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chirpsythismorning · 1 month

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Fun fact: In the original pitch for Stranger Things, El had a little brother.

After being rejected by almost 20 studios for the Montauk pilot, the Duffers were finally green-lit by Netflix. It was at this time that they began casting and then writing the first season officially, which included reworking a lot of that first episode.

This led to the removal of the brother reference, and with it, removing any sort of arc El could have had about her apparent brother.

But the thing about this moment, is that it might not have been scrapped entirely...

Going into the final season, no one can explain why or how El recognized Will back in 1x02. And while there are plenty of things on the show that are left unexplained, with a small portion likely left that way with the intention to uncover it later, what sets this moment apart from the rest is that there are very few possibilities here.

Because for starters, the story presents El's ability to see people in the void in s1 as requiring either a picture of that person for reference, or having met that person before.

But when El see's this picture of Will, she's never met him before. Or maybe she has, but we wouldn't know because they never showed us. They could have just not done this scene at all, given that it's clearly a copy/paste/edit of something scrapped from the pitch. Or they could have even still included it, but explained it.

One explanation could be that the lab had shown El a picture of Will before, similar to what they did with the Russian agent they wanted to spy on. But then that begs to question, why would the lab show El a picture of Will? Why would they want to see what he was doing? That alone is incriminating in and of itself, implying that Will is more connected to the lab than we realize.

The only other, and frankly most likely explanation, would be that El stumbled across Will at some point on her journey between escaping the lab and Will going missing. This is actually something that happens in The Other Side comic, which explores all the things Will may have experienced during his time in the Upside Down.

Though it’s worth noting the comics aren’t technically canon, and I highly doubt they would outright spoil everything in relation to Will’s time there, years before it was intended to be revealed. But still, let's humor this for a moment given that I do think Will's time in the UD is going to be very relevant in s5, which means it's highly likely they will finally address how exactly El saw him.

Basically, in the comic, Will see’s El walking through the woods, almost apparition like, glowing as she passes by, while also sporting the Benny’s burgers shirt. This means they would have crossed passed within a short span of time, between when El escaped Benny’s when the agents arrived, but before she was found by the boys.

Though it’s worth noting that we’re seeing this all from Will’s perspective. This means from the UD, Will was capable of seeing El on the other side, despite them being on different sides. And not only that, but she also looks back at him.

What confuses me about this, is that it doesn’t make sense for El to be in the woods, only to randomly decide to pop in to the void for a moment. She was trying to escape the lab and everything that came with it. I doubt she had any desire to lurk back there for some reason, not until someone encouraged her to. Not to mention, it would make no sense for her to go there and see Will if she wasn't even looking for him in the first place. And so this would mean Will and El could see each other, with Will being in the UD, and El being on the other side.

While it does seem pretty far off, given that you would think Will and El wouldn't be able to see each other from different sides, it is true in the story that El not only recognizes Will, but knows that he is in danger. She mentions that he is hiding specifically.

Which means she has likely seen him within the last 24 hours regardless.

This, in combination with Will being able to respond to El in the void at the end of the season in Castle Byers, when no one else outside of Terry and flayed-Billy have been able to, seems to imply that there is indeed something special about Will that makes him capable of communicating with El from the UD. Not only that, but El also seems to have an ability to be in this constant knowing state of how Will is doing, without even checking again to confirm. She's just certain of it. And she seems terrified about it.

Going forward, El never uses a picture of Will to find him. She never did. And more often than not, they don’t show us what she see’s either, not until the very end. And that’s the moment they reveal that he was able to communicate with her.

Again, there was really no reason to have El recognize Will. If anything it complicates things. But the fact that they chose to introduce this concept, with a scene from the original pitch that was related to El’s younger brother, with her pointing at his name cryptically, startling Benny, only to revamp it and have El not say anything at all while pointing at the picture of Will, startling Mike… It just really makes you stop and think.

Which brings me to the other aspect of this that might have people doubting, which is that El’s brother was originally younger than her.

We know Will is not younger than El, so how could this apply to him?

Well, it might be helpful to consider that in the original script, El was actually 10 years old, while the boys were always 12. Meaning that for some reason, they decided to age her up to the age of the boys, aka the same age as Will…

Ever since @erikiara80 shared this brother discovery with me, I have been sort of reeling. It then led to other little discoveries of changes they made between Montauk and Stranger Things.

It’s important to understand that the Montauk bible and the original script precedes what we ended up with in the final product, with it finally changing and evolving months, maybe even a year since that original vision. Even casting occurred before writing started for the first season. We know this because casting announcements were made in June and August of 2015, with writing not starting until August going into early 2016, simultaneously while they were filming.

And believe it or not, what I've discovered is that a lot of the changes they made between their original plans and what we see in the final product, have to do with not only Willel, but also Byler.

If you've read the original script for Montauk, you'll know that Mike's crush on Jennifer Hayes was focused on right from the jump, along with the birthmark on his face being focused on, which was the main cause of the bullying he experienced.

This has actually been talked about recently, and some of the claims people make do fit with what I am genuinely starting to consider here, which is that the initial plan for what makes Mike an outcast shifted.

I think when they completed casting, and started actually deep diving into what they wanted this world to look like, both from a short-term and long-term standpoint, they were presented with some pretty interesting discoveries, arguably already hiding in their initial plans without realizing it.

And this is where it sort of becomes a 'chicken or the egg' situation. Because which one came first? Byler or Willel?

I can't say for certain, because obviously this is all just speculation. But in the case that Willel came first, I think Byler would come very naturally after that.

The Duffers themselves are twins. Then they hire Noah, who is a twin. Then they're thinking and planning for El's past and how her family all fits into this, and they're thinking... wait a damn minute... We could totally Star Wars this bitch!

And then when they think it couldn't get any better, they uncover another layer that they hadn't planned or really considered in their initial plans.

While Will was always going to have sexual identity issues according to the Montauk bible, meaning that the writing process for him likely involved sitting down imagining scenarios that encapsulated this arc for Will from the beginning, they were simultaneously now finding very interesting aspects of Mike's character that made it hard not to at least consider the possiblity that Mike is not exactly straight.

Just think about it. The Byers and Wheelers are basically polar opposites on the spectrum of what a family looks like. While Will's discovery and acceptance of his queerness is interesting to explore because he comes from a low-income, single-mom household, all while having been bullied for years based on his perceived queerness, he also has a mother and brother constantly reinforcing that they will accept him no matter what. They've been sort of hitting us over the head with it for years, and so it wouldn't be very satisfying for his entire arc to merely lead up to something we've known all along. It's pretty much a given at this point.

On the other side of the spectrum, Mike comes from a more upper-middle class family at the end of a cul-de-sac, more aligned with what a nuclear family looks like. Mike's family is also presented as being more conservative, and while Karen does give that very queer-coded speech to Mike in s1 (I'm convinced they only wrote this after deciding to explore queer-coding more heavily with Mike), it also comes with comments from Ted and even still Karen that hint that they are probably not as open-minded and accepting as Will's family is to him. Which means Mike's arc would be a lot more about acceptance around him from his loved ones who we have been led to believe might not be as accepting of his queerness in contrast to Will.

And so as they're putting this story together, and they're being presented with something very interesting. Two similar experiences that play out in different ways because of the characters circumstances.

Will goes missing, and his twin sister with a buzzcut pops up and has the ability to help them find Will.

This leads to several moments where El is being compared to as not only a boy, but Will as well.

Now suddenly, their initial plans to have Mike's arc be about having a girl be interested in him and to hopefully have his first kiss and feel like less of a loser, starts to look a lot like what the experience a queer kid in his position might encounter growing up in the environment that he did.

And if you don't want to take my word for it, just hear the Duffer's themselves hinting at what they initially planned for Mike and the fact that it changed.

The changes don't stop there.

Believe it or not, 'It was a seven', did not exist in the initial pitch. When the boys went outside bickering over Nancy, they leave right after that.

Another thing that changed from the first script, was Scott Clarke's introduction:

And so you might be thinking, who cares? What does that have to do with anything?

Well, it's interesting because the line we end up with on the show is arguably one of the most on the nose Twelvegate proofs to date. Mind you, this is from the first episode:

Why chuck the original version, which was arguably more interesting and fascinating in terms of it hinting at the mysteriousness surrounding this story, only to replace it with him listing off tips about their upcoming test?

Well, I think it's the irony of it all. Here Mr. Clarke is practically telling us where to look to figure stuff out for ourselves what is going on, with all the kids filing out and ignoring him...

I relate to Scott a litttle too much in this shot here, any time I try to drop Willel evidence.

And the changes go on, as they obviously would.

Things like Terry Ives not even being El's mom, but actually a man who more so aligns with the characterization of Murray.

And one very interesting one I almost overlooked was in Hopper's introduction, where instead of a kids drawing done by who we assume to be Sarah, we actually see a picture on the wall of him and his wife and daughter... Interesting that they decided to switch it something that is a lot less definitive in presenting what Hopper's past looked like...

If you've made it this far, congratulations.

If you still think I'm out of my mind, just remember that El was going to have a brother in the original script, but they scrapped the scene and gave a near identical one to introduce her connection to Will instead 😘

#byler #stranger things #willel twins #twelvegate #montauk #as you can see #i am out of my mind #and i'm okay with that #i've spent the last couple months trying to make a video going over all the willel twin evidence #and i can't decide if it's even possible to do without going over an hour #like there is just so much shit that fits too perfectly into this family being ripped apart by mind control and time shenanigans #i hope to have it done soon #trying to make it less than 20 minutes #but it's probably going to end up being closer to an hour #especially with this stuff from the montauk pitch being added to the mix now #anyways #willel and byler are the curtain behind the curtain #if you are open to one of them #you are bound to stumble across the other #and they don't want that to happen #stay tuned for the inevitable twin imagery to continue in s5 related to willel leading up to the big reveal #bc it's arguably the most consistent thing about this damn show #and tbh this all just makes the queer-coding for mike in s1 a lot more concrete to me #them exploring will's queerness through his dad's expectations for him to do more 'manly' things like play baseball #and jonathan saying he shouldn't like things just bc people telll him he's supposed to #how they connect that narratively with the boys being at a baseball field when mike's being pressured about his supposed feelings for el #with the bullies showing up and literally being homophobic seconds later #the fact that jennifer hayes did in fact exist in the original pilot and was the girl mike had a crush on #only for them to scrap that and just make it about her having a crush on will...#never once introducing this idea of mike liking her...

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agir1ukn0w · 7 months

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bonus:

#um nobody told me this show was gonna have baby boy inaki pulling the most gorgeous girl i've ever seen #and frantically scurrying around his insanely nice apartment with nothing but a robe on that's revealing his chest👀#it seems i'm slowly becoming tumblr's number 1 purveyor of sexy inaki pics #just imagine: inaki/luffy x reader morning after au ☺️#inaki godoy #opla cast #one piece cast #the imperfects #the imperfects netflix #imperfects #juan ruiz #chupacabra #chupi

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blluespirit · 3 months

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I sort of like the thought that Zuko and Aang take the Sun Warriors' warning not to tell anyone about the dragons a little more seriously… and they keep it between them. Of course, they trust Sokka, Toph and Katara. Of course they know they wouldn’t tell anyone, but now three people (including Iroh) know the truth about Ran and Shaw. And that’s three too many when you’re trying to keep a secret.

(and there are other people at the temple as well - like Haru, Teo and The Duke - who, while trustworthy, aren’t as close to them as the others, and when it comes to secrets with as much consequence as this one, you can’t afford to take any chances.)

Furthermore, the culture within the Fire Nation since Sozin’s rein has been warped. The culture is not to respect the dragons as the original firebenders, it’s to conquer and kill them. It’s the ultimate proof of your strength as a firebender. All it takes is one mistake before rumour spreads, and people go looking for the ultimate hunt. It’s not something Zuko or Aang can risk.

Whether Katara, Toph and Sokka (and Suki) ever find out the truth is up to you. But post-war, after Zuko returns from a strange, poorly explained trip with a dragon, and eventually develops the ability to use rainbow fire, either the others have some questions about Aang’s knowing look, or they are finally let in on a monumental secret.

#it’s a kids show so i think for that reason it was played for laughs about keeping the dragons a secret is not necessarily a bad choice...#the show does that sometimes where it says something off hand and then leaves me lying face down contemplating ✨the consequences✨ of that #but there are some… implications there about being too loose lipped with the truth in leading up to the end of and immediately post #war fire nation. just because zuko understands the spiritual significance of a dragon it does not mean the rest of his people will. actuall #its more likely that they'd reject zuko's opinion considering that he's basically coming into power and then telling everyone that #they've been lied to their whole lives. the fire nation is drowning in propaganda. for a lot of people this opinion of dragons and #firebending's true nature being violence and destruction is all they know. fire is LIFE but to most people that's an alien concept #and in terms of keeping secrets - it’s not even a matter of trust it’s a matter of too many people knowing #you might not even realised you’ve revealed some incredible information to someone who has the means to spread it or pursue it #so… i think zuko would be hyper aware of this. since he grew up hearing stories about the 'glory' of dragon hunting #and since iroh has also made a concerted effort to keep this information hidden i think it makes sense he’d be very hesitant to let it #get out to the public #aang would agree i think esp if zuko explained the importance of hiding them even from loved ones #ALSO random but it also makes me wonder what the fire nation said about roku in wake of the war #he had a dragon but he didn’t kill it. he didn’t ’conquer’ it #sozin would have had to work his ASS off to reframe history as him being the more… loyal(?) patriotic (?) of the two #did he frame it as roku didn’t have the courage to kill a dragon??? that he lacked the strength of a true firebender?#the avatar works hard but sozin's propaganda machine works harder 🧍‍♀️#zuko #aang #avatar the last airbender #zuko & aang #jack talks #sun warriors #book 3 #what is it with me having a whole separate post in the tags 👁️👄👁️

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youhavethewrong · 28 days

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do you guys remember when Attack On Titan had a fucking Looney Tunes Babies style spin off where all the characters were in junior high and the titans were just bullies and eren was mad at them because they ate his hamburg steak and it was legitimately better than the original

#yui rambles #dont ask me why i randomly remembered #i often think about attack on titan #about how its first season was one of the most promising new shows at the time #it felt so refreshing and full of life and energy and ideas and something to say #and then you reach a certain point in the story and youre like #...huh this is weird #and you keep reading/watching and start wondering what's wrong #and then at a certain point it just hits you #and youre like woah! wait!#i get it!#the author is not a good writer!#this pacing sucks! the reveals suck!#i get it now! the beginning of the story was a fluke!#attack on titan's legacy was carried on an extremely promising intro section and a very competently made anime adaptation #but not even the sick art style and incredible action scenes could save a story so shoddily told imo #and then you reach the end and its like wow. so the thing you had to say was awful.#sorry i dont mean to swing at a hornets nest #i just think about it because when a story nosedives that hard its like. a case study for me #whatevs this is all my opinion no disrespect if you like it #but even if you like it i think you HAVE to be aware that the point being made with the story is a pretty fucking terrible one #anyway this post got fucking derailed in the tags lmao my point is attack on titan junior high was legit funny and had a better ending lmao

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constantvariations · 4 months

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A trend in Astarion fics that I find bizarre is the idea that he's never been treated gently during sex. This is difficult to believe for one simple reason: some of Astarion's victims were virgins.

Astarion: You were handsome. Shy. You'd never been kissed. Sebastian: You taught me how. And then you destroyed me.

I get the desire to make his current partner special by having their sex be good and wholesome in comparison to his other trysts, but this is a flawed sentiment. The cutscene of that first night together is incredibly tender from the kiss to laying on the grass - the only outlier being if you offer your neck - and if you sleep with Astarion but keep it at that night, Astarion himself says he will never forget you. Not because the PC was uniquely gentle with him in bed, but because they were the first person he ever slept with of his own free will. It's his choice that makes that night special to him moreso than anything the PC may or may not have done during that time.

#baldur's gate 3 #astarion ancunin #astarion #the only exception i have to this is rimming. im down so bad for him being overwhelmed from being eaten out its not even funny #also the blood drinking since that is canonically new. makes me wonder how not being hungry would specifically affect him during sexy times #it's an eat or be eaten out world #...anyway #other factors can and probably do make their adult fun times special for him. particularly the intricacies of personal dynamics #a night w a pc that listens to him. lets him drink often. and saves the tiefs is def more special than one w a pc who does none of those #i really enjoy the tension between his hating heroic types and them being the most likely to provide the things he needs to survive #oh and smth thats somewhat related to this #i don't think astarion ever let his conquests see his back #in the clearing he's always facing his partner and even the camera doesnt show his back until the dramatic reveal #given that his victims were all one night stands it'd be p easy to convince each of them to do it face to face #leaves plenty of positions and ftf is oft more romantic which could def be an interesting conflict for him and his lover #so many common gestures of affection have been ruined for him. theyre just motions at best now #that makes it easier for their faces to be ingrained in his head so. bonus trauma lol

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skania · 1 year

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#TBH would love to see your opinion on akane getting the star eyes#other than just ‘she’s copying ai’ bc I think that’s a bit of a cop out#sure i think she highly empathizes with ai#but I think there’s more too it but idk how to put it in words

Thank you so much for bringing this up @verimin because this is another thing I see a lot and I just. don't. get it!

We see Akane acting as Ai twice in the manga. The first time she does it because she needs to put on a role, and the girls suggest she act as Aqua's ideal woman.

That's it, that's all there is to it. Akane was just playing a role.

The second time is, again, all about playing a role. She is auditioning to play Ai, so she obviously acts as Ai.

These are by no means the only instances where we have seen Akane with the star eyes though.

(Spoilers for the entire manga below the cut!)

Whenever she becomes one with the character she is playing, she gets the starry eyes.

This is also the case for these two instances:

In both cases here, Akane is channeling the emotions of a character that she has made her own. She is empathizing with Ai to the point that she feels her emotions, but it's only because she constructed Ai's profile and character so thoroughly in her mind.

So basically, it's once again about acting.

This one instance could be the only outlier, but it actually fits the same pattern.

Her experience during Love Now taught her that she needs to play a role in front of the camera to protect herself.

Before Love Now, Akane was always just herself in front of the camera and that almost killed her. Now, she knows better than to show her vulnerability.

So instead of showing how nervous she is, she acts collected.

And so, since she is still acting, she gets the star eyes.

It's not that Akane is imitating Ai, it's that what she went through during Love Now changed her. She didn't only learn to lie in front of the camera, she also gained the confidence to do the kind of acting that commands all the attention to herself.

So you could say that doing a psychological analysis of Ai made some of Ai's confidence and her ability to tell convincing lies rub-off on her, but that's about it.

Besides, while it may have contributed to bringing her out of her shell, the fact that Akane is able to pull it off so effortlessly shows she was born with it.

All in all, saying that Akane is copying Ai makes no sense because we can clearly see Akane do a 180° whenever she plays her lol

#akane kurokawa #kurokawa akane #oshi no ko #me: onk #fandom: onk #my aquakane meta #this is actually one of the takes I read the most before binging the manga #by the time I was done I was like ??#the ability to tell a lie (to act) convincingly is also a matter of self-confidence #akane got a boost of it after love now and learned to lie about herself so she gained the star eyes #interestingly enough when aka reveals that akane is a genius actress #we only see her back and her bangs obscuring her eyes #he doesn't reveal her gaze to us until aikane #so if it weren't for the director saying that she changed after love now #you could maybe argue that akane had the star eyes all along but that she only showed them on stage #occam's razor though lol #i hate the new tumblr editor

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urostakako · 2 months

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found out my teacher knows about satosugu in the most embarrassing way possible

#she was like omg hanan you made a comic and you didnt show me?? and i was like sorry ill show you #and she read it and she was like. this is AMAZING why dont you post it and i was like i cantt you dont understand its so inspired #that if i ever posted it everyone would immediately clown on me and she gave me a Look. and she was like welllllll #i actually screamed this had to be my most embarrassing moment in forever 😭😭😭😭 but then she was like noooo i mean their relationship #isnt unique but THE SHEER. EMBARRASSMENT. I CANT.#and then she revealed to me that another one of my teachers watches jjk AND I TURNED IN A PANEL ANALYSIS OF IT TO HER #OF THE SEALING??? KILL ME NOW #i cant stop thinking about it like i thought she wasnt at that point yet cuz she was updating me on her progress and idk 😭😭😭#im just gonna kms i cant anymore #hanancouldyounot

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videogamelover99 · 2 years

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I Had a Realization About Ch.101 and No One's Talking About It

I had assumed that Dazai has the option to stop the flooding procedure in the Control Room but now that I think about it that is most likely not the case.

Dazai presents to Sigma a sequence of events that differs from what might actually be happening, timeline-wise. Dazai reveals information to Sigma in a way that makes us think every new step in Ch.101 that he reveals is a re-concieved way to defeat the new two-vs-two teamup of Dostoyevsky and Chuuya. But if you look at the events as they are happening in real time, that does not make any sense.

What's actually happening, in sequence:

Sometime before Sigma sees the Control Room, Dazai's cat lady stops time so Dazai can kill all the guards and set up his trap to kill Dostoyevsky.

We don't know exactly when this happens. It could have been before Gogol even showed up. It could have been when Gogol was explaning the rules. All we know is, it had to have been before Fyodor falls for the trap. So lets set it aside for now.

Other than that, what happens?

CH.98, after Dazai picks Sigma. Dazai dances around with Sigma some, seemingly wasting time.

Then this happens?

And Dazai abruptly switches to heading directly toward the Control Room. Which is interesting, because Sigma doesn't notice anything. This is most likely when the cat lady stopped time and Dazai was able to set up his trap. Because now that everything's in play, he can see it laid out for him with Sigma.

It's right after that we get the first signs of an intruder.

Dazai most likely knew Fyodor was going to pick a pawn to help him escape. What he didn't know, I'm sure, was that it was Chuuya.

Not only cause Dazai's entire demeanor changes when he realizes this, but because Dazai only says "I see" when a genuine realization comes to him, often times too late.

After this, Dazai sets up the "two vs. two" battle strategy for Sigma. Except here's the thing. That doesn't make sense if the trap is already in play. There is no battle! It's already decided!

This panel happens after the locking mechanism on Fyodor's side breaks, meaning that Dazai is stating this when his plan is already in motion. Dazai is explaining how they're going to beat Chuuya and Dostoyevsky as if he hadn't already set up the trap, so that Sigma thinks all of this is happening in real time.

Here's the important part Dazai mentions: Once closed, the walls will never open again and there's no way to stop the flooding. The walls will never open again implies that it's impossible for anyone to open them, including the people at the control terminal. "No way to stop the flooding" is also very specific. Dazai doesn't say that it's impossible for Dostoyevsky to stop the flooding, but impossible in general. (Interesting also how Fyodor says that Dazai got the circuit already as if he predicted the locking mechanism would blow up, just not this soon).

After his little explanation to Sigma, Dazai doesn't seem to do much except turn on the mic to the flooded room.

Dazai presents the facts to Sigma as if every action he took in the past he is taking due to the circumstances of the two-vs-two, but that's not the case, because Dazai has set up the trap in advance, most likely before he even knew Chuuya was the pawn. And it is a trap he himself cannot stop once it's triggered. Meaning that, unless a new factor comes into play, Dazai literally cannot do anything at this point except watch Chuuya drown. Dazai created the perfect plan, one that he himself cannot reverse. It's not about Dazai letting Chuuya die, it's about if he can stop his own plan in the first place.