Triviaaaaaaaaaaa

[essbeejay]

Been in a weird writing funk lately. Haven't touched TEF for a couple of months or more now, and when I thought about jumping back on it I got all giddy and excited. Now to actually sit down and write it.

Well. Here is some TEF trivia in the meantime!

"Dude! Hands off!" Boomer exclaimed, striking him with his bat. "I'm saving myself for marriage!"

Favorite line from ch5. Apparently a lot of people like this line, because a lot of you commented on it!

• The first title for this chapter comes from Lou Reed's The Gun; the second from Bob Dylan's You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (which is impossible to find on Youtube). Madeleine Peyroux's cover, however, is up, and my favorite version of the song besides.
• Maria Santiago was reporting live from the scene of the attack. – Maria Santiago is one of the news reporters from the show (see “Members Only” and others!)
• Stan was a stickler for keeping the people informed, though—a good quality for a newscaster to have. - Stan Whitfeld/Whitfield is another news reporter from the show (see “Supper Villain” and others!)
• “[...] This monster, like the ones that have attacked over the last year, demonstrates significant resiliency, supporting Professor Utonium's theory that those monsters that do push through the barrier are tougher and stronger than your typical class of monster.” - MORE THAN MONSTER
• Without waiting for her crew, Maria sprinted down five city blocks in heels, arriving at the scene even before her van. - I believe this is the line that made juxtaposie say (paraphrased), “I like her. She is awesome.”
• Brick turned it off, staring at the blank screen until he heard the phone in his room ring. He dashed in, spotting Mrs. Morbucks' name on the ID. - This isn't really trivia, nor is it particularly interesting, but originally this scene ended with Brick just turning off the TV and brooding. I'm actually not a huge fan of broody characters (HA I KNOW I MUST BE JOKING RIGHT but seriously most of the time I hate it, especially when the brooding isn't necessary to get the point across) and hated that he was just standing around brooding, so I threw in the call from Morbucks to break it. Brick winds up brooding an awful lot; I try to break it up with characters interrupting him or having him walk/stalk/stomp out of scene. lol my writing secrets, let me show you them.
• “I've been doing this longer than you,” Bubbles said. “You're the last one of us to ever have a boyfriend. Now you suddenly have one. Big news in their world.” - A few people commented on how cool it was to see the girls' celebrity status from the show carried over into TEF, and I'd like to thank everyone who commented on that. xoxo
• “[...] I don't know, I don't exactly have a personal frame of reference to base the experience on!” - Oh, how many girls have uttered this line in their lives? Albeit much less Blossom-y.
• He deepened his voice and rumbled, “Join us, Bubbles.” After a slight pause, he added, “You know, your name really doesn't lend itself to a deep, masculine voice of evil.” - That last line wasn't exactly planned, but once I wrote “Join us, Bubbles,” even in my head I was like Wow that would sound so silly.
• Blossom groaned and flopped on her other side, facing the wall. “You're so vain.” “You probably think this song is about you,” Buttercup quipped.Oh man, this is from a classic. And it's such a song about Brick.
• “Already there,” Buttercup said as she sped out the door. “See you in a few.” - This scene makes it sound like Buttercup is on her way to the boys' apartment, which is NOT the case. My screw-up; I neglected to write in the two of them settling on a meeting place or just agreeing to meet at wherever they're getting shakes. OOPS.
• “Move it,” he growled, and muscled past, practically flattening Blossom against Kris' car as he did so. - Totally being a narcissist here, but I loved this Reds scene. It was way too much fun to write, so because of that, it's STILL way too much fun to read.
• “Excuse you,” Blossom scoffed, then was suddenly pulled along by her waist. Both she and Brick stopped and looked down to find his keys, half hanging out of his pocket, hooked onto a loose thread of Blossom's jeans. - By the way! Just for the record. My keys totally get stuck on my jean threads all the time. So I did try to base this bit on reality. Granted, I stretched it pretty damn far, but w/e.
• Brick shoved his keys completely into his pocket, making the mistake of glancing at Blossom as he did so. - It gets lost because the scene is mostly him being pissy and playing that for laughs, but this little bit here where he inadvertently looks at her (out of all the scenes in this fic where people inadvertently look at each other) is one of my favorites. I find it a very sweet surprise in a non-romantic scene, and I also like that it gets ruined almost instantly. What can I say? I LIKE RUINING SWEET MOMENTS.
• Buttercup punched him in the face. “Fuck you, Pencildick.” - Totally lifted the pencildick insult from “Cool World.” Which is not a good movie, for the record. But it yielded an amusing insult.
• Again, Bubbles and Boomer passed by Will and his group, who issued them both several Death Glares as they walked by. - mathkid: “How many times can you pass by the same group of people?” Me: “AS MANY TIMES AS I WANT THEM TO.” (I have to thank my betas for letting me be a brat occasionally.)
• On the subject of Bubbles and Boomer and Will. I don't think many readers think about this, because it is a PpG/RrB fic and you want to see certain couples get together, but I really did try to convey that Will isn't an outright asshole, he's just kind of selfish and has other, bigger things on his mind (I mean, they don't make a big deal out of graduation for nothing) than spending time with his girlfriend. I know I sound like a callous bitch, but high school relationships are not always forever, and going on to college is a big life change. And Bubbles wasn't entirely blameless, either—sometimes her demands were unreasonable, and part of being in a relationship is accepting that it can't always be about what you think is important. Then there's Boomer... who the readers forgive for being an asshole more readily, because it's a PpG/RrB fic and he's supposed to get with Bubbles, and because I purposely wrote him more charming than Will besides. But a lot of people also tend to forget (though a few of you noticed and pointed it out) that Boomer is frankly kind of a dick about winning Bubbles' affection, too—he's actively trying to turn things around in his favor and manipulate her into liking him. (Which, on a base level, is kind of how wooing someone does work...) Anyway I guess my point is moot because now ch7 is published and sensitive readers will get how the Blues dynamic wound up getting turned around from what it was here. YAY.
• “He blinded you with science. Um, football science.” He started to hum Springsteen's Blinded by the Light. “Blinded by the football science...” - If any of you ever meet me in real life you will be able to confirm firsthand that Boomer's silly and terrible sense of humor is largely derived from my own silly and terrible sense of humor. As he points out, this is two song references in one. Yeah, I'm proud.
• Ashley, sporting a very fashionable hairstyle—really, her hair was growing out quite nicely—spotted her, and pointed an accusatory finger. - Everybody remembers what Boomer did to Ashley, right?
• Mel was bouncing up and down, giddy with anticipation. She couldn't hold it in anymore. “It's burlesque-themed!” - When I think back to my own high school experience sometimes I am really floored by what we high schoolers managed to get away with, even with adult supervisors.
• Out of the corner of her eye she could see Brick fidget with his pencil before setting it firmly down. - Originally the scene where Blossom's fellow officers come to talk to her about the Induction Dance was done from Brick's POV. mathkid suggested putting it in Blossom's POV and when I did it actually became a million times better. I left some of the bits from Brick in; this particular bit he is putting his pencil down so as not to inadvertently doodle the image in his head.
• His immediate admittance and nonchalance caught her off guard; she'd expected at least a twinge of guilt, but there was no remorse in those friendly blue eyes. - This scene where Bubbles confronts Boomer about the ruined cheerleader uniforms and he totally owns up to it without even blinking illustrates how I interpret his character. A good amount of you have picked up on it, how the boys simply react to things differently from the girls based on their upbringing (and, in many respects, on who they actually are). I base the boys' reactions only partially on what they view as right/wrong and more on how selfish they are. I do it to different levels with each of the boys. Boomer I see as having only the vaguest sense of right and wrong—like a little boy who wouldn't get why you shouldn't shoot lizards with a BB gun (“But it's fun!”). Butch, on the other hand, has a more developed sense of what is right/wrong, but only to the extent that as soon as he can distinguish which would be the “bad” option he automatically goes for that. Because he is a dick and he likes pissing people off (and ruining himself in the process). Brick has the clearest sense of right/wrong but doesn't care so long as he benefits the most from whatever happens. Which makes him the scariest, frankly (and probably explains why he's my favorite).
• I wonder where he's going, she mused as she made her way up the steps of Townsville High. She should've looked into that. She'd meant to. What had distracted her? Her mind was suddenly flooded with memories of dancing with him, the suit he'd worn to Prom, the weight of his hand on her waist. - I hate dropping hints like this, but because it will be ages before we get there and there will hundreds of thousands of words in between that will make you forget, I am simply going to ask you to remember this.
• There was a note scribbled on the ad to Boomer—This must be his locker, Blossom realized—about the start time for this Friday's rehearsal being pushed back. - My memory of this is fuzzy, but I think this is how it went: my betas pointed out that if lockers are assigned alphabetically (they tend to be, or at least they were at my high school), then technically Brick's locker would've been right next to Blossom's, and it was waaaaay too convenient that Blossom and Kris just happen to stop by Brick's locker. HOWEVER. I realized that if the boys entered in the second semester, they would get assigned different lockers. So then it was a matter of moving the couple there and then setting up that they wound up at the boys' lockers—which is why the flyer with the note to Boomer is taped to his locker. (I mean, it's still super convenient that they stop there and then Brick shows up, but hell, you're all here to see how they get together anyway. Beggars can't be choosers!)
• She pressed a hand to her warm chest and leaned forward herself, intending to reward him with a little kiss of her own—just on the cheek, she wasn't that bold yet— “Excuse me,” Brick's voice said suddenly, a bitter edge to it, and she and Kris jumped, faces scarlet.I love making Brick a bitter little bitch, because OBVIOUSLY he saw them kiss just a second ago and that has just ruined his day, so he's going to ruin hers back. And also prevent them from ruining his day further by kissing again. Because it's lots of drama!cakes and a little bit DAAAAAW and, if you're into the whole schadenfreude thing, kinda funny.
• Brick narrowed his eyes at her and extended his arm, the metal popping as he placed a hand against the locker door right next to Blossom's head. She tensed, keenly feeling the proximity of his body, his arm cutting off her view of Kris. “Excuse me,” he repeated, his voice echoing like a shudder in her chest and dripping with fake cordiality, “I need to get to my locker.” - Also hot. With some mild symbolism thrown in there too, for kicks.
• “Come on, Blossom,” Kris said, and she felt his hand grasp hers. It took her a second to remember to grasp back. - I mean she totally forgot Kris was there AND ALL BRICK DID WAS TOUCH HIS LOCKER
• Butch had never played tennis before, either. - A thousand thanks to mathkid and her tennis expertise ♥ I only watch tennis on TV for the hot guys. Seriously.
• “You ever seen someone's brains on the outside of their body?” the guy said in a grim voice. Butch started laughing. - Dramatic irony! Every time I hit this line where Butch laughs it takes me by surprise. It actually creeps me out a little.
• Brick was unfazed. “Looks like raw chicken fat.” - Originally I had “gray spaghetti” here but it occurred to me on a later draft that I'd heard the whole gray-matter-is-actually-gray-colored is a myth. After doing some research (not all of which was, um, pretty) I changed “gray spaghetti” to something that to me better represented exposed brain tissue's color/texture. Chicken fat is actually more yellow than pink, but I think it works in context.
• She stared at his shoes, unwilling to answer, but wanting him to see how hurt and upset she was so he might have a chance at figuring it out himself. - There goes Bubbles, working that Girl-Fu. (Ladies, you all know what I'm talking about.)
• "Bloo Kazoo just finished. The Galaxy Girls are up next..." - References to Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends and Lauren Faust's personal project.
• She turned away. "What's your obsession with Avril, anyway?" He pouted. "You didn't like me singing, 'Hot,' to you onstage?" - I've been trying to work “Hot” into my twisted version of PpG for a long time. I may yet share one of those attempts on this lj at some point.
• When she didn't respond, he stepped a little closer and whispered, "You have no reason to be jealous. You got a piece of me..." - Boomer, working that Kelly Clarkson.
• She hastily clasped her hands behind her back, her heart thudding happily in her chest.[...] She crossed her arms across her chest and resumed walking. - I don't know that this really counts, but if you noticed, Bubbles' body language is pretty symbolic.
• "Kris," she whispered, her voice cracking as a fear gripped her heart, a fear that felt different yet just as raw as the terror that overcame her in the face of impending loss, of defeat. This felt like the hardest thing. - Instigating the breakup speech with someone is still one of the most difficult and terrifying things I've ever had to do. (lol my privileged life.)
• He paused. "Formerly M2 Industries. European, right?" - This was actually supposed to be M2 as in M squared, but I never fixed the formatting. Anyway. Why am I bringing this up like it's significant. COUGH COUGH.
• Huh, Butch thought. Nice. This was nice. He stared at the sidewalk and matched his steps to hers. Maybe it was too nice. - I intended what happens next as a subtle character moment for Butch (in a section that is a pretty obvious bigger character moment for him). He subconsciously destroys the nice moment he's sharing with Buttercup by asking about Mitch. Ladies and gentlemen, here's Butch, screwing everything up.
• Blossom stared for a long time at the mirrored wall, reflecting her lone self in the otherwise empty studio. - Ohhhh, I have a super old version of Brick running into Blossom in the dance studio somewhere. I've gotta get a TEF tfr post up at some point.
• Robin was one of the trumpet players [...] The dark-haired girl turned and pointed at her bass guitar, nearby. - I put together the weirdest fucking band for this weirdass zombie musical.