#creative agence

[shaylogic]

I'm very grateful to George Rextrew for stating multiple times in interviews that gay characters are quickly over-sexualized, and he keeps bringing the focus back to the tender romance, youthful crush, and deep friendship between men. He's really trying to help expand the narrative of male relationships in how he presents Edwin on stage and in the press.

Jayden Revri and Steve Yockey have echoed and supported this spirit. I point to George here just because he receives the brunt of the gay rep questions right now.

Also, as ever, much love to Neil Gaiman for showcasing gay and trans characters across his many works because, as he said, he has gay and trans friends that he wasn't seeing represented in media of the time.

[writingwithfolklore]

Character Agency

Your characters should have agency. That means they have the power to influence what’s happening around them. We talked a bit about agency last time, revolving around how many female characters get agency stripped away from them. But overall, agency is important for any character to make them active participants in their own stories and feel necessary to the plot.

              So here’s how you enable your characters agency:

1. They make active decisions

Okay this is the obvious one in theory, but still manages to sneak by in stories undetected. An active character with agency makes things happen through their decisions, instead of just their reactions. Take these two examples of a scene plan:

John is walking home when he is caught by a sudden storm. Looking to hide from the rain, he ducks under the cover of a bus shelter. Inside is Mya, and they strike up a conversation about their shared sucky situation.

Vs.

John is walking home when he is caught by a sudden storm. Luckily he brought an umbrella in his bag, and draws it out. Then, he sees Mya getting drenched by the rain ahead of him. He jogs to her, offering to share the umbrella. They strike up a conversation.

In the second example John isn’t just reacting but making a choice that’s changed something in the world. He may just happen to run into Mya, but it was his decision to run up to her, to offer her his umbrella. This action is a great indicator of his personality—he’s kind, trusting, and thoughtful even towards strangers.

That’s the most important part. A character who just reacts to everything doesn’t show off any personality, whereas action lets you demonstrate who your character is at their core (especially in difficult situations that call for difficult decisions).

2. Their actions have consequences

Similarly, the decisions your active character makes aren’t really decisions if they don’t impact any part of their world. For good or for bad, every decision your character makes should have a consequence. This could be shown through their relationships with others, their environment, or even their own mental, physical, or spiritual state.

If we’re going from the example above, John sharing his umbrella with Mya maybe starts their friendship, but her jealous, toxic boyfriend sees them through his window, making her and now his life difficult.

It’s a decision that has multiple consequences throughout his life—a new friendship, and also a new enemy. And Mya is also facing consequences—from her decision to walk with him, and his decision to offer her the umbrella.

Make sense? How do you ensure your character has agency?

[stasyalovem]

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

some funny and romantic payneland text posts inspired by @creativepromptsforwriting amazing prompts

[seraphinitegames]

Which of the ROs can do mouth to mouth resuscitation?

A and N know first aid and things.

Most agents are given a basic training in it for humans and supernaturals, but it's if they care or remember that makes a difference, lol! :D

Thank you so much for the ask! :)

[alraz]

dazai from bungou stray dogs is drinking(?) hawaiian punch with no impending consequences for his actions requested by @zestylemonsz !

[makemeimmortalwithahug]

who was I before dbda came into my life

this show has resonated with me so so much, I've never felt so seen by a show, by its characters.

Like, it's not perfect or anything but this is the exact reason why it's so perfect for me. For us

Because it's honest and genuine and heartwarming and moving

This show made me believe in art again, and that maybe, just maybe, what I'm writing and my ideas might be worth exploring.

That they can be worth the work and struggles and doubts.

The cancellation hit hard for me in terms of whether sincere works of art and original ideas even have a place in this world anymore.

But you know what? Screw that. Netflix and all those other streaming services have already taken so much from us - all the discarded concepts, all the shows that were cancelled too soon or shows that suffered from too little time to develop, rushed decisions and cuts.

Don't let them take our inspiration and love for art from us as well

[pisces-swirlix]

I’ve been trying not to post too much Dead Boy Detectives content (I have a surprising amount of people following me and I don’t want to bombard them for stuff they didn’t sign up for).

However. If you ARE interested in a DBDA fics, I’ve got some!!!

(in which Edwin and Charles stumble upon their graves at St Hilarions)

(in which Edwin and Charles dance around in their office to 80’s music and have a much needed talk)

If you’re seeing this and you’ve already read either of them, thank you for your support!!!

[nr1-logo-design-inspiration]

Whale logo for a digital media agency ☆

[your-stranger-halfblood-things]

Dead Boy Detectives fandom, I am calling you:

How would you describe the show in one sentence without explaining the show at all?

[downbaddetective]

I, like many others here, have caught the writing bug. I'm trying to figure out if I actually want to write or not because I haven't really written anything since 2017 other than some very poor outlines for a graphic novel. And I've been also trying to make art, but the cast of this damn show are all so pretty and I have yet to be able to capture their likenesses to my liking.

[writingwithfolklore]

Do well by your female characters

              Back in film school you wouldn't believe the amount of scripts I read from my (mostly male) classmates that featured the same character; a kind, helpful woman reflective of the male protagonist who showed up when he needed her to offer warm words and support, allowing him to overcome obstacles and go for what he needs.

              I hope she doesn’t sound familiar to you.

              One of them was a coworker, another a train station attendant, another the best friend who lived next door—it didn’t matter, they were all the same character, uninvolved in their own lives, created to help a man get to his goal. Let’s be wary of this trope, and stop robbing our female characters of their own agency. We can do this in a few ways:

1. They aren’t convenient

One confusing fault of the female characters I read in my peers’ scripts was that she was always around right where the protagonist needed her to be. It didn’t matter if he was having a crisis in the alleyway, or by the museum, or in his own house, she’d show up like she’d been summoned.

She needed a place to be—a life outside of him. A job, school, hobbies. Sometimes when he needs her—she shouldn’t be there.

2. They have an actual personality

While being warm, kind, supportive, and empathetic are all admirable traits people do have, I’ve never met a real person where that’s all they were. Like building any character, she needs flaws, interests, something to her that isn’t just for other people’s benefit. Consider what traits she has that aren’t just ways she serves others.

Allow her something just for her. Something selfish.

3. They have and work towards a goal

Related to her not being convenient—she’s got her own thing going on. Like any other character, she has goals and objectives, motivations, something to work towards. As much as she supports the protagonist, she also takes from him to fulfill her own goal.

Give her wins, disappointments, a little something going on. Something to gain from her interactions with him.

              What else bothers you about common female character tropes? Or what did I miss?

[searchsystem]

Edoardo Benaglia / Friendz Creative Agency / Exers / Typography / 2021

[nnabilahxx]

Just saw the news about Nicola signing with CAA - so excited for her!!!

[hufflepuffwritingstuff2]

Pen's Song-Story Writing Challenge Extravaganza Submission!

@alilbatwrites your song was "The Law" by Reach, here is a snippet based on that!!

When Hero got back to the league from saving the city, they had expected celebration, or at least a thank-you. What they got instead was… eye-opening to say the least. They opened the doors to a bunch of stone-faced, enhanced superiors.

“Uh…what?” Hero asked, confused, “did I cause collateral damage again? I thought I was careful this time!”

“It isn’t that, Hero,” Superhero started.

“You took Supervillain down in under two minutes,” another super stated.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Hero joked.

When they received no response, Hero faltered.

“It…it’s not a bad thing, right?”

“Hero, you know our League is here to keep the nation’s peace,” Superhero said, “and to eliminate security risks.”

“Well, yeah, I’d day I did pretty good out there,” Hero said, “so why do you all seem upset?”

The sound of footsteps behind them made Hero’s head turn. Two league agents put a hand on each of Hero’s shoulders.

“Superhero,” Hero asked nervously, turning back to face their superior, “what’s going on?”

“We took a risk letting you roam free with your powers of energy manipulation,” Superhero said, “your abilities have grown to an incredible strength, and now the risks outweigh the benefits. I’m sorry, Hero.”

As Superhero spoke, one of the agents jammed the end of a needle into Hero’s neck. Hero cried out in pain, feeling ice flood their veins.

“So that’s it- you’re just going to get rid of me because I’m too good at my job!?” Hero asked desperately, feeling their limbs turn to lead.

“Your powers will only increase exponentially from here,” another league member said, “if we don’t contain you now, we’ll never be able to stop you if you become a threat.”

Hero tried to wrench themselves from the agents’ grips, but they held them fast. Hero’s knees buckled just as a wheelchair with padded restraints came into view.

“Take them down to Containment Level 3,” Superhero ordered.

“N-no,” Hero slurred.

Hero felt themselves be lifted into the wheelchair. Straps tightened across their body just as their vision began to fade. Their head sank down into their chest as the drug sucked them under.

…

When Hero awoke next, they thought maybe the events from earlier were just a bad dream. Maybe Supervillain had defeated them, and they would wake up in the med bay with Superhero by their bedside. Hero opened their eyes to a stark white room. They looked down at their form and found that they had been stuffed in some kind of straight-jacket suit, the buckles going all the way down to their ankles. Hero jerked upright, trying and failing to free themselves. They tried to call on their power, but their movements were sluggish, and their energy barely materialized.

Hero fought back the tears that brimmed in their eyes. They had figured if they ever did get captured, it would be by some criminal, never by their own team, the people they fought beside every day. Now their team- their family- had them drugged up and restrained in a cell just like those criminals they had been taught to fight. When they couldn’t fight them any longer, Hero let the tears fall with a choked sob.

“Hey,” a voice echoed.

Hero looked up, sniffling. The door opened, revealing a league agent.

“What do you want?” Hero asked bitterly.

“Seriously?” the league member demanded indignantly, “I come all this way to save you and-oh. Right. The outfit.”

The league member unbuttoned their uniform to reveal a familiar, dark suit underneath.

“Villain?” Hero asked in disbelief.

“Duh,” Villain said, “saw what you did out there with Supervillain. That was pret-ty impressive. But I knew your precious league wouldn’t like it. So here I am.”

Hero remembered the stories Superhero had told them about Villain, how they had abandoned the league years ago. They remembered the late-night, rooftop conversations with Villain, about how the league wasn’t what they seemed.

“Are you going to say, ‘I told you so’?” Hero asked dejectedly.

“Nah, you’ve been punished enough,” Villain said, “come on, let’s get you out of here.”

Villain worked to free Hero from their restraints. They pulled out a syringe filled with liquid.

“This is gonna counteract the junk they’ve pumped in your system,” Villain said, “the car’s outside waiting. We can be out of the city limits in an hour… unless you’d like to torch this place first?”

Hero shook their head, holding their arm out for Villain to administer the antidote.

“I just wanna go,” Hero said.

“I gotcha,” Villain said, helping them up, “leave the torching to me then.”

…

Villain drove off, Hero in the passenger seat, the league base ablaze behind them.

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[thevioletcaptain]

the day that network & studio execs finally get over their relentless obsession with cop shows and pre-existing ip and pre-existing ip in the form of cop shows will the day i finally know peace.

every goddamn show is "based on the novel" "based on the 1993 series" "based on this app where you throw hats at a potato" "the seventeenth spin-off set in the world of ncis" like please i'm begging you to just pick up one of the zillion new ideas that writers have been bringing you. there are so many incredible original pilots and series concepts being written every goddamn day and the people in charge of the money in this town are just like..... hmmmmm but instead could it be about an undercover cop who once had a run in with the team on law and order: toronto, and he has to solve a case based on this true crime novel i picked up at an airport last month?