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[writeworld-blog]

Alright.

Instead of whispered, consider:

murmured

mumbled

muttered

breathed

sighed

hissed

mouthed

uttered

intoned

susurrated

purred

said in an undertone

gasped

hinted

said low

said into someone’s ear

said softly

said under one’s breath

said in hushed tones

insinuated

[wiwaxiasunglasses]

These posts make me unreasonably cranky. So cranky, in fact, that every time a new one of these goddamn things crosses my dash, I’m just going to dissect them. Both for the edification of newer writers and because fuck these lists.

As mentioned in previous posts: These are not synonyms for whispered. You can’t use them interchangeably. Let’s go through them.

“Well,” she whispered, “I suppose I haven’t got a choice.”

The character is speaking in a voice so low it’s become words made of breath, probably because she doesn’t want to be heard.

“Well,” she murmured, “I suppose I haven’t got a choice.”

The character is saying this very quietly, but above a whisper. She may be talking to herself.

“Well,” she mumbled, “I suppose I haven’t got a choice.”

The character is speaking under her breath in low enough tones that her words may sound unclear or slurred. Also very possibly talking to herself.

“Well,” she muttered, “I suppose I haven’t got a choice.”

The character is speaking lowly, but more clearly than a mumble. She sounds angry, irritated, or dully frustrated.

“Well,” she breathed, “I suppose I haven’t got a choice.”

Breathing words may mean relief, exasperation, or exhaustion, and sound half like a sigh. Oh, look—

“Well,” she sighed, “I suppose I haven’t got a choice.”

The character is almost certainly not happy. She’s speaking in a tired, heavy breath.

“Well,” she hissed, “I suppose I haven’t got a choice.”

The character’s words are coming out in low, very sharp breaths. She sounds angry, irritated, or maybe just in an intense moment.

“Well,” she mouthed, “I suppose I haven’t got a choice.”

The character is using the barest hint of her voice, if any at all. Her lips are silently forming the syllables.

“Well,” she uttered, “I suppose I haven’t got a choice.”

Using uttered in this particular type of descriptive sense actually just sounds awkward. That said, ‘utter’ sounds like a word that implies speech in low yet strong and loud tones, well-enunciated, like someone preaching.

“Well,” she intoned, “I suppose I haven’t got a choice.”

The tone of her voice is dull and flat, with little variance in pitch. She is saying this without much emotion (intentionally or not).

Fuck “susurrated”.

“Well,” she purred, “I suppose I haven’t got a choice.”

The manner she’s speaking in is silky, smooth, and particularly pleased; quite possibly smug. In this particular example, this implies she probably does have a choice about [whatever it is] and is being facetious.

“Well,” she said in an undertone, “I suppose I haven’t got a choice.”

This is bad, because an undertone is something that needs describing. That’s like saying “her dress was a color”.

“Well,” she gasped, “I suppose I haven’t got a choice.”

The character is speaking in a sharp intake of breath, probably brought on by surprise or shock. She could also be short of breath, being strangled or something.

“Well,” she hinted, “I suppose I haven’t got a choice.”

The character has particular (duh) hint-hint tones in her voice as she speaks to someone. One can just imagine her leaning over closer to their ear.

“Well,” she said low, “I suppose I haven’t got a choice.”

Her voice has dropped below normal pitch, but is above a whisper. There’s a certain amount of dullness in the tone, probably.

“Well,” she said, into his ear, “I suppose I haven’t got a choice.”

This implies nothing about the actual voice, just that she’s literally speaking right into his ear (perhaps at normal volume, which would be painful). It doesn’t, on its own, carry any connotations of tone or emotion.

“Well,” she said softly, “I suppose I haven’t got a choice.”

I have a personal beef with the word “softly” on account of writers in a certain area of a certain MMO that use that word for fucking everything; speech, movement, touch, footsteps, because it helps to passively describe their character as delicate and pretty or something.

It’s a personal beef. There’s nothing really wrong with the word. Moving on.

Saying something softly implies not only a lowered pitch but a certain gentleness (or at least lack of weight) in tone.

“Well,” she said under her breath, “I suppose I haven’t got a choice.”

This is very like muttered, murmured, etc — it sounds (dur) breathier, and is more likely to imply a person talking to themselves.

“Well,” she said in hushed tones, “I suppose I haven’t got a choice.”

Now you’re getting closer to an equal term for “whispered”; hushed tones could mean that, or half-whispered. It does imply a certain amount of whisperiness or breathiness. It also implies a deliberate attempt to be quiet.

“Well,” she insinuated, “I suppose I haven’t got a choice.”

Like with ‘uttered’, this feels grammatically weird in that it’s usually a thing a person describes another person as doing (“Greg didn’t say it, but he insinuated it!”), but whatever. It’s similar to hinting; it means you’re trying to imply or subtly convey something, but has nothing to do with actual whispers.

tl;dr Those words are all different, these lists are terrible writing advice and people need to stop pulling tangentially-related words from the thesaurus and saying they all mean the same thing.

[tehjai]

[mresundance]

as i tell my students:

“use the precise word, not the word that kinda sorta fits or ‘sounds more impressive’ ”

use exactly the word you MEAN

[ceruleancynic]

THIS THIS THIS OH MY GOD THIS.

I fucking hate those lists, they drive me batshit. Put down the thesaurus and back away slowly.

[saberwitch-deactivated20211209]

fuck “sussurated”

[kotorswtor]

“Sussuration” is the continuous, ambient, non-verbal sound that comes from wind or water interacting with solid matter. A person can’t have an intelligible conversation that answers to that description. Precision is important.

[thebibliosphere]

I got to “ sussurated” and started angry scrolling getting ready to make this exact point.

[semblanche]

hey babes! i'm on like a thousand tag lists rn but get tagged in less than half, so the solution is obviously to ask to be tagged in a thousand more.

in other words, i'm on a wip hunt. so if your wip contains

dark fantasy

body horror (preferably not splatter / pure gore though aa)

enemies to lovers

magic systems with consequences

codependent relationships / unhealthy devotion

something with missing people or amnesia

religious overtones

small towns (bonus for like... personification themes? not sure how to really explain this one but @carumens and @zuiderhaaks know what's up)

m/f relationships where the woman is v adept & badass and the man is either soft & pretty or a himbo

mythology retellings

high fantasy (urban is pretty great too though)

lmk in the reblogs/replies, and i'll try to check it out! boosting is also appreciated :)

[inspire-me-to-breathe-deactivat]

What being drunk is like, for fic writers who have never been drunk before

Nothing wrong with never being drunk (in fact, it’s probs a good thing) but it can be hard to write convincingly about alcohol if you’re not familiar with it, and I’ve read enough fics where 5 secs into reading I’m already cringing sooooo

1. It takes more than 1 beer to get drunk

Personally, it takes me (a small female occasional-drinker) either around 3 shots of any spirit, 2 large glasses of wine or 2.5 beer-like drinks within a short space of time to get over tipsy into drunk territory, and to be really drunk-drunk, a bottle of wine (3 or 4 glasses), or 5 shots should do it. BUT IT VARIES FROM PERSON TO PERSON

2. Lime and salt is literally only for tequila

and I know like less than 3 people who actually enjoy the taste of any alcohol

3. Your vision isn’t “blurry” or “foggy”

Alcohol affects your balance not your eyes, so the room defo can seem like it’s spinning but you’ll still have your 20/20. Sometimes it’s hard to focus, but it’s not constant - just every so often your eyes miss their mark.

4. Speech is less “slurred”, more in the wrong order

A great thread on writing drunk dialogue here: https://www.quora.com/How-can-I-write-dialogue-for-a-drunk-character 

5. Not everyone gets hyper-sexual when drunk

It’s less a state of horniness and more a state of lowered inhibitions and social pressure

6. Coffee doesn’t sober you up like magic

Alcohol dissipates from the body at a rate of about .015% of BAC per hour, and drinking coffee doesn’t alter that rate

7. Alcohol rarely sends you into a deep and heavy sleep

You’re more likely to sleep fitfully and keep waking (sometimes to be sick, more likely to piss/drink water - sometimes just bcos being drunk is uncomfortable), unless you’re an alcoholic who depends on drink for sleep

8. You don’t *hic* in the middle of every sentence!!

If the drink is carbonated, then maybe, but you’re way more likely to have a problem with bloating etc with alcohol 

9. You don’t go straight to black-out, speech-slurring drunk

It takes a lot of units and likely a couple of hours to work up to this stage - for different kinds of drunk this webpage is good: http://krisnoel.com/post/40871345058/my-character-is-drunk 

10. Having drunk sex is difficult, awkward and rarely sexy

And you’re more likely to make-out with your friends than any strangers at a club, just because

11. Hangovers are rarely pounding, light-aversion torture

The younger/more tolerant you are, the better. Generally, for a night of heavy but not black-out drinking, you’ll be thirsty, probs nauseous and tired. The room may still be spinning but in an annoying, not painful way, and this’ll go away after a couple of hours and eating something, getting fresh air or having a shower (whatever works for you)

12. People talk nonsense when drunk

You are less likely to get a love confession and more likely to hear about all the rules for a complicated game they just invented, right that second

13. Everyone is different

Don’t make all your characters hyper, or depressive, or angry. For most of the night they won’t get to that stage anyway. Also, remember this whole list is based on my experiences, so feel free to ignore it all and do your own thing. 

Happy drunk writing! 

[saltoftheao3]

14. If we’re talking about an entire party/night out, your character’s alcohol level is probably going to fluctuate quite a bit as they eat, move and do other things that lower the alcohol level again. It’ not merely a linear increase. In my experience, a typical party often works that way: a. The tipsy stage: people chatting a bit more loudly and excitedly than usual, everyone is quite fit and active at that point, the conversation is stil very normal and coherent (1-2 hours), you wouldn’t yet embarrass yourself in front of your old relatives. b. The active stage: now people are in various stages of drunkenness depending on how much they tolerate and drank. It’s the typical “let’s do silly things” phase, speech less rational and coherent, security concerns disappear, people want to climb trees and go get burgers. Everyone is usually still in an active mood. Memory of that stage will maybe be a bit jumbled, but all in all there. This is when a lot of the funnier events happens. C. The downward stage: with their stomachs now full of midnight burgers and a bit tired from all that tree climbing, the drunkenness level of most party attendees has receded. A more calm party stage begins. Some stop drinking, chill a bit, fall asleep or go home. Others want to go on, which brings us to … D. The escalation stage! Whether in the club or at a house party, the remaining party guests want to get wa-a-AAAAAsted. Sometimes this stage involves other party drugs. Now is when most of blackout, vomiting, violence etc happens. Memory will be fragmentary. Voilà!

[sharpteethandshapeshifting]

writing advice- less words. Not many, few. Easier understanding for small brain.

[rederiswrites]

Okay guys, for writing/general reference, a bit about what a ‘blacksmith’ is and isn’t:

A blacksmith is a generalist, a person who uses tools and fire to work iron.  Some blacksmiths work more specifically, so you get, say, an architectural blacksmith, who focuses more or less exclusively on things like gates, rails, fences, or an artist blacksmith, who makes wacky sculptures or what have you.  These days, though, that’s a pretty blurry line.  ‘Blacksmith’ is a pretty damn broad term, but it’s nowhere near broad enough to cover everything encompassed in ‘metalworker’, which is how I often see it used.  There are a LOT of different skills for working metal, and no one knows them all.  Some other terms:

A farrier shoes horses.  They may make the shoes, or they may buy them and then size them, but they actually do the shoeing.  Unless the blacksmith is also a farrier, they don’t know shit about horses’ hooves and are not qualified to deal with them and probably don’t want to.

A blacksmith works IRON, usually almost exclusively.  They might work with bronze or do a bit of brazing, but those are really separate skillsets.  If you work, say, tin and/or pewter, you are in fact a whitesmith.  You could also be a silversmith or a coppersmith, and so on.

Knifemakers and swordsmiths have their own highly specialized and fairly complex specialties, and usually a blacksmith wouldn’t mess with that unless they want to pick up a new skillset or if they’re really the only game going for a long way around.  By the same token, a swordsmith might never have learned the more general blacksmithing skills.  They’re not the same thing is what I’m trying to say here.  Likewise armorers.  There’s overlap but it’s not the same thing.

If you make metal items via molds and casting, you work at a foundry and are a foundryman.

Look, when metalworkers and individual shops and masters were the height of industry, this shit got REALLY specific.  There were people who spent their whole lives making pins.  Just pins.  Foundries specialized and made only bells, only cannon, only cauldrons, etc.  This is scratching the surface, I just wanted to make the point that ‘blacksmith’ is not the same thing as ‘magical muscly person who knows how to do everything related to metal’.

[cycas]

This sort of thing really illustrates the huge difference between writing fantasy and writing historical fiction, I think.   In real European medieval history, a smith might live, perhaps to the age of 50* - if he’s very lucky 60 or so.  And he (sometimes she, but mostly he) has to be earning money throughout his life,  so probably doesn’t have time to develop a whole set of skillsets, so if you write him being able to do loads of different things and having the right tools for all of them, it looks odd.  And if you write a woman, you probably do feel you need to give a bit of explanation about why she’s doing the job, since it’s a pretty sexist society on the whole, so she’s a little unusual. 

In fantasy, though, it’s all different.  Tolkien’s dwarves have an average lifespan of 250, so they have much longer to pick up skills (and live in an environment where probably it’s much easier and encouraged for them to do so: they live in cities that are concentrated on providing made items and skills to other species: they aren’t a generalist society, very unlike any human institution I can think of.)  They also ‘make mighty spells’ so very unlike real medieval blacksmiths, they are probably working metal with enchantment as well as tongs. 

We don’t know about their gender role situation, but I don’t think there’s anything in canon to say that the women aren’t making things (and even if there was, there are loads of dwarf cities that last for thousands of years, so no doubt there’s variation between them). 

Tolkien’s Elves of course live forever and also have more-or-less perfect memory, so there’s no reason for an Elven smith not to have all these skills and others, particularly if they are nobility (I don’t think in real-world history you get many noble smiths) and have other people helping to make sure they eat and have clothes and so on.  And it seems less of an issue being female, too: Galadriel and Arwen are notable makers of magical items.   *I’m assuming that if he’s a smith, he survived the terrifying childhood mortality rates, and we only have to think of adult lifespans. 

[ilsa-fireswan]

I love to talk about historic blacksmithing!  My husband and I run a blacksmithing shop (specialized in blade making) and we’ve done a LOT of educational demonstrations where we forge while lecturing on history, culture, techniques, etc.  (So feel free to ask me things!  I get all excited about it!)

Let’s talk first about the name!  Historically Smith would mean metal worker and the color would tell you what type of metal. Black is the designation for iron (because of the color it takes after being heated and cooled several times.)  Today Smith more generally means maker, but is still most commonly applied to metal workers.

And, as the OP said, if you need a tinker (tinsmith, also works pewter), silversmith (whitesmith), goldsmith (white- or yellow- smith), or coppersmith (red-, brown-, or green- smith), that’s a different discipline.  Not that a blacksmith has no idea how to work those metals, but his knowledge will likely be limited to how it applies to his general discipline.  For example, weapons and armor made for nobility might have precious metals used to decorate them.  (Aside: The techniques for iron vs copper are complete opposites and one of my favorite modern blacksmithing proverbs is about brass, an alloy made with copper and zinc.  It runs, “Brass, brass, what a pain in the… brain.” )

One of my choice historical bits is talking about medieval blacksmithing in England. This is something we actually have records of because of the guild structure. There were so many blacksmiths in urbanized areas that your permit to open a shop would permit you to make only a specific set of items. Pin drawers, chain makers, armorers, swordsmiths, farm tools, nails, wainwright (hoops for wagon wheels or barrels), farriers (horse shoeing)… all of those might be different shops.  And that isn’t even a complete list!  (Naturally there was a lot of overlap on high-demand items.) 

But even better, Yorkshire records that show us that women were regularly involved in the trade!  It was still male-dominated BUT several of the disciplines (nails, pins, chains) were almost exclusively women!  Women owned blacksmith shops, took apprentices, worked the forge - all of the things that mark them as “real” blacksmiths.  One of my favorite anecdotes is from William Hutton’s History of Birmingham; he encountered a nailer’s shop in which he noted “one or more females, stripped of their upper garments, and not overcharged with the lower, wielding the hammer with all the grace of the sex.”

Come yell at me about blacksmithing!  I want to learn what you know and I’d love to answer any of your questions!  I have a lot of prepared lecture snippets on a variety of smithing details:

Technological setbacks due to loss of historic metallurgical discoveries.

Why “damascus” swords are supposed to be the best.

Cultural and historical reasons for large, slow, strokes with a heavy hammer (like you see in video games) vs. small, quick strokes with a smaller hammer (like you see on YouTube).

Blacksmithing terms in modern English.  (”Keep your temper” being the most common.)

How settling America changed the Western picture to males-only generalized blacksmithing

Economic comparisons of the cost to hire a blacksmith

Apprentice vs. Journeyman vs. Master

More about female blacksmiths

What to wear in the forge (modern or historical reenactment)

How-to on a variety of subjects

Blacksmithing in movies

Why Forged in Fire doesn’t give you an accurate picture of blacksmithing or the skills of the contestants

Metallurgy (the science of metals)

Eastern vs. Western blacksmithing (Surprise!  Japan and Europe are wildly different!)

What kitchen knives do you need?  And how do you keep them sharp?

Did I mention I love to talk about it and get real excited?

[yvesdot]

oc asks that reveal more than you think

Do they sleep with a stuffed animal? If they have multiple, who’s the favorite?

Can they take care of a plant? What about a pet? What about a child?

Ask them to describe their love interest.

Do they look good in red?

Speech! Speech! Speech! Speech! Will they give one, and what about?

Who will they take advice from, no matter what it is? Who won’t they take advice from, no matter what it is?

Describe them in three words. Now let them describe themself in three words.

Do complex puzzles intrigue or frustrate them?

Do they empathize with non-sentient things (dolls, plants, books…)?

What age do they most want to be right now?

They’ve won the lottery. Spend, or save?

Do they like romance in the books they read (or in the book they’re in)?

Name one thing their parents taught them.

Would they agree with the term ‘guilty pleasure’? Do they have any?

What would they consider a waste of time– other than school or work?

If money wasn’t a limit, what would they wear?

Do they like children?

Kissing: tongue or no tongue?

Do they study before tests? Practice before job interviews?

What do they like that nobody else does?

What would it take for them to break up with someone? What would be the last straw?

Do they like being called pet names? Do they call other people pet names? What’s their go-to?

Stability or novelty?

Honesty or charity?

Safety or possibility?

Talent or effort?

Forgiveness or vengeance (or…)?

Would they date a fixer-upper?

What recurring dreams do they have?

What would they do if they knew it would be forgiven?

[romancingthebook]

You’re writing PTSD dreams wrong

But don’t worry, most writers are and I’m here to help because reading them is making me cRAzY.

I’m writing this because I’ve read three otherwise great romance novels back to back featuring characters dealing with PTSD (or PTSD symptoms) and each one of them made the same dream mistakes. I honestly can’t think of a fiction book I’ve read that didn’t make these mistakes, so I thought I’d compile a handy dandy list of mistakes and how to fix them. 

Lucky for you, I have PTSD and a ton of fellow veteran friends who deal with these symptoms. 

*This is based on my experience and things told to me by friends. This is not to say that the below doesn’t happen in real life, only that it’s not as common as you might think.

The issue with these dreams is twofold: on one side is the psychological accuracy of the dream and on the other side is how you’re using the dream within the narrative.

Oh an Black Sails spoilers-ish ahead. 

1) Stop writing the dream as a shot-by-shot accurate retelling of Traumatic Event.

Listen, not only do dreams seldom follow reality, but our own memories are tricky at best. I don’t remember getting beaten up because a) it was horrifying and we block stuff like that out and b) I was going in and out of consciousness. It would be pretty strange for me to dream something I don’t even fully remember. Our brains are simply not wired to do these vivid factually-accurate cinematic retellings.

My friend dreams things that did happen, but in his own words those dreams are always wrong in some noticeable or bizarre way. For instance, he’s getting chased through the streets of Iraq by a werewolf. 

2) Dreams are informed by reality, not direct reflections of it. 

It’s entirely likely my friend dreamt of a werewolf in Iraq because I got him binge watching Supernatural and the two ideas merged in his dreamstate. But see, that’s how dreams work. 

The trauma event exists as a constant in his subconscious, but he has all this other information right there in his conscious mind all day, every day. In dreams, there isn’t a clear delineation between that information.

My dreams are often dependent on whatever I’ve fallen asleep watching on television. The themes are consistent, but not the content.

In Black Sails, Captain Flint’s trauma dreams feature his dead partner and friend following him around his empty ship. You have an element of the trauma (the animated corpse of his friend) + his daily existence (his ship). The two things intersect to form these unsettling nightmares as expressions of his fears and grief. He never once relives the event itself in his dreams as shown on screen.

Speaking of…

3) Trauma dreams often revolve around feelings, not necessarily the events themselves.

The PTSD package generally includes heaps of shame, guilt, anger and fear. As someone who survived a beating when I should have had control of the situation, my dreams tend to revolve around fear that people will know I’m a fraud or being unable to act in a dangerous situation. 

Again, it’s entirely common for trauma victims to not remember large chunks (or the whole thing) of the trauma event. So why should their dreams be stunningly accurate? What we remember are feelings. Real strong feelings.

You cannot go wrong if you write your trauma dream around feelings, not a specific event.

4) If you present trauma dreams as expressions of themes, you can let go of the trauma dream as an exposition dump/way overused suspense trope.

You know you’ve read this: MC has dreams that are a shot-by-shot retelling of Traumatic Event that always cut off right before Traumatic Event, so that the Big Reveal must happen by a discovery later in the novel. 

If I were the MC in a book, the easy and common thing would be to use the “dream sequence” as an expository retelling of Traumatic Event as a way to give some backstory to why I might be surly, mistrustful, afraid to try something new, whatever, and to clumsily shoehorn in suspense where there doesn’t need to be.

The much more interesting thing might be if my dreams were inconsistent in content but consistent in theme. In one I’m on an alien planet (because I fell asleep watching the Science Channel again) and the ground opens up and I fall into a pit from which I can’t escape because I am helpless. In another a man is watching me while I sleep where I am again frozen and helpless. This would force the reader to think: what is the recurring issue in these dreams? Why is it important? What is this telling me about this character and what happened to her? 

It could be a personal preference, but I’d rather see the Traumatic Event either told in narrative flashbacks (not dreams) or verbally retold by the character in question. Let the dreams tell me something deeper about the character. It’s not that I was beat up, it’s that I feel like a failure because of it. One of these things is a shallow factual detail, the other tells you something about me as a person that I’m sharing with you, gentle reader, because talking about this stuff is healthy.

5) The Traumatic Event doesn’t have to be a big secret. 

In Black Sails, we know what happened to Captain Flint’s partner. It happened in real time in the show. That didn’t make his uber disturbing dreams less disturbing or mysterious. Fans still debate exactly what the symbolism was and what they were telling us about James Flint in those moments. We do know from the dreams that he was disturbed, obsessed, and also monumentally guilty and blaming himself for what happened. 

The mystery was perhaps more heightened by the fact that the dreams weren’t direct reflections of reality. We know who this person was, what she believed, and why she died. That Flint is imagining her screaming silently in his ear is horrifying and discordant with what we know to be factual. This adds emotional complexity to his character and the decisions he’s making while suffering these dreams. 

^^^this didn’t happen. It was a dream. A real unsettling dream.

Once you let go of the concept of the trauma dream as a literal retelling and exposition dump, you have the entire dreamscape to work in other narrative elements, like symbolism, metaphor, foreshadowing, etc. 

*1st gif source: @idontwikeit

[naamahdarling]

100% this, and excellent reading. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve dreamed about Traumatic Events™ in a direct fashion. Mostly I dream about seemingly-unrelated scenarios that make me feel a similar way.

[scars-and-vulnerability-deactiv]

!!!!!! When my PTSD and depression and all that fun shit was at its worst, I had recurring nightmares that I was trying to fight someone but I couldn’t land a hit, like I was moving through water, because that’s what I felt like in the most traumatic moments of my past. And it’s actually spilled over into reality - I would nearly have panic attacks when sparring in a boxing match, because my opponents were always larger than me. I had to stop taking classes for a while. And I am still very paranoid about being able to protect myself despite having taken martial arts classes for about three years, and the thought (or threat) of it gives me anxiety to this day.

Thankfully the dreams have almost altogether subsided but when that part of me gets shaken up, it’s very possible for that dream to come round again.

[sharpteethandshapeshifting]

Michazel: i am literally an eldritch monstrosity far more ancient and all knowing and super powerful in comparsion to humans, they are nothing but mere ants to me. I do not feel romance because the human concept of love is insignificant and pales against my wisdoms

also Michazel, seeing any smart queen or king: Fuck.

[gingerly-writing]

Prompt #2276

“I wish it was always like this.”

The villain cocked their head. “What, you losing?”

They laughed, shook their head. “No, just…clean. Me vs you. No casualties, no stakes. Just a straightforward fight.”

[sharpteethandshapeshifting]

Prompt by @gingerly-writing (if you don’t want me @‘ing you just say so and I won’t :)

Changed the perspectives, so it’s villain- hero - villain saying the quote, and changed the quote a little 

“I wish it was always like this.”

 Boonsri tipped her head, forced cockiness into her voice. “What, you beneath me?”

Micheal laughed, shook his head. “No, just…clean. Me vs you. No casualties, no stakes. Just a straightforward fight.”

The gun didn’t waver from it’s target as Boonsri stepped forward- for a moment considered planting a foot on his chest but feared what touching him would do to her- eyes narrowing. “Why would you  care about casualties? You’ve killed enough already.”

The smile slipped from his face- that stupidly handsome face that had blinded her at first, veiling the monster beneath the mask- and he exhaled, voice quiet. “I killed only those who needed to die. Some chose to drag others down with them.”

Hatred, bitter and sharp, crawled up her skin. But it was tainted, clung to by remnants of love that still remained smoky and twisted. The logical part of her brain knew she was taking the right road; the illogical part cried out at her every action, unable to comprehend the image of the sweet, gentle, kind lover it knew to the brutal superhero murderer of Boarate. 

She swallowed, ignored the burning in her eyes. “You still killed them… you killed my best friend!”

Her breaking voice was swallowed by the wastelands’ expanse. The gun shook in her hands, but remained level to his face. His gods damned face. She’d do it. She would pull that trigger. End his life and his killing. One shot. It was nothing compared to the people he’d murdered. Yet that part of her still sobbed and shook and twitched, wanting it’s lover’s comfort from the very same thing that scared it so. 

Micheal looked up at her. He was a mess, something that somehow still surprised her. His normally immaculate suit ripped, covered in filth and crusted with blood. His flawless skin torn and bruised and dirty. He, who always towered over her and who dominated over her in moonstruck nights, beneath her on the irradiated dirt of the Wastelands. And his usually stony eyes soft, pleading as he begged her for his life with his gaze alone. 

She swallowed, tried to force back the sobs that crashed against her chest like the sea in a storm, clamped down on her cracking shell, tried to steady her shaking hands.

The gun wavered.

A flicker of hope in those grey eyes.

No. She had to do this. Another deep breath that caught in her throat- it’s the radiation, it’s the toxic fumes of the Wasteland making her head swirl and her heart pound, it’s poison gases that make her eyes burn and not the swamp of grief rearing in her lungs and weighing in her stomach- as she raised the weapon, level with his eyes.

“Boonsri…”

The voice is soft, so soft that she could pass it off as merely the rising winds. But her subconscious leaps for that familiar sound for comfort and it’s all she has to keep the gun aloft.

“You were a smart woman. The smartest. Quick as a bird, sharp as a knife. I’ve always admired that about you. Strong, too. Never stood down from an opponent. Fought for a place, fought to keep it.”

His eyes flickered down to the muzzle of the semi-automatic. It felt like it weighed a thousand pounds, felt like she was holding the weight of her love and the world in her hands. Her arms ached, shaking, burning. But she kept it up.

Micheal’s gaze returned to her.

“You were cunning enough to carve yourself into my company. Smart enough to wiretap into my private meetings. Clever enough to see me as a suspect and bold enough to follow through on it. You researched, hacked, hunted and you figured me out.”

“Is there a point to this rambling?” She tried to keep her voice cold but felt the words cut across her lips, throat sticky enough to catch her tone and turn it into something more desperate.

“Or are you just trying to stall your… death?“ 

Hated the way her voice faltered on the last word, how death was little more than a whisper caught in the wind. His death.

“One of us is going to die soon, may as well clear the air first.” He tried for a smile, turned it to a grimace. 

“You can’t convince me not to. Your pretty words mean nothing out here. I’ll pull this trigger, and you’ll be dead. I will do it.”

Was she telling him or telling herself? Who was the one being convinced here?

“So headstrong…. Admirable. A beautiful part of you. I’ve always found every thing about you fascinating, Boonsri. You’re nothing like any other woman I’ve been with. So gods damned smart, curious, and determined.”

He let his eyes close, and she tensed- it’d be easier to shoot if his eyes were closed, if he wasn’t looking at her, she could almost convince herself he’s already dead- but then they reopened and she just couldn’t do it.

“You know, I’d hoped you wouldn’t chase me out here. Naïvely I’d thought even you would fear what lay outside the Walls more than you feared what I would do. But deep down, I’d known you’d have followed me. Hate is stronger than even fear.”

He mirthlessly chuckled, a dry mockery of the rich warm laughter she knew so well. The gun trembled. 

She stepped forward. Put the muzzle directly between his eyes, pushing hard enough to whiten the skin around it and tilt his head back. Steeled her fraying nerves.

“You’re a smart woman… you already know how this is going to end.”

A whisper.

She pulled the trigger.

.

.

.

The gun slipped from her grasp. She stumbled back, into the dirt, her lungs constricting as her muscles gave out in numb paralysis.

Micheal stumbled as he rose, staggering on his feet.  A bullet casing fell, instantly lost in the clouding sands. His blood dripped down his neck- no, not blood because no blood was black and viscous and oily, no blood burnt into cloth and glowed blue, no blood because there was no injury; not anymore. 

She supposed she should feel fear. Should be scrambling backwards in blind panic, screaming mindlessly. But a part of her had always known how this would turn out. Instead of terror, she just felt-

Numb.

“What… what are you?”

The words slipped from her lips unbidden.

Michael smiled sadly. 

“You had an interest in Boarate’s history, didn’t you? You already know what I am. You’ve always known.”

She supposed he wasn’t wrong. She’d denied it of course, buried the notion so deep down she’d forgotten about it at all until now. Even now, it seemed so unreal. So fake.

The rising storm whipped around them both, air turning more toxic by the minute. She’d be dead in a few hours, poisoned and left to rot in the expansive nothingness before she even got close to the City Walls. Boarate wouldn’t let her back in anyway. Any people who somehow got out into the Wastelands were immediately assumed dead. 

She looked back to Micheal. He’d been watching her, in the silence. His eyes met hers and there was a mix of emotions in his gaze. Regret, maybe, or perhaps pity, or even grief? 

“You might as well kill me now. Get it over with quickly rather than letting me writhe in pain as my organs melt away or something.”

She tried to sound light, but her voice shattered halfway through. Her shell finally broke.

She let the sobs tear through her, racking her body as tears started to flood. Didn’t try to wipe them, to even attempt to recover her dignity. What did it matter when she was going to die anyway? Nobody else was out here to see her cry. There was no reason to hide anymore.

Strong arms wrapped around her. She let him, falling into him as she sobbed. Embraced his presence, his comforting hands stroking across her hair, his steady grounding body as her rock to cling to as she was tossed through waves of grief and stress and anger and hate and a thousand other emotions she couldn’t name but felt weighing in her lungs and cloying in her heart and burning through her blood.

She felt Micheal shaking too, knew he clung to her with the same desperate seeking of comfort she sought in him. 

They sat there for what felt like days, months, years but what was probably minutes, maybe hours, with the storm raging around them both. Eventually she’d run out of tears to cry but still clung to him, still sought reassurance from him. He, in turn, held her, waited for her, let her release everything she’d been locking away in her head. The storm had abated now, but the air was still deadly to any normal human. Her eyes remained shut, head against his chest.

She was the first to speak.

 "…Can you do it quickly?“

Felt him tense, felt the movement of his throat working against her head before he spoke.

“It’ll be painless. I promise you, it’ll be quick and painless.”

His voice washed over her, rumbled through her body.

She took a deep breath, felt the air burn against her throat.

“Before I go… can I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

“What is your name?”

She felt him shift, felt his arms wrap around her a little more securely.

“Michazel.”

“…You really only took out the Z?”

He huffed a laugh, and the sound flared small warmth in her chest.

“It works.”

She laughed, a sweet sound that carried wide over the silent Wastelands.

They were quiet again. She took a moment to memorize this feeling, the warmth of Michazel around her, his presence quiet and solid and real in a world where reality didn’t always make sense. 

“…I love you, Mike.”

He curved around her. She felt him bowing his head, felt his lips brush her forehead.

“I love you too, Boonsri.”

It was indeed painless.

[sharpteethandshapeshifting]

Literally just thinking about how fuckin HENCH michazel is compared to the other two lol

[gingerly-writing]

Prompt #2178

“What do you say to the man who ended the world?”

[sharpteethandshapeshifting]

"For fuck's sake Derick, it was the lever on the LEFT!"

[llleighsmith]

i told ya we’ve canceled discourse n we’ve moved on to homesteading skills

[smartmurderation]

it’s just choppin wood and harvesting vegetables and herbs from here on out

[llleighsmith]

amen!

[barbarianarchy-deactivated20200]

unironically this

[pinetreeanarchism]

[frederick-the-ii]

Please hit me with more homesteading concept drawings

[saltrat88]

[unclebeanbag]

[the-aspiring-maverick]

Good reference material here.

[berrybird-blog1]

Helpful things for action writers to remember

Sticking a landing will royally fuck up your joints and possibly shatter your ankles, depending on how high you’re jumping/falling from. There’s a very good reason free-runners dive and roll. 

Hand-to-hand fights usually only last a matter of seconds, sometimes a few minutes. It’s exhausting work and unless you have a lot of training and history with hand-to-hand combat, you’re going to tire out really fast. 

Arrows are very effective and you can’t just yank them out without doing a lot of damage. Most of the time the head of the arrow will break off inside the body if you try pulling it out, and arrows are built to pierce deep. An arrow wound demands medical attention. 

Throwing your opponent across the room is really not all that smart. You’re giving them the chance to get up and run away. Unless you’re trying to put distance between you so you can shoot them or something, don’t throw them. 

Everyone has something called a “flinch response” when they fight. This is pretty much the brain’s way of telling you “get the fuck out of here or we’re gonna die.” Experienced fighters have trained to suppress this. Think about how long your character has been fighting. A character in a fist fight for the first time is going to take a few hits before their survival instinct kicks in and they start hitting back. A character in a fist fight for the eighth time that week is going to respond a little differently. 

ADRENALINE WORKS AGAINST YOU WHEN YOU FIGHT. THIS IS IMPORTANT. A lot of times people think that adrenaline will kick in and give you some badass fighting skills, but it’s actually the opposite. Adrenaline is what tires you out in a battle and it also affects the fighter’s efficacy - meaning it makes them shaky and inaccurate, and overall they lose about 60% of their fighting skill because their brain is focusing on not dying. Adrenaline keeps you alive, it doesn’t give you the skill to pull off a perfect roundhouse kick to the opponent’s face. 

Swords WILL bend or break if you hit something hard enough. They also dull easily and take a lot of maintenance. In reality, someone who fights with a sword would have to have to repair or replace it constantly.

Fights get messy. There’s blood and sweat everywhere, and that will make it hard to hold your weapon or get a good grip on someone. 

A serious battle also smells horrible. There’s lots of sweat, but also the smell of urine and feces. After someone dies, their bowels and bladder empty. There might also be some questionable things on the ground which can be very psychologically traumatizing. Remember to think about all of the character’s senses when they’re in a fight. Everything WILL affect them in some way. 

If your sword is sharpened down to a fine edge, the rest of the blade can’t go through the cut you make. You’ll just end up putting a tiny, shallow scratch in the surface of whatever you strike, and you could probably break your sword. 

ARCHERS ARE STRONG TOO. Have you ever drawn a bow? It takes a lot of strength, especially when you’re shooting a bow with a higher draw weight. Draw weight basically means “the amount of force you have to use to pull this sucker back enough to fire it.” To give you an idea of how that works, here’s a helpful link to tell you about finding bow sizes and draw weights for your characters.  (CLICK ME)

If an archer has to use a bow they’re not used to, it will probably throw them off a little until they’ve done a few practice shots with it and figured out its draw weight and stability. 

People bleed. If they get punched in the face, they’ll probably get a bloody nose. If they get stabbed or cut somehow, they’ll bleed accordingly. And if they’ve been fighting for a while, they’ve got a LOT of blood rushing around to provide them with oxygen. They’re going to bleed a lot. 

Here’s a link to a chart to show you how much blood a person can lose without dying. (CLICK ME) 

If you want a more in-depth medical chart, try this one. (CLICK ME)

Hopefully this helps someone out there. If you reblog, feel free to add more tips for writers or correct anything I’ve gotten wrong here. 

[ave-aria]

How to apply Writing techniques for action scenes:

- Short sentences. Choppy. One action, then another. When there’s a lull in the fight, take a moment, using longer phrases to analyze the situation–then dive back in. Snap, snap, snap. - Same thing with words - short, simple, and strong in the thick of battle. Save the longer syllables for elsewhere. - Characters do not dwell on things when they are in the heat of the moment. They will get punched in the face. Focus on actions, not thoughts. - Go back and cut out as many adverbs as possible. - No seriously, if there’s ever a time to use the strongest verbs in your vocabulary - Bellow, thrash, heave, shriek, snarl, splinter, bolt, hurtle, crumble, shatter, charge, raze - it’s now. - Don’t forget your other senses. People might not even be sure what they saw during a fight, but they always know how they felt. - Taste: Dry mouth, salt from sweat, copper tang from blood, etc - Smell: OP nailed it - Touch: Headache, sore muscles, tense muscles, exhaustion, blood pounding. Bruised knuckles/bowstring fingers. Injuries that ache and pulse, sting and flare white hot with pain. - Pain will stay with a character. Even if it’s minor. - Sound and sight might blur or sharpen depending on the character and their experience/exhaustion. Colors and quick movements will catch the eye. Loud sounds or noises from behind may serve as a fighter’s only alert before an attack. - If something unexpected happens, shifting the character’s whole attention to that thing will shift the Audience’s attention, too. - Aftermath. This is where the details resurface, the characters pick up things they cast aside during the fight, both literally and metaphorically. Fights are chaotic, fast paced, and self-centered. Characters know only their self, their goals, what’s in their way, and the quickest way around those threats. The aftermath is when people can regain their emotions, their relationships, their rationality/introspection, and anything else they couldn’t afford to think or feel while their lives were on the line.

Do everything you can to keep the fight here and now. Maximize the physical, minimize the theoretical. Keep things immediate - no theories or what ifs.

If writing a strategist, who needs to think ahead, try this: keep strategy to before-and-after fights. Lay out plans in calm periods, try to guess what enemies are thinking or what they will do. During combat, however, the character should think about his options, enemies, and terrain in immediate terms; that is, in shapes and direction. (Large enemy rushing me; dive left, circle around / Scaffolding on fire, pool below me / two foes helping each other, separate them.)

Lastly, after writing, read it aloud. Anyplace your tongue catches up on a fast moving scene, edit. Smooth action scenes rarely come on the first try.

[uccelletto-di-kokuyo]

More for martial arts or hand-to-hand in general

What a character’s wearing will affect how they fight.  The more restricting the clothes, the harder it will be.  If they’re wearing a skirt that is loose enough to fight in, modesty will be lost in a life or death situation.

Jewelry can also be very bad.  Necklaces can be grabbed onto.  Bracelets also can be grabbed onto or inhibit movement.  Rings it can depend on the person.

Shoes also matter.  Tennis shoes are good and solid, but if you’re unused to them there’s a chance of accidentally hurting your ankle.  High heels can definitely be a problem.  However, they can also make very good weapons, especially for someone used to balancing on the balls of their feet.  Side kicks and thrusting kicks in soft areas (like the solar plexus) or the feet are good ideas.  They can also (hopefully) be taken off quickly and used as a hand weapon.  Combat boots are great but if someone relies more on speed or aren’t used to them, they can weigh a person down.  Cowboy boots can be surprisingly good.  Spin kicks (if a character is quick enough to use them) are especially nasty in these shoes.

If a character is going to fight barefoot, please keep location in mind.  Concrete can mess up your feet quick.  Lawns, yards, etc often have hidden holes and other obstacles that can mess up a fighter.  Tile floors or waxed wood can be very slippery if you’re not careful or used to them.

Likewise, if it’s outside be aware of how weather will affect the fight.  The sun’s glare can really impede a fighter’s sight.  A wet location, inside or outside, can cause a fighter to slip and fall.  Sweat on the body can cause a fighter to lose a grip on an opponent too.

Pressure points for a trained fighter are great places to aim for in a fight.  The solar plexus is another great place to aim for.  It will knock the wind out of anyone and immediately weaken your opponent. 

It your character is hit in the solar plexus and isn’t trained, they’re going down.  The first time you get hit there you are out of breath and most people double over in confusion and pain.  If a fighter is more used to it, they will stand tall and expand themselves in order to get some breath.  They will likely keep fighting, but until their breath returns to normal, they will be considerably weaker.

Do not be afraid to have your character use obstacles in their environment.  Pillars, boxes, bookshelves, doors, etc.  They put distance between you and an opponent which can allow you to catch your breath. 

Do not be afraid to have your character use objects in their environment.  Someone’s coming at you with a spear, trident, etc, then pick up a chair and get it caught in the legs or use it as a shield.  Bedsheets can make a good distraction and tangle someone up.  Someone’s invading your home and you need to defend yourself?  Throw a lamp.  Anything can be turned into a weapon.

Guns often miss their targets at longer distances, even by those who have trained heavily with them.  They can also be easier to disarm as they only shoot in one direction.  However, depending on the type, grabbing onto the top is a very very bad idea.  There is a good likelihood you WILL get hurt.

Knives are nasty weapons by someone who knows what they’re doing.  Good fighters never hold a knife the way you would when cutting food.  It is best used when held against the forearm.  In defense, this makes a block more effective and in offense, slashing movement from any direction are going to be bad.  If a character is in a fight with a knife or trying to disarm one, they will get hurt. 

Soft areas hit with hard body parts.  Hard areas hit with soft body parts.  The neck, stomach, and other soft areas are best hit with punches, side kicks, elbows, and other hard body parts.  Head and other hard parts are best hit using a knife hand, palm strike, etc.  Spin kicks will be nasty regardless of what you’re aiming for it they land.

Common misconception with round house kicks is that you’re hitting with the top of the foot.  You’re hitting with the ball.  You’re likely to break your foot when hitting with the top.

When punching, the thumb is outside of the fist.  You’ll break something if you’re hitting with the thumb inside, which a lot of inexperienced fighters do. 

Also, punching the face or jaw can hurt. 

It can be hard to grab a punch if you’re not experienced with it despite how easy movies make it seem.  It’s best to dodge or redirect it.

Hitting to the head is not always the best idea.  It can take a bit of training to be able to reach for the head with a kick because of the height.  Flexibility is very much needed.  If there are problems with their hips or they just aren’t very flexible, kicks to the head aren’t happening.

Jump kicks are a good way to hit the head, but an opponent will see it coming if it’s too slow or they are fast/experienced.

A good kick can throw an opponent back or knock them to the ground.  If the person you’ve hit has experience though, they’ll immediately be getting up again.

Even if they’ve trained for years in a martial art, if they haven’t actually hit anything before or gotten hit, it will be slightly stunning for the person.  It does not feel the way you expect it too.

Those yells in martial arts are not just for show.  If done right, they tighten your core making it easier to take a hit in that area.  Also, they can be used to intimidate an opponent.  Yelling or screaming right by their ear can startle someone.  (Generally, KHR fans look at Squalo for yelling)

Biting can also be used if someone’s grabbing you.  Spitting in someone’s eyes can’t hurt.  Also, in a chokehold or if someone is trying to grab your neck in general, PUT YOU CHIN DOWN.  This cuts off access and if they’re grabbing in the front can dig into their hand and hurt.

Wrist grabs and other grabs can be good.  Especially if it’s the first move an opponent makes and the character is trained, there are simple ways to counter that will have a person on their knees in seconds..

Use what your character has to their advantage.  If they’re smaller or have less mass, then they’ll be relying on speed, intelligence, evasion, and other similar tactics.  Larger opponents will be able to take hits better, they’re hits may be slower depending on who it is but will hurt like hell if they land, and size can be intimidating.   Taller people with longer legs will want to rely on kicking and keeping their distance since they have the advantage there.  Shorter people will want to keep the distance closer where it’s easier for them but harder for a taller opponent.  Punching is a good idea.

Using a person’s momentum against them is great.  There’s martial arts that revolve around this whole concept.  They throw a punch?  Grab it and pull them forward and around.  Their momentum will keep them going and knock them off balance. 

Leverage can used in the same way.  If used right, you can flip a person, dislocate a shoulder, throw out a knee, etc.

One note on adrenaline:  All that was said above is true about it.  But, in a fight, it can also make you more aware of what’s going on.  A fight that lasts twenty seconds can feel like a minute because time seems to almost slow down while moving extremely rapidly.  You only have so much time to think about what you’re doing.  You’re taking in information constantly and trying to adjust.  Even in the slow down adrenaline gives you, everything is moving very rapidly. 

Feelings will be your downfall even more so than adrenaline.  Adrenaline can make those feelings more intense, but a good fighter has learned not to listen to those feelings.  A good fighter may feel anger at being knocked down or in some way humiliated - their pride taken down.  Yet they will not act on the anger.  Acting on it makes a fighter more instinctive and many will charge without thinking.  Losing control of anything (adrenaline rush, emotions, technique, etc) can be a terrible thing in a fight.

Just thought I’d add in here.

[bamonnineties]

YES. YES.

[stylincheetah]

Such good writing tips! @myebi

[juliawritesbooks]

@jmlascar you’ve probably seen this already, but in case you haven’t, it’s got some good info on fight scenes :)

[swords-and-scribes]

Pretty important for the scenes I’m focusing on right now. Thanks for the writing tips!!

[blackwatergold-deactivated20181]

This has crossed my dash before, but I forgot to reblog it.

[wordsnstuff]

Resources For Writing Sketchy Topics

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Portraying a kleptomaniac.

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[jasmiinitee-deactivated20210610]

My Biggest and Most Annoying Fictional Horse Pet Peeve

Big Horses are a Very New Thing and they Likely Didn’t Exist in your Historical and/or Fantasy Settings.

You’ve all seen it in every historical piece of media ever produced. Contrary to popular belief, a big black horse with long legs and long flowing mane is not a widespread or even a particularly old type of horse.

THIS IS NOT A MEDIEVAL THING. THIS IS NOT EVEN A BAROQUE THING. THIS IS A NINETEENTH CENTURY CITY CARRIAGE HORSE.

All the love to fancy Friesian horses, but your Roman general or Medieval country heroine just really couldn’t, wouldn’t, and for the sake of my mental health shouldn’t have ridden one either.

Big warmblood horses are a Western European and British invention that started popping up somewhere around 1700s when agriculture and warfare changed, and when rich folks wanted Bigger Faster Stronger Thinner race horses. The modern warmblood and the big continental draught both had their first real rise to fame in the 1800s when people started driving Fancy Carriages everywhere, and having the Fanciest Carriage started to mean having the Tallest and Thinnest Horses in the town.

Before mechanised weaponry and heavy artillery all horses used to be small and hardy easy-feeders. Kinda like a donkey but easier to steer and with a back that’s not as nasty and straight to sit on.

SOME REAL MEDIEVAL, ROMAN, OTTOMAN, MONGOL, VIKING, GREEK and WHATEVER HISTORICALLY PLAUSIBLE HORSES FOR YOU:

“Primitive”, native breeds all over the globe tend to be only roughly 120-140 cm (12.0 - 13.3 hh) tall at the withers. They all also look a little something like this:

Mongolian native horse (Around 120-130 at the withers, and decendants of the first ever domesticated horses from central Asia. Still virtually unchanged from Chinggis Khan’s cavalry, ancestor to many Chinese, Japanese and Indian horses, and bred for speed racing and surviving outdoors without the help of humans.)

Carpathian native horse / Romanian and Polish Hucul Pony (Around 120-150 at the withers, first mentioned in writing during the 400s as wild mountain ponies, depicted before that in Trajanian Roman sculptures, used by the Austro-Hungarian cavalry in the 19th century)

Middle-Eastern native horse / Caspian Pony (Around 100-130 at the withers, ancestor of the Iranian Asil horse and its decendants, including the famous Arabian and Barb horses, likely been around since Darius I the Great, 5th century BC, and old Persian kings are often depicted riding these midgets)

Baltic Sea native horse / Icelandic, Finnish, Estonian, Gotland and Nordland horses (Around 120-150 at the withers, descendant of Mongolian horses, used by viking traders in 700-900 AD and taken to Iceland. Later used by the Swedish cavalry in the 30 years war and by the Finnish army in the Second World War, nowadays harness racing and draught horses)

Siberian native horse / Yakutian pony (Around 120-140 at the withers, related to Baltic and Mongolian horses and at least as old, as well-adapted to Siberian climate as woolly mammoths once were, the hairiest horse there is, used in draught work and herding)

Mediterranean native horse / Skyros pony, Sardinian Giara, Monterufolino (Around 100-140 at the Withers, used and bred by ancient Greeks for cavalry use, influenced by African and Eastern breeds, further had its own influence on Celtic breeds via Roman Empire, still used by park ranger officers in Italy)

British Isles’ native horse / various “Mountain & Moorland” pony breeds (Around 100-150 at the withers, brought over and mixed by Celts, Romans and Vikings, base for almost every modern sport pony and the deserving main pony of all your British Medieval settings. Some populations still live as feral herds in the British countryside, used as war mounts, draught horses, mine pit ponies, hunting help and race horses)

So hey, now you know!

[theyoungestwhateleydaughter-dea]

How the hell do you ride some of these things into battle?

I feel like I’d break the damn things riding them, much less a 200 pound knight in half plate.

[jasmiinitee-deactivated20210610]

Easily! First of all, people used to be smaller back in history.

Second of all, riding a horse demands fitness, no matter the size of the horse. The weight of the rider matters less if they are in good physical shape. A rider out of shape at 60 kilos / 133 lbs / 9.4 stone with no control over their seat shaking about in a slumped position will feel heavier for the horse than a rider at 70 kg / 155 lbs / 11 stone if they have good control over their own balance and muscles.

Third, heavy plate armour is one of the first reasons for breeding heavier horses, and came into fashion in the 16th century. But even a half plate jousting armour usually weighs only about 50kg. The modern weight guide for riding an Icelandic horse is around 80-100 kg / 177-220 lbs / 12.5-15.7 stone, so they can carry a lot of weight compared to their size. And Icelandic horse wasn’t even bred for heavy armour!

If you wear a heavy plate armour, you need a heavy horse. Still doesn’t mean tall. I gathered some draught horse / cavalry / knight type pictures for you.

Mongolian riders with Mongolian horses in Naadam parade garb. Traditionally light cavalry, for archers and lancers, or long-distance travel.

Icelandic riders with Icelandic horses in Viking-type armour, traditionally light cavalry or long-distance travel. They wear chainmail and lamellar armour.

When pulling, horses are even stronger than when carrying. The Finnhorse is not a heavy continental draught, but compared to its size it’s one of the strongest breeds in existence. An average draught horse pulls around 80% of its weight. This is pony-sized (138 cm / 13.2 hh) Finnhorse stallion Vuohimäen Havu, weighing at 340 kg / 750 lbs, and his weight pull record is 206% of his own weight. He could haul around another horse twice his size.

And if we take a heavier continental-type draught horse, for example the Black Forest Horse from Germany (Schwarzwälder), you’ll see that heavy horse doesn’t have to be tall. The average height ranges from only 14.2 hh (pony-sized) to 15.3 hh, and in centimetres that’s 147-160. Still I doubt you could crush one of these tractors even if you tried.

People and horses before you have already tested that. They weigh around 550-640 kg or 1200-1400 lbs. The Finnish stallion above could pull the dead weight of one of these and vice versa.

[basinke]

Knight: this is my horse, he’s an absolute unit

[archive-dogwrites-deactivated20]

CRIME OF MIND ; Excerpt from Season Three ; Episode Six “HAROLD”

Blinking, Benji watched the dog flop to its side with a noise that she and Sinatra both tilted their heads at. “Bulldogs are very... compact, I thought my reasoning was sound,” she said, then toed the damaged shoe toward it before facing Olivia again. “You’re right though, it may be a boxer.”

“You’re on a different level of skewed, no, he’s neither of those things; he’s a pit bull mix it looks like, dude.” Olivia clicked her tongue and patted her thigh, goading the dog to stand and slink over with a meekly wagging tail. It was promptly rewarded with her bending down to rub its disturbingly squishy face. “Ain’t that right? Look at your big ol’ head, it’s like a brick that thing, nothing but ten percent brain and ninety percent love in it, huh? Looks like you got a dog now huh, pretty girl?”

“No, no, no, it’s just staying here for now because I was hoping that you’d take him? You have a dog, he’s a dog, he likes you, it’d be a good arrangement.” As if to contrast her words, the dog whuffed and wiggled from Olivia to Benji and clumsily sprawled out on her feet. “It has an attachment disorder I believe, it chewed up two pairs of my shoes and a shirt when I left yesterday, you may have to work on that but he seems fine otherwise.”

Olivia laughed, shook her head, and rose with the battered shoe in hand to point at Benji almost accusingly. “Whether or not you want a dog, he decided he wants you, which means you have a dog,” she said. “So what’re you gonna name him?”

[sharpteethandshapeshifting]

The Werebeasts Of Winder Station

B E N V O L I O "S H A N K" O S E F E N

WEREWOLF

"Rough fur and white fangs was all she knew of him at first."

"Cold eyes pinned her down. She felt a sudden twang of empathy for those butterflies pinned to the taxidermist's board; now she knew how such a thing felt, trapped and weak and exposed to the world. The werewolf's golden gaze was predatory, judging, weighing her worth and his risks. Upon killer paws he circled her, a streak of scarlet marring that stiff face- the only vibrancy in the greyed out landscape of fur and muscle."

"The man's face remained stony. But underneath the table she saw his clawed fingers clenching and interlacing, his hands meeting each other in rageful combat a betrayal of the cold collected mask he wore. [...] Shank rose fast, the table cracking under the weight of his suddenly-furred fist as he glared at Cog. A low rumbling growl spilled hot into the air."

Caucasian Male, 6ft 2' in human form, 7ft 1' in shift, 31 years old, Aries, bisexual

Brown hair, hazel-gold eyes, tanned skin, rune tattoos marking his spine

Part of the LUNAR initiative, his shifting grows stronger with the light of the moon

Escaped his handlers after his division was sent to combat a demonic army division that occupied a stragetic position in a mountain pass. The demons were meant to be in a weakened state- but the whole pack perished that day. The warlock airstrike that had allegedly already killed most of the demons had in fact not happened, and the enviromental advantage the demons had over the wolves, both combined to heavily tip the odds in the wrong side's favour. Benvolio, at the time known only as LS-07, survived the attack, but swore off the United Contential Army after that massacre. Shortly after, when the tail end of the Wars moved south and the land was free, he sought other werebeasts to form a new pack.

He seeks to strengthen himself now, to protect the ones he loves instead of failing them again

Named himself after a character from an ancient manuscript

Brother to Juilet, though not in blood

Married to Tybalt

He is a Lupus Sapiens- Werewolf, taking the form of a bipedal muscled monster with a european wolf's head and fur. As most werebeasts do he has advanced regenerative abilities- being part of the LUNAR program though he has the advantages of extra-fast regeneration under moonlight, slight light-warping to achieve camoflauge, faster movement, and more bloodthirst.

Although an owner of Winder Station, he does not actually spend much time there. He wanders the Wildlands, spreading through word-of-mouth about Winder being a place where the Underground are able to trade, trading and buying necessities and goods that don't often come through the station's trading route, scavenging rare and useful things from ruins and recruiting more members to the Pack.

Doesn't really like dogs. He can deal with them, but they are essentially annoying toddlers to him.

Likes fixing machines. He is a mechanic

Actually pretty chill guy, just untrusting of strangers and clinical in his approach to things. He fixes problems, not emotions.

Hides his tattoos all the time. They're a reminder of the army. He can't remove them, though- they're the spells from the LUNAR initiative tattooed in the jagged scrawl of Demoniac runes, and undoing such spells may well kill him.

Has worked with JackKnife before