#and rules

this biab does just make me think about reuben’s irl kidney journey

i don’t think i have much to say about TAPAS. but i do keep wondering if there’s a place where it would be worth talking abt social class and these characters. bc i know i’m always shocked at class as depicted in us-american media so i wonder how well our depiction of class translates for an international audience. especially in nmtd but it’s present in lolilo too.

actually, one thing, last line in the TAPAS script:

Peter leaves Ben all alone.

oh good the first zoos job vid; let’s get right into it. i was never supposed to be the one editing these videos but due to various unforeseen circumstances they fell into my lap. my incredible and serious approach to getting these videos edited and ready on time? well. i had a bottle of red wine and one whole day at my disposal. and i truly believe there is no other way to edit as, and get into the mind space of, costa mcclure.*

my memory of the rest of my own flat coming home to me day drunk in the lounge behind a laptop is bright and joyous, i also remember robbie being with them so it felt very serendipitous.

script highlights…

jaquie was gonna make an appearance in TOWN but it didn’t work out 💔

the biab was pedrazar discussing their shared present for hero, and meg’s vid before this was the present opening - things got reshuffled etc

“like, [Balth] was happy with them before but then he drank some and now- no he didn’t drink his shirts, Freddie, shut up!”

selfie moment as “Oh hey look how attractive our cast is.”

“The whole flat is now singing Beatrice, You’re Vivacious.”

paige talking about queer shit with peter

so conscious of who has the camera at any moment

“[Balth] contemplates his answer.”

“Balthazar is trying to remain calm.”

“Pause. This hits home to Peter.”

“Balth realises he’s said too much”

“Peter allows Balth to react”

everybody on the cable car!! that light installation was initially temporary but i think it’s still there??? will have to ride the cable car again soon and find out 🧐

hannah geddis aka most beautiful person on the planet

boogie wonderland was such a popular spot it’s immortalised here AND in wwdits (the movie)

i think if anyone had really wanted to at the time they could absolutely have found our flat irl 😬

one time shortly after that peter pan liw came out i saw jim beaver having a smoko outside that hotel the flat dance past. the thing is that’s a sacred time here and it’s culturally gauche to interrupt a celeb anyway, so i didn’t end up approaching him with my producer hat on. would’ve been funny tho.

we really wanted to get the lead up and fight in one take, but there was a necessary cut so we made it two cuts. and there is some dialogue present in the script that is removed with the cut within the argument. we spent most of the night just on this scene and supporting the actors through the emotional intensity of it.

originally, peter was gonna have found someone to take home with him (orsino, built a bit like ben) so let’s all imagine someone in his room hearing the argument lmaoooo

god anyway pete condescending to balth so balth contemplating deciding to be a dick right back, and then peter is literally blocking his escape route, you have to talk… i love a little toxicity in fiction, i love that they are both too pissed to be having this conversation

☺️ they both know about the drinking ad. nz has a long and uncomfortable history with binge drinking so we get a lot of very compelling, and very meme-able, ads about ways to decrease alcohol harm (taika waititi’s ghost chips comes to mind); it’s also a very common thing for a pākehā man to be going through in uni (we explored some of this with bryn in bsn too). alcohol abuse and depression is a recurring theme across media coming out of this country, often in much heavier contexts. i’m not being coherent enough, suffice to say i have many thoughts on this (and class) and where we contributed to the landscape and where we subverted it. subjectively. and with my degree in criminology & eng lit lol

peter calling back to POPCORN…

waffles after nights out was based off me doing waffles after nights out!! sometimes our mates would show up dusty at our doorstep and sometimes it’d just be our flat, but either way always a nice and yummy time** 🥰😅

from zoos job scripts… “Paige… isn’t sure why happy, feisty Beatrice would be such good friends with [this version of] Peter.”

“Through all this, we see [Paige and Chelsey] being a strong couple who are dealing with these issues together - a contrast to every other couple in the show.”

it is also, of course, very very funny to imagine the audition videos sitting in the collective flat youtube channel watch history and ben and fred just never fucking seeing it. balth like ‘huh thought we all knew’

claris did such a baller job editing RULES; and with how fast everyone is delivering that dialogue 🔥

it’s interesting, the way our lack of definite decision on who all in the flat aligns with the og loves labours lost quartet plays out. like, you can make a good argument in several directions but fred, ben, and peter are all vying for that king position, and all four of the flatties are masquerading as multiple of the og characters at once.

script says “scrambled eggs” but i know creamed corn when i see it…

will stand by veggie diet rule being least ridiculous and very budget friendly. having lived all 3, and speaking for at least here in Aotearoa, it is absolutely cheapest. and certainly was at the time. veganism and omnivorism (??) cost about the same amount. meaning it doesn’t matter your protein, it will be spenny. fucked up thing is ten years later even veggie is looking expensive with the price of dairy !!

trash joke but oh boy were there ever spiders by our outside rubbish (i have to assume their rubbish doesn’t get as many spiders, which is entirely possible considering they have a garden which fits a tent)

lost to the mumble and kerfuffle but script… “BALTH: You did say Beatrice probably isn’t coming down to Wellington again this year.”

points at ben, thinking “bam bam! laser kiss!!! - and it’ll happen to YOU”

costa i-will-cast-my-friends-and-amateurs mcclure. kelsi i-actually-prepared-for-this-audition forester.

shout out chelsey and kelsi being named by the kickstarter 🩷

*unless you are robbie nicol (who has taken the time to validate my red wine editing approach on several occasions***)

**tummy buddy life amirite

(I know he’s basically TVD version of Uncle Ben, but still.)

Plot.

Same reason Kol came back like three times but Klaus, Hayley, and Elijah couldn't be brought back.

Resurrection is such a difficult plot devise to introduce to supernatural world because it lessens the stakes. If anyone can be brought back at anytime, there is no fear of dying.

TVDU attempted to circumvent these issues by changing the rules of resurrection as they went. It allowed them to "explain" why certain characters had to stay dead and then when they wanted to bring someone back, they would add another way.

TVDU introduced resurrections with the idea of the Other Side. Since Qetsiyah created the Other Side, it allowed witches to bring back any supernatural back from the Other Side but it takes an immense amount of power. We see this happen with Jeremy several times.

Esther's strength has always confused me because she is not a first in her generation. We know Dahlia is considerably stronger than her, but we never really got to see Esther's raw power. I would even argue that she probably shouldn't have had enough power to create vampires based on what we do see. But since she canonically did, she should have easily had enough power to bring back Henrik. She was already dealing with dark forces. Also, considering how desperately Ayana was to prevent the plague of vampires, you would think she would have been willing to help bring Henrik back to stop Esther. I think it's safe to say a Bennett witch would have that type of power.

So potentially we could say Esther just didn't know this type of magic existed, but that just feels unlikely. I've heard the argument that he couldn't be brought back since he was human, but again, Jeremy was human and brought back multiple times before he became a Hunter.

In order to create stakes once more, in Season 5, the writers "collapsed" the Other Side. But before they did, Esther was able to just bring herself back by possessing a witch, along with Kol, Finn, and Ansel. Again, we are assuming Henrik was not on the Other Side with them since he died "human." There are arguments that he would be as an untapped witch and could have been on the other side. I used to not really buy into that because an "untapped witch" is just a human, but then when Freya had Finn in the talisman, she was able to channel his magic. So maybe untapped witches really do exist in TVDU.

Freya was able to keep Finn's soul in a talisman and resurrect him that way. I don't remember and I won't even ask where she got his body from. And then again with Elijah. But of course, the talisman broke and Freya never even attempted to create a new one to save her brothers again. Davina was able to resurrect Esther even after the other side fell with a gift of power from the Ancestors and her ashes. Who knows where Esther's soul was at that time. Kol was in the Ancestral Plane when he died the second time (I guess we assume they consecrated him in New Orleans). I don't remember what she tapped into to resurrect him, but she did and brought Kol back.

In TO, New Orleans makes it fairly easy to bring back witches with the Ancestral Plane. Look at how easily Celeste brought back three witches. So they got rid of that when they wanted to kill Davina off for good. But then somehow Inadu still brought her back. But also why wouldn't they have brought back their powerful witches. Also why didn't they use that protection spell more often? You know the one the witches used when Klaus killed them in Season 1 so they all just didn't die? And since it was so easy to bring them back, why was the Harvest that scary? They were just on the Ancestral Plane.

Resurrection is just so messy and the show really needed to create bigger consequences of bringing people back from the dead. They started off so good with showing it literally cost Bonnie her life. This creates stakes to doing so. But then that was the only time that it drew so much power it killed the witch casting it.

But seriously, why was Alaric brought back multiple times, but like Enzo, Lexi, Jenna, Jackson, Henrik, etc. couldn't be? It also makes the characters seem problematic. You're telling me that Josh wouldn't have begged Davina to bring Aiden back? She wouldn't rest until Kol was brought back but never even mentioned trying to help Aiden. There are so many instances where characters fight like hell to bring back one person but just accepted the death of another.

It was just all for the plot and honestly whatever contracts the actors had. But it makes for poor writing and unrealistic stakes.

some sketches from my past two sessions

things that have happened include --

Masterlist

Rules:

• You must be 18+ in age to participate.

• Fandoms: any is fine, just let me know for the masterlist. You can have as many characters as you want.

• This event is to show off your writing skills. Even in the dark, there is light. So, you can take any of these prompts and make it fit for what you feel best. I welcome dark, light, and everything in between when it comes to content.

• Choose 1 or more (maximum of 3) prompts. It has to be somewhere in your fic, one shot, head-canon, etc. It does not have to be in the title. Once a prompt is claimed, it will be marked out/have a line through it. Please let me know which prompt(s) you choose.

• Please put content warnings or let me know in advance so I can put it under your fic. We want to keep everyone safe mentally.

• Due Date is June 25th. When you post your piece on tumblr, please tag me so I can see it. If you need an extension, let me know so I can accommodate your needs.

• Spots: CLOSED. Let me know by personal message, ask, or comment if you’re interested in participating.

Confirmed participants: @moonlit-mizukage @bakugous-trauma @awilddreamerwrites @idfkwtfgof @peachsenpie @shiggyslittlebirdie @themotherofmoons @daisy-bakugo @hotwings0203 @minninugget @guzmasjewel93 @eatthecake-annamae @matsusimp @s-elisea

If y’all have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out!

Prompts:

Maximum of 3.

“You’re fucking mine”

“I hate you”

“I love you”

“Do you know who you belong to?”

“Bad influence”

“You had me at hello”

“Give you what you like”

“Hello heartache”

“Fuckin’ right”

“I’m going to make you regret it”

“Sugar baby”

“When we were happy”

“If I know me”

“Things I’ll never say”

“Baby girl”

“Shut me up”

“Cry baby”

“Baby, I’m jealous”

“Who do you love?”

“Daddy issues”