"Immature people crave and demand moral certainty: This is bad, this is good. Kids and adolescents struggle to find a sure moral foothold in this bewildering world; they long to feel they’re on the winning side, or at least a member of the team. To them, heroic fantasy may offer a vision of moral clarity. Unfortunately, the pretended Battle Between (unquestioned) Good and (unexamined) Evil obscures instead of clarifying, serving as a mere excuse for violence — as brainless, useless, and base as aggressive war in the real world."
Ursula K Le Guin at it again, being right as always
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Over 240,000 words, 45+ chapters, written over 4 and a half years. Blood, Water is complete.
This post is long overdue. I finished the fic over 6 months ago (can you believe it?!) and I’ve been caught up in things offline, to put it lightly. But on the 5th (!) anniversary of the posting of the first chapter, i thought there was no better time than to, finally, put this out.
I really couldn’t have finished this work without all the love and support i received while it was being posted. I know we like to say to write for yourself, not the crowd, but god that support really motivated me and brought so much happiness to my life. And i hope i was able to return some of that to you, through my work.
Well you’ve all waited long enough. Let’s get started!
The inspiration of fic title is given in the fic summary. Blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb. Although this quote is attributed as the full version of the common adage blood is thicker than water, it actually isn’t! It was coined later, though i don’t know by whom. (i actually didn’t know this when i first wrote the fic, but i stand by the quote—it’s great and very fitting)
I think i came up with the title like minutes before i posted the first chapter. I ended up posting it impulsively, kind of. I knew it was gonna be a big project but i wasn’t thinking about my other ongoing fics at the moment, i was so excited and i just had to start sharing this one
The entirety of the fic was written in a Google Doc titled Vampire 8.
Seonghwa’s favorite kaomoji (as referenced in Chapter 11) is (❁´◡`❁)
All the prominent vampires in this have ‘unsexy’ ages, and that’s on purpose. I wanted to do something different from the typical centuries-old vampires. So, instead, at roughly 200 years Seonghwa is the oldest, while Mingi would still be a young man if he hadn’t been turned
Don’t ask about the progression of time in this fic. It went on so long (i wrote this over literal years) i genuinely forgot
I like to write other idols into my fics, and this one is no exception. Most prominent would be VIXX (current and ex members) as the coven essentially in charge of the vampire world, but there’s also Monsta X’s Minhyuk, whose conversation with Yeosang was brought up in Chapter 22.
All our main coven’s makers were named after famous Korean actors and actresses. Ji Sung for Wooyoung and Yeosang, Nam Ji Hyun for Jongho, and of course Kim Tae Hee for Seonghwa. Mingi’s maker is never referred to by name but her name is Nara, after Jang Na Ra.
Author has a cameo in Chapter 6! Cashier staring shamelessly at Seonghwa in his full vampiric glory :’)
Seonghwa’s real-life fits were often used as inspiration, but one was straight-up duplicated. This was of course the teal turtleneck + mushroom hair combo from the amusement park date in Chapter 13.
I did do a little color theming for some characters, but nothing too strong. We have red for Hongjoong, turquoise/teal for Seonghwa, purple for San, and gold for Yeosang.
Another theme i love for all my writing is space. Seonghwa and his planet/star comparison is probably the most obvious. Personally, i have a lot of fondness for the framing of Wooyoung and Yeosang as the sun and moon, and then the addition of San as the Earth.
There have been some questions about the systemic issues in world of Blood, Water that i’ve kind of avoided answering because i wanted to focus on the immediate, personal story. But basically vampires are an open secret in the world that the government continues to staunchly deny. The vampire population has historically been very, very small. Vampire society, as a whole, didn’t exist until recently. Around 20 years ago, the government decided to crack down and eliminate the vampire ‘issue’ once and for all, leading to the hunting days that cost many vampires their lives—including Yeosang and Wooyoung’s maker, Jisung. When the regime changed, the new government stopped the state-operated vampire hunting. The blood den/club business that had always operated on a small scale—accessible only to the most connected/wealthy vampires—grew and even regular vampires (and humans) could get in. This reduced the ‘mugging’ operations less well-off vampires had to resort to, but bred new problems. Increased vampire-human interactions resulted in more turnings. By the start of the Blood, Water timeline, vampire population has started to outpace the blood available at the blood dens. Vampires of a certain level of society, like Seonghwa, are strongly advised not to turn any more new vampires, because soon the problem might get too big to hide.
Technically there is no vampire leader, although the authority everyone defers to is Hakyeon and his coven. But, as Hakyeon himself would say, they’re not a government—they’re businessmen. Anything they do—keeping the surrounding areas safe, putting down dangerous vampires, providing blood and feeders for newborns and adults—is to keep their business running smoothly. Vampire society is officially lawless so, yes, if Wooyoung wanted he could kill another vampire.
In the 4 and a half years from conception to completion of Blood, Water, a lot of things changed. My initial conceptualization of Yeosang was as a cold, dangerous individual, one that you might think would actually hurt San. Early on i decided to go for a tragic angle, so his sensitive, selfless nature came through.
Another change that got made very, very late was Yunho and Mingi’s ending. Don’t shoot me, but i initially plotted a different, sadder ending for them. After Yunho almost dies at the big house by newborn San, Mingi gets too into his head about Yunho’s safety and they break up. They uh don’t get back together. Yunho leaves Seoul for a better opportunity (a job, possibly a dance position—one of those things Mingi could never be a part of). It’d be kind of hinted that they’d get back together, but in the future, after Mingi’s worked through more of his vampirism issues and his anxieties. Obviously this isn’t what ended up happening, but, damn, it almost did. I decided not to do this because things were getting too heavy at the end there haha.
Finally, a not-insignificant part of Blood, Water was the chapter graphics that accompanied every chapter release on Twitter. It wouldn’t have been possible without all the wonderful stock image available for use online. A full list of resources:
Chapter 1 - people partying inside room by Pim Myten
Chapter 2 - Street Night Light on pixabay
Chapter 3 - Silhouette Photography of Trees by Jesse Bowser
Chapter 4 - Orchid Flower Blossom by anncapictures
Chapter 5 - This was a composite of two images that i think i accidentally deleted from my laptop and i cannot for the life of me find anywhere online. I’ll update this if i ever find them, i am so sorry for my carelessness omfg
Chapter 6 - Jewelry Boxes Red Blue by furud
Chapter 7 - Silver and black laptop computer by Jay Wennington
Chapter 8 - Painting Abstract Background by mondschwinge
Chapter 9 - Bridge Night Architecture by nqcoc9
Chapter 10 - Full Moon Night Sky by Pexels
Chapter 11 - Sunset clouds background from the National Park Service
Chapter 12 - Fully made by yours truly
Chapter 13 - Ferris Wheel Night Shot by CloudyBird
Chapter 14 - Amaryllis Flower White Open by Sponchia
Chapter 17 - Macarons Dessert Food by TheoCrazzolara
Chapter 18 - white pillows by Anastasia Mezenina
Chapter 19 - Daniel von Appen on unsplash. I believe the original image has been deleted
Chapter 20 - Cfl Spiral Lamp by Public Domain Pictures
Chapter 21 - a red and blue painting of a building by Jr Korpa
Chapter 22 - Red rose in dark room by Ben Decoster
Chapter 23 - Cakes Strawberry Sweetness by Alexas_Fotos
Chapter 24 - Nature Fire Flames by StockSnap
Chapter 25 - Milky way by Ivana Cajina
Chapter 26 - Sunset branches silhouette by lovexxpeace
Chapter 27 - Lightning Thunderstorm Night by anvel
Chapter 28 - Chandelier Glass by Tedd
Chapter 29 - Splatter, Blood, Paint by Clker-free-vector-images
Chapter 30 - Clear glass wine by Luke Besley
Chapter 31 - white cushion on bed near brown wooden nightstand by Annie Spratt
Chapter 32 - Blood Moon on a Dark Sky by Roberto Nickson
Chapter 33 - Red Light Behind a Door by Jamal Yahyayev
Chapter 34 - Flower White Wilt Black by bmartinseattle
Chapter 35 - Brown wooden bed frame with red bed sheet by Janko Ferlič
Chapter 36 - An Open Red Flush Door by Kei Scampa
Chapter 37 - two arcade cabinets by Ben Neale
Chapter 38 - Gambling Chance Luck by Ogutier
Chapter 39 - time lapse photography of cars during nighttime by Roman
Chapter 40 - Vine Plant Sprout by ngyuenbuihoai
Chapter 41 - Gold Pocket Watch by John
Chapter 42 - red and yellow thread in needle by amirali mirhashemian
Chapter 43 - Red hibiscus flower photo by Kai Oberhäuser
Chapter 44 - Node Red Knot by moritz320
Chapter 45 - Lighted Brown Bridge by Burst
Chapter 46 - Brown wooden framed glass window by Tim Rüßmann
Chapter 47 - the same as Chapter 1, people partying inside room by Pim Myten
You can find all the edited images in the Twitter thread.
Fun fact: all the images follow the red/black/white color scheme, with one very glaring exception: Chapter 22 (and to a lesser extent Chapter 25)
If you have any further questions (which i didn't cover in this super long post...) you can reach out to me on Twitter or retrospring!
Well, we’ve done it. We’re at the end of this post. Pretty long-winded but i figured if we could power through 240k words of the fic, we can survive a few paragraphs of my rambling. Thank you all again, so, so much, for all the love and support you’ve given my work. I really could never have done it without you. It was an honor and a blessing to go on this journey with you, and i wouldn’t give it up for anything.
So what’s next? Keen readers might’ve noticed Blood, Water is part of a series, titled Ties of Blood and Silver. I do have plans for a direct sequel. Yes, our vampire boys will be back! With new challenges, new angst, and even new relationships. I’m organizing shit in my real life so it won’t be starting immediately, but you can all look forward to it! Until then, thank you, i love you, and see you all around ♡
Hongjoong thought that introducing Seonghwa to his mother as his date for Christmas was a fool-proof plan: it would get her off his back about his romantic life without actually going through the trouble of dating around.
However, he didn't count with his mother being a little too cunning. Nor did he count with his own, very real, feelings for Seonghwa being addressed when he last expected.
Author's note:
I have been in a terrible writing block for months when I had a spark of motivation. This is why I am here, in July, posting a Christmas fic.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
