#but they feel more significant because they are in the script

[sparrowlucero]

I'm a lil confused, which line exactly did they confirm that the midnight creature causes you to kill other people?

I understand that the doctor suggested aliss's deafness made her immune to whatever the creature was saying (I understood this more as her being immune to becoming full on possessed a la midnight but idk), but Belinda didnt seem to have any murderous urges when it attached to her and neither did mo at the end? also why would the creature force you to physically kill ppl when it was having more fun inciting paranoia to get people to kill eachother and using the "behind you" gambit thing to kill people itself?

idk maybe I'm misreading things, there was a lot of confusion in ep for me over the exact rules the creature was following, esp wrt the switcharoo at the end. much to think about.......

yeah the episode says that everyone on the base went crazy, with aliss being the only one unaffected by this since she can't hear it; my understanding is that, rather than the uninfected people ganging up and killing the infected one out of paranoia and becoming infected themselves (rinse and repeat), the infected person (like her friend) became violent in some way and started trying to kill each other, and the reason she isn't also behaving this way is because it thralls people verbally:

but then they also repeatedly suggest that everyone was murdered out of paranoia over seeing the parasite until only aliss was left, as we both understood the premise:

(side note, I'm actually not sure of the significance of the half broken/half shot thing - they play it like a twist, but I can't really conceptualize the specifics of what happened at the mine before the soldiers showed up? I think maybe they wanted to have that beat where it gets killed by its reflection but in getting there lost a bit of clarity)

It's all pretty rough; the immunity aspect really moves it from 'they killed each other one by one out of fear to try to off the creature until it was just aliss left' to something I don't think really coheres together. I do strongly suspect the whispering was probably a messy last minute rewrite after the actress was cast to incorporate the character's deafness in the plot in some way, hence why it doesn't actually show up in the episode wrt belinda and mo (it's possible that this replaced some other immunity in an earlier script, but it seems more likely to me that this aspect simply just didn't exist at first and she was meant to be alive just because she was the last one left, as she directly says) And yeah I'm pretty positive something in the switcharoo ending got changed and that's why it feels kind of confusing/the rules of the creature are a bit different out of nowhere. Who knows what lol, I think they probably initially wanted a reveal that the captain jumping down the well was all for naught because it never left aliss at all and wasn't even in the room during the episode's climax; there's even a punchy shot specifically showing that there's 4 individuals on the lift (despite there only being 3)

[hephaestuscrew]

I'm a big fan of the way that Gabriel Urbina often includes details within the Wolf 359 scripts that can't be directly translated into audio, for example: the "tears silently streaming down [Minkowski's] face" in Ep31 Securité; Eiffel being "wrapped up in a blanket" when telling Lovelace about his traumatic experience of feeling like he was turning into Minkowski in Ep32 Controlled Demolition; the way "Hera and Eiffel stand together, his arm around her shoulder" when confronting Pryce in the finale; the idea that Eiffel "salutes" Minkowski after his speech to her before the memory wipe... These details make reading the scripts an even more rewarding experience. 

But I do think there's an interesting question here about to what extent these details are canon. After all, when changes have been made in the dialogue between the script and the final recording, I only consider the dialogue that actually ended up in the episode to be canon, although the version in the script might still provide interesting insights. But with details in the scripts that are inherently not audible - and therefore never intended to be literally included in the episode itself - should we consider them to be canon, or bonus content, or Word of God, or simply a tool used in the recording process? 

I know that it is possible to have an entirely full experience of the show without ever reading a single bit of the scripts. The scripts are placed in the 'Extras' area of the show website. 

Obviously the primary purpose of the non-auditory script details is to inform the actors in their performances, and perhaps provide some considerations for sound design. When I read the scripts, I can often feel how the non-auditory script directions are reflected in the feel of the voice acting. 

But once I've noticed these script directions, I also can't help having them feed into my experience of the scene when listening, in a way that enriches the experience beyond purely the audio, and informs my understanding of these moments. The script directions tell us more about what the writer was envisioning for a scene.

I love sharing the script directions that feel significant to me, and when I do so, I feel like I'm sharing something more significant than a behind-the-scenes tidbit. I feel like I'm sharing further knowledge of what happened in that scene. The script directions feel like a true part of the show to me, more so than the comments the writers and actors have made in Q&As. To me, these non-auditory bits of the scripts feel like canon, but a slightly lesser form of canon than the episodes themselves. But I don't know if I can fully justify this view. I'd be interested to hear other people's thoughts.

[trans-leek-cookie]

post. Post-posting clarity where you're like "wtf was I talking about". But also post-posting confusion where you're also like "wtf was I talking about" but it's less about your mental state While Posting and more about "okay. I've written many words. I remember. Approximately 20% of them. What the fuck are the rest of these?"

[fxrheisenn]

Andrus Laansalu talked about making Disco Elysium at EKA (Estonian Academy of Arts)

"Initially, the church wasn't a focal point. There were certain characters that needed to visit this location, and I asked, "Seriously, what do we have in our church?" The others replied, "Nothing at all. Our church is completely bare—just a wheel, really. It's quite basic."

That's when I decided to unleash my creativity in the design. For example, they chose to install a glass structure at the top of the church to create a reflective surface. It was like placing an optical clock up there. Therefore, one of the most crucial aspects of designing the church was ensuring the lighting was just right to create the desired atmosphere."

"Let me show you an example of Baroque architecture, which is rich in detail. We're also designing the interior of the church based on large cathedrals. However, the foundation you use might not yield the expected results, because the church itself doesn't require such intricate details. Sometimes, it's about simplifying the design."

"I used Articy for the initial scriptwriting of Disco Elysium. The image only represents a tiny fraction of the text and choice variables involved. This system was also the reason I eventually abandoned the project after a year of outlining the script and shifted my focus to becoming a sound designer. My mind struggled to keep up with the dynamic graphic rules, but fortunately, a more talented writer took over afterward."

"In terms of sound design, it's essential to develop different layers to bring out the charm of the church as a cohesive space. Although this represents only a small portion of the overall design, each layer actually requires a significant amount of time to compose the whole....... Whenever there's a shift or a change due to the dialogue itself, you need to adjust the background sounds. Each time you modify the details in the dialogue, I have to refine the background audio, ensuring that these elements build upon each other like an intricate layer of work."

"It's funny how many scenes involve characters getting smacked in the face. My job was to recreate those, so I locked myself in the bathroom with a recorder and hit my forehead until it turned red.

As a sound designer, I really dig those unsettling, drill-like sounds. So, I mixed in creepy lectures, metal scraping, moans, and cries of pain—because I just love that stuff! (laughs)

Players will be moving through all kinds of areas, so it's super important to make the sound transitions feel natural, trying to create a more immersive vibe in certain spaces.

With all the scenes featuring big cranes, you can hear them from far away, and I wanted to capture that eerie ringing in your ears. That's going to be a thing throughout most of the game. I've found ways to really mess with players while they're playing!"

"I've come across a lot of old objects (like phones and radios) that I needed to perfectly replicate the sounds. I started to become a bit of a hoarder, buying up different models of old phones whenever I found one to add to my collection. The sound effects I can simulate from them are really impressive."

"Some of the devices don't actually exist in real life—just a mix of architecture and tech. When I need to create sound effects, I first look for something similar that exists in our world, then I try to simulate what the sound and appearance of that thing might have been like a century ago.

Towards the end of the game, there's a character carrying a fuel canister. We needed the sound of the canister, so we dug one up from our garage—it had been sitting there since it was five! I realized this would make the sound perfect. So, it had been there for 50 years, and after 40 years, it finally found its purpose.

In some places, I needed unique sound waves, and recreating them was a real headache until one day I happened to walk by a swimming pool and stumbled upon an old wartime torpedo. You can rotate the torpedo's probe, and it slowly rises up, like a proud zombie head. The sounds it made were exactly what I needed!"

🙋How did you manage to get funding?

"Well, since we're in Estonia, you just need to know a wealthy person. You don't need five people—just two who can network, hang out together, and convince them to keep investing! (laughs) Back then, we constantly ran out of money and would tell them, 'Oops, looks like we spent it all! Can you invest a bit more?' That's how we made it through!"

🙋How did you all come together to make the game?

"Luck. It usually doesn't happen this way, and that's the key difference. It has to be. If not, you couldn't create a game of this scale - well, I mean in terms of budget. But creatively, Estonia definitely has writers and artists who can pull it off. With such a small population, there are a lot of quirky folks who are good friends. We were really lucky, though - lots of fortunate circumstances came together. It brought the right people together, allowing those talented fools to collaborate with us. They had experience but hadn't tackled projects of this magnitude before. So yeah, luck is pretty important!"

Lecture experience shared by 白兔YIYANG SUN on 小红书, reposted & translated by me with her permission.

[love4ng1e]

𐙚 A different approach on the void !!

Hiii, guys!! ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 I haven’t been super active on here lately because I’ve been doing a little experiment, and unsurprisingly, it worked. So I thought I’d share it with you all! One random Sunday, I had this thought: “You know what? I want to do things my own way.” I’ve never really liked following rules. Can you blame me? Instead of affirming for the void or trying to “enter” it, I decided to flip the script. I asked myself, “What if I’ve already entered the void and manifested everything I want?” And that’s exactly what I went with. Now I’m gonna share with you every step I took.

# ACT I: PICK A DAY IN THE PAST.

Pick a date. Any date. It truly doesn’t matter. It could be something meaningful, like your birthday or something totally random, like March 18 (no offense if that one holds significance for you). I chose March 1st.

# ACT II: SCRIPT IN PAST TENSE.

Write (Notes App, Google Docs, etc.) as if you’ve already manifested everything you’ve ever wanted in the void. Feel free to express it however you like. Joyfully, robotically, or anything in between. You can list the things you manifested (like your dream car, your ideal job, etc.) or simply state that all your desires have come true if you’re not sure what to write.

# ACT III: AFFIRM AS IF YOU FORGOT.

Affirm that you've already entered the void and manifested everything that you desire, but you forgot because, well, you're only human. Now, you're remembering that you did so.

Example - "I already entered the void." (It can be as simple as that).

# ACT IV: BE DONE WITH IT.

You're done. No more wishing or trying. It's over. Walk with the confidence of someone who's conquered Mars. Think with the brilliance of William James Sidis. Act as though you hold the power to shape destinies.

I woke up one day, and everything I had scripted was real. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I could make a separate post on how exactly that happened. If anybody is interested, let me know!! Mwah, Angie. - 𝜗𝜚

[gothmoes]

𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐉𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐎𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐚 𝐡𝐜𝐬

❥ pairing: Jenna Ortega x fem!Reader

❥ wc: 2,2k

❥ warnings: long, rambly, and self-indulgent 🫶 no actual ending to wrap this up, will just come back to this when I get new ideas to add.

Jenna is spoiled rotten, and it is no one else's fault than yours. She wants your touch, warmth, kisses, and attention—and she knows she will always get them.

Jenna tries not to be so needy (not really), but now that you’re hers to claim, she can’t help but want to be in your bubble constantly. That girl would live in your skin if she could.

Jenna is highly affectionate. Not only is she hungry for your affection, but she also freely gives you hers. You name it: hugs, kisses, cuddles, bites, licks (she is particularly fond of licking your face and biting you wherever she can reach, for some reason). If it means she will touch you somehow, she will do it.

Velcro girlfriend, in other words.

If Jenna lies somewhere, she calls you over to lie on her. Your weight is like a heated blanket; she loves playing with your hair and caressing your face as you drift to sleep on her chest or soft tummy. It’s a good way to bond when she's reviewing a script or reading a book.

She has a habit of coming up behind you and nuzzling into your back, prompting you to turn and scoop her into your arms. 

Height difference is a huge plus! Jenna loves to be smothered by you when you hold her, to drown in your fragrance and melt into the safety of your embrace.

She is very touchy. Not only affectionate-touchy but “will grope you as she passes by you with no particular purpose than to make you squirm” touchy.

She loves to play with your hands. No reason; she loves how your hand envelopes hers and your fingers fit together like puzzle pieces. 

Not a napper, or rather, was not a napper until she discovered paradise in your arms. Now, being held by you triggers an instant rush of oxytocin and melatonin that, coupled with the thump of your heartbeat and your warmth, knocks her out within minutes.

Jenna is kind of a baby when sick, but it's your fault. She wasn't like that until you came in and started babying her. She used to be independent and treat her illnesses in a very mechanical and detached way because it was nothing more than a setback from work. Now, she can't imagine having a cold and spending her quarantine without your tender touches. 

Same thing when she’s PMSing. The more time you spend caring for her, the better quicker she feels.

Jenna has an insane staring problem—always has and always will. She can’t help but stare at you like you hung up all the stars in the sky; she’s so lucky she has you. Her adoration is ever present in her eyes. It’s one of the reasons it’s so tricky for her to have you around when she’s supposed to be focused. She looks too giddy and happy to hide. 

Don’t get her started on your smell—she’s one of those freaky women who inhales you any chance she gets. She loves the way you smell so much. It’s like her entire nervous system instantly relaxes whenever she catches a whiff of you.

Jenna is not huge on stereotypical nicknames. She prefers to have a few significant ones for each other that you probably come up with after an important experience or memory. Hell, she even takes inspiration from her favourite songs. However, she is partial to how “Angel” rolls off your tongue, and she will occasionally slip up with a “Babe” now and again.

Jenna lives in your clothes. The majority of your wardrobe is with her at all times. You might wonder where your favourite hoodie is just to get a photo of her lounging in it five minutes later.

Jenna is a certified yapper with you. She naturally is, but most people don’t get this version of her because she doesn’t feel uncomfortable being herself around them. You are more than happy to hear her speak her mind about any topic she can think of, finding peace in how her eyes light up and excitement laces her voice when she realises she has your undivided attention. 

This woman will babble about the randomest topics, even as she drifts to sleep. It’s incredibly endearing, and she never fails to make you laugh with the strange things that endlessly pop into her pretty little head. She doesn’t even need to try to be funny most of the time; she just is.

Jenna is very supportive of you and your goals. Ideally, she wants you to travel the world with her, which is doable if you study through an online program or work a remote job.

If, due to your goals, you don’t have the availability to go with Jenna for long periods and you’re mainly doing long-distance, things get a bit more complicated. Still, Jenna is 100% invested as long as you are. 

She is a terrible texter, BUT she does try for you! You can't say she doesn't. The problem is that she doesn’t typically send text messages. Instead, you receive a constant stream of photos updating you on what she’s doing, where she is, who she’s with, what she’s eating, what she’s wearing, what she’s not wearing, etc, with no follow-up. Most of the time, she sends them in faster succession than you can keep up with.

The second common way of communication between you is FaceTime. It’s simply more convenient than texting, given her lifestyle. AND she needs to see you constantly for mental health reasons. 

When she does text, Jenna makes your heart swoon. She might not be the best at sending you a “Good Morning” text every day at the crack of dawn (those timezone differences have her fucked up). Still, she never misses an opportunity to show you how much she loves and thinks of you. Sometimes, her messages are a little poem she came up with while thinking of you or a song and some lyrics she heard that remind her of you with no explanation other than “this is you <3”.

She often sends you voice notes and videos to make you smile. Hearing her lovely voice and seeing her angelic face is always a delightful surprise.

This woman is incredibly cheeky. She loves to flirt with and tease you. Sometimes, she does it to get a laugh out of you, and other times, she does it to get a rise out of you. (She gets a big head about eliciting your reaction every single time without fail.)

Jenna is not a great cook, although she grew up with delicious homemade meals. The main reason is that she simply doesn't have the time to hone her skills in the kitchen. Lord knows she tries, though! She expectantly stares at you with those sweet doe eyes and hesitant smile, and you never have the heart to shoot down her efforts. 

Despite Jenna’s chatty nature, one of the things she deeply appreciates about you and your relationship is that she takes repose in your silence. She can talk until she tires but knows that she can also exist near you quietly when she needs to without you expecting her to fill in the silence out of discomfort. Her tranquillity with you is unlike anything she’s ever felt. She cherishes those moments as much as any other because your silence is just as precious.

You are the subject of lots of photos! Jenna photographs what she loves, so roughly 30% of her storage is photos of you, while another 30% accounts for photos you’re in, like couple selfies and other lovey-dovey stuff. (The rest has been quickly overtaken by Fig.)

Jenna loves driving, but she also loves being your passenger princess because it’s peaceful sitting beside you, your thumb rubbing small circles over her thigh or her hand clasped in yours with the hum of the car lulling her into a nap. 

She loves taking baths together. To melt into your body and forget the pressures of the day. 

Date nights are random and spontaneous. Jenna’s schedule is too erratic most of the time for you to nail something down permanently. Regardless, they are enjoyable, a great time to bond and let the world disappear. You both love to explore new cities and get lost together. It’s an excellent way to discover new hang-out spots and restaurants, but you also have homebody moments. Sometimes, all you really need is to be in your bubble, sharing a warm meal, wine, and ice cream. Either way, you always laugh and make out wherever you are. 

Movie nights CONSTANTLY. If they’re not your thing, then they’re simply something you do to indulge Jenna, which becomes a bonding ritual you relish.

Jenna worries about you when you’re apart from each other. She likes to be updated when you have important things going on to avoid overthinking and getting anxious for you.

You’re her madness and peace all wrapped into one, and Jenna is not shy about showing you her true colours; you get all of her, and she expects to get all of you. 

Jenna is not a morning person. If she has a day free, she expects to enjoy being able to sleep in; otherwise, she wakes up cranky and glaring at everything and everyone. Nothing a long cuddle and some well-placed kisses can’t fix. Even when she wakes up for work, she stays quiet. It takes her a while to fully wake up, but by the time she gets to work, she’s usually her bubbly self again. 

She’s not a big spender on herself. She is not interested in things but loves spending money on you. 

Jenna low-key tries to impress you, not with her acting, because she dislikes you seeing her act, but with her outfits. You’ve never gone to her fittings because she loves to get your first reaction the day of.

She loves to make you laugh, and it's very easy for her because she's odd. She is absolutely delightful, though, and her unique sense of humour has always been one of the things you most adore about her. 

She loves celebrating you in any way she can, but she prefers to do it privately and intimately. Birthdays, holidays, Valentine’s Day, National Girlfriend Day, she never forgets those dates, and she takes pride in showing you her appreciation for you. She also loves to be on the receiving end of your celebratory plans for her. You go all out and have never let her down. (Things might be becoming a bit competitive, though.)

Jenna makes you endless playlists for all sorts of events and moods, but she gets emotional when you do the same for her. It makes her feel vulnerable in the best way that you know her as well as you do.

When she’s upset, she’s not a huge talker. The main thing she needs is your physical comfort, to know that you’ll hold her and let her soften into you, and she can lose herself in your embrace because you’ll shield her from the world. She does open up eventually when she feels more regulated, but normally, she stays in your lap while you discuss her issues. 

People know you’re dating. It’s easy to hide if you’re doing the long-distance thing because no one but her sees you, but when you start travelling with her, Jenna can’t hide how happy it makes her to have you around. You blend in easily with her crew, but a few detectives start putting 2+2 together and scrutinize you until she slips up. Which she does. It might be much later than expected, but it still surprises people. 

Jenna is not huge on PDA because she doesn’t like sharing your thing with everyone, but that doesn’t mean that she’s good at avoiding it. She prefers to keep you and your relationship out of the spotlight because you’re precious to her, and she values your wish to keep your relationship private, but sometimes, she can’t help herself. The few photos circulating the internet where you’re holding hands or kissing are all due to the fact that she couldn’t keep her hands to herself for long enough to avoid it. 

When Jenna gets anxious, she needs you. It doesn't happen often, but it does. A hug, a handhold, just you. It’s not that she expects you to automatically “fix” her; she would never burden you with that responsibility. It’s just that your presence truly is that comforting. Being around you gives her the strength to regulate herself, especially when you’re being closed in by paps or invasive fans. That foreboding feeling that triggers her to be in survival mode feels less menacing and overwhelming when you squeeze her hand or shield her from prying eyes. 

Jenna is not a jealous person, but she does get jealous. She trusts you wholly and knows you would never intentionally make her jealous or disrespect her. Still, other people don’t value your relationship the same way. More often than she’d like, Jenna has had to deal with people who are so drawn to you that they’ll openly flirt with you in front of her. She begrudgingly has to admit to herself that she can’t blame people too much, though—you are remarkable and magnetic and so breathtakingly gorgeous. She understands why people want your attention so much, but damn if it doesn’t make her blood boil.

She is very playful and such a tease, but she cannot take what she dishes out for the life of her. As soon as you give her a taste of her medicine, she simply... shuts down and stares.

𝐓𝐚𝐠 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭: @freakshow2501

[narcjsistx]

slightly suggestive, but nothing so big </3 ; actor kaiser au!!

✶ 𝐌𝐘 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 ; take a look, trust me!

actor!michealkaiser who almost wanted to burst into tears when he discovered that he would become the male protagonist of a dark romance, he who has always been extremely famous for his action films. he didn't even know how he got the role, since he hadn't auditioned... but maybe they took him because of his fame

actor!michealkaiser that as soon as he discovered his co-star, he seriously thought about leaving the project. you, who up until that point had never had a significant role in cinema, only an extra in a few films or minor roles. how did you manage to be the female protagonist of this film?!

actor!michealkaiser who at your first meeting on set, made fun of you for arriving 2 minutes late. this, for him, demonstrated your incompetence

actor!michealkaiser that reading the script for the first time with you by his side, he was surprised to see the myriad of passionate kissing scenes he would have to shoot. he knew it was a dark romance film, but he expected much less from the screenwriters... he was surprised

actor!michealkaiser that no matter how great his acting skills were, you couldn't get along with him. he annoyed you, he often scolded you for scenes, according to him, where you seemed "dead" and not a young girl in love with the boy who almost tried to kill her as a child

actor!michealkaiser who often stopped scenes just to tell the directors to change actresses, while you were still on set with your character's line on the tip of your lips, ready to say it

actor!michealkaiser who was seriously curious to see how you would shoot the scene of your kiss, your very first one with him. in the script it was described as a scene full of passion, almost liberating for both characters who until that moment did not know the truth about the protagonist's mother... but would you have been able to do it? you who did nothing but insult each other on set?

actor!michealkaiser that, at the first chiack, you didn't even manage to get to the kissing scene. you were too embarrassed, he was too in a hurry, wanting to finish the scene as soon as possible and go home to rest after 17 hours on set

actor!michealkaiser who, exasperated, slammed you against the wall of the set waiting for the director's approval. his hand on your waist, the other on your neck "either it works this time or seriously I'm going to start screaming in exasperation. use your damn tongue if it gets you more into character"

actor!michealkaiser that when the director finally gives approval to begin, it crashes onto your lips for the first time. surprisingly, this time you feel calmer, less rigid and much more professional... it's almost as if now, for the first time, you were both on the same level. he pushes his knee between your legs, as his character should do, but he feels so suddenly caught up in the scene that it's such a strange feeling

actor!michealkaiser who has no qualms about leaving red marks and bites all over your neck, perhaps a little out of character. his hands lift your thighs, and even if that's not in the script, you wrap your legs around his waist, cupping his face

actor!michealkaiser who suddenly almost forgets the people around, more amused by ruining you with his kisses and bites. both you and him hear the staff talking in hushed tones, but you don't listen either, too caught up in the moment and wondering why your body is suddenly reacting this way to him. why, suddenly, is it like you feel absolutely off set?

actor!michealkaiser who, throughout the scene, feels as if both your soul and your body are his. as if you were his. and damn, he likes it

actor!michealkaiser who is almost annoyed when the director says the scene is perfect and they can stop. you remain still in his arms, your heart still having to return to its normal beat as the other writers come closer "it seemed so real, as if you were really a couple. they made a great choice, when they cast you in the roles"

actor!michealkaiser who, when you're off set a few hours later, comes over and fixes your scarf "the way you responded to my gestures was interesting. you seemed so caught up in the moment" he says smirking, almost as if it were a joke. you take his scarf, pulling him to your height “i can say the same about you”

actor!michealkaiser who, as he sees you leave getting into your taxi, realizes that maybe you are more interesting than he thought

actor!michealkaiser who, during the end of filming, can't wait for more of your passionate scenes. and you seem as taken by him as he is by you, every time you stay a little longer than normal on his lips. and even he has to admit that he always grips your skin a little tighter

actor!michealkaiser that at the movie premiere, he can't help but admire your beauty, you dressed in a tight navy blue dress, which is seriously threatening to drive him crazy. if he had the chance to get back in the limo you arrived in, he would, so that he can finally make you truly his

actor!michealkaiser who throughout the evening doesn't let you be far from him, always an arm around your waist or shoulders. and you don't seem bothered by his behavior, while answering questions from fans and journalists

actor!michealkaiser who, when fans and journalists ask him if you are dating, does not deny or confirm their theories. while you try to say that you are simply very good friends and have good chemistry, he almost wants to say that it's your fault, because if you weren't so stubborn he would have already shouted to the whole world that he loves you. but it can wait a little longer

actor!michealkaiser who can't help but illustrate you to journalists as the most talented co-star he's ever worked with, he who has always had actresses who are decidedly more famous than you in his action films. and you can't help but embarrass yourself in front of the cameras

he leans in close to you, his hand still on your back "looks like you're popular" he says, a hint of possessiveness in his voice. you nod, ignoring the little shivers down your spine "if you don't stop acting like this the crowd will actually believe we're lying about our relationship" you say knowing that only he can hear you. he chuckles quietly, his grip on you tightening just a bit: he knows you're referring to his possessive behavior, and he can't help but find it amusing "maybe i want them to believe we're lying" he whispers, his voice low "would that be such a bad thing?"

actor!michealkaiser which throughout the evening, does nothing but demonstrate that you have more than just good chemistry. and you, stupidly, give other signals that confirm it: you covering your mouth while speaking in his ear, him lowering himself to your height and remaining a few centimeters from your lips...

actor!michealkaiser who, after the end of the premiere, gives you a bouquet of red roses in front of the whole audience. you know perfectly well that he has never done it with any of his other actresses, yet now in front of everyone he has done it. for you. and damn, that almost makes you dumb for him

actor!michealkaiser who, once in the limo, can't help but throw himself on your lips, letting the little noises coming from your mouth drive him crazy. you tighten your arms around his neck, wondering if you're actually making the right choice, even though you're so damn happy. it's that he's so famous, and you're not... who gives you the confirmation that he really likes you and isn't just playing with your heart?

actor!michealkaiser who, having arrived at the hotel rooms, finds themselves spending the night in yours. and god, he can't help but be happy to finally let his thoughts come true, he who doesn't believe in love at first sight but suddenly finds himself thinking he could spend his whole life with you. he has already been in other relationships, but with a simple scene you managed to make him crazy, that means it's definitely a sign

actor!michealkaiser who the next morning, tired and with a few more scratches on his back, takes his phone while with his other hand he massages your shoulder, while you are still asleep. he opens his socials, noting how everyone both appreciated the film and appreciated you, all convinced that you are much more than friends, that your behaviors are not those of someone who simply has good chemistry, but of someone who hides too many things. and he can't help but be so happy with everything he's reading

[laser-tripwires]

what is your read on the scene in the pilot where eliot and nate are playing pool? do you think eliot was being genuinely empathetic or just making small talk? was eliot genuinely hurt by nate?

neither, and both. he wasn't making small talk, he wasn't genuinely hurt, but it's more complicated than that. that scene exists for a wide number of reasons, and very few of those reasons actually have anything to do with eliot. nate is the protagonist, and that scene is arguably the most important character exposition we get on him in the entirety of the nigerian job - BUT there's still a lot you can read about eliot and the team dynamics as a whole, as well as foreshadowing for the wider show.

the scene actually opens not with the pool game, but with hardison pulling nate over to tell him he got dubenich's financials. i call this out because - in the original pilot script? this got cut off from the pool scene by a dubenich interlude which didn't make it into the final show.

now, that's probably information management - much, much easier to focus on nate and eliot's convo if we're not thinking about what dubenich is doing, and the exposition from the dubenich mini-scene wasn't very important. but there's another reason, too -

nate smiles and claps a hand on hardison's shoulder before heading back over to the pool game. it's a fatherly moment! a lot of the nigerian job is dedicated to setting up nate's relationships with the trio (the fact that parker gets mentorship instead of fatherliness in this ep is kinda long goodbye job foreshadowing, even if likely unintentional), and this reiterates that he's gonna be a father to hardison. it's placement just before this conversation with eliot is also telling us that this relationship with the team is going to be the thing that heals nate, which eliot all but says aloud a minute or so later (i'll get there).

right, so the next beat of the scene is eliot offering nate a beer and nate refusing. which is... interesting, given as nate was practically drinking himself to death at the beginning of this episode and will spend the rest of the season doing just that. he clearly has an issue with alcohol and that's clearly being set up to be a large part of his arc. so refusing a drink is significant, and we cut from a wide shot (featuring some truly adorable parker lockpicking, parker picks locks like other people knit) into eliot and nate's game because like eliot, we're curious about this.

nate takes his pool shot - eliot looks to nate, to the beer bottle, and back to nate. he's not paying attention to the pool game because eliot is very smart and has just picked up on the thing i pointed out to all of you a second ago - that refusal of the beer is weird and significant. nate's doing better - which eliot says.

nate almost looks up at eliot but takes his shot instead, and eliot continues. nate mutters a "yeah," without looking at eliot. which eliot again notices, and points out that it bothers nate.

eliot's turned around and sat on the pool table now. his focus isn't on the game anymore, it's on nate. it's really hard to critique this scene from eliot's perspective because the whole point of the scene is to get us as the audience inside nate's head, and eliot's needling is the vehicle through which we do that - he's asking the questions and making the assumptions that we as the audience are doing here. nate's a prickly bastard.

nate does, however, admit that it bothers him. with another of those despondant yeahs. he moves away from the pool and towards eliot, but still isn't looking eliot in the eye. "I mean, this isn't supposed to feel-"

"Good?"

camera change on eliot's line there so we get a better look at eliot's face, and nate's finally looking at him. "good" is likely not the descriptor that nate would have stammered out if his sentence had been allowed to continue, but eliot's a blunt person and more importantly eliot's not wrong. he then smiles, which catches nate off-guard, and after a beat eliot continues.

"It's not hard to figure out. Dubenich screwed ya. He cheated by stealing from that other company and your good guy brain sees him as the bad guy. Your conscience is clear."

midway through that speech, we cut to nate's reaction so we're watching him instead of eliot. he's stony. everything eliot's saying is correct, and most of it is explaining subtext that the audience should already have picked up on. but, y'know. nate is a prickly bastard.

(side note on the script again - the change from "ripped you off" to "screwed ya" is a great example of the kind of edits that get made on the fly after you cast actors with certain affects. not relevant here but i think it's cool - WISH we had the scripts for the rest of the show, because the amount to which this one is useful for analysis and insight cannot be overstated.)

now's when it gets interesting. without a change in facial expression, nate asks eliot if he wants to take his shot - he's not quite interrupting, but he's also clearly trying to cut the conversation short. there's two possible meanings to that line - one, nate's meaning, of shut the fuck up and keep playing. two, the subtextual meaning and what eliot takes it as, which is; get to the point.

eliot takes another swig of beer, nods, and we cut to a close up of him as he pauses and reconsiders the tack of the conversation. i very very much read this as eliot trying to figure nate out here - he had a hypothesis about the state of things, and nate's response let him know he was on the right tack. it's worth remembering that (despite what people tend to percieve him as) eliot is an extremely emotionally intelligent character, and that's being established here as well as everything else.

so he starts out another speech, looking nate in the eye - it's the most intimate moment of the conversation so far, and that's important. "Listen, I'm sorry about your kid."

to me, it's abundantly clear that eliot could have kept talking from there, made whatever point he was about to. but he leaves the space open for nate to respond. small talk is the wrong word for this, and eliot's not exactly feeling out an emotional connection; but he is clearly and deliberately giving nate the opportunity to open up and respond, both out of genuine empathy and (as we already saw) a desire to unpick a little more of what makes nate tick. that's part of eliot's job, after all. he is being a nice person here.

and nate... well, nate's expression doesn't change. the sensible and expected thing to do here would be to say, y'know, thanks, and then move on with the game. but, as i've already said, nathan ford is a prickly bastard. worth pulling up the script again here:

because yeah, he shuts down. we're two thirds of the way through the pilot episode and once again this is serving as exposition for the viewer - nate is in a lot of emotional pain, and he doesn't exactly do touchy-feely feelings. he'd much rather hide at the bottom of a bottle than sort out his issues. anger, and grief, and anger.

now, eliot says that "everybody knows." he half whispers that line, which i think is a really great touch - it's a lot more tender in tone than the response could have been, and i don't think nate picks up on that. my reservations on them as people aside, christian kane and timothy hutton's acting throughout this scene is superb. it's hard to explain, but eliot's affect changes for the next line - "Guy like you goes off the street, a lot of people notice." he's still almost whispering, but he's trying to tug the conversation a little bit towards levity. the emphasis on "a lot" is almost jokey - people smarter than me have pointed out that eliot in early season one has a soft sarcastic vibe that isn't present for a lot of the rest of the show. it's a continuation of what we saw earlier in the episode in the hospital scene.

but once that's said, he halts, and we see his eyes soften a little - he stops quite meeting nate in the eye.

it's a soft little moment of comprehension. eliot has lost a lot of people close to him, and has witnessed the deaths of many innocent children. he absolutely does know what nate is feeling. arguably, bereavement destroyed eliot's life infinitely more than it did nate's. so we get a genuine flash of empathy here. he's thought about this, after hearing of it, maybe before even taking the job for dubenich. "And it was a bad story, too."

we cut back to nate for a second there. he's lost - trapped in a hospital in los angeles rather than a penthouse in chicago. as a first time viewer, though, we don't quite know what he's thinking.

so eliot asks. "How'd they justify that, huh? The insurance company, just... not paying for his treatment?"

and the thing is, coming from someone who's watched seven seasons of eliot being unfailingly protective of every child and vulnerable party who's crossed his path... i genuinely think eliot meant that. yeah, not as an actual question, but as comiseration and sympathy for what he can tell is an awful situation.

but this is nate's show. and we're in nate's head. so we follow nate, across three years of anger and pain and into that hospital room. we see for the first time where nate's standing here, the depths of that sorrow in the moments before it manifested.

worth noting that it's not the full scene - nate running in to grab sam's body was filmed with the pilot but cut back to be saved for the finale, which was a damn good choice. but even what we see here is enough to fully ground us in nate's backstory - we've been watching him dance around in chaos for most of an episode, clearly greiving his son, and now we see the cause of all that hurt. once again, this exchange makes much more sense from the perspective of the writers trying to establish and expand on crucial emotional beats.

when we flash back to nate and eliot, the camera angle has changed. noteable, because we were on a solid back-and-forth talking shot for a minute or so there, and this fully segments the scene instead of plopping us back where we just were.

we've just experienced first-hand the spiral that nate's thoughts have gone down. he answers eliot, still lost in thought - "They claimed it was experimental."

from eliot's perspective, that's a response to his question and an accepting of his empathy. from our perspective, it's an anguished statement of pondering, the re-rotation of a thought that's been trapped in nate's head for three fucking years. they claimed. he is, as we will see in the david episodes, so, so, so angry.

eliot smirks, then drinks. we cut back to his face and the original camera angles. his is where the pilot rewrite between scripting and shooting is the most obvious - in the original script, nate picks up the beer, and that's what prompts eliot's next line.

in the filmed episode, we stick instead on nate's face and let eliot continue. the emotional beat is identical, but it places a greater emphasis on nate's pain and eliot's powers of perception. it's an unimportant script edit, but an interesting one.

what happens next... "Should have kept one of those Monets you found, hm? You fence that -" and it's only at this point nate actually interjects.

i don't think eliot here is deliberately being insensitive nor do i think he's directly trying to just raise nate's spirits. you gotta remember that we as the viewers in nate's head for this scene, not eliot's, and from eliot's perspective the tone has just gotten less gut-wrenching, not more - but eliot's also, as i previously noted, an extremely emotionally intelligent person. it's why i've gone through the whole scene instead of jumping directly to this bit you asked me about, because i really do think the full context is needed to understand.

so, nate interrupts. "Eliot, you and I are not friends."

this is again where context is so important. it's not that he cares about what eliot's actually saying (though i could write a very different essay about how that line of eliot's is lampshading a pretty obvious plothole) but that he's just had to forcibly pull himself back to the present day and he thinks eliot's being annoying and would like him to shut up now, please. not all that different from him asking eliot to take his shot earlier, really, though i think eliot picks up on the curtness.

nate raises his eyebrows. it's a nice attempted reversal of power dynamics - yes he has just interrupted and been rude, but he also immediately attempts to swing the conversation's psycoanalysis onto eliot and why are you talking to me about this i don't know you. of course, we as the viewer can tell nate's in deflective mode, but we'd expect eliot to take it at face value -

which. he doesn't. we get this super interesting little "oh... right." face, and i think it's less eliot realising he's struck a nerve (though it also is that) as it is eliot properly clicking in to what nate's thinking here. i stress again that eliot really is a tremendously emotionally intelligent character, definitely moreso than nate is, and that's reflected in this scene. both of them bounce off one another here a little bit differently to how you'd expect them to just looking at archetypes, and it's this kind of thing that makes the leverage pilot so good.

because eliot picks up on the messaging nate's putting down, the prickly i'm-not-having-an-emotional-conversation-with-a-criminal-i-just-met facade, but he also kinda sees right through it. "...Right. 'Cause you have so many of them."

and it's again this softly sarcastic vibe that's pretty unique to early season one eliot, but it really works here in reestablishing that A) eliot's more observant than nate is giving him credit for, B) he's not going to let nate get away with being tacitly kind of a dick, C) he's really not easily rattled and D) eliot is as much of a chaos gremlin as the rest of the team. this is not the affect of a man actually hurt by what nate said.

all in all, good stuff. but now for the reason i dug the script out to begin with - the ending. it's a well-known piece of trivia that they shot the pilot without a defined ending for the next nate/sophie beat only for aldis to improv the world's best "oooooooh," but what's really fun is if you know that this is because the nate/sophie beat here was actually a late addition. in the script, eliot and nate's conversation finishes like this:

and end scene. eliot still gets the final word, so as to speak, but nate gets a lot more quiet reflection and a much more overt point that nate and eliot are at least peers if not friends right now. but here, instead, sophie presumably starts walking towards nate off-camera and eliot steps back - "Incoming."

and then we're on to nate and sophie, and the scene continues with a new focus as nate is left reeling.

but i really, really like the ending we get because it's that same establishment of peership, of eliot calling out nate's crap, but also of the fact that the power dynamics here aren't as they'd first seem. nate's greiving too much. eliot understands but isn't gonna let it get to him or impact the team. this... is all crucial as far as character establishment is concerned.

this answer got long. i think that this scene is just so, so important for establishing both nate and eliot's characters - and i think people miss an infinite amount of nuance when they take the surface-level reading that eliot said something which annoyed nate and nate was mean. that's very much not what happened, but it also kinda is, and it's what makes this so fun to pick apart. eliot and nate have a fascinating relationship, and it's one that's all too often overlooked. here's john rogers's take on it:

and... yeah!!! you can see all that really clearly in this scene. they respect one another, but that doesn't mean they have to like one another, at least not yet. it's good stuff.

[stereoqueen]

noah - j.hughes

summary: 3x grammy winner y/n l/n makes an appearance on jimmy fallon who pokes about the origin story of her grammy award winning song. influenced by the song noah by megan moroney. alludes to lakehouse summers and the notebook!

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

“Tonight, our last guest is a singer who you can’t get out of your head, Y/n L/n!” Jimmy’s voice booms as she enters on stage. The crowd erupts at the sight. She wore a red corset top with a matching short skirt, christian louboutin heels and a small purse; all in her signature color, red. Her hair was straightened and put into an updo bun.

Waving and smiling to the crowd, she fast walked to engulf Jimmy in a hug. The two hugged and then went to their seats, as the audience followed suit to sit down.

“Y/n! So nice to have you back on the show, it’s been a while! The last time we saw you on the show, you were finishing your first tour and only had one grammy — now, you’re a 3x Grammy winner! How does it feel?” Jimmy asks as he finishes his intro.

She sets her purse down, adjusting in her seat. “It— it honestly feels so surreal. I’m so happy that my music and voice is making an impact in the world, no matter how big or small.”

“That’s beautiful. You look beautiful. You truly embody the color red, Y/n.” He said as the audience clapped loudly. Her face is flushed as she looks down at herself.

“You flatter me. It’s funny that you say red is my color; when I started, I always wanted my color to be blue,” She explained as the audience ooohed.

“No kidding. Why’s that?” Jimmy asks, going off script.

“I wanted my color to be blue as a dedication to someone I loved a while back,” She answered honestly as Jimmy’s face softened.

“You get more angelic after every answer — am I right everyone!” He says as the audience claps again. “Can I ask why red over blue then? Was it something to do with Noah?”

“Well, my Noah did have the most beautiful blue eyes I’ve ever seen. We would dance to George Strait’s Baby Blue on the dock at his lakehouse all the time. That’s where the nickname baby blue came from. I wanted to do blue because he always told me it was my color. After the breakup, I switched to red, not knowing that color was also significant in his life,” She explained as the audience awes.

“Why is red significant to him? Can you say?” Jimmy pokes as Y/n smiles a shy smile.

“Oh Jimmy you’re going to get me in trouble! I think this is a sign to give hint on who he is……. the team he went to play for, their main color is red,” She said as her face turned pink.

“Oh really, football? soccer? basketball? Now you gotta give us an idea!” Jimmy hooks as the audience claps. Y/n looks down to mess with her ring.

“Hockey. Always hockey,” She answers as she looks up into the audience. In the back middle row, a man with the same blue eyes she fell in love with locked eyes with her. His mouth was shaped into his signature smile. Her eyes softened and she sat up in her chair.

“Looks like you saw a ghost, Y/n. I heard a rumor that you’re going to be rereleasing Noah using the original lyrics! Are you excited for the world to hear it how it was written?” Jimmy asks as she snaps back into reality. Jack head nods to her as she breaks eye contact from the audience to Jimmy.

“I got the go ahead for it to be released and I am super excited! My Noah wasn’t the country boy I portrayed in the released version. He was a hockey playing, lake loving, charismatic boy who I fell in love with. I was afraid to release the original version in fear of backlash, but honestly I don’t care anymore about backlash. We both messed up, and I’m hoping that the original song could possibly bring us back into the same orbit just how Allie and Noah did after all that time,” She answers as she watches the audience clap, looking to find Jack’s gaze again. His eyes softened as she flexed her ring towards him subtly. The same one on the same finger from 2019 that he gave her.

“Can you play us a little bit tonight?” Jimmy asks as he pulls her original baby blue guitar out from behind the desk. Her eyes started to fill with tears. She hasn’t seen it since she left Jack’s lakehouse in 2021. She takes the guitar out of Jimmy’s hands, lightly touching the strings, taking it all in. She snaps out of it, throwing a smile on her face.

“I haven’t seen this guitar in years. Where did you get it? It’s polished and tuned too!” Y/n excitedly says, emotion in her voice as Jimmy smiles at her.

“Your Noah sent it to us when he heard you were on the show. He said that you needed it for tonight,” Jimmy told her as the camera zooms in onto her face. She looks up to the camera, giving a little nod to it as she puts the guitar over her shoulder. The familiar chords of Noah plays as she starts her little intro.

“I’ll play the first part and the new lyrics, not the whole song. That’s reserved until the rerelease,” A teasing smile on her lips as she starts to play.

Remember how we'd skip class? We were all that and in love

“Cmon skip English with me.” He would plead, grabbing her arm. “Honey, no,” She would reply. His puppy eyes routine always lead her to his car to make out then she wouldn’t complain.

The king to my prom queen voted most likely to make out that was us

“And your 2019 Prom King and Queen is Jack Hughes and Y/n L/n!” Their classmates cheered as the crowns were placed on their heads. She wished that night never ended. “Did you read that we were voted most likely to skip class and makeout?” Y/n said as she read her yearbook on the last day of school. Jack looked over her shoulder to read the other categories, “That was so a callout!”

I remember you saying I'd sound good with your last name

Jack had given her a promise ring earlier that day and they were now sitting at their spot on the dock stargazing. “You would sound good with my last name,” He told her as she looked at him quizzically. “What? We’re 18!” She says confused as he just cracks a smile. “Think of it! Y/n Hughes! Mrs. Y/n Hughes.” Jack told her as they looked up at the stars. She laughed into his shoulder as he rambled about the wedding.

We were countin' on forever 'til forever never came

His name boomed through the arena as his family jumped up to hug him. Jack stopped quickly to hug Y/n after his brothers before heading downstairs to the stage. “I love you. We will get through this I swear.” Jack told her in her ear as they hugged. She held on a little longer than she should of, savoring the moment just in case it was gone too quickly.

Noah, did you know at night I think of you and me?

Still years later, Y/n stayed up late at night, every night thinking what went wrong. Why did they break up. Why did she let him get away. Why is she wallowing still.

You're everywhere inside my head, you're always in my dreams

Y/n L/n avoided the sports channels like the plague. New York/Newark were here least favorite places to play at due to his connections. She can’t sleep to escape the signs. He was on every sports channel, every gossip column, his name and face were always there for years after.

And all the girls, they want you but never quite like me

The girls always wanted a piece of him. Ever since she met him, Jack Hughes had all the ladies attention. “Who’s smoother with the ladies?” The reporter asks Quinn and Jack as his eyes flicker to behind the camera to her. “Gotta be Jack right?” The reporter says jokingly as Quinn laughs. “For sure, it’s Jack.”

Noah, do you think about me?

He did think about her. All the damn time. Every talk show, every concert, every event, every piece of media she was doing or on; he would keep up with her. “You’re not stalking her again are you?” Luke asked as the tv played the Grammy Awards. “Shut up Lukey, I just wanna see her sing,” Jack would huff as he would turn it up to hear her voice.

Did you buy the house on the lake like you wanted?

She remembers him bringing her to her dream house on the lake that was for sale. It was her Allie moment. Wrap around porch, dock on the lake, porch swing on both sides. He already put a payment on it before he signed his extension. She never knew. He eventually did buy it. Bought it in hopes to get her back into his life.

Is the old boat still running?

She remembers him sneaking her on an old dingy to go look at the stars together at night by themselves. She feared for her life every time they were on it, thinking it would sink. “Jack Rowden! If we drown, I’m blaming you!”

Do you go to our spot?

She missed seeing the sunset on the dock at his lakehouse. It was beautiful. A sight she wanted to see so badly again. Laying next to him. She studied his face, his eyes, all the details she wanted to remember. “You’re so pretty, my pretty boy,” She mumbled as he snuggled into her side.

Are you still sneaking girls in?

Around the fire one night, Quinn told Y/n the stories about Jack sneaking in girls before he met her. She then realized that even when they were just friends, he didn’t sneak girls in like normal. That’s when his brothers knew that she wasn’t like the others.

Do you still play my guitar?

“Want me to teach ya?” She asked him as he tried to strum her baby blue guitar on his lap. He was sitting on her bed at the lakehouse, taking in the last moments with her. “No, I want you to teach me after I come back,” He says, looking up to her tear stained face. “Keep it. If you don’t come back for you, I’ll invoice you for the guitar,” She halfway joked as he tried to strum it again.

And when you hear “Baby Blue”, do you still feel my beating heart?

Baby blue by George Strait plays through the speaker as the pair dance on the dock for the last time. They were chest to chest, heartbeat to heartbeat as they enjoyed the comfortable silence. “I love you,” She said softly as he leaned his head into the crook of her shoulder.

Through out the song, she kept eye contact with the camera lens, slightly shifting her gaze every once in a while to the back middle rows. Her voice carried without a mic, smooth and raw with emotion. She saw his emotions on his face as he took in each verse. The memories were flooding back into her and projecting on to him.

The audience stood up clapping loudly, a standing ovation as they cut to a commercial break. She stood up, bowing and curtsying jokingly as she put down the guitar. During the break, Jimmy put his note card over his mouth and whispered to Y/n, “He will be backstage after the show if you want to see him.” She leans back, stunned as she nods quickly.

They get back into their places for her end segment. She looked up to try and see him again, but didn’t see him.

“Okay, last thing for tonight: rapid fire favorite questions for you Y/n. Let’s go!” Jimmy starts as Y/n pretends to crack her knuckles. “Bring it on, Fallon!”

“Favorite Song to Write?” / “Am I Okay”

“Favorite Song to Cover?” / “Iris!”

“Favorite Artists?” / “George Strait, Taylor Swift, Tate McRae.”

“Favorite Date Night?” / “The Notebook, Red Wine, Chocolate Cake”

“Favorite Sport?” / “Hockey”

“Favorite Celebrity Crush?” / “Jack Hughes”

“That’s all I have for our girl Y/n L/n tonight! Catch her rerelease of her grammy winning song, Noah, out next Friday!” Jimmy says as she waves to the crowd, episode ending.

She sighs as she picks up her guitar and purse. She gives a quick hug and thank you to Jimmy before she sprints to backstage. She searched, high and low for him until she ended up back at her dressing room.

She opens the door to see him in all of his glory. He looked older, more mature. He had black dress pants with a matching black button down on. She shut the door as he stood up from the couch. He walked around the table, where a vase of red roses and a bottle red wine sat. She stood there frozen as he inched closer and closer to her.

The tension could be cut with a knife and it still not be gone. Years of angst and pining about not working out and living their separate lives have been leading up to this moment. His hair was longer, his eyes held more memories that she wished she was in. The baby blues she wish she could just swim in.

“What— how are you here right now. Why are you here in my dressing room at my segment?” She asked softly as she studied his face. “Why did you come back? I can’t believe you came back?” Her voice barely above a whisper, breaking as she put her hands on his cheeks. A tear rolls down her face as he wipes it off.

“Of course I did, told ya I would,” He tells her, matching the soft tone in his voice as he closes the gap between them. The sparks flew like the Fourth of July fireworks she used to watch from the lake dock.

“How does it feel to have your celebrity crush in your dressing room kissing you?” He joked after they pulled apart from the kiss.

“I can’t believe you! That’s what you say to me after 4 years?” She says as she hits his shoulder lightly.

“I’m the same old dumb joking Jack, baby. The stupid eighteen year old boy you fell in love with — only difference is I’m just a man who finally got over himself and wants to choose you instead of hockey,” He tells her as she hugs him tightly.

“I’d choose you over singing any day my love,” She replies, kissing up and down his neck and cheeks.

“How about we make a compromise so we can have what we both want. Happiness?” He asks as she kisses his lips again.

“Compromise, I’d like that.” She mumbles as she hugs him tight, swaying back in forth.

“Guess you can teach me how to play the guitar now?” He says softly in her ear as she nods into his shoulder. “Of course, my Noah.”

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

taglist: @dancerbailey3 @chiblackhawks @hwalllllllelujah @cosmichughes @skepvids

[pippin-katz]

Why Did Charles Keep Asking About Edwin's Conversation With The Cat King?

I was reading a fic where Edwin agrees to the Cat King's initial offer, but because time passes differently in whatever room that is, he's gone for six weeks even though it was a couple hours for him, and it got me thinking. I worked out why Charles was so pushy about that conversation.

Charles and Edwin have been together for 30 years. The way they act gives me the feeling that they spent very little time apart, and wherever one went, the other went too. In the fic, Edwin's inner monologue refers to it as "shared memories"; they experience everything together.

But now, there's this.

Edwin disappeared for hours on Charles' side of things. He had this conversation with a magical being, a stranger that sets off warning bells in Charles' head. He came back with a magical bracelet that trapped him in Port Townsend, that he couldn't remove, and something about his behavior was off.

Charles is not stupid or oblivious. He reads Edwin like a book, albeit with blurry text. He knows something is not quite right, but doesn't know what. And he knows it's because of whatever happened in the few hours that he wasn't with him.

For what is likely the first time in 30 years, Edwin has experienced/done something significant without him. Charles is in the dark; he wasn't there to see or hear what happened for himself. All he has to go on is what Edwin tells him, and he gets the immediate feeling that he's not saying everything.

When talking about it in front of Crystal, he just asks if he said anything else, but once they're alone in their office, he's direct.

Charles is absolutely (and correctly) sure that Edwin hasn't told him the real/full truth about his meeting with the Cat King, and tells him as much.

The way he asks feels... calm? Crystal's not there, they're alone, they're in their safe space, why wouldn't Edwin tell him? He probably thinks he would, but obviously, he doesn't. He lets a detail slip that confuses and concerns him even more; the Cat King whispering in his ear. That confirms very close proximity between them, something that's potentially dangerous and something he knows Edwin doesn't particularly like, and Charles is just... lost, uncomfortable, and frustrated.

Can you imagine how maddening that must have been? To not know what really happened? To only have vague descriptions of the events from his friend? To see and know that something is wrong with him, but being unable to truly help because he's clueless as to what the actual problem is?

It's highly likely that this is the first time Charles has ever encountered this.

As Edwin says, he's "fixated" on this. It's like there's a page missing in his copy of the script of events. He's never had to worry about it before; he was always there with him. Edwin says it's not a big deal, but Charles can't make that call himself. It's not that he doesn't trust Edwin; it's his protectiveness of him. He wants to see and assess the situation for himself. He wants to be positive there's no danger, that it meets his standards. He needs to know everything about where Edwin is, what he's doing, who he's with, at all times, so he can be ready to protect him.

As Jayden put it, Charles has given himself the mantle of Edwin's guardian. Edwin dedicates all his time and energy into helping others, to the point of neglecting himself. In response, Charles dedicates himself to Edwin. If he won't take care of himself, if no one else is going to help him, Charles will. As he says in Hell when he's rescuing Edwin, "Someone's gotta do it."

(ko-fi)

[shirefantasies]

Can I please request a preference thing with how the fellowship (maybe plus eomer, Arwen, eowyn and Haldir if you also write for them) react to a person they have a crush on who is physically affectionate with their friends.

The person holds their hand, puts their head on their shoulder, plays with their hair, cuddles etc.

Oh heck yessss! I do plan on writing for them too so here’s a good start 🥰 hope you enjoy this! Also, cut because loooong post 😉

LoTR Characters When You’re Naturally Physically Affectionate

Aragorn

✧ Is kind of surprised but also plays it off??? Like he doesn’t want to get his hopes up and assume anything wrong at least at first.

✧ Initiates back but in really soft ways, like tugging your blankets up higher about you when he sees you’ve fallen asleep at night.

✧ Smiles privately to himself on a later evening when you fall asleep at his side, head snug against his shoulder. The fact that you trust him so well is something he truly hopes to be worthy of, just like the glowing feeling in his heart.

✧ One day you straight-up just slide the ring of Barahir off his hand to try it on yourself, not fully aware of its significance. You mean it no harm and do even less, and something about the gesture touches Aragorn so all he does is smile and shake his head, asking if it fits.

✧ You soften him so much, so much you can see it in his eyes and his actions. When you brush some of his hair back out of his face, he kisses your hands lightly, eyes searching yours.

Legolas

✧ Kind of in a state of perpetual surprised pikachu around you tbh

✧ Like sure, his best friends don’t come from the same culture so he sees enough of that, but they aren’t usually very affectionate with him in that way so you casually sliding a hand over his shoulders to get something behind him has him flustered in a way he hasn’t felt before.

✧ Finds himself mirroring your actions a bit in his own way; he pulls you back from harm by your waist or elbow, holding on just a bit longer than he absolutely needs to.

✧ His eyes widen when you tell him his hair is beautiful and ask to braid it, but he accepts because what harm can it do? You tell him you’re doing a French braid and he’s relishing your touch, asking you to explain what that is.

✧ Smooth prince pulls the ‘your hands are cold’ on you to flip the script and let you know the affection is reciprocated, cradling your hands so gently in his own.

Boromir

✧ Is surprised by your forwardness, but in the most pleasant way. He loves someone who comes across so warm and hearty!

✧ The first time you clap a hand to his shoulder after a good fight, he mirrors the gesture immediately with a great warrior’s camaraderie without realizing anything.

✧ Goes from surprised to grinning when you offer to braid some hair out of his face for him. Milks the crap out of it, tilting so he can feel your touch as much as possible!

✧ Has no qualms about holding your arm or hand to walk together since you don’t, always offering it like a gentleman.

✧ Holds you back from danger firmly, keeping his grip as he whispers to you to stay back, care for you burning fiercely in his eyes. When you’re safe from harm, he finally voices how much you mean to him.

Gimli

✧ His eyebrows shoot up into his hairline when you first get comfortable enough to act that way, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t love it!

✧ Dwarves are arguably the most physical race, so the fact that you express yourself this way is only the most pleasant of shocks.

✧ You find yourself playing with his hair one day and he stiffens, reminding himself over and over again as you begin twisting it into braids that unfortunately the significance is not the same for you as it is him. Maybe one day…

✧ Loves that you grab his arm when you laugh and elbow him playfully; begins doing the same right back and telling more jokes as an excuse for you both to do it more!

✧ Because you tend to lean on him in conversation or when you’re tired, Gimli sort of develops this habit of affectionate mini-headbutts like a cat. Your forehead? Softly bonked often by your favorite dwarf but only when his helmet is off of course 😌

Frodo

✧ It’s not a culture shock for him, so it’s not a source of confusion but it does have him overthinking because are you just doing it as intimate friends or…?

✧ Basically short-circuits for a second the first time you take his hand, sliding his palm against yours to compare the sizes of them; his eyes widen, but a smile gradually forms upon his face at the warm contact.

✧ Adores the way you sit close to him to read together or tell stories, your arms flush together as you share warmth- it’s like a little piece of home.

✧ Doubly so when you see the toll the ring takes on him and run a soothing hand up and down his back- he could practically tear up from gratitude and the way his heart explodes for you.

✧ You kissed him on the cheek once when he gifted you a sketch he knew you’d like and that feeling joins the imaginations and memories swirling through his head before sleep or when he loses sight of all the world’s blessings beneath the ring’s voice. He wonders if you know what a treasure you are- perhaps he’ll tell you tomorrow.

Sam

✧ What are you trying to do, kill him? JK mostly but man will be blushing constantly around someone like you!

✧ Leans into your touch so hard when you play with his hair, softly brushing leaves and tangled alike from the curls unabashedly like a sweet puppy.

✧ But also? Sam isn’t afraid to gently ask for what he wants from time to time? “Oh, um, I was wondering…got a real bad knot here and I just wanted to see if you were up to one of your famous massages?”

✧ You took his hand once to lead him off to look at some gorgeous flowers he could identify, so Sam finds himself plucking up the courage to take yours after a fight once, swearing he means to his best to protect you.

✧ Wraps his extra blanket around you so gently, smiling as your hands brush his to accept the new warmth about your shoulders, lingering over them for a moment.

Merry

✧ He’s a bit of a physical person too and teasing to boot so you two quickly become two peas in a pod!

✧ Both of you will teasingly sling arms around the other’s shoulders as you joke around or have mock conferences.

✧ Footsie at campfire time. Gimli complains about it a little because something about thinking you’re going to make him spill his soup or whatever, but you two barely pay attention when all your focus is on your childish little nudging game!

✧ Every now and again he just gets the widest smile at your antics, though, grinning as you sit with your arm in his or a hand resting upon his back.

✧ Will straight-up tell you you’re being adorable, then skip off smirking when he’s finally gotten you to be a bit flustered! You can’t even come up with a comeback to that for once…but maybe a confession? Big brain Merry wbk 👀

Pippin

✧ He’s in heaven, actually. Physical affection is his favorite and the one thing that ever stops him is being unsure if the other party will be uncomfortable. But you clearly aren’t, so game on 😎

✧ You got something out of his hair then ended up playing with his curls for a bit, brushing them back into place and arranging them, so he ups that by brushing some out of your face the next chance he gets, eyes never leaving yours.

✧ Since Pippin loves to sing and dance, he’s always pulling you to your feet to join him. But it doesn’t stop there of course as he holds your hand or waist depending on how open of a twirl the song entails!

✧ You two never sit up straight- someone’s head is always on the other’s shoulder or if you’re both feeling the lean, your heads are resting gently against each other, holding each other up.

✧ When he worries, you lay your hand over his and that’s it for him. He knows he’s lost, not even caring if you see how much love is in his eyes as he looks at you, especially when you gently squeeze it.

Eomer

✧ Unlearning his toxic masculinity a bit, so he is hesitant to initiate back at first, but as time goes on he can’t help questioning if there truly is more to your intentions…

✧ You tease him a lot, trying to get him to drop the serious facade, so putting your hands on his shoulders and making eye contact for mocking pep talks just has him chuckling and shaking his head at you.

✧ But when you wordlessly begin massaging his shoulders after a long day of training, hands kneading out tension in the most wondrous of ways, that has him flushing and trying to glance back at your expression without you noticing, hoping he can read something, anything.

✧ Eomer loves the way you push him when you laugh, hands against his chest or arm as you fall upon him in mirth. And if his arm ends up around you during that process? Oh well 😏

✧ Gets highkey jealous if he sees you being affectionate with anyone else, pouting because he thought he was special 🥺…but only for a moment before he’s marching over there to tell you how he feels once and for all, confessing his desire to be the one receiving most of your affection!

Haldir

✧ It definitely takes him some getting used to because he is a more reserved person and physical affection is a bit less common in elf culture…we’ve seen how surprised he is about hugs after all 😉

✧ Makes it his personal mission not to jump whenever your habit of tapping his shoulder to get attention comes into play, trying to stay stock-still and cool as a cucumber, but he can’t help feeling the corners of his mouth tug up at your giggle when he fails.

✧ Loses his absolute mind the day you gently run your fingers up his arm to get your attention, like it can’t escape your notice how he tenses, can it?

✧ Haldir expresses himself more with his words than with physical action. Every time you go out he makes sure you’re properly armed or dressed for the weather, and he always sharpens your sword himself, no one else is allowed to do it.

✧ Your actions are definitely a prompt to confess for him, like he would have sat on his feelings for quite some time but in the end he can’t help coming up to you to question your behavior and if it has any of the intent he dearly hopes it does!

Eowyn

✧ She isn’t used to this given her upbringing, but in all honesty it’s refreshing and she enjoys the feeling of love and comfort it brings.

✧ You see her looking worried and squeeze her shoulder, pulling her into your arms when she turns around. You can just feel her exhale, tension melting from her body.

✧ It quickly becomes you two’s ‘thing’ to link arms and you almost always walk together like that, screw whatever Grima has to say about it he won’t be around for long anyway 😏

✧ She thinks her heart is about to burst the day you two make home of the hills for an afternoon and you sit her down to weave flowers in her beautiful golden hair. Your hands are so gentle, never causing a single pull or tangle.

✧ She is forward with her words even if it takes some time, so one day Eowyn pulls you aside and with her hand in yours tells you how much she appreciates the glow of your presence in her life, the smiles you bring her.

Arwen

✧ Most people aren’t very playful with her, so she finds it very refreshing how relaxed, affectionate, and fun you are.

✧ You grab her hand and swing your joined hands between the two of you and all she can do is laugh merrily!

✧ One day, she wants to try the new sweets you’ve made, but imagine her surprise when you hand-feed it to her. Being an elf of such poise and grace, she doesn’t make a mess at all somehow despite her eyes firmly being on yours and nowhere near your creation 👀

✧ Arwen’s favorite habit of yours is the way you’ll take her hand and spontaneously twirl her around like you’re showing her off or having an impromptu dance. It lightens the weight of all other things for a moment and makes her feel like a queen!

✧ Repaying the favor, she makes sure you’re her first dance at every party. You open her up, giving her complete comfort to approach you and interlock your fingers, asking you if you won’t please her with your company for a bit. Of course you always say yes- you would even if she didn’t given you that teasing smile.

[nataliescatorccioapologist]

My takeaways from attending the Yellowjackets Vulture Fest panel

If you saw me and my friend trying and failing to carry 7 alcoholic beverages into the room, no you didn’t

•There will be a Season 3 announcement this upcoming Tuesday that fans have been “waiting for” and “expecting” for a while.

•I’m just going to come out and say it: Ella Purnell is definitely returning for Season 3. The interviewer asked if there is a chance of Jackie returning in flashbacks or hallucinations this season, and the writers all shared a knowing look, giggled, wiggled their eyebrows, and said “Maybe” with a smile. She’s coming back for sure guys.

•The writers were asked to rate the level of gore in Season 3 on a scale of 1-10, and they said, at certain points in the season, it will be a 9.5

•Van was originally supposed to die in the wilderness but the writers loved Liv Hewson’s performance so much that they decided to keep Van alive.

•Laura Lee was also supposed to die earlier (in episode 2) but the writers loved her character so much that they decided to keep her around until episode 8 instead (and they took great joy in writing her trying to fly that plane).

•The writers emphasized that the two sides of Taissa are not meant to be “good” and “evil” but rather “pragmatic” and “primal.” The “bad one” is really just more uninhibited, more open to the spiritual, ethereal side of things while the side of Tai we know and love is the more practical and logical side that is skeptical of the wilderness.

•Shauna is said to be the “core” and “impetus” of the events of the show. They also said that she best represents the duality of the primal nature of the wilderness and the pragmatism of civilization.

•Shauna eating Jackie was said to be both an act of “hatred” and “love.” Shauna consumed her both to as an act of worship and wanting Jackie to always be a part of her, as well as an act of “domination.”

•It was also emphasized that Shauna drawing the queen card in the adult timeline is not a coincidence and definitely holds significant meaning. The writers seemed hesitant to expand on that meaning, so I have a feeling it has something to do with adult Shauna’s storyline in Season 3 and beyond. In my opinion, Shauna drawing the queen card was symbolic of her assuming a leadership role in the adult timeline that will play out in Season 3.

•It was also said that Natalie’s death in the adult timeline is very much connected to her drawing the queen card in the teen timeline. They implied that her drawing the queen, in a way, lead to her eventual death. I’m wondering what this means for Shauna drawing the queen card in the adult timeline?

•Some of the actors wanted to know how their stories are going to play out, and some of them did not. Samantha Hanratty was named as one of the actors that does not want to know her character’s future and doesn’t read the adult timeline scripts to avoid the influence of them on her portrayal of the character.

•Natalie was specified as the “moral code” of the group, which is why the writers say she is so impacted by Javi’s death, as it goes against her moral code. This is part of the reason why she is so “broken” in the adult timeline.

•Natalie’s death was planned from the beginning. The writers confirmed that Natalie hallucinating Misty at the bonfire in the pilot episode was intentional foreshadowing and a “prophetic moment” for Natalie. This moment was said to foreshadow both that Misty would become an important figure in Natalie’s life one day and that she would be the “mechanism of Natalie’s death.” The writers said that Nat was always meant to die at some point, but they weren’t sure initially when it was going to happen. They said they decided on the end of Season 2 because things were just starting to go well for Natalie, she was just starting to heal, and therefore she had to die.

•The writers pointed out the impact of seeing Misty, a character who does not usually express genuine emotion (when she does it’s usually in a manipulative manner), fully sob and express genuine horror and grief during Nat’s death scene.

•Jeff was originally just meant to be an “accessory” to Shauna, but he gained more meaning and importance to the show as the writers loved Warren Kole and his portrayal of Jeff.

•For season 3, the writers were pretty tight-lipped, but they did say that they are very proud of the season and excited for people to see it. They said that there will be an interesting dynamic in that the winter will be over in the teen timeline, so the characters will have to grapple with what they’ve done now that they’re out of the dire situation they were in in the winter. They said this will have a great effect on their psyches and group dynamics.

•Joel McHale was cast after Ashley Lyle met him at a party of some sort (and Lyle admitted she was drunk during the encounter) and, after he said he was a fan of the show, Lyle basically said “Oh well I have a part in Season 3 for you” and he was cast.

•They were asked directly about the Eden lawsuit, and they had a little giggle about it and admitted that they’ve never seen that movie, and they’ve been very upfront about their influences (Lost, Alive, etc.) They obviously couldn’t say much more about it, but it was funny seeing them react.

•The writers emphasized the distinction between “fan appreciation” and “fan service,” and they said that, while they occasional look at fan feedback on Reddit and Twitter, they keep that feedback out of the writers room. This is actually very comforting to me, I was worried about Season 3 falling into the fan service trap. I am glad the writers are sticking with their intuitions and original intentions for the show.

So excited for Season 3 and so grateful these amazingly talented writers and showrunners are at the helm of it!

[the-crooked-library]

Human vs Vampire Violence in Nosferatu

I've talked about this in the tags of another post already but i can't stop thinking about this so here it goes:

The majority of Ellen's suffering is due to mundane and socially acceptable forms of violence (e.g. medical) and that is not an accident. The script intends this. It is the primary underlying theme of Nosferatu (2024), it is the undercurrent to all her motivations, and the film wants the viewers to be aware of this, at least on some level.

Over the course of the story, Ellen Hutter is forcibly isolated by her father, dismissed and infantilized by her husband, drugged and tied to her bed by a doctor and her husband's friends, pierced through the arm by another doctor just to demonstrate that her soul "isn't there," insulted and kicked out from the Hardings' house (while still having psychic fits nightly), left to care for her sick husband alone without any support, never listened to - and all these things are excused!..

There's always some sort of justification, and it's usually either misogynistic or medical or both.

Her father isolated her because her psychic abilities frightened him, because she was too abnormal, and he thought that she wasn't fit to be around other people. Thomas dismissed her nightmares and ignored her emotional needs because he thought her anxieties were childish, that she prioritized the wrong things in life (love over financial advancement), and that she was incapable of good judgement; it's also the reason he is unaware that she doesn't like cut flowers, or that Harding hates her (even though she is very well aware of that, she evidently didn't feel like she could tell her husband). Similarly, Dr. Sievers believed that he had to do what he did, because Ellen was mad and had to be controlled. Harding, naturally, let him do it, and then did worse, and justified it all with “logic” and family values.

The point is that every single character harms Ellen on some level, despite what they might consider best intentions; and I think that a significant drive behind some of the more vitriolic online responses to this film is that many people are uncomfortable with that aspect of the story. Nosferatu demands that the viewer confront a fundamental truth of human imperfection - that someone who looks soft and Normal is, in fact, capable of causing pain regardless; and that invites a deeper sort of self-reflection. Perhaps, even accountability.

Our recently-resurgent purity culture shares this discomfort with Ellen's societal setting. For Thomas, for Sievers, for Harding, for us, it is much easier to blame harm and sin on a Monster From Somewhere Else, and pretend that a witch-hunt would entirely eradicate the problem.

However, the film demonstrates the inherent falseness behind this assumption. Even if Ellen had not followed Orlok into death, she would not have suddenly become happy with her human life - because his destruction would not have changed how she is perceived. She would have continued to endure far more insidious, systemic, violent abuse as a disabled, arguably queer wife and woman.

This is why the sensuality of her death/wedding is so crucial to the presentation of the film.

in Orlok, she embraces her own perceived "darkness," the aspects of her that her society believes are harmful and grotesque - her lack of deference to her husband (he terrorizes Thomas), her queerness (he drains Anna and destroys Harding's family), her psychic disability (he kisses Ellen's heart and drinks from her, reverent and tender). it is a scene steeped in both terror and ecstasy. She is joining Orlok in sin and in death - a twisted version of his proposed eternity; and in doing so, she is ascended.

It is incredibly poignant that, when her power over him is actually shown, it is far more emotional and commonplace than could be expected. There are no torches or stakes, no physical explicit battle; Ellen's unique, magnificent, holy power is merely the ability to ask for "more!.. More!" - and be granted that wish without question. Here, in a monster's embrace, she is valued more than a promotion, or propriety, or even Orlok's own life.

All that to say - Ellen's personal journey through the film does not culminate in a straightforward battle of "victim vs abuser." Despite what a cursory overview might imply, the Final Struggle is a minor aspect; instead, the overwhelming majority of her story revolves around a build-up to a Final Choice. Similar to I Saw The TV Glow, or NBC's Hannibal, or a multitude of other narratives, it explores the balance between the horror of transformation and the horror of staying the same. A monster might grant the first one if you ask, and it will feel like dying - but society's already forced you into the second.

All there is left to do is make damn sure it kills you.

[akanemnon]

Normally, I'm not the type to send an ask (I'm not particularly active on Tumblr, so it feels a little weird sending a msg over), but the comic has been an inspiration for me for months now (and this week's one has really hit the feels! xD) and I figured it wouldn't hurt, especially when I've been through the ringer a couple of times recently myself.

I hope you heal well on your hiatus, I've had a good relationship with taking walks in [personally significant location] whenever I need to cool off, or if I'm at home I just listen to the same music on loop until I fall asleep. (Not that all stressors have those as good counters, but still, whatever works.)

I don't want to ramble too much (a bit late for that, I know), so my point is: well wishes your way and all that!

On a lighter note, I also hope Chara's doing alright because they clearly were also impacted by the abort-geno run if that expression is any indication...

Thank you so very much guys. It's kinda hard for me to properly express all my gratitude, but I really mean it when I say it means a lot to me.

I will definitely use that break wisely. Also because I didn't completely recover from my cold and now it's back with a vengance.

EDIT: was at the doctor's today, turns out I got a FUCKING BRONCHITIS

Little fun fact about that panel with Chara specifically:

In the first draft of the script Chara was supposed to look back over their shoulder at Frisk with an angry and disappointed expression. And Frisk used to say "Chara has become a lot angrier since then. I don't blame them".

But after thinking more deeply into it, with the whole counter thing that Chara does for the Player, it made more sense for Chara to be disturbed by themself going along with it and even encouraging it. It ties into their change of mind regarding their own plan way back when.)

[omartinyosef]

ST5 POTENTIAL SPOILERS!!!

GUYS I FOUND THIS ON REDDIT AND ACTUALLY IT'S QUITE INTERESTING

ST5 Leaks/Fleaks

Gen Plot

Season picks up briefly where we left off in 1986 before jumping into either late 1987 or early 1988. The season is contained entirely in apocalyptic Hawkins. Things with the government are shaky. Owens doesn't appear in the beginning of the season and it's unclear if he's returning, but Ellen Stinson is the new Owens. Hawkins is like a combination of the UD and Kamchatka.

Labyrinths/Mazes being important to both the supernatural plot and the interpersonal relationships. They're inherently linked.

Two songs to be featured are 'Listen to Your Heart' and 'Alone,' both of which were apparently foreshadowed in a previous conversation between Hopper and Joyce, similar to how Hopper's "I'm the puppet, you're the master" to Joyce in S3 basically foreshadowed Eddie's 'Master of Puppets' in S4.

S1 and 2 scenes being referenced are "Nancy and Mike's conversation in the bathtub" and "Hopper + Lando Calrissian"

Lots of importance in COLOR CODING and blocking from the final shot of S4, and a good chunk is told in the costuming—like passing the torch from one character to another as their arcs overlap. For example, Hopper and Will share the "am I the curse and therefore putting my loved ones at risk by being near them?" sentiment for S5, therefore their wardrobe in the final shot of S4 is similar. Joyce/Jonathan and Nancy/Mike's costuming also similar for the same reason, whereas Eleven stands out because she's the first one coming into her own this season. The white for her represents shedding of false skins.

Character duos this season will be primarily dressed in colors of blue/green and yellow/red.

There's lots of symbolism and foreshadowing for every character in S5 from the moment Will touches his neck in the last sequence of S4.

S4 focused on themes of lies and miscommunication, and everyone is going to have to work through these lies before they can defeat Vecna.

Murray and Argyle are both back. Dimitri and Yuri don't seem to be in the beginning of the season.

One thing left unresolved with the Russian plot. Something important will happen involving the machine and the green liquid from the Starcourt bunker. Reference of Dustin vowing to die with Steve when they initially discovered it.

Hopper, Joyce, Mike, Will, and El had to be away from Hawkins, otherwise Vecna wouldn't have won.

An important death that they're nervous about given the reception to Eddie (not Joyce or Jonathan—see details below).

Eleven

We'll see her unlike we've seen her before. A badass who doesn't take shit from anyone. Not a Monster, not a Hero, Jane. Think: adult El could be headed for a Charles Xavier type role.

Erica, Lucas, and El will share scenes together.

El has significant blocking and development with many characters this season.

Max, Eleven & Max

The "kaleidoscope of colors" from a script the writers posted makes a feature in both the scene where young El remembers her mother's love in order to defeat Henry in the lab, as well as the scene where El revives Max. This is significant because it's the first time we see El using her powers on someone in a non-violent way.

El was able to revive Max because of she, herself, being revived in the bunker by Brenner and Co. It's a show, don't tell moment from the writers.

Max getting Vecna'd was foreshadowed in the beginning of 2x01.

Will, Henry/Vecna, The UD

Filming was supposed to commence mid-June, but Noah and Jamie were set to begin in May due to more complicated costuming. Will is going to require heavy prosthetics at some point.

Will's character design is blocked in three stages. The more the UD bleeds into Hawkins, the more connected to it he feels. The gates being open will physically influence him, especially when he's not as mentally strong.

He's kind of like "the card up Vecna's sleeve."

It appears they want to confuse the audience about Will.

Will wrestling with his own morality

Henry/Will mirrors. Will will sympathize with Henry because, unlike El, he knows how and what Henry thinks, and he can feel him.

Vecna and Will are very similar, but the difference is Will is made stronger by love not hate. They will play into that duality.

Vecna was nerfed in S4 compared to how we see him in S5. He'll be much stronger.

At the beginning, he'll be taking a hiatus while he plans how to divide and conquer now that everyone's back together in Hawkins.

Soteria will be the key to saving Will. If they want Will to be untraceable to Henry, they'll have to insert it into his neck and it'll be painful. Vecna not having access to Will fucks up his ability to leave the UD.

Byler/Mileven Triangle

Apparently, it's complicated and up in the air as of now.

Mike dealing with guilt this season. He feels guilty/responsibility for El. He feels stuck in a loop that keeps him from a truth he's scared to face.

Will and Mike to spend a good chunk of the season together based on character designs and blocking.

Will telling El that Mike won't like being lied to comes back with the painting. During a pre-time jump scene in 5x01, while everyone's together plotting how to defeat Vecna and brainstorming how to save Max, Mike brings up the painting El commissioned for a D&D analogy. Will has to pull Mike aside and confess he lied about El commissioning the painting. Mike gets angry, because he doesn't know about Will's feelings and feels embarrassed that Will thought he was that pathetic he needed to be given a pep talk. Their own version of a "fight you can't come back from." Immediately after their fight, we get the time skip.

Mike's character motivations are unclear and seem to be kept under wraps. After the time jump, he and El won't be talking as much because he's keeping the details about Will's painting from her. She's gonna ask what's wrong between him and Will, and he lies/is very vague.

Joyce, Hopper, Jopper

Joyce feels immense guilt/responsible over Bob's death since she's the one that asked him to help in S2, which is why she pushed Hopper away at first.

Hopper has a secret from S1 that was never addressed, and it comes back to haunt him.

Joyce sustains an injury in S5 that is reminiscent of the way someone was injured in S3, but it isn't critical and she'll be okay.

Jopper are the most established couple after the time jump. Lots of bickering still, but Hopper trusts Joyce more than he ever has.

Jonathan, Nancy, Jancy

So far, does not seem like a breakup is happening.

Jonathan's still lying about the college letter and distant because of it, and Nancy thinks he's not as into the relationship and that there might be someone else. She confronts him, which leads to a talk. She's touched by the lengths he would go to try and protect her and any of their future children even from himself.

A moment where we're led to believe Jonathan dies but doesn't, like Hopper in S3.

Hopper-Byers Family

These five characters slowly unraveling their arcs together and have always been closely linked. Their perfect endings are together.

We see the family combining, especially in relation to El.

Joyce gets to witness Hopper being paternal and tender towards the boys.

Scenes with Joyce, Jonathan, and Will

Hopper being back lifts a weight off Jonathan's shoulders.

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So, now time to shine.

''(...) sentiment for S5, therefore their wardrobe in the final shot of S4 is similar. Joyce/Jonathan and Nancy/Mike's costuming also similar for the same reason, (...)''

Okay. How did we see Nancy in S4? Confused. Confused with the love triangle between Jonathan, her and Steve. Jonathan is her actual boyfriend. And Steve is her posible love interest again.

So, putting this in byler language: Nancy = Mike Jonathan = Eleven Will = Steve

If Mike's and Nancy's character's clothing is important at this point of the time line and that means they feel similar feelings, this could mean that byler has a chance. BUT then we read this: ''(...) He (Mike) feels stuck in a loop that keeps him from a truth he's scared to face.'' And

''Mike's character motivations are unclear and seem to be kept under wraps.''

THIS LITERALLY MEANS BYLER. FOR REAL. Like byler could be endgame. Also, remember Eleven's injury in S3? Do you remember the leak of a shoe covered in blood?

It's Joyce. ALSO YOU CAN READ THAT WE'LL HAVE SCENES BEFORE THE TIME JUMP. And here it comes. Look at this freaking hair:

Does this look more like this

or this?

The season 4 bowl cut right? So maybe this is right in some part? I dont know. But that could make sense why Will is wearing Mike's pants, because his clothes were in California by that moment. But i really do think that the pic that was leaked a few days ago is before the time jump.

Im so late with this info haha :) but i kinda think some things here make sense. Even if this is too well explained to be a leak.

[3rd-shrike]

another theory of who the @askoverkill director is: siffrin. obviously!

but, well. specifically ISAT siffrin.

i've been giddy since loop's reveal, because it means that this theory i've been holding onto since i read through the entire blog a few days ago holds more water!! i mean, there's a lot of evidence to touch on!!! (so please expect this to be lengthy and FULL of images... sorry!!)

references on a character design level to specifically events related to ISAT's siffrin, loop's attitude towards the siffrins (including themself), and a buncha other things like choices in worldbuilding that might be me nitpicking but still lend the idea a bit more credence... this au makes me insane i think.

i'll be discussing it down here:

✦ "regarding the director's character design..."

let's start with the most direct and blatantly obvious reference to ISAT sif!

the star on their chest.

unlike loop's current star (which has remained mostly consistent with their star in ISAT), this one is lopsided & more reminiscent of a crack, with the edges spreading outwards in lines. and gee, i wonder where we've seen that star before...

the star that happens when siffrin & the king attempt to say their country's name. i should also point out that these kind of cracks are similar to the ones seen in the sky once you get past the king in act 5, which are a result of siffrin's just-about-giving-up of his wish.

not only that but the spiraling eyes! the 2-lined white star!

i also wonder who that could be referencing...

(please disregard the empty box, that's where the battle sprite is)

while you could argue that the spiral can be taken from loop's image when you lose the act 6 battle, i'd say that mal du pays' spiral eyes have more significance, since we often see loop with mostly normal eyes, while the only close-up of mal du pays eyes we see is a spiraling one, and they are literally a representation of siffrin's fears and self-hatred.

the star, too, is drawn differently to the way loop's star is! loop's eyes, both in ISAT & in overkill, are drawn with a more average, rounded star. siffrin and the director's star pupils, in comparison, are drawn very simply with just two intersecting lines. no rounding, no sharpening of the points, just a cross.

and a bit more conceptually, in contrast to loops' star head, the director's head is described as a black ball, and when combined with the black & white mask + the shining light... it almost feels like an eclipse, or a black hole (though this one's a bit of a reach).

✦ "regarding loop (and the siffrins, a little)..."

a bit more abstract & loosely connected to the theory, but loop exists!!! seeing as their star has barely changed from its usual upright four-pointed glory (other than it becoming rougher/frizzier & looking more like a blood splatter at sometimes), i'm inclined to believe that this is still loop-as-in-saap-siffrin.

(as mentioned previously,) they also have the rounded red star in their eyes that they get in the second phase of their act 6 boss battle (and in their special attack frame), and the double spike + closed eye seems to be taken from that too.

and if we take into account their heavy experience with guiding the siffrins (and genuine shock at there being a kid), their mentions of a 'usual' script for them to follow, absolute resignation and exhaustion with having to lead these siffrins to their deaths over and over and over again... it really feels like loop's been there from the start. you'd be preeety hard-pressed to make a copy of loop specifically, so that leaves either ISAT sif or another siffrin we've not known yet, and i'm more inclined to believe the former's more likely, given the (probably mocking) reference to loop's "royal we".

✦ "regarding other things referencing ISAT events..."

there are a few things to mention! first of all: the sky breaking. the world ending.

this all reminds me very heavily of act 5's... everything, really. the sky breaking into the signature red, the mentions by the party & loop of sif's wish ending/breaking the world. it all feels waaay too relevant to ignore, and that word choice definitely feels on point.

and then there are the curses! the theatre & blood curses. turns you into a puppet, and makes you rot while alive. very thematic. very reminiscent of a certain someone's spiraling thoughts.

and more recently, the explanation for the outer & inner loops!! this one fucking blows my mind away, bc jegus christ that's so cool??? but it also makes sense if you consider a LOT of ISAT siffrin's thoughts about the time loop in act 4 & 5:

the director's not only got siffrin dying over and over, but they've got the entire play repeating again and again. it makes sense, especially if ISAT sif felt like that was basically the highlight of their lives (in true king fashion), not to mention the reason all of them ever met. and if mira is considered the director's "favourite actor", then it's only natural that the outer loops (likely triggered by zem) would start from the beginning of the crisis, from mirabelle's dormont, when the play truly started.

finally, there's also the little bits of words we can see in the director's reference sheet! (courtesy of @shadowedfaith048)

likely hinting towards this being post-ISAT in some way! and bearing in mind the "a bad wish" at the bottom, it can be assumed that a lot of this might be the unfortunate result of wishing (and maybe wishes being broken, who knows!)

✦ "in conclusion..."

i believe that, in some way, the director is ISAT siffrin after something went awry with their (or even just a) wish. maybe it isn't even just ISAT sif! ze could be two or more sifs stuffed in a trench coat! and maybe the worst possible ending happened during the act 5 battle w/ bigfrin, and the ensuing world-ending & destruction from giving up their wish was amplified by a hundred. maybe this happened after act 6, some time after sif did get his happy ending. i do believe that at the very least, this had to have happened after ISAT's act 4. too much red in there for me to believe otherwise.

i might reblog & update the evidence list as the story progresses, so please don't take this as final!!! new evidence could come out that might result in inconsistencies for this theory, lore drops could further push it to be true, (again) who the hell knows!!

and for myself? i'm just having the time of my life connecting possible dots and going insane over this au lmao