#but not really because i'm supposed to be writing a screenplay

[youssefguedira]

trying to figure out how the fuck anyone writes romance subplots into a non-romance story. like sure technically i've done it in fanfic but a) it's fanfic, YOU know these people are going to get together, I know they're going to get together, let's cut to the chase etc b) whenever i've done it in original stuff the characters have usually done the whole developing feelings part before the story starts OR, the one time i DID start from scratch, i was like yeah no way these people fall for each other in 1 book. let's move this to the third maybe. so maybe i am just Too Fucking Aromantic

[lanawinterscigarettes]

can i please get something with jealous love quinn x fem reader:)! love ur writing so much!

yeah absolutely! and thank you so much, that's so sweet of you to say <3

Green With Envy (Love Quinn x fem reader)

Warnings: mild swearing, jealousy, slight possessiveness

Love was fuming as she watched you help out a customer in Anavrin, where you both worked. You were just being polite, she knew that, but she still found herself getting upset. Especially when said customer placed his hand on your arm and moved in closer. A little too close, in her opinion.

"Yo, sis, what's up? Why do you look like me when we're out of gluten free bread?" Forty questioned suddenly, seeming to have popped up from out of nowhere.

"Nothing's up. I'm fine," she lied through her teeth, watching as the guy next to you got closer and closer still. Now his hand was on the small of your back, something that you obviously didn't look comfortable with. Your eyes flickered around the store before landing on where she stood at the cash register, two words discernible in them: help me.

"God damn it," she swore underneath her breath as she pushed past Forty and started to make her way over. "Watch the cash register for me," she commanded without giving him so much as a second glance, stalking across the store over to where you were.

Taking a deep breath, she put on her best customer service smile so she'd looking friendly instead of threatening (like she really wanted to) and casually sidled up beside you. "Hey! Is there anything I can help you with?"

Despite her polite words, her actions told a much different story. Her hand went to the small of your back, smacking the guy's hand away before wrapping her arm around your waist and tugging you against her. If there was one thing Love Quinn didn't do, it was subtle.

The guy grumbled something under his breath about never coming back as he turned and slunk away, clearly displeased by the interruption. "Thank you," you said before giving her an appreciative kiss on the cheek.

"Of course, sweetie. Let me know if another customer gives you a hard time, okay?" She pulled you in for a hug before reluctantly heading back to the register where Forty still was. Before he could open his mouth, however, she spoke first. "I want you to watch them and make sure nobody ever bothers them again, do you understand me?"

She rarely gave him any direct orders. Most of the time when she wanted him to do something for her it was concealed as a harmless suggestion so he'd think he came up with the idea himself. But right now she was far too upset to worry about mincing her words.

"You got it, sis. No problem." He gave her a light pat on the shoulder before heading off in your direction, to pitch another one of his crappy screenplay ideas no doubt.

Over the next week or so, her plan worked perfectly. Forty hung around you so often that most customers left you alone, and that included the ones who were only trying to cop a feel before asking for your number. The only customers who did come up to you were ones that actually needed help with something.

It backfired, however, when you started hanging out with her brother more than you were with her. Apparently you had a brain that was perfect for plucking ripe, juicy ideas from (Forty's words) and because of that he spent a lot of his free time brainstorming with you, which took time away that you and her could be spending together.

She tried not to get jealous, she really did. It was nice that Forty had someone who actually cared about him to help with his screenplays, someone who she knew wouldn't do anything to threaten or jeopardize his sobriety, but still. You were supposed to be her girlfriend, not his.

The final straw came when Forty tried to get you to cancel your date night, one that you'd had planned for weeks in advance. Love adored her brother, but that was taking it a bit too far.

"You need to stop hanging out with him," she said to you one afternoon a day or so later as she was chopping up veggies to put in a stir-fry she was making. "My brother, I mean," she added once she saw the slight look of confusion on your face. "It's nice that he finally has someone other than me to go to, but he's taking all of our time together away from us."

It wasn't hard to tell she was jealous from the way she was gripping the knife so tightly. You'd be afraid if you didn't know her well enough to know she'd never do anything to hurt you.

"Hey, hey." You made your way over to her, wrapping your arms around her from behind as you rested your chin on her shoulder. "I get it. You're feeling a little left out, right? I can start hanging out with him less, it's fine. I just know how much he means to you and didn't want to brush him off if it was going to hurt his feelings."

She melted into your embrace, turning her head slightly so she could look at you. Everything about you was perfect, even more so than she initially thought. Not everyone was so understanding when it came to the codependent relationship she had with her brother, but you were, and it only made her love you that much more.

"Thank you. I love you," she muttered while leaning in to give you a tender kiss as a way of her showing her thanks to you.

You smiled at her words, kissing her back before replying with a soft, "I love you, too. Just try not to get so green with envy next time. It was hard to tell the difference between you and the green juice you sell at Anavrin."

She rolled her eyes and scoffed at the comparison, but you didn't miss the amused look she had on her face. "Alright, dork. Leave me alone so I can finish getting this ready."

"If you say so." You pressed another kiss to her cheek before letting go of her, though you were stopped when she reached out to gently grab you by the arm.

"Hey. It really means a lot to me that you care so much about both me and my brother. So, thank you for that." She was absolutely serious when she spoke, any hint of playfulness from earlier gone.

"There's nothing to thank me for," you insisted with a caring gaze. "I'd do anything for you, Love. Including being the occasional babysitter for your slightly unstable twin brother."

That made her laugh, and she pulled you back in for another kiss, one that lasted longer than the one before it. She could tell you really meant it, every single word, and that was more important to her than anything.

End notes: I love writing for love hehe 🥰

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[kitorin]

to you, my lover.

in which, shinonome akito surprises his favourite writer.

contents. shinonome akito x gn!reader, just fluff really, <- might've ruined it with an attempt of crack, unproofread and messy bc i can't think properly anymore a/n. this was supposed to be my birthday fic, i didn't finish it in time and was considering deleting but nah not today

You're tired. Really tired.

It's not a complaint, being permitted to stay out late to celebrate your birthday, now returning on a long yet peaceful and empty train ride. With the occasional rattling, it was silent, with the exception of your tired breathing and the rustle of your clothes every time you shuffled around a bit.

And your boyfriend.

Arms crossed and back leaned against his seat, his eyes remain shut, resting a bit after such a long day. Fatigue pays a visit to you as well, a yawn claws out of your throat, earning an immediate reaction from Akito.

Arm snaking behind your head, he pulls you in by the shoulder, making sure you rest comfortably against his. You snuggle against him, the scent of his cologne makes you crave more of him and his touch. The jacket that was once resting on his lap is thrown over you, and carefully he adjusts it, without moving his shoulder.

"Tired?"

You nod, resting your eyes a bit.

"If you're able to stay awake, I want to give you my gift."

"Excuse me?" As if you weren't ever exhausted in the first place you sit up, staring at him with confusion. "Akito, you bought me pretty much every book on my 'to be read'. Not to mention the promise rings too." Your glance at the silver wrapping around your finger, amber and saffron imbedded into it. "I told you so many times I didn't need anything, let alone something that would've costed so much."

Akito shrugs casually. "There's no such thing as 'too much' when it comes to you."

"And there's a thing called being financially irresponsible..."

"I'm managing my money carefully, I swear." He pledges with breathless laughter. "I assure you it wasn't expensive, I promise. I'm going to give you the world when I go professional, anyways." He fishes for something out of his bag, something small and wrapped with colourful paper.

"This feels like a book." You comment instantly, it's easy to identify when you've received so many for your birthday.

Akito shrugs again in response. "Check it, then."

You oblige to his words, unwrapping the package in a manner that didn't make a mess on the train. Your guess was correct, it is a book. Only this time with an unrecognisable title and author— it didn't have either. It was white, with nothing else.

"Who's the author?"

Another shrug, and you decide not to bother asking anymore questions. You turn to the first page.

Table of contents. This time you recognise the titles.

Because they belong to none other than you.

"You printed it out all of this?" You've re-read your writing constantly, whether it be proof-reading or trying to figure out how to elevate your prose. But when it's in your hands in the form of a book instead of the words you type up on your laptop, it feels surreal, maybe even a bit wrong. It's everything you've sent and shown him, whether it be fan fiction, attempts at poetry, extracts of screenplays, or snippets from future novels you plan on publishing.

"'Course I did. You love books, I love you and your writing." Akito says it all the time, always being the first person to read your works, sending a plethora of text messages about his thoughts on them.

You inspect the contents of the book, and as he said it's all your work. But, pale highlighter adorns the pages, black ink decorating in between lines, hearts and even more words committed to paper.

The imagery here is gorgeous here. I love these words especially ->

Although I can't and don't, I feel like I can relate to this character, the way you express their internal thoughts and actions makes me feel like I've become them

Why is he so adorable?? The dialogue is so sweetly comforting.

I think this one's my favourite. It was super cute. Short and simple but enough to make me smile all day.

You turn to another story, this one with a darker premise.

SHE DESERVES BETTER !!

This hurts so much ╥﹏╥ Internal monologue is a 11/10 (as always)

Uh oh...

PLEASE HAVE MERCY

SCREW YOU SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE A HAPPY ENDING

This one's my new favourite. Thanks for making me cry

(my tear stains) Small arrows point towards (formerly) wet patches on the page, the evidence left there shocks you.

"You actually cried? And annotated your tears?" Not once, but multiple times, on each work that connoted anything sad.

"Love, your writing, just like you, makes me feel a lot. It's not often I cry, you know." He leans in to kiss you on the cheek. "Hope my annotations did it some justice."

Each comment makes you smile irresistibly, whether it was a serious paragraph breaking down and analysing specific moments or 'someone cooked here.' being scrawled. No details were missed by him, ones that you assumed were too subtle and therefore unnecessary because no one in your comments noticed them.

"You noticed all of this? None of my friends or readers did."

"Of course I did. I've read everything over and over again and love you too much to miss any of those details."

"And every note at the end is synonymous for 'new favourite'." It's not a complaint, it's quite adorable really, watching him struggle to make up his mind. "You even compiled your favourite quotes at the end? You think my stuff is quoteworthy?"

"How could I not? Heck, I don't think an anthology is enough. I need it tattooed somewhere on me." A gasp severs his words. "I know exactly what I'm going to do on my eighteenth birthday."

"Don't. Think about it." But the prospect of him loving your prose enough to permanently etch it into your skin makes you smile. "But seriously. This is beautiful, thank you." You're not sure why it feels so different, despite Akito always texting you these sorts of comments. Perhaps it was it's physical manifestation that had evoked so much emotion.

"I remember, when I first opened up to you."

And so do you. It was certainly awkward, with a plentiful amount of tears and uncertainty. But in the end you found yourself comprehending Akito and his character more, which was worth any sort of unpleasantries.

"You ended up analysing every song I covered or wrote. And you still do. I kept those notebooks with me, and read them whenever I felt worried. It's you. You're the reason why I can listen to recordings of myself without wanting to hide. Took me a while, but without you I wouldn't've achieved it."

You peer up at him, as he gazes at the train's roof, reminiscing those memories. You had contemplated for so long, wondering whether that act would've truly done anything, whilst worrying about embarrassing yourself. Now, being able to admire the peaceful expression he wore, you can easily say you have no regrets.

"I wanted to do the same for you. I didn't like how you weren't able to see the perfection your writing held." Akito's hand reaches for yours. "I know what it's like. To hate your own art because of what other people say and growing fearful of another's opinion, or how subjectivity doesn't seem to be in your favor. It's suffocating, that's why you mean the whole world to me for freeing me of that insecurity." He bites his lip, a method he relies on to quell any strong emotion.

He's spot on. The words of others are equally as capable of hurting as they are uplifting. It's common advice to not heed any mind to others, but when it comes to writing it always felt necessary to you. No matter how well you wrote to satisfy yourself, it didn't mean anything if no one else liked it; it meant no sales, meaning no money, which only meant that writing was an invalid career for the future unless it pleased others.

Even if it weren't a professional pursuit, it doesn't feel like something one can establish its value, at least, not without the validation of others.

"You were the lens I needed to see the beauty in myself. And I want to be the one you need."

You smile, planting a kiss on his lips. "Think you already are."

Akito sighs with a grin, "Then, I can die happy now."

A playful, gentle, slap hits his shoulder. "Quit being so overdramatic."

"What? Would've been a waste if the best author in the entirety of human history didn't get to see how amazing them and their writing were."

"Now you're just hyperbolising everything."

He pokes you in the cheek. "I see you smiling."

"Because of how ridiculous you are." You thank the train for being empty tonight, otherwise you wouldn't have the freedom of quarreling. "You're an idiot. Sometimes."

"And I still think having one of your quotes tattooed onto me would be a good idea."

Akito's persistent, even when it came to things that appeared to be mere jokes. "That's so random—? No you're not getting any of my writing tattooed onto you."

"Fine, but left pec or right pec?"

"Oh my god." Though you scold him, the rest dissolves into breathless laughter, as he pulls you in for a hug.

He scatters kisses all over your face, as you savour the warmth of his body. "Happy birthday, love."

taglist (send ask to be added) : @yuzurins, @pokkomi, @chigirizzz

© kitorin : do not repost, plagiarize, change, or translate

[cntarella]

Okay, so more cogent thoughts on Nosferatu (2024):

It was a very middling movie in everything except the costuming, set design, and art direction — which were top notch. I also give it props for the great lighting, i.e. being one of the few movies set mostly in the night where you can actually see what's going on. Eggers and Blaschke really used light and shadow extremely well in a few scenes, thinking here in particular of that one shot of Ellen (i.e. Lily Rose Depp) on the bed with the side profile of her shadow on the pillow and that ending shot of Von Franz (i.e. Willem Dafoe) illuminated in the mirror that were genuinely such beautiful, artistic frames. Visually, great movie. But visuals can't make up for a script and a cast that were stilted as all hell.

First of all, the screenplay itself was trying way too hard. No one spoke in a particularly convincing way — everything was long monologues, diatribes really, that were meant to be ominous and add to the gothic atmosphere. But it was pure narration, nothing left to the actual interpretation of the other storytelling elements to convey horror. Instead of letting the atmosphere carry the mood, it relied so much on telling us "btw this is the horrifying thing happening, this is why it is horrifying" and genuinely felt like they didn't think people would understand...what was essentially a very basic story. Where tf is the dude that wrote The Lighthouse??? This cannot be the same man.

Second, the acting. Or the lack of acting!!! At least on the part of Lily Rose Depp. This woman cannot act, I'm sorry. The people who praise her for this role, I'm asking: did we see the same movie? This woman cannot modulate her voice beyond two slightly differentiated tones, and same goes for her facial expressions. Dead delivery for a floundering script, and considering she was most of the movie, made for an incredibly boring 2 hours. I will say, she did some great body acting but that's probably the only thing she did with any sort of panache. The rest felt too committed to showing her off in the sexiest waif girl light that it could, rather than actually making use of her as an actress.

She and her castmates had no chemistry either, especially between her and Nicholas Hoult and Bill Skarsgard. I'm supposed to believe this woman's husband would traverse the snowy mountains of Transylvania with nothing but a coat and a horse to get back to her after THE most sexless kisses??? I'm supposed to believe that Nosferatu was enticed by her "passion" and her dead-eyed impression of romance???

Speaking of sex scenes, there were a few in the movie that were just so bad. Lily Rose Depp making the same pornhub "uh uh uh" moans during ALL of these scenes, with little change in delivery or intonation. And I do mean "uh uh uh," it was embarrassingly bad and not just because the sex itself was badly simulated by her partners.

And then there's Nosferatu himself. What a disappointment. I wanted something grotesque, I wanted something fun. We kept getting teased about Bill Skarsgard's "horrific transformation" but like. It was a bald cap and a coat. It was a prosthetic nose. The most grotesque thing about him was being...emaciated? Slightly deformed? Kinda middle aged looking? I don't know that we saw enough of him to really be able to judge his acting on this particular film, but imo he did a better job as Pennywise than in this role. It was just the most mid monster one could potentially want to fuck, unbelievably mid.

The "gore" people kept warning about was very very light, very standard for a horror movie and not even the most grotesque in recent memory (First Omen still had this beat by a long long long shot in terms of actual grotesquerie). Some frontal nudity that was nothing to write home about. But at least there were 2,000 rats. At least we had that.

2.5/5 stars

[that-left-turn]

It seems to me like norman was vocally pro caryl around season 2/3 and then became vocally anti caryl after Melissa won her Saturn awards for seasons 4 and 5 and became a main cast member.. and then became vocally pro caryl again after she got paired with ezekiel.. and then he's anti caryl after they break up and has been ever since - even more so now that he's got "his own show".

Do we have any good idea of who was behind the leah story and the connie shipbait? Even though they used both to give caryl parallels, those seem like the main obstructions in season 10 for driving caryl forward. I wasn't actively shipping them then, but I felt the show was starting to push caryl towards canon, but then when leah popped up, I was like 'oh... ok??? I guess I was wrong then, stupid me'. As for connie, I thought it was to show "it's not like that", but it was never made fully clear. I wonder what the motivations were really behind introducing those two characters as ships for daryl.

BASICS

Each character arc and the emotional arcs which involve one or more characters are laid out in pre-production, so the season is fully plotted before any scripts are written. There are zero surprises in screenwriting: each episode has a treatment, which details every scene and that's the basis used for writing the screenplay. The individual episode writers have no freedom to deviate from the plot, so it's very different from writing a novel or fanfic.

LEAH

The Leah arc was supposed to further Caryl's emotional arc, but a lot of plotlines were dropped or shortchanged in S11 because of things going on BTS. S9-10 were very deliberate and intricately plotted with a myriad of little beats throughout the seasons which were supposed to lead to a bigger picture reveal in S11, like how Daryl's facial scar factored into Caryl's relationship. If the showrunner is a good plotter, the groundwork for seasons to come is laid early, giving the audience plenty of puzzle pieces.

Unfortunately, Leah's arc was both stunted and misappropriated into a Maggie revenge plot which had zero payoff because viewers had no emotional investment in her entourage of redshirts. We don't know exactly how the Leah arc would've played out if the original vision had been followed, but it's clear from the pieces we do have that it would've led to Caryl canon so no, you weren't wrong or stupid. Leah was intended to be a foil for Carol and a catalyst for Caryl. I'm unsure of how sound this particular plot twist was, considering how easily something like that can get ruined when dealing with recalcitrant execs, but Kang is a detail-oriented writer, so as a viewer, I was willing to make a leap of faith with her.

SHIPBAIT

As for Connie, my guesstimate based on productions I've worked on, is that the network wanted to tease the possibility of 'something' to draw a larger share and to drag out the will-they-won't-they for Caryl (which doesn't work in today's TV). Sometimes, showrunners get notes where they have to make the best out of a situation they disagree with and Connie was never intended to be anything other than shipbait. The showrunner did her best to incorporate the studio notes into a storyline which would service the emotional arc she was actually trying to tell: Caryl thinking they aren't good enough or deserving of each other.

A good writer doesn't want to manipulate the audience. It's dishonest storytelling and it's not how you sustain and grow your viewership. You have to give clues along the way that will reward observant fans, even though the narrator might be unreliable. It's about building momentum and anticipation. If you do, a lot of the marketing will be self-driving at that point because of fan engagement.

If the Leah storyline hadn't gotten diverted, the use of Connie as a plot device in Carol's emotional arc would have been made clear. We never got any resolution to her self-loathing or the conflict between her and Daryl, and that's why there are still so many question marks surrounding the connection these two characters had to Daryl.

AUDIENCE RECEPTION

AMC has always wanted to sell the show to absolutely everyone and as long as there's a large ensemble cast, that might work to some degree, but it's not a long-term plan for sustained viewership and when the show is skimmed down to a handful of characters with the focus on two leads, it's no longer viable. The core emotional drive has to be the relationship between those two characters, no matter the nature of said relationship or whatever the external plot might be.

TBOC did everything to diminish and downplay Caryl's ties to each other and that was the biggest failing of the show. The hokey cult with its underdeveloped messianic plot and the fudged pseudoscience of the super walkers would've been forgiven and forgotten if Zabel had nailed the central message the season started out with, 'to find home is to find each other.' You don't need to be an amazing writer to write a show that people will enjoy, but you do have to respect your audience for them to stick with you in the long run.

[spopsalt]

I'm not even sure the writers knew they were writing Catra to be abusive. The writing of the whole show isn't just in bad taste, it's incompetent. They even failed at 'setup, reminder, payoff' multiple times, and that's the most basic screenplay writing tool.

The thing is, I actually think Catra and Adora being together would be really interesting because of the sheer complexity of such a relationship. But She-ra is a children's adventure show. The focus of any romantic couple is on how they are getting together for the happy ending. It's not the right place or time to depict this type of relationship. It would take a immense amount of screentime and nuanced writing on both characters to make it work.

The implications of their relationship. Adora's heroism stems in part from her childhood, where she always had to protect Catra. As Shadow Weaver doesn't give a shit about Catra's safety, Adora's only bargaining power lies in her own wellbing This dynamic fosters her detrimental tendency towards self-sacrifice.

Nevertheless, Adora's heroism also springs from her genuine compassion and love for the world. Catra's accusation of Adora prioritizing self-sacrifice over her, and Adora subsequently apologizing, should have been used to highlight the toxicity in their relationship— how their traumas makes them both worse. Adora is literally apologizing for putting ideal she believes in above Catra, who is 'supposed' to be the most important thing in her life.

Catra only reinforces such an idea, because Adora is the only one to ever value her in their developmental phase. Catra's safety depended on Adora prioritizing her. Combined with her self-loathing, she rejects new relationships of any kind, because in her mind 'only Adora can love her.' Adora learning to value herself from their love is so deeply unrealistic and insulting.

I can't find myself disliking or liking Catra because she's not even written with enough consistency for me to read her as a person. Just a flat character trope in attractive shell. The show as a whole is just botched piece of media and the interesting implications might even be accidental.

Thank you! People will say that Catra helped Adora's trauma but she just made it worse, she made Adora feel weak

"It won't be over until I see the look on your friend's faces when they find out that you failed, because you were too weak to save them"

Made her think that she's hurting her friends

"Haha! You're the one who left the villagers unprotected! You're good enough at hurting your friends without my help!"

Andddd made her think everything was here fault...ohhh there's so many to choose from let's run through some of my favorites!

"Let's be honest, all of this is your fault. If you hadn't gotten captured, your sword wouldn't have opened the portal."

"You broke the world and it is all. your. fault."

"You MADE me this! You took everything from me!"

There's more, but I don't want my answer to be too long

[allthetropes]

✨writeblr intro✨

Because I can totally make one of those, definitely and for suresies

Hi my name is Bebs, I've read over 20 writeblrs this week and don't remember the key context clues that were in any of them so I'm not entirely sure what I'm supposed to be telling you, but you know what? It'll be grand sure.

The Basics: she/her, 29 (but I'll say 30 if you ask because at this point what is the difference), probably ace, very ADHD, Irish, fat, works in education and juuuust the right kind of mentally ill for this website.

Last year I wrote 3 books (series) in the span of just under 340 days. I did 97k words in the 2023 NaNoWriMo. I am terrified of self-publishing and really, really unsuccessful with acquiring agents.

"What do you write" damn whatever comes to me, I guess.

Fantasy

Sci-fi

Supernatural

Romance

Dystopia

Historical (but rarely historical non-fantasy)

Adventure

I write mostly OC, but I WILL go through a document and change all the names to others so I can upload a story as fanfic if it will give me validation and serotonin.

99% of the time I will write in the typical fashion of a novel, but don't tempt me to write a screenplay, I have Fade In and I'm not afraid to use it.

Given my age, I recognise that I'm more likely to be seen as an Auntie Figure than a blogging buddy and honestly that's fine, as long as I actually have some mutuals to talk to. I've been writing for approximately 2/3rds of my life so this isn't my first rodeo, feel free to ask questions of all sorts. I don't promise I have the answer but I'll have an answer and I guarantee if it's not informative it's likely to be funny.

Currently 'published': supernatural adventure dystopia My Pleasure Darling (original), My Pleasure Darling (Hunger Games Fanfiction version)

Current WIPs: historical fantasy romance, a different historical fantasy romance, the sequels to My Pleasure Darling, a plain romance (shelved for now), a dystopia supernatural romance, an isekai romance, and oh, we won't talk about all the Forgotten WIPs...

[cloud-somersault]

there's a saying in the creative world, "don't show how the magic's made" but rn i'm gonna say fuck it to that; i think it's cool when people show how they get from point A to point B, and now all of you can see how I usually start things off. So here's some scraps that didn't make it into the final cut of Constellations.

I try and lead with dialogue, so I can get an idea of how or where a scene is going to go. Here's an example of me writing in a more...screenplay/play-ish way just to get a feel of the flow. you can see how lighthearted it was supposed to be when they went to the inn. that fight with Macaque and Wukong after the race was NOT planned, so, ofc, this joke had to go

here's an example from chapter 2 where Wukong and Macaque are talking about the ghosts and his curse. the beginning part was gonna go a bit differently but then i rewrote it

I cut this because I liked Macaque suddenly and coldly changing the tone of the conversation by mentioning Wukong being a murderer. I'm a sucker for quick tonal shifts!!!!

as you can see, i really focus on dialogue when starting out and fill in descriptions and dialogue tags later. That's because I rework the dialogue the most. Sometimes, I just write a sentence and then return and characterize it later. By characterize, I mean write it in the way the character would actually say it.

So I could put something like "I hate peeling oranges. My hands smell like orange for the rest of the day."

And characterize it so Macaque would say: "I don't peel oranges. I let Wukong do that. I prefer for my hands to not smell like orange for the next couple hours."

hope that makes sense..;;;

also have a part where Macaque was supposed to be checking Wukong out at the farm and I cut it for a couple of reasons. Mostly, I think it wouldn't have fit with the fight and would've distracted from that pivotal moment. And second, I didn't like Macaque showing interest or affection so soon. Or at all. At this point.

AND sometimes I just completely go in a different direction, and a lot of dialogue gets tossed out. MK's talks with both monkeys in chapter 3 were especially difficult. Here's some cut parts from MK's discussion with Macaque. they were supposed to bond over their trauma regarding the lady bone demon, but i felt that was something that could come up later or in the epilogue.

you can tell it ended on a much lighter note here, but as I began writing some of the beginning parts, I knew that a shift had to occur because of the intensity of the exchange and the subject matter.

basically: it takes a LOT to get things down right, and I spend a lot of time letting things sit while I figure out what exactly needs to be said and who needs to say it.

I hope you liked these cut pieces!

[copperbadge]

So I was looking for an older post related to the writing of Fete and publishing on AO3, and came across this quote from you: "I'm kind of in awe of romance novelists who can put out new content every few months"

And look at you now, four novels published in seven months! Even if we go back to when you started adapting Fete into a novel, I believe it's under a year?

Thanks again for all the work you put into this 'verse. Can't wait to start the new one on my lunch break today.

LOL yes I suppose I have somewhat self-fulfilled that prophecy, haven't I. If you count from the time I started writing Fete as a screenplay it's something like a year and three months, but if we start from when I adapted that screenplay into a book -- which was a reasonable amount of work -- then yes, four novels written last year, three published, and this one being posted. I think I actually wrote Infinite Jes in about three weeks, that one went extremely fast, and I think LATT was only five weeks.

Plus while working on this story, I wrote roughly 50K of Royals/Ramblers, and some other stuff. (There's a really self-indulgent short story about Noah and the Dychev that may never see daylight, and one just called "Shivadh Alan Turing" that's about a midcentury programmer attempting to build an AI, but is really an excuse to write Michaelis as a kid being taken to see the computer by his father.)

Admittedly, it's easier when the world is built -- writing sequels is pretty much like writing fanfic, really. On the other hand this series is helping with my worldbuilding skills a great deal as I branch out, because while it's like writing fanfic, you still have to add new stuff -- like Reverb in book two, Galia in book three, various aspects of Eurovision in this one.

I'm usually working on a couple of other stories simultaneously within this world, but it depends on where my head's at, which ones -- right now of course Royals/Ramblers, but I'm also cheating on Royals/Ramblers with one I don't have a title for yet that's all about football in Askazer-Shivadlakia, and building the "world" of the Royal Shivadh Football Academy is stretching my abilities a bit.

[professorspork]

8 17 24

[8 answered previously; I have no new thoughts]

17. Past or present tense? Why?

Present, 100%. The easy 'why' is that I have an MFA in screenwriting and screenplays are always in present tense, so once I got in the habit there was no going back. It's just how I'm trained.

Beyond that, though, I do have a stylistic preference. I just... like the immediacy of it, the way it makes the story feel like it's living and breathing. Like. The difference between

Oh, she realized. She loved her.

and

Oh, she realizes. She loves her.

may be sort of a hyperbolic example because the strength of emotion I'm leaning on here, but it just... grabs me more, idk.

24. Thoughts on flashbacks/flashforwards.

Positive!

Like any tool, I suppose they can be overused in some instances, but I can't imagine why anyone would want to take them out of the proverbial toolbox. Not only can they be really useful on a macro level in terms of structure, but they can also be delightful as, like, a fun little parenthetical aside-- like a quick flash punchline cutaway a la Arrested Development.

But like... on a showing vs telling level, sometimes you just need to write a character actually living through something in the moment instead of just remembering it or describing it.

[spongebob-connoisseur]

It’s amazing how much Nosferatu became an integral part of SpongeBob lore. Especially since he was just a gag character for the ending of the night shift episode. He even appeared as a character in the CGI Camp series as a younger version of himself. Why the recent interest?

I've grown to LOVE Nosferatu! Outside of the fact that he's a blorbo by association to Slappy. Slappy supremacy 🙏

I just think he's neat.

I remember some thing on twitter where SB fans were complaining about the show reusing old characters like Nosferatu and Granny Prunes but honestly SB fans on twitter are kinda annoying to begin with and will complain about anything. I couldn't care less, gimme more German expressionist characters <3 <3

Jokes aside. Idk I've grown really fond of Nosey. He's just a silly guy. Outside of flickering the light switch on and off, he has a funny life. His ship never made it to Wismar and he ended up stuck underwater. Now he has a dorky fish butler and a son and he lives a relatively mundane life. He's the nightshift manager at the Krusty krab, hes a single dad, he writes screenplays sometimes, he promoted products. He auditions. He even did an interview once.

Its weird but funny. The first vampire in cinema and the first (unofficial) adaptation of dracula is just some guy chilling with fishes and living his life. He seems pretty content with things and I like that. He's what I aspire to be <3 ((NOT BALD))

As for the show, spongebob the show is trying to build continuity. Idk why but it's been since the beginning of the post secondary movie era and the tidal zone shenanigans. Its more likely to reference locations and old characters every so often. Some people complain that its trying to milk nostalgia but honestly I think they're just trying to make the world more connected and cohesive. people complain when the show does literally anything, they complain about old characters being used but they also hate the new characters so it really doesn't matter.

I personally love the direction the show is currently in. Its fun, I like how they expand on some characters and they all have their own little thing going on. I also like Nosferatu specifically because of how absurd it is to have a German expressionist movie character existing in a childrens show. People say it ruins his original gag because it was supposed to be random but Nosferatu being a regular character on it's own is random. This dude was spreading his plague to Wisborg, now he pulls pranks underwater by flickering the lights. He has a morally decent fish Dr. Caligari as his primary care physician. It's funny.

Also you mentioned there's a kid version of Nosferatu in Kamp Koral. That's not a child nosferatu. That is The child OF Nosferatu. I wonder who conceived Kidferatu? Idk but its funny that Nosey is a single dad working to support his kid. In Squidferatu you can see a framed picture of his son in the background :D (I really want to see Slappy being a good nanny to Kidferatu. Please please PLEASE)

I love the episode Graveyard Shift and I love his reappearance in The Night Patty. I always liked this weird guy but I only became invested once he got associated with Slappy. I think once the synopsis of Slappy Daze dropped and it revealed Slappy being nosferatu's butler was when I became obsessed and watched every nosferatu/dracula adaptation (don't ask, I comb through things fast. Also I liked vampire media years before this but this took an existing interested and pushed it to obsession lol)

Also watching the 1979 adaption of Nosferatu in particular gave me brain worms. I was like "....he kinda bad tho" I'm trying hard not to say I've begun to simp for him but I am 👉👈 I'm mildly disgusted with myself but its also like. I kinda like him more than what I should. I sorta want to slap myself for such a weird thing because REALLY look at him. But I can't help but like it. Ughhhhh. I wanna grab his big nose. I like to imagine it'll honk like a clown's nose.

It doesn't help that he's so silly in Spongebob like that's not helping at all😭

Obviously I prefer Slappy because he's my murder bby but I also think Nosferatu could get it as well.

So yeah. In other news, I preordered the super7 nosferatu figurine. I cant wait to get it. But idk the NECA nosferatu figurine looks better. It was also cheaper. Idk its too late now to change anything. I am still quite happy. I want to make that Nosferatu a proud supportive dad to my Draculaura doll :)

[anhed-nia]

RETURN OF THE LIVING BLOGTOBER (2023)

I'm back everybody! Life has been a Whole Thing of late, in a good way, but also a way that feels like it ripped my entire being apart and reassembled me and I'm not sure if I'm even the same person anymore. But it's fine! You're not supposed to always be the same person, for the most part. Unfortunately I can't even brag about everything I've been up to because most of it has not been announced yet, so you'll kind of just have to take my word for it.

I've been doing Blogtober here for...actually I don't really know how long, because Tumblr's search is more busted than ever before, but I THINK I've been at it since 2015. This blog originally started as a repository for longform writing about whatever the hell is wrong with me, which I started to feel was unfair to inflict on the followers I had on main. Then I started doing some film writing here, kind of on a lark, and it became so consuming that I moved all my neurotic navel-gazing back to the other place because it felt so wrong to cross the streams or whatever. Blogtober began pretty casually with just a date, title, an image or two, and a few glib remarks, but pretty soon I wasn't able to keep doing it half-way, and every movie turned into a research project that resulted in a page or two (or more, in some cases) of this dense, turgid analysis that is probably not always a pleasure to read. But, this was a legitimate compulsion, a personal obligation that had nothing to do with likes or follows anything. There was no end game, it was just something I had to do.

Recently on The Last Drive-In they showed Phil Tippett's astounding 30 year art project MAD GOD, which he made for about $150,000 with no way of knowing what kind of future it had (it made more than twice its budget back, not that that's the most important thing about it). During the compelling interview with Tippett I tweeted something to the tune of, like, what singular thing can you think of doing with 30 years and all your spare change, just to do it, if you had no way of knowing what would come of it? And the EOC of Fangoria*** quote-tweeted me with a comment like "Some of us know, because some of us have done it," and then all these professional horror guys chimed in to brag about their various heroic labors of love, and I found this very annoying for two reasons: First, because I posed the question as kind of a sympathetic gesture toward people who might not have had an immediate answer, and who might have found it meaningfully provocative. I didn't mean to create an opportunity for a bunch of self-actualized snobs to just dunk on people who are less sure of themselves (or who have fewer resources, let's face it!). And the second thing that bothered me about it was, I suddenly realized I actually DO do my obsessions. The only reason the Fangoria guy follows me on Twitter is that I'm a branch director for The Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies, which takes a lot of work and care and makes practically no money, and one of the main reasons I earned that role is just my own self-directed exploration of the horror genre that I've been conducting for years and years, basically for love alone. Like nobody read my blog and offered me a book deal or anything like that--really nobody reads this blog PERIOD!--but the fact that I do this with passion, "like no one's watching" as they say, set me up with the thoughtfulness and discipline to be able to do other things when the time came.

So the things have been: For the past five years I've been working on a screenplay with someone you have definitely heard of, and there are actors you have definitely heard of who are bought in, and there are producers attached who have made things you've definitely heard of. And I mean who knows what will happen, without even considering the strikes and everything, entire movies have been shot and shelved without ever seeing daylight, anything is possible. But still, I did that, I continue to do it, and I am a better writer for it, and just a more knowledgeable and experienced person. I mean because I did that, I was ready for the opportunity I got to write the novelization of the movie SPLICE (this is like the one thing that's public already, that I can name), which sounds silly but it was an incredible, and incredibly personal experience for me, and I don't think filmmaker Vincenzo Natali would mind if I said how extremely kind and encouraging and, apparently, genuinely impressed he was. So that was huge, I'm excited for that to come out. And then because of my work for Miskatonic, and because of a certain self-directed, obsessive research project I spent the past few years on for no reason other than that I'm insane, I got the chance to record a commentary track for a new blu ray of [REDACTED, can't wait for this thing to get announced], which completely blew my mind. Then at the same time, because my work with Miskatonic got me the opportunity to introduce a certain movie at a certain major art institution last summer, I got commissioned to write THREE (3) booklets for upcoming blu rays of fascinating movies by someone I truly love, from a best-in-class company. It's been really funny in a way because when I was doing my kinda accidental art history degree, I was so depressed and immature and generally fucked up that it was a miracle they graduated me; my writing was "fun" maybe but not disciplined at all, the nicest person on my thesis board called my paper "a grand failure" and one of my advisors wouldn't even look at me once the entire time. That particular guy would be so, so mad if he read any of what I just turned in, which is, like, of actual quality. It turns out I can do what I was supposed to be doing in college, I was just too damaged and worthless at the time so sort it out. And I guess this is just how long it took me to figure out what I actually wanted to do with my time on earth. It took about 40 years.

EDIT: Fuck and then I ALSO was invited to be on a jury at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival and I saw some amazing stuff and met some great people and I still can't believe it happened! That was so cool. I beg you all to watch RED ROOMS and VINCENT MUST DIE as soon as you possibly can, holy fucking shitballs.

But anyway I'm pretty sure those are all the things I can talk about for now, in my deliberately vague way. But that's what I've been up to when I would normally be doing Blogtober! I DID watch a Blogtober-appropriate movie every day though, and I WILL write them all up. The entries might be a little more brief than usual, and it sucks that I wasn't able to make it a daily ritual that ramps up to Halloween, but I didn't give up. Life is all about change and you never know what will happen to you, but Blogtober is forever.

***I actually really like the EOC of Fangoria specifically because he wrote this editorial about how he is constantly besieged by people who think Fango owes them a career just because they subtweet the brand and they're huge nerds and they're chronically online and own a ton of VHS tapes and shit. And I'm 100% sure this constant annoyance is why he's so bitchy. But the meat of the editorial was about how if you want a job like whatever you imagine Fangoria is supposed to give you, then you should be doing what you'd be doing there anyway. You should be writing anyway. You should be doing research anyway. You could ask your favorite B movie guys for interviews. You could start a website, or put out a zine. Try harder. Challenge yourself. Grow. You don't need anyone's permission to pursue your passion, and if you feel like you do, you might have to face the fact that it's not really your passion. The truth is that if you ever want to be acknowledged or god forbid paid for a talent like writing (or any kind of art), it's only going to happen if you're already doing it, all the time, with or without other people's money and praise. And ahem you should remain aware that even really talented people rarely subsist on talent alone--but still. In the words of Maya Angelou, who neither you nor I ever expected to have a cameo on my sleazy horror blog: Ain't nothing to it but to do it.

[bardofavon]

🦈🚦💛

🦈 Which character is the toughest to write?

the easiest character to write is always whatever character doesn't become relevant for another 20,000 words and the hardest character to write is always whatever character is supposed to be speaking in whatever chapter i'm posting next.

just kidding, i think the toughest character for me to write is Inej because I love her too much that i'm always in my head about messing her up lol. it's also always really hard to write a romance outside of the canon romance when you still ship the canon romance and also want to be respectful to it. plus i just think she's an incredible character and i'm always like "am i being true to her...would i say this..."

which like, i felt that way about Kaz at first too and then i read every single POV chapter he has like 20 times and now i just live in his head. and now my version has gone through enough to distance himself from canon that i'm not as worried about it. but inej......my beloved....i'm always afraid i'll write something that will have people come out of the woodworks to go "she would NOT fucking say that"

also, in terms of "character types" i really struggle to write characters who are supposed to be good people, so I just don't. lol. i don't even try. as you can see, by the fact that even though i love alina as a character the whole premise of my most active fic is "what if everything was the same but i replaced the good girl protagonist with the grumpy psycho"

🚦What sort of endings do you prefer to write: ambiguous, bad, happily ever after, etc.?

BITTERSWEET ENDINGS! I LOVE A BITTERSWEET ENDING!!! you will never catch me writing a happily ever after, unfortunately. i am so sorry. but also my "bleak endings where no lessons are learned and everyone suffers and no one wins" went out the window when i recovered from alcoholism so now you're all stuck with me cranking out bittersweet endings for eternity.

💛 What is the most impactful lesson you’ve learned about writing?

here are the things i would go back in time and tell myself about writing 5 years ago:

SAID IS NOT DEAD! I REPEAT!! SAID IS NOT DEAD!!! this + the important truth that just like you have to know grammar rules so that you can better break them, you also have to know the writing "rules" to know when to break them. there is not a single "rule" or "tip" someone can tell you about writing that is universal and strictly following all the advice you're given about writing will 1) give you a headache 2) make you feel bad and 3) kill any attempt you have at style.

ALSO. done is better than perfect. it's always better to just write something and finish it then keep it in your head forever or keep tweaking it instead of just wrapping it up because you want it to be perfect. what's the point in having something perfect (impossible anyway) if no one is ever going to see it because you can't get around to giving it your stamp of approval? sometimes you gotta crank out enough shit until it's not shit anymore. like when you want hot water and you have to turn it on and let the water warm up. i have to start writing and keep writing until the water coming out is something i actually want to bathe in.

the metaphor falls apart.

and finally, if there's a part of you that's too afraid to publish something because you don't want people you know to read it....i can assure you from the other side as someone who's had a screenplay be made into an actual movie that all of my friends have purchased but no one has actually watched, even if they do find it and even if you did want them to read it none of your friends will ever read your writing <3 <3 it's okay <3 <3 publish that book even if it's gay and has a torture scene, your family won't read it anyway <3

fanfic writer ask game

[benefits1986]

yoyuu hakoosho

There's something about Jap things that make me breathe a bit deeper and more intentionally. Might be because I grew up watching anime on local TV in our tiny Manila home. Since we're a lower mid class fam, TV has been our centerpiece. Of course, mother dragon didn't like cable TV because it's too diverse, meaning we'd be likely to explore shit content 'di umano. In my head, I was like: Gagi. Ayaw n'yo lang ng added gastos. 'Wag ako.

And so, as I'm archiving snaps on IG that no longer appeal to the moldy "journal" feeds vibe, I chanced upon Yoyuu. Muntik ko na siyang i-archive because wala lang.

So, Yoyuu. I checked what it actually means kasi baka naman may caveats pa 'to. I can no longer remember the actual euruka moment pero alam ko lang that was Eiga Sai season so it might be leading back to something related with my shallow dream of having a screenplay. EME. But first, here's a snippet of no less than the pakakkk definition of the word. The Kinfolk write up claimed the word as the “presence of a momentary pause that allows us to recharge and prepare for life’s next big event.” The writer goes on to clarify:

“It’s an imagined space you take yourself to arrange mental (or physical) clutter, allowing yourself to be poised and ready to accommodate the other necessities of the day; Yoyuu conveys the accompanying feeling of calmness when you’re mentally prepared for challenge and change.”

Lo and behold, Yoyuu hits differently these days. Then, it seems so far-fetched and honestly, borderline utopia. Moving on from mom has been my vicious cycle for the past 12 years.

What does the new chapter look like? Full of uncertainties and crazy shit, both good and bad. This time though, since I'm exploring calmness even though it's never an easy choice for this overthinking bitch. In fact, a new chapter is not even in my book because my deadline is Year 35. I still find it weird that I'm still here and now. However, 2024 has been really, really curious, and it's probably one that has a really, really thick plot twist in every aspect of my life, too.

Change always comes with challenges. And what I'm slowly learning is that for the first time in forever, I think I'm off to change for good. Hindi na 'yung angsty. Hindi na 'yung andaming complications. Basta, andun lang ako sa sige, let's take it one day at a time. Super thankful also kasi nga, the change and the challenges now come with inner peace. Don't get me wrong, inner struggles and spirals are always there. Ganun naman talaga. Pero thank u, universe for sending me something worth exploring this new chapter with. Na hindi nakaka-trigger na rubbing the wrong way. 'Yung gentle tumatagos sa kaibuturan. Parang eto na ba 'yung road to answered prayer #2 a few months back? LOL. Shemmmayyyyuyyy. Healing comes when you allow yourself to face your trauma pero mas buo ka na after the brokenness. And I have to thank my dearest, darlingest ina kasi sobrang iba talaga 'yung 2.0 na pagtawid ng nanay sa other side. And that experience would not pan out like that if it weren't for the 12-year ayoko-aminin-vulnerabilities ko when I lost mother dragon. Siya na naman magaling. Ako na naman ang matigas ang ulo. Super palakpak tenga na naman 'yun for sure rn. Baka nasa tabi ko pa nga siya while I'm unloading this shit piece.

The bitterness, the what-ifs, the questions that are so tough to answer have been put to sleep, finally. Bonus na rin na dad and I are really in a good place along with my brother.

The pause is perhaps the most important thing that happened in 2024. It was supposed to be a few months outside Manila, pero alam mo naman, as a mid-class Bronx in MNL bitch na hyper independent, wala e. Hahahaha. That pause is pivotal since it forced me to think about things I actually want and do not want. It made me see how far I've gone, how shitty I've gotten, and how I can move forward. In a nutshell, refocusing after such a long time na out of focus ako kasi I settled for sooooooooo long. I have finally started to see my worth which is something so surprising and maddening, too. EMEE. Huy. Worth every bit of shit talaga. As in. Salamat sa 'di na tuloy na Japan trip ng 2024. Whoops. Bumagsak na naman sa Japan. LUL. Emsss.

Galing no? Samahan mo pa ng mga opportunities na dumadating na syempre sobrang anxiety-filled but aligned with my simple dream to be a legit probinsiyana. HUHUHUHU. Wish ko lang talaga, peace of mind and health for all the people in my circle. 'Yun lang. And so, holiday 2024, ano paganap mo sa scrooge na 'to?

Abangan! Tuloy ang puksaan.

[knowyourbmovieactors]

OCTOBER HORROR MOVIES (DVD EDITION) #2: STIR OF ECHOES

OCTOBER HORROR MOVIES (DVD EDITION) #2

STIR OF ECHOES

"Stir of Echoes" starts right off the bat with a little kid talking to his imaginary friend "Samantha", a conversation capped with the child asking the disturbing question, "Does it hurt to be dead?" His dad is a blue collar shmoe played by Kevin Bacon who once had some vague dreams about having a better life, but has settled for being an overworked lineman for the phone company, living in basically the same neighborhood he grew up in (a neighborhood, by the way, where there seems to be some kind of block party almost every day). After his "spiritual-but-not-religious" artist-type sister-in-law hypnotizes him at a party, he begins having disorienting visions of Samantha as well. What follows is his descent toward madness as he struggles to figure out what this entity is and what it wants him to do.

The movie is based on one of Richard Matheson's more obscure books, and if you don't know who that is, you're definitely familiar with his work. In addition to writing many episodes of the original Twilight Zone (including the iconic "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet") and all of Roger Corman's Edgar Allen Poe adaptations, Matheson also wrote the books "I Am Legend", "What Dreams May Come" and "Duel", all of which got movie treatments (usually adapted by Matheson himself). And I'm not even getting into the plethora of other screenplays he wrote or contributed to. The man did more to shape modern day sci-fi and horror than just about any other single individual, and more people should be singing his praises.

Director David Koepp is better known as a screenwriter himself, having contributed to big budget adaptations like "Jurassic Park" and the first "Mission: Impossible" movie. He settled on "Stir of Echoes" not because he was particularly enamored with the book, but because it gave him a chance to collaborate with Matheson, and most of his other novels had already been adapted. The result is... not bad. It's a perfectly competent supernatural thriller that hits all the right beats. The script was definitely well-crafted by a couple of seasoned writers, and Koepp is at least a serviceable director. Kevin Bacon, as always, is good, as is Kathryn Erbe as his put-upon wife. But this movie had the bad fortune of being released in 1999 at almost exactly the same time as another movie that involves a kid who can talk to dead people, a little film you might have heard of called "The Sixth Sense". "Stir of Echoes" never had a chance.

What I did enjoy about this movie was its sense of place. Set in Chicago and actually filmed in Chicago, the movie is overflowing with Chicago accents and Chicago locations (but not the big ones the tourists go see; screw Navy Pier, we have a scene set in the goddamn Logan Square train station for no other reason than to show off the goddamn Logan Square train station). The background is littered with every flavor of Chicago Guy, with every iteration of the Chicago Guy Mustache: the kind of guy who would watch the "Da Bears!" Super Fans sketches from SNL and wonder what was supposed to be so funny; the kind of guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who is "in the concrete business"; the kind of guy who stumbles into his local high school football game, tipsy and red-faced, with a bottle of Malort tucked in his windbreaker. "Stir of Echoes" takes place in exactly the kind of white working class neighborhoods that used to be all over Chicago (and which now have largely been gentrified by an entirely different breed of white folks with entirely different kinds of mustaches), and it was fun at least to see a movie that really felt like it could only happen in that particular city at that particular time.

THINGS I LEARNED FROM THE DVD EXTRAS

-The "Behind the Scenes" featurette really makes you understand the tedium of standing around on a film set all day.

-In preparation for this film, Illeana Douglas (who plays the hypnotist sister-in-law) went out and got hypnotized herself, even though she's not the one who is actually hypnotized in the movie. She also tells us she believes in ghosts and angels and aliens.

-Included in the bonus materials is the official music video for what was supposed to be the breakout hit single from the soundtrack. I totally forgot that this used to be a thing: a music video made up primarily of clips from the movie the song was featured in, intercut with shots of the band looking all moody on a soundstage. In this case the song is "Breathe" by the band Moist. Man, don't you all remember "Breathe" by Moist?! You know, that song that was definitely in the movie "Stir of Echoes" somewhere? God, remember back in '99 when all anybody could talk about was "Stir of Echoes" and "Breathe" by Moist? Good times.

[shiningdesignersreflections]

Chapter 2: Hope You Are Well

Narrated by Yueniang.

~Content Warning: using someone's deadname~

Narrator: The pergola outside is as magnificent as ever. I wonder if everything is still the same in my room.

Narrator: This is the place that raised me... and once trapped me.

Narrator: When I open the door, however, there is nothing inside.

Butler: Sir, Master asked to have all of your personal belongings disposed of because he didn't want you back here.

Narrator: I know they want me out of the family, but man, they sure are determined.

Narrator: My family cut ties with me right after I graduated from college, but life wasn't unbearably difficult for me.

Narrator: Because every now and then, some people would pay me to write screenplays for them.

Narrator: I didn't even need to guess to know that my brother was behind it. He probably thought I'd never find out.

Narrator: Except it's been quite a while now since anyone last asked me to write them screenplays. Looking back now, it should have been clear that something was wrong.

Yueniang: Good.

Narrator: With my last hope shattered, I walk out of my room and head straight for the other side of the long hallway.

Narrator: Traveling through the hallway, the wind stirs up the fallen leaves piling by the staircase.

Narrator: A certain someone who's no longer in this world used to live in the room behind the tightly shut door at the end of the hallway.

Butler: What are you doing?

Yueniang: I'm just here to look for something.

Butler: You can't go in there!

Yueniang: Stop me if you can.

Butler: Sir, please don't make this difficult for me.

??: Let him be.

Narrator: Coming from behind us is a crisp voice, purposefully kept so low to exude an authoritative air.

Narrator: The shadow on the floor towers over me and traps me within it. Dumbfounded for a split second, the servant lowers his head politely.

Butler: Sir Zicheng.

Yue Zicheng: Off you go.

Narrator: When I raise my head, I see him... dressed in a silver-edged long robe, with buttons properly done all the way up to the collar.

Narrator: The long robe most certainly isn't his most fashionable of outfits, but it matches the air he carries.

Narrator: Looking sharp. Guess that's what makes all the ladies crazy about you, huh?

Yue Zicheng: What are you doing back here, Zilang?

Narrator: It's been a while since someone last called me by that name. There was a time when I went by Yue Zilang, but that was quite a while ago.

Yueniang: I'm here to collect my belongings.

Narrator: Without saying anything else, I turn around and open the door. As the door creaks open, a smell of age comes rushing out of the room.

Narrator: The closet in the corner, the beaded curtain, the wooden casket... everything in the room is exactly as I remember where they were.

Narrator: This is the room Mother and I used to live in.

Yue Zicheng: How are you?

Yueniang: I've been doing as well as you have.

Yue Zicheng: What are you taking with you? I can get someone to help you with it, but just don't let Father see you around, or else...

Yueniang: Or else what?

Yue Zicheng: Or else he'll pretend you don't ever exist, he said.

Yueniang: Well, I'm so broke now that I'll probably starve to death in just a few days, which I suppose must be good news to him.

Yue Zicheng: Wait, let me get one of our servants to make you some food.

Yueniang: No!!!

Narrator: This guy hasn't changed a bit... he always pretends to care about you when he never actually cares about what you really care about.

Yue Zicheng: Let me know if you need any financial support. I'll make sure Father doesn't find out. If you need a job, we can definitely help you get one, too.

Yueniang: Help me get one? The same way they helped you get yours?

Narrator: I want to bombard him some more in the heat of the moment, but couldn't manage to get words out of my mouth when I see him shocked by what I said.

Narrator: I can't be sure if he's just saying all these out of a sense of responsibility as the family's heir, or is he just being nice because we're siblings.

Narrator: Regardless, he chose to side with the family after Mother's death. He covered up the past and the truth alongside the family.

Yueniang: I'm taking this because it belongs to my mother.

Narrator: I wave the hairpin at him that I just found as I close the drawer.

Narrator: As I hold the hairpin in my hand, I see a photo fall out of a crack in the drawer. In the photo, Mother is holding me, with Yue Zicheng standing right beside us.

Yue Zicheng: You were just two then.

Narrator: We both reach out for the photo. Looking him in the eye, I straighten myself up.

Narrator: Transfixed, he quietly picks up the photo. Dusting it with those long fingers of his, he walks down memory lane.

Chapter 1

Chapter 3

Chapter 4