We All Know Who Is This

we all know who is this

oh my god, he takes his helmet off when he’s required to wear armor and he’s all sweaty underneath and his hair is sticking to his forehead and the sides of his face and his cheeks are completely red and his eyes still have that spark of wild adrenaline in them, oh my godddddd

Writing Notes: Mundane Scenes

How Mundane Scenes can be Important (by editor Richelle Braswell):

Pacing: Mundane scenes can provide a breather from the action-packed scenes and add variation so that readers don’t get bored or worn down.

World-building: Mundane moments such as how characters get dressed in the morning or prepare their food can add realism and details to your world. It gives a sense of depth to characters lives and shows instead of tells how life operates.

Give weight to events: Mundane activities such as resting or tending to injuries can give weight to previous plot points such as a battle or reveal. We sit with the consequences, and thus the events feel like they have greater importance and space in the narrative.

Synthesize information: Characters can review things like whodunit clues or what they know so far over a meal or while traveling. Meanwhile, the reader can process events up until that point. These scenes are best used during the midpoint of a book or right before the climax.

Build tension: These much slower moments like chatting and weeding the garden can add tension to stories by sitting with the unknown. Readers will sense when things are too quiet and feel a building anticipation.

Develop character arcs: Slow moments such as shopping or washing-up can be important touchpoints to depict gradual character growth. If there is nonstop action, then there isn’t a chance for characters to stop and reflect and give the readers some insight into any changed thought processes and dilemmas.

Develop romance: Mundane moments are some of the best places to give characters space to make the bed together and fold laundry. Their romance and dynamic can be developed here but note that it is most effective when used sparingly and when the reader does not lose a sense of narrative drive.

Decisions as a challenge: Choices have gravity in a narrative when there is space for the main characters to struggle with doing the right thing. It can add further drama if they aren’t making tough decisions while dodging flying arrows or being chased, but while sweeping their floors or organizing their bookshelf. The reader experiences the weight of the choice since it can be carefully considered before it leads to a hero’s triumph or tragedy.

Whatever you do with a mundane scene, the idea to keep in mind is how it contributes to the whole.

some related literary tropes

"Slice of Life" Trope

Life, observed and examined.

A cast of characters go about their daily lives, making observations and being themselves.

There is an emphasis on the very moment, with the intent of focusing the audience on that moment rather than using that moment as part of a narrative.

"Calm before the Storm" Trope

Characterized by a sense of anticipation, perhaps tension, even dread of what is to come.

It allows the characters a moment of respite prior to everything going to hell.

Maybe they make final preparations.

Maybe they go bid farewell.

Maybe they go tie up loose ends or bury hatchets.

They might decide now's the time to finally spend the night with that special someone.

Or maybe they just meditate to still their minds and/or calm their nerves.

Or they may decide to throw a party while they still can.

This scene allows us a quiet moment to just be with the characters, especially if it winds up being the end of the line for some of them.

Great clouds lit from within by lightning gather on the horizon, an army can be seen assembling, or the Final Battle is just around the corner. Everyone knows it is inevitable.

Tomorrow the silence will be broken. Tomorrow there will be chaos. But for now, all is quiet.

"Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene" Trope

An action film trope that you can also incorporate in your writing.

In this kind of scene, there are no expensive visuals or frenetic action, just usually two characters talking about what they believe in, what they care about, their deepest pains, or anything that relates to the stakes of the situation.

This is not the same as the purely exposition scene in that there is something deeper displayed here.

In these scenes, you can understand the plot, grasp its theme, or develop a rapport with the characters to make the big scenes matter to your readers.

When it really works, it can make the action sequences all the more compelling, because the quiet scenes have allowed you to emotionally invest in the characters and care about their fate.

Examples

In The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, after a long time fleeing through the giant death trap of the Capitol and suffering several losses, Cressida leads the squad to a friend's house. Their time in the basement covers a lot of ground, from mourning their losses to Katniss' guilt to the Love Triangle.

Inception: In the climax, we finally see whether or not Fischer reconciles with the memory of his father.

The Lord of the Rings: The scene between Aragorn and Arwen on the bridge in The Fellowship of the Ring. It introduces depth to Aragorn's character and reveals his backstory; the scenes of the Shire at peace in The Fellowship of the Ring (especially in the Directors Cut), filled with laughter, friendship and happy children (what a warrior lays down his life to protect) is what makes us actually care whether or not Frodo and the Fellowship defeat Sauron or not.

Sources: 1 2 3 4 ⚜ More: References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

Here are some information and related tropes to keep in mind as you write your scene. Use the tropes as inspiration, and alter as needed/desired to better fit your story. Reading how other authors have done this as well, especially in your favourite stories, is one way to know how you would execute it in your own story. You can find more details and examples in the links above. Hope this helps with your writing!

195 notes View Post

vantasariae

2 weeks ago

SILENT HILL 2 — [ 4/? ]

2K notes View Post

vantasariae

3 weeks ago

tiba-tiba mikirin nasib minggu depan

Minggu Depan, Kamu Berhenti Berharap

Kamu hidup diantara janji-janji yang kamu bisikkan seperti doa. Rasanya seperti meneguk segelas kopi sachet yang kebanyakan air—hangatnya cukup menghibur, namun rasa pahit menetap di mulutmu sampai malam. Setiap pagi kamu mengulangi mantra yang sama; minggu depan kamu akan makan tiga kali sehari. Minggu depan kamu akan memperbaiki kipas tua yang sudah sekarat, namun tetap menghembuskan angin sejuk di kala panas malam ibukota menyerang. Minggu depan kamu akan membeli sepatu yang layak, supaya kamu tidak lagi menggunakan sepatu yang solnya menganga seperti mulut orang-orang yang suka bicara soal harapan.

Minggu depan kamu akan mengirim uang untuk Ibu, sedikit lebih banyak dari biasanya. Cukup banyak sehingga Ibu tidak perlu mengurangi porsi nasi lagi. Cukup banyak untuk membelikan Adik buku baru. Kamu ingin membuktikan kalau kamu kuat; kalau Jakarta tidak membakarmu menjadi abu.

Minggu depan, proyekmu akan selesai. Kamu akhirnya memiliki ruang untuk bernapas, untuk merenggangkan tubuhmu. Bonus akan turun, katanya. Namun meja kerjamu terus membisikan tentang hantu-hantu PHK. Tawa-tawa di kantin karyawan menghilang, digantikan dengan lirikan gelisah dan bisik-bisik. Untuk pertama kalinya, kamu merasakan ilusi aman yang kamu bangun perlahan-lahan mulai runtuh. Lantai yang selama ini menompang meja kerjamu pun mulai retak, seakan-akan siap menjatuhkanmu ke dalam jurang.

Kamu menambahkan catatan di ponselmu; minggu depan kamu harus mulai mencari perkerjaan baru—untuk berjaga-jaga.

Kamu pun tersadar kalau kamu tidak sendirian. Ketika kamu bertanya kepada Ibu warteg kapan beliau akan masak cumi lagi, beliau tersenyum lelah dan menjawab, “Minggu depan ya, Nak, kalau harganya turun.”

Ketika kamu duduk di depan minimarket bersama temanmu, meneguk minuman kopi diskon yang rasanya lebih seperti pengingat bahwa kamu tak mampu beli yang lain. “Minggu depan anak gue ulang tahun,” bisik temanmu. Matanya redup. “Semoga gaji nggak ditahan lagi. Gue mau beliin dia kado.”

Bahkan, tetanggamu yang kamu kira selalu berkecukupan, kini suara seraknya terdengar lewat tembok tipis kontrakan. “Saya usahakan bayar minggu depan ya, Pak.”

Tapi minggu depan datang seperti ombak yang menenggelamkan harapanmu. Tanpa kabar baik. Tanpa perubahan. Tanpa mukjizat.

Lelahmu tidak dibayarkan, tidak dihargai, hanya dijustifikasi atas nama efisiensi. Harga telur naik lagi. Suara token listrik yang menjerit bersahutan dengan rengekan kipas tua, keduanya mengingatkan bahwa uangmu hampir habis. Tagihan menumpuk seperti doa-doamu yang belum terjamah. Tidak ada balasan dari semua lamaran yang kamu kirimkan.

“Nggak apa-apa,” ucap Ibu ketika kamu menelepon setelah mengirimkan uang. “Untung makan siang Adik disediakan sekolah, jadi Ibu bisa hemat beras.”

Ibu ingin menguatkanmu, namun kata-kata yang kamu dengar terasa seperti pisau yang menusuk jantungmu.

“Nggak usah pikirin Ibu sama Bapak, simpan uangnya buat kamu di sana.” Suara Ibu pecah, namun bukan karena susah sinyal.

Kamu batal membeli sepatu baru, meskipun sedang turun harga menjadi Rp150.000—diskon yang terasa seperti ejekan. Sebab uang seratus ribu rupiah kini bisa lenyap dalam sekali napas—sekotak nasi, bensin, dan satu liter minyak goreng yang harganya terus menanjak. Kamu pernah menyebutnya sebagai dana darurat, namun sekarang ia hanya lembar tipis yang cepat lusuh, cepat habis, cepat hilang. Sepasang sepatu baru tidak ada artinya jika kamu tidak dapat membeli minyak goreng dan bensin.

Kamu tidak perlu membaca berita maupun membaca grafik untuk tahu bahwa rupiah ambruk, karena kamu ikut rubuh bersamanya. Kamu merasakannya di setiap kali kamu menawar cabai dan bawang bagaikan menawar mimpi, di setiap kali kamu memutuskan untuk tertidur dengan perut kosong. Kamu menyadarinya ketika porsi nasi di warteg jauh lebih banyak daripada lauk.

Kamu mendengar pejabat di televisi menjanjikan bahwa perekonomian negara baik-baik saja, bahwa semuanya terkendali dengan baik. Kamu tertawa hambar, tapi semua orang berhak bermimpi bukan? Bahkan pejabat pun boleh berhalusinasi, bukan?

Biarkan mereka bermimpi. Biarkan mereka tidur di hotel bintang lima dengan anggaran negara. Biarkan mereka berpesta, berbicara tentang pemulihan ekonomi di balik pintu kedap suara.

Sementara kamu harus menerima kenyataan bahwa kamu bisa hancur dan negara tidak peduli. Bahwa kamu bisa mati kelaparan tanpa menguncang statistik mereka. Bahwa kamu hanyalah angka, bukan manusia.

Seperti rupiahmu yang tidak bernilai, kamu pun ikut terkikis bersamanya. Namun tidak seperti para pejabat berdasi, kamu merasa malu atas janji-janji yang tak bisa kamu tepati—pada dirimu sendiri, pada Ibu, pada harapan yang sudah terlalu lama kamu cicil dengan air mata.

Dan kamar kontrakanmu menjadi saksi bisu atas semua minggu depan yang kamu tunda. Malam ini kamu berhenti berharap, berhenti membuat janji. Tidak ada lagi minggu depan, tidak ada lagi kamu yang memanjatkan doa. Sebab di negara ini, harapan adalah barang mewah yang tidak bisa kamu cicil lagi harganya.

[00:35] | ateez choi san

“And if I do?”

pairing » ateez choi san x fem!reader

trope/au » established relationship au, non-idol au

genre » very fluffy, falling asleep during studying and boyfriend san who is worried for you because you don't take the greatest care of yourself, (it really was supposed to be fluff all through the end) turns suggestive towards the last quarter of the story, reader is a bit playful, san is very in love with you, of course you are super in love with him too

word count; estimated reading time » 1032; ~4 mins

warnings (lmk if i missed anything!) » quite suggestive at the end, indeed...a suggestive sentence at the very end, san lifts the reader up, reader wears glasses, reader implied to be smaller than san, san restrains reader's hands, pet names (bubs, baby girl)

navi/masterlist!! 🤍 ateez masterlist 🤍 the boyz lee juyeon ver.

my ateez debut! here it is @jaehunnyy !! i really wanted to post smth for your bday so please take this as a late bday present 😭 thanks for proofreading a bit of this one and finding the pictures for the banners 🥰 you saved me a bunch of tears fr 😀 have fun with the second one (even though it's the same...😭)

It’s not an unusual occurrence for you to be staying up late at night and for San to find you draped over your books and worksheets when he gets home. In fact, it’s becoming such a usual occurrence that San is making it a habit to open the front door with such gentleness that the click of the door opening would be too loud for his liking. In reality, your study desk at your shared apartment is quite a distance from the entrance of the apartment, so if San wanted to, he could enter in the same way as if you were awake.

But he didn’t want to.

In the rare case that you decide to snooze off on the couch, he doesn’t want to be the one to ruin your precious, peaceful sleeping time. Unfortunately for him, he would still be needing to do it one way or another if he ever finds you asleep on the couch or anywhere but your shared bed. The victorious smile from closing the front door quietly soon turns upside down, frowning at the sight of your head lying on your stack of handouts in the study room. The stack acted as your pillow, your arms around the rectangular pile. You look like you have been resting your body for some time now, given that San’s soft head pat didn’t faze you at all. With a slightly heavy sigh, San makes his way to the other side of the desk to get a better look at your face. He kneels on the floor, content with being more at eye level with you.

He’s surprised to see that you must’ve been so exhausted that taking your glasses off might have been too much effort for you. The side frame completely rests on the paper, the nose pad of the glasses no longer resting properly on your nose. San hisses at how the hard plastic pushes against your nose, already imagining the pain when you wake up and realise tomorrow.

“Bubs,” he tests your consciousness with a whisper. “Your whole body is going to hurt when you wake up, you know?” Your breathing is still as even as before, and the no response from you deepens his frown. “I’m sorry, but I’m going to move you, okay?”

San rises to his feet once again, grabbing the blanket drapped on your study desk that he has prepared. He’s told you multiple times to at least cover your body if you don’t plan to take a nap on the bed, but he should have known that when tiredness kicks in, all a person wants to do is to close their eyes. San spreads the light cotton across your back, kissing the side of your head and humming sweet melodies to avoid surprising you too much with his movement.

“San?” You slur sleepily, still unable to fully wake up. San clicks your desk light off and soon sees your content smile at his little gesture. “When did you get home?”

“Just a few seconds ago. When did you fall asleep?”

“Just a few minutes ago.” A raised eyebrow from your boyfriend is what prompts you to tell him the truth. “A little longer than that.”

San tuts disapprovingly, “You can’t keep slouching off on the table. It’s not good for your body. And this,” he takes your glasses off by the hinges, “it’s not comfortable for you.”

You hum at his loving lecture for you, beginning to straighten your back from the long nap. Truthfully, if San weren’t beside you right now, you would be sending complaints to your past self for dozing off at the table, your back cramping and sore. But Choi San knows you too well, and the creases between your eyebrows tell him everything.

“See?” He reprimands.

You’re not given another chance to rebut when he swivels the chair around for you to face him. In a second, you’re in his arms, the back of your knee and back supported securely with his arms, and your shoulder pressed against his chest. San looks down at you, pressing a quick kiss on your forehead that you respond to by pressing yours along his jawline. Along the short walk to the adjacent room, you plant kisses all over his face, giggling at the way his cheeks grow red with every second.

Just a few seconds before San would rest you gently on the mattress, you steal a kiss from his plump lips, arms wrapped around his nape and threading your fingers into the strands of his hair. San almost stumbles but soon regains balance when he registers the way you delicately take his lips. Along with the giggles and fabric rustling against each other in the small room, it’s not long until your head properly lays on a pillow. San doesn’t let you breathe after, climbing on top of your figure with his palms beside your head to support himself. His knees sink to the mattress beside your thighs, and you’re left breathless with the man before you. The remnants of his cologne are clearer now, and the proximity leaves you curling up a side of your lips.

Your boyfriend knows the meaning of your expression well from experience. “Don’t rile me up, baby girl…”

Just like he did a second ago, your eyebrow rises. Your pointer traces along the center of his exposed neck, feeling the gulp and his intense stare on you. You glide across his skin, tracing along his collarbones slowly, making sure that your touch lingers on his skin. When your finger slides down to the neckline of his fabric, it curls around his shirt to pull his tense expression closer to you. A quick touch of your lips is all you spare him before regaining eye contact with him.

“And if I do?”

Those words are enough for San to lose control, pulling the sheets to his palms as he fists them tightly. One hand leaves the bed, restraining both your wrists under his hold above your head. He dives closer to the crook of your neck, ragged breathing and warm breath against your skin.

“I’ll make sure you’ll sleep peacefully for days.”