Latest Posts by fandomsandfoxlore - Page 7
Me *starting The Brothers Karamazov at 1 am: Fuck it! We ball
characters have to be a little bit awful in ways that you cant defend. its good for the ecosystem. your honor he did do that. He did in fact do that
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
Objectively kind of a bummer that if you drown your soul belongs to the water for all eternity as a wet ghost but this is possibly preferable to an afterlife you have no guarantee of, because who knows where you go if you die on land but if you die at sea you know exactly what to expect. Fish
The speed that Jonathan just accepts Count Dracula can climb walls is so funny to me.
First time: HOLY SHIT HE'S LIKE A LIZARD THIS IS INSANE MY MIND IS MELTING HE'S NOT HUMAN WHAT HORRIBLE ABOMINATION IS MY CAPTOR???!!!
Second time: Cunt Dracy doin his lizard shit again fml
“that character is problematic” i am sick and twisted. next
I love in Lucy’s letter to Mina she says “but you must keep it a secret, dear, from every one, except, of course, Jonathan” so glad he passed the bestie test and is allowed to know the secrets
characters have to be a little bit awful in ways that you cant defend. its good for the ecosystem. your honor he did do that. He did in fact do that
Me back in the day, reading Moby-Dick for the first time: Sh*t, another Ahab monologue incoming, better pause to go fetch a bunch of handkerchieves.
Me now a day, rereading Moby-Dick for the [redacted] time: That Ahab monologue incoming today, better load up with a bunch of handkerchieves.
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.
she was the tide, always drifting in and out of the lives of those who loved her, eternally indecisive, unable to discern whether she desired the solidity and safety of land, or the wild freedom of the ocean 🌊
I remember starting dracula last year and being like what is this why is it just this random man's travel diary, and it's funny to see now how my attitude has changed and I am so excited to read this man's travel diary, like hell yeah dude tell me what time you got to the train station I love you
Another email from our good friend Jonathan and I'm beginning to think it's not the paprika making him feel odd.
At least he’s staying positive!
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.
someone tell aku to stop being gay for five seconds and be so fucking fr because what
reblog if you want to do the most diabolical, down horrendous, back breaking things to him.
or if you like cake.
it used to be 2007 you know
can't stand them
This is my favorite shin soukoku art ever. Credit to miuronx on Instagram!
Americans don’t wear cowboy hats all the time? What’s the point then?
I just love these pictures of Sylvia Plath. ❤️
“A thousand Dreams within me softly burn” ― Arthur Rimbaud
Painting: Sketch for "Summer Dreams" Henry Scott Tuke & "The Slave Ship" by J.M.W. Turner
"Come, men, can't any of you sing? Sing now, and raise the dead." - Herman Melville
Hello and welcome to the Ultimate Sea Shanty Bracket! This is a silly little competition to see which sea shanty everybody loves the most. (Or the majority of people, at least.)
I'm currently taking submissions for songs to put in the bracket, which will be comprised of random match-ups. Feel free to include a version of the song that you particularly like along with your submission, if you feel like it!
I've decided to keep my definition of "sea shanty" pretty loose. Songs can be traditional shanties or foc's'le songs, or modern songs modeled after them (ex. Barrett's Privateers). Songs that are generally about the sea or oceangoing lifestyle, but that aren't quite sea shanties (ex. The Mariner's Revenge Song) won't be included in the bracket, but we love them anyways.
Songs that have already been submitted:
Leave Her, Johnny
Mingulay Boat Song
Drunken Sailor
Barrett's Privateers
Randy Dandy O
Fish In The Sea
Running Down To Cuba
Lowlands Away
Happy submitting, and fair winds and following seas to you!
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.