#by taking advantage of their parasocial fixation on the performer

[rustchild]

So AEW’s using dirtsheets and reporters to take advantage of people’s expectation that they’ll have access to insider knowledge in order to create a new Kayfabe, right? Like. I could be wrong, but all of these dirtsheet stories hitting simultaneously about how Punk and Hangman have real heat and Punk was considering not even showing up to dynamite seem to be doing a lot of work to portray Punk as the exact heel character they’re trying to build in the ring. It looks like they realized they could generate buzz this way during the MJF storyline, and then decided to run with it.

[ls-daydreams]

Flat 27 Intro

An insomniac writer develops a parasocial relationship with his enigmatic cellist neighbour.

DETAILS: genre — psychological, thriller // themes — obsession, solitude vs. loneliness, real vs. manufactured self // status — completed (script), in production (film) // medium — film // wordcount — 3k words // warnings — insomnia, stalking, death

READ HERE

Summary, Characters & More Info under the cut

SUMMARY: Detached from society and impaired by his deteriorating mental state, writer Ryan latches onto one of the last things that can still keep him going - his novel. He fixates on trying to finally finish it, but the incessant noises in his head prevent him from concentrating as he hasn't slept for days on end.

His inspiration is finally awakened when he overhears a tormented cello playing from the neighbouring apartment. Ryan grows dependent on the music to write, believing his neighbour, Damien, is playing specifically for him, and they're bonded through their art despite never exchanging a single word. When Damien starts to show a disconnect by refusing to play as usual and inviting a third person into their "bubble", Ryan is tempted into a depraved act that finally brings him face to face with his delusions.

CHARACTERS:

Ryan: An overachiever with a debilitating fear of failure. He sticks to his choice of being an artist despite not having confidence in his abilities because he doesn't want to admit he might've made a wrong move. He thinks whatever he achieves isn't good enough, always dissatisfied and pushing himself for more. He dreams of connecting with someone who innately understands him and cares about all of him, warts and all, but his only real companion is the teasing voice in his head, Mind-Ryan. He's what Ryan wishes he could be; a future-self that's successful and confident, who always knows what to do and say and takes what he wants without shame.

Damien: A soft spoken and sensitive artist, who lives and breathes music and wishes for nothing but to embrace and create art. The scars of a difficult childhood are easily seen in his struggle to open up and form any significant bonds with his peers, but despite this disconnect, he still yearns to be seen and understood without going through the ordeal of having to vocalize his past. He's prone to getting attached to people who show him care very quickly, and is easily taken advantage of as he has a habit of going out of his way to please. Strikingly, behind this seemingly weak and malleable exterior lurks a barely supressed urge to finally snap.

Matthew: A confident, outspoken artist who refuses to take no for an answer. If he wants something, he gets it, an idea he's lived with his whole life. His skill is more technical and resulting from countless hours of practice, rendering him immediately jealous of anyone who shows natural talent and an understanding of music that goes beyond just good performance. If he can't be like those people, he'll take away their spark so they'd be like him, but he does so in a subtle, deceivingly loving way. A charmer and a good manipulator, he has people eating out of his hand.

MORE INFO:

The Inspiration & Idea: Not a surprise, but I was inspired by Taemin, namely by Advice. I wanted to write a small, practical film, but give it value and richness through its themes, visuals, and performances. It's why the storyworld is limited to just the two flats, and one of the reasons for using only Ryan's POV - the other being that I want the reader/audience to experience the growing parasocial relationship through Ryan and become stalkers along with him.

The Style: Ryan and Damien's little nook of the world seems almost exclusive to them and verges on surrealistic. Displaced in time and space, it's a world that's both real and imagined, a world seen through Ryan's eyes that may or may not be reliable, with easy to miss intricacies and life-changing twists.

The Current Status: The script is written and most of the pre-production is finished, but I am still ironing out some logistics with plans to shoot later in 2023.

The Extended Universe: The novel Ryan is writing is Metanoia, which shares a setting with Forget-Me-Not, although they're separated by a few decades.