”

“Don’t… listen to him…” Joey choked, trying to pull Lambert’s hand away from her neck. “Just… use the stake…” Frank only continued to keep his gaze locked on Lambert. As angry as he was at Lambert’s act of treason, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of curiosity at this “offer” he was willing to propose.

“We could kill her together, Frank.” Lambert continued, his smirk growing. “You and I both know you’ve always had a… particular thirst for power.”

Frank’s grip on the stake loosened ever so slightly. Lambert was correct — hell, his lust for power was exactly what turned him on to the world of criminals in the first place.

“You could join us, Frank. You could be powerful. You could have the entire world in your hands. You could be… immortal. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

Goddamnit, Lambert had a point. His offer was tempting, and Frank was finding it difficult to resist it. Immortality, power… he would love to feel like a god. He used to feel weak. He was considered the family disappointment, always wanting a chance to prove himself to them.

However, he had promised Sylvie that nothing would happen to either of them. A pang of guilt came to the surface for a moment… but Frank quickly tried to push it down, replacing his guilt with coldness and apathy. This was his life, not hers. He could do whatever the hell he wanted.

“Don’t do it.” Sylvie whispered. Frank could hear the hurt in her voice, and it brought back the guilt for just a moment. Just ignore her. Don’t let her get in your way.

Frank allowed the stake to drop to the floor, a small smirk tugging at his lips. “Fuck it. Bite me.”

Sylvie froze. He promised, he fucking promised that nothing would happen. How could I be so fucking stupid?

She had placed her trust in Frank, only for it to be broken. She wanted to be angry, but she couldn’t bring herself to be. I should’ve known. I should’ve fucking known.

Once Lambert released Joey from his grip, Sylvie ran towards her, helping her to her feet. “Are you okay?” She gently asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. Joey slowly nodded.

“Yeah, don’t worry about me.”

“What are we supposed to…?” Sylvie’s voice trailed off, and she looked up to see Lambert slowly approaching Frank. She swallowed nervously. “We… we have to get out of here.”

“We can’t.” Joey sighed. “All the doors are locked.”

“Fuck.” Sylvie muttered. “I forgot about that.”

Sylvie’s head snapped back up again when she heard painful screaming, and her eyes widened as she saw Lambert sinking his teeth into Frank’s flesh, pinning him against the wall. Panic was beginning to set in for Sylvie. She looked back down at Joey, who was still laying on the floor. “What the fuck are we supposed to do?”

Joey nodded towards the stake that was still on the floor. “We’re going to have to kill them.” She answered. “Grab the stake, Ava.”

Sylvie nervously glanced at the stake, then at Lambert and Frank. She slowly walked over to the stake, shakily picking it up before making her way towards Lambert, pointing the stake right at him. His back was turned to her, surely he wouldn’t notice… right?

Well, she was wrong.

Lambert released his fangs from Frank’s neck, watching with a satisfied grin as he slowly slid down against the wall. “Good, good…” He murmured. Frank’s skin was pale and clammy now, his eyes appearing almost vacant. He was right about to sink his fangs into his wrist to feed Frank his blood, when he suddenly realized that Sylvie was right behind him. Quickly, he turned around, grabbing her and throwing her against the wall with ease as though she was just a toy.

Sylvie tried to scramble to her feet, her ears buzzing as she felt her head throbbing with pain. “Fuck…” She muttered, reaching for the stake yet again. Lambert noticed her attempt, kicking the stake away from her before turning his attention back to Frank. All Sylvie could do right now was watch in horror as Lambert bit into his wrist, hovering it above Frank as the blood dripped down into his mouth like water dripping from a faucet.

Stop feeling upset, Sylvie. You didn’t lose him. He betrayed you and that’s his own fault.

Even when Sylvie tried to make herself feel mad at Frank… she couldn’t summon any anger. She used to hate him — where had all that animosity gone?

Jesus, she couldn’t believe what she was witnessing. She wished this was all just a nightmare. “This… this isn’t real… right?” She asked, turning to look at Joey.

“Trust me, I wish it wasn’t.” She answered.

Sylvie glanced at Frank again, noticing how he was just sitting there against the wall with almost a blissful look on his face, blood dripping down his mouth. The sight was horrific.

Then, that almost peaceful expression turned into one of horror. He started to jolt and twitch, blood forcing its way out of his closed mouth, trickling down his neck and onto his tank top.

“What the fuck is happening to him?” Sylvie asked, slowly stumbling to her feet.

“I think it’s part of the transformation.” Joey answered, grimacing.

Lambert took a few steps back, and within moments, a violent torrent of blood started to spew from Frank’s mouth, spraying onto the floor. The whole time, his eyes were widened in shock as the dark crimson fluid continued to spray all over the floor. He staggered to his feet, and no matter how hard he tried to force the blood down, it just kept coming up. Sylvie forced herself not to look; the sight was too horrifying for her to handle.

The violent episode lasted for a few more seconds before Frank collapsed onto the floor, breathing heavily. “Fuck…” He muttered. He started to weakly groan, before slowly stumbling to his feet. He noticed the stake on the floor, and a sly grin curled at his lips. He picked it up, and when Lambert wasn’t looking, he swiftly drove it right through his chest. In response, Lambert let out an alarmed wheeze.

Knowing what was going to happen next, Sylvie and Joey both curled up onto the floor, shielding themselves from the bloody explosion of viscera that followed. Once it was over, Sylvie quickly grabbed Joey’s arm. “We have to run, Joey.” She hissed. “Now.”

Before Joey could protest, Sylvie forcefully pulled her to her feet, attempting to make a run for it. They were stopped within seconds.

“Where do you two think you’re goin’?”

Frank was standing right in front of the pair, and he looked like a fucking demon, all covered in blood. Beneath his glasses, his eyes were a vibrant shade of blue. When he smiled, he revealed a sharp set of fangs. Sylvie just wanted to cry. Why was this happening?

Frank’s piercing gaze landed on Sylvie, and he feigned a look of disappointment. “Aw, are you tryin’ to run away from me, now?” He asked, his tone dripping with false offense. Adrenaline was rushing through Frank’s veins right now. He didn’t care about anything, at least in the current moment. In his current state, Sylvie was no longer the woman he had secretly been trying to fight his feelings for. He just saw her and Joey as prey.

Sylvie took a couple steps backward, her heart pounding. “You fucking… liar…” She sneered. As angry as she tried to sound, there was an underlying sense of vulnerability.

Frank persisted with his little façade of disappointment and offense. “Y’know, that hurts, you callin’ me a liar…”

“You… you promised…” Sylvie’s voice was beginning to break, her eyes welling up with tears. Once again, she had been betrayed. Somebody always seemed to end up hurting her in one way or another, and here it was happening… again.

“Promised what?” Frank scoffed. “I never promise shit to anybody.”

“You said that nothing would happen. You fucking told me that.”

Frank let out a sarcastic laugh. “Oh, did I? Well, you can forget about that.”

He took a step towards Sylvie, towering above her. She took another step back, her eyes slowly widening in fear. “Get the… fuck away from me…”

Frank could smell her fear, and for some reason… he loved it. “Look at you, all scared…” He murmured. Meanwhile, Joey was retrieving the stake, slowly advancing towards Frank. “It’s kinda cute, actually…”

“Get the fuck away from her!” Joey yelled. She was about to attack Frank with the stake, when he suddenly managed to take it from her. He grabbed her with one hand, using the other to drive the stake through Joey’s shoulder. She let out a scream of pain as she felt the stake going through her.

The sight caused Sylvie to finally feel a rush of anger. Right when she saw Frank release Joey, causing her to plummet to the ground, she was suddenly ready to kick his ass… or at least try.

“You fucking asshole…” She growled, angrily taking a step towards Frank. She was about to take a swing at him, but he managed to dodge her. He picked her up and easily flipped her over him. With all the force he used, she landed a few feet away from him face-first onto the floor with a painful thud. In all honesty, it was a surprise that Frank hadn’t broken her spine.

Sylvie weakly lifted her head up from the floor, noticing how wet her nostrils felt. She reached to wipe them, only to see blood on her hand. She let out a painful cough as she looked up to see Frank standing in front of her, his gaze cold. Slowly, Sylvie staggered to her feet, blood dripping from her nose. She could taste the metallic flavor, and it was making her stomach turn.

“Don’t fuck with me.” Frank sneered. “Y’know, you should probably run, unless you’d rather prefer to continue tryin’ to be a dumbass.”

Sylvie couldn’t believe it. Frank had just completely… snapped. He was an entirely different person, and it terrified her.

However, Sylvie still felt some spark of determination. Maybe she was being stupid, but at this point… she was just angry. She let out a frustrated scream and started to take out her rage on Frank, punching him in the chest over and over again. Surprisingly, he allowed her to do it, casually standing there.

“Doesn’t it feel good,” he nonchalantly asked, “taking out your rage?”

Sylvie continued to punch Frank in the chest until all she could do was cry. “You bastard…” She whimpered. “You fucking bastard…”

Frank rolled his eyes. “Boo-fuckin’-hoo.” He grabbed Sylvie by the neck, holding her up above him as a demented grin formed on his face. Joey, meanwhile, was struggling to pull the stake out of her shoulder as she sat down.

“You’re pathetic.” Frank chuckled as he looked up at Sylvie, taking note of her bloody nose and bruised-up face. “I’m a hell of a lot more powerful than you, yet you’re still determined to kick my ass. It’s both admirable and idiotic.”

Sylvie squirmed and writhed in Frank’s grip, feeling the air being choked out of her. “Let me go…” She gasped, grabbing onto Frank’s hand. “Let me go…”

Instead of just simply dropping her as he had done with Joey, Frank threw Sylvie against the wall, watching coldly as she collided with it and fell to the ground, wheezing in pain.

“Ava, you need to run.” Joey ordered, letting out a sharp hiss of pain as she finally pulled the stake out of her shoulder. “It’s okay. I can handle him.”

Frank turned around to look down at Joey, before looking back at Sylvie. “I would say she’s right, but… y’know what? It would be less fun that way.”

Sylvie coughed painfully as she tried to get to her feet. She was beginning to feel increasingly hopeless, realizing she was at a severe disadvantage right now. She didn’t stand a chance against Frank.

“Less fun?” She repeated. “The fuck are you… talking about?”

When Sylvie looked at Frank, he looked like an entirely different person. It wasn’t him, yet it was. In a way, it was like he was possessed.

“You only continue to entertain me, Ava.”

Frank then sensed Joey slowly creeping up behind him again, and that was when Sylvie made a desperate run for it. She hurried out of the storage room, trying not to stumble over as she ran. Once she reached the main floor of the mansion, she realized she had to think fast. All the exit doors were locked, so she had no chance of escaping through them.

Wait…

Sylvie’s eyes landed on one of the windows that were near the front door. Perfect. Looking behind her for a moment to make sure that the coast was clear, she approached the door, deciding she’d try to open it.

It didn’t work.

“What the…?” Sylvie continued to try and open up the window, but to no avail. She was starting to panic again. Looks like I’m just going to have to break the window.

Frantically, Sylvie rushed to the dining room, pulling out one of the chairs away from the table. Slowly, she lifted it and began to make her way towards the window. Taking a deep, shaky breath, Sylvie tossed the chair at the window, watching as the glass loudly shattered everywhere.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Sylvie tried to climb out of the window as fast as she could, making sure not to cut herself on the shards of glass. Once she was out of the mansion, she began her escape into the nearby forest, occasionally looking behind her until she could only see trees.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW THE GIF.

The more Sylvie ran, the more she could feel her strength depleting. She was gasping for breath, and all it took was a stray tree branch sticking up from the forest floor for her to finally collapse. Her shoe landed on it, and she tumbled over, screaming in pain as she felt the branch go through her ankle. “FUCK!”

Sylvie grabbed the branch and struggled with it, trying her hardest to pull it out of her, watching as blood seeped from the deep wound and onto the grass. Once she finally managed to free herself, she let out another shriek of pain. The wound was only bleeding even more now. “Fuck, fuck, fuck…” She whispered, panicking. Jesus, she had never felt so afraid in her life.

How am I supposed to get help? I don’t know where the hell I am.

Sylvie was feeling significantly weaker, almost as though she was slowly beginning to teeter on the edge of consciousness. She was in so much pain. Her chest hurt, her body hurt… and her goddamn ankle was killing her now. She tried to stand up to continue moving, only to stumble forward and fall again. Her heart was pounding in her chest. This is it, isn’t it?

Now she knew what it felt like to be hunted down like a helpless animal. She felt like there was nothing she could do now except surrender, considering she was already much too weak to continue running. The forest was eerily quiet, and the only sound she could hear was her labored breathing.

As Sylvie weakly laid there, she began to replay various moments from her life, some of them involving Frank. If she could go back and change things, she would… but there was nothing she could do. She was going to die alone, wasn’t she? That was her very worst fear. She was going to die alone with the knowledge that she had lived a life of regret, and there was no going back.

Sylvie continued to lay there, closing her eyes as she hoped that some animal would find her and feast on her, put her out of her misery. She couldn’t believe it, but honestly she was wishing that Frank would just fucking kill her already.

Then, she heard faint footsteps, branches cracking with each step. Sylvie didn’t even bother to look up. She had completely given up by this point.

Then, the footsteps paused. When Frank saw Sylvie laying there all motionless, he was… confused. Seeing how frail and beat-up she looked… it made him feel that damn pang of guilt again. She looked dead, yet she wasn’t. His eyes wandered to her ankle, taking notice of the fresh wound there. It was flowing with blood, and the sight was making his mouth water ever so slightly.

Trying to shove down the guilt that briefly came over him, Frank slowly made his way towards Sylvie. Once he was right in front of her, he paused to look down at her.

“Tryin’ to play dead, are we?” He asked, his gaze emotionless. “Nice try. Get up.”

At the sound of Frank’s voice, Sylvie felt her heart start to race again. Still, she didn’t move.

“I said… get up!” Frank snarled. He roughly grabbed Sylvie by her arm, trying to pull her to her feet. She only fell down to the ground again.

“Don’t piss me off.”

Sylvie slowly opened her eyes, weakly lifting up her head to see Frank standing in front of her, his expression full of annoyance. “I… I can’t…” She croaked.

Feeling a rush of impatience and irritation, Frank grabbed Sylvie again. In an act of impulse, he threw her against the nearest tree, silently cursing himself for acting in such a manner. He watched as Sylvie simply just slid down, not even attempting to defend herself. For some reason, that bothered him even more.

“Why the fuck aren’t you tryin’ to fight?” Frank snarled, walking towards her. “C’mon, I know you’re capable of it. You tried to take a swing at me not that long ago…”

STORY CONTINUES BELOW THE GIF.

Sylvie tried to force herself to stand up again, before letting out a painful gasp and collapsing to the ground again. She let out a cough, droplets of blood spraying onto the grass underneath her. Frank simply stood there and watched her struggle, his mind switching between feeling genuine pity, and then cold, emotionless apathy.

“Kill me…” Sylvie weakly whispered. “Please… just… do it…”

Sylvie was completely surrendering to him, and the sight was… mildly alarming. To see her broken down and reduced to such a weak and vulnerable state… it was actually making Frank feel… well, he didn’t know what he was feeling, but it was almost similar to… concern. He was trying to suppress that feeling as much as he could, and it was getting increasingly difficult. All he could do right now was continue to snap at her. He was at war with his own confused mind.

“I fucking trusted you, Frank.” Sylvie whimpered.

Frank let out a scoff, rolling his eyes. “Trusted me? How could you be so fuckin’ stupid? Look at where that got you. It’s pathetic.”

“You’re… you’re right…” Sylvie swallowed.

“You should’ve known from the start, Sylvie. I’m the very last person you should trust.”

Sylvie could see her vision was starting to turn cloudy, and she blinked her eyes, only to see that everything was getting cloudier and cloudier. Time seemed to be slowing down, too. The words that Frank spoke were starting to sound like barely-intelligible gibberish.

“Why won’t you… kill me?” She weakly spluttered, wiping some blood from her mouth.

“Maybe because the sight of you all weak and in pain is more fun.” Of course, Frank was bullshitting. He didn’t know why he was refusing to put Sylvie out of her misery. Maybe lying to himself would help.

“Fuck you…” Sylvie murmured. “You piece of shit…” She could barely keep her eyes open right now. She was fighting to stay awake.

You piece of shit. Those words… stung. He didn’t know why. Why was he genuinely hurt by Sylvie insulting him this time? She had done it numerous times, and he found it amusing. Now… he was hurt. Maybe it was the fact he had truly fucked up.

Then, Sylvie’s eyes slowly closed, and her head lolled to one side. As Frank took another step closer to her, he could see how weak and exhausted she was, how hurt she was.

“Hey. Wake up.” There was a combination of irritation and a sense of urgency in his voice. Frank could tell Sylvie wasn’t just “playing dead” this time — something was genuinely wrong.

“What the fuck? Wake the fuck up!” Frank grabbed Sylvie by the shoulders, giving her a rough shake. Nothing happened. “You fuckin’… goddamnit!” He let out a frustrated yell, pacing around like a caged tiger. He looked at Sylvie again, noticing how she continued to remain motionless.

Frank wasn’t thinking clearly anymore. Somehow thinking it would wake her up, he grabbed Sylvie and slammed her against the tree again. “Why won’t you wake up?” He hissed, grabbing her again. He actually felt somewhat of a flicker of hope when her eyes weakly fluttered open, looking at him with a vacant stare.

“Stay awake, goddamnit.”

Sylvie let out another painful cough, blankly looking into Frank’s icy blue eyes. “It… hurts…”

Hearing how weak and frail Sylvie sounded when she spoke… Frank hated it. He was suddenly missing her insults, her snark… this wasn’t like her at all.

As the smell of the blood from Sylvie’s wounded ankle was getting stronger, Frank was finding it even more difficult to control his bloodthirst. His fangs were aching with the urge to just bite her already.

That was when he realized something.

Sylvie was clearly struggling to hang on, and Frank realized that if she were to die… he actually wouldn’t be able to handle it. He didn’t want her to die. He couldn’t leave her here. Why was this bothering him so much? He wasn’t supposed to give a shit about her. He used to see her as simply just a source of entertainment, nothing else.

Then, Frank remembered — he had been developing feelings for Sylvie, and feelings that certainly weren’t platonic.

If he turned her into a vampire, she wouldn’t be able to die. Nothing would be able to happen to her. She’d be just like him. He could see her fighting the urge to pass out every couple of seconds, and that was when he knew he had to fucking do something. In that moment, Frank had his mind made up. He had to keep Sylvie alive. For him.

That was when Frank leaned down, tilting Sylvie’s head back just a little to expose her neck. Then, he sank his fangs into her flesh. Maybe Sylvie did have some fight left in her, because she almost instantly started to squirm and struggle. To prevent her from escaping, Frank held onto her for dear life. Once he felt the metallic taste of her blood overwhelming his mouth, it was an experience similar to a drug high. He couldn’t get enough of it.

Sylvie tried to scream and fight, but the only sounds that came out of her were weak gasps. She dug her nails in Frank’s back, trying her hardest to pull him off of her, but there was no use. “Stop… please…”

Frank knew he was probably starting to drain a little too much blood, but he just couldn’t stop. The flavor was intoxicating. He was hooked. He kept draining Sylvie until the taste of her blood was ingrained into his mind.

Sylvie continued to gasp and wheeze, still trying to get Frank to stop, but she was getting even weaker. The more blood he consumed, the more lightheaded she began to feel. Once she started to go limp, that was when Frank snapped back to reality. He pulled away from Sylvie’s neck, her blood streaming down from his mouth. His eyes widened when he saw how deep the bite wound was, and how ghastly her skin looked. She was still alive and conscious, but only desperately hanging on.

“Fuck.” Frank hissed, looking down to see what he had done. He was starting to fucking panic — his plan had backfired, hadn’t it?

He could slowly feel his vampire form starting to go dormant, his fangs shifting back into teeth as reality began to sink in more and more.

He had to fucking help her.

Taking a shaky breath, Frank easily scooped up Sylvie into his arms, and made a run for it. As he dashed through the forest, he realized he had to get her the hell out of here as soon as possible. Never in his life did he think he’d end up doing something like this, but he couldn’t just leave her here in this bleak forest to die.

Maybe he was falling for her, and the realization was scaring him. No. I’m just gonna take her back to my apartment, nurse her back to health, and then let her go home when she’s better. That’s all.

That was all… right?

[compacflt]

Hi, big fan of your fics. I've just found your Tumblr and binged everything Icemav-related. When reading about Icemav's political beliefs, I've gotten curious. Does Bradley share the same political beliefs as Ice (and Mav)? Does being raised by them or them pulling his papers influence how he votes? Or there are other factors in the play (e.g. generations, social media)? How about Jake and the other Daggers? How does this young generation of the Navy perceive politics (elections, gender, etc.)? My apologies for bombarding you with questions. But as a non-American, American politics have always been something we must pay attention to. I've seen many interesting interpretations on Tumblr but it feels more or less wistful than realistic, but I might be wrong (again not an American) so I would love to see your perspective on this. Thank you.

a good politics roundup post before i leave this blog

icemav & their conservatism: here, here, here

ice’s NECESSARY conservatism as commander of the pacific fleet (i.e. officers who are most likely to get promoted to the highest ranks do NOT break the service line when it comes to domestic politics, so by necessity ice would’ve had to keep his mouth shut, he Cannot be both a four-star and a revolutionary, like he just can’t; and being a revolutionary is otherwise antithetical to his character anyway): here, here.

and the original “ice & mav politics post” which is being updated here: here

I’ve gone back and forth on everyones politics over the last year of me being involved with these characters, but let me just tell you where I’ve ended up headcanoning them politically, if ur interested

ice: reagan democrat. “educated moderate” who was more right-leaning pre-9/11. now just a regular ol liberal (did you SEE those gay little round glasses in tgm? no way this guy isn’t a straight-up lib) with absolutely no strong feelings about most domestic politics besides “fascism bad”. Has some foreign policy opinions that areeeee questionable at best, like all members of the military elite (hangman voice: DO NOT ASK ICEMAN ABOUT CHINA. WORST MISTAKE OF MY LIFE). foreign policy neoliberal favoring the dovish side of the spectrum. A force conservator (“let’s save our military assets [read: my boyfriend maverick 🥺] for when we really need them, not for any old conflict. the deterring specter of the American war machine should outweigh the risk of underperforming”). He’s in favor of marriage equality of course, but treats it like a privilege and not a right. would be sad/upset if it got repealed but wouldn’t necessarily fight for it. “well at least my marriage will always be legal in california so i just won’t leave, problem solved.” Normie median Biden voter.

mav: political wildcard tbh. original 1986 mav is DEFINITELY right-leaning (i think i’ve written elsewhere, “he fully believes bill clinton is an affront to god”). i get young republican vibes from him. Full on patriotic (but dispassionate) 1980s reaganite anti-commie neoconservative. but after the 2010s i am very confused tbh. Tom cruise’s political aura is an insanely confusing one. idk. No matter what, Mav has some Hot Takes that a.) can immediately be shot down by ice using Facts and Logic at any time and b.) are not strictly partisan. He’s registered democrat just to support marriage equality (his marriage is his top priority but he doesn’t care about Other gays’ marriages, only his own), doesn’t care about any of the party’s other lines. Votes however ice tells him to. I get real “kind clueless libertarian” vibes from 2022 maverick tbh. Especially with the “isolating himself in a hangar in the middle of the mojave desert.” that has a political connotation to it for sure. bro just does whatever he wants out there

also, ice & mav live in San Diego, which… while in blue/democrat leaning California…is famously a bastion of right-wingers & has a hitler particle level off the charts… (sorry its not my favorite place in the world). That’s why they’re both continually so disgusted by San Francisco (a metonym for effete liberal homosexuality). Theyre from San Diego, hatred of SF & liberal SF politics is kinda par for the course down there.

Bradley: as u will see in the extras i definitely hc Bradley as an activist, but because he’s… in the navy and also like in his 30s… It’s not college campus activism, it’s just “things all of us in the left wing can agree upon” activism. so, like, BLM or pride, etc. He’s an “in this house we believe” yard sign liberal. He is 38 years old. hes a solid millennial so not politically hip with the kids (me)

Bradley & ice/mav disagree on the VISIBILITY of politics. Ice & mav, who did live through the vietnam era draft/near-dissolution of American society in the 60s and 70s, are not in favor of possibly losing their job/honor they have fought and killed for, for the sake of a political statement. And they believe their relationship IS a political statement, whereas Bradley would rather encourage them to treat their relationship like, I don’t know, a relationship that has a right to exist independent of politics!

Jake and the other daggers: idk. i don’t really give a shit about the daggers sorry. They r blank slates 2 me. jake especially is canonically frat-boy sexist in a way that gives me the heebs, much like original 1986 maverick and ice. But the navy tends to be the most left-wing (or thought of as left wing in common thought) service of the military, if that helps. But it is also the most traditional service of the military, and by traditional I mean BRITISH!!!! 🇬🇧💂there’s so much pomp and circumstance and hoity-toitiness that comes from the navy’s origins in the Royal Navy. A lot of sticking to outdated tradition in the very fabric of the navy itself, while the navy’s enlisted demographics shift younger and more left-wing/“revolutionary…” some interesting conflicts there. Like that one sailor who got blasted by multiple congressmen on social media for (with permission!) reading a poem about their queer identity on the USS Gerald ford’s intercom a few months back, if I remember correctly. Hoo boy the Takes that day were wild. Younger Americans tend to be more liberal but YMMV with officers, who are by nature trying to uphold outdated traditions of the navy for the sake of keeping the navy a unified service

i am of course writing carole as a christian republican who has gay friends and a gay kid not by choice but by the Grace of God

[arthuluart]

Hiii - wanted to say first thing first I love your art style, it's so dynamic and fun and those color palettes? Stunning ^^

And second thing second, just some food for thought if you ever want to get angsty about Jerry and Dean, coffee by Chappell Roan sounds like it was written about their break up specifically and I can't stop thinking abt it dndnden

*Cue me losing my mind*

Hiii- they say flattery gets you everywhere and turns out with me, it gets you animatics- jkjk but I do appreciate the kind comments ^^

I’ll put up the animatic separately and take the opportunity to leave the preamble here to keep the video post neat bc until someone tells me to shut up and just post art- I’m gonna ramble… So here’s the commentary you didn’t ask for along with my favourite panels:

First off- You turned me into a big time Chappell Roan listener which is great bc I need music recs to fix my listening habits before Spotify wrapped drops. My roundup last year was shameful… Red Wine Supernova is my new dish washing song.

Even tho it’s not the song’s vibe I kept the content as silly as I could for my own sanity. I don’t love getting too deep into the serious/sad side of M+L for a few reasons but I do find it all very interesting. Point being this song was too good to pass up doing something a bit bigger for.

Ngl tho- this did have me pulling out hair at multiple points. I never colour animatics, rarely even tone them- but you mentioned colour palettes and I was determined to deliver so pardon the messy colouring but (that was the tradeoff) I did not have it in me to stay in the lines. I’m choosing to be kind to myself and opt to call it an artistic choice and not midway burnout. And nothing was gonna get me to open after effects/premiere not even the janky ass golf ball OML this only makes sense if u watch the video.

There are parts of this I’m SO happy with and others I hate. I think it’s really obvious which sections I started losing steam on but overall I lowkey like the end product. Nothing I make will ever be good/perfect- this was one hell of a practice in accepting that lmao- but I can still be ok with the work problems and all yknow? I very nearly shelved this completely bc I got so worked up about the maybe 5 panels I dislike out of 106 total. Counting them was eye opening to ask myself: you’re gonna let that small a ratio stop you from sharing this after putting in days and days of effort? The insecurity goes deep and TBH getting asks has been a nice way of working through it since I post the art I make for answers no matter what only bc I KNOW someone out there wants to see it. It might not sound it but it’s actually quite positive.

Also, although I feel I’ve done my fair share of reading, I’m no expert. So if anything is really off point- sorry my bad (I won’t fix it tho bc I cannot physically stand to look at this another second lol)

I tried to stick to real things found in articles/books/photos/interviews etc bc outside of obviously fictional AUs I’m not super into making stuff up about them (and who needs to I mean the legit stuff is already insane enough) Sure I framed the events in specific ways to suit the song and some aspects are fictionalized (mainly bc the referenced written accounts lacked detail to draw 100% faithfully from anyhow) but otherwise I got my sources cited.

ANYWAYS… sorry for hijacking this answer I need to learn to chill out. Irl I’m a pretty reserved talker so you can tell I’m in a comfy place when I let loose and blather on endlessly lmao brevity is not a skill I possess.

You were probably expecting illustrations or smth but I hope what I came up with is still somewhat alright AND please don’t let my complaining fool you, I genuinely loved making this.

One FINAL Relevant Note: the line “nowhere else is safe every place leads back to your place” is gut wrenching. You’re so right about this song perfectly describing the break up. They always came back to each other and there’s something so devastating about that kind of haunting human connection.

OkAY I’m done promise- I thought I’d implode if I didn’t get all that out

[thegoldheartlocketandkey-blog]

911 Spoilers Season 2: You’ve been warned. 😅

Episode 1

Okay so I wasn’t kidding when I said I was taking notes during my rewatch of season 2. I’ll show you the first page out of 15 pages I’ve written.

My hand writing is atrocious, and my grammar is definitely all over the place, but if you find my hand writing difficult to read, I’ll have my notes transcribed below. With more of an analysis/summary.

Buddie ❤️

Season 2: Episode 1

• Buck meets Eddie (Shirtless). Buck is obviously intimidated and subconsciously finds him attractive.

Can we talk about the song choice the producers/editors went with for this scene. What do you mean “What a man” is playing in Buck’s head when he first sees Eddie.

• Eddie obviously not comfortable with team yet, wants to be impressive. Shows off Army skills. Buck is more jealous.

Eddie really just wants to be accepted and apart of the group, and just do a good job. And we have Buck over here being grumpy and realistically concerned over his own place in the team.

• Gym scene= Lots of peacocking. Eddie just wants to be helpful / impressive. Eddie obviously finds Buck attractive Buck is too jealous to actually notice that.

Why are they being so unnecessarily aggressive with each other. The tension in the room isn’t just a simple I don’t like this person vibe. It’s more of a lustful tension, that’s the best way to describe it. Keep in mind I thought the tension in this scene was weird when I first watched the episode, and before the idea of shipping them ever crossed my mind. Now rewatching it just solidifies my desire for them to end up together.

• Eddie & Buck remove a bomb and this near death experience squashes any bad blood between them and is the start of their friendship.

Possibly the shortest Enemies to Besties trope to ever exist. Not going to say Lovers yet, but the way they were looking at each other definitely suggests that possibility.

• Buck tries to come up w/ cute nicknames for Eddie. Eddie is enjoying the interaction. Both acknowledge the other is attractive when trying to figure out who won the calendar.

This scene. Eddie’s reactions. Bucks complete 180 behavioral change towards Eddie is the moment I acknowledged their mutual attraction towards each other. It’s still not the moment I shipped them, it was something I didn’t fully acknowledge until I watched more episodes. I just knew they were going to be really great friends.

* Lots of smoldering eyes from Eddie and lip biting. Eddie may not realize it, but his body language is screaming he finds Buck attractive.

Eddie doesn’t lip bite when looking at Chim, Bobbie or Hen. He only seems to do it when looking directly at Buck.

Transcribing my notes for the other episodes might take me a while. I plan to post my notes for episode 2 and 3 soon because they are short. I may even include episode 4. Idk, this little project is just to get me ready for Season 7 and possibly channel my obsession in some way other than reading fanfic.

Please feel free to tell me if I missed something or if you think I’m wrong about something I’m happy to discuss these episode break down.

[seaplusglass]

Alright, lets talk about Leon's design

As mentioned in a previous post, I find the progress of my OC Leon’s design very interesting, as they have been a character I’ve been consistently using for the past 7 years. Because of that, I thought it might be interesting to share these insights with everyone else. So that's what this post is about!

It should be noted that although Leon is a character I’ve had since 2014, I’m going to be focusing on 2017 and onwards, as their concept before this could practically be considered a separate entity. 

Initial concept

Leon was originally made for a 1920s horror roleplay group, and his concept was to create an antagonistic character who would eventually be killed off. When I made the previous post discussing Leon’s design, I said the following:

I don't entirely know what my inspiration for them was at the time (I think I just wanted them to look sophisticated, British, and ocean-themed??)

Although it is true I don’t fully know what my inspiration was, I think those words also give the impression that I didn’t know what I was going for at all, and that isn’t the case either. Rather, a better description of what I was trying to achieve with the design is simple, and the amount of initial thinking I did doesn’t compare to the work I put into his character later on. 

His design could easily be boiled down to 3 words; Gentleman serial killer. He was supposed to look composed and charming but with something darker brewing under the surface. I gave him a tailored 3-piece suit to make him seem put-together, and gloves to make him seem clinical, as if to create a barrier between him and other people. I made him tall for the intimidation factor, and although his body type was described as lanky, I struggled to show that within the limitations of my work at the time.

Leon wasn't meant to last long in this setting at all - I had planned for him to be a pretty one-note villain who was meant to be killed off pretty quickly. But plans changed, and Leon ended up pivoting to becoming my main PC for a time. 

2018-2021

Adapting Leon to being my primary PC meant I also had to change things, as there were several things about Leon’s design that didn’t work with my art style at the time - Primarily, his hair.

(some examples of Leon’s hair from 2018)

It was meant to be messy, wavy and slicked back, which did achieve the vibe I was hoping for, but I didn’t know how to draw it properly.

(2018 vs 2024)

This still bothered me at the time though, so I started experimenting with different hairstyles. Eventually, I settled on a voluminous, wavy haircut with a tousled fringe and tapered sides.

This was also to give Leon a more youthful appearance, as Leon despite their greys was supposed to be in their late 20s. (Their age is more ambiguous now due to character lore, but they retain the grays.) 

2021-2023

Leon’s design stayed mostly consistent after this point, even as I used them for various other projects, but I did start to make little tweaks to their design, as I got a better handle on the fundamentals. I started defining Leon’s hair better and drawing it more consistently, and by 2021 I have what I’d consider the basis for Leon’s current design.

By this point, Leon had pivoted entirely from the concept of ‘gentleman serial killer’, as it didn’t fit with most places I wanted to use them, especially if I wanted to play them as a good guy - And so their backstory was entirely reworked from the ground up to be a little more fitting the direction I was taking them in.

But changing their foundation also meant changing their design. 

Because of this, I tried to give them a more approachable appearance and demeanor, and I opted to dress them in lighter colors to also reflect this change. It’s also around this time I depicting them a camera - Leon was always written to be naturally curious, but I wanted to add more facets to the character that made them seem interested in the world around them. This is also reflected in other works from the time where they're depicted, which often emphasize travel.

Then, in 2022, I started experiencing increasing dissatisfaction with their design. I think this could be attributed to a variety of factors, but most of all themes of queerness surfacing for the character. 

Since mid-2019, I had been playing around with the idea that Leon wasn’t cisgender. I wasn’t entirely sure how I wanted that to be expressed for the character (I played around with labels such as androgynous, demi-guy, etc.) but eventually settled on genderfluid, as that felt most fitting to how the character themselves felt about their gender expression. I experimented with various looks and styles, for the most part settling on a shoulder-length haircut, and retro 1970s suits to match.

(It's... Different, that's for sure!)

I admittedly liked the style and the change in fashion, but I consistently returned to the hairstyle they originally had because the hairstyle was difficult for me to draw and often did not fit their remaining wardrobe the same way their old hair had. I continued to experiment with their looks into 2023, but I still struggled to settle on a look. It wasn’t until the end of 2023 that I decided to scrap most of these concepts and decided to return to their 2021 design.

2024

Reverting to Leon’s old design still left much to be desired, however. I was sad because I had a lot of concepts for the character that I wanted to explore, but no proper way to encompass them into a full character.

It turned out that this wasn’t true at all. I just needed to lay the foundation for the character a bit differently. As an off-hand idea, a few friends suggested that I try adapting Leon to the World of Darkness universe, as I had began to have a budding interest in the universe. Applying the concepts I had for Leon into one linear story rather than concepts out of sequence, allowed me to put them into place in a way that allowed the concepts to all be present throughout a journey instead of being present from the get-go. 

This leads me to Leon’s current design.

Leon can be depicted in a myriad of different ways, as their design is meant to encompass a journey - One of self-discovery, transition, and self-acceptance in a time where they barely have words for what or who they are. It’s difficult to entirely nail down a design for how they dress, but I think it’s fun that I can use the excuse to dress them up.

There is a common thread in most of their depictions though. They retain the voluminous, wavy haircut and their round glasses, and I make a point not to change their build regardless of what they’re wearing. I think it's much more interesting how the right cuts and clothes can change a character, and at this stage, I’m incredibly happy with their design and the versatility it gives me.

Conclusion

Do I have a way to really conclude this? Not particularly. I just think it's cool to see how far the character has come given their origin. From a character meant to be killed off to one of my dearest OCs is a massive progression, and I think it's interesting how much they have changed, and how much has stuck around despite these changes. It makes me ecxited for what they might look like in another 5 years!

[nonsensefromtheabyss]

Hello! I am OK1610 from ao3. I loved Riddle V.I.Z.ion so much! Such an amazing story with great characters! I loved the aliens especially! Your story inspired me to weave my own tale for these characters as well as a design element for Diz (the support beams) for my refs of the aliens (credited in the post)! I cannot wait to read more about them and their pasts!

Any chance we can get a little sneak peak of what is to come?

('Riddle Classified' sounds like a great name btw!)

Hello!! Lovely to see you again!

Literally had to spin in circles at work when you said my story inspired you, was not prepared; I’m honoured <3 and I hope you have fun creating! You art is so perfect!!! I love how the style is still reminiscent of the game art but far more detailed and much more fun to look at—it’s so vibrant! They’re all super adorable (rotating Quiz in my mind rn) and it looks like such a sweet AU—I’m an absolute sucker for stories where things end well (which I don’t think anyone would guess from my own works XD.) Would be super intrigued to know more when you’re ready to share!

(Definite spoilers for my future Riddle School fic below the cut!)

Dutifully adding a tally to Riddle Classified’s column! I swear the title is going to be the bit I decide last with this thing, it’s certainly giving me the most trouble XD

As for sneak peaks, hmmm; it’s a little early in the process for me to feel like I’ve got much that’s actually interesting to share, but I could tell you about the first chapter? It’s post defection, a few years into the V.I.Z.ion Project, and involves Quiz being kidnapped by bounty hunters/pirates. He has to stall for time, turning them against each other as a distraction, while Viz and Diz sneak around and kill off the people stationed at other outposts before picking him up. 

It’s told from the perspective of the pirates, who really have no idea who or what Quiz is, and is set in a snowstorm to really play up a theme of isolation/being trapped. Horror movie vibes. They know something is going on outside, and they know their contacts are going cold one by one, but they can’t figure out why—maybe it’s just the storm like their leader says, maybe it’s something else. They’re stuck with this unknown alien who’s sounding way too plausible when he says the roof might cave in, or there’s something outside, who talks them into telling him the scary stories they’ve heard about rogue soldiers in the area. If they go outside and try to run, they’ll definitely die of exposure, but if they stay? Unclear. And surely nothing out there could be alive. The noises are the wind, just the wind, they’re not in danger, nothing’s getting closer, everything’s fine.

It’s a good opportunity to play with Quiz’s unique skill set of appearing very harmless to manipulate people, gives me the chance to do some exposition on the alien’s species lore, and—most vitally—sets a pretty sinister tone for the V.I.Z.ion crew actually in action! A good jumping off point for what’s to come!

Another chapter I’ve got planned as a definite inclusion (though I don’t know where it’ll go yet; probably late in the collection) is them kidnapping Phil. It’s from Phil’s perspective, and I’ve honestly just been galaxy braining over it for a few nights now; he just barely escapes them when they see him first (runs through populated places they can’t follow, gets on a bus, his dog attacks Quiz when he gets home) and then spends the next few days as Dib from Invader Zim trying to convince his family that Aliens Are Definitely Real And Also After Him. They don’t believe him. One night he wakes up to find that everyone else is knocked out, and the aliens are in the house searching for him. He doesn’t get away this time. Very stressful times for Phil—I don’t think I’ve ever written a non-stressful time for Phil. I don’t think I’ve written a non-stressful time for any of these characters.

With this chapter, I’m hoping to do something with the perspective shift, which is another reason I think it should come late in the formatting. While the aliens are very much villain protagonists in this, having everything be through their eyes will eventually make them familiar—maybe not exactly relatable, but certainly comfortable. The jarring dissonance of exchanging that highly militarised, desensitised perspective to an actually human one—the P.O.V of someone we, the audience, know—when he’s terrified and being hunted by them appeals to me. Particularly as, at that point, I will have written scenes of the V.I.Z.ion aliens interacting with humans from their own perspective, and the difference between what they think and what people think can be thrown into even sharper relief.

I realise I’ve told you about the only two chapters that aren’t from the alien’s direct perspectives, so sorry about that! But I hope they made for a satisfying sneak peak <3 maybe this isn’t what you meant at all… I’ve never actually done a sneak peak before!

[averysmolbear]

Surprise!

In celebration of my blog passing 100 followers, I decided to throw a little event! It’s open to followers new and old because I want to celebrate with all of you!

So to spread some love and positivity, I’m going to try my hand at writing short notes from your fave to you.

What do I need from you? Well, first you need to be following me! Send me an ask with the name of your fave, what name or nickname/pet name would you like the note to be addressed to, what kind of note do you want (comfort, motivation, romantic, friendly, etc), and just a general vibe between you and your fave! The more info you give me, the more personal I can make the note but keep in mind that if I’ve never written for your fave, the note might end up being a little more generic, which I apologize for in advance!

Please keep to the following fandoms: Marvel/MCU, My Hero Academia, Attack on Titan, Jujutsu Kaisen, Spy x Family, Star Wars, Stranger Things (I might add more later!)

Keep in mind that for this event, I won’t be writing anything NSFW and I’ll only be writing for characters that are 18+ in canon. Also I won’t be accepting anonymous asks for this. You still need to be 18+ (which I would hope since my blog clearly says MDNI) to join in the fun so if you slipped through the cracks and don’t have an age marker of sorts in your blog, I won’t be able to write you a note! (Just toss in a little hint at your age even, like 20s or something along those lines please!)

The event starts now and will end on November 20th! I’ll hopefully start posting any notes within a couple of days of getting my first asks for it!

Here’s an example of the kind of notes I’m talking about!

[silvermeww]

I see you tag a lot of things as 'kalosian woods', what does it mean??? is it like a project or a fic or something? 👀

Hey there anon! Yah, it’s a massive AU/rewrite thing I have for the XY anime (and maybe games??) that I’ve been planning for a while now. The name is short for ‘beware of kalosian woods; lovely, dark and deep’ and it’s up on AO3 at currently idk 6 fics?? Which is super funny since so far I’ve managed to plan out 60 fics for it and the numbers are getting higher as I go on lol. Anyways, this all happened when I got inspired by a friend to rewrite some scenes of the anime and then welp, it snowballed into a project of massive proportions that should, if I’m motivated enough, keep me occupied for a year at least ^^’

I guess I should say some things about it since I’ve been rambling on for so long, huh? Well, in my watch of XY (and many future ruminations afterwards) I guess my biggest problem was that almost everyone but Ash and Greninja got their narrative presence and story potential whittled down to almost nothing (if not downright nothing) as the series went on. The start had promise but afterwards? Straight off the series itself I can’t tell you much about anyone in any real deep capacity (and the sad thing is that I do care about at least some of them, but they end up getting the shortest stick ever :/). So, in this rewrite I’m shaking things up and giving everyone opportunities to develop and grow, try out new things and new bonds, let the Pokémon play around with each other and their Trainers (Chespin my beloved, why did you never exist beyond the butt if the joke when you used to have a Reason for Being in your origin ep?? ;w;), all that jazz. Also including some game plots and characters (AZ should’ve been there and in my essay), more fleshed out Team Flare, maybe Southern Kalos??? Still thinking on that. More dramatic and honestly more cooler Kalos Crisis where we don’t just have two 50% Zygarde and then Zygarde Rock, changing up the way Showcases are done (letting them be their own thing seperate from Contests while also having that creative flare), more lore for that Bond Phenomenon, etc. Basically I’m going to have fun with the playground of Kalos lore/locations and letting any character that was a character have their time to shine, so if there are any backgrounders that you may have taken a shine to, there’s probably a chance that I’ve written them in this big thing heh.

(My second problem is the lack of Legendary Death Bird and Life Deer in the series that introduces them—wdym the only time I can see them is in one movie for 5 minutes? And don’t get me started on the cameo in the camp arc.

So naturally I’m going to have them play a role throughout the series as well, down to the Crisis itself. Can’t have Squishy have all the fun :3)

So, I’m not sure if I truly grasped what this project is about, tbf I’m still planning it out as I go since I’ve always been a pantser, but it’s something fun for me and I hope that more people will come to enjoy it too! A mix of every genre, some crack interspersed within the fluff and angst, Sycamore adopting way too many children while placing himself in a self-made love triangle, lore and deep connections, history and its effects, life and death and order.

And being the best version of yourself. That too.

PS I forgot to add, my tag is basically a really funny spoilers-no-spoilers compilation of posts that fit the vibe of the whole series. Like the posts just resonates with a certain part of the series and represents it and I thought that hey, might as well make a tag that would make no sense to anyone until the series is finished while also giving myself inspiration and motivation. I should probably make a side blog for the project but that’s if it gains enough traction I think, like an askblog or compilation thing. Anyways lmk if there’s anything unclear in my massive ramble or if you want to know something more/else, I’ve really enjoyed this ask if you can tell heh :D <33

[rexxdjarin]

(I’m not the anon who sent you hate about Mari!)

I really do mean this in the nicest way possible. This is not intended to insult or belittle you or your writing style at all. I just want to maybe help clear up what some people might find “problematic” about Mari (but the hate anon obviously did a poor job of voicing their complaints because it was very destructive criticism rather than constructive criticism).

I think the misconceptions about Mari stem from the fact that the majority of scenes in both Captain’s Log and Unwritten (I have read both many times) are just smut and lack a true emotional connection between Rex and Mari beyond being physical. That gives off the vibe that their relationship is only rooted in sex and that it’s the only saving grace of the relationship. Sex and love can be mutually exclusive. I understand wanting to write a sexually-liberated female character, because society severely represses women of their sexuality, but sometimes I feel like Rex and Mari are only together because of their physical attraction to one another. Additionally, there is major emphasis on Mari’s beauty from every single character (other than Rex): Shaeeah Lawquane, Omega, Wrecker, Gregor, Echo, Fives, Wolffe...the list goes on. None of her other personality traits are really complimented, just her looks. That might be problematic to some people because it fails to look at Mari as a whole person. Expanding on her intelligence, empathy, and fearlessness in both stories might help counterbalance her seductive nature while not discounting it.

Also, you reblog posts that include details about Rex and Mari’s relationship in the tags, and that’s the only tell about how Mari helps the clones. The audience doesn’t see that in the actual stories because there’s no explicit subplot that shows Mari helping Padmé in the Senate during the Clone Wars. So for those who only read the story, they wouldn’t know Mari’s political background with Padmé, other than an offhand mention of it.

Again, this is no hate toward you. I’m just trying to help elucidate the arguments against Mari. You’re an amazing writer and I admire you so much for your dedication and passion for your stories! I sincerely hope this doesn’t hurt your feelings because that isn’t what I intended at all. I’m open to hearing what your response to these claims, in case I missed something in both stories; you’re the expert!

I don’t even know what to say to any of this. Because despite literally every single thing I’ve put into this story, as much emotion as I can possibly put into the subject matter, I still have people saying and believing this.

Like first of all, Unwritten isn’t finished. I am only 3 chapters in. I have not gotten to explain any of the times she has done things and will do to help the clones politically socially etc. I literally haven’t written them yet.

Captain’s Log started as a reader, so a lot of the things I attribute to Mari weren’t initially in that story because it didn’t start out as being an OC story.

At the end of the day, I feel like I’ve put so many conversations and situations between the two of them that are so much bigger than just sexual stuff.

I’m just writing my stories the best way I can. To sit here and try this hard to dissect my characters and my story is incredibly hurtful. We’re all just here writing stories for fun on the internet. I feel like lately people on here are trying so hard to make me feel like I’m not allowed to do that.

I haven’t written or published anything in so long. I have had a miserable and extremely difficult year as it is which has made writing the stories I love basically impossible. I was really excited to try to get back to my stories. Receiving messages like this from you and others really doesn’t make me want to continue.

“I hope this doesn’t hurt your feelings” while simultaneously calling for me to somehow defend my response to these claims….like wow. Idk how anyone would take this any other way but to be really hurt by it.

So thanks for this. Really made me feel awesome.

[narrators-journal]

*not* a kinktober thing but could you please write some yandere naoto shirogane? (i dont see naoto as a sexual yandere moreso a purely romantic or platonic yandere, personally so take that as you will)

Hi there! I know this took forever to do, when I do kinktober, I prioritize those asks. But! I’ve had this baby written for a while now, I’m just posting it now, y’know? Anyways! Thanks for the ask, I don’t write for Naoto a whole lot, so this was pretty fun to write! Good practice lolol. Also, in relation to how I take Naoto, I’m pretty samesy on the takes. Not very sexual this one, so no matter how you take it (Romantic or Platonic), they’d probably act the same way.

CW: Yandere behavior with the addition of a cop character. Please be cautious when reading, this one might play a bit too realistic

As a person, admittedly Naoto is not the most terrifying. They’re short, they pass for male, but it’s at least a more effeminate male, so not intensely intimidating. All around, they aren’t Kanji, as a simple, regular ass cop on the street, they aren’t a threat.

But as a platonic yandere, Naoto is a scary motherfucker.

While they can pass for a friendly neighborhood cop, they’re still. A police officer. They have experience with what criminals do that leads to their capture. They’ve got access to a lot of ways to track you, or find your information.

They know how to destroy your life, how to get away with it, how to lie to other cops, it’s a lot. So, escape is not an easy thing to achieve.

Plus, with the lack of real respect they get, other officers don’t really think much of them and their skills.

Which, ends up helping a bit because nobody cares to check them because, there’s no way Naoto is the criminal, right?

All of this comes together to make them a hellishly difficult Yandere to get away from. Even though they’re probably one of the least violent to their chosen friends.

New friends? No. They don’t pass the vibe check, Naoto’s going to get the arrested to keep them away from you.

A potential partner? Absolutely not, no one is taking your attention away from your bestest possible friend. Murder is not that hard to do if you frame Adachi.

Granted, Naoto’s not romantically interested in you, so they has no sexual intentions.

That being said, they still not going to just, let you get mixed up with the wrong crowds.

And god forbid they find some form of evidence of a crime you’ve committed. You can be sure that this motherfucker would use it to blackmail you.

If they can’t find anything to keep over your head, they’ll MAKE it. After all, they know how to fabricate evidence and make that shit look legit.

So, if you’ve got Naoto as a platonic yandere, you better get comfy and be thorough on your plans to escape.

And hella lucky.

[hpandthegobletofsass]

one of the few scenes i've written for the jegulus fic i've been working on, regulus getting his dark mark. wrote this back in january and haven't looked at it since until today and am deeply unwell about it, so posting this snippet to hopefully get motivation to write more than just the three scenes and fuck ton of notes i have (it's like 550 some words, so putting it under a read more, but you should read it and then ask me questions bc i have so many thoughts for this fic :3)

The next meeting is just after Christmas. There seems to be a slightly different cast of characters at each one, probably why these are so frequent, to keep anyone who couldn’t make the previous meeting up to date.

He isn’t there until the third meeting though. Just before Regulus is due to go back to Hogwarts. The vibes are different immediately, a chill in the air, everyone speaking in more hushed reverent tones with less idle chit chat.

He addresses Regulus specifically towards the end of the meeting. “Black, I’ve heard promising things about you,” he gives a small nod, “How have you been finding our meetings, intriguing I hope?”

This is the moment, the pivotal spot where everything shifts, “Yes, sir, they’ve given me much to think about, and already I have learned so much more than I ever could’ve hoped. I’ve been given access to resources on the dark arts I could never dream of finding at Hogwarts, it has been a great privilege.”

Bella looks like she’s about to start vibrating from excitement, that the Dark Lord is paying specific attention to the Black family is a dream come true to her.

“Hm yes, we can offer much that Hogwarts cannot. However, Hogwarts is where the youth of today exists, and it’s always good to have an insider, to convince those who might be unsure, what the best side to be on is." He pauses for a moment, "So perhaps, we have ourselves a new recruit tonight? Your cousin Bellatrix has already proven herself more than loyal, and I can’t imagine she would bring someone along who wouldn’t already be loyal to us as well.”

Regulus panics, Fuck does he know? he can’t know. It’s probably just because I’m 16 and he can’t have full control over me at Hogwarts. Verbally he says, “I’d be honored, My Lord,” with a small reverent bow.

He seemed pleased with this, “Brothers, tonight we celebrate adding another to our ranks! Welcome, young Regulus Black.”

Bella screeches beside me, clinging to my arm, Regulus offers a smile to the rest of the room, hoping he seems excited and not on the verge of tears. The meeting has now extended to include his induction.

Regulus has no clue what to expect, he knows Bella has the Dark Mark tattoo, and can only assume he's in for the same.

Regulus can tell there’s some sort of strong magic woven into the ink being painted on his forearm. It’s cold and feels almost alive, sort of snake like. Then came the pain. After Nott finished painting the design, he grabbed Regulus' wrist, barely touching his wand to the skin, and the mark sunk in. Regulus felt it eating away at his flesh, more like a brand than a tattoo, it was the most excruciating pain he had ever experienced. But he knew this was part of it, they were testing him, to see if he was weak, how he reacted to this pain was another part of whether or not they’d let him live.

Regulus allowed himself a grimace and nothing more, he refused to make any sort of sound as the ink burned through him like poison. Then it was done. The others congratulated him, told him he did well, that they were excited to have him on board, promised to send him books and such.

[heartkaji]

hi mars i love your writing so much 🥺🥺 i’m thinking of starting a blog because of you so do you have any writing tips?

HI BABYYY i’m so glad i could inspire you to start writing i’m so happy to hear that💞💞 here’s a few for you ml 💘

read what you want to write. obviously you have to choose HOW you want to write first. in my case i wanted my writing to be similar to poetry since i love poems. there are diff types of poetry but prose poetry is my favorite so i decided on making my works based on that. once you’ve decided how you wanna write, read as many works as you can that basically embody that.

make it your own : if you’re using another author’s work as inspiration you might end up developing a writing style that’s pretty much identical to theirs. it’s harder to notice in writing so i’ll use art as an example: have you ever seen someone’s art and thought it was by a particular artist, only to find out it was someone else who drew it ? if your work looks like something the author you’re getting inspo from could’ve written, you’re doing it wrong 🙏 if you’re using pinterest or tumblr as inspo sources chances are your inspiration is a small or unpublished writer so you really don’t want your work sounding similar to theirs. making your work a little more unique by mixing inspo from different sources is a great help.

to add more on the last point, try making your own signature phrases !! for example, ppl have told me they know a work is mine once they see phrases like ‘blood drenched cheeks’ (as opposed to blushing or flushed cheeks) ‘blood crept up his throat’ (to show nervousness) etc etc. you can see these exact phrases in almost EVERY fic i’ve ever written. idk about them being entirely unique but if people are associating certain phrases with you, you are definitely on the right path to making a writing style that’s uniquely yours 💯 another thing i do is i use slashes in place of dashes, commas, semicolons etc and ‘&’ instead of ‘and’. it’s used in poetry sometimes but pretty uncommon in fic writing. my use of these symbols in writing has also been pointed out on here so i know i’m doing it right 🙏

decide how you want your works to SOUND. what vibe do you want your writing to give ? i like to write with the intention of making my fics sound ‘melancholically romantic’. i’d say my bakugo fic, kinich drabble and old kaji oneshot are works of mine that do well to capture this vibe. i like my works to have a somewhat ‘gloomy’ air as opposed to bright and happy, and i make the romance on a more steamy side, not innocent and cute at all. decide what tone or vibe you want your work to give off and use language and setting accordingly !!

PROOFREAD. this is really basic advice but i NEED to spell it out because gosh, the amount of fics i see that say ‘not proofread’ on the daily ?? anytime i see that in the authors note i scroll immediately. if you couldn’t put effort into making your fic readable, why would i give it a read ? please anon, use grammarly if you have to. i personally don’t use it because i write things ‘grammatically incorrectly’ for the sake of sounding poetic sometimes so having grammarly trying to correct what is perfectly fine in my eyes can get annoying. that said i reread my fics like ten times before i post, and i reread it at different times as well, not just reading it over and over again in one sitting. having stuff like spelling errors in my fics is just so embarassing to me, i prefer to avoid that at all costs 🙏

lastly, WRITE WHAT YOU LIKE. tumblr sucks when it comes to giving feedback. it makes me miss wattpad where everyone spammed comments but hey what can you do ? don’t let lack of engagement discourage you from writing the way YOU want to. i’ve written fics in really thick prose and some of those don’t get as many reactions, but does it make me consider changing my writing style ? NO. everything i post on here is first for myself before anyone else. it should be the same way for you too nonnie. the moment you become focused on writing what will get you the most likes and reblogs rather than what you actually want to, you become a content creator, not a writer. write as you like and own it ‼️