Current edited episode count:
episode 00-32 [season 1]
episode 33-82 [season 2]
episode 83-109 [season 3]
*season 4 coming soon*
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if you don't want to read a bunch of messages/notifications, there is a glossary of terms nearer the bottom of this chapter
16.02.2020: I have started to (slowly) put up the updated version of INK STAINED. Episodes marked with an * at the end mean that they've been updated as such. There will probably still be minor grammatical errors and such because I'm not a machine, so please don't be afraid to point them out for me! I will be coming back here to note which chapters have been properly edited, which is noted at the top on this page in bold.
04.03.2021: I have completed editing the entirety of INK STAINED available on here. Currently working on season 4, and I'll start posting episodes of season 4 as soon as possible. However, please keep in mind I'm an undergrad in a disgustingly brutal program and Suffering™ a lot.
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Dear lovely, beautiful INK STAINED readers,
Hello, hi, awkward humanoid panda here. This is a very important message regarding INK STAINED (no, I'm not quitting it/taking it down, nothing like that). Please read carefully.
Due to the import of this message, it's going to be at the very front of the book on Wattpad so that everyone who starts reading the story can be aware of what's happening.
Here's the main gist of it: I'm going to make some changes to INK STAINED, some big and some small, that have been bugging me for the better part of a year. I've tried ignoring them and just pushing through until I get to the end of INK STAINED, thinking I'd just make those changes then, but things have gotten to the point that I literally can't even continue writing the story because these changes need to be made. This message is a heads-up to what those changes are going to look like for you all;
T̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶w̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶h̶a̶p̶p̶e̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶s̶l̶o̶w̶l̶y̶,̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶t̶e̶n̶s̶e̶ ̶I̶N̶K̶ ̶S̶T̶A̶I̶N̶E̶D̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶w̶r̶i̶t̶t̶e̶n̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶w̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶c̶h̶a̶n̶g̶e̶ ̶f̶r̶o̶m̶ ̶p̶a̶s̶t̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶p̶r̶e̶s̶e̶n̶t̶.̶ ̶I̶ ̶u̶s̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶w̶r̶i̶t̶e̶ ̶a̶b̶s̶o̶l̶u̶t̶e̶l̶y̶ ̶f̶i̶n̶e̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶p̶a̶s̶t̶ ̶t̶e̶n̶s̶e̶,̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶n̶o̶w̶ ̶w̶h̶e̶n̶e̶v̶e̶r̶ ̶I̶ ̶w̶r̶i̶t̶e̶ ̶s̶o̶m̶e̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶,̶ ̶I̶ ̶g̶o̶ ̶b̶a̶c̶k̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶e̶d̶i̶t̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶g̶e̶t̶ ̶s̶m̶a̶c̶k̶e̶d̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶f̶a̶c̶e̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶s̶o̶m̶e̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶I̶ ̶s̶u̶b̶c̶o̶n̶s̶c̶i̶o̶u̶s̶l̶y̶ ̶w̶r̶o̶t̶e̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶p̶r̶e̶s̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶t̶e̶n̶s̶e̶ ̶r̶a̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶n̶ ̶c̶o̶n̶t̶i̶n̶u̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶p̶a̶s̶t̶ ̶t̶e̶n̶s̶e̶ ̶I̶'̶v̶e̶ ̶p̶r̶e̶v̶i̶o̶u̶s̶l̶y̶ ̶b̶e̶e̶n̶ ̶w̶r̶i̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶I̶N̶K̶ ̶S̶T̶A̶I̶N̶E̶D̶ ̶i̶n̶.̶ ̶T̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶h̶a̶s̶ ̶b̶e̶e̶n̶ ̶h̶a̶p̶p̶e̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶t̶w̶o̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶a̶ ̶h̶a̶l̶f̶ ̶y̶e̶a̶r̶s̶ ̶n̶o̶w̶,̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶I̶ ̶k̶n̶o̶w̶ ̶i̶t̶'̶s̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶j̶u̶s̶t̶ ̶a̶ ̶p̶a̶s̶s̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶p̶h̶a̶s̶e̶.̶ ̶ ̶
T̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶i̶s̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶a̶ ̶p̶a̶r̶t̶i̶c̶u̶l̶a̶r̶l̶y̶ ̶m̶a̶s̶s̶i̶v̶e̶ ̶c̶h̶a̶n̶g̶e̶,̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶s̶i̶n̶c̶e̶ ̶I̶N̶K̶ ̶S̶T̶A̶I̶N̶E̶D̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶s̶u̶c̶h̶ ̶a̶ ̶b̶i̶g̶ ̶s̶t̶o̶r̶y̶,̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶h̶a̶s̶ ̶S̶O̶ ̶M̶U̶C̶H̶ ̶a̶l̶r̶e̶a̶d̶y̶ ̶w̶r̶i̶t̶t̶e̶n̶,̶ ̶i̶t̶'̶l̶l̶ ̶t̶a̶k̶e̶ ̶a̶ ̶w̶h̶i̶l̶e̶.̶ ̶T̶h̶a̶n̶k̶s̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶,̶ ̶a̶t̶ ̶l̶e̶a̶s̶t̶ ̶I̶'̶l̶l̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶a̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶g̶o̶ ̶b̶a̶c̶k̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶c̶o̶r̶r̶e̶c̶t̶l̶y̶ ̶e̶d̶i̶t̶ ̶s̶o̶m̶e̶ ̶c̶u̶l̶t̶u̶r̶a̶l̶ ̶a̶s̶p̶e̶c̶t̶s̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶t̶o̶r̶y̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶I̶ ̶p̶r̶e̶v̶i̶o̶u̶s̶l̶y̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶a̶w̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶,̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶n̶k̶s̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶b̶e̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶J̶a̶p̶a̶n̶ ̶n̶o̶w̶,̶ ̶I̶ ̶k̶n̶o̶w̶ ̶a̶b̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶m̶ ̶n̶o̶w̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶c̶a̶n̶ ̶m̶o̶r̶e̶ ̶a̶c̶c̶u̶r̶a̶t̶e̶l̶y̶ ̶p̶o̶r̶t̶r̶a̶y̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶m̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶I̶N̶K̶ ̶S̶T̶A̶I̶N̶E̶D̶,̶ ̶w̶h̶i̶c̶h̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶b̶i̶g̶ ̶d̶e̶a̶l̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶m̶e̶.̶
[06.05.2020 edit: as of now, this tense thing is no longer a thing that will happen, ignore that]
Second big thing is...some large parts of the beginning of season 4 [between episodes 114-123/4] are going to change, and possibly the very end of season 3. I wrote those episodes when I probably shouldn't have. Here's the thing; in the time period I wrote those episodes, I was burnt out from writing INK STAINED. I love this story to death, you know I do, and it holds a special place in my heart...but I've been writing this story literally non-stop for 5 years. I burnt myself out, and that's the honest truth of it.
I've slowly found my place with it again, and it's sad that I can't write as much as I want because I have to pull through with this program I'm in at university so I have to focus most of my attention on that, but I'm still glad to say that I've rekindled my passion for writing INK STAINED.
How does this relate to the story? Well, those specific episodes are just absolute bull$hit to me. I very strongly dislike them and I don't feel like they fit with the story. The characterization is all out of whack – I feel like because I burnt myself out at that point and was still trying to write, it was like I'd forgotten these characters I'd written and love, and was just trying to make pale imitations of them, and I hate that. It was like I had completely forgotten who they were and I was still stubbornly trying to write them, and it just got so bad that I straight up stopped writing INK STAINED for 7 months. Things have infinitely improved now, but I hate trying to continue the story when I have this big black taint on it in season 4 that I cannot ignore for the life of me.
So I'm going to rewrite most of what you've seen of season 4, and while the main happenings of what you've seen will still happen, the way it does will change.
Basically, you could see this as INK STAINED taking a hiatus. A long hiatus, I'll warn you now, because I don't know how long it'll take me to do all this, and I don't want to lie to you and give you a time period and then hate myself for not meeting that deadline when it comes. I do promise that INK STAINED will see the end, and my plan for a second [and final] book following it will happen, but it'll just take a while.
Thank you so much for sticking with me/INK STAINED through all these years.
While INK STAINED will technically be taking an indefinite hiatus, I will not – kind of. A big reason I got burn out from writing INK STAINED is because I was really only writing that one story for so very long. As such, whenever I feel myself approaching that state again, I'll switch gears – in this case, stories, because while I can get burnt out from writing a story, actually getting tired of the process of writing itself isn't really possible for me, so far as I've found [and I feel like I know what I'm talking about considering I've been writing stories for 10 years]. I need writing in my life, or I'll go crazy, and I know I will, because I tried to go more than a week without it and I felt fucken terrible, mentally. That was a mess.
As such, this means that GLASSLANDS will still be getting updates, at least semi-regularly if not regularly, and the INK STAINED: shorts that I recently put up will get updates ~sometimes~ as well, and I may or may not put up other stories that I've written, or if you're really curious to see what I'm writing, you could find me writing fanfics on AO3.
I hope you can all be patient with me while I do this *insert prayer emoticon because I forgot how to do that here*
Sin cera,
Xeah Azurehyn
P.S., to new INK STAINED readers; please don't be afraid of starting the story because of this message. I'm not taking the story down, or completely rewriting everything. All I'm really doing is going through everything right from the beginning and c̶h̶a̶n̶g̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶t̶e̶n̶s̶e̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶w̶r̶i̶t̶t̶e̶n̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶p̶r̶e̶s̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶t̶e̶n̶s̶e̶ editing everything -- though, please forgive me if I still miss some things like spelling mistakes, because I am not a robot. Once I get to season 4, of which there isn't actually that much up here on Wattpad anyway, is when some changes will happen, and I will inform you of what they are. I would really appreciate it if you could give this ~incredibly massive I warn you now~ story. It would mean a lot to me, and I genuinely treasure those who read this story, and maybe even comment and vote if you feel like it.
Enjoy!~
November 23rd, 2019
06.05.2020: I've unpublished the season 4 episodes so as to lessen any confusion.
Below is the vocabulary for terms associated in the story. I decided to delete the following part which is the vocabulary so new readers can get into the story without having to click three times just to get there. Feel free to ignore or come back here. AGAIN, it is not necessary to look at these, it's just here for anyone who's curious.
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‣–kun, –san, –sama, –dono, –chan, –hime –me, –ue –heika –
Honorific suffixes added to the end of a person's name. –chan and –tan are personal endearments
(–tan is considered a 'cute' way to say –chan, and is used mostly by young children): –kun (for close male friends):
–san (Mr. or Ms. Considered the default honorific):
–sama and –dono (Master) :-sama is also used by clerks of any kind referring to customers):
–hime (Princess):
–me (a derogatory honorific, used when you refer to people, things, or concepts you're a) pissed at, b) deem despicable/inferior):
–ue (literally means "above" and is like –san):
–heika (used to address a queen).
Lack of any honorific indicates a very close and intimate relationship with the other person or an insult if no honorific is added when speaking to a stranger. It's also more common nowadays for younger people to refer to each other without an honorific if they're told it's okay to do so by the person they're talking to.
‣Ayakashi Broad term in Japanese used to describe nearly all monsters and supernatural beings from folklore. Another known word for them is yokai (妖 is yo = "mysterious, bewitching, unearthly, weird" and 怪 is kai = "mystery, wonder, strange." The term 'yokai' does not always necessarily mean 'monster'.) The Ayakashi vary from malevolent, mischievous tricksters to creatures that bring fortune and luck to those they encounter. Their appearance ranges from animalistic to that of a regular human, from regular household inanimate objects to strange shapes that can't be described.'
‣Hengen The term for shape shifting Ayakashi. Most of the Greater Ayakashi are Hengen, shapeshifting to look like regular human beings. It is easiest for Tengu and Kitsune to shapeshift their forms.
‣Imoogi (EE-MOO-GI) Korean lesser dragon, resembling gigantic serpents. They are proto-dragons that must survive a thousand years in order to become fully-fledged dragons. Whereas most dragons in European mythology are linked to the elements of fire and destruction, dragons in Korean mythology (and most East Asian folklore) are primarily benevolent beings related to water and agriculture, often considered bringers of rain and clouds. Hence, many Korean dragons are said to reside in rivers, lakes, oceans, or even deep mountain ponds. It differs from its Chinese dragon counterpart in that it develops a longer beard.
‣Kamigami Lesser Gods. They are the gods humans have prayed to and worshipped for thousands of years.
‣Kigen The Greater Gods.
‣Ningen Human.
‣Okina Oni Greater Oni.
‣Oni Demons (lit., ogre). Most can pass themselves off as human beings, but are identifiable by their slitted red eyes (which they can't normalize. They are forced to wear coloured contacts, which quickly dissolves because of the liquid venom present in their eyes, tongue, and sweat). Their weapons of choice are the iron kanabo (a club) or a giant sword. In their original forms they have wild hair that is usually white, two to four long horns growing from their foreheads, and skin colour varies between each Oni.
‣Onmyoji Humans who are born with powers of an Ayakashi. They are not Hanyou. Abilities and powers vary between each individual.
‣Saké Saké (written otherwise as 'sake') is a Japanese rice wine made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran.
‣Seijin no Hi Coming Of Age ceremony. It is held annually on the second Monday of January. It is held in order to congratulate and encourage all those who have reached or will reach the age of maturity (in Japan that's 20) between April 2 of the previous year and April 1 of the current year. They dress up in traditional wear to celebrate it. A lot of young Japanese who celebrate Seijin no Hi but attend university away or are away from the prefecture they were born in will often travel back home to attend the ceremony held at local and offices, as well as after-parties among family and friends.
‣Yomi or Yomi-no-kuni The land of the dead, lit. "World of Darkness". Once one has eaten at the hearth of Yomi it is impossible to return to the land of the living. It is most commonly known for Izanami's retreat after her death. The realm of the dead has geographical continuity with this world, and cannot be thought of as a paradise to which one would aspire, nor can it be described as a hell in which one suffers retribution for past deeds. All of those who are dead carry on a gloomy and shadowy existence regardless of their behaviour in life.
‣Yori Chiisai Ayakashi that cannot possess human bodies of shape shift. They are considered to be the weakest of all Ayakashi.