So. It’s Been An Year And A Half Since I Last Posted Something Set In @elsewhereuniversity , But Never

How do I write a Mafia story? Because I’m genuinely lost when it comes to research. I can’t find the information I’m looking for about the way it works and the positions! All I’m getting are famous mafias and guys with jersey accents. If it’s to much work for you, please don’t bother. I was just curious.

Hi :)

I do not have the time to really research it more than on a basis level, but when I was younger I had a phase where I loved to read non-fiction books about the mafia and so I’ll try to get you some information I remember.

How to write the Mafia

What is the mafia?

Plot twist: there is no the mafia anymore

it used to be exclusively about a criminal secret society in Sicily

other mafias are usually called by their region or country of origin (Japanese Mafia, Russian Mafia, etc.)

but they call themselves by their own terms (Cosa Nostra, Yakuza, etc.)

mafia describes a highly organized criminal network, often with international connections to other criminal networks and their own chapters in a lot of different countries

to go from a simple gang to a mafia, they have to be very powerful in their region and resourceful

they managed to infiltrate the political system in their region and became an economic player that shouldn’t be underestimated

the characteristics of most mafias are: a boss that stands over everyone, an initiation ritual before someone becomes part of the mafia, probably for life, a code of honor that says that members have to be silence when they get captured, and protection racket as their main form of criminal business

often the protection they pressure business owners into paying them for, is from themselves and they guarantee that they won’t attack the business or the owner’s family

this often happens in places where the police do not have the upper hand or cannot be trusted either

other types of criminal activities they are involved in: human trafficking, prostitution, gambling, loan sharking, drug-trafficking, fraud

How to write it?

decide on a specific mafia and become familiar with their hierarchies, their special rituals, their main business, their code of honor, what happens if they break it, etc.

if you want to have more creative freedom with your writing, establish your own mafia or create a new chapter to an existing one

but keep in mind that they need the characteristics from above

Characters

decide on who is the boss and how involved he still is (it’s mostly a boy’s club)

pick your main characters and decide on their position in the organization

what is their role, in what part are they involved?

who are the other members they mostly interact with?

do they have a lot of people they have to answer to?

how did they get into the group?

what are their motives?

how do they feel about the crimes they commit?

do their beliefs and morals still align with those of the group?

do they try to have a life outside of the group?

to give your life to a criminal network that functions as a family does not make life easy and you should show the highs and lows of being a professional criminal

think about the side characters

family plays an important part in the mafia, so make sure to include these people and show the dynamics between them

it’s important to give your characters their own personalities and individuality, so they become three-dimensional characters and not gangster clichés

Research

when it comes to writing a real, existing organization research is really important

do your research on the specific mafia you decide on, their rituals, businesses, modus operandi, etc.

all the groups have some things in common with each other, some form of organization, but they differ a lot in the way they operate and what they focus on

a story about criminals practically needs law enforcement

research the laws of the country your story takes place in, a lot of countries have their own laws for organized crimes, often just the affiliation with a criminal organization is a crime

for how it works exactly and the different positions inside the organization, I would take a look at Google Scholar, there are a lot of free books and articles that talk about those things in depth (you can just put in the specific mafia you’re searching for and some catchwords and you can even decide the period of time it was published to not use outdated info)

It’s not that in-depth, but I hope it still helps a little :)

- Jana

Im sorry but the fucking brainrot of chuuya nakahara will not stop so I need to share my fucking vision.

Chuuya Nakahara, who's joints lock up and who has severe chronic pain, who wears gold rimmed reading glasses with little gold chains to help hold them when he's outside the mafia (and thus not wearing contacts to hide his blue-brown eyes), Chuuya who has summer freckles that come out from the sun, who has a wheelchair, cane and service dog respectively just in case that he can never use while on duty, who has heart problems thanks to stress and a god in his body, who has a small clinic outside of Yokohama that knows him by name.

Chuuya Nakahara who, when he figured out that this was happening to him, had a full mental breakdown over being unable to fight properly, and thus not being useful, who then pulled away from Dazai, who never managed to push the right buttons to get him to spill what was happening, leading Dazai to leave the Mafia thinking Chuuya hated him.

Chuuya who then, thanks to this "confirmation" that he wasn't usefull anymore, even if Dazai didn't know, leading him to not open up about this to any other mafia member, with only Mori knowing, and keeping the details even from him.

Dazai who, when in the middle of a case for the ADA, suddenly sees Chuuya rolling down the sidewalk with his wheelchair, freckles and mismatched eyes on full display with his service dog beside him, having his world completely turned on its heal as he falls in love with the same man a second time while simultaneously putting down the pieces that led to his complete misunderstanding of what'd happened between the two years before.

Please tell me there are others who see my vision because this shit is fucking haunting me rn.

“I’ll never give up on a precious friend."

I don't know if this is the correct blog or another one of yours for this question. My question is: How do I come up with fantasy animals and plants? Like in video games for example? I can never get creative when it comes to these two things

Writing Ideas: Fantasy Animals & Plants

How to Create Fantasy Creatures/Animals

Writing Worksheet: Fictional Plants

Yup, this is the right blog, haha. Here are some tips to create fantasy creatures/animals from different sources, and a worksheet to help guide you in creating fictional plants, which you can add fantasy elements into. And below are some additional references for inspiration. Choose which ones you prefer to incorporate in your story to help create your fantasy animal/plant:

Types of Animals ⚜ List of Legendary Beasts & Monsters

Word List: Animals (1) (2) ⚜ Animal Adjectives ⚜ Birds

Flightless Birds ⚜ Fantasy Creatures ⚜ Fictional Monster

Fantasy Character Names ⚜ Medieval Beasts (1) (2)

Medieval Plants ⚜ Medicinal Herbs ⚜ Meat-Eating Plants

Poisonous Plants ⚜ Poison Ivy & Poison Oak ⚜ Roses

Shade-Loving Plants ⚜ List of Flowers ⚜ Flower Remedies

Some Ecology Vocabulary

Resources on Creature Design (Wildlife Fact Sheet)

World-Building Template (with sections on flora and fauna)

After choosing your preferred animals/plants to use as inspiration, it is advisable to research more on them for added historical/cultural context if they would be appropriate for your specific story. Hope this helps with your writing!

I recently watched (see; binged) Cheer Up (2022) and it was so goddamn amazing 🥰

CHEER UP (2022)

Being the eldest (and a daughter no less) is great and all, and I'm pretty good at it. But I'd rate it 2/5. Would not recommend 🫠

reblog if you want to do the most diabolical, down horrendous, back breaking things to him.

or if you like cake.

Imagine an AU where everyone saw in black & white until they met their soulmate, then they saw colors for the first time.

Cue Dazai being kicked into a wall & upon opening his eyes the first colors he sees are within flaming red hair & piercing bright blue eyes. A green jacket hugging the kids figure as his foot remains planted on Dazai’s chest.

Chuuya sees stark white bandages across one eye and beneath an ill fitting white dress shirt. Dark chocolate colored locks. One honey brown iris with flecks of maroon shining in the sunlight. A black coat lying beneath him.

They both freeze for a moment, staring intently at each other, eyes blowing wide at colors they've never seen before.

Then they make eye contact, holding it for one beat, then two.

Then slowly it dawns on them what this means and, of course, their expressions move from awe to irritation. They bicker immediately, neither of them willing to give into fate.

Chuuya scoffs. "Oh fuck no, no way my *soulmate* is some shitty kid from the fucking mafia."

"How eloquent. As if such a tiny, brutish *slug* could ever be *my* soulmate." Dazai mocks in return.

Bonus points if the colors fade when they’re not together, until they accept they’re soulmates that is.

have you ever been stung by a bee?

MY SHIKATEMA FANFIC RECS MASTERLIST PART 2

Continuation of my ShikaTema Fanfic Masterlist, click here for Part 1 or Part 3 :

Blank Period / Dating / Shinobi Union CONT.

The Way You Are by: pieceofmind22 ONESHOT Cute Shikamaru defending his girlfriend from unnecessary comments.

Indulgence by: dinosaurspice M | ONESHOT Shikamaru and Temari see each other again after Naruto and Hinata's wedding, good smut.

First Kiss by: silverkunai ONESHOT Cute fluffy blank period first kiss.

double the trouble by: tentendeservedbetter M | ONESHOT Includes InoSai, Shikamaru relucatancly agrees to help Ino with her relationship with Sai by going on a doubledate. Really sweet fic.

summer sweets by: eeveleon DRABBLE Sweet fluffy ShikaTema on a lunch break in the early stages of their relationship with an indirect kiss.

midnight missions by: eeveleon ONESHOT Super cute, ShikaTema on a mission, where Shikamaru chooses to save Temari over completing the mission.

All Caught Up in the Mood by: Meticulous_Melodies M | ONESHOT Smut after the NaruHina wedding gift misunderstanding.

All the Right Moves Meticulous_Melodies M | ONESHOT Temari ends up having to stay with Shikamaru's place due to no other accomdations available, smut after confessions.

Kiss Kiss (Fall in Love) by: Laisaxrem ONESHOT Shared Kiss for different ships, first chapter is ShikaTema and it's really sweet.

The Ruin of Us by: CinderRoses M | COMPLETE Friends to lovers smut, first person, literally amazing. No words.

Jealousy by: narutostuff101 ONESHOT This is such a cute little fic, loved it!

Oh? You don't know who Shiho is? by: ArmchairAnthropologist ONESHOT Fics like this are always fun, sorry Shiho!

Blank Period / Proposals / Engaged / Married

A Long, Troublesome Way to the Altar by: penandpad0613 INCOMPLETE I am a true sucker for fics where ShikaTema have to go through the political struggles in order to get married, especially since those issues were only slightly mentioned in Gaara Hiden and in Boruto filler.

A Business Proposal by: silverkunai ONESHOT Gaara helps convince the Suna council regarding Shikamaru and Temari's marriage.

Epiphany by: mississippimudpiecraves ONESHOT Shikamaru being forced to have a Bachelor party, honestly one of my favorites.

Uninhibited by: Sylversmith ONESHOT This was so funny and sweet, loved every minute of it, drunk Shikamaru antics not recognizing his wife, but being loyal af.

extraordinary love by: chaosnojutsu ONESHOT Always end up coming back to this fic, ShikaTema having to convince the Suna council to get married.

Gaara's Help by: drowninglinguists ONESHOT Temari disscusing her emotions with Gaara before the wedding.

Who she is… by: pieceofmind22 ONESHOT Short and fluffy. Shikamaru's feelings regarding marrying Temari.

If I May Propose by: SpicedGold COMPLETE Different ways Shikamaru could have proposed, they are all super cute! I've been placing my favorite fics from this writer, especially from the Nara Family series throughout.

our hearts beat as one by thecivilunrest ONESHOT Shikamaru proposes to Temari in true lazy fashion, and Temari makes the decision to leave her village.

A Future Together by: thegizka ONESHOT ShikaTema breaking the news of their engagement to Gaara and Kankuro.

Midnight (& Day Off Mini) by: yoursuccubusnightmare M | ONESHOT Newly wed smut.

Love, Marriage and Other Disasters by: Dunesya INCOMPLETE Shikamaru wants to get married, Temari deals with insecurities and issues leading up. So good!

The Request by: BrazilianWriter ONESHOT Shikamaru has a conversation with Gaara about proposing to Temari.

Not Yet by: KiaraShell ONESHOT Very sweet proposal fic.

What's in a Title? by: dentsucree ONESHOT Such a cute/funny family interaction.

Five Hundred Game Tiles by: Lady_Otori ONESHOT

Growth by: owlishdelight ONESHOT Fluffy, just married.

Dangerous Territory by: theskywasblue ONESHOT Shikamaru falls into a trap.

New Parents / Post Chapter 700 / BORUTO / Nara Family

The 700th by: glockcourage COMPLETE Short drabbles, Nara family cuteness.

Falling for you (again) by: BrazilianWriter M | COMPLETE Seriously one of the best things I've ever read, another one I read daily for clear skin. Temari wakes up from a coma due to a severe injury on a mission, and wakes up with amnesia. The process of remembering with her loved ones is perfect, I can't stress this enough!

Back in an Hour… by: ShrimpArmy COMPLETE Good married smut in Ino's flower shop.

The Best Laid Plans by: SpicedGold ONESHOT A group in Suna is not happy about Temari's marriage to Shikamaru, and decide to kidnap Shikamaru/Shikadai and Temari isn't having any of it, loved this!

Endangered Pasts by: Tjwr INCOMPLETE Truly amazing, only bad thing about it is that it's not complete. Includes NaruHina. Shikadai and Boruto are sent to the past.

Home: by: SpicedGold ONESHOT It's Temari's birthday and she just needs to find out what Shikamaru's present is! Way too funny and cute! See the rest of the series here: Nara Family Series

According To Plan by: SpicedGold ONESHOT Shikadai gets hurt during training with Temari and what follows is some cute parenting banter with Shikamaru.

The Sacrifices We Make by: greenho4 ONESHOT Shikamaru discusses what Temari gave up to be with him with Shikadai, extremely sweet.

Ten minutes to Midnight by: KiaraShell ONESHOT Cute fic set during Shikadai and Shikamaru's birthday, where Shikamaru is on a mission.

Just Relax by: clumsydragon28 ONESHOT Much needed Nara family vacation.

Crybabies by: KiaraShell ONESHOT Shikadai gets his ears pierced.

9 Months by: Aspire2B COMPLETE Following Temari's pregnancy, the ending with Naruto in the hospital was so funny.

Ino-Shika-Chou by: Aspire2B ONESHOT

To The Next Year by: SpicedGold ONESHOT Loved this so much, Shikamaru and Temari have a phone call on New Years, beautifully sweet marriage banter bliss.

Office Hours by: OstaraNight M | ONESHOT Hot smut, enough said.

Why by: SpicedGold ONESHOT Shikadai asks about how his parents met. Simply adorable.

Nara Family by: SandriBeee COMPLETE Newborn Shikadai and being new parents.

Being Rescued is a Terrible Birthday Present by: SpicedGold ONESHOT Cute, mostly Shikadai's feelings.

family functions by: eeveleon ONESHOT Sand/Nara family cuteness at the beach.

Can't Reach by: Dunesya ONESHOT Shikamaru calls Gaara and Kankuro to take care of a pregnant Temari while he is on a mission.