How to write a proper killing intent.

[SailusGebel]

Well, a big part of my novel is this kind of thing being played for comedy, so I guess that's an option. But it might be possible to translate some of the way I do it even to a more serious story.

-Even if most of the story is serious, using the killing intent routine for comedic relief can mitigate its inherent edginess.

-Have the character not use killing intent intentionally, not coming across as a try-hard might diminish the cringe.

-Don't explicitly state that killing intent is being used. Maybe say it once and after that just make it clear from context that it's being used, readers can accept stuff more easily when they figure it out themselves.

I have never thought of using it for comedic relief. This is definetely an interesting approach.

 

[J_Chemist]

Having felt both-

Feeling/Recognizing Killing intent is rather difficult when it comes to more experienced individuals. Said persons are able to conceal their aggressive intentions but there are signs that a normal-grade person will give away;

• hard staring
• Eyes hardening/focusing (dilation of pupils)
• Change in breathing
• Subtle shifts in posture and/or tension in muscles. This is harder to detect when the individual has clothes on as those signs are typically covered.
• If you're involved with this person, such as in a conversation, you know you've overstepped when their tone shifts or their verbiage becomes more direct

Humans don't have a killing sense, so if you aren't looking at someone, you aren't going to just "feel" it. Sorry, doesn't happen. The idiom "if you hear the bullet crack, it wasn't for you" is real life.

As for your personal tells when you're radiating it, it's much easier to notice since you're typically conceptualizing how you're about to merc the individual/creature you're looking at.

• Heat in the face.
• Heightened awareness. Those unskilled will actually become the opposite and get tunnel vision. "Seeing Red", is how you'd explain it.
• Less cognitive function. Lack of critical thinking. In essence; you get stupid because your body is already beyond diplomacy and you're reverting to an Ape-state where you're just thinking of what you can crater the person's skull in with.
• Tingling sensation as adrenaline dumps into the system. Your body will warm up, much like your face, in preparation for the cardio session about to ensue.

These sensations typically only occur in physical/direct confrontation. When at range and behind a weapon system, more "killing intent" vibes are the opposite. You get calmer, steadier. Your breathing comes under control and you focus in on the sight's you're using to hone in on your target. You lose situational awareness and your vision narrows down your scope/sight line, bringing your target and/or the reticle of your weapon system into focus. Then, in one final hitch; your body tenses up, your finger depresses the trigger in a slow and steady pull-

-Bang.

 

[SailusGebel]

Having felt both-

Feeling/Recognizing Killing intent is rather difficult when it comes to more experienced individuals. Said persons are able to conceal their aggressive intentions but there are signs that a normal-grade person will give away;

• hard staring
• Eyes hardening/focusing (dilation of pupils)
• Change in breathing
• Subtle shifts in posture and/or tension in muscles. This is harder to detect when the individual has clothes on as those signs are typically covered.
• If you're involved with this person, such as in a conversation, you know you've overstepped when their tone shifts or their verbiage becomes more direct

Humans don't have a killing sense, so if you aren't looking at someone, you aren't going to just "feel" it. Sorry, doesn't happen. The idiom "if you hear the bullet crack, it wasn't for you" is real life.

As for your personal tells when you're radiating it, it's much easier to notice since you're typically conceptualizing how you're about to merc the individual/creature you're looking at.

• Heat in the face.
• Heightened awareness. Those unskilled will actually become the opposite and get tunnel vision. "Seeing Red", is how you'd explain it.
• Less cognitive function. Lack of critical thinking. In essence; you get stupid because your body is already beyond diplomacy and you're reverting to an Ape-state where you're just thinking of what you can crater the person's skull in with.
• Tingling sensation as adrenaline dumps into the system. Your body will warm up, much like your face, in preparation for the cardio session about to ensue.

These sensations typically only occur in physical/direct confrontation. When at range and behind a weapon system, more "killing intent" vibes are the opposite. You get calmer, steadier. Your breathing comes under control and you focus in on the sight's you're using to hone in on your target. You lose situational awareness and your vision narrows down your scope/sight line, bringing your target and/or the reticle of your weapon system into focus. Then, in one final hitch; your body tenses up, your finger depresses the trigger in a slow and steady pull-

-Bang.

 

[WaterFish]

Depending on what you write it can be described differently, but generally killing intent is a presence/energy that emanate from a person who intent to harm or kill. Depending on the amount of people/beast this person have killed in his life, his killing intent will grow stronger.
Killing intent can be described as an invisible and intense pressure or atmosphere that surrounds the person emanating it. It's often likened to a palpable force, sending shivers down the spines of those who encounter it. This energy can evoke fear, anxiety, and a sense of danger in those who perceive it, regardless of their level of experience.

And while this thing can be "edgy" it's kind of a real thing when you face a soldier or a killer, it's in our instinct but are less see in humans compared to other animal, it's called "thanatosis" which consists of a total stiffening of the body (catalepsy) in the presence of a danger, or as a simple contact reaction, in order to simulate an apparent state of death.

To have more impact in this type of scene you have to write it in the receiver side, while be in a deafening silence and like someone said before you can said they feel a chill down their spines, or you can write about their hearts who start to beat madly without them possibly able to restrain it, sweat start to appear on their palms, a shiver invade their body, they can't shutter any words, their mind become blank and can't think straight.

I said earlier that depending on what type of story you write you can use it differently, an exemple is like creating illusion through your killing intent to let the victim fell into a nightmare of blood everywhere his/her eyes fell. Another way is the selftaught training, by using your own killing intent you use an illussion on you to let you experience countless death fights.

Generally killing intent are not hard to get but hard to control and even more to master and can't really be taught since each one have another perception of it.

Can't you? Cause a lot of fear people have you can't see it.

You don't have to make killing intent invisible, a lot of novel make it into a bloody aura. Some even create a power system around it.

You left out the context. Fear of the unknown is a thing, but you can’t fear a knife that’s outside your vision. You can’t fear hidden poison without ingesting it first. Killing intent is perceived by others, not given to people through some mystical aura. Is what I meant.

 

[Sleds]

You left out the context. Fear of the unknown is a thing, but you can’t fear a knife that’s outside your vision. You can’t fear hidden poison without ingesting it first. Killing intent is perceived by others, not given to people through some mystical aura. Is what I meant.

For me it was obvious that you have to see the "target" be it a person or a weapon to feel the killing intent, otherwise it would just be an instinct of self-preservation that scream at you to run for your life even if you don't see a weapon.

 

[Jemini]

Continuing the topic of how to write different things. Today I ask you to give your insights about "killing intent" that is commonly used in Korean, Japanese, and Chinese works. For those who don't know what it is, here is a small explanation from TV tropes.

the idea that when someone intends to inflict pain or death, their "Killing Intent" can be felt as a slight pressure or chill, even to people unaware of their presence.

I hate this trope with passion. I think it's stupid, edgy, but most importantly, it's secondary. With the way authors commonly use it, killing intent is nothing more than an edgy intimidation. Yet I understand that something similar is possible and can be used. To write a proper killing intent, I should probably not exaggerate it, and that's it. But I want to hear your thoughts on the topic, since I saw a couple non-trivial advice in the previous thread. How to write a killing intent without making it look so stupid and edgy?

Simple tip, experience it yourself. Yeah, that's not easy for everyone. There are a few ways, and the least dangerous one is to find a very VERY legit martial arts studio that also happens to be taught by an instructor with at least a decade of experience, preferably 2. I've actually had such a privilege, and there was one class where one of my fellow students asked about this stuff. The instructor actually responded saying that's very real and then let the student who asked the question feel his pressure.

It's kinda hard to describe. I was not the one being focused on, I was just in the same room, and it felt like the air kinda got heavy. The best way I can describe it is it was the exact same feeling you get when you are concerned two of your family members are about to come to blows with each other. This suggests maybe it's actually not all that hard to come across people able to use this ability, the only real difference was that high level martial arts practitioners have the ability to control it and use it intentionally.

Considering that student's reaction though, I kinda got the impression it was a very different experience for him. Once he was the focus of the instructor's pressure, he started fidgeting nervously and let out a nervous laugh. If I had to guess, I would hypothosize that it is indeed the same kind of energy as there is when you are facing off against someone who's angry and ready to fight, but the thing that makes it different and a lot more uncomfortable when you are facing it from a martial arts master is that when it's used by someone who can control it intentionally, there's a certain dissonance. When you feel it from a normal person, it's accompanied by a lot of angry behaviors, and you grow used to seeing it in those conditions. When you see it from a martial arts master, they are just standing there and looking at you, not really showing much emotion at all, and yet it still gives you that same threatening feeling. It creates a disconnect in the brain when a piece of the puzzle is missing like that.

It should be noted here though, this is not actually killing intent. It would be more like fighting intent. I have had my instructor describe killing intent though, because he felt controlled killing intent from the master of the entire style we were practicing. It was during a practice with live sword training. The big instructor took out a real sharp katana and was having the really high level students dodge it as he lightly swung it at them. But, he was using his intent on them. My instructor described it as feeling like he was already cut, and like it was impossible to avoid the inevitable attack.

 

[TotallyHuman]

in a lot of chinese and japanese novels I've read, killing intent was just that - the intent to kill. And, say, a battlemaster would read an opponent's killing intent or an assassin would suppress it to not be noticed.
In Shadow Slave it was written in a way I liked - although promptly forgotten. G3 called it "murder math", something hardened warriors and old outskirters would develop as a habit inadvertedly. Calculating how to kill someone most efficiently out of habit.

 

[Raymann]

Continuing the topic of how to write different things. Today I ask you to give your insights about "killing intent" that is commonly used in Korean, Japanese, and Chinese works. For those who don't know what it is, here is a small explanation from TV tropes.

the idea that when someone intends to inflict pain or death, their "Killing Intent" can be felt as a slight pressure or chill, even to people unaware of their presence.

I hate this trope with passion. I think it's stupid, edgy, but most importantly, it's secondary. With the way authors commonly use it, killing intent is nothing more than an edgy intimidation. Yet I understand that something similar is possible and can be used. To write a proper killing intent, I should probably not exaggerate it, and that's it. But I want to hear your thoughts on the topic, since I saw a couple non-trivial advice in the previous thread. How to write a killing intent without making it look so stupid and edgy?

( ಠ⌣ಠ)

 

[Paul_Tromba]

Have them kill, but angry.

 

[Kamelingil]

No idea, I just write "He released his killing intent and made his opponent scared to death", it's too generic and I wanna change it

 

[Premier]

Killing intent is great for clearly establishing the stakes. It's unambigious. This person isn't considering killing or may be convinced not to.

They will kill you. They are committed to the idea.