#punching my way through intensive writers block one snippet at a time

[fistfuloflightning]

Shen Qingqiu had not expected this mission to be overly hard, even with Qi-shijie breathing down his neck and his shizun’s expectations hanging over his head like a sword. In fact it was intended to be simple reconnaissance for information. But the moment they stepped into the thriving black market in Hongmen City, he felt unease. He pulled the veil of his weimao closer around him, and Qi Qingqi did the same next to him as they pushed through the crowd of similarly masked patrons to find a suitable place to observe. It was tradition to go about hidden for auctions such as this, and Shen Qingqiu was grateful for the anonymity it provided.

The auction house was large and near gaudy in its ornamentation. It was like it was painting a target on itself. Hiding in plain sight, as it were. Because on the surface it offered stolen artifacts and scrolls of forbidden techniques and cultivation tools only for those with money and the ruthlessness to use it. But beneath the veneer ran the true lifeblood of the auction house.

Cauldron trafficking.

Cang Qiong had received rumors and reports as far back as a year prior of vanishings and the selling of humans, and only now had they been able to pinpoint a location. Shen Qingqiu wondered at the incompetence, considering how the auction house was hiding in plain sight.

Sitting at a third story railing and looking down at the center stage, Shen Qingqiu let his senses wander. From the waiter placing tea at their table, to a trio of black-veiled scholars conversing two pillars over, to the low rumble of talk beneath the chime and clatter of anticipation. And when the last of the items were sold off and the presenter beckoned forward a young woman bound in chains, Shen Qingqiu knew the only way he could remain impartial was to turn his attention resolutely away from the stage below.

But he could not block the words, of humans being sold off like chattel. He knew what it felt like to stand beneath cruel evaluating eyes, to know your life meant little to the rest of the world and that your death would be just as unremarkable.

He downed near an entire pot of tea before he could force himself to look back down.

The next exhibit. A young man, high qi levels, only two former owners, lightly used.

Lightly used. His hand tightened into a bloodless fist, hidden by his sleeves. He was no longer a slave, he reminded himself, all of his former owners were dead. He was here for the express purpose of destroying this kind of slavery. Like all the cauldrons shown before, the current exhibit had been stripped nearly naked to show off his physical features. Young, slender, with soft brown hair that had been left unattended and lay limp down his back. Something about the young man’s defeated posture dredged up memories for Shen Qingqiu and he looked away. “Surely this is enough to report back,” he hissed to his senior sister, who had been observing the people around them.

“We must wait until the end. And I need to figure out at least two of the major buyers. Xian Xu Peak would be able to trace the buyers and discover just how far the trafficking ring extended.

Below them, the cauldron was forced to walk about. His posture was that of a long-term slave beaten into submission, but the way his gaze flicked up spoke of defiance. For a fraction of a second, those eyes met his—a clear honey-brown that haunted his memories even now.

Shen Yuan.

He nearly jerked up out of his seat. But only the fear of his presence blowing their cover kept him in place. If he revealed their identities now, Shen Yuan would be whisked away and he would never find him again.

After he’d killed Wu Yanzi, he’d relied on the connections he made while under the cultivator’s ‘tutelage’, and the brothel workers he’d begged food scraps from, while Wu Yanzi had wasted their precious coin on pleasure, had welcomed him. One such brothel had been home to a courtesan and her son, with whom Shen Jiu had grown attached. He hadn’t stayed there long, long enough to fall for a sharp tongue and pretty eyes.

He had given him the same promise Qi’ge had. And had failed him in the same way, returning too late to the brothel to free him from the contract he shared with his mother, because his mother was dead and Shen Yuan already sold off.

And now Shen Qingqiu knew where he was all these years. Being forced to dual cultivate and give up his own qi to others far more greedy and undeserving. He felt violently ill.

He couldn’t bid. He would not descend the levels of those around them… and he had no money. But that didn’t stop him from reaching into a sleeve to feel for his purse.

“Something caught your eye?” Qi Qingqi’s disgust was palpable. He knew she believed the rumors about him, about the brothels and the bought favors.

Only for him to come back to himself in time to see Shen Yuan dragged off the platform – auctioned off quickly, he realized with cold dread, but who had bought him? Using the weimao as a shield, Shen Qingqiu scanned those around them. But none looked to have made any sign.

“I—I must go.” Before it was too late. Qi Qingqi hissed after him, but he was deaf and blind to her fury. He no longer cared if he blew their cover, Qi-shijie would do her job without him no matter what. No, the only thing he cared about was finding Shen Yuan and fulfilling that broken promise.

also on ao3

[atiny-piratequeen]

Fie’s Super Helpful Tips (Not Really) #1: Fighting Scenes

Hi! I was thinking earlier about some of the songs I’ve put in my playlist and I know sometimes my friendos and followers ask me for help every now and then, so I’ve decided to try my hand at giving you all a little peek into my writing process, and maybe it can help someone else along the way? If not...shiber posted this-

Anyway, I’ve been writing for over a decade and I’ve decided to not only give you all some of the things I go through, but also post some snippets from a fic I wrote back when I was younger on FF, and some snippets from my BTS fic Still Standing, since there’s a fair share of fighting/action scenes in that, so be aware that there is some spoilers when it comes to SS, if any armytiny was interested in reading it. The screenshots from the other fic are fine because no one’s gonna be reading that ya yeet. 

Anyway, tips and cool raptor tricks under the cut! *kick flips*

So, for me, the most important part of my writing process is always finding the right music. I know some people have issues focusing when it comes to writing with songs with lyrics, because it may make them distracted. If you’re this type of person, feel free to make a playlist of songs that are instrumental, that may help better. 

For me, with all of my scenes, but especially my fighting ones, I find songs that make me see certian scenes like a music video. For the examples, I’ll pull songs I have for my Against the Tide (Ateez OT8) playlist 

So, when you think of fighting scenes, what do you think of? Rock songs? Metal? 

Those two are the most common songs that come to mind when it comes to writing or visualizing fighting or action heavy scenes. I have some songs in my playlist from those genres that are there specifically for parts in later chapters that have very in depth and intricate fighting. (E.x Ludens- Bring me the Horizon, Literally every Babymetal track, Zoetrope-Yanaginagi and Piri-Dreamcatcher (yes, I’m counting Dreamcatcher as rock + Kpop bc it is, fight me). 

But, sometimes, you can even formulate really visual scenes from songs that are not as suspecting (edm is a common third place to rock and metal but you can also use some pop and even jazz songs!)

Going back to my own playlist, I have some songs specifically for fight/action-based scenes that one may not overtly think would work for that kind of scene like:

Underground- Lindsey Sterling, The Sky Falls- Xai, and probably the most ??? Butterfly Effect-Exo.

Butterfly Effect is the outlier in all of these songs, right? How can something so beautiful with it’s lyrics have anything to do with fighting?

The answer is the tone. Sometimes you have to invision scenes out of the norm. Step back away from the usual fighting in the rain in a forest or running through a busy city doing disgusting amounts of collateral damage and think with your eyes closed. 

Listen to Butterfly Effect, if you could, and think of the following:

Your protagonist is down on their luck, they’re close to losing to our main antagonist. Instead of having them in a dark area, imagine them somewhere brightly lit, such as a purgatory-esque place, but instead of a mute white, it’s all blue. Your muses fight, your protagonist losing their traction, and with it, their hope.

But then they think of the people who have helped them along the way, maybe? They think of what needs to be protected. They think of the people that would be effected by them losing this.  Think of them falling, images of all they know and love passing the by as they nearly lose. They can’t, they won’t, they have to win!

‘You’re saving my life~’

Your muse catches their second wind! They fight back, and maybe with this, they can win? Or at least buy some time?

Fighting scenes can be as fun as they can be terrifying. Sometimes it helps to make your protagonist dominate, only to lose in the end because of their arrogance. Sometimes it’s the other way around. 

But, for me, the first step is being able to close your eyes, and listen. Listen to your music, and listen to your thoughts, and jot down as much as you can so you don’t lose it! When you’re ready, go into your scene with those notes in your mind or in your notes, and move on to the next step.

Know your muses when you write. If they’re humans, do a little research and find out what kind of wounds can completely disarm someone, what kind of wounds cause permanent damage, and what kind of treatment some wounds may take to heal, be maintained. Know that some gashes heal within two-three weeks with proper stitching, while some require more medical attention and the like. 

You have more liberties when it comes to mystical and supernatural fics, but you also can be down to earth with your fighting. Even immortals get fatigued, so keep that in mind. Engage your viewers, make your work heart pounding, but also you add a layer of realism if you don’t always make your characters OP.

Something to keep in mind as well is how well your character is at their fighting skill. Someone who doesn’t know how to fight may injure themselves punching wrong or trying to use a weapon they’re not familiar with. Don’t be afraid to write this in your scenes! Someone throwing a sloppy punch can turn the tide, or someone not accounting for the kickback of a gun could lead to them dropping it, or injuring themselves. 

With powers, don’t be afraid to be descriptive when it comes to what they do. there’s a website called powerlisting.wikia that you all can stop by and check out when it comes to choosing powers, and learning more about their names and limitations, as well as their applications. 

Of course, you are the writer and you can change these at will, but it’s also nice to have some form of idea to visualize when it comes to your characters using their powers. Describe the fire, know that different temperatures have different colors! Describe how a character may be surprised to find they have a new power, or that their power does something it didn’t originally do. 

Know that the more a character uses their powers, the more smoothly they will use them in battle, and that sometimes their powers may be an extension of themselves.

Example time!

So I’ll be showing you some of my works and talking a little about the scenes in particular.

Written back in 2016 ish, the scenes pictured hits on what I mentioned before. Having the protagonist go through the motions of their final attack after a long fight. Something that by all accounts, usually pays off, right? But there’s this open ended feeling of not knowing if they fully killed our antagonist because of the escape (contrary to what is said at the end, she did, in fact, survive the attack, but only barely.)

With charged attacks, make sure you take some time before it’s fired, especially if its for something large. The more time you put between letting your reader know it was charging, to the moment its actually fired, you give the reader a sense of scale when it comes to how powerful it is. 

Is the attacker prone to attack? Are they being protected? Do they have to start over if interrupted? These are things to consider. I’ll add a longer snippet from my BTS work now for another example of a different styled fight scene. It’s rather lengthy and again, it has spoilers for a portion of SS, so be aware of that.

---

Jungkook didn’t wait around for any instructions, solidifying his body in crystal as he bolted for them, eyes dark and full of rage. The boys knew that look well. It was the same Jungkook used when he used to fight in the Arena.

Wonho was the one to step forward, eyes wild as he met him halfway, dodging the first punch Jungkook threw at him by ducking. He swung his head up, cracking the top of it against the younger man’s jaw. Jungkook hardly budged, smiling back when he saw a trail of blood run down between Wonho’s eyes.

“Didn’t think that through, did you-” Jungkook’s sarcastic remark was cut short when Wonho reeled back, punching him square in the gut, cracking the crystal. He stumbled back, and all of the other members of his cluster flinched from the intense pain as well. Wonho let out a beast-like sound, lunging to strike him again.

“Wonho’s already flipped the switch. Go, I’ll keep an eye on him.” Kihyun instructed the other standing mercenaries, the palm of his hand glowing purple as he pressed it over Hyungwon’s eyes, whispering something.

Yoongi’s shadows stretched across the floor to try and slow Wonho down from the flurry of fists he was sending Jungkook’s way but Jooheon was on them in an instant, moving faster than Yoongi could process, kicking away any of the shadows before they got close.

“Fuck! I can’t get close!” He hissed, blocking his front when Jooheon appeared in front of him with a vicious spinning kick aimed for his chest. Yoongi just barely missed taking the full impact, if it hadn’t been for the shadows that instinctually protected him whenever Jooheon got close. The fiery dimpled man didn’t seem too put off by this, though.

In fact, the attacks only got more relentless, with Yoongi having to go on the complete defense as Jooheon bombarded him with kick after kick, disappearing in a blur before the DJ could lash back at him.

“Hyung, hold on!” Taehyung spread his arms apart, several shards of ice aimed Yoongi’s way. Maybe if he could just slow Jooheon down-

“Tae, move!”

Tae flinched, eyes wide as Jin all but threw himself behind him, summoning a barrier to block the large bear paw that nearly came crashing down on him. Hyunwoo’s arms and legs had grown thicker in size, shaped like bear paws. The fur around his arms and legs were the same color as his hair and the tips of his claws seemed to be longer and shinier than normal claws, though neither men could fully see what was going on with that from their current position.

The younger of the two sensates scrambled up to his feet, pressing his hand to Jin’s barrier to shoot the ice at the partly-transformed mercenary instead. Hyunwoo crossed his arms in front of him, all of the ice stopping just before they impacted with his body. Tae and Jin watched in confusion as his claws began to glow light blue, and a chill blew over the whole room.

“I’ll just borrow this.” He cooed, pressing his hand to the barrier.

Immediately, the entire bubble Jin put around them was surrounded by ice.

“You’re gonna have to think outside of the bubble to fight us, y’know.” Hyunwoo teased, smashing his fist through the frigid bubble and shattering the entire thing to pieces.

Jimin, Hoseok, and Minjun were preoccupied dealing with Minhyuk a few feet away.

They had found out pretty quickly in the fight that he was proficient with his weapon, blocking any physical attacks they sent his way and countering with painful strikes with the blunt ends. Though his arms weren't as thick or muscular as Wonho or Hyunwoo's, he didn't have any issue putting power behind his swings, bruising Minjun's abdomen upon impact the first time.

He smiled wide when Hoseok began getting frustrated, noticing the same for Jimin as flames and sparks began to flicker at their fingertips respectively.

“Hit me with it. Show me what you can do!” he invited them, rolling his neck on his shoulders before gripping the ends tighter.

Both of them were happy to oblige and Minhyuk had a ball of electricity fly at him from the left and a ball of fire fly to him from his right. He grinned, holding up both rods, eyes lighting up as the elemental attacks went straight to the tip of the rods as if being pulled in by a magnet.

The little crystal bubbles began to glow, and Minhyuk looked delighted as he brought the two non-blunt ends together, snapping them into a staff. It ended up forming a large hybrid weapon that was the length of a bo staff with the blunt ends resembling that of a cudgel. The bubbles at the ends were yellow with sparks crackling on the inside of it while the ones on the other side were red, with flames licking at the inside of the crystalline bubbles.

“D-did...did he just absorb our attacks, hyung?” Jimin inquired, blinking in surprise. Hoseok frowned and Minhyuk winked at them.

“It’s an invention of my own. D’ya like it? Gotta keep up with these guys somehow since I don’t have powers.” He explained before he moved in for the next attack, swinging at Hoseok with the electric side.

“Now, let’s see how bright of a candle my technology can hold to natural abilities!”

While they fought, Ji-Woo struggled to keep up with Changkyun, taking more than a few body shots than she would have liked. Her lip was busted and she had only managed to land one punch on the younger man.

“T...There’s no way I can keep up.” She admitted, defeated. Changkyun stopped short, humming slightly.

“Is that what you honestly think?” He inquired. She stood up hesitantly, scratching her arm. The barista tossed a look over her shoulder, seeing Taehyung, Jin, and Yoongi unable to form any sense of offense against Jooheon’s speed and Hyunwoo’s brute force. Namjoon was doing his best to help out Jungkook with Wonho, but out of nowhere a large bird-like beast appeared in the warehouse, focusing on Namjoon, effectively keeping him away from the group’s maknae.

He wasn’t doing any better, getting manhandled by Wonho. Honestly, he terrified Ji-Woo because it seemed like he had absolutely gone berserk, throwing his body at Jungkook with no particular style or strategy other than “hit harder and harder and harder” and it looked like the youngest was having difficulties keeping up.

Jimin and Hoseok had tried to double team Minhyuk, but he seemed to be absolutely delighted by the fight, holding his own as he absorbed their elements, using it against them along with the powerful blows from simply hitting them. (She was worried about Minjun, as he hadn't moved in over five minutes. She hoped he had just been knocked out and nothing else.)

She wasn't sure what Kihyun and Hyungwon were doing. It seemed like the latter was asleep, and Kihyun hadn't budged from his spot, whispering things to Hyungwon with his hand still on his head as he kept his eyes on Wonho.

Wonho.

He terrified her more than all of the others combined because he honestly seemed more beast than man. His eyes were manic, and every time the fight with Jungkook drew blood, it seemed his attacks got more erratic and powerful.

Changkyun watched her silently, closing his eyes as he tried to find the proper words to say.

“You're already thinking more than the others.”

She turned back to him and he put his hands on his hips, pivoting on his heel to look at the others fighting.

“The reason they're struggling is because they're not thinking about everything. They're not using tactics. Not communicating. No one said they had to break off into little groups to fight us. If Namjoon or Jimin were to come over here and attack me, I would not only be ready for it, but expect it. They need to look at every variable in a fight to dominate it.” he told her, watching as Wonho took Jungkook and hurled him against Jin's barrier, nearly tossing him into Hyunwoo.

The leader didn't seem fazed, though he did turn and give Kihyun a look. Ji-Woo's brows furrowed as she watched the sitting man, blinking when she saw him move his hand from Hyungwon's head. He raised it, aiming it in Wonho's direction when it looked like he was going to take a wild swing Hyunwoo's way.

“Stop, calm down. Let's stop, calm down, Wonho. Your fight isn't here.”

Wonho paused for a moment, the rage in his eyes lessening as he turned to look at Jungkook. He stood to his full height and stalked over to him again, looking significantly more focused than before.

Something seemed to click for her and she gasped, stepping forward to tell the others something, but Changkyun grabbed her arm gently.

“Don't. They need to figure this out, too. I promise, it'll be a lot more harmful to just give them the solutions instead of letting them come to it on their own.” he informed her. She frowned, but nodded, turning her attention back to the boys as Changkyun gave her momentary reprieve from their sparring.

Yoongi was getting fed up of all of this madness with Jooheon, and he could feel the fatigue coming from the others. He had backed himself up so much trying to defend that he had stumbled into Wonho and Jungkook’s fight, the shadows frantically catching a wayward fist thrown by Wonho. He glared daggers at the man, flinging him upwards in frustration.

That was the first light bulb.

As Wonho flew up, all the rage in his eyes melted into sheer terror, eyes wide as he frantically tried to catch himself. This didn’t go unnoticed by Yoongi or Jungkook, especially when Kihyun raised his voice again.

“Jooheon! Catch him!” he ordered and there was a gust of wind as Jooheon bolted past Yoongi, catching Wonho middair. His feet skid slightly when he landed, setting the shorter man down closer to Kihyun.

Namjoon noticed the bird behind him began to warp and bend into a horrifyingly large creature the moment Kihyun’s attention changed to Wonho. It also stopped attacking him, taking to screeching loudly and flapping it’s wings as it swooped down to attack the others. Heads turned, and the boys noticed Hyungwon’s face scrunched up as he began to toss and shift in Kihyun’s lap, as if having a terrible nightmare.

That was the second bulb.

“This is our chance! Get Kihyun!” Namjoon ordered, turning and running full-speed at the four.

Hyunwoo took his attention off of Jin and Taehyung, a slightly impressed look on his face as he moved in an instant to block Namjoon. The nurse was having none of it, wrapping a shadow around Hyunwoo’s thick waist, throwing him into Wonho and Jooheon, toppling all three of them. Wonho let out a growl, eyes filling with rage again.

Minhyuk swept Jimin’s feet and used the distraction to slam the fire end of his cudgel against the ground. Hoseok noticed all of the red from the crystals poured out of it, creating a wall of fire to separate Namjoon from Kihyun and the others. Now the only color in the crystals came from the side where Jimin’s electricity was absorbed.

The third light bulb.

“Kihyun, you’ve got to get the order back!” Jooheon yelped, ducking when Wonho swung at him. Kihyun sent him a vicious look, holding his hand out. His eyes started to glow the same color as the power increased. Wonho calmed down significantly, blinking and Kihyun pointed past the firewall.

“Not us, them. Get angry, Wonho.”

Wonho snarled and took off like a bullet, running through the fire and tackling Namjoon head-on, rolling on the ground from the impact. The bird beast screeched from above them and swooped down towards Kihyun and Hyungwon, but the older man snapped his hand back down to Hyungwon’s head, and the bird stopped instantly. It flapped its wings for a moment or two before turning and aiming it’s talons at Jin.

The fourth bulb was as bright as the others.

Changkyun hummed and tilted his head while Ji-Woo bit her thumbnail, anxious.

“It seems they started figuring things out.” He told her and she glanced at him in surprise for a moment before turning back to them.

--

This is the other example I meant of difference in ability power. Be sure to let your readers know how comfortable people are with their powers. If they’re new or not as experienced, show that. If they’re from a more experienced team (Like MX is here), be sure to think of ways to show off each person’s strengths and weaknesses and how that plays into team fights. 

I don’t know if this helped, but if anyone would like me do to more little tip posts like this, please let me know! I hope this helped a little.