zmwrites

[zmwrites]

[zmwrites]

rapidly switching between ‘i just wanna have fun and tell a fun story’ and ‘i must make this moving and intelligent enough that i might impart all my relevant wisdom onto the audience and teach the world of things they may not otherwise understand solely with this piece of writing’ 

[zmwrites]

It's incredible, really, how wanting to know what happened in the past can be an even stronger hook in a story than wanting to know what happens next. The urge to understand why things are the way they are, even knowing that it can't be changed, is so powerful

[zmwrites]

A trope that gets to me: 'guard dog' character and their partner who are both fully aware of it and honestly don't care/kind of like it. Someone says "call your guard dog off" and their partner does call them off. That person, their 'guard dog', is someone who is unreservedly, irrefutably loyal to them. Someone undoubtedly dangerous who is willing to kill, to maim, to obey, simply because of their love for one another. There's no manipulation involved— it is loyalty, brutal, dogged loyalty. And it goes both ways.

[zmwrites]

i hate when ppl act like the only reason to not like a "sad" ending is because you can't take it or whatever. personally as a tragedy enjoyer, i hate a poorly written ending. i hate an ending that is just kind of a bummer. i hate an ending that feels mean-spirited to the audience. i hate an ending that's redundant. i love a sad ending that is thematically consistent, poignant, and bespoke to the rest of its narrative.

[zmwrites]

not to post even more Villains Discourse on main but it really bugs me how people read giving villains tragic backstories as inherently excusing their actions and/or demonizing trauma survivors.

the actual message of Tragic Villains is (almost) always “people who are never taught or given any healthy, constructive outlets for their emotions will often find unhealthy, destructive outlets.” it’s that people who are traumatized and never learn how to cope with that trauma can become a danger to themselves and others. the message isn’t “trauma makes you evil!!!!” or “genocide is okay if you’ve been sad before!!!!” it’s “people need compassion and help to recover from trauma instead of becoming increasingly angry and harming themselves and others in the process.”

this site takes an alarmingly behaviorist and punitive approach to everything and it’s literally the most annoying thing. y’all have this concept that “if we just punish people hard enough, if we just scare them enough, if we just make them feel guilty enough.” that people just Do Bad Things Because They Do Bad Things, I Guess, and Because We Didn’t Threaten Them And Shame Them Enough. but humans are an innately social species. at our very core, we need compassion and kindness. we need healthy relationships with other humans.

you can keep looking at traumatized villains and being like “haha this dumb pathetic sadboi thinks murder is okay because his parents died” but as a survivor myself, unaddressed/untreated trauma absolutely can make you ragey and destructive. i was lucky enough to have support and eventually get the treatment i needed. but it’s not hard at all for me to imagine how, if that hadn’t been the case, that could’ve been me. obviously not on a movie-villain scale like murder or war crimes, but it’s so irritating as someone whose trauma has always manifested as anger to watch people on this site be like “this is just bad writing!!! real survivors/good survivors don’t end up like that the writers just hate survivors and want the audience to condone murder!”

[zmwrites]

Things That Are Unfairly Attractive to Read About a Man Doing...

›› Speaking in that low, wreck-your-world kind of voice that hits somewhere deep in your chest, like a secret only your bones understand.

›› Leaning against a doorway like he’s daring the entire room to challenge him, and the wall’s just collateral damage.

›› Clenching his jaw when someone else makes you laugh, like he's trying not to admit he wants to be the only reason you ever do.

›› Saying “don’t look at me like that” while he’s looking at you like he's already undressing every layer of your soul.

›› Handing you his hoodie, and it smells like midnight and sin and that cologne that haunts your pillow for days after.

›› Touching you like you’re a story he’s been dying to read with his hands, slow and full of reverence, not rush.

›› Whispering something raw and stupidly honest at Midnight. like the dark won’t remember, but you always will.

›› Calling you out so calmly it slices deeper than yelling ever could, because he knows his silence echoes louder.

›› Snapping, just once, and the instant after, looking at you like he’d cut out his own tongue to take it back.

›› Knowing all your tells without asking, like your whole body speaks a language only he bothered to learn.

›› Letting you go even though it’s killing him, because love isn’t the same thing as holding on.

›› Saying “come here” with a voice that makes your knees forget how to hold you up, not a suggestion, not a plea.

›› Smiling for the first time and only at you, like you’re the sunrise after a century of war.

›› Resting his hand on the back of your neck like it's the most natural thing in the world, like you’re his anchor.

›› Standing behind you in the mirror and not saying a word, just watching like you’re the most dangerous, beautiful thing he’s ever survived.

›› Walking into a room and scanning for you first, every time, even when he swears he’s over it.

›› Laughing in that low, surprised way when you challenge him, like he forgot how much he likes the fight.

›› Saying your name like it’s both a prayer and a dare.

›› Looking wrecked in a way that makes you want to destroy whatever did that to him, or hold him so tight it never happens again.

›› Brushing his thumb over your lip mid-sentence, like he’s thinking about kissing you but hasn’t decided if it would ruin or save him.

›› Waiting until you walk away to fall apart, because he doesn’t want you to see that you’re his breaking point.

[zmwrites]

i am very weak for the “ruthless person who develops one (1) ounce of ethics because the person they are obsessed with wouldn’t approve of murder” thing.

[zmwrites]

a reminder to all writers out there, you’re a human, not a machine

it’s okay to be frustrated with your works

it’s okay to be exhausted

it’s okay to have a writer’s block

it’s okay to just want to take a break for a while

it’s okay if some days you can only write one paragraph

it’s okay if some days you can only write a sentence or two

it’s okay if some days you can’t write at all

every single writer has gone through all of these challenges, but the thing is that it passes. none of these struggles last forever. so be kind to yourself. you’re doing fine, I promise.

[zmwrites]

am always obsessed when someone says to a character “call off your dog” about another character.

[zmwrites]

i want to write but these days it kind of feels like i’m scraping the bottom of the ice cream tub that is my brain 😞

[zmwrites]

listen, sometimes it's more powerful for a fictional relationship to be a friendship precisely because friendship is devalued in comparison to romance. anyone can sacrifice themself for the love of their life. but for a friend? if anything, that kind of devotion can be even more moving than if the relationship is romantic. there's a real dramatic power to prioritising friendship in your narratives sometimes.

[zmwrites]

if it's good enough for you, then it deserves to be made. don't let anyone else decide if your story is worth it or not.

[zmwrites]

So many YA fantasy books have such pretty covers but the synopsis is always giving such a bare bones nothing burger vibe

[zmwrites]

I really like those "here are my ocs with their pride flags" type of arts and I thought of making one but unfortunately I just keep making bi bitches

[zmwrites]

huge fan of when the good guys are themed on dark colors and spiky scrappy punk aesthetics and the bad guys are themed on light colors and angelic imagery and order. always such a banger.

[zmwrites]

Snippet Sunday 13/7

Here is a Jasper having to deal with his sister

He's getting amunition for weeks.

~~

After a while, Llinos started to hum, just at the edge of Jasper's hearing; low and breathy and missing some of the notes.

Kallylin pricked her ears forward, flicking her tail almost in time. She rolled onto her side, presenting her belly.

It took Jasper a moment to place the tune, a moment where the wind dropped and the music from the village rang out clear above the voices. A moment where he borrowed Kallylin's hearing, working on the assumption that Llinos was predictable and Rhydderch was even moreso.

"So it's the professionalism that you're worried about here, right?"

Llinos broke off her humming. "What?"

"You're worried about the fact that you've now technically stabbed one of our clients."

"I-"

"Also you have a crush on her."

"What? No I don't."

"Llinos," Jasper gave her a flat stare.

"Shut the fuck no I don't."

Jasper snorted.

"It's not - I stabbed her, and now I'm being paid to protect her and she's not going to trust me to do that! I'm putting her in danger?" Llinos tugged at her knees and then shifted, back up to balance on the balls of her feet.

Jasper sighed. "She's not going to run into danger because of that."

"And even if she does, she - she's got that sword. She can defend herself."

"She can just stab you right back." Jasper pressed two finger to the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes for a moment. "Again."

Llinos paused. "I don't think you're trying to help."

"I don't think you know what you want help with."

She stared at him. "I mean probably. Why not. When have I ever known."

"That's the spirit."

Llinos bounced back to her feet and kicked Jasper as she walked past. "No one asked you."

"Oh, I'm aware." He stretched his feet out to trip her up on the return. "And yet here I am, offering advice anyway, because I'm that nice."

Llinos jumped his feet as she strode by. "What advice?"

"Admit you have a crush and deal with that like a normal person. Rather than being weird about things that she's not worrying about."

"How do you know she's not?" Llinos swivelled to face him. "Has she been - no, she wouldn't talk to you about this."

"Ouch."

"Anyway, it's fine. Our contracts won't be the same length. I'll manage. Tell me the contracts aren't the same length."

"So you're sticking with the denial angle." Jasper buried his hand in Kallylin's fur, scratching lightly at her belly. He held back his sigh, because he was being encouraging. He was being nice and patient and listening as Llinos talked herself around to… whatever she needed to talk herself around to.

Kallylin sighed instead.

"What the fuck would you know?" Llinos kicked his feet out of her way as she came back.

"I know you. And I'm just making conclusions." Llinos stiffened, turning towards the gathering. "No. No, don't you dare," she hissed.

The music had stopped. Or at least, Jasper couldn't hear a ukulele amongst it.

"If he's worried, it must be bad."

"As long as he doesn't bring her with him," she muttered, and dropped back to the ground, almost within reach, on the other side of Kallylin.

"Because…?" Jasper prompted.

Llinos growled. "Fine because I like her. Happy?"

"Delirious."

"Jasper, I like her. How do I… deal with that? I stabbed her on our second meeting! You threw me out of a window on our first!" She twisted to stare up at him from her back.

Jasper shrugged. "Talk to her about it."

Rhydderch appeared, panting, and dropped to the ground between Kallylin and Llinos.

Llinos rolled onto her side and buried her face in Rhydderch's fur.

Jasper sighed. This was progress. Painfully slow, but progress.

"Wait," he said. "Hold on." Jasper leant over Kallylin and Rhydderch, poking Llinos until she looked up. "So when you asked her if I was cute-"

"It was if you'd be cute as a cat, it was hypothetical," Llinos snapped, her face beginning to flush red underneath her freckles.

"Oh good," said Jasper, in tones that said he didn't believe her, "because I'd hate to think you might have sabotaged my chances. Or your own."

"Don't you fucking dare insinuate-" Llinos puffed herself up.

To the side, Rhydderch whined and placed his nose all but between his paws as if he was hiding. Kallylin licked a stripe across his head and settled next to him.

"No one's believing that." Jasper reached out to place a hand on Llinos' head. "Creadur bach," he said carefully, hoping he was pronouncing it right, but also knowing it would be lost amongst the gentle mockery.

Llinos slapped his hand away, baring her teeth.

"Oh, this is where you are?"

Jasper watched as Llinos froze at Kaua's voice behind her. "Guard duty," he said, which wasn't entirely wrong. "We heard your playing. You're good."

She played while they travelled, too, but it was different when it wasn't undercut by wheels and oxen.

Kaua laughed. "I'm rusty, but it's nice to have an appreciative audience."

"Rhydderch really likes it," Llinos said. "He's hard to drag away."

"My number one fan," Kaua agreed, coming closer to offer her hand to Rhydderch.

Rhydderch wriggled free of Llinos and sat up, whining until Kaua started to scratch his ears.

"There's food down there." Kaua gestured back with her free hand. "It's beginning to look like we won't be moving on today."

Jasper laughed as he got to his feet. "I had my doubts."

"Where are you going?" Llinos stared up at him, wide eyed with just the hint of panic.

"One last round and then down." He nodded at the gathering. "I'm getting hungry."

"Oh, hold up then." Llinos started to get to her feet. "I'll come with-"

"No, you should go ahead with Kaua. Grab food, see what there is." He grinned. "I'll catch up."

Llinos scowled at him.

"It's Llinos' day off," he said to Kaua. "Make sure she doesn't do any work."

"Alright," Kaua replied, eyes bright. "We can manage that, can't we Rhydderch?"