#but it wasn't scripted xd

[is-gabenath-confirmt-yet]

Final? Is the show ending? confirmed? is this the last season? I'm confused i haven't seen it since beginning of season 4 (or something, i don't remember)

The Final of season 5 got leaked. There are more seasons confirmed, I think up to 8 seasons. So, it is not the end of the series. Just the end of another season. Yet, it was the last season Thomas will be the main writer. He is still on the writer's team ( I think ) but the story he wanted to tell ends with season 5.

[xaykwolf]

The uhhhhhhh,,,, the only upside to running around Mementos trying to get Jose to pop up for a SOLID HOUR AFTER I WANTED TO LEAVE is that it took me a singular hour to finish Shido’s Palace because of Ryuji’s Insta-Kill ability (rank 7 confidant) from being so overleveled.

[clenastia]

self confidence is a skill that can be learned and you have to let yourself and your art exist distinct from how others perceive it. you will never exist or create in a way that nobody criticizes and that is NOT a bad thing. you obviously care a lot about your work or you wouldn't fret over it this much, but fixating so heavily on the potential opinions of people you made up to criticize you isn't healthy and isn't doing you any good. you're allowed to set that weight down and I truly believe you can do it.

I do try! when i catch myself spiralling i generally try to forcfully redirect my thoughts, even if it means completely ignoring whatever triggered it, but unfortunately sometimes i feel like im stuck in a loop because thinking of getting published triggers spirals of anxiety so i cant think too much about it which means i never get around to DOING it which makes me upset because i've always WANTED to get published, but when i try to seriously consider it i get all tangled up in the anxieties and ugh.

in all honesty i fell into the trap of thinking therapy would be a quicker fix than it is, where the therapist could give me a list of steps to do and my anxiety/issues would go away once i did them. so i put a bunch of unrealistic expectations on therapy but unfortunately there IS no magical list of steps to making your brain work right. you just. gotta wake up every day and push your way through the spirals and face the things you're afraid of. meds help, for sure, i don't get panic attacks anymore and the anxiety doesn't stress me out so much i end up crying or shutting down most of the time. but like. everything else, the solution is just: ignore it. keep trying. and there's no. fucking. steps to just. "do these three things and your brain will work like a neurotypical one!" and it fucking sucks and i hate it and i still gotta keep trying if i wanna get anywhere.

I haven't been on meds for a full year yet, and therapy less than that, so im sure with time I'll get to a place where i CAN push through those specific fears and get to where i want to be, and that in a lot of ways i'm still just rushing things and wishing i could be better NOW instead of having to put in months and years of work.

a lifetime of self-worth issues don't get resolved with pills and six months of therapy, but sometimes its just so GODDAMN unfair and i just want a magic cheat sheet to getting better :(

or maybe someone who can do like. literally everything for me so i don't have to face it myself lol.

can there be a business for that? like. be your own ghost writer. someone else gets all the credit and hate mail and deals with all the publishers. but you get to write your silly little stories and still make profit.

that'd be nice xD

totally ripe for abuse and probably actually a terrible idea but like. in an idealistic way. it'd be nice. y'know?

[dokidokitsuna]

Beauty and the Beast

The Cinder/Adam video I've been planning for several months now is finally under construction~. I have a lot of old notes and scribbles to edit together into a workable script, but before that, I'm going to practice a bit by talking about these new designs.

🌹Adam🌹 Brightening up his look with an open jacket and a white shirt to sort of symbolize his developing character in the Neverfell AU. He does NOT get a redemption arc, but he does get a few shades lighter on the 'moral greyscale'. I'll explain all that in the eventual video. ^^ Anyway, my goal was not only to make him look brighter, but also to make him look slightly less serious; like a more playful rendition of his 'edgy badass' design concept. It's kinda like how his more form-fitting Volume 5 design made him look smaller and more childish...except here, the big dramatic design elements (flared collar/jacket hem, shoulder pads, larger waist-cape) contrast with the tighter fit and put some power back into the outfit. The rose choker adds just a touch of cute style~

🍂Cinder🍂 ...She looks a little emo, huh...? XD I guess the eye makeup wasn't necessary, but it looks so good on her...and it also symbolizes her developing character, after she receives her Grimm arm and Salem's dark influence on her intensifies. My idea was that the new arm messes with her aim when she uses Midnight (her bow, if you remember), and in frustration she starts relying more on fire Dust and her semblance-- in a world where there are no Maiden powers for her to steal, this becomes the reason for her change in fighting style...and the reason for me to lean a little harder into the 'fantasy mage' aspect of her design, with a wide-set hood and a flared dress that hangs at her back like a cape. This allows me a chance to finally show off her adorable little laced short-shorts, which I have always loved~. Also, the dust-weaving is back, including a glowing streak in her hair, inspired by the one I drew for her 'Maiden Hunters' design. This outfit is basically everything that one should've been. ^^;

[anthurak]

Okay remember that script draft of "The Emerald Forest" where Blake and Yang partnering up has Blake holding Yang at swordpoint that kinda single-handedly ended the 'who tops?' debate among bumbleby?

I like to think that while that didn't actually happen, it's absolutely how Blake and Yang like to THINK it happened. Seeing as these melodramatic gay dorks seem to REALLY want to think them falling in love was somehow fraught with spicy gay drama and that they totally couldn't stand each other at first. When in reality they actually got along great and were making awkward gay flirting noises at each other from basically minute one.

And sadly, the long-suffering Weiss has no way of fact-checking them on THIS particular detail because she wasn't present for it XD

[nqueso-emergency]

About that “Lou for sure got fired” tweet.

If he was, why would they shoehorn him into the last two episodes of the season, into scenes that not only are very clearly showing the two being comfortable and good, but that also very easily could’ve been cut and replaced with one where Buck tells someone he and Tommy broke up for whatever reason?

Plus, didn’t JLH show off a whole page of a script at one point? She wasn't fired. Don’t Gavin and Tracie also have cameos? They’re still here (presumably in Gavin’s part).

I also find it hilarious how you say you have connections in the industry and you’re obviously lying, but this person is 100% legit, no questions asked xD

The biggest sign, imo, that Lou WAS NOT fired was that deleted scene they released.

There is no way they'd share that scene after the season aired unless Lou was coming back.

That person is 100% legit because they ship Buddie and hate Lou

[disneytva]

Disney TVA Creator Pedro Eboli Reveals Rejected "Adventures Of The Gummi Bears" Reboot As Part Of Rejected Projects Trend On Twitter.

The Disney Afternoon IPs have been returning to our screens since the late 2010's and 2020s with projects like "DuckTales" (2017) on Disney XD, "Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers" as a live-action/animation hybrid film for Disney+ ,"Darkwing Duck" & "TaleSpin" having reports of upcoming animated reboots by Point Grey Pictures & Disney TVA for Disney+ and "Gargoyles" with a live-action reboot with Blumhouse Television and Atomic Monster for Disney+.

The only properties left to reboot from The Disney Afternoon roster are "Adventures of The Gummi Bears", "Goof Troop", "The Mighty Ducks", "Bonkers" and "The Shnookums & Meat Funny Cartoon Show".

Back in February Becky Dreistadt and Frank Gibson ("Star Vs The Forces of Evil", "Big City Greens The Movie: Spacecation", Cartoon Network Studios "Steven Universe Future") revealed that they attemped to pitch a reboot of "Goof Troop" to Disney back in 2019 for Disney+. Their reboot pitch would have been a mixture between the original show and it's two movies ("A Goofy Movie", "An Extremely Goofy Movie").

It seems that Goof Troop wasn't the only Disney Afternoon property with plans to be rebooted as animation industry and current Disney TVA creator Pedro Eboli (Netflix “Cupcake and Dino: General Services”, Cartoon Network LATAM “Oswaldo”, Nickelodeon “Ollie’s Pack” and Discovery Kids LATAM “Bada Bean”, “NDA - Disney Channel Series”) took over Twitter to reveal that he and his partner in crime Mark Satterthwaite (Netflix “Cupcake and Dino: General Services”, Cartoon Network LATAM “Oswaldo”, Nickelodeon “Ollie’s Pack” and Discovery Kids LATAM “Bada Bean”) attemped to bring back The Kingdom of New Gumbria and The Gummi Bear Juice to a new generation of fans on a pitch for a "Adventures of The Gummi Bears" reboot likely for Disney Channel or Disney+. Eboli would mention that a pilot wasn't produced as they only had scripts for it and was very early on development when it was passed also that the artwork you're seeing in this post is not the actual art that was part of the reboot's pitch bible.

Who knows maybe in the future specially with Disney's plans to attract more subscribers to Disney+ and it's desire for bringing back "The Disney Afternoon" to a new generation maybe they will revive Mark Satterthwaite and Pedro Eboli's "Adventures of The Gummi Bears" reboot specially with their overall development deal at Disney TVA for new shows films and specials.

Not hope at all is lost for Pedro Eboli and Mark Satterthwaite as they have been developing a new original animated series for Disney Channel as of Fall 2023 with the pilot being recorded on January 2024, if picked it will be the first Disney TVA series created by a Brazilian.

[murfpersonalblog]

IWTV S2 Ep7 Musings - Loustat: The Trial (Spoilers)

Imma split my Loustat musings into 3 parts, cuz there's A LOT to unpack. So I'll do the Ep3/4 & Ep5 revisits in the next posts; this is just general/initial Louis & Lestat stuff I wanted to respond to.

They beat the dog snot outta Louis, omg. They nearly snapped his neck! Louis was barely conscious, ofc his memory's spotty.

I LOVE how they're emphasizing the physicality of the Maker-Fledgling bond, first w/ Lou & Madz, now w/ Les. It's ofc all wrapped up in how much Loustat loves e/o, but its also their blood connection thru Amel. (I wonder how Louis Merrick'ing himself in Ep5 affects his connection to Amel if his heart didn't stop, cuz Armand stopped him from burning too much?)

And I love what Jacob said in the Insider, afterwards.

Fear that Lestat's come to exact revenge; excitement (a frisson of both negative & positive emotions, excited to see Les just cuz of the tension of having not seen him in so long, but also having all his nerves & senses tingling cuz of the tense anticipation & not knowing what to expect--hence: fear); fury cuz this whole mess could've been avoided if Les had told them WHY European vampires should be avoided at all costs; and relief cuz Les's' alive, his husband's ok.

But this time Lou KNOWS he's the real deal, cuz he can FEEL it--"it wasn't NOT his hand." And Dream!Stat jumpscare in Dubai, well well well; I thought Lou'd stopped seeing him on that Parisian bench? 👀

Here we effing go, whatever this French bish has to say better be good 🍿🍿🍿

I HATE HIM YOUR HONOR 🤣 Omfg take ONE thing seriously! Not the Roland-Garros, STFU! XD Lestat going off script got the coven like WTF?!

OML 🍿🍿🍿

Well that's not helpful at all--WHICH ONE!?

Les was asleep for the whole 100 years b4 he went to NOLA--but we KNOW this can't be true, cuz Les met Marius after he left Paris❗ SAM (the vamp) has been mouthing the words to this whole script, so I wonder if that's just what Les was TOLD to say, OR! It's what HE told THE COVEN, so they wouldn't know about TWMBK❗❗

NOT LES DOING A PIROUETTE INTO THE EARTH STAHP OMG 😭

THIS GAY QUEEN CAN'T HELP HIMSELF, I CANNOT

Awoke in 1908 & disembarked in humidified daughter of Paris, NOLA--but Les told Lou he was headed for Saint Louis, Missouri. 👀

"And who did you meet there?" DANG this is TENSE--Loustat finally making eye contact for the first time, Les having to see his husband all beat up & sad; as Claudia languishes in the background, as usual.

Not Louis with the cigar 😭

"The ACCUSED," LOL, Santiago had to catch himself--stay dehumanizing the violent evil Black man whydontcha; we see you. And Lestat had to feed him his own lines after derailing everyone with that homophobic soldier's evisceration.

Omg this sounds like every court case b4 they throw the book at a Black man. And the bored unaffected way the white audience just rolls their eyes & shakes their heads & smokes--they DGAF about Lou; they've already decided he ain't ish--A STONING.

LOUIS FACE. This is EXACTLY how folk in the fandom talk about Lou--and it came back with a vengeance during all that Loumand Maitre/Arun crap, as y'all were QUICK to jump on Lou being an evil pimp, even though your fave Daniel literally said that was just kinky roleplay Armand didn't take seriously when ish got REAL.

I thought y'all were just bartering for the "last bouquet of lilies"!?

Oh great, the coven's making Louis look like a perv predator. 🤦‍♀️ And the visual centering of Lou's dastardly mind-control waves like a halo over sweet innocent victim Lestat's blonde head, I CANNOT.

Omfg Louis face, SAME! If this crocodile-crying liar don't take his To Kill A Mockingbird, Central Park Five lookin arse off that stage! 🤬

Omfg Lestat I'm finna kill you myself. Omg this nonsense is too much; I know Lou, speak up, YES! But also, STFU, Les is actually tryna save your life by tearing your reputation to shreds. 😬🤦‍♀️

I loooove this effect when the coven uses the Mind Gift on them. They effed him up so bad his left eye started hemorrhaging. 😭

Armand don't you look away for an INSTANT, don't you even BLINK! You could've prevented this, EFF ALL Y'ALL in this nasty AF Theatre!

This gaslighting is hitting way too close to the way IRL court cases go when the innocent get the book thrown at them for crimes they didn't commit.

This is so painful to watch, but Sam Reid you better werk; the way he was yelling those lines had me shook, oml.

Les knows he's effed up, but what can he do? His eyes are going red; he's gonna cry. (His contacts look different, I thought they said they were gonna stick with purple eyed Les?) "I offered it to him in the church on the altar: My companionship." And Lou nodding along, cuz that was their wedding! 😭💔

I was wondering how these frames would be used. It's about the Ep3 race riots and vampire loneliness, the night Louis left & Claudia was made. But I love the implications, cuz how could humans know ANYTHING about hows vampires feel--which is SO important when they start lying about everything else that went down with how Claudia was made and how it would affect her as a "defective" vamp.

Even the VAMPIRES don't know how other vampires feel, and the capacity they have for enduring--Armand said it over & over to Louis in Ep3 and Madeleine in Ep6. Lestat came closest in S1 when he commented on Claudia's eternally 14-yr old metabolism & needing to eat more than an normal vamp, but beyond that none of them had a effing clue what Claudia was going through. They don't know REAL loneliness, even with her diaries telling them what she thought, not HOW SHE FELT.

(And I'm reminded of what I said here about Gabrielle telling Lestat what her loneliness felt like. I think "vampire loneliness" is different for every vampire; which is precisely why Gab (and Claudia) was able to walk away from her Maker/son & live alone; while Nicky & Louis went crazy.)

Lestat crying blood tears, daaaaang 😥

Kill this dude (but I stan a Loustat ally, LOLOL).

Imma stop here, cuz I've run out of Tumblr's stupid 30-pics per post, and the Ep3/4 revisit that "took all the pieces of Louis life, defiled them, bent them into a Lestat-shaped effigy" is IMO the JUICIEST part, with the most new meat to chew on.

[j3ankimorit4]

Goldenheart headcanon about how sexual interest awoke in Ambrosius xd (This is cringe, I warn you)

Ambrosius has just turned 18 and companies are taking the opportunity to propose more "mature and adult" projects and collaborations.

One of them is an advertisement for men's perfumes. Where they wanted to imply how he had become a handsome and strong man. Ambrosius isn't comfortable with this and hates the idea, especially after reading the script where he says he literally has to be in his underwear posing and subtly touching another person. He was someone reserved in that kind of thing and in sexual matters he had never gone beyond a passionate kiss with his boyfriend.

His mother, Lady Goldenloin, likes the idea, plus they would pay him very well and it would be a very interesting controversy that would keep them in the media. Ambrosius goes against it and confronts his mother (the woman ignores him because she sees it as "a tantrum")

Ballister supports and comforts him. But inside he feels a bit jealous and uncomfortable thinking about how his girlfriend would be flirting and touching someone else. He knew it was just acting and he wouldn't be serious, but the feeling was still there. Ambrosius felt the same way, he thinks that he would surely be unfaithful to Bal without wanting to.

This situation stresses Ambrosius too much, to the point that he only talks about it with Ballister all week. One day, fed up with his mother only reminding him of the commercial, he yells at Ballister:

- I DON'T WANT TO HANDLE AND TOUCH DEEPLY ANOTHER PERSON OTHER THAN YOU!

The latter instead of making Bal blush and angry, gives him an idea and he decides to audition for the role. On the other hand, Ambrosius dies of shame for the barbarity that he had just said and apologizes a thousand times. Meanwhile Ballister was thinking about how to get that part.

Luckily he gets it, the company wanted controversy, so why not put the future first commoner knight alongside gold back? This would blow up all the media and social networks. THEY WOULD BE TRENDING. Above all, the paper would do him good since it was a tribute to the commoners who prostituted themselves in the 19th century.

This made Ballister feel uncomfortable and even slightly offended, especially when he remembered that he had to be almost half-naked in front of many cameras. But he didn't give it much importance, he would do anything for his beloved boyfriend. He decides not to tell him anything and surprise him.

The day of the shoot arrives and Ambrosius couldn't be more angry and uncomfortable. He hopes that Bal is in the studio supporting him, but he can't be found anywhere, which makes him even more depressed. It wasn't until he walked into his dressing room that he found Ballister sitting in his chair, cross-legged, flushed, wearing only black boxer shorts and a sweet fragrance smelling all over his body. Seeing all this, Ambrosius's embarrassment multiplied a thousand times, almost fainting from love and lack of blood in his nose when he saw his boyfriend.

Anyway, he took a few hours to film the scenes. Both young men were very shy and did not dare to touch each other so thoroughly. But they couldn't be happier and more in love, they couldn't stop looking at each other and throwing passionate glances of desire.

As expected, the commercial was a success and the perfumes sold like hot cakes. Not to mention the comments and controversies that were on the internet for a long time.

After that, Ambrosius became obsessed with the commercial and watched it in private whenever he could.

[tawaifeddiediaz]

hello! im a newby gimaker and i want to follow your tutorial on sharpening but i dont know how you got to the photoshop page you started from where it looks like a video timeline. can you tell me how you got there? <3

Hey!!

Welcome to the wonderful world of gifmaking <3 yes i can lead you through to that point. I have a mac so this might look different for you, but all the steps stay the same - I just shifted from windows to mac so i know this xD

I'm going to show you how to do this on this gif:

I prefer to use screenshots for my gifs (I also don't know how else to make them), so I use Mplayer for that. I used to use MPV player but that stopped working with my new computer system.

First, you want to make sure that you're using a high-quality file. If 1080p is available to you, use 1080p at the very least. This will make sure your gifs are crisp and sharp.

Open your file with Mplayer. Then find the bit that you want to gif. I sometimes search forward by frame by using the ">" key. Once you're at the start point of your desired gif, pause the video. Then, Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + S to start screenshotting. The video will start to play slowly as the screenshots are captured. (They go to the desktop automatically but you can change that in interface settings).

The rest of the tutorial is under a cut:

Once you get your screenshots, you're going to go Photoshop. File > Scripts > Load Files Into Stack.

You're going to get a dialogue box. Click Browse and load the screenshots that you want. This is what that looks like when you finish:

Next, you're going to crop your gif, using the crop tool. You can press C on your keyboard for this or use the tool with this icon in the sidebar.

For this, I'm using an aspect ratio of 540 x 400:

Click that checkmark to crop. Once you do, we're going to resize the image. Use the Cmd/Ctrl + I function to bring up this box. For tumblr gifs, you want to change the width. The height doesn't really matter but if the width doesn't match up, Tumblr is going to fix it for you and it'll look funky. Per row:

1 gif , we use 540px

2 gifs, 268px each

3 gifs, 177, 178, 177 px

We're just doing one, so I'm using 540px.

Now, you want to make sure you can add the timeline. In the top bar, go to Window > Timeline

This will bring up the timeline.

From there, click "Create Frame Animation" (you might have to press the arrow in the timeline bar first.)

It's going to look like this:

We're going to use those three lines in the corner of the picture above. The first option we'll select is "Make Frames From Layers"

That looks like this:

Now, when these load in, you may notice that they're all in reverse. To make them go back in order, we're going to go back to that menu and click "Reverse Frames."

Then, in that same menu, click "Select all Frames." We're going to change the animation speed. You want to make sure you have the first frame selected. We're going to click the arrow next to the "0 sec"

When you click that, it will give you a menu. Click, "other..." You should get a dialogue box that says "Set Frame Delay", just like the one below.

You want to use anywhere between 0.05-0.1 seconds. I find that anymore more is just too slow, so I prefer 0.06. This is fully changeable at the end of my sharpening tutorial, and you can use what you want, but that's what I prefer.

When you do that, it'll change the frame speed of all the gifs.

Now, go back into that little menu, and click, "Convert to Video Timeline."

This is what it'll look like:

Now we're going to select all the layers in the right-hand pane. Once we do that, right-click and select, "Convert to Smart Object."

And you're there! Now you can use the sharpening tutorial to your liking.

Pro tip: Make an action with all these steps so you don't have to do them by hand with every single gif you make.

Hope this helps and it wasn't super long winded. Let me know if you have any questions <3 Happy giffing!

[nightfurmoon]

Hiya Night! Quick question: I noticed that in the Spanish version, Flug seems to call Goldheart "doradito". I looked it up and apparently it means "golden brown"? Is Flug calling GH burnt, or am I missing something culturally? XD Thank you for all you do for the English fandom! You're the best!

Hey anon! Thank you for your kind words <3

'Doradito' comes from 'Dorado' which means Golden. The -ito at the end is a diminutive, in this context it's used for mockery. Much like Flug calls BH 'jefecito' aka boss + ito, but in this context the diminutive is more to suck up to him and also Flug just has that way of speaking, much like Ned Flanders in the Simpsons. Dunno if in English he also has a 'peculiar' way to speak but in Spanish he just uses ito all the time for things.

That way of speaking wasn't originally in his script, it was Pepe Toño Macias (his Spanish voice actor) who included it to make him funnier and more likeable.

[summerlinenss]

I love how the hotel room scene in Challengers wasn't in the script, because Luca asked Justin to add it to 'make all the sides of the triangle touch'. I.E, fancy talk for make it gayer XD

Y E S

i also remember reading somewhere that they filmed that scene the same day beyoncé dropped “break my soul” and no one could talk to zendaya for the entire day. truly an iconic scene in cinema history.

[rontra]

I have never played persona so I wasn't sure if I would understand your failteacher comics but I just looked up the characters for a little bit of context and I'm 👀👀👀👀 at it now xD

Without being too spoiler-y, why would you say they'd have a messy relationship? (Besides the fact of Becky taking advantage of her client's loneliness)

HAHAHA yea i think the like dramatic irony enjoyment of knowing (even just roughly) what's going on with becky is very strong so good on you there (obviously toriumi has no idea what's going on with her and becky is doing her best to Handle It, but it contextualizes her behavior for Us...<3)

it's yummy isnt it... its yummy

anyway, the rest of this very long post is just me analyzing a fictional situation i myself engineered, so if that sounds boring please dont click the Read More LMFAO <- cursed to put a lot of thought into Character Stuff

basically they have great potential for mess, which they're Currently keeping a lid on, but would exponentially increase with time. teehee.

as for what WILL happen, im not spoiling anything concrete of course… (winks at the Knowers who already know my Vision….

well, this AU isn't ever going to devolve into a "super destructive toxic nightmare" mess or anything, just to get our working definitions of 'mess' sorted out at the top of the post. not this time. atm (as of comic #3) it's shaping up more like a "this seems . inadvisable and absolutely Don't Try This At Home, but i guess it won't…kill you" mess (LMAO)

to assess their situation at present… there is one half who wants money (and can't ever make enough of it to satisfy her extortionists), and one half who wants intimacy (and is scared and unable to get it on her own). on its exterior face, it's simply a lonely person hiring a professional to keep them company, which is a fairly common thing n not rly super noteworthy; the parentheticals are what make things a bit uh thorny for these characters

the "problem" here is not the transaction itself; they're both willing to supply their half of the trade just fine, and neither party is doing anything wrong by engaging in it. but for these two specifically, there is also a mutual willingness to bend the rules of their transaction—because they're both cornered in some way, and desperate for what the other one is offering to trade

to elaborate on "rules", i mean, first and foremost, that their relationship is not "real"—these people Don't know each other personally and intimately, and they're Not Supposed To. their relationship should never be "real"; they're not friends! (or lovers, for that matter!) they're in a conditional exchange of money for services. right now, these characters are participating in and maintaining a kayfabe; they should operate under a tacit understanding that A) this is not real, B) they both fully know it's not real, and C) following the script is the comfortable way to get what they both want without causing undue risk to either party. creating and then maintaining a fake "reality" together is regulated by a contract between them, and it ends when their booked time ends (and not a minute over time!)

but to return to the earlier point, they're also both cornered and desperate, which drives them both to go beyond what might be considered appropriate. i think this is compelling; it's probably unnecessary of me to add this paragraph but i want to underline (just in case) that i don't think either of them is like "at fault" or w/e (there is no "villain" between them). they're showing Signs Of Mess that could snowball into something much more messy, but it's not something they're doing to hurt each other; they're making decisions based on skewed risk/reward estimations that might not be healthy, and could realistically have harmful consequences for both parties, but they're not, like, Evil (lol). two women getting wrapped up in each other's personal graveyard spirals…it's yuri, isn't it?

with that squared away, and putting it plainly;

toriumi should not be asking her to "break character" when the character itself is what she's paying for; this nudging of their little kayfabe, if indulged, could easily snowball and erode the professional boundaries between them (what she calls "distance" in #3). she is paying 'becky' to 'be here' (paying kawakami to conjure 'becky' into existence by pretending to be her), but she isn't really being mindful of the type of role that this necessarily demands of her in turn. the built-in emotional walls between them are there to protect both of them, but she doesn't fully respect them (despite instinctively sensing their protection in how "safe" becky feels to her). in the end, toriumi is bad at "staying in character" herself, and she can't help but try to root out the actual person behind the mask—despite the fact that no one wants this erosion to happen! possible dire consequences for her wallet aside, losing sight of the line between "transaction" and "investment" (pardon the pun) is a one-way ticket to a very messy place where one or both of them is likely to get hurt...

on the other end, and not helping the situation at all, kawakami identified toriumi as a soft target pretty much immediately, and is actively trying to elicit sympathy and endear herself to her (she is being quite choosy about what vulnerabilities she "lets slip" in #2) in order to make her keep booking and paying. of course some amount of "salesmanship" is part of the job—#grindset always be plugging smash that like button comment n subscribe—but the major difference here is that she's overtly attempting to foster in her client the exact kind of dependency/personal attachment she should be discouraging (for, frankly, both of their safety). like not only is she out fishing to get toriumi hook line and sinker on purpose, but it's also alarmingly reckless behavior on kawakami's part; there's a lack of regard for her own wellbeing involved here on top of it all. again, a messy place where someone, maybe everyone, gets hurt in the end

crucially though, as comic #3 finishes setting up, they're both willing to endure these shenanigans from the other half. at this stage, toriumi does realize that kawakami has her unilaterally wrapped around her finger, and nonetheless agrees that she'll call her again; while kawakami knows very well how this kayfabe is supposed to work, but is indulgent (even rewarding) towards toriumi for her clumsiness. that mutual willingness to keep playing this game would—if the AU continued on these tracks uninterrupted—probably compound until the situation they've made becomes super confusing and unclear for them emotionally...

of course "taking advantage" is sort of a loaded phrase colloquially… but i would say in many ways they are "taking advantage" of each other, yea. the "we both benefit, so it's okay" logic was already vaguely raised as justification in #3; if elaborated a bit with the above in mind, their situation is one where "even if they're both overstepping what is considered appropriate for their arrangement, they've also both decided the benefits outweigh the costs by a wide enough margin to make it worthwhile"

it's got the marks of a sort of symbiotic relationship... their individual motivations for being involved w each other are totally unrelated (cue the "hold on, does. kawakami even like women???" question), but they both feel they benefit enough towards their priority goals to be OK with the other one taking something "less valuable" from them (toriumi even calls out the “sales pitch” becky is doing in #2, but ultimately decides that’s fine because she’s willing to buy). i think each and every moving part here has great capacity to go "too far" and ruin things (perhaps even causing Severe damage in the collapse), but if the situation were to continue in this same rhythm, without that kind of dramatic change, i would say "they're both evaluating the scenario with their own personal goals in mind, and are extracting what they want from one another relatively(?) peacefully(??)". like it might ultimately be a selfish game but they're adults they'll figure it out probably idk its none of my business what they choose to get up to. wouldn't get into that type of shit myself though LOL

women are playing kind of dangerous games with each other but i forgive them because it's interesting to rotate in my mind...<3

another thorn to consider for their future bonding endeavors from here on ofc is that without being "cornered" the way they are, they would not be running this type of "risk math" in the first place. it's hard for either of them to fully back away at this point because they're already cornered in their personal lives; toriumi is incredibly isolated and lonely with a pretty insecure lifestyle even when she's NOT actively sawing through the branch she's sitting on, and kawakami famously MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE, NEEDS A LOT OF MONEY RIGHT NOW because she's being extorted by an unrelated third party. looking ahead it does kind of start to look like an ouroboros of "taking advantage of each other" bc it's hard for both of them to leave their individual situations; it's kind of like, if they weren't here with each other they'd be ... well, they'd be here—just with someone else...

they didn't put each other in this jam—it was unrelated personal circumstances and sheer coincidence that pushed them together—but now that they've committed to each other, it's hard to reverse back out, if that makes sense. i think that kind of thing is interesting too, because it makes me want to see them recognize this, connect, and help each other pull out of their Greater individual personal messes. you know? we can make it if we try... just the two of us... 😔

(unfortunately step 1 of that is ofc to make a genuine personal bond that isn't wrapped up in all this for-pay roleplay stuff. drat!)

tl;dr they're both simmering under high pressure and don't try this at home, but they do already have a sort of tacit agreement forming that this level of messy play is OK between them—as long as the rewards continue to outweigh the risks. at the end of the day, it's a delicate balance ultimately hinging on a money-for-services transaction, so if either of them stopped feeling like paying their half was worth it, it would rapidly come apart. i guess it's kinda like the ways you can tell if animals are genuinely beefing or just playing rough—are they willingly coming back? 💀 ...

no lmao where's that post thats like "this would be terrible if it was anyone else, but considering the people involved this is actually the best option" HRBHJDJG that's kind of how it feels. like if they're gonna be stuck with Somebody (and they would be), its probably good luck that they got Each Other. at least the narrative can sustain the balance of this one and maybe even solve it down the line. heart

to round this post off i would say if i had to nominate one of them, kawakami is probably the most "in control" atm—since she figured out very quickly that she was dealing with an easy mark and moved in to make her a regular customer (quite successfully i might add per the end of #3 lmaoo). i think that's been kinda fun, since in her SLink she's immediately on the back foot due to being unmasked by the inciting incident. we know she will lie and attempt to play to the listener's sympathy, so unleashing her with her Mask Still On has been fun 😭 for her part, toriumi is not only taken with the funny maid (& emotionally invested in her IRL situation to boot), but also very clumsily trying to obtain something she's scared to have, which makes her very impulsive/erratic in her rulebreaking compared to kawakami's much more intentional plays...

play of the game 🧹 (<- there's no maid emoji idk its housekeeping)

of course, my future plans will immediately jostle this entire dynamic into something else and make this whole post obsolete, but i don't wanna lay that out ahead of time. smiles.

anyway, otome dissection on the playlist or whatever

[toluene-sister]

Hi :),

how would you describe the Joker and Bruce in your stories? I know they are both based on Ledger's and Bale's portrayal but you added some new quirks. Also how did you come up with these? Do you have tips for new writers?

Hey there! This is gonna be a long one, because I have no idea how to answer this in a succinct manner, so please bear with me here ><

Let's start with Joker--the way I see him, he is extremely organized and likes to be ready for just about anything, to the point of being ridiculous about it. He's always trying to think several steps ahead, even in the most mundane situations. That's not something you develop overnight, it's a trait that could stem from having very little sense of security in your early life and feeling you can only ever depend on yourself. In the original script, he says to Bruce "Can't rely on anyone these days. Have to do everything yourself. I always have- and it's not always easy…" which didn't make it into the final version of the scene, but I think it's such a telling line!

There's also another line that didn't make it into the final cut that I like very much. When J calls Engel to say he wants Reese dead, he was originally written to be impersonating an old lady, only to reveal himself at the end of the call. This is the fragment of the original script:

ENGEL Who is this? OLD LADY Just a concerned citizen- (drops pitch to the JOKER'S VOICE) -and regular guy…

It's another little tidbit that shows he was probably just some guy who was severely let down by the system, hence why he's targeting all of the organized structures of the city, not differentiating between the mob or the law--it's all establishment in his mind. It might also be the reason why he likes to hide in plain sight, considering himself just a regular citizen.

I think he's also extremely empathetic, which allows him to read people and play them like a fiddle (as being empathetic does not equal being sympathetic lmao). Like, I headcanon him to have some sort of Anna Breytenbach level of superhuman empathy that allowed him to get fucking attack dogs to follow his command within hours of stealing them from the Chechen lol--this is normally something that requires a lot of training and trust-building, definitely not something you achieve in a few hours (if you don't know who Breytenbach is, I highly recommend googling her, very interesting stuff). I also HC him to be very sensitive, to the point of being easily and painfully overstimulated. I really, truly believe the entirety of all the shit he pulled in TDK was just a big stimming session for him XD

Now let's do Bruce. He's the kind of guy who dropped everything and fucked off to some third-world country as a stowaway to train and gain some insights, and he kept at it for seven years. That's a really, really long time. And the level to which he committed to it all, surviving in a foreign country with zero resources, becoming a gang leader, going to prison, then training with the League of Shadows--all of it demanded tremendous mental fortitude. It's one of the reasons why I like the Nolanverse Bruce so much--he's not emotionally constipated, I mean he is dark and obviously very haunted, but he's not blocking anything, he knows himself extremely well, I mean he has to in order to pull off everything he does in the movies. He knows exactly who he is and what he's capable of, which means, psychologically speaking, he must have spent a lot of time integrating his shadow with great success (which is mainly what I believe his training with the LoS and facing his fears was all about). That's why when he's experiencing severe trauma and loss (Rachel's death), he is able to sort of skip all the stages of grief, go straight to acceptance and keep going, in spite of all the pain and doubt.

With that in mind, I would put self-knowledge as Bruce's main character trait. It's how he came to terms with his feelings for Joker and accepted them, even though it wasn't an easy process for obvious reasons. It caused him severe mental anguish and gave him insomnia, but he didn't flinch away from those feelings at any point.

I also think he's got insane survivor's guilt, which is the aftermath of his parents' death and drives him to sacrifice himself and carry the weight of the world's sins on his shoulders (taking the fall for Dent is one example). It's part of the reason why he can't seem to put any blame on Joker for the crimes he's committed, instead he just blames himself for not stopping him.

And lastly, there's the traumatized child at the very core of his being, and I believe there is absolutely nothing he could ever do to truly heal that part of his psyche, he can only try and comfort it. That's why he enjoys acting submissive towards Joker--deep down, he just wants to be taken care of.

As far as writing tips go, I'm not sure if I'm the right person to ask, as I don't really consider myself much of a writer--LISMBWYD and Dissolve & Absolve are the only things I have ever written in my entire life. I suppose the main piece of advice I can give is to simply try to know what you're writing about, and I don't mean doing research--just keep asking yourself, what is this scene really about, what am I trying to convey here, does this serve any purpose, what would a living, breathing person with this set of characteristics actually feel or do in this situation? I think if you stop and think about what you really, really want to write and then spend some time visualizing how the scene would go down in the real world, then the writing itself will come fairly easily. And most importantly, have fun with it! Your writing will be all the better for it if you simply enjoy the process <3

Again, apologies for the length of this but I could write entire essays about these two lol, so it goes without saying that if you'd like me to elaborate on any of the above, please feel free to message me~!

[murfpersonalblog]

IWTV S2 Ep8 Musings - The Ep8 Script (Pt2)

Thanks to slitwrstsavior sharing the script and @memorian for digitizing it! <3

Had to do Pt1 in chunks, cuz of Tumblr's 30-pic limit.

DANGIT. So this was INTENTIONALLY vague, not just some weird choppiness or cut footage.

Ohhhh.... They added just a tiny extra line--

But it's a SPICY line, cuz it implies that Les wasn't fully cooperating/on board with the rehearsal. BUT! Like I said, there's no effing mention/emphasis/indication that he was INJURED, either, which is an L.

They changed it--Louis looks UP, into the middle distance.

I'm fine with it either way--this scene had me and my bff SCREECHING.

Pet peeve, but the crew really should've been spritzing these vampires with a spray bottle of red blood, so we'd SEE the BLOOD SWEAT. (I was thinking about this when that post was circulating about vampire sex in IWTV fanfiction, like, AMC didn't show visual vampiric cues like Blood Sweat or blood (ejaculate) stains on the coffin lining--Les' was WHITE, and we KNOW Loustat was going at it in the coffins, so were they just reupholstering CONSTANTLY?) The books mention Blood Sweat all the time, all over their clothes, but the show just focused on Blood Tears (and ofc Les' ear hemorrhages).

OOOOOOOO.....!!! 👀 That highlighted bit was cut out! "You have grown warm again, filled with the love which you first came to Paris with." WUUUUT!?! So Armand's mind-wipe gaslighting BS against Louis was in the exact same vein as Claudia "finding her childlike wonder again"--which was IMPOSSIBLE, since ARMAND was the one that beat it out of her, Mr. 500 Performances, Mr. Sleep In Your Costume; Mr. They Gave Me A Choice; Mr. I Will Not Harm You.

I seriously suspect that every time Louis had an "outburst" like he said in 1x2, or "acted out," Armand would be like "Go back to your first night in Paris--forget all the bad stuff, just be warm & happy [with me];" but then Lou would FIGHT it (or rather: Daniel's constant prodding would PUSH Louis to fight it), and Armand would have to do it all over again. (My question's why didn't he just kill Daniel? Arrogance, I reckon--he severely underestimated just how good Daniel was; and "You can get lazy," like Lou said, cuz Armand didn't even bother to read Dan's thoughts to learn that the Talamasca was feeding Daniel all this extra information).

They cut that line, too--was Louis parroting him (fighting hypnosis), asking him (for clarification), or challenging him (indignant)?

That might also explain the new couches, LOL, if he wrecked them from the impact or bled on them or something.

(We already know Jacob improvised shaking Eric's hand.)

MLS = LePere Schloop?

Too bad we didn't get this--I wanted to see the main door/lobby of the penthouse (certainly not for my The Sims Dubai penthouse layout, no sir~!) .

They added extra lines about the hurricane being pre-July.

Uhhh.... This might imply certain things. Cuz I've been saying that the post-Paris timeline makes no effing sense (X X), and now we have confirmation(?) that Louis' had an Amex membership since 1951.... Even though Amex credit cards were only started in 1958, as a competitor for the Diner's Card that started in 1950 -- so was Louis an INVESTOR who helped launch the Amex credit card!? XD STFU, AMC! I thought y'all said No Forrest Gumpness!? XD

Also: HOW does Louis qualify for all these credit cards? (We saw he had a regular Amex Green Card in 1973 SanFran). According to Amex application qualifications, you need a US SSN or ITIN; OR a foreign credit card to apply.

And France isn't listed. (Unless anyone's French and has an Amex card who can correct me?)

SSNs have been issued since FDR (1936), so Louis SHOULD have one...but it would be from 1936-40 (pre-Mardi Gras), or after Paris () . Meaning on paper he'd be in his 80s in 2022, so I don't imagine he'd be a Black Card carrier for too much longer, unless he's got someone on the inside cooking the books for him.

Omfg AMC I hate y'all. got me out here overthinking effing PROPS.

They added a few lines about the green "pearly gates" of 1132:

And took out a few lines:

And took out an interesting bit of tea:

So the people of ~1940s NOLA thought Claudia was Louis' daughter (Claudia DPDL confirmed???) but the grapevine ALSO rumored that she was his child bride--OOF! 💀 (Which tracks with the AR pedo/incest stuff. Thank goodness they DON'T remember his name!)

Rolin keeps mentioning this smashed piano, but I HAVE LOOKED, but I also have crap eyesight (curse you, midnight gaming sessions), and I just don't frikkin see any smashed piano. HELP.

DEFINITELY not the Mayfair mansion though! XD DANG, I wish they'd included a few frames of gangs tryna rob the Garden District homes, coming up on the Mayfair house, and IMMEDIATELY booking past it like they'd seen a ghost. CROSSOVER, AMC, COME ONNNN.

Drats, I wanted to see Millennial Fledgling try to square up against Lou, and get one of Lou's patented condescending smirks. XD

And Les looked dirty, but he didn't look malnourished, sadly; which I'm still mad about.

In the FLOORBOARDS? OK, come through, BRUCE--I been saying this about Lestat, yet people wanna call me names!

New rule, AMC: NEVER remove Loustat lines. We need ALL the angst. Les out here like: ain't no way a baddie like Lou is SINGLE! XD

S3 BETTER show us Les watching the most vapid ish on Youtube, omg.

LOL

Drats--it might have been cool to see him with those huge pupils he gets when he's mad/hungry, but ah well; he still looked like a gorgeous BAMF.

EXCELLENT SCRIPT, EXCELLENT SHOW, GAAAAAAAH!!! ❤️

[smimon]

Ok but like. The bra and the hat happened during the song, this wasn't scripted. And then Häärijä appears, notices what Käärijä is wearing, and has to keep a straight face until the song ends xD