"I heard you just finished filming Marvel's Thor?"
Robert spoke, his voice lower than in the movies, carrying a standard British accent.
"Just wrapped!"
Cassius nodded.
"Wow, cool. At least you don't have to be like us, staring lovingly at the air in front of a green screen all day or being hung on wires in various anti-gravity poses!"
Robert shrugged, his tone carrying a bit of self-deprecating humor, contrasting with his melancholic and affectionate screen image.
Kristen interjected from the side:
"Come on, Robert. Just yesterday you were pinned against a tree by Bella without any power to fight back!"
Robert immediately made an exaggerated suffocating face:
"Don't mention it. That tree probably has better acting skills than me! Seriously, Cass, sometimes I feel like a cologne bottle that can recite lines."
This amused Cassius.
He found that Robert wasn't so "Edward" in private, but rather had a dry sense of humor.
This aligned somewhat with what he knew about Robert—that he didn't want to rely solely on his pretty face but wanted to become an acting powerhouse like Jack Nicholson.
Originally, this guy was supposed to have a relationship with Kristen!
But Cassius had beaten him to it!
"If you were a cologne bottle, that cologne would definitely be a bestseller!"
Cassius cracked a joke.
Robert paused, then laughed. The favorability score quietly rose to [45].
Cassius noticed that favorability grew faster when it was relatively low, and the fluctuations were larger.
The higher the favorability, the slower the growth!
"I like this guy!"
He said to Kristen.
The executive director came over to call Robert to prepare for filming.
Robert nodded to Cassius.
"Talk later. Hope you don't get jealous when you see me and Kristen doing the 'eternal love' bit later!"
He cracked another joke.
Watching his retreating back, Cassius said to Kristen, "He's different from what I imagined!"
"He's always been a closet goofball with a lot of thoughts in his head!"
Kristen lowered her voice.
"Sometimes I think playing Edward has almost made him depressed. Thank god it's almost over!"
Cassius was arranged a seat next to the monitor to watch.
This scene happened to be after Bella turned into a vampire, testing her new abilities with Edward in the forest.
Robert and Kristen needed to display that vampiric supernatural speed and power, as well as the love that was still thick enough to cut with a knife.
"Action!"
Robert instantly entered the state.
His gaze became profound.
When he recited lines like "forever" and "you are my only one," the emotion in his voice was very full.
Although the content was a bit cringe-worthy, his sense of conviction was strong.
Just as he gazed affectionately at Kristen and said, "You are my life now," a blue attribute orb dropped:
[Extreme Deep Affection +3]
Cassius's eyes lit up, and he absorbed it immediately.
Techniques on how to maintain high emotional investment and conviction even under exaggerated plot settings flooded his mind.
This might be useful for filming romantic action scenes in the future!
Next, they filmed a shot of Edward displaying speed. Robert needed to complete a rapid running motion in front of a green screen and then stop.
When he stopped and turned around, his gaze switched very cleanly and sharply, instantly transitioning from vampire mode back to deep affection for Bella.
Another green attribute orb [Emotional Gaze Switching +2] dropped.
Absorb!
Cassius watched with relish.
Although he had seen the Twilight movies in his past life, sitting on set watching the actors perform like this was a completely different experience!
During a break.
Robert walked back, a thin layer of sweat on his forehead.
He took a sip from his water bottle and looked at Cassius. "How was it? Awkward enough to dig out an Asgard with your toes?"
"Not bad. Strong sense of conviction!"
Cassius answered honestly. "Especially the gaze switching, very on point."
Robert looked at him with some surprise. "You watch closely. Sometimes I feel like an idiot with eye spasms."
"More interesting than fake fighting Frost Giants." Cassius smiled.
"I'd rather fight Frost Giants. At least I wouldn't have to wear such thick foundation!"
Robert touched his smooth cheek and sighed.
Just then, Kristen finished her touch-up and came over. Hearing their conversation, she interjected:
"At least you don't have to be like me, giving birth looking like an Alien is bursting out of my chest!"
She was referring to Bella's birthing scene.
The three roasted their respective bizarre filming experiences, and the atmosphere relaxed considerably.
Robert's favorability also steadily rose to [55].
After hanging around the set for two days, Cassius felt like he was getting marinated in that omnipresent romantic tragedy atmosphere.
The crew finally reached the official wrap day.
The moment they wrapped, there wasn't the ecstatic cheering one might expect on set.
After all, this series had been filmed for so many years, carrying so much weight, and now it was finally drawing to a close.
Crew members hugged each other, while the actors had varying expressions—some relieved, some reluctant to part.
Kristen removed Bella's makeup and wig, changed into her own jeans and T-shirt, and found Cassius, who was watching the crew dismantle the set.
"Wrap party tonight in the hotel banquet hall. You coming?"
Cassius didn't even think. "Of course!"
The feast of attribute orbs at the Snow White and the Huntsman wrap party instantly surfaced in his mind.
Purple [Star Charisma], Golden [Legendary Affinity]!
Occasions where high-end cast and crew gathered were like attribute orb carnivals for him.
Missing it would be a crime!
Kristen was a bit surprised he agreed so readily.
"Yo, so eager!"
"Celebrating for you!"
Cassius lied without blinking, while thinking: And for my attribute panel!
The hotel banquet hall that night was decorated in a farewell party style, with ambiguous lighting and soothing music.
Compared to the rougher, more masculine atmosphere of the Thor crew, this was obviously more refined.
Cassius entered with Kristen as usual, instantly attracting many gazes.
He was a familiar face now, and with the status of Kristen's boyfriend, basically everyone in this circle knew him.
His eyes scanned the room immediately.
First locking onto the male lead, Robert Pattinson.
He wasn't wearing his suit from the movie today, having changed into a velvet jacket. His hair was still styled exquisitely as he held a drink and talked to director Bill Condon.
When he tilted his head slightly, revealing a complex smile mixed with melancholy and relief, a blue attribute orb dropped out:
[Complex Emotion +3]
Absorb!
Cassius felt his understanding of elegant emotional layering deepen.
Next, he saw Taylor Lautner, who played the werewolf Jacob.
This guy was all muscle and sunny smiles, laughing and talking with a few friends, his movements large.
When he made a funny gesture showing off his biceps, a green attribute orb dropped:
[Sunny & Energetic Body Language +2].
This healthy vitality was exactly what Cassius lacked relatively, so he accepted it with a smile.
His gaze turned to other members of the vampire clans.
Michael Sheen, who played Aro , was conversing in a low voice with his magnetic vocals, dropping a blue [Deep Magnetic Voice Control +3].
Dakota Fanning, who played Jane, sat quietly in a corner, staring into space, yet dropped a rare purple attribute orb [Ethereal Gaze +5]!
Cassius was ecstatic.
Absorb immediately!
He felt his experience in controlling his gaze enrich again.
Cassius even picked up a green [Dramatic Aura +2] from a casting director who looked dramatic just standing there.