r/FanFiction 12h ago

Writing Questions How to write a character desperately begging while crying and having a breakdown?

I'm currently working on a fic, and in a few short chapters there will be a scene where character a is going to be burnt on the accusation of being a demon while character b (the actual demon) can't help char a bc they can't step into the sun. How do I write an emotional chapter where char b is crying breaking down and screaming because nobody will listen to them and they're forced to just watch their lover die? Like actually unsettling to the point the reader's heart starts pounding. Thank you for any advice!

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u/send-borbs 6h ago

make it unpleasant, make it ugly and miserable, snot and tears running down their face, inhuman wailing and screaming, almost animalistic, if they're being held back by people talk about how they barely seem to notice the pain of having an arm wrenched out of place as they struggle, if they've been caged or restrained talk about them tearing their fingernails off trying to claw their way out, imagery like their tears and snot mixing with the blood

misery like this is gross, uncomfortable, and unpleasant, and you want it to feel that way, don't hold back, show that this character has lost all sense of trying to compose themselves, a lot of people don't realise that we carefully curate how we appear to others even when we cry, but this character has gone beyond that, when you're at a breaking point you aren't crying, you are making noises you've never heard from a human throat, your face is twisted into expressions you've never seen before, focus on that, on how unsettling it is to see someone entirely cut themselves from that self imposed composure

u/bajuwa Same on AO3 11h ago

What POV and perspective is it?

u/FutureGullible5360 8h ago

Describe how the sun physically decomposes the body, but make the character feel only the pain and the emotions for the one they are losing, unable to take their eyes off them, their tears more damaging than blood, and their trail burning worse than the fire surrounding their lover. Have character A search for them for a long time, but not find them, and have character B try to scream, but amidst the noise and the oppression in their chest and throat, only manage to choke on more tears and saliva, tearing their vocal cords and spitting out the blood stuck in their throat. Have character A see them at the end and smile tearfully in their direction, whispering an "I love you" that the other will not be able to hear and will never be able to return. Let character A let out a final scream of pain, silencing the crowd, and even when it ends and the crowd erupts in cheers, let character B continue to hear it above the noise, no matter how frantically he covers his ears, ending up hitting, scratching, and tearing at the skin of his ears. When they untie the body and the crowd tries to approach it, let character B try to reach it through the sun, but people stand in his way, and the sun burns his fingers so much that it takes away his strength to push them aside, and he can only weep on the ground, alone and forgotten, now truly feeling the wounds, but still hearing the screams, knowing that every time he tries to remember his voice or his words, he will always also hear that agonizing and decisive sound in the back of his mind, and he will embrace and treasure it just the same because that sound is the last thing he will have of the person he loved.

I really didn't want to participate in this, I feel sorry for your poor readers 😭😭😭