#writer m

[sharkwithoutfriends]

Me: Hey, can you read the chapter I just wrote?

My friend/family: No, I want to wait until you finish the book, and then I'll read the book.

Me becoming slightly annoyed because can't they tell I need an outside perspective to tell me if what I have written is good or else I'll just think it's horrible and not continue writing: ok

[painted-devils-if]

Idk if you guys already answered this, but what type of personality mc can have? Is it going to be similar to the ilw? (As in, stoic/emotional/jokester)

We definitely have some personality variants cooking in the back. Let me just open the oven and take a peek here-- Yep, that's baking quite nicely.

Rather than having 3 main personality types like ilw, our MC is more likely to have a set of dichotomous traits. For example, are you more emotional or rational, studious or rebellious, etc. The precise traits and mechanisms are still being worked out, but that's the gist.

[painted-devils-if]

The Blackheart's Blog

Dear Readers,

Today I present to you Oliver Ying, our most esteemed brooding loner–who, frankly, seems more interested in napping through lectures than any serious angsting. Wasted opportunity, if you ask me.

But enough about my opinion! Today’s the day for your questions. And boy, do I have a whole stack.

Q: So, everyone in this school seems to have some kind of daddy issues. What’s this guy’s deal?

A: Very astute and correct of you. Honestly, this place should probably be called Daddy Issues Academy.

As for Oliver—honestly? Unclear. But of course your darling Blackheart isn’t content to leave it at that, so naturally I put my investigative journalism talents to the test, and–yeah, sorry to report, Oliver’s pretty boring on that front. Businessman dad, the sort who uses money to hush up nearly everything about his family (yours truly had a nearly fatal encounter with his–well, I signed an NDA). Presumably he’s got a mother, but not sure about any siblings, and they all seem pretty well-adjusted. Almost too well-adjusted, if you ask me…

Q: Hey uhhhhh………… is my man Oliver single, and is he into guys? 👀

A: First of all, you have terrible taste. An entire school of magically attractive (and horny) people, and you go for him? Maybe you see something I don’t, maybe you have bad taste, only time will tell.

(I know what I’m betting on)

But to answer your question, yes, he’s single. And sure, shoot your shot. I wish you the best of luck. (If you don’t get speared by those creepy void-pit eyes of his.)

Q: What’s Oliver’s major, and how is he passing any of his classes??

A: Good question, good freaking question. Mr. Ying seems to have mastered the art of teetering on the edge of a passing grade. Oh, and he’s majoring in CAMP–that’s cellular and anatomical monstrophysiology, or monstrophys, for the uninitiated. Who knew he’d be a bio kid? 🧪☣️

Q: Obligatory zodiac question. Also deadly sin/love language. You know the drill.

A: Year of the monkey 🙊 (which is nearly all of the dishonorable guests on this blog). And he’s a Virgo. Which, considering his… everything, you gotta wonder whether the universe miscalculated on that one.

Love language: acts of service, sin: pride. Do with that what you will.

If you have any more questions about our local maybe stoner boy or if you want to complain about Ying-flavored NDAs in my anons, go ahead. In the meantime we are three down and one to go, so keep an eye out kids.

Yours,

The Blackheart 🖤

[painted-devils-if]

Could you please tell us about the magical specialities the MC could study?

Of course!

First you have Classics, the study of dead poets and languages alike. Discover the power of weaving stories, from Scheherezade's enchantment of survival, to Homer's invocation of the muse, to the wound-up charm of the Weird Sisters three.

Tldr: Studying magic and spells pulled from classic literature. It's reading the Odyssey and studying how Circe turned men into animals, then replicating that spell yourself.

Archaeology, on the other hand, is a much more tactile study. What magic is held in the tombs of kings? What arcane thing sleeps beneath the Leifeng pagoda? If you rub the lamp, will you find a djinn, or just a huff of dust?

Tldr: The study of historical sites that are inherently magical and mysterious, as well as magical artifacts. It's studying the curse of King Tut's tomb, or the magic that kept the sword in the stone, and then using the sword or the curse yourself.

Cellular and Anatomical Monstrophysiology, as its name suggests, is the vivisection of everything that crawls, breathes, and drinks the sun. From long, shifting sinew to sticky, poison-devouring lymphocytes, learn what holds a body together—and what breaks it.

Tldr: Biology but with monsters. Experimenting with the venom in vampire fangs, dissecting the snakes from a gorgon's head, studying the creation of basilisk eggs.

Then we have Organic Alchemy. What makes alchemy organic or inorganic? The common man would say fresh produce and non-GMOs (he is wrong). If the inorganic alchemist may turn pewter to gold, so too may the organic alchemist turn wine to fat, fat to water, and water—perhaps sacrilegiously—back to wine.

Tldr: Alchemy, specifically with organic matter. Experimenting with blood, bone, and poisons, and what you can turn that into.

Finally, and perhaps the most intriguing—or most boring, depending who you ask—Ancient History. How do empires rise, topple, and shamble together again? Who holds the pulse of history between their fingers? Who reads the the hieroglyphs on tomb walls, the sigillary script on bronze cauldrons, and finds between them the beating heart of all that is to come?

Tldr: Studying history with mysticism. Predicting the future based on studying the patterns of the past. Reading tarot and tea leaves in conjunction with reading the patterns of history and uncovering the web of fate laid over it all.

[painted-devils-if]

Not gonna lie I’m very tempted to make a MC that’s just a shy sweet cinnamon roll that’s always like to help others just to balance out the ROs

That's honestly so sweet... ngl I think a sweet kind MC might just be the most volatile thing a school like Blackthorn can get. It's gotten used to the self-interested backstabbers, you could really stir the pot

[painted-devils-if]

Wait, just saw the post calling out if fans, does that mean that Amalias writter is not envolved in this? :(

Most of the ilw team is pretty tired, and just want a break. It just so happens that the three of us wanted to keep working together (and had similar enough tastes).

[painted-devils-if]

Haven't heard from you guys in a while... Hope everything is going well! Looking forward to knowing more about Oliver and Juliet <3

Thanks! We've been in a little lull with life haha, but rest assured that things are moving behind the scenes. As a treat, here's Oliver and Juliette (in full ff.net a/n glory) to share some kind words

M: Hi guys! I'm leaning into my 14-year-old cringe phase and talking to my characters. What's up?

Juliette: No.

M: Understandable, have a nice day. Oliver?

Oliver: Yes.

M: You're both very uncooperative.

Oliver: Or maybe you're just uncreative.

M: Wonderful. Anything else?

Juliette: Bye.