#Terrible Screenplay Ideas

[anarchic-miscellany]

Terrible Screenplay Ideas: "Vexing: A Benoit Blanc Mystery" Debonair detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) finds himself in Salem on a "Witch Tour". He and his fellow tourists shall experience the dark, spooky corners of the most haunted city in America under their guide "Virginia" (Ayo Edibiri) - a college student just trying to make money during the dry months. But Benoit doesn't believe in all of that hokum mumbo jumbo: he's here to try and find a particular cafe where, many years ago, he enjoyed a rather delectible hoagie. One tourist (James Marsden) gets everybody's backs up: he's rude, arrogant, vulgar, interrupts a lot, and (to Blanc's horror) seems to know more about this place and the trivia than him at every turn. So when he turns up dead, seemingly of a heart attack, it is no great loss and Benoit can go and find his sandwich. But he cannot let this be, something nags at him, and he must solve the case. Not only is his suspect list the entirety of the tour, but many of them believe this murder to be that of a long deceased witch, not least of all the Detective on scene (Jeffrey Combs) And his suspects include: Horror maestro Simeon Kincaid (Brad Dourif), hoping that inspiration will strike him here after his last book received mixed reviews. He is accompanied by his daughter Kitty (Fiona Dourif), an academic and scholar on a leave of absence after an embarrassing meltdown went viral... Goth trio, occult fanatics and theatre kids Kyle (Skyler Gisondo) and Belladonna (Molly Gordon) and Belladonna's new girlfriend Mavis (Kathryn Newton), who relish the spooky and occult, have dressed up and everything. Kyle is horrified that it's the ghost of a witch whose grave he disturbed, whilst Belladonna is convinced the result of a curse they placed on the man in a moment of anger, and Mavis is thrilled to claim that the deceased is now talking to her... Widow, social butterfly, lady of town and definite woman of culture and the arts Charity Le Mort (Christine Baranski) - who has rather taken a liking to Mr Blanc and finds herself stricken not just with he, but the city too... Retired Salem Police Detective Wolfgang Pecker (John Goodman), who is also on this tour to enjoy the culinary delights and expand his palette - he and Blanc get along swimmingly, although this murder puts a damper on things but his brain is still razor sharp! Zeke Underwood (Sterling K Brown) - a scorned tour guide (infiltrating as a customer ina terrible disguise) whose route was usurped by Virginia after a few too many bad calls, and now a loud contrarian and thorn in her side. Killing a man to haunt her tour is EXACTLY the sort of thing he would do... Can Blanc solve the murder, or is his skepticism blinding him to powers beyond this mortal coil?

[thisonehere]

Hello, me again! Another request, could you do headcanons with the MK1 Earthrealmers and Liu Kang with a street racer reader? (Total Fast and Furious 1 and 2 vibes from this, BTW)

Hey you, welcome back.

Live Fast, Die Young

A/n: I'm gonna be honest with you, I barely know a single thing about the Fast and Furious franchise. But I'll try lol Tags: Request, SFW, F&F inspired C/w: None

Liu Kang

This was not what he had in mind when he brought you into the new timeline. He wanted something more peaceful for you, something that didn't put you in harm's way. Yet here you are, racing up and down dangerous roads, going on secret missions, and being involved in dirty money.

He worries about you, every moment you are together he tries to coax you out of this lifestyle. Yet you refuse, Liu Kang created you with a rebellious and fun-loving spirit. He thought it would be more beneficial to your safety...he was wrong.

He often sends Kuai, Tomas, geras, and whoever he can, to watch after you and make sure everything goes in your favour. Sometimes he himself will even come down and intervene. He can't seem to ever understand you. He offer you a life of peace, why won't you take it?

He worries whenever you aren't in his sight, he's scarred you've been thrown into jail, killed, or worse. He fears you might fall in with people like Kano and the black dragon. He fears that one day you'll make a deadly bet you fail to win. That your car will fail you and you crash. Every night he prays for your safety and the hope that you'll come back to him.

Johnny Cage

Oh man, this is exciting for him. Normally this type of thing is something he plays on the silver screen but to see you actually do stuff like this in real life is so thrilling for him. He barrages you with questions every chance he gets, he comes to your races to watch, he's your biggest cheerleader, and he bets a ridiculous amount of money for you, and if you lose? No problem, we'll get them next time.

He'll use you as his muse whenever he writes a screenplay that has anything to do with your profession. He bases his stories on your adventures (and maybe he mixes a bit of his own experiences in Outworld just for fun) he is often asked how he comes up with ideas and he just lies for your safety. "Oh, it just came to me. I'M A GENIUS!".

Sometimes he rides with you whenever you do your races or go on your missions. He whoops and hollers as you go into overdrive, he laughs hysterically as you pass others, he praises your every win and praises you when you lose.

Don't be fooled by how supportive he is, he still worries for you. Some nights he just asks you to stay home with him where it's safe. But you won't though, you promise you'll come back but he's often not too sure you will.

Kenshi

He is no stranger to being in dirty and dangerous business, he was part of the Yakuza after all. So when he finds out about your lifestyle he is quick to disapprove of this lifestyle. He is sure to lecture you and tell you how living like this is wrong.

He gets stressed whenever you are on the road, every time you rev your engine and speed away. Every moment you are in that car there is a risk that you'll crash and die. You seem to be getting in bed with some very shady people, it's bad enough that you're surrounded by enough shady people as it is, the low lives around you want to do terrible things to you and leave you dead, or worse.

He tries to convince you to stay with him and do something with him to keep you away from racing and the dirty money that surrounds it. Maybe he'll take you to the movies, dancing, to the Wu Shi Academy, anywhere he knows you'll be safe.

He will still attend any of your races and missions, he has to make sure you are safe. He acts as your bodyguard in a sense, being sure to protect you whenever any situation arises where you need him. But he can't always be there for you, and that scares him.

Kung Lao

Kung Lao has always been a lover of the fast lifestyle, anything thrilling, anything dangerous and he loves it. So it's no surprise that he gets along with you instantly. He used to think that everything in Earthrealm was boring and uneventful compared to something like Outworld or any other realm. But you proved him wrong.

You introduce him to this life and he can't get enough of it. He's there almost every moment he's free, he watches you race and he even places bets. He even insists that he started racing himself, and the adrenaline he feels when starts doing this is amazing. he never wants to stop.

But unfortunately, he does stop. Soon the glitz and glamour of racing fade away when he becomes more aware of the more shady and dangerous side. This gets worse and worse as he realizes all of the illegal stuff he and you were involved in.

He doesn't know what to do, he can't go to Liu out of shame, but he doesn't want to do this anymore. He especially doesn't want you to do this anymore. He tries his best to convince you to stop this, but you just won't listen. You love this life and you won't stop.

Raiden

He's confused. What exactly are you doing? Why are you doing this? His curiosity leads him to follow along and come with you to your races. He is confused and overwhelmed by all of this, Raiden doesn't like this. Why would you want to do this? He immediately realizes how corrupt and dangerous some of the things here are and he is quick to try and reason with you to get you to stop.

He tries to make you see how flawed living like this is, but unfortunately for him, his lectures fall on dead ears. You won't listen to him, you refuse to stop this, You cannot stop this. Maybe because you love the thrill or because of more personal reasons. Raiden realizes, that you'll never stop no matter how hard he tries. And this you two part ways.

Raiden can't help but still think about you whenever he is at the Wu Shi Academy. He wishes there was something he could do to more to convince you, but there wasn't much he could do. All that is left is for him to pray to the Elder Gods and hope that they will help you.

He will still attend some of your events, hoping to see, to know if you are alright. If you bumped into each other he'd congratulate you on your win and try to make small talk. But there isn't much to talk about, he's against what you do and there's not much more than that. It doesn't mean that he is not in love with you, how could he ever hate you? He misses you, he wishes every day that were by his side protecting the Earthrealm, not living this fast life.

[professorcalculusstanaccount]

Yo do u write any tintin type fanfics?! And i also luve ur tintin art its really cute :D

Ha ha, thank you! My story gifsets would be fanfiction I guess! I do write out a plot outline for each story, so every story gifset you see has been fully plotted out. I even sometimes sketch out comic pages of specific story beats and dialogue exchanges. Under the cut I have a few “comics” from my sketchbooks:

Here’s a spread I drew while I was away for a gifset I haven’t made yet. Chang helps Martine get a job as a museum curator so she invites him and Tintin to the archive as a thank you. Chang laments how most of the artefacts are stolen, leading to Tintin impulsively stealing a whistle to return it to where it came from.

Haddock meanwhile is secretly dating artist Ramo Nash. Martine is again falsely accused of a crime. A lot of interpersonal drama unfolds.

I don’t usually scan or clean these up, or even intend to post them. I don’t have the time to draw out entire fan albums to provide full context, and I also don’t want to have my work printed and resold by pastiche pirates on eBay - I’d like to see them try and print animated gifs!

I guess I also do “ficlets” in the form of short comics because i hate writing. again i dont usually intend on posting them

As for written fanfiction - my prose is terrible, I wouldn’t be able to hold a reader’s attention with a written fic. I don’t know how writers do what they do. I’ve been told by university tutors my screenplays are decent but I only have experience with short films!

I would like a place where I could discuss story ideas or share my throwaway comics, feedback really helps with shaping a story. maybe a discord server? 

[miss0atae]

About Wandee Goodday episode 1:

There are already so many good reviews on Wandee Goodday, so here is my small participation. I read the book, so my take will be on the difference between the Book and the Series.

First of all, you must know, I don't think there is a superior medium to convey a story. It depends on the story itself and each medium has their strengths. Usually, books are considered a good medium to go deep on the description of the characters and the world where they interact. You get to know what the inner monologue of the characters and you can visualize the story through your imagination. TV series or films, are more visual. I believe they also depend a lot on the director and the actors because you can have a brilliant screenplay and terrible results. That being said, I really like to see how a story in a book can become a series screenplay. If you already read Thai BL books, you'll notice smut takes a large part in it. I don't mind smut. I believe we need to have a large range of book types for every taste. Wandee Goodday, the book, is filled with smut and if it's easy to write it on a book, it doesn't really transpose well on a series where smut isn't the primarily plot. It's why, I think, it's interesting to see what the series adds to the storytelling of the book.

Note, there are going to have some spoilers from the book in this post. So, if you want to avoid this because you want to read it later, you should not continue reading this.

The first episode is perfect to set the tone of the series and to present the characters. The series start with the end of the episode so you'll know what you get and then we get the flashback that will allow us to know how did Dee ended up in this situation.

"No more Mr. Good Guy!" -- Chap 1.

▪️ In the book, Wandee or Dee is a doctor who did his best to be the perfect boyfriend, a “good person” for his crush Ter because he heard him said once his ideal type is a “good person”. So Dee made conscious effort to be the ideal type of Ter: he doesn’t drink, doesn’t flirt, doesn’t smoke, works a lot and he was the one who tried to be at the same job as Ter. In this version of the story, Dee is really doing all the work and Ter isn’t really an active participant. You must know the book is told in the first person through Wandee’s eyes. However, Wandee isn’t totally an unreliable storyteller. He just has a lot of imagination.

In the series things are a bit different. I like it more because it gave more deep to why Dee could think Ter has a special relationship with him and they may get together. It implies Ter had a more active role as he was the one who helped Dee gets where he is. He found him a condo at the same place as him, for example. I think it works well because it reinforces the love Wandee has for him because Ter is doing so much, it could easily be mistaken for romantic attention. Here, Wandee seems less deluded and you can understand why he thought he would get the guy.

"By the way, what's your name?" "Yak" -- Chap. 2

▪️ Now, about Yak. In the book, Yak's personality is slightly different from his series counterpart. He is more or less a playboy who is used to having multiple one-night stand, but he is trying to stop because he is in love with Taemrak who doesn't like this. As Wandee, he has been waiting for a lot of years to be with this person who still refuses him. Also, he is younger than Dee. I felt Yak was more reserved in the book version.

In the series, Yok seems more like a confident man who knows his worth and he seems more talkative. We have no idea yet, if he has a playboy past. One thing I notice, is how it is implied Yok is bisexual. On the book, we never know if he is bisexual because the only two people we know he had feelings for were men. Since they changed Taemrak and made him a girl, we can only assume he is. However, in the book Wandee complains he never flirted with boy so I assumed he was the bisexual one in the relationship. In fact, he doesn't change anything to the story.

"Do me hard, Good Boy" -- Chap. 1

▪️ I believe their first time was better in the series. In the book, Dee is really drunk and since he is always having fantasies, he imagines himself as a heroine in a Thai period drama. In his fantasy, he is going to be ravished by the leader of gang. So when, he kisses Yak he is high in his fantasies. Of course, Dee doesn't tell him he is a virgin and Yak discover it, too late. He still tries to help him feel better and give him the lead. Then, they have a wild night with multiple intercourse. I think the writer wanted to show how Yak was very patient towards Dee, who was discovering his sexuality and preferences in bed.

"Are you going for more?" "Yeah, more now" -- Chap. 1

▪️ In the series, I liked how they took their time. Dee had a moment when he was unsure about if he really wanted it and Yak asked for his consent and when he didn't get it, he truly believed it’s a “no” from Dee. This series put lights on the importance of consent. The message is clear: if you want to do it with someone, this person must consent. When, Dee gets a cramp, they stopped and just got back to it when they both felt it’s the right time again. It’s a very healthy way that is absent in the book. Brownie points for the series!

"I turned you down. I was afraid that you'd be too distressed to sleep." Chap. 2

▪️ Ter in the book is a blank page. He is not bad, but he is not good either. He felt mostly flat. You have to ask yourself what Dee found in him. In the series, I feel like Ter isn't a nice person because he may have noticed than Dee was caring a lot and he wanted to use this in his own advantage. What makes me think this… it's when he asked Dee to give him the scholarship. I don't remember if they had to compete for a scholarship in the book, but I believe it's something that was added purposely in the series. We'll see which impact it's going to have in the series. I fear Ter may want to use Dee's crush to him to try to snatch the scholarship from him.

"We can't come back late. I need to be back early. I still have work to do." -- Chap 4.

▪️ Taemrak is also different from the book. In the book, it’s a man who is still studying in university. It’s nerd who spends his time in the library with books. He wears glasses and is scared of riding on Yak’s bike. Yak met him because he went to his faculty to do a physical fitness test. In the series, Taemrak is a woman who is tutoring students and seems to work a lot to get herself out of poverty. I wonder if it’s going to play a more important part in the story.

"They cannot seem to be separated for more than three days. Love is so good." -- Chap 2.

▪️ O-ye and Cher (called Cherry in the book) are more or less the same in both the book and the series. We didn't see them a lot, so things may be different. I like how they are still bickering, but very much in love. Cher is also considering Yak as his son in the book and they joke a lot on this nickname. I’m glad they kept this part.

"Dee, are you feeling worse?" Chap. 1

▪️ Plakao is my biggest surprised in the series! In the book, he has a minor role. He is just a friend of Dee who doesn’t work in the same job as him. In fact, he is more the provider of costumes for Dee and Yak, as they both have a clothing kink (not sure it is how you could describe it, in English). I’m so happy they changed his role in the series. I hope it will bring him more depth. He is asexual and I want to see what representation they will give us. I can’t remember if I ever watched a Thai BL, before, where one of the character said he was asexual, so I felt it was huge.

That’s it for this first episode. You must know the first episode is more or less the first chapter of the book. So we’ll see if the second episode is like the second chapter of the book. I believe the series, as for now (we’ll see if it continues to be this way), is bringing another layer to the book. It could bring a nice synergy.

[petermorwood]

Interesting to see this post cross my dash again.

I was watching a movie late last night and, with that post's criticism of unbroken long speeches and suggestions of how to break them, here's an example of how a very famous one was done.

The movie I was watching was "Jaws", and the long speech is The Indianapolis Monologue. There are several YouTube clips, but a couple of them leap straight in at the start of the speech.

The clip below has the lead up to The Speech which, IMO, matters a lot in preparing for what follows; there's not just a Mood Whiplash - cheery drunk to OMG Whut - to make the viewers pay attention, but also what I mentioned in the other post, an entirely legitimate reason for an "As You Know" speech.

One character, Hooper, knows the significance of "USS Indianapolis" - his shocked-almost-sober reaction makes that very plain - but the other character, Brody (and the audience he represents), doesn't know and needs told.

In addition (also as mentioned in the other post) despite being a single-character monologue, the speech is "broken" by cutting away from the speaker, Quint, to reaction shots from the other characters present. Even when Quint is on-screen he isn't centre-screen, Hooper is visible in the background where his silent, apprehensive attention accompanies the story he's hearing.

*****

This can be done in words, too: inserting other actions or reactions by means of paragraph breaks is the equivalent of visual cut-aways, and serve the same functions - making a lot of words from one character into several smaller groups of words, while showing the cumulative effect of all those words on other listeners.

Even a soliloquy with no-one else listening benefits from occasional breaks describing what the speaker is doing, how their emotions show, where they are etc. It's all far better than A Wall Of Text.

The entire speech is 438 words, and Robert Shaw delivers them over 3 min 34 sec.

I've got three PDF versions of the "Jaws" screenplay, all different, and this speech varies in every one but are never what's in the movie, so I constructed mine as a transcript from several listenings, and have used paragraph breaks to try matching Shaw's delivery.

Also, as an Exercise For The Scholar (me, anyway) I've inserted and timed the cuts where Quint isn't on screen or speaking to show how short they can be.

Japanese submarine slammed two torpedoes into our side, Chief. We was comin' back from the island of Tinian to Leyte. Just delivered the bomb. The Hiroshima bomb. Eleven hundred men went into the water. Vessel went down in twelve minutes. Didn't see the first shark for about half an hour. Tiger. Thirteen-footer. You know how you know that when you’re in the water, Chief? You tell by lookin' from the dorsal to the tail. What we didn't know ... was our bomb mission had been so secret, no distress signal had been sent. Huh.

CUT TO BRODY (3 sec) then BACK TO QUINT WHO TAKES A DRINK (2 sec)

They didn't even list us overdue for a week. Very first light, Chief, sharks come cruisin'. So we formed ourselves into tight groups. You know it’s ... kinda like old squares in a battle, like you see in a calendar, like the Battle of Waterloo, and the idea was, shark comes to the nearest man, that man he start poundin' and hollerin' and screamin’, an’ sometimes the shark go away. Sometimes he wouldn't go away. Sometimes that shark, he looks right into you. Right into your eyes. You know the thing about a shark, he's got lifeless eyes. Black eyes, like a doll's eyes. When he comes at you, doesn't seem to be livin'. Until he bites you, and those black eyes roll over white and then, ah, then you hear that terrible high-pitched screamin'. The ocean turns red, and despite all the poundin' and the hollerin' they all come in an’ they... Rip you to pieces.

CUT TO BRODY (2 sec) then BACK TO QUINT

Y’know, by the end of that first dawn, lost a hundred men. I dunno how many sharks, maybe a thousand. I dunno how many men, they averaged six an hour.

CUT TO BRODY (3 sec) AS QUINT CONTINUES OFFSCREEN

On Thursday mornin', Chief...

BACK TO QUINT

I bumped into a friend of mine, Herbie Robinson from Cleveland. Baseball player. Bosun's mate. An’ I thought he was asleep; reached over to wake him up. Bobbed up an’ down in the water, was like a kinda top. Upended... Well, he'd been bitten in half below the waist.

CUT TO BRODY (2 sec) then CUT TO HOOPER (2 sec) then BACK TO QUINT

Noon the fifth day, Mister Hooper, a Lockheed Ventura saw us, he swung in low and he saw us - a young pilot, a lot younger than Mister Hooper. Anyway he saw us and he come in low, and three hours later a big fat PBY comes down and start to pick us up. You know that was the time I was most frightened. Waitin' for my turn. I'll never put on a lifejacket again. So, eleven hundred men went into the water, three hundred and sixteen men come out, the sharks took the rest, June the 29th, 1945. Anyway, we delivered the bomb.

*****

For comparison, down below is what it looks like without any paragraph breaks, speech instruction (gravely / incredulous etc.) or screen direction (track right / dolly in / close on / match cut etc.).

(BTW, some of these effects can be used when writing prose, to good effect, but that's for another time.)

This is the Wall of Text effect, and it sometimes turns up on the internet, courtesy of people who don't know how to use Enter except when they're sending a post.

I'm not saying this is how the speech would have looked in the real shooting script, but it might. From my own screenwriting experience, actors don't like being told how to deliver their lines and directors don't like being told how to set up their shots.

There's a bit more flexibility when writing animation, but in both cases crafty writers write so that the way they want a thing done works out as the best way to do it.

Sometimes this trick even works... :->

*****

Here's the Wall Of Text:

Japanese submarine slammed two torpedoes into our side, Chief. We was comin' back from the island of Tinian to Leyte. Just delivered the bomb. The Hiroshima bomb. Eleven hundred men went into the water. Vessel went down in twelve minutes. Didn't see the first shark for about half an hour. Tiger. Thirteen-footer. You know how you know that when you’re in the water, Chief? You tell by lookin' from the dorsal to the tail. What we didn't know was our bomb mission had been so secret, no distress signal had been sent. Huh. They didn't even list us overdue for a week. Very first light, Chief, sharks come cruisin'. So we formed ourselves into tight groups. You know it’s kinda like old squares in a battle, like you see in a calendar, like the Battle of Waterloo, and the idea was, shark comes to the nearest man, that man he start poundin' and hollerin' and screamin’, an’ sometimes the shark go away. Sometimes he wouldn't go away. Sometimes that shark, he looks right into you. Right into your eyes. You know the thing about a shark, he's got lifeless eyes. Black eyes, like a doll's eyes. When he comes at you, doesn't seem to be livin'. Until he bites you, and those black eyes roll over white and then, ah, then you hear that terrible high-pitched screamin'. The ocean turns red, and despite all the poundin' and the hollerin' they all come in an’ they rip you to pieces. Y’know, by the end of that first dawn, lost a hundred men. I dunno how many sharks, maybe a thousand. I dunno how many men, they averaged six an hour. On Thursday mornin', Chief I bumped into a friend of mine, Herbie Robinson from Cleveland. Baseball player. Bosun's mate. An’ I thought he was asleep; reached over to wake him up. Bobbed up an’ down in the water, was like a kinda top. Upended. Well, he'd been bitten in half below the waist. Noon the fifth day, Mister Hooper, a Lockheed Ventura saw us, he swung in low and he saw us - a young pilot, a lot younger than Mister Hooper. Anyway he saw us and he come in low, and three hours later a big fat PBY comes down and start to pick us up. You know that was the time I was most frightened. Waitin' for my turn. I'll never put on a lifejacket again. So, eleven hundred men went into the water, three hundred and sixteen men come out, the sharks took the rest, June the 29th, 1945. Anyway, we delivered the bomb.

[beatricebidelaire]

When I even hear the word process, I can only think of a terrible afternoon I spent in a windowless room. After writing nine drafts of a screenplay for the Lemony Snicket movie, I’d been fired, and they’d filmed a script written largely by someone else. There were parts of it, after filming, with which the people making the movie were dissatisfied, and so they called me on the last day of a grueling book tour and asked me if, instead of flying home into the arms of my wife, I would fly to them and tell them what was wrong. I said no. They offered a pile of money and I called my wife and she said, darling, just go. I got on an airplane and then into an automobile, and as the automobile approached my ugly destination, my film agent called me and said that my financial offer had been reduced, while I was in the air, to the amount of zero dollars. I went into the building anyway, wondering what I was doing. Inside, the arguing commenced, interspersed by watching rough edits of scenes of the movie—the first I had seen of it—and one of the people in the room, sitting alone on a little sofa, asking if anyone else felt cold. Nobody did, so as we continued to argue, she took cushions off of the sofa, first the decorative ones, and then the structural ones—the ones you lean against, the ones you sit on—and piled them up on her lap and limbs, for presumptive warmth. Eventually only her head was visible on the top of the pile of cushions, the argument continuing all the while. Finally someone just up and told me that I didn’t know what I was talking about, and while I largely agreed with this—then as now, I had no idea how to edit or improve an already-filmed film—I asked why then they had flown me out here to sit in this room. The woman sighed on the sofa. She looked like an igloo, or maybe a ziggurat, with her face at the top where people get sacrificed in offensive adventure movies. I understood then that I was among raving lunatics. Previously I had considered these people innocent, and then maybe dumb, and then maybe a pack of vicious demons. I understood, too, that they were, at least obliquely, the reason I owned a house. But now I saw that to argue with them, to talk with them, to spend time with them, was to spend time with utter, gallivanting, wide-grinned, swerving lunatics, and I was a lunatic, too. It was my own lunatic story they had filmed wrong, and I had entered this windowless room, of my own free will and for no money, to listen to lunatics tell me I was wrong. “Daniel,” this lunatic said to me, head atop the cushions, “you have to trust our process.”

And Then? And Then? What Else?

[greypetrel]

Fanfic Writer Questions

Tagged by @melisusthewee, and at least another person. I'm sorry if I ignored the tag, I was away and it's a busy period, let me know ;_;

Tagging forward: @ndostairlyrium @shivunin @inquisimer and YOU who are reading and would like to do it!

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 12, right now.

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 497,183 ... I'm chatty.

3. What fandoms do you write for? Dragon Age, and a crossover with LOTR/The Silmarillion.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Home Was Never on the Ground (long fic, concluded, it's anthological and mainly me filling blanks in DAI as inspiration stroke)

She of Many Names (ongoing, a LOTR/Dragon Age crossover. A follower on Instagram asked me if Aisling was Sauron, the idea made me laugh so much that my mind took fire.)

Saturday Prompts (a collection of prompts I posted here. I never uploaded every one of them, oops)

Death and All of Its Friends (ongoing, a DA2 collection)

The Night Before First Day (Two chapters, concluded. One it's in rhyme and illustrated. Aisling taught her daughter that the Dreadwolf is Santa out of spite. Solas tries to disapprove.)

5. Do you respond to comments? Yes, always!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I do love angst, but I don't like angsty endings all that much ahahahahah. I think the one that gets closer, in a bitter-sweet way, is One for the Road. Call me a sucker for rare-pairs, this was also prompted here and my brain took fire (LavellanxFenris)

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? The Night Before First Day. Listen I'm not a Christmas person, I turn into a seasonal depressed Grinch at Christmas, living in a catholic country doesn't help, and that is my way of giving myself some joy.

8. Do you get hate on fics? Not that I know of.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Not any that I publish.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? Yes I do. She of Many Names is a Dragon Age and LOTR crossover. I love it dearly, I'm slow to update it because I have the greatest love for Tolkien (with all his flaws, but my brain rewired when I saw the first movie, and the book has been my entire personality for two years. I wouldn't be the same person without it) and I do care of rendering it as I want.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? ... Not that I know of? I hope not, ahahahah :"D

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? If you consider that English is not my first language, all my fics are translated? xD Other than that, no.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? No, but I'd love to.

14. What's your all time favorite ship? EowynxFaramir, hands down. Out of pure lenght. Maybe LeiaxHan Solo (my parents are both nerds, I think my mom made me watch Star Wars the first time... I don't remember, the vhs were always around in the house. I was very, very little.)(we don't talk about the sequel trilogy.)

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I tried to write a third chapter for the aforementioned One for the Road... But it ends up in a love triangle and I don't like love triangles that aren't a poly relationship. So, it's sitting in my folder and I'll never finish it. I was considering ditching the second chapter and rewrite it as a "Aisling as a companion in DA2" fic... But MEH.

16. What are your writing strengths? I think dialogue. I am trained as a comic artist, which means that the writing parts that get polished are dialogue. I have much more experience with that. ... I am also terrible at judging my own work in a positive way, tho, so you tell me.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? English not being my first language and leading to mis-spellings. Other than that... I started writing fanfiction after YEARS of not writing anything in prose that wasn't screenplays for comics (which follows different rules). Since I stopped because of being hurt by it, I went on to it by not planning stuff.

I'm rusty with prose, and my retelling -the first thing I tackled- clearly had little planning ahead.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? It's a no, for me, unless you specifically wants your audience not to understand what's being said and create a sense of isolation and of not knowing what's going on. A sentence here and there with a translation is fine. But if it's something long... You want the reader to understand well. Italicized text it is.

19. First fandom you wrote for? I wouldn't call it a fandom, but: Greek Mythology. I drew a parody comic of the Iliad in my first high school year, alongside friends. It had been so fun. I also wrote, still in high school, something heavily inspired by Eragon, which only my friends had the pleasure of reading. (I'm only saying it involved my now most hated trope: THE SECRET TWIN.)

20. Favorite fic you've written? The next one.

I'm very invested in Ashes and Sparks, aka the Dreadwolf AU. I'm putting ideas in it and going fully canon divergent and writing it as I would like Inquisition to have gone. No Corypheus, more crazy tevinters, and the focus ON FUCKING TIME TRAVEL.

In a modern setting because yes.

It's also tackling something I absolutely hate in fiction when it's done wrongly, which is time travel, and I'm sweating and hoping I'll do it with logic. It's something niche and not so focused on a single ship, so probably it'll interest only me, but I'm happily writing and trying to contain myself from posting chapters of more than 10k.

Blank Form Under the Cut

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

3. What fandoms do you write for?

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

5. Do you respond to comments?

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

8. Do you get hate on fics?

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

14. What's your all time favorite ship?

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

16. What are your writing strengths?

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

19. First fandom you wrote for?

20. Favorite fic you've written?

[lynxindisguise]

hi!!! 13 and 29 for writer asks! i think you are great

hi!! aww thank you!!

13. How much planning do you do before writing?

I'll have a loose idea in my head of how things are going to go down and some important moments that I'm working towards, but a lot of the details and even some major plot points are discovered as I go. It feels more organic to me but can definitely lead to getting stuck.

During the writing process, I sketch everything out like it's a screenplay first, and then I fill in the narration after because that part is hardest for me.

29. Share a bit from a fic you’ll never post OR from a scene that was cut from an already posted fic. (If you don’t have either, just share a random fic idea you have that you don’t plan on getting to.)

I've probably shared this before but this is the beginning of the crackfic Remus's Cursed Adventures (in which he fucks the new DADA teacher each year). I liked it in theory more than practice lol.

Remus was a man of many curses. There was the obvious, of course, the large, furry, howling one. And there were all sorts of micro-curses—his knack for killing houseplants, for stepping outside the moment it started to rain, for pushing all pull-doors and pulling all push-doors. And then there was his horrendous taste in men. But this was different. This was boring. “Hello. I’m here for...” he checked his clipboard, “a doxy infestation?” “Remus? R-remus Lupin?” Granted, it started out like a porno, but it was otherwise as about as ordinary and uneventful as a relationship could be. “Er...” He studied the young man’s generically English face, jogging absolutely no memories. “Yes?” “M-my, you l-look...” Remus prepared to explain away the fresh scars on his face, or his premature aging, or his general state of dishevelment, but the man’s bashful smile caught him off guard. “It’s me, Quirinus, f-from school.” “Oh...” Quirinus... Quirinus Quirrell. “Right.” Ravenclaw, a few years below him, used to attend his study group. “Hello.” “What have you been up to?” “Erm...” Scrouging for money, smoking, crying, clawing himself to bits, quitting smoking, not thinking about his dead friends or convicted murderer boyfriend, being awkward in public, smoking again. “I teach Muggle Studies now, at Hogwarts,” Quirinus supplied. “Ah, that’s brilliant.” He forced a smile. “So the doxies...” “Yes, yes, right this way.” It was simple, easy, mind-numbing. They didn’t see much of each other thoroughout the schoolyear, and when they did, it was nothing but afternoon tea and reading by the fire and sex so unimaginative it felt practically straight. When he finally told Quirinus about his condition, he cried about how terribly brave he was, and Remus ended up comforting him. This must be adulthood, he decided: eating vegetables and dating kind, gentle men, and finally silencing the part of himself that craved chaos. And then Quirinus announced that he was planning to take a sabbatical.

fic writer asks

[pennylanefics]

The Librarian - Jake Kiszka | Chapter 1

a/n: it's here!!! i've only been working on this for like a week and a half, but it has turned into something i love so so much. a serious special thanks to @maud-gone and @streamingcolors-gvf for listening to me go on about this, talking ideas through with me, and even helping with planning some chapters. i'm so beyond thankful for you guys, it means the world to me ❤️ i hope everyone loves it as much as i do.

i will say, a little warning, i'm not good with establishing chapters, so this really just jumps right into the story

word count: 1.5k (super short :/)

“I’m heading out,” you tell your mom, your laptop and purse in your hands as you step into your shoes. She was in the living room, sitting on the new couch, reading a book.

“Oh, where are you going?” She wonders, closing her book a little to focus her attention on you for the moment.

“Don’t know. Just gonna explore the city a little, I’m sick of being cooped up and my stuff still isn’t here.”

“Alright, well be safe.”

With that, you step out into the brisk October air, beginning the short walk to the main street of Frankenmuth, Michigan. With your mom getting a job here, and still living with your family until you found a stable enough job, you had to move with them; it wasn’t something you were really looking forward to, in the beginning.

But upon searching up the town and seeing how beautiful and quaint it was, you weren’t expecting it to be too terrible. And the minute you guys arrived, you had a feeling that it wouldn’t be terrible. Your neighbors were wonderful from the minute they greeted you, even bringing over a tin of home baked cookies and other goodies. Also from what they told you, it was a very tight knit community, where everyone knew everyone, and cared for each other.

So when you stumble into the local library, you were expecting it to be small and condensed. However, you were met with a beautiful, expansive interior, very deceiving from the outside. Right near the front door was the front desk, a few computers behind for the employees.

You quickly look around and see a little cafe a few steps down from the desk, and the smell of fresh baked desserts and coffee fills your nose. This place instantly feels like home. It’s pretty quiet, aside from some classical music coming from somewhere. The sound of a door opening breaks your daze.

That’s when you see him.

A young man with shoulder-length brown hair comes out from the office behind the desk area. You take notice of the glasses sitting on his nose, perfectly adorning his features, and magnifying his beautiful eyes. He grins a little when he sees you, but he quickly looks down at the computer in front of him, a blush covering his cheeks. Taking a quick look at the name tag pinned to his tan sweater, it reads ‘Jake’.

You continue walking further into the library and find a comfy armchair pushed underneath an empty desk. You pull it out and take a seat, setting your laptop and purse down. Pulling your laptop out, you immediately get to typing away at your work in progress, a feature-length period piece screenplay. 

After a short while, you take a break from staring at your screen and look around the rather vast library. A few people were scattered around, a couple sitting at a table right in front of the cafe, others standing in front of bookshelves, reading. No one else sat at the tables, and that’s how Jake’s eyes land on you.

He watches you from his spot behind the desk, taking notice the way you nervously bite at your lip, your fingers typing away at the keyboard. He can’t help the smile that spreads across his face just examining you. He tries to focus on annotating the book he was reading, but he found it difficult.

You were someone new he hadn’t seen, obviously, and he wanted nothing more than to ask you about it. And thankfully, he gets that chance.

After you finished your set of pages for the day, you roamed around a little and picked out a few books that you’ve wanted to read, but never wanted to buy. With your arms full, you head right to the counter, and Jake laughs at your slight struggle to set everything down.

“Here, let me help,” he says, setting his book down. Immediately, your heart races at the sound of his sweet, sweet voice. It’s so quiet and kind, matching his job perfectly.

“Thank you. Uh, I also need to set up a card, um, I just moved here, so I don’t have one.”

“Okay, I c-can help with that,” he mumbles, seeming to be a bit nervous. You smile at him as he clicks and types on the computer. “Um, I have to go get a form really quick.”

He disappears into the office and your face feels hot at this point. Jake was very cute, and you had a feeling you’d be visiting here a lot more in the near future.

Returning with a piece of paper, he shows you each spot you need to fill out, handing you a pen as well. Your fingers brush against one another, causing your breath to hitch in your throat. His skin is so soft and warm, and you see what appears to be a hair tie wrapped around his middle finger.

Trying to ignore his presence, you fill everything out as quickly as you can and slide the paper back to him. 

“So, when did you move here, (Y/N)?” He wonders, looking up at you, figuring out your name from the form. Your eyes meet, and behind the glasses, you see just how pretty and soulful his eyes are. It’s like staring into a piece of tiger’s eye, they appear dark and mysterious, yet in the sunlight shining through the windows, they brighten up and become a beautiful, gorgeous mix of golden brown. They also compliment his matching hair color. God, you could stare into them forever.

“Just a couple days ago. From Minnesota.”

“Oh really? I’ve heard that’s a beautiful state.”

“It is. And I miss it already, but my mom got a job here, and I had to move with everyone.”

“Frankenmuth is a nice town, though. Christmases are always beautiful,” he tells you.

“I’m definitely growing to love it. Everyone is so lovely, and it’s so cozy in here, I think it’s my new favorite place.” Jake grins and hands you the card after activating it and everything.

“This is my favorite place in town. Hence the fact that I work here,” he chuckles. You laugh with him and take the books in your arms, after placing everything on top of your laptop.

“I’ll see you around, Jake,” you say to him, bidding him goodbye. He waves as you walk out the door, and as soon as it clicks shut, he is approached by one of his co workers, Lily.

“New crush, Jacob?” She teases. The sixy-year-old woman pats Jake on the shoulder, and his face turns bright red.

“I mean, I only talked to her for like five minutes to set her card up.”

“Yes, but you’ve been staring at her for hours, ever since she got here.” Jake is struck silent, mainly because he knows it’s true, and he’s trying to come up with an excuse as to why he was watching you.

“Just because I knew she’s never been here before.”

“And you think she’s cute.” Jake hides his face in his hands.

“So what if I do?” He mumbles, staring down at his twindling fingers. 

“You should ask her out then,” Lily suggests. Jake shakes his head, a frown appearing on his face.

“She’s out of my league anyway,” he whispers. 

JAKE’S POV:

After a long day of work, I’m finally heading home. I needed the peace and comfort of my own room. Ever since Lily and Elaine teased me endlessly since (Y/N) left, I haven’t known peace. And I know that in the days following, they’d continue on about it, no matter what.

Unfortunately, she’s the only thing on my mind, and all I can seem to talk about when I get home.

“How was work?” My mom asks at the dinner table. With it being a sunday, the library closes at five, so I was home in time to eat with them.

“Fine, like any other day. But uh, there’s a girl who moved here with her famly recently, and she was in there for a little while.”

“Is she cute?” Sam asks. I can’t help the chuckle that escapes me, my eyes falling to my food, slightly embarrassed.

“Yeah,” I murmur. Josh shoves me playfully, cooing teasingly.

“Jake’s got a crush! Jake’s got a crush!” He continues with the teasing.

“Joshua, stop it,” our mom scolds. “You’re twenty-two years old.”

“I think she’s cute, but I’m not sure if it’s a full crush. I set her card up and that’s the only time I talked to her. I did learn she moved from Minnesota and that she enjoyed the library. But who knows, she could have a boyfriend back home or something. I’m not going to get too into it when it’s probably just gonna leave me hurt.”

“You don’t know that until you ask, Jake,” my dad steps into the conversation. “If you think she’s cute, talk to her more. She may be thinking the same.”

—

taglist: @maud-gone @streamingcolors-gvf @mweasley19 @lolipopsandgumdrops @universoulindigo @byulgogii @artsygarbitch @dannyandthekiszkas @shutupdevvie @writingcold @fan-girl-97 @allieisacrybaby @gardenofgreta @interstellar-shores @anythingforjtk @gretavanbitches @thecoldwind @surmonella @why-ami-on-here @milkgemini

[teafuelledwriting]

What's your process like when writing dialogue? Has it ever happened to you that like, you know something is off about what your character said and how they said it, but have no idea what it is? and what do you do with such cases?

Hey, thanks for waiting for this!

Generally dialogue for me is fairly instinctual and I do a lot of the ground work in my head and I approach it with who and what this character is as a person in my mind. The way someone talks, the words and phrases they use, their accent, their speed and rhythm and how that shifts with mood and company can convey a lot about character in a really fast amount of time. So this means culture, age, education, personality, etc, all of which informs a lot about how someone talks. 

Are they blunt and direct or slippery and evasive, well educated or maybe less so, upper class or poor? Are they happy, playful, pissed off, talking with a friend, enemy, teacher, authority figure? Are they being honest and plain or are they hiding something?

All that guides me in writing their dialogue. 

It’s not terribly formal, and I tend to refine as I write, tinkering with a scene until I like their particular ‘voice’, until it’s distinct enough for the character and I can almost hear it in my head. Once I have that, dialogue comes pretty easily for me usually. And if I lose that sound, reviewing past examples of dialogue generally helps me to pick it back up. 

I also try to make sure my dialogue is doing ‘double duty’, by which I mean it’s conveying not just character and their wants, deceptions, etc but serves the story, gives exposition, and so on. It’s not possible all the time but that’s the goal I work towards. 

So when it comes to cases of dialogue just never quite sounding right and not knowing why? This happens to me on a fairly regular basis and it’s usually because I’m still figuring out the flow of an argument or a heartfelt conversation,  I’ve lost track of what the character’s want and are trying to achieve and sometimes just because what I’ve written is just off.

If it’s a first draft I try not to worry about it, I either retry by rewriting or flag it and move on, but if it’s during a rewrite or I get well and truly stuck, I take a step back and ask myself a few things.

What is this character trying to achieve? What’s their goal?

Why? And what are their usual methods? Are they doing something different here and why?

I also check my notes and try to remind myself what the point of this conversation and scene, both in the moment and in the larger story. I remind myself of this character’s voice, think about the way they talk and I try again. I write and rewrite and tweak until things start to click.

And if I still can’t get it, I poke at a trusted friend for their input.

Here’s some advice.

Listen to how people talk in person but also on screen and in books. Book/screen dialogue is far more refined and pointed than real life conversation so keep that in mind.

Think about some books or media that you enjoy and how the dialogue varies not only from story to story, but from characters too. Screenmedia is actually really good for this since screenplays/stageplays are mostly dialogue and that's where those characters start. 

Consider The Lion King. How does Mufasa speak and how does that change when he talks to Simba, Zazu or Scar? Contrast that to how Timone and Pumba speak and then compare with Scar. The Guardians of the Galaxy is another example of distinctive character voices (and humour) in a single film.  

If you’re fine with the genre typical violence I recommend John Wick (basically every main character has a distinct way of speaks that is instantly recognisable) and Guy Ritchie’s Snatch which is a fantastic example of giving characters all from the same ‘world’, area, accent and class, very distinct dialogue that makes them stand out. (It is a ‘gangster’ film so TW again for violence and how Richie handles Irish Travellers.)

Then when you’re writing or developing a character, think about who they are and how that’d shape how they talk. Try writing them and tweak it until you’re satisfied. Then put them in a different situation with different people and figure out how they talk changes. 

Do try to avoid writing accents and overly pronounced stutters and be careful with slang you’re not familiar with and always keep in mind stereotypes and cliche. 

And if you get stuck, step back and try to pin down what they want and how they’re aiming to get it. What’s the end result that you as the writer want?

And of course, all this comes with practice and rewriting something until it works. 

Sorry for keeping you waiting on this, I hope you find something useful.

Good Writing!

[anarchic-miscellany]

Terrible Screenplay Ideas: Knievel Dead

The "Jackass" Crew must band together to deal with an uprising of the undead.

[thexfridax]

Time loop: Twin sisters Joséphine and Gabrielle Sanz as mother and daughter in ‘Petite Maman’ © Alamode Film

Interview with Céline Sciamma:

“Alliances are extremely important”

An interview with French director Céline Sciamma about her new film ‘Petite Maman’ and the power of women.

By Susanne Lintl, kurier.at, 17.03.2022

[T]ranslated by @thexfridax

Whenever a French film succeeded in the past couple of years, it was very likely that she was involved in it: Céline Sciamma, born in 1978, does not only write excellent screenplays (among others for Jacques Audiard’s great suburban documentary[sic] ‘Les Olympiades’ or for André Téchinè’s ‘Quand on a 17 ans’); with her own films, she’s also become one of the most important voices in the European auteur cinema in the past 15 years. In her new film ‘Petite Maman – When we were children’ (coming to cinemas as of Friday), the follow-up to her multi-award winning female drama ‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’, the staunch feminist and Lesbian (she was in a relationship with Adèle Haenel for a long time) goes on a tender journey of childhood. At the house of her recently deceased grandmother, an 8-year old girl meets her mother who happens to be of the same age, and finally begins to truly understand her through joint talks and activities.

“It was my idea that a child meets a young version of her mother. Children are a good topic in cinema, because they are precise observers. Vital analysts of their environment and of course of their parents. In a certain way, it makes you come alive, when you observe them. Children are curious and have their own perspective of the world. Instinctively, you think about your own life, your own experiences as a child,” says Sciamma in the interview with the KURIER[.] Of course, she’s borrowed from her own childhood: “There were many connections. First of all, I made the film in the city, where I came from, in Cergy-Pontoise. The house and the rooms are based on my grandmother’s house, which I remember very well. It’s made a lasting impression on me, because I felt comfortable at her place. Grandmothers are key figures for children, especially for girls. When they die, it’s a turning point, a terrible break.”

Céline Sciamma, renowned French screenwriter and director © APA/AFP/JOEL SAGET

Have you also built tree houses as a young girl? - “Yes, I loved doing that. We have also filmed in the woods, where I played as a child.”

In ‘Petite Maman’, Nelly and Marion grapple with reality while building tree houses or playing together, thus getting to know each other. The encounter with the past and her mother’s 8-year old self, makes the present clearer for Nelly. She understands why her mother often feels so sad. “She suddenly sees [T: cue KT Tunstall] her own history through a new lense,” according to Sciamma. A touching scene, where Nelly tries to dispel her mother’s fear before a major surgery, knowing full well that she will get through it: “Everything will be fine”.

Céline Sciamma likes films with and about young people, coming-of-age films that tell the stories of childhood, its loss during adolescence and how this leads to disorientation. ‘Water Lilies’ or ‘Tomboy’ are about this difficult search for identity. Her heroes are always women – they have shaped her, rarely disappointed her, and supported her during difficult times.

Building a tree house with your own child-mother: ‘Petite Maman’ © Alamode Film

“When I look back, then I see that alliances with women were extremely important for me. Alliances that I forged right at the beginning of my journey. With people, who are still present in my life. Especially with my producer Bénédicte Couvreur, who I knew since my film studies. You have to know who to rely on, otherwise you won’t make it.”

Sciamma is one of the initiators of Collectif 50/50, a feminist collective, which aims at promoting gender equality as well as sexual and gender diversity in cinema and audiovisual media. “A powerful alliance often doesn’t look very mighty, but it doesn’t matter. Stick together and believe in your generation, then we are strong. That’s what I want to tell women”.

Next, Sciamma would like to do “something international”. A film, which is not based in France. “I need to try something new. Experiment. Try out something different”. Sciamma hints at the direction this may go. She is an ardent admirer of the Japanese anime master Hayao Miyazaki, [of whom she says] in the US film magazine ‘Little White Lies’:

“I love his masterpieces like ‘My Neighbour Totoro’ or ‘Spirited Away’. It would be wonderful if I could make a film like that”. ‘Ma vie de Courgette’, for which I wrote the screenplay, was already an animated film”.

To better understand your own mother: ‘Petite Maman’ © Alamode Film

[popentertainment-moviereviews]

TOTALLY KILLER (2023)

Starring Kiernan Shipka, Olivia Holt, Julie Bowen, Randall Park, Lochlyn Munro, Charlie Gillespie, Liana Liberato, Kelcey Mawema, Stephi Chin-Salvo, Anna Diaz, Jeremy Monn-Djasgnar, Troy Leigh-Anne Johnson, Ella Choi, Nathaniel Appiah, Jonathan Potts, Kelcey Mawema, Stephi Chin-Salvo, Ella Choi, Jeremy Monn-Djasgnar and Nathaniel Appiah.

Screenplay by David Matalon & Sasha Perl-Raver and Jen D'Angelo.

Directed by Nahnatchka Khan.

Distributed by Amazon Studios. 106 minutes. Rated R.

It’s funny to imagine the pitch meeting for Totally Killer. “Well, it’s a slasher horror film about a masked killer targeting high school mean girls… And did we mention that it’s also a post-modern comedy? Oh, and also, it’s about time travel.”

Totally Killer has so many balls in the air at once that it is kind of shocking that it is as good it turns out to be.

With a relatively unknown young cast – lead Kiernan Shipka has a following for playing Sabrina the teenaged witch in The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Riverdale and her mom is played by Modern Family’s Julie Bowen – Totally Killer is a near complete surprise. And it’s a good surprise.

Now to be completely honest, Totally Killer works better as a comedy than as a horror – the killer sections in fact tend to be the soft spots here – but it’s a smart and funny film. And, let’s face it, most horror films since the original Scream work comic beats into their scripts.

It is all smartly and snappily directed by television scribe Nahnatchka Khan – best known for creating the quirky TV series Don’t Trust the B---- in Apt. 23 and Fresh off the Boat. (Her Fresh off the Boat star Randall Park has a funny supporting part as an ineffectual sheriff.)

It’s a terribly high concept idea. Jamie (Shipka) is a teenager who is in complete revolt from her overprotective do-good mother Pam (Bowen). It seems that back in the 1980s when mom was 16 (Jamie’s age now…), three of her friends were stabbed to death by “The Sweet Sixteen Killer” – and Pam has been expecting him to return ever since.

The killer has become something of a local celebrity – inspiring “Sweet Sixteen Killer” tours and Halloween costumes – but he has not been heard of since the original killings 35 years earlier.

And of course when Pam’s daughter turns 16, the killer returns, with filled with violent intents. Naturally he targets Jamie. Jamie’s best friend has been trying unsuccessfully to build a time machine from an old photo booth for the local science fair, based upon her mother’s long-ago notes, because of course she is. As the killer tries to get Jamie, she hides in the time machine. As the killer stabs at her in the booth, his violent stabbing inadvertently causes the machine to work.

Jamie arrives in 1987, on the day that the killings are about to start. (This is not as random as that may sound, she and her friend programmed in the date while the time machine was not operational. Now Jamie has to find the victims and save them, to figure out who the killer was, and to figure out how to get back to her own time. That last part is particularly tricky, as the time machine runs on Wi-Fi, which does not exist in 1987.

Also, it turns out, she has to keep her teen parents – who are much wilder than their future selves would suggest – from hooking up yet, because they are not supposed to get together until after they finish college.

Of course she quickly finds that telling the truth to alert the police and the potential victims of the danger, is not going to work. Even she recognizes that comparing herself to Marty McFly in Back to the Future to try to explain what happened makes her sound nuts. So she decides to act like a new student – recently moved there from Prince Edwards Island, Canada, of all places – and befriend her mother and the victims, who turn to be the local mean girl clique called the Mollys. (They idolize Molly Ringwald and tend to dress in outfits that match her different film wardrobes.)

With many fits and starts and roadblocks, she finally befriends teen Pam (Olivia Holt) and goes about trying to save everyone. But the more she tries, the more she slightly changes history, and she fails at stopping the killings.

The fish out of water aspects of a modern teen in the 1980s never fails to connect. Shipka frustratedly scolding her 1980s counterpoints with things like “unwanted touch” or “you can’t call her that” make for comic gold. Dealing with things like keggers and dodgeball and nude hot tubbing make for some wonderfully awkward humor.

Totally Killer also gets bonus points for having a major sequence in one of my favorite forgotten carnival rides, the Gravitron (redubbed the Quantum Drop here). As Wikipedia explains: “The ride is completely enclosed, with 48 padded panels lining the inside wall. Riders lean against these panels, which are angled back. As the ride rotates, the rider experiences a centrifugal force pointing outward from the ride's center. This force, along with the slant in the walls, allows riders to be completely supported by the walls, without their feet touching the ground. The ride can rotate at a maximum frequency of 24 rpm. It reaches that frequency in less than 20 seconds…. At this point, the riders are experiencing centrifugal force equivalent to three times the force of gravity.”

If Totally Killer somehow becomes responsible for the resurrection of the Gravitron regaining popularity in carnivals, then it will not just be a terrifically fun film, but it will have done a great service for humanity.

Jay S. Jacobs

Copyright ©2023 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: October 6, 2023.

[ilovewhiteroses]

My Fanfics

THE CORINTHIAN (FROM NETFLIX'S ‘THE SANDMAN’):

You Cast A Spell On Me - Series Summary: You are a witch in your 30s, living in Los Angeles and working as a fantasy writer. You went to a bar one night and met The Corinthian there. You found eachother attractive and after chatting a little bit, you decided to go to Your place… Pairing: The Corinthian x Female Witch Reader Warnings: fantasy elements, smut, adult themes, angst, horror themes, mentions of violence Rating: 18+

Workplace Affair - Series Summary:  You worked as a librarian in the Dreaming. At first, you and The Corinthian couldn't stand each other, although you secretly had a crush on him. However, you didn't expect that Corinthian felt the same way about you… Pairing: The Corinthian x Female Librarian of The Dreaming Reader Warnings: Rivalry, mutual pining, knife play, smut (sex at different places)   Rating: 18+

Keeping Secrets - Series Summary: After it turns out you're both working on the same case, you and The Corinthian team up to track down one of the country's most dangerous criminals. Although you are getting to know each other better, he still has some dark secrets… Pairing: The Corinthian x Cop Reader Warnings: Swearing, horror, smut Rating: 18+

Other stories:

I See You, or The Fear That Excites You Summary: You had a pretty boring life before you moved into your new apartment, until you "met" a mysterious blond man who brought out thoughts and kinks you didn't even know you had... Pairing: The Corinthian x Female Reader Warnings: adult themes, voyeurism, masturbation, physical violence, fear kink, mild knife play Rating: 18+

If You Only Knew Me Summary: After Corinthian saved you from a near fatal accident, you felt attracted to him and wanted to know him better…until it turned out, he may not be who he seemed to be… Pairing: Professor!The Corinthian x Female College Student Reader Warnings: drama, horror themes, murder, smut Rating: 18+

Lucifer's Secretary Summary: You worked as a secretary in Hell and had a thing for demons, until a nightmare came along… Pairing: The Corinthian x Demon Female Reader Warnings: Smut, horror themes, dark humor Rating: 18+

I Saw You In My Dreams Summary: You first met The Corinthian in a dream, and not long after that, in the real world… Pairing: The Corinthian x GN! Reader Warnings: mentions of horror and violence, smut Rating: 18+

Window To The Soul: Part 1. I Part 2.  Summary: You never believed in urban legends, but when you needed an idea for your next screenplay, you met a mysterious, strange man... Pairing: The Corinthian x GN! Reader Warnings: Horror themes, mentions of violence, some curse words, sexual and adult themes Rating: 18+

The Eyes Will Tell Me Everything Summary: There were terrible murders in your town and you still haven't managed to catch the killer. Just when you thought that the perpetrator would never be found, a mysterious man offered you his help... Pairing: The Corinthian x Detective Reader Warnings: violence, body horror, swearing Rating: 18+

Beautiful Stranger Summary: You met a handsome stranger while shopping for clothes. You were sorry you didn’t get to spend more time wit him, until a few days later when you met him again… Pairing: The Corinthian x GN! Reader Warnings: Unprotected sex Rating: 18+

Do You Want What I Want? Summary: Ryan, a young musician went out with his friends, but ended up spending the rest of the night with a handsome, interesting man…   Pairing: The Corinthian x Ryan (OC) Warnings: Unprotected sex, cursing Rating: 18+

CLEMENT MANSELL (FROM FX'S ‘JUSTIFIED: CITY PRIMEVAL’)

Dance For Me Summary: You and Clement first met at your workplace. You started hanging out as friends, but things escalated later… Pairing: Clement Mansell x Female Exotic Dancer Reader Warnings: Sexual and adult themes Rating: 18+

We Are Not So Different After All Summary: After you failed to rob him and had to reveal him what do you do for a living, Clement realised the opportunities and asked you to join him and Sandy in their money making shenanigans... Pairing: Clement Mansell x GN! Con Artist Reader Warnings: Sexual and adult themes Rating: 18+

Dangerous Attraction Summary: You find out that the infamous outlaw, Clement Mansell is in town and it will be your task to go undercover and get close to him. However, you didn't expect to get too close to him… Pairing: Clement Mansell x GN! Undercover Cop Reader Warnings: Unprotected sex, cursing Rating: 18+

It Was A Pleasure Doing Business With You Summary: Clement demanded money from you, which you didn't have, so you had to pay him some other way… Pairing: Clement Mansell x GN! Accountant Reader Warnings: Unprotected sex, cursing Rating: 18+

Clement Mansell NSFW Alphabet Pairing: Clement Mansell x GN! Reader Warnings: Smut Rating: 18+

The Oklahoma Wildman and the Nightmare Summary: Clement and The Corinthian meet in the former's dream. At first they are not happy about each other's presence, but the sexual tension between them is high, especially on Corinthian's part. Will Clement be able to resist the alluring nightmare? Pairing: Clement Mansell x The Corinthian Warnings: Mentions of violence, sex, cursing Rating: 18+

A Fun Game Summary: Your boyfriend, Clement was never the romantic type, but with what he planned for you for your anniversary, he proved that he can be, if he wants to... Pairing: Clement Mansell x GN! Reader Warnings: Unprotected sex Rating: 18+

You Are Mine Summary: Your night out with your jealous boyfriend ends with some naughty consequences😈 Pairing: Clement Mansell x GN! Reader Warnings: Jealousy, unprotected sex Rating: 18+ A Hot Night Summary: Clement invites you over to have some fun… Pairing: Clement Mansell x GN! Reader Warnings: Unprotected sex, swear words Rating: 18+

TY SHAW (FROM ‘VENGEANCE’)

Play Pretend Summary: Ty Shaw, the charming actor, has hired you as his agent and assistant. One day he was invited to a wedding. Since he was single and didn't want to go alone, he asked you to play his girlfriend Pairing: Actor!Ty Shaw x Female Agent Reader Warnings: Some smut and curse words Rating: 18+

FENDER TAKÁCS (FROM ‘CALL OF DUTY’)

He Is Not What He Seems Pairing: COD Fender Takács X Medic Reader Warnings: Mentions of violence, some swearwords Rating: none

[theygotlost]

What do you think of the Hitchhiker’s Guide movie?

My dad really likes it (I think I remember him saying he likes it more than the book) but I don’t care for it and it is a matter of debate for us

well i just finished rewatching it just now so here's all my thoughts fresh out of the oven!

I don't like it. it's bad and not good. at best it's just mediocre. I hateeeeee that they forced an arthur/trillian romance its so annoying and insufferable and NOTHING. ITS SO LAME. especially cause trillian also became a damsel in distress and I just had to roll my eyes back into my head.

ig the book didn't have enough content to adapt into a feature film so they added an entirely original midsection with that creepy guy named kamala harris or whatever his name was and the entire time i was just like uhhh wtf is happening and why are we here. as a result the ending feels pretty rushed to me.

there were a couple of new additions that I thought weren't half bad though. like the flyswatters on the vogon planet that slap you every time you think for yourself and marvin using the point of view gun to give the vogon army acute depression. those were pretty good.

and who the hell cast this movie? zooey deschanel as trillian sucked ass. I don't like her or her scary blue eyes or her lackadaisical #californiagurl performance. mos def is also a terrible actor and not a convincing ford at all. martin freeman at least has the appropriate depressed british white man vibes to be arthur but i hate looking at his face cause it just reminds me of sherlock.

zaphod is the one I have the most to say about. I actually do like sam rockwell's zaphod because he looks the part and is appropriately sleazy. and I liked his outfits and accessories (though imo there was too much black and I would have preferred more bright colors and patterns). I especially love his combo of nail polish and this little gold chain thingy on his hand. just a nice lil slutty detail.

I'm completely baffled by his choice of a southern american accent though, where'd that come from? is it supposed to be like a bill clinton hillbilly president type deal or something?

and of course there's the elephant in the room regarding his heads. oh christ almighty how I hate the way they handled his second head. I get that it would have been harder to pull off the normal 2 heads side by side in a convincing way for the entire movie (its 2005 and the cgi in this movie looks fake as shit), but good lord every time his second head popped up from below seriously made me want to retch. its sickening to look at and sickening to think about and it's just way more awkward than the more straightforward solution. I also think it's strange that the movie added an explanation that zaphod created the second head during his campaign to store all his uncharismatic traits??? why can't he just be an alien with 2 heads??? I ALSO seriously hate how the other head is all CRAZYYYYYY AND WEIRDDDD AND INSANEEE ASYLUMMMMMM it's not funny at all it's just really hard to watch.

all these issues are kind of surprising given that douglas adams is credited as an executive producer AND screenplay writer? which is also weird since the movie was released 4 years after his death? I have no idea what the production of this movie was like and I'm afraid to find out.

[rayslittlekitten]

20 Questions for fanfic writers!

Thank you for the tag @spaghettificationandpretzels and @reggiesfilthylittlesecret

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

137 according to AO3 although a whole bunch of single fics are part of a larger series.

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 331,892

3. What fandoms do you write for?

The mains ones are:

Sons of Anarchy

The Gentlemen

Triple Frontier

I dabble in adjacent fandoms some times if I'm inspired.

4. Top five fics by kudos

I Almost Told You That I Loved You (Jax Teller x F!Reader) - 217

Grumpy Old Man (Joel Miller x GN!Reader) - 161

Bad (Jax Teller x F!Reader) - 144

Husband Duties (Will Miller x Wife F!Reader) - 115

Daddy's Little Princess (Daddy Dom!Raymond Smith x Little F! Reader) - 115

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes especially because they are rare.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Angstiest is subjective lol. But also some of the angstiest stuff I've written doesn't have an ending yet so if I go for completed fics, probably between:

Draw Me Like One of Your French Girls (Dieter Bravo x OFC) Excess Baggage (Will Miller x Ex Wife F! Reader) Distraction (Ben Miller x F! Reader)

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I have a few but the first one that comes to my mind is:

Wanna Be (Will Miller x BFF F! Reader)

That whole entire series has my heart. Worth the pay off at the end.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Rare but it happens.

9. Do you write smut?

Oh yeah!

10. Craziest crossover?

I haven't done many crossovers but it would probably be The Gentlemen and Triple Frontier.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I am aware.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I mean, I never did. If someone went ahead and did that without my permission, I have no idea.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

A very very VERY long time ago, my cousin and I co-wrote Backstreet Boys fics when we were teenagers.

14. All time favourite ship?

Okay so most of my "OCs" are reader characters but they really should be OCs and my fave is probably Jax and Opie's sister.

15. What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I will finish all of them one day even if it takes me 50 years.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I have a very vivid imagination so how I usually write is I write what I see in my head, like I'm directing a movie and translating that onto paper. I like to include all the senses if possible to help the reader immerse themselves in the story and I'm big on feelings. When I write the angsty stuff, sometimes it can take a bit of a toll on me because I channel the character and feel all those things so i can regurgitate it back for the reader. It's very cathartic too.

Also banter! I love writing banters.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I think I have a tendency to write reader characters/OCs very similar and I'm trying to be more aware of it to adapt to what the story needs. I also feel like I'm not detailed enough. Again, I write like I'm directing a movie so sometimes they come off more screenplay-ish.

18. Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

I've used some Spanish here and there but not like an entire conversation.

19. First fandom you wrote in?

The very very first fandom I've ever written in is the Backstreet Boys fandom and I was like 14.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

This is like asking me who is my favorite child. I refuse to answer this 🤣 I love each and every one of them for different reasons.

no pressure tags: @deathbecomesnerds @laurfilijames @artemiseamoon @lovebarefootblonde @salt-is-a-terrible-currency