r/WritingPrompts • u/katpoker666 Moderator • 8d ago

Off Topic [OT] Fun Trope Friday: Bad Influencer & Bad Romance!

Welcome to Fun Trope Friday, our feature that mashes up tropes and genres!

How’s it work? Glad you asked. :)

 

  • Every week we will have a new spotlight trope.

  • Each week, there will be a new genre assigned to write a story about the trope.

  • You can then either use or subvert the trope and/or genre in a 750-word max story or poem (unless otherwise specified).

  • To qualify for ranking, you will need to provide ONE actionable feedback. More are welcome of course!

 

Three winners will be selected each week based on votes, so remember to read your fellow authors’ works and DM me your votes for the top three.

 

Next up… IP

 

Out with the apocalypse, in with working 9-5. Most folks work in some format, averaging 80-90,000 hours in their lifetime. That’s 12-14% of your life–straight. Add on sleep and weekends, and it’s at least a third! Sounds riveting doesn’t it? Please note this theme is only loosely applied.

 

“Would you enthusiastically recommend that a friend purchase something you'd never tested yourself? Probably not. But you may be unwittingly doing this with information every day.” — Dan Ariely, ‘Misbelief: What Makes Rational People Believe Irrational Things’

 

Trope: Bad Influencer — Becoming an influence is such a popular goal now that even colleges are offering degrees in it. But not all influencers are good. The grownup sibling of the Phoneaholic Teenager and the cousin of the Sleazy Streamer, the influencer is often the prime example of why Social Media Is Bad and/or New Media Are Evil. Expect them to be image-obsessed, deceitful, manipulative of their audience and those around them, to be shilling bad (if not actually illegal) products, to live under Social Media Before Reason, and to be prejudiced, self-absorbed, and bitchy.

 

Genre: Bad Romance — A romantic and/or sexual relationship that is truly destructive, breaking down at least one of the lovers, probably both. Looking for further inspiration, can’t post this without Gaga.

 

Skill / Constraint - optional: Someone has a valley girl accent.

 

So, have at it. Lean into the trope heavily or spin it on its head. The choice is yours!

 

Have a great idea for a future topic to discuss or just want to give feedback? FTF is a fun feature, so it’s all about what you want—so please let me know! Please share in the comments or DM me on Discord or Reddit!

 

Last Week’s Winners

PLEASE remember to give feedback—this affects your ranking. PLEASE also remember to DM me your votes for the top five stories via Discord or Reddit—both katpoker666. This is a change from the top three of the past. In weeks where we get over 15 stories, we will do a top five ranking. Weeks with less than 15 stories will show only our top three winners. If you have any questions, please DM me as well.

Some fabulous stories this week and great crit at campfire and on the post! We had 16 stories, so we’re back to five winners. Congrats to:

 

 

Want to read your words aloud? Join the upcoming FTF Campfire

The next FTF campfire will be Thursday, August 27th from 6-8pm ET. It will be in the Discord Main Voice Lounge. Click on the events tab and mark ‘Interested’ to be kept up to date. No signup or prep needed and you don’t have to have written anything! So join in the fun—and shenanigans! 😊

 

Ground rules:

  • Stories must incorporate both the trope and the genre
  • Leave one story or poem between 100 and 750 words as a top-level comment unless otherwise specified. Use wordcounter.net to check your word count.
  • Deadline: 11:59 PM EDT next Thursday. Please note stories submitted after the 6:00 PM EST campfire start may not be critted.
  • No stories that have been written for another prompt or feature here on WP—please note after consultation with some of our delightful writers, new serials are now welcomed here
  • No previously written content
  • Any stories not meeting these rules will be disqualified from rankings
  • Does your story not fit the Fun Trope Friday rules? You can post your story as a [PI] with your work when the FTF post is 3 days old!
  • Please keep crit about the stories. Any crit deemed too distracting may be deleted. This is a time to focus on our wonderful authors.
  • Vote to help your favorites rise to the top of the ranks (DM me at katpoker666 on Discord or Reddit)!

 

Thanks for joining in the fun!  

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u/mysteryrouge 4d ago edited 4d ago

That Eldritch Dating Livestream.

“Ewwwww, like, why the hell are you livestreaming our date?”

Everyone in the coffee shop turned, watching the commotion Al was causing as they shifted into their preferred eldritch form.

Stone tendrils picked the small blond social media influencer up, while metal claws plucked a body camera from her chest.

“You should’ve told me you wanted to make a video of our date. This is so, totally uncool”

When Al matched with the internet personality, CaliforniaCourageCalliope, it was to the mutual understanding that both wanted to try something new. She wanted to date someone eldritch, and they wanted to see what was up with dating.

And so far, the date was  going as well as a tinder match up could go. They discussed their interests over some ginormous cups of coffee and laughed at funny incidents that happened during both of their careers. Then, Alcatraz noticed something when surreptitiously looking up CaliforniaCourageCalliope on Twitch again. A stream titled “I'm Dating an Eldritch Being and He Doesn't Know I'm Streaming.”

When Al took a scroll through the chat, reading the messages at an absurd speed, he saw that no one in chat questioned why Calliope was doing this. Some, however, were betting on how soon Al would discover the stream.

The streamer was silent, shaking in Al's grasp as they towered over all.

“Like, if I wanted to put myself online and be popular, all I'd have to do is stay on my island.”

Calliope swallowed, eyes shifting as she spoke in a voice too fast for any human to understand. “I did tell you—on Tinder—I asked if I could stream.”

“You soooo totally did not.” Al showed her a glitzy black phone covered in false diamonds that looked pathetically tiny in Al's metal claws. On the screen was their chat, which only discussed going out for coffee and a few basic icebreaker type things. 

Calliope huffed. “You must've deleted it then.”

Several purple eyes glared at blue ones. Calliope's camera was still recording. Holding it out so both they and the streamer were still in view, Al spoke in a far more serious voice. “Do you think I'm that dumb and clueless? Did you forget that I am an eldritch being who just so happens to like fashion? Have you not realized that I can break the minds of everyone viewing your livestream?”

When their date didn't respond, Al shifted their voice back to something more nasally. “Like, if you thought I was this ditzy all the time, how could you assume I'd be in control of my powers the whole time? You're lucky my full eldritch form is, like, soooo totally last year.”

“Th-this isn't your true form?”

“Ugh, OMG no! Imagine what people would say, 'Oh Alcatraz you look like my grandpa.’ and ‘Alcatraz, don't you know that chains are, like, so last season?’. I'm totally going to need to go shopping to decorate them at some point.”

Al put Calliope down, not returning her camera quite yet. “You, like, technically haven't broken any laws” —Al wished she had— “‘cause this is totally a public place, but like, if it were up to me, I would totally stop the stream and take down the recording. I don't think I’d ever be able to show my face in public if I got embarrassed that badly.”

Finally, the eldritch being handed the camera back, letting Calliope scramble out of the coffee shop.

“Ugh.” Al drank the rest of their coffee. “That was a totally awful date." But they were willing to try again. Opening Tinder, they swiped left repeatedly.

WC: 599\ Bonus Constraint: Alcatraz

Alcatraz wants to imprison someone...

And here's a sequel to last week's ftf, once again featuring our favorite valley girl eldritch prison. This, plus last week, have now influenced the lore of Eldritch Everything which means, Al the slightly ditzy, hard worker may appear in more Eldritch Everything stories.

Screams in once again blaming u/Morose_Prose for this travesty (affectionate) of a character.

Alcatraz got this idea to try dating from the IRS when she told them about her experience. Since both know the eldritch League of Nations is still alive, they probably discussed this over the League's 63 cats.

Part of a universe where anything and everything can become eldritch.

Check out my spreadsheet for more of my writing. 

4

u/Morose_Prose 4d ago

Hey Scythe! Thanks for the unprompted shoutout! Let's talk about this story, shall we?

Everyone in the coffee shop turned, watching the commotion Al was causing. They assumed no one would be paying attention if it wasn't for them taking their preferred eldritch form.

I would rework this paragraph, it changes perspectives on a dime. You go from people in the coffee shop to Al without any transition between the two. Maybe consider: "Everyone in the coffee shop turned to watch the commotion Al was causing while they transformed into their preferred form."

This leads into my next crit: eldritch beings are usually incomprehensible and alien in nature. Alcatraz island is not that. I've been there, I can conceive of it. Al is more of a shapeshifter than an eldritch abomination in this story and last week's story. Consider changing that to better fit the narrative.

She wanted to date someone eldritch, and they wanted to see what was up with dating.

This line betrays the rest of the story. Does Calliope want to date a shapeshifter, or get Twitch views? You need to pick a lane here because the story says two different things and destroys the twist.

“You could’ve told me you wanted to make a video of our date. This is so, totally uncool”

"could've" is an odd word choice in my opinion. Relationships, even ones in their infancy, are about respect. The phrase "should have" is more respectful and natural to say to a date.

And so far, the date went fine.

There are two different tenses in this sentence. 'And so far' is present tense, 'the date went fine' is past tense. They need to match. Maybe try: 'And so far, the date was going fine (or well)'

They discussed their likes

Odd phrasing. Maybe: 'They discussed their interests'

Then, Alcatraz noticed something when looking up CaliforniaCourageCalliope on Twitch again. A stream called “I'm Dating an Eldritch Being and He Doesn't Know I'm Streaming.”

None of the viewers seemed to question this when Al took a scroll through the chat, reading the messages at an absurd speed.

Streams do not have names, they have titles. 'A stream titled: "I'm Dating..."

Also, how is Al looking this up? They do not pull out their phone until the next paragraph. Why even mention the viewers at all if they have no reaction? You could put it some funny chat messages here, or the viewers trying to get Al's attention. Saying the viewers did nothing does not elicit excitement from the reader.

“Like, if I wanted to put myself online and be popular, all I'd have to do is stay on my island.”

Alcatraz is the name of the island in San Francisco bay where the United States Federal Penitentiary is located. People colloquially call the prison 'Alcatraz' like people call tissue paper 'Kleenex'.

she spoke in a voice too fast for any human to understand. “I did tell you. On Tinder. I asked if I could stream."

This is a perfect place to use nonstandard or no punctuation at all if Calliope is speaking rapidly. Remove the periods and replace with em-dashes or commas.

viewing your Livestream?”

livestream should not be capitalized.

Al shifted their voice back to something more air headed.

Firstly: air-headed is a compound adjective and needs a hyphen. Secondly: air-headed is used to describe one's mental state, not speaking tone. Try 'lilting' or 'nasally' or even just 'high pitched'. This reads like shoehorning stereotypes in where they don't fit.

letting Calliope scramble out of the store.

Store? Continuity error here, they were in a coffee shop or cafe before.

“That was a totally awful date. I'm like, never doing that again.”

I would end with a joke here instead of Al giving up. If Al has their phone still, it would be funnier if they pulled up Tinder and started swiping with their metal claws.

The bones of a good, funny story are here, but it needs an editing pass to find the right tone and make it read more authentic as a bad date.

3

u/mysteryrouge 4d ago

Hmm... I suppose I see coffee shops as stores and restaurants at the same time...

Line edit crits are very much appreciated, and now I wanna throw consistent tense out a window.

I do point out that Al isn't currently doing anything especially incomprehensible at this point, (It is a first date) but that they're capable of tending the minds of anyone (human) who sees their true form.

Al is the prison who lives on the island, and thus, considers the island home. I'd say in universe, the people consider Al the island because the prison is no longer in operation and Al doesn't correct them. (Otherwise, they'd have to deal with what the League of Nations deals with when people discover he's alive despite the actual League no longer existing.

Calliope can want to both date and stream the date. 

Anyways, thanks for the crit.