Sticking a landing will royally fuck up your joints and possibly shatter your ankles, depending on how high you’re jumping/falling from. There’s a very good reason free-runners dive and roll.
Hand-to-hand fights usually only last a matter of seconds, sometimes a few minutes. It’s exhausting work and unless you have a lot of training and history with hand-to-hand combat, you’re going to tire out really fast.
Arrows are very effective and you can’t just yank them out without doing a lot of damage. Most of the time the head of the arrow will break off inside the body if you try pulling it out, and arrows are built to pierce deep. An arrow wound demands medical attention.
Throwing your opponent across the room is really not all that smart. You’re giving them the chance to get up and run away. Unless you’re trying to put distance between you so you can shoot them or something, don’t throw them.
Everyone has something called a “flinch response” when they fight. This is pretty much the brain’s way of telling you “get the fuck out of here or we’re gonna die.” Experienced fighters have trained to suppress this. Think about how long your character has been fighting. A character in a fist fight for the first time is going to take a few hits before their survival instinct kicks in and they start hitting back. A character in a fist fight for the eighth time that week is going to respond a little differently.
ADRENALINE WORKS AGAINST YOU WHEN YOU FIGHT. THIS IS IMPORTANT. A lot of times people think that adrenaline will kick in and give you some badass fighting skills, but it’s actually the opposite. Adrenaline is what tires you out in a battle and it also affects the fighter’s efficacy – meaning it makes them shaky and inaccurate, and overall they lose about 60% of their fighting skill because their brain is focusing on not dying. Adrenaline keeps you alive, it doesn’t give you the skill to pull off a perfect roundhouse kick to the opponent’s face.
Swords WILL bend or break if you hit something hard enough. They also dull easily and take a lot of maintenance. In reality, someone who fights with a sword would have to have to repair or replace it constantly.
Fights get messy. There’s blood and sweat everywhere, and that will make it hard to hold your weapon or get a good grip on someone.
A serious battle also smells horrible. There’s lots of sweat, but also the smell of urine and feces. After someone dies, their bowels and bladder empty. There might also be some questionable things on the ground which can be very psychologically traumatizing. Remember to think about all of the character’s senses when they’re in a fight. Everything WILL affect them in some way.
If your sword is sharpened down to a fine edge, the rest of the blade can’t go through the cut you make. You’ll just end up putting a tiny, shallow scratch in the surface of whatever you strike, and you could probably break your sword.
ARCHERS ARE STRONG TOO. Have you ever drawn a bow? It takes a lot of strength, especially when you’re shooting a bow with a higher draw weight. Draw weight basically means “the amount of force you have to use to pull this sucker back enough to fire it.” To give you an idea of how that works, here’s a helpful link to tell you about finding bow sizes and draw weights for your characters. (CLICK ME)
If an archer has to use a bow they’re not used to, it will probably throw them off a little until they’ve done a few practice shots with it and figured out its draw weight and stability.
People bleed. If they get punched in the face, they’ll probably get a bloody nose. If they get stabbed or cut somehow, they’ll bleed accordingly. And if they’ve been fighting for a while, they’ve got a LOT of blood rushing around to provide them with oxygen. They’re going to bleed a lot.
Here’s a link to a chart to show you how much blood a person can lose without dying. (CLICK ME)
If you want a more in-depth medical chart, try this one. (CLICK ME)
Hopefully this helps someone out there. If you reblog, feel free to add more tips for writers or correct anything I’ve gotten wrong here.
How to apply Writing techniques for action scenes:
– Short sentences. Choppy. One action, then another. When there’s a lull in the fight, take a moment, using longer phrases to analyze the situation–then dive back in. Snap, snap, snap. – Same thing with words – short, simple, and strong in the thick of battle. Save the longer syllables for elsewhere. – Characters do not dwell on things when they are in the heat of the moment. They will get punched in the face. Focus on actions, not thoughts. – Go back and cut out as many adverbs as possible. – No seriously, if there’s ever a time to use the strongest verbs in your vocabulary – Bellow, thrash, heave, shriek, snarl, splinter, bolt, hurtle, crumble, shatter, charge, raze – it’s now. – Don’t forget your other senses. People might not even be sure what they saw during a fight, but they always know how they felt. – Taste: Dry mouth, salt from sweat, copper tang from blood, etc – Smell: OP nailed it – Touch: Headache, sore muscles, tense muscles, exhaustion, blood pounding. Bruised knuckles/bowstring fingers. Injuries that ache and pulse, sting and flare white hot with pain. – Pain will stay with a character. Even if it’s minor. – Sound and sight might blur or sharpen depending on the character and their experience/exhaustion. Colors and quick movements will catch the eye. Loud sounds or noises from behind may serve as a fighter’s only alert before an attack. – If something unexpected happens, shifting the character’s whole attention to that thing will shift the Audience’s attention, too. – Aftermath. This is where the details resurface, the characters pick up things they cast aside during the fight, both literally and metaphorically. Fights are chaotic, fast paced, and self-centered. Characters know only their self, their goals, what’s in their way, and the quickest way around those threats. The aftermath is when people can regain their emotions, their relationships, their rationality/introspection, and anything else they couldn’t afford to think or feel while their lives were on the line.
Do everything you can to keep the fight here and now. Maximize the physical, minimize the theoretical. Keep things immediate – no theories or what ifs.
If writing a strategist, who needs to think ahead, try this: keep strategy to before-and-after fights. Lay out plans in calm periods, try to guess what enemies are thinking or what they will do. During combat, however, the character should think about his options, enemies, and terrain in immediate terms; that is, in shapes and direction. (Large enemy rushing me; dive left, circle around / Scaffolding on fire, pool below me / two foes helping each other, separate them.)
Lastly, after writing, read it aloud. Anyplace your tongue catches up on a fast moving scene, edit. Smooth action scenes rarely come on the first try.
More for martial arts or hand-to-hand in general
What a character’s wearing will affect how they fight. The more restricting the clothes, the harder it will be. If they’re wearing a skirt that is loose enough to fight in, modesty will be lost in a life or death situation.
Jewelry can also be very bad. Necklaces can be grabbed onto. Bracelets also can be grabbed onto or inhibit movement. Rings it can depend on the person.
Shoes also matter. Tennis shoes are good and solid, but if you’re unused to them there’s a chance of accidentally hurting your ankle. High heels can definitely be a problem. However, they can also make very good weapons, especially for someone used to balancing on the balls of their feet. Side kicks and thrusting kicks in soft areas (like the solar plexus) or the feet are good ideas. They can also (hopefully) be taken off quickly and used as a hand weapon. Combat boots are great but if someone relies more on speed or aren’t used to them, they can weigh a person down. Cowboy boots can be surprisingly good. Spin kicks (if a character is quick enough to use them) are especially nasty in these shoes.
If a character is going to fight barefoot, please keep location in mind. Concrete can mess up your feet quick. Lawns, yards, etc often have hidden holes and other obstacles that can mess up a fighter. Tile floors or waxed wood can be very slippery if you’re not careful or used to them.
Likewise, if it’s outside be aware of how weather will affect the fight. The sun’s glare can really impede a fighter’s sight. A wet location, inside or outside, can cause a fighter to slip and fall. Sweat on the body can cause a fighter to lose a grip on an opponent too.
Pressure points for a trained fighter are great places to aim for in a fight. The solar plexus is another great place to aim for. It will knock the wind out of anyone and immediately weaken your opponent.
It your character is hit in the solar plexus and isn’t trained, they’re going down. The first time you get hit there you are out of breath and most people double over in confusion and pain. If a fighter is more used to it, they will stand tall and expand themselves in order to get some breath. They will likely keep fighting, but until their breath returns to normal, they will be considerably weaker.
Do not be afraid to have your character use obstacles in their environment. Pillars, boxes, bookshelves, doors, etc. They put distance between you and an opponent which can allow you to catch your breath.
Do not be afraid to have your character use objects in their environment. Someone’s coming at you with a spear, trident, etc, then pick up a chair and get it caught in the legs or use it as a shield. Bedsheets can make a good distraction and tangle someone up. Someone’s invading your home and you need to defend yourself? Throw a lamp. Anything can be turned into a weapon.
Guns often miss their targets at longer distances, even by those who have trained heavily with them. They can also be easier to disarm as they only shoot in one direction. However, depending on the type, grabbing onto the top is a very very bad idea. There is a good likelihood you WILL get hurt.
Knives are nasty weapons by someone who knows what they’re doing. Good fighters never hold a knife the way you would when cutting food. It is best used when held against the forearm. In defense, this makes a block more effective and in offense, slashing movement from any direction are going to be bad. If a character is in a fight with a knife or trying to disarm one, they will get hurt.
Soft areas hit with hard body parts. Hard areas hit with soft body parts. The neck, stomach, and other soft areas are best hit with punches, side kicks, elbows, and other hard body parts. Head and other hard parts are best hit using a knife hand, palm strike, etc. Spin kicks will be nasty regardless of what you’re aiming for it they land.
Common misconception with round house kicks is that you’re hitting with the top of the foot. You’re hitting with the ball. You’re likely to break your foot when hitting with the top.
When punching, the thumb is outside of the fist. You’ll break something if you’re hitting with the thumb inside, which a lot of inexperienced fighters do.
Also, punching the face or jaw can hurt.
It can be hard to grab a punch if you’re not experienced with it despite how easy movies make it seem. It’s best to dodge or redirect it.
Hitting to the head is not always the best idea. It can take a bit of training to be able to reach for the head with a kick because of the height. Flexibility is very much needed. If there are problems with their hips or they just aren’t very flexible, kicks to the head aren’t happening.
Jump kicks are a good way to hit the head, but an opponent will see it coming if it’s too slow or they are fast/experienced.
A good kick can throw an opponent back or knock them to the ground. If the person you’ve hit has experience though, they’ll immediately be getting up again.
Even if they’ve trained for years in a martial art, if they haven’t actually hit anything before or gotten hit, it will be slightly stunning for the person. It does not feel the way you expect it too.
Those yells in martial arts are not just for show. If done right, they tighten your core making it easier to take a hit in that area. Also, they can be used to intimidate an opponent. Yelling or screaming right by their ear can startle someone. (Generally, KHR fans look at Squalo for yelling)
Biting can also be used if someone’s grabbing you. Spitting in someone’s eyes can’t hurt. Also, in a chokehold or if someone is trying to grab your neck in general, PUT YOU CHIN DOWN. This cuts off access and if they’re grabbing in the front can dig into their hand and hurt.
Wrist grabs and other grabs can be good. Especially if it’s the first move an opponent makes and the character is trained, there are simple ways to counter that will have a person on their knees in seconds..
Use what your character has to their advantage. If they’re smaller or have less mass, then they’ll be relying on speed, intelligence, evasion, and other similar tactics. Larger opponents will be able to take hits better, they’re hits may be slower depending on who it is but will hurt like hell if they land, and size can be intimidating. Taller people with longer legs will want to rely on kicking and keeping their distance since they have the advantage there. Shorter people will want to keep the distance closer where it’s easier for them but harder for a taller opponent. Punching is a good idea.
Using a person’s momentum against them is great. There’s martial arts that revolve around this whole concept. They throw a punch? Grab it and pull them forward and around. Their momentum will keep them going and knock them off balance.
Leverage can used in the same way. If used right, you can flip a person, dislocate a shoulder, throw out a knee, etc.
One note on adrenaline: All that was said above is true about it. But, in a fight, it can also make you more aware of what’s going on. A fight that lasts twenty seconds can feel like a minute because time seems to almost slow down while moving extremely rapidly. You only have so much time to think about what you’re doing. You’re taking in information constantly and trying to adjust. Even in the slow down adrenaline gives you, everything is moving very rapidly.
Feelings will be your downfall even more so than adrenaline. Adrenaline can make those feelings more intense, but a good fighter has learned not to listen to those feelings. A good fighter may feel anger at being knocked down or in some way humiliated – their pride taken down. Yet they will not act on the anger. Acting on it makes a fighter more instinctive and many will charge without thinking. Losing control of anything (adrenaline rush, emotions, technique, etc) can be a terrible thing in a fight.
“You’ve been promoted, sergeant. You’re this battalion’s commander now, and I’ll give you a briefing on the development of our situation.”
Former sergeant Drop has many pressing questions, but the first to leave his lips unprompted is:
“W-what happened with commander Kite, General?”
General Pong Krell turns his yellow eyes down to the clone standing in front of him, taking a menacing step closer and leaning down to be at his eye level.
“Follow me.”
A bit farther ahead from their camp, the expectation that made Drop’s stomach churn is confirmed: their former commander lies crumpled down on the dirt, legs split from his torso with a clean, cauterized cut of what could only have been a lightsaber.
Krell flips the clone’s upper body on his back with a kick, showing Kite’s face caked in dirt and his eyes wide open and glassy. The general let a slow smile spread over his face as he turned to the clone that did his best to seem collected.
“He refused to comply to my orders, so I terminated him. I suppose you do not wish to share his fate.”
Drop swallows down as his knees feel surprisingly weak for a man so used to facing death more often than not. It wasn’t entirely unexpected though – most men from Krell’s battalion feared their own general more than an entire platoon of commando droids.
“I don’t, sir. Tell me your orders, and I’ll carry them out.”
Even if it’s the last thing I do.
“Good. I want you to gather that platoon of younger clones and have them advance to the capital undetected while the men provide them with a distraction to the enemy.”
Stealth mission. Sounds easy enough.
“So they might take those blaster turrets off from the inside? Sir, “ he hesitated, only hoping he wasn’t one insubordination away from being cut in half as well “for that I would recommend sending one of our more experienced men, they’ll know how to assess the situation better then those shinies. I know a couple of our men that are specialized in—“
“That is unnecessary, clone. We can afford to lose a few younger ones and it’s less risky than sending in our very best. You will arm them with as many thermal detonators as you can, and they’ll explode the main buildings from the inside.”
Drop tries to follow the idea. No way Krell is suggesting that…?
“As in, they should plant the explosives and return to cover, sir?”
And that… that is when Krell kriffing grins.
“No. They must detonate them manually so there are no failures, no risk of the explosives being disarmed by the enemy.”
Drop has never felt outrage so raw in his guts. And he has to fight to keep it from showing in his face, or in his shaking voice:
“Sir, with all -all – due respect, am certain that there are other solutions to this assault, solutions that will decrease the body count of what you are proposing right now.”
Krell is still smiling, raising his eyebrows in mock surprise at Drop’s words:
“Oh, I’m sure there are. But I don’t care.” And his voice becomes soft, like he is just asking him a small favor “don’t overthink it, now. After all, you’re all just clones, meat droids with human faces. It doesn’t matter. None of you do.”
Drop can feel the sweat beading on his forehead, trailing down over his eyebrows. The sheer anger in his heart that races, pulse pounding in his eardrums. He looked at his former commander’s face, dirt on his cheeks and a terrified look still lingering in his eyes. He had been trained to fight and die for the republic, and he would gladly do so, but he had never been prepared for sending nine-year old shinies to be blown to bits to aid an unnecessary, purposely cruel plan of attack.
Drop’s hand slowly goes up to his holster, casually resting over his blaster. Krell gives him a feral grin.
“Yes, he thought about that too. He had the same raw, untamed anger you’re oozing out of your whole being now. You are really just like droids. Always the same thing. It’s even…boring.” he crosses two of his four arms over his chest, stil grinning “see, now you have two choices: try to make a grab for that blaster and end up like your former commander… or you can obey my orders and send those men to do their job.”
Drop’s jaw is tensed so tight he can feel his teeth grinding in his skull, his breath shallow, his legs shaky. He hesitates, once, twice, and then bites his lip so hard it bleeds, his hand slowly letting go off his blaster.
“Good.” Krell praises with velvet in his voice as Drop salutes and turns his back on the General “now head back to the camp, issue my orders. And don’t look so upset, now. Isn’t this all you clones want, to die gloriously in battle? Isn’t this your heritage, your culture?”
Drop doesn’t turn back to face Krell. He can’t stand to. Their culture is about protecting their family. Is about fighting and dying so the younger can thrive.
“Y-yessir. Excuse me, sir.”
Tonight, Drop will fill up a backpack with as many detonators as he can manage to, and he will sneak into the capital alone. A platoon of shinies will never understand why one of their best men sacrificed his life to destroy the enemy’s stronghold. Krell will laugh about the whole deal, and wait for a new opportunity to hurt the men in his charge.
note: don’t know who these are for the most part! they might be gay, i just found them on google images. also this isn’t a ranked list i just like numbers
1. tapered and long
the top two are probably the best approximation of this cut. i like it because it’s floofy but you don’t necessarily have to have curls to pull it off
2. bowl cut pixie
ngl i thought i wasn’t going to like this but i’m actually a huge fan. gives me kind of edgy lisbeth salander vibes. this would be a really good way for femmes to flag too because it’s kinda off center of straight fashion
3. buzzcut
a classique and sexie look. buzzcuts looks rly good when they’re dyed if you’re into that (i especially love obnoxiously bright colours). if we’re doing characters, this reminds me of furiosa obviously and we all know she’s a lesbian legend
4. undercut
i’m obsessed with undercuts. it looks so so cute with curly hair or straight hair. i also like how it can be really soft or really severe depending on how you style it. it’s also super androgynous
5. short shag
terrible name but a super cute haircut. it’s softer than some of the other ones i have listed if that’s what you’re into. looks cute with curly or straight hair. gives me a bit of baby butch vibes.
6. pompadour
love it! classic! that janelle monae look? beautiful. it lengthens your face if that sweetens the deal for anyone. very dependable and handsome butch look. would highly recommend.
7. curly mohawk
this hairstyle is VERY important to me as a gay because it makes women look beautiful. the top right girl is literally my dream girl. also you can style it soft or really punk which is super hot.
8. random pics of women i found
wow i fuckign. i just love women! look at that! we really do short hair well ladies! thanks for reading my post i hope you enjoyed
As someone that identifies with butch, this makes me happy 😊
you know a joke that never EVER gets old is when a character says smth like “I will NOT go to [place] and that is FINAL” and then it cuts to them in that place I eat that shit up every single time
Equally good variant: when the character says smth like “what’s the worse that could happen?” and it cuts to a scene where it’s so much worse than what they imagined
Ok but like. Fives straight up ignoring Krell’s orders and when questioned about it, he just answers him with a ton of long sentences justifying his actions… in mando’a. Krell doesn’t speak a single word of mando’a. He turns to Kix for help and Kix just shrugs and dumps another truckload of mando words, most of them similar do “shebs”, “di’kut” and so on.
Dumbfounded as the clones just do their stuff, meaning carry on the assault with perfection and ruining his plans of messing with the invasion, Krell turns to Rex as a last resource; after all, Rex did speak to him when he first arrived in the dark planet.
“Clone. What is going on? Your men will not communicate with me.”
“That’s not true” Hardcase says in mando’a as he walks past them carrying a bunch of thermal detonators “we are talking to him alright, not our fault if he’s too dumb to understand it.”
The clones nearby are cackling, and Appo has to sit down he’s laughing so hard. Rex has a wide smile under his helmet.
“Oh, sir, you are new. See, most of these men are shinies pulled from kamino before finishing their lessons in Basic. They can only speak in Mando’a. General Skywalker is perfectly fluent in it, so it’s never been a problem. I guess you’ll have to pass your orders to me, and I’ll pass them on. Hopefully we won’t have any translation issues.”
Krell is beyond pissed now, and he pokes a finger on Rex’s chest plate:
“This is outrageous, captain! Not only your so called shinies are speaking in this savage dialect of yours, but so are sergeant Appo and ARC trooper fifty-five fifty-five! How do you justify this?!”
Rex looks at Appo, who’s being helped back up by Jesse, who is also laughing.
“Appo is…uh… with a sore throat, sir. Can’t speak.”
Krell is puffing up like a an angry toad.
“What about ARC trooper fifty-five fifty-five?!”
Rex looks ahead and Fives is just lifting his kama and twerking behind Krell’s back. Tup dropping down to his knees, laughing so hard he gets a cough fit.
“He’s…. uh. Had a concussion. I’m shocked he’s even able to walk, sir. Are we done here?”
Krell facepalms tiredly.
“Yes. Tell them to sit down and wait for new orders.”
“Copy that, sir.”
While Krell is walking up to his office, Rex turns to his men, speaking in mando’a:
“I need a squad sitting up here to distract the frog-face. Everyone else, move out. Hardcase, give them hell with that z-6. Fives, stop dancing and lead the men. I’ll catch up soon.”
Long after the men are moved out, Krell shows up livid.
“And just where are those men going?!”
Rex scratches his head, clicking his tongue.
“No idea, sir.”
“Did you tell them to wait for my orders?!”
“Oh, I did! Something must’ve… gotten lost in translation. I’ll catch up with them, tell them to come back.”
Krell huffs angrily.
“You do that. And tell those men they’re absolutely forbidden from trying to take the capital!”
“Absolutely forbidden. That would be… Nastaar. Got it. I’ll be back soon, sir.”
Rex puts on his jaig eyed helmet and starts marching ahead. Krell’s voice stops him:
“Before you leave, captain… your men seem to repeat a word quite often at me. Osi’yaim. What does it mean?”
Rex disguises his snort, pretending to be clearing his throat.
“Oh, it means, ‘brave leader’. I’ll be back soon, sir.”
212th and 501st watching a live ceremony dinner in which Obi-Wan and Anakin try not to be visibly bored out of their minds
Rex: it’s not even been five minutes and Kenobi’s already going for the wine
Cody: Anakin has LITERALLY been staring at the Naboo Senator this entire time. I’ve seen him blink Twice.
Fives: lmaooo Obi-Wan filled that glass to the brim. Sipping to keep it from spilling is still good manners right??
Boil: what the kriff is Skywalker even doing is he WINKING at the Senator?? Why did she wink back????!! THERE ARE CAMERAS WATCHING YOU TWO IDIOTS WE CAN ALL SEE YOU THE WHOLE GALAXY CAN SEE YO
Waxer: remember your breathing, vod. Count to ten. Inhale
Kix: yikes Obi-Wan saw them. going for the whole bottle this time. nice. Remind me to schedule a liver examination
Echo: …why is the camera fixed on them, this ceremony isn’t even about the Jedi?
Raf's rants 