darlingfettucini

[darlingfettucini]

Writing Prompt #2922

"Run away with me. Please." Her voice bled yearning and agony. "I can't stay, and you know that you shouldn't."

"But...my family. I can't just leave them. What would they do without me?"

"Don't worry about them. That's all you do. Don't resign yourself to living a lie for their sake. Come with me, and we'll be happy. Don't you want to be happy?"

[darlingfettucini]

honestly the way people will talk about fat or poly people is often super indicative of how they would talk about queer or otherwise marginalized people if it was 10% more socially acceptable to do so within their circles

[darlingfettucini]

Tor Publishing Group is BACK with a guide of books to gift the people in your life…and yourself!

For the friends who love a good scare all year round…

Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle

Evil in Me by Brom

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Escape with fantastical folklore…

A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher

When Among Crows by Veronica Roth

Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi

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Forbidden romance to keep you warm…

Swordcrossed by Freya Marske

The Stars Are Dying by Chloe C. Peñaranda

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Beloved bestselling authors to add to your TBR… 

Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

Not enough books? Don’t worry, we have another GET BOOKT: THE BOOKENING guide to help you out!

[darlingfettucini]

I don't know why, but I just notice, over and over again, how rarely I see fantasy/science fiction stories starring female protagonists with with a good amount of humor in them.

Humor is something I always look for that makes a story really stand out to me. I can think of several sci-fis and fantasies with poignant, sad, introverted, tragic FMCs. Charming and witty aren't too hard to find, though not as easy as sad and introverted. But hilarious? Dorky? Class clown vibes?

Not impossible. But hard.

There are plenty of fantasy/science fiction books written by women with male protagonists that are funny, but those same authors aren't writing intentionally funny main female characters from what I can tell.

Maybe it's sexist tropes so ingrained into everyone that it just makes writing funny FMCs a bit more difficult. Maybe it's that the act of writing a character an extra step away from your own identity takes the scary vulnerability out of writing comedic prose or dialogue. Perhaps both.

But this is my own observation, and maybe I'm wrong 🤷‍♀️ I'd love to hear suggestions for funny fmcs that are out there in the fantasy/scifi genre.

[darlingfettucini]

If yall don't start writing your main female protagonists as funny silly jesters with dark sad feelings that they hide with humor I'm going to have to do it my damn self

[darlingfettucini]

Thinking about how barbie is basically the world's most goated self-insert OC and everytime she has a new career or movie it's just Mattel coming up with a new AU for their fave

[darlingfettucini]

Concerned love interest?!?? Yes please with extra angst in top!

"It's 2 am! where are you?"

"I'm your best friend, of course I care!"

"Where. Is. My. Wife/Husband?!" (In marriage of convenience trope)

"You need to stop, I'm serious. I don't want to lose you"

"I'm right here. You're safe. I'm not leaving. Stay with me"

"You said you were okay! You promised!"

"You idiot!" (With extra concern)

"You stupid stupid idiot! I'm so glad you're okay"

"you're safe now"

"you told me not to worry. You told me you were fine"

"It'll be over before you know it. Just push through"

"Please don't cry"

"Let it out. Cry all you want. I'm right here"

"stay" "always"

"Holding everything doesn't help, you know?"

"Why do you keep lying to me?"

"Why are you awake right now?"

"You said no secrets! You promised! I was terrified"

"Please look at me"

"[out of breath] I know I shouldn't be here, and I might have gotten the wrong idea from the call but-" [gets cut of by sudden hug] "[relaxes and hugs back] I'm right here, I always will be"

[darlingfettucini]

Writing Reference: A Historical Menu

Origin — Food — Drink

1900 — tacos, quiche, schwarma, pizza, osso bucco, paella, tuna, goulash, hamburger, mousse, borscht, grapefruit, éclair, chips, bouillabaisse, mayonnaise, ravioli, crêpes, consommé — Coca Cola, soda water, riesling

1800 — spaghetti, soufflé, bechamel, ice cream, kipper, chowder, sandwich, jam, meringue, hors d‘oeuvre, welsh rabbit — tequila, seltzer, whisky

1700 — avocado, paté, muffin, vanilla, mincemeat, pasta, salmagundi, yoghurt, kedgeree — gin, port, champagne, brandy, sherbet

1600 — omelette, litchi, tomato, curry, chocolate, banana, macaroni, caviar, pilav, anchovy, maize, potato, turkey, artichoke, scone — tea, sherry, coffee, sillabub

1500 — marchpane (marzipan), whiting, offal, melon, pineapple, mushroom, salmon, partridge

Middle English — venison, pheasant, crisp, cream, bacon, biscuit, oyster, toast, pastry, jelly, ham, veal, mustard, beef, mutton, brawn, sauce, potage, broth, herring, meat, cheese — muscatel, rhenish (rhine wine), claret, ale

Old English — cucumber, mussel, butter, fish, bread — beer, wine, water

The evolution of terms for food and drink is an interesting reflection of the history of cultural contact between English-speaking countries and the rest of the world (G. Hughes, 1988).

Source ⚜ Food History ⚜ Writing Notes & References ⚜ Word Lists

[darlingfettucini]

hi! I have a question, how do I write the movements of a ballerina? I'm writing a novel and now I'm at the part where my protagonist is dancing ballet for an audience in the theater. Could you help me with how to write her movements? I'm in doubt about how to write this

Some Ballet Vocabulary

Adagio: “Slow tempo.” In ballet, a tempo in which the dancer moves slowly and gracefully.

Allegro: “Brisk tempo.” In ballet, a tempo in which the dancer moves briskly and excitedly.

Allongé: “Elongated.” An adjective used to describe poses that are stretched and elongated, like an arabesque.

Arabesque: A pose in which the dancer stands on one leg—either straight or demi-plié, and either flat-footed or en pointe—while extending the other leg straight behind at a right angle. The shoulders are square with the arms held to create a long line from fingertips to toes.

Arriére: "Backwards." A move that indicates backwards movement or motion.

Ballón: “To bounce.” A light jump. Used to indicate the delicacy of the movement or jump.

Chaseé: To slide.

Elevé: A rise upward onto the toes.

En l’air: "In the air." Indicates a movement or leg position that is held in the air.

Fondu: To melt (a melting action).

Frappé: To strike (like lighting a match on the floor).

Glissade: To glide.

Jeté: To throw.

Pas de deux: A “dance for two,” or duet, in classical ballet.

Petit saut: A small jump.

Pirouette: A complete turn of the body on one foot, either turning inward or outward, with the body centered over the supporting leg, the arms propelling the turn but remaining stationary during the turn, and the eyes “spotting” a fixed point while the head quickly turns.

Promenade: A slow pivot of the body while standing on one leg.

Rèvèrence: “Bow”. Traditional port-de-bras and port-de-corps showing respect and gratitude to the ballet master or audience.

Tournant: “Turn.” A term paired with a movement to indicate a body turn.

Variation: A solo in classical ballet.

Although ballet actually began in Italy, it was formalized in France in the 17th century. Ballet terminology has remained largely in the French language. Ballet dancers across the world learn and can communicate with this universal ballet vocabulary.

Sources: 1 2 3 4 ⚜ More: Word Lists ⚜ Dance

Hope this helps with your writing! If I wasn't able to include the right words you need, you can go through the sources. Still, remember your readers when describing the scene — perhaps some of them might not be familiar with these terminologies.

[darlingfettucini]

Honestly? My main piece of advice for writing well-rounded characters is to make them a little bit lame. No real living person is 100% cool and suave 100% of the time. Everyone's a little awkward sometimes, or gets too excited about something goofy, or has a silly fear, or laughs about stupid things. Being a bit of a loser is an incurable part of the human condition. Utilize that in your writing.

[darlingfettucini]

I'm going to say it louder:

Outlive this clown-ass, bitch-ass, jack-o-lantern motherfucker.

I normally keep things writing-only on this blog, but I'm so miserable and so angry because of this election. I've been messaging my fellow queer friends and they told me how they woke up this morning and broke down into sobs, then had to go to work. I am currently at my day job trying to keep it together at my desk.

We will be okay. Things are going to get rough, but you ALL need to stay here. Survive. Outlive this clown-ass, bitch-ass jack-o-lantern motherfucker. We need you. All hands on deck.

Take time to mourn. Take time to seek your comfort shows, your comfort books. Remember the good parts of being alive---there are SO many. Reach out to the people who love you.

Join your local support groups, communities, and listen to your local activists. Organize, reach out, be the safe space you needed when you were a kid. Stay sharp, stay keen.

They think we'll see these results, see how many of them don't care about us, and give up. We will prove them wrong, because WE care about us. Every single one of us matters. People of color, disabled people, queer folks, transgender folks, lesbians, gays, bisexuals, asexuals, intersex people, and every single person with even a toe outside of their precious definition of normal.

It's not over.

[darlingfettucini]

I normally keep things writing-only on this blog, but I'm so miserable and so angry because of this election. I've been messaging my fellow queer friends and they told me how they woke up this morning and broke down into sobs, then had to go to work. I am currently at my day job trying to keep it together at my desk.

We will be okay. Things are going to get rough, but you ALL need to stay here. Survive. Outlive this clown-ass, bitch-ass jack-o-lantern motherfucker. We need you. All hands on deck.

Take time to mourn. Take time to seek your comfort shows, your comfort books. Remember the good parts of being alive---there are SO many. Reach out to the people who love you.

Join your local support groups, communities, and listen to your local activists. Organize, reach out, be the safe space you needed when you were a kid. Stay sharp, stay keen.

They think we'll see these results, see how many of them don't care about us, and give up. We will prove them wrong, because WE care about us. Every single one of us matters. People of color, disabled people, queer folks, transgender folks, lesbians, gays, bisexuals, asexuals, intersex people, and every single person with even a toe outside of their precious definition of normal.

It's not over.

[darlingfettucini]

Fun AU + Trope Combos III

I used a random number generator to combine some fictional tropes from my AUs list and my tropes list. Let’s see if you get inspired by them!

Mermaid AU x Meet ugly

Coworkers AU x Everyone is gay

Arranged Marriage AU x Slow burn

Professional Rivals AU x First kiss

Boarding School AU x Second chances

Social Media AU x Amnesia

Bookstore AU x Sharing a bed

Spies AU x Matchmaking

Library AU x Angst

Prison AU x Enemies to friends to lover

Imagine a story about someone trying to recover their memories by going through their social media accounts. I'm already getting ideas!

More: AU & Trope Combos

[darlingfettucini]

Check out "Heroes Must Never Grovel Before Villains" from Rules for Superheroes on Tapas: https://tapas.io/episode/3304620

Episode 93 of my novel Rules for Superheroes is published on Tapas!

[darlingfettucini]

STOP DOING THIS IN INJURY FICS!!

Bleeding:

Blood is warm. if blood is cold, you’re really fucking feverish or the person is dead. it’s only sticky after it coagulates.

It smells! like iron, obv, but very metallic. heavy blood loss has a really potent smell, someone will notice.

Unless in a state of shock or fight-flight mode, a character will know they’re bleeding. stop with the ‘i didn’t even feel it’ yeah you did. drowsiness, confusion, pale complexion, nausea, clumsiness, and memory loss are symptoms to include.

blood flow ebbs. sometimes it’s really gushin’, other times it’s a trickle. could be the same wound at different points.

it’s slow. use this to your advantage! more sad writer times hehehe.

Stab wounds:

I have been mildly impaled with rebar on an occasion, so let me explain from experience. being stabbed is bizarre af. your body is soft. you can squish it, feel it jiggle when you move. whatever just stabbed you? not jiggly. it feels stiff and numb after the pain fades. often, stab wounds lead to nerve damage. hands, arms, feet, neck, all have more motor nerve clusters than the torso. fingers may go numb or useless if a tendon is nicked.

also, bleeding takes FOREVER to stop, as mentioned above.

if the wound has an exit wound, like a bullet clean through or a spear through the whole limb, DONT REMOVE THE OBJECT. character will die. leave it, bandage around it. could be a good opportunity for some touchy touchy :)

whump writers - good opportunity for caretaker angst and fluff w/ trying to manhandle whumpee into a good position to access both sites

Concussion:

despite the amnesia and confusion, people ain’t that articulate. even if they’re mumbling about how much they love (person) - if that’s ur trope - or a secret, it’s gonna make no sense. garbled nonsense, no full sentences, just a coupla words here and there.

if the concussion is mild, they’re gonna feel fine. until….bam! out like a light. kinda funny to witness, but also a good time for some caretaking fluff.

Fever:

you die at 110F. no 'oh no his fever is 120F!! ahhh!“ no his fever is 0F because he’s fucking dead. you lose consciousness around 103, sometimes less if it’s a child. brain damage occurs at over 104.

ACTUAL SYMPTOMS:

sluggishness

seizures (severe)

inability to speak clearly

feeling chilly/shivering

nausea

pain

delirium

symptoms increase as fever rises. slow build that secret sickness! feverish people can be irritable, maybe a bit of sass followed by some hurt/comfort. never hurt anybody.

ALSO about fevers - they absolutely can cause hallucinations. Sometimes these alter memory and future memory processing. they're scary shit guys.

fevers are a big deal! bad shit can happen! milk that till its dry (chill out) and get some good hurt/comfort whumpee shit.

keep writing u sadistic nerds xox love you

ALSO I FORGOT LEMME ADD ON:

YOU DIE AT 85F

sorry I forgot. at that point for a sustained period of time you're too cold to survive.

pt 2

[darlingfettucini]

I can't draw but Belle = Alex and Gaston = Tory

Draw your character who never fucking learned how to read

[darlingfettucini]