Episode 2 ~ Signal Fires and Starfalls
(A Save Slot Confessional Story — Tumblr-format script with captions, alt text, camera + lighting notes, and shot list)
🎬 Cold Open — Saturday Morning · Newcrest (Lana’s apartment)
(Soft early light through blinds; hand-held feel; shallow depth of field; 35mm lens equivalent. Natural color grade, dust motes visible. SFX: muted phone buzzes.)
Shot 1 — [ALT: Close on a cracked phone screen lit up with stacked notifications: “Mags 🐝: brunch??,” “Erin (Mom): Need a tiny favor,” “Unknown: u posted Daf???”]
Caption: when the notifications have beef with each other and it’s your brain that gets sued 😵💫📱
Lana wakes to her phone buzzing on her cheek, drool-cemented. Her eyelash curler is still on the duvet like a trapped silver insect.
I haven’t overslept since April. Okay, since last week. Point is, I’m a new, responsible woman. Or I was until Mags brunch? collided with Mom errand? collided with Strangers in my DMs about Daphne again?
She peels the phone off her face. A ring of foundation prints on the glass like a crop circle.
Shot 2 — [ALT: Over-the-shoulder of Lana thumbing through texts; in one, a blurry thumbnail of Daphne’s profile appears behind a tractor in Lana’s old vlog.]
Caption: “streamer caught celeb on farm cam???” pls don’t be my legacy 🙃
Shot 3 — [ALT: Wide establishing of Lana’s lived-in studio: tripod by the window, coil of ring light, desk of seed packets and a Henford map.]
Caption: girlboss workspace or chaos terrarium? why not both
She exhales through her nose, lets the panic stall out. New plan: shower-that’s-actually-a-meeting, then brunch-that’s-actually-therapy, then whatever “tiny favor” Mom thinks won’t derail her day.
Smash to black.
⏮️ Previously on The Save Slot Confessional (Episode 1)
Lana Yamashita’s farm vlog accidentally framed rising actress Daphne Corcoran in the background, nudging an already-rumored scandal into the spotlight.
Dax Corcoran (Daphne’s secret boyfriend and member-by-heart of the Luna Farms clan) tried to triage the fallout while texting his sister Maggie… and while Lana pretended she didn’t read the tone in those texts.
Kaylyn Luna, eldest “farm sister,” kept her high-end club dancing secret to cover bills, with Panya unknowingly sanding cabinets and the edges of his own heart.
Erin Yamashita sent Lana on a “tiny favor” that turned out to be a mysterious envelope pickup from Kole (Lana’s dad / Erin’s ex) — the kind of envelope with corners that jab your conscience.
Adonis, Kole’s grandson, “borrowed” a thing that wasn’t his; Lana clocked it and stored the discomfort like a splinter.
Gene and Lana edged toward a fragile reconciliation under Henford sun, while Ally’s health flickered in the background like a porch light left on too long.
Cheyenne — Lana’s high-school almost — reappeared, paint under her nails, a dare on her mouth. Sparks. Distance. Timing. Tumblr readers screaming in the tags.
🗺️ Day-by-Day Outline (to plan screenshots)
Saturday (Newcrest → Copperdale → Del Sol Valley → Tomarang)
Brunch chaos; Lana agrees to help Erin with the “tiny favor” (envelope).
Lana intercepts Adonis mid-“borrow”; chooses empathy over explosion.
Starlight Accolades: Daphne smiles for cameras while cracking inside.
Back-alley “pep talk” with Dax goes sideways.
Kaylyn + Panya apartment scene — love, lies, late shifts.
Sunday (Henford-on-Bagley → Mt. Komorebi → San Myshuno → Newcrest)
6) Gene teaches Lana to fix a fence — reconciliation through work.
7) Dax & Daphne’s onsen “reset” — steam hides nothing.
8) San Myshuno Romance Festival — Cheyenne sings; hearts stutter.
9) Lana & Cheyenne’s almost-kiss.
10) Dax’s late-night drive home; Daphne DM’s Lana.
11) Montage: signal fires across all worlds — everyone holding something fragile.
🎞️ Full Script
🌅 Scene 1 — Brunch Plans vs. Tiny Favors
(Newcrest sidewalk café; mid-morning; breezy daylight; 50mm lens; gentle bokeh. Ambient city birds, cutlery clink.)
Shot 4 — [ALT: Lana and Maggie leaning over a menu; Maggie’s eyebrows doing triage.]
Caption: bestie check-in or board meeting? (both.)
“I’m ordering the pancake flight,” Maggie says, decisive. “We need carbs for crisis management.”
“What crisis?” Lana plays dumb; it’s a poor performance.
Maggie gives her a look. “You posted a tractor thirst-trap featuring America’s Dimpled Sweetheart in the background. We’re doing crisis pancakes.”
The server tops off their waters. Lana’s phone buzzes again: Mom: sweetie, are you nearby? it’s just across town, you’ll pass it on your way home, kiss kiss.
“Is this the ‘tiny favor’ that’s actually a boss fight?” Maggie asks.
“Collect an envelope,” Lana says, trying to keep it neutral. “From Kole.”
“Your father Kole?” Maggie’s voice drops.
“Don’t,” Lana says softly. “Just—don’t.”
Maggie nods. The pancakes arrive in a fan of berries and powdered sugar. They split the stack like a treaty.
Shot 5 — [ALT: Close on Lana’s thumbs typing sure mom on my way xoxo while her reflection warps in the spoon.]
Caption: the xoxo is for emotional insurance purposes 💌🔪
📦 Scene 2 — The Envelope & the Borrow
(Copperdale cul-de-sac; harsh noon sun; 24mm wide; a kid’s bike abandoned on its side. Slightly overexposed to feel too real.)
Kole’s rental has the personality of a browser cache. Lana doesn’t knock. He’s already on the porch, envelope in hand like a magic trick he’s performed too many times — the same “tiny favor” Mom started pinging her about last night.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he says.
“I’m looking at you,” Lana says. “Not like anything.”
He nods at the envelope. “For your mother. I promised.”
“Why promise things,” she says, “if keeping them hurts everyone more?”
A car door thunks behind them. Adonis—the kid with the quick fingers and slower apologies—beelines toward the side yard. He pretends not to see Lana.
Shot 6 — [ALT: Lana’s peripheral view: Adonis slipping behind the fence; his hoodie pocket heavy.]
Caption: when “hold this for me” turns into “I found this for me” 🙃
“Adi,” she calls. “Hey. What’s in your pocket?”
He pivots. A guilty saint in streetwear. “Nothing.”
“You can’t keep ‘borrowing’ from the neighbors,” she says, gentler than she feels. “It’s not a video game.”
His chin lifts. “You think I don’t know that? I just… like having things that don’t break when you touch them.”
The sentence lands with a small earthquake. Lana swallows. She doesn’t snitch; she doesn’t endorse. She asks for the thing; he hands it over—a brass lawn gnome keycap. She palms it, ridiculous and heavy.
“We return it together,” she says. “Before they notice.”
He nods, eyes everywhere but hers. Kole coughs, impatient, envelope hovering like a mosquito.
Shot 7 — [ALT: Macro of the envelope corner imprinting a crescent moon on Lana’s palm.]
Caption: love letter from a timeline I didn’t choose 🌙✉️
🌟 Scene 3 — Starlight Accolades (Backstage)
(Del Sol Valley; golden hour; high-contrast spotlights + deep cool shadows; 85mm lens; glam grain.)
Shot 8 — [ALT: Daphne mid-photo burst, a star pinned to velvet: flawless; exhausted.]
Caption: she’s fine she’s fine she’s fine (she isn’t) ✨
On stage, Daphne laughs on cue. Off stage, she exhales like stepping out of heels.
Dax appears with a water bottle and quiet loyalty. “Two more segments,” he says. “PR wants a cute quip about your ‘mystery countryside getaway.’”
“Which countryside?” she says. “The one where I was hiding from my own face?”
“It’s temporary,” Dax says. “We get ahead of it, we shape the story.”
“Stories shape us,” she says. “Haven’t you noticed?”
The PR manager swoops in. “Smile’s great, babe. Keep it widow-chic.”
Daphne flinches. Widow. The joke tastes like iron.
Shot 9 — [ALT: Over Daphne’s shoulder; Dax watching her go, his reflection fractured in a trophy case.]
Caption: sometimes the trophy case starts to look like a mirror maze 🪞🏆
🔥 Scene 4 — Alleyway Pep Talk
(Backstage alley; night neon bounce; 35mm; puddles mirror signage. SFX: far-off siren, AC hum.)
Daphne tears at the sticker sealing her mic pack. “Do you ever feel like you’re the B-plot in your own romance?”
“I don’t need us to be anyone’s A-plot,” Dax says. “I just need you to answer your phone.”
“I do.” She flashes her lock screen: 37 missed calls — ‘Mom’. “I answer everyone’s phone.”
He reaches for her wrist; she goes very still. A stray photographer peeks around the dumpster. Dax’s body moves on instinct, shielding her without smothering. He hates that he’s good at it.
“Let’s go home,” he says.
“Which one?” she says, voice thin. “The one with cameras at the gate, or the one where I sleep in different beds hoping I wake up as someone else?”
Shot 10 — [ALT: Two silhouettes backlit by a red exit sign; their outlines don’t touch.]
Caption: if a red light is a warning why does it make everything look holy?
🕯️ Scene 5 — Kaylyn + Panya, Night Kitchen
(Tomarang walk-up; warm tungsten; 50mm; domestic lens. SFX: kettle click, rain tapping AC unit.)
Shot 11 — [ALT: Panya in a soft tee, stirring noodles; Kaylyn at the table counting folded bills.]
Caption: love language: late-night leftovers + no questions asked 🍜
“Smells good,” Kaylyn says.
“Work late again?” he asks gently.
She nods. “You could say that.”
He doesn’t push. “I saved you the good chili oil.”
Kaylyn’s phone lights: Madame Linn: 11pm call time confirmed. She flips it facedown like that’ll stop time.
“I can finish the trim at Maggie’s tomorrow,” Panya says. “If Dax lends me his sander.”
Kaylyn nods, cheeks warm. The future is so gentle in his voice it hurts.
Shot 12 — [ALT: Kaylyn’s hand on her lower abdomen without thinking; Panya’s hand covers hers.]
Caption: a sentence neither of them says, conjugated in touch
🌤️ Scene 6 — Henford Fence School
(Sunday morning; Henford-on-Bagley; soft pastoral; 24mm establishing; bees drowsing near clover.)
Shot 13 — [ALT: Gene and Lana by a wobbling fence post; Ally wraps a shawl on the porch.]
Caption: some apologies are better told in cedar and nails 🪚
“Plant the post with your knees,” Gene says.
“I have terrible knees,” Lana says.
“You’re twenty-something,” he says. “Your knees are still a concept.”
She laughs. Ally brings iced tea. Her hands tremble slightly when she sets the tray down.
“Stay for lunch,” Ally says. “Dax texted. He’s in the mountains.”
Lana’s chest tightens. Gene notices. “You kids think what you’re feeling is the weather,” he says. “It’s a season. It passes either way.”
Shot 14 — [ALT: Close on the fence level bubble settling dead center; Lana’s reflection tiny in the glass.]
Caption: plumb bob IRL ✅
♨️ Scene 7 — Onsen Reset, Kind Of
(Mt. Komorebi; mid-day mist; steam + pale wood; 50mm; cool palette.)
Daphne sinks until the water hems her chin. “I can hear the comments even in here,” she murmurs.
“Turn off the app,” Dax says.
She smiles faintly. “You think I didn’t delete the universe twice before breakfast?”
He leans back. “Then be a woman in rest, just for today.”
She looks like she wants to believe him. Steam threads their faces. A couple enters. Daphne stiffens.
“I can’t,” she says. “I can’t be seen like this.”
“Like what?” he asks.
“Like myself.”
Shot 15 — [ALT: Daphne’s sunglasses on the bench, fog beading on lenses; Dax’s hand towel folded beside them.]
Caption: props from a scene where the actors never make it to their marks
🌸 Scene 8 — The Romance Festival Doesn’t Care
(San Myshuno; sunset; paper lanterns glow; 35mm; saturated magentas and ambers.)
Shot 16 — [ALT: Lana and Maggie weaving through blossoms; street poet stamps “love is a hazard” on a card.]
Caption: romance festival speedrun: 1) deny 2) buy sakura tea 3) cry a little 4) pretend it’s allergies
“I’m not here for romance,” Lana says. “I’m here for kettle corn and denial.”
“Great,” Maggie says. “And if denial runs out, we have croquettes.”
A familiar voice threads through the crowd — Cheyenne, singing on a crate stage, her voice a dare wrapped in apology.
you said the moon was just a porch light / left on for the tides / I said if it’s a porch light / leave it on when I arrive
Lana freezes. The city hums with it.
Shot 17 — [ALT: Cheyenne mid-note, eyes closed; a kid offers her a flower from behind the tape line.]
Caption: talent: 10/10 / respecting my emotional bandwidth: 0/10 🎤
After, Cheyenne finds her by the koi fountain. “Didn’t invite you,” she says. “Hoped you’d come.”
“Showed up,” Lana says. “Getting decent at that.”
“I’m going back to Britechester,” Cheyenne blurts. “It’s the right thing.”
“Right things can hurt,” Lana says.
They stand under a storm of confetti petals.
Shot 18 — [ALT: Cheyenne’s hand almost takes Lana’s; both pull back, laughing.]
Caption: romance festival says “go for it” / executive functioning says “circle back Q3”
🌉 Scene 9 — The Almost
(Footbridge; lanterns reflected in black water; 85mm shallow focus.)
“I should kiss you,” Cheyenne says, half-joking.
“You should,” Lana says.
They lean in. A firework misfires; pigeons burst upward. The spell breaks.
They laugh too loud. “We’re hilarious,” Lana says.
“We’re also cowards,” Cheyenne adds.
“Call me Monday,” Lana says. “We’ll schedule some bravery.”
She vanishes into the crowd.
🌙 Scene 10 — Exit Ramps
(Mt. Komorebi roadside; midnight; headlights corridor; then Newcrest apartment, lamplight.)
Dax sits in the parked rental, hands slack on the wheel. The onsen didn’t fix what silence worsens. He texts Maggie: Headed back tonight. Need a couch? He types Tell Lana I said hi, deletes it, and drives.
Shot 19 — [ALT: Dash cluster lit; paper crane on rearview mirror sways.]
Caption: GPS: rerouting / heart: buffering
Lana, home, puts the envelope on her desk like evidence. It stares back.
Her phone lights: Simstagram — Message Request from @daphnecorcoran
hey. it’s daphne. can we talk? privately.
Then: Maggie → Dax is driving in, don’t freak. Also maybe freak a tiny bit.
“Cool!” Lana says to no one. “Perfect and cool!”
She cracks the envelope’s seal. Inside: cash and a receipt — Oil Change — JiffyLube @ Magnolia & 3rd. Date circled three months ago. In the memo line: interest on what I owe.
Not a smoking gun — a trail of powder. Enough to blow up breakfast.
🎬 Scene 11 — Montage: Signal Fires
(Soft synth track; intercut locations; cross-dissolves.)
Ally massages her wrist, forcing a smile at a cooking show.
Kaylyn counts tips, tucks one bill into a separate jar.
Adonis flips a coin; the brass keycap glints on his sill.
Erin reheats takeout, texts did you get it?
Daphne stares at three mirrors, picks none.
Dax crosses a state line with the radio off