ls-daydreams

[ls-daydreams]

developed a real fondness lately for characters who experience a horrific act of violence and come out the other side saying "ah. I don't think I get to be me anymore. they took out the part that was me, killed it, and put something else back in its place, and now I'm whoever the hell that is." love it when someone becomes a corpse and replaces themself <3

[ls-daydreams]

there are pieces of your soul in everything you write dipshit thats how creation works

[ls-daydreams]

Habits That Reveal Deep Character

(A.K.A. the quiet stuff that says everything without screaming it)

❥ The “I Always Sit Facing the Exit” Quirk They don’t talk about their childhood much, but they always know where the exits are. Every restaurant. Every train. Trauma has muscle memory. Your job is to notice what it’s saying without needing a monologue about it.

❥ The “I Can’t Sleep Until I Hear You Lock the Door” Habit It's not controlling. It's care shaped like paranoia. They say “Goodnight” like it’s casual, but they’re counting the clicks of the lock like a lullaby. Let that show more than “I love you.”

❥ The “I Keep Everything You’ve Ever Given Me” Thing Not just gifts. Receipts with your doodles. The crumpled note you wrote when you were mad. Every bit of you that felt real. It’s borderline hoarder behavior, but also? It’s devotion.

❥ The “I Cook When I’m Sad” Pattern Their world’s falling apart, but suddenly everyone has banana bread. It’s not about food—it’s about control, about creating something warm when everything else is cold. And they won’t say it out loud, but they're asking, “Will you stay?”

❥ The “I Practice Conversations in the Mirror” Secret Before big moments, hard talks, or just answering the phone. They're rehearsing being okay. They're trying to be the version of themselves people expect. That’s not weakness—it’s survival wrapped in performance art.

❥ The “I Fix Other People’s Problems to Ignore My Own” Reflex Everyone calls them “strong,” but no one notices how fast they redirect. “How are you doing though?” they ask, one heartbeat after breaking down. Let your reader see how exhaustion wears a smile.

❥ The “I Never Miss A Birthday” Rule Even for people who forgot theirs. Even for exes. It’s not about being remembered—it’s about being someone who remembers. That’s character.

❥ The “I Clean When I Feel Powerless” Mechanism That sparkling sink? Not about hygiene. That’s grief control. That’s despair in a Clorox wipe. Let it speak volumes in the silence of a spotless room.

❥ The “I Pretend I Don’t Need Help” Lie They say, “I’m fine” like it’s a full stop. But their hands shake when they think no one’s looking. Let your other characters notice. Let someone care, even when they don’t ask for it.

❥ The “I Watch People When They’re Not Watching Me” Curiosity Not in a creepy way. In a poet’s way. In a “who are you when no one’s clapping” way. They love the in-between moments: laughter in elevators, fidgeting before speeches. That's who they are—observers, not performers.

[ls-daydreams]

More guard dog/attack dog dynamicsss......

Character A who has B wrapped around their finger and thinks they're completely in control of their precious loyal partner x Character B who is way more powerful and aware than A thinks and A only controls B because B lets them but B definitely gets off on that fact

[ls-daydreams]

hello tumblr user. in front of you stands a confident and outspoken character. your challenge today & forever is to consider the possibility they may simply have self-confidence and are not just faking to secretly cover up massive insecurities. good luck

[ls-daydreams]

15 Questions - Gabe edition

Tagged for this one by @words-after-midnight (apologies for the 2 year delay and thank you so much for the tag <3)

I'll be doing this for Gabe from Metanoia (Mal's is here), who is the 2nd most important person ever (Mal would say he's first but oh well)

1) Are you named after anyone?

A perk of naming yourself is you get to choose exactly this. Gabrielle from Xena: Warrior Princess.

2) When was the last time you cried?

I wish I could cry more often, maybe it'll help tire me out enough to sleep. I'm cursed to stay up staring at the ceiling instead...

3) Do you have kids?

No

4) Do you use sarcasm?

Only with some people.

5) What's the first thing you notice about people?

Hands.

6) What's your eye colour?

I wear brown contacts (they're prescription, not just a fashion choice). Original color, I don't want to talk about it :)

7) Scary movies or happy endings?

Happy endings, but I usually watch more scary movies.

8) Any special talents?

Drawing. I'm also sort of a cat whisperer.

9) Where were you born?

Arjoy, city of dreams (this is sarcasm, by the way)

10) What are your hobbies?

I read and collect trinkets, bake when I have time, draw/doodle sometimes. I like walking places where there aren't any people, taking pictures especially if the place is abandoned/in ruins, I watch a lot of TV, not always quality.

11) Have you any pets?

Just street cats I named and feed at work and back in my neighborhood (Contessina and Missy, among others)

12) What sports do you play/have you played?

Trained in tae kwon do when i was younger

13) How tall are you?

6′

14) Favourite subject in school?

History and biology

15) Dream job?

I'm already working two jobs that are sort of pleasant, so I'm content... I guess. Being a paramedic is exhausting, but it helps me to help people and the pub... let's just say it'd be a lot better if instead of cooking I could make pastries and cakes.

OPEN TAG for this, folks!

[ls-daydreams]

Introducing: Mal's greatest hits

featuring the story summary in his own words, his wonderful way of asking for information, his confusion at what a porn magazine for straight men contains, and his incessant need to make fun of very emotionally-charged situations

[ls-daydreams]

15 Questions - Mal edition

This time I was tagged by @clairelsonao3 50 years ago. Thank you so much!! I'm gonna answer as Mal, who is my main boy in Metanoia, this time, as I've done this game before with myself

Stay tuned for Gabe's version

1) Are you named after anyone?

not that i know of? that was the least interesting info i wanted to discover tbh

2) When was the last time you cried?

lost count, bro

3) Do you have kids?

id say my dog Patroclus but he's more of a brother I guess?

4) Do you use sarcasm?

Noooo

5) What's the first thing you notice about people?

their hands and eyes

6) What's your eye colour?

brown, babey

7) Scary movies or happy endings?

happy movies with scary endings

8) Any special talents?

i am unkillable (not for lack of trying lol), im good at stealing things?? idk

9) Where were you born?

abragan air force base, about 20 minutes away from plain river (a shithole)

10) What are your hobbies?

apparently i used to like breakdancing (so i guess that counts as a special talent too?), crosswords (more my ma's thing but i breeze through them now), i like puzzles and solving mysteries and shit. like those impossible sentence-games you have to solve?

11) Have you any pets?

paddy

12) What sports do you play/have you played?

i was told i was pretty good at basketball and i have since learned i was doing tae kwon do on the hush hush

13) How tall are you?

5'10

14) Favourite subject in school?

physics apparently? i like concrete calculations and shit, you just learn formulas and you can solve anything (and that shit makes sense in the real world too)

15) Dream job?

havent really thought about it to be honest... just as long as its something thats fun and fulfills me, i could do anything

Tagging @calicohyde @catchingbigfish @enchanted-lightning-aes @justnerdy15 I'm curious about you guys' answers, either about yourselves or your characters <3

[ls-daydreams]

15 Questions Game - me edition

I was tagged in three of these, so I'll do one for myself and the others for my Metanoia boys. With that said, thank you @tate-lin for the first tag! <3

1) Are you named after anyone?

Not after anyone, but my sister's the one who decided on my name because my parents were convinced I'd be a boy and did not have a name ready lol. My middle name is my godfather's though, if that counts for something

2) When was the last time you cried?

Stray Kids concert last week hehe

3) Do you have kids?

Just fictional ones lol

4) Do you use sarcasm?

Yes <3

5) What's the first thing you notice about people?

Vibes? I don't know, it's just energy really?

6) What's your eye colour?

Hazel

7) Scary movies or happy endings?

Both

8) Any special talents?

I can drum song beats with my teeth? I don't know if that's a talent though

9) Where were you born?

Ploiesti, Romania~

10) What are your hobbies?

I like making Canva edits (especially playlist covers) though now that I have to use it so much for my job it's not as fun. I do sudoku and love baking and collecting things, I play video games too but usually when my sister and I go back to our hometown so we can play together. I like fixing things too, especially when someone else would rather throw them away.

11) Have you any pets?

My baby boy, Mark, who is a 15 year old dog who will outlive us all.

12) What sports do you play/have you played?

Growing up it was basically mandatory to try a ball sport, so football (soccer) and volleyball were forced on us at school and in the neighborhood. I played tennis too for a bit, but I'd rather watch it than play it.

13) How tall are you?

165cm and I am too lazy to convert that to feet <3

14) Favourite subject in school?

English and biology

15) Dream job?

Filmmaker and basically... story creator, I guess? Novels, films, shows, music videos, immersive experiences, I wanna make them all

I'll tag peeps in the character versions and leave this one as a mini bio, if you will~

[ls-daydreams]

WIP Doc Titles

Tagged by @calicohyde to post all of my WIP document titles and have people send asks about them to get a fun fact or a short snippet.

Metanoia - THE Draft

Holy Heresy (previously known as The Good Supernatural)

What It Is To Live renaissance

Looking pretty thin if I do say so myself, but I'm trying to focus on one at a time. Also, Holy Heresy is theoretically just a Notion page with maaany subpages of ideas and moodboards and whatnot, but there is actual writing in there somewhere too and it will be the next thing I start doing after I send Metanoia off into the world.

So if any of these pique anyone's interest, send me an ask and I'll share a snippet or a visual or something from the project~

Tagging to share their own: @catchingbigfish @zeenimf @justnerdy15 and OPEN TAG!

[ls-daydreams]

✍🏼 Word find tag (type, swallow, purple, hand, shadow)

Thanks to @ls-daydreams for the tag!

📝 Search for the given words in your story. If your story doesn't have a word, you can use a variation on it or a word with a similar meaning.

These are from Miles From Morning...

TYPE FORM (I had to thesaurus my way through this one)

This is the part where I get washed, properly washed, not just an imitation of it as some form of ritual or ceremony. This is the part where he sits on the chaise longue with his elbows resting on his knees and his fingers steepled in front of him.

SWALLOW and PURPLE

Inside, it’s the kind of dark you can feel, the kind that goes deeper than breathing. The kind you can swallow, with clouds of dry ice split by strobes and pierced by lasers. Flashing blades of pink, purple, blue, white, over and over and over, hypnotic.

HAND

He shuts the door behind us, pushing me against the wall hard enough that my head hits off it and the pain feels so fucking good. I must have some look on my face about it because he says, “You like that?” and he wraps a hand around my throat.

SHADOW

It's dark outside and the flicker of neon from signs and xenon from the headlights of passing cabs cast shivering shadows across my room.

Tagging @tabswrites, @talesfromaurea, @talesofsorrowandofruin and @the-inkwell-variable if you'd like to do it, with an open tag for anyone else who wants to join in.

The words to search your story for are break, blood, bad, and bar 💜

Reblogs, replies etc on my tag posts are always welcome, but if you're doing this tag yourself, please make your own post instead of using mine to start a reblog chain.

[ls-daydreams]

Tagged on my writing side by @ls-daydreams to post the last seven sentences I wrote, and I decided to do it now even though these are, like, kind of, I guess, what you could call spoilery if you believe in that sort of thing, because the literal last sentence I wrote is the dialogue "I can do that" and I am estruggling to get to him. you know. doing that. :/

Posting to this blog instead of that one because it's fanfiction.

[SUGGESTIVE, ADOLESCENT SEXUALITY, REFERENCED S&M]

Johnny's certainly strong enough to do it, definitely mean enough that's for sure, and Ali's willing on top of it, letting him. Even still, it's almost ludicrous to think of. If Daniel puts the words he's thinking into Johnny's mouth, the actions into Johnny's hands, the whole thing just seems silly. Over-the-top and farcical. Maybe it's too on the nose or something. But if Daniel makes another substitution… "I can do that," he breathes.

from Compare, Contrast, Combine, currently 7k (and SO close to finished) (the chapter, that is) (and I promise this time it is saved in my word processor and won't disappear, RIP Hold It Against Me which I was heartbreakingly reminded of also by Laura via their beauteous description of a soon-to-be bruise; everybody pour one out)

I tag @dykerory @girlfriendsofthegalaxy @sequencefairy @ceph-the-ghost-writer @lunar-years and @frogus (oc content? 👀 oc content tonite, teddy?👀)

[ls-daydreams]

Find the words

@calicohyde tagged me (last year, sorry) to find the given words in my WIP! His words for me are blue, waste, hour, power, and strange, and as always, I'll do Metanoia:

blue

Tommy pounces faster than Mal can blink, shoving him back into the door handle hard enough that Mal can already picture the vessels burst beneath his skin, purple and red and blue bleeding into a nice, big bruise. They’ve done this countless times. Still, Tommy stares at Mal like he’s too afraid to breach the gap and take what he’s already been given, a weakness and hesitation Mal struggles to swallow down.

waste

They paved the dirt road snaking through his neighborhood, so he can’t recall all the scrapes and bruises he’d gotten falling down and playing. The puddles he’d splash into. The dirt and pebbles getting into his shoes. They took the green gazebo; strays used to hide out there during bad weather, but it was also where Mal knows he had a birthday party when he was in high school. He’d been shown photos. They’d had tiramisu instead of a birthday cake, people got wasted, Carmen made them pizza, they even had a fully functioning barbecue; now it’s just a sad pit of dirt.

hour (hella spoilers but out of context, tw blood, death)

"I sat here for hours. Stared at him. The blood was seeping through the floor, bubbling like acid. He had this empty, innocent look plastered on his face, like he’d been wronged. Like he’d been a saint. And it just came out of me, all this pent up... Sobs, tears, snot, my voice cracked, my throat was raw, and I was laughing too because I finally felt free. Free of him, free to be."

power

It's different when the violence doesn't come from Tommy. With him, Mal could trust, somewhat, that no real harm would come to him. That he had enough power and sway to get himself out. Now it's cold and dark and hopeless and the emptiness in the pit of his stomach is scary enough that all Mal can do is try to laugh it off and hope it goes away.

strange

From the moment he asked “who am I?” to the two strange women claiming to be his mother and sister, Mal was plugged into a state of itching panic, confusion, and helplessness. The heartbreak in Lu’s eyes, a devastated sibling love he couldn’t connect to, dunked him in the cold realization that he didn’t belong there. He was wrong, a stranger, and he robbed this family of a son and brother.

Tagging @catchingbigfish @zeenimf @macabremoons @winterandwords and OPEN TAG for anyone who wants to share~ This is your sign to put some of your writing out there!

Your words are: type, swallow, purple, hand(s), shadow

[ls-daydreams]

Last Line

The lovely @hbxplain tagged me to share my last line. As always, from Metanoia:

You'll forgive me for writing this but not actually giving it to you this time...

Fun fact: this line appears before, in the actual letter insert, but Mal only reads it at the end~

Tagging @catchingbigfish @calicohyde @zeenimf @serafyyn @macabremoons aaand OPEN TAG! Take this as a sign to share your stuff~ (also to anyone who was tagged, let me know if you'd like me not to do it in the future)

[ls-daydreams]

mal the way that i love you bro...

[ls-daydreams]

Guillermo Del Toro on AI "art"

SDCC 2025: Lucas Museum Of Narrative Art

[ls-daydreams]

Emotional Walls Your Character Has Built (And What Might Finally Break Them)

(How your character defends their soft core and what could shatter it) Because protection becomes prison real fast.

✶ Sarcasm as armor. (Break it with someone who laughs gently, not mockingly.) ✶ Hyper-independence. (Break it with someone who shows up even when they’re told not to.) ✶ Stoicism. (Break it with a safe space to fall apart.) ✶ Flirting to avoid intimacy. (Break it with real vulnerability they didn’t see coming.) ✶ Ghosting everyone. (Break it with someone who won’t take silence as an answer.) ✶ Lying for convenience. (Break it with someone who sees through them but stays anyway.) ✶ Avoiding touch. (Break it with accidental, gentle contact that feels like home.) ✶ Oversharing meaningless things to hide real depth. (Break it with someone who asks the second question.) ✶ Overworking. (Break it with forced stillness and the terrifying sound of their own thoughts.) ✶ Pretending not to care. (Break it with a loss they can’t fake their way through.) ✶ Avoiding mirrors. (Break it with a quiet compliment that hits too hard.) ✶ Turning every conversation into a joke. (Break it with someone who doesn’t laugh.) ✶ Being everyone’s helper. (Break it when someone asks what they need, and waits for an answer.) ✶ Constantly saying “I’m fine.” (Break it when they finally scream that they’re not.) ✶ Running. Always running. (Break it with someone who doesn’t chase, but doesn’t leave, either.) ✶ Intellectualizing every feeling. (Break it with raw, messy emotion they can’t logic away.) ✶ Trying to be the strong one. (Break it when someone sees the weight they’re carrying, and offers to help.) ✶ Hiding behind success. (Break it when they succeed and still feel empty.) ✶ Avoiding conflict at all costs. (Break it when silence causes more pain than the truth.) ✶ Focusing on everyone else’s healing but their own. (Break it when they hit emotional burnout.)