What To Do When Everything’s A Mess

The Invasion (4)

1 // 2 // 3 // Ao3

Chapter Four: The Earthquake April 15, 1985 Hawkins, Indiana

“Mr. Wheeler? Are you listening?”

Mike felt a sharp, unexpected poke between his ribs and startled, peeling his eyes away from the clock that hung over the blackboard, its hands crawling impossibly slow from one minute to the next. He was suddenly painfully aware of all twenty-odd sets of eyes in the room focused on him. Next to him, Dustin glared with exasperation, mouthing the word nine as subtly as he could—which was, in fact, not very subtle. Mike narrowed his eyes in confusion, his lips pursed.

“Mr. Wheeler?”

Sheepishly, Mike glanced up at his math teacher, Ms. Lennox, watching him expectantly behind her thick-rimmed glasses. So that’s what this was about. Mike licked his lips and hurriedly looked back down to his notebook, filled with messy numbers and doodles of a certain girl’s name across the margins. Silently, he thanked his lucky stars that he already had the page opened to last night’s homework.

“It’s thirty-six,” Mike answered, voice quiet but confident, “The answer to number nine is thirty-six.”

Ms. Lennox looked slightly annoyed, shooting the rest of the class a quick and deadpan look as they began to snicker. “That’s correct, Michael,” she sighed, half-heartedly, “But I think what Mr. Henderson was trying to tell you was that the answer to number fifteen is nine.”

Mike and Dustin flushed simultaneously as Ms. Lennox, heels clicking against the linoleum floor, returned to other side of the room to look for someone to answer the next question. Dustin nudged Mike in the ribs again, this time with more irritated force, shaking his head in a resigned way. Mike shot him an apologetic shrug, both of them thankful Ms. Lennox wasn’t the kind of teacher who gave detention for little things like being distracted.

Because Mike was, to say the very least, distracted. He hadn’t been able to focus on anything during first or second period, and things were only getting worse as the day progressed, his nerves growing more and more acidic in his stomach. El had looked so tired when he left her yesterday, her eyes weary and her face pale. And when he had called to ask about her after dinner, Hopper said she was sleeping. He said the same thing when Mike called again at seven and a third time at nine-thirty.

It was difficult to forget the sight of El’s face when she had woken up in his lap, the way the blood had been practically gushing from her nose and the fear in her eyes that she insisted was the result of just another nightmare.

But Mike knew El’s nightmares; he had spent months talking her to sleep on the phone, waking to the buzzing of his supercom when she needed to talk in the middle of the night. More than once she’d fallen asleep on his shoulder, babbling and whimpering until she woke up, her terror softened when she looked at him with sleepy eyes.

Yesterday something had felt different and it made Mike worry. Sighing, he returned to his vigilant staring at the clock, counting down the seconds until he could leave school and bike as fast as his legs would carry him over to the cabin.

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Masterlist

IMAGINES

13 Reasons Why

Alex Standall

The One-Night Perfect Relationship

American Horror Story

Tate Langdon

The Round of Love and Death | Part 2

Descendants

Carlos De Vil

Good Beginning, Bad Middle, Happy Ending

In Love To The Core

The Great Quest

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Rodrick Heffley

Loded Crush

Gravity Falls

Dipper Pines

Virtual Friends

Harry Potter

Draco Malfoy

Pure-Love

Neville Longbottom

Snowflakes

Oliver Wood

Valentine’s Day

Sirius Black

Learning To Let You Go 

It (2017)

Ben Hanscom

Notes and That Wow Feeling

Bill Denbrough

Attention Is Needed

Halloween Night

Through Your Eyes | The Awakening

When You Don’t Know What’s Real

Eddie Kaspbrak

Neighbor To The Rescue

The Best Friend Anyone Could Ask For

The Loser Who Became Lover

Richie Tozier

Halloween Tradition

Stuck Together

Stanley Uris

Falling For You | Quarry Drama

Yearbook Confession | Love and Birds

Life Is Strange

Nathan Prescott

Something Good

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Peter Parker

Guilty Nightmares

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

Enoch O’Connor

Entertainment Dolls 

Like I Do

Play Date

Horace Somnusson

A Late Night Visit 

Stranger Things

Jonathan Byers

Just Confess Already

Mike Wheeler

Brother’s Friend | The (Not So) Perfect Night

Movie Theater

Someone Else

Steve Harrington

That Baseball Bat

Supernatural

Sam Winchester

Schoolmates

The 100

Bellamy Blake

Can’t Help Falling In Love

Home

It’s Worth

Masquerade Confession

Moonlight Beast

Not Just An Act

Safer With You

Sleepover | One Blake, Never Both (Choosing Bellamy alternate sequel) | Can’t Pretend  

The Protective (Boy)Friend

Clarke Griffin

I Need You Too

Harper McIntyre

The Blonde and The Flower Girl

Jasper Jordan

Bravery Is Always Rewarded

Chemistry Study

Cold Hands, Warm Heart

Cold Night | The Great (Food) War | The Denied Truth | Her Boys, Their Girl (+Monty Green)

Forgiveness Is Hard | The One-Day Deal (+Monty Green)

Get The Girl

Inconvenient Girl

Listening To The Wrong Person (+Monty Green)

Masquerade Kiss

Safe Place

Sweet Messages

The Boy Next Door

The Clumsy Girl

The Perfect Start

The Same Side

The Tale of The Great King Jasper, True-Monty of Agro Station and Non-Monty | The Ambulonty Incident

John Murphy

All About That Bass

Murphy’s Law

Satellite

Maya Vie

Hold My Hand

Monty Green

Cold Night | The Great (Food) War  | The Denied Truth | Her Boys, Their Girl (+Jasper Jordan)

Forgiveness Is Hard | The One-Day Deal (+Jasper Jordan)

Great

Here To Help

I Have To Be

Listening To The Wrong Person (+Jasper Jordan)

Oh, Nonty

Snow Kisses

Stubborn Moon

Octavia Blake

Feelings Aren’t Meant To Be Kept To Yourself 

Raven Reyes

A Little Vacation

The Chronicles of Narnia

Edmund Pevensie

Love Station

The King’s Sister and Mouse’s Lady

Twilight

Quil Ateara V

Stormy Night

PREFERENCES

The 100

How You Meet

WOULD INCLUDE

Descendants

Carlos De Vil

Carlos De Vil having a crush on you would include

Harry Potter

Remus Lupin

Dating Remus Lupin would include

Feeling insecure about your new haircut and having Remus Lupin to comfort you would include 

It (2017)

Richie Tozier

Having a summer fling with Richie Tozier would include

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

Being a peculiar in Miss Peregrine’s Home would include

Stranger Things

Dustin Henderson

Being Dustin Henderson’s older sister would include

The 100

Bellamy Blake

Being Bellamy Blake’s soulmate would include

Dating Bellamy Blake would include

Having been Bellamy Blake’s girlfriend on the Ark and seeing him again on Earth would include

Spending Christmas with Bellamy Blake would include (Modern AU)

Jasper Jordan

Being in a relationship with Jasper Jordan and Monty Green would include

Having a crush on Jasper Jordan would include (Modern AU)

Jasper Jordan having a crush on you would include

Jasper Jordan losing his virginity to you would include

Spending Christmas with Jasper Jordan would include (Modern AU)

John Murphy

Dating John Murphy would include

Marcus Kane

Being Marcus Kane’s daughter would include 

Monty Green

Being in a relationship with Jasper Jordan and Monty Green would include

Monty Green having a crush on you would include

Spending Christmas with Monty Green would include (Modern AU)

Wells Jaha

Dating Wells Jaha would include

The Chronicles of Narnia

Edmund Pevensie

Being a maid from another kingdom and visiting Narnia would include 

Fanfic Rec List Pt. 3 (And still not done... )

Oh take me back to the start by @mimosaeyes

Each chapter is a stand alone one shot “Meet cute” AU and they are all just delightful! That initial moment of spark is such a huge part of what I love about stories so to have them all right at my fingertips like this is great when I want a nice pick me up! Many of the stories are Love Square but there are a few other pairings as well which I was also really excited about!

War of Attrition by AceGreyManx (don’t know tumblr url)

So this is a little one shot that I discovered… honestly I don’t know how, I think I was doing the thing where I just pick a random number between 1 and however many pages of fic there are for my fandom on AO3, go to that page and pick whichever story catches my attention on that page.

Anyways It’s very straightforward Ladynoir but we actually get to see Chat come out and step up to the plate when it comes to declaring his feelings for Ladybug and it is wonderful. You start off with this nice fluffy thing and end with a St. Crispin’s Day speech of Romantic confessions. Clocking in at less than 3k words there is no excuse not to read this one ^_~

Black Cats and Curtain Calls by @bullysquadess

This is probably the most self-indulgent of my fic recs and by an author who certainly doesn’t need my help being recognized. However as a musical theater nerd myself and someone who lived for both Highschool and Community theater productions when I was young I can’t NOT give a shout out to this beautiful universe. It really does a great job of capturing what the world of amature theater is like and the romance is cute and engaging, earning it a spot among my favorite fics.

Look at Me / Seeing Me by @raeryn  (or @adriennagreste on tumblr as well)

Two one shots telling the same story from each person’s POV.

;I just love this story- I must have read it a dozen times- because it isn’t focused on the reveal, it is focused on how the characters deal with it. It isn’t an instant change over to a happy couple, these are two kids who are trying to figure each other out and actually build a deeper relationship/friendship with the person they like and care for and it is such a refreshing thing to see.

Fermeture by Karmahope (not sure what tumblr url)

Ugh… this story just takes my heart and squeezes it like grapes only to put it back together again. It’s a delightful sort of melancholy angst focused on the idea that you don’t realize how much something is a part of your life until it is gone. A wonderful “post victory” oneshot

Consolation Prize by @mesozoic (I think the tumblr is the same as the AO3)

Oh my goodness I laughed SO hard while reading this. Between the fantastically hysterical awkwardness and the extremely unique styling (the author starts you in the middle of a conversation and it slowly gets revealed over the course of each chapter what happened, which makes the reveal of how they GOT there just delightful) this story is just such a fun change from what I expect in fanfiction. Its also nice to see these crazy messed up teenagers being just that.

Something in the Night by @konekat https://konekat.tumblr.com/

Another one that falls a little heavier on the angsty scale than I usually go for my favorites, this manages to keep my interest and handle a troupe I am usually personally not very big on- Chat and Ladybug being separated for years and Chat being bitter because of it- and make me engaged and excited for. They do a good job of skirting the line between putting the characters in a darker place without feeling like they are more OC than character (which is always my biggest concern with stories of this type) The writing itself is lovely which helps a lot, and they aren’t afraid to explore the characters flaws in a way that is very real and relatable. (Also for my NSFW fans the “missing scene” chapter (Burning in the Night) is definitely worth your time as well… hot… ::fans self::)

Back to Us by Darkreyna16  @insanitysscribblings on tumblr

As long as we are talking about the friends to strangers to enemies back to friends to lovers sagas I might as well round it out with the last one on my list (the first two being Something in the Night and Sealed Away)

Gonna warn you- this fic is a BEAST. There is a lot of content and a lot going on. However the story don’t get overly bogged down even with it’s complexity, and there are some wonderfully unique ideas and questions that get addressed in this story. This also has some of my favorite utilization of some of the minor/background characters. (Ivan! OMG BLESS!!!)  It’s nice to see a world where the classmates have also grown and developed alongside our core heroes.

For the COMPLETE Fic Rec List I have put a link on my main page! Just look at the top and click the button that says FIC REC LIST. 

All the works I have listed in parts 1-3 are up there and all subsequent fic rec updates will be going there as well! 

Exercise Fic Recs 20

I have done 20 (?!?!?) of these recs so far, holy moly!  I think what I’m going to start doing is after every 10 rec posts, I’ll do some specialty recs.  After I rec everything I read this week, I’ll rec some podcasts that I enjoy (I LOVE PODCASTS, OMG).

Kind Truths by Mawiiish  (Superbat, complete.  Clark is Bruce’s plus one to a gala and has to deal with his ~feelings~ about Bruce.  Featuring protective Clark.  Very soft, very cute fic <3)

(one more and then) I’ll say goodbye by immolationfox  (Bruharvy, complete.  A take on how Battinson and Harvey Dent get together in The Batman (2022) verse.)

Stranger than Fiction by foxy_mulder  (Batfam, complete.  Little Timmy writes self insert fanfic about the Batfam.  Shenanigans ensue.  SO FUNNY, GIVE IT A READ.)

Masking by BombusBombus  (Superbat, complete.  A reread for me.  A fic about neurodivergent Bruce and Clark, the masks they wear for their personas, and how they come to love the real people beneath them.  Featuring the best scene discussing relationship goals and expectations.)

borderline by TheResurrectionist  (Batfam, wip.  An update to the batfam hivemind fic.  I am in love with this whole fic and always do a happy dance when it updates.)

Patchwork Pod by Kikat9  (Superbat, wip.  MERMAID AU!!  Bruce is a mermaid with no pod and Clark is the fisherman that befriends him.)

Story of the Century by navaan  (Superbat, complete.  Lois and Jimmy catch Superman and Batman kissing and get photographic evidence of it!  What do they do now?!?)

Stay by navaan  (Superbat, complete.  Clark won’t stay the night and Bruce wants to figure out why.)

Homecoming by Sparkypants  (Batfam, complete.  A look at Jason and Bruce’s relationship throughout the years.  Angst, but with a happy ending!!)

And now for some podcasts!!

Behind the Bastards.  Everything you didn’t know about the worst people in history.  I love the host, Robert Evans.  He used to work at Cracked and has done reporting for Bellingcat. 

Qanon Anonymous.  A deep dive into the cult/conspiracy of Qanon and the other conspiracies that tie into it.  If you really like this podcast, they also have a patreon with some additional content and side podcasts.  One of the short, side podcasts that they are working on is called Manclan, which takes a closer look at online masculinity influencers.  That one is FACINATING to listen too.  And kinda sad.    

Lions Led By Donkeys.  A military history podcast that goes into the worst fuck ups done by militaries.  Be warned, some of the topics they get into can be pretty heavy, so look at the episode summaries for warnings before you listen to them.    

Welcome to Night Vale.  Different from the others I’ve recced, lol.  Incase you have never heard of WTNV on this hellsite, it’s a fictional podcast that takes place in the mysterious town of Night Vale, where all the conspiracy theories go to live.  Each episode is a radio broadcast, and your host is Cecil Palmer.  I also like to describe it as if NPR and The Twilight Zone got together and had a very queer baby.   

Whenever I get my latte and croissant, I also get a breakfast sandwich, but I never picture it.  UNTIL NOW.  It’s a veggie breakfast sandwich with an egg that always has a gooey yolk.  DELICIOUS.

They also had PRIDE DONUTS for Pride Month!  I had to get one for a snack after my walk:

A red-winged blackbird.  He lost his keys and can’t find them :(

Canadian goose!

Big stretch

The babies have entered their so ugly they’re cute stage:

Green heron.  I love how you can see their reflection:

Grackle with some nest building materials:

A robin!  They caught their breakfast:

Blue heron!

Close up:

THEY SPOTTED ME:

A robin again.  They were singing at me, so I had to take a picture:

It was rainy and cool today at the arboretum, which was nice because the past week was hot here.  Didn’t see as many birds, but the scenery was still lovely to look at.  I can’t get over how pretty the water lilies are at the arboretum:

A cool close up of a flower!  you can really see the raindrops on it:

Another close up of some flowers.  I really like the color and pattern on this one!

Waterfalls, my favorite :)

A neat iris with some raindrops:

On to the birds!  A Carolina Wren:

LOOK AT THIS COOL BUG:

Indigo Bunting:

Eastern Bluebird!  He’s so handsome:

Omg, I love this Cardinal’s face:

I love chickadees, they are so tiny and adorable:

Another waterfall (because I’m weeeeeeak):

There are two birds here!  The top one is an eastern bluebird, but I’m not sure what the one on the bottom would be.  Some kind of flycatcher?

An indigo bunting looking off into the distance:

Froggy!

There is a bird in this tree, can you see them?

Need a hint?  They’re right here:

It’s a ruby-throated hummingbird!  This is the third time I’ve found this guy here!  He must like to be tall, or something:

A chipping sparrow:

There are also some really neat koi (I think?) in the pond at the arboretum.  They’re so big!!

Pretty flowers again to finish this off:

Teehee, bee butt:

IT’S NOT ‘PEEKED’ MY INTEREST

OR ‘PEAKED’

BUT PIQUED

‘PIQUED MY INTEREST’

THIS HAS BEEN A CAPSLOCK PSA

Extra Cinnamon— P. Parker || Chapter 1 TEASER

Pairing: Barista!Peter Parker x Reader

Warnings: Very Mild Language.

A/N: This is a new fic that I have been thinking about starting for a while! I really hope you enjoy it! Peter and the reader are both in college!

POV: Peter’s POV 

Keep reading

do you have any recs for enemies to lovers or something around those lines. because i loved hating game and paper princess mostly because of the relationships and i'm looking for more like those

hi, sorry this is late but hope u’ll find a new fave! :’)

the winner’s trilogy fantasy, a personal fave that i have reread a lot of times (especially the last book) with an a+ ending & amazing main characters

shatter me dystopian, i guess this one’s more popular and i personally felt like the first book is kind of slow but the others pick up the pace

daughter of smoke and bone fantasy, the mains are from two different races that are Supposed to be Enemies Forever!!!!1!!11! (yeah sure)

penryn at the end of days dystopian, there’s a literal angel & a girl who kicks more ass than i will in my entire life

falling kingdoms fantasy, there’s many povs but my favourite ones are the enemies to lovers couple [the last book is coming out next year so maybe wait a bit bc book 5 ends in the worst cliffhanger (no i have not been crying about it for almost a year)]

the wrath and the dawn fantasy, it’s a retelling of a thousand and one nights but it’s kinda insta love?? so the real enemies part ends at book 1… but i rlly liked the settings

i think uprooted has also this trope… i have it but still haven’t got to read it, lots of people love it i think but i can’t guarantee for it just yet (i think it has sex and it might be kinda dark…)

the iron fey series, i haven’t read them but astrid says they’re good though they have a love triangle 

the bone season dystopian london in the future where ghosts are real (it’s a confusing book but u’ll get into it after the chapters & the romance is well done) (tho it also have mixed reviews) ((also the romance got age gap))

a court of thorns and roses the true romance happens in book 2

kulti new adult book about soccer. main char has been looking up to a soccer player since forever & now got that soccer player as her soccer coach. the romance got an age gap

kiss the sky also a new adult book, and it is in a series but u can read this + the sequel (fuel the fire) without reading the other books. (tho if u read like all the books then u get to see their relationship blossom from “hate” to love) 

the duff enemies with benefit kinda. idk i really liked this one and it’s an easy read

bloodlines. 

all for the game kinda but not really enemies to lovers trope. the romance doesn’t happen until like the last book but holy shit it is worth it 

I can’t believe I’m doing this.. but here’s my entire list of shows and their links. Enjoy. Please share this with everyone.

Miss Saigon https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4b6iuL1i1KYaFExMGVtU1lZVFk Here’s Miss Saigon Wicked Wicked is processing, but it should be up and ready within the half hour. https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4b6iuL1i1KYYnFXTm1FVW5nZUk Amelie Here’s the version with sam barks! https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5mC1mGgdcnybmR1VDRVVGhhd1k/view Pippa: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B69B7dONziJ9d3dQWURNcDBuQ2c/view Newsies https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B33xzWS17jnacUJ4WFRhSG9RVHc Charlie and the Chocolate factory audio https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B8z_T3eAVo5ZV1pjdGRsd2tUa3M Something Rotten https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUTSrOLRPoc&ab_channel=broadwaylove https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCUt_ihndTw&ab_channel=broadwaylove In The Heights https://youtu.be/1bIjQTWgdLA Rent Rent: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByNb3C1491QtLTZyV0FFajRFWGc Heathers Heathers Act 1: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByNb3C1491QtekxESTRBUWxWNUk Heathers Act 2: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByNb3C1491QtUHJ6MUFOcEpSZGs Into the woods https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqCsQCsinK4&t=126s Legally Blonde https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKMsllsH0zI&t=27s DWSA Act 1 - https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7GQd-QkEY3kVXB1QTVHWU9RbWM Act 2 - https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7GQd-QkEY3ka3JDM3Iwby11Y2c DEH Here you are https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6nTqjlT5ic7TTl3cTFOTE1XUVE Great Comet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b65emg39KZ0 Hamilton Chicago https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0BzpL-43OkUIeekZuTVQzSzEtQmM there’s two act ones for some reason but here!! -Waitress https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0BwwjNEOdSgcrZUhJV0lpLUdHYWs Hedwig with Darren https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVN0chlEQQI Next to Normal https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rb_bUCjTzN0 Spongebob Musical https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B6NlNyUA39M7QU4tZ1hiMG1KT1k West Side Story 2009 Revival https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUwvQbFUrjU Fun Home https://drive.google.com/drive/mobile/folders/0B-m8Hw1G-tTMUnVsSzgzQ3ViOHM Book Of Mormon OBC https://drive.google.com/drive/mobile/folders/0B-m8Hw1G-tTMa09FS3VlU0VlTlk Hamilton Workshop Audio no problem!! https://drive.google.com/drive/mobile/folders/0B2ZBL5DGVnefSXpJLVRtaTVVQk Anastasia https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7dAEY7Tg6aI&feature=youtu.be Hamilton OBC https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxkLqzVEJEFWb0FVS2piVmV5a1E/view

Les mis revival https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BxR1sYJi_ne4cEZldWltTmpiQzA/preview?pli=1 [title of show] https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/0B6Zy1uZCZtKldi1OdUY2QUJ6UkU Aladdin https://youtu.be/qqQx0gGHU7o Be More Chill https://youtu.be/eSeSPqVt7k4 Book of Mormon with Ben Platt act 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcN3fpSCYMA&index=74 act 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9x5gS_uE9o Come From Away video https://drive.google.com/drive/mobile/folders/0B98bysi8vH-5QWJiSlVTZXZnWEk A Bronx Tale https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bwuuh0K-k4jgVEJ6OWZmXzFkRUU Color Purple Act 1: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B8kXYa_R-NVKMTl0dWxTUmM4Y2s Act 2: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B8kXYa_R-NVKR2FwT0hjMXNTdlU Anything Goes https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7F50DKI3xy9NGk3MWZlZ2lrREU Elisabeth https://mega.nz/#F!gS4gTbiZ!ZvFHHyKOAL8Ay88Rf56Vbg Rent https://mega.nz/#!WZZgABIb!UUoKYBeZclbKHEdOqRcmn1X1EurWuan17zez5VcW-ME Carrie Revival https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1OutVCYlhjAR3JtaFc1WWtzZUk/view Wicked 2NT 1-7-17 https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7NUVsPIChTLSGtzdXo4RTNBT28 Newsies ProShot https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/mobile/folders/0B-RdR1my5BOZMXROR3JHV0lzajQ Come From Away https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7NUVsPIChTLRjB5TF9mOV93V1k Lightning Thief https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/mobile/folders/0BzhH0phBpov7VE1lS2RENkMzTGM Cursed Child https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/mobile/folders/0B13LGz5DqmbpYjBiUmVvbU1HY2M Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B8u2e6NcX_KrT25lU3l4aV92aEE/edit Falsettos https://youtu.be/gTlTLYzv1Vk https://youtu.be/kA5Yf1jVbgs

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. 

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