callmelyrus

[callmelyrus]

Folks, cannot recommend enough! 😍

New Wind Change chapter out! Forecast is for mystery and intrigue!

*thank you @fogno for the epic image.

“Please – don’t touch that,” Florwyn says nervously as Shadowheart attempts to wrest the rucksack off an unconscious Arabella’s back.

She would much rather Shadowheart was nowhere near the rucksack at all. Just the memory of the magic that had emanated from there makes her want to shiver – gods, just what has Arabella gotten herself caught up in?

Florwyn had been alarmed enough to ask Shadowheart to sedate Arabella as a precaution – just until they are ready to deal with whatever could have made Arabella behave so alarmingly. They have decided the sorcery shed is the best place to try and figure out how to help her, as they can try to contain any strange effects there and spare Silfy from seeing anything upsetting. That is – if they can persuade an excited Silfy to entertain herself and keep away while they try and help Arabella.

Shadowheart casts Florwyn a tight look in response and glances at the storm sorcerer’s hands. Florwyn realises she is obsessively wringing them together and clasps them to her stomach instead, forcing herself to take a measured breath. With Silfy shadowing her closely, she needs to at least try and project calm – however much she would like to fall to pieces for a few minutes before they move on.

Shadowheart leaves the rucksack alone as asked and instead tries to settle Arabella more securely on Owly’s back.

The strange words Arabella had spoken before she had fainted seem to reverberate endlessly between the two women: ‘Florwyn would never leave you – not willingly.’

They haven’t been able to address any of it yet, since their next priority after seeing to Arabella was reuniting with Silfy and letting her know all was well after all. But it doesn’t mean the words have been forgotten. Far from it. The space between Shadowheart and Florwyn has seemed to become more tense with each passing second as Arabella’s words sit heavily at the forefront of their minds.

Are Arabella’s words even worth worrying over? Or were they just the ramblings of a brain that was compromised by magic?

READ MORE

[callmelyrus]

[callmelyrus]

Girl needs more wine

[callmelyrus]

So fluffy! So sweet! Go read!

This was a silly little idea that popped into my head today and I really liked how it turned out! Hope it’s fun :)

Summary: You and Shadowheart engage in one of your morning sparring matches. She beats you, but you totally let her win. Right? She demands the truth, and you give it to her straight from the heart.

Pairing: Shadowheart x Reader

Tags: Fluff, Romantic Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Zone of Truth Spell 

Words: 1.2k

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Baldur’s Gate (Video Games) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Shadowheart (Baldur’s Gate)/Reader Characters: Shadowheart (Baldur’s Gate) Additional Tags: Fluff, Romantic Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Zone of Truth Spell (Dungeons & Dragons)

[callmelyrus]

Ahhh I love these 😍🥹 Feel free to prompt me!

Nonsexual acts of Intimacy - Select from the following and send me a pairing

[callmelyrus]

How to Structure a Oneshot That Hits Like a Thunderclap

“A good oneshot is a single breath—sharp in, slow out.”

A oneshot isn’t just a short story. It’s a moment, a mood, a slice of intimacy that wouldn’t survive being stretched into a full-length fic. Here’s how to make it count.

Pick One Core Emotion

Build the whole thing around a single feeling. Obsession. Longing. Regret. Euphoria. Grief.

If a full-length fic is a symphony, your oneshot is a single piano note.

Ask: What should the reader feel when they finish?

Ex: “This oneshot is about the moment someone realizes they’ve already fallen in love.”

Limit the Timeline

Don’t span days. Or even hours, if you can help it. The strongest oneshots focus on a single scene or moment.

A kiss in a hallway.

A final goodbye at dawn.

A confession said too late.

Tight time = tight tension.

Start Late, End Early

Drop us into the scene already in motion—no lengthy set-up. And leave us just after the climax, not long after.

Don’t: “They met three years ago and…”

Do: “It’s raining the night he finally says it.”

Your oneshot should feel like eavesdropping on something private.

Structure Like This

ACT I: Setup (15–25%)

Who are we with? Where are we? What’s simmering under the surface?

ACT II: The Shift (50–70%)

Something changes. A kiss. A fight. A confession. A memory.

The mood deepens or flips—this is your emotional peak.

ACT III: The Fallout (15–25%)

How does it end? A single line. A final look. A choice not made.

Leave a lingering echo, not an epilogue.

Let Style Do the Heavy Lifting

A oneshot gives you space to lean into voice, imagery, and metaphor. Write like it’s the last thing you’ll ever write.

“He says her name like it’s a prayer, but the gods stopped listening hours ago.”

Mood. Matters.

[callmelyrus]

💀 Making Your Villain Make Sense (Without Making Them Right™)

("because if I see one more war criminal with a sad diary entry get a redemption arc, I’m gonna throw my laptop.")

Here’s the thing: your villain doesn’t need to be redeemable. But they do need to make sense.

And I mean sense beyond "they’re evil and they monologue about it." Or “they have a tragic past, so now they do murder <3.” Or “they were right all along, the hero just couldn’t see it 🥺.”

Let’s fix that.

─────── ✦ ───────

🧠 STEP ONE: BUILD A LOGIC SYSTEM THAT ISN’T OURS Your villain shouldn’t just be wrong, they should have their own internal system that works for them. Morally flawed? Absolutely. But coherent.

Ask yourself:

What do they value more than anything? (Power? Order? Loyalty? Vengeance?)

What do they believe about the world, and how did they get there?

What fear drives them? What future do they think they’re trying to prevent?

The villain doesn’t need to know they’re wrong. But you should.

Make their logic airtight. even if it’s awful. Give them cause and effect.

─────── ✦ ───────

👿 STEP TWO: STOP GIVING THEM THE BETTER IDEOLOGY Listen. I love a “morally gray” moment as much as anyone. But if your villain is making all the good points and the hero’s just like “no because that’s mean,” your arc is upside down.

If your villain is critiquing injustice, oppression, or inequality, make sure their methods are the problem, not their entire worldview.

✖︎ WRONG: Villain: “The ruling class is corrupt.” Hero: “That’s not nice.”

✔︎ RIGHT: Villain: “The ruling class is corrupt, so I’m burning the city and everyone in it.” Hero: “So you’re just… committing genocide now?”

Your villain can touch a real issue. Just don’t let them be the only one talking about it, or solving it with horror movie logic.

─────── ✦ ───────

🔪 STEP THREE: GIVE THEM POWER THAT COSTS THEM The best villains lose things too. They’re not just untouchable horror dolls in sexy coats. They make bad choices and pay for them. That’s where the drama lives.

Examples:

They isolate themselves.

They sacrifice people they love.

They get what they want, and it destroys them.

They know they’re the monster, and choose it anyway.

If your villain can kill a dozen people and feel nothing, that’s not scary. That’s boring. Let them bleed. Let them regret it. Let them double down anyway.

─────── ✦ ───────

🧱 STEP FOUR: MAKE THEM PART OF THE WORLD, NOT OUTSIDE IT Villains shouldn’t feel like they were patched in from another genre. They should be part of the world’s logic, culture, class system, history. They should reflect something about the setting.

Villains that slap:

The advisor who upheld the regime until they decided they deserved to rule.

The noble who’s using war to reclaim stolen legacy.

The ex-hero who thinks the system can’t be saved, only reset.

The priest who truly believes the gods demand blood.

They’re not just evil, they’re a product of the same world the hero is trying to save.

─────── ✦ ───────

👁 STEP FIVE: SHOW US THEIR SELF-JUSTIFICATION You don’t need a tragic backstory™. But you do need to show us why they think they’re right. Not just with exposition, through action.

Let us watch them:

Protect someone.

Choose their goal over safety.

Justify the unjustifiable to a character who loves them.

Refuse to change, even when given a chance.

A villain who looks into the mirror and goes “Yes. I’m correct.” is 1000x scarier than one who sobs into a journal and says “I’m so broken 🥺.”

─────── ✦ ───────

🧨 BONUS ROUND: DON’T MAKE THEM A HATRED MEGAPHONE Especially if you’re writing marginalized characters: don’t let your villain become a mouthpiece for slurs, abuse, or extremism just to make them “evil enough.” That’s lazy. And harmful.

You don’t need real-world hate speech to build a dark character. You need power, consequence, and intent.

─────── ✦ ───────

TL;DR: Good villains don’t need to be right. They need to be real. Not a vibe. Not a sad boy in a trench coat. Not a trauma monologue and then a sword fight. They need logic. They need cost. They need to scare you because you get them, and still want them to lose.

Make them dangerous. Not relatable. Make them whole. Not wholesome. Make them make sense.

—rin t. // thewriteadviceforwriters // villain critic. final boss consultant. licensed chaos goblin

P.S. I made a free mini eBook about the 5 biggest mistakes writers make in the first 10 pages 👀 you can grab it here for FREE:

[callmelyrus]

your draft isn’t bad. it’s just going through its awkward teenager phase. let it wear a hoodie and slam its door.

[callmelyrus]

I'm back after a ton of work crunch and two back-to-back trips, so I took a moment to indulge in trying out some recent BG3 mods. I've had a great time combining Lighty Lights and Angel Photoshoot with my Aylin playthrough. Look at her go, with those wing animation details. Lovely.

And it's truly amazing what a difference lighting makes, even with relatively simple tweaks.

[callmelyrus]

[callmelyrus]

If you haven’t already, I urge you to run and read this right away!

I'll Be Your Light Part 2 now out!

A wolfheart story for people who don't like werewolves.

After

“You have to eat,” Shadowheart says briskly, using every ounce of her Sharran-honed self-control to keep her writhing emotions locked beneath the surface to project a calm she does not feel.

A bandage has been wrapped around Kat’s head, covering her eyes, and the ranger sits slumped against a pillar, barely responsive.

Halsin had carried her out of the forge and back to their camp in the Sharran temple. After some awkward standing around, everyone scattered to dwell in their own thoughts. Some had whispered conferences in distant corners, while Shadowheart was left to watch over their leader … or the woman who was their leader, because how can Kat still lead them now? And what will happen to their group without Kat keeping them together? This is a brand new worry Shadowheart had never imagined they would have to think about, not while Kat was at the helm smoothing tensions over, keeping them focused and moving forward.

Kat has been the only one of them who made any real effort to forge bonds beyond the strain of their shared predicament. Somehow, she managed to pull their disparate group together and even get them co-operating despite personality clashes and the ever-threatening hopelessness of their mission.

Whoever leads next will have big shoes to fill, but fill them they must for their tadpole problem has not become any less urgent.

Kat sighs and holds out a hand for bread that Shadowheart carefully places in her palm.

Her other hand gropes around the floor for the cup of water beside her and Shadowheart is on the brink of helping – about to cry out a warning – but too late, the water cup is knocked and spills, seeping water into Kat’s trousers.

“Well. This sucks.” Kat’s voice is brittle from humiliation. “This fucking sucks.”

In one angry twisting motion, she throws the bread aside, and the cup after it.

She breathes heavily, clenching her fists together as they listen, Shadowheart wincing, to the rattle of the cup descending with excruciating slowness down the chasm it had fallen into. Then there is a ringing silence.

“Never mind,” Shadowheart says in her best trying-to-patch-things-over voice. “Let’s go to your tent. I can help you get changed – ”

“What, are you going to be my nurse now?” Kat says hotly, and with far more bitterness than Shadowheart had been prepared to be on the receiving end of – not from Kat. “Changing my pants – like I’m a baby?”

“N-no,” Shadowheart starts uncertainly. “But Kat, you’re going to need to accept some help, to begin with at least. Until you get used to – ” Her soothing words are violently interrupted.

“I don’t want to get used this!” Kat yells. “This is bullshit!”

Bullshit! The word echoes around the chasm, over and over, as multiple suffering Kat’s protest the unfairness of it all.

“I know,” Shadowheart says, stricken and blinking back tears, and not knowing what to say. “It’s complete bullshit, Kat!”

Kat takes a deep breath, and then deflates completely, her anger gone, her body sinking heavily against the pillar. It is a far more alarming sight than the anger on their normally indefatigable ranger who has cheerfully encouraged them through all their challenges to date.

“But also, I’ve water all over my pants, and that’s embarrassing,” Kat says in a low, lifeless voice, holding out her hand for Shadowheart to help her up and guide her to her tent.

Shadowheart leads Kat, not daring to say anything when there are no right words to say, other than warnings about uneven surfaces ahead that she delivers in an unnaturally calm voice, trying to keep her own roiling emotions in check.

There is another pang as she realises they will need to procure a stick for Kat to use to feel for obstacles ahead. Will Kat ever be able to track, and nimbly skirt through forests again?

Don’t think about it, Shadowheart tells herself firmly, as she leaves releases Kat’s hand at the entrance to her tent.

Shadowheart has never been inside her tent before. Everything is tidily packed away or folded neatly – the bedroll is even rolled up and stored in a corner, as though Kat is prepared for travel at a moment’s notice. Even Kat’s few changes of clothes are folded in a perfectly crisp, uniform manner in her rucksack. Removing a fresh pair of trousers disrupts this perfection, but it can’t be helped.

“Just put them in my hands, Shadowheart,’ Kat says in an empty voice from beside her. “I don’t want you to dress me.”

“All right,” Shadowheart says quickly, relieved and feeling guilty for it that Kat cannot see how upset she is. It couldn’t be clearer that Kat doesn’t want her around for a moment longer than necessary. She understands why, but it still hurts.

“Just … go …” Kat says, turning away from her, holding the trousers slackly in one hand. “Please, just go.”

Shadowheart makes a noise in the back of her throat of assent and rushes out of the tent, her lip trembling, tears threatening to fall.

She cannot blame Kat for being angry and hurt, but the dismissal still stings.

For Kat does not know that Shadowheart is out on a limb, defying every instinct her religion has instilled in her, in trying to help at all.

READ THE REST OF PART 2:

[callmelyrus]

[callmelyrus]

She is absolutely my waifu. I’m in love

[callmelyrus]

Forgot to post but more Shadowheart from RenFaire this year 🫶

Bonus very awkward pic:

[callmelyrus]

[callmelyrus]

[callmelyrus]

Not a big shadowzel shipper, but this is beautiful omg

This poem was inspired by @grenanigans's Shadowzel fics ❤️.