i dont remember seeing it in the rules but do i have to let the timer run during cut scenes? or can i pause it? i know we can skip it but i just wanted to check if i can pause

I'm not entirely sure but based on some of the mod's runs you're allowed to pause during loading screens but not the cutscenes (Referring to Dori, Argros, and Daemonweave's runs) this is just my opinion based on observations though

I believe cutscenes are still timed. as the autosplitter (for pc) hasn't been updated to remove cutscenes, only load times. So I would say keep timing your cutscenes unless a mod specifies otherwise.