"we're Even Now."

Designing the calling card

unfortunately i have no filipino friends who like mhyk so i'll also just post this here lol ganito na magbiro si faust nung ms2 😭😭 KAINES

translation if anyone's curious: "sir, is there a discount for cremation if you die from a fire?"

The prince and his Physician. A role-reversal au based on a dream I had that I wanted to draw something for. More ramblings under the cut

In this au, there is a kingdom of men where the briar valley once stood. Silver, the heir to this kingdom, has been the only member of the royal family for centuries, the result of a curse that causes him to die before he's old enough to ascend to the throne and reincarnate days after his passing. Silver's immortality was once a symbols for the kingdom's permanence, but the repeated death of their monarch every two decades or so has left the citizens with perpetual, generational sorrow with seemingly no solution as no one besides Silver was alive when the curse was placed.

A few centuries after Silver was born and it was believed the last full-blooded fae in briar valley had either abandoned the land or died, a draconian fae child is found in the brambles. This fae, given the name Malleus, was brought to the kingdom at the request if the prince and raised as part of the royal court with the express purpose of becoming the royal physician/chemist. It is believed that Silver's curse, as everlasting as it seems, was placed on him by a fae with extreme magical prowess and if anyone has a chance of breaking it, it's another fae. The kingdom believes that Malleus will be able to break the death curse and allow Silver to become their immortal king.

However, Silver has other plans for his chemist. From an early age, Silver requested that Malleus use his talents to find a different kind of solution to his curse that he can never tell anyone. He wants Malleus to find a way to stop his reincarnations entirely and let him unburden his people with the monarchy. Whether to fulfill the request of the kingdom he calls home, or the prince that took him in is in Malleus' hands.

tsum adoption day

no i actually love that classism is made present and obvious in haikyuu so much, like it’s made to fit so well as an important theme

the difference between the public, private and state schools is so obvious and, imo, well done (e.g. shiratorizawa vs seijoh vs karasuno)

furudate also hits on the urban/rural divide in terms of resources, security, educational standards, etc, and how that affects the tokyo teams compared with the miyagi ones, as well as others

it gets a really good balance between “ppl from lower income backgrounds can and do succeed”, and “ppl from privileged backgrounds have a far higher chance of success” and i love that

some of my favourite examples under the cut, in no particular order

kageyama and ushijima in general, and in their relationships with everyone honestly, but especially hinata and oikawa

“what have you been doing the last three years”

ushijima’s metaphor with plants growing in the best soil (in which the best soil is an elite public school) vs “i am hinata shōyō, from the concrete”

that line is so. fucking good.

karasuno’s vb team struggling to get access to the gym and daichi competing with other teams for facilities

the whole “you should have come to shiratorizawa” thing, especially ushijima and oikawa’s conversation after aoba johsai loses to karasuno (it’s really well done in the stageplay, i can’t find the link rn)

actually i feel like a lot of the fandom’s memes and jokes with ushijima stem from lines that are some of the most poignant examples of class dynamics

hinata cycling over a mountain to get to school

karasuno’s coaching team compared with the other ones, and the patchiness in having reliable teaching supervisors in the past

the timeskip jobs. shiratorizawa, nekoma and karasuno come to mind for me as schools that illustrate this really well.

also the difference in types of schools (e.g. dateko being a technical college) is really interesting when it comes to timeskip. actually, i feel like this’ll end up a whole extra post

the parallels and differences between tanaka, kyōtani and yamamoto

team records of making it to nationals, e.g. shiratorizawa dominating the miyagi prefecture

the roles of parents and the notable absences in many instances

‘the lucky ones’, i think is the chapter title translation - the one focusing on ushijima and sakusa post-timeskip - it’s a really good chapter

nekoma’s motto being ‘connect’ - it’s a key team value, but also highlights the privilege of being well-connected and living in the capital city. it also affects their timeskips, facilities, ability to hold training camps, etc

the everyone-knows-everyone vibe of the town karasuno is in. really hits the nail on the head.

tokyo having an extra team in nationals as the event sponsor slot (i forget exactly what they call it)

it doesn’t diminish the impressive abilities of the players who went to public schools (like sakusa, reon, etc) but also acknowledges the ways class privilege helped them to get where they ended up and i just think that’s a really good balance

oh yeah i live in the uk so in case there’s confusion, us public school = uk state school. public schools here are an extra elite type of private school (eg. eton, harrow, etc)

Noya & Kageyama spend a significant amount of time in Italy together when Kageyama joins Ali Roma. But one night during one of their stroll around the city, Noya announces: ‘‘I found my next stop, so I’ll be leaving in a couple of days.’’ Kageyama simply nods - he knew Noya would be leaving Italy eventually.

‘‘It’s about time that I visit the beaches in Brazil, and finally conquer beach volleyball. Don’t you think?’’

Kageyama’s eyes widen before Shouyou’s name escapes his lips - they haven’t seen each other in months, except in video calls. 

Noya laughs at Kageyama’s expression. 

‘‘You have a couple of days to gather everything that you want me to bring to Shouyou.’’

So, for the rest of Noya’s stay, they hunt for gifts and Kageyama gathers a package that hopefully feels like he’s sending a part of himself & a part of Italy to Shouyou.

How to Introduce and End Flashbacks

Introducing a Flashback

Through Sensory Triggers A sound, smell, or physical sensation can catapult a character into a memory. Example: The faint scent of jasmine wafted through the open window, pulling her back to her grandmother’s garden. She could almost feel the warm sun on her back as they planted flowers together, her grandmother’s laugh ringing in her ears. Sensory cues are especially effective because they feel immediate and relatable.

Using an Object or Photo Physical items are natural prompts for reminiscing. Example: He picked up the crumpled letter, its edges worn with age. As his eyes scanned the familiar handwriting, the years fell away. He was 16 again, reading those very words for the first time.

Dialogue That Sparks a Memory A conversation can easily lead to a flashback when a particular word or phrase resonates. Example: “You always overthink everything,” she said, laughing. He froze. Those were the exact words his father had thrown at him that night, before slamming the door and leaving for good.

A Character’s Internal Reflection This works well in introspective or emotional scenes. Example: As she stared at the divorce papers, her mind drifted to the first time they’d met.

A Sudden Triggering Event High-emotion events often cause memories to resurface. Example: The screech of tires on asphalt sent a cold shiver down her spine. In a heartbeat, she was back on that icy road, watching headlights careen toward her father’s car.

Dream or Hallucination For a more surreal tone, a dream or hallucination can segue into a flashback. Example: The dream unfolded like a reel of film, showing her the beachside house they’d once called home. She saw herself, small and wide-eyed, chasing the waves as her father’s voice called out in laughter.

Abrupt, Emotional Break For intense moments, an abrupt flashback can mimic a real-life flood of memory. Example: The argument escalated, he slammed his fist on the table. The sound echoed in her ears, morphing into the memory of her father’s hand hitting the dining room table, his voice booming in anger.

Ways to End a Flashback

Tie Back to the Trigger Return to the sensory cue or object that initiated the flashback. Example: The scent of jasmine faded, and she blinked, back in her office. The garden was gone, replaced by the gray walls and the cold glow of her computer screen.

Return to Present Action Use a sharp, present-day event to jolt the character back. Example: “Hey, are you even listening?” Her coworker’s voice snapped her out of the memory. She turned, realizing she’d been staring at the clock for minutes. OR “Are you okay?” His voice cut through the silence, pulling her out of the memory. She nodded quickly, hiding her unease.

Reinforce the Emotional Impact Show how the flashback has affected the character’s current emotions or decisions. Example: The memory left her hands trembling. She wiped her eyes quickly, unwilling to let the tears win this time. She had a meeting to face.

Transition with a Parallel Action Use a seamless flow between the past and present through similar actions or emotions. Example: In the memory, she had dropped the vase, its shattering echoing in the quiet house. Back in the present, her hand hovered over a similar vase on the shelf. She hesitated, her breath shallow, before carefully setting it down as if the past might repeat itself.\

Narrative Reflection Let the character or narrator explicitly acknowledge the memory and its significance. Example: She exhaled, shaking off the memory like dust from an old book. It didn’t matter anymore, she told herself, but her heart still felt heavy.

Anchor to the Setting Bring the reader’s focus back to the surroundings. Example: The memory faded, and she was left staring at the cracked pavement under her feet, the late afternoon sun casting long shadows over the street.

The thing about the 'Ugliest King' title and All The Ensuing Conversations that occur as a result, is that it works in the wn because we, the readers, have Absolutely No Idea what Kim Dokja looks like. Yes, there's the picture on the description page of the cover, but wn readers are trained to ignore those. Cover art is guidance for a character but when most of the cast will never wind up being pictured, you draw your grasp of their appearance based on description in-book and how the other characters describe their looks.

Even without KDJ's famous soliloquy in JTTW about YJH's appearance, we know that he's handsome and fit. We know that HSY is pretty but most of the time she has her face pulled into exaggerated expressions that make you instantly forget that. We know what kind of clothes the characters wear, whether other people think they're attractive, and how they're perceived generally. So, what does the reader get told about Kim Dokja?

Kim Dokja describes himself as average. He used to take bathroom selfies, but he's not particularly good looking. And the book plays into that! He's assigned 'Ugliest King' and it's partly a joke but partly to tell us something. Kim Dokja isn't your stereotypical secretly-handsome MC. As the book unfolds, we learn that there's a reason why people think he's ugly, but even beyond that specific metatextual one, there's more. We learn that towards the end of the novel, he's become more tanned and healthy-looking. We're told that at the beginning of the novel, his skin was pasty from a lack of sunlight. He was skinny from a diet of what he could afford at the corner store. He likely had dark circles from staying up late. These are all things that help us to develop a picture of Kim Dokja as a person. Even beyond that, the question of whether Kim Dokja is actually ugly was a debate that I miss having, mostly because I think SS were trying to show that you don't need to be handsome to be loved.

There's a lot that I don't agree with the webtoon team on, and I won't go into that here, but I would argue that possibly the worst thing they did for ORV was make Kim Dokja look like every other secretly-handsome MC. How can the reader grapple with him being given the ugliest king title when they can plainly see in every chapter that he's been drawn with bishie sparkles in the horniest way possible? It breaks immersion and squanders the value of the discussion to be had by its inclusion in the novel.

Tldr; kdj should be drawn swagless assless and looking like a mess.

" oh, shit. I'm in love with you ?? " prompts:

(feel free to use <3 @urfriendlywriter | req by @president--namjoon yall 6th, 7th omg 17th, and 19th yall tag me when u write! )

absent-mindedly playing with their hair.

smiling a little too much around them

wanting to do things for them [ie. gifts, surprises, writing letters etc etc]

having them hug you tight

them running into your arms

catching them lost in your eyes. AAAAH.

glancing at them when they aren't looking at you. and thinking oh shit im screwed for life.

wanting to capture that smile of theirs.

accidental touches and then thinking about it for days.

platonic forehead kisses starting to give u the feels. LIKE ITS SOMETHING MAGICAL.

"is that really all 'A' is to you?"

trusting each other with your lives.

when they aren't hesitant to defend you in your absence

they laugh at your 'not-so-funny' jokes.

always wondering what the other will do in your situation

"your smile brings me so much joy." >>>

tight hugs where both/either of you feel super safe in.

having them give something of importance to them for you, as a gift (ie. "oh this is a necklace my late mum owned.. she always wanted me to gift this to someone i cherish.. have it. :)" )

the moment of eye-contact from across the room that magically blurs everyone out of the world. it's just u two.

a third person pointing out how beautiful they're and suddenly you're seeing them in a different light (shalalallalaaa)

If you're seeing this, I demand you to go write at least 500 words on your current project.

Do it.

Do it.

Do it.