Do you have any tips on writing cuddys dialogue ? Other than watching cuddy centric episodes again?
ok um i can’t be normal about anything so i compiled a bullet-point list of quirks i’ve noticed in cuddy’s dialogue and went back and reviewed multiple transcripts to make sure i got them right. i hope this helps you or someone ever.
cuddy is very very blunt. she tells it like it is
contrary to this, though, she is also extremely deflective when it comes to personal matters — she will rarely be forthcoming with vulnerability. basically, she’s straight-forward with everything but her feelings.
likewise, she tends to (want to) keep her personal life personal. even for trivial stuff. say, for example, one of house’s fellows asks her what she’s doing on the weekend: she’s much more likely to say it’s none of their business or deflect than she is to answer honestly.
^ she’s a big fan of “no problems” and “nothing’s wrong” when she's upset
very sarcastic, very deadpan, very dry humour.
out of the cast, cuddy swears (uses ass or bitch, as per tv standard) the most out of anyone aside from house
(and this is more of a general tip when it comes to the characters in this show, but use “screw” instead of “fuck” in most scenarios, especially if they take place in the hospital)
very apologetic, in that when someone expresses being upset, even if not towards her directly, she goes for “i’m sorry” pretty often.
she brushes people off. A lot. think about how often she tells masters “I’m busy” in s7. that’s her go-to.
she WILL talk over/interrupt other people
she, too, psychoanalyzes people (house). most of the time she’s just able to see past bullshit well
not sure how to put this, but she’s very… well versed in assurance. from what we see of her interactions with patients and donors, she definitely has the whole spiel memorized — she knows how to come across as very caring, so to speak.
^ and to this, when talking to patients, her talking points tend to lean specifically towards “this is gonna make you better”, things to that effect.
in “going to”/”gonna” or “want to”/”wanna” situations, she typically opts for the latter; this is more dialectal than it is an indication of formality
^ similarly, in places where it feels like she could say “ya” instead of “you”, she probably would. think about “pretty sure i can outrun ya” from the Pilot.
she lowkey assumes everyone has an agenda in every interaction and assumes what it is and she’s usually right
she has so much self-doubt and self-deprecation in her. the catch is that these things only really come out when she’s alone or with house or wilson. she’s not going to show these insecurities to someone she isn’t close with, but they’re definitely there. think about her convo with wilson in Finding Judas, for example.
when nervous or upset, like actually upset — she stammers, “um”s and “uh”s find their way into her speech
this isn’t just dialogue, but she’s definitely a fan of a good over-dramatized reaction from time to time. think about her stacy impression in Need To Know and her faux-admission in The Itch.
like most of the characters, she’s a big fan of the sarcastic “Right.” when she thinks someone’s BSing her
she frequently (though not always) forgoes the subject marker in a sentence. for example, saying “could be” instead of “it could be”, “procedure’s done” instead of “the procedure’s done”, “gotta go” instead of “i’ve gotta go”, “give us a minute” instead of “can you give us a minute”, etc.
if someone’s being cagey about what they mean (talking around something) she’ll point at exactly what it is. she doesn’t have time for it!
she WILL call something insane, crazy, or stupid if it is insane, crazy, or stupid
in more casual conversation, she will trail off every so often
WILL repeat what you said back to you, changing the meaning only with emphasis (see: “you’re only here because you have the hots for me” “you’re only here because you have the hots for me” in Let Them Eat Cake)
coded language. guys. coded language. saying one thing but meaning another, especially in banter with house; bonus points if it’s basically a bit they’re both in on (see: hooker/patient coding in Paternity)
this isn’t dialogue, but she talks with her hands. a lot. she gestures while talking. a lot.
NAMES: cuddy, for the most part, refers to everyone as Dr. [lastname]. she calls thirteen, dr. hadley. she refers to stacy & amber by their first names, will very sparingly call wilson “james”, and does not call house “greg”
INNUENDO. innuendo is key
demanding. take that as you will. think of her “ignore it” then more frustrated “ignore it” to lucas when they’re trying to have sex in 5 to 9
she isn’t afraid of the word “sex” or mentioning things to do with sex (see: Insensitive and The Itch), but she’s definitely not the type to openly discuss the details of her sex life (see: 5 to 9) and there is a difference!!
this probably isn’t something to get into, but when house and cuddy are together cuddy uses the word “nice” to describe how she wants the relationship to be, to feel
less dialogue, more inflection: her voice gets a lot softer when she’s being genuine and vulnerable
for her relationship with house specifically, she calls him juvenile and compares him to a child a fair bit LOL
she’s definitely a lot more… awkward, contemplative, maybe, with her love interests. this is so super reflective in her dialogue. you’ll see what i meannn
in Family Practice she calls julia “jules” and julia calls her “lise”. USE THESE SPARINGLY.
arlene is hypercritical, but a lot of her criticism leans specifically towards slut-shame-y and professionally belittling
arlene uses her fair share of yiddish words and phrases in her typical speech — cuddy is more likely to use them around her (see: her use of “yenta-ing” in Family Practice)
the cuddy family “tells each other the truth when asked directly” (per Family Practice)
aaaand i know you said “other than rewatching” BUTTTT if you’re going to rewatch any episodes for her dialogue specifically, i recommend Finding Judas for upset, vulnerability, and patient interaction, Joy for just… general emotion, lots of it, 5 to 9 for interactions of all kinds, but especially professional, non-house interactions, and Now What? for cuddy-in-love)
that’s a lot. i’m sorry. i got excited. some of these may just be general house writing quirks not just cuddy but. these are things that have stuck out to me. i write all of this but really when i’m writing fic i’m just like “ok can i hear her voice in my crazy head” and if the answer’s no it’s not good enough
