Battles - Tumblr Posts
This series has been so good. The characters have made my heart swoon, especially every time they had their conversations by the river. Also the smut, was so wholesome and fluffy and romantic, and smutty at the same time. I am screaming. I am so sad that this series has come to an end, but I am excited to see what your write next!
Portraits of a Tiger - The Finale
Legends of a great and equally terrifying warrior nicknamed the Tiger have been emerging from your fellow villagers for quite sometime. Stories of his skill, his stealth and his supposed wickedness have been passed around to the point where he is more prophecy than person. You have lived your life with a strong sense of conviction, rarely letting gossip influence your opinion. However, you would be lying if you said that his legacy didn’t intrigue you. When the Tiger and his infamous army arrive in your village to refuel, you come face to face with the man behind the myth.
And no amount of marketplace gossip would ever be enough to capture the true complexity of his nature.
Pairing: Merchant! Reader x Warrior! Yoongi
Genre: Adventure, Romance, Smut, Fluff, Angst, not intended to be a historical au.
Word Count: 28k
Warnings: depictions of violence, death, blood, choking, mentions of battle, heavy angst (happy endings only), LONGING, explicit language, mentions of grief, mentions of loss, mentions of insecurity, explicit smut: scratching, biting, lovebites, unprotected sex.
A/N: welp :( This is the end for now folks. I can’t believe I finally finished a series on this freakin’ blog lol. I am so incredibly grateful for your patience. I truly hope you enjoy it and if you do, I would love to hear from you. Whilst this is the end of the series, I wouldn’t be surprised if I wrote drabbles for it in the future so, if there is anything you’d like to see more of, please let me know :D
A few thank you notes to my sisters from across the globe @yoonia and @randombtsprincessa, the two of you are so important to me and, I am forever grateful for your friendship. I love you lots.
To @kithtaehyung @missgeniality @noelleydances thank you for always hyping me up and, being willing to chat with silly ol me. You’re all amazing and I LOVE YOU ALOT.
To @gldnrecs LISTEN IF YOU KNOW YOU KNOW, LAY. I am so thankful you and, your willingness to scream with me in my dms. I’m so honored to know you and, I hope you know that I am always here if you need anything. ALSO HAPPY COLLEGE GRADUATION YOU FREAKING GENIUS. Please consider this (and Hobi’s conclusion specifically) my graduation present. Love you.
Love letter to Rachel: It’s very important for anyone who comes across this story to know that I would have NEVER EVER EVER be able to conjure up this universe without the help of my bestie @bulletproofbirdy. My friend, you are a genius and, it has truly been such an honor designing this world with you. I am so grateful that I’ve been able to create something with someone as amazing as you but, ON TOP OF IT??? We became so close that we literally talk every single day. I don’t know what to say without being the mushiest person ever but, I just want to thank you for being you. Without your love, your support and your BIG BRAIN, I would have never finished this series. I hope it lives up to all of your expectations. I love you.
Keep reading
How do I write an action scene that doesn't seem rushed?
Writing Well-Paced Action Scenes
If I could pick one word to guide me through action scenes, that word would be balance. Your action scene could go go by too fast, or too slow for a variety of reasons
Action for the sake of action is boring, let the stakes dictate the length of a scene. Know when to show, and when to tell. For example, if your character is a highly trained mercenary up against a local bandit, the telling us, “He made short work of the bandit guarding the door,” is okay. If the mercenary is about to have the fight of his life up against his lifelong enemy, then we’re going to want to know more.
Focus on the POV character. This is where you show, don’t tell. But only show what is immediately relevant to the character. What does the character see, feel, smell, hear, and taste in the moment?
We don’t need a blow-by-blow account of what’s happening, but make sure to keep track of everything and everyone. Does someone suddenly have an extra limb? Should the bomb they’re fighting over gone off some two minutes ago? Did the Big Bad’s lackeys all conveniently disappear?
Style-wise, try to keep sentences short and clean as it conveys as sense of urgency. Go heavier on the verbs, and lighter on the adverbs when possible.
Remember, the readers will be invested in an action scene not because of the action itself, but because they are invested in the outcome for the POV character.
D
Hephaestion wakes up with a start. There were people running around outside his tent, he could hear them. Far away, he could hear thundering footsteps against the earth and a war horn blowing. It was still early in the morning but the enemies were there to attack. Sighing, he turns to see Alexander sleeping next to him.
Hephaestion hated a lot of things about Alexander. He hated how much he drunk, he hated his arrogance, his anger, his pride, he hated so many things about Alexander. Alexander who was strong, who was the prince, who was hailed as the son of Zeus, who killed his own father to take the throne. In Alexander's defence his father was a dick.
But the thing is, Alexander was his friend. No matter what Alexander did, Hephaestion was unable to hate him. And now, he slept without any care in the world when enemies were right outside. And the reason he slept without a care was because Hephaestion was the General to his armies and he knew that Hephaestion would win.
They win that battle. Like they always do. And when they reach the royal family who attacked them, their queen falls on his knees before Hephaestion to beg for her life and her children's. "You are mistaken. I am not the King."
The queen's eyes widens. Before she could apologise Alexander smiles at her kindly. "You were not mistaken, Mother. This man too is Alexander." And then walks away.
Hephaestion watches as Alexander sits at the throne of the king they just defeated. "I will not harm you or your family but in turn you must welcome me as your ruler." He tells the court and they all bow to him. Hephaestion tilts his head and goes to stand next to him.
This is how things have been for the longest time. Hephaestion was always beside Alexander. Wherever the King resided the General was beside him. Even when they were children and Alexander couldn't bear to stay inside with his father and mother, Hephaestion and Alexander would stay under the stars and talk about seeing the world. Alexander wanted to see everything, he wanted to see worlds beyond the stars, he wanted to see Olympus, he wanted to see the Gods. Hephaestion was to be beside him. Nowhere else. Hephaestion thinks when Alexander talks about wars, battles and conquest; he would be nowhere else than here. They were too alike, even in the way they dressed, acted and spoke.
And when Alexander became King, he listened to Hephaestion more than he listened to anyone else. He hears his father's subjects but takes only Hephaestion's words to heart. And even now, after so many battles and wars, he still heeds only his words and not anyone else.
The queen kneels before Alexander and offers her daughter in marriage as a sign of acceptance but he refuses, saying that the king is still alive and he would wed her daughter only after the king is dead.
They stay in the city that they won for a few nights, even if Alexander had two wives he still tumbled into Hephaestion's bed. And Alexander acts like it's perfectly fine to sleep in Hephaestion's room and not let him sleep. When they touch each other, it was simply need instead of want and when they slept beside one another that was need as well.
They leave to hunt down the king who escaped the battlefield. They find him after days of travel. They kill him very easily. The defeated king did not gain safety from anyone and was wandering from the day of battle with his injuries unattended. While they ride back home Alexander tells Hephaestion to take the queen's other daughter as his bride. Hephaestion agrees because it would strengthen their campaign.
They get married to the princesses on the same day. The third wife for Alexander and the very first bride for Hephaestion.
Few days later Hephaestion is planning for their next battle and Alexander is reading on the table. And when Hephaestion's words get too loud, he closes the scroll and looks at him. Hephaestion stops talking.
"Are you quite done?"
"Yes." Hephaestion answers.
"Good." Alexander says and kisses him.
Hephaestion laughs. "Three wives. You have three wives."
"They are not you." Alexander says and that was that.
When they reach their next battlefield Hephaestion's skin itches. He doesn't want to be there. And it is worse after they win the battle. It was clear that something bad was going to come. He stays beside Alexander and doesn't allow anyone unknown near him. Alexander hosts games in honor of their victory and few days before the games Hephaestion coughs up blood and realizes that he was the one who is dying.
Still he does his duties but the day when they are supposed to leave for the games, Hephaestion stays back and promises that he would join him a few days later, after he oversees the construction of the monument for Hephaestion.
He feels fine for a few days. Then the sickness sets in and he loses himself. And whenever he comes back, there is someone beside him, taking care of him but it's not Alexander. In his sickness he dreams of many things. But when he wakes up he doesn't remember them. He thinks about the time he was with Alexander. There never has been a time when he hasn't been with him. He thinks about the time they visited the tomb of Achilles and Patroclus. Alexander had honoured Achilles while Hephaestion honoured Patroclus, then they had raced and felt the air in their hair and skin.
Hephaestion thinks that he has never told Alexander that he has loved him. He told him that he will stay beside him, win him battles and conquer the world with him. But he has never told him about his affections. Alexander had said that Hephaestion and him were the same. Had he known all along?
Hephaestion thinks that he was not meant to grow old. Heroes never grow old. They always go out in a blaze of fire and glory. Patroclus had died in battle with Achilles's armour on him. Hephaestion who was Alexander's armour is going to die alone.
Hephaestion dies and the rage of the King is uncontrollable. His grief is uncontrollable. Alexander arrives the night of the day Hephaestion dies. And he kills so many people. He killes Hephaestion's physician, the guards and almost a hundred men for his funeral. And when he is not cutting down men like grass he is crying on the floor like he was in pain and no one can placate him. Three wives and Alexander threatens to kill anyone who comes near him.
Alexander fights and wins. Heroes don't grow old. But living while your other half is gone, is a far greater tragedy than anything else. What was conquering the sun and the stars if Hephaestion wasn't there? When Alexander dies eight months later, he doesn't think of Olympus, the Gods, his Empire or his conquests. He thinks of Hephaestion.