#it can of course develop to something else heck yeah!

[darabeatha]

  /  What if this was strictly (from my end) a very simple dialogue starter call- (pls do specify if not im skipping 😳👉👈 )

muse list for ref! : Constantine XI (rider) ; Ashwatthama (archer) ; Vlad III (slighty canon div) ; Jason (saber) ; Camazotz (temp. assassin) ; Odysseus (rider) ; Daybit (crypter) ; Tezcatlipoca (grand assassin) ; Charlemagne (saber) Moctezuma II (Avenger) ; Caeneus (lancer) ; Oberon ( - ) ; Medb (rider) ; morgan le fay (berserker) ; kukulkán ( - ) ; tlaloc (pretender)

[astercontrol]

Ever think about how amazing it is that we got a character like the Bit in TRON 1982?

I mean, yeah, having some cute little robot or animal side characters was, and still is, very typical of movies in that genre.

But, look at the Bit.

It's based on a computer science concept, of course: the simplest unit of data in a computer, a single 1 or 0 indicating yes or no. And it's anthropomorphized just enough to get actual computer nerds confused about what exactly it is supposed to be. Clearly you'd need lots more than one bit, to create a programmed entity that behaved the way a Bit does!

Is it the mystical energy of Programmer Spirits that animates it beyond what should be possible-- as it does for the Programs themselves, who also aren't nearly complex enough to be alive on their own? Or is a Bit something else, like an external subroutine of a program, which is called a Bit simply because of the way it communicates?

Who knows? Who cares? It's a Bit! It's adorable!

And yet… this same level of anthropomorphizing is very unusual for Disney, and for the whole genre, in a whole different way.

Though it's much more animate than one could reasonably imagine for an actual bit… the Bit is much less anthropomorphic than any creature playing any comparable role in any comparable movie I can think of.

It has no eyes, no mouth, no words except a synthesized Yes and No. It expresses itself only by shifting appearance between three faceless geometric shapes.

And yes, we love it! Yes, we adore the heck out of that sassy little thing! Yes, we will absolutely look at this object that resembles no person or animal in existence, and we will find enough cuteness to scream over!

We are the weird nerdy audience that you sucked in with the promise of a movie about computer programs being alive, and YES we are invested enough to take this ALL the way!

But I haven't seen any other movie do this, ever since.

And even the original Tron movie wasn't GOING to do it, at first.

Now, every other time I've looked at the early development of ideas in a movie, I've seen a pattern of "Less Relatable being reworked into More Relatable." Any creature design that looks "too weird," "too unfamiliar," "too alien," will evolve over the course of edits, until it satisfies the developers' expectations for being something audiences can relate to.

In other words… looking at the early concept art and the final product, I am certain any other movie I can think of would've adapted the Bit in the exact opposite direction.

Same with the MCP.

Whether it's a villain or an adorable little sidekick, the fans who became captivated by the classic Tron movie are an audience eager and ready to see life and personality in something utterly alien, something that resembles no actual life in the world we know.

And yet, I'm sure this wasn't even the goal of any of the character designers.

When you look at the early design of the Programs, you see them follow a more typical pattern, starting out more robotic, less humanoid, less "Relatable," and progressing toward recognizable humanity.

That movie, I'm pretty sure, was an exception to the rule not because of any philosophy about what would resonate with audiences... but simply because of the constraints of the medium.

The Bit and the MCP became more simple, more geometric, because that was easier to computer-animate.

Programs became more humanoid because that was easier for human actors to play.

A big, huge chunk of what made this movie relatable in a gloriously weird way, to gloriously weird audiences who may have had serious trouble relating to lots of other media, is just a serendipitous side-effect of the wild experiment that it was.

...I wish movies would take risks like that more often.

Really.

[evelhak]

Confession time.

I don't care if you have "talent" or dance "correctly" (as long as it's safe). Of course I notice people who I think dance particularly well, but I have zero judgement or negative feelings about the way someone dances. That's morally neutral, and everyone is allowed to exist just the way they are, and take space, regardless of what their dancing goals are, and this is not a mindset I ever had to particularly work on, because what makes a person interesting to me is always that they are "them", whatever that means at the moment, not something they aren't. Standardised measuring sticks never interested me much, I care about individual journeys. So no matter what you do, you are good enough in my eyes.

As long as you're a nice person.

Yeah. The moment someone talks to me or anyone else as if they're above others, focusing on other people's mistakes, never returning compliments or encouragement they get, especially if they're acting like they know what they're doing while actually they don't have a clue, it's like my evil twin comes to visit. 💀 Suddenly the fact that their technique objectively sucks, annoys the heck out of me. Or how they confidently dance wrong, completely clueless that they aren't the most talented person in the room. How they have no sense of symmetry, or rhythm, how their proprioception sucks even worse than mine, how they jumped right into artistic variation without learning the basics that would allow them to do it without compromising the principles of the art form, how they seem to have no clue that they're taking a class miles above their skill level, undermining the years it takes to develop a solid foundation for a sport as complex as this.

*sigh*

I don't act on these feelings, and never will, because I could never take the fun away from someone, even an asshole, but oh man do I feel these things. I'm not proud of it, and I'm low-key pissed at myself for feeling this way. But I can't pretend I also don't get some satisfaction from thinking, yeah, I don't pretend to be a talent myself, or to know everything, but I've done this nearly two decades and can confidently say almost everything you're doing is wrong. And a very small immature part of me is annoyed that I'm not at liberty to be enough of an asshole to let them know that. 😂

Lol. Confession over, I guess.

[itzpris15634]

The Zinnie not Zinnie thiiiing

So the way this scenario would go, let's say that Zoe currently does not have a crush on anyone, and she's kinda not happy with it >:(. She likes having a crush because then she gets to date that person most likely and you know, she craves romance.

So after a while, she decides on what to do. So she goes to Vinnie (who she knows also does not currently have a crush on anybody) and just casually asks "Would you like to pretend date with me?". And Vinnie's just befuddled cause since when does Zoe pretend date? Why? And why with him most of all? He's pretty sure he's the furthest person from her desired romantic partner. So he asks because at this point he doesn't understand if she's serious or if Pepper has finally rubbed off on Zoe and she's playing a prank, a pretty cruel one if he does say so himself.

So Zoe explains. Basically, she's bored but she does not have a crush on anybody at the moment but she does want the thrill of dating somebody. However, she wants it to be non-committal cause she's sure she will sooner or later develop a crush and want to date that other person. He's right, he's not exactly her ideal type (she says it more, you know, delicately) but because of it he's perfect for being casual plus the whole not dating anyone at the moment, and they do already know each other so she can skip all the introduction stuff etc etc.

Still a bit confused but Vinnie agrees. Zoe's clearly willing and he has nothing against it, so why the heck not? And so they pretend date. If someone asks, no, they're not a couple, no, they don't have a boyfriend/girlfriend, Zoe is still very much actively trying to find someone to fall in love with.

But they do coupley stuff. I imagine Zoe would take charge of that cause well, Vinnie's still not 100% sure she's serious and of course, she's more experienced. So she takes him on dates for example, going all out of course cause she's Zoe. Expensive restaurants, movie premieres, maybe balls, parties? Lots of stuff! However, since she knows it's non-commital, she in a way soon starts getting more comfortable with him. She doesn't need to try so hard, she does not need to impress him. So while they are close, they're much more casual than she ever was about dating. They basically just hang out but there is also lots of affection involved. Again, Zoe took charge of it cause she wanted it. She started giving him kisses, hug him, as more time passes many other things. She never thought she'd be the one to have her partner on her lap, not the other way around, and yet with Vinnie is just so natural because she doesn't try to be all seductive. She can just hold him and kiss him without thinking too much about it when she craves to shower someone with kisses and all that.

As for Vinnie? Well, once he really gets in this mindset that they're really doing it he gets really comfortable with her too. He wants those kisses, those hugs, all this affection and compliments, why wouldn't he? And he gives her those too, especially when it comes to verbal affection cause he's like that. He's more shy with touch but soon he does start like laying his head on her lap she she leans down to kiss him or not so casually exposes his neck for her to play with.

And yes, I imagine they do the kissing on the lips. They're both okay with it and they do like it, so why not?

My point is, they're having fun with it, Vinnie gets his fix of affection and Zoe gets her dating thrill. Yeah, "dating" him is different than anyone else she ever has, but it's nice actually.

It can end in many different ways. The more lighthearted ones like Zoe finally wanting to really date someone else and they end it but in result become better friends, or they could both realize that "You know what? I like that actually, so why not just continue? Take the pretend out of pretend dating and become official." Or maybe the angst way, Vinnie does actually end up falling for Zoe which is something he never expected. But Zoe is too good for him he fears. So either he says nothing and just lets her go when time comes or he does say something and she has to tell him that she meant it when she said pretend dating.

Or the fun route. Vinnie has been aromantic this entire time and has been doing it all to be close to one of his friends in a way that is usually unattainable to him cause no one wants to act like that without the title of "romantic partners" being attached to it which is not something he desires.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Idk just Zoe and her short not-boyfriend who she can not-love all she wants

After I texted you that first message, it was taking a while to get a response, so I thought “Oh… maybe they didn’t want to send it anymore? Mkay.” But then I see the length of this and go “Oh. That’s why.”

*Buttercream voice* AAAAAAAaaanywho-!

That’s such a cute scenario! I can totally see where you’re going with this. And I like the ways it can end, too.

It benefits both if them, clearly. I like the idea that Zoe tries act like a “proper” girlfriend (stemming from her consumption of romantic media, I imagine) even if she wouldn’t really like what that entails. So the fact that she has this outlet to just be herself without worrying about “ruining” or “losing” the relationship is awesome. And y’know, Vinnie just basking in the attention. Like, he enjoys Zoe as a friend, but the fact that he gets kisses and cuddles as a bonus? Sweet.

I dunno about you, but I kinda see this (and Zinnie in general) as a QPR thing. Kinda why the aromantic Vinnie ending is my fav one. They’re not really boyfriend-girlfriend, but are still super close to the point that they’re kinda mistaken as one. So, kinda, not really. They’re not, that’s just how they are. And good for them!

I’m so sorry that this reply is so short, especially in comparison to what you just wrote 😭 But idk… I don’t have that many extra things to add for them. It’s a cute not-ship, but to me they’re just those two people in the friend group who knowof each other’s existence, but barely interact.

[alpaca-clouds]

Fantasy and Racism

For those who have not heard about it yet: There is a very racist and queerphobic game mod for Baldur's Gate 3. A mod that basically removes all queerness from the game as well as modding all non-white characters white. All obviously under the excuse of "but that is realistic because medieval fantasy world". Which is bullshit. I talked about it before. But it is bullshit and we all know it.

It is one of the reasons I so rarely engage with a lot of high fantasy media. Because so much of it - especially of course the big franchises - kinda succumbs to this idea of a very white, very straight, very cis medieval period, in which disabled kids probably are also like killed by the time of their birth or get "fixed" with magic.

Of course there is diverse high fantasy out there. But definitely the "norm" for the genre is something else. Now, of course there are works that still work in themes about this (The Witcher most of all), but yeah... A lot of high fantasy media LOVES TO HIDE behind the "oh, but that would be wrong historically!" excuse.

And as someone who is a history nerd, I never stop to get super angry about this. The middle ages were actually fucking queer and there were a lot of people who lived openly queer. We know about medieval trans folks, too - and given the fact that we know about less than 1% who lived during those 1000 years - there were a ton more.

We also know that there were people from Africa, the Arab world and Asia living in medieval Europe. Some of them have come there with the Romans, others have come there for research and trade. (The first European person in Japan, was a Roman, by the way.)

Meanwhile most of fantasy is very unrealistic when it comes to things like how society works or how HISTORY ITSELF works. Like, so much of medieval Europe was directly influenced by how Roman society, Christianity and the indigenous cultures of Europe interacted. But guess what? Most fantasy worlds do not have something like Rome in their background, do not have an institution like the Catholic Church, and also do not have any indigenouity. Your average fantasy world was born with folks having medieval technology and over the next 2000 years are very unlikely to develop past medieval technology. Which is very, very unrealistic. But guess what the folks who whine about gays in their medieval fantasy do not complain about?

And that is of course without going into the most obvious stuff: There were no elves in medieval Europe. There were no dwarves, no halflings, no gnomes, no orcs, no goblins, no dragons, no magic, no... Do I need to go on? And there was also not a big group of people running around raiding some old graves and ruins (which were also trapped with all sorts of magic and what not). And indeed there were no gods that threatened to END THE FUCKING WORLD at least once per decade.

Heck, speaking about Baldur's Gate 3 itself, I am more frustrated that there are not more non-white persons around. Like, the only east Asian character I have interacted with was Cazador as far as I remember, and that... is not really great representation, you know? Like, I would have liked to have another non-white companion at least.

Especially as... Well, Faerûn/Toril is not the real world. So, for fuck's sake. The folks within that world can crossover as much as the IP holders want them to.

I mean, fuck. You know what exists within Faerûn? CHOCOLATE! Something that not only was not available in medieval Europe because the beans grew in the Americas, but something that in the form we associate with it was not invented until the 19th century!

Just, yeah. Fuck people who complain about "historical accuracy", because something is diverse and includes rep. Just fuck them.

[terrence-silver]

How would Terry deal with a teething baby

---

Pays attention to the whole process.

Like, (perhaps?) an uncomfortable amount.

More than whoever the secondary parent is.

Or, more precisely more than anyone in the history of anything ever did.

Tooth grew by a millimeter? The tiny tip of a baby tooth is peeking through the gentle pink gums? Is it malformed? Is it immaculately perfect? Is it straight? Crooked? Can the shape of it be controlled? An insignificant changed occurred that nobody in their right mind would notice but him? Is it all to Mr. Silver's satisfaction? What does the team of (long suffering) doctors and private specialists he has on stand by say? Not enough to please Terry? He'll check personally! Literally plays dentist and smiles gleefully as he tracks his child's progress multiple times a day and he'll drop everything to do just that --- go as far as rush back from the office, the dojo, from Dynatox, meetings, Galas, wherever he's at, during whatever era, purely because it's time and it's scheduled and his kid's teeth need to be checked. By him. Of course. Who else? If it's the 80's, he'll have Margaret give him (unnecessarily descriptive and) full reports on the matter (while that important business conference from overseas is on hold) and he'll call in purely so she'd tell him in obnoxious detail how Silver Jr. is teething right before he attends to the matter personally because this interests him like few things do, sauntering back home like he's rushing to the most meaningful event of his life --- and to him, it is. Cancel everything!

Present day?

Heck, he'll have his kid on camera and he'll have the development shown to him and recorded for his personal interest if need be, immortalized forever. It's been found very likely that Mr. Silver will order himself chauffeured halfway across the city, country and even the planet at a drop of a hat purely because, well, yes, this matters to him and whatever matters to him takes precedence. Fuck if it's wasteful! Whoever cared about being wasteful! Again! This is important to him and he cannot be talked out of anything he sets his mind to. God knows why. His kid could be there bawling because toothing validly hurts and Terry Silver will be there, smiling and proud, like he's cheering on the whole phase, fidgeting around the mouth and watching what he sees there, never even blinking as he examines the newly growing teeth and sitting out the whole process for hours, because yes, yes, growing pains are still growing pains. That's how a runt becomes a man. How a tiny garden snake becomes a King Cobra with fangs worthy of a King Cobra. He's witnessing his kid develop and he's there to influence it. Control it. Revel in it. Observe it. His curiosity is endearingly bizarre. He's much like a child himself watching something that was never seen before by anyone else. The hatching of some rare egg, constantly checking if the shell cracked already.

Is his interest partially sadistic? Perhaps. Yes.

Is it genuine devotion in the development of his kid?

Fanatical devotion that goes way beyond any commonplace boundary?

Also yes.

Is he likely to keep his kid's milky, primary teeth once they, eventually, as nature demands, fall out, collecting them almost as a trophy? Also very likely. But, understand --- he shows his love this way and it would, hilariously enough almost be more commonplace if he was an uncaring, uninvolved, aloof father (because there's almost this expectation for fathers to be just that), but he's quite the opposite. He's energized. Smothering. Manic. Dedicated to a fault. And he's so overinvolved he'll know and understand precisely how each of his child's teeth developed like he knows the palm of his hand. Like he knows the pressure points of a body during a fight. He can passionately list it all off from memory in a stride with no effort. Yeah, Junior's third molar grew about an inch this week, Margaret and the central incisor is a bit crooked, but we'll work on that! It'll be perfect when I'm done with it! So perfect! Now, that the important is out of the way, transfer me to that call from Borneo! I wanna know how the delivery to Java is doing!

Slaps his hands together as he excitedly saunters to his study, followed by his ever so patient staff because he wants to get this over with so he can get back to what he really wants to get back to --- and that is, meticulously focusing and micromanaging the baby's teeth growing.

[destinygoldenstar]

In defense of Noah.

So I got noted quite a bit in my Owen post (which blew up A LOT more than I initiated. Wow.) that I did not mention that Noah was... not the nicest person in the world to Owen in RR, and yet I claimed they were friends. 

I wanted to say my thoughts on that.

Will this be bias because I love Noah? Yeah. Probably.

I’m not gonna act like Noah was traditionally nice to Owen. Not ever, actually. He did laugh at Owen’s milk snot in World Tour, and a couple times I’m too lazy to recall right now, but not much else that can be deemed as ‘friendly.’

Really, has Noah EVER been traditionally a friendly person? To ANYONE?

He deals with his interactions with a smirk and a rude demeanor. With the exception of Emma, who I will get to later, he talks in the sarcastic tone we love about him. 

I understand where that criticism comes from. Despite becoming good friends with Owen and staying with him on multiple reality shows, he doesn’t really show that much kindness towards him. Heck, he doesn’t really show that to anyone and constantly forces people to do the hard work for him. Dodgebrawl? The Tyler stretching incident? That’s not OOC. 

But... I honestly liked it. And here’s why.

It was just really wholesome to see this stone faced lazy guy get slapped in the face with sincerity and make a much healthier life for himself. Better than working for Chris anyway.

Noah’s someone very introverted and, lets face it, spoiled. The game might actually be the first time he was rejected ever. After Island, he became Chris’s little assistant, and that says all, and in World Tour, he actually does try to dodge hard challenges first (remember the pinball challenge?) And who forces him into a position to always be on guard? Owen. Mostly because Owen is probably gonna (accidentally) kill Noah. And Alejandro, who is sus.

I See London is the first episode where Noah legit takes charge in something. He’s not nice about it, I don’t expect him to be, but they had to win the challenge. It’s not the rules were gonna change on them at the last minute- oh wait.

(I mean, it’s Total Drama. Hosted by Chris McLean. So... I’m not as mad about that as you think I would be.)

But let me ask this: If Noah had no care for Owen whatsoever, WHY would he even stay with Owen for so many reality shows? 

I’ll wait.

Of course Noah isn’t gonna outright say he cares about him, or even be good at encouraging his partner. “You’re about as picky as a raccoon”, is essentially his poor way of encouraging that he can do it. Unlike Emma, who only saw Kitty as an asset to winning the money at first, Noah knows who Owen is, and tries to help them both. Could he be nicer about it? Yes. But that’s not the point. The point is ‘how would this be an in character way for them to deal the situation?’

“Hold on, but he developed all these feelings for Emma and constantly tried to impress her” -The reblog section

Here’s the big case.

That whole thing is only proof that Owen’s good nature DOES rub off on Noah. Better yet, being forced into situations where he has to actually TRY to make it and survive. 

And a crush? Yeah, that’ll let that all out at once. It’s basically, Noah recognizes that he legit WANTS something that’s hard to get. Of course he’s bad at dealing with emotion and struggling with something that seems so... sappy. This is a whole new experience for him. 

And as much as you may want to deny it, Noah is NOT just an emotionless sarcastic machine. If that were the case, he wouldn’t laugh at Owen’s milk shake at all, which that too, could’ve easily come across as unconventional for him. 

(I don’t want to talk about the ‘But there were hints that Noah was gay, and yet he becomes straight’ stuff. I don’t hate it, and that’s coming from someone graysexual. Total Drama is bad at representation. The fandom just wants to ignore the facts because they love the show and the characters anyway. If I wrote Total Drama, would I have made Noah gay? Coin toss. But what’s canon is canon, write a fanfic instead of whining to the writers. Over.)

For me at least, I just found it really wholesome to see this brainiac become way more understanding and better at relationships as the show went on. 

With Emma, it’s understanding her boundaries in order to properly be with her. 

With Owen, he does actually get better at showing his care for Owen as RR goes on. It’s Owen who helps him in the air guitar challenge, and from there, the bossiness towards the big guy becomes way less frequent. 

Total Drama doesn’t have it’s characters blatantly say, “I’m sorry I treated you badly” or “I’ll try to be better” or “I care about you and I want you around”. Some shows do that, in my writing I do that, but that’s never been this show’s style. So of course Noah isn’t gonna blatantly apologize or say “I need you.”

Would I have liked for Noah to have said this sort of stuff out loud? Yeah.

Would I have liked for Noah to have more screen time to flesh out what I’m talking about? YES.

But for what we have, I still love Noah as a character. He’s not the best written character in the show, but sometimes you don’t care.

Who knows? Maybe I’ll make a Noah centric fic that takes place in an alternate timeline of the show. where he DOES get the screen time to flesh out what I’m trying to say. No promises though. 

[real-total-drama-takes]

i saw the "I want to see trenterra" ask and that just intrigued me so here's my immediate thoughts on how that cld even work.

Obviously they'd know each other before TDWT because Drama Brothers.

Because Trent's so into what the fans want (to the point where he's chill after they tie him to a bus), I can see him still being genuinely friendly to her even after she does some over-the-top stuff like breaking into their tourbus.

And I don't think Sierra's really had that many fulfilling relationships, she grew up in a house where her mother obsessed over Chris Mcclean, and that's very obviously had a large effect on her. It's mentioned at least once that she didn't really make friends in her childhood. I feel like she followed her mother's actions and turned to the parasocial in its place, forming a deep disconnect that spiralled out of control.

So yeah, having those first few strings of genuine could be good for Sierra in helping her recognise how unhealthy her behaviour is, and what she can do to be better. And Trent's a fairly good person for that, he's sincere, patient (especially in responding to really.. idk how to say it.. intense stuff? i.e. bus again), but still able to put his foot down. He'd be more readily able to sympathise with Sierra because he screwed up in Action in ways that are along similar lines.

And Sierra would be very open to his issues too, I can't see her immediately jumping to harsh judgement when his OCD causes him to act in ways she can't immediately understand, and I can see her as very happy to listen, which I think is something Trent needs a lot.

So yea they gradually develop to allow themselves to be fully open to each other, in a way they haven't really done with anyone else and then eventually they start dating boom trenterra

...okay the dating would actually probably take a fair bit of build-up, I think beforehand these two would be quite eager to jump into relationships due to idealism, but with their relationship shaking them up so much I think they'd kinda be hesitant. I can see Trent worrying he'll make the same mistakes with Gwen. I can see Sierra worrying if Trent truly likes her, or whether she's fallen back into bad habits and is fictionalising his emotions.

It'd be a kinda bizzare romantic relationship (definitely not fitting previous Trent's idealizations of what a romantic relationship should look like), of course they'd play into some of those romantic concepts, I think they're both very into that thing, big gestures, sappy romances, but ultimately the relationship is stable due to that openness and communication, the hidden part of the iceberg.

It probably ends after a few years after they develop enough in their external lives to realise that they no longer need the romantic relationship, and can just go back to friends.

ok after writing this whole thing i went from curious trenterra neutraller to mild trenterra liker. Heck, now i'd want to see Trenterra too.

.

[doublegoblin]

Hi, happy STS~!

As I get closer to finishing my current WIP's first draft, I'm having trouble dealing with the large amount of exposition I need to do before the end. Have you ever run into this problem? How did you deal with it? What's the best way to handle exposition, in your opinion?

(from @tisiphonewolfe)

Well howdy howdy, sorry for the delay in getting back this one had me thinking for a bit.

Like probably everyone else writing a thing; I have of course ran into the issue of exposition. Especially with a world that runs on some differences to our own fundamental rules, new rules entirely, and like this whole structure there have had to be times when I just set down and go "okay this is going to need some kind of explanation."

This kind of issue is compounded by having the POV character being someone who has existed in this reality for a reeeeally long time. Like they have been around for so long, doing the same thing, talking to the same people, that they fall into that fun category of co-worker who knows exactly what needs to be done but they are unable to train anyone well because it's just became so second nature that they go "Look I know how this is done, but I don't think I can walk you through the process" or "Yeah there is a rule about that somewhere but I can't explain why we have it, just, ya know, follow it I guess." Also this said character is disenfranchised with the whole shabang and so they just kind of go through the motions. Like it's fun as a writer because I have to think, is this something they would dwell on or think about? And most of the time, the answer is a no, so the information is there but it isn't brought up in the text because it's a first person narration.

Luckily I sort of have a baked in solution to go. I have what could be considered an audience stand-in with Peter. Fresh faced, head empty, and willing to ask so many questions.

Which leads me to my advice for how to deal with exposition (even without an audience stand-in). Now this isn't a solution I came up but I can't remember where I saw the advice specifically! However, that advice is to bake in the exposition so it feel natural. Like readers are smart and will notice when the info is just kind of dumped on their laps without rhyme or reason other than "this is info you have to know!" First stop and ask yourself, is it really though? Could a reader come to this same understanding given the context clues you put through the story? What sort of ramifications would come from this info being left out? Is it even realistic for your characters to know or feel the need to share? Why does the reader need to know this?

Often we as writers want to make sure we put as much of our blorbos in the text as we can, from the biggest of wars to the tiniest of defect on a mass produced coin. Not everything needs to be fully explained though, hell, in our own lives things are rarely fully explained to us. So sometimes it is better to omit some things in lieu of the holes in logic that may appear scary and "bad" but can make a narrative feel even more alive. There have been entire chapters I have torn to shreds because the info dumping was real and I could feel it.

That brings me to this though, if this is information that is imperative to be known by the reader. Make it feel natural. Like this isn't just have a character who is lacking knowledge ask or something. It could come from a casual conversation where the two parties find a mismatch in historical events, both sides thinking their version is the true one. Or like someone brings up a random little fun fact that is related to the information tangentially. Or heck, if you need to do a massive lore dump, more developed places sometimes have museums or libraries or just somewhere where those interested could learn some history.

Now this is all easier said than done, and the solution can/will change depending on the story you are telling. And like, end of the day to, sometimes you just need to exposition all over the page and as long as it's done very sparingly a reader is likely to forgive it. But the best thing, try to weave it into the story as natural as you can, it not only adds depth to the story but also to the characters themselves.

[moviemunchies]

My dad seems to think that “character development” is code for “a really boring movie” and that the Equalizer films don’t have any of that nonsense.

Hm.

Robert McCall is back! This time he goes to Sicily for a mission, but gets wounded. On his escape he crashes by the coast side town of Altamonte in Naples, where he slowly recovers thanks to the help of the local doctor and friendly townspeople. But it turns out that the town is being harassed by a criminal empire, so Robert is back to equalizing the heck out of some douchebags. On the ride is Collins, a CIA employee who picked up when Robert called in the Sicilian operation, and she’s trying to figure out how all of this–the criminals menacing Altamonte and the drug operation in Sicily–connects together.

Considering that I’ve seen this advertised as the final installment in the series (which is disputed–the director has admitted that he isn’t against making sequels or prequels), I thought that this one would ultimately prove itself to be more complex and nuanced than the previous two movies. Not so! The movie is basically like the previous two in tone, but with less side character arcs, and this time it’s in Italy. 

The result is not bad at all, of course–you get exactly what you’ve paid for. You want to watch Denzel Washington be a nice guy who treats everyone respectfully until they prove themselves to be evil douchebags? And then watch him mow through those douchebags like it’s nothing? Yeah, Equalizer 3 has got you covered. 

That being said, I can’t help but think that because this movie is just more of what you’re expecting, it’s a little anticlimactic? It isn’t as if Robert struggles with most of his fights. And it’s not just that, it’s that the final fight with the big boss of this gang is over pretty quickly. I kept thinking that we’d get something else afterward, and we just… don’t. It’s over after that. It’s cool, I only thought it could definitely be cooler.

So no, it doesn’t feel final. It’s not a bad place to end the series; however, nothing about it screams that the series has to end here. Or even that it particularly wants to. 

It’s fun, but it’s also safe and it’s not going to challenge anyone’s ideas, or provide any meaningful outlooks on life. Which can be fine, but recognize that it’s sort of a power fantasy about being able to hyper assassinate villains without any real risk to one’s personal safety, because he’s just that much of a badass.

And so yeah, I had an enjoyable experience watching this movie. But even more than the last two Equalizer films, it feels like junk food. A morally righteous mega super warrior takes out the gangsters bothering the good townspeople without any hindrances because he’s just that awesome. It’s fine for entertainment, I guess. I don’t find it particularly memorable though, especially compared to the first two. The first one has Robert come out of his retirement to wreck vengeance on evildoers. The second has a ton of unnecessary subplots, that still develop Robert as a character, helping people in ways other than killing their oppressors, though in a heavy-handed way.

It’s fine, but it’s forgettable compared to the last two. The most memorable thing about this film is its setting. You’ll be happy enough with this movie if you liked the last two, I suppose.

[zaiban2989]

BNHA S2 Ep12 - Todo/Baku Pre fight? & Fight

Yeah I know I already made a post somewhere about TodoBaku Sports Festival Final Fight but I am back to it because this ep is just so fucking good.... for bkdk! lol

I'm actually gonna watch bit by bit and comment along because there are some gems in different scenes of this episode.

Let's begin!

First of, Katsuki is such a fucking PUNK for real lmao the way he fucking kicks the door of the waiting room open?! 🤣 That idiot is acting like a fucking gremlin without even knowing there's someone in the room, i.e. he seriously doesn't give a shit about manners at all in all aspects of his life lol (also that "Huh?" and dumbfounded face he has when he realises he's in the wrong room? Fucking priceless lol)

THEN, Todo gets out of his stupor when Kats asks him (more like blasts him) "Where the heck you're looking?" and Todo goes on a ramble about how Deku said the same thing, acted recklessly to blow away his personal issues and shit, and of course, he ends with "You guys were childhood friends, right? Was he like that too when you were young?" and what do we see? Katsuki's fucking twitching from being asked that and before he can even really 'think', his subconscious provides him with flashbacks of Deku saving him during the Sludge Villain accident and the damn river childhood memory (lmao I think the next time I'll binge watch bnha, I'll be counting how many fucking times Kats has been thinking of that particular scene man). THIS IS BIG PEOPLE. Kats has "that damn nerd"'s face in his mind so fucking much (lol) and by being shown those flashbacks, it's clear that we're supposed to understand something else than "I just fucking hate this guy so much". Hori and Bones are showing us those memories over and over again throughout the series, and yeah at this particular moment when Todo asks about Deku, Kats thinks of Deku saving and helping him and he clenches his fists, pissed by it because at this stage of the story, he's still not 'understanding' what "Save to Win" means (to put it plainly, he knows something seriously ticks him off when he thinks of Deku and how he never hesitates to come and help/save people even while being a useless quirkless nerd, but he's so stuck to being angry about it, he's refusing to take a minute and truly think of what other feelings are lying underneath that anger... I guess that's why I found his character development so beautiful 🧡)

(his upset face is just the best dkqmdqmd)

Anyway I digress lol

Back to the Todo/Baku scene, Kats blows up his fuse saying "Who the hell cares about that damn nerd" and then orders Todo to use his flames on him before storming out of the room and walking to the stage with anger written all over his face.

Like I know people would take what he's saying literally: "I'll win indisputably and be at the top!"... But honestly? After what just happened? the conversation between him and Todo and Kats having flashbacks of Deku, it's rather clear that all is thinking about is more along the lines of "I'll beat the Half & Half Bastard in the same type of fight he had against Deku and win and I'll be above Deku because of it!". Todoroki here is literally just a roundabout way for Katsuki to feel (finally) superior to Deku again (the nerd beat him twice already lol). That's also why he's so pissed at the way he won the tournament.

*taking a huge breath because of the next scene*

I'm not gonna talk too much about it cuz I already made a post for it (will link it later if I find it lol) but yeah. Just reached the actual battle on stage. First of, Sero's comment about Kats coming out of the ice like a mole is so fucking hilarious, can someone please draw a mole!Kacchan deojzfremfe

More seriously, time for some appreciation for Kat's fucking fighting skills man (pic below), I mean... the fucking mobility, reflexes and smartness he has when it comes to combat are so fucking amazing!! That precise explosion to propel himself to Todo's left and avoid the ice attack while still being in the air? Like damn, my boy, you're hot!

Aaand we get back to his inferiority complex in full bloom when Todo grabs him to block his attack but instead of using his flames, simply throws him away. (Endeavor should have shut his goddamn mouth I swear lol)

You know what comes next, right?... His full anger is back and of course, he's got to mention Deku again djsmekdldle "There's no point if I can't get higher up than Deku" ARE YOU SERIOUS LOL

This is literally screaming Katsuki's fucking obsession with Izuku, again lol the only thing I find missing here? The fact that based on Deku's face, he's probably heard this, yet we don't hear his thoughts at the moment nor later during the series (well up until Deku vs Kacchan part 2, a little). It's a real shame.

And we finish off with Deku shouting at Todo "Don't give up, do your best!" which triggers Todo to actually get his shit together for six seconds (lol) and what do we see? Kats running to the dude but with enough time to spare a quick glance at his nerd lmao I can't man, somebody kill me already please 🤣😭💚🧡

He's actually fucking happy! lol Why? pure conjecture but I think it's because he knows that Deku's words will have some sort of impact on Todo and lead him to push himself to have a proper fight too. (That or he's just happy to hear his baby shouting? lol ok ok I'm shutting up)

And yeah, first time launching his Howitzer Impact, he doesn't have the time to notice that Todo pulled his flames back and he's stunned when he realises that it didn't happen (before getting pissed and put to sleep by Midnight)

Honestly, I've been listening to Kats' voice when he's holding the passed-out Todo by the shirt and shouting things, and that dude really gets emotional and on the verge of crying when he's frustrated man it's something else. I mean that happen in s1 when he lost to Deku (Bakugo Katsuki's Starting Line ep) and he's actually crying in frustration. It's just the same here.

Look at his face, my god...

I'm sure if Midnight didn't actually put him to sleep, it would have happened. (There's so much emotion in his voice omg I wanna hug that baby)

Last pic I'm putting cuz fuck me that guy is beautiful lol 😭🧡

Anyways, like I said... lots of bkdk gems in that episode alone. Can't wait to get to the other episodes lol

Thanks if you've read the whole thing!

[balladwind]

↘ independent && private VENTI from GENSHIN IMPACT ↘ headcanon heavy ↘ multi - para, multi - ship, ship friendly ↘ mun is 21↑ runs on a GMT +8 timezone

GUIDELINES.

01. this is an independent, selective and private blog. i will only interact with mutuals and will be extremely selective with who i follow due to the chaotic nature of this fandom. i won't follow first since i made this blog to roleplay with friends only but if you catch me on a time where i am more free, i'll follow back.

Please softblock / hardblock if you do not wish to interact anymore. There’ll be no hard feelings, of course. You do what you have to do but please just soft / hardblock to make it clear. Thank you !

credit for icon border:venuscommissions  credit for theme base code: soldierholiic

THREADS

02. one-liners, multipara are all okay. i lean more towards the latter but i wouldn’t mind doing one-liners either for fun.

03. usually, i match length. but i can also write a lot. i write a hecking lot, especially when it comes to meme in askbox. i ramble a lot. but don’t feel stressed over matching lengths - just give me something to reply to.

04. if you wish to continue a thread from asks, feel free to create a new post and tag me in it.

05. i’m known as a bit of a muse bicycle so i can roleplay any side characters to spice things up on and complement the threads. 

06. i will drop threads if i don’t feel it anymore but i will try my best to let you know about it beforehand and maybe we can either discuss another plot or shake hands and walk away like mature adults if nothing else works. there’s no pressure to continue interacting with me if there isn’t chemistry between the mun either !

SHIPPING

07. multi-ship, and is generally alright with most ships. feel free to chat me up if you find that our muse has chemistry / has potential to develop good chemistry. naturally, i will not write romantic ships with muns or characters under the age of 18. i won't write xiaoven, cynonari or zhongchi. platonic is fine.

08. please note that i will require sufficient threads and ooc discussions to start a ship with anyone but that goes for everybody, yeah? 

NSFW

09. yes, i am over 20 but i most likely will not be writing sex stuff with just anyone off the bat. main reason being i am pretty bad with it and i wouldn’t want to accidentally give anyone’s character a derection or anything. i do like to write the foreplay though but anything that comes after is pretty hard to interest me unless it’s with a shipping partner. also, i make a lot of sex innuendos joke because unfortunately that’s my main comedy go to but it doesn’t mean that i want to write smut.

NO-NOs

10. please don’t come to my dms with passive aggressiveness and uppity in regards to how i write my character. i don’t care that much about sticking to canon to a tee. i love to bend the lore, twist the rules around and entertain to the best of my creative abilities. i only focus on making myself a very happy writer and hopefully someone a very happy writing partner.

11.  mun =/= muse, this goes without saying. but if my muses becomes a bit too much, just let me know nicely and i’ll try and dial them down. your comfort is important but don’t be a jerk about it.

12. i will block anyone who engage in senseless drama or discourse. i will also not follow anyone whose headcanons or takes i am uncomfortable with that sprung up due to sinophobia, have incited sinophobia or any misinterpreted romanticization of my culture at that sort in this fandom. we sure live in a wild time, huh.

13. i portray the chinese version of the game when it comes to characterization of the characters and lore.

14. no god-modding, obviously. and try not to have your muse know things that my muse wouldn’t tell anyone. 

15. I have massive social anxiety, coupled with a lot of other shit with my mental health so I will be selective with who I will continue to thread with. If something bothers me, I’ll let you know nicely and gently. If we still don’t click, I’ll have to drop threads or plotting ( though I will still be open with working things out ) but again, I’ll let you know nicely and gently. Please be open to that possibility!

i have discord and i’m all willing to share with mutuals. just hit me up!

[isabellehemlock]

Since you're taking a more retrospective approach, how about 🎢 and ✨

🎢 Which of your fics would you call your wildest ride?

Oh gosh, it depends on what kind of ride we're referring to lol. If you're thinking crack - let's say, Pwimo (catboiPrimo). If you're thinking "Holy heck what is happening??" multiple twists, I'd say Endless Ocean (which look, I did not mean to make it the longest non crossover fic in the fandom - but well fuck) - a modern AU with themes of grief and healing after trauma. If you're looking for the angst train ride of being dragged, I'd vote The Necklace - a precanon potential of what happens with immortal parents taking care of mortal children? Yeah, it got sad fast.

✨ Give you and your writing a compliment. Go on now. You know you deserve it. 😉

But butttt humilityyyyy . . . Ah um - okrrr, uh, for me? I think one of my favorite compliments I've ever received was "I love how open you are to people" like welcoming, and inclusive and "hey we don't have to have the same background, same beliefs, etc - I'm going to respect that inherent dignity in you." . . . I'm sure having been othered in the past has helped me develop the skill to hopefully not leave anyone else feeling like that. I mean, I try at least lol.

Besides, imo this whole thing is a journey, and getting to know people from across the world helps me expand my own limited world view, helps me to better practice my empathy, simply by acknowledging I don't know everything and isn't that exciting to realize? To know that there's always going to be something new to learn 💗 I think it would be pretty boring if we were all merely clones of one another. I believe it's in the differences where we can find the humanity to be humble, and practice compassion and mercy - and explore friendships with the things we do have in common. Whoops I went on a tangent lol. Okay on the next part!

As for my writing? Hm I do seem to focus on the dialogue so maybe that? But the comments that have resonated deep within and brought tears to my eyes have been the ones where someone has felt seen and heard as they process grief and loss ~ I'm glad a fic of mine ended up being a safe space for them to process some heavy feelings (with the caveat that of course fic can't be a stand in for therapy and a treatment plan, but I'm glad some fics have found the people they were meant for in some way).

Thanks Astra! And for anyone interested, please free to send me some emojis 😊

[purplebirdsees]

... oh? hi. i think you stumbled on the wrong account. wrong click, it happens to anyone. here's the door out. be careful, theres a chip on the floor that has cause a lot of broken ankles.

... you're still here? you want a look around? but the place is barren as heck, i barely do things in here. you don't mind? a'ight, but don't blame me, i warned you.

the name's little by the way. yeah, as in little... a joke. that's the first thing you think of? not even your name? jeez... well, it's nice to meet you too, 'funny child'.

if you really want something interesting, i guess you can go to this door, where i kinda just do things in. sub par things, mind, since i'm still kinda learning to master it. sub par things? musings, mostly. i like to write about... well... characters? but i try make them as real as i can, and that means adding a little bit of myself disguised as experiences or character development. u can comment about it, tell me if im doing a good or bad job. at this point, ill gladly accept any type of criticism, just for the sake of making my work better. also, oxytocin.

this door? oh that's not a door. that's a painting of a door. well, i guess it is a door, if you think about it. why do i have one? i mean, who doesn't? of course you need one, how else can i fool the people who don't have a painting of a door in their wall to walk in and think that this is a door? its also very effective against robbers... also, don't bother to read the etchings there, people just really like to write dumb crap on it. i would have had it erased, honest to god its a cesspool of stinky poopy opinions, but y'know, i need it for the robbers.

anyways, here's some cookies and some milk i conveniently have in my breastpocket. of course they're warm, they're from my breast pocket. don't forget to close the door on your way out. if you have any questions, you can knock on the door painting, or just write it on the piece of paper. where's the pen... ah. its... in the milk. you can just wash it--ahm, you just... licked it clean, yep. of course. hoookay.

anyways. bye, i guess? enjoy your stay. hope we can be friends. hm? oh, haha, nothing. dont worry bout it lol

[showtoonzfan]

(A lil rant about Stella, I just want to share some thoughts)

I don't get why HB fans said it's good because sometimes villains are just assholes, female or male but like, this would work if the protagonists are on the same level of complexity but there's clearly a different, heck look at characters like Griffith or Odalia, they're horrible but they're complex enough to pair with the protagonists and let us wonder what they're planning, but Stella?all she does is screaming and mocking, to the point we all know what she'll do next, she's just abusive and angry, literally that's all she is, I wouldn't have mind it she was a minor villain, how can I enjoy a show where our protagonists work through their trauma and emotion when the villain is just "I hate you>:(" Like fr, why do people justify lazy writting because it's "representation" when the representation drags everything down? Yeah, bad people exist and a lot of them are just assholes but realistic=/=satisfying, like when people complained about the s*xual assaults in a lot of movies, yes it's realistic but is it lazy and is just there to add shock values? Also yes in a lot of cases, that's how I feel about Stella currently, especially with the pattern of under developed female characters in HB, I really don't buy into the representation thing.

Agreed with all of this. Also, the problem with Stella is that when I call her character “lazy writing”, it’s not because I’m shocked that she’s a bad person, I just wish she was LAYERED. Not all villain characters have to be layered of course, but for a show where you have a bunch of demons who are flawed people and layered themselves, why make their villains one note? Not only does that make the character journey the protagonist has to go through be boring and shallow, but for a character like Stolas, a person who has done horrible things HIMSELF, it insults me how Viv writes her as this one note bitch and nothing else, because she’s clearly doing it to excuse the cheating, and make the audience feel bad for Stolas when our sympathy for this character should be EARNED, not because something bad is happening to them. It’s the same with Angel Dust and Valentino. You have a horrible character, but then you pair them with someone who is worse and one note, automatically making that said OTHER character look good. And people can get mad at me all they want, but the hypocrisy in this fandom is WILD. Y’all will say the meanest nastiest things about Stella and Valentino, because one is a bitch and the other is an abusive pimp, (as well as getting on people’s case who simp for them) but then characters like Alastor are applaud and simped over when he’s LITERALLY a serial killer, and Angel is a murderer. And yes, I get that we’re supposed to LIKE the protagonist and hate the antagonists, but the problem is that the fandom will argue over which character is worse, when it shouldn’t be a competition. They’re ALL bad, yet most of this fandom will have a cry fit if I say that. Stella is bad, but in her character’s case they could have made her layered, but of course no. We have to make her a bitch so the audience can feel bad for Stolas, a person who treated his partner like a sex slave and nothing else, as well as was more focused on getting his bird dick arise then mending to his daughter in Loo Loo Land. But yeah, Viv really needs to up her game in the writing department. I’m tired of her desperately trying to make her heavily flawed characters look good while the universe works in their favor for the sake of the plot, as well as her female characters being fan service bait, and not developed at all.

[eyrieofsynapses]

Redemption Panel Highlights and Reactions

GATORS

i.e., Beth Riesgraf and Christian Kane (mostly Beth) talking about filming the scenes in (what I presume is) The Rollin’ on the River Job, where they’re pulling some stuff out of the water, and finding out the next day that there was an absolutely massive alligator pulled out of the same place just a little while after they filmed it

Beth’s impression of the wildlife folks warning them about the alligators

Beth scaring the hell out of Noah Wyle by yelling “GATOR” at him just after he finished his scene

seriously that was an absolutely WILD part of the panel

Everyone showering Aleyse Shannon with literally all the love!

Aldis Hodge in particular big-brothering her, and also the older actors calling her out for not giving herself enough credit, and Dean Devlin talking about how she blew him away at the auditions with her ability to turn on a dime

Seeing Kane with his glasses off wiping at his eyes, momentarily thinking “you okay dude?” and then realizing that he was laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes

(same)

The The Bucket Job clip! I’ve been a bit meh on a lot of Redemption, just in how it didn’t feel quite right, but that is possibly the absolute closest I’ve seen it get to the original in the best way. Brilliant

Which comes as no surprise since BETH RIESGRAF directed the episode!!! And apparently put an insane amount of effort in!

Beth’s utter delight and joy at both directing the episode and having the crew behind her

THE CHAIR

So apparently she and Christian went to town on the fight scene and he winds up tied up in a chair somewhere along the line and there’s a whole wild scene, which I am really looking forward to

Beth knowing how insanely particular he’d be about things like zip ties vs rope and what kind of rope e.t.c. e.t.c.

Apparently this is also tied into a VERY DEEP scene with Eliot? It sounds like they’re going to go super hard on his backstory, which is terrifyingly exciting

Just. Beth and Christian going very hard on that episode together

Speaking of: the panel’s going amazingly, I’m laughing so hard my stomach hurts, things are relatively light, and then, of fucking course—

Kane hitting us over the head about Eliot being a mass murderer who can’t be redeemed, is trying to stay static so that he can maintain the place he’s in, and is thus LIVING VICARIOUSLY THROUGH HARRY

What the FUCK. This is of course incredibly insightful and perfectly on point (because it’s Kane) but also, EXCUSE ME, OUCH, why would you DO THAT to us?

Everyone talking about having their families on set and their kids!

Beth’s son growing up on the original Leverage set and now going into being a director himself!

Gina’s daughter also growing up on set!

Noah Wyle’s daughter is playing Harry’s daughter I REPEAT NOAH WYLE’S ACTUAL DAUGHTER IS PLAYING AS HARRY’S DAUGHTER

Gina Bellman remaining relatively stoic throughout much of the panel (seriously, this woman, how the heck does she do it) and then losing it when they’re asked about running/inside jokes

A lot of them are, of course, apparently not appropriate to be spoken on-panel

(A lot of the others are the little inside ones that are special enough not to be ones they want to share, which is sweet!)

Everyone collectively losing it over having LeVar Burton on for The Bucket Job

Devlin and everyone laughing about collecting the various Star Trek people on Leverage

Beth talking about Burton coming over while she’s getting ready and asking her if she’s living on coffee and water, her laughing because he was absolutely right, and then him gently reminding her to remember to eat, which is the sweetest thing in the world oh my gods

Kane apparently choreographing an intense scene with Burton and being scared out of his mind, because Burton really wanted to go for it, but to Kane it was like he’s a figurine that’s not to be messed with because he was so worried about hurting him

Kane choreographing a massive amount of the show, which I knew already, but seriously, this guy blows me away

Gina and the crew talking about how he’d be away for a day of shooting a fight and all of them would be missing him and thinking about him

Family Vibes

Everyone talking about how they’re very noisy and loud together on set and it’s a bit like walking into a group of people having Christmas dinner (or something to that effect) because they’re just Like That together

Aleyse being the most surprised by Beth when she met her because she was like a little angel of light during the auditions but turned out to be an absolute ball of wild energy on set

Gina going “wait you were a MODEL” at Beth

Aldis talking about how much he loved how Parker and Hardison’s relationship had developed and grown!

Also, Aldis apologizing when the New York (iirc) background noise got loud and everyone going “no no we get you”

His outfit is ON POINT today

Gina saying that Christian is the goofiest and wildest out of them in terms of humor

(she goes “some of you may not know this,” which, fair, but also, if you’ve seen more than ten minutes of this guy outside of character you know he’s an absolute ball of sunshine)

Gina, Beth, and Christian talking about how they’d challenge each other to stay off sweets back on the original set, because they knew they needed to stay in shape and also just because they’re competitive (apparently all of them are major sweet tooths) and hide brownies and things from each other, while Aldis is just. doing pushups. eating all the healthy stuff. and then wanders into the room with a literal cupful of chocolates

(and Aldis going “well yeah I have to work off the sweets SOMEHOW”)

Beth explaining that sometimes they’d order a “Kane burrito” from Christian and he’d alter it slightly

Like, you know, chopping up hot jalapenos super fine and mixing them in, and Beth practically not being able to talk after the first bite

Apparently Aldis still went back a lot even after that

(Christian just seems very pleased with himself over it)

(THESE PEOPLE)

Gina goes “hey we should have an episode where we all swap roles,” Devlin going “WAIT FOR SEASON ONE TO BE DONE,” and then somebody (maybe the moderator?? I don’t remember exactly) going “uh actually. We did that”

Cue immediate scramble of “WAIT WHICH JOB WAS THAT”

(paraphrasing) “Yeah you remember the bit where you put on Parker’s harness and went off a building?”

Turns out half the cast had actually forgotten that that existed and only remember when reminded

The original cast all think of the episodes as “jobs”!!!!

Everyone talking over each other, Devlin going “it was with Sterling when we blew up the offices,” deciding that it was the season one finale, and then trying to figure out what episode title it was (eventually they figure out it’s the David jobs)

Moderator and Devlin accurately commenting that the fans know the show much better than they do

Noah Wyle very correctly explaining how Electric Entertainment is like a family and Devlin just. Keeps people

Aleyse and Aldis talking about typing when they’re hacking and going “WHAT THE HECK DO WE TYPE”

Aldis goes “yeah I just type all the bad words that we’re not allowed to say”

Aleyse saying that she’s always a little worried they’re hiding a Word document behind the blue screen and they’re going to pull up what she’s typing at the end of the day and print it out and put it in her trailer going “what the HECK is this”

Noah talking about filming The Golf Job and just getting to direct Jason Marsters and Christian together

Apparently their dynamic in that episode accurately mirrors the one with their characters in Angel!

Which promptly goes straight to the comment that it was very hard to make Marsters look like a golfer (pfft)

(Also apparently Christian plays golf for fun with his friends? Not necessarily something I would’ve thought of!)

Aleyse happily talking about how she loved the dynamic on set and it was very different from what she was used to

Also Aleyse talking about doing stunts and everyone else praising her for going whole hog

Beth especially praising her for the bit where she’s hit with the paralysis injection (I don’t remember which ep it’s from) and her acting for it, because it was incredibly hard to drop off screen in the particular way she did

Aleyse promptly answers that she was terrified with some of those, especially one where she had to keep a clock from falling and breaking

Everyone discussing how they see a new aspect of Breanna’s character in The Train Job

Also, to get serious for a moment, Kate Rorick in particular talks about how Breanna’s part of Gen Z and how we didn’t get the “days of yore” where everything was chill. We’ve basically been living in a world of hostility the whole time. It’s something I deeply appreciate, as someone who’s part of that group, and I love how they emphasize that for us.

This panel was pure chaos and I loved every moment of it! My stomach was actually hurting from laughing so hard, I swear. They had me cackling well over half the time. I would happily take panels double or triple the length of this, this was amazing. I also adore how the second you drop these six people in a room together, they immediately take off and literally just run and give you everything you wanted and more. (It is also evidently very hard to get them to STOP talking.)

I’m also just going to stop and take a second to fawn over the effects for the 3D room. It’s gorgeous—I love how they replicated the headquarters, especially with the stained glass ceilings! Super impressive, especially with all the photos, and I just love the whole thing. Kudos to whoever put that together.

Anyway, I’m definitely missing some stuff too; seriously, there wasn’t a second wasted in this thing, they were cracking some kind of joke or dropping some really interesting piece of information practically every thirty seconds. (And I haven’t even gotten into the clips OR the bloopers. I miiiight do a separate reaction purely for those.) It’s still up right now if you missed it and you want to watch it! I’ll probably watch it again, honestly.