#ellen. ellen. my god. ->

[secondpersonpoetry]

"You're the Top", Ellen Bass

[limeshade]

NOSFERATU (2024) Directed by Robert Eggers

[borgialucrezia]

LILY-ROSE DEPP as ELLEN HUTTER NOSFERATU (2024) — written & directed by Robert Eggers

[mulderscully]

TWIN PEAKS | 1.02

[distort-opia]

Have we talked about how bonkers it is to get married to someone else while wearing the symbol of your fucked up bond with the undead dark wizard corpse you rose from the dead? It's probably been discussed already, but I need to exorcise all my thoughts on Nosferatu (2024)... so yeah, I just find it such a deliciously insidious choice. When Ellen wears her wedding dress at the end of the movie, welcoming Orlok, she has dried lilacs in her hair from her prior wedding to Thomas, as the shooting script itself confirms. And Ellen had to know that marrying Thomas would break her Covenant with Orlok, right? She swore to be with Orlok ever-eternally, and then swore the same thing to Thomas at a chapel. Later, she tells Thomas, "He took me as his lover then, and now he has come back. He has discovered our marriage and has come back!" She must've had some inkling of what would happen, if she broke her Vow. So then what must've gone through her mind, to put those specific flowers in her hair as she was giving herself to another?

I got so long with this one, hence the cut. In fair warning, this interpretation is very Ellen x Orlok oriented, so if that's not your preferred view on the movie, you might not enjoy reading the rest.

It's almost mocking, her flaunting of lilacs as she marries Thomas. It's almost a "come back and get me". It's almost as if she knew she was preparing this dress for a different kind of wedding ("I have brought this evil upon us"). It's keeping in tone with that dark, eerie scene of Ellen clipping her hair and putting it in the locket, to give to Thomas... but as we know, the locket ends up with Orlok instead. And he uses that lilac-perfumed lock of hair to re-establish his hold on Ellen! It's as if she sent him a means of communication with her, because prior to Orlok obtaining the locket, we don't see him speaking to Ellen. The Covenant between them was broken by her, and Orlok needed to use earthly means of influence via Herr Knock in order to get to her and her husband. Of course, she has premonitions (her nightmare of marrying Death, steeped in the scent of lilacs once more) but it's not a dream induced by Orlok; it's part of her own psychic powers. And so, by putting a lock of hair inside the locket, knowing where Thomas was going... she gives Orlok a way to talk to her. Because we constantly see him use the locket as an anchor of some kind, as he spreads his influence towards Ellen. And then, all the while afterwards in her trances, Ellen moans "He is coming to me, he is coming..." Gleeful, orgasmic.

Am I saying Ellen intentionally and in full awareness did these things, so that Orlok would come to her? No, not entirely. I don't think it's something so planned and so conscious. She is as terrified and hateful towards Orlok as she is attracted to him, and that's the thing. It's a compulsion, a yearning. All along, through the entire movie, Ellen yearns. It's all over the shooting script; she pines and wants and hungers, in relation to Thomas, and to Anna, and to Orlok himself. And it isn't something spiritual. It's a yearning for touch.

"I frightened him [my father]. My touch..." Ellen says to Von Franz, when he consults for her. She feels the need to highlight that, as if her father recoiling from her touch was the hardest part she had to bear, the thing that made her the most lonely-- desperate enough to call out for any kind of companionship and tenderness. At the beginning of the film, before Thomas leaves, we see how much skinship Ellen seeks with her husband; she asks him to stay and make love to her when he was late for his meeting with Knock, they kiss each other ravenously after the Hardings depart to put the children to sleep. And both times, the script describes Ellen as "hungry". Even when Thomas leaves and gives her a small goodbye kiss, the text says "It's not enough for Ellen." Later in the movie, after Thomas is returned and dreams horribly due to Orlok's influence, Ellen is cuddling with him, but he pushes her away, asking her to "get off". She feels rejected enough that she seeks out someone else's physical touch-- Anna's, with whom we see her in bed next, and once again, the script uses "yearning" more than once to describe Ellen's behavior.

The theme of repressed sexuality and how in Victorian times, a female want for sex was demonized, has been discussed again and again in relation to Nosferatu (2024). Orlok is, indeed, a dark mirror to Ellen's desires: he is monstrous because she sees her own wants as monstrous. He destroys and brings disease, because Ellen sees that part of herself as destructive and unclean. But I do think there's a fascinating element to Ellen's nature that is not part of Orlok's symbolism, but rather extends to him as a character... her ravenous appetite for love. Her father deprived her of it, but the Shadow that came to her when she called was just that-- a shadow. A presence. It was not a person that could hold her, a person she might touch. Orlok, a spirit only, was not enough. He himself says it, while he's on the ship set for Wisburg. "Soon I will be no more a shadow to you." And this line was cut from the movie, but in the 2023 script, he also says, "Your spirit was never enough."

It was the script that made me think of this whole thing, really. Mostly because of how it describes their first meeting:

"...for the first time, she faces him in THE FLESH." It's emphasized. It's important, that Orlok is not a shadow here. That he is there, that Ellen can feel him and smell the blood on his breath. But the most damning thing she accuses him of? "You cannot love." As if that's the most important part for her, as if saying "That's what I need from you, and you can't give it to me". And Orlok admits that he cannot love her the way Thomas does, but that he hungers for her nonetheless.

I don't know, I just find this a much more compelling interpretation than a simple "Ellen is Orlok's victim and he is her abuser". Yes, Orlok is an appetite, but so is Ellen. Ellen is an active participant. She is the one to summon Orlok, the one to dictate his actions via his sheer want of her, the one to lure him to her so she could indulge her desire. Except, as it is a staple of dark and gothic romances, Ellen cannot directly act upon what she wants. Not like Orlok can. That's the point-- her desires are repressed, she believes them to be shameful, and so she needs an excuse to let them out. That's what characters like Orlok, who threaten and coerce, provide. A way to give in that preserves the heroine's "purity"; she sacrificed herself to save Thomas and Wisburg! She said she abhored him, she wanted Orlok dead! But then, why wear lilacs at her wedding? Why give Thomas the locket with the lilac-scented strand of hair? Why call Orlok her lover? Why wear a wedding dress and then cradle him in her arms as they died together, once again needing to touch him?

And I will say, it's great how this conflict, this self-hatred regarding her own feelings, is contrasted also in Orlok. "Till you did wake me, enchantress..." "You are my affliction." It's almost scornful, accusatory. You get the feeling he resents how much influence Ellen has on him, but he cannot help himself in the slightest. He denies that it's love, he says he cannot love-- but we have to keep in mind what he says prior. "Love is inferior to you." He considers love a weakness, something that he (as something inhuman, and something he believes Ellen is as well) is above of. But love is Ellen's craving, while life is Orlok's. Orlok is equated to Death. An all-consuming appetite, and they end up infecting each other with it, and then hating themselves for it. Ellen is oppressed by the society around her; her father had nearly institutionalized her, she had to marry Thomas to escape him. She is seen as strange and ill, as having "childish fancies", even by her own husband. She is tied to a bed and quieted down with drugs in the house of a man who's pretty much a representative of benevolent patriarchy. And so, does she not hate them all for doing this to her? Orlok bringing death and destruction on the society and people who stifled her is no coincidence, obviously.

But then again, Orlok ends up with a yearning for a person. Desire for someone's soul and body, not just their life-blood, which is ultimately something human... and he can't deny her, not even when he knows he would die. In that first scene in which Ellen calls upon him, he says "You are not for the living. You are not of human kind." It's the unspoken "You are for me. You are like me," that dooms him to an inescapable obsession, his own version of Ellen's yearning.

Ultimately, the human is a little bit monstrous, and dies for it. And the monster is a little bit human, and dies for it too. I, for one, am fucking obsessed with it.

[anneeeboleyn]

watching nosferatu 2024 is not enough i need it injected in my veins

[princessofghosts-posts]

Do you have any headcanons for Nico Di Angelo and Lou Ellen’s friendship cuz u mentioned once u agreed that they’d be good friends

This is actually something I wanted to explore more in my fanfictions on Ao3,but here we are.

As a child of a chthonic goddess Lou Ellen know pretty much how things are in the Underworld and has a good connection with it (not as strong as Nico). Thanks to that,she is able to always know what's going on down there and if Nico is up to something since the ghosts like to talk about him.

Nico is pretty close to Lou,and together with Clovis,they have their little "Children of the Chthonics God Club". They usually have a couple of meetings in the middle of the night in the Hades Cabin (without Chiron knowing) and sometimes even pajama party.

Since her mother is his sister mentor,Lou also spent a couple of hours with them when Hazel visit,to teach her more about mist manipulation. Nico sometimes has to watch over both of them to make sure they don't try to unleashed chaos in the cabin.

When Nico is in the Underworld,and had to visit Hecate,he usually ask about if she want to send something to Lou. For this reason,when he come back from the Underworld a couple of times,he always has with him a couple of gifts. Other times is the oppiste,Lou asks him to give her mother something from her and Nico will help her.

If they are on a quest/mission together,they are usually very effective since mist powers make the job more easy. For them. They usually scare the poor monsters away by making skeleton and zombies suddenly appear,in a very dense fog,everywhere. The monsters often than not escape before they can get to them.

Lou often use an Ouija Board to communicate with ghosts,knowing full well it will piss Nico off because it's fake and it's not the right way to do a ritual. By doing this,she is sure that he will show her the right way to do it,so she can use it the next time she needs to talk to some dead magician for a couple of tricks.

One time she had Nico on a throne,flying,with a little crown of wood,shouting loud: "Long live to the Prince of Hell!" Nico chased her down the whole day and she promised to never do that again. The next time? She got Will on an identical throne shouting: "Long live to the Prince Consort!" Nico almost murdered her for that,Will had to physical stop him.

They are actually pretty close,since their parents are gods from the Underworld,so they can understand each other and are always there to back up the other's opinion.

Nico asked Lou to teach him a couple of trick about mist manipulation and she was happy to teach him. By the time they finished,Nico could become invisible by covering himself with the mist. He used that plenty of the times he wanted to be left alone,but Lou could always sense him regardless.

She is the one to update Will when Nico is away in the Underworld,taking care of some business his father gave him. She is also the first one Will goes too when he doesn't have letters from his boyfriend.

Nico trust Lou Ellen with a lot more than she think. They are both Underworld children after all,and that's a deep connection for them. He asks for for advice when he doesn't know what to do in some situation.

When she is having trouble with her powers,Lou often goes to Nico to rant about it. He actually give good advice and had a neutral view of it. And when she can't feel the magic radiating from the dead? She run to Nico and he always know how help her around.

During Halloween they race against other for the the competition "Who decorated their cabin the best?" that CHB held every year. They put so much emphasis into it that most of the campers stay away from their cabins because of how much scared they are. Hecate and Hades cabins ended up,every year,tied up for the 1st place on the podium.

They like to explore hunted places,or the ones used by cults,together. Sometimes Will and Hazel (more Will) join them,but it's mostly them against the evil spirits. It's their favorite hobby to do together.

For now it's only those,but I'll probably think of more in the future. Honestly,death is extremely connected to Magic,so it's strange that Nico and Lou Ellen aren't close or at least know more about each other. They are both Underworld children too,and their parents work together. If only Rick used this connection we could have a chaotic duo and a solid friendship for Nico.

[mrcowboydeanwinchester]

oh my god the roadhouse having a shitty old beaten up piano which ellen loves to play. early in the morning when she first wakes up before she spends another day cleaning and pouring drinks and making meals she spreads her rough hands over the keys and plays. it wakes jo up every time and she gets so annoyed by it but ellen keeps doing it because it is the one thing that is truly Hers. she plays that old piano and it's barely in tune and on that music she flies. it burns down with the roadhouse and that piano is the thing she mourns hardest of all... and she's only forty two when she dies and she had a book of piano music in her bag which she was still hoping to learn........

[capt-sievert]

Y'ALL WEREN'T LYING ABOUT THE RADIO DRAMA OH MY FUCKING GOD

I need a breather hold on

[mrsoftthoughts]

The ships of secondary characters in percy Jackson makes sense in my head, that's until i have to explain why i ship it

Idk man, what im supposed to say?? A lot of them have little screen (page??) time and barely interact , but somehow "The 4'6 temperamental Apollo kid x the Hephaestus kid that looks like a mummy " "The rock witch x the Jewish Hermes kid" "The Hermes kid that seems like a twin but isn't x The Dionysus kid that is actually a twin but now without his brother" ( and i didn't find a good one for alabaster and Ethan srry) Makes sense for me???

And ofc those ones are only the Easy ones to explain because other people made it, I just follow the vision

But then are the ones that are a result of my non-slepp scenarios and let me like "wtf i just created" Because til this day I'm asking my brain how the fuck it made up a love-hate pair bettwen Mf Alabaster Torrington and DREW TANAKA

Edit four months layer: Please add Will Solace x Drew Tanaka to the last section (though idk in what level of secondary character will fits if you exclude tsats tbh)

[taesnix]

hear me out: Connor and Mitchell but have their first proper interaction be going on a quest (3rd quester is Lou Ellen because I need more Lou Ellen + Hermes kids shenanigans content) to retrieve a special conch shell that requires the cunning and craftiness of a Hermes and Hecate kid and a connection to the sea that only an Aphrodite kid has. Percy offers them a few pointers on sailing but after that, they're on their own.

not sure what exactly the quest would entail but at one point they stop by a port town and Connor steals a bunch of pearls from an extractor. Mitchell reasonably panics a bit when he finds out because oh gods barely a day in and he already has to charmspeak someone into forgiving and forgetting them but Lou Ellen discovers that the extractor was doing detrimental damage to the sea life, so not being able to profit off of the pearls and harming the business is actually perfectly alright in her books.

Connor: perfectly alright, you say?

Lou Ellen: yeah, why allow some assholes to make money off of animal abuse?

Mitchell, seeing the glint in both of their eyes get brighter: ... sigh. Fine, I guess we can fit ruining their operation in today's itinerary.

They go haywire. Lou Ellen works the mist to give them more cover than usual, allowing Connor to have his fun completely messing with the extractors by setting up (relatively) harmless traps and stealing a little more with each passing second, while Mitchell distracts and deflects any concerns the extractors have

One of the extractors: oh, uh, yes! I can definitely show you where we keep the metal pliers, it's somewhere in the back. Let me just—wait, where the hell are my keys?

Mitchell, leaning in heavy with charmspeak: I think you left them near the back door, right? We can just go there now.

Exactor guy: ... yeah, of course. I always do that, easy access you know? Follow me.

And when they reach the door, Lou Ellen knocks him out and Connor unlocks it, a silver set of keys appearing in his hand seemingly out of nowhere. He winks when he catches Mitchell staring.

The rest of the quest follows pretty much the same: with one of them getting sidetracked and the others jumping in to "have a little fun", as Connor likes to put it. They eventually find the conch shell and return to camp, a little wounded but a whole lot closer.

As soon as Connor is let out of the infirmary, he dashes to the Hephaestas cabin. Mitchell is curious, but no one seems to know anything. Lou Ellen just cackles like a madman when she hears. "Ha, he was so antsy for most of the quest. Glad he's able to do something about it now."

Mitchell has no idea what on earth she's talking about, which takes him more off guard than he'd ever thought it would. Because he really believed that him and Connor had become close friends after everything they'd gone through. And surely, he would’ve known if Connor had something else going on. But apparently not. And Lou Ellen did.

And so what if it makes something burn in his chest? To know that Connor is keeping something from him when he thought they'd passed that hurdle long ago. To have that one conversation under the stars, afloat at sea, just drifting calmly and releasing their worries to the wind, that meant so much to him, not hold that same weight?

So what if he had feelings for Connor?

Mitchell doesn't sulk, because an Aphrodite kid will always retain most of their pride in the face of rejection, dammit. Connor seems to be—not avoiding him, but a little distant than he'd grown familiar with, and it hurts a bit. He can admit that.

It isn't until a few days later that there's a tentative tap on his shoulder after lunch and Mitchell turns around to see none other than Connor Stoll with a face so red, Mitchell is genuinely concerned he's going to pass out.

Mitchell: Connor? Are you okay? You look like you're going to explode or something.

Connor, fiddling with something in his pocket: ah ha ha, um, well. I have—something. For you.

Mitchell, completely taken aback: what? For me?

Connor: yeah, I— uh, I had to ask Nyssa for some help and then I had to go steal—I mean, borrow another one of yours because I wasn't sure how many to use and Nyssa wouldn't stop teasing me even though it had to fit perfectly—but t-the point is! This is for you.

And carefully, he pulls his hand out from his pocket and opens it. Laying gently in the center of his palm is a pearl bracelet. It's beautiful.

Mitchell: wait, are those...?

Connor, fingers tapping restlessly and somehow blushing harder than before: the pearls I stole on the first day? Yeah. I saw them on that boat when we were pulling up to the harbour and I just—

He pauses to let out a low, quiet breath, as though steeling himself.

Connor: I noticed your weren't wearing your favourite bracelet when we left for the quest and Lou Ellen told me that it took some damage from the lava wall the other day and you were heartbroken about it— so, I figured... well, you deserve something as beautiful as you.

And Mitchell is just speechless. His heart is pounding so loud and he melts on the spot because it's the sweetest thing he's ever heard and Connor is the sweetest person ever and gods, it was all for him?

Both of their hands are shaking as Connor helps Mitchell with the bracelet's clasp. And of course, it fits perfectly. Snug but not tight, a comfortable weight like it had been there all along.

Connor begins to pull away but Mitchell grabs his hand properly before he can. With hesitant maneuvering, Mitchell interlocks their fingers. The pearl bracelet subtlety reflects the light from the sun, making it look like it's glowing between them. Mitchell softly gazes at Connor, who tentatively matches his smile.

Mitchell: I love it, I really do. Thank you so much, Connor.

Connor: I'm, I'm really glad you do.

Mitchell: I want to take you somewhere. Follow me?

Connor: of course, anywhere.

So Mitchell leads Connor to his favourite spot near the strawberry fields, where there's enough shade under the sturdy tree but still bright and alive with the sun. Somewhere where they can once more lie down and hear the distant waves, free to drift off calmly and release their feelings and dreams, not just worries, to the winds, side by side.

They run into Lou Ellen on their way there. She takes one look at their intertwined hands, the new bracelet around Mitchell's wrist, and she lets out a triumphant whoop!

Lou Ellen: oh let's GO!!! Connor Stoll, bless your little heart, Cecil owes me 10 drachmas now!

Mitchell: huh, so I'm guessing you knew about this?

Lou Ellen: Mitchell, sweetheart. Every time you looked away, he had the worst case of lovesick puppy eyes I've ever seen. I thought it was bad at camp but this guy was clearly holding back. And I had to put up with Solangelo getting their shit together first-hand.

Connor: wh— I— wait. Did Cecil bet against me? Also...Solangelo?

Lou Ellen: Will and Nico, their last names. And Cecil didn't think you'd ever get the guts to properly talk to Mitchell after the quest, never mind enough to give him the bracelet. I, on the other hand, am familiar with what the sheer powers of long time pining can do. Also, having to stare into each other's eyes for like, 5 minutes while holding the conch shell pretty much sealed the deal.

Connor and Mitchell, now BOTH bright red:

Lou Ellen, snapping her fingers with a wild grin: hang on! Connor, Mitchell, conch shell... holy shit maybe this was fate.

And that, folks, is how Conchell came to be.

[teddykaczynski]

thats just how lesbian elder/baby lesbian relationships are sometimes..................

[lemondoddle]

women trapped in space who have been betrayed so severely and still carry on because they can see the bigger picture your strength knows no bounds

[xenodile]

Was talking about it with a friend, but part of what makes Ellen so good as a character is that in all her interactions with the player, she is very clearly a teenager talking to an adult. Like it reminds me of talking to my nieces and nephews when they were younger. She's huffy, she complains, and everything is very transactional. Like, she likes the player in the way a kid a might know a cool, trustworthy old person in their neighborhood. You're like the "parent's friend with a cool hobby". She can count on you for help, but she's not actively seeking you out, because she just has friends her age and she very clearly likes them more than you. Especially Corin, whom she is overtly nicer and more affectionate towards compared to every other character.

[variousqueerthings]

im not saying that irl married couple paul gross and martha burns were doing an elaborate sexy roleplay in this scene about theatrical actors reconnecting after 8 years apart after infidelity and madness and professional disappointments, but i am saying that it feels like im watching irl married couple paul gross and martha burns doing an elaborate sexy roleplay and this whole show exists to underpin it

and it works

[we-are-not-afraid-92]

anyone else out there who can’t stop thinking about orlok in the sunlight and going kind of feral because oh my god he looks so beautiful but also he’s about to die horribly ;_;