#do take what i say with a grain of salt

[reallytiredartstudent]

Okay watched the movie a second time. Because I'm currently Very Normal about this movie. I have more things to say about Gwen.

Spoiler under cut.

Yeah, her story still tragic. But also so interesting! But also so much more ouch now that i knew what was coming. And also she's such a badass. She's such a spider, it's awesome. I love the way she moves?? It's so fluid. These animations are going to be my death.

(also is it like, a genetics things that all spideys need to make extremely dumb decisions??? Does that come with the mutation?? or is it like a pree-requiste?? Gwen my beloved emo-spider, you are an idiot)

(this is going to be long. Sorry. i do not know how to be concise and this is slowly turning into a full analyse of Gwen throughout the movie bc my brain says so.)

The start of the movie? Goddamit. I had forgotten how much the start had foreshadowed. She basically said from the start 'I hurt my friends and I can't stop it and I hate that'. Idk that she's so self aware about how much she fucked that up makes it worse for me? Because it's not even a 'I didn't know better'. It's a 'I know. I know it's fucked up. And I don't know how to do this and i don't know how to undo the damage'. (She literally said that last part in her confrontation with her dad)('i don't know how to fix this') (she also said that yeah, she knew about Miles and the wrong spider, but she didn't know how to say it. Which. Fair. How do you tell someone 'hey you're an anamoly that shouldn't exist and your Spiderman had to die because of that and another world is without a spider because of that'? Well you don't do it like Miguel did, that for sure lol)

(Literally my only beef with this movie is that it all makes so much sense. All of their actions fit. Even Peter B who i would have the most beef with for not saying anything - if he was with Miguel while the world fell apart then yeah - that will do something to you and your views on how 'canon' works) (gotta admit the whole Miguel and Peter dynamic is pure gold, i loved every second of it)

Omg img img her first solo fight we see???? So gooood!! The way she looks at the helicopter and searches for the rythm with her drums to find her timing? so fucking good. the whole 'huh calling normally works' 'yep it did'? That's such a spidey move. oh and when Miguel came to take over and the 'knock yourself out' bit? I was laughing even though i knew it was coming, she's such a lil shit i love it.

(Blue Panther? DARK GARFIELD? Gwen there was no need to massacre Miguel in the first five minutes, he was needed for the rest of the movie)

Also how the whole colourscheme changed when she had the mask on and was Spider women. It felt like she was breathing again, and without the mask she was just a lil emo teenager with a few identity issues and in the mask? So much more confident.

(Do i love in general just the whole bit of people hiding themselves behind their masks and being like that second persona and then struggling with the fact that they can talk to nobody about both parts of themself? yes i do. I love it escpacially if it's also visually so satisfying. This movie haunts me)

She and Miles are like. Parallels?

Both her and Miles are so lonely. The got a glimpse of what it could be not to be lonely and then they had to give it up. Miles has been so desperate he gave up ART do go find a way to travel dimensions. ART. My boy loves his art.

Gwen is the kid that doesn't have support from home, nobody to tell her 'go do your thing i love you regardless' and she's desperate for that approval and support (without wanting to aknowldege or show that of course). She's the one that accepts the narrative of 'canon' because that's her world. That's the condition for the support she currently gets. She and Miles have about the same amount of idea what they're doing at that point. She has Spideys around her. Miles has his family. Both currently ehh with a rocky relationship to them.

But when Miles confronts his mom, she sents him on his way with like a 'look after yourself and come back to me'. After Gwen goes against her spidey ppl, she gets blamed for the whole thing and then thrown out.

(not saying that Miles didn't have it rough or that Gwen was innocent in that. I'm just looking at the parallels they have because this movie has so freaking many, i can't.)

And they both care so much for each other.

LIke the moment she sees him she just gets super excited? And wants to tell him all the stuff she's learning? You rarely see her in the movies as carefree and as happy as with Miles. (hobie. Hobie is a different thing) My point being, she cares really, really deeply about miles (i do not care if romantic or nah, they mean a lot to each other) and so does Miles.

Which makes the whole betrayal thing so much worse.

(the heartbroken face from Miles when he figured it out? The heart broken face from her when she tries to go against her orders the first time and catches him and he cuts himself lose? Because it's too little too late? Ugh. My poor heart. My poor spider children.)

(Also can i say how cute it was that despite all that happened both her and Peter B always were so proud of Miles? Like Gwen saw him do what she so feared and disrupt a canon event and all she can say is 'what i always think - that you're awesome.'??? Ugh. Peter B trying to catch Miles and having to stop like every three seconds because he's so proud of Miles for coming so far? I'm yet undecided if that is hilarious or hurty ouch lol)

But also like there are two more layers to her whole desperation that i forgot about in my first ramble?

Her Peter died. Her best friend died. We don't know if someonelse died (i don't think so? I don't know what happened to Aunt May. Oh fuck now i'm thinking about what happened to Spider Gwens Aunt May. Nooooo) but even then. Her best friend died, she had a hand in it (no matter how little she could do about it) and now she's searched for murder. Of course she does everything she can to keep Miles safe. Away from all that could annihalte him. For the, yeah, selfish reason of not wanting to lose another friend. No matter the cost.

And the next thing she learns? In nearly every other universe she's dead. Everywhere else is it like a death sentence for Gwen Stacy to fall for Spider-man. Sure, must be weird to have endless Peters. How weird is it gonna be to know that you're destinied to die in every other universe? (I think that's also why she's so ready to accept that she's gonna lose her dad. Because one, she already lost him (in a way) and two, once you accepted that you were destinied to die yourself everywhere else i think you're morals are going to be funky lol) (oh damn now that i think about it does she blame herself for Peter?? because normally it's her that dies and here it was the other way around? That Peter's death is her fault? Oh no. (i know this isn't stated in the movie, that's just my brain) but oh no)

The sent her home scene was even worse than I had remembered. The whole chase long she tries to say 'hey my gut tells me this is wrong' and got told 'no. Use your head.'

(jess looking at you, I'm having words with you and Miguel about how you treated my baby spiders)

and despite that she tries? The mirrored scene of her catching Miles how Miles had caught her earlier? (let's not talk about the heart attacks i had the whole movie long every time she was falling sheesh) And yeah, it wasn't enough. She hurt Miles real bad. And then later on the train? (Miguel we got a problem with each other, I don't care about your trauma) that was the same thing she told herself over and over again (as seen later in the scene with her father, oh dammit that scene with her father) and Miles was so right when he said 'I'm telling my own story'. But both Peter B. And Gwen looked so proud of him? Anyways, not the point. What Miles said definitely had an impact.

So when he tries to go home? She does what she avoided the whole movie long. She spoke up. Against Miguel. Against Jess. Not the rules she had observed from others, not the rules that had been told to her. She looks at them, has found her own morals, her own rules, her own story (sensing a theme in the story here? Hehe) and tells them, no this is wrong and 'Aren't we supposed to be the good guys?'

Thats the point where Miguel blames all the fault on her. (Very mature from a guy that loved to point out how childish everyone else is and that Miles is just a little kid hmmm) and what happens? She gets sent home.

Remember? The place she's been visibly scared off. Where she literally says in the movie 'you can't sent me back'. They stranded her. (fuuuuck that scene where she just stood there and 'access denied' and then she threw that container in frustration? idk what her plan was, but she went back to get the picture of Miles and her, fully ready to either be arrested or to never come back. That scene with her faaaather, omg)

also my original point of how torn she is - yeah. Like when she visited Miles and went from yeah come on let's go, to when she was alone and saw that she fucked up? She panicked. Like, she and Miles had literally the exact same reaction as they watched the footage. And afterward? When she ended the call? My girl nearly cried. Like her whole arc was kinda built around the same thing Miles first arc was built around - not knowing what to do, who to be. Because that was the theme of the movie. The finding your own story.

The talk with her dad was so good. He was so tired and worried and she (understandbly) wary. The admission 'If only tried to be a spider-women that you would approve of and i failed even at that'. Her father, the source of her rules and morels looking at her and telling her 'I quit. Do what you need to do'. Oh and then the parallel with how she had looked at him the first time she stepped trough the portal and then the second time and the 'I'm coming back'. She fled her past and now she's ready to face her fight.

The first part was about how everybody deserved a mentor and nobody was truly alone.

The second part was about finding their own stories, their own choices. That's why Hobie was such an important character btw. (Promise, different post)

The first movie was the 'help them find their wings'.

The second part was 'let them fly'.

"Never found the right band. So I started my own. You want in?"

okay i can't stop about this movie. I need to talk about Gwen.

Spoilers under cut.

Okay. Gwen's story was so fucking heartbreaking. i can't get over it. There more i think about it the worse it gets.

(It's great. I love it. I love her. It's very much ouch in the feelings department.)

Like. She fucked up real bad, she did, but her story is so tragic and it makes so much sense for her to react like she did. Lost her best friend, watched him die in an attempt to be like her because of injuries she was parly at fault for (what a fucking nightmare of it's own) watched her own father try to catch spider-women for his murder, like that gotta fuck with you so bad. And then? Finally she made a friend again. And then this friend is across another fucking dimension. And more fucked up shit starts to happen. Her own father, that we get showed how much he means to her, how he was her light and pulled her out of her spiralling, he was ready to call her in. She told him who she was and he decided on calling her in. It broke him, that much was clear but she pleaded with him and he just. Called her in. Like. Her last resort, her last island proved to her that he couldn't be safe for her. (fuck the scene broke my heart)

And then more and more happens and she doesn't even can go home anymore because the worst thing that all Spiderpeople fear happened to her - her identity got leaked (or so she thinks). There's a reason why she was so ready to abandon her own world and flee. There was, in that moment, nothing left for her. She's a teenager, a wanted criminal.

(the whole sending her back was super hard to watch, back to a world that had not a single thread of safety for her anymore. Where she couldn't escape, neither in her hero nor her civilian persona. Nightmare)

She appearntly found a refuge with Hobie that took her under his wing (Hobie is the best, whole different thing) and then.

Then.

Then she's getting told she has to let her father die??? And has to let the one friend she really made, she really trusted, she had to let him suffer because otherwise the multiverse would explode? Wasn't allowed to tell him anything? She has to betray him? Like. Every new thing about her story just makes it more tragic. She doesn't have the room for failure anymore and yeah. I think what Miles did to save the Captain was right. But for how desperate Gwen was? That was her new reality. Canon events. She needed to let them happen. That was what she was told, what her safety and her new life depended on. Those were the rules, there was no way around it. What everyone around her, the Spiderpeople that were the only ones around her, believed.

(Again. Hobie. Different story. Have i mentioned that i love him?)

(Fuck the talk with her father? Where she directly said 'you thaught to do things by the book'? It made so much more sense for me why she was so ready to follow those new rules. Because that's what she thought was the way to make it right. And her father then telling her 'I quit'? Essentially telling her 'don't mind those rules'? ugh.)

She's trying so hard and it does something to me to watch her struggle so desperately with everything. She's torn between what she needs to do with no idea what right or wrong even is anymore, and it was so plain how desperate she was to prove herself. How confident she was infront of Miles, how different she was with the elder spiderfolks just a minute later, how much she hides herself behind the mask (hehe get it? Sorry). The way it cracked when she thought Miles had gotten himself killed? My girl abandoned all pretenses, you can hear the panic in her voice.

Like. Among all of the main spiderpeople we interact with? She's also just a kid. With no one in her corner (I'm not starting about Hobie, bc i won't stop lol, that's his own post), she can't even go home. The new people she has, their love is in a way very much conditional.

And yeah i think that if she'd really talked to her friends, talked to Miles about what was going on, much could've been better. But then - what in her life would've told her that to be a good idea? Every experience so far had taught her the exact opposite.

So her last scene there? Where she finally admitted that she did have people in her corner, that there were folks that would help her, when she realized what her arc the whole movie was about?

'I always wanted to join a band. I created my own.'

That was so satisfying.

[telesodalite]

Never getting over Fulcrum being a project manager...

Idk why, but something about that is so funny to me. Not just because the title of "project manager" is inherently kinda funny for a Decepticon, but also because-

1. It's vague sounding and hard to explain irl because it technically exists in multiple fields, like healthcare or manufacturing, which surely translates into canon in some way.

2. In canon, it's simultaneously a really mundane, innocuous sounding job, yet it's also a super morally awful position to reside over depending on the context. (*cough* forced colonization and cyberforming *cough*)

And 3. It solidifies the fact that behind all the surface level militaristic work we get with both the Decepticons and Autobots, there's also Cons and Bots with "normal" jobs in both factions.

Like, sure yeah we get scientists and doctors, engineers and programmers, but usually in big important or warfront positions. (For plot reasons, understandably.) But it's also really funny and interesting to think of those that worked background positions, or minor jobs.

Like an Autobot working in their equivalent of an HR department, or a Decepticon who runs one of their outpost's or starship's kitchens.

Just all the pre-war jobs that didn't just disappear with the war, but instead evolved to exist within the factions.

It's particularly funny with the Decepticons though, because it could be a super mundane job or situation, but because it's them, it has to have an air of ~e v i l~ to it, either legitimately and/or merely for the vibes, like Tarn's "performance reviews".

[linkedin-offficial]

where did the names for your sky ocs come from? like how did you think of 'em?

okay, but the real detailed answer is that when thinking of names for specifically sky characters, i often times like to just pick a word that i think represents each character well and then just translate it into tagalog (for example, "bata" means "child", "ilaw" means "light", ect ect).

though, when that doesnt work, i usually just shorten it or move some letters around to make it look and sound better on the tongue. (for example, "bituin" means "star" in tagalog; to me, its a bit of a mouthful. so id just use a variant of this word, like "bitu" or "itui")

i do this alot when it comes to names for characters of mine, not just sky ones. regular english names (even 'noun names') often times feel boring to me and usually dont fit the setting im putting the character in. so this is my go-to!

[elainsgirl]

I dont think people understand what slow burn is. That's why they say "I dont understand Elriel. They are easy, boring, predictable. Elain is boring, she going to bring nothing to her book."

Like im sorry they arent like the baddie fmc who has a dagger around her 24/7 and the emotionless mmc who falls in love with her after like 5 chapters when they are supposed to be "EnEmies tO lOvErs". BOOKTOK HAS ROTTEN YALL BRAINS.

So true.

Its leads me to believe they’re only consuming specific type of books - which is fine. Read whatever you like, how much you’d like BUT it does narrow down your thinking. Take antis saying elriel is “boring” because they don’t have banter. Banter isn’t a requirement for every single couple nor does it suit every single dynamic…you shouldn’t need every single couple to have “banter” to find them interesting or see their potential.

I think some people have lost the ability or struggle with understanding built up foreshadowing. Books nowdays are either standalones or series that follow one couple - but you know they’re endgame from the start. Because thats what elriel is - built up foreshadowing that started from acowar, some may even argue with acomaf. They’re not a couple that entered a relationship straight away - they’re built up to that stage in a nice slowburn where we see their development and them entering each stage one by one.

Its why Gwyn will be the great Saviour of the entire acotar universe - she will be the centre of every single plot, everything important like the troves will go through her first - just like the badass, sword wielding fmc stereotype who leads the story. Its why Elain is now suddenly a sassy, fire mouth that goes off on Lucien bcs ughh she just can’t stand how much she wants him and feels sooooooo frustrated w him constantly teasing her. None of thats canon. None of that even suits the characters but they’re popular micotropes within booktok therefore have to be traits that Gwyn/Elain possess otherwise they’d be plain and boring.

[ender1821]

re: shinyduo/gempearl being so not normal about each other after life series. other anon was so right why are they freaky.

pearl is definitely just as at fault imo. gem’s excellent at innuendos and tone of voice (“your red skin is my favorite~”) but pearl’s yes and filter falls apart in front of gem. the pickles a prime example, and the ren stream disaster wedding of course. she’s also very genuine and i love that for her. but that results in crazy lines like the “love you gem. always will. even if you dont want me, ill still be there.” TO STREAM WHEN GEM WASNT EVEN THERE.

and i need to mention the latest stream. Pearl “I only get asked if im gay when you’re in the picture” and how they both have to take a minute of silence to process that flejelejwkej. whose fault is that pearl? whose fault ?? to her credit she seems genuinely confused by the extent of her actions. the most damning evidence for her straightness i fear. rip gem though, she seems to be having fun anyway.

theyre both professionals and follow up in that stream with how the fandom will always play around with them as characters etc etc. good communication, very healthy, good for them. but this post is about why they graduated from shenanigans and innuendos to 2 hours of fanservice and it doesn’t even feel intentional half the time.

as for next life series, i would be shocked if they didn’t keep up this befuddling yuri bit. theyve mentioned seeing all the tierlist maker dream team posts and pearl had to ask her chat “OTHER than gem, who should I team with” so theyre well aware demand is there. theyre fantastic as enemies and well aware of that, but they could get some scarian level drama by teaming together, and i dont say that lightly. since pearl keeps stalling pvp on hermitcraft, theyre never getting that 1v1 without cosmic intervention or a declaration of love 😭

rambling now. love to hear your thoughts xoxo

yippee i love anon rambles!!! im glad we’re all unwell

im NOT gonna go on another rant about the life series alliance situation because as i’ve just demonstrated yesterday i can literally rant. for hours. and we don’t need that lmao. at this point whether or not they team up in the next one SOMETHING will happen. i have that much faith in them. they’re bound to run into each other and do something and that’s the shiny duo connection speaking god bless

like the other anon said, i do think they can work with just about any dynamic and it’ll be insanity-inducing either way. one of my favourite things about them just as a pairing (in any context, platonic, romantic, etc.) is just the way they will drift towards one another, to be linked in a way that’s indescribable, to always carry a piece of each other with themselves wherever they wander because the influence they’ve had on the other is irrefutable— and okay yeah they’re getting way too freaky about it get out of my fan fiction-esque rant. what are you doing here. why are you like this. what. like there’s something going on when what they’re getting up to creeps more and more into being what i usually read in fics. i. hello???

i really, really want to give them the benefit of the doubt. okay. listen. for every mention of feet and poking at pearl’s straightness, there’s a chat message behind it that warranted it, i’m sure. this isn’t the post to be getting into how fans are with cc boundaries and how we’re STILL bad at figuring our tags out, but i feel like this discussion eventually HAS to touch on the fact that it’s been made clear that they don’t want to see shipping stuff, and bringing it up in chat crosses that boundary just as well. i think they’ve handled it well in acknowledging that they’re aware it’s for their characters, drawing clear lines between what they’re comfortable with and what they’re not, etc. i think just the muddled lines from people continuously bringing stuff from a fandom space up to a cc contributes a lot to why we got. whatever happened on that wednesday stream. honestly, from these instances on stream i think it’s been shown that they just find this stuff amusing, and good for them, y’know? still doesn’t mean we should be regularly poking them about ships and. well. i dunno. literally bringing it up in chat?

but still. BUT STILL. god the ways they “yes, and” each other just keep getting worse. stuff like the pickles and the wedding (and the SL ep 4 ender dragon fight! still one of the most baffling “yes, and”s i’ve ever seen from them, i swear to god) were almost completely just them. that was just them. there’s no blaming chat for gem saying “wait, i don’t have a beard” right after pearl rejects ren for having a beard, and CERTAINLY NOBODY ELSE TO BLAME when pearl takes that and literally proposes to her. that was all them. and why. girl. huh??? i do believe, at least to some extent, that pearl is oblivious to the implications of what she does/says. but that only goes so far. sorry man i can only give so much benefit of the doubt for like 2-3 streams of 2 hour fan service. good lord

i was texting a friend who isn’t into mcyt about this whole. thing. and the way i described it was: imagine being a gempearl shipper, and you’re enjoying life, driving this train with fanfics and fanart and everything’s all good… and then for some reason gem and pearl jump on the train, hijack the conductor seat and starts directing the train elsewhere. nearing the end of that stream i was questioning my life and screaming for a way off this train. that’s how it felt to me. of course i’m exaggerating but like. genuinely how did we get here

[thelaurenshippen]

finally taking the time to read through the SAG agreement summary and oof, I hope they have an AI town hall soon because...well, there are things to discuss!

so, in case folks are curious, here are my immediate takeaways from the deal as a SAG actor, a SAG producer, and person who is not any kind of expert but spends a lot of time being skeptical of contracts I sign. this is a summation/commentary, not a holistic breakdown of every point, nor even an in-depth discussion of the points I do talk about. and it is, of course, in no way legal advice or voting advice.

this post is already maybe the longest post I've ever written on tumblr (lol) and I feel like I've barely scratched the surface. to be clear, nothing I'm saying here represents how I'm going to vote, how I think other actors should vote, or my be-all-end-all stance on a particular issue. this is me reading through, flagging what concerns me, and asking myself questions. and I'm here to take your questions too! though of course my expertise is limited.

(what?? something I wrote got annoying long?? in my tumblr? it's more likely, etc. huge write-up after the cut)

the good

self-tape stuff: this is one of the more niche/the thing that the general public will find least interesting, but they've put in a lot of provisions to make sure self-tape auditions have limits (# of pages, no stunts, no nudity, doesn't have to be professionally shot, etc.) which is amazing because these types of auditions have gotten out of control since the pandemic. this feels like a great gain

data transparency: in no world did I think the streamers were ever going to agree to any data sharing with either the wga or sag so even though the data is limited, this still feels huge to me.

folks who sing and dance will be paid for both of those things now, which is great

they've added MLK day and Juneteenth as holidays (about time)

a performer cannot be required to translate their own lines

principal performers are required to be given hair and makeup consultation or reimbursed for obtaining their own services - this seems like a small thing, but it's being put in here pretty much entirely because HMU services have generally been appalling when it comes to textured hair/a variety of skin tones. there's also stuff in here about working to hire more diverse HMU artists

it looks like it's going to be easier/provide a path for folks getting IMDb credits even if they're not credited on screen

miscellany: there's a bunch of gains in wage increases, P&H increases, relocation fees, franchise language etc. that all seem good to me, though my limited knowledge on those subjects prevents me from going in depth on them.

this is not important, but it tickled me, there's a term to replace all instances of "telegraph" in the contract with "email & text" which like...why has it taken us thirty years to do that lol.

the "...hm..."

intimacy coordinators: oof. when I watched the press conference SAG gave, I was fucking thrilled when they said that the new agreement required folks to hire intimacy coordinators for nudity and simulated sex scenes. that was almost reason enough for me to vote for it tbh - not requiring it is the exact reason I voted no on our last contract. however, reading the contract summary now, the exact language is: "Producer must use best efforts to engage an Intimacy Coordinator for scenes involving nudity or simulated sex and will consider in good faith any request by a performer to engage an Intimacy Coordinator for other scenes. Producer shall not retaliate against a performer for requesting an Intimacy Coordinator." this....sucks. "best efforts" and "good faith" are not the same as "required". IMO, an intimacy coordinator is the same thing as having a stunt coordinator or, like, any number of health and safety requirements. OSHA doesn't say you must "in good faith" put your "best effort" to providing fire exits. it's great that performers can request coordinators for any kind of scene, and this is still the strongest language we've ever had in a contract but....c'mon guys.

residuals: look, I can't speak to these new terms in any concrete way. there are increases, there are bonuses for streaming success, there's a whole thing about a fund regarding those successes that I need explained to me more in depth, but overall, it looks like we made some in-roads here. as someone who employs actors under digital distribution contracts that has no residuals (podcasts), I know how genuinely cumbersome the unholy trifecta of "views-success-profit" can be (as in views do not equal success, success does not equal profit, etc.). I also have no sympathy when the majority of companies dealing with that cumbersome trifecta are massive media conglomerates. anyway, long story short, idk if this is good enough, I'm hoping to attend the next info meeting sag has.

the bad

the new hair/makeup provisions are explicitly for principal actors. while I hope it leads to better, more inclusive HMU services all around I haaaate that this implies supporting or background actors (who oftentimes also have to sit in HMU) don't deserve the consideration. (then again, background actors are usually required to do their own HMU/bring their own costumes, but for productions where that's not the case, the same HMU provisions should apply IMO)

as with every contract, there's language that could be stronger, clarity that needs to exist, and important things missing - but this isn't the final contract and I'm not a lawyer, so I'm gonna leave that stuff to the experts.

but, "lauren", you say, "what about all the AI stuff? where does that go?" well, reader, I was planning on including that in the above but it's the hot-button issue right now and I think it's wickedly complicated, so I wanted to break it down separately, after I had a chance to point out all the good-bad-in-between stuff that's not getting talked about.

a note: in my career, I've learned there's two big things to keep in mind when reading a contract you might sign:

what is the worst case interpretation of this language (thank you to my lawyer, prince among men, for teaching me how to do this in practice (that said, anything I say here is not legal advice, he'd also want me to say that lol))

what are you willing to lose/compromise on/what are the limits of your pragmatism? contracts are not about a company giving you everything you want out of the goodness of their heart - it is always a compromise. pragmatism has to be a part of the equation.

so, with that said, I'm going to play a little devil's advocate here, and a) try to find the good/the pragmatic and b) catastrophize the worst case scenario. but first, it might be handy to look at this SAG infographic for some basic definitions. let's go.

the AI good

a ton of stuff here requires consent. that is not a small thing, and the consent continues even after your death (whether it was a yes or no; though this can be complicated by your estate/your union)

the language does establish that the consent must be a separate signing from the employment contract, even if its in the contract, which is great (but more on that below - timing matters)

actors often do get paid for use of their digital replicas, though it's different based on the use/type of replica.

the actor must be provided with a "reasonably specific description of the intended use". this language is vaguer than I would like, because it allows producers to decide what "reasonably specific" and "intended" means - there's always going to be some vagueness when it comes to this specific thing, but a good start would be for producers to require not blanket consent, but conditional consent for each significant use of digital replicas.

if the replicas are being used in other mediums, that must also be consented to, thank god.

replicas cannot be used in place of background actor counts on a given day - if I'm understanding this correctly, this means a production can't just have a bunch of fake background actors by themselves, they have to engage real people up to a certain number first (which in this new contract is 25 for TV and 85 for movies). we're already filling in background with digital people or copy-pasting of the same crowd over and over and have been doing so since at least the late 90s, so it's good we're continuing to put up boundaries around that.

the AI "...hm..."

it's unclear (to me) when an actor can be asked to consent. IMO, everything is meaningless if the consent is happening as part of regular contract negotiations. these things have to happen when - and only when - the actor has already been engaged in a role and feels empowered to say no

the use of independently created replicas (replicas pulled from existing footage, not created by the actor) being allowed without consent under first amendment reasoning - this is obviously concerning a lot of people bc first amendment arguments are so broad. that said, there's a pragmatism part of me that understands this is already happening/has been happening for a while and used in ways I think are perfectly fine - I was just watching the new episode of For All Mankind (one of the best TV shows right now!) and it's an alternate history, which meant that in the opening scenes of this season they had some bonkers good deep fakes of Al Gore saying stuff he never said. I think that's okay to do in a fiction show that imagines a different US history! "but Lauren", you might be saying, "Al Gore isn't a member of SAG!" are you sure? are you positive? because I'm pretty certain he is - he was in several episodes of 30 Rock, way more people are in SAG than you think (every NPR reporter for instance), and the two worst presidents we've had in the last 50 years (yes, those ones), are both definitely members of SAG (even if one is dead). now, the other side of this is that public figures like politicians are under a different social contract than actors, and if they wanted to sue, they could, unlike the average SAG actor who might have their image abused. this is why this is in the "hm" column - deep fakes and parody/satire/commentary use of replicas is already here and there's always going to be a 1st amendment argument to make, so we need to figure out how best to limit those and protect the most vulnerable.

alteration: with this language, a project can digitally alter without consent if the script and performance stays "substantially" the same. again, this language is too mealy-mouthed. I don't know that I have a huge problem with a line of dialogue getting replaced with a digital version of that actors voice if, for instance, a word was mispronounced, or wind garbled the sound or whatever - yes, it would eliminate the need for ADR, but if we put some limit on it like..."if there are more than 5 lines in a given episode/movie that require digital alteration in the service of clarity, the actor must be engaged for an ADR session or paid for the digital replacement" then I could see this being workable. I'm also personally okay with things like costumes being digitally altered but, again, we need limitations on that. digital altering cannot replace the art of costuming but, for instance, if a costume needs to be altered to include a hate symbol or something, I think that's fine (example: I have friends who worked at the VFX house for an alternate history TV show that involved a lot of Nazi costuming and set design - a huge part of that VFX house's job was to put swastikas in places, rather than props making nazi flags. I'm okay with that!) but again, these fringe cases do not a compelling arugment make, and this contract language can be interpreted too broadly for my comfort! like everything else in this "hm" category, I need to see the final contract language to decide.

the AI bad

there's a bunch of circumstances in which actors don't get paid for creating their replica/use of it and those circumstances are too broad for my taste.

synthetic performers - this is just awful. no. no, we should not be allowing AI to generate entire actors. just............no. there's some language about the producers having to talk to the union if the synthetic performer is "used in place of a performer who would have been engaged under this Agreement in a human role" but this doesn't apply to non-human characters so....wouldn't that be all roles?? leaving the producers room to be like "this role has to be synthetic, we never would've cast a human!" is bullshit. also, even if we're having AI create a magical talking unicorn whole cloth (which, like, also no, we have artists for this), that unicorn still needs to be voiced by a human person. this whole section is a disaster.

the exceptions to consent for digital alteration are bad-bad. I talked about the potential ADR replacement above and that has a whole host of issues with it that I didn't even get into, but I can see the argument. the rest are very troubling:

there is an exception under "any circumstance when dubbing or use of a double is permitted under the Codified Basic Agreement or Television Agreement" - okay, so does this mean we can replace dubbing artists and stunt performers entirely? this section is about digital alteration, but who's to say alteration couldn't turn an actor broadly miming a fight into an entirely digital, expertly performed fight that usually a stunt double would have done? with AI translation technology, does this mean we're replacing VO artists for dubs entirely? bad!

similarly, "Adjusting lip and/or other facial or body movement and/or the voice of the performer to a foreign language, or for purposes of changes to dialogue or photography necessary for license or sale to a particular market" - Justine Bateman has a great twitter thread on the terrible puppetry potential of this but I want to draw attention to the particular market bit - we all know that selling to china is such a huge part of studios' strategies that they'll remove entire scenes or lines around queer stuff. to me, this clause makes all of that so much easier. I know the argument here is going to be "we can replace swear words and license it for kids!" which.......sure? fine? but, uh, we already have ways to deal with that? and the potential for abuse here is terrifying to me. with all the digital alteration stuff too, there's just so much icky implication for the beauty/body standard to get so much worse.

if a background actor’s digital replica is used in the role of a principal performer, they'll be paid as if they actually performed the days for that role, which, sure, but uhhhh why are we saying it's okay for a digital replica of a background actor to suddenly be a leading role!?!?! I can't think of anything more demoralizing than going to set to act in background (a job I've done! an important job! a fun job a lot of the time! but creatively limited) and then getting a much bigger role (the dream!) and.....not being able to, you know, act that role or be in scenes with other principal actors or do the thing that you've dedicated your life to doing. nightmare stuff.

woof. there's so much more to say but I'm going to leave it there. these are the concerns I'm going to go into SAG's meetings with, and the concerns I'll be considering as I decide how to vote. I know there are things I didn't address and very possibly things I misinterpreted or misrepresented - if you're an actor, I highly recommend a) reading that Justine Bateman thread and b) attending SAG's meetings to ask questions and express your concerns. and I'd love to hear what y'all think! my ask box is open.

[asurrogateblog]

The Syd Poll

the topic of this poll is one that is frequently avoided in the pink floyd fandom, but inevitably one we all consider – our individual views on what we think caused syd's psychological struggles (and by extension, led to his departure from the band). I think that – at least in this neighborhood of tumblr – this is a conversation we are capable of having in a way that is civil, nuanced, and at least minimally disrespectful to syd.

So, to help facilitate this, here are some ground rules:

let's all assume we have a mutual understanding of the complexities of this. syd could never actually be reduced down to a poll, and all of our viewpoints are limited in various ways

the poll options just serve as just a conversation starter, and responses are not necessarily a statement of absolute beliefs

feel free to discuss as much or as little of your own perspective as you feel comfortable sharing.

in the case that debates break out, please try to assume good intent – and also demonstrate it (unless, for instance, someone is being blatantly insulting beyond a misunderstanding that needs correcting)

please do NOT vote if you are not actually a pink floyd fan with at least basic knowledge about what we're talking about here.

The options I've included below are not meant to be exhaustive, they are simply the "theories" that I have seen most commonly circulated. I have also decided not to include combinations. I'm fairly sure we'd all agree multiple factors were involved. Rather than make the poll too complicated, I ask you to instead select the one that you think is the "most" important to your viewpoint, and clarify further in your tags/comments as you wish.

so. here we go.

READ BEFORE VOTING ^^^^

(note of correction: "late-onset schizophrenia" should just be "schizophrenia". the typical timeline for onset of symptoms is late adolescence/early adulthood, so syd would've been well within that period at the time)

[oldmanfuckerbrigade]

please tell me you're going to expand on why the newsies movie is perfection and the musical is ass, I'd love to see it

(because you are right)

yknow, i was gonna save my rant for my imaginary video essay but it’s too in my head now so i might as well do the deep dive here. you asked so i shall deliver! (Be forewarned this is long as fuck i didnt know how much i needed to say until i started writing this)

Newsies is a (Gay) Love Story and That’s Why The Musical Fails™️

Ok. So. First and foremost, let’s talk about Newsies 1992. To be fair to my own biases, I have a very strong personal connection to 92sies, it was the first musical I ever saw on screen - one of the first movies I ever watched PERIOD - and some of my first memories are of listening to the soundtrack. So you could, on a certain level, chalk up my vehemence about its quality to my fondness for it, and I will gladly admit to that.

BUT. I have now been on this earth for 20 years, and in those 20 years I’ve watched a lot of movies, and a LOT of musicals (and am now studying film full time yippee for me). So I think I can say confidently, with my broadened tastes, that Newsies (1992) is a goddamn masterpiece of a movie musical.

It succeeds spectacularly in both regards, as a film and a musical. It had a stacked deck going in honestly, with directing and choreo both done by Kenny Ortega of High School Musical fame, as well as music by the inimitable Alan Menken. You know this shit was boutta pop off. From a filmmaking standpoint, it’s beautiful. Gorgeous matte paintings in the wide shots, fantastic set work and costume design, as well as the lighting and cinematography being on. fucking. point. every damn time it’s so good it makes me sick. You don’t even need me to say anything about the acting, cause we already know it’s phenomenal.

As a musical, it’s also right on the money. Every tenet of musical theater is respected, we have our intro ensemble number, introducing us to the world, the people within it, and the stakes of the story that we’ll follow. We have our absolute fucking BANGER of an “i want” song which Christian Bale puts his whole Baleussy into. And ofc we have some fantastic call-to-action, come-together, and uplifting songs and dance numbers.

But most importantly, every song does the one of two things any musical theater number should do: advance the story or give us insight into a characters thoughts and feelings. Let’s talk about them all in order (i promise this is gonna tie in to the stage show in a second just bare with me):

The Music

Carrying the Banner is ofc our opening theme, introducing us to the world and characters. Where and when are we, who are the heroes of our story? This is the “known” part of our hero’s journey, the home base and the place to which we will return. This is our Normal Time.

Santa Fe is, as we all know, Jack’s “I want” song, the song that tells the audience the hopes and dreams of our main character, so we can understand, well, what he wants. We can discover through this song what Jack’s character is all about. Through both what he has, what he lacks (or perceives he does) and what he hopes to gain. Jack has no family, he’s alone, but he has seemingly given up on ever being NOT alone, so he pins all his hopes for a better life on the mirage of Santa Fe. If he can pave his own way in the world, leave the city which has done nothing but take from him, maybe he can feel whole again. He’s a dreamer, despite his rough exterior, and he dreams of a life of freedom, beyond what he can find in New York. So there we get, all wrapped in a tidy bow, the essence of Jack Kelly’s character. a deeper look beyond what we have seen up until this point. Ok moving on.

In between Santa Fe and The World Will Know we have a small song which Medda sings. While that song in and of itself isn’t terribly important (it’s just part of her show), the scene that it’s in is VERY important. This is where we have an introduction to one of the few people we could consider part of Jack’s family, as a sort of mother/aunt figure. Overall it serves to give Jack more humanity, therefore giving our audience surrogate David (and hey i’m gonna go off about Davey just gimme a minute) more reason to trust Jack, and thereby the audience can trust him as well. We also get a little interaction between Jack and Davey that was pretty much ripped wholecloth from the movie and supplanted on Jack and Katherine in the show. It’s literally the same shit, Dave and Katherine are mistrustful of Jack and his intentions, they argue, it’s homoerotic as fuck, and it all takes place at the theater. (And also we get the one scene in the movie that does a weak ass attempt to un-gay David by having him drool over a pretty lady. It does not work lmfao).

The World Will Know is a standard call-to-action, but it by no means is mid-tier in any way. This shit slaps. HARD. We have Jack as the voice of the people convincing the gang of erstwhile children to band together with him on this, and stand up for their rights. This is also the first real time we get Jack and David teaming up to achieve a goal. Jack may be the voice of the people, but it’s David who’s the brains behind the operation, knowing what to say and do, while Jack has the respect and tenacity to put it forward. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. BECAUSE THE STAGE SHOW ALL BUT BRUSHES OFF DAVID’S INVOLVEMENT IN THIS SCENE, SO IT NO LONGER SERVES IT ENTIRE PURPOSE. A big secondary point of this scene is to illustrate that while Jack and David are strong boys independently, they work so much better together, and are able to achieve what they wouldn’t normally, alone. And the musical does not understand this. But i’ll get to that later.

Seize the Day is David’s first step towards standing in his own power. The newsies are losing steam on the strike train after Brooklyn refuses to join so David is the one to raise everyone’s morale and bring back their fighting spirit, getting all the other boys to take up the call, preaching brotherhood and community, the strength of standing together. Here is your come-together song. But this is the important thing: It’s David who does it. The song becomes an ensemble number as it goes on but HE is the one who STARTS it. David was hesitant to really rally behind the strike at first, but now he’s all in, he’s connected with the boys and he believes in the cause (thanks to the spirit that Jack brought to it, and how much Jack believe in it cough cough). He does start it in the musical as well, but the tone is very different, it’s only after Jack’s urging that he says anything. Bro didn’t even have to say shit in the movie. But whatever moving on.

King of New York is a hard song to mess up. It’s just good. and fun. and I like it. It probably has the least to do with moving the plot forward or giving us an internal look on any specific characters. It’s an ensemble and dance number. I do like it better in the movie rather than onstage, though that’s mostly personal preference. The stage show kind of beats it to death, like why is it 10 minutes long I swear to god. They know it’s a good song and they wanna capitalize on it, which makes it all seem kind of transparently cynical to me. it’s still like, good and the dancers are on top of it but….its too much y'know. The movie just has a good time with it. Because it’s a good time. Also Jack is there in the movie and he’s not in the stage show for some reason, I forget why. Probably because of some plot contrivance they got from trying to shove new elements into an already lock tight story. sorry ok back to actual critique.

Once and For All is like maybe my favorite song of the whole soundtrack. It just eats. Every time. This is the song we should play while smashing in the heads of the capitalist pigs that run our stupid fucking country. It’s a banger. AND it moves the plot forward, which is always a slay. Let’s make that underground pape and radicalize all the child workers being abused across the city!! yeah!!!

And then we got our TWWK and CtB reprises to tie up the ending in a neat little bow, bringing us back around the our beginning, a la the hero’s journey. We’ve completed our circle and are back to the beginning, changed but better for it, with our characters at transformed equilibrium, the evil vanquished, and bright days ahead. Jack realizes that he doesn’t need to chase the illusion of Santa Fe when what he really wants and needs is to be with the people who love him, the family that was right under his nose the whole time. David is a full fledged newsie, has come out of his shell, become more confident in himself, and his relationship with Jack is assured. So. Let’s talk about Jack and David.

Jack and David

Historians would call them “good friends”. This whole section is gonna be me preaching to the choir, so to speak, so I’ll try and keep this concise. We all know they’re gay, everyone and their mother knows they’re gay, so why is it important? It’s not like that shit is actually baked into the story right? WRONG. Jack and David are at the heart of the story of Newsies. Jack may be the “““main character”””, but David is the impetus for the events of the story, the driving force behind the plot. He is, in essence, the call to adventure that our hero Jack receives at the start of his arc.

He is also the audience surrogate. It’s through him that we learn the ways of the newsies, the ins and outs of the newsboy life, the trials and tribulations. It’s through him that we come to know Jack’s character on a deeper level. We only get Santa Fe after Jack has met Dave’s family (talk about U-Haul lesbians like my god he knew the guy for a DAY and he was already meeting the parents), and we get to see how seeing David’s loving family is painful for Jack, how he grieves that lack of connection but copes by pinning his hopes on Santa Fe. Most everywhere we see Jack go, we see it because David goes too. (MOST. There are exceptions, like his talk with Pulitzer. But of course, David is still RELEVANT in that scene). We see the story through David’s eyes.

Which is why the musical fails.

Because in the musical, David is so far removed from the narrative you could replace him with any guy and it would still work. He is an after thought, all but scrubbed from the script, and for why???

This I don’t have an answer for, which is really frustrating. My best guess is that it was a well-intentioned but misguided attempt to tighten up the script by placing Jack as the main character. And to make room for Katherine.

Oh Katherine….I used to really vehemently hate Katherine, and her addition to the story. I’ve obviously grown since then, I can recognize her importance as a woman within the story, and how that is important for young people to see in media. But also. She is unnecessary. TO THE PLOT. I won’t speak to her necessity from a larger, misogyny-on-the-world-stage level, but to the actual plot itself she is completely unnecessary. And you know how I know? Because they took movie David’s whole personality and just copy and pasted it onto her.

Ok now hear me out, I KNOW that it is not 1:1, but it really doesn’t have to be. If you step back and look at the bare essentials, it is the same shit. Jack and Katherine have the same enemies to lovers type dynamic that was Davey and Jack’s in the movie. There’s the initial mistrust, the dislike, she’s very professional, and kind of a know-it-all. Jack is the charming street rat, all dry wit and golden retriever energy. They tease and bicker and snap at each other. Exactly like Dave and Jack did in 92. Watching both versions back to back made this almost glaringly obvious to me. Like it was actually kind of shocking how obvious it was.

And the thing is, I understand why they did it! Sarah was such a nothingburger character in the movie (sorry Sarah, love you in fics, hate your actress with a burning passion) that they knew they had to add SOMETHING more to any potential romance subplot, and if they were conveniently sidelining David’s character anyway, why not take some cues from the most powerful relationship in the film? I understand the logic behind it, I really do.

But. That still leaves David, flopping around the script like a severed limb, with nowhere to go and nothing to do to help the plot. Cause here’s the thing, his and Jack's relationship is what makes the movie. I don’t care if I'm fandom-goggling this my tin hat is ON I have a MASTERS in FUJOSHI STUDIES. The movie is at its core, about brotherhood and community. It’s about boyhood and friendship and banding together with your peers to achieve great things. They give us this theme through Jack and Dave.

Dave is an outsider, unfamiliar to the ways of the street kids and working within a community like that. Jack is old hat to it, born and bred in it, it’s his home and his family. They come together through a twist of fate, Jack initially thinking only about what’ll earn him the most money at the end of the day, and Davey rightfully mistrustful of him. But they end up forming an organic bond through the strike, finding common ground with one another, and realizing if they team up they can accomplish great things. We see them struggle together, and break apart for a bit. We see Jack realize he’s gotten too close to this boy, brought him into something dangerous and now he genuinely cares for him which is even worse. David goes so far as to break Jack out of jail, but not before Pulitzer can get to him and threaten him with the one thing Jack will take seriously: David. Jack is forced to destroy David's and the rest of the newsies' trust just to keep them safe.

But through all this, facing incredible adversity, dangerous circumstances, gaining and losing a close friend, David is forced to come into his own, take on a role of leadership and stand up for what he believes in. In this way, his own character arc is fulfilled, by the end of the movie. And the one thing that gets Jack back to the newsies? Why David being in trouble, of course. The one thing he hoped to avoid by agreeing to Pulitzers terms. That’s all it takes for him to take it all back, the prospect of David being in danger.

BRO. WHEN I SAY. THAT THEIR RELATIONSHIP IS WHAT DRIVES THE PLOT. I FUCKING MEAN IT.

And y'know they make their own paper and radicalize all the kids in the city, they go to Pulitzer TOGETHER. BY THE WAY. TOGETHER. Which the musical cannot seem to understand. It’s only as a united front that they are able to beat Pulitzer and win fair terms for the newsies. And then jacks like ahhh yeah im goin to santa fe so long fuckers and then is like never mind actually i wanna come back and kiss Dav- I mean Sarah.

Which is also a hilarious fucking scene to me like that whole last interaction between Dave and Jack is so damn romantic in tone that the only way for the tension to break was with a kiss, so they had to have Sarah come in out of nowhere to kiss Jack 💀 like they knew that shit was leading to something but they couldn’t have the boys kiss obviously so they had to throw a woman in there real quick.

-

So. tldr. I meant this to be a lot more organized and make a lot more sense than it did but oh well. The reason the musical fails is because it fails to recognize that Dave and Jack are EQUALLY both the main characters, you can’t have one without the other, their partnership is the core force of the plot and story, without both of them you are left with something resembling the story you once knew, but with none of the heart and spirit of the original.

Other Technical Things That Are Bad

i wanted to take a second and just touch on some smaller details that also stood out to me, but are less connected to my central thesis.

//

Costumes. Oh boy did they fuck that one up on stage. Now to be fair, I’ve only seen the 2017 pro shot and one (1) local children’s production. Not any of the other runs or anything. So I'm only talking about what I’ve seen here. But what I’ve seen is Not Good. There’s already a lot of names and faces flying around in the movie which are hard to keep track of as it is, but everyone looks different enough from the person next to them that you know who your main players are. Each kid has his own way of dressing, unique color palette, accessories, and other styling choices that make them stand out. If you know who you're looking for, you can pick out any named newsie from any of the major ensemble scenes. You can't do that with the show. Everyone is wearing a variation of the same bland shirts and pants, and the color palette is dull gray-brown across the board. I'm not saying you have to go crazy with colors and shit, the costumes in the movie are believably period accurate, but I can still tell Racetrack from Mush without having to squint. (Also hey shout out to whoever decided to do that little red/blue color palette motif on movie Jack and Dave. I see you, and I appreciate you.)

//

The new songs suck but what can you do :/. Sorry to Alan Menken you ate with the movie my guy but you were just not on your A-game with this one. I didn’t even know it was still Menken doing the music in the stage show honestly, with how different and sucky the new songs were. Personal taste on this one I guess. But I don’t like them. Why does Pulitzer need a song. Literally why. If they had to give any pre-existing character their own song it should've been David! Like literally no question about it, it should have been David. Also why are we doing Santa Fe at the opening?? Did we forget how musicals work?? We never open with the "I want" song! ESPECIALLY if it's a ballad!!

//

The set. Yeah I’m really here to tear everything down ig, I didn’t know I had this many gripes until I started writing this sorry guys 😭 But yeah it’s not as gooood. And I'm like. ok. I know they were never gonna be able to do anything close to the movie. It’s onstage. They had to make sacrifices. But tell me why it all had to be cool toned?? The movie's color palette is so nice and warm, it feels antiquated but also real, it’s homey and nice. But also unforgiving and rough when it needs to be. They could’ve done that with lighting and shit onstage, changing the tone when it needs to, but instead they opted to throw out the warm tones for mostly cool gray steel backdrops. Whatever. I’m not a set tech. They know better than me.

//

THAT KID. IS SO MOTHERFUCKING ANNOYING. I AM SO SORRY. BUT IT IS HOW I FEEL. No hate at all to the kid playing Les in the 2017 pro shot, he was just a child he was doing his best not his fault at all. I’m choosing to blame the writing. But also goddamn if that kid's choices for delivery did not grate on my ears. His voice. just. did not sit right with me idk. Les in the movie is such a cute and endearing kid, I always adored him as he reminded me a lot of my own younger brothers. But this kidddd. is so unlikeable it’s like, going PAST annoying unfunny comic relief character straight into “how the fuck did anyone think this was a good idea”.

//

The ending suuuuuucks boooooo it’s bad I don’t like it I'm kinda running outta steam here but I still got shit to say so fuck it we ball. it’s so over explained that it’s just. just dumb. It just becomes dumb at a certain point. Jack going to do cartoons for Pulitzer??? What??? Don’t get me wrong I actually really love them giving him artistic talent I think that really adds some actually GOOD dimension to his character, but this????? Really????? Everything is just so like *perfectly* wrapped up that it totally destroys my suspension of disbelief. In the movie it’s definitely very wish-fulfilling and unrealistic, but it’s from the perspective of kids. It’s exactly as a kid would perceive it. And we don’t see exactly how the conceding of Pulitzer goes down and we SHOULDN’T!! Because then it gets all bogged down with the logistics of it all which is exactly what happened to the play! We don’t need all the details, we just need to know they won.

//

This one isn’t a gripe actually because I apparently DO have love in my heart: I love musical Crutchie. I love him, I love him so much my sweet boy. I love him being Jack’s little brother I love them having that deeper connection. I love Crutchie in the movie so to see him getting more screen time (so to speak) is just lovely. The one change I agree with. I love you forever Crutchie.

ok i’ve been writing for hours and my hands gonna fall off so im done now. if i think of anything else…well, you’ll just have to wait for my video essay i guess.

[pigeon-butch]

I certainly have my own concerns about the treatment of moo deng but um. well i think some of you may just be racist

[arealtrashact]

Hello! This is probably a redundant question since you answered someone else about shape language, but do you have advice on how to give more energy into your drawings?

Well, besides reiterating the usual ( finding a strong line of action, remembering the 'simple v complex' rule, focusing on gesture rather than contour ) I guess I'll say that I tend to draw with my shoulder rather than my wrist. I have a large tablet for the very reason that I prefer to make broad, sweeping strokes. Even if it takes me 3-5 tries, I make sure that the majority of my lines are made in one, long, unbroken move.

PS. When I talk about line of action I'm not strictly referring to action poses. Even a standing pose has rhythm / energy to it. It's subtle, but it's there.

Happy drawing !

[swagging-back-to]

worst trope is found family separating as soon as the antagonist is dealt with.

[deathbirby]

okay so i have read this in SO many fics but do people really think Fodlan doesn't have telescopes? when astronomy exists?? can you even HAVE astronomy without telescopes???

YOU CAN LIKE SEE UP UNTIL CERTAIN PLANETS WITH THE NAKED EYE, BUT TO TELL THAT THE BLUE SEA STAR IS MILLION OF YEARS AWAY IS.. NOT POSSIBLE WITHOUT A TELESCOPE.

[castielsprostate]

i dunno i think a lot of people have a very love hate relationship with the queer community because of the way the 90s/00s/10s media portrayed any sort of gay/queer/trans/lesbian/ace/etc relationship (whether in relations to others or themselves) as this inherent "silliness"? as this thing you're not supposed to talk about. it exists, but never let it show. it's there, but it shouldn't be seen. it's tolerable as long as it is silent.

it all ties back into misogynistic and the patriarchal systems that keep being persisted now. it's told as being a gay man is taking away your manhood, you are seen as weak and frilly and clearly not good enough to be a Real Man™. and being a lesbian takes away your femininity, you're too rough around the edges and are too manly thus you're not pretty because men can't be pretty that would mean they're gay, and thus you are not good enough to be a Real Woman™. the only "acceptable" way to be if you HAVE to be queer in any way is bisexual as long as you are a side character and stick to the "other side" when dating and end up with the opposite gender when getting married and settling down.

and even if the elements above were minor, being queer was shown as a struggle, something ugly and as a dirty little secret. a queer relationship was shown to be a funny gag, a dramatic storyline to have Normal Characters™ complete their acceptance storyline or advance their plots whilst the queer character is pushed off to the side. surface level inclusivity messages that are dressed up in "we love everyone" with the underlying tone of "we tolerate you as long as we have to and you're only here so we can hit a bigger audience"

all this to say that this is the reason most actors, male and female, are so opposed to admitting the characters they played in those decades were queer-coded in any way, shape or form. because that would mean voicing the quiet part out loud when they were told to keep it silent

[slowdrippingnoise]

i like rose actually hes full of Concepts. i like how leon could easily remind him of peony and of himself (personality, talented champion / older brother, beloved golden child) and i like how bede could also remind him of them/what his remark about seeing himself in bede could mean if taken as truth (ignored child, desperate to prove his worth / uncompromising confidence, needs to feel in control, perfectionistic) so he gives them both important roles to keep them around. very normal very well adjusted good job man.

swsh should have had 500 more lines of major npc dialogue. also leon and marnie should have talked about the whole being a symbolic king/princess thing. or she could talk to hop about it and he could talk about how he thinks leon feels about it which could be interesting also. even more economic fuckery talk i know its a sports thing but leon's Sponsor Cape drives me a little nuts. catch him between his own hopes/the needs of the league/rose's ideas specifically. he's been champion since he was like 10 right. something like that. im going back in time sneaking into the swsh writers room and taping up a big poster of N Harmonia. how soon we forget Boy King Prime. also pokespe was right rose should just be Objectively Correct about the impending energy crisis, his problem is that he tries to solve everything by himself by manipulating everyone around him, and is cool with putting the whole region in danger if he thinks it will Solve The Problem. his problem isnt being pro-nuclear power his problem is he thinks like a king. ideal swsh is anti-monarchy as well as anti-monopoly it would make more sense.

[paintsplash1712]

So apparently the reason why so many episodes of What If are so... meh is because the marvel executives.

Apparently the writers had much more interesting or cooler ideas but the executives blocked them from using them because they might use those ideas in future movies or shows.

What were those ideas, Marvel? GIVE ME A LIST!

[shikai-the-storyteller]

It's taking me ages to write this chapter because every time I look through old VODs / notes to check something, I come across moments like this that make me want to lie down face-first on the floor:

[Context: Pac commits to the idea of taking the Happy Pills so he can create a cure. He's about to write a note to Cellbit to explain his plan.]

Pac: If Cellbit puts himself in this position, it's worse for everyone, because Cellbit is smarter when it comes to coming up with strategic plans, so he is the thinking mind of the Favela Five group, so if he no longer has the mind, he’s not capable of solving this whole problem, you know? But if I put myself in this position to help Cellbit so he can get the cure... You understand? It's better if I'm the bait. Right? I can't- I can't carry things alone guys, I've already lost Mike [...] if I lose Cellbit and I alone had to carry things, I won't be able to. But I think Cellbit can manage better. He is more independent, and he has Roier. He has a husband. I'm trying to– to be lucid here, understand? That's all.

Date: September 11, 2023 || Timestamp: 03:10:10