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cistematicchaos · 3 months

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hello! I have a Question about masking. when should we wear a mask? is it only when we feel sick or is it always? is it inside or outside too? if ur vaccinated but were told to only wear when sick is that bad? literally almost no on in any area around me in my state wears one except when sick and I feel unsure what to do. genuinely everywhere I go there’s close to no one. I feel afraid to wear one all the time bc judgement. but what do we need to do? I’m disabled and disability justice is important to me but since no one else wears one my friends do not think it’s needed and thinks comfort matters more bc it’s very humid here. I feel like wearing one is the right thing to do, but idk how to explain that to others or to start again and shake the fear. ppl assume ur sick when u wear bc that’s what we’re taught is the right time to. /gen

Genuinely, ty for trusting me to answer this. If you're outside or inside a public area, or inside with people who don't mask, it's best to be wearing a mask. Even when you don't feel sick! Not only can you have covid without feeling sick, but you can also carry lots of viruses without feeling sick and so can others. (Also other people don't always tell you when they're feeling sick unfortunately.)

As for the question about vaccinations, yeah, that's bad. You were lied to. People who're vaccinated can still spread covid without feeling sick and can still catch it and get long covid or die. All the vaccine does is make you a little safer if you catch it, it doesn't replace masking.

Masking is very scarce in a lot of places, so I understand that. In my area so many people don't mask and it's scary! I also understand being scared of judgement; especially from family and friends. But you're right, masking is the right thing to do and disability justice is important. And masking is especially important if you're already disabled; you're higher risk for covid fucking you up (by giving you long covid or generally worsening your disabilities/giving you more).

Since I've already explained WHEN you should be masking (if you have more questions, ask, I don't mind at all.), lemme see if I can help you out with the rest. To shake the fear, I'd suggest starting wearing your mask when you're alone to get used to wearing it more. You'll probably have to bite it and do it afraid anyway, because its a pandemic and masking is a necessity (if you can), but you can still get ready first.

To explain it to your friends, put it simply. "I discovered the vaccine doesn't replace masking, so I'm being safe." or "I realized masking keeps all of us safer during the pandemic, especially disabled people, so I'm going to keep doing it."

They may argue with you, especially since they may feel bad for not masking. You don't have to argue back with them. You can offer to send them articles about it or explain your thoughts but you don't have to justify masking!

If people think you're sick, they'll probably ask and you can explain or they'll avoid you, which may work to your advantage because social distancing from people who don't mask is good too.

If part of this doesn't make sense or you have more questions, ask me! I'd love to answer and have a lot of info on the subject if you want it. Again, thank you for trusting me to answer and I hope this helps. <3 Stay safe!

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demetriandelibinaryboyfriends · 3 years

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Any hc for (non)binary brothers

You mean like...headcanons for their relationship/Demetri and Eli in general? Sure, I’ll take a stab at this! I have a bunch of miscellaneous headcanons for them anyways and have been looking for a place to put them, may as well post them here.

Fair warning that this is a bit of a disorganized mishmash of stuff I’ve thought up for them myself, headcanons I’ve seen others in the fandom make for them, and tropes that I’ve seen in fanfic that I really liked, so I kinda stole them to add to my own personal headcanon XD I may not be able to source all of them if asked...some of them I’m like “I genuinely don’t remember where I saw that, but I HELLA liked it” lol

~Demetri is like...RIDICULOUSLY good at coding. Eli is good at it too, but Demetri basically singlehandedly carried that coding competition they won. It was really more of a 70-30 effort, but Demetri consistently gives Eli 50% of the credit to try and help him feel good about himself and his capabilities. Demetri knows he did a bit more work than Eli, but he’s never once brought it up and he doesn’t plan to.

~Demetri looooooves cats. Like...the pretentiousness? The heightened sense of self-importance? The way they’re kinda misunderstood and often disliked because they can be mean, and don’t always show affection in the way people expect? The general air of annoyance and disdain they give off??? Demetri’s just like “yep, this is my animal right here.” XD Demetri doesn’t DISLIKE dogs, but he finds they can be a bit much sometimes, and likes that cats do their own thing a lot of the time.

~After getting the Hawk moniker, Eli lowkey got SUPER into hawks and birds of prey in general. Like he started watching documentaries on them and everything, and gushing to Demetri about how badass he thought they were. It even kinda verges into special interest territory (since Hawk/Eli is canonically probably autistic), although it’s not as all-consuming as some of his other ones. Back when he and Demetri are still on good terms, in the early days of “Hawk,” Eli rambles to Demetri about hawks and other “badass” birds a LOT when they’re hanging out. Eli only does this when he’s alone with Demetri because he’s a little scared to show THAT level of enthusiasm to anyone else, considering he’s trying to be a “tough guy” now. Demetri he still feels he can essentially be all of himself with, though. Demetri finds this new raptor obsession kind of hilarious but also kind of endearing.

~Demetri has a single mom who is lowkey overprotective and ends up coddling and sheltering him a lot. Demetri’s dad left when he was little, and his mom can be a bit overbearing because Dem is all she has left of his dad, in a sense. Because of this, Demetri definitely did NOT tell his mom Eli was the one who broke his arm. He said it was “some goon” from Cobra Kai, and said Eli wasn’t even there among the group that day. He knew if his mom knew Eli broke his arm, she would NEVER let Eli near him again, and would probably get a restraining order and possibly press charges. And Demetri just...REFUSES to give up on Eli, even after everything. He figures Kreese’s brainwashing and Kyler being in Cobra Kai are already putting Eli through a special kind of hell, and he wants to protect him from having even MORE things to deal with--in this case, the wrath of Demetri’s mom. And she never finds out Eli broke his arm--Demetri takes it to the grave.

~A little while after the Christmas party, Demetri and Eli resume their weekly sleepovers and try to make up for lost time. They decide not to pull out Eli’s Waterbed from storage, considering they both have pretty unpleasant associations with the waterbed after the incident at Moon’s party. They end up just sharing Demetri’s bed, like they used to when they were little and it wasn’t “weird” yet for two boys to sleep in the same bed. Maybe it’s weird now, but they figure as long as Demetri’s mom doesn’t blab to their friends or something that they’re sharing a bed, then it’s cool. Neither has any issue at all with sharing a bed, although they caaaaaan’t quite put their finger on why that is XD

~Eli actually gets nightmares about the laser tag arm incident more often than Demetri does. The fight will play out in a thousand different ways, but it always ends the same--with Eli pinning Demetri down and snapping his arm. Worse, sometimes he’ll have dreams that he’s beating up Brucks again, and then Brucks will slowly morph into Demetri, but Eli won’t be able to stop punching. He frequently wakes up panicking and screaming and crying during his and Demetri’s sleepovers, and Demetri just holds him and sooths him and wipes his tears off and reassures him that he knows Eli’s never going to hurt him again.

~I actually imagine it’s on a night like one of these that they first get together--Eli wakes up from another nightmare, and Demetri is just hugging him really close and trying to reassure him, and at some point, Demetri just...impulsively leans in and kisses him. They both get super flustered for a second, and then Eli leans in and kisses Demetri super fiercely and before they know it, they’re making out like there’s no tomorrow. When they have to stop for breath, they admit they’ve always liked each other and just weren’t really sure how to say it. They spoon for the rest of the night, and are pretty much officially dating after that, although they’re kinda anxious about what people will think, so they keep it on the DL at first.

~Demetri has bad dreams too, but his are usually current--e.g. Eli reveals it was All An Act and he’s been spying for Cobra Kai, and doesn’t actually give a shit about Demetri. When Demetri wakes up from these at their sleepovers, he often can’t help but shake Eli awake, and rattle off a bunch of paranoid questions--”You actually like me, right? You actually wanted to be friends again, right? You don’t think I’m annoying? You don’t secretly hate me, after everything?” And this always kind of alarms Eli at first, because of how...out-of-character it is for Demetri to be that self-conscious about what people think about him, and for him to actally...well...care if people think he’s annoying XD But after a little bit Eli just puts his hand on Demetri’s shoulders and says “Demetri, I promise I want you back in my life.” And this is usually enough to calm Demetri down, because he knows it’s genuine, just like Eli’s apology at the Christmas party was.

~Eli is really, really terrified of hurting Demetri again. Sometimes Eli gets panic attacks when he and Demetri are sparring and he hits Demetri a little too hard. Demetri’s kind of come up with a “signal” for Daniel to indicate he and Eli need to take a break. Once Daniel figures out the situation, he’s more than happy to oblige. Demetri always helps Eli through his panic attacks and reassures him that he trusts him with his life now, no matter what happened before.

~When Johnny finds out about this, he’s actually...way more understanding than anyone expects him to be, because Kreese traumatized him when he was young, too. He just kind of sighs like “Yeah, Kreese made me do some fucked up shit too, back in the day. He’s a bastard like that. You take a 10 whenever the hell you need, Hawk.” And honestly? Demetri lowkey loves Johnny for this. This may be the turning point that finally causes Demetri to view Johnny Lawrence with something other than mild to moderate disdain XD

~Demetri often makes a point of kissing Eli’s scar and telling him he thinks it’s beautiful. Hella corny, I know, but god knows Eli needs it. He kisses it in front of their friends, too, as kind of a way to reassure Eli “hey, I’m proud to be with you in your entirety, and I’m not at all ashamed of that aspect of you, even if you still are.” Eli definitely appreciates this, but he pretends he’s embarrassed by it and will often fall into a blushing, flustered mess when Demetri kisses his scar XD

I think that’s all I’ve got for now!!! I’ll post more later if I think of them!!!

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blackcatsims · 4 years

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Get To Know Me Tag <3

I was tagged by @tabbyrhsims4simblr and @racingllama in a couple of different get to know me tag type games, so I decided to respond with this hybrid by racing llama <3 which includes all the questions I was asked! Thanks for the tags guys, they made my day!!

Name / Nickname : Alexandria/Alex

Height : It’s technically 170cm but I’m immature as fuck so I’m gonna go on record and say that it’s actally 169 eyyyyyyyy

Zodiac sign : *adore delano voice* I’m a fucking Libra

Hobbies : Singing, gaming, patting my dog, yelling about feminist theory and treading my slow descent into madness

Favourite colours : Burgundy, plum and brown.

Favourite books : Harry Potter by some terrible white lady, The Slightly True Story of Cedar B. Hartley by Martine Murray, A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving, Animorphs by K.A. Applegate (FIGHT ME), The Ancient Future by Traci Harding, the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman, anything by Jacqueline Wilson but especially The Dare Game and The Illustrated Mum, Chasing After The Wind by Dale Harcombe and Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta.

Last song listened to : Monday, Monday by the Mamas & the Papas

Inspiration for muse : In the context of this blog, I think my #1 muse would have to be Nola from my Blood Legacy. She’s inspired, as many of you know, by my grandmother - also named Nola.

Dream job : I’d love to be successful enough as a musician to be able to support my family financially, but not successful enough that I became famous. I can hear my therapist’s heart palpitations from here. I’ve actually had a few different dreams in my life so I can keep going! I used to dream of being the owner of a sex shop called “The Love Shack”. I would also love to own a witch shop. Reading tarot cards, drinking tea and being surrounded by candles and incense all day sounds pretty much like heaven to me. I could plug my band in the shop too! It’s all coming together! Haha.

Meaning behind your URL : I’ve answered this one quite a few times before but I never get tired of it! My Mum and I started this blog together back in 20...10??? At the time, my username on the Sims website was BlackWeb6 (that username dates back to when I was an emo kid in high school circa 2005!) and my mum’s username was AliCats. So, naturally, when we decided to start a tumblr blog together for our simming adventures, we named it BlackCatSims!

Cats or dogs? Dog person 100%, but I can appreciate cats. They cute.

YouTube celebrities or normal celebrities? I kind of object to celebrity culture on principle but I must be a hypocrite because there’s heaps of famous musicians I borderline worship like Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse and Mama Cass. So I guess my answer is....normal celebrities? Mostly dead ones? With the exception of Hozier. He’s still alive last I checked. HE’S STILL ALIVE RIGHT?!?!?!

If you could live anywhere where would that be? Rarotonga.

Disney or DreamWorks? I guess I technically have to say Dreamworks since I’ve dedicated my heart and soul to She-Ra and the Princesses of Power??? I’ll have to take my anti-corporation rant elsewhere lest my hypocrisy continue to shine through.

Favorite childhood TV show? ALL ABOARD THE MAGIC SCHOOL BUS!!!

The movie you’re looking forward to most in 2020? What’s a movie?

Favorite book you read in 2019? Haha. Uhhh.....does reading Enya lyrics inside a CD insert count?

Marvel or DC? Which one do I hate more? Impossible to answer.

If you choose Marvel favorite member of the X-Men? If you choose DC favorite Justice League member? My fav Spice Girl was Feminism Ginger Spice

Night or Day? Day. I’m solar powered.

Favorite Pokémon? PONYTA FOREVER

Top bands: SO MANY AHHH I LOVE THIS QUESTION!!!! LET’S GO!!!!! *takes a deep breath* Crowded House, R.E.M., Stevie Nicks, Hozier, The Beatles, Nick Cave, Nick Drake, The Cranberries, Tracy Chapman, Eric Clapton, Janis Joplin, The Mamas & The Papas, The Seekers, Leonard Cohen (except his weird “put the pussy on a pedestal” shit like calm down suzanne), Simon & Garfunkel, David Bowie, Paul Kelly, Amy Winehouse, Evanescence (just slipping this one in here inconspicuously), Peter Paul & Mary, Ella Fitzgerald, Blondie (angry horny babe), Enya, Rasputina, Gin Wigmore, Snake River Conspiracy, Within Temptation, Nightwish (Tarja <3), Amy LaVere, t.A.T.u. (never forget the bitches who helped you realize your sexuality) and you know what they’re not real but I’m gonna end this list with one of my favourite bands of all time: JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS!!!!

Top movies: ^^^ Jerkin’! Tretorns are the new Adidas!

America or Europe? Well I’ve never been to America but I’ve seen pictures of that orange cheeto shit-stain ra(c/p)ist who has a lot of money and power for some reason so I’d like to stay as far away from that as possible because it makes me so scared to be alive that i have just decided I am definitely not going to talk about this here next question.

Tumblr or Twitter? Tumblr

Pro-choice or Pro-life? Pro-Choice because I’m not a misogynist or a large smelly poo.

Favorite YouTuber: definitely that band arty-rex they’re great

Favorite author? I dunno man. I haven’t read a book in a while. I like all the ones I listed earlier! I just haven’t read them in ... a while ....,,,,,

Tea or coffee? Both!!! Coffee when I really need to get moving and tea for every other occasion on the planet. Stubbed your toe? Cuppa tea! Found a penny on the street? Cuppa tea! Cuppa tea? Cuppa tea!

OTP? *takes long drag of cigarette* I haven’t heard that acronym in years....

22. Do you play an instrument/sing? Yep :) You can check out me and my Dad’s band on instagram or find us on youtube!

I hereby tag anybody who wants to do this, and @teekalu, @sulanisunrise, @kscriba, @kimmmygibbbler, @stretchskeleton, @ratboysims, @helloduckie, @pxelbeans aaaaaaand @onceuponasimblr <3 <3 <3

#personal #tag #tag meme #personal tag #get to know me tag

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cielrouge · 6 years

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The Shape of Water Q&A at AMC Lincoln Square

Went to see The Shape of Water on opening night at the AMC Lincoln Square, and was lucky enough to stick around for the Q&A afterwards with the Director Guillermo Del Toro, Doug Jones (the Asset/Amphibian Man), Octavia Spencer (Zelda Fuller), and Michael Stuhlbarg (Dr. Robert Hoffstetler). The Q&A was really enlightening and the moderator asked some great questions but sadly only one audience question was answered before they ran out of time. More about the film below:

The Film’s Genesis, Setting & Major Themes

The Shape of Water first came about when Guillermo watched The Creature From the Black Lagoon for the first time when he was six. There was a pivotal scene where he saw Julie Andrews’ character swimming underneath the sea creature, and Guillermo essentially shipped the pair and wanted them to end up together. Evidently when they didn’t, he was very salty about it hahaha.

So, Guillermo told himself “One day, I’ll fix it.” Granted, he joked that “It took me 46 years”, but better late than never he supposes.

When Guillermo started seriously working on the film idea, he had been trying it in different forms and ideas, but it wasn’t until 2011 where he had his real first breakthrough with the storyline, after sitting down for lunch with an author friend Daniel Kraus (who he also co-wrote the novel with). He told Kraus about his story featuring an amphibian man, and after bouncing back and forth with various ideas, they locked in on a specific idea of a janitor taking the amphibian man home as a plot point.

Guillermo stated: "This was the key and the way into the story, because if you go in with the government agent or the scientist, it's the same bullshit, but if you go through the service door with the cleaners and the janitors, that's already, politically, a very different statement."

For Guillermo, the film was: "always about giving a voice to the voiceless,” which is immediately noticeable by the fact in the trailer, the two most prominent voices, one who is the narrator and the other who is speaking on Elisa’s behalf, are Octavia Spencer and Richard Jenkins’ characters, a black woman and closeted gay man respectively, who traditionally would have had their voices silenced in this era.

The Shape of Water is set in 1962, a year that Guillermo acknowledges is a year often viewed with rose-colored lenses, in which conversations about a time period in which America was “great,” is commonly cited as the 1950s and 1960s.

However, Guillermo wanted to show that this was more of a “hollow pasture/green” in which this idea of America being “great” during the 1960s was really a hollow illusion, because “if you weren’t the right gender or race during this era, you were really on the other side of the fence.” He specifically cites that 1962 was really “the end of that dream when JFK is assassinated, the War in Vietnam escalates, and you have this negative space in wider society created by Madison Ave.”

Sally Hawkins’ Involvement

In 2011, Del Toro immediately sent a message to Sally Hawkins' agent letting her know that he was writing a movie for her, and the agent said “sure!” and that he’d let her know.

But it really wouldn’t be until 2013 where Hawkins got on board. Guillermo said that during the night of the Golden Globes afterparty(?), some friends called him up to get out of the house and mingle together.

Guillermo was initially reluctant to attend, preferring to watch the rest of Antique Roadshows instead (LOL) but was eventually dragged out....where he then promptly ordered 40 shots of tequila at the venue (Omfg Guillermo plz...)

Later when he was leaving, Guillermo spotted Sally Hawkins near the exit and allegedly ran up to shout at her “I’m writing a movie for you....where you fall in love with a fish!” Though, Sally was apparently a great sport about it and simply replied: “That’s great!”

Doug Jones’ Involvement and His Working Relationship with Del Toro

Jones discussed that this is his sixth film that he’s collaborated with Guillermo on, having also previously collaborated on the television show, The Strain, together. Guillermo first told Jones that he had a creature role for him, but presented it with a certain gravitas, specifically emphasizing that Jones would be the romantic lead.

Guillermo wanted Jones to channel something more "raw" and "animal," but "throw in a bit of matador with sexiness and leaning in with the pelvis." This was coupled along with the backstory that the Asset/Amphibian Man was "worshiped by the locals like a God in the Amazon."

So, Jones stated that it was important for the Asset/Amphibian Man to hold himself with a level of regalness and superhero-esque stance, since "the mystery was whether or not the Asset/Amphibian Man has powers."

But the Asset/Amphibian Man is important because “his presence is one in which he changes everyone around him.” Such as when he helps Hoffstelter in getting back his real name, Dimitri, back for the first time, or when he helps Zelda realize that her marriage is over.

Elisa’s relationship with the Asset/Amphibian Man also helps the audience realize that her “beauty is one that develops profoundly over the course of the film, yet at the same time, she’s an individual that could be sitting next to you on the bus.”

Jones notes that "the challenge was creating a love story between a creature and a young lady, and making it feasible and plausible."

Jones also stated that fine artist Mike Hill bought in a great artistry with the Asset/Amphibian Man’s character design to make him the "most beautiful, sexy, appealing monster that I have ever been in my entire life."

At this point, Octavia Spencer interjected to reiterative to the audience, "He had a great butt, guys." And everyone basically started howling in laughter, but in total, unanimous agreement lolol.

Working on a Guillermo Del Toro Set

The moderator pointed out that there’s usually not much CGI or anything of that nature. “These are practical sets with practical effects.”

Octavia stated that Guillermo “has a beautiful eye for detail, and the beauty you saw was what we felt.” When the pair met up for the first time to talk about the film, they bonded over their mutual love for antiques.

Octavia noted that the sets were” elaborate, but in a real person sort of way, very practical, in a way that you wanted to purchase things from it."

Michael noted: “Everything were there. Every track on the floor, no green screen at all. So instead of having something conjured in your mind of what you think something is about, you had it right in front of you. It’s very immediate and extraordinary. It was really quite extraordinary."

Octavia Spencer on Zelda Fuller’s Characterization

Octavia stated that she's played several characters like Zelda in this era (1950s-1960s), but The Shape of Water was the first time where she felt that she played a character with agency.

She noted: "You know that I'm a black woman, and the history of our country in 1962, but Guillermo made it so I didn't have to play in those circumstances, and made it so I got to act as a regular woman who finally felt contemporary. I'm in a relationship that I don't feel appreciated in, and that's literally all I talk about.”

However, Octavia noted that her role as Zelda actally felt empowering and “I know that sounds crazy, but it did. But it did feel empowering for the first time where I didn't have to play my gender or my circumstances of my ethnicity in this particular role.”

Guillermo interjected at this point that these racial and gender dynamics do come into play with the tense confrontation scenes between Michael Shannon and Octavia Spencer’s characters (Zelda and Strickland) in the laboratory bathroom and later in Zelda’s house.

For Strickland and Zelda, in terms of black-and-white morality, Guillermo noted that they’re basically on complete opposite sides of the spectrum, and everyone else polarizes around this spectrum. Everyone changes around Strickland, and this was what Guillermo felt made him a particularly interesting character. He then joked that the scene featuring Strickland's meeting with General Hoyt is comparable to meetings he’s previously had with Hollywood studio executives early on in his career.

Michael Stuhlbarg on Dr. Robert Hoffstelter’s Characterization

The moderator pointed out that the second most compassionate character in the movie is probably Dr. Hoffstelter, a Russian agent and Soviet spy in the Cold War. He then asked Michael about what initial conversations he had with Guillermo about Hoffstelter. He responded that Guillermo is “one of the most remarkable, whirlwind aritsts that I’ve ever met.”

Michael noted that at the first day of shooting, Guillermo handed him, and most of the main cast, these “three to four page biographies about our characters. About how Hoffstelter was, what he'd been through to get him to that point in the start of the movie, what books he read, what food he loved, what food he had to learn to love in America, and so on. It was astounding and you can tell really how much Guillermo loved these characters to the core.”

Michael did his best to use as much of this character biography template as he could in the film, and Guillermo then interjected to reference the scene where Hoffstelter is ironing his own pants as an example.

Guillermo also encouraged Stuhlbarg to draw a lot on-set, and the drawings that you see of the Asset/Amphibian Man in the film are actually Stuhlbarg's own drawings that were used.

The Main Cast on Working with Sally Hawkins as a Scene Partner

Jones noted that “not having a verbal language was a challenge and a beauty all at the same time,” since “words can be so polluted but a touch or a look of an eye isn't. It's very pure, honest, and true." His mime background was one he found particularly helpful for this film.

For the dance number scene he had with Hawkins, Jones admitted that he’s not much of a dancer and he and Hawkins had only three weeks to prepare. Jones claimed that he was "Ginger Rogers, but with flippers," whereas Hawkins was meant to channel Fred Astaire.

But working with Sally was a delight, since “her soul is right here for you,” and the main cast had already built a strong mutual trust and bond by the time filming started.

Octavia described Sally as “painfully shy,” but once you get to know her, “she’s the funniest person and has a beautiful sense of humor. She’s one of the biggest artistic talents that I know.”

Octavia noted that along with Sally, pretty much with the main cast, “we all had to fall in love with one another, since you can't fake chemistry. What you see between all of us is real. A bond that happened naturally.” Octavia admitted that she feels very fortunate that “we are still this way to each other, even after shooting finished.”

In Octavia’s case, she and Sally really bonded when they took sign language classes together prior to filming, and that’s how they got to really know each other.

Guillermo Del Toro on Sally Hawkin’s Characterization of Elisa Esposito

It was revealed that Guillermo asked Sally to watch silent films to help prepare for the role of Elisa Esposito, particularly Charlie Chapman and Buster Keaton films. When drafting the film, Guillermo knew for certain that he wanted Elisa to have a monologue and dance number.

Michael praised Sally’s talent for improvisation, citing the scenes where Elisa is mopping around, since “you know everything about Elisa, even when her back is turned.”

Guillermo particularly praised Sally during the powerful scene where Elisa initially enlists Richard Jenkins’ character (Giles)’s help to rescue the Asset/Amphibian Man. Essentially there is a “triple monologue” going on, where you see the words pretty much written over Elisa’s face, then you have the physical action of her signing the words to Richard, and then the epiphany seen on Richard’s face when he repeats Elisa’s words verbally for the audience.

The Most Compelling Part of the Story

The one audience question that was asked was in regards to the most compelling part of the movie for each panelist.

Michael Stuhlbarg stated that from the POV of his character, he noted that Hoffstelter “was a scientist first,” and subsequently had some divided loyalties that he really grapples with throughout the film. The character note from Guillermo that stuck out to Michael the most was that Hoffstelter was a character that wanted to die back home in Russia, not the US.

Michael was also just dazzled by the combination of different styles/genres in which Guillermo masterfully fuses magical realism, romance, and Cold War-style espionage thriller elements together, along with a homage to Old Hollywood musicals.

Octavia Spencer once again reiterated that the most compelling part of the film was being able to play a woman that had agency for the first time in this particular era. But when she also first met with Guillermo to talk about the film, she knew that “it was going to be a beautiful picture from the first page with Eliza sleeping underwater,” and she was very eager to see how Guillermo would execute this on-screen.

Octavia also called herself a “hopeless romantic” and “say what you will about the film,” but she loved the fact that Guillermo is saying that there’s still someone out there for everyone, with the romance at the very heart of the storyline.

Doug Jones loved the classic message of the underdog wins in the end with unsuspecting triumph. He particularly related to his character, the Asset/Amphibian Man, because there were times growing up as a gawky, long-limbed teenager where he felt like the “monster” in the room, and “is love out there for me?” was a question that he always asked himself. So, the message of “finding the beauty of the monster within you,” was one that was compelling to him.

Guillermo Del Toro had a sweet moment where he admitted that the most compelling part was that ‘you guys [the audience] showed up.”

Guillermo said that filmmakers often have to trust their instincts and one of the most valuable pieces of advice he got once from a former screenwriting teacher was: “Don’t make the movies you need, make the movies that need you to exist.”

Followed by a sobering moment where Guillermo confessed that as a filmmaker: “it’ll take three to four years of your life and you end up sacrificing a lot of your social and family life for an IMBd entry or a single slot on Netflix. So, making a movie is like “being part of an accident in slow motion,” in which filmmakers are never entirely sure about audience reception. But seeing the full house and the generous reception that he got after the opening night screening is what basically makes all the personal sacrifices, time, and effort all worth it in the end for Guillermo as a filmmaker.

#the shape of water #guillermo del toro #the shape of water q&a #sally hawkins #octavia spencer #doug jones #michael stuhlbarg #also at one point guillermo goes off topic to rant about how much he hates beauty and the beast #and 'fuck that stockholm shit' or something that like lolol #and octavia spencer makes eye contact with that person in the audience #and was like 'gurl tell your husband where ya at now and turn off the phone'#i do have video proof of octavia spencer reassuring us that amphibian man has a great butt in the movie #lmaooo #i'll try to see if i can compress the video i took #i got about half of the q&a before i ran out of storage noOoooo #and then somebody's phone went off #i'm still not over guillermo admitting to ordering 40 shots of tequila one time #like guillermo plz lol #celeb encounter series

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