writingadvicesavingcometcon

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Tips for writing those gala scenes, from someone who goes to them occasionally:

Generally you unbutton and re-button a suit coat when you sit down and stand up.

You’re supposed to hold wine or champagne glasses by the stem to avoid warming up the liquid inside. A character out of their depth might hold the glass around the sides instead.

When rich/important people forget your name and they’re drunk, they usually just tell you that they don’t remember or completely skip over any opportunity to use your name so they don’t look silly.

A good way to indicate you don’t want to shake someone’s hand at an event is to hold a drink in your right hand (and if you’re a woman, a purse in the other so you definitely can’t shift the glass to another hand and then shake)

Americans who still kiss cheeks as a welcome generally don’t press lips to cheeks, it’s more of a touch of cheek to cheek or even a hover (these days, mostly to avoid smudging a woman’s makeup)

The distinctions between dress codes (black tie, cocktail, etc) are very intricate but obvious to those who know how to look. If you wear a short skirt to a black tie event for example, people would clock that instantly even if the dress itself was very formal. Same thing goes for certain articles of men’s clothing.

Open bars / cash bars at events usually carry limited options. They’re meant to serve lots of people very quickly, so nobody is getting a cosmo or a Manhattan etc.

Members of the press generally aren’t allowed to freely circulate at nicer galas/events without a very good reason. When they do, they need to identify themselves before talking with someone.

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Taking out the themes of Colonialism and Tourism from Lilo and Stitch is to dig the foundation of the story out from under itself.

One of my favorite examples of how the white washing of colonized peoples affects their wellbeing was the scene at the very beginning of the 2002 animated movie. Lilo is late to her dance class, a class that teaches the traditional Hawaiian style.

While I think most are aware of this fact, Hula is a choreographed story. I learned Hula from my own dance teacher as a child, who was a native Hawaiian. I was inspired by how the motions told the stories of Hawaii's mythology and I understood the reverence for the art even then.

So the fact that Lilo is both a dancer and a student of her culture is important. It bleeds seamlessly into her storytelling around Pudge the Fish. Her beliefs and customs around Pudge, while often elevated as autistic coding, is also just a way to show how White colonizers erased native culture. Lilo truly believes Pudge can control the weather, much like many Polynesian and native American mythologies have the same beliefs to their lore as any other religion.

But instead of her beliefs being valued or understood, especially in regards to her trauma and how a bad storm resulted in her parents' car crash, Mertyl, the very white American girl from the mainland, calls Lilo crazy. And Lilo fights back. Physically and without restraint. She defends herself and in that way defends her culture.

But every time Lilo fights back against the colonialism that is actively alienating her from her own home, she is told she's in the wrong.

Just like how Stitch is considered an abomination for merely existing.

Lilo and Stitch connect on the grounds of their shared anger at social structures they don't understand, a sense of powerlessness, and a longing for stability and community.

Lilo replicates colonialism onto Stitch in the sequence where she tries to make him like Elvis Presley. Trying to construct this idea of Stitch that is more understandable and palatable to others. Her crayon chart and use of the words "good" and "bad" is Lilo's way of trying to fit in. It's her child's mind attempt at accepting assimilation.

And it is reinforced through Nani's journey of finding a job. She's not seeking a job out of her own needs or desires, but because the US Government in the form of CPS will claim her unfit to take care of her sister if she doesn't. Nani is constantly creating a different version of herself to be accepted, assimilated, all while Lilo is attempting to do the same to Stitch. And Nani's reasoning of trying to keep custody of Lilo in the face of an abstract entity that has unimaginable power is a perfect allegory to Hawaii and her struggle to maintain her culture in the face of colonialism and gentrification.

If you remove the colonization themes from Lilo and Stitch, you have removed the fundamental structures that keep the story together.

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We were promised stolas accountability, but instead we got stolas doing a grand gesture and “heroic” act of sacrifice. Followed by scenes of, in the writers view; unjust persecution of this beautiful man, by the filthy ungrateful poors. Protected if not by a grown woman calling him a blameless “baby”, but by an army of literal white knights formerly known as a team of self driven assassins. I think vivziepop just cannot abide the idea of stolas being incorrect or unlikeable in any capacity. I think a lot of it, for whatever reason, has to do with his sloppily written marital victim status, and his sexual orientation.

Think of the dwinni animation. Vivzies good friend Dani Draws, the personification of Medranos unfiltered innermost thoughts, was enraged at the idea that stolas could die, because he is a queer victim of abuse. It’s as if queer people and victims are just that. Nothing more. Always put on this untouchable frankly dehumanising pedestal. Their flaws, harmful actions, and misdeeds, abuses, potential antagonism, are diminished and excused by this fandom, seemingly just because of queerness and past victimhood.

But then again, is the protagonist Blitzø not also a victim of abuse? By his father and others? Is he not also queer? Isn’t it strange then that he receives the full brunt of Vivziepops pent up frustrations and hatred in the bashing episode “Apology Tour”

I cannot understand the stolas double standard. He has taken lives by hiring assassins, has taken lives by his own hand, he has tortured humans, mistreated his child, he has sexually harassed someone, he has been violent to those too weak to stand up to him. Even by this shows moral standards he is actually one of the worst. But his status as a gentle soft spoken victim of circumstance, the ‘kindest character’ and the excuse of ‘upbringing’ to explain his faults, is for some reason unquestionable.

Is this simply the persuasive power of pretty crying and colourful music videos?

Spot on Anon

It's a bizarre dehumanization. I remember being a child and seeing my characters as whole people. They were like my friends. I wanted to get to know them and understand them intimately.

Nowadays, it feels like the relationship between audiences and fictional characters is one of distortion and hollow tokenism. It isn't about getting to know characters through their own stories and on their own terms anymore, but forcing one's own identity into the emaciated characterization in order to feel better about yourself.

I was also one of those fanfiction writers who would kill my favorite characters to experience the feelings. Torture them in all the ways to test the extent of my humanity. I remember several times I stopped writing and would cry into my hands over these characters I made, or loved. I was never concerned about the social groups surrounding them, whether they were social minorities or not didn't matter. Because, first and foremost, they were people.

I give the creators respect by not insanely devouring the actual work put into the show to give the characters some kind of characterization. The part people seem to not understand is that I don't disagree with who the characters are, I am just not on board with how the narrative has progressed. Not because I just don't like it, but because it fails in its function.

If someone actually knew how to write fiction on the team, I would be invested in the characters no matter what. The writing is not good enough to justify the direction the plot is heading and so I don't believe that the things taking place would happen, because no one is in a character place to get the narrative to where it is, and all of it feels unearned.

But I guess this is what happens when kids spend 2-3 years of vital high school curriculum online.

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Tired of stories where the author worldbuilds a whole religion only to chicken out at the last moment by making the main character a skeptic. You mean to tell me that there’s all this richness in lore and culture, but you’ve trapped me with the one person in this society who doesn’t care about it? So bland. I could meet an agnostic easily enough by walking down the street, but your story is my one chance to hear the perspective of someone who follows whatever religion you’ve contrived. You made this whole world; convince me that your character really is from there.

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XD

Was scrolling through AO3 and found this gem

Enemy to parent is a trope we have to popularise lmao

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ai does not belong in creative spaces. period.

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Feeling rough lately.

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So I thought this was commonly known internet navigation (but apparently it might just be those of us who have been using the internet since the 90’s who still know it). Or so it seems based on… a grumpy comment I got.

When you see an arrow like this:

It means you click it to expand out a hidden section.

It’s an accordion section/menu! It’s useful in web design to hide information that may be overwhelming under specific headers so people can only see what they need.

Here I’m using it for people who need the content warnings to be able to check, but for those who don’t need them and don’t want to be spoiled to just move right past without accidentally reading anything.

It’s still the user’s responsibility to click the arrow and read things as they need! But it is all warned. (And, yes, the all encompassing issues are already a tag on the fic, I’m just providing additonal warnings per chapter.)

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Heads up everyone, there's a new scam in town!

(Or perhaps an old one and I am late to the party)

Reasons it is a scam:

1) long, but doesn't reference the fic or characters at all

2) wants money - and will only communicate through dms, they don't have a public profile with proof of their work

And finally!

3) I googled this copy paste text and... suprise! It is a copy paste text. Loads of other people have the same ask

Stay safe and don't fall for this all!

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I've seen your tweet which criticizes the worldbuilding in Helluva Boss and how the Goetias feel like "Hollywood with royal titles" rather than true aristocracy, and I would like you to elaborate on that, if that's OK.

Thank you so much for this ask as I never got to expand on this point at the time. For those not in the know, the user is referencing this exchange on Twitter.

As much as the elites of our world would like to disperse the truth, the reality is that all societies are constructed around power. Who has power, how and why. That is the fundamental basis of every social dynamic from children on a playground to the politicians in our governments. So the very first thing we should even approach in regards to the narrative is how does power work in this universe?

So when I responded to Elcee in the tweet being referenced, I am evaluating power and power structures. Mainly there are two wholly different constructs of power between something like the aristocracy and celebrities.

The closest thing to an aristocracy we have in our modern day are the financial oligarchs of Capitalism. Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, etc. They have control everything from how our political parties engage with us to how we think based on the wealth they were born into. They curate our lives behind the scenes in ways that sound worthy of a tinfoil hat, but isn't a conspiracy. The wealthy were threatened in the 1970s by an educated proletariate. In response to our questioning the Vietnam war, the higher education that was once free or at least extremely affordable suddenly became prohibitively expensive.

So much so that only the financial aristocracy could access it. Whereas working class individuals are forced to jump through hoops and prove themselves suitably subservient to the existing power of the oligarchy in the form of scholarship applications, teacher recommendations and application letters before being granted access. This is not a mistake or how it's always been, this is by design.

Meanwhile, Celebrities are not elites. While we think of celebrities as being overpaid and living in luxury, it only takes a glance over at Chappell Roan to see the difference. When Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk or any large corporate CEO walks the red carpet, they are treated as royalty. When celebrities walk the red carpet, they are commodities.

Celebrity is the modern day face of the American Dream. Gone are the days of a single family home and a white picket fence. The boom of content over art, luxury over practicality, and excess over comfort is directly the result of selling to the world the idea of capitalistic success, which just amounts to perpetuating the system of turning humans into money. And for as much money as these celebrities make, it has been proven over and over again that they are just as susceptible to poverty as any other working class individual.

Celebrities are products we buy, and when we stop buying them, they vanish.

Meanwhile the aristocracy, the financial oligarchy, thrives in obscurity.

The difference in power is about who still has it when we no longer see them. And the more invisible and pervasive it is, the more real it is. However one as an individual thinks about the celebrity class, they are simple a different type of specialized tool to the true power behind the scenes.

With that differential in mind, the Goetia function more like celebrities rather than CEOs, and while Elcee fails to see the bigger picture, that subliminally tells the audience that someone with the title of prince, with armies sworn to his allegiance and infinite cosmic power, is no different than a working class joe.

This isn't intentional propaganda, however. It's not her trying to further the agendas of Jeff Bezos intentionally. Just like my other post covering how Medrano tries to excuse cheating, not realizing the only time one can argue such a blanket concept of forgiveness for such a betrayal can only happen when the option of choice is non-existent (ie Divorce is not on the table for reasons outside of the characters’ choices), this is the danger of not engaging with media with your mind turned on. You will innately, no matter how careful someone tries to be, engage with the material through the eyes of the creator.

Celebrities and average people are the same: commodities in the face of real power. But Medrano cannot tell the difference between someone like Elon Musk and his employees. She sees the aristocracy, the ones who were born into a legacy of wealth, as “hardworking average folks”. And if you aren't thinking, you might find yourself implicitly believing that too. Deeper entrenching the power they have over you as an individual and society as a whole.

How we got to where we are in our real lives is mirrored in the media we consume. And that isn't an accident.

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Add on suggestion. If that's too easy and you've done a million pining fluffy loving versions of these and are interested in something new/a challenge version:

Make every single one of these about negative emotions for a toxic relationship the speaking character is stuck in/the victim of. And if you want an even bigger challenge, make it the extra shitty person saying every single one of these as a manipulation tactic and the person being addressed this way has to escape that manipulation. Go.

unspoken feelings prompts

“i wish i could tell you how i really feel.”

“sometimes, the silence says more than words ever could.”

“if only you knew what goes on in my mind when i look at you.”

“i keep my feelings hidden because I’m afraid of what might happen if you knew.”

„every time I see you, my heart aches with things left unsaid.”

“i wonder if you can sense how much you mean to me.”

“there’s so much I want to say, but I can’t find the right words.”

“you have no idea how hard it is to act like everything is normal.”

“every smile, every laugh, it’s all a cover for what I really feel inside.”

“sometimes, i catch myself staring at you, wishing things were different.”

“i wish you could read my mind, so I wouldn’t have to say it out loud.”

“there are a thousand things I want to tell you, but I can’t.”

“if you ever found out, it might ruin everything.”

“every time i’m near you, my heart screams what my lips can’t.”

“i hope one day i’ll have the courage to tell you how i really feel.”

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That sounds like a great fictional writing trick. Can you give us more details on that process?

There is a recurring and entirely unplanned bit that keeps happening with my friends, and it goes something like this:

I get a silly idea for a new religion.

My friends are like "cool religion, I'm on board."

They proceed to interrogate me about the religion.

The minute I don't "yes, and" to one of their questions they're like "cool, time for our first schism!"

At this point we've got the whole process down to like 5 or 10 minutes.

Now I'm not saying that my friends could never be convinced to join a cult, but I have faith that they'd manage to get themselves excommunicated on their first day.

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some fucking resources for all ur writing fuckin needs

* body language masterlist

* a translator that doesn’t eat ass like google translate does

* a reverse dictionary for when ur brain freezes

* 550 words to say instead of fuckin said

* 638 character traits for when ur brain freezes again

* some more body language help

(hope this helps some ppl)

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Man, those Tweets don't look good! I hate to judge but Viv strikes me as someone who would constantly self-plug on Wattpad despite being told not to and claim her work is so special with such bravado that everyone should check it out like "Ohohoho! It's so good like blahblahblah and like no other", then you see it's just like any other fanfic yet they're claiming it's empowering.

Helluva Boss isn't a show about a newfound family of mercenaries anymore! It's become a ping-pong battle between being a serious telenovela and comedy. I know not to make those mistakes because if we're having a serious conversation that doesn't require you to talk about your drawings and whatnot, now is not the time for her to self-advertise! There is a time and place for that.

Imagine everyone freaking out over Trump, ICE and the LA fires as you're all trying to console one another then she's here promoting her shows like it's nothin'! I'd be fine if she at least held charities with her characters and VAs similar to what Alex Hirsch and his team did.

If you ask me what other good stories revolve around rising up against the status quo, newfound families and mercenaries, it'd be "Teenage Mercenary" (which is a Webtoon a series) and "Spy x Family."

When people talk about the issues with the story, I think we're onto something when everyone keeps talking about Stella. The reason why people are so thoroughly disappointed in the show as a whole ties back into Stella and her role as a villain.

To be frank, Medrano isn't a real artist. The only thing she understands, truly, is the technical side of animation, and she doesn't even know how to do it well. She doesn't have an artistic hand in her shows in any other way than writing. And just as she doesn't understand shape theory to character design or how to use animation to tell her story (as she rushes her animation to where important narrative beats in the environment are a blink and you miss it occurrence), she has not the faintest idea how narrative structure works. She disregards world building because she doesn't even understand the importance of it to a story. She thinks the characters are all that matter for a "character driven" narrative, but fails to grasp even the fundamentals that characters are a combination of internal and external factors and their identities hinge on the consistency and understanding of the rules of their reality.

Stella being the main antagonistic force to the story necessitated her being a balanced and thought out character. Characters are defined by their shadows. For Stolas to make sense, Stella needed far more internal motivation and weight as a character. The episodic structure blatantly ruins the attempt at serialized fiction and no one who has written for the show so far has a grasp of how to balance that kind of structure.

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GET. AI. OUT. OF. FANDOM. Stop making headcanons with it, stop making fanfic with it, stop making fanart with it. If I see one more "asking chatgpt *blank* about *character/characters in a fandom* I'm going to lose my goddamn mind. Use your own fucking brain, stop asking AI to do everything. You could even ask other real people what they think. Just. Stop. Using. AI. In. Creative. Spaces.

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one of the more upsetting things you notice if you look back at older european weapons is that nobody fucking named any of the types of flail so you've gotta describe them by appearance every single time

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Art is communication, nothing less. There are ways of refining that communication, which are good to learn, but your voice and who you are and what experience or thoughts you want to convey to the world are the most important aspect of art. This speaks to us and that makes it delightful, the same way a child's drawing Is delightful, because it reminds us what it was like to see the world through a child's eyes and also gives us a wonderful window into that specific child's developing personhood. It's amazing.

"The head is for the purpose of growing horns and so that the mouth can be somewhere" this is poetry. to me