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Sequence 3-1: Fear of the Unknown

A cooling breeze drifts over Raina’s face, prompting her to stir awake. She feels disoriented and groggy, lifting her head to see where she was. Her back is aching; stinging in some places reminding her of her lashing but she still doesn’t know where she is. A quick remembrance tells Raina that she should be rocking along the waves in her cabin on the Aquila she was taken upon but when she sees that she’s laying in a bed, every sore muscle in her body goes still with alarm.

When did she get off the ship?

Her eyes look in the direction of the breeze came where a half-open window is located. She's in someone’s bedchamber. Before she can try to figure out whose room it belongs to, the sound of a door opening behind her makes her whip her head over her shoulder sharply in surprise. Her eyes widen as an older white man with glasses walks inside as if he owned the place. He looks at her and smiles wide.

“Ah…you’re awake. Let’s get a closer look at you, shall we?”

Faster than she ever thought her body would allow her, a terrified Raina throws the covers off of her body and jumps from the bed letting out a blood-curdling scream throughout the bedchamber. The man throws his hands out in return, alarmed by her response.

“No no, please Miss Raina! I’m not going to hurt you I…” He tries to explain but Raina is having none of it.

She dodges his placating movements left and right trying to escape him before backing up into the front left corner of the room. She has no idea what was going on. Is this man her new owner? Did Connor actually lie about her freedom and sold her to somebody else? The thought of this man elderly or not putting his hands on her is almost too much to bear and Raina winces feeling her aching back press against the wall. “Go away! Don’t touch me!” She yells, reaching over a nearby table for an empty glass pitcher that she doesn't hesitate to throw, watching the man dodge it by ducking. The glass shatters easily after hitting the floor, shocking both her and the man. Without any other weapons to defend herself with, she slides down to the ground with a sob, her wet eyes pleading with him to keep his distance.

“Please…don’t…”

Lyle had come to check on Raina, his intuition as a doctor telling him that she was to awaken soon. He hadn’t imagined coming to take care of a feral woman though and now he keeps his arms out to calm her still despite her rampage. She huddles in the corner, putting her head on her knees and Lyle knows the woman is still weakened. He backs up slowly out of the room, keeping his hands up to pacify her fears. “All right, dear. All right…I won’t touch you. I’m leaving.” He says to her in a soft voice that makes her peek up at him slightly before hiding her face again with a shudder. The doctor shuts the door before he turned running right into Diana who had come up to help him, confusion in her eyes.

“Diana, Raina is terrified and won’t let me tend to her wounds.”

Diana moves around Lyle to open the door saying, “Perhap’ she will let me come close…” But at a touch on her shoulder, she looks back at the doctor who shakes his head

“No, that’s not wise, my dear. She threw a glass pitcher at me and I’d hate for you to be injured any other way. Fetch Connor. He brought her here so surely he can bring some sense into her.”

Diana hurried out of the house quickly, leaving Lyle who stayed close by the door just in case the newest arrival to Davenport Homestead harmed herself further.

Intense eyes scan the seemingly quiet water. They wait for the perfect time to strike. In the next few moments, the flickering of a tail prompts a quick movement of a hand to throw down a stick right into its target.

"Goodness, Connor. You sure know how to make a guy feel bad about his fishing skill!"

Connor gives a smile as he turned to meet Warren's own grin, who sat at the bank with a fishing pole. The two had been fishing near a small lake nearby. He pulls up his impaled catch of trout, turning to throw it in a basket that already held four others. His five bested Warren's two catches by far.

"This used to be one of my favorite things to do back in my village. That along with hunting and gathering feathers."

"This just proves that practice makes perfect, my friend. I think these two I have will make do for dinner tonight. Prudence will be pleased."

Walking barefoot back to the bank with his pants rolled up to his knees, Connor gestured to his catch. "So you don't need any of these, Warren?" His eyes watched his companion stand and dust his pants off before he walked over to look into the basket. "I think one will be fine for me. We'll store it for a later date."

"All right. I will take the rest to Corrine, or one of the other women here."

While transferring the fish back to where the majority of the houses were located, Connor frowns, hearing a scream and not just any scream- a scream full of complete horror followed by a sound that sounded like glass breaking. Whipping his head around and feeling his low ponytail trailing long down his bare back, Connor looks in the direction of the scream which was from the doctor's house.

Warren looks over his shoulder. "What is going on?" When Connor doesn't answer him, he turns to take the fish inside his home just as Diana runs out of the doctor's, her skirts gathered in her hands.

"Connor! You mus' come. Somethin has happened." She tells him breathlessly once she stops in front of him.

Immediately, his thought goes to Raina and after grabbing his shirt out of the crook of his elbow to put on, he gives a quick nod before rushing in the direction she came from. After the Aquila had finally docked at the homestead, Connor had left Raina in the doctor's capable hands, but he hadn't thought anything bad would happen in the process.

Connor runs up the stairs, skipping two at a time in his rush to get to Raina. He pauses, looking around at the chaos in the chamber. Bedsheets are all along the floor as well as broken glass in front of a cowering Raina dressed in only a shift. He waited just long enough to get the explanation from Lyle before heading in the woman’s direction. He walks over the glass, thankful for the protection of the moccasins he had remembered to put back on. At the sound of glass crinkling, however, Raina squeals kicking out her foot in his direction. Connor catches it quickly, inadvertently releasing the beast as Raina kept kicking and screaming, thinking the doctor had come back. Connor had never thought she would act like this, but after everything she had gone through, he knew she needed some understanding. He decides to see if she recognized his voice next, kneeling down and lowering her foot at the same time.

"Peace, Raina. Do not be afraid. It is me, Connor." Raina’s breath begins to slow at the sound of the native captain’s words and she slowly looks up into his eyes. He’s staring at her much like how he did when she first met him in the woods. His eyes are soft and full of concern for her well-being. He no longer wore the naval suit she had gotten so used to. Now a shirt made of deer skin covered his torso. His legs were the same; covered in pieces of hiding. His hair was different, looser, with half of it covering the right side of his face from his run to her. Everything about him signaled comfort and safety, but she can't seem to snuff out her fear. Keeping her eyes still on him, she doesn't miss Connor putting his hands out to her, gesturing for her to come over to him.

"Come. Everything is all right, Raina." Connor doesn't expect her to do as he says; she was always so distant from him on the Aquila, so when she finally moves slowly to be gathered into his embrace, he freezes for a moment with his arms still out. His arms slowly wrap around her, wanting to let her know that he is there for her and that her safety is guaranteed.

"Captain. Connor. I’m… so scared. Where am I? Why are we not on the ship anymore?"

Connor waits for Raina to let out a few more sobs to calm herself before he answers, "This is the doctor's house. I brought you here to finish getting better. You were in serious danger back on the Aquila."

Raina frowns before remembering passing out on the bed. It had been the best sleep she had gotten but now she realizes it was because she was incredibly sick. What if she hadn't been checked on? She possibly could have died in her sleep. Her eyes find Connor's. "You found me."

"I did."

Raina's eyes fill again once more with tears but not out of fear, but out of appreciation. "You saved me."

"I did," Connor answers again, nodding. He gives her a small smile, moving his thumb to wipe away a stray tear from her cheek. Raina sighs and then turns her head, her face burying into his chest. "Thank you." She says back, her voice a step higher than a whisper.

Her arms start to wrap around his torso quite tentatively before Connor finds himself in a hug. He releases a breath of relief, thankful that he managed to calm her down and his head turns to the side to lay on hers.

He takes in her scent; her hair is slightly sweaty from her fever but he also noticed the smell of soap on her body. Diana had washed her while she was out. He doesn't know it, but Raina is doing the same; her nose filling in with the pure male scent of her savior yet again. He smells of the outdoors and of certain herbs and…slightly of fish? She makes sure she puts his smell in her memory, excluding the fish, smiling softly.

The two are so into their hug that they don't notice the door opening. "Is everything all right now?" Lyle calls out in concern.

Raina whimpers immediately and her arms squeeze Connor tighter. He pops his head up, looking back at Lyle, then down at Raina frowning with his own confusion and concern.

"This is only the doctor, Raina. There is nothing to be afraid of. He just wants to check your cuts and make sure you feel better." At her slight movement away from him, he brings her face up to meet his gaze. "Will you let him do so?"

"I… All right." Raina says with a shaky sigh. Maybe she had jumped too quickly to conclusions but all her life she had been mistreated by white people, she wasn't going to start trusting right away. "Will you stay with me? You're the only one I feel safe with right now." Connor takes in her words. Raina had been through so much in the last couple of days but it probably was nothing to what she had to live through every day of her life thus far. He could understand her wariness.

"I will not leave your side. Let me get you to the bed."

After nodding at the doctor that it was safe to enter again, Connor lifts up Raina so that her bare feet don't cross the glass. Raina glances down at what she did and then meets the doctor before looking away with shame. She normally wasn't destructive; that was a one-way ticket to a meeting with the whip back at Ridgedale and even now she trembles at what repercussions would come her way as she says softly to Lyle. "I'm sorry about your pitcher, Doctor."

To her surprise, the doctor gives her a soft smile before walking in as she's put back on the bed she slept on. "It's quite all right, dear. I apologize for scaring you so horribly." He makes his way to the right side of the bed, while Connor kneels down beside the left side. "I'm going to take a look at your lashes just to make sure the infection in them has gone away. If you can manage it, please lay down on your stomach." Connor watches Raina slowly do as she's told, her eyes never leaving the doctor. Her body is tense as if waiting for him to turn on her right when she least expects it. He can't stand her discomfort and distrust of the doctor, so when she jumps as she feels her shift being pulled down, Connor grabs Raina's hand, his thumb caressing over her skin as if to calm her. That seems to work and Raina turns her head from the doctor to Connor, searching his gaze. He keeps it strong and steady, being her protector even at this moment.

After washing his hands, Lyle does a thorough examination of Raina's lashes, taking note of which ones needed more healing from the various moans of displeasure. He remembered when the unconscious Raina was brought into his home, and though she had a long way to go then with getting better, he commended Connor for keeping her alive on the Aquila. He was certain that if the young man hadn't used his wits, Raina would have been brought off of the ship underneath a sheet. He had shaken his head seeing the lashes on her back. Slavery was a vile thing in his eyes. Treating humans as if nothing but property all because of skin color. Lyle looks up at Connor who is regarding him with questions in his eyes. He reassures him with a smile, pulling Raina's shift back up and making sure she was decent again.

"She's healing well back there and I see no signs of fever, Connor. If you would like to use the salve you put on them before, it should help her feel more comfortable as the biggest lash heals. In fact…I'd wager that she'd be well enough to be released from here by tomorrow. Just keep an eye on if she does fever again."

"Thank you, Lyle."

Raina, who had been quietly getting looked at blinks at the knowledge that she would be able to go out. She barely knows anything about the place she was currently or anything about the doctor. How was she going to take meeting a whole village of people? She begins to rise so she can turn back around, using Connor's outstretched hand for help before she faces the doctor again who smiles warmly. All right…he seemed to know what he was doing and didn't treat her with an inch of disrespect. Raina could feel herself relaxing more around him. Besides, if Connor trusted him, why shouldn't she?

"Thank you for your help, Doctor. I'm sure that with your skill, I was able to heal faster." She says, while her reserved eyes meet his.

"It's my job, Miss Raina. I'm just pleased you are feeling better. Now, are you hungry? I don't think you've had a good meal in a while."

Raina is all too aware of her ravenous stomach now that the question is asked. Her hands go to it, holding it and she nods. "Yes, sir. I am. Where can I go to cook?"

Both Connor and Lyle look at her in confusion. Did she expect to cook right after waking up from a fever? Lyle reaches out and takes her hand, patting it while shaking her head. "There is no need for that, my dearest. We can go to the inn and grab some food for you. Connor?"

Connor nods and stands, already heading out the door but not before saying, "I will get some right away." He departs with his ponytail trailing behind him.

Raina stays quiet watching as the doctor walks out of the room for a few moments before coming back with a broom and something to scoop up the many pieces of glass from the pitcher. Feeling guilty again for what she did, Raina looks down at the sheets of her temporary bed before grabbing Lyle's attention with a clearing of her throat.

"I think I have judged you before I even got to meet you, sir. I was just so afraid you would…"

Lyle nearly drops the broom he's holding at her words but he doesn't, staying calm for her sake as he says, "I understand. You being a former slave, I'm certain it's going to take a while to get to know and trust people fully here on the homestead."

He did understand her and she nods. "Yes, sir. I'd like to try though."

"Take your time and know that I'd never do anything to harm you. That goes against everything that I am as a doctor." When Raina doesn't say anything, Lyle picks up the rest of the glass before heading to the door. "I'll let you have your privacy again, Miss Raina. Connor should be back soon with your food."

"Thank you, sir. For everything."

Lyle graces her with a warm smile and starts to shut the door. Before he does though, he tells her, "Welcome home."

Stomach satisfied and feeling comfortable, Raina now takes the time to look around out the window at where Lyle said was home. Connor had stayed just long enough to make sure she was satisfied with soup and bread before excusing himself to do whatever he needed to after reassuring her that he would return. What greeted her gaze were picturesque homes between patches of lush green grass and trees. Her eyes follow a horse-drawn carriage on the dirt road being driven by a white man with a brown-haired woman next to him. She held on to a bundled baby while a young blond haired girl sat in between them giggling. In the back of the wagon were what looked to be various animal pelts. They smiled and seemed truly happy with one another and Raina cocked her head at their affection before bringing her eyes over to the right. They widened seeing not one but two black boys running alongside each other, laughing as they raced.

"Hurry up, Kiah! You don't want me to beat you again racing, right? You'll give me your dessert if so!"

"Not this time, big brother! I've gotten faster now!

Amazed, Raina watches the two race off into the distance for home and shakes her head. Were these boys born free?

What must that be like? Raina thinks to herself.

Wanting to get a better view of the homestead, she decides to get help, grabbing onto a nearby finch in her mind and guiding it up into the air. From above the doctor's house, Raina takes everything in. Over to the left where the boys are running towards looks like a farm full of crops and animals. Nearby is a church and even further up from that looks to be a large peach-bricked two-story house with a porch above the doorway. It's pretty grand scale but nothing like how Ridgedale was. The house overlooks what appears to be a bay where the Aquila is docked. Did that mean that Connor lived down there? Moving the bird to the right only shows her forest and dirt pathways where sailors and other folk walked up and down on. Raina's curiosity is piqued though and after releasing the bond with the finch she hopes she can explore even more of this little town. Despite that thought, she shivers. What if the people here were really like the ones back south?

Am I just kidding myself? Is there really such a thing as freedom? Raina then asks to nobody in particular while lowering her head to her arms. Realizing a moment or two later that she has dozed off on the windowsill, she takes one more look at the star-dusted sky before sighing and walking back to her bed. Her last thought before blowing out the candle-lit lantern on the adjacent nightstand, laying down gingerly, and falling asleep was wondering what Connor was doing and if he really would return.

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Writers, here’s your reminder that you should be doing warm-ups!

Athletes need to warm up. Musicians need to warm up. Artists need to warm up. Heck, I even have to play a few matches in video games before I get into a groove every day.

Warm-ups help you get into the right headspace, give you more control of your actions and word choice, get you comfortable in your physical setting (eg: with your keyboard, notebook, tablet, or whatever you're writing with), and spark creativity.

Even if you don’t think you have spoons to write, sit down and do a couple warm-ups. If you still don’t want to, that’s alright. But. I think you’ll be surprised how often they help break that ice.

5-15 minutes is all you need. I personally set a timer for ten minutes each time and do not stop writing until the time is up. Your warm-up can be anything at all so long as it gets you writing and starts nudging those creative juices.

Here's some common warm-ups:

Journaling. Just jot down some notes about your day. Feel free to really lean into something that you noticed. We're going for description and details -- try to avoid settling into a spiral or focusing on something negative that will upset your creativity.

Short story prompts. Type that into Pinterest and pick the most ridiculous, cliche thing you can. Write a little scene, story summary, or even a rant about why you do or don't like the prompt. Just write.

Vocab challenge. If you like a bit more critical thinking to get you in the zone, have a random vocabulary word generator spit out five or so words. Check their meanings and jot down a little story or thought that includes all five. You get more familiar with beautiful and descriptive language, and it gives you a much narrowed prompt (which is lovely if you're like me and suffer each time there's an open-ended task assigned).

Character moments. Try putting your character into a generic setting and write down almost meticulously what their thought process would be. Follow them realizing they've just stepped in mud or dreading the start of the day. Pick a mundane thing and describe them working through it. This will not only get your writing going, but it will wake up the character's voice in your head.

Ongoing storytelling. Did you know that Whinnie the Poo was A.A. Milne's warm up story? He would jot down a quick little story with those very basic characters and did so every day. Whatever came to mind. He kept writing little tidbits on the same characters and eventually it turned into a series. Having that ongoing plot with isolated scenes and simple characters can help you feel more motivated to sit down and write.

Get-to-know-you-questions. Google a list of basic first-date questions (there are a million out there) and answer one yourself. Go into specifics. Where do you most want to travel and why? Let yourself ramble until the question is fully answered.

Writer's block blues. This is a favorite of mine. If you're truly stuck, write about being stuck. Eg: 'I'm supposed to write for ten minutse, but that feels so stupid and impossible. No one is goign to read this anyway. I have no ideas and the page is so overwhelming when its blank. I used to be able to write on and on and nothing could stop me. it was like breathing. but now I have nothign and do nothing and I can't even do a stupid prompt-' Even the rambling and ranting got me writing. It made things easier. It made writing this post easier. Also -- notice the typos? Yeah, don't fix those. You're in writing mode, not editing mode when you're doing this. If you edit while you write, you're forcing yourself to stay in your executive and calculating headspace rather than falling fully into creativity and dream. Ignore the mistakes. That's for future you to handle.

I've officially rambled far too much, but I hope that helps even a little bit. Live well and write often, my friends. Best of luck to you <3

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HOW TO WRITE A CHARACTER WHO IS IN PAIN

first thing you might want to consider: is the pain mental or physical?

if it’s physical, what type of pain is it causing? — sharp pain, white-hot pain, acute pain, dull ache, throbbing pain, chronic pain, neuropathic pain (typically caused by nerve damage), etc

if it’s mental, what is the reason your character is in pain? — grief, heartbreak, betrayal, anger, hopelessness, fear and anxiety, etc

because your character will react differently to different types of pain

PHYSICAL PAIN

sharp and white-hot pain may cause a character to grit their teeth, scream, moan, twist their body. their skin may appear pale, eyes red-rimmed and sunken with layers of sweat covering their forehead. they may have tears in their eyes (and the tears may feel hot), but they don’t necessarily have to always be crying.

acute pain may be similar to sharp and white-hot pain; acute pain is sudden and urgent and often comes without a warning, so your character may experience a hitched breathing where they suddenly stop what they’re doing and clench their hand at the spot where it hurts with widened eyes and open mouth (like they’re gasping for air).

dull ache and throbbing pain can result in your character wanting to lay down and close their eyes. if it’s a headache, they may ask for the lights to be turned off and they may be less responsive, in the sense that they’d rather not engage in any activity or conversation and they’d rather be left alone. they may make a soft whimper from their throat from time to time, depends on their personality (if they don’t mind others seeing their discomfort, they may whimper. but if your character doesn’t like anyone seeing them in a not-so-strong state, chances are they won’t make any sound, they might even pretend like they’re fine by continuing with their normal routine, and they may or may not end up throwing up or fainting).

if your character experience chronic pain, their pain will not go away (unlike any other illnesses or injuries where the pain stops after the person is healed) so they can feel all these types of sharp pain shooting through their body. there can also be soreness and stiffness around some specific spots, and it will affect their life. so your character will be lucky if they have caretakers in their life. but are they stubborn? do they accept help from others or do they like to pretend like they’re fine in front of everybody until their body can’t take it anymore and so they can no longer pretend?

neuropathic pain or nerve pain will have your character feeling these senses of burning, shooting and stabbing sensation, and the pain can come very suddenly and without any warning — think of it as an electric shock that causes through your character’s body all of a sudden. your character may yelp or gasp in shock, how they react may vary depends on the severity of the pain and how long it lasts.

EMOTIONAL PAIN

grief can make your character shut themself off from their friends and the world in general. or they can also lash out at anyone who tries to comfort them. (five states of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and eventual acceptance.)

heartbreak — your character might want to lock themself in a room, anywhere where they are unseen. or they may want to pretend that everything’s fine, that they’re not hurt. until they break down.

betrayal can leave a character with confusion, the feelings of ‘what went wrong?’, so it’s understandable if your character blames themself at first, that maybe it’s their fault because they’ve somehow done something wrong somewhere that caused the other character to betray them. what comes after confusion may be anger. your character can be angry at the person who betrayed them and at themself, after they think they’ve done something wrong that resulted in them being betrayed, they may also be angry at themself next for ‘falling’ for the lies and for ‘being fooled’. so yes, betrayal can leave your character with the hatred that’s directed towards the character who betrayed them and themself. whether or not your character can ‘move on and forgive’ is up to you.

there are several ways a character can react to anger; they can simply lash out, break things, scream and yell, or they can also go complete silent. no shouting, no thrashing the place. they can sit alone in silence and they may cry. anger does make people cry. it mostly won’t be anything like ‘ugly sobbing’ but your character’s eyes can be bloodshot, red-rimmed and there will be tears, only that there won’t be any sobbing in most cases.

hopelessness can be a very valid reason for it, if you want your character to do something reckless or stupid. most people will do anything if they’re desperate enough. so if you want your character to run into a burning building, jump in front of a bullet, or confess their love to their archenemy in front of all their friends, hopelessness is always a valid reason. there’s no ‘out of character’ if they are hopeless and are desperate enough.

fear and anxiety. your character may be trembling, their hands may be shaky. they may lose their appetite. they may be sweaty and/or bouncing their feet. they may have a panic attack if it’s severe enough.

and I think that’s it for now! feel free to add anything I may have forgotten to mention here!

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Writing because murder is illegal, going to space is expensive and magical creatures apparently don't exist...

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Random Names

Part XII

A list of random names that I come across to give you some variety for your next characters.

Serena (f)

Arne (m)

Oliver (m)

Delphina (f)

Claudius (m)

Mischa/Misha (f/m)

Julian (m)

Daimon (m)

Paisley (f)

Javid (m)

Editha (f)

Daria (f)

Yilma (f)

Bree (f)

Penelope (f)

Enya (f)

Deirdre (f)

Sahar (f)

Edmund (m)

Ariya (f)

Indira (f)

Kevin (m)

Ianna (f)

Can (m)

Abbas (m)

Kendra (f)

Yorick (m)

Alizée (f)

Tamina (f)

Halil/Khaleel (m)

More names!

If you like my blog and want to support me, you can buy me a coffee or become a member! And check out my Instagram! 🥰

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"Y'all want the bad guy, right? That's what coming. What did I get putting my heart on the floor so they could walk on and feel comforted. I, instead got crushed.

So here's the bad guy you all so eagerly expected. Here's the guy who sold his soul. Here's the guy who hates the world. How about it? Happy?"

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Oh little one, you think once is enough? Twice? Three times? You're so cute. I'm going to make you cum so much that your eyes can't focus, so that your head empties. You won't be able to get my scent off you for weeks. I won't be happy until we're in double digits. And even then, I'll only stop if you can still beg.

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10 Non-Lethal Injuries to Add Pain to Your Writing

New Part: 10 Lethal Injury Ideas

If you need a simple way to make your characters feel pain, here are some ideas: 

1. Sprained Ankle

A common injury that can severely limit mobility. This is useful because your characters will have to experience a mild struggle and adapt their plans to their new lack of mobiliy. Perfect to add tension to a chase scene.

2. Rib Contusion

A painful bruise on the ribs can make breathing difficult, helping you sneak in those ragged wheezes during a fight scene. Could also be used for something sport-related! It's impactful enough to leave a lingering pain but not enough to hinder their overall movement.

3. Concussions

This common brain injury can lead to confusion, dizziness, and mood swings, affecting a character’s judgment heavily. It can also cause mild amnesia.

I enjoy using concussions when you need another character to subtly take over the fight/scene, it's an easy way to switch POVs. You could also use it if you need a 'cute' recovery moment with A and B.

4. Fractured Finger

A broken finger can complicate tasks that require fine motor skills. This would be perfect for characters like artists, writers, etc. Or, a fighter who brushes it off as nothing till they try to throw a punch and are hit with pain.

5. Road Rash

Road rash is an abrasion caused by friction. Aka scraping skin. The raw, painful sting resulting from a fall can be a quick but effective way to add pain to your writing. Tip: it's great if you need a mild injury for a child.

6. Shoulder Dislocation

This injury can be excruciating and often leads to an inability to use one arm, forcing characters to confront their limitations while adding urgency to their situation. Good for torture scenes.

7. Deep Laceration

A deep laceration is a cut that requires stitches. As someone who got stitches as a kid, they really aren't that bad! A 2-3 inch wound (in length) provides just enough pain and blood to add that dramatic flair to your writing while not severely deterring your character.

This is also a great wound to look back on since it often scars. Note: the deeper and wider the cut the worse your character's condition. Don't give them a 5 inch deep gash and call that mild.

8. Burns

Whether from fire, chemicals, or hot surfaces, burns can cause intense suffering and lingering trauma. Like the previous injury, the lasting physical and emotional trauma of a burn is a great wound for characters to look back on.

If you want to explore writing burns, read here.

9. Pulled Muscle

This can create ongoing pain and restrict movement, offering a window to force your character to lean on another. Note: I personally use muscle related injuries when I want to focus more on the pain and sprains to focus on a lack of mobility.

10. Tendonitis

Inflammation of a tendon can cause chronic pain and limit a character's ability to perform tasks they usually take for granted. When exploring tendonitis make sure you research well as this can easily turn into a more severe injury.

This is a quick, brief list of ideas to provide writers inspiration. Since it is a shorter blog, I have not covered the injuries in detail. This is inspiration, not a thorough guide. Happy writing! :)

Looking For More Writing Tips And Tricks? 

Check out the rest of Quillology with Haya; a blog dedicated to writing and publishing tips for authors!

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10 Traits That Make a Character Secretly Dangerous

❥ Disarming Humor. They’re the life of the party. Everyone’s laughing. No one’s noticing how much they aren’tsaying.

❥ Laser-Sharp Observation. They see everything. Who’s nervous. Who’s lying. Who would be easiest to break. And they don’t miss.

❥ Unsettling Calm. Even in chaos, they stay still. Smiling. Thinking. Calculating.

❥ Weaponized Empathy. They know how to make people trust them. Because they know exactly what people want to hear.

❥ Compartmentalization. They can do something brutal, then eat lunch like nothing happened.

❥ Controlling Niceness. The kind of kindness that’s sharp-edged. You feel guilty for not loving them.

❥ Mirroring Behavior. They become whatever the person in front of them needs. It's not flattery. It’s survival—or manipulation.

❥ Selective Vulnerability. They know how to spill just enough pain to make you drop your guard.

❥ History of “Bad Luck”. Ex-friends, ex-lovers, ex-colleagues… they all left under “unfortunate” circumstances. But the pattern says otherwise.

❥ Unshakeable Confidence in Their Morality. They don’t think they’re the villain. That makes them scarier.

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goddamn it.

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Betrayal Scene Prompts

A pause too long before they answer your question.

Looking away when someone else is blamed, for something they did.

A smile that doesn’t quite reach their eyes when you succeed.

Promising they’ll show up, but their silence says they won’t.

Sharing a secret with someone else before they tell you.

Holding back the truth with an “I didn’t want to hurt you.”

Changing the subject every time your name comes up.

Watching you fall apart and doing nothing.

The moment they let the door swing shut behind you.

Pretending they didn’t hear the pain in your voice.

Saying “I’m here for you” but not showing up when it counts.

Hesitating before defending you.

A shift in tone, from warmth to formality.

Being left out of a plan they made for both of you.

A gift returned, unopened.

Laughing with someone who hurt you.

Reading your message but never replying.

Using something you told them in confidence, against you.

Inviting everyone but you.

Saying "I didn’t mean it like that" when they absolutely did.

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"i don't comment on ao3 because i don't wanna be annoying or weird" skill issue + you greatly underestimate the power dynamic here, writing multi paragraph comments is like feeding a bunch of deeply insane and possibly starved ducks at the park and watch them go completely mad over having received a piece of bread

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Fanfic is a free hobby.

It's one of the last few things we can have as a society that's free. You can engage, for free. People give you things (art, stories, etc), for free.

Don't buy into the consummerism just because it's everywhere else.

You don't have to consume everything you interact with. You don't have to use things, just because they exist.

You're allowed (still, for now), to have things that are enjoyable for free.

Do you realise how insane the world is? We don't have many places where we can just be, for free anymore, but ao3 is. Did you notice we don't have ads in ao3? We don't have pop ups? Where ELSE do we not have that?

Where else can you just go and not have to wait for a commercial to be over or for ads to be on the sidelines?

I don't think the younger people understand, but the whole of internet used to be like this. YouTubers would do Youtube for free, just because. You couldn't monetise your internet presence before.

Ao3 is like a little preserved corner of the internet where the old internet used to be, and it's being attacked by people who do not understand that free things are allowed to exist without judgment.

Please don't ruin this for us.

Some of us need it.

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my dream as a fanfic writer is for one day, one of my fics to be someones comfort fic. like the fic that they reread when they don't feel good and want to be happy. i want my words to comfort someone one day

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Happy STS!

What is your OCs favorite way to relax?

Hi! Thank you for asking this question @darkluminosity. I'm going to go with King Sol for this one.

When he's finally able to rest at a Royal Cottage, Sol makes sure he takes a nap in the most sunshine filled area possible. If he's outside, he'll sleep in the grass. If he's inside, he'll sleep near the window with the most sunlight. It might seems like it would make sense to sleep in the dark but the sun keeps him energized even while he sleeps.

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Hi! Happy STS! Do you have any recurring themes that appear in most/all of your work? If so, is it deliberate or incidental? If not, are there any themes you'd like to work into your writing that you just haven't managed to yet?

Hello! Thank you for the question @elkieselkiewrites and sorry it took me a while to answer. It's been kind of a busy weekend.

As I've been writing in my life, I've noticed a couple of them that I just can't help to put in majority of my stories:

Missing parents - For some reason my main characters either have no parents or only one of them. It's very rare that I have both a mother and a father in a story. I'm not sure if it's a huge deal for me but I do feel like there should be a balance and so might think of doing more two parent stories.

Friendships - If you're reading a story of mine, be prepared for best friends for both leads and a large friend group. You can also be prepared for some of the friends to end up together. I feel like the reason for this theme is because it's always been hard for me to have and keep friends myself...even to this day so I love seeing that my characters have a great relationship with their friends.

Pets - These aren't super often but there are quite a few stories that have either a pet dog or a pet cat or even a horse. I'm an animal lover so that was a no brainer for me to do that in my stories.

Fights - I don't mean like battles like in fantasy either. I mean like a man defending his woman one on one with somebody or a main character fighting for his or her own personal reason with somebody. I'm not to sure why this is. I guess I love seeing a character's strength to fight and the mental capacity to see if the fight is worth it.

Food - I love food, I love writing about food and I love the fact that my characters love eating food. There will usually be scenes of eating meals in my stories. Is it important? Probably not but it makes me warm inside, so why not?

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This is an appreciation post for the fanfic authors who aren’t included on rec lists

For the fanfic authors who don’t get art of their fics

For the fanfic authors who can’t get to 1000/500/100 hits

For the fanfic authors who don’t get comments/reviews

For the fanfic authors who write for small fandoms

For the fanfic authors who write rarepairs or gen fics

For the fanfic authors who get hate for the ships/characters/fandoms they write

For the fanfic authors who write in English despite it not being their first language

For the fanfic authors who don’t write in English

For the fanfic authors who don’t think anyone reads or likes their work

For the fanfic authors who aren’t big name fans

For the fanfic authors who don’t get requests in their inboxes

For the fanfic authors who can’t write stories that are more than a thousand words

For the fanfic authors who only write one ship

For the fanfic authors who are just starting

For the fanfic authors who have been writing fic for years

For the fanfic authors who use fanfic to practice writing

For the fanfic authors who write self-insert fics

For the fanfic authors who write about their OCs

For the fanfic authors who write to vent or cope

For the fanfic authors who are just waiting for their big break

Keep creating, I love you ❤️