#i like adding little snippets of stories to drawings

[honeywyrdie]

Sangiovese Cellar {2}

Bang Chan x Reader

genre: slow burn, angst, eventual smut warnings: vampires, cults, blood, host clubs [[more tags to be added as story progresses]] {masterlist}

Synopsis: A new face arrives at the exclusive vampire club, Sangiovese Cellar. He has more on his mind than blood donors though as he meets with an old friend.

a/n: Hello my little red blood cells! Welcome to Sangiovese! 💘 I’ll be posting snippets on tumblr then a link to the full chapter on Ao3 from here on out, I think it will work a little better that way. I also post new chapters on Ao3 earlier!

The sun has just set as Christopher takes the sleek elevator of L’Hemotage down to the basement. He meets the security guard at the door leading to the other establishments in the vampire district of Ambrose. The basement is dimly lit by sconces on the walls, flickering as they reflect off the polished tile floor.

“Good evening, Mr. Bang,” the man says. “Please place your room key on the lock.”

Christopher takes out his black room key and holds it to the receiver as the guard taps a few buttons on the panel in front of him. The vault-like door begins to unlock, the clanking and creaking shakes the floor enough for him to feel it through the soles of his shoes. Finally, it opens with a hiss, revealing a long hallway, multicolored advertisements covering the walls.

“You’ll be following the purple line on the floor to get to Sangiovese. We hope you have a good time,” the guard smiles, gesturing towards the door with a polite nod.

“Thank you, I’ll see where the night takes me,” Christopher replies with a diplomatic smile. He reaches out with his black leather gloves to shake the guard’s hand, pressing a hundred IRN bill into the guard’s palm. As the man stammers in thanks, Christopher pats him on the shoulder and heads towards the hallway through the large door.

There’s another guard posted on the opposite side of the door as well, so Christopher greets and tips him too. He knows how far he can go with a simple smile and a hefty tip. The memory of being the one receiving such a kindness has followed him through his undead life.

He looks down at the different colored lines inlaid on the stone. The purple line has a thin wire of gold running through its center. The underground network of tunnels are mainly for vampire use, and it shows in the quiet lavish details. Wealth is easy to accumulate and display when you’re not concerned with dying.

As he begins his stroll, he looks at the different advertisements and posters in the hallway nestled between the wayfinding markers. They are selling everything from fashion to real estate to boutique blood banks. There are a few ads for entertainment venues next to political posters about human cohabitation. Christopher glances them over as he makes his way towards his destination, navigating the labyrinthine tunnel system solely by the purple vein in the floor.

He turns a corner and approaches the door for the Sangiovese Cellar. The chaotic ads stop abruptly, overtaken by rows of marquees leading to the door. The walls are covered in grapevines, twisted into braids around the two dozen or so portraits of the blood donors available at the Cellar. Of course all the faces are beautiful, that’s half of the draw. There are seductive expressions on the donors of all different genders. Some have sultry eyes and some have innocent expressions, but all the photos seem to scream the same thing:

“Come have a taste.”

One face in particular stands out to Christopher. A woman with her wide haunting eyes, as if she’s staring directly at him through the paper she’s printed on. There’s a vulnerability in her expression, but with a defiant confidence in the tilt of her head. He pauses mid-stride and looks down at the name.

Y/n.

Only one name, no surname.

~~

{continue reading on Ao3}

taglist: @tirena1 @hwangjoanna [reply to this post if you’d like to join the taglist 💘]

[fenrelmercar]

Dreadrook Solstice Revelry 2025 - Fanfic Edition

Here I go sharing my fanfic recommendations from our beautiful community and sharing so much-needed love to the creators. Thank you to my home and my loved ones at @thelighthouse-server for this event and the opportunity to chat about my favourite people without sounding like a weirdo!

The Bingo Cards to play with are here

This is for the creators and fanwork edition card!

A1 - Has written a one-shot

The one-shot I haven't stopped thinking about since Dreadrook Week is The Blighted Path by @the-scarlet-rot. The premise! The premise!!! The haunting note found atop the Lighthouse, Rook being thrown into a reality where they lost and blighted, possessive Solas. Everyone should give this a go!

C2 - Has written more than 50k

With writing so much, I do fail at starting long fics, but this summer I have promised myself to read at least 3, and I started today! Wish me luck.

This one can also fall under new discoveries, I have just added it to my list and am eager to delve further into the story. Finished reading the first chapter of Dread Rook from the Dread Rook series by @julie-spirit-finn

Next on my list is Depending on the Story by @laughingnell. What I witnessed of her writing during sprints, I have always been amazed by the talent, and I know I will be losing sleep over this fic.

Also just added to the list i'm a waking hell and the gods grow tired by @amellderiva .

Since I have been rambling for a moment, I'll drop myself here too, for my own fic, The Dread and The Flame, is currently over 130k words, projected to reach anywhere between 250-300k, so if you're searching for a long ride, here it is.

B3 - Under-rated writer

A Tense Exchange by Scarlett_Anna (@smol-and-smad)

It's a freshly posted fic, but I need everyone to go and give it a shot. Lush writing, incredible Solas' inner monologue and the ending??? I need more.

A4 - Writing a WIP

Do you want to read Solstice Revelry set in ancient Arlathan after some unfortunate events land Rook in the past, her path leading to young, hot-blooded and cocky Solas? Well, say no more, for @idunnaldwir is working on one and is sharing snippets on her blog. Little birdie told me that the story is coming out soon (whatever that means in writer terms)

C4 - New discovery

the death of a peace of mind by @amellderiva. The way she writes Solas' inner monologue is so delicious! The premise is fun, pre-DATV, the writing style reminds me a lot of my favourite authors - it's catchy, biting and immersive. Calypso De Riva has quickly taken hold of my heart, and I can't wait to sink my teeth into her other works.

C5 - Has written more than 10k

Another one stuck in my head since Dreadrook Week.

the rhythm of eternity by phoenixhowl

Haunting, dark, decrepit, Nosferatu-like Solas, Mourn Watch Rook, writing that gets under your skin and draws you to the darkness.

[weekend-whip]

Ninjago Fic Rec Week (2024): Day 4

Prompts: AU/Movieverse/OCs! (Catching Up! I uh skipped Day 3 oop but I've got plenty to offer for this day! Which is...also late...don't look at meeee)

Aus WITH OCs (or as I like to call this list, my own personal indulgence corner. All the AUs/Movieverse stories I've read are ones that get recc'ed a lot already + I myself have already recc'ed them at one point or another, soooo let's throw some pure spotlight onto some OC stories! Even if a lot of it is connected to me to some degree that's irrelevant):

As The Years Pass By: A fic currently in the process of being rewritten/reworked but still chock full of next-gen Dragons Rising goodness! And it stars the one, the only, Jenna and Ethan from @rainofthetwilight!!!! This fic made me fall in love with her characters and I've loved reading/seeing/drawing these two adorable kids ever since!!!!

Dad!Jay AU by @taddymason: An AU so good I'm still catching up on reading it bit by bit to savor it for longer *-*)9 All the stories in this series are worth the read alone for the accumulation of taddy's character Kaida (a girl who needs no introduction–she's that awesome guys, trust me) but also the eventual father-daughter bond with amnesiac!Jay that is gripping and engaging aaaaall the wall through!!

I Carve This Poem From the Harshest of Storms: Another I'm not caught up with YET (a running theme for this Fic Week, it seems hgfhgfdfgds i'm sorry I'm slow and have a short-attention span). It follow two fascinating peeps in The Administration following The Merge, and without giving too much away, @theartsyswissapple ‘s voices for the characters just POP and make them feel SO real and it's been intriguing to read so far so yeah others should give it a try too!!!

What it Takes for You to See Me: A Spinjitzu bros story with added FSM and Mystake goodness too!!! This is one I've just started reading myself, but you know I love some throwbacks to Wu and Garmadon's past! And the OC here, @marhan-writes-n-draws's Amka, fits into the setting like a glove!!

Honeycomb: Gotta give a shoutout to @miqotepotatoe's Lucy while I'm here too!! Some short, sweet snippets of the Ninja Team's best (and most yellow) cheerleader!! I love her dynamic with everyone, and especially Cole <3

The Space Between Us: A very deep and heart-wrenching introspective into @k1ngtok's characters Lynda and Jamie, Master(s) of Space. It's story about siblings and bonds at its core, but also be mindful of tag of you're looking to dig deeper! (it also takes place in legacyverse technically but that's neither here or there I promise)

Flowery Language Another super funny and endearing story by King following Jesse (hey it's my boy!!) and Antonia on the case to discover who's been leaving flowers in Jesse's locker (spoiler: it's not Cole lmao). It's actually a semi-sequel to this old thing *I* wrote however long ago, but thaaaat's not required reading (though it does help). If you want more of a fix for the Jesse-Antonia duo + more of Jamie, this is the story to read!

Learning to Love (Again): Yet another King fic based in legacyverse (a coincidence), this one kiiiind of takes place during Season 2/Book 3 and follows Jamie on his quest to truly show his friends (Nya, Antonia, Harumi, Jesse, and...Olivia?!) just how much he cares about them through the power of love languages over the course of a week and it is AWESOOOOOOOOME!! Soooo many touching and feel-good moments, mostly soft slice-of-life with teenagers being teenagers, and is a great pick-me up when your soul is feeling sad ;w;)/ I advocate for this one just for the warm soft friendshippy-feelings it gives me alone!!! AAAAAA—

Something About Morning Glories: Jesse (oop there he is again) takes it upon to himself to comfort Jay after the latter finds himself concerned about something following obtaining his True Potential. A duo I desperately want to write more about but can't yet, so this little bit of foundation for their relationship will have to suffice for now ;w;)/

(and if you're still clamoring for more of a certain magic pink fool, there's plenty more where that came from; perhaps there may be a Jesse-Antonia friendship origin story on deck soon, along with maybe some DR stuff~! ...listen there will never be a good chance to self-advertise like this again!! BE YOUR BIGGEST FAN!!! SELF-LOVE BABY!!!! *-*)9 )

In the Company of the Stars: A tale as old as time—a Royal!AU where the fair groundskeeper of a palace's garden (that's the OC) falls head over heels for the prince far out of his league (that's Cole)—except, the prince absolutely likes him back...albeit only as his secret, suave alter-ego. But is that really true—and, more importantly, is there bigger problems to deal with right now???? There's romance, mystery, good food, royal drama, angst, fluff, sabotage, magic, a whole bunch of flowers, Harumi causing chaos on purpose, Skylor throws Chad across a room, Jay goes on a rampage a some point, Kai can't flirt to save his life—the author just needs some fresh motivation to post the darn next chapter already because the ending's gonna be really really good ;V

[stripedstarsblueflags]

i didn't win the wheel: episode 3 (bonus!)

Alex, shifting back in his seat: "I lost. Unfortunately..."

Logan: "You lost. So I get the privilege..."

okay, so i know fuck-all about cinematography. that's a lie, i know probably 1% more than fuck-all about cinematography, but what i do know is how to very smoothly direct the viewer's eye. a basic wide shot– parallel lines, flat background– means that the most obvious thing that's going to draw attention is motion. like if someone waved their hand in front of that window. so you let the viewer's eye come naturally to whatever's moving, and then you change angles and swoop along with the shot to follow that motion– whether it's a ball flying across the room or a cup falling over or someone turning to their right. that makes the viewer suddenly feel more than drawn in, they feel like they're there. because they're moving too. readjusting the focal point (main subject blurry to focused) is almost like adding a little bit of suspense, which draws the viewer in even more because now they're deliberately refocusing and locking in on something. this is a pretty good technique if you're filming, like, a movie. something with a script. something that's supposed to be a story.

it is completely unnecessary for little media snippets like this. if anything it's actually counterproductive, because the main focus is supposed to be the game/event as a whole (including the table, the photos, the wheel icon).

so the camera angle going from: alex's sheepish expression, talking to the camera and logan just beginning to turn his head to : first focusing on alex as he smiles and admits defeat and looks down with his cap over his eyes and then sharpening to logan– right as he shifts his shoulder in alex's direction and tilts his head at him and half-smiles and is literally taunting him for losing–

i'm just saying there was no reason to frame it like that and yet here we are

[taintedsoul-if]

I'm glad you're writing more IFs that you enjoy. It's much better to write something when you actually enjoy what you're writing than, when you don't. And I really like the way you write 🥹💓

(and also because I'm a little suspicious to speak, since my favorite genre is romance and fantasy Imao)

I just want to know how the updates will work. Tainted Soul will still be the main IF right? And will DG be something more sporadic? I'm very interested in both, but Tainted is more important to me, since any crumb of Cadmus, I'll be accepting.

I hope this doesn't come across as some kind of charge, as that's not my intention. In fact, one of the things that makes me happiest is that you are very active both in writing IF and in answering any questions people have about the lore. Which is one of the things that usually frustrates me about some IF writers. So when you post chapter snippets and progress updates, I'm very grateful. Since, you know, I don't have to worry about whether IF was abandoned or something like that.

So yes, any IF you write, I will be reading 💃✨

(And I don't know if you remember, but previously I said that I would draw Cadmus and my MC. I'm still going to do it and send it to you!)

Taking a step away from the writing scene these past few years wasn’t a bad thing. Sometimes, it’s not that we fall out of love with the stories we’re telling—it’s just that we need a change of pace. And that’s exactly what I needed. I’m glad my writing has improved to the point where readers can follow along more easily now. I still have a long way to go, though—lol.

Tainted Souls will always be at the forefront for me, but working on Dangerous Games has opened up a new horizon in how I approach writing TS. I even figured out a major plot point recently! And honestly, it was thanks to DG that I was able to break through a standstill in Chapter 3 of TS—I’d been stuck after T chased the MC outside and Yesenia interrupted them, unsure of how to proceed. Now, that chapter’s sitting at 8,000 words.

Surprisingly, I’ve made steady progress on both IFs. I completed the prologue for DG in just two days, along with setting up my ChoiceScript and startup file. Then out of nowhere, my mind kept nudging me to revisit Chapter 2—I ended up adding new scenes and dialogue that really brought it to life.

Lately, I’ve been writing from 6 AM to 6 PM, splitting my time evenly between both projects.

Anyway, I’m rambling now 😵‍💫.

Tainted Souls will always be my main IF—this story is my first love. I’m even a little reluctant to write certain scenes because once I do, it means we’re moving closer to the end… and that’s such a bittersweet feeling.

Dangerous Games will be more sporadic in terms of updates, while with Tainted Souls, I’m aiming—if all goes well—to update the public demo every eight weeks. If everything stays on track, we might even have an update ready by midmonth. I’ve also been toying with the idea of releasing the prologue for DS alongside that demo, but I haven’t fully decided yet 🥱.

As for spoilers—oh, love, you don’t even know the half of it. Any spoiler I share is just the icing on a very layered cake. For every one I drop, there are twists and turns you’d never expect… unless you’re breaking into my house and flipping through my notes while I sleep. Please don’t do that—I’m timid by nature.

But seriously, I love feeding my readers lore. Vathilia is such a beautiful, complex world, and the relationships—bittersweet, angsty, heart-wrenching—make it even richer. I’ll always share what I can… the only time I hold back is when the question asked feels like stepping on a minefield of spoilers that’ll explode into even more spoiler-heavy questions.

I’ll never abandon this IF, not even if it takes me a thousand years to finish. Tainted Souls means that much to me.

Today’s fully dedicated to TS. I just finished writing the original host’s backstory for Dangerous Games, and my brain is officially fried—so it’s back to my first love for the rest of the day.

Also, I’m really looking forward to that chibi drawing of yours! I’ll proudly add it to a master list I’m planning to create in the future. Even though I babbled a lot, don’t hold it against me 🥲. Thank you for the ask, anon.

I’ll be off now.

[sinvulkt]

Fanfic writer interview

tagged by: @purple-iris

Thank you for the tag, i love those!!

what fandoms do you write in? So many! Star Wars, Dr. Strange, Dream SMP, Avatar the last airbender... and this year I wrote several one shot for the movie The Count Of Montecristo 2024 (it's currently in US theaters and an amazing movie, go see it!!) and the tv serie Nautilus (misadvantures of a crew of misfit led by Captain Nemo. Yes the jules verne one. It's like a gathering of whump and angst trope, I advise it!!)

how many words have you published in 2024?Wow that's hard to calculate! Since I have some WIPs over several years, i can’t use AO3 function xd. Plus I translated a lot of my work this year, which artificially double the written amount. AO3 says 230k words, I'm honestly too lazy to count the true number, but I'd say it's between 50k and 100k.

what is your greatest achievement this year? I finished my first longfic, Dreamt of a Never Ending Sky!! It's 56k word and I began it three years ago. This was the end of a long road but it feel so satisfying to have reached it's closing point. 🎶

what are your top three fics you've written this year? Hard choice. Mhhh...

🪽 The Caucasian Eagles serie - bcs adding wings to the montecristo universe and brainstorming around it with fandom friends was an amazing experience.

🪽 Do Sea Monsters Dream of Pink Shellfishes? — I honestly love all the nautilus fanfic i wrote bcs this serie has so many fic whump and angst potential to play with. But i was particularly fond of that one because "becoming a monster" trope, plus I got attached to eel!Nemo I can't help it xd.

🪽 Unhinged Vaderkin Prompt Collection — it's more a snippet-prompt collection for all the ideas roaming in my head, but there are so many that it feel very satisfying to share them. And it does make me write a short snippet for each universe which is a fun exercice.

what was your biggest pit of despair moment? I have been in a writing hiatus for two months now, and haven't written much compared to last year >.> But I guess it's a necessary rest.

what have you learned? Unrelatedly, instead of writing I drew quite a bit. So i learnt that I actually can draw! With the help of a tablet xd. (I did make good use of that break time to read delicious stories :3.) Please check my drawing account @sinvulkt-art , it needs some love :3.

did you beta any fics? any faves you want to shout out? I beta-ed lot of fics! This year, mostly the ones of my co-writers for The Caucasian Eagles and in the Nautilus fandom.

what three fics have you read this year that you love? That choice is so hard because there are so many great fics out there. Can't I make it five? XD.

Nemesis by MorallyGrey ( @silverinkgoldenquill )

I try to live in the now… Where the ghosts of old wrongs do not abide." Nemo turned his back on the past for a long time, perhaps for too long. Now, snatched from his own ship, he has little choice but to work for a man whom he long thought, and wished to be dead. His only hope is the League, but that means uncovering dark secrets. Secrets that, some would say, should have remained unearthed… (A Sequel to the LXG 2003 Movie)- Minor edits 2024. 180k words.

From the Ashes by renegade_of_theworld ( @renegadeoftheworld )

The story took a different turn after the Siege of the North when Zuko was captured by the Water Tribe.

A lot of prisoner trope, found families, and not-adoptions... And Zuko having to deal with more trauma than in the canon. 480k words.

Body in Abyss, Heart in Abyss by Emerald_sealin

WARNING: Heavy Book 4 and 5 SPOILERS.

For 800 years Xie Lian fought for what he believed was right. He endured centuries of unearned torment, shouldered responsibilities bigger than he was, no matter what was thrown at him Xie Lian took it, Xie Lian bore it, Xie Lian soldiered on.

Until the final battle on Mount Tonglu, when Xie Lian looses for the last time.

And forgives....for the last time.

Finally, the god of Xianle will have his REVENGE! 59k words.

Not a fic, but I really wanna shout out to the webnovel & novel Omniscient Reader which I discovered one month ago and obsolutely broke my heart. I love it so much. It begin as such an ordinary story, but reaching its end sure make you think a lot and destroy you. Then the side story exist to crush whatever remain of your heart.

(I want to punch the narrator so much. Me wanting to punch the mc generally is a very good thing. It means they are an idiotTM. A very infuriating, smirking, wrong decision-maker, punchable idiot. It's amazing)

what ideas are percolating for next year? Advancing on my other WIPs and finishing as many of them as I can (namely finishing The Monster and the Child, advancing On the Edge of Twilight and What If Dr Strange Lost His Humanity)! And translating more one shot in french to boost a bit french fanfics I think.

who do you want to thank? Another hard question there XD. All my fandom buddies I think bcs stories are much more entertaining with people to engage with, all my mutuals, and all the people I keep tagging (harassing? XD) on tumblr for such games (hopefully you find them fun as well :3). Can't really quote everyone here, but @sarcasticfirefighter for welcoming me in the dr strange world a few years ago, @firejay112 bcs i had my best time in star wars as her beta, @tocacot who patiently support all my wild blabbering about omniscient reader... I was also overjoyed to collaborate with @ash--00 , @azzzryel and Enepfopi this year. I never really forgot my collaboration with @purpleopossum either. I am seriously impressed by @fanfictasia going through the wildly long list of prompt I gave them years ago (i know i'm super late to comment on them but you're doing great 💜). Additionally I want to thank @pat-the-togorian , @asteral-feileacan and the other taaoej gals for being great friends (and rpg buddies) :3.

Finally, let's say thanking the world for being alive XD and bcs i'm a very lucky person who got a phd I love.

More importantly, I wanna thank all the creators for creating, wether it be inside fandom or for original content. Never stop bringing new things into this world!! Even if you think everyone will hate it. We never know who will come to love and live thanks to our story~

tagging: all the people mentioned before who want to join (yes, even if you were randomly mentioned as a fic writer or as thanks), anyone who see this and want to join, as well as: @kuraiarcoiris @udekai @aimportantdragoncollector @threebea @beguilewritesstuff @numerousbees1106 @trickstress333 @exomal @thehappybaker @wendingways @cinderfeather @bluntblade @tramp-fiction @starmahgalaxies @tonhalszendvics @retciwrites @vandervoiz @insertmeaningfulusername @pebblish @linzerj @doctorgeekery @dreaminghour @silvereddaye @chickadeechickadoo @25centsoda @silvercaptain24 @insecateur @allen-kunekune @dragonnan @charlottevader @makaronik @wyvunn @in-company-of-misery @starr234 @lialox @attackfish @chrisis-averted @gasmeros

[wyvernquill]

Another Dreamling Anastasia AU Snippet

So, this AU somehow gained some new traction over the past few days, and I remembered I still had this in my drafts! It's a direct continuation from the last post - the first time their paths cross, though I think I'll save their actual first conversation (already written!) for the next part. Mostly a lot of background and exposition, but I hope it'll be enjoyable nonetheless! Thanks everyone for your enthusiasm for this AU!!!

(Masterpost here!)

(Tag list, let me know if you want to be added or taken off: @10moonymhrivertam @martybaker @globglobglobglobob @anonymoustitans @sunshines-fabulous-legs @dreamsofapiratelife @malice-royaume @kcsandmanfan @acedragontype @okilokiwithpurpose @tharkuun @silver-dream89 @i-write-stories-not-sins-bitch)

(I don't know why it just won't let me do the proper tag sometimes... I hope the people Tumblr refuses to let me tag will see the post anyway, I'm very sorry...)

---

There is a fight just about to break loose at the White Horse Inn.

It will happen because of a man; a pale, stick-thin skinny thing of a man, barely more than an ashen, grimy face under a mop of coal hair balanced on top of a ragged black coat, loitering close to the fireplace and trying not to be too obvious about soaking up its warmth. At his feet, half hidden beneath the torn hem-line of his coat, there is a bird, some sort of corvid, following the other guests - and their purses in particular - with its beady little eyes.

The bird’s master is watching, too, watching the inn’s staff collect coins and shove them into their pockets, watching the plates and bowls of food being carried about, hungry, starving-

And then he’s noticed watching, a barmaid muttering a word or two to the innkeep over by the beer caskets - and the moment the man’s eyes find the stranger, they narrow.

And in turn, the moment the stranger notices the hostile eyes on him, he seems to brace himself, something feral in the way his lips draw back from his teeth as the innkeep makes a beeline for him through the crowded pub.

Words are exchanged.

Words are exchanged, loudly.

An arm is grabbed - and the bird jumps up with an angry caw, beating its wings at the innkeep’s face, and the scullery boy runs over to help, as does the burliest of the barmaids.

(There’s that fight now.)

The stranger shouts and scratches and twists as he is dragged through the common room, towards the door, growling profanities in a hoarse, dark voice, while his bird squawks, wrapped in the scullery boy’s apron.

It’s a right mess, but perhaps not an unusual one - the White Horse makes quick work of unruly drunkards (and those who are here to pilfer money rather than spend it), and even as some guests are following the fight in fascination and with half a mind to join in just for the pleasure of throwing a punch, most of their clientele barely spares them a look. Soon, the stranger will be cast out into the cold and the night again, far away from the warmth of a fireplace, or the smell of food, or opportunities for thievery. Nothing special. Soon, it will be just a quiet evening, like any other…

If it weren’t for the fact that, over in the far corner, a familiar man, and a familiar something-altogether-else still managing a rather sound impression of one, have been nursing their drinks for a good hour already, trying to drown their failures in ale.

(The humans have robbed Destiny of his powers, torn his realm from him, burned his book - but destiny still shapes the lives of mortals and immortals alike; and it is that power, which makes Robert Gadling look up from the sad remains of his beer, and, for just a fraction of a second, lock eyes with the vagabond currently in the process of being removed from the premises.

That is enough.

With just one look, the wheels of fate are already set in motion, and our story can begin in earnest.)

"Hey, Gil." Hob nudges Gilbert's arm, not taking his eyes off the struggling, furious stranger. "Over there. Look."

"Hm?" Gilbert blinks owlishly, following Hob's nod to the commotion behind him. "Oh, yes, yes. Ghastly, isn't it? Disgraceful, that some hoodlums cannot conduct themselves in public houses with the appropriate decorum - in my days, I tell you, when the Endless were still-"

"No, look!" Hob cuts him off. "The hoodlum. Look at him, really look."

"Hrmmm," Gilbert makes a sound of polite displeasure, and fiddles with his circular little glasses, peering through them and across the room, where the haggard stranger is spitting abuse at the innkeep even as he is in the process of being shoved out of the door.

And then, "oh, good lord!" Gilbert gasps, and drops his glasses.

"You see it too, then?"

"I… yes. Gracious, yes. Like a ghostly apparition." Gilbert gropes for his glasses with one hand, eyes never leaving the stranger. "The physical resemblance - most uncanny. A good deal more malnourished and, ah… rather grimy, it seems… and yet, overall…"

"A dead ringer for Dream of the Endless, isn't he?" Hob finishes, nodding. “Better than any of the men that auditioned for us, certainly.”

“Heaven help,” Gilbert’s voice is weak with emotion, “even knowing it isn’t him, I feel like… ah, Robert, if he were only given a bath, some better garb… it would be as if His Lordship walked again!”

“Would be?” Hob’s grin is bright and hungry, like a hunting dog smelling his prey, as he pushes himself up from his seat. “Will be!”

“-and if I see either you or yer blasted bird thievin’ in here again," the innkeep snarls, tossing first the haggard stranger, and then a squawking bundle of black feathers, out into the snow. “I’m callin’ the coppers! Y’hear?”

The word the stranger spits back, gathering all his limbs and his dark coat around himself as he staggers to his feet and off into the night, is so filthy even Hob would blush upon saying it. A bit rough around the edges, this man, not exactly the model of a fairytale king - but such things can be taught, can’t they. Hob’s seen a production of Shaw’s Pygmalion, years ago, and if Higgins can make a fine lady out of a flower girl, then Hob and Gil can make a Dream Lord out of some vagabond.

“Begging your pardon, good man.” Hob leans against the doorframe, watching the stranger’s dark shape angrily stomp off through the snow, bird hopping along at his side. “Howsabout this, a shilling for anything you can tell me about the man you just tossed out of your establishment.”

“Whot, Murphy!?” The innkeep blinks. 

Holds out his hand.

Hob dutifully deposits one of his last few shillings in it.

“Thank you kindly, sir, much obliged.” A tip of the hat, and the coin disappearing in the innkeep’s pocket. “Murphy’s one of the local beggars. A filthy thief, too, and no mistake. He’s trained that raven of his into it - heard the city even pays him some little pittance to control the birds in the area! They wouldn’t do it if they knew what he was doing with ‘em. I don’t like seein’ him around the Horse, not with the trouble he’s causing. Stealing leftover scraps from tables I can forgive, might even give him a full meal now and then in the name of charity - but if he goes for the pockets of my regulars, the regulars don’t come back, understand? Can’t have that.”

“Course not.” Hob agrees readily. “Bad for business, a pickpocket.”

“Just so, sir. He’s been in the London area for… oh, eight, nine, maybe ten years? Hasn’t got a trade, not very willing to do an honest day’s work in any case, can’t hold down a job for the life of him as a result. Still thinks himself better than the rest o’ us, anyway. I’d leave him alone, if I were you - he’s vicious as all Hell, bit the kitchen boy once and the lad needed to get his arm stitched up afterwards. And that raven - the thing’s a demon, swear to God. A familiar, like witches have. If we were livin’ in a less civilised age, they’d’ve strung old Murphy up for witchcraft and devilry years ago!”

Hob hums thoughtfully. “Do you know if he has fallen in with that crowd? Not idle hearsay, mind, but facts. There’s still some men in London who practise the Old Arts, does he meet with them?”

(Hob has heard that the old Magus of Wych Cross died perhaps a year or two after his greatest accomplishment; for all his powers that tore Endless spectres from their lofty thrones, in the end he couldn’t defend himself against his own son finally snapping, smothering him in his sleep, and running off with the gardener. Good riddance to the old goat, in Hob’s opinion - but he had a good handful of supporters in every major city, and they can’t all have died with him.)

The innkeep takes his time answering, staring out into the softly-falling snow.

“...not that I know of, sir.” He finally says, cautiously. “He doesn’t meet with anyone, really, ‘xcept the birds. Solitary type, is our Murphy, with no family, and no-one to miss him if he freezes himself to death some night. But.”

A pause.

“There’s something wrong about that man, if you ask me. He has a look in his eyes… whatever it is, it’s not natural. Might be magic. Might be madness. I really couldn’t say.”

“I see.” Gears are turning in Hob’s head, puzzle pieces slotting into place, plans unfolding.

A man sleeping rough, with nobody to miss him or know much of him, fierce and angry and constantly on the brink of starvation, looking just like Dream. A diamond in the rough, and quite possibly desperate enough to actually agree to their mad plan just for a few weeks of guaranteed food and a roof over his head.

Dear God. He’s perfect.

“One more question, about Murphy.” Hob beams, half-giddy. “Where do you think I could find him, say… tomorrow?”

The innkeep’s eyebrows rise up into his hair.

“Can’t see why you’d ever want to,” he mutters into his beard. “But very well. On your head be it.”

He names a nearby small park, where Murphy often goes to feed his birds, and is rewarded for it with another tuppence; and then Hob saunters back to his and Gil’s table, already feeling like he can almost taste the promise of eternal life on the tip of his tongue.

(“We cannot know for certain that he will agree, Robert. He sounds like a most prideful young man - he is much like His Lordship in that regard as well, I suppose.”

“Oh, he’ll agree. I’ve been where he is, Gil, and there were times I would’ve sold my own mother to the devil for a warm meal and a bed to sleep in. Not that the devil would’ve taken the old bat even if I’d paid him, of course, but it’s the principle of the thing.”

“That hardly makes it much better. We’d be taking advantage of the poor man’s unfortunate situation!”

“Everyone’s situation is unfortunate these days. And we’d be improving his, on the whole, along with ours.”

“Let it be noted, dear fellow, that I am voicing my ethical and moral quandaries.”

“I really don’t think our plan to scam the Endless is very ethical in the first place, Gil.”

“...now that I cannot possibly argue with.”

“There we are then.”

“However! You will have to be the one to suggest it. I will help you instruct him and present him to the Endless if you do convince him - but for now, I wash my hands of the matter.”

“Fair enough.”)

[embodyingchaos]

POSSIBLE YOONGI STALKER AU IDEA

yes i am here to post an idea i have and then never come back to tumblr for the next three months okay enjoy this little snippet of a story that will NEVER come into fruition (this is entirely based on netflix's you bc yoongi as joe is kindaaaa idk me likey)

Everything about him was just too perfect. From his perfectly coiffed hair to his perfectly pale and long fingers, nothing about Min Yoongi was imperfect — at first glance, of course.

From afar he paints himself out to be this normal guy, this nice guy; always understanding, always supportive and always listening. If people ever took a step closer, however, they would possibly see what’s underneath that clean-cut facade. They could possibly notice how attentive he was, how he takes note over every little detail, and how he observes every move a person makes — especially if it’s someone like her.

Nothing compared to her, that is Yoongi’s opinion, of course. She shone like the first rays of the morning sun, and gleamed like the shimmer of the bright moon. When he looked into her eyes, he could melt into those beautiful irises and sink into a whirlpool of despair over the fact that an actual human being is this enigmatic.

All these thoughts swirling in his head, and he hasn't even met her yet.

She had been skimming through the bookshelves of his cozy book store and he had been skimming through her ever since. If he was normal, he would have stopped analysing the way she looked, dressed or walked and instead, go up to her and strike up a conversation. Too bad he is everything but normal.

The woman had finally picked out a book, Wuthering Heights, which told him a little bit of what he needs to know.

"Great weather we're having, huh?" Yikes, bringing up weather for a conversation starter is textbook-level awkward. She doesn't socialise much, it is as clear as day.

"It's Jangma season."

"So it would seem! Hah..." She looked to the side, avoiding Yoongi's gaze as she felt entirely self-concious.

"Though, the rain is nice in some way." Yoongi added on, "Makes this place feel... extra comforting. At least, to me." He was trying to resuscitate their first encounter, he didn't mean to come off as condescending.

She smiles and Yoongi could feel his heart stutter for a moment, "I feel the exact same way. It's like white noise." Her agreeing only fueled the desire within him to get to know her more. Yoongi gives her a tiny grin before holding up the book she brought to him.

"Wuthering Heights? Any reason?"

The question makes her tense up and turns her cheeks into a shade of pink. "I'm- Uh- Trying to pick up reading." The confession shocks Yoongi but he hides his emotions well. From the way she dressed, he expected her to be a bookworm.

"Figured I'd start with a classic, y'know?"

"I see. Not a fan of reading, are you?"

"Well... I'm more into other nerdy things like drawing and..." She trailed off and mumbled something Yoongi couldn't quite pick up.

"I'm sorry?" He couldn't contain his small smile from escaping when she did that, finding it so incredibly dorky and endearing.

She grumbled for a bit, "Crocheting." She said just a little above a whisper, looking entirely embarrassed.

Yoongi chuckled at her behaviour, "Hey, you tricked me. You made me think it was something really embarrassing, Wuthering Heights." He jabbed and jabbed even harder when he used her book of choice as a nickname for her. All she did was cover her face with her hands.

"But it is though!"

"No, it isn't. Crocheting is really cool and more people should be taking it up."

Her eyes lit up with something. It wasn't shock, or surprise, it was motivation? It was the feeling of when you receive validation and support for something you have a lot of passion for; whatever that's called.

"Well, I feel seriously validated now. Thank you." Everything about her was so genuine, seemed too good to be true. Yoongi gave her a reassuring nod as he keyed in the price of the book. "Well, that will be ₩25,000." Scrambling to get her wallet, she opens it and hands him the money.

"This is extra." Yoongi informed, giving her back ₩10,000.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Her apology didn't go unnoticed by him. It wasn't a simple 'sorry' or 'my bad', it was a genuine 'I'm so sorry I can't handle myself like a normal human adult' kind of apology. All for handing him too much money? Who hurt her this bad?

Yoongi handed her the book and as she took it, he could feel the tip of her fingers grazing his long, pale ones. A moment that left invisible marks on his skin and a swarm of butterflies in his stomach.

"Thank you...?"

"Yoongi."

"Yoongi... Thank you, Yoongi." He loved it when she said his name. He wanted her to say it more. Maybe even in a less conventional way.

"You're welcome...?"

She said her name and all hell broke loose. He knew her name, her hobbies, what she's like when she gets embarrassed.

"Bye, Yoongi!" As she bid him goodbye, he gave her a tiny wave through the window.

"See you soon, Wuthering Heights."

There's no stopping him now.

HAHAHAHAHAH im sorry this is unedited

[akabane-sousei]

hello again!! thank you so much for gathering the iketeru illustrations for me (and translating them too, which i greatly appreciated), cause your post really made my day :')

it's funny that the author's got a whole book of fanservice for us lmao, but i love it! do you have a #1 favorite illustration (of anyone) from the whole book? (sorry if this sent twice btw, crap was glitching lol)

lovely anon, I must tell you that I once again went absolutely over the line with pictures I took. There are so many good ones!! I knew a few illustrations from sensei's twitter and knew how well it worked for me so I ordered this book from japan and yes, that is why I can never pick favourites I just like all of them (exception is the series in which the characters are teachers and you are supposed to be their student, not a big fan of those lol). Once again I put them under cut together with my chitter chatter about them asdhjflas

anyway im glad i made your day!

yes its amazing that this fanservice exist. In the interview at the end of the book sensei says they often drew their characters as practise (without lines) and then uploaded them to twitter to find out the people responded so well!! so they continued with it! More snippets from the interview:

they consider this a kind of alternative world that has no space in the manga (since its a gag manga).

they claim they didnt try to make the characters hot on purpose, it just turned out this way. in their head usao and kumao always had old people voices. but now they are glad the characters are hot because of the voice actors choosen.

they come up with a line and then assign it to a character, rarely the other way around.

Every one of their characters has one thing they think is special, something they like to show off when they draw them. for Uramichi its the chest, for Iketeru the slender neck, for Usahara the shoulders and Kumatani the arms!

and shockingly to me: since this manga is running 10 years now they said when they started they felt like Uramichi is so old, but now they are the same age! I cant believe how someone in their twenties wrote such an accurate manga about being in ones thirties.

gosh anon i wish this was more popular, i only have one friend to talk to about this story and i have so much in my soul dhkasdflsd so please come back if you feel like it!

ok so some of my faves under cut from here

first of: my favourite has always been ushara. he is cringe fail and i love cringe fail so much. but that also means he has almost no COOL lines because he is kind of an idiot (lovingly said) tho all his illustrations are so cute. so he wont show up here much tho i love everything about his arts of course!!

now you asked me for my favourite and ive known this one for a while, but I think my unbeaten favourites of everyone are the love confessions:

I love the different way they all do it. Uramichi pretty much goes "I love....you" (cries), Iketeru of course quotes it, Usahara just YELLS at you "HEY I LOVE YOU" and kumatani is like ".............. iloveyou" haskdlfh

generally kumatani has so many cool lines because he is so stone cold. this is also specifically heart wrecking for me because his voice actor Nakamura Yuuchi is my favourite thing since strawberries so if I imagine him doing the voice I want to die.

Three times Kumatani is an absolute tsundere about white day:

"you are chattering so much... well, tell me what you want now. I'll get you anything."

"What do you want? Tell me clearly"

"I told you to get over here"

another white day illustration i love is this one from usahara

he says "the present is me, hippety hop", which i find ultra cute with the little bunny and the hairclip!! but my friend said it sounds like he forgot white day and just brought the first thing he could find, which would be in character (adding this picture was a nightmare tumblr did NOT want me to upload it?? you hate cute boys? tumblr you hate cute boys??)

uramichi's face when he realises you april fooled him is so funny to me somehow

" You say "Im sorry".. that is also a lie, is it not?"

ok from now on the pictures will be low quality because tumblr wont let me upload the photos direclty anymore i need to screenshot them first. rip im sorry

ok there are a few here of uramichi saying somehow sexy things (to me at least) and it makes me go hrgnlkhdflk

""Good big brother (onisan)" you said. Who do you mean?" idk why that gets me so hard but why you asking .. wha...what you mean

"... Isn't it ok? You don't have to go home yet." (this is from the stayin the night portion)

"A promise from big brother. I will protect you well" T_T

this thing which can only be described as ship art:

is this bickering idiots to lovers sensei? is that what you mean to tell me sensei?

this usahara from the staying the night section

"Come play with me today!" (............ h.......how...)

this image if kumatani because of THE LOOK? um HELLO

unfortuantely the translation is kinda tricky because i cant read most the kanji and google lense is like?? but its something like "Do you think you have the guts to betray me?" or something like "Do you think I have the guts to betray you?" idk he looks good so its fine

almost done i swear!! there are a few kuma usa double pages i love

Kuma: "Don't look. Its hot." (sidenote, he is shirtless a lot. not that I complain or whatever)

Usa: "Where would you like to go? The ocean? My house?"

sorry i tried to keep my fingers out of all pictures but clearly failed xD

Kuma: "Shut up. Shut up and look at me."

Usa: "I understaaaand. Get over here." (crying, i want to)

this is a part of the book extras. I showed it to you with Iketeru already. I think the meaning is sort of the moment they realised their carreers are over, sadface

Kuma: "I never really liked it. I thought I would just throw it away. Damn it, I lost."

Usa: "The wind suddenly stopped. Ah, thats how it is. Its over"

of course there are a lot more other characters shown in the book, but much rarer and since they dont interest me too much they dont have my favourite lines asdhfklasdhf anyway anon I hope you liked this

[ominous-faechild]

Can you tell me a little about The Arcane Rifts?

Mislav (the berserker) and Ludmila in particular (their names stood out lol)

Ahhh, the Arcane Rifts, my golden child--

I--I mean--

The story I give an appropriate amount of love and attention to! 🥰 (or so I say because I think the extra attention I give it is deserved because it's the golden child--)

The Arcane Rifts

I've since included the blurb and other information in my Writeblr Intro if you want more generic information! Sorry I've taken so long to respond to this, haha. I'm going to continue forward here assuming you've read it, but I'm probably going to restate a lot of information here anyway!

The Arcane Rifts is a high fantasy, action, mystery story with hints of horror! It primarily follows its two MCs, Gene and Tazin, as they struggle to live on their own as Socially Othered kids.

Gene is physically disabled--he was born with a twisted and too-short leg that makes it difficult for him to walk. In-story, he uses a cane and eventually gets a foot lift that helps level out his walking. Though it doesn't perfectly fit, the best actual medical condition I can find for him is clubfoot!

Adding to his social-othering, Gene is also autistic (though it "doesn't exist" in Glavnran) and originally from another country, though it's unknown which one in-story. He was found in the woods on the outskirts of Kavo (a town within Glavnran) a year prior to the events of the story, and has barely gotten a grasp of the local language in the time before the story starts.

Tazin is the secondary MC and another kid only two years Gene's senior. He's ethnically Jhandan (Fantasy!Indian), and discriminated against by the majority Glavni (primarily white, Fantasy!Slavic) people despite being born and raised in Glavnran.

(Context: Glavnran is under the thumb of the Jhandan Empire and has had a history of both war and exploitation by Jhandar. This has led to the hatred of the Glavni people toward anything Jhandan--however. I do not say this as in to say the discrimination Jhandan people face is fair, understandable, or reasonable--just that it's the origin of the tensions. Tazin is a literal 9-year-old, though, and obviously just gets handed that hatred because of the color of his skin... and a minor accent.)

There's Asks on both Gene and Tazin and you asked about other characters, so I'll hold off on giving more info about them in particular, but!

The Arcane Rifts focuses on the two boys meeting, deciding to work together to survive on the streets, and accidentally getting way in over their heads as they accidentally draw the attention of both the cops and the local gang.

The main plots focus on the children, the khonitva, and Kavo's chief of police--Nikolai--investigating the boys on top of some magical stuff going on in the background.

It's a dense story, but I promise you it's worth it!!! Or, it will be whenever the current version has more than 5 chapters available read...

Mislav Baran

My beautiful babi boy and definitely not Gene's later boyfriend.

So, bad news: while he appears a bit in Book 1, Mislav isn't a main character there. He only becomes a MC in Book 2, after... spoilers! happen! 😙👌 In order to answer your questions, though, I will be giving away mild spoilers! 🥰

First, an introduction: Mislav (the berserker) is, surprise surprise, a berserker! Let me actually grab a snippet straight from tAR for this!

What Damaris didn’t know was that Mislav was a berserker, which meant he was stronger than any normal kid. Especially when he got angry. Being a berserker meant more than getting stronger with anger, though. It boosted all of his physical abilities and his senses. To top it all off, he healed from injuries more quickly. So imagine what it was like when he got angry. Although he’d show off his strength sometimes, Mislav hated that he was a berserker. Not only was it his own curse, gifted to him by Zhrizn—Glavnran’s evil god of nature—after he’d orchestrated the deaths of Mislav's family, but the people of Kavo hated berserkers. They said they were wild, destructive creatures that did nothing but hurt and kill.

Woah, so there's a lot to unpack there, haha. 🤭

But before I do... let me give you the next two lines from Gene('s narration).

Those were the reasons why Gene never told Mislav what he thought of a berserker’s abilities. They made for a perfect weapon of war.

Wait, wtf, a kid thought that??? Aaaaaanyway! We're talking about Mislav, not Gene! 😉🤭

Yeah, a berserker's abilities are perfectly suited for combat and recovering from it. However, at the beginning of the story, Mislav is just nine. Y'know--nine years old. He's not seeing any combat or war!

(Y'know... besides the whole "Adilzhan killed his entire family somewhat in front of him" thing. Oh, wait, right. That.)

So, Adilzhan. He's an avatar of Zhrizn (aka does his bidding), and it was presumably on Zhrizn's orders that he killed Mislav's family.

And then... stopped.

To spare Mislav? What's so special about him? Who knows! Me. I do.

Regardless, after sparing him, Adilzhan half took him in. Yeah. Took him in. After slaughtering his entire family and burning down the farm Mislav grew up on. That certainly won't be causing any sort of weird complexes in the poor kid growing up.

Despite their, ah, rough introduction, Adilzhan has been a shockingly generous "parental" figure to Mislav. Rather than forcing Mislav to live with him, Adilzhan sent him to the local orphanage and gives him anything the orphanage can't. Then, he's even ignored Mislav's uh... well.

Blatant attempts to "get revenge".

To be completely transparent: "berserker"-ness has turned (perhaps unsurprisingly) into an accidental allegory for anger issues--especially in the poor, traumatized Mislav.

So what does a kid with severe anger issues accentuated with a curse that actively tries to make them worse do when their family's murderer is constantly trying to be nice to them? Well, lash out, of course!

For example, by the beginning of book 2 Mislav would/will have:

destroyed a bunch of Adilzhan's stuff... several times.

straight-up ambushed/attacked Adilzhan (though only twice!! And only in the first several months of knowing him!!!... because he quickly learned it wouldn't get him anywhere--)

kicked/headbutted him while Adilzhan tried treating his (Mislav's) injuries

purposely sabotaged Adilzhan in moments of danger/stress, leading to Adilzhan getting injured when he otherwise wouldn't have gotten!

And yet, shockingly, Adilzhan never would've lashed out at the kid. Worst he would've done is put Mislav in the magical equivalent of "time out" while he took care of whatever problems the kid made.

By the beginning of book 2, when Mislav is 15, he's mostly moved past the state of constantly lashing out at Adilzhan. Like, sure--he hates him. Always will! But he's learned that, despite the past... Adilzhan is genuinely looking out for him. And was kinda a halfway decent parental-ish figure?

And, oh boy. Does he hate that. And understandably so!

But he's come to accept it.

Oh, Right, That Was Background Info.

So Book 2 Mislav! While Gene and Tazin were busy being criminals together on the streets, Mislav spent his time being raised halfway between the orphanage and Adilzhan himself. However, like all of the kids in Kavo's orphanage, he got kicked out at the age of thirteen (yeah, it's messed up, but tbh that's just how bad Kavo is).

So did he move in with Adilzhan at long last?

Hell no!

Mislav joined a gang, the yuertel!

Wait, what???

Yeah! Don't worry about it, it's all good. Anyway!

One thing I didn't mention earlier about the "berserker curse" is that it does more than just enhance the individual's physical capabilities and senses--it also will slowly corrupt their physical appearance as they tap into its power.

Which... that was another reason that Mislav toned down his anger with Adilzhan. Allowing himself to stew in it made it more and more likely that he'd act on it... and acting on it advanced the curse's control over him. And if you don't remember, the people of Kavo really don't like berserkers.

So, for most of his life (since the deaths of his family), Mislav has been doing his best to bottle up every single negative emotion he feels and avoiding people to keep them from figuring out the Truth. Aaaaand, y'know, self-sacrifice like hell. Because, surely, if bad actions accelerate the curse, then being a good person will de-cellerate it, right?

Yeah. He wishes. Literally.

Ludmila Morozov

So, Ludmila!

She first appears only at the very end of the first book, but Ludmila is actually a super important character to the series! She becomes a major character starting book 2, and is a main character in book 3!

Ludmila is an ice mage--or vykolt as the Glavni people call them--though you wouldn't be able to tell considering her fierce personality, haha. (Well, actually, she's incredibly icy, too, but.)

While Gene and Tazin were busy spending the first book of tAR in the khonitva and getting themselves on Kavo's Most Wanted list, Ludmila spent her time in Damaris's orphanage, getting evicted as she turned "of age", and joining/becoming the leader of the yuertel!

Oh, yeah, so the yuertel...

Ludmila didn't start the gang, and in fact got an actual job assisting the lumberjacks (and -jills) after first being kicked out of the orphanage. She only quit after an incident disillusioned her from Kavo's police- and work-force at large. Afterward, she was informed of the yuertel's existence by her childhood friend--Rada--and joined them when she couldn't find another job she was okay with working.

When she first joined, the yuertel was a ragtag bunch of kids with no idea what they were doing. After she joined--... well, they were still a ragtag bunch of kids with no idea what they were doing! But their previous leader saw her compassion for the others and stepped down to let her lead instead. Y'know, with his guidance, considering he was just a little better with people than her, but she was around a lot more than him and could do more for them than he could.

The yuertel isn't what you'd first think of when the word "gang" comes to mind. While they get up to criminal activity, they minimize collateral damage when and where they can, because hurting others isn't Ludmila's goal. They just need to do what they do to survive--malice and wanton destruction was the khonitva's thing, not hers. Though if a stray icicle hit Nikolai or a member of the khonitva over the head, she wouldn't complain.

While Ludmila wants the world to be a better place, all she sees is more ways to make it worse... or to work for those she feels sit idly by, allowing for things to get worse while sitting on their hands. So, instead, she carved out her own corner where she takes care of the people she cares about while nobody else pays them any mind.

Point is, she's a bit of a hypocrite.

Kavo--and, in fact, Glavnran in general--is a terrible place. It's full of crime, discrimination, ableism, and so many -phobias that it's ridiculous. She realized there was nothing she could do about it, so she sought to help her friends float by if nothing else. But she's a little ignorant of the fact she's guilty of the very same thing she hates in Nikolai and the rest of the police force.

Complacency.

At least... she is before book 3. But that's spoiler territory. 😉

A little more background info: Ludmila got sent to the orphanage after the murder of her mother. (Which, I so want to write a short story where Nikolai and Adilzhan investigate the murder buddy-cop style, Nikolai hating and suspecting Adilzhan of it all the while...)

Her mother, Tosha, was a fellow vykolt and actually was an avatar of Ertzat, the Glavni psychopomp god of ice, winter, death, and other associated things! They were distantly related to Gennadi (the un-elected mayor), and that combined with her priestess status meant the two were decently well-off before Tosha's death. Ludmila was close childhood friends with Rada even before then, and their parents' deaths occurring at approximately the same time led to them ending up at the orphanage together.

Idk what else I can say about her without getting into spoilers, haha...

I love Ludmila! Despite her hypocrisy, I'd say she's genuinely a good person stuck in a miserable circumstance like a lot of my characters tbh. She's a massive "sister friend" angsty type, and absolutely CANNOT get along with Tazin after the duo joins because of them both being stubborn af, haha. They're two bulls locking horns!

(And, beautifully, are a fire/ice rivalry, haha.)

I've seriously had this half-done in my drafts since publishing my Writeblr intro... I'm incredibly disappointed in myself.

Tag list: @honeybewrites @the-golden-comet @illarian-rambling @ashirisu @urnumber1star

@the-letterbox-archives

Divider from @cafekitsune

[hinata6uchiha]

Snippets from the updates:

Glass Tears ch. 44 snippet

Naruto’s chakra flared, burning hot beneath his skin, eyes blazing as he lunged again. "Understand what?" he yelled furiously, fists landing heavy and relentless, each blow punctuating his raw, agonized words. "How my best friend—" A punch landed against Sasuke’s jaw, snapping his head to the side, "—and my ex-wife—" another strike, fierce enough to send Sasuke sliding back into the cracked surface of the cliff, "—fell in love behind my back? What part of that was I supposed to be okay with?"

Sasuke pushed himself upright slowly, his breathing harsh and uneven, dark eyes narrowed with anger, but beneath it simmered something else, something deeply wounded by Naruto’s accusations. "It wasn’t like that, and you know it," he growled, stepping forward, blood smeared across his bruised cheek. "We weren’t sneaking around, Naruto. We never set out to hurt you."

Naruto’s eyes flashed dangerously, fists trembling. His voice dropped lower, rough with bitterness, barely contained rage bleeding through. "Then how was it? Because from where I'm standing, it looks exactly like every other damn thing in my life, you always end up taking what matters most from me."

Sasuke visibly stiffened, eyes flaring with sudden anger. "Stop it," he warned sharply, jaw clenched tight. "Don’t pretend your whole life is defined by losing things to me. That's unfair and you know it."

Paper Rings & Broken Hearts ch. 17 snippet

He felt the faint shift in Sasuke’s posture before he saw it. Sasuke said nothing, but his body answered for him. His fingers, resting behind Hinata, moved just slightly, lower, now brushing her shoulder, drawing small circles.

The meaning was clear. If Kakashi hadn’t already understood it, he did now.

This was no accident. Sasuke wasn’t just staking a claim. He was sending a message. Not just she’s with me. It was deeper than that. It was you had your chance, and it’s gone.

Kakashi turned his gaze away, quietly aching at the sight. He felt the familiar sting of jealousy bloom deeper beneath his ribs, a cold reminder of the distance that had grown between him and Hinata. Watching them interact so intimately made him suddenly aware of how far removed he was now from the warmth and gentleness Hinata so naturally exuded. His heart felt heavy, quietly burdened by a longing that no amount of careful denial could ease.

Quietly, Yours ch.7 snippet

Hinata lowered her gaze again. “Sorry, I wasn’t trying to make it complicated. I just meant that…I care about you. So I thought…”

She trailed off when he made a frustrated sound in his throat. He finally looked at her and his glare wasn’t angry, exactly, just flustered, like he wanted the whole conversation to vanish into the dirt beneath them.

“Stop apologizing,” he said. “It’s making it worse.”

She flinched. Her hands curled into small fists at her sides, and for a second, she didn’t say anything at all. Her shoulders dipped just slightly, and her eyes stayed low.

Sasuke glanced toward the log where Sakura and Shino were still crouched, then back at her. His posture shifted, just a little. The tension didn’t leave him, but something softened in his expression as he reached out and poked her gently on the forehead with two fingers.

“Stop making that face,” he said, voice lower now. “You’re gonna annoy me more than you being happy about that stupid date.”

Hinata looked up, startled.

“I’m not mad at you,” he added, a little awkwardly. “Just don’t make that face.”

Her lips parted in surprise, then curved into the smallest of smiles.

Sasuke scowled immediately and looked away, muttering something she couldn’t catch.

My "snippets" tend to be on the longer side, since it's usually so much going on ^^; Either way, all three are officially posted on aO3. I've been thinking about posting a 4th story alongside another one-shot...maybe a KakaHina one-shot since I feel so bad for him in Paper Rings & Broken Hearts 😅

[newtsnaturethings]

Can we please have more info and lore for Trigun/Nausicaä AU? Am very interested with the story and the characters in this world setting.

Well good evening Anon I would LOVE to talk more about this AU.

I don’t want to reveal too much since I’m very much still working out a lot of lore and ideas, but I can give a summary of some of the ideas and characters. I have a LOT of little plot bunnies and comic ideas for this AU; they just take me a hot minute lol. And I’m not much of a writer so drawing it is!

So like. The ideas I had for this AU were entirely born from a world building standpoint; Gunsmoke and the Toxic Jungle are like. On the same spectrum of world building but on opposite ends, if that makes sense (harsh potentially toxic environment, post-apocalyptic human society, there’s massive fucking bug-adjacent things, etc). And I love world building and environmental storytelling so yeah let’s put these characters into this similar but also different setting.

Meryl is Nausicaä. She’s always trying to help people and understand toxic ecosystem. She tries to investigate the nature of the Toxic Jungle and the Insects (Zazie finds this VERY interesting).

Kuroneko is the fox-squirrel.

Vash is…a being of the toxic jungle somehow. I’m still workshopping how exactly this will is gonna play out. Vash has a whole inner conflict about how the Toxic Jungle is hurting people, but he also feels bad for the plants (vegetation plants AND capital P-Plants) and insects and stuff; he’s drawn to the fact that Meryl is trying to find a solution to this.

Wolfwood is the guy from Pejite. Hint hint betrayal later.

Milly is one of Meryl’s best friends from the Valley of the Wind.

Livio is Mito. Constantly worries about Meryl going into the Toxic Jungle.

Zazie: insects, hivemind, the works.

Chronica is Princess Kushana, but she may or may not exactly be calling all the shots. Chapel and Conrad run things over in Pejite.

Knives is here too. He’s pulling some strings and organizing conflicts for his ultimate goal: eradicating humanity. Vash is very much not cool with this.

The Plants are underground purifying the earth.

Plot wise: most of the story beats stay similar, with some added themes from Trigun sprinkled in. The big ol fire dudes in the movie: they’re a proxy for nukes yes, but also a warning about the mindset that one constantly needs to be preparing for war by acclimating bigger and more destructive weapons. And that doing so paired with the willingness to use those weapons pages the way for someone to shut out the suffering of others (be that animal, plant, etc). The fire dudes are even vaguely human shaped, but thier eyes are vacant and soulless, and that shows how beings can spiral down that route if they aren’t careful.

Vash and Knives both come from the bones of these guys, so they’re an offshoot of both the destructive capabilities of humanity (which manifests as those fire dudes) AND Toxic Jungle (which exists to heal the Earth from that trauma). Fun internal conflicts that they both react to in very normal ways 🙃.

Also it’s me so yes this AU will have vashmeryl in it SUE ME

That’s the basics of it for now. I have an entire Notes App page of snippets and ideas for this au and I’m always happy to talk about it. I have it under the tag: Trigun Nausicaä AU for organization.

Thanks for the ask 🦎

[frostbitebakery]

I'm so in love with all of your art. My favorites have to be Codywan, Cody and Obi-Wan separately, and your cursed series art.

May I ask how you came up with the idea for the cursed commanders and Boba Fett series?

Ahhhh this message was the best way to wake up! Thank youuuu 💜💜💜

The Unlucky Ones, my beloveds! That one started like all the others: I went “lmao wouldn’t it be cool” and then it grew into a monster of a concept and venus flytrapping @adiduck in the process.

TUO started because for Halloween I had already Eldritched Obi-Wan so it was Cody’s turn.

I love character design. I like to play around with the given themes or throw them into the ocean and do my own thing. So every time for character designs it really does start out like, “I want to draw that character in these clothes”. There’s no plan. That always happens along the way.

For TUO!Cody I wanted him scary but still being Cody. I thought about typical Halloween things and went with skeletons. Mainly because of the white armor and I thought how cool it would look if the armor was shaped like bones. But I didn’t want the armor to look scary, I wanted him to look scary (and badass) (and like a sexy bastard). While looking for bone refs, I saw enough skulls in different positions. Some of them looked like they were screaming, howling. And I thought, duuuuuuuuude. Duuuuuuude. A skeleton projection rising out of Cody and growing taller and lifting its arms and rushing forward with a scream while Cody stands there like 😎??? YES. LET’S DO THAT.

So the concept of the Curse was born.

It always starts as a visually appealing concept. I try to make sense of my decisions later.

For the other Commanders I thought about how to apply the Cody concept art on them. I didn’t want to copy paste the armor design. But I also wanted them to visually belong together in the same verse.

The designs should be distinct and representative of each character. Even if some details seem questionable at first glance, I always want them to make sense in context. So I add snippets to basically explain myself.

Wolffe’s armor in canon went from red to grey in grief and is rather neat with stenciled designs. For TUO!Wolffe I wanted to up that grief given what Wolffe goes through in TUO. The grey canon design turned into rotten fabric and veils. Which turned Wolffe into a banshee-inspired design. The armor design is reminiscent of those fluttering torn fabrics that indicate a tragedy happened here and the grief is ever present. Going with the banshee and with how I deformed Cody’s face, Wolffe got a deformed jaw (think The Mummy when the corpse screams) which he hides behind a bandana.

Adi suggested beauty in decay for Bly. So he’s got flowers growing out of him. And I desperately needed a reason for him to tell Aayla “General, hold my flower”.

Fox has a deformed back which is only known so far to Adi and me. He started with the little white tufts of hair bc I love that on him and wanted it for TUO!Fox. By then it was already established that their hair goes white with each death. So that meant if I wanted the Fox ears, Fox had to have died twice already. Things like that were the reasons the backstory avalanched into a monster. And suddenly you go from “aww, the white hair looks like ears so cute!!” to “actually Cody killed his brother in training because how the Curse was genetically modified and added to the Commanders makes them go into a berserker state” to “the non-command class clones have instated containment protocols for when a command clone goes berserk”.

Now Ponds. Ponds had to survive. I’m not spoiling his whole story but his character design was inspired by “rising like a phoenix out of the ashes”. So his armor has bird bones and wing bone structures. And with how he looks, his backstory makes perfect sense and is heartbreaking.

Boba was a request by a dear friend. He’s not cursed in TUO canon but my friend loves the design so much she asked if I couldn’t do a Boba design. So I did.

[thebawdybaldurian]

Kinktober Day One: Facesitting

I’m too out of practice and slow at drawing to even get one artwork done in a month, combined with all the writing ideas I have in my brain, so I am using some art prompts to do story snippets. I'll be switching between my Dragon Age and Baldur's Gate fic characters and maybe adding some new ones depending on the prompts. Starting with this prompt list and may switch between a few.

This will be part of the next chapter of Texts from Baldur's Gate, my non-magical human, modern AU. I just posted the newest chapter that leads up to this scene!

Content and Warnings: face sitting, semi-public sex, role play.

Pairing: Femme OC x Halsin

There were already a few other cars parked at the Rivington Overlook this early in the evening. Addy and Halsin were most definitely the oldest couple using the revered make out spot and were trying to be the most inconspicuous as well. Halsin rode in the backseat so he didn’t need to get out and the windows were tinted to the maximum legal limit. Addy pulled the powerful, new muscle car into the furthest spot away from everyone else and turned off the engine. “You might’ve rented something less noticeable,” Halsin grinned, watching a few windows roll down to gawk at the car.

“I was a little pressed for options, Mr. Silverbough…I needed to find a sexy car that was also big enough in the back for you to fit,” she grinned, pulling off her seat belt and turning to face him. “This little role play scenario would end awfully fast if you got wedged back there and had to be cut out.”

“Why don’t you get back here and see how tight of a fit it is then, Clataedre?” He growled, leaning forward to kiss her.

She kissed him back hungry, letting him assist her in climbing between the seats and onto his lap. He reached up her short skirt and gripped her ass tightly as their tongues met and swirled loudly against one another. The heat of their breath and the cooling late summer air made the windows steam up quickly. Halsin was already at half staff, eagerly anticipating what was to come. “Let me see,” he lifted up the front of her skirt, looking at the rapidly spreading wet spot on her innocent white panties. “It looks like you are all ready for that ride I promised you,” he licked his lips, reaching his fingers under the sides of her panties and ripping them off. She let out a quiet whimper, grinning widely at his strength.

“You’re lucky those were cheap,” she bit her lip, feeling a deep ooze of honey slipping down her canal to greet him.

He lifted up her hips so she was crouched on the seat with her back pressed against the roof of the car. He took a hungry lick of her cunt before lying down across the back seat. It was cramped, with Halsin’s knees pushed nearly back against his chest, but it gave Addy a sturdy spot to lean against as she turned and sat down on his face. “Oh gods!” She cried out as his tongue went straight to work, snaking directly between her labia to lick up a mouthful of arousal.

“Ohhh Addy, you’re so wet!” His moan muffled between her cheeks, pressing his nose against her asshole.

“Your tongue better work fast, Daddy, before I get this whole backseat soaked and I have to pay to have it cleaned,” she grinned, bracing herself against his knees and reaching a hand down to rub his cock through his jeans.

He gratefully complied, sucking her engorged lips and licking every inch of her blushing vulva as she rocked gently against him. He teased her clit with his fingers, just enough to make her dribble into his mouth and beg for more pressure. “Mr. Silverbough,” she whined, her legs trembling with need. “Just a little more…I need to come…then I need you to fuck me hard!”

“Ask nicely, Clataedre,” he growled, gently nipping one of her labia and pulling it with his teeth.

“Ahhhhh Daddy….Please…pretty please…with extra honey dripping down,” she moaned, beginning to undo his jeans.

“That’s a good girl,” he groaned, her fingers instantly gripping his cock as soon as it was within reach.

“Oh, you’re awfully wet too,” she cooed, thumbing across his pre-cum and bending over to lick it off.

“Get back down here,” he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her firmly back against his face.

“Oh!” She gasped, the suction of his mouth making her toes curl in her shoes. “Fuck!”

He took long, hot breaths as he sucked every drop of arousal from her cunt, rubbing his fist against her clit as she rocked faster. “Gods! Fuck! Don’t stop! Uhnnnnn…I hope this…gahhhh…car is soundproof!” She punctuated the last word with an echoing moan, her entire body vibrating as she achieved climax. She collapsed against his knees, squeezing his head tightly with her thighs as she caught her breath.

[amethystina]

For the wipe tag game:

May I inquire about :

The devil's due ( I have been hooked since the first chapter that u posted. It's such an interesting idea with so many possibilities)

The gentle light ( will we get more of yohan's poverty?)

Thank u, and have a nice day 🩵

Thank you so much for the ask!

The Devil's Due

Oh man, this one. I am hooked on this one too, but I keep holding it off because I know it'll be pretty long and it's also going to be pretty, uh, sexually charged? And that intimidates me x'D

But yeah, I LOVE the idea and the possibilities it offers. It's a story that would focus on Ga On and Yo Han's relationship without the power imbalance of them being chief and subordinate. That's to say that Ga On is going to be even feistier than in canon, if you can believe that. And he's going to be more aware of his sexuality and what he actually wants — or who, I guess I should say.

The main plot would really just be Ga On getting to know Yo Han — and Elijah — during different circumstances. And the biggest conflict will be the fire and whether or not Yo Han caused it, plus Yo Han trying to open Ga On's eyes to the corruption in their country. The main portion of the fic would be set a couple of years after the first chapter, and a couple of years before the start of the drama. So they're all a little less jaded and, since the situation is so different — Ga On isn't sent to spy on him, for one — Yo Han won't be as defensive. But he's obviously also going to be, well, Yo Han. He's working as a normal judge, trying not to draw too much attention to himself — biding his time for his revenge, and all that — but he would definitely not mind having some fun with the bright-eyed, reformed delinquent he saved from a life as a criminal.

As a treat.

As with many of my WIPs at the moment, this fic is mostly just a collection of lines of dialogue from various scenes, with no connecting text around them. So there are no complete snippets I can show, but I can say that the first time they do something sexual together it's because Ga On has finally had it with Yo Han's teasing and flirting and just marches into his office — at Yo Han's work, yes — and goes:

Ga On: "Fine. Let's fuck."

Yo Han, after a small pause: "Right now?"

Ga On, very scathingly: "Do you want me to schedule an appointment?"

Yo Han: "You're an absolute delight when you're angry."

There are reasons why Ga On is being so blunt, I want to point out, because he wouldn't usually be. Again: Yo Han and his manipulation tactics.

... and yes, they do have sex right then and there, in Yo Han's office. Which is one of the reasons why I'm afraid to write this. I'm way out of my depth here x'D

But I will continue eventually! I like the story way too much to give up on it :)

The Gentle Light

As for this one, I was kind of shocked to realise that I have a lot more written on chapter 2 than I initially thought. It takes place right after the first chapter, so basically Yo Han's side of the very loaded conversation that takes place during chapter 7. I've just been adding bits and pieces here and there when I've felt like it and now I have almost 4 000 words. Imagine that.

Here's a snippet!

---

Yo Han slowly walked up the steps leading to Kim Ga On's apartment, his hand sliding along the railing. The metal was cold against the mess of scar tissue on his palm, sending a chill up his arm. Yo Han paid that no mind, focusing instead on taking in his surroundings. While he'd known Ga On's address ever since K did the first background check, Yo Han had never actually been to visit before.

There had never been a reason for him to — until now.

As Yo Han finished climbing the first set of stairs, his gaze swept briefly over the terrace to his left, then flicked upward, toward the rooftop. There was apparently another terrace up there, but it was dark for the time being and therefore not of much interest to Yo Han.

Instead, he turned and looked out at the surrounding buildings. The neighborhood was as run-down as he'd expected, debris littering the streets and the majority of the buildings in desperate need of repairs — some even looked abandoned. Or perhaps the owners had simply given up, choosing to huddle inside the dark, decrepit shells of what used to be their homes, waiting for the end to come. That seemed common in these parts, where unemployment and hopelessness blanketed every house and street corner, sucking the life out of those few remaining.

Yo Han could tell it hadn't always been that way, though. There were glimpses of a once lively neighborhood hiding underneath the grime and despair, the descent probably having happened slowly over time as the economy kept getting worse and worse — money getting tighter and tighter. And, eventually, whether they wanted to or not, the people had no choice but to give in.

It made sense, Yo Han supposed, for Kim Ga On to have grown up in a place like this, where he'd had to watch what he once knew wither away and fall into disrepair in front of his very eyes.

That deeply rooted disdain for the rich must have come from somewhere, after all.

---

A lot of what I have so far is basically just Yo Han sauntering around in front of Ga On's apartment, observing things and drawing conclusions about Ga On. It's kind of adorable in it's own way xD But things obviously take a very dramatic turn once Ga On shows up, some of which I've shown before in snippets that you can find here.

I can't promise I'll ever post this, though, since I'd obviously have to finish it first and this is very far down on my list of priorities right now. But we'll see, I guess? If I keep chipping away at it one piece at a time, eventually it will be finished.

I hope you like it! And you have a nice day, too 💜

WIP Tag Game

[velnna]

This might sound like an odd question but I’m planning on making my own comic at some point and I was wondering if you had any advice? Specifically in making the plot, deciding what each character does and maybe panel/page composition and how to make harmonious colour palettes?

Also one more question but when you were at the beginning of developing Stray Souls did you post little lore/plot snippets and character doodles/info or did you mainly wait until the comic was out?

(Sorry I know this is a lot but I was just wondering sort of what your process is because everything seems so seamless and well-put-together :> )

Ehh first of all the seamless and put-togetherness is an illusion 🫠

A lot of my work is built organically (fancy way of saying I just sorta wing it) and very dependent on what makes me excited at each given point. Generally, I come up with an idea for a character or a plot point and from there start branching out.

Say, I create character A. A needs a story so I create some beats for them, a beginning-middle-end type thing. While thinking of this, characters B, C, etc pop up as placeholders/devices for A's story, and the world gets shaped around it as well. Then suddenly something in the world gets decided that in turn changes A's story a little, and so on. Then I go into B, C, etc and do the same thing (build a story, let it bleed into the world and let the world bleed into it).

There's pros and cons to this sort of thing of course. Most of the time I over-develop characters or world bits that are completely unnecessary and clutter the narrative (especially when it's something like a comic, where things need to be explained visually and economically), and because of this sort of chaotic process I also tend to get entangled in my own concepts and lose track of my main threads. I don't dislike it entirely so it's just a matter of figuring out what works best for your own goals and processes.

Some general advice for comics that I've learned from trial and error: try stripping your story down to its bare bones and see what you absolutely need VS what's there for flavour or added context. Only add flavour once you're sure you can tackle the minimum, both in writing and artwise. Keep your character designs simple if you value your hands lol. It's fun to design complicated details but you WILL get tired of drawing them after a while. Sometimes it's ok to tell and not show 🤷‍♂️ if you're a one-man team sometimes you just gotta bite the bullet. Bear in mind that long stories will take YEARS to complete in comic format. Not an end all be all, but you do need to think about that. Also just go for it once you've got a structure you feel good about. I personally don't like over planning and don't even script things, so I don't think you need to have everything on paper before getting some chapters rolling. Most of what I've learned about comics has been making them, not thinking about making them. Oh, and readers tend to be more lenient than we give them credit for - if you're passionate enough about your world or characters, chances are at least some people will be interested regardless of whether you think art or writing are up to par

As for the other question, I spoiled the shit out of stray souls before launching it and still kinda do it for fun LMAO. Nothing too serious ofc but I've always loved giving people an insight into characters and world outside of the comic since the comic itself is a little peek into the whole thing. It also kinda serves to keep people interested imo

And I just can't keep my mouth shut about my stories lol