#astellie

[shuamajo]

[outspaced-writes]

Full Analysis: Hot Springs Scene

By popular demand, here it is! Sorry that this took so long, school just resumed again so I’ve been very busy.

To begin analyzing this scene, we need to start a little while before, when Aster and Ellie meet in Paul’s bedroom. I like to think that Aster already regarded Ellie with some curiosity before, because they seem to read similar things (hallway scene) and don’t fit in as well at school as most people (bathroom scene). When Ellie comments on Aster’s painting, Aster realizes that Ellie understands it, that she sees the meaning that Aster was going for and this intrigues her because most people would just say something such as “It’s nice” or “I like it” but Ellie understands the stroke on the side and what it stands for. Since Aster is interested, she asks to follow Ellie to the station. 

Afterwards, she decides that she wants to take Ellie to her secret place. Her choice of the words “Want to get out of here?” is likely not randomly chosen by Alice Wu as both Aster and Ellie feel stifled and even suffocated by Squahamish where they don’t quite fit in. I feel that getting out is something they both want to do. At this point, I think that Aster might be starting to develop feelings for Ellie but probably isn’t aware of it, just seeing someone who seems to understand her and wants to get closer to her. 

When they reach the hot springs, Aster strips down, baring herself to Ellie. She is also open to Ellie, exposing the part of herself that she usually keeps hidden. She has also shown Ellie her solace, where she goes to get away from the world, she really isn’t holding back in sharing with Ellie. 

Ellie, on the other hand, is more reserved. She still wears many layers but she does take off the outermost one before entering the water which is a step for her. Aster politely turns away when Ellie does so when she realizes that Ellie is uncomfortable and had also looked away when Aster stripped which is considerate of her. While Aster and Ellie are very similar in some ways, how they interact with each other is also trial and error and they’re figuring each other out. 

Aster points out how she’s never hung out with another girl and not talked about boys before. This again shows how their similar in having interests that differ from their peers. When Ellie reassures Aster that whatever she said about God isn’t silly, the screenplay has this direction “A moment of real connection.” That’s what this scene is all about, Aster and Ellie are connecting.

Afterwards, Aster tries to strip layers off Ellie which on the literal level, is playful and it shows how their bonding but on a deeper level, it also shows how Ellie is opening up to Aster, that she’s almost baring herself to her.

Later, when  they float, Ellie is only wearing one shirt and Aster is wearing one of hers. This is very important symbolically because not only has Ellie made herself vulnerable, she’s entrusted Aster with this. Furthermore, when they float, you can see how they reflect in the water. This references the opening of the movie, about beings with one head made of two faces and two sets of limbs.

One way to see this is that Aster and Ellie complete each other. It’s a sweet, soulmate thing. 

However, the way I prefer is that Aster and Ellie are both complete when they’re open. They don’t need another person, only themselves being honest with themselves. People are too busy looking for someone to complete them that they don’t realize that they are complete as it is.

Ellie openly talks about her mother, someone very close to her heart, with Aster, showing how she’s really opened up. She also drifts towards Aster during this scene which really shows how well they fit together.

Ellie says this line “gravity is matter’s response to loneliness” and my thoughts on this are “Gravity is matter’s response to loneliness. Gravity, the way it tugs and pulls, how it grounds you and keep you from losing yourself in your loneliness to dreams of what could have been. Submerge yourself in water, it feels like a hug. That’s gravity.The world gets lonely sometimes but the moon never leaves, always orbiting around us. Gravity keeps the moon from drifting, it keeps a friend there on our loneliest nights when the only one listening is the bright moon. Gravity pulls things to each other, gravity means weight, gravity means certainty. Gravity doesn’t erase your loneliness but it helps and nobody said a response has to be effective, just that it’s there. Gravity is matter’s response to loneliness.” It’s a very loaded line and it comes from Ellie just saying what comes to mind, something she wouldn’t do around anyone else.

When they float together, with Ellie’s legs and Aster’s arms visible, they really seem to complete each other. They become one person with two faces, again a callback to the opening. 

I apologise for my ideas being a little all over the place. This is all I can think of right now and I’d love to hear your thoughts! Grounding scene analysis to be done soon.

[outspaced-writes]

Updated! The Other Half Of It

"Dear God, tell me what to do; give me a sign"

No response.

Nothing. Not even a feeling. Well, it was worth a shot. Years of dragging myself to church on early Sunday mornings tell me that God works at His own pace, moves in His own time. Nothing I can do about it. Would be nice to have an answer sometimes. Believing is uncertain and confusing and I try not to let last night stay on my mind as I get ready for school.

It's almost mechanical, pulling on clothes and pasting a smile on my face. When people know you, you've got expectations. People want you to appear how you are in their mind, they want effort in your dressing, they want you to be pretty, relevant, smiling. All this only goes to show that being a ghost would be less tiring. Maybe not all the time but to not be seen once in a while would be great. Shame that it's too trivial to pray over.

The thing about being a teenager is that everyone's still figuring out who they are, what their roles are, and where they stand. I know where I stand, right by Trig's side by the time I get to school. We don't have that many classes in common and between periods, I busy myself with my locker. Sometimes hearing him and his buddies talk about how happy they are in Squahamish feels suffocating. I wonder how they do it. How can you be content when there's so much out there?

By afternoon, I'm restless. I've run into Trig countless times today and he hasn't mentioned a word about... about the thing. It's good, in a way, since he doesn't know that I heard since I shouldn't have been eavesdropping. Still, it's difficult to know more than you should and keep it all to yourself.

I spy Ellie braving her way through the corridor - more of a wall of students by this point - while preoccupied with her phone to her ear. The crowd tries to part around Trig, the king of the school, and his group but there isn't much space with everyone trying to get to class before the bell rings. The thing about Ellie is that she's not quite a ghost, she's a useful one. Immediately, I want to slap myself for thinking that. You don't break someone's worth down to how useful they are to you! They're human too. She's written too many of Trig's essays and I've read at least half of them. She has a way of words, she really feels and her brain doesn't leave any possible point untouched. If she doesn't elaborate in one essay, it's the center point of another student's homework. It's hard to find someone who really thinks and even harder to find someone who manages to translate that eloquently down onto a page. If you ask me, $10 for 3 pages doesn't do her any justice. Her writing is art and it deserves to be treated as such.

Trig crashes into her.

Everything goes flying, the loose sheets of paper gathered up in her arms cover the ground. I almost wince when I hear a book hit the ground. Hardcover. Those corners will never be the same again. Trig just laughs and continues walking, almost as if he did it on purpose. Maybe he did.

She scrambles to gather her things before they can be trodden on, hands reaching desperately. Trig's so caught up in his own world that I slip out from under his arm and he doesn't notice.

"These hallways are murder," I say, bending down to gather up the paper into a neat stack.

Keep reading at archiveofourown.org/works/24021046/chapters/57880747 !

[shuamajo]