Alright baby, come on now

In theatre lango the face of an actor is referred to as “the mask” because facial expressions are so important to performances and characters. It’s one of the big things that you’re taught as a beginning actor and can generally make or break the character you’re playing. And I swear Oscar does it SO FUCKING WELL because all three of the moon boys have such different ways their faces sit. Steven’s expressions are more soft, with his eyes being more wide and fluttering, and his brows not being furrowed so hard even though Steven has a resting worried face. Meanwhile Marc’s eyebrows are always scrunched, his eyes are kept more narrowed and he keeps his vision on things like he’s assessing everything around him 24/7, and I’m pretty sure he’s always tightening his jaw do his jaw line looks sharper. Which then contrasts Steven where he sort of keeps his loose and so he tends to have his mouth open a little so his jaw looks more softer. And then there’s Jake. He looks so calm even though he’s canonically ready to fight at the drop of a hat, with his eyes being hooded over, maybe tightening his jaw and keeps his vision focused on something like Marc but keeps a cool sleazy smile like he’s ready for a fight but knows that he’s got it handled when it breaks out. Anticipating yet ready.

LIKE??? I could walk past all three of them on the street and maybe even have a full conversation with them and I would NEVER suspect that they were the same man. Triplets? Maybe. But I would have to see them switch first hand for me to be like “Oh that’s the same man!”

Steven-Oscar: Remember that scene when you punched me in the nose? Hilarious. They tried putting syrup on my face, but I kept accidentally sniffing it up a nostril and choking.

Marc-Oscar: Yeah, yeah, took us ten takes, right? That was funny. And hot though. Everything was so hot. I had to borrow May's little fan thing.

Jake-Oscar: I didn't have desert scenes, so I was just chilling in my trailer, trying on a moustache, but it kept falling down. So, we just went with the no-moustache look in the end.

And no one is ever ready for the switch, and even after it happens they can never fully prepare themselves for what they’re going to get. Shane has learned that when he’s going to do that he should take them aside to give them the card rather than in front of people

Once Shane feels comfortable with Hayden as a genuinely good friend in his birthday card that year he writes out a whole thing about how he’s always wanted a best friend like other kids had but never had one and had accepted he never would, and then Hayden came into his life and gave him a level of love and friendship he never thought he would get and he loves everything about Hayden and can’t wait to be by his side as friends and brothers for the rest of their lives. Hayden fully breaks down and loses it, Jackie notices they’ve been gone a while and walks into the kitchen to see Hayden hugging Shane and sobbing into his shoulder. She raises her eyebrows at Shane and Shane just gives her the OK sign and goes back to rubbing Hayden’s back

Ilya learns about the card thing when it’s yunas birthday and he notices her opening Shane’s card like she’s deactivating a bomb. She stares silently as she reads it and Ilya starts freaking out a little when she starts to tear up and then pulls Shane in for a long silent hug. He looks at it later and sees that Shane wrote about how the last year made him realize over again how lucky he is to have someone as strong and supportive as her as a mother and he hopes to one day be half the parent to his own kids as she was to him

When it’s their first time having Ilya’s birthday together he’s legitimately nervous because this is his first Shane Card and he doesn’t know what to expect and part of him is afraid he’s built it up too much in his head and Shane won’t have as nice things to say as he did with other people. And then he opens the envelope and there’s no card but instead multiple pieces of paper because Shane couldn’t fit it all into a limited space. Ilya spends the better part of the next hour walking around the house reading it, taking breaks occasionally to cry or hyperventilate before going back to reading it because holy shit does Shane Hollander love him. Like he knew logically that Shane did but now he’s got pages and pages of Shane walking him through his feelings over the last decade of their life and every moment he remembered and cherished. Shane finally catches up to him and he’s on the floor of the kitchen, face a splotchy red mess, chugging Gatorade because he’s dehydrated from crying

Oscar Isaac at Celine