spoilers for destroying a world that doesnt exist!!!
Has anyone noticed that the yellow flowers on Avery's flannel resemble the star in the middle of the yellow palace, that teleports derlord to tkiy?
I don't know if this is an intentional detail wifies put in but it'd be really impressive if it was. Also makes sense for Avery because he was supposed to be the vessel for tkiy, so incorporating symbols associated with that sacrifice into his design would be smart.
And before anyone will say that the fact that even we, the audience, someone who has a little bit more omnipresence in the narrative than characters in the story, STILL don't know much about Derek - get wrecked sucker, I said it first
Anyway, back to Derek's character. What facts do we know about him that we got directly from sftwtde and dawtde
He is extremely intelligent and, in a similar vein, pretty self-arrogant. He thinks he is smarter than whatever is playing with him. He mines through the door despite solving the riddle. He makes traps for whatever is following him. He plays the game and plays it to win
He doesn't like showing his weaknesses. Doesn't like the idea of admitting that he is scared. Fake it till you make it vibe
He doesn't negotiate with people. He found a way to destroy the King, and instead of discussing it with Avery, he sends him on a fool's errand. He deliberately goes behind Avery's back, thinking that it will protect him, without asking Avery's opinion on the matter
He likes to have the last word.
It paints a certain picture of Derek, as someone who is confident in himself and his abilities. Who can go toe to toe with eldritch horror. Someone who, even when he is afraid, still manages to get the upper hand.
The stoic knight. A warrior of the mind. Mysterious and unknown.
But...At the same time
Upon learning everything about the universe, with past, present, and future, the first thing he did was warn Avery. He didn't try making a deal with King or using the knowledge for his own benefit. Instead, he ran back all the way from the gates to the mine, and he wrote a book, hoping against hope, that it would be enough to save Avery. A random person from billions of people.
He puts signs in the church because he knows that if Avery walks through the door, he also would be compelled to go investigate. He writes, "You are real. You are special. Remember who you are."
He doesn't expect Avery to know everything. He can go at the same pace as Avery, in order to help him understand. He jokes and makes light of the situation.
He is extremely alone
He doesn't like writing final letters
He was ready to sacrifice himself and not Avery, because from his words, "Avery has so much to live for." completely ignoring that he does too.
His way of convincing Avery is saying that maybe Avery wouldn't even remember him, despite his worst fear being forgotten.
The last thing he does before he dies is write a letter to Avery. Thanking him. Reassuring him. Asking him to keep moving forward.
Kind of goes against what we saw before, right? How can someone who is so mysterious and secretive make time to joke around? How can someone who likes having the last word not like to write a final letter? How could someone who does not negotiate with people choose to sacrifice himself for the other?
He is a college dropout. He was raised by a single mother. He used to play piano.
I think Derek is someone who is ready to do everything for people he loves, yet thinks he doesn't deserve love in return. Only if he earns it. Only if he does something that makes the love worth it. I think he would be someone who would have a hard time opening up to people, but would be absolutely devoted to them. I think he would hate himself for doing things for other people, knowing that it would guarantee him nothing, yet doing it anyway because it is the right choice.
Not just “he sighed.” That’s lazy. Give us the why behind the air. Is it the kind of sigh that deflates their whole chest, like they’ve been holding the world on their lungs? Or one sharp exhale through the nose, all frustration and fed-up energy?
Maybe it’s quiet—barely audible. Maybe they don’t even realize they’re doing it. But the room shifts a little when they do. Sighs can mean “I give up,” or “finally,” or “not this sh*t again.” Just depends on what’s dragging at their ribs.
╰ Shivering
This isn’t just about cold. A character can shiver in a warm room if they’re scared enough. Maybe their skin prickles before it starts, like tiny goosebumps racing up their arms. Maybe it hits in a full-body tremble, their breath catching like something primal in them just screamed “danger.” Or maybe it’s subtle, like a soft internal quake they’re trying not to show. It’s the kind of movement that betrays the truth they won’t say out loud.
╰ Trembling Hands
Shaking hands are so intimate. They’re not dramatic—they’re revealing. It’s the way their fingers fumble to light a cigarette. The way they have to tuck their hands under their thighs so no one sees. Maybe they keep reaching for the glass but can’t quite get a grip. Or maybe they do grip and the tremor runs through the whole glass like a warning. It’s not about the shake. It’s about the fact they wish they weren’t shaking at all.
╰ Clenching Fists
This one? Its tension incarnate. And it doesn’t always mean someone’s about to punch something. Sometimes they ball their fists just to keep from crying. Or because they’re trying so hard not to say something they’ll regret. Look for the subtleties: white knuckles, nails digging into palms, fists flexing open and closed like they’re trying to wring out emotion. It’s control. Rage. Determination. Or the act of stuffing all that inside a cage of fingers.
╰ Biting Nails
It’s more than “they’re nervous.” It’s compulsion. Habit. A survival tic.
They might not even realize they’re doing it—just fingers to mouth, chewing down without looking, like their body’s trying to chew through the waiting. Maybe their nails are ragged. Maybe they flinch when they bite too deep. Maybe it’s the sound, the soft click of teeth and nail in a dead-silent room. It’s vulnerability dressed up as fidgeting.
╰ Tapping Fingers
This is the soundtrack of a restless mind. Is the rhythm sharp? Fast? Jittery? Are they tapping with one finger like a countdown—or all five, like a rainstorm on the table? They might not even notice. But other people do. Someone asks them to stop, and they bristle. Or they stop mid-tap when someone says the wrong thing, and that silence? That silence is loud. Tapping fingers are rarely idle. They’re keeping time with the character’s thoughts.
╰ Pacing
Pacing isn’t just walking back and forth—it’s the body trying to outrun a thought. They stand. They sit. They stand again. They move because stillness feels like being buried alive. Maybe their footsteps are soft, barefoot across carpet. Or hard-soled and echoing through a hallway like a threat. Maybe they walk a perfect loop, over and over. Maybe it’s erratic, jerking toward the door, away, toward again. Their mind is spinning, and their body’s just trying to keep up.
╰ Slumping Shoulders
This isn’t just a posture change—it’s the moment the weight wins.
Shoulders that sag say “I lost.” Or “I’m done.” Or “Please don’t ask me to care anymore.” Maybe they slump in a chair and stare at the floor. Maybe they’re standing, but something in them folds anyway. Their spine’s still straight, but their shoulders fall like scaffolding giving way.
╰ Tilting Head
Simple movement—loaded meaning. They tilt their head when someone says something that doesn’t quite click. Or when they’re trying to listen harder, like angling their body will help them hear the truth under the words. Maybe the tilt is sharp and skeptical, like “You sure about that?” Or soft and curious, like “I’m trying to understand.” Or just a little too slow, too drawn out—like a predator sizing up prey. It’s instinctual. And it always means they’re paying attention.
╰ Rubbing Temples
This one screams I’m trying to hold it together. It might be frustration. Migraine. Bone-deep exhaustion. They press fingers to their temples like they’re physically trying to squash the problem before it leaks further into their head. Maybe their fingers circle gently, trying to soothe themselves. Maybe it’s two fingers, firm pressure, eyes closed, jaw clenched. It’s the gesture of someone whose brain won’t shut up—and whose body knows it.
Gazing: The character's eyes move slowly across a scene or object, taking in the details. This movement can indicate curiosity, interest, or observation.
Darting: The character's eyes quickly shift from one point to another, often indicating nervousness, suspicion, or alertness.
Winking: One eye briefly closes while the other remains open, often used to convey playfulness, flirtation, or a shared secret.
Rolling eyes: The character's eyes move upward or to the side, indicating annoyance, disbelief, or sarcasm.
Narrowing eyes: The character's eyes become slits or squinted, suggesting suspicion, scrutiny, or concentration.
Widening eyes: The character's eyes open wider than usual, indicating surprise, shock, or fear.
Glancing: The character's eyes quickly move in a specific direction, often used to check for danger or to communicate a message without words.
Staring: The character's eyes fixate on a specific point or person for an extended period, often indicating intensity, fascination, or intimidation.
Flickering eyes: The character's eyes flicker rapidly between different objects or individuals, suggesting indecisiveness, confusion, or distraction.
Blinking: The character's eyes momentarily close and open, mimicking a natural blinking pattern. This movement helps to convey realism and prevent the eyes from appearing static.
How do you make taking clothes off in fics sound remotely sexy? It's so hard to write
My best advice is to just weave it into the scene as naturally as possible while keeping with the overall atmosphere of the piece. When it feels like clothes should come off, clothes should come off. Having characters take their clothes off should flow with the story; it should be a natural step as things escalate. People usually don’t just take their clothes off all at once at the same time; people lose their clothes at different rates, depending on how comfortable they are, how much clothing they’re wearing, how difficult it is to get off, etc. Sometimes people take their own clothes off, other times their partner undresses them, or sometimes it’s a combination of both. There are a lot of factors in writing scenes where characters are getting undressed, so play around with what you have to work with!
If the scene is romantic or slow, try to use words like “tugged” or “slid” or “dropped,” and if it’s rough or urgent, try to use words like “yanked” or “shoved” or “ripped”—words that help convey the atmosphere of the scene. In general, if you’re looking for some neutral words to describe clothes coming off, “pulled” or “shucked” work well. And as for specific ways to take things off, “unzipped” and “unbuttoned” always work well.
Do you find it easier to write fluff or smut? Does it just depend on the idea? I’m just curious because I have the hardest time writing smut and I’m not sure why lmfao 🤣 do you have any tips
Oh, hands down I think writing smut is the hardest. Fluff, emotional or physical hurt/comfort, angst, horror? All of that to me seems far easier and fairly straightforward. But smut is different because there's so much to overthink. Is this something everyone has seen a million times before? Is the scene/position/dialogue even sexy? And then there's so many limbs to keep track of amid the worry that you've said “pussy” or “cock” too many times (and then wonder if people hate those words😂) I always applaud anyone who participates in Kinktober and can bang out that much smut at once (pun-intended 🤭).
So you're definitely not alone! Even after years of writing smut myself, it's still hard to do and I even question some of it. It's also unfortunate that for fanfic, a lot of people tend to feel shy or uncomfortable leaving feedback on something smutty, so as a writer you're sometimes just left hoping shit was good without really knowing.
As for tips to write, obviously write what you think would be hot. Because you're going to struggle if you're not even into the idea. Start with getting a feel for the tone–is it rough, playful, sweet, or comforting?–that helps to narrow down what's realistic in that scenario. Like I doubt there's going to be choking in some sweet sex, for example.
And just like in real life, if you're writing an entire scene of smut–from start to orgasm–people don't usually come in like four pumps (unless someone hasn't had sex in awhile and that's what you're going for). So I personally think it's better to have more than just a few sentences of someone going at it before everyone is getting off. Which is where I start relying on dialogue and the five senses to pad a scene. Is someone licking sweat off of someone, or does someone's mouth taste like cigarettes or alcohol? Is there the sting of hair being pulled, or nails clawing at skin? It's weird if everyone is totally silent during sex, so what noises are they making as they're getting dicked down/doing the dicking? Is someone's face flushed? How close are they to coming and what's that feel like as it's building up? Just focus on senses and then explain the sensations/sights/sounds.
I tend to write the basics of a scene to get it out and then go back and edit it to hell and add in a lot more dirty talk, the sensory bits, and transitional moments so it's not just clothed to taking the dick in .2 seconds. Because some of what makes the smut hot is the buildup, not just the fucking. But that's just how I personally write smut and the advice I've given before! The more you practice, obviously the more comfortable you get at it. Hopefully any of that helps! 💕 And clearly, I have zero shame discussing smut tips 😂
gonna do bullet-points of things i tend to live by when it comes to smut (this is just my opinion):
don't switch styles: the way you write the smut has to be consistent with the way you write the rest of the story, so if your story is more comedic or romcom-y in nature, the way you write the smut should have those stylings. i personally find it very jarring when authors decide to break the format for the smut, almost like the story has to stop for the sex intermission; if you're writing a horror story, the smut must be informed and influenced by that genre, and if you are breaking genre for the smut portion, tell us why you're suddenly switching gears (it has to be an aesthetic choice you're making on purpose). likewise, if your style in that story is more lyrical, the smut has to be somewhat lyrical too, or if your story is more cormac mccarthy-esque-cut-and-dry, the smut can't suddenly involve an effluvia of purple, sappy prose. integrating the smut in the story and treating it like any other part of the story is key to me. too often i've seen ppl switch to this anonymous pornified style when they get to the smut
which brings me to specificity. i'll talk about het sex, since that's what i tend to write most: not all men are going to be fingering or eating pussy the same way, not all dicks are big and they shouldn't be, not all women immediately get excited by fingering, not everyone moans the same way or makes the same sounds. you're writing about particular characters so it has to be particular to them. i know this is very old advice, but i think it bears repeating
there isn't an exact formula or sequence you have to follow, there aren't precise steps, you don't have to go "well, first he has to kiss down her neck, then reach the boob area, then play with the nipples, then put the nipple in his mouth, then slowly go down on her, then prepare her for entering her etc. etc. etc." this can get boring and repetitive and you start thinking of your characters as these mechanical dolls who have to fuck for your audience. and that can be a vibe too, if you do it on purpose. but sometimes you can get stuck in a porn routine (and ofc, having only the guy show initiative can also get boring)
in order to break that, insert some character moments. what are the characters thinking during this? sometimes they might be thinking of something completely unrelated on the surface, but which has a thematic relevance that can make the scene hotter. likewise, maybe they're doing smth that seems unsexy on the surface, but which, within the context of the story might be really hot. sex doesn't just involve, well, sex, but so much weirdness and humanity and creativity. two bodies (usually) are trying to do this really awkward thing together and they might have a lot of baggage and history to inform it. there's a lot you can do with that.
don't make it glossy and clean, where everyone smells of strawberry shampoo and there is never anything out of sync. the most boring smut tends to be the kind where no one makes any mistakes and everything is super efficient. i imagine it feels like using an industrial pump to milk various farm animals.
and you know what? you can make that hot too. you CAN write a kind of robotic efficient smut and make it really interesting based on the context. let's say you're writing a 1984 AU fic where ppl are forced into intimacy only to procreate and their sex drive is diminished. you can play with that premise and lean into the dehumanizing industrialization of sex, but you have to mean it, aka your narratorial voice must be conscious of these factors.
if you're writing dubcon, make the dubious part present, make sure you draw out the ambivalence and ambiguity. if you're writing noncon, the character whose consent is being violated has to be transformed by this in some way. it can be forced pleasure, for instance, but not only. it has to be a journey for them too, some kind of spiritual pit, or a form of access to terrible knowledge. i know this is a personal thing, but noncon doesn't work for me if the character being noncon'd is just sort of *there*, suffering passively. i think that sort of dead passivity can be done very well too, but the narratorial voice has to persuade me.
that being said, don't be afraid of fear in consensual sex. terror and vulnerability are a part of consensual sex too, imo, and again, depending on the story and the characters, there's a lot you can explore there
i personally find it really hot when the narratorial voice starts discussing some of the ideas that the story wants to convey during the smut. so like, you can characterize person A and outline their worldview and their plans while they're ramming person B, and the thinking & fucking are thus entwined. idk, i dig that
speaking of which, smut can convey world-building details and social/philosophical ideas, not just emotions and character beats
not all smut has to end with mutual orgasm or even one-sided orgasm, it depends what you want to do or where you want to go. again, you don't have to follow a sequence. plus, it's fun (and hot) to write about frustration and failure too.
if you want to mix up the descriptions, resort to the story & characters. you'll find it's easier to describe someone fondling a boob in a new or at least interesting way if you're thinking about that particular character in that particular story, and not just Man X from planet porn (sorry to be snarky, but mainstream erotica is soooo guilty of this)
screaming & really intense reactions are cool but they have to match the characters and the situations
sometimes, it's hotter if an effect is mild or negated, if the usual outcome doesn't happen; mix up the order of events, toy with the usual reactions. it's not about being original, it's about finding out what works for your characters. writing about sex is, in a way, a performance of it, an attempt to go through the sexual motions, to find out what works and doesn't, to engage with the erotics of text (roland barthes entered the chat)
if you are bored by your own smut, that's a problem. i know we all talk about how hard we find writing smut, and IT IS hard, and sometimes it's not enjoyable, because writing itself is often not enjoyable, but even when it's painful and annoying, it gives you that little intellectual kick like "huh, i'm creating this and making these people do this, and ohh look, i can maybe put this unnamable thing into words". but if you become bored, that's a sign you have to look at the language & characters and figure out what's not working for you
last thing i'll underline: pay attention to your narratorial voice. in this ordeal, you are the seducer. not the characters. you have to seduce us with words and context. your voice matters the most. you can persuade us of anything. but you have to be confident in your weirdness and particularity. this is your bedroom (so to speak), so invite us in.
i wanna write smut but I suck at writing in general
Hi, thanks for asking!
Writing Smut
1. Describe, but don't get too poetic.
It's always important to have sentences that flow well and use descriptive language no matter what it is you're writing:
Ex: Rather than "He kissed her. She gasped. He touched her thigh," use more sensory language like "His mouth traced a slow path upwards, heat following in its wake. She exhaled sharply, fingers curling into his shirt" etc.
However, something I've noticed some writers tend to do is get too metaphorical with it, and as a reader, it frankly makes me uncomfortable when I read things like 'their bodies tangled together in mother nature's sexual slow dance' or idk.
2. Know your characters.
Smut isn’t one-size-fits-all. When writing a scene, consider their personalities, history, experience, and emotional state, and make it reflect that. For example, a shy character usually won’t become dominant all of a sudden unless there’s a reason; or a guarded character who typically resists vulnerability might be more awkward, unsure, or reluctant at first. Also consider their communication style (are they verbal? Do they tease? Do they hesitate or take control?) Bottom line is, make it more character-driven.
3. Avoid getting overly clinical.
Focus on sensory details rather than the mechanics: don't just list actions like a biology textbook. "He inserted X into Y" isn't hot—describe feelings instead (heat pooling in the stomach, the burn of a touch, hitch of breath, rustle of fabric, etc.).
4. Consent & power dynamics
Even in dark or rougher scenes or the wildest fantasy settings, it's important to have clarity on consent (unless the lack of it is the point). If your character's don't communicate at all, or if something feels off, the scene can easily turn uncomfortable or confusing. A character might want to be overpowered or controlled—but the reader should always know it’s wanted.
5. Word choices matter.
Avoid overly clinical words like "member", but also avoid purple prose. You don’t need to turn into a thesaurus and call it "his throbbing sword of love and desire" (please) but you also don’t want to be so vague that no one knows what’s happening. Overall, keep it natural; if you’re cringing while writing, reconsider.
6. Before & after
Have some buildup. If they go from casual conversation to ripping each other’s clothes off with zero transition, it’s going to feel flat and likely confusing.
Aftercare is important as well. Once it's over, add a little moment of tenderness, teasing, a shared cigarette, something. Or maybe they don't bask in the moment and immediately get dressed like nothing happened and go their separate ways (it all depends on your characters, their relationship, and the narrative).
___
Aside from all this, it's important to get comfortable with writing first. If you feel like you suck at it, smut might not necessarily be the best starting point—you're not just describing bodies, but have to take into account the pacing, emotion, tension, flow of action, all that. You don’t need to be a literary genius, but it's good to have some sort of a foundation. If you feel unprepared, try practicing with writing simple, mundane scenes, like a character drinking coffee or two people arguing over something petty. If you can describe that in an engaging way, describing more complex scenes will seem much less daunting. Critically reading similar scenes to what you want to write in books or fanfics can also help gain a better grasp of the whole thing.
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