#also can i say how shocked i am that we're calling this the Hollywood show and not Ft Lauderdale like I expected

[kindahoping4forever]

The 5SOS Show Tour Hollywood - 6 September 2023

Via 5SOS IG Story

[m323200]

4x01: Was The Last Time We Left Off

It's been three years since she left to achieve her dreams as a star.

————

I arrived back at the Dunphy house. It's been a a while. I messaged Haley.

Me

Hey Haley. 

Haley

Where the hell 

have you been.

No call.

Me

I'm at the front door

Haley

Omg really!! 

❤️ ❤️ 

Me

Anyone there?

Haley

No all out.

Me

Great.  Now open plz.

——

Haley opened the door. She screamed and was excited to see me. We hugged each other. Haley was shocked. "Oh my god your blonde! Like really blonde!". I laughed. I told her fresh start means new style. And I was shocked too, "Your due date soon?". She said that it's close but far.

She loved it. She says the outfit looks great. I asked her that we should catch up. We headed to her room. Which is the basement. She asked me, "How was Hollywood.". I said it was great. But she told me, "I thought you got a role in a film, directed by James Wan. It never came out and that I starred in two films that wasn't that film.".

I told her it's a long story. I explained to her, "I was supposed to come out, but after the whole incidents, they decided to cancel it.". She questioned the word I said, "incidents".

I told her, "Everything was great. When I got there it was like a dream. Few days after, I got into costume fitting for two weeks. Eventually, I dyed my hair, I let it grow and made it wavy. But when we started filming, a few days after, some people....died". She was shocked and scared. She asked many questions.

I told her, "The deaths kept getting more serious. Also, it revolved around me. So killing people around me was just part of his plan.". She got stressed.

I continued, "After I killed the person who killer people, the company thought it was best to cancel the film. They said they thought of more films to have me star in.". Haley said, "Like Submerged and that new Alien film.".

Haley got up, "I have to pee. I'll be right back.". I stayed there until she came back. Few minutes later, she did. She asked if I met anyone. I told her I met someone, but did more than just date. I showed her the ring. She screamed, "You got married!". She got excited, but I told her not to get excited.

Haley said, "Why? I should be excited your-", I interrupted, "Not getting married. That's one of the reasons why I'm here.". Haley asked if everything was okay. I told her everything's a disaster. 

Me being a star was a fail, finding love, failed. I said that I ran away from him. Haley says we need to take a girl's day out. No men telling us what to do.

We took a spa, went to the movies, bowling. Hell Haley ordered a dessert and had it with chips. Weird pregnancy cravings, am I right.

When we went home, Claire, Luke, Alex, Phil, and Gloria was there. They all were surprised. They ran to me and hugged me. They were all saying, "Your blonde!", "Your back! We missed you", that sort of things.

Claire said that food is ready now and to eat now or have it cold. Luke said, "We need to talk.". I told him, "Yeah...we do...". We headed upstairs to his room.

He said, "You didn't say you were returning.". I said that it was unexpected and not planned. I said, "I swear I was going to come back it was just...things changed...". "Three years...I haven't heard from you for three years.", he said. "I know, but it's not what I wanted...after I got proposed to-", Luke interrupted, "You got engaged!". 

I said, "Don't worry, it's off.". He asked, "Why? Where's your boyfriend-slash-fiancé.". I told him, "Don't know, don't care.". He asked if I was hiding out, but I told him I was laying low. 

We went upstairs to eat. But by the time we went up there, everyone was gone. Haley was sitting on the couch watching a movie. Me and Luke ate. We talked. We laughed. And Haley was asleep. We headed upstairs. 

I asked, "Can we start over?". He was thinking about it, "Don't you gotta go back to your-", I told him, "We're done. Don't expect me back with him.". "I'll love to start over with you. As friends. Deal?". I shook his hands. "Deal."

He said, "I'll try again, but this time, let's start slow.". I agreed with him.

——

It was 8:00 pm, no one was at the house. I had gotten a call. It was my ex, Brian. He told me, "Where the hell are you!". I said, "I'm not going back.". He said, "I'm going to find you and make you come back home.". I threw my phone at the wall. I felt like the bad memories kept coming back. One thing is that I will never tell anyone what happened between me and Brian.

________

[castlebyersafterdark]

ok, so im watching the how to get away w murder clip and like... yeah? sexy sex? but there's too many cuts in the edit. i want to see more, but without seeing more.... if you know what i mean?

this is my main issue with modern (or should i say hollywood?) sex scenes. theyre too fast paced, not only in the progression of the sex itself, but in the edit. noah has made letterboxd mentions of how he admires films where the scene is allowed to just play out, often from one angle, and its usually in european or arthouse cinema. the fact he's said this makes me think ST is NOT being filmed like this, which makes me sad, but i guess i shouldnt have expected anything else judging by the history of the show.

my hope with byler, more than wanting to see body parts (though i wouldn't mind that - bodies are beautiful), is that the scene is allowed to play out, with the camera slowly panning in rather than chopping and changing angles. for me, this is slow immersion, desperately sensual. i can forget i am even there... i am lost in the scene, and the actors are too, because they are allowed to just be in one long take and forget the camera. ST has sometimes used what fans call 'stalker' shots, which gives them a bad connotation - its where the camera creeps on characters out of their view. but i dont think it necessarily is a bad camera shot. depends on the tone we're setting. after all, we are all voyeurs simply by watching a story on a screen, arent we? why not make the camerawork immersive too, in a nice way? perhaps, this way, there would be less shame for viewers as well, because we wouldn't constantly be reminded YOU ARE WATCHING A SEX SCENE! ISNT THIS SEXY???!!!! I BET YOURE GETTING A BONER RIGHT NOW! HAHAHA!

lmao. It would just become another part of the lives of these characters. this is why i love lucca guadagnino the director, he says he approaches every scene with the same attitude and gives it the same importance, whether its simulated sex or a tiny passing scene without lines. and honestly, it's a cultural issue too. european culture in general is more comfortable with sex and the body. you see it in food, in dance, in the way people behave and move and everything. i think in america, shock factor and sex sells, but there's also deep shame ingrained into those same things. it makes for an odd tussle, where there wouldnt even be an issue in european culture. epicurean sensuality is normal and celebrated there.

i suppose its too much to expect finn and noah to pull off a guadagnino style love scene under the direction of the duffer brothers lmao. but they seem to have their only sensuality that they bring and cannot be quelled... the van scene is honestly, very sensual and intense. so i have some hope.

but i do hope one or either of them are scooped up for a project like Queer, one day. I think they could both thrive under such a director's approach to filmmaking.

also love that we have mentioned titanic here lately because even though thats hollywood, its subtle and very sensual rather than "sexy". And in doing so, it becomes sexy. I want byler to be sensual and emotional, not sexy.

I'll always stand by my love of HTGAWM and thinking they did a pretty good job - I mean, in a show with romantic subplots and especially as a character who uses sex and his sexuality for secondary means? It's still important to the show while not being the point of the show. It's all genre, medium, story being told. Filming style.

I guess it depends on what you're watching. I feel like the sex scenes in a snappy crime procedural vs. a drama/romance film vs. a mainstream horror/sci-fi are going to be very different. There's just different style of filming. I like all the types mentioned above. Do I want to imagine what scenes of various natures would look like if Stranger Things was more arthouse lofty cinema? Yeah, that's honestly how it looks in my imagination 😆 But ST is not an arthouse indie film haha. I would never expect as such. It does allow emotions to sit, it does allow for sentiment. It's not like they're constantly undercutting any emotional moment with humor or quips or subversion fourth wall genre aware eye rolling like other media (cough mcu and sw cough), so there's that at least.

Definitely appreciative and more interested in scenes that are allowed to play out, the sensual rather than shock value or included but almost shameful. I really think a lot of it depends on tone of story and film/show. I don't think I subscribe to only allowing room to consider certain regions to be able to be successful with or engage with certain emotions and art. I think the problem is the most glaring detractors in opposition to what we talk about are loud by nature, the big budgets that demand a return so they cater to more mass appeal. Anything mass appeal is going to be imperfect about sex, since it's so devisive. Not trying to be too defensive! I just think it should be considered. I always try to consider alternatives to sweeping generalizations.

Titanic is a great example of a filmmaking style I quite enjoyed and I thought was perfection for the story it told! The history and the romance and humanity all in conjunction. I think the sex scenes, the sensuality of it all - spot on. It didn't need to be more exposed, more what I call "softcore" simulated. Sometimes I think scenes do go too far, sometimes not far enough. Titanic was perfect for Titanic. Its genineky one of those topics thats a case by case basis in my personal reads of media re: sex scenes in cinema.

But - agreed, in that train of thought at the end. We have fandom, we have imagination to make Byler spicy and sexy. I'd hate for them to just shy away completely if the intention is to include a sex scene. It should be more emotional and sensual than shocking or ashamed to really give it weight. For sure.

Also agree I'd love to see either boy in a film with material that allows then to explore on screen, show a side we haven't gotten yet. Vulnerable filmmaking, a little artsier. Some say neither really have the acting chops but I disagree. We've seen some moments of brilliance. They'd need the right script, story, directing. Material that could push them. I do believe they have it in them to deliver in some sort of future project and it would so great to see. Let's hope 🤞