#even just blooper reels and stuff

[sapphic-luthor]

stalking sasha and ang*e's instagram pages from the r&i days and i'm wondering whether or not they were friends? because it seems like neither of them posted much with the other lol

they used to take family vacations together!! they were visibly very close while the show was still airing, but i think it was more in interviews and such bc it was a liiiitttle before their sort of older c-list celebrity types were really heavily leaning into social media i think lol

[tightjeansjavi]

The Rite of Movement | drabble

“blooper reels with my baby love”

A/N: the wife @strang3lov3 demanded (endearingly) for Joel and baby love to have silly fun sex, and silly fun sex they shall have! If you ain’t gigglin’ and tootin’ in the bedroom, then tf are you doin’, baby love? 🤭

~word count: 1.8k~ (don’t ask…just smile and nod)

Summary: sex isn’t always sexy and blooper free, baby love.

Pairing | pornstar!joel x pornstar!female reader

Warnings: none, fluff, smut, domestic intimacy, real sex, amateur porn video, normal bodily functions, bloopers, established relationship, unprotected piv, flirting, teasing, intimacy, creampie, cock warming, mommy kink??, Joel is in his 40’s and reader is in her 30’s, reader has no physical descriptions (mentions of readers breasts being big) readers nickname is baby love, +18 minors dni!

series masterlist

Everything that could have possibly gone amiss during yours and Joel’s filming session for the day went wrong. It started with the UPS delivery driver giving Joel a funny look when he had to sign for a box that was clearly from Pornhub due to the painfully obvious black and orange packing tape.

What made the situation even more awkward is that the driver looked at Joel’s face for a hard minute, trying to decipher if he had seen his face somewhere…and then Joel watched the driver grow flustered at the realization that he did in fact see Joel’s face somewhere before.

But before Joel could even tell the poor guy to have a nice day, he was scurrying back to his truck and speeding off down the street.

“Amateur.” Joel mumbled to himself, chuckling under his breath and closed the door before locking it. He set the box down on the nearest available surface and headed upstairs.

He found you naked, and sprawled out on the comforter with Artemis curled up on your chest, using your breasts as her own little personal pillow while you gently stroked her fur.

“I think the UPS delivery driver has watched our stuff before, baby love.” Joel announced from the opening of the bedroom door, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed over his bare chest.

You glanced over at him, grin playing on your lips as you listened to Artemis’s happy little purrs. “Oh? What gave the poor guy away?”

He pushed himself off the side of the doorframe, making his way over to the bed and plopped down beside you, making himself comfortable on his stomach and propped himself up on his elbow, “Well, I think it had to do with the non discreet packaging that Pornhub decided to use, and the way he was lookin’ at me?” He reached across you with his freehand and gave Artemis a few scritches behind her ears.

You giggled softly, picturing the poor delivery driver's face when he realized that he had seen your boyfriend on the hub before. “Was the packaging discreet at all? Did you open it?”

“Nah. They had the Pornhub orange and black tape plastered all over the damn box. And no, I didn’t open it. Didn’t wanna waste another second when I knew that my baby was waitin’ for me. M’shocked I didn’t get a hard on jus’ thinkin’ of ya down there, baby love.”

You laughed again, reaching over and gently swatted at his bare shoulder. “You’re a dork, Joel. And an insatiably horny one at that.”

He snorted under his breath, shaking his head with a grin. “Well, can ya blame a guy? Got the most gorgeous woman laid out in my sheets. You best believe that my cock is always ready for you.”

“Joel!” You scolded him, covering Artemis’s ears with one hand, “Not in front of our child!”

He laughed, the skin around his eyes crinkling in the corners as he threw his head back, giggling like the buffoon he was. “Baby love, that ain’t even the worst she’s ever heard from us! She’ll be fine.” He reassured you.

“She’s still a child, Joel.” You said with a huff, kissing the top of her furry head.

“Yes, she is, and unfortunately our child is gonna have to leave the premises now unless she wants to be scarred for life.” He said playfully.

“Well, I’m not gonna move her. You see how comfy she is right now? She’s in heaven.”

He snickered, “yeah, well no shit sherlock. She’s using your tits as her own personal pillow. Don’t worry, baby love. I ain’t jealous or anything.”

“Uh-huh. Sure you’re not feeling jealous right now Joel.”

“I ain’t!” He reiterated in a non convincing tone, and as soon as he reached for Artemis to gently lift her from where she was laying on your chest, she hissed and swatted at his hand with her paw.

“Hey!” He softly yelled, “I know her tits are like two fluffy clouds for ya, but there’s no swatting at me, young lady!” He scolded her as if she truly was able to understand what he was saying.

She hissed and swatted at him once more before she dashed out of his reach, ducking right under the bed before he could grab ahold of her.

You were in a fit of giggles over the whole thing until he looked over at you with a narrowed glare, lips pouted and looking extra kissable. “Think that’s funny, do ya?” He scoffed, “I’ll show you funny, baby love.”

When you and Joel finally got to business after messing around with one another for nearly an hour, he was having camera issues and of course the damn ring light stopped working halfway through!

This resulted in Joel fiddling with the switch, checking the wall outlet and adapter while you kept yourself stimulated. He looked rather silly being hunched over, balls hanging heavy between his thighs, muttering under his breath when the ring light still wasn’t working.

“Damn, baby. If only you could see my view from here!” You said teasingly with your hand between your spread thighs. He looked over his shoulder at you, narrowing his eyes and shook his head. “When I fix this damn thing, you are toast, baby love.” His threat was playful, but you knew he was dead serious.

“…If you ever fix it, that is.” You added.

“Hush up over there. I’m gonna fix it, dontcha worry your pretty little mind or pussy about it.” He gruffed out, giving the side of the ring light a firm smack! (As if that was going to fix it)

By some miracle, Joel smacking the shit out of it actually did work and he wasn’t going to waste another second before he practically launched himself back on the bed like a big cat pouncing on its prey. You’re both a mess of tangled lips, tongues and moans when he slips back inside of your messy cunt with ease.

The obscene squelching sounds your pussy made around his cock, and each heavy, deep thrust of his hips, spurred him on further as he withdrew his cock halfway. The thick, veiny girth of his cock was coated in a thick ring of your milky arousal gleaming under the soft glow of the ring light. He took a lungful of air, gearing up to give you his all: the grand finale as he slammed his hips forward, punching his cock into your cunt with a force that nearly knocked the own air from your lungs, eyes rolling back slightly when the head of his cock kissed your cervix, keening your hips to meet his deep thrust. And then you hear it. The sound is unmistakable, and the sudden growing redness on Joel’s already flushed cheeks confirms that you’re not having an auditory hallucination.

“Did you just…?” Your question hangs heavy in the heady, sex stained air.

His brows are furrowed together, sweat beading along the ridges on his forehead. He lets out a huff of air, cheeks turning an even brighter red. His head hangs between his shoulders in shame, and it’s hard for you to suppress the giggles from slipping past your lips.

“‘Scuse me, baby love.” He wheezes out an apology just as Artemis lets out the faintest gagging sound from the smell and darts out from under the bed and immediately runs to the door, slipping past the small opening in a successful escape.

You thread your fingers through the back of his hair, pulling him down so your faces are close together, “better out than in, ain’t that right?” You said with a giggle, rubbing your noses together.

He goes all bashful, cheeks still flushed red as you pepper his face with adorning kisses, “you fucked it outta me, baby love. My bad. ‘Scuse me again.” He grumbled.

“Baby, I don’t care that you farted. It’s natural, and it’s nothing to be embarrassed about, but you need to make me come, otherwise I’m gonna have to do it myself.”

“Oh, heavens! I can’t! Not after that! I’m so embarrassed right now, baby love. You’re just gonna have to continue without me.” He said dramatically, burying his face into your neck.

“Oh, baby. There, there. How about you roll over, and I’ll ride you the rest of the time? You can just lay there and look extra pretty for me.” You suggested.

You could feel his lips curve up into a grin against your glistening skin where he began to press light open mouthed kisses. “Okay. That’ll work, baby love.” He said in agreement.

What kinda man would he be if he turned down getting to see your pretty tits bounce while you rode his cock? Only fools would turn down that opportunity! Joel may have been a little embarrassed from passing a bit of gas, but he was no fool.

So, that’s how you ended up seated on his cock, giving him the perfect view that men dreamed of experiencing with you, but would never have the chance to. But of course your boyfriend was still feeling bashful over the whole incident and refused to look you in the eyes as you rode him. He brought his arms crossed over his face, hiding his eyes from your view until you had enough and grabbed his wrists in your palms, pinning them on either side of his head.

“Hey, you’re gonna look me in the eyes right now, or you don’t get to come.” You warned him. And between your stern tone, and his wrists clasped in your hands, he was in absolute sub heaven.

“Okay, mommy.” He said in his best sub voice.

You both burst into a mess of giggles, unable to take the moment seriously as you gently fell on top of his chest, tears welling in the corner of your eyes from how hard you were laughing. “Oh my god! Of course Tommy is the one with the daddy kink, and you’re the one with the mommy kink!”

Joel was mortified as he buried his face between your tits, hoping they would suffocate him and put him out of his misery.

“Shuddup. I didn’t say that! I never—okay, so it slipped. Big deal!” He scoffed between your breasts, blowing a light raspberry against your soft skin. “For the record, we are not uploading this.”

“Oh, fuck off! We absolutely have to upload this, Joel. We’ll title it, ‘blooper reels with my baby love’. And people will eat that shit up!”

He let out a strained groan, burying his face further into your breasts. “Fine.” He gave in, wrapping his strong arms around you, hugging you tightly to him before he thrusted upwards into your spent cunt with no given warning. “Only after you come all over my fuckin’ cock, baby love.”

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[cattimeswithjellie]

An Excerpt from Tango's 6/10 Livestream Recap

In case anyone is wondering why I think it's a good idea to recap livestreams, the following excerpt from the one I'm doing right now should explain it. This needs to be preserved for posterity.

2:15:10 Tango asks if Scar wants to do something dangerous. Scar immediately says yes. “Like really dangerous?” Tango presses. Scar nods. Tango tells Scar to follow him. He leads Scar over to the hole. Scar asks if this is where Decked Out 3 is. Tango confirms it totally is Decked Out 3. Scar looks down the hole and asks where it goes. Tango encourages him to drop down and Scar does, using his elytra for a soft fall down the two-wide hole. Tango follows, expecting Scar to have fallen into the void, but find him two blocks away in a two-deep hole in the bedrock. Tango tells him he missed. Scar gets himself out of the hole and immediately falls into another one. He climbs out, says “Jeez, there’s holes everywhere!” and instantly falls into the void hole. Tango cackles madly.

2:16:10 Tango freecams into the void and finds Scar rocketing around under the bedrock, calling for him and looking for the hole. Tango encourages him to “follow the sheep!” Scar makes several passes by the hole before managing to find it and shoot through it. Tango cheers and pops back into his body just in time for Scar to die of experiencing kinetic energy. Tango tries to figure out where Scar’s bits went. He uses freecam to search up to farm level, where he finds Skizzleman wandering around the edge of the hole. Chat informs him that Skizz (who is also streaming) has collected Scar’s things.

2:18:20 Tango flies up the shaft and finds some of Scar’s things at the top of the hole. He also finds Scar, who bounds over yelling “THIS IS A HELL-HOLE MURDER CHAMBER!” Tango compliments Scar on doing a great job getting out of the void. Apparently falling into the void resurrected all sorts of traumatic Season 8 memories of being thrown down the Boatem Hole. Skizz is nowhere to be seen at this point. Scar asks where the rest of his stuff is. Tango says he doesn’t know, but that he suspects there is someone else around here. Scar threatens to shove an askalottle in their face. He jumps back down to the hole and asks if he flew all the way up here, even as Skizz makes an appearance. He is wearing Scar’s hat and giggling.

2:19:10 Scar greets Skizz as “Skizzie-lizzie!” then asked Tango if he really flew all the way up that hole. Skizz thanks Scar, telling him that he has been streaming for seven seconds and he already has what might be the best blooper reel moment ever. He explains that he was sneaking up on Tango and happened to turn around just in time to see Scar for a tenth of a second before he exploded. Skizz returns Scar’s things to him, telling him that he made himself into a chest to collect Scar’s stuff for him. Scar, who is digging in his ender chest, suddenly realizes that he has found “The Flatulenster” who was making the fart noise earlier. Tango laughs. Scar confronts Skizz, who tells Scar to put his ender chest back on the ground and open it, then look for the “thank you” he owes Skizz. Tango points out that Skizz was not online when the fart occurred.

2:20:30 Scar thanks Skizz for saving his things and apologizes for fart-accusing him. Skizz doesn’t even know what Scar is talking about. Scar proceeds to tell Skizz the tragic tale of his visit to Tango where he just wanted to compliment some asskalottles and was accused of a fart he did not commit. Skizz commiserates, saying that the same thing happened the last time he streamed with Tango, and that he suspects it is Tango’s fault and/or imagination. Tango insists that his chat heard the fart too. ((The fart noise is audible on VOD review.)) Scar says they need Mrs. T to confirm that Tango is a fart-denyer.

2:21:50 Skizz is still wondering why Scar exploded. Tango explains it’s because he jumped down the hole. Scar leads Skizz over to the hole and encourages him to jump down, saying it’s fun. He tells Skizz that it is cool, and the reason that he died was because he came up too fast and had an accident. Skizz leans over the edge for a better look and Scar, in the least surprising act of Betrayal-By-Scar since The Lion King, kicks him down the hole. Skizz yells and begins attempting to rocket out of the hole with limited success. Scar insists he needs to go _down_ the hole, it’s super fun! Skizz manages to escape the hole and says no, because he doesn’t want to die. Tango and Scar assure him he won’t die (if he’s competent, Tango adds parenthetically.)

2:22:40 Resigned, Skizz asks if there’s a side he needs to jump down, then flings himself into the hole. He does a perfect full-send fall, right into the void, and falls out of the world. Tango shrieks in horrified delight. Scar calls down the hole that he feels bad now. In chat, False says “oof.” Tango demands to know why Skizz didn’t deploy his wings. “He would never have survived Boatem,” Scar observes dolefully.

[catboy-artist]

“The Star Trek actors must’ve had fun flinging themselves around whenever the ship took a hit”

That’s a fun idea. Star Trek AU except it’s also an actor AU and the auroraverse characters are actors in a new Star Trek series. Falst is an alien catboy and Tess and Alinua have to apply body paint every time there’s a shoot. And that’s not even the worst of it because the low-budget rubber forehead aliens make a return and everybody makes fun of it. The cast gets to pretend to be horrified when a dead red shirt shows up only to be cracking terrible jokes in the blooper reel. Erin uses technobabble that would make Spock proud. Alinua swears every time she messes up a line. Gay stuff happens but that’s because the actors are legit gayer than the characters and the showrunners just let it happen. The group takes turns getting worfed to show that this episode’s bad guy is extra difficult. And of course any time the ship gets hit the actors fling themselves around like startled cats

[gabessquishytum]

Retired Dream AU except instead of dealing with the horrors of a weak, wretched human body, he's still a little bit superhuman. He has the same immortality deal as Hob, but he has the premium subscription. Human Plus. Excellent immune system, bruises heal exceptionally quickly, he doesn't get sunburned...little bonus features like that. You know how people say toddlers are made of rubber, like they can fall and bonk their heads and get right back up and keep playing? Dream is like that, but kind of literally--he's very flexible and elastic, he just bounces back after any small injury.

Another fun thing about this new human body of his: he's like, super into butt stuff. He liked to bottom before, when he was Endless, but it's different now--the sensations are so much stronger and he can't get enough. He and Hob are both very excited about this discovery, as well as the fact that Dream is a total size queen. Hob has a big dick, but Dream wants to go bigger. At first Hob was worried about Dream tearing and getting hurt, but he just stretches so nicely and easily when Hob fists him. And afterwards his hole goes back to being nice and tight, but it doesn't hurt the next time Hob stretches him open. Another perk of being a little bit more than human.

Hob is extremely horny about this and starts buying Dream various XL monster dildos, all of which Dream thoroughly enjoys. And he just takes them so easily! Hob jokes that he should show off his talents and start an Onlyfans, and Dream just smirks and gives him The 1789 Look. Turns out Dream is also a bit of an exhibitionist, and it would also be an excellent way to piss off Desire. Hob and Dream end up being one of the most popular couples on Onlyfans (they don't show their faces, of course, for their own safety) while Desire is furious and desperately trying to ignore all the people who suddenly desire to see more of their brother's asshole.

Retired Dream becoming an onlyfans creator is truly the most galaxy brain thing I've ever read.

Hob could honestly quit his job and become Dream’s full time social media manager and camera man at this point. Their page is free to view, since they were never really doing it for the money, but Dream gets so many tips and requests for custom content! He's absolutely raking in a fortune (which also ticks Desire off - not only are people thinking about Dream’s arsehole, they're actively PAYING for it).

Dream really enjoys posting reviews for toys, partly because brands have taken to sending him their biggest and best models to try. He'll show the audience the toy in detail, make remarks about the flexibility and the weight, and of course the girth. Dream has the perfect voice for porn and even if his toy reviews don't have as much sexual content as the other videos, they get insanely popular just because Dream talks so nicely. There's a solid portion of viewers who use the videos to help them sleep at night, which makes Dream feel such a lovely connection to his former function.

Dream's human(plus) body has insane flexibility, so Hob also brushes off his shibari skills and they make a whole series of videos where Dream just gets tied up in insane ways. At the end Hob usually puts a monster dildo in him, cause he deserves it. They get so many comments speculating about Dream’s workout routine because he can do these insane things, and every video has to have a DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME disclaimer.

Also they have a whole blooper reel of Hob trying to bend himself/stretch himself into Dream’s favourite positions. Needless to say, Hob may be a slut but he's going to leave the extreme stuff to Dream. The one time he got stuck home alone with his feet around his head and a XXL dildo stuck inside him was MORE than enough to put him off trying again (that one DID make Desire laugh, tbh).

[darkdemeter]

Dem Hi! I'm back with a bit of an unhinged ask here:

Im sure this doodle gives you an idea where this is going. I was just making myself some tea, and I was thinking about Lovers In Eden (i was going to listen to a song called Eastward of Eden by Amelia Day,hence the association). And Since I am a film student, a writer and i took script classes as my subject las trimester, i offer you this unhinged recap of my conspiracy theory. So LIE (Lover in Eden) introduces us to the idea that Strife killed Y/N after a bloodlust outburst,right? Well, at first i didnt think too much of it, but then the chapter ends with the four on earth, which felt a little disembodied from the prologue. Which brings me to the hipothesis which is: Strife's lover is on earth,reborn without their memories. My proof for this theory is this: 1) We know that in the darksiders universe there is such thing as a well of souls, we know they go through the kingdom of the dead to repent and then be reborn through the well. 2) you wouldntve put the line "Love slayer" if it wasnt relevant to the plot. (Writing often times includes phrasing things a certain way to hint at other things). 3) Why would you close the chapter where you did? What relevance does the fact that the four are now on earth have? Simple, Strife will find a reborn,survivor Y/N and will fall in love with them (and have a crisis once he realizes its a whole like soulmates finding eachother again situation) 4) and last (which came to me as i wrote this) if you were to center the story only on Strife and the reader without the reader being reborn, you wouldve just started it from the medieval age/wherever strife met the reader and not end with the four on earth. Of course dont gotta tell me if im right,dont want to spoil the whole fic anyways. But I felt the need to share this with you. (I genuienly felt like the pepe silvia meme). And yeah, one offshoot of all this is that maybe the reader isnt a reborn soulmate, and that the prologue could just set up this inherit guilt and fear towards love that Strife has. Until we get the next chapter, i lay in wait...scheming/lhj/hj Have a nice rest of your day and i hope you've enjoyed my unhinged ramble. -Jer. PD: i feel so silly for sending this whole thing but as a fellow writer i know theres nothing we love more than ppl theorizing about our stuff. So here you go. I hope it doest read as overbearing,i just genuienly love your stuff.

First off, I love your pepe doodle! It’s so perfect. In fact I find it so funny that I made this a little bit ago myself... (As much as I'd love to rant and such about my AUs' lore and headcanons, I made this for shits and gigs)

I absolutely adore hearing theories readers have about my fics. (Sorry this has taken FOR-EV-ER to respond to, I'm terrible with replying at times)

I also fucking LOVE that you're a film student, I think that makes this whole theory situation even better because I do tend to have a very movie-esque thought process when writing. (Blooper reel and BTS footage rent free in my head)

And I think I've got the mind stewing a bit with that recent post, Flowers From My Lover. Without hopefully giving away anything, you do have some valid and interesting points in your theories and has me going, "Oh Jer is good little detective." You get a cookie for your theory skills!

There are indeed certain key details and clues I put in on purpose and it's so interesting to see what readers pick up on. And yes, the well of souls is involved to some extent in this plotline, but not in the way you might think...

I also find your choice of the word "reborn" interesting. Very obviously and right out the gates, I will say that yes, reader is alive in this story. But it's the manner in which reader's alive and again, the reborn theory is interesting and again, possibly not in a way you're expecting. Though it seems rather simple, I will tease that there is... quite a bit more to it than what's at face value.

And I wanna tease this little clue too because it is one of my favourites: It's interesting how the fic's title has a double meaning in plain sight...

[nerdieforpedro]

WIP Wednesday

When is the last time Nerdie did one of these? Technically Sunday, but that was a few days ago, we got new old stuff! 🤗 Nerdie is in her fluff and fantasy era it seems. The water is cool but she's adjusting and could use a rum punch or mojito.

From chapter 6 of Weddings 101 with Dieter that is still in progress:

Hanri knocked on Oscar’s hotel room door, he’d done as his boss asked and felt horrible about it. He was dropping off his boss’ usual order of tequila and three bags of hot Cheetos that he likes to eat in the evening. He had been propositioned by Vanessa and happily agreed to get her in the hotel and a private meeting with Mr. Issac. After getting her in, he left her to it and headed back to his room with his money. Oscar heard the door and called for the young man to bring him his snack.

I have made Oscar Issac into a villain, I'm fine with it. I honestly think the real Oscar would find it hilarious because this 'evil' Oscar does as many random things as Dieter does. He'd have a ball and the blooper reel between the two of them would be insane. This Dieter fic is purely for my amusement. All my fics are, but I write this one when I need a hard laugh. 😂 It has it’s moments but is just ridiculous and I love that, just silly.

Second from part 4 of Our Journey Across the Star Ocean:

Your breastplate was purple, but your pauldrons, vambraces and leg armor were all silver like Din’s. Nodding after assisting you to put them on, The Armorer clapped. “You look ever more like a warrior, dear girl. Djarin should train you further in hand to hand combat, not just with your blaster. Tell him this, yes?” The small gold wrench was moved to the right instead of being on the left where it had been. A circular depression remained on the left side.

I just wanna be sweet with our Mandalorian okay? And also make him very anxious, I may need to do some introspection on that one. 🫡 I’ll also write smut eventually for him again. I just haven’t had the right motivation to do so and none of the words seem right. Bah 😑

Lastly is my untitled Pero x Dragon fic. I've had a few people beta it and I think the first chapter is good, working on the second. Maybe by then it will have a title? And Pero is...well Pero is fine but worse for wear?

The mercenary grinned and licked his bottom lip, “I would say you are the one with base instincts you reptile. Pinning a man like this when speaking of desires only leads to one outcome. Whatever great being you’re supposed to be and not aware of what human men think of when a woman has her legs open in front of him.” Was he really interested? Mildly, he hadn’t been to the brothel for a warm cunt since before this latest job. Pero was trying to unnerve her since she was acting ‘mightier than thou.’ He hated those types, looking down on everyone. She is literally looking down at him though. “You disgusting ingrate. You will not move me Pero.” Pressing the soles of her feet into his forearms, she squinted her eyes. “I am called Calista. You will show proper reverence to a dragon! Should count yourself blessed to even meet me, let alone be essence bonded with me.”

Did I not say that Pero would antagonize an angel, demons, monsters or gods? He would, laugh about it and find a way to kill it and earn more coin. He stays alive, is about his coins and friends, in that order. I figured I would try not only a fantasy fic, but also enemies to lovers? I haven't done that one too much or at least on Tumblr I think. Or maybe on A03 and in my WIPs but those are hidden deep. 🤣

Let me know what you all think. 🥰

NPT: @fhatbhabiee @megamindsecretlair @soft-persephone @inept-the-magnificent @secretelephanttattoo

@rhoorl @mysterious-moonstruck-musings @grogusmum @djarinmuse @maggiemayhemnj

@trulybetty @lotusbxtch @604to647 @connectioneverywhere

[suffarustuffaru]

What's your thoughts on a Re:zero Actor Au

there is like absolutely little to no ideas id say no to, just bc i think the vast majority of ideas/tropes/etc could be utilized creatively in a lot of ways and be executed well in its own right!!! go for whatever youd like the possibilities are endless!!! i love seeing variety even if its stuff i wouldnt personally gravitate towards usually!!

HELL YEAH ACTOR AU i think actor aus are super fun and pretty funny - like when i think of actor aus i think of those silly fanarts you see in fandoms sometimes lajdfl where theyre like depictions of how a "blooper reel" would look with the characters? but you could definitely go in more serious directions with rezero actor au if you wanted im sure!! especially when canon brings up theatre and acting and stories a lot - maybe the actor au is even a musical theatre actor au? but also i do not have the musical theatre experience to really speak details on that HAH im just a musical theatre fan. but yeah you could take an actor au in a lot of directions!! different genres, like comedy or drama... different plots too, and same goes for depicting it visually. itd be fun!!

[cowgurrrl]

okay, okay! but, going back to rockstar!joel cameoing in some of actress!reader's (his lovely wife haha) stuff, i can just imagine there's certain scenes he does with reader where there isn't supposed to be this EXTREME tension between their characters but they get so into their scenes together, the director will have to be like "you're supposed to be interrogating her, not giving sex eyes" HAHA. and also too, there'll be scenes they have where fans are even like "I ship her with joel's chararacter so much and he's not even the whole show/movie, only 3 mins of screentime" haha 😭

i think it'd be absolutely entertaining! truly

HAHAHAHAH HOLY SHIT I LOVE THIS

Directors would be SO annoyed like “omg stop having chemistry 🙄” and you’re like “ALL I DID WAS LOOK AT HIM” and of course he’s all in costume and his hair is all done and he looks hot but you’re a professional!! You can do this!! The second the director calls action, you’re in it and you think the scene is going really well and you don’t pick up on anything until the director comes over the microphone like, “I feel like we should leave” and you’re like “was it really that bad?!” And literally everyone on set is like “YES” somehow, you manage to get the scene done, even getting exclusive footage of the two of you giggling and walking away from the set with a quick kiss for the blooper reel. When the episode he’s featured in airs, the comments rolling in are HYSTERICAL. “Joel stop looking at your wife with bedroom eyes challenge” “she’s stronger than me” “get a room” while live-tweeting the episode you get asked “what was it like having to act with Joel?” You answer: “he’s a much better scene partner than he’ll give himself credit for. As always, having him on set was a treat but we did get several notes such as ‘stop having chemistry’ and ‘oh my god, don’t look at her like that’ so that was fun” when the blooper reel comes out and ends with the clip of you and Joel kissing fans FREAK THE FUCK OUT and all you two can do is laugh

[rivetgoth]

A Plea for CGI

I feel like the last bastion of defense for CGI as an art form sometimes dude. CGI fascinates me so much. As a kid it felt so wondrous and unlike anything I’d ever seen. The dancing bear in Teletubbies was the first instance of CGI I ever remember seeing and it enamored me unlike anything else. It felt like genuine magic. I felt similarly about Tiny Planets, which genuinely felt like it transported me to an alien world. Later on as a kid I stumbled onto the Madagascar tech reel Easter egg on the DVD and it was the scariest thing I’d ever seen. It scared me so bad I couldn’t be in the same room and I was scared to turn off the television. I stayed in my bedroom until my dad got home because I knew he’d turn the TV off if he walked in and saw nobody watching it and I didn't want to be out there until I knew for sure the television was off and the reel wouldn't still be playing. I couldn’t sleep for days after seeing it and I was literally scared of DVD menus for fear of accidentally stumbling onto something like that again. Blooper reels for CG films absolutely terrified me, it was like genuinely nauseatingly scary. The “You’re not perfect” Courage the Cowardly Dog bit was similar.

I don’t think I’m an anomaly for finding these examples scary, a LOT of people did (the former one is full of commenters saying it scared them as a kid, the latter is literally meant to be scary). But the thing is with CGI, despite that it never stopped having this sort of wonder to me as well. When I was a kid CGI still felt uncommon enough that any time it was employed it felt really magical. It felt like I was seeing into a world that didn’t actually exist. I think its ability even in its earliest forms to be implemented into live action media, or its ability to have strange three dimensional properties when used in fully animated films, gave it this sense that it could be used to bring things to life in a way that couldn’t be done before. Like, I recognized even as a kid that the dancing bear didn’t look REAL. But it also looked three dimensional. It looked almost dreamlike to me.

I think the history of CGI as an art form is just so fascinating. I remember how fascinated I was reading about the CGI of the 80s and 90s, as it began to move beyond being an oddity that computer scientists could use to demonstrate tech and found some mainstream and wider spread usage. Tony De Peltrie (1985) was the first CGI human to express emotion and objectively he hasn’t aged well, he looks super creepy as does almost everything about his short film, but it fascinates me that he was so well received and touched people’s emotions in spite of that. The human ability to connect with something so alien in every way—stylistically, but even in terms of the art form being used, which was still absolutely brand new—is so interesting. The fact that the Canned Food International Council commissioned a commercial to be done fully in CGI in 1984 and it was referred to as so realistic you “couldn’t tell if it was animated or not” when nowadays it’s surpassed by PS1 video game graphics is so fascinating. The entire implication of that moment in the history of art, advertising, aesthetic. Maybe most fascinating to me is the short series Quarxs from the 90s utilizing CGI in one of the most bizarre ways I’ve ever seen to this day to bring to life cryptobiological organisms. Really insane looking stuff using really limited technology. The creator of Quarxs, Maurice Benayoun, writes theory on virtual reality, including some really interesting stuff about the human relationship to the material and virtual world that is most definitely reflected in Quarxs.

Nowadays I turn to Severed Heads as an example of one of the most fascinating recent uses of CGI to intentionally evoke the uncanniness of older CG and bring to life the music through a visual accompaniment. “Tiny Wounded Bird” (2016) is hard to watch even as an adult, it feels like in the best way it strikes so much uncanny fear that would've ruined my life as a child. It was the first time I saw someone fully, intentionally evoke those fears in art—I think it’s so fascinating the way CGI evokes the uncanny valley so easily for so many, and Tom Ellard was clearly aware of this. Tom Ellard, the artist behind Severed Heads, has worked on the cutting edge of technology to make unabashedly uncanny art in both visual and auditory forms since the 70s.

I see people suggest the uncanniness of CGI has to do with early or pre-textured CGI looking almost corpse-like, but I always felt like it was something else, it's not just CGI People Look Creepy. I think it’s just so, so, so foreign to the eyes. It exists in a three dimensional plane that should be similar to ours but isn’t quite ours. It can emulate the human body but also contort it in any way imaginable. The blooper reels I mentioned being scared of as a kid show these fully three dimensional beings with limbs elongated far past the physical possibility of a real body, eyes popping out of the head. Shadows having to be implemented manually, AI trying to figure out how physics work for thousands of particles of simulated hair. It's sterile and it's incomparable to really anything else. CGI is an entirely new artform, unique from any other that exists. It's literally creating a whole new plane of reality. I think it should lean into that more.

I think CGI as a tool is extremely oversaturated due to all sorts of issues within the entertainment industry around the desire to rush products, the lack of unionization and worker protection, corruption from the top down causing companies to rely on it heavily in the least imaginative and most predatory ways. But that’s not the fault of CGI as an art form, which is still only a couple of decades old—Again, Tony de Peltrie, first emotive CGI human, is only about 40 years old. The first television series less than that. The first movie only about 30. This is BRAND NEW technology. We are in the earliest of earliest stages of CGI experimentation. History will look back on CGI and not view 2024 as notably distant from Toy Story’s release in ‘95. I think it’s only in the past few years that we’ve seen mainstream film really try to use CGI for something genuinely brand new—Trolls in 2016 creating an entire world comprised of textures that wouldn’t exist in such a way in real life (like felt ground, cotton ball clouds, etc), Moana (also in 2016) using computer generated blacklight and neon for the Tamatoa sequence, Into the Spider-Verse in 2018 absolutely changing the game with its use of comic book stylization that looks nothing like anything that came before it, followed by Puss in Boots: The Last Wish in 2022 implementing something similar to evoke a storybook feeling and experimenting with intentional drops in frames per second (there’s a cool video about it here that covers some of this). But these new and inventive attempts at CG, all less than a decade old, would not exist without the decades leading up to it. Terminator 2 was an extremely significant breakthrough in animating liquid. Finding Nemo over a decade later was a huge technical breakthrough for animated underwater environments. 1991 to 2003, 12 years spent learning how to make a computer animate water, and Finding Nemo looks plenty dated now. The first realistic digital fire was shown off in my all time favorite animated short, Peedee Meets the Dragon, in 1989! Only 35 years ago animating fire was in and of itself a feat! Toy Story in 1995 famously used toys as protagonists because humans were still difficult to animate—Only 29 years ago HUMANS still couldn’t be consistently animated in CGI. The Incredibles would be THE FIRST ALL HUMAN CAST that Pixar would attempt, and that was in 2004, almost a DECADE later. All the weird uncanny experimental stuff are building blocks to something so much greater than we can even imagine. I really believe that.

So like, yeah, the homogeneity of CGI in the industry right now is frustrating. The industry-standard willingness to exploit digital artists for rushed, cheap, and unregulated third party work is disgusting and genuinely abhorrent. But man, I hate seeing CGI itself shit on in the same breaths that these criticisms are made. So much fundamental misunderstanding of what it is and what it can do as an art form and such a lack of genuine desire to see it continue to evolve and progress. To be blunt a decent amount of it is just straight up nostalgia, and often very rose tinted nostalgia. “Things from my childhood looked better.” Sometimes it’s genuinely being misinformed—Tons of movies that get heralded as being traditional animation or practical effects… still utilize some form of CGI. I also think there’s something to be said about the fact that I believe the current trend of using CGI for hyper realistic effects in big budget live action films is genuinely a misusage of the medium and a complete failure to actually utilize CGI in any meaningful way (looking at you, live action Disney remakes). I love practical effects and I love traditional animation, but I don’t see why they need to be at odds with CGI. The best and most visually striking movies with the greatest visuals tend to recognize that and utilize a blend of the strengths of more than one of these mediums—Though interestingly, Courage the Cowardly Dog remains one of the only examples I can think of that uses CGI as a form of mixed media INTENTIONALLY. As in, not to look hyper-realistic or to replace/accompany practical effect or traditional animation, but to squarely be intentionally meant to be read as CGI in order to evoke a specific tone, functionally using CGI as a punchline the same way one would use live action shots in a show like Spongebob. I'm sure others have done it, but it doesn't appear particularly common.

That’s my last note: I really want to see CGI utilized more with both its strengths and weaknesses taken into account. Back to “Tiny Wounded Bird,” which makes use of the way models of the human body can be reskinned and manipulated to the point of being unrecognizable, a succinct but evocative visual theme for a song about pride and suffering. But I want to talk about another older CGI short film that does something similar, Polly Gone from 1988.

Y’all, I’m literally switching from my phone to my computer to type this out because this matters a lot to me.

EVERYONE writes Polly Gone off as absurdism. That goofy "Early CGI Was Horrifying" video writes it off as "a shitpost," which half the damn commenters on the artist's upload are quoting, annoyingly. The VintageCG Youtube account cruelly calls it "The second worst computer animation ever produced." It finds its way onto r/OddlyTerrifying and similar subreddits not unoften. You guys. Polly Gone is directed by the artist Shelley Lake, who has made this statement about her work:

"The artwork that comes from the world inside is the culmination of my mind’s eye–a fantasy world where, through my imagination, anything is possible. I enthusiastically partner with intelligent machines and together we create an artificial reality. A simulated world of superheroes, erotic men and women, wireframe meshworks, anatomical investigations, cybernetic creatures, phantasmagoric depictions of impossible people, places and things. Although these artworks often resemble our photo-real existence, these creations are utterly unreal and sometimes uncanny." (X)

She KNOWS it's uncanny. She knows it's weird. And her work is, explicitly, intentionally, and, honestly, blatantly, engaging with the weirdness of this medium to deliver messages in ways surreal, fresh, bizarre, and off-putting. I don't know what exactly her intentions are behind Polly Gone, but I would very strongly make a case for it being about women's roles in society, or at least that being a perfectly viable interpretation, especially if you do a 5 second deep dive into her body of work exploring themes about female bodies, sexuality, kink, and queerness. Her synopsis on her own Youtube page for this short is: "A day in the life of a robot." Consider watching it through a feminist lens. Consider how uncanny and dehumanized this animation is of an expressionless, mechanical humanoid--in a dress, in lipstick, with breasts--that zooms around its futuristic house doing mundane chores. Consider the name being a feminized version of the word "polygone." Consider this oddly cool OddlyTerrifying comment:

They're joking, but they're not: This is a short film from the EIGHTIES, seven years before Toy Story would be the first full-length CGI film. Shelley Lake received both a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and a Master of Sciences degree in the 70s. This is artistic experimenting from someone with years of experience, this is making use of the strengths and unique facets of computer generated animation that cannot be replicated through any other means, and it is not purposeless nor does it deserve to be written off as "a shitpost." And it's not asking you to look past the CGI limitations, it is wholly embracing them.

I want to see more CGI play with this. I think it was a mistake to veer CGI in the direction of trying to disguise it as something that it is not. I think it can work as an accompaniment to other effects, sure, but I don't think its sole purpose should be photorealistic lions emoting less than their real world counterparts singing covers of Elton John songs. I wish CGI wasn't devalued and I wish people would engage with it as a unique art form of its own.

[forabeatofadrum]

Hello, hello, hello and happy Sunday. Thank you @aroace-genderfluid-sheep, @confused-bi-queer, @bookish-bogwitch, @you-remind-me-of-the-babe and @coffeegleek for the tags.

Today, posting period for the Klaine Back-to-School challenge has started, but I am still stuck on the ending. Am I the only one who, like, tries to daydream fic scenario's first, just to see how it goes? The daydream unfortunately ends at Blaine taking Kurt to meet [REDACTED]. What happens next??? TELL ME, DREAMS!!

As the banner suggests, I am still finding my feet in this new podcast world. I figuratively threw out my old recordings and I rerecorded everything as a .wav file in an app recommended by @cutestkilla. I am going for the "keep your fuck ups in the recording and edit them out later" approach, since that does sound easier. @thnxforknowingme did offer to help with Audacity if I need it. And I will need it. I spent a long, long time getting these 25 seconds for this post:

(Oh, and yeah, I did claim the other fic. I am on a roll.)

Right, getting that little audio snippet was hell because I even had troubles with using the copy and paste options and then I had troubles saving it as a file. It also cut off a small part, cause the audio is supposed to end with "blooper reel or whatever", but that's mainly because I had to edit this... without sound on. Apparently Audacity doesn't like earphones and it just plays from my laptop speakers which is not fun in public, so I had to time it from the full audio and hope for the best. Well, it almost worked.

This will be a learning curve, or whatever it's called. But I said it before: I like how welcoming @caught-on-tape-fest is, because it is open to people with all sorts of experiences with podfics. I mean, I have none. Same with editing. I can make it as easy and comfortable as I want it to be. I see people in the Podfic thread talk about things that mean nothing to me, but I don't feel any pressure to do any editing magic. Well, I do want to add a kitten meowing to one of the files, but all the stuff about isolating sound or reverbing stuff or whatever (idek if I use the right terms here) or editing out certain sounds.... that is next level for me now, but yeah, it's great that I don't feel any pressure to do those things and that's an easy way to get into the podficcing world.

Although, while editing the file to get that snippet, I found out that there is a weird disruptive background noise in the later half of the file and I do not know what it is or how it got there, because my other files don't have it and I recorded the three fics in one go. Weird. Might redo it, if I don't figure out how to fix it. It was around 500 words, after all.

And now, the weather: @quizasvivamos @blurglesmurfklaine @esperantoauthor @otherworldsivelivedin @caramelcoffeeaddict @sillyunicorn @bazzybelle @dragoneggos @raenestee @tectonicduck @nightimedreamersworld @urban-sith @thnxforknowingme @captain-aralias @justgleekout @cerriddwenluna @tea-brigade @ivelovedhimthroughworse @moodandmist @whogaveyoupermission @ionlydrinkhotwater @1908jmd @special-bc-ur-part-of-it @larkral @chen-chen-chen-again-chen ​ @cutestkilla ​ @nausikaaa ​/@wellbelesbian ​ @artsyunderstudy ​ @martsonmars ​ @facewithoutheart ​ @shrekgogurt @boyinjeans @rockitmans @bitbybitwrites @blackberrysummerblog @whatevertheweather

[bleue-flora]

20 Questions For Writers

One as tagged by @x-i-l-verify and I’m a sucker for answering questions. :)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

7 (and since it’s not many I’m going to color code them) - Wow that’s actually crazy, can’t believe it’s only been a little over a year since I first posted.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

129,165 - Yo, I’ve written a couple novels worth in words let’s go!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Dream SMP. (though I have a real angsty fic idea for MCU’s Loki that I’ve considered doing…)

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

(Poor B is for Betrayal is at a disadvantage with only coming out this week lol)

Crow’s Nest

Which makes sense since it is the longest finished work and the most diverse in content, but it’s pretty wild since it’s only been since October. (I’m going to try and not assume it’s just because of all of the co-author, @midnight-fangirl01’s readers lol<3 :)…)

Dreamcatcher

Which I am probably the most proud of as far as my individual work, especially because the concept is really fun to explore. Hoping to finish the sequel soon but we’ll see.

Good Cop ‘Bad’ Cop

This is the shortest non-one shot by like half, so it’s interesting that it ranks higher. I do make some kinda cool graphics for it so I’m glad people like it. Not gonna lie though, a combination of positive feedback and projecting has made it go much farther than the one shot I had originally planned. And since I usually do a lot of planning for stuff it’s no wonder that I have non idea what I’m doing lol. :)

Misery Loves Another Idiot With A Jukebox Where His Soul Should Be (Or umm Misery for short)

(Every time I have to type that out I wonder why the heck I made the title so long, I means its perfect but also you can’t even do a good acronym because that’d still be long…) To be fair the kudo count is really close between Dreamcatcher, Good Cop ‘Bad Cop and this one, which is interesting…

Back in the day, when I first posted this as my blooper reel I did not expect people to like it this much, but I’m glad I’m not alone in my affinity for torture box madness. >:D I still can’t decide which is more unhinged the hopscotch or the crucifixion… like my mental health this year was suffering for real… lol

If The Crown Fits, Wear It

I mean c!Techno should always rank top 5 so it makes sense. ;) As someone who doesn’t love to read one oneshots because I get too attached and sad when it ends, I can’t say I’m overly surprised at its ranking. But also still surprised. Regardless,it was really healing for me and I’m glad it seems to have been for others too.

(Ok though for real my first fic Hell in a Box being the lowest makes me kinda sad not gonna lie. Like it’s true that I think I’ve certainly gotten better at writing, which is actually why I edited it this summer, but it is the one that started it all and while it’s not my favorite work at his point it does have some really cool scenes and holds a special place in my heart.……)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Always. Every one. They took the time to make me smile so the least I can do is share the love or fun. Especially when I spend a maddening amount of time on specific details it makes me so happy when someone noticed and enjoyed. <3 :)

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Yes. Oh wait lol I mean technically it would be Misery since there is both no ending and it’s more so a complication so technically it probably won’t get one. But if we are talking a finished work with an actual ending then probably Dreamcatcher I guess, because it’s kinda a sad realization, though technically it would have been Crow’s Nest if not for the co-author spoiling my plans lol >;)

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I mean easily Crow’s Nest… I mean the ‘epilogue’ is like 13,000 words so that’s how you know it’s good. ;D

8. Do you get hate on your fic?

No not really. And honeslty my self esteem is low enough I’d probably quick if did. :) I did receive a hurtful but also wild accusation (from what I discovered to be a bot) that Good Cop ‘Bad’ Cop was written by AI, which is funny because honestly that fic is really uniquely formatted with literal nutrition facts I designed at the end, like heh? An AI doesn’t come up with this.

9. Do you write smut?

Nope. And I do not read it either. In fact, I originally thought that all fanfiction was smut but after reading my first one that was recommended by a friend I was pleased to discover there is plenty of fanfiction that isn’t.

10. Do you write crossovers?

Haven’t yet? But I wouldn’t be the most opposed to it…

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, someone is translating Crow’s Nest into Russian, which is pretty cool.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

Yes with @midnight-fangirl01 and it was pretty fun. Though the short timeline and time difference made it difficult as well as my canon compliance extremism. But overall, I think we made a really good pair and I certainly got some new writing skills. It is by far the longest fic I have worked on so I’m pretty proud of it and certainly couldn’t have pulled something like it off without her.

14. What‘s your all-time favorite ship?

Umm I don’t really do ships, but Drunz is one that is cute, and I always try and keep my fics kinda open and up for interpretation for anyone who does ship them. I think in general my opinion on their relationship doesn’t change much on whether they are platonic or not.

15. What’s the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I intend to finish everything I post whether it’s how I planned or less so, because it makes me sad when works are unfinished, and I like closure, however sad or open-ended it is. At the moment I’m struggling with Good Cop ‘Bad’ Cop because my writing is based on projection and spurs of creativity so I guess I’ve struggled to project onto c!Bad recently. I will say I actually wrote most of the end the other day, so worse case scenario I just post it, but I do have ideas for chapters before then. It’s just whether or not I get inspired to.

16. What’s your writing strengths?

I’d say despite generally disliking writing it, character/actual person sounding dialogue. Also my detailed descriptions that help you visualize the scene.

17. What’s your writing weaknesses?

Probably pacing, like I don’t seem to cover a lot of ground in my fics. And for the Dreamcatcher sequel I’ve been struggling a lot with exposition.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

If you mean because the character speaks it then yes that’s fine I love character accuracy but there should be translations. Otherwise it ruins my immersion and it’s rude to make me switch screens on my phone and get blinded by the light just so I can translate. Like lots of people don’t translate for Ranboo and it’s really annoying.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Dream SMP.

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

How dare you ask be to choose between my babies! XD lol… I mean… I don’t know Misery is the most fun to write because I get to just be unhinged and I can stop or start wherever I want. Crow’s Nest is the one I’m probably the most proud of since it look a lot of lost sleep, research of characters I hadn’t done yet and we basically wrote it in a month and that just blows my mind. But I don’t know my favorite? Maybe Dreamcatcher I guess…

Hmmm tagging: @midnight-fangirl01 @elmhat @catsandgoodbooks @mistythedritten @draconixiaa @swordfright @the-final-sif … umm I don’t know I have no wifi so trying to figure out people to tag is hard but if you’re a writer and you see this consider yourself tagged and feel free to participate I’d love to see your answers. <3 <3

[reconstructwriter]

Finally Sat Down and Gave RotS a Look.

. Said to be the best of the lot so let’s see what this movie’s got!

Warning, lots of word vomit.

…I’m genuinely surprised to find this funny. Aside from the bit with Dooku (And even then the look on his face! He did not expect betrayal from the space-Wizards betraying party) the first half hour’s been a comedy? And some of the dialogue got a laugh out of me. Do I have the bloopers reel in here?

Okay no, I don’t because we segway to all the political intrigue – which is a nice transition between the d&d-style rescue shenanigans and looming tragedy that (sort of) consumes the latter half of the movie. Starts with a nice bit of characterization: Obi Wan and Anakin joking about the uncomfortable spotlight. A joking reminder that Jedi should shy away from it – which does make it easier for Palpatine to mud-rake their reputation.

Pleasantly surprised by how suspicious everyone is of Palpatine – expected more obliviousness from all I’ve read but nope! Both Padme (and in the cut scenes 1,999 other politicians) and the Jedi Council worry this wartime chancellor the Senate’s been empowering for three years might not eagerly let go. Anakin’s his sole on-screen defender

…but you know that works for Anakin’s characterization here. He starts out wanting to help Oddball and his squad over rescuing the secret Sith Lord, willing to see both himself and Palps die to save Obi Wan. Then during the political intrigue Anakin defends Palpatine, even protesting Jedi Council orders to spy on the guy (who just gave him the cushy Council appointment so doesn’t feel so heroic). The tragic portion starts with Anakin finally throwing his lot in with Palpatine over the Jedi and going from ‘for the greater good of Padme’ 2nd Genocide to ‘ride or die for Palpatine actually’ immediately afterwards. (his lines to Padme would’ve been so much more delightfully ominous if they kept her rebellious scenes!) Finally, this ends with Anakin, fully sworn to the Sith, doing a one-eighty to betray Palpatine to make Padme Empress and rule the Galaxy together! He hasn't even learned the Super Sith secret of loved ones’ immortality – his entire reason for choosing to Fall in the first place. Sounds like he cares more about power than Padme. Especially since with Obi Wan’s appearance he immediately flips from wanting Padme to be Empress to strangling her. Something, something, Madonna-whore complex.

Decent narrative characterization for being stuffe in 2.5hrs.

I was surprised the whole ‘Jedi takeover plot’ wasn’t complete propaganda on Palpatine’s part. Sure, Palpatine made Mt. Everest out of a molehill but the Council does bring up a coup to solve the dictator issue. Yoda shuts this down but it shows the Jedi Order are losing their way due to the clone wars. IMAO this also shows they’ve got no better ideas/political power they could leverage.

Still, this plot point would’ve been better if they hadn’t cut Padme’s scenes. Those show she contemplates something similar, shows the Senate could’ve legally ousted Palpatine if more weren’t corrupt bastards and reinforced that Jedi just suck at politics, its not their arena.

This is probably me reading too much Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes but this movie seems to run with the cliché Ancient Greek tragedy plot point ™: ‘character X finds out terrible future. character X does everything in their power to prevent terrible future. Character X brings about terrible future via all their efforts to prevent it. Anakin has ominous nightmare/vision about Padme’s screaming death via childbirth. Anakin scrambles to keep Padme from dying screaming in childbirth (these methods apparently include crossing Moral Event Horizons but don’t include Space-OBGYNs)

…surprise twist! She dies screaming in childbirth. After he strangled her.

Why do fix-it fics begin with protagonists knowing about the future again?

Obi Wan’s obliviousness to Anakin’s past gives him that unwarranted faith, that inability to believe his brother made a one-eighty in like 3 days and just genocided the fuck out of their entire shared people. And Cody hands the lightsaber over to Obi Wan just after he defeated Grievous. From Obi Wan’s PoV everything’s going great – he and his buddy have hashed things out, General Grievous is dead. He can taste peace.

… Which makes order 66 hit so much harder.

For years I’ve read and watched these characters so the Order 66 scene hit me harder, but I also did not watch this until after the new live action atla came out. As heart-breaking as it is to watch Bly shoot Aalya in the back and keep shooting her corpse! At least this part is purely about betrayal, horror, sorrow. Jedi are gunned down by the overwhelming numbers of people they trust, children gunned down desperately being Jedi to their last breath. Anakin’s march on the Jedi temple with his massive army. The children taking shelter in the Council rooms because that’s where they feel safe – except the traitor was also appointed a member! We don’t even need to see the blood or the gore or anything. It's enough to have a little kid plea to an adult guardian…and focus on Anakin’s expression and ignited lightsaber.

When we do get the 20-minute fight montages, they still drive home the betrayal. The loss. The defeat. You can't forget that Anakin and Obi Wan were brothers in all but blood while they’re dueling on a hell-planet. Yoda and Sidious duke it out for the fate of the Republic, but in an empty Senate that Sidious dismantles to fight Yoda with. All driving home that the Republic is gone, Democracy is dead, the heroes either dead with it, Fallen or being hunted down like dogs!

Palpatine also gets to be an A+ bastard in this movie – he even outright informing the Separatist leaders that his new apprentice will arrive to take care of them? He was definitely laughing maniacally as they role out the welcome mat for their murderer. I love the tragedy but deeply regret that Anakin stopped Mace from punching Palpatine in the face with his lightsaber.

We know Anakin ultimately survives Mustafar but wow they really make it look like he’s dying (and using his last breaths to curse Obi Wan). It’s almost a shock to see his metal hand claw at the ashes of Mustafar terminator-style. After watching this I’m a little less harsh on Obi Wan for not finishing Anakin off there. The dude looks like he’s finished off and Obi Wan can’t watch anymore.

Okay y’all I get the ‘Padme's death as life force suction via Dark Side’ interpretation. She and Anakin are paralleled in medical and the in-movie reason for her death sounds so stupid. I do think narratively its just a contrast but adding that interpretation makes it better. Padme in the light medical room, Anakin in the dark laboratory. Padme is dying but giving birth. Anakin is surviving but becoming Darth Vader.

And then children entrusted to the Jedi are given over to loving families.

I’d agree this movie is the best of the lot. The pacing feels better, the overall mood of the film transitioned nicely from a humorous action adventure to a political drama and then finally falling into its tragedy. Anakin’s character is less annoying, though the sins of the last movie make his heroics fall a little flat to me. Even the dialogue is an improvement, barring a few terrible deliveries that drag down some important scenes:

Darth Vader’s Nyooo is just cringe. This guy face-planted at the rock bottom point of his life. He’s traded everyone else he loved, cared for or even said ‘hi’ to for unlimited cosmic power to save Padmé and has just woken up to find she didn’t survive him using said power to strangle her (surprise, surprise). His physical agony is only eclipsed by his emotional agony and I’m honestly surprised Palpatine’s space-Frankenstein lab survived that. Nyooo just doesn’t cut it.

Yoda’s words to Anakin really don’t convey his intention well to me. I get that pulling teeth would be easier than making Anakin say anything relevant but even his general advice could’ve been delivered better.

And the kid’s wooden delivery during the genocide… George you know you’re bad with dialogue don’t make some of your movie’s most powerful moments hinge on dialogue!

But there’s some good stuff. I’m going a little feral over Palpatine’s response to Anakin’s “I can do better” which reminds Anakin he has done worse and implies ‘no, you can’t ever be better than you are at your worst’. It's a philosophy Anakin takes to heart, keeping his silence about his first Darth Vader act until he swears to embody Darth Vader. Of course Palpatine’s philosophy is ultimately deconstructed in the original trilogy when after 20+ years of Evil Warcrimes in Chief of the Evil Genocidal Slavery Empire Anakin makes (1) better choice. And the shattered remnants of the Republic and citizens of the Empire also choose better. It's both a hopeful message and one that spits in the face of assholes who say they can't do better.

But Disney Star Wars – in re-doing plot-lines and deconstructing characters/narratives – seems to lean into Palpatine's philosophy. I don’t think that’s their narrative intent but it still bugs me the most about Disney Star Wars stuff.

Speaking of bugging me you can guess what else does from my incessant repetition but damn what this movie did to Padme.

This not only does her character considerable injustice but also hurts several other scenes and IMHO the overall movie. She mostly feels like a flat cardboard designated romantic partner of the lead character and the movie feels a little flatter, a little less nuanced, ominous and tragic as a result. Even her banger ‘this is how liberty dies’ line would’ve hit harder if we’d been shown her fight for it. Learning she had more scenes like that but they cut those because they wanted more Anakin angst? How dare you!

Instead, we get Padmé saying ‘he [Obi Wan] said such terrible things...you killed younglings'. Which…she’s one of two people who knows he DID exactly that. This makes Padmé sound weirdly moral myopic. I'm not surprised when Palpatine makes an unfair comparison between the murder of Dooku and the genocide of the entire Rrhr tribe, but Padmé?

tl;dr:

I’d agree this movie is the best of the lot. The pacing is better. The narrative itself feels more coherent with all the plot threads tying fairly neatly into each other. With one tragic exception the characters are all at their least annoying. But I know Revenge of the Sith could have been better. It almost was, so I’m still left sighing longingly at What Could Have Been.

Hopefully the novel will do the story justice. I've heard good things about it.

[toastofthetrashfire]

My Running Thoughts on DFF (Episodes 1-4)

Just started and caught up with DFF, thoughts from my watch for episodes 1-4 are below

Episode 1

Okay but people not hearing from someone is kind of the definition of disappeared

"Don't over think it he probably just moved" lol very comforting

Okay why are you smoking with asthma--I assume this will be related to how he dies, you better keep your inhaler on you at all times when the horrors start

Hmmm some relationship red flags from this guy

Lol our killer getting a bit handsy lol, but what are the actual logistics of that?

Throws cigarette over the railing, starts a fire, end of show--it's all a PSA: only YOU can prevent forest fires

Lol did he just bite his dick to make a point 😂 That's right stand your ground, bite his dick!

Okay so is this a real person or supernatural? Cause the hand and now only one person is hearing weird things. I wonder if there will be a trend of the newbies not hearing or seeing things for a while

Owww. Well the murder got right to the point--the stick kind

I don't know anatomy that well but why is there blood in his mouth? I mean I'll let it slide since it's a trope but I'm still wondering

I think we should split up 😅

Poor guy hasn't even started lessons yet and now he has to deal with tree impalement. Oh good, yeah he's right don't pull it out

Some good delegation from Phee (? still learning names)

Okay that's so not where you're going to find jumper cables ...Okay I was wrong but it certainly wouldn't be where I'd look

Maybe one of you just take the motorcycle? Seems like less of a waste of time, cause it'll take at least 10 minutes to jump that truck...

Oh good, but they should've done that before wasting time finding cables

Oh walkie talkies or radio smart

Who keeps a saw in their kitchen?

Team bike is not doing well lol

Wait so the murderer did try something, enough to cut his arms, crazy that they figured that out just like that though

Okay so it is supernatural maybe cause they aren't seeing it at the same time. I guess it could be hallucinations but it's so consistent

Oh brave to try and bring the bike back still

Wait are they holding off on what they saw in the video till next week or did I just miss it, I'm very good at missing more subtle jump scares but then jumping at stuff that wasn't supposed to be scary

Oh wow they actually used a busted bike for shooting, love that, truly delightful

Love that they give us these behind the scenes it's a nice reprieve from the spooky spooky. It reminds me of something I read on tumblr about how blooper reels serve a similar role to curtain calls for tragedies, they let us know that the actors are okay after all and it's all a show. I will now take all horror with bloopers please! sincerely, a resident scaredy cat

Alright I enjoyed that even if I won't sleep tonight, that mask is so well done and I'm starting to get a feel for the characters

Episode 2

Wait does iqiyi only have this tagged as romance 😳

Ah yes separate from the group that's smart

This is why you don't go off on your own in a horror show, and your even one of the ones convinced it's supernatural man

The masked man: Can you give me directions please, I seem to be lost

Oh wait I'm bad at faces it's the other guy, but also still stupidly alone

I know you're alone but maybe try and fight back

So will the axe be gone and no one believes him or will someone find it later in horror?

Lol he's seeking revenge cause he's upset you tried to film a sequel, don't mess with a writer 🤣

"Thai ghosts can do anything"...Oh interesting that they're making that explicit distinction. If my understanding is right, thai phee can be physical and there's less of a distinction between corporeal vs incorporeal, ghost vs monster. So they're setting the possible stakes and genre. This is a western style slasher but if it is supernatural we'll likely be operating on thai rules for that not western ghost stories. Heck it might mean that this is both physical and supernatural.

Guys, I don't think getting rid of evidence is going to make a ghost move on from its attachments

Ooof that's more than a little rash ouch. Oh not real. So if they're hallucinating it's not just the old group

Interesting to phrase it as "beat him"--so was it self defense in the past or maybe they see it as justified?

Ouch is right my poor ears

Okay physical knife but hallucinated choking. I like that they're playing with whether this is a person or supernatural. It totally fits with the emphasis on this potentially being a thai ghost. Cause it's hard not to waver back and forth.

Is it still not noon yet? Like I assume that'll fall through anyway but still, will the plot all happen in like two days? Interesting if so

All he said was he heard a sound, why are you asking if he saw someone? Suspicious me thinks

Ah really un-suspicious doc

Okay but 2 guys there were also around 3 years ago, you just gave your plan to find the drive first away...

I'm confused why Jin doesn't want it destroyed

Oooh punchout, fight fight fight

Well I knew the uncle wouldn't make it but goodness gracious 🤣

Okay I know it's supposed to be scary but I laughed when he was still handing them the bags

Wow seriously just abandon everyone including your boyfriend, you're on my shit list now

Also you didn't check that you were past the wire when you rode off

Okay Top, but you and Tee literally have encountered the thing before why are you acting like Tee is ridiculous for saying he saw and heard someone

Oh good job you do care a little even if you're going to lie your ass off about it--you're still on my shit list, Tee

Ghosts don't use wire, but like Thai ones could technically, but I guess that's a lot of extra work when you could do anything else as a ghost. I'm really liking how it's playing that line. Is this supernatural? Is it a slasher? What type of horror is this? We don't know yet, the characters certainly don't either.

Did the uncle's body just move?

The end song is very pretty, not what I'd choose for a horror show but it is a nice safe wind down from the scary

Episode 3

Really liking Ta's acting here, it's obviously a bigger role but he's standing out way more to me than in KinnPorsche

Okay I know we are upset about trust issues, but saying Top shouldn't go alone is smart actually you dumb asses

Sure you can set up the walkie talkies to communicate but then anyone can listen in if they know what channel you tune it to, so watch out

Oh yes let White go get the other walkie talkie alone

Ummm shouldn't you still have it tuned to the outside and try it as you drive out to see if you can reach anyone

I feel bad for the guys who are new. Unless they're in on it. Tan is pretty persistent

I do like that we as the audience are as curious as the newbies about what the heck happened in the past, it's a nice way to draw us in and give that past stakes beyond just a motivation reveal

Okay thank you, no touching or concealing bodies thank you. But good point about attracting animals

Okay yeah his body did move

I don't know why that attack felt so cartoonish, not in a bad way just visually it read that way to my brain

Oh Top is gone...dramatic!

Nice that they want to go after him but also how do they expect to catch up with a bike

Wait weren't they leaving, how'd he get back so fast?

Okay so only Top saw it, so is it supernatural or are more people in on it. Tan, I have my eye on you

Lol that's a big temple to just be hiding, spooky though

I want to know more about this Janta. Is it supposed to be a buddhist sect or older practices? Feels like it fits a trend I've noticed of older folk practices being framed as spooky in thai horror but my sample size is small and my context still pretty limited

Duuude great doctor over here, trying to shut up the dying guy. Have you killed before Fluke? Huh?

Interesting how their desire to hide the past keeps making them go against what would be best for survival, like telling white to go somewhere else

Yay white being smart and polite to the deceased! He best live

I think this is the first time I've seen them carrying weapons/defense of any kind. Hope they use it

Oh God how bad is this going to be? That is a lot of blood

Well he's not on the ceiling. After watching both Shutter and Nang Nak the possibility is totally there

I wonder what the writing says

Wait was that a statue or a mummy

Lol aware of the genre now, let's not split up, a little late, but good job guys

Wait one of them is named Phee, I'm guessing it's intonated differently but still an interesting choice

Ah here comes smoking with asthma, still betting that fucks him over when his inhaler is stolen or something

Wait who asked about the smell, cause White doesn't seem to be sniffing or anything

White being a little princess and the pea over here, good for him, I'm putting my bet on him for final girl. White for final girl 2024!

Oh boy what they absolutely don't need is a gun in this situation, I see it helping for defense but also being ripe for so much to go wrong

Lol the sudden flash back scared me more than the axe throwing scare earlier. My ability to miss jump scares but jump at random shit instead prevails

Okay good hide that sucker, no one needs to know you have a gun until the pivotal moment you use it to save yourself

Okay it was the dudes at the shrine who asked about the smell

Wow these guys are so unobservant pffff, let's all pay no attention while the axe guy just walks right up to us

Okay they all see it this time, so unless it's Top in there the rest are accounted for I think

Glad they're fighting back physically this time

I mean maybe try a few more swings before running, 4 on 1 you could maybe get the mask off

Maybe wait on opening the drive, White, cause I feel like doc is going to come looking for you soon

Oh doc is scary, hope White hid that in time

I don't feel like hiding in a confined axeable space is the smartest choice

Ah saved by another idiot

Locked in a casket by your own stupidity. I think they should kiss about it.

Oh did he already sew the wound? Not sure the logistics on that when it's a stab wound

Okay these two are stupid, like there was so much time to run while axe guy just slowly walks

Okay but axe guy on the motor bike is such a funny image...WEEEEEEE

Interesting, so does axe guy not want the disk shown or is he after doc now

So not abandoning White this time, how gallant

No but White is right you best sterilize things

Doc is losing it

And the gun comes out at the worst time

Okay so mask reveal, interesting

Will we actually get to know so early?! It's got to be a twist. Cause if it's Top under there then there's definitely more to it

Episode 4

Fluke's lost it

Is he going to force white to do the sewing?!

Boy you better sanitize that needle

Oof did not want to see the stitching, but at least doc did it himself

He's bleeding in his abdominal cavity AND you just used unsanitized equipment so he's probably going to get a nasty infection

Ah the romance of being locked in a box. I think the oxygen problem could be resolved by kissing actually

Again? Did he dislocated his arm in the past or something

Not going to try and snap it back in, probably smart I guess

What ghost or human could lift a person like that, well it's got to be one or the other guys

Wait I'm pretty sure those were the pants Top was wearing

Yeah okay kind of suspected but how does that work?

And does that mean he's headed to help or harm White

Oh now a ghost? And not in a mask so a real spirit this time, unless it's hallucinations? So I'm guessing multiple things are happening at once in terms of the attackers.

Again only one person seeing it

Omg did this fool just pull a "I'm not lost the woods are just cursed" 😂 going to pull that one out next time I don't want to admit I'm lost. Not all who wander are lost, some are just stuck in cursed woods where they shot a horror film and are now being hunted down for real.

They literally went a foot before spotting the house

I see they brought the supplies the uncle bled all over inside

Why is a random newspaper with tee's uncle sitting there, seems very planted. Did Fluke put it there?

Oh God is that foreshadowing is there something in his stomach

Did Top poison himself or was he forced?

He probably shouldn't become a doctor if he's complaining over two patients

Looks like some clay can but that's cursory search. Oh he learned it from detective conan how cute if this wasn't life or death

Bleeding eyes seems to be a thing

Why are they using a hair dryer on the clay and not like the oven

Hmmm maybe try the oven before waiting till the sun comes out!

Dun dun dun

Possession? Or has Top just lost it?

Oh no! Friend on friend violence! We're one man down now

Okay but why now? Por has been dying just fine until now. And the killer seems pretty well planned. So I don't think Top is the actual one behind anything. I mean I guess he could've faked the poisoning but again why kill him now? Cause wouldn't it be better to go after White who saw the tape?

I mean no one checked it was loaded so I guess it makes sense it wouldn't be shooting bullets

I'm not convinced it's just Top being a maniac, I still think there's a supernatural component or at least more going on

Ruh roh it is loaded after all what did I say about bad things happening if you throw a gun into the mix

White love you bud but you are being super unhelpful right now

It looked more like he was trying to shoot himself

Good job White atta boy!

Oh fluke looks so sad...

And then there were 7 (or 8 I guess if we have an extra person running around after all)

I do like that because this is a show and not a film we get their moment of grief and that's given space 😔

Now doc has no patients (too soon?)

Ahhh poor doc, that's a lot before you've even had your training, wouldn't blame him if he switched majors (allowing he stays alive and all)

Yes for goodness sake tie him up, though I'm guessing he'll be back to normal and it's not the end, that or he's gone already

How'd these idiots get locked in the shrine, you were outside before, go around

Wait who was on the walkie?

Dude I think getting out is way more important than your resume, though I guess if you think it's over

The comparison and contrast between Top losing it supernaturally (or hallucinating idk) and fluke losing it cause of the past and his anxiety over the future

Ah the joys of youth, friendship, and threatening each other with a gun in a cabin

Dang dude

Once again fear of the past is making them choose to screw themselves over, mostly Fluke here, but yeah

Dude you have alibis and CCTV footage, you'll be fine (i mean you won't cause it's definitely not over but yeah)

Top making a hilariously dramatic re-entrance

And then there were 6? 7 I guess if we still assume there's an extra person. If the shot actually landed. Maybe doc just got himself a new patient instead

Oh looking forward to seeing Non and a non-passed-out Por next week!

[tomfooleryprime]

In school, I learned U.S. history through a shallow, carefully constructed narrative that was more concerned with instilling patriotism than it was with imparting contextualized, factual accounts and records of times that came before. What I learned is America started when England was trying to tax us to pay for their imperialism and foreign wars and we didn’t like that, so we fought a revolution and then we didn’t have to have a king anymore and we were free. Most of us. Next up in the timeline was slavery, which was bad, but we fought the Civil War and then didn’t have slavery any more, which was good. 

Around that time, the country was expanding and we couldn’t share the land with the native peoples, so we forced them west, which was sad. And then we never talked about them again, except a casual mention about the trouble they made on our road to achieve Manifest Destiny. There was the Industrial Revolution and the Gilded Age and people got tired of working all the time in dangerous conditions, so then there were some strikes or whatever and now we have weekends. We even allowed former slaves and women to vote: good job, America! 

Then there was WWI, which got botched somehow so we had to do WWII. Hitler was bad and we beat his ass, and we also locked up Japanese Americans but that belongs in our blooper reel and we were sorry for that. Later. Kind of. Then it turned out maybe all the problems of racial inequality actually weren’t solved by the Civil War, so we had the Civil Rights movement and then things were basically fine. 

Then came Vietnam and some stuff about communism, a hand wave through the later decades of the 20th century, then the War on Terror, the Great Recession, and now here we are in 2023, paying taxes to put more money into our military than most other developed nations combined because, you know...we love imperialism and foreign wars when we’re doing it, but shame on 18th century England for doing the same. Those assholes. Anyway, the best storytelling always comes full circle without beating you over the head with the symbolism and irony. 

And that is how U.S. history was taught to many modern inheritors of this great experiment in democracy even before the culture wars got involved and people clutched their pearls over equity, diversity, and inclusion training, critical race theory, and the 1619 Project. But whatever you think about telling kids that most of the founding fathers owned slaves or that maybe Jim Crow didn’t end as much as it was transformed into the industrial prison complex, consider the inevitable fate of the Covid-19 pandemic in our history books. 

It seems strange to think of events from three years ago as history, because we were there. It feels almost like a foregone conclusion that decades from now, chroniclers will reflect on the start of the 2020s as a time the nation, no, the world, was blindsided by an unseen enemy but how we all came together to fight back. They’ll tell about how science raced to develop treatments and vaccines in record time. There might even be pictures of the parades for healthcare workers and people singing to each other from NYC balconies. 

But the stories about people who didn’t believe it was real, even as they gasped their last breaths in hospital beds, will disappear. So will the stories of the abuse frontline workers faced every day just for asking people to wear a mask. The stories about hoarding toilet paper and hand sanitizer and affordable housing and those who sold it at exorbitant markups will fade into the background, as will the reality that millions of people refused the very vaccines that the history books will tout as marvels of modern medicine and the American can-do spirit.

U.S. history books might note how more than 1 million Americans ultimately died—no mention about all the lives that were maimed by long Covid or the loss of a parent, partner, or breadwinner—but as Stalin once said, one death is a tragedy, a million is a statistic. 9/11 was a tragedy that killed 3,000 people and permanently altered the social and political landscape. To this day, I still can’t board a plane without taking off my shoes. But when that many were dying every day during some of the pandemic’s peaks, we had other people demanding we re-open restaurants and movie theaters and concerts because “we can’t live in fear.” The uglier parts will inevitably get left out of our story because they aren’t conducive to national pride.

I’ve learned a lot of things about American history since leaving school. It broke my heart to learn just how many Americans in the 1930s thought Hitler made some good points about Jews. To learn Lincoln wasn’t really opposed to slavery so much as he was the expansion of it. To learn just how pervasive lynching was in the American south or how relentlessly coordinated the genocide of the Native Americans was for more than a century. And I have a feeling that around the time I’m ready to breathe my last, I’ll hear young people insisting that while the pandemic was terrible, it was a unifying, equalizing force that brought out the best in us. 

Never mind it only brought out the best in some of us. It brought out the worst in just as many others. Because to tell the story of everyone who resisted every single measure to slow or stop the pandemic with the dedication and ferocity of suicide bombers takes the “we’re all in this together” version of events and turns it into a disjointed narrative. That isn’t good storytelling. That isn’t good history worthy of an American classroom.

[starlitangels]

Any advice for someone practicing scripts for voice acting and still stumbling and stuttering after a good amount of run throughs?

I want to get clearer and be able to easily run scripts but I have a lot of anxiety even when I’m not trying to record or post it.

-💛

Ohhh... that's a good question. Especially considering I don't usually fully script my stuff. I might script out the beginning for a good introduction, but my usual method of making audios is to outline what I want to cover in the video and then improvise the actual wording. I think I sound very... stilted when I fully script a whole audio. It doesn't sound natural to my own ears, so I try not to script the whole thing

But when I do, I'm usually the one writing it so I usually know how I want it to sound when I say it...

That said, I still f^&* up all the time. Give yourself space and leave to stammer and stutter. It's okay if you do. Hell, it's okay if you do when you're recording. It just means you'll have a good blooper reel lol

And here's what I do when I keep messing up: start slow. Speak slow and clear. Don't worry about making it sound natural yet. Just build the muscle memory of the lines you're saying into your mouth and vocal cords. I do this all the time. Literally one word at a time. I end up sounding like an idiot, but I'm practicing so who cares?

You don't have to memorize your lines, but the better you know them, the better they'll get, leaving your face. So, literally, if you end up "taaalkiiinnnggg liiike thiiiiisss" or "Talking. Like. This." or "t a l k i n g... l i k e... t h i s..." all you're doing is helping your mouth learn what you're saying

Which is ultimately the goal, right?

Start slow and clear. You can over-enunciate your diction. Work your way up to a normal-sounding pace and a natural cadence.

And, if you have to, change the script! Is one specific line turning out to be more difficult to say than you expected? Adjust the wording! Keep the spirit of the message, but simplify the wording. Shorten the sentence. Split a run-on into two. Do what makes it better for you. Change a whole damn paragraph if you can't say it!

At the end of the day, it's that "practice, practice, practice" that teachers like to spout, buuut. It's more "practice, adjust, do what will make this simpler or easier for you"

And give yourself the grace to be okay with your fumbling while you're practicing. We as humans often beat ourselves up for making mistakes. Don't bother with that. It's fine to fumble. There's no consequences to tripping up over a line when you're practicing except to know which lines to practice and where you do well and where you struggle

And if you've got practice anxiety (which also fine!), take deep breaths, do some vocal warmups if you need to. I personally like to make my vocal warmups silly so that I make myself laugh because it takes the edge off. If I laugh at myself, I find my recording environment to be much easier and looser. (Also vocal warmups are just good in general depending on your character. I happen to be a cisgender girl who naturally has a bit of a lower, gravelly voice. Especially when I just wake up. Which is great for a character like Hazel—I never do warmups before voicing Hazel early in the morning because I want that quality to my voice—but not as great for, say, Celeste. I try to give Celeste a smoother, higher-pitched voice than Hazel. More in my normal register. Hazel I deliberately talk as low as I can—which is not very low haha. Doesn't always work but that's my intention. And giving Celeste a smoother, normal-pitched voice doesn't always work either. But warming up my voice before I do a Celeste video helps me be less gravelly or low. It helps me sound more awake than I am. The warmups just help for some characters)

Best of luck!