#also can someone hire dialogue writers?

[canonizzyhours]

I'm a professional screenwriter. I know nobody reading this has any reason to believe that, and I work pretty hard to keep my fandom activity separate from my professional identity, so I'm not going to offer any proof that would doxx me here, believe me or don't. But it's true and I don't just mean I'm trying to get hired as a screenwriter, I mean I am pretty well established in the industry and I've worked on some stuff big enough you've probably heard of it. I've also been active in OFMD fandom for about two years now, since nearly the beginning.

The canyon really freaks me out because seeing it up close makes me worried I've drastically underestimated audiences' empathy gap around characters of color and tendency to sympathize with and excuse the actions of white characters. I've always tried to be conscious about that sort of thing in my work but now that I'm seeing the whole process up close it's so much worse than I always thought.

I think a lot about what I would have done during season 1 of OFMD, if I were in the writers' room and I'd wanted to make sure it would be clear to the audience that Izzy was Ed's abuser and wasn't acting out of secretly sympathetic motives and we're supposed to be genuinely horrified by his actions. I'm in writers' rooms workshopping issues like this all the time. I know the kinds of suggestions I'd make.

Like, if we were worried that the audience would think Izzy's hostility toward Stede was about class instead of homophobia, I might have suggested we make sure Izzy's dialogue never has any reference to Stede's class at all, and that we might do a subplot in one episode where Izzy is equally hostile toward Lucius, since Lucius clearly isn't rich but is extremely gay. But that already happened, and it didn't help.

If I wanted to make sure the audience understood that Izzy is bossing the crew around and screaming at everyone to work harder because he's a petty little bully on a power trip and not because the work actually needs to get done, I might have suggested a scene where Izzy deliberately makes a mess on purpose just so he can order the crew to clean it up. But that already happened, and it didn't help.

If I wanted to make it clear that Izzy has always been awful toward everyone around him -- especially his colleagues of color -- since long before the show started, I might have suggested we repeatedly emphasize throughout the season that while Fang is willing to work with him, he doesn't like or respect Izzy and this is because Izzy has always treated Fang very badly. Have him pull on Fang's beard for no reason and have Fang explicitly say he hates that but knows it wouldn't help to complain. Have Fang tell strangers jokes about times Izzy humiliated himself in public. Have a scene where everybody unanimously VOTES TO MURDER IZZY and someone explicitly stops to ask Fang if he's cool with this and Fang explicitly says yes this is absolutely fine with me and then he actively participates in the murder plan while smiling. But all of that happened and I still see the canyon insisting that Izzy was a much nicer person before the events of s2 when he wasn't under so much stress and has always been liked and respected by the PoC around him, including specifically Fang!

If I were worried that the audience might take seriously the idea that Izzy is motivated by "loyalty to your captain" -- well, honestly I don't think it ever would have occurred to me to worry about that, since he says that in a scene where he's in the middle betraying his captain and I'd probably assume people are capable of picking that up and understanding that when someone says they're abusing you for your own good you should not believe them. But if someone else insisted we address the concern, suggestions I'd make would include: make sure some of the first interactions we see between Ed and Izzy involve Izzy complaining about how he doesn't want to do the job Ed just gave him, then half-assing the mission and lying to Ed's face about it. Show Izzy deliberately undermining Ed to the crew by telling them he's half-insane, then insist to Ed that he's the only one keeping the crew loyal when they're worried about his judgment. But they did that stuff and we still have people thinking Izzy's central motivation throughout season 1 is selfless devotion to Ed.

The show did every single thing I would have suggested, and none of it worked. So what does it say about all the stuff I've already worked on, whenever I've written a scene where a white guy was being a dick to characters of color? Have I just been embarrassingly naive this whole time? Have I undermined my own work by not getting this?

You can't control audience reactions, I know that, that's part of what's great about art, you have to let go and accept that people will interpret things in ways you never intended, I get it. But if it's THIS impossible to choose words that will create the kind of feelings you meant to, what's the point? Is it even possible to write about the kind of abusive relationship Ed and Izzy have, where the white guy thinks he's entitled to control a brown man's life "for his own good" and that the brown guy is obligated to be grateful and reciprocate his "love" and not have a huge group of people creating elaborate justifications for the white guy? What else could they have done? What else can I do, when I'm writing about characters of color? I'm seriously asking. If anybody reading this has advice I want to hear it. What could I do?

#408.

[quixtrix]

rayman, eden's feel good american dream story; an analysis

guess who's back with taking ubisoft's silly guys and cutting them open. yknow, if you strip rayman of his personality, of all the behind the scenes we get of him, we get a run of the mill news reporter that is an immigrant, who by face alone serves as a shining ray of hope. he's easily something that by all means, can be classified as a diversity hire. immigrant, nonhuman (which in the world of clh can be considered to be equated with poc irl), and notably the only one in his work environment. don't believe me?

we rarely ever see anyone other than rayman on the show in the form of a coworker. the only time we do see other eden affiliated people, they are both white. "but you can't see red's face!!" there is a reason his dialogue makes you think of more right leaning people with their claims of 'wokeness is destroying everything' under something like april from tmnt being black and not ginger. he's a caricature meant to represent a specific group of people under fascism; those who have successfully consumed the fearmongering and have let it turn from fear of those that they are told are beneath them into hatred for them. there is also the fact that on live tv he throws up a middle finger, refers to an implied group of immigrant people as 'filthy interdimensional alien scum,' and seemingly gains no backlash for it. yes, the other reporter does try to give red a chance to go back on his words, but he sticks to it. and despite all of this, we get no indication that neither red nor the niji 6 had to apologise or received punishment for this. in fact, red is possibly given more chances by eden due to him being weirdly in charge of bullfrog's containment in a way? (i'm not entirely sure WHY he was there, but as he is one of eden's tv personalities, he's at a possibly televised trial of a terrorist.) now if you compare this to rayman, who also acted inappropriately on tv by literally saying fuck, you'd come to realise that rayman was treated so much more harshly. he was IMMEDIATELY replaced by a clone of himself, with no warning nor any indication that eden would do such a thing. it's very likely this was one of, if not the first time that rayman has slipped up like this on live tv. maybe it's a repeat offence considering his personality, but then you could argue that red is a repeat offender of the same shit and then you have to wonder why a soldier like red was not easily replaced but someone who is the literal face and voice of eden was with ease. it's because rayman made himself more than jus a story, he humanised himself by showing a peek of his raw feelings. remember that cute little exposition of the rayman kids show about hybrids? where we see all of these hybrids working as society's grunts and the kids are told to be thankful for hybrids? it's very sweet and gives a good message! now the rayman kids show is a product of eden propaganda, but rayman very much has a hand in it, most likely as a writer. he uses his platform to speak on issues that has happened and affected him. this can be seen in his biopic.

jus sit with this image for a moment. you ever think about why rayman is specifically made as an alien? why he's specifically an immigrant? in real life news reports and speeches, there is a difference in implications when people use immigrants and not aliens. you wanna know why?

as someone apart of an immigrant family myself, i live in a community of other immigrants. majority of them are hispanic, and while i myself am not hispanic, i am very aware of how hispanic immigrants were referred to and treated by politicians under trump's presidency. how couldn't i? even as children in middle school and elementary, we had discussions about what trump was saying because it directly targets my friends and their families. they are people targeted by a man who specifically uses derogatory terms to dehumanise them, to make it easier to justify in the average american mind that the government is doing the right thing by keeping out and protecting america from these so-called 'invading animals.' makes what red was saying earlier feel very on the nose, right? adi shankar, the showrunner for captain laserhawk, is also an immigrant man. immigrated from india, which by the way, did you know has a lot of people immigrating for the purpose of having a better life? that's a common sentiment that can be found in every single immigrant family's story. i've asked my filipino mother why she took an opportunity to live and work in america, and she told me it's because she wanted to give her children a better life than what we would have had in the philippines. hell, i bet if you share a similar background to me, you can ask your own parents the same thing and get the exact same answer, regardless if you came from latin america or africa, or asia. it's because of the concept of the american dream. everyone who has ever engaged with any degree of immigrant discussion has heard of the american dream. it's a concept that seems to be consistently proven via word of mouth, with the biggest examples being celebrities. they will always, without fail, eventually speak about the american dream within their backstories. and typically, they will use their platforms to further empower others within their community. it's why people from specific ethnicities tend to group together, why people make art meant as something akin to a homage to their people. it provides hope to the masses, makes you relate to the person on the screen, and believe that this society is truly a gracious one by providing opportunity. because yeah, it may be bad, but it could be worse. i mean we appreciate you! just look!

dont mind the fact that the majority of opportunities allotted to you is grunt work, the work where you at the base of the pyramid, with the harder jobs and the jobs no one wants to do. dont mind the fact you will be actively dehumanised, forced to work for hours in conditions we wouldn't put anyone else in, but hey. we appreciate you. we thank you. and yknow, you can become more than what you are. yknow, we let someone just like you be more than what you are! nevermind the fact that if they slip up, they'll be met with MUCH harsher criticism in comparison to someone who isn't you! aren't we so gracious? i probably sound a bit like matpat's insane out of context real world examples, but this show is filled with political imagery, so let me be. anyways, let's get back to eden and rayman. rayman, despite being specifically from dimension x as an alien, keeps hybrids in mind when he's doing his work.

people of colour tend to share solidarity with one another due to the fact that surface wise, we share similar struggles. to grossly oversimplify things, we all face discrimination through our appearances and are oppressed by the rules of a society created by our white oppressors. again, hybrids and dimension x immigrants can be equated to irl poc, and despite being different from each other, there is still community. rayman keeps them in mind, hoping to make things better for the overall nonhuman and nonnative (native as in naturally born) population of eden. but, rayman is not what he believes he is. because despite everything he has worked for, despite what he has tried to do, he is still a facilitator of the fascist regime that has an active hand in the perpetual oppression of his own people. one of the core concepts within fascism is us versus them. it's an easy way to instill fear (which is very much needed in fascism to make it easier to lie to the masses) and it's used in multiple layers, beginning with a large group (ex. us versus ussr, capitalism vs communism), then progressively sizing down (ex. saying all eastern europeans are communist, then going smaller and say all those affiliated with eastern europeans are communist) with the goal being to put people against each other and break up community since if you put your minds together, you'll start to realise that the fascist system is bullshit. what i've personally come to find is that in order to hide the fact that there is fascism lurking is that someone that can be considered a 'them,' an other, will be given a seat at the table. it's so they can be used as an excuse, a human shield, when they inevitably slip up and can be paraded to the masses as proof that the other is not as smart or powerful as 'us.' the 'other' within the 'us' is used as something to look down at, while also justifying to oneself that they have a place, that they are not being oppressed. they have an opportunity as much as anyone else! so long as they don't mess up. rayman messes up, and is shunned from 'us.' hes a mistake, impure, clearly not like 'us,' 'us' who had been so gracious to give this 'other' a place. he's cut out and discarded because he has well worn his purpose, and clearly, they can just get another little puppet. they'll dress him up and make him worthy of being one of 'us,' and make sure that this one won't fall to the fault of his little ideas. which is exactly what leads to rayman's transformation of ramon. being forcibly forced out and discarded by eden because he showed his true ideas makes him realise that there was no real place for him within the system. because what good is his work if it leads to what he tried not to create? it's worthless, just as the system it attempts to thrive in is.

tl;dr, rayman is a representation of the american dream, specifically celebrities. he tries to do what he can with his platform, but the fact is that within a fascist system, his impact is not entirely felt in the way he wants it to. that is why he becomes ramon.

anyways if you reached the end of THIS LONG ASS PIECE GOOD LORD thank you!! always open to discuss this and take criticism, my ask box is open in the lil 'who's asking' :^]

[writingquestionsanswered]

I'm trying to improve my writing and feel confused and worry over my punctation. Especially when it comes to dialogue tags and the use of semi-colons. They've always confused me. Is it alright to use a simile after a diagloue tag? So for example: "Of course I like ice-cream," he replies, like the answer was obvious.

Worried About Punctuation

Don't stress too much about punctuation. The whole reason we edit, polish, and have proof readers and editors is because being a writer doesn't necessarily mean you have a flawless grasp on punctuation.

Things you can do to improve your punctuation as you write:

-- use built-in punctuation checker in your writing program -- stop and Google the rule you're not sure about -- highlight/note the rule you're not sure about and check later -- ask someone who might know

Things you can do to improve your punctuation after writing:

-- Google things you're not sure about as you self-edit -- Use Strunk & White's or other punctuation book for help -- Use program like Grammarly or Pro-Writing Aid to edit -- Ask an eagle-eyed/educated friend to proofread for you -- Hire a proofreader or editor

Things you can do to learn better punctuation:

-- Google rules you're not sure about and fix yourself -- Read a punctuation guide like the one at Grammarly -- Purchase a punctuation book or workbook -- Watch punctuation explanation videos on YouTube

One last thing... just so you know, "like the answer was obvious" is not a simile. A simile is not any sentence containing "like" but rather a sentence comparing two seemingly unalike things using the words "like" or "as."

In the sentence "like the answer was obvious," nothing is being compared to something else. Rather, the sentence is saying "as though the answer was obvious."

Examples of a simile:

-- Her cheeks were like red tomatoes. -- His gaze was cold as ice. -- He was like a king peering out at his waiting subjects. -- The tension was thick as Aunt Betty's day-old brownies.

Having said that, yes, you can absolutely follow a dialogue tag with a simile:

-- "Of course I like ice-cream," he replies, his gaze cold as the scoop of mint chocolate chip on his cone.

And, you can also follow a dialogue tag with anything relevant to the dialogue:

-- "Of course I like ice-cream," he replies, like the answer was obvious.

I hope that helps!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

♦ Questions that violate my ask policies will be deleted! ♦ Please see my master list of top posts before asking ♦ Learn more about WQA here

[currantlee]

A few comments on a recent post about RWBY I made got me thinking about something. Basically, I think that Rooster Teeth – and possibly by extension its parent companies – have artificially inflated RWBY as a media project and franchise rather than letting it grow organically. Therefore, it became a bubble that was bound to burst at some point. RWBY might never have been a profitable IP, which might be very relevant for its future.

This is not a problem that arose after Monty Oum‘s passing, I feel like this was already coming before that. Shane Newville‘s open letter (which absolutely comes from an emotional, mentally unwell state of mind, but has had many of its contents confirmed over the years, even beyond being one of the first descriptions of the toxic work environment at Rooster Teeth) makes a few points that support this impression. Whether you agree with the letter or not, you cannot deny that the first two volumes of RWBY, while they also had merch accompanying them and stuff, were not produced following industry standards – starting with the 3D software used, Poser Pro (Monty Oum‘s preferred tool for animation). This led to some really creative animation work that, while not always high-quality by industry-standards, was certainly pushing boundaries. It was creative and it worked for what RWBY was: a passion project created by someone who saw animation as his strongest suit – as his preferred medium to tell a story. I‘ve seen a lot of people claim that Monty Oum wasn‘t a writer, and while that‘s true, I feel like the implication of that statement is always that he couldn‘t tell stories on his own. I don‘t think that‘s true. I think Monty Oum was a great storyteller when it came to expressing certain things through animated action scenes. It‘s just that he wanted to tell a story that included more than just that and a few lines of dialogue – which is where Miles Luna and Kerry Shawcross come in, two at the time very inexperienced writers (who possibly had a fallout with Monty Oum over creative differences later), as well as some talented folks – people like Shane Newville. They were chosen to work on this because Monty Oum acknowledged their potential and liked to work with them, and I feel like that created an environment where they were really allowed to flourish. Volumes 1 and 2 are certainly not flawless, but I feel like I can tell the people making it had fun.

To Rooster Teeth however? I think RWBY (and by extension, Monty Oum as a creator) might have been little more than assets to them. RWBY was first created around a time when RT first tried to be more like, well, an actual company. At least from 2014 onward, but possibly even earlier than that, this included an effort to conform to industry standards more, mostly in order to be able to hire more people – very visibly so in RWBY in the form of the switch to Maya (my opinion about that is, the way they did it didn’t do RWBY any favors at all). I think they saw RWBY and Monty Oum as an opportunity to appear… More important, bigger, than they ever really were.

So what did they do? Again, I kind of have the feeling that they “upscaled” RWBY to a size where it appears like this big thing, but it became far too much to handle. Essentially, they created a mock giant, or a metaphorical quasi-star: something that can appear big from afar, but is actually very small / unstable (and if we go with the quasi-star metaphor, disturbs all of its surroundings). This is what I mean when I say that RWBY was a bubble bound to burst, because no star lives forever – and quasi-stars can only exist under very specific, very unstable conditions (I linked a Kurzgesagt-video in case you’re interested what exactly a quasi-star / black hole star is / was, cosmology is so fascinating IMO). Once these conditions exist no longer, they both fall apart and collapse into the black hole that is their core at the same time.

My main argument for this is that RWBY was essentially a huge money sink for RT (Source: Barbara Dunkelman’s unprofessionalism). They pumped so much money into this… Perhaps even more than they ever made from it. While this isn’t 100% confirmed, it is very much possible (and IMO not exactly unlikely) that RWBY was never profitable — which it might have been if RT hadn’t been so hellbent on creating the illusion of a multi-million-dollar franchise.

This is purely speculative, but this might also be why Volume 10 was never greenlit. We know that Volume 9 was to a significant part funded by Crunchyroll and in fact would not have been possible without them (probably because RT was already out of money at this point). They might have bought into this mock giant, then realized they had pretty much been scammed once Volume 9 aired. This might have led to Crunchyroll’s unwillingness to fund another season for something they knew now was effectively a money sink. Since RT at this point lacked the funds to produce Volume 10 alone and therefore was dependent on investors like Crunchyroll and Warner Brothers… Volume 10 was never greenlit, no matter how hard they attempted to get their fans’ hopes up and start a hashtag campaign on social media (as far as I remember, that was started by Rooster Teeth, not the fans. I don’t have my Twitter account anymore though, so I can’t check). Again though, this is speculation.

The worst part? This refusal of RT to just… Downscale RWBY again, this determination that it had to be this huge franchise… Was all put on the backs of the creatives working on it. We know at this point, from multiple sources, that RWBY and other RT productions have had an incredible amount of crunchtime, working overtime, employee abuse, … going on behind the scenes, which seems to only have gotten worse after Monty Oum’s passing. At the end of the day, all RT does and has ever done is blame others for their incompetence. Like, no shit, I’ve seen fans claim that it’s the FNDM’s job to “keep the show alive” (particularly in the light of #GreenlightVolume10), which… No, that’s not the fans’ job. It’s the job of the company who has been entrusted with this beloved IP, and said company has proven to be utterly incompetent on multiple occasions, which is unfortunate, but a sad reality for all those who love RWBY. And while Rooster Teeth has never directly said such a thing, they have certainly implied it and taken advantage of the existing sentiment within their fanbase, as well as their parasocial relationship with it (again, see #GreenlightVolume10 for reference).

To clarify, I’m not saying none of this would have happened if RT didn’t insist on making RWBY this big franchise (and biting off far more than they could chew in the process) – again, RT was far too notoriously incompetent at everything a company should manage – but I do think it might have played a role. It also isn’t an excuse for all the employee abuse. Again, what they should have done is downsizing the project, not inflating it further and further.

If I’m not somehow completely in the wrong (because IMO this just makes way too much sense to not be at least partially true – but let’s face it, a lot of this is just me connecting dots, and there is always a chance I’m connecting them wrong, even though I don‘t think so), then it kinda blows my mind that there are still people who believe in this scam. Though I will say, emotional attachment can do that to anyone. If anything, I’m honestly sorry that those folks lose something that means so much to them, and that false promises were made to them.

At the end of the day, the story of RWBY (the “franchise”) is twofold. It’s a story about an incredibly talented creator who passed away far too early, who was given the incredible opportunity to make his dream come true. It’s a story of people he trusted taking up his torch, and maybe getting lost in the dark along the way. It’s an inspiring story regardless, and I hope to see it continued at a downsized scale so it can grow organically, preferably in the hands of an indie animation studio like Dillon Goo (🤞)

But it is also a cautionary tale to both creatives and companies who employ them, a tale about false promises, abuse of both employees and fans, as well as how to not run a project. Don’t blow your thing out of proportion too early, don’t create a mock giant / metaphorical quasi-star. Let your ideas and projects grow and flourish organically and sincerely.

[firstkanaphans]

First of all wanted to let you know that I was in awe of your Eclipse translation. I love your fics in general. They are absolutely lovely (its a pun on your penname get it?)

Which brings me to my second point. I am currently translating a novella from one of my native languages to English at work. And I keep getting stuck. Do you have any tips on translation? What is your process like? Thank you!!!

Thank you so much!! I had a lot of fun translating that novel. If it wasn’t so time consuming, I would definitely do translations more often because it's a lot less stressful to transform someone else’s work than write your own. 

Translating The Eclipse was a 3-step process for me, although it’ll probably be easier for you since you’re fluent in both of the languages you’re working in. Although I'm actively learning Thai, I'm nowhere near fluent enough to translate a 500-page novel without assistance. (Why are BL novels so unnecessarily long??) So Step 1 for me was to run everything through Google Translate. When Google inevitably spat out something incomprehensible, Step 2 was to comb through the original Thai and translate everything word-for-word. I didn’t bother correcting grammar or trying to edit things to make them sound good, I simply got a very basic translation down on the page. From there, Step 3 was to edit that translation into something worth reading.

I’ve always had a problem with Thai novels specifically because the official translations read like car manuals. They’re boring and lifeless and god bless those of you who can actually read them, but I just cannot. I spend the whole book editing it in my head. I don’t think this is the fault of the novels, though! The Eclipse, for instance, is beautifully written. I just think these publishers are hiring translators who aren’t also writers. For a good translation, you need someone who can do both.

For example, it’s very common in Thai writing to use epitaphs instead of names when talking about characters (i.e. “the small one,” “the older one,” etc.). This is rarely done in English because it sounds clunky, but it serves a purpose in Thai where characters are often using their own name as a pronoun and the writer may not want to repeat their name yet again in the dialogue tag. If I had stopped at Step 2 above (like a lot of BL novel translators do) and kept the epitaphs intact, English speakers would have had a difficult time reading the novel. I had to make some changes so that the magic and meaning of the original stayed intact, but the writing was also appealing to an English-speaking audience.

I enjoy editing at baseline and there’s something so satisfying about taking a lifeless paragraph and making it sing. Just as an example, here’s the first paragraph of The Eclipse novel without any changes: 

The afternoon sun cast his shadow across the floor while Akk walked away from the building towards the Suppalo school gate. At this moment, that shadow didn’t seem as tall or long as him—the tallest male student in the Mathayom 4/1 class. The only thing that seemed to be the same was their shape, so thin it looked gangly.

And here’s what I translated it to:

The afternoon sun cast Akk’s shadow across the ground as he stepped out of the building towards Suppalo’s gate. At this time of day, his shadow was not nearly as tall as him—the tallest boy in his class. In fact, the only thing he and his shadow currently had in common was that they were both so thin they looked gangly.

It’s not a significant change, but it sounds much better. I think when some people make translations, they’re scared to change anything in deference to the original author, but I guarantee the original author would want you to change things if it makes their writing read the way it is supposed to. So I guess my biggest piece of advice to you would be to not be scared of putting a little of your own voice into the writing. Contrary to popular belief, translations do allow for some creative freedom as long as the original meaning remains intact.

I hope that helps! And good luck on your own translation. Like I said, it's time consuming, but worth it!

And since I’ve accumulated a surprising number of new followers since I originally translated the novel, here's a link for anyone interested in reading!

[el-moscorrofio-y-el-mercachifle]

Hiiiiiiii, I'm so happy that you're active here again, you're one of my favorite accounts and the one I like to follow the most 😭☺️🫵🏻

What are your favorite headcanon or non canon (sorry if I wrote it wrong) from the plot? In fact, I read those posts you made about the canon of the novel, and you forgot to mention one. In the following episode or in a few episodes after Betty presents the real balance, Mario greets Marcela in the Ecomoda, she makes a joke about him being a great writer (because of the story of the letter with instructions), and says that he would be the best man at her wedding to Armando.

I'm practically 100% sure that this scene really happened and that I saw it, I'm not crazy lol but if it was another dialogue or I'm wrong, someone please let me know.

Hiiii!! I'm so glad you like my little blog🥰🥰🥰

I think I got slightly confused with your question, but I'll give you both my fav canon details (things that actually happened in the show) and my fav headcanons (things that aren't in the show but I totally wish they were!):

For the actual canon:

Patty trying to burn her ex's car. As if we needed any more proof that she's wrong in the head lmao

Betty and Armando both loving jazz and canonically quoting poems to each other!

Armando and Mario have been friends since they were in school!

Mario has such a phobia of kids that he straight up refused to meet family members until they were at least like 10 years old lmaoooo

Armando, a guy obsessed with order or cleanliness, nibbles on objects when anxious or stressed

Daniel does this too, and also bites his nails, btw

Daniel gives candy to Marcela everytime he sees her!

Armando's glasses and tie represent him. When he takes the glasses off, he's being vulnerable. When he takes the tie off, he's in a pretty bad mental state

Somewhere in Ecomoda's digit archives is a 9 pages word document detailing everything that happened between Daniel and Patricia and how Olarte and her caused damage to Betty's computer. The fact that it exists to this day and no one ever found the truth tortures me lmao

As for my favorite headcanons! They're just little things I kinda think could be true about the characters but nothing was ever said or full states about it:

Nicolás can't cook at all, not even a simple scrambled egg, but he makes the best bread ever. Literally the only reason I think this is because his mom has a bakery

Margarita and Roberto were a little similar to Marcela and Armando when young (much younger than Marcela and Armando were during the show, which is why they're frustrated that they haven't outgrown that reckless "phase"). My only reason to like this idea is that Margarita insists that Marcela needs to be patient and wait and that men will always need a refuge and get tired eventually, like she knows what she's talking about; like she knows what that's like. Roberto also seems to cough a little uncomfortable when Margarita and him are talking to Armando and she says something about how she would have left Roberto if he had hired a hot secretary or something along those lines lmao and Ik thinking that Roberto was a womanizer in his youth is so weird because he seems such a down to earth mature man, but believe me, you'd be surprised how much a former womanizer can change with age lmao

Armando was very good with sports, and he specially liked contact ones like boxing

Marcela was definitely the type of little girl who waited besides the front door and jumped excitedly when she saw her dad come home. We know she was her dad's favorite, that's canon

Margarita and Susana were away for a big part of their children's childhood. I think this because Roberto says that during the early days of Ecomoda, Margarita and Susana were in charge of the interior design and the design of the collections, and also that they traveled a lot

Armando was a very troubled teenager. My reason to think this is that, well, just look at how he is in the novela, and now imagine him with all the raging hormones of a teen, probably slightly absent parents, and an underdeveloped frontal lobe lmaoooo

The Valencias' parents died when Marcela, Daniel, ans Beata were kids. I like this better than them dying when the Valencia's are adults. This is technically canon but also not because the novela literally onlh mentions their deaths in relation to their kids' age TWICE and ysblf still managed to contradict itselfffffff. But I like to think that Julio qnd Susana died when their kids were little because it would explain a lot of their kids' behavior: Daniel, after losing his parents at a young age and being the oldest and only male in the family, he tried to grow up too quickly which is why even when he actually became an adult he's pretty much a charicature of what a 13 yo would think as mature: very serios, snarky, sarcastic, apparently stoic, rude, overly sexual, etc. He pretty much got stuck as a teen. Marcela, being a daddy's girl and losing him so young, she became unheathily attached to Armando. Maria Beatriz, being so young when her parents died, just ignores the whole thing and has no big sentimental attachment to Ecomoda or the family in general like Marcela does.

Armando was a big source of comfort when Marcela's parents died. I like to think this because a) we know they've known each other their whole lives, b) Armando can actually be affectionate and tender with Marcela, as we see only like once at the very beginning of the show, and c) strictly related to my hc above, I think it could be in part how she found refuge in Armando when kids after her parents died that she became so obsessily attached

Armando and Marcela were an on-and-off/ situationship thing for years. Not like actual bf/gf, but more like that awkward tension and perhaps a few kisses here and there, some hand holding, all of that. Armando probably also wasn't sure about formalizing the relationship for a long, long time, and it also probably took a lot of convincing from Roberto and Margarita to finally take that step

So yeah! Those are a few canon and headcanons that I like a lot hahaha! Thank you for this lovely question!

[stevelieber]

Tips for Non-Artists on Writing Your First Comic, part 1.

Learning to write prose is tough, and it can take years of struggle to grasp the basics. You have to understand construction, character, theme, pacing, the effects of word choice, the specifics of your subject and so much more.  Learning to write a collaborative form like comics just adds new troubles and traps as you run into the difficulties inherent in the medium, or specific to the people you're working with.

I've been the first collaborator for a number of writers on their first comic, and it's gone pretty well.  (I'll brag here: One project got an Eisner Award nomination, another got four Einser noms, and another made it into a Year's Best anthology and helped the writer land a movie deal.) And I've also watched as artists I know worked with first-time writers on collaborations that didn't turn out too well. So I thought I'd share some observations and suggestions that might be useful to writers new to the medium. I've got ten of these tips. Here are the first three:

1. Read a bunch of comics.

This is primary. You're telling a story in a complicated medium with its own rules, rhythms, and quirks. You should have a sense for what other people have done with it. Read triumphs, near-successes and outright failures. Read well beyond the genre you intend to write. There are valuable lessons everywhere. (I've noted before that one of the biggest influences on an adult crime comic I drew was John Stanley's Little Lulu.)

You can find plenty of best-of and must-read lists online. Librarians and comic shop owners will have good suggestions, too.

Read analytically. Look at what works and what doesn't and try to take the successes apart to see how they function. Like this.

2. Ask yourself: Why is this story a comic?

There are so many writers with an unsold screenplay who have decided that they could just "turn it into a comic." They're not aware of the contempt they're communicating for both their own work and for the medium they expect to work in. It's obvious when someone is treating a comic as a movie pitch, or trying to shoehorn filmic action and dialogue into panels. Respect for a medium means building your story around things the medium can do well.

3. If you aren't working with an established publisher, finding an artist will be tough.

The most common question I hear from first time writers is "How do I find an artist?" One answer is money. If you can pay a competitive rate, you can always hire a skilled artist to be your collaborator. This isn't cheap. If you've established yourself in some other medium, your clout from that can help you find someone who wants to work with you. If you don't have money, or a rep from outside comics, you'll need to network like crazy, in person and online, using every means available to make connections with artists, or people who could introduce you to artists. It will be slow and difficult.

Here's Part 2.

And Part 3.

[writergeekrhw]

25 Things in 25 Years, Part 2:  25 Things I've Learned about Being on Staff in 25 Years of TV Writing

Here’s the second half of my 25 Things in 25 Years spew. This one is about working on a television writing staff. 

1. TV Writing is a team sport. You need to be able to work well with others.

2. If you are the showrunner, your job is to tell great stories, but it's also to make sure 250+ people keep their jobs as long as possible.

3. If you aren’t the showrunner, your job is to make the showrunner’s life easier. Full stop.

4. If you’re on staff, every episode produced is your responsibility. Not just the ones with your writing credit. Be engaged. Participate enthusiastically in every episode (within the working parameters of the show). 

5. Don’t credit grab. If you’re a Story Editor or above, your name is already on every episode. Don’t force an ampersand or an AND on a lower ranking writer. It’s your job to make their work better. You’re not their writing partner. You’re their boss/mentor. 

6. Never punch down. 

7. If someone has a better idea, use it. Say “Thank you.” In the room/interviews/etc, credit the person who had the idea. 

8. Actors are under tremendous pressure. The entire production hinges on them. They have a ton of dialogue to learn, long hours, their faces are out front. Be patient and understanding.

9. Actors deeply inhabit their characters. They probably understand how they should talk at least as well as you do. Give them the benefit of the doubt. 

10. Be collaborative whenever possible. That said, encourage feedback early in the process and lock the script down as soon as possible. 

11. If you have to say no, make sure you really have to say no. Think it over a bit. Give it some time. Say it as nicely as possible. “I’ve thought about that and tried it out and it’s not going to work.” 

12. The studio and network are laying out 100 million dollars or so for a season of television. Listen to them. Pick your battles. 

13. You’re replaceable. Everyone is replaceable. (Except maybe the lead actor.)

14. When hiring a directing producer/#2/etc. make sure they do not have a lean and hungry look.

15. If you’re the #2, don’t spend your days plotting to become the showrunner. You may win out, but it’s a shit move. If you don’t respect the showrunner, don’t take the job. 

16. Keep the chain of command clear. Don’t let the studio or network confuse things. If they’re empowering multiple people, the show will probably fail. Get together, compare notes. You’re a team. Act like one.

17. Always check with references. Always. Don’t hire assholes. They don’t change. They’re poison for your production. 

18. Always build a cave set. Your cave set may vary. What this means is build a set that can be redressed/reused for multiple purposes. Hospital room & corridor for cop show, for example. 

19. Ambition beyond the ability of your cast and crew to execute is folly. Ambition beyond your budget doubly so. Know your show's strengths and weaknesses. Write to maximize strength and minimize weakness. 

20. Night exteriors, especially in foul weather, wear down your crew. Use sparingly. 

21. The cast and crew are not drones who exist to do your will. They are hard-working, talented artists who turn your dreams into reality. Treasure them.

22. If you’re on set, always eat what the crew eats. Wait in line like everyone else. If the food sucks, replace the caterers ASAP. 

23. If you’re on set, be on set. You’re the one making them do this, so do it with them. Don’t hide. Don’t leave early. Call to Wrap, just like everyone else. 

24. In the room, no shorts, no flip-flops. Dressy casual does not mean looking like a bum. Cellphones either out of the room or on vibrate. Maintain good hygiene. Go outside to fart. 

25. Be excellent to each other. 

[greghatecrimes]

Easter Eggs - In the Dirt Chapter 3

Okay. I have so many of these that I threw in for funsies. I had to have something to keep myself entertained while PVP-ing writer's block for six months xD I'll post my favorites first, just since the list is kind of ridiculously long, lol.

First: the entire funeral section of the chapter is written with the same structure as the first chunk of chapter one. >:) ("Sticky counters under fingertips. The sharp tang of sweat and alcohol..." -> "The stifling scent of artificially perfumed flowers. A dusty Princeton funeral home...")

Now for narration and dialogue. Unless stated otherwise these are just meant to be parallels/nods that we the readers see, not that the characters are explicitly referring to within the story.

"I'm going to die. What difference does it make if it's when I'm still young and healthy, or if it's five years from now when I've lost the ability to walk? To talk?”: This one is meant to be a tonal parallel to Thirteen and House's argument in You Don't Want to Know. ("I might die. So could you, you could get hit by a bus tomorrow. The only difference is you don't have to know about it today, so why should I?")

"Oh, grow up.” House snarls, so sharply that Thirteen feels herself flinch. “It's the same for all of us. Everybody dies. You know damn well that none of us get to do it with any dignity.”: HNNNNFHFSDF this is my favorite one. On my part, it's a reference to both Pilot ("You can live with dignity; we can't die with it") and House's angry, grieving outburst to Thirteen in Dying Changes Everything. ("People die! You, Amber, everyone. Don't act like you just figured that out.") Within the story, House only intended it to be a callback to the latter.

"You'd rather die than let anyone see the real you, because you think you're weak. You think you're pathetic.”: OOSHGSDF THIS IS MY OTHER FAVORITE. Okay. This was meant to be a parallel to my 7x18/5x08 web weave. Specifically House's dialogue with Sophia in Emancipation ("You need people to see how independent you are, how well you're coping. So they won't see the lost, hurt little girl.") (The other parallel to the web weave that I threw in there was Thirteen's later thought of House... what did you do?)

Before you start yelling at me– They're heading down a two-lane road, passing field after field under a dizzyingly wide blue sky, and Thirteen's vision fills with green-green-green– I'm doing this because I care about you.: When I first set up this connection when I was outlining the chapter, I almost fuckin' screamed. BIRTHMARKS. BIRTHMARKS!!!!!!!!! ("I am not doing this because I care.") I drove myself fucking insane with this one. I could write a whole ass post about the parallels between this chapter and parts of Birthmarks, but I think a lot of it will probably end up getting sprinkled into House's POV. (Edit to add: and the drugs. that was ALSO an intentional birthmarks reference. Idk how I forgor the drugs😭)

The rest are under the cut if anyone is curious!

Thirteen asking Foreman "Are you... okay?" at the beginning of their phone call: This was meant to parallel the moment in The Dig when Thirteen asks House the same thing, immediately after finding out that he and Cuddy had been dating but broke up.

“You had me worried for a second there. I thought you were about to show up at my apartment with a dead body or a stab wound.”: A nod to Darrien going to Thirteen for help in After Hours.

"I'm sorry." "Hey, no, don't do that.": Parallel to Remorse, when Foreman apologizes for firing Thirteen in the middle of their argument, and Thirteen snaps, "Don't do that! That's not what this is about!"

"What, did he finally break parole and get arrested or something?": Parallel to an exchange between House and Thirteen in The Dig about Lucas ("You could have at least hired Cuddy's weird boyfriend." "Lucas?" "Mmm-hmm." "You don't know?" "What, is he dead or something?"). Except with the horrible irony of: this time, someone actually is dead. Or something.

“I’m trying... to say that he’s gone. House is gone.” “Excuse me?”: Meant to be a thematic mirror image of a moment between Foreman and Thirteen in The Softer Side ("Do you miss sleeping with women?" "Excuse me?"). Tone-wise and context wise, they are complete opposites. But both times Thirteen reacts to the shock by asking for clarification (because clearly, to her, what she just heard can't possibly be what Foreman intended to say.)

"We've gotta be realistic. He's attempted before.” “Yeah, four years ago!": Reference to House quite literally killing himself (for less than two minutes) via electrocution in 97 Seconds.

"Why the hell did you just give up? What happened to 'killing yourself is never the answer?'”: House is referencing what Thirteen tells their patient in The Softer Side ("No matter how bad things get, killing yourself is never the answer"). He didn't mean it as a reference to Kutner, but it triggers memories for Thirteen of Kutner's suicide.

His words hit her like a sucker punch as memories of a different person– a different time and place, blood coated over her hands and face, cold and thick and copper-crisp– flash before her mind's eye.: Thirteen remembering the moment they discovered Kutner in Simple Explanation. (Also occurs at the end of the chapter when she feels "someone else's blood that drips from her face")

House's jaw drops.  “Charity case?” he demands, incredulous. “After everything I've done, you think that's what this is? A charity case?": lol this was just a nod to the title of the 'House fires Thirteen so she can be happy' episode being Charity Case. Something something House has never seen Thirteen as a charity case something something Thirteen tries to say he does so she can deny emotional involvement/connection.

She'd written out a little speech. Something about spud guns and lesbian bars and the number thirteen...: In-story reference to the events of The Dig and The Choice

Chase's easy grin, Eric's warm hand around her own: Thirteen remembering Last Temptation (Chase grinning and hugging Thirteen when he sees her again for the first time) and Simple Explanation (Thirteen and Foreman holding hands as they watch Kutner's funeral procession)

The cool metal of a spud gun beneath her fingers and House's hand over hers, steadying: That one screen cap from The Dig where Thirteen's aiming the spud gun and House looks like he's supporting her/guiding her through it. Thirteen is remembering that moment.

[thenerdyindividual]

For the folks that leave unsolicited concrit on fic, I have a post for you that is genuinely not yelling at you for once. I know the yelling types of posts gain a lot of traction and I will admit that I contribute to that because I find unsolicited concrit deeply annoying.

However, for those of you that want to leave concrit on a fic because you genuinely think you’re helping a fic writer get better at their craft, I have a suggestion for you that is going to sound counterintuitive. So stay with me here.

Only leave a comment about what you liked.

There’s a chance you’re thinking something like “But how can a writer improve if they don’t know what they’ve done wrong?” and I see where you’re coming from. Here’s the thing though, people notice what gets a reaction out of their readers and what doesn’t. If one of their goals is to get better at writing, they’ll work on their weak spots on their own. For example: when I first started writing I almost only got comments about dialogue and keeping characters in character, but rarely received comments about plot or description. I was able to come to the conclusion that those were weak areas for me and made an effort to tighten those up. Now I get far more compliments about my plots and while I still don’t tend to get comments about my scenery descriptions, I do get comments about the unusual ways I sometimes describe characters.

I know it seems like a more direct, actionable approach to comment on what you didn’t like, but that doesn’t help anyone improve. Either you end up talking to someone like me that finds unsolicited crit deeply irritating and bordering on assholery, or you end up talking to someone whose confidence in writing is shaky and sees your comments as a confirmation of their fear. Regardless, you don’t achieve your mission because one person will ignore any advice you give and the other will stop posting as frequently or may stop writing altogether. Neither of which produces a stronger writer.

Also please keep in mind that most people posting fic are not creative writing majors. Most of them aren’t even English majors. I’m not. Fic Writers also are legally prohibited from profiting off their work, meaning we can’t hire beta readers or editors for our fics, and while some of us have the luxury of having a friend to give it a read first, people have their own lives and fic writers don’t always want to wait the weeks or months it might take before your friend can throughly beta read. So lower your expectations overall, accept that the rough and unpolished nature of fic is part of its charms.

And if you’re desperate to help? Let writers know what they did well, and that will encourage them to hone their craft.

[space-blue]

Andor rant (beloved)

Mentally diseased over how good today's episode of Andor was. How is this show so good? How? Luthen's monologue... The prison break... Cassian and Melshi running off together... *Sigh*

It's frustrating to me on some level, because show after show I've been complaining and wishing for "better writing". And the general mediocrity started to make me feel like maybe I was asking for too much? That maybe excellent writing is some dark arcane magic limited to indie films and titans of the industry existing in their own bubble of space, like Denis Villeneuve.

Maybe good writing would never come to Star Wars, and the shadow of it, glimpsed in Rogue One, TCW season 7 or Mandalorian season 1, would be as close as we'd ever get.

And then voila: Andor.

Andor with not only excellent writing for Star Wars, but excellent writing for any show! It's just up there. It has a ton of stuff going on, and it merges tropes like paint in a bucket. Rebellion building, spy action, politics, heist, prison break...

All without sweating, all with clarity of purpose, lean dialogue and memorable characters built on who they are and not what they look like or how dope they act.

Syril and his mom are stand outs because they're fascinating. They act their tits off, they're theatre stars and they act an all too familiar drama on the backdrop of Coruscant. Luthen's monologues are given the time to breath. His character is only shown enough to entice us and give us food for thought.

Characters listen to each other, grow from each other. It's Vel repeating Cinta's words, it's Kino repeating Cassian's...

The show also consistently flips expectations, giving us details before we think we need them. Like that one guy who wants to be made prefect and mentions it's solely an honorary position... Half an episode before someone tells a story involving one such prefect. It immediately enriches our understanding of what type of character he must have been... And then it turns out it was all a made up story? Or was it?

Us not knowing for sure is SO HUMAN. Skeen is human. He's a liar and a me-first dickhead who still sided with the good guys in the grand scheme of things, and we'll never know where the lies end and truth begins.

You rarely see shows so keen to build up a character from the ground up only to shatter them or kill them, even leaving us without a satisfying understanding of what sort of person they were.

I would never have dared to DREAM of getting a show this well written in the SW franchise, and I know it's going to ruin me forever, because every shitty, half baked, poorly written disaster a-la-Boba-Fett will be measured against Andor.

Even if the 101 fans adore such shows for all the pew-pew battles and lightsaber twirling or cameo galore, they'll forever suffer if it's obvious Disney didn't bother hire real writers and directors with vision.

Andor will forever prove they can do it, if they only bother. Every show trying to milk me will be that much more offensive and frustrating.

I love Andor, and I hate Andor. I was putting clown make up on for it when the trailers looked so good... and it just made it worthwhile. It was real. I wasn't a clown for believing in it, and at the same time it'll make me a clown in perpetuity, because there'll be the possibility the next show is on par with Andor, or gods forbid, even better.

[kunstpause]

Welcome to a little interactive Tav/Astarion Au fic.

Hello, I'm your writer and DM today. This will be a story where the major decisions and dialogue choices will be determined via twitter poll. I am aiming for this to be a gender-neutral Tav, so you can headcanon whatever you want in that regard, but we are gonna give them some character nonetheless. Also: It's an AU, so we won't touch the main plotpoints of the game. This is for the silly romance feels and perhaps some vampire steaminess. So be aware that, depending on choices, this could get nsfw.

And because I am very tired of the constant Spawn vs Ascended discourse, we are going with a secret third option, the details of which you might find out in the story, again, depending on choices, of course. ^^

You can find the interactive version here on my Twitter

Setting: Countess Sierran is known for throwing the social events of the season in Neverwinter, raising money for good causes, and giving people a platform to meet all sorts of new acquaintances. You know that this is also an inofficial welcome to someone fairly new to the city. A white-haired man who bought a sizable estate but not that many people have met yet in person. Rumor has it he has left his home of Baldur's Gate behind for good, but why and what for is the source of much gossip. Perhaps tonight, there will be some answers, or maybe just a lot more questions.

But before we can start: Character creation!

The options are under the cut and on twitter, under this post with the matching polls to vote for.

Pick a name, I've tried to pick suggestions that work for any gender. 1 - River 2 - Ash 3 - Morgan 4 - Storm

What brings you to the palace tonight? (Background)

1 - The Hero You are a seasoned adventurer that has been through a lot and made a name for themselves. Even when not being part of nobility, your deeds have granted you an invitiation nonetheless. Everyone in the city knows your name, after all. If its generosity or a political move, you cannot say. Yet.

2 - The Commoner You are an oridinary person, a commoner living in the city and making ends meed by working as a tailor. One of your oldest friends has married rich and keeps sending buisness your way. And one day, an invitation along with this. You are here on their good graces, trying not to leave a bad impression.

3 - The Servant You are a servant of the palace, having worked for the countess for a while. You keep your ear to the ground, hearing far more of what the nobility gossips about than anyone could possibly imagine. It's a simple life, but your employer is fair and you can't complain. Tonight, you're responsible for seeing to the guest's needs, even thought o msot of them, you are mostly invisible.

4 - The Criminal You've spent your childhood on the streets, learning early that no one gives you anything, and you have to take what you want by any means necessary. Nowadays, you are a blade for hire, and your current employer has sent you here with an invitation and a target. You know how to blend in perfectly, dagger hidden beneath clothes as you wait for just the right moment.

What do people think of you (Personality)

1 - The Closed Book You are a closed book, you rarely talk, and especially not about something personal. You are so stoic, people have a hard time getting to know you, and many don't put in the effort to try.

2 - The Charmer You are upbeat and easy to talk to, but you know how to play an audience. You use charme to set people at ease, but what you truly feel and think is often a mystery.

3 - The Open One You are friendly and open, not seeing a point in hiding how you truly feel. You wear your heart on your sleeve and often disarm people with how genuine you are.

4 - The Liar Telling the truth is for peple not careful enough. You have an easy time lying and utilize that skill to keep yourself safe and others at arm's length.

What do you strive for (Goals)

1 - Riches and Comfort You want more. No matter where you are right now, you know there is something more for you out there, and all you need to do is go after it with all your heart.

2 - A Different Life Everything is wrong. You know you are not who you are supposed to be. You need to get away from the status quo by any means necessary, even if that means accepting help.

3 - Peace and Quiet All you want is to rest. Life has been troublesome enough, you just want something quaint and peaceful where you don't have to be "someone" anymore.

4 - Nothing You are perfectly content in your current situation, you want nothing to change at all, and if you have to, you are ready to put the work in or even fight to keep what you have.

What frightens you (Fears)

1 - Lonelyness You can't stand the thought of being on your own. You need someone with you, someone who fights for you and you for them.

2 - Death You fear nothing more than the cold finality of death. It lurks around every corner and you know you have to be smart to outwit it.

3 - Betrayal You have difficulties trusting people, the thought that someone who knows you intimately turns your back on you is petrifying.

4 - Obscurity The thought of being forgotten, of your life not mattering to anyone in the long run and leaving no impact behind once you are gone sends chills down your back.

If you wanna influence the main character you have until the weekend to vote on it here.

[starseneyes]

Did you like the confession of feelings from 5.08? From Tim and Lucy?

Hey, Anon! Thanks for the message. This is a tricky one.

I tend not to post my negative thoughts much on here. Partly because I understand that so much of a show comes together because of many parties contributing to an overall whole. Showrunners. Writers. Actors. Producers. Networks. Editors. Directors. Directors of Photography. And the list goes on.

There are things that bug me sometimes about any number of areas, but I tend to keep it to myself. It doesn't seem productive to point something out on an episode that's "in the can" and mentioning it does nothing but come off as whining.

So, I'll answer this honestly because you asked directly—I liked it, but didn't love it, simply because I was confused in the middle, and that pulled me out of the moment.

I have a very hard time being "in the moment" with any television show. Let me explain why:

My mother's a hair and makeup artist in the industry. When I was a kid, I was very badly bullied by classmates, teachers, and even guidance counselors. I was slapped, kicked, tripped, punched, threatened, and had my belongings hidden, manure put in my backpack, and zero support at the school level.

My Mom's answer? She would write me a sick note and take me on set. Most of the directors were super nice, and would invite me to sit behind them at the monitors so I could watch everything.

Sometimes I helped at Craft Service. Sometimes I simply sat and watched scenes. Sometimes I was an extra. I even acted a bit way back in the day. Many of the folks would talk to me, tell me about what they did and why.

At night, my mother left her scripts out for me to collate. Sometimes, we'd get dailies or advanced copies of the episodes and I'd get to sit down and see how they compared to the script. Then compare that to the as-aired editions. I was always fascinated by the changes that came down.

I wrote my first script at 13, an episode of Star Trek: Voyager. I was complimented for the dialogue being spot-on, and to this day the biggest compliments I get are on dialogue and character. For whatever reason, that's always come easy.

I grew up in a very strange way as a set kid who also fell in love with how it all worked. I was a Film Minor in college and had a lot of fun getting blood advice from my mother (drop of blue), and I loved editing.

On top of that, one of my first jobs as a kid was doing voice replacement for Anime. And I spent about 20 years as a contract player with Studio Center doing commercials, books on tape, on-hold messages, and whatnot.

All that to say—lots of stuff stands out to me that most people don't care about a lick. I get excited by camera movements and continuity. I marvel at what we can do with drones vs having to hire a helicopter. I think about the lighting and how to motivate directionality depending on the scene.

Lucy and Tim's conversation (wow, I finally found my way back to the plot) is very them.

I've seen the shows where people have big, over-reaching confessions of their love for one another. And it fit. those. characters.

Tim and Lucy have a history of running from their feelings. For Lucy, she thought that Tim rejected her when he encouraged her to go to UC School. For Tim, he thinks that he's her greatest mistake—an almost that never should have been.

So this whole episode, Tim has been trying to encourage Lucy as a friend. He's not looking for anything. He truly is doing what he can for her, because he doesn't think she wants more. He thinks "she wants me to be her friend" and he's going to do it to his utmost.

Lucy's not even thinking about breaking up with Chris until Tim says she deserves someone who's worth the effort. That gets her brain going. Then Tim points out that Chris loves her, and she admits she doesn't love him.

"He's just not—"

You. You. We all know it's YOU. And as she's now reeling, because even if she didn't say it aloud, she thought it. "He's just not you."

And what do you do with that type of realization? That you're comparing this other guy you're actively dating to the guy beside you. So, Lucy Chen finishes out her shift, gets changed, and sets out to talk to Tim about the whole thing.

She goes into that conversation with the motivation that she wants to talk about them. But Tim's still in friend-mode, so he doesn't see the signals.

That's why it burst out of her. And I don't mind that. I don't mind it at all.

But Tim not acknowledging the change of conversational direction has always bothered me. Especially when it looks like they cut a line from him that very well may have been, "If we do this."

We skipped straight to, "No, you're right." And the first time through, I was super confused, I'll admit. The lack of acknowledgement from Tim just threw me.

There are probably a lot of people out there who weren't bothered at all. But watching Tim's body language indicate a line that was cut really confused me, and then his lack of acknowledgement of the change of direction puzzled me.

Again, you asked my thoughts directly, so I'm giving them openly. But I can hear a bunch of people rolling their eyes at me. Yes, I know I'm odd and what bothers me in a scene is odd.

Because, I don't have beef that Lucy blurted out what was really going on between them because she got impassioned by Tim's assertions about her fear and answered unthinkingly.

I think that's completely in character, especially considering her entire motivation in this scene was to feel that out with Tim. And Tim's surprise and trying to process is in-character, too, but I really missed that conversational transition the first time through. And it still stands out to me on every re-watch.

I know some people wanted a big, emotional love confession... but that's not Tim and Lucy. Neither of them is big about making speeches.

Tim talks often in two or three word sentences (see "Unless it is"). Lucy speaks rapidly, sometimes, but not in an overly elloquent fashion littered with metaphors and emotional revelations. They both tend to be fairly to-the-point in how they communicate.

If we were to get something flowery and flowy from Lucy, I'd expect it in her wedding vows, when she's had time to sit and compose something. She'll attack it like she does her UC work—thoroughly.

And Tim will find ways to show Lucy how he feels. He's more of a show guy, remember? Words aren't his forté, and if they suddenly were, it would be out of character.

Lucy speaks Tim. So, she'll know by his actions how much he loves and cherishes her.

And much as Lucy uses her words, I'd expect more pet-names and short bursts of affection (like telling him he'd do great on his first day) combined with the pranking and awkward photos that have been prevalent throughout their relationship, no matter the phase.

So, did I like the confession? Yes. It was very in-character. Did I love it? No. I had a bit of a hangup, but that's just me. I bet nobody else even noticed, or if they did, they didn't care.

I'm not here to criticize the Writers. I know the care that goes into crafting these characters and their relationships. The hours spent working together to break story, drafts, network notes, and so on. There are so many layers before we even get on-set to start shooting the darn thing.

I think a grand confession from either of them would have felt forced, heavy-handed, wildly out-of-character, and out of the character of the show as a whole. It wouldn't make sense to compromise the integrity of The Rookie for the sake of Chenford.

I do hope that answers your question (and makes a modicum of sense). It's entirely just my opinion! Everyone's mileage may vary, and that's part of what makes fandom fun. Thanks for the message!!

[gryffindorkalicious]

My review on S&B season 2

So I binged watch Shadow and Bone in on sitting and OMGGGGGGG.

OMGGGGGGGGG

WOWWW

THAT WAS A ROLLERCOASTER RIDE AND I HAVE A FEW THOUGHTS

PLOT

The plot was rushed like it was there is no denying it, but it was also fun in the best way possible. IMO The writers really aced it for TV. You can tell they actually respect the source material and understand it well. I know that a lot of controversy is surrounding season 2 but I would like to point out that I think the writers and actors did BRILLIANT with what time they had. Like I am pretty sure I saw a tweet that said that the writers weren’t sure that they would get the green light for season 3 and with that in mind they were exceptional. They did remove quite a few scenes from R&R and S&S, I really missed alina’s white hair and MAL’s  “I am become Blade tattoo”. And as someone who has read the books I missed the character development that was done but at the same time, I have come to realise that adaptations are different from source materials and it’s best to seperate them both. That way you enjoy it more. And my friend (Who hasn’t read the books) loved it even more then me.

Nikolai hiring the crows was absolutely genius, it was a really good introduction

The Crows having to steal the sword plotline was so good was so goodd

The transition for Kaz’s flashback was so good ( Can I just say that I loved the VFX for this season)

KANEJ AND HELNIK ANGST ALMOST KILLED ME 

WESPER BEING SO IN LOVE IS AAAHHHHHHHHHH IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE

THE ENDING THOUGH OKAY IK UNPOPULAR OPINION BUT I LOVED THE ENDING BECAUSE ALINA IS SUCH A SLAY IN THIS SEASON AND HER USING THE CUT AND I WAS SO HAPPY THAT SHE DIDN’T LOSE HER POWERS LIKE IK THAT THE THEME WAS POWER CORRUPTS BUT IDFC, LIKE LET IT CORRUPT. INFACT I WANT IT TO CORRUPT. I CANT WAIT FOR NEXT SEASON IF ITS HAPPENING 

Zoya having the bee fly near her (...............)

The fight scenes were really impressive like it was done so innovatively.

The plot was like 7.5/10 for me because ik that its a TV show but I still love the books too much, However, my friend gave it a 9.5/10 (She wanted more of the crows)

2 major complaints I do have is that WHY THE FUCK IS DAVID DEAD??????

LIKKKE WHY SHOWWRITERS??

hUHHH??

WHAT WAS THE REASON??

 and my 2nd complaint is please give me zoyalai crumbs, I wanted some banter but I was disappointed.

ACTING

the acting done by each and every charcater was phenomenal. Ben Barnes was amazing as usual, Jessie mei lei added her beautiful depth to Alina’s character, Archie renaux make Mal’s character so much more three dimensional, NIKOLAI, TOLYA,TAMAR AND WYLAN. OMGGG. When I tell you they were fucking perfect like their expressions, their dialogue, their attitude. Jaw droppingly amazing. Daisy was so good as Genya this season like her raw emotion could literally be felt throught the screen. Her acting literally made me hate the Darkling so much. Amita was amazing as Inej, she as born for this role and danielle and Callahan have such amzing chemistry I can cry.  Kit young is amazing, I love him so much. I wanted Sujaya to have more screen time because she is amazing but i know she had conflicting schedules but still :(

Freddy carter though,

WHAT THE FUCK

IT WAS LIKE SOMEONE PLUCKED OUT KAZ FROM THE BOOKS AND WAS LIKE HERE YOU GO AND HAVE THE MOST HEART WRENCHING STORY BE DONE IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE. LIKE HE KILLED. HE ABSOLUTELY SLAYED WITH THE ACTING. I WAS FLABBERGASTED. OMFGGGG. WHAT WAS THAT. LIKE FREDDY CARTER IS KAZ BREKKER. PERIOD.

OVERALL THE ACTING WAS A 10/10. I could not imagine a more perfect cast.

Conclusion

I Liked the show, had fun with it. The best way to enjoy it is as Leigh said,” Think of it as a fanfiction.” Sepereating the show from the book is the best thing to do for adaptation guys. I understand why people may not like it but still fucking watch it. IDNC that you didnt like it. WATCH IT. I need my Ice heist spin off. <3

Overall it was 8.5/10 ( ik the average is mathematically wrong but idc this is the rating i felt right with)

[chvoswxtch]

I have been in the Punisher fandom for a long time and I have read a LOT of fic on here and I swear to God you write Frank the best out of ANYONE’S work I have ever read. I don’t know how you do it, but every piece of dialogue and description and reaction, everything is SO Frank, and I can see it all happening in my head like a movie. I don’t know how you’re a real person out here giving us this incredible series for free. Marvel needs to fucking hire you as a writer because I know you would get it RIGHT

lajdjsjs my darling nonnie you are far too kind. I appreciate your sweet words very much. i’ve also been a long time punisher fan and it truly just makes me happy and excited to have a space where I can put my silly little daydreams out and have people respond to them so well

you are so incredibly sweet to say that but honestly i’d probably get fired in under an hour for making kevin cry and showing him a 5 hour power point presentation of why he’s fucking wrong and should let someone else take over bc my jonas brother in christ what the actual fuck are you doing up there

[tarysande]

i saw a post that you reblogged with a comment wherein you referenced working as an editor. i'm a college student looking to go into fiction editing, and i was wondering if you had any tips or suggestions?

I've written a few different posts about this in my "on editing" tag, but most of them are a bit old.

My path to editing wasn't a straight line. I have a BFA in theatre, film, and creative writing, and I took a lot of English courses. I've always been a voracious reader. I've been a writer since before I can remember. I basically started editing when friends came to me and said, "You're good at words. Can you help me with my words?"

I was also lucky enough to fall in with a group of excellent writers/betas/critiquers/editors when I was fandom baby back in ye olde X-Files days. I learned SO much from them. And most of what I learned, I learned either from being critiqued or from critiquing others. I cannot stress how much being an active member of fandom has helped me become the editor I am today.

Suggestions:

Get editing-specific training. You don't know what you don't know--and there's a surprising amount of stuff people don't know, even if they've studied English or writing. There are quite a few certificate programs out there now, but you don't need one of them to get work. You do need to prove that you know what you're doing, though. Usually by being able to pass editing tests or by providing excellent sample edits.

Read, read, read, READ. If you know you want to work with specific genres, read as much from within that genre as you can. Read books on craft, too, whether they're intended for writers or editors.

Find your people. There are some great Facebook groups for editors. There are also major editing associations where you can meet people, network, find possible job leads, etc. I, for example, am a member of Editors Canada and a Professional Member of the CIEP (UK). ACES and the EFA are a couple of major American associations. Australia's is the IPEd. You don't have to be from those countries to join their associations--but you'll probably find that the local ones have the most relevant content.

You DO need to find ways to hone your skills. If you don't want to do a whole editing certificate, you'll want to find courses or professional development related to the work you want to do.

Fiction editing (all editing, really) breaks down into different types of editing. You might like doing all aspects of this. You might find you only like SOME aspects of this. Generally, those types of editing are:

Developmental (sometimes called structural or substantive) editing: This is big picture editing. Are there plot holes? Do the character arcs make sense? Do scenes have a purpose? (Personally, this is my favorite type of editing. I just love getting into the guts of a story.) I do full developmental edits, but I also offer manuscript critiques (developmental editing lite; usually cheaper, but still very helpful for getting to the bottom of big picture issues).

Line/stylistic editing: This type of editing is often about the style and language at the sentence and paragraph level. It tends to be quite meaty. A line editor will offer suggestions for reducing redundancy or repetition, clarifying meaning, polishing dialogue, etc.

Copy editing: Sometimes copy editing and line editing get rolled up together, but if someone hires you JUST to copy edit, it means you're looking at the mechanical issues with grammar, punctuation, etc.

Proofreading: Literally reading the proofs before they go to print. The proofreader's eyes are the last ones on the document. These are the folks looking for the misplaced comma or the wrong page number. Have a crazy eye for detail? This may be your jam.

The various Englishes of the world have major differences. If you want to edit US, UK, Canadian, or other assorted varietals of the language, you have to know those differences--and they're more than just spelling and punctuation.

There's no one style guide for fiction. Publishers often have their own. That said, most of THOSE are based either on the Chicago Manual of Style (US/Canada) or the New Oxford Style Manual/New Hart's Rules (UK).

You also have to figure out if you want to pursue an in-house position or work freelance. Real talk: publishers outsource a ton of copy editing and proofreading to freelancers; some publishers even outsource the other styles of editing. Often, acquisitions editors at publishing houses (the editors who champion a work and try to get their publisher to buy it) do some of the developmental and line editing work.

I don't work in-house, so I can't give you a ton of info on how to break into the side of things. As I understand it, you usually have to be located in one of the big publishing centers (New York, London, Toronto, etc.). And you usually work your way in from the bottom up.

I've done all kinds of editing over the years. Nowadays, I mostly work in fiction, and I mostly work with independent authors or authors who are trying to polish their work before sending it out to agents. While it's true that a publishing house will edit your book (and foot the bill for it), the market is hard right now--especially for first-time authors. Publishers are less willing to take big risks or pour a lot of money into books if they're uncertain of a return on that investment. So, even if you're hoping to go the route of traditional publishing, it's in your best interests to get that first manuscript in the best shape before sending it out.

...this is already getting long! One of these days, I'm going to offer some training of my own, I think. Hopefully!